4 Girls and Hot Wax

***I meant to post this before we left, but couldn't get the pictures to upload***

So last night Anna and I had our legs waxed to prepare for our Oregon trip. Neither of us had ever done it before, so we were a bit nervous! Thankfully Anna has a good friend, Heather, who is going to school right now for waxing. She has 1500 out of the 2000 hours needed to graduate, so we felt pretty confident letting her do it. (Plus we knew we could never have done it ourselves!) She did an awesome job and we had fun watching chick flicks and laughing while our leg hairs were being ripped from their roots. Waxing definitely stings! But I would for sure do it again. Plus Heather said it really starts working the best after the third time doing it, so one down two to go! Poor Anna had thicker, coarser hair than me so she was in a bit more pain. So Kalianna and I tried to keep her distracted.

Best Friends

This is Kalianna with her friend, Lucy Grace Pelton. I've mentioned Lucy's mom, Jill, in the past. We were pregnant at the same time. Lucy is 6 weeks younger than Kalianna, can you believe it? They are about the exact same size! Except Kalianna has much longer legs. Back when we were pregnant, Jill and I bought these matching little skirts for the girls to wear...and now they fit! Lucy and Kalianna were blessed on the same day, but Jill and I never got a chance to get their picture taken together, so yesterday we put them in their dresses again. Don't they look like little princesses? They may be about the same size, but it was amazing the difference between them! Kalianna is a lot more active and aware and talkative! Lucy fell asleep, but we could barely get Kalianna to hold still long enough to get a decent picture. It was so funny! And yes, Kalianna spit up all over herself after the first picture. At one point they were holding hands, and it was super cute! But of course we weren't fast enough with our cameras.

Snakes and turtles and kittens, Oh my!

My sister found a snake in their yard this last weekend. You can read about her story here. I was at my parents house when my mom got the text from her saying they'd found a snake in their yard and it brought up memories from when we had a pet snake. We started talking about good ol' Sussy and the stories we could remember about him. Even though I think mice are cute, it was pretty cool to watch the boa hunt and catch his prey every time we fed him. We eventually had to sell him because he got too big. This event and these memories got me thinking. Is there a type of animal you would never let your kids get as a pet? For us it was rodents. My mom was fine with rabbits but she said no to having rats or mice as pets. For me, tarantulas and scorpions really freak me out! I'm fine with all manner of reptiles and amphibians and I'd even allow a cat, even though I'm allergic. But my kids would have to swear upon pain of death that the huge spider would never leave their room before I'd agree to letting them have one. So what is it for you? What kind of pet would you have a hard time with or never ever allow in your home?

If you can't say something nice...

Kalianna is a really good baby! Matt and I realize how lucky we are to have our first one be so happy and easy-going. But we are constantly hearing things like "You just wait. Your next one is going to be a screamer" or "She might be a good baby, but that means she'll be a terrible toddler" or "We hate you and want you to be as miserable as we are". No, no one has actually said the last one to us, but they might as well have. I don't understand why it is the norm in our society to bring the people around us down. I guess the saying really is true; misery loves company!

I have cared for approximately 73 children over the last 13 years. (I actually sat down and tried to count this morning. Those are just the ones I can remember and that's not counting friends who came over to play or all the kids I've taught in preschool and primary.) Out of those 73 kids, 33 have been boys and 40 have been girls. They range from 5 weeks old to 13 years old and I've dealt with a huge variety of personalities and temperaments. I've dealt with everything from a screaming baby for 3 solid hours to doing the Heimlich on a choking 4 year old to gushing blood from broken glass to cleaning urine off a brand new armchair because of a potty training 3 year old to temper tantrums at the grocery store to biting and pinching and kicking and hitting and screaming at both me and siblings. I can't say I've seen it all, but I sure have seen a lot! So with all these experiences (both good and bad) I really don't need people telling me how my next one is going to be awful. Why can't you just let me enjoy my happy, perfect baby for the time being? I am well aware of the fact that every child is different and the chance of all our babies being as good as Kalianna is basically non-existent. But that doesn't mean I need to hear it on a daily basis. Why do you want to take away my current happiness? My mom is one of the few people who has never made a negative comment or said something mean. At our family reunion a cousin made a comment about not being ready for motherhood and my mom said, "Oh no; Stacy was ready! I've never worried about her!" Thanks mom! It made me feel super good! Why can't more people make encouraging comments instead of negative ones?

Along the same lines, one of my absolute biggest pet peeves is when I hear parents say to their children "I hope you have one just like you". Which is basically the same thing as saying "I hope you are as miserable as I am some day." Don't we want our kids to have a better life and an easier time than we did? When my mom got married, they didn't have a lot of money so she had to make her own dress and have a very simple wedding. So when each of us got married, my mom made sure we got what we wanted and that each of us had a beautiful dress and reception. If she had followed this same logic, she would have said "We're not giving you any money because I had to suffer, so I want you to suffer too." Wouldn't it be more Christlike to say "I hope you never have one like you" and then when we inevitably do, give good advice and help your children deal with them instead of sitting back and enjoying their trials? I don't understand why we like watching other people suffer. Especially people we care about! It just seems mean to me. So I suggest thinking before you speak. And keep in mind the good advice from Thumper's dad, "If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all!"

Kalianna's Blessing

Kalianna's blessing was yesterday and it was a wonderful day! She looked beautiful in her big white dress and Matt did a great job with her blessing. We had lots of support! Kalianna had 15 men in her circle. I don't know how they would have all fit if everyone had been able to make it! Some people had to leave right after sacrament meeting, but the rest of us stayed and enjoyed the rest of our meetings. (Several years ago the first presidency asked that when blessing a baby or sending off a missionary, etc. you attend all three meetings and not skip out after sacrament. I am a very blue personality in that I like following the rules and it bothers me when other people don't.) After the church block we headed over to our house for lunch. We visited for awhile with family and close friends before everyone took off. I think Kalianna was getting tired of being passed around so much. She started getting fussy towards the end. Then when it was back to just the three of us, she was all smiles! We had a great day! Thanks to all those who came to show your support!!

Most of the guys who were in the circle.

Kalianna and Daddy
Our beautiful girl

Happy Independence Day!

3 Months!

Kalianna is three months old today! She is getting much better at holding her head up, though she's not all the way there yet. She is also completely sleeping through the night now, a good 7 1/2-9 hours a night! (Its okay, I know you're jealous.) Kalianna has been focusing on the things around her more. She enjoys watching Sobaka and Kutse, but her favorite things are lights and fans. She loves music! But she prefers upbeat tempos to anything slow. And she continues to be the happiest baby. She will just talk and talk and talk. She is getting closer to laughing and we can't wait to hear her when the giggles start!
**As a side note: Kalianna had her appointment with the cardiologist yesterday and everything looked perfect! Her heart murmur is completely gone. And Matt and I have decided to go with the bow for her blessing. Matt liked the bow and I liked the headband. After the votes kept pretty even, we decided to put her in the blessing dress and we both agreed the bow looks better with her dress than the headband. Thanks for all the votes though! (except the one person who voted for the bonnet. Whats that about?? =) )