Pretty Ears

The girls got their ears pierced!  I've wanted to get Abby's pierced since she was a baby, but have been to chicken, and now, I wanted to get Lexi's done.  I finally got the guts to do it.  I took both girls to the mall, and thankfully Are came to help.  Poor Abby wasn't expecting it to be painful, and I felt so bad, because she was genuinely shocked when she felt the pain.  Lexi, of course, had no idea what was going on, but both girls were great troopers and quickly turned their frowns upside down (with the help of a little ice cream for Abby).

Pony Express Days = FUN

This last week or so has been so much fun.  Eagle Mountain had there Pony Express Days going on and we tried to catch as many of the events as we could.  Last weekend I took the girls to the rodeo with my friend and her family.  It was a blast!  I've never been to a rodeo before, but I really enjoyed.  Abby liked it too, she kept saying she wanted to ride the horses.  I'm not sure she would have enjoyed the buckin' broncos that much but maybe we'll have to start training her to do mutton bustin' next year :) Yeah, right. 

(Lexi is there too, sleeping under the blanket.  I can't believe she missed all the fun!  Oh, well, next year :)  Thanks Jolynne for helping me with the girls!)

Today, we went to the parade in the morning.  That was so great.  Nice weather, and way too much candy!  Abby loved getting the candy and other goodies that people would throw to the crowd. 

 

Then in the afternoon, we went to the carnival.  And that was SO much fun too.  It was like excitement overload for Abby.  She wanted to ride on every ride, and had zero patience when we wanted to eat some food before we started riding the rides.  First she rode on the big slide with Cam.

Then I took her on the pirate ships.

(somehow I managed to squeeze into that midget ship)

"Look, no hands!"

 Then it was on to the boats.  We let her, actually we made her, do the rest of the rides by herself.

 And finally, she rode the cars.  The whole day was a blast.  It's time like these where I really LOVE living in Eagle Mountain.

P.S.  Remember a couple of weeks ago, I posted about skin cancer and sunscreen.  Yeah, Abby totally got burnt.  I put sunscreen on her like four times.  SPF 50 my butt. 

My Two Girls

Here's some pictures of the girls.

Lexi LOVES this toy.  Thank goodness.  It will keep her entertained for quite some time.

She has just learned how to grab her feet.  She also has learned to kind of arch her back and use her feet to push her back a few inches.  Everytime I lay her down, a few minutes later, I find her about a foot from her original position.  It's perfect timing too, because her bald spot on the back of her head was starting to get some hair growing back, but with this maneuver she will quickly rub it bald again.

I have tried and tried and tried to get Lexi to eat rice cereal, but she just won't have it.  I think that tongue reflex is still way too strong.  This is about how it goes, most of it ends up pushed back out of her mouth, and the little that she doesn't push out, just sits in her mouth.  She never swallows it.  Hopefully soon she'll start to get the concept!

Abby just LOVES Lexi.  Sometimes I'm afraid she might just love her to death :(  She can be a little rough and poor Lexi isn't quite capable of fighting back.  Soon, though, Lexi will be torturing Abby and will finally get her revenge.  But it is cute how much Abby enjoys Lexi!

 Abby will hold (more like squeeze) Lexi's hand every chance she can get.  Poor little Lexi's gonna have crippled fingers if Abby doesn't learn to be a little more delicate.

It is so nice, this summer, Abby has discover the joy of playing out back.  And I've discovered how great it is to send her out there :)

Here is Abby, posing for the camera, and just being cute.

Mela-Carci...What?

For several years, Cameron has had a patch of skin on the back of his neck that is discolored.  He went to a dermatologist a couple of years ago to get it looked at, and he said it was some pre-pre-cancerous spot or something and gave him a cream to put on it.  Cam tried that for several months and nothing changed.  This week, he went to a different dermatologist, and was told that it was actually skin cancer.  I don't remember the technical term he used (mela something carci something, I have no idea???).  But the doctor cut it out right then and there, while me and the girls were in the room.  Gross!  It was about the size of a quarter, and I have tried to avoid looking at the wound, because I briefly glanced at it and I still get the heeby-jeebies when I think about that grossness.  The doctor also said that Cam's a little young to be getting "tumors" (the doctors words, not mine), especially that size, so he needs to be checked over regularly.  Both the girls are quite pale, actually more like pasty white, so they definitely have inherited their dads skin coloring, not that I have dark skin either.  I'm already OBSESSED about putting sunscreen on them, but this has just intensified my obsession.

Oh, So Cute!

Mothers

Motherhood is harder than I ever thought it would be, but also so much more amazing and rewarding than I ever thought it could be.  The hard parts; the sleepless nights, the disciplining, the tantrums, the messy diapers, are all worth every minute when you one of those amazing moments come along.  And it's so surprising what might fill your heart with pride, or make you tear up with joy during day to day life.  It could be something so awesome as a baby's first smile, or as ordinary as watching a movie together.  There is most certainly no other job in the world that I would want...but, I might could use someone to come takeover during the not so fun stuff :)
The mothers in my life are all SO amazing, and all in there own way.  First, my Mom.  She taught me so much growing up.  From the simple and basic things that all kids must eventually learn, to the huge and important things that I feel are so vital to pass on to my kids.  But I think what I am enjoying so much about my Mother at this point in my life, is her friendship.  I love my weekly (or daily) phone calls to my mother where I have the chance to just talk, and the great thing is, she always listens to every dull, mundane thing I have to say.  I especially enjoy the time we have when we she comes to visit.  I love it when she comes over, because when she is here, away from all her responsibilities at home, we get her undivided attention all the time.  And she is always willing to drop what she has at home when I need "my mommy".  After both of the births of my kids, she spent two LONG weeks of sleepless nights, lots of tears (mostly from me, but hey, I blame those darn pregnancy hormones), and me pretty much bossing her around, TELLING, not asking her, to do task after task after task for me.  How amazing it that! And I love sharing those special first weeks of a newborns life with her.  So, yeah, pretty much, my Mom is awesome!

Second, is my mother-in-law.  I'm so grateful for Cam's mom.  She's taken me in, and I truly feel like she treats me as one of her own.  I am always amazed at how giving she is, and she taught her kids to be the same way.  Sometimes I cannot believe the sacrifices she makes for others, and I could only hope to be half as good as she is.  She teaches me so much, by being a good example.  An example of a loving and caring mother, a woman with strong faith in the church, and a great teacher.  I'm so glad that I married a man with an amazing mom!

Third, is my friends that are mothers.  One of the best parts of having friends that are also mothers, is getting to share this experience together, and also learn together.  I don't know where I would be if I didn't have friends that I could go to for help or advice on how to work through a tuff stage with one of my kids.  Getting to talk to other women, who've experienced, or are experiencing the same difficulties, makes me realize that this difficult job is doable, and me and my kids will survive whatever ordeal we are dealing with.  So, I'm thankful for all the women who've listened to me rant about all the crazyness, or have willingly offered tips and advise that have helped me to become the mother that I am.

So Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers in my life!!!

And just to really bring home my point about motherhood being difficult at times, I wrote this amidst a bit of craziness.  As I am sitting on my computer typing, I'm listening to Lexi cry, as I am once again, trying to let her cry herself to sleep.  I have decided that sleep training is one of the worst, but all important parts of raising a baby.  And I'm also getting up every couple of minutes to escort Abby back to her room where she is supposed to be sleeping. And, you see, normally I would just shut the door and let the child lock on the inside door knob do it's job, but this week, she figured out how to BUST the lock off the door knob.  So this was a great time to try to remember all the WONDERFUL parts of motherhood!

Abby's Bike

Abby had totally mastered her little tricycle so we graduated her to a big girl bike.  She's quite good at riding it, but learning how to use the brakes has been a bit of a challenge.