Happy 3rd Birthday, Abby!

Abby turned three yesterday.  I can't believe I have a three year old?!  I swear, I just barely graduated from high school, but, nooooo, this year was my 10 year reunion.  I'm getting old.  The signs are all there:  I'm in bed by 10pm every night, those extra pounds are getting increasingly difficult to shed, and saving for the future is a topic that is always on my mind.  But the most obvious sign of my "old age" is the wrinkles around my eyes.  Oh. My.  Gosh.  This can't be happening already.

We celebrated with Cam's family yesterday.

Abby decided several months ago that she wanted a Toy Story party.  Her last two birthdays I've made her cake, but this year I wasn't feeling ambitious enough to tackle Toy Story.  So, Wal-Mart made her a very lovely, and expensive (who knew a Wal-mart cake could cost so much.  It's gonna be homemade cake from here on out) Toy Story cake.  She received some really cute clothes and Cam and I got her a dollhouse for her ever growing imagination.

I just love this little princess.  She is most definitely a challenge.  There were a few months about a year and half ago where I thought "This Mom thing isn't so bad.  I can do this, piece of cake."  Then she turned 2.  I'll be honest, it's been a rough year.  My mother-in-law said one time to me, that it was a good thing I got pregnant BEFORE she turned 2, or else we might have totally rethought having a second child.  But, regardless of the challenges, she is such a joy in our lives.  She makes me laugh every single day.  I catch myself just staring at her, amazed at what a sweet, beautiful, little girl she has turned into.  She has endless amounts of love for her little sister, and Lexi already looks up to her and tries to be just like Abby.

I just loved these series of shots I got of the girls playing together. 

I'm excited for what the next year will bring her.  I've already got her signed up for dance class, which she is SO excited for, and I know that she will just continue to blossom into a sweet little girl.

Lexi, 8 months old

Here's a good shot of her teeth.  Her top teeth just broke through a few day's ago.

Happy Lexi

Grumpy Lexi

Lots of love from big sister

Being a Fireman's Wife

A picture of Cam at work

Being married to a fireman has it's challenges.

I get asked all the time if Cam tells me about the calls that he goes on at work.  "Anything cool happen?" is a common phrase that we both hear.  And actually, it was only a few months after Cam started working that I stopped asking the details of what happened at work.  I stopped for two reasons: 1.  Many days, nothing exciting happened.  He goes on a lot of boring calls.  2.  A lot of the time, the "exciting" ones are too gross.  I quickly came to realize, that "exciting" usually means someone got hurt, badly.  And I just don't have the stomach for that kind of stuff.  So, for me, a very brief description of his work day is all I need.

But last week, I heard about a call, that has been on my mind ever since.  And the only reason I even asked about what happened was because I drove by, and saw several ambulances, and many firetrucks, and lots of police cars.  Typically, lots and lots of flashing lights, means something serious.  And it was.  A woman was in a rollover car accident, and had two kids in the car.  One of the kids died in the accident, and the other was sent to the hospital, but there wasn't much hope for survival.  The mom survived.

Just hearing about what happened, made my heart hurt for this mother.  Cam said "she was just driving along, doing nothing wrong, when this truck hit her".  I had so many thoughts going on in my head when he was telling me about it.

"I guess it's impossible to protect our kids from everything, all the time."

"How will this woman, that most likely lost both of her kids, ever recover from that devastation?"

"How does Cameron handle witnessing horrible things, especially to children?"

When Cam was in paramedic school, one day he came home and said that his teacher said that everybody should go home, and have a talk with their wife.  He said, that I should be prepared, because firefighters/paramedics deal with a lot of horrible things, and it will affect him.  And I need to be ready to accept whatever his method is to cope with all of it.

I still don't know how he copes with all of it. But, my method of dealing with his job, is blind ignorance.  I don't want to know what happened.  If I know all the bad stuff that can happen, then I'll be terrified to leave my house.  I'm too emotional, and too sensitive.

Lindon Day's

We went to Lindon Day's last Saturday.  We had so much fun.  Of course the bounce houses were a huge hit with Abby.  But they also had a small petting zoo, pony/hay ride, and a craft area.

Piper and Abby on the pony ride

Crafting

Are and will helping Piper craft

Abby, Piper and Are

BBQ in Provo Canyon

We went up Provo canyon last week and had a bbq with Cam's family.  I think one of the things I miss most now we that don't live in Orem/Provo area is the canyon.  I've always enjoyed spending time at one of the many parks there.  Here's some pictures of Abby and Piper playing together.

Oh my gosh! I need potty training advise BADLY!

Help! I'm in desperate need of some advise! I potty trained Abby when she was like 28 months or so. She seemed ready, and got the concept great and did fairly well. That was almost a year ago, and well, she will go a week or two of doing great on the potty, then there will be several weeks of several accidents a day. I know she knows how to go potty in the potty. I have tried everything to get her to chose to go in the potty rather in her underwear. I know she is basically choosing to wet her underwear. Recently, I just gave up and put her in pull-ups (I am so tired of the piles of pee-soaked laundry everyday). It was such hard decision because she has been using the potty for almost a year, and to go back into diapers...totally feels like a failure. Anyways, I was hoping that even while in the pullups she would chose to use the potty, but she is totally cool with peeing and pooping in her diaper. Anybody else have a stubborn, strong willed child that has gone through a similar situation. I need hope that she will eventually be potty trained and not having numerous accidents every day!

Lexi's Diagnosis...

Earlier this week, I took Lexi back to the doctor to get her head measured again.  And, her head is still really big, and growing a little faster than average.  So the doctor decided to send us in to get an ultrasound done of her head to check for any abnormalities.  And her official diagnosis...she just has a big head.  Thank goodness nothing is medically wrong, I am however discovering lately that I am limited on some of the shirts she can wear.  There have been several that won't fit over her head.  Luckily, her large head fits her large body.  She tops the charts with all her measurements.

Height: 27 1/2 inches

Weight: 19 lbs 6 oz (wow! no wonder my arm tires so quickly when I carry her around)

Head: 18 3/8 inches (apparently those 3/8 of an inch make a huge difference on the % chart)