Time Out

I started making these time out chairs five or six years ago for one of my nephews. I've made one for each of our siblings. I finally broke down and finished Conni's. It turned out so well! I haven't done one so girly yet with sparkles or anything, and I was so excited how it turned out!

If anyone wants one, I'd be happy to make one for you - just email me or leave a comment.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful A-Z

I saw this on a friend's blog and I thought I'd copy. Happy Thanksgiving!


A - Angelic nephews Aidan, Braxton, and Caleb - we miss you! I am grateful we will get to see you again!

B - Beautiful earth - especially the snow! I love living in Utah!

C - My beautiful daughter Conni. We waited so long to get her here and I love being a mom. I know that she tries my patience, but nothing brightens my day like her excitement every morning to see me. I love watching her experience new things!
(Honorable mention C - Chocolate!)

D - My amazing hubby Dave. He gets my thru each day. I know that he loves me and he is always trying to make me be a better person. Love you bear!

E - Electronics - my sweet hubby has turned me into a minor electronics nerd. I am grateful for cell phones and the internet that help us keep in touch, and all the other electronics that make my life easier.

F - The Farrington Family. I have great in-laws who are very supportive and loving people. I am a rather private person, and I don't thank them enough for all they do - so here's to you!

G - The Gospel. I am grateful that I know who I am, where I came from, and where I am going, and how to get there!

H - Our House. I know that it needs work, but it is our little place that is my haven from the world. There's nothing like coming home at the end of a long day and just feeling peace.

I - Ice Cream! Vanilla with Chocolate Sauce and Sprinkles!! :)

J - Jammin to music (a bit of a stretch, I know) - but I love to dance with Dave and/or Conni or just in my car. I'm grateful that I can hear and enjoy music and that I can move and dance.

K - Kindness that others show me. I don't always recognize or say thank you enough to those who make my life easier, but I am grateful for all those who help me.

L - Love. All the people who love me and who I love. I am grateful that Heavenly Father sent us to this earth to grow together.

M - Medical Knowledge - from Dave's gallbladder surgery, to my c-section, to every day antibiotics and pain meds, I am grateful that I live in this day and age with lots of medical knowledge. I don't think I could have lived 100 years ago without it! It makes my life so much easier!

N - Nieces and Nephews - I love how many cousins Conni has and how much fun they all have together. I am grateful for the older nephews being her big brothers and the nieces being her good friends.

O - Opportunities - the opportunity to serve in the Young Womens program and learn and grow with the girls.

P - Parents kind and dear. I love that I live around the corner from them! My super generous Mom who helps me raise Conni, and my super smart Dad who is always there if we need help around the house or anything.
(Honorable mention P - my Piano!)

Q - Quiet time. I love having time to myself to think or get stuff done, and feel the peace and quiet of our home.

R - Relaxing with my family. Whenever Dave gets home and we can just be together and do whatever and watch Conni learn and grow.

S - the Sacrament and my Savior. I am grateful for Jesus Christ's sacrifice and that I can remember it each week thru the Sacrament and constantly work towards making myself a better person.

T - Time - time to stay home with Conni and be a mom, time to work on bettering myself, time to improve my home, time to be with my sweet hubby.

U - Uphill. I have worked there for seven years, with a short sabbatical when I had Conni. I work with great people and I enjoy what I do. The best backpack company ever! :)

V - Visiting Teaching Program - this one took a while to learn, but I am grateful for Visiting Teachers who truly care about me and my family. I am also grateful that I can go Visiting Teaching with my 2nd mom Marilyn and have an opportunity to serve.

W - The Wall Family. I have the most amazing brother and sisters. I am grateful that we are close and that we have so much fun when we get together. I am grateful for how much support they give me and how much they love my family.

X - eXcellent Friends (close enough, right?!) We love spending time with our friends and being able to share their lives together.

Y - You! For reading my blog and I know that I'm not just rambling into cyberspace :)

Z - the Zoo. One of my first dates with Dave, and where we went to celebrate Conni's first birthday, as well as going there as a kid. Full of memories and fun times. Sometime you'll have to ask me about the animal Zoodets :)

Lumberjacks (Ginger Snaps)

This is my MIL's recipe for Conni's favorite cookies.

Lumberjacks (Ginger Snaps)

1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup molasses
2 eggs
4 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Cream together the sugar and shortening. Add molasses and unbeaten eggs. Mix well. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir in. Put 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Dip fingers into the sugar, then pinch off a ball of dough and roll it to the size, shape of a walnut. Dip the rolled ball into the bowl of sugar. Place balls on greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. This recipe makes 4 dozen large soft cookies. The dough will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator.

Snow much fun...

So I bet you thought this post was going to include a cute pic of Conni playing in the snow storm we had yesterday. But no, we hid out at Aunt Sarah's house yesterday cause there was other stuff going on at our house where her snow clothes were.

In the last few months, we have had increasingly more power outages - but only in certain rooms of the house. This included having the furnace randomly turn off in the middle of the night, or having the TV sit and flicker on and off and on etc. I asked my BIL Garon if he would come give it a once over to see what we were up against, as he is an electrician. Turns out we had too much stuff on the power box that we had (cause whoever worked on it last did NOT know what they were doing), and the box with the meter needed to be replaced.

So, Garon and Dave spent 12 hours yesterday working on this big project. And of course, the time that they had to be working outside was when the worst of the snow storm hit. They got most everything finished, and now Dave has room to add more power to the garage when he is ready to work on it (instead of just the one outlet he currently has), and we haven't had any more flickers.

I am so very grateful to have such a wonderful, generous family. We have so many extended family members that do so much for us. I would list them, but I am afraid I would forget someone. I hope that they all know how much we love and appreciate all they do!

Congrats to Brandon and Renee...

After waiting five days too long, little Connor was born this morning to my dear friends Renee and Brandon. Follow their link on the right (Finding Joy in the Journey - Now) to see pics and stats.

Congrats to you and your family!!!!!

Cute Videos...

Just a couple of cute videos of Conni from this week.

We went in to get Conni after her nap. She loves to dance to her music. So we figured we'd grab some video. Daddy was running the camera and forgot you can't do video sideways at the beginning :)

A cute video of Conni's steps. She's walking like this all over the house. My parents gave David a new sleeping bag for a belated bday present and Conni loved climbing all over it.

Conni's first hair cut

As I mentioned, Conni is now 15 months old. She has yet to have a hair cut. She's been getting pretty scraggly, and I finally decided to break down and get her hair cut.

Before

A friend of mine who is going to cosmetology school offered to cut her hair when I mentioned I was looking to get it done.

Kelsee cutting Conni's hair

Conni did pretty well considering she was tired and still recovering from shots yesterday. Kelsee was patient and did a great job. It was more of a trim than an actual hair cut, but it made all the difference! All her crazy wispies are now even and she has bangs that don't go into her eyes.

The finished product

15 month checkup

Today was Conni's 15 month checkup. She is now 23 lbs (53rd percentile) and 31.5 inches (81st percentile!) I find this interesting since her 2 month checkup she was in the 84th percentile for weight, and the 51st percentile for height. She's switched!

Conni is a very healthy little girl. She is reaching all of her developmental milestones. She was so brave for her three shots! Now she's sleeping peacefully.

Happy Monday!

Walking update part 2...

I am excited to say that Conni has starting taking more and more steps on her own! Last Friday, the 6th, Conni stood up by her crib and all alone walked to me in front of the recliner (Probably about a yard away)! We repeated the feat five or six times before she got tired, but then she wanted to walk down the hall or across the living room. Since then, we are getting more and more steps!

Walking update...

Conni is still using crawling as her main mode of transportation. But I am happy to report that we are having more and more "practice walking" throughout the day. Conni is perfectly capable of walking - she's great at catching her balance, and the other mechanics of it. But she is so cautious!

Yesterday specifically there were probably five instances in the afternoon after coming home from Grandma's for the day where Conni would stand herself up and walk two or three steps, then get down and crawl, or fall down, then get up and try again.

Conni refuses to play the "walk back and forth to mommi and daddy" game no matter what the incentive so far. I don't know how else to help her practice. However, she will grab my fingers throughout the day and have me help her walk, or she will grab her push toy and take of almost running. So I guess that's a start.

Overall, I am still grateful with Conni's developmental achievements. Having a niece with 1P36 Deletion Syndrome has really put things into perspective (she's five and finally walking on her own).

Hopefully by Thanksgiving Conni is an official toddler!