Deck the Halls

Thanksgiving was fantastic, but I'm going to do things a little out of order. When I can get photos from other people, I will post about Thanksgiving.

Ella's first Christmas - 6 months old
This is one of my favorites I took that year

I just have to say that I am so excited about Christmas! We have quite a bit less money for things than the last few years we've been married (thankfully we were able to sell some stuff so we actually have something), but that's okay!

It's funny, because I think I'm even more excited than years past. I think it's because Ella is starting get excited this year. She doesn't know about getting presents, but she talks about Santa Claus sometimes and LOVES Christmas music. It's so cute watching her in the rear view mirror rocking out to it!

And this year we have a new addition to celebrate with! Caleb will have a blast ripping and tearing into his presents! He does that anyway to books ( unfortunately, he's already torn up at least two of Ella's books I was able to keep nice since she was a baby).

I just love the Christmas spirit in the air. This year, I think I am going to learn that you can have a nice and enjoyable Christmas with very little money. Christmas is ultimately not about money or gifts.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Overload of Videos

Recently, Craig and I decided to sell some old cell phones. they still have pictures and videos on them, so I took them off. Oh my goodness, they are so cute! Most of them are of Ella as a baby, and a few were of her just after she was born. And the best thing was that I had no idea Craig even took them! I found a priceless treasure.

Please excuse my weirdly slurred words at the beginning. She was three days old.


Here is one of Caleb's cry, and Ella dancing. He's over in the swing to the right.


Ella at seven months old eating a Baby Mum Mum


Ella singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. She knows all the words and doesn't mix the ABC's in now.

I do have videos of Ella's and Caleb's first baths but won't post them for obvious reasons, but watching both videos, I noticed that I am actually wearing the same shirt! I thought that was hilarious and sad at the same time. Shows you how much I go clothes shopping.

Dentistry and the "Wisdom" I've Gained (or lost)

Warning: If you think teeth, or dental work, or mouths are disgusting, you might not want to read this. And it's really long.

I really don't know why, but I have always had an aversion to visiting the dentist. It could be that growing up, we didn't have health insurance most of the time, so I didn't go regularly. Only if I had a toothache or something. Maybe I always have just associated going to the dentist with pain or having something wrong with my teeth. Unfortunately, I believe I am prone to cavities. I am not obsessive over my dental hygiene, but I do feel I take care of them pretty well.

Another reason for this aversion could be the traumatic (to me, anyway) tooth experiences I've had. The first was when a baby tooth never fell out and my adult tooth came in pushing the baby tooth sideways and toward my tongue, causing the roots to poke through he gums towards my cheek. This wasn't painful, but I had that sucker in there for what is seemed like a few years. It was wonderful when it got pulled!

The next experience happened while the baby tooth was still there, and just the tooth behind it (they were molars). This was a baby tooth as well, and it had a filling in it. I was flossing my teeth and when I got to this tooth, the floss got a little stuck, and out came the filling. Ever since then, I have been extremely scared to floss my molars (that's why I don't floss as much as I should). Since we didn't have insurance at this time and it wasn't hurting, I never went to the dentist to get it fixed, so little by little, the tooth started chipping away and left little chunks of tooth in my gums. It's weird that tooth never fell out by itself either, and the adult tooth came in just fine. One day, I decided I was sick of those little pieces in there, so I parked myself in front of my bathroom mirror and wiggled and wiggled them until they came out. I think there were about three or four pieces. So, I guess you could say I performed my own tooth extraction!

The last experience was about eight years ago. My family and I had just recently moved out to Queen Creek, and so we were taking a car trip exploring to area. I was eating a sucker (a Jolly Rancher green apple flavor, to be exact) and for some very odd and strange reason, I decided to bite down of the blasted thing. I don't know why, I never do that because I know it's bad for your teeth. And I hate green apple flavor. Anyway, this time was bad for my teeth because it caused one of the points of my molar to be completely broken off. I freaked because a) it was broken and b) I wasn't on any insurance anymore. So, it stayed that way. I always made sure to brush that tooth extra and take extra care of the area. Well, I did a good job at it because it never hurt and it chipped only slightly more. It is still not fixed, but will be working on that. I have other things that need fixing first, and it will be expensive, so it will have to wait. I don't remember exactly what my dentist said, but he said it needed a crown after something else is done to it.

When I was in high school, my family finally got insurance, and my mom made sure I went in for cleanings every six months and of course to get stuff fixed, like cavities (and old ones replaced) and pulling that pesky baby tooth. Well, I hated going and would moan and groan about it. Part of the reason for that, was because every time I went, it seemed like the dental hygienist would chastise me about something. When I turned 18, I got kicked off my parents' insurance. I was glad to not have to deal with anymore of the dental hygienist(s), but I knew I wouldn't be able to go if I had problems.Thankfully, at one of the last visits, I got x-rays done of my wisdom teeth. They were set to come in straight, so I didn't ever worry about them. And they did come in straight.

I also had a time when I got a filling and the dentist must have done something wrong. This was the last time I have a cavity filled until recently. The tooth became sensitive after that. I was told it would get better on it's own, but the stupid thing is still sensitive to this day. So sensitive I have to cover it with my tongue every time I drink something hot or cold.

So that was the last time I went to the dentist for a very long time. Seven years, to be exact. I didn't mind (except when my tooth broke), I hated going anyway. When I got married, I got insurance again, but it still took me three years to visit the dentist. I was pretty afraid and embarrassed. I knew I probably had tons of problems going on in my mouth.

Finally, Craig made me get an appointment with our dentist and his very good friend, Alex. Wait, I mean Dr. Matheson. The first visit was back in May for a cleaning. I was SOOOOOO nervous. I even know one of the dental hygienists (she was in my ward), but I still remembered back in high school being chastised. I figured they all did it, and I was not looking forward to it. But, I was pleasantly surprised. I got the x-rays done. Only six (I think) cavities in eight years, and I was pregnant twice in that time. Not bad (for me)! And Alex did the cleaning himself and did not make me feel like a failure.

Now for the real purpose of this post. My teeth have been on my mind a lot lately. And for a very good reason. Last Monday night, the back of my mouth started getting sore. I thought, "Great! My wisdom tooth is trying to make it's way up again. Now I will be in pain for Craig's birthday tomorrow." I was not expecting the amount of pain I had on Tuesday. My normal dose of Advil didn't even touch it. It was Craig's birthday, so I tried not to complain too much about it, but it got unbearable as we were on our way to dinner with his parents. It hurt to even talk. So, I told Craig to call the dentist office and see how much it would cost to take the darn things out. It's only my bottom ones that gave me any problems, but I would have to take them all out because the top ones would just keep growing down. Gross, huh? It was cheap, so we set up an appointment for that Thursday. And now I have four less teeth!

I was super scared because I always hear how horrible getting your wisdom teeth out can be. So, I expected the worst. I was awake during the extraction, so that made me even more nervous. Well, I was pleasantly surprised! The worst thing was the gross crackling sound when my top teeth were being worked out. Oh yeah, and that the tooth that was hurting me took longer to get out than the others and a tip of the root broke off and he could get it out. It will be fine for it to be in there, though. I was a little disappointed, though. My wisdom teeth weren't as big as I thought they would be. I had researched on the internet and saw some awesomely huge teeth. Oh well! But I guess the one that was harder to get out had like four roots or something like that.

Recovery hasn't been quite as bad as I thought either. My whole left side and the top of my right side has never even hurt! Just the bottom right side. In fact, most of the pain came from under my jaw and the molar next to the wisdom tooth. It always takes a while for my teeth to recover from any dental work. When I got fillings in June, it took a week before they stopped hurting. I swelled up a good amount, but not too bad.

I have been out of commission since Thursday afternoon and yesterday was my first day back "on duty". Craig has been so, so helpful with the kids, and I am very grateful. I also didn't even have to take any Vicodin yesterday either! Of course, I wouldn't have been able to even if I needed to. It makes me very drowsy and loopy. But it also makes me very happy!

I am finally starting to gradually eat normal foods, but still softer stuff. I even ate a six inch Subway sandwich last night! Even though it took me about an hour because I have to eat small bites and I have to chew mostly with my front teeth. Ladylike, eh? (That was in honor of Craig because he served his mission in Toronto and loves Canada. Maybe he'll be impressed.) I have been drinking Ensure to help with my nutrition and recently for breakfast since I can't eat cereal yet, but those things made me gain weight, so I will let Craig have the rest and get myself some oatmeal for breakfast.

Hopefully I'll be able to fully recover very quickly. Like in time for Thanksgiving.

I would have posted picture of my Wisdom Teeth, but that would probably be gross. Yes, I kept them.

And please excuse any typos. I'm still on medication (not Vicodin) and am not used to this much Ibuprofen/Acetaminophen in me. I usually try to avoid it.

Happy Halloween!

We had such a fun time this weekend! On Saturday night went to a very fun Harry Potter themed party put on by my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Poor Ella was very afraid of some of the costumes, but she was fine after a while. And poor Caleb started choking. It was very scary. There was a time where I couldn't tell if he was even breathing! Nobody had fed him anything and there was nothing in his mouth, so we determined that he was choking on some spit-up. After that incident, we all went trick or treating. This was Ella's first time actually getting candy. She had gone out for the last two years, but she was too young for candy. She had a blast!

We weren't planning on going out on Sunday, but Ella had so much fun, that Craig took her out again last night. I didn't go because I woke up sick that morning. I'm glad they went because Ella had so much fun (this morning she asked to go again), and Craig was able to meet people and get to know our neighborhood better.

After they came back, we loaded up in the car and went to my sister's to hang out while they passed out candy. Boy, did Ella eat candy! She has never had so much at one time. She doesn't really ever have candy, so this was a treat for her! Unfortunately, I paid for it last night because she woke up every hour and sometimes more often!

Here are some pictures of my cute Fairy Princess and handsome little bear. Caleb wore the same costume Ella did last year (and the year before)because I knew he would be so cute in it!






Last week I had asked my mom for my baby book, so she brought it to my sister's house last night to give to me. After we got home and put the kids to bed, I decided to look through it. Craig and I were absolutely amazed! There were pictures in there (of me, of course) that looked like Caleb with long hair! I wish we had pictures of Craig when we was a baby to see how much our kids look like him. I can't see any of us in Ella, but I did find a picture of me that definitely resembled her.

And here's the one I think resembles Ella.

Surprise!

(Don't mind the grass growing in the rocks. We haven't gotten around to spraying them recently.)

Yesterday, Craig brought home Ella this as a surprise! She got so excited when she saw it! As soon as Craig put it back together, she was already playing on it!

We got this slide from a friend just after Ella was born while we were still living at Craig's parents' house when they were on their mission. When we got it, Ella was obviously too young to use it, and when we moved out, she was only six months old. We always wanted to go get it, but we always forgot soon after we thought about it. So, two moves later, we finally brought it home! Ella is the perfect age now for her slide and it is so fun watching her play on it!




Also, happy seven month birthday to our little guy!

Teeny Little Super Guy (and Girl)

Warning: This post is just a bunch of tangents (since I'm so good at them) and may not make the best of sense.

Ella has been into calling things "Super ____". She has said Super Ella, Super Nash (our dog), and even Super Ariel. She has a Little Mermaid doll. There is a possibility of two places of where she got this. The first may be from us. We have been known on a handful of occasions to call Caleb "Super Son". I don't know why, but we have.

The second place she could have gotten this was from Sesame Street. Ella doesn't watch much tv. She watches two shows, to be exact. Sesame Street and Caillou. She loves them both. Of course they are really the only shows she has seen in full. Anyway, on Sesame Street, she knows just about all the characters and has recently learned about Super Grover. So, I'm thinking that's most likely picked up the super thing.

Also, back in the day on Sesame Street, there was a character called Teeny Little Super Guy. And I'm talking pretty far back maybe from the '70s or '80s. I loved this character very much. For those who don't know, he was a cartoon man in a glass. Here he is.


I liked him so much, I had a miniature army guy i found and named it Teeny Little Super Guy. I cherished him until the day one of my brother's dumb friends cut him up with scissors. I will never forget that.

Anyway, sometimes I call Caleb Teeny Little Super Guy for fun. And to me, he is a super guy. He is very strong. Last night, he climbed up and over my lap just to get my computer. It was pretty funny and amazing at the same time. The other thing he does that is super is that he crawls now! This is super to me because it's new territory. I've never had a baby crawl this early! Heck, Ella was over 9 months old before she started crawling. I finally got a good video of him crawling. Enjoy!



*Disclaimer: Please excuse Ella throwing toys at and near Caleb. And please also excuse Nash from walking right in front of me twice. He loves the kids. What can I say? Oh yeah, also please excuse Ella again for being in her undies.

We are on round two of potty training. We had started just before she turned two, but she wasn't really getting it. So we took a break for a couple months. We'll see how it goes this time! Good luck, Ella (and me)!

Half of a Year

I am a week late, but Caleb is now six months old! I can't believe it! He turned six months last Monday, Sept. 13th. His well check was on Thursday, so here are his stats:

Also, I like to compare with Ella, even though boys are usually bigger and measured on a different percentile chart (I assume).

Weight: 15lbs 8oz, 12th percentile
Ella was 15 lbs 2oz and 30th percentile (I believe this was her highest percentile)

Height: (this one was a shocker to me) 27 inches, 70th percentile! Whoa! Where did this come from?! No wonder his 6-9 month pajamas fit him perfectly in length.
Ella was almost two inches shorter at 25.25 in, and 30th percentile

Head Circumference: 16.75, approx. 15th percentile
Ella was 16.25, unknown percentile

So, Caleb is long and a featherweight. He looks like he should weigh more, but he doesn't.

In Ella's words, "Cabub so smart!" And he's extremely active. The boy never stops moving. Even in his sleep. He's also now officailly mobile. He's been rolling around the house for a few weeks now, but Monday night (on his six month birthday) he started crawling! He does this hybrid army crawl/inch-worm type crawl. It's so funny! I was very surprised even though I'm sure many babies crawl this young, but I really only had Ella to compare with and she crawled pretty late, at nine months old.

Caleb also loves toys, books, and basically anything he can get his hands on.

He is also such a sweet natured little guy and only cries if he is hungry or very tired. And speaking of being tired, he is an excellent sleeper! He sleeps through the night, and has since he was about three months old. Thank goodness, because sleep is very important to me.

He also loves, and I mean loves food. Whether it is his milk or solids. He drinks four 8oz bottles a day. He loves rice cereal, and I just started him on veggies (sweet potatoes). He can eat a whole container. I'm going to start carrots today.

Caleb is very healthy, and I'm so grateful for that.



By the way, check out the post below.