I never thought I would be so happy to change a poopy diaper!! (tear, sniff)

I believe we have reached a new milestone in one of the most highly anticipated goals in motherhood. For the last three days Abby has brought me the bag of baby wipes and begged me until I change her when she poops. This has filled my head with dreams of a potty trianed 14 or 15 month old!!!! I daydream this as I mechanically change the diapers. Stop laughing, I have heard of it happening. Lynette even sent me a link to a website that promises potty training by six months (now that is a lot of pressure). I was diaper free for two months before Lola was born. I said STOP LAUGHING!!!!!

The kitchen table

I found this essay as I was reading about family traditions today. This is one of the things my parents were pretty good at. We always had dinner together no matter what, there was not an option as long as you were in the state. You also had to make conversation at least once or you could not leave, sometimes this was really hard, but I have so many fond memories that somehow include the table. In fact, after the fire, my mom would not settle on any kitchen table except one that looked exactly the same as the old one. It is the only thing that is the same in their house now. What Marianne Jennings describes is what I am trying to create for my family. It may be a little long, but read it, it is worth it.

The story of Cinderella told by Disney is the plan of salvation

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As I was watching Disney's Cinderella for the upteenth time for family movie night I was thinking that there has to be some deeper meaning, some lessons I could teach my daughters besides waiting for their Prince Charming. About half way through the movie I found the hidden message. The story of Cinderella told by Disney is the plan of salvation. Everything is there. Christ, God, Satan, the temple, the celestial kingdom, earthly trials, sin and even repentance. My children might seem a little young to grasp this deeper meaning, but I think Abby was getting it. This shows me that Disney can't be the anti-christ everyone tells me it is.

How young is too young to have your tongue pierced?

Yesterday for family home evening we went on a hike and when we were done we played on the playground in the canyon. Abby fell off of the equipment. She bit her tongue so hard that there is a hole in it. I had to take her to the emergency room so we could figure a way to make it stop bleeding. She is lucky that she only has a few teeth or she would have bitten it off. The doctor suggested we get a pediatric dentist to come in and look at it to see if she needed stitches. They usually stitch when the hole is big enough to put a cheerio through, you could put at least one and half through hers. I did not want them to stitch her up because they would have to put her to sleep to do it. She didn't need to have it stitched up mainly because she would have just chewed off the stitches because she would not understand us telling her not to. We thought about just putting a ring through it because she has already gone through the pain of getting it pierced she might as well get some jewelry out of it. So she is going to have a major scar on her tongue, but the good news is that we don't have to worry about her getting her tongue pierced for real because scar tissue is hard to pierce.

Something to think about

I read something very interesting this morning. Edward Gibbon in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, identifies the 5 main causes of their decline and fall.

1. the breakdown of the family structure
2. the weakening of a sense of individual responsibility
3. excessive taxes and government control and intervention
4. seeking pleasure that became increasingly hedonistic, violent and immoral
5. the decline of religion

Why can't we wake up and learn from the past!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Sister Sue

Today is my baby's birthday. I can't even remember what our family was like without her. It seems as if she has always been here. Abby is my snuggly, huggy, kissy baby. She is very affectionate and loving. She loves her big sisters more than anything. They can make her laugh anytime. They love her too, and try to include her in as much of their playing as they can. Even when she is destructive they sometimes pretend that it was part of the plan all along. She is the first thing asked about by both when they wake up. Abigail loves to tease and to be teased, she loves excitment and thrills. She has taken to the water faster and with more intensity than the other two. She loves to be held and will let you hold her as long as you are willing. Toby is probably her favorite member of the family. I often find her curled up with him or using him as a chair or back rest. Her most recent new skill is spinning with her sisters. She loves to dance and loves music almost as much as Lola does. I am so excited to see her accomplishments and feel so blessed to be able to be the one who gets to witness them. I am lucky to be her mother. Happy birthday baby!!!!

The state fair

We went to the fair on friday. We love the fair and look forward to it all year. It is the one time we can get Lola to be brave enough to touch some animals. Of course our favorite part is the dairy cows. Abby went crazy over the goats though. I guess she doesn't know better yet. I was disappointed to not see any cows from Redmond Farm where we get our milk, that is OK I just pretended that some of the ones that were there were them.
Another favorite part is the kid's farm. The kids get to gather eggs in a chicken coup and feed the chickens corn. They get to milk a cow and do lots of other fun farm stuff. At the end they sell their veggies and wool for a dollar to spend on a treat at the store.

We let them each pick a ride to go on. Mallorie chose the trampolines. I was suprised that she did so well. She even managed to do a back flip once. She was so light that I had to help her bounce almost the whole time.


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Lola wanted to ride on the airplanes (helicopters). She is my play it safe chick. We stayed until after 9:00 pm (I can't remember the last time my kids were out that late). I can't wait for next year. Next year Mallorie wants to enter something, I may make this a family goal for each of us.

The state fair

Painting

We finally took some time and put a primer coat of paint on our playhouse. Matthew took Lola and Mallorie for help. Lola would dip her paintbrush into the paint all the way up to and sometimes beyond her wrists. They were messy, but had a good time. Hopefully it will not take so long for us to get motivated to finish the next step (cutting the windows). We started this playhouse when I was pregnant with Lola. We are debating what color to paint it. Mallorie's vote is blue (of course), Lola's is purple (of course), Matthew's vote is camo, and I have no opinion (except not camo).