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This is a catch-up post! I have pictures from the day before Thanksgiving when Vince, my older brother, came to town.

Vince used to carry me this way! Mary was sleepy and so he carried Mary to lunch.
Vince used to carry me this way! Mary was sleepy and so he carried Mary to lunch.
Outside the restaurant.
Outside the restaurant.
It was raining, but we cut through Temple Square to get back to our car.
It was raining, but we cut through Temple Square to get back to our car.

Auntie Geri and Ammon are in love.

IMG_1837 IMG_1838 IMG_1839Mom, I forgot that I did get a picture of Mary’s eye patch! Here it is.

IMG_1832 IMG_1834And today Auntie Geri took our picture, per Mom’s request:

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Mary has a fever of 103, so we are going to be watching her all night and taking her to the doctor first thing in the morning. She is a very sick little girl right now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I feel successful today because Lily is sleeping and it is 9:41.  I hit a wall this week because I haven’t been sleeping much, so the past couple nights Lily was particularly on her own taking care of Ammon.  Today she told me she felt the worst (fatigue-wise) that she ever has since Ammon was born.  I’m hoping her early bed-time will help.  I’m so grateful for all she does for this family. As I was counting my blessing today, I dwelt on Lily and blessed I am to have her in my life.  She has sacrificed everything to bring children into our family and to raise them in love and righteousness.

We’ve had a blast having aunt Geri and Vince in town.  Lily picked up Vince from the airport yesterday and then we all went to Maria Bonita’s, our favorite Mexican place. After that, we bought a carton of ice-cream and went to Qualtrics so I could give Geri and Vince a tour. Then we hit the Qualtrics candy bar to put toppings on our icecream and we all ate desert together.  While at Qualtrics, Vince and Geri got to try the massage chairs. Vince particularly liked it because it soothed his back which has been sore from his recent car crash.

Thanksgiving was really good today.  It was incredibly slow paced, and Lily have been exhausted enough that that is just what the doctor ordered. Lily’s made an amazing breakfast, with smoked salmon, pop-overs, orange juice, bacon, english muffins and cuties.  Then we mostly visited until Thanksgiving dinner.  Dinner was great. I picked up our order from Harmons and we had stuffing, mashed potatoes, candies yams, turkey and stuffing.  After dinner we continued visiting and had an early bed time. I also got to have a whole hours just to play with Lydia and Mary which made me incredibly happy since these days I ‘m so tired I can’t pull myself together to play with them. On a sad note, Vince was incredibly sick today. I can hear him coughing in his guest room as I write this.  I sure hope he gets feeling better.

On a couple final notes, Lydia and Mary have been wanting to sleep in their “fort” every night. I built it out of blankets that I drape over Mary’s crib and the sleep in their together. Also, Vince and Geri were so nice to bring clothes as gifts for our children. You can see pictures of the girls trying on the new clothes and the forts below.

 

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Mary gets an eye patch

On Saturday we did some errands and then Karin and Jay came over to meet Ammon.

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Ammon smiled at his Grandma Karin!
Ammon smiled at his Grandma Karin!

IMG_3968On Sunday my Auntie Geri flew into town and will be with us until December third. She and Ammon have been bonding!

IMG_3971Auntie Geri brought the girls a lot of beautiful new clothes. Lydia wanted to wear one of her outfits this morning. IMG_3975We took Mary to the eye doctor first thing in the morning. He determined she needs to wear a patch two to three hours a day because she is not responding to the glasses.

ailments and old friends

We spent all morning at the doctor’s office. Ammon has a head cold (and I’m terrified it’s going to morph into RSV), Lydia has bronchitis, and Mary is going blind (and has a cold). Abe and I have also self-diagnosed with bronchitis. We are still doing lice treatments, and I have a shot sciatic nerve, hemorrhoids, and canker sores all over from stress and lack of sleep. It’s been fun times over here.

At least our kids are cute!

Mary has jumped from the third percentile in weight to the eighth!
Mary has jumped from the third percentile in weight to the eighth! I know this picture is about height, but I can’t remember her percentile there. 

Tonight we had Jan, George, Chelsea, Derek, and kids over for dinner. We just love when Jan and George come to town.

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Jan caught a picture of me promising Mary she could have her cake before dinner. She woke up from a late nap during dessert and was sad at the prospect of eating dinner while all of the kids ate dessert.
Jan caught a picture of me promising Mary she could have her cake before dinner. She woke up from a late nap during dessert and was sad at the prospect of eating dinner while all of the kids ate dessert.

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Star Wars dart fight

Today I was Mrs. Grumpity Grump Grump. I worked all day long and got a TON done, but I was so grouchy that this is going to be one of those nights I go to bed wondering if I’ve emotionally damaged my poor kids. I’ll try to be better tomorrow.

People at Qualtrics were not grumps today! At 4pm they started blasting Star Wars music over the whole building and all of management came running out in full costume for a company-wide dart fight. Abe got it on video: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1511d8507afe4ed5?projector=1

And then he got this video of Ammon, my precious baby: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1511d83faffee6b3?projector=1

pajamas and popovers

In the morning we had a pajama party and popovers with Arielle and her kids. It was so fun.

Two witches.
Two witches.

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There was snow on the ground today!
There was snow on the ground today!
Nyle started collecting the snow in a bag to take home. We thought that was cute.
Nyle started collecting the snow in a bag to take home. We thought that was cute.

Then in the evening the Vandagriffs came for dinner. It was also a lot of fun, but, as always, we forgot to take pictures. I am racing to get to bed, so that was our day in a nutshell!

We liked today’s pace. (It was slow.)

We had a lovely visit from the Vandagriffs today. We forgot to take pictures, though. Thankfully, Morgan sent us a picture he took from our last visit. Can you believe how fast the weather has changed? It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long since we last saw them, but I can’t imagine having the kids outside without winter layers on right now.

Pictures like this make me want to learn how to be a better photographer. I love it.
Pictures like this make me want to learn how to be a better photographer. I love it.

Abe was the sweetest and patched up some worrisome holes in the foundation of our house today. I don’t do well with pests, and the holes have been scaring me for quite a while. I am so grateful for my patient husband. He has put up with so much these past couple weeks.

IMG_3937 IMG_3939Now we are going to watch a half hour more of Selma. We have been trying to watch the next thirty minutes of the movie ever since we started a couple weeks ago. We are choosing this over precious sleep, but after several weeks of waiting, it’s probably worth one little exchange.

Play date

We had a play date with Ada and Liv today. We had a great time, and I got one picture of the girls. Ada and Mary were Elsa, Lydia was Sleeping Beauty, and Liv was Snow White.

IMG_1825We spent all evening combing everyone out with lice-killing mousse, after which I blew dry my hair and flat ironed it. I will be so, so glad when this lice thing is all over. I don’t know how any nits or bugs could possibly survive the routines we’ve put ourselves through, but we’re going to keep persisting for several more weeks just to be sure.

Back into the swing of things

Today made me feel like we are finally starting to find our rhythm again. I actually made dinner tonight! And I remembered to take pictures during the day.

My angel baby did great at his tummy time today!
My angel baby did great at his tummy time today!
I love him. He is so sweet and sleeps so mercifully much. I often just hold him and pray that his tender soul never experiences war or violence. I know I can't protect him all of his life long, but the thought of my sweet baby ever experiencing the turmoil of the world can stop my heart. He is the sweetest thing.
I adore this child. When I was pregnant and people would find out I was having a boy, a lot of people would say, “Wow, after two girls this must be just what you wanted!” I would feel slightly taken aback by such comments because I love my two girls and didn’t feel like I needed a boy. If I hadn’t had an impression I was going to have a son named Ammon years ago, I would have been just as happy with another girl! But now that I have this boy, I can’t imagine it any other way. I AM happy I got to have this boy!!
I love it when Mary looks at me over the top of her glasses. She reminds me of Mrs. Claus.
I love it when Mary looks at me over the top of her glasses. She reminds me of Mrs. Claus.
Mary kept her glasses on all day today! She only took them off twice during the entire day. I am so incredibly proud of her.
Mary kept her glasses on all day today! She only took them off twice during the entire day. I am so incredibly proud of her.
Lydia is going through a really rude phase, but she and Mary still played sweetly together in the morning. I only got this fuzzy shot before my phone decided it wouldn't take any more pictures. Abe is going to fix that for me tonight.
Lydia is going through a really rude phase, but she and Mary still played sweetly together in the morning. I only got this fuzzy shot before my phone decided it wouldn’t take any more pictures. Abe is going to fix that for me tonight.

Sad news, Mary’s glasses, and Lily’s new career

Today I found out that our friend, Ina Jellins, passed away. I felt so sad when I learned this news. Ina has actually crossed my mind several times lately, but I have been so preoccupied with keeping a new baby alive and fighting lice that I neglected to call her. I felt really, really sad to learn that opportunity has passed. But at the same time I was happy for Ina. She had such a hard life and was in so much pain, and I am sure her eternal reward feels very sweet to her.

On a happy note, Mary’s glasses finally came today! We think she looks even cuter with them on. Ina adored Mary, and I am sure she peeked down from heaven today to see what Mary looks like with glasses.

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Mary was happy with her glasses…for about ten minutes. Then came the tantrum. I tried every trick I knew to help her understand she needs to keep her glasses on. Finally I bribed her with a giant banana split, unlimited time with Diego, treats from Qualtrics, and a special trip to the toy store (which we both forgot about when the time came). She still hates her glasses. I can already see that this will be a daily battle…

Lydia was grumpy all day (as the picture attests), but the one high point for her was making books. She did this for the majority of the time we were home, and I helped her by writing down the narratives next to her pictures. They made absolutely no sense. I wanted to type out the narratives here so I could always reference them when I am old and wonder why talking with my four year old all day was such an exhausting mental exercise. Maybe I'll have time for that tomorrow.
Lydia was grumpy all day (as the picture attests), but the one high point for her was making books. She did this for the majority of the time we were home, and I helped her by writing down the narratives next to her pictures. They made absolutely no sense. I wanted to type out the narratives here so I could always reference them when I am old and wonder why talking with my four year old all day was such an exhausting mental exercise. Maybe I’ll have time for that tomorrow.

Yesterday we paid hundreds of dollars for a lice specialist to help us solve our problems. I have decided that if Abe dies I will become a lice specialist. Ours made $125 an hour, not including head checks ($20 a head). That is way more money than I would ever make teaching piano, teaching English, or as a line chef in a restaurant. Everything I am (on paper) qualified to do pales in financial comparison with the de-lousing profession. Why did I even ever go to school? I have no idea. But at least now I have a lucrative back-up plan!

Abe did my follow up comb-out tonight. I am going to start doing them myself in the shower to practice in case I ever need to actually become a lice specialist.
Abe did my follow up comb-out tonight. I am going to start doing them myself in the shower to practice in case I ever need to actually become a lice specialist.