Lose a Tooth, Get a Tooth

Laylah lost her first tooth! It has been loose for quite awhile, but she refused to let anyone pull it out. She would let me wiggle it and if I said "Should we just pull it out?" She'd clamp her mouth shut and slap her hands over it and shake her head "no" so fast! It kept getting more and more crooked and I finally looked in and saw that her big tooth was already coming in behind the baby one. I told her it had to come out. She said okay and let me try and pull it out (which BTW, makes me SICK! I hate loose teeth, losing teeth, anything about teeth. It is disgusting and I HATE it. It still amazes me- the things I do for my kids because I love them SO much! ) I couldn't get a grip and she started crying that it hurt, so I stopped. Later she said it was bleeding, so I told her to open up and let me see. When she did I reached in and yanked it out. She started freaking out and me and Andy were laughing. I told her to go wash her mouth out and when she came back she was still crying and I said "Look, now the Tooth Fairy can come!" She started laughing and crying at the same time. It was pretty funny. Then she got really excited and put it under her pillow. Well, here comes the part where I should get the Worst Mother of the Year Award... I forgot! I forgot to take the tooth and put money under her pillow!!! When she woke up she came in my room and said "Mom, my tooth is still under my pillow." Let me tell you, I have never thought so fast in my life, or felt so horrible! I told her "Oh, I'm sorry Laylah, I bet she was so busy last night she couldn't make it. Go put it back under your pillow and I bet she'll make it tonight." she did that and then went downstairs to watch tv. I hurried and put a dollar under her pillow and grabbed the tooth and then ran downstairs and said "Laylah, I just saw the Tooth Fairy! She jumped through your window and told me ' I'm so sorry, I was so busy all night and Laylah was my last stop and I see she's already up, tell her I'm sorry I was late.' So go up and see what she left under your pillow!" She got this big grin and ran upstairs and found her dollar. She was so excited. And let me tell you... I don't think the Tooth Fairy will ever forget to visit our house again! :)

It's barely through, if you look close you can see the tiny little tooth on his bottom right side

The day finally came! Baron got his first tooth. I had no idea he was even teething because since about the age of four months he has liked to bite things really hard and he has drooled and the last couple of weeks he's been cranky from my meds. So imagine my surprise when Andy called me up to our room where he and Bear were playing and said "Look, he's got a tooth!" It's barely poking through and it's such a cute little tooth :) And he's such a good boy, he's never even attempted to bite me (knock on wood...because I'm still weaning and have to nurse about once a day). This is also the latest one of my kids has gotten their first tooth, so I had just given up that he ever would! (j/k)

A Little Randomness

One of the tutus I made. Don't look too close, it's my first ever try and its not quite finished, I have a little more ribbon to add and need wrap the waist and do a big bow (it's hanging on the bunkbed ladder so you can see it better, in case you were wondering :)

I just thought this was cute of everyone in their jammies ready for bed.. I think they were watching Jumangi... and then they all proceeded to have nightmares :)

I finally got my disc of all of our family pictures and I had to post this one because I loved it. The photographer actually took several of Andy throwing Bear, but Andy kept throwing him too high and Allyson would cut his head off, so this is the only one that turned out.

Not much has been going on around here lately. I haven't been feeling that great, I've had a bunch of headaches and I mostly just sit around and do nothing. The Rheumetologist that was highly recommended to me is, of course, extremely busy, so what they do is get a copy of your bloodwork, x-rays, your previous doctor's opinion, and the doctor looks at it and decides how important it is for you to be seen. It's not first come, first served, it's highest priority seen first. They told me they would call me after the doctor had reviewed all my info, and then call me to make an appointment.

On a brighter note, Baron took his first ever bottle a couple days ago! YAY! I am so ready to be done, in the past I've nursed my babies for about six months and then they usually start getting teeth, so I would wean them, plus by then I want my body back to myself (I can never seem to lose all my baby weight until I completely stop nursing) but Baron was so stubborn, and he still doesn't show any signs of teeth, so I just kept on. When my pediatrician and I spoke about the medication I'm taking affecting Baron, he said it was safe, but there could be a couple of side effects- crankiness and upset stomach. Well, since almost 2 weeks ago when I started taking it, he's shown both. I figured I'm probably going to have to be on more meds as soon as I see this other doctor, so I might as well wean him now and get it over with. He still fusses a little when I start with the bottle, but he usually drinks it all. I know he doesn't like it much and I feel a little bad for him, but I've already noticed a difference. He's been a lot happier, and a lot less cranky.

I'm so excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow because then it's...Christmas!! I love Christmas, but I'm one of those that can't stand decorating, listening to Christmas music, or anything before Thanksgiving. It just makes the wait seem so much longer, so I don't do it. I don't mind when other people do it, I just don't like to. However, I believe it is never too early to start Christmas shopping and I am basically done! I only have a few odds and ends to get. This is the earliest I've ever done it and it feels great! Christmas crowds really drive me crazy, especially the more kids I have, I have to drag them around store to store... it's not fun. I have also finished my neighbor/home teaching/visiting teaching gifts! I am really proud of myself if you can't tell. I usually bake something for those gifts, and I decided to try toffee this year. It turned out great. My mom and I spent all night doing it. It was so much fun. I also made the my girls tutus and I'm making Jonah a superhero cape for dress-ups. My mother-in-law is an excellent seamstress and she's helping me because it is a long running joke in Andy's family that I'm homemaker challenged. Before we got married I had never cooked, sewn, held a baby (didn't even like kids for that matter), or done anything that homemakers typically do. I'm an expert now- or so I'd like to think :) Anyway, I'm extremely proud of myself for doing homemade stuff because I am not crafty whatsoever. I'm not creative, I don't scrapbook, I can't sew, and whenever I try it's pretty laughable. So yay for me.

I also went to Laylah's parent/teacher conference and she did so good! She got the highest marks on everything and her teacher said she is doing great. She said she just needs to work on talking and giggling with her friends that she sits by, which I wasn't surprised to hear at all. When Laylah is giddy and starts to laugh, she gets really loud and does this high-pitched little cackle... it's really funny. Jonah also had a little Thanksgiving feast at school and found out he likes pumpkin pie (gross). I'm so glad school is out for a few days so I can sleep in and not have to get everyone ready in the morning. Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and stuffs themselves silly. I know I will, it's my last chance to eat all I want before I start my post-nursing diet and excercise regimen! And also, Happy Black Friday Shopping. I've never done it, but I think I might venture out this year if I can find a crazy person to go with me :)

BTW, if anyone is interested, here is a link to an article about one of the autoimmune disorders I have been diagnosed with (hopefully the only one) It really helped me understand it and know what I'm in for :)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/article/000420.htm

Thank You

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone. Ever since Friday when I did my last post and found out everything, I have received numerous phone calls, e-mails, comments, hugs, dinner invites, and more. It is so nice to know I have such wonderful, supportive friends and family that care enough to let me know they are thinking of me. So, thanks everyone, I love ya!

Just a Little Update

I went back to the Dr. today to check out my eye and get my lab results. It was a little discouraging to say the least. I have an auto-immune disorder called Hlab27. It's related to Lupus and it is what cause my iritis. I also had a list of lower back issues according to the radiologist, including one that predominantly affects men (if 100 people had it, only 10 would be women) and they are because of the disorder as well. I am going to have to go to a Rheumatologist (specialty Dr.) to see more about it. My eye is also as painful as ever and the opthemologist said it hasn't gotten much better, it is still very inflamed and the redness has started coming back (it went away for awhile with the eyedrops). He told me to just continue on and come back to him in a week and that by then it should have a major improvement. I'll cross my fingers :) He prescribed me 800 mg ibprofuen to help with the pain (I love those huge pills!) and now I have to take prilosec to help my stomach with the constant ibprofuen. I'm a mess! It is a little overwhelming, but I talked to my wonderful and not to mention knowledgable brother all about it and it's a little scary, but he said it's all managable. It's just weird because it's one of those things that happens to other people and you never think things like this would happen to you. I'm just so grateful that I have a wonderful, supportive, loving husband and also family and inlaws. I'll keep updates on whatever's going on as I receive more info.

TWILIGHT!!!!!!

OK, just got home from the midnight showing, opening night of Twilight! Yes, it was amazing, so much fun, loved every second, I'm dragging my husband to it in the near future, okay, I'm going to bed...did I mention I LOVED IT???? :) Gnight...

Crazy Kids

Andy had class Monday night and the kids and I had a great time playing and being silly and running around goofing off after bathtime. I sure do like my kids. They are always cracking me up with their hilariousness.

Early Valentine

When I picked up Jonah from school yesterday, I asked him what he learned about. He opened his back-pack and took out a cute clown puppet and told me how he learned all about the circus. He looked into his back-pack again and pulled out this cute little green heart cutout and said "Look mom, this is from Caitlyn, she made it for me all by herself and gave it to me. She said I'm the nicest boy and she likes me." I laughed and said "Ohhh, is she your girlfriend?" He got this huge grin and said "Yup!" Too cute!

A Little Good News...

After speaking to my kids pediatrician and the pharmicist, we made a decision that it would still be okay and safe for me to continue nursing Baron. They told me that it wouldn't be enough exposure to even do anything to him, so I haven't had to worry about it thus far! Yea! A little good news for the day :)

Yuck

I know this picture is a little scary...please excuse the ugliness of no makeup :)- I can't wear it because I have to put drops in every hour and it would just make a mess

Why is it that when it rains, it pours? I have yet to figure this out. I just found out today that I have developed a condition called iritis. It is kind of like arthritis of the eye. I got it about a week ago and it went away a bit and then on Wednesday came back full force. It is a chronic eye condition that stems from other things going on in your body, a lot of times, it is never known what has caused it. Last week Andy noticed my eye was extremely red. It didn't hurt or anything and I tried visine, but it stayed red. By about Sunday the redness had reduced, and it wasn't painful, so I thought I had just had an irritated eye. On Wednesday the redness came back, worse than before and also, along with it, pain and blurry vision. I ignored it another day and then finally called my brother, who is a PA and he got me into an eye Dr. in his building the next day (today). Well, it turns out I have this iritis thing which can cause loss of vision if untreated. I had to have a bunch of tests done (bloodwork and x-rays) to see if they could find what has caused it. We will find out next week. The bummer thing about it is that the Dr. told me that to take the medication, I need to stop nursing immediately, because it is unknown what the effect could be on a nursing baby. I have no idea how I am to do this , as Baron still absolutely refuses to take a bottle. I'm a little discouraged. It is extremely painful and my vision is constantly blurry. It gives me headaches, but only on the left side of my head. It's really a weird feeling. I will go back in a week to see what they have found, if anything, and to see how I am reacting to the medication. Thank you so much to all my family and friends who helped out with my kids today, taking them to school, picking them up, and watching them for me while I was at the Dr. for hours! I don't know what I would do without you! Love You!

P.S. What is the deal with my family and our eyes?? :)

While Laylah's Gone...

Daphne and Jonah have a special little relationship and they always have a ton of fun together when Laylah is at school. This is what they were doing this morning- they called it "surfing the stairs".

Random Sayings

Set-up: We are sitting at dinner talking about different body parts. The conversation goes from bones, to skin, to organs (don't ask me why we are talking about this at dinner, I have no idea...) and Andy starts telling the kids about a guy he saw on tv who had a hole in his head...

Andy: "I saw this guy on tv who had a hole in his head and you could see his brain!"

All the kids: "Ewww! Sick! Why?"

Andy: "I don't know, but what do you think would happen if it started raining?"

Jonah: "His brain would just go swimming!"


Set-up: My mom and I are in the kitchen and I'm coloring my mom's hair. All the kids are down in the basement playing house. Laylah is the mom and Jonah and Daphne are the kids.

Laylah: "Come on Maddi (Daphne's "pretend" name) you have to come with me, I am the mom!

Daphne: (whining) "Mom, I don't want to, I don't want to!!"

Laylah: " You come right now, or I'm going to call Super Nanny!"

Set-up: Our whole family in the living room right after saying family prayer. All the kids are giving us (me and Andy) kisses so they can go get into bed.

Andy: "Jo, come give me a kiss"

(Jonah goes over to Andy and gives him a kiss, feeling Andy's scruff on his face and slowly backs away, looking thoughtful)

Jonah: (feeling his face with his hand) " Dad, I think I'm growing a beard" (completely serious, mind you, which made it all the more hilarious :)

I love kids and the hilarious things they think of to say :)

Puppy Fun

"Jump Sadie!" (BTW, Jonah is wearing an old Halloween costume, if you were wondering- yet another Sunday activity :)

Look at that air! Not bad for a tiny 7 lb. puppy

Sadie, exhausted

She made it to her bed... she's had enough for today

Sundays can be kind of boring at our house if we aren't invited to one of the grandparents houses for dinner, especially in the winter. We have to think of things to do to keep us entertained. I take pictures of the funny things my kids do.... like seeing how high the dog can jump to get her toy.

Are They Done Yet?

Scenario: Boring Sunday Afternoon. Mom makes cookies. Can't wait for cookies to be done...

Newsies Boy

I'd have to say that this is Baron's cutest church outfit to date and I have my friend to thank for it because her little boy was wearing it and she told me where to get it! :) Whoever said shopping for boys wasn't fun?

Family Pics

We got some family pictures done last weekend and they turned out pretty cute considering Baron was horrid the whole time. He wouldn't look at the camera, he was tired and ornery, and he kept crying in every one with just the kids... but what do ya do? These are just a few of the hundreds Allyson took. She is a photographer based in Vegas but she comes up to Utah ever once in awhile. Her website is allysonkayephotography.blogspot.com. I'll post more when I receive the c.d.

Stop, Drop, and Roll!

On my way home from the gym today I asked the kids what they wanted for lunch. They decided on grilled cheese sandwiches. When we got home I turned the stove on and got out a frypan and set it on the burner. I then ran downstairs to put something away and when I came back up the pan was on fire! Actually, whatever had spilled under the burner the night before from dinner was on fire. I am terrible in any stressful, think fast situation. I freak out and lose any coherent thought and never know what to do. Jonah just learned about fire safety at preschool and he comes in the kitchen as I'm trying to figure out what to do ( do I get the fire extinguisher? do I throw water on it? what do I do??) and yells "Fire! Mom- stop, drop and roll!" I start laughing as the flames grow bigger and finally get some sense and call Andy. I usher all the kids outside (then realize Baron is asleep in his crib) as Andy tells me to put a lid on it to smother the flames. I do that, only receiving a tiny burn on my thumb, and the fire is out in a matter of seconds. SO, the moral of the story is, don't ever come to me in a crisis situation, because I'll forget about one of your kids and they'll probably die, or I'll laugh and have no idea what to do :)

He Really is a Pirate...

...At least for the next year or so. We had Jonah's follow-up appointment with the opthemalogist and it didn't go as well as we hoped. It turns out Jonah is almost completely blind in his left eye. He is going to have to start wearing a patch for 4 hours a day and the Dr. said he will have to for at least a year. I feel so bad for him, poor guy. But of course I was very upbeat and he got to choose his patches which he was stoked about. They have camoflouge, different sports balls, and cars on them. We put the camo one on him right away and then I had to run a couple errands. When we got out of the car he almost fell over and said "Mom! I can't see!" It almost broke my heart! I had to hold his hand the whole time at the store, and he kept tripping and running into things, and I would accidently walk off without him and then hear him calling me yelling "Where are you Mom? I can't see!" I finally put him in the cart. When we got home, he started crying and wanted it off. I finally let him take it off and I held him while he cried about it. It made me realize how many things we take for granted every day and I cannot imagine feeling so lost, helpless, and not being able to see. It reminded me of our Heavenly Father, and how much we need his help to get back to live with Him again. We can't see Him, but we can call out for His help. And how through prayer, we can do this just by saying " I need your help to guide me, I'm a little lost right now." This has been on my mind lately, I guess because of the stress I've been feeling, being overwhelmed with four children and all the small daily things that just add up and soon they are all piled up on top of me. I know my Father in Heaven is there for me, but I really don't call upon Him enough for help. I'm sure this makes Him sad. If Jonah didn't ask me for help, I wouldn't know what to do. I would feel terrible if he had to find his way on his own. I am so grateful for my knowledge of the Gospel, and knowing I have heavenly parents that love me more than I can imagine. I was grateful to Jonah for helping me to see just how much I need my Heavenly Father by relying so much upon me. I just love him, and all my kids so much. And I'm really glad Jo got some good practice from being a pirate at Halloween... :)

He Seriously Won?

I CANNOT believe it... I'm a bit terrified for America's future....

Sadie to the Rescue!

I thought this was so cute. As I was giving Baron a bath last night, Sadie kept running in and checking on him becasue he splashes around a lot and makes a lot of noise. I think it was making her nervous. She loves Bear and she always plops herself down by him whenever he is laying on the floor. She snuggles up to him and goes to sleep. She is so sweet with him even though he grabs her fur and yanks it. She doesn't bite him which is funny because she nips the other kids all the time. She also loves to lick him (which I don't care for :) I'll here him gagging and run in the room and find her licking him half to death. I'm still working on teaching her NOT to do that... YUCK!

Trick or Treat and Happy Halloween!

All dressed up and ready to go (look how much Laylah is struggling to hold Bear. ha ha ha...)

Laylah and Jonah terrified to get candy out of the bowl. The hand grabbed at them every time they tried. They made Daphne go first and I missed the photo op! It was so funny, she ran into Andy's arms just about in tears. They were finally able to get some though

Walking around the office

Getting ready to go trick or treating at dad's work

My kids had an absolute blast this year and got more candy than ever. With everything going on it seemed like Halloween lasted about a week. We went trick or treating at Andy's work during the day. They do this every year and it's really fun. They also get the good candy :) Then that evening Andy took them trick or treating around the neighborhood. They were only gone a little over an hour and when they came home their buckets were LOADED! Andy said everyone was just giving out handfuls. I know I did, and I still have a bunch left over (and crap, because now I'll just eat it :) It was fun, but I' so glad it's over. And I am so glad the weather was nice. My kids didn't even have to wear jackets. I'm jeolous- when I was growing up, I swear it would snow about every other year on Halloween. Totally unfair...

Laylah's School Parade and Class Party

Laylah and her friends from our ward

Laylah playing bingo. They were using M&M's to mark their papers and the girl across from Laylah kept eating her's and I heard Lay saying "You're not supposed to eat your M&M's, they are for the game." She is such a boss sometimes

I am a room mother to Laylah's class and her teacher asked me to be in charge of the Halloween party. Another mom and I spent about three hours making the cute popcorn hands out of rubber gloves for the class treat and we also had capri suns. They played a bingo game and ate a ton of treats. I think it was a success!