Wednesday, May 28, 2008

15 Month Check Up

It took us a few weeks past her 15 month mark to get Ellie into the doctor but we finally had the appointment today. And we're playing catch up on the shots since she was sick with the flu at her 12 month appointment - so lucky her got the measles and chicken pox shots on the same day.

She's weighing in at exactly 22 pounds (35th percentile) with a height of 31 1/2 inches (60th percentile) and then her head was in the 30th percentile. So she's gained a pound and a half since her last appointment. I'm actually surprised it's not more with how much she loves food! But I guess with her running and climbing she burns most of it. And I'm a little sad that she is losing her little Buddha belly. We had gone up to size 4 diapers for a few weeks but now we're back at size 3. And we're in that weird transition of clothes again because she is growing taller than a lot of her 18 month clothes but they are still too big on her and the 24 month are the right length but completely drown her.

Ellie is doing much better at swimming lessons each day. She's still the most scared in the class but other mom's in our class have commented to me that it's cute to see her like it more and more each day. So we're going to have to keep testing out different swimming pools this summer and I'm sure by the end of the summer she'll be loving it And then we'll have to start over the process next year! (Isn't that how it works?)


Ellie has been cracking us up lately with all of her crazy facial expressions. I don't know where she gets them from! She has broken through her two top molars and one more tooth in her front for a grand total of 7 teeth now. And we're finally started to get thicker hair in the back of her head! Yesterday it even started curling at the bottom of her head. So I'm still crossing my fingers that some of my curly hair passed onto her (since after I had her - my hair has been completely straight!).


In addition to all the climbing and dancing she does around the house (we like to take dancing breaks in between cleaning) Ellie's new fascination is with ice. I bought a big bag of the ice from Sonic and I will just put it in a cup for her to chew on. She likes it better than popsicles! I know it's probably not a good habit for her teeth but it sure keeps her happy and entertained for a while. And lately Ellie has pretty much been telling us when she wants to go to bed. I knew my strict scheduling of her sleep time would come in handy one of these days! She knows when we say "night, night" that it's time to go bed and she'll say it when she's tired. It's the only time that she gets a pacifier is at nap time so that could be the reason she loves going to bed! But whatever it is it's working. I always said I would get rid of the pacifier after a year but I admit now that I'm lazy when it's so easy to get her to go to sleep when she gets one. And she never gets it out of her crib. Funny how your parenting ideas change, huh?


Sunday, May 25, 2008

Turning 28

Yesterday was my 28th birthday (thank you to all those who wished me well) - but unfortunately someone forget to remind my daughter that she is not supposed to get sick on my birthday! :) You can probably imagine the type of day it turned out to be.

It all started the night before when she threw up all over the bed and we had to do a quick bath, sheet, change, new pajamas, etc. Then in the middle of the night things started coming out the other end, which resulted in my gag reflux coming into play and me throwing up. (Yes, it was that bad!) And she was running a fever on top of these issues.

So it was a rough night! But Rob let me sleep in a little bit while he took care of Ellie and then he ran over to Krispy Kreme and got me some donuts. Yum!
I had scheduled my hair cut and decided to go with an a-line this time. I think I need to grow it out a bit longer but I like the shape of the cut and it should be easy to style. I'm not sure why the picture turned out so blurry!

Ellie pretty much didn't want to do anything but sit on the couch with someone holding her all day. Poor baby. I had to trick her into drinking water by taking a Sonic cup with strawberry limeade in it and switching out 3/4 of the limeade for water. But she did drink all of it! And this morning I finally got her to drink a bunch of Pedialyte. I always worry about the dehydration factor when she gets sick since I definitely don't want her to have to have an IV!



We had other plans yesterday but obviously had to adjust everything around or just cancel plans. I went shopping by myself while Rob stayed home with Ellie and found some shorts and sandals for my birthday present. Still on the hunt for the perfect swimsuit but I might be shopping all summer for that one!

Eating out wasn't going to happen last night either so Rob went and picked us up some Cafe Rio take out and some Dairy Queen blizzards for dessert and that was my birthday dinner with our sick daughter at home. :) I think we'll have to celebrate for real when Ellie is feeling better.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Back to School & Work

At the beginning of May I decided to take advantage of the free tuition I get through Rob working at Grand Canyon Univ., and started taking my first class since graduating from BYU 6 years ago. I'm going to get my second undergraduate degree in Accounting this time around. It's different having to do homework again and doing all of the course work online. I'm taking one class every 8 weeks so hopefully I can keep on track of it!

And I also started a new job! After looking for the last year and a half for something that I could do from home (and was legitimate)- I finally stumbled across one. It's for a company in Gilbert that hires about 150 local workers as independent contractors doing conversation transcription work. Thanks to my sister-in-law Brett and my mother-in-law who watched Ellie for me this whole week so I could go to training for the job! From here on out - I get to do all my work from home. I'm excited at the opportunity to learn a new skill, bring in a little extra money, and still be able to stay home and be with Ellie.

So if I'm a little hard to reach, appear tired, etc - it's probably because of the above reasons!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Senator John McCain

I know politics is a "hot topic" and not one that I really love to talk about. But did anyone else see Senator McCain on Ellen today? I enjoy watching her show and think she is hilarious - even if I don't believe in her choice of lifestyle. Anyway, She kept trying to get him to back down on his views of marriage and he stood strong and asserted that he believes in "the unique status of marriage between and man and a woman." I think it's always nice to see a public figure stand up for what they believe in! Even if it doesn't appear to be the popular point of view (especially these days!) And Senator McCain was on Saturday Night Live last week and was pretty funny - nice to see that he has a sense of humor.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

American Idol Finals

Ok - who did you vote for?!



My vote is for David Archuleta! I have to admit that before tonight - I was leaning a lot more towards David Cook . .. but tonight - Archuleta was AMAZING. He gave me chills! This is the first season though that I think I would be happy with either of the final two winning. Can't wait for the final results!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Cemetary Fun

Normally the words cemetary and fun do not go in the same sentence . .. but if you grew up with a cemetary in your backyard like I did - you might agree with me! Growing up my brothers, friends and I would play in the cemetary behind our house. We would hop the fence and play in all the leaves from the huge tree, climb on the tank in the military section, and run on the paved paths. It was basically like a huge playground to us! For some reason - it didn't seem to bother us that it was a cemetary and that people might find it creepy.

My mom was buried in this same cemetary and on Mother's Day we hopped over the fence and walked to her grave. Ellie of course didn't understand what we were doing there so after we put flowers on my mom's grave - she looked at it for a little bit and then took off and had some fun. I like to think my mom would probably be laughing and doing the same thing if she were there! It's also always a comfort to go there and reminded of how grateful I am for the blessings of the temple, Eternal Families and for the knowledge I have that I will see my mom again one day.

Walking with Uncle Kory

It's cold here!

Cleaning off the headstone

My mom's headstone

Twirling around with my Aunt Kelley

Playing in the flowers

Grandpa White helping throw the flower petals

Look closely at Ellie's mouth - she always makes this expression and makes me laugh every time

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Ivar's and Mariners

On Saturday night my dad, Kory, Rob, Ellie and I went to Seattle to catch a Mariners game. But before the game we had to stop at my favorite local place - Ivar's on the Seattle pier! I love the Salmon chips. After eating we fed our leftover french fries to the seagulls and Ellie thought it was hilarious.






It was Mom night at the Mariners game so I lucked out by receiving a GIGANTIC shirt that said "Mom" on the back and had the Mariners symbol on the front. I

The Mariners continued their 5 game losing streak but we still had fun in the awesome seats 15 rows behind home plate that my dad got for us. Somehow every picture that we had people take turned out fuzzy. I'm not sure how that happened!



Sad that the Mariners lost

Monday, May 12, 2008

Tacoma 10k Race

I mentioned a few weeks ago that my dad had talked to me into running a 10k race when I was home in Washington. I started working out a lot more faithfully at the gym and felt like I could do alright. Well, I was in for a rude awakening when I got up here last week and went on a run with my dad. I quickly realized that working out in a gym is NOT equal to running outside. I was huffing and puffing within a mile! Oops. But I still decided to do the race and just lowered my expectations for myself. I am happy to report that I did finish and even did better than I thought I would! It was a very hilly course in Tacoma but also beautiful at the same time. I ran around a park that I did cross country races at in high school and down near some homes that have been in movies and had beautiful views of the water. I really enjoy racing for fun rather than the high stress racing that I did in high school. I am going to have to wait for the hot summer months to end in Arizona and then sign up for a few more races! My brother Kory (the brother that just got off his mission a few days previous) held his own and beat my dad on Saturday. They both got first place in their age divisions!


At the starting line


After the race looking down over the finish line



Immediately after the race - love the red face and how tired I look!

Friday, May 09, 2008

Kory Homecoming

Ellie and I flew up to Seattle on Tuesday so we could be up here in time for my brother Kory to return from the Phoenix, AZ mission. (Yes, he served in Phoenix while I have been living in Mesa.) We did see him a couple of times on his mission (with approval) but he was really dedicated and didn't really love the distraction of seeing us!

I was relieved on the flight up to Seattle to find that our friends from the ward, Karlie and Jared, were on our flight and I was able to sit next to them. It might not have been relaxing for them but it sure helped me to know that they were sitting by me! I was so worried before the flight that I would be sitting by people who hated kids and I have a very busy and active toddler. But Ellie did alright - she didn't really want to watch movies for long or eat for long so it was a long 3 hours! Crossing my fingers that the flight on the way home goes as well.

We got to Seattle about 11 and Kory wasn't supposed to get in until 4:45 - so we ran home with my dad and did a little grocery shopping and got a birthday cake (he turned 21 the same day he got home) and then realized that his flight was getting in 30 minutes before we thought it would . .. so we raced to the airport. And made it!


Waiting for Kory to get off of his flight


Elder Kory White



Ellie is not sure what to think about Kory


Waiting for baggage


We went to eat at Claim Jumper after the airport and then headed to the Stake Center for Kory to be released. We followed that up with birthday cake at our house and a few presents.


Celebrating with yummy Coldstone ice cream cake

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Mother's Day Giveaway

I'm still hoping to win some of the toys on the 5minutesformom.com website . .. but in the meantime - they are giving away some great things in honor of Mother's Day. Check it out!

Mothers Day 2008 - Giveaway Event

Friday, May 02, 2008

Boy Clothes vs Girl Clothes

The Outfit in Question


I always told myself that I would be a good sport about someone calling Eliza a boy - especially after she wasn't born with much hair. I know it was much easier to tell that she was a girl when she was younger and let me put headbands and bows in hair. But here we are at almost 15 months and she still doesn't have much hair and she doesn't let me put bows in her hair very often before discovering them and pulling them out. So I have to rely on her outfits now to give away that she is in fact a GIRL and not a boy. I think I usually do pretty well at dressing her "girly" (I like pink so she does wear it quite often). Fast forward to today though when she was wearing the above outfit along with some cute white sandals and within a half hour - I had THREE people comment on the cute BOY that I have. Um - her shirt has pink butterflies and yellow flowers on it? I thought that would give it away. Or the days that she is wearing a PINK skirt and coordinating shirt and I still get comments on my boy? I had a good laugh over it though with a fellow mom in Target who had a 2 year old boy with really pretty curly hair and heard someone commenting on him being a girl. So I'm sure I'm not the only one who deals with this problem!