Rhylan's scripture

Rhylan was asked to give the scripture in Primary yesterday. She studied it all week and was well prepared. She wasn't shy at all, she got right up there in front of all the "big kids" and said every word loud and clear. We were two VERY PROUD parents.

Valentines day

Sunday night we went to a group progressive dinner. I brought a dessert. I was excited to try a new recipe. This cake was as yummy as it was pretty. I think it was a big hit.

Then Rhylan had a little Valentines Tea party with 2 friends here at our house. They played dress up, made a Valentines sign, drank pink juice in tea cups, ate heart shaped sandwiches, and decorated their own heart cakes. Rhylan had a lot of fun celebrating with her friends. She really likes to have people come over and play.




After the party some beautiful flowers were delivered to my door!! I thought it was very thoughtful and made me really feel special.

Then after Riley got home from clinic at 7:30 we started our date. It was Riley's turn to plan our date, he really impressed me! He printed off 10 airline tickets that looked pretty authentic. We spent the evening traveling around the world. He had a fun activity or treat planned for each country. Example: Spain- Salsa dancing, Mexico-play Uno, Japan--CHERRY cheese cake, Sweden--Swedish massage (he printed of some instructions for specific types of Swedish massages.) I fell in love all over again. He put so much time and effort into making our date wonderful. I am so lucky to have such a perfect husband.

Wednesday morning

Gracin had an appointment with the Neurologist again. We went at the beginning of January, since then he had a CT scan and now he had the EEG done to record brain activity. This test takes about 45- 1 hr. He did great. We let him have a binky and watch Cars. We were all surprised that he barily moved. The Tech said she had never had a kid this age behave so well!!

Here he is while she attached 24 electrodes to his head with sticky paste.



Then she wrapped his head so he couldn't rip them off. He looks like he has a major head wound:)Afterward we talked to the doctor about the results of the EEg and CT scan. Everything is fine and he is perfectly healthy!!!!!!!!!!--Such a relief. These seizures he has been having are definitely febrile and are almost always harmless. He has had 3. But none since the beginning of December. So hopefully we hit the peak and they will happen less and less often. Rhylan only ever had one, so maybe we are done. (Until I have another child, it usually runs in families.) They are so so scary to go through and I am sure I will cry every time. But if the seizure ever goes too long we have medicine to give him, good doctors to call and there is always 911! It is so nice to live in an age with modern technology and medicine. We are so thankful to have a healthy boy.

More pictures

Little Max is coming every month for his pictures until his first birthday!! This month's pics are up on my blog. Click the words below if you want to see them.

Savannah Williamson Photography

When its cold outside I get crafty...

I love to make things. Making toys has been fun lately. (washing machine, Valentines games, doll clothes and blankets, musical instruments, dress up stuff.) Last week I made this animal mat for Rhylan. Boys get those cool car mats, I thought this would be perfect for her. She loves animals, and has a ton! I found this idea HERE.

We had a great time one of those snowy days playing with all her animals, and My Little Ponys. I made a zoo with an arctic corner, and a jungle. Then a farm, garden, and dog pad. In the center are rocks for her many lizards, and a lily pad pond for the frogs. A poop'n spot and a forest are also there. On the bottom is Pony Ville for all her My Little Ponys--her new favorite toys! She really loves the ones that come in Happy Meals:)

I used scissors and a hot glue gun... that's it!! Every cage/area had food and water. Then I decorated with some flowers. The large felt was so cheap!! I bought 1 yard for $4.99 and this is only half of it! I'll have to think of something for Gracin. They already have a car rug... hmmm

One Year of Etsy!!

One year ago I opened my etsy shop!! This has been an exciting experience for me. Over the weekend I made my 100th sale, one day short of my shops 1 year birthday! I feel like throwing a party:) I have made close to $1500 dollars on Etsy.

Etsy helped me buy my camera, my lens, my portable DVD player, invest a little, pay unexpected bills (new tires etc.) I really think it is a great place to make a little extra money. I just wanted to let everyone out there who likes to make things know that this is available for you to earn some extra money for fun or to help your family. I first read about it in the Ensign, after doing a little work researching Etsy I started my shop. It really was easy.

People sell anything and everything. I found a Green Lantern (super hero) wallet for my brother for Christmas on there! People sell sewing patterns that they e-mail to you, or printable crafts, charts, the list goes on and on.

A few tips I have for anyone interested in trying this out!!
1. Sell things that are cheap to ship.
2. Post 5 pictures of each item. (maximum)
3. Use all you tags--that is the only way for buyers to find your items.
4. Have good customer service, and quick shipping so you can build up your positive feedback.
5. Get on their forums and ask questions--I learned a lot from that.

If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them. And if you open a shop let me know!! I may just want to be your first sale:)

<--There is a link on the left hand side of my blog to my Etsy shop if you haven't noticed:)

Circus

Saturday we took our kids to the circus. We had a great time. The tickets were cheap and first come first serve seating! So we were right on the floor. It was just a little circus but the Rhylan would never know the difference. We saw tigers jump through fire, and balance on a ball. Dogs dance, do handstands, and jump through fire. One of my favorite acts was these hip-hop, jump rope, trick, acrobat guys. It was a group of about 6-8 boys who could jump rope 3 ropes, on their back, or do flips at the same time, or use a little trampoline to jump over 8 people in a long row! I also liked the high wire walkers. They didn't have a net, crazy I think. And of course elephants!! 3 big elephants did a few fun tricks. One could even stand on a ball, very impressive. We got cotton candy, neither of the kids would eat it. But they did love their corn dogs.





Can you see the blurry figure doing a flip in the air over 11 people?!!



I figured I could make my own cheesy souvenir photo!!

Playing with snow the easy way!!

So we got a bunch of snow on Wednesday. It was pretty exciting, I don't think I've seen snow fall like that since I moved here. Like last snow storm, the kids don't have snow clothes to keep warm and dry out there. Also, I don't really care for snow at all!!!
So we did it the easy way this time. I scooped up a bunch of snow into the water table and brought it inside. The kids put on their mittens and played in it for an hour or more. Gracin and Rhylan liked making BIG snow balls and eating the snow. I got out scoops and sand toys. We tried to make a snow castle for our penguins and polar bear toys. After they were done I didn't have a ton of wet clothes laying in the kitchen just one wet blanket that I put in the washer! Ta-dah...easy. I thought Gracin was so cute, every time his mitten would fall off, he would bring it to me to put it back on. He even kept them on for a while after we were all done with the snow.

My big boy

Gracin turned 18 months about 2 weeks ago. I have been waiting for a break in snow and freezing weather to take some pictures of him. But I am afraid that it may not happen before he gets too much bigger. So this is just a pic I took of him at the table yesterday. I really liked it and thought it would be perfect until I can get outside again:)

Gracin at 18 months:
Height: about 33 in that is 50-75%
Weight: about 27lb that is 50-75%
Shoe size: 6
Clothes size: 24months-2T


Likes: Cars, planes, train set, throwing stuff, jumping, swimming, bath time, stories, Toy Story, movies and TV, toys with buttons and music, juice, milk, strawberries, french fries, to knock over block towers, nursery, going outside, playing rough with daddy, to laugh, and easy to make happy, to shut doors, hide in cupboards, play tag, make messes, to steal food from others, sensory table activities,

Dislikes: Vegetables, changing clothes or diaper, being buckled into his car seat, not getting his way, getting upset--good at throwing a fit, being told no,

Words: Mama, ball, kick, go, plane, bye-bye, eye, chchchch (sound of a train), please, thank you, yes, down. (He doesn't really say too much yet, but he does talk a lot. Still doesn't say no or daddy yet, but he has his own ways to communicate those.)

Tricks: Can point to his eyes, nose, hair, teeth, toes, ears, cheeks, tummy, Rhylan, mom, dad, Zelda. Knows what a dinosaurs says-Roar. Good climber, can run and jump. Knows some moves to The Wheels on the Bus, and Once There Was a Snowman. Can get his shoes, and jacket when asked. Knows how to brush his teeth with an electric toothbrush, can wash his hands, can open the lizard cage, can turn off the computer, can add contacts on my phone and send text messages, can turn on the TV with the remote when he finds it. He can help unload the Tupperware from the dishwasher and put it away. Can help load the washer and dryer and also unload the dryer.

Gracin us usually a happy kid, he laughs, runs, jumps, plays, and is fun to be around. But when he does get upset he really is unhappy. He will usually throw himself on the floor and cry and kick. It is really hard to get him happy again until he is ready. One magic trick we have figured out is the movie Cars. It works every time. Or if we kind of ignore the tantrum and keep playing, he will come join us soon. He makes our home so fun. One thing he really likes to do is climb on top of things and jump off!!! Yeah it can sometimes be scary or dangerous but usually, it is safe. For example he likes to take off the couch cushion and jump from the couch onto them with a belly flop.

We really really love this little boy. He make us so happy and is a wonderful brother. Rhylan sure loves having him here to play with, explore with, and get into mischief with.

Something new for Gracin:


Gracin has started becoming a picky eater. Don't get me wrong, we will eat a lot of food, always more than Rhylan. He often can be found stealing food off others plates at gatherings.

But, he won't touch vegetables. NEVER!! If I hide it on the fork under something delicious, he will take the bite then spit out the veggie. He is also started picking and choosing what he likes, of course never the same as the day before. He won't eat sandwiches, just pulls them apart. He has also started dumping his plate when he is done eating.--Drives me nuts!!-- I think this is pretty normal for 1 year olds. Rhylan went through it. We are trying all the tricks.

I remember at this age, Rhylan started eating at the table with us as an attempt to help her eat more. He is showing a lot of signs that he would like to eat at the table. When I call them to eat, he runs in and takes a seat in a big chair, and screams and kicks when I pick him up to put him in his highchair. So we have moved him to the table. Our high chair doubles as a booster seat! So we just removed the tray and scoot it up to the table. Its helping a little. Yesterday for snack time I let him just sit in a chair, he really thought he was a big boy. That is pretty important for him. He is starting to want to be just like Rhylan and will often copy her. In fact she taught him several new tricks this way. (blow kisses, how to roar, up and down)

Trains!

Gracin has started playing with his train set. I had to remove the tunnel and turn the track into a square. He really likes to sit inside of the track and didn't really fit before. This makes it easier for him to drive his trains on the track without running into his own legs:) He is even trying to make train noises--"chchchch." I love watching his little chubby fingers putting the engineers into the trains.