Snow Day...

Kira and I ventured out into the sun the other day to play with what was left of the snow. In fact, most of it has melted today, but the forecast holds more snow for us for the next few days. Anyway, I think Kira had fun. We actually didn't get too cold. I don't know if we were bundled up really well or we've acclamated to the freezing temperatures. Either way, it was nice to be out in the sunshine and breathing fresh air!

Uh-oh...

Well, Kira and I are starting to feel back to normal...yea! But now we have to deal with Kira's nightly episodes. Understandably, Kira has not had a normal night's sleep in about two weeks. She wakes up periodically scared, angry, crying or all of the above. I can't blame her. After catching her cold and being about 3 days behind her, by night 2, I knew exactly why she'd wake up hysterical. This has NOT been a fun week. But now that the sore throat, cough, fever and most of the nasal congestion is gone, she has no reason to be waking up anymore, except that she's used to it. Well, after lying and playing with her for two hours past her bedtime last night because she wasn't tired at all and would just cry and kick the door (the joys of "big girl" bed), we decided that she needs more activity during the day. I feel awful for being such a slacker mom this past week. I haven't felt like doing anything all week so Kira got her full share of movies and shows while I've tried to recover. And since she can't play outside (yes, more snow) she's had little real physical activity. And we have been witnesses to the results of a holed-up, practically sedentary toddler. Not fun when you have two parents who desperately need a good night's sleep. Anyway, I'm not that creative so if anyone has any ideas for indoor games for young toddlers, let me know! Here are a few things that I've tried to keep Kira busy with since feeling more human.

• Homemade play dough (doesn't quite get the concept of this kind of messy fun)


• Coloring/chalk


• Helping mommy "clean"


• Dancing


• Activity songs (or what I squeak out with my froggy throat)


• Tea party


• Snowball fight (indoors with balled socks)


• Playing in a pan of snow


• Playing in sink full of bubbles


• Reading lots and lots and lots and lots of books

Anyway, it's been fun to see how many activities we've tried actually are entertaining to her. I've tried things like hide-and-go-seek, but she's a little too young for that. Here's a video of Kira playing in the sink. I thought she looked cute with her dishtowel apron and it cracks be up when she talks to herself!

Hopefully, cutting into her nap (sigh...I'll miss those two hours) and keeping her bedtime a little later will help solve the problem. I can't imagine doing this with two! Maybe Kira's just training us back into being up with a newborn all night...thanks, but no thanks, sweetie.

Colds...

Well, we thought that we could outlast cold/flu season without dealing with it ourselves. But there seems to be no escape for anyone! I can't complain, though. This is only the second time Kira's been sick this winter and that's amazing compared to last year. And she's around more kids and germs now that she's older so she's doing really well. Tough immune system (knock on wood). However, as it is my legacy since reaching adulthood, I, too, have been struck by the dreaded congestion this winter. As long as I can rest and deal with Kira's extreme moodiness (being sick not only makes her miserable but it makes her mean, too!), I'm fine. Now if only Christopher can escape the evil grasp, then we're in the clear! Hopefully, spring is around the corner. You wouldn't think it looking outside. Yet again, we just got rid of most of the ice and snow and actually enjoyed some rain this morning, but that's some awful white precipitation that's falling right now. It seems like we've only been without snow for a handful of days since November. It's not that bad, I suppose. I was reading an article about snow in the northwest and this woman had to dig her house out just to let in some sunlight! Craziness. At least we've gotten plenty of precipitation for the summer. I'm hoping to get started on the small garden that we have and plant some flowers out front as soon as spring shows up...which may be a while according to Phil. Otherwise, we're surviving Christopher's extremely hectic school schedule this month. I'm quite proud of him. He's done incredibly well on all of his tests thus far and has his first final tomorrow. So long Biochemstry...forever!

Like I said earlier, we're entering uncharted territory with Kira. It's absolutely NO fun to have a nose like a leaky faucet that plugs up at night and a cough that shakes her insides. So I'm trying to keep that in mind as I watch a sleep-deprived toddler throws herself on the ground, screaming, hits the floor (I think it hurt you more than the floor, hon), picks herself up, runs and starts the whole process all over again. Ahh, the beauty of distraction. It's not as easy as it used to be so I've been learning to be more creative. But then she's wonderful when Daddy comes home, comparatively speaking. Don't get me wrong, Kira isn't always like this, which is why these past few days have been kinda shocking. Hopefully, it's a very short phase that has only appeared as yet another side effect of the dreaded cold.
On a more positive note, I find myself watching her and wondering where my baby went. I still see it sometimes, but it's fast disappearing. She amazes me everyday with the new, "big girl" things she can do now. Whether its walking around the corner and catching her give her baby doll a check-up with her play stethescope or anxously surpervise her walking up and down the stairs without crawling, it just melts my heart and yet makes me miss that little baby that would lay quietly on all of half of her father's chest, snoozing for hours. She's the best thing in our lives. I love our little girl.

One of those days...

It's been one of those days where you know you're not totally on your own. With so much going on in the next few months, sometimes it feels like there's little that we have much control over...it's just coming and we'd better be ready for it. Christopher has been dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety (sound like he's in medical school?). He studies so hard and that's pretty much ALL he does most days. Yet, at times, I know he feels like it's a waste when it comes to test result time. Today was no different, actually it might have been worse than usual. He's been studying for this class all week, nonstop, fasted and prayed. Yet after coming from the test, he felt sick. Part of the reason is because it's a very pivotal test for him. After studying day and night, he prayed for some divine inspiration, yet some questions he just couldn't be sure if they were right or not. He had such a long day and didn't find out how he did until late in the evening, after hearing about the unusually low class average. Needless to say, he panicked. Luckily, he did so much better than he expected. It's just one of those things that makes you sit back and realize how much we have to rely on the Lord. We do all that we can, the best we can, and look to Him for guidance. Both Christopher and I have been having one of those days where we KNOW the Lord is aware of our circumstances and has a plan for us. All today we've been aware of all of those little blessings you don't often think of: a very healthy, happy little girl; a relatively easy pregnancy thus far; good health; the ability to live off of little sleep (when necessary); a warm, comfortable home in a wonderful little community; the gospel; chances to play and relax; opportunities to progress and create a stable future; a loving, hard-working spouse; wonderful extended family; and the list goes on. This post is a little sappy but I just wanted to share that I know I am where I am in my life because of the blessings of a loving Father in Heaven. Those trials of faith can really be wonderful blessings.

When will it stop...

Kira mid-jump

Well, Kira and I are homebound again and looks like we may be for the rest of the week, as well. We made it out to vote this morning just as the rain started. Since then it's snowed, sleeted and now is raining again! Lots of slush which should be covered with anywhere from 3-6 inches tonight alone. At least it got bearable enough yesterday for Kira to play outside for a little while. In fact, she didn't even need a jacket. She really enjoys being outside though I feel bad because there's really not a lot to do in our yard. We don't have trees and there's a utility pole between us and our neighboor's yard so I seldom let her wander very far from our little patio.


I brought up her "playhouse" that Christopher and I kinda created from a deep freeze box. I cut out the door but later while I was running errands, I found daddy and daughter with the house in Kira's room "decorating". Kira was coloring all over while Christopher had cut out a window and a night sky motif on the other side. I'm glad for those few moments that Christopher and Kira get to spend together. I know Christopher wishes there were more of them.

Me and Alexis at 21 weeks

There's really not too much to tell. Life seems to be pretty slow at the moment, at least for us girls. Hope that the pictures are more entertaining than the short update!