Just Stuff

 I love pictures but I don't take them enough. I make mental pictures every time my girls do something extra cute or funny. I have been making more of an effort to have the camera close by so I can snap a photo when necessary.

Ivy, sweet, sweet Ivy. This little baby is so happy and has cut her first teeth. Thank goodness there has been no biting. Yet. We started her on solids. She wasn't sure what to think at first, but she has decided that she LOVES food. Just like her Mama. She whimpers when I put her in her chair because she knows food is right around the corner and just can't wait. It kind of grosses me out feeding her rice cereal mixed with breast milk and some fruit or veggie puree. By the end of the bowl, it is half digested by her saliva, making it a slimy mess. Scott gets nauseous.

 Love that grin

 Ada has a really hard time taking turns and sharing. For example, She insists that she has to say prayer for EVERY meal. And if we say it is someone else's turn, she throws a huge fit. So we decided for Family Home Evening, we would walk down to the park and teach her how to take turns going down the slide and anything we could think of. Thankfully, there was a little play piano thingy that we could practice taking turns with. We all took turns playing the piano (Except Ivy, of course). I am not sure how much our lesson really sunk in, because she still is adamant about saying all the prayers. Pictured above is sweet little Ivy staying nice and warm in her stroller

 Under the slide taking turns playing the piano

 This picture is classic. I love it for so many reasons. There was no posing in this picture. Ada asked her Uncle Chad for a show before bed and this is what we saw when we checked on them. She is in complete heaven and Chad, I am sure, purposefully fell asleep so he would not have to suffer through another episode of Yo Gabba Gabba

 Ada loves having Ivy join her in her crib after naps and they can stay in there for awhile as long as there are toys. Love these girls! I hope they will be best friends like my sister and I are.

We are at it again. Ada is in underwear. Yup, she has decided that she wants to be a big girl. I don't even want to comment how potty training is going. I feel like when I say it is going well, accidents happen. So let's just say, it's coming along.

I love her little cheek hanging out.

I have to document this because I know I will forget. Ada will kill me for this years down the road. So, we have been teaching her how to wipe after she goes potty. I prefer doing it for her so everything is cleaned properly, but, she has to learn. So one day, I handed her the toilet paper and as she was wiping her bum, she stuck it between her cheeks and came back empty handed. She was squeezing her bum cheeks together to hold the TP in place. She was laughing so hard when she discovered her new trick. I was dying. She continues to do that after every time now. Ugh!

Ada is proving to be very hard sometimes. She has a good set of lungs and really knows how to use them. She is smart, really smart and catches on to things faster than I can keep track of. When she does things that I do not like, I will tell her that I am not very happy with her. So yesterday after I had to threaten to leave her at the library (she wasn't coming), on our way to the car she said, "Mom, I am not very happy with you!"
It was pretty funny.
Anyway, that is pretty much this post. Just Stuff. Things are going well and we are happy.

American Idol Maybe?

Sunday Outings

 I love that the weather has been so nice lately (Oh wait, the weather has been pretty awesome this whole winter. Suckers!). Anyway, since church gets out at noon now, we have the afternoon to go on little outings (Which we have only done once, but hope to make a habit of it). We headed to the temple a couple Sundays back and enjoyed watching Ada get so excited about the wild turkeys and Canadian Geese everywhere (not gonna lie, I was pretty excited myself). Lately, when driving in the car, Ada complains about the sun being too bright. She will yell at the sun to leave her alone. On this particular day, she agreed to borrow my sunglasses. That seemed to stop the whining.

 Sorry Ivy, we love you and will make sure you make it into our next family picture.

 There's our little Ivy Girl

 "I'm just walking," as Ada would say if we want her to hold our hand and she doesn't want to.

I love the temple!

Mole (Mexican Enchillada Sauce)

These past few months had been going fairly smoothly. Scott was interning (working for free) at the Attorney Generals Office. Multiple times his supervisor told him how good his writing skills were and even took him out to lunch to go over his resume. Things got even more exciting when there were TWO job openings in his very department, exactly where he wanted to work. He applied for the job, got an interview.  His supervisor even went another step forward and gave him interviewing tips. We were pretty hopeful. Until yesterday. The panel all met one more time at around 11:00 and by 2:30 Scott still hadn't heard anything (he had a second interview). That wasn't a good sign. At 3:30, the decision maker (A.K.A. JerkFace) called him his office and in as little words as possible told him he didn't get the job, the two they selected were better than him and he can no longer volunteer. Sorry.

I can't tell you how crushed I was when Scott came home yesterday and broke the news to me. I was an anxious mess all day yesterday waiting to hear any news. What was the hardest thing for me in this whole situation was knowing how hard Scott had worked, how deserving he was of this job and it didn't happen. I know many are thinking, "Yeah, it's a job, get over it." I agree, it is a job. But this is the job he wanted, that he worked his butt off to try and get. So yesterday there were a lot of tears, from me. Scott was a lot stronger than me. I want any readers to know that I am only venting and I know things will eventually be okay.

Rewind to about three years ago. A good friend from the ward invited two of us couples from the ward to her house for dinner. She was from Mexico and was so excited to make us some enchiladas made with Mole Sauce. As soon as she mentioned that chocolate was the base of this goo, all of our eyes popped out just a little. I am always open to trying new things. I was newly pregnant with Ada and realized a couple of bites in that it wasn't going to happen. The slimy, thick mess was not going down very well. Scott and Steven who are usually big eaters, were eating slowly, mixing big spoonfuls of rice with small portions of the enchiladas, and spreading the meal around on their plate to make it look like they were eating more than they were. Scott who rarely passes up seconds, when asked if he wanted more, told our sweet host that he was trying to limit his food intake and Steven, who likes food too, told her he was so full. As soon as we left, I called my friend and asked her what they thought of the meal. Before I even could finish the question, they both started laughing so hard saying how gross it was. We had a good chuckle about it, and pretty much every time we saw them after. When Scott graduated, our friend (who is also a lawyer), gave Scott a little congrats/going away gift. We laughed so hard when we opened the present and found a bottle of Mole Sauce. The card wrote something like this: Scott, Congrats on graduating. Just remember these next months, when you are studying for the Bar and looking for a job that nothing is worse than Mole!"

Well, that Mole Sauce has been sitting on our dresser since May and will continue to sit on our dresser until Scott gets a job and then it will move to his desk at work. Believe it or not, that jar of Mole, nasty Mole, has brought a smile on my face more than once.

So Scott, I know you will eventually read this. This next job is yours! You are amazing and I love you to pieces. You are an awesome father, husband and worker. You deserve the best. Just remember these next days, weeks and maybe even months, that while going through the gruelling task of job searches, interviews and no income...that NOTHING IS WORSE THAN MOLE!

PS

If my dear friend that made us the Mole actually reads this blog, know that I love you and all of your other meals you prepared for us...just not Mole.

Everyday Life

 We live a pretty normal life. Some days go by really fast filled with lots and lots of fun activities, where others drag on and I struggle to keep this little (big) rugratt entertained. We started a Joy School that Ada goes to once a week. We love it and we even are trying to incorporate field trips too. The first one was a great idea but a little too advanced for our two year olds. We took them to a place called Safetyville (it is like a mini Sacramento), all of the buildings are kid size, and they go on a tour learning about safety in the streets. If our tour guide knew how to interact with 2 year olds, it would have been great.

 This was probably a day where I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to do with Ada. She is really loving her stuffed animals these days.

 And then there is my precious Ivy. She is a sweetheart all around. At 4 months she weighs over 15 lbs (84th % ) and I can't remember her height but know she is in the 97th percentile. She is happy, happy, happy. She started rolling from her stomach to back last week and is cutting her first tooth. Um...a tooth at 4 months is not okay. I am already hurting thinking of that first clamp down while nursing. She is giggling, cooing and squealing and loves her big sister. Now I need to decide when to let her cry it out at night because it is really getting hard waking up 2-3 times per night.

 Ada's best friend. I have never seen two girls giggle as much as these two. What one does, the other follows.

 Ada was showing me how she gets stuck in her tent and was helping me get stuck too

 Ivy with Uncle Chad. He loves to hold her and make her happy

 We make em big!

 Our little basketball player

 Joy school learning about the letter "D." Ada doesn't love the learning part. She loves the snacks and toys

 Ivy girl visiting her cousins in Sunnyvale

"What's on my face?" is a phrase that Ada and I laugh about almost everyday. This particular day I gave her some chocolate chips and the chocolate in the teeth makes me smile.

Ada is talking up a storm these days. She loves the bad guys from Tangled and asks me everyday if I like the bad guys. I usually say no and she replies, "But Mama, the bad guys are nice, they like to hug and kiss you." Hmmm...what bad guys is she talking about??!

She has been really working hard at putting sentences together and a lot of times the words are out of place...which I LOVE.

When she is playing with other kids and they have something she wants she says (or yells), "Go find your mommy!" Or she starts counting, "1, 2,3..."

We stopped potty training because there were too many accidents and fights. She is back in the diaper but we still try to get her to do her duty in the toilet (#2). Anyway, when she decides to go in her diaper she will usually tell me that she has to poop in the potty but when I check, it is in her diaper. She then will ask," Mom, are you happy!?" One day I replied, "Not really," and she said, "Come here mom and I will give you a kiss and a hug to make you happy."

Lately she gets really mad if Scott and I are having a conversation. She will start yelling and tonight she was yelling, "Quiet guys, you need to whisper, Ivy is sleeping!"

There is so much more but I can't think of anything else at the moment. We really do have special girls and even though most days are filled with different challenges, we feel lucky to have such a great family.

Could We Live Here?

So I spent all of this time last night finishing the blog and when I went to post it, I lost all of the writing. Grrr...so annoying. Anyway, Scott had an interview in the very remote, small town of Bishop. Since we might live there, we decided to make a family trip of it to check things out. It is over 5 hours away from Sacramento and you have to drive through two mountain passes to get there. Lucky for us, no chains were required on the way up and the girls were awesome. I can't say enough how much I love portable DVD players! What did our parents do without them??!! The above picture is in our hotel, getting ready for bed.

Ada got her very own bed. She realized that it wasn't a crib and that she COULD get out without our help. That new discovery made bed time next to impossible that first night. With the power going out, Ada falling out of the bed, and my imagination getting the best of me, it made for a really long night that first night.

Watching morning cartoons.

There are a lot of mules in Bishop. In fact, they have Mule Days once a year. I am not sure exactly what happens during Mule Days, but I am sure that it involves a lot of Mules!

After Scotts interview, we promised Ada an outing at the park. There are two things I do not like very much. The Cold and the wind. Bishop has both. Scott taught Ada how to put her hands in her pockets. It's really cute to watch her trying to walk fast with her hands stuffed in her pockets. When we decided to finally coax Ada to leave the park she told us that her hands were freezing!

At the park

Ivy wasn't quite sure what she thought of Bishop

Our little climber

As small a Bishop is, it really is a pretty little town. It definitely has a family feel to it. When we finally convinced Ada that we should go get some dinner we headed to a local restaurant known for their breakfast. We got dinner. It was okay. Luckily, there is a family owned movie theater in town. We had "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," or "Chipmunks" to choose from. We chose Chipmunks. We had a fun time and after the movie was over Ada told us that she needed to go and dance. So Scott took her up to the front of the theater and she danced her little heart out during the credits.

Our little Ragamuffins.
We wanted to check the ward out while we were there and Scott told me to call them to make sure it wasn't Stake Conference. When we walked into a dark chapel with a big screen hanging down, we knew something was up. We were told it was stake conference and since the stake center is over 2 hours away they do a remote broadcast. We were going to stay for a bit but they were experiencing technical difficulties and since we had a long drive ahead of us and the weather was uncertain, we snuck out.

Lucky we left when we did. The drive was really pretty on the way back, but chains were required once we hit Tahoe. Those suckers are expensive to put on and take off. We were $50 poorer once we took them off.

Ada was really mad at us! After about 2 hrs of Yo Gabba Gabba, I told her we needed to take a break and for her to take a rest. That didn't fly over well. After about 20 minutes of her screaming, "I WANT DVD'S, STOP SINGING!" I put a movie back on. I usually don't give in so easily, but did this time for sanity reasons.                                                                     

Did I mention there are a lot of Mules in Bishop? We needed to get some footage of these interesting creatures.

So, could we live here? If I knew it would only be for a couple of years, I think I could do it. There are a lot of fun outdoorsy things to do and we could really be outdoorsy people. The few drawbacks are 1. It is far away from EVERYTHING. Bishop is pretty much the main town for about 2 hrs, 2. Cold, cold, cold. and 3. It is super expensive. I need to add a 4. After living so close to family for these past months, it would hard to move so far away again. The drive isn't that far, just not that easy to get to, especially during the winter.

Anyway, we had a fun weekend. I guess we will find out in about a month where Scott's stands with the position.

Ivy's Blessing Day

So, I need to figure out how to work the new Blogger site. Not tonight, though, not tonight. I have been

meaning to post about Ivy's baby blessing for a few days now, but things have been busy.

We were so grateful for our family members that came out to Sacramento to support Ivy on her big day. Scott did a great job and there was very little crying from Ivy. I guess my father-in-law was the "Keep the Binky in the mouth person" during the blessing. I was able to listen to most of the blessing. Ada was climbing all over the bench, trying to get her cousins attention, etc. It wasn't until my SIL Jenny, grabbed Ada and pulled her over the bench to sit with her that I was able to pay attention. Thanks Jenny.

 Baby Ryan is seriously awesome. Love that kid. Doesn't he have the best rosy cheeks? This baby is all smiles...unless of course you make him cry (one time it happened)

 My sis and Brian lovin Baby Ivy

 Some of the gang. Ada and Maggie are close cousins...in age and friendship. These girls are a little sneaky too. At one point during the day, Ada's older cousin came up to us (Me, Scott and Doug) asking if it was okay to play out in the front. I told them that only if adults were there. Scott asked if there were any kids out there and she said that Maggie and Ada are across the street. Doug and Scott jump up and sure enough, there were the little girls, talking to the neighbors looking at their new baby. Awhile after that incident, Ada told me she was going outside. Before I could grab her, she was sprinting down the driveway, barefoot, and was soon into the street, running full speed. I was yelling  her to stop while chasing after her in my high heeled boots. I have to admit, I laughed while running after her because I was picturing how funny I probably looked yelling at my 2 year old daughter to come back while trying to catch her.

 Ivy and Daddy

 Spending time in the kitchen

 I had to post this picture because it is so classic. Chad is famous at making Congo Bars (pure deliciousness) and my mom is famous for spooning out some dough before he puts it in the oven. I didn't mean to get her in the picture, but after I saw this, I couldn't resist. Love you Mom!!

 Grandpa Foley, Aunt Jenny, Cousins Ryan and Patrick.

 Cousin Andrew loves babies. I have a picture of Andrew holding Ada at about the same age.

 Shortly after the blessing. I had to get Ivy out of the dress before she slipped out of my arms.

 Ivy just before taking off to the church. She really is the sweetest baby. She smiles and coos all of the time and is just an all around good baby. The only real complaint I have about her is she throws up a lot. Projectile vomit. I would be concerned if she wasn't gaining weight, but as you can see, she has some good chubs on her.

My sister was kind enough to take some notes during the blessing because she probably knew I was going to be distracted a little with Ada.

Here are some of the notes she took:

That Ivy was blessed to be born in this time with the Gospel on the earth

Her blessed her to stay close to the Savior and blessed her to be close to the spirit while facing all of her challenges

He blessed her to be a good example to her family and friends and to do what's right in the face of temptation

When the time is right, Scott blessed Ivy to choose a worthy man to take to the temple and marry for time and all eternity.

It was a really special day for our family. Thanks again for those that came out to support us! We love you