For Being Cute

We got a coupon in the mail today for a buy one get one free new limeade drink at Taco Bell. Matt and I thought it would be fun to try, so after we finished running errands we went through the drive thru. We ordered the two drinks and pulled up to the window. The lady handed us our drinks and looked at Kalianna who was making noise in the backseat (and being cute as usual). She asked, "Can she have some cinnamon twists?" We said, "Sure!" So she handed us an order of free cinnamon twists and said to Kali, "That's for being so cute."

Strangers in Bathrooms

So I made a new friend last night. Matt and I went to the U of U women's soccer game. (It's only $10 for a freakin' cool scarf, and that scarf counts as your season ticket!) Yup. Pretty cool. After half time, and consuming a very large hot chocolate, I went to use the restroom. I tried not to. I hate using public bathrooms! But with the before mentioned beverage, and baby using my bladder as a trampoline, I had no choice. I walked into the bathroom, and a little girl was standing there. My guess would be around age 7.
"Will you help me?" she asked. "I'm scared."
"Scared of what, sweetie?"
"I don't want to go by myself, will you come in with me?"
(awkward pause) "Where's your mommy?"
"I don't have one."
Crap. "Who are you here with?"
"My Daddy."
Well that won't work. "How about you go in, and I will stand right here and wait for you outside the door. Is that okay?"
She nodded.
Whew!
"Are you a cheerleader?" she asked.
Bless you, child! "No I'm not," I said with a smile.
She proceeded to talk to me whilst bathrooming, and she even sang me a song she had written. She was definitely not shy! When she was all done, she then needed help getting her tights back on. It's a good thing I'm a mom...and a nice person. What if some weirdo had walked into that bathroom instead of me? Once she was fully dressed, it was my turn to go. Then we walked back into the stands together. And I didn't see her again.

The Most Important Meal of the Day

Once upon a time, Kalianna used to eat yogurt every morning for breakfast. She loved it! Then one day she decided she didn't like it anymore, as most toddlers do. But since then, I have not been able to find something she Will eat for breakfast! She just does not like breakfast foods! She does drink juice every morning (the V-8 fusion kind that counts as a serving of fruits and veggies) so I'm not really worried about her. But you would think there has got to be Something she will eat! Nope! She'll try something once, but you can't repeat it. She won't eat it again. We've tried any and every kind of cereal under the sun, bagels, bread, toast, cinnamon toast, eggs, hashbrowns, pancakes or waffles or french toast smothered in syrup (Yeah, my kid says no to syrup!), pancakes or waffles or french toast plain, pop tarts, yogurt, applesauce, doughnuts, oatmeal, bacon, muffins and probably several other things I can't think of right now. I'm just resigned to the fact that Kalianna does not like typical breakfast foods. So I'm giving up on trying. You can't force a kid to like something! Plus she eats a really good lunch and dinner every day. So does breakfast really matter all that much? This morning she drank all her juice and was still hungry so, being out of juice, I gave her water and crackers. Yup. I watched as my daughter happily ate like a prisoner. Oh well. I voiced my concerns to Matt and his response was, "Well, look at who her mom is." Oh yeah. I don't like breakfast foods either.

18 Months

Kalianna is 18 months today! I love having an 18 month old! (although I have yet to run across an age I don't like) She is so much fun! I love that her hair is getting long, and I love that she has my natural curl. Her hair reaches her shoulders now (when wet) but the curls make it look a lot shorter. I can even do pigtails now, which I am very excited for! Kalianna loves to sit on a stool in the bathroom and brush her hair with Mommy, and look at Mommy's makeup while I'm getting ready in the morning. She still loves being outside! She loves exploring, walking around, playing, and sometimes even just sitting on the back steps. I hope she likes the snow, or it's going to be a long winter! She loves music and loves to dance! She will even jam out to the sacrament hymn at church. She dances whenever she hears music. She loves reading and looking at pictures. She can name most animals now, or at least make the sounds of that animal. But it's one or the other. A dog is "dog" but a horse is "neigh". It's very cute! She is so stinkin' smart! This girl can understand and follow almost any instruction and she is very quick to figure things out. She is very curious! She also just keeps getting taller and taller! But I love it! Her legs are long enough that she can walk up and down the stairs now by herself (holding the railing). She is such a good snuggler and loves to give hugs! (which is one of my favorite things) After I change her diapers, she always stands up and gives me a hug before I lift her down. Melts my heart every time! She loves to help! She loves helping me do laundry, and the dishes, and cook, and she is really good at putting her clothes and toys away when I ask her to (though she likes pulling them out again too). And she knows where everything goes! She loves helping me dust, she even has her own little duster. The other day she went in her room and pulled out two baby wipes from her changing table and started to clean the banister with them. So adorable! She seems to really enjoy nursery for the first hour, but has a rougher time once they put the toys away and start into singing time. But that also happens to be 1:00pm, which is nap time. I'm hoping she will be happier once we switch to 9:00 church! 11:00 church is So Hard with a toddler! But if she ends up leaving nursery, she usually does just fine with me in Relief Society. She loves to meet new people and she really loves to show off how cute she is. She is super friendly, but also cautious. She loves to watch other kids playing, and usually does pretty well at sharing if another kid wants what she has. She loves to push things around! From the shopping cart at the grocery store, to the laundry basket full of clothes. And she loves animals, especially dogs! She will bend down and turn her head so the dog can give her kisses. She will try almost anything we put on her tray, but her favorite foods are spaghetti, cucumbers, mac & cheese, grilled cheese, and french fries. She still doesn't like fruit very much and will take a vegetable over a fruit any day of the week. And she doesn't seem to like beef much. She prefers chicken. But she would probably live off cucumbers and french fries if I let her. She is such a sweetheart! When I was first pregnant and throwing up a lot, she would quietly stand by my side. Then when I was done, she would shut the toilet and flush it for me, before climbing onto my lap. Kalianna is so much fun! She is such a sweet, wonderful little girl! I love that I get to spend every day with her and watch her as she grows!

Miracles

Before I get into the story, Kalianna has something she'd like to share with you all:

Yup! I'm pregnant!!! When Kalianna was about a week old, I was feeding her late one night when I was hit with the incredibly overwhelming feeling that our next child was waiting. I knew we were supposed to have another one...and soon. So Matt and I started trying when Kalianna was 10 months old. But I wasn't ovulating. I charted daily and kept an eye on my charts and had several people who understand charting even better than I do look them over. Nope. I wasn't ovulating. At all. I went to my doctor a couple times and she did tests and prescribed me a couple different things that would help my body get back to being normal. Nothing worked. So in July, my doctor said it was time for Clomid. She told me to call her when my next period started and she would put in my prescription. I was torn! I know such medications were invented to help women with infertility, but I couldn't help it. I was heartbroken! I didn't want to have to take drugs. I just wanted my body to work! So I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally when I got to day 40 and there were no signs of a period starting, I sent Matt out for a pregnancy test. When we saw the results, we couldn't believe it!! I started to bawl! Then, just to be sure, I took another pregnancy test the next day. I still had a hard time believing it was real! We were ecstatic! I called my doctor first thing Monday morning to set up my first appointment and tell them I wouldn't need Clomid after all. My doctor didn't believe me. She said, "there is just no way." Let me tell you, to have a doctor tell you that after being so happy is like getting a slap in the face! She had me come in for a blood test, because according to all my charts and tests we had done, pregnancy was just not possible. But the test confirmed it. I had to go in for two more blood tests after that, just to make sure I was progressing. Finally, we were both convinced. I really was pregnant, and it seemed to be sticking! I know this very special spirit is supposed to be in our family at this time. Medically speaking, I should not be pregnant. Only God could have brought such an incredible miracle into our lives. I truly believe in modern-day miracles and I feel so blessed to be able to witness such an amazing one!

Now for the fun stuff:

I'm 10 1/2 weeks which makes me due April 22nd. For those of you with amazing memories, you will remember Kalianna was due April 20th. They will be almost exactly two years apart! Today was my first appointment and ultrasound. The baby was moving around like crazy! And it has a really strong heartbeat. My doctor wants me to aim for April 1st again because we think that would be absolutely hilarious! And if this one is anything like their sister, an April 1st baby would be just right. Can you imagine? No one would believe us! I wanted to post our first pictures of the little bean, but my scanner is not cooperating. So they'll have to wait for another day.

Post-Its

So it's official. I have the cutest husband in the whole world! He had midterms last week, so we saw each other for about ten minutes a day. Not exaggerating. It was sad! So to make my week better, he left me a post-it note somewhere in the house for me to find each day. It always brought the biggest smile to my face when I discovered a new one.

Day One: This was on our bathroom mirror

Day Two: This was on Kalianna's bedroom door

Day Three: This was on my computer

Day Four: This was on our bedroom mirror

Day Five: This was on my glasses case

Day Six: This was on one of our picture frames in the hallway

(there was a break in new post-its while Matt was home for the weekend. Then, this morning, I found number Seven waiting for me on our TV)

Here it is!

My book cover is final completed!! Now we are really getting down to the wire, and pretty soon The Princess Sisters will be available for purchase! I'm so excited!!