Taleneted Girls

Michaela and Payden had their piano recital on Frinday, and both did beautifully. It was held at the piano gallery, a piano store here in town, and they got to play on a gorgeous black grand piano! It was a treat for them and they looked so pretty sitting in front of it. Each child played Christmas music.

Beverly, their piano teacher, gave them a choice to play one or two songs. I'll let you guess which of my girls chose one, and which chose to play two! (Hint: Payden loves to play in front of people, Michaela doesn't.)

Payden played the first one from the book, and had the second one memorized. It was so cute; when she got ready to play the second, she closed her book, got a cute little smile on her face and started to play. You could tell she was excited to play that one. We have heard these songs over and over, especially Payden's(she is always playing the piano) but it was still so much fun to see them perform.

Michaela played just one song, but did it well. She enjoyed playing on this piano, and said it was so easy to play. I love that they are learning to play the piano. I hope they use it for the rest of their lives.

6 months old!

Happy 6 month birthday, Corrine! I can't believe she is already 6 months old. We have a joke in our house, we say "noboby loves Corrine" because it is so far from the truth. She is constantly getting kisses, hugs, pats and being talked to and loved on. Maybe that is why she is such a happy baby! We are so glad we got to have her as part of our family; she is a perfect addition.

Peek closely, you can see her two bottom teeth coming it!

Happy baby

Silly Baby!

Ok, another happy baby.

I had to put this one in, we see her like this often enough that I should save it for posterity!

A case of Croup

Corrine came down with croup this week. I knew what it was only from hearing from other parents what it is like. I have never had a kid with croup before this, and I must say it is terrifying. We tried to put her down on Thursday night, and she started coughing this horrible sounding cough. She had done it a little the night before, but nothing like this. She couldn't go to sleep and seemed to have trouble breathing. I got on the computer, did some research, and diagnosed her with croup. I called our pediatrician at 11:00pm to ask him what I should do. I spent all night up with her, taking her outside to breath the cold air to reduce swelling of her throat. I mean literally all night, I don't think I slept at all. Her little lungs sucked in with every breath and she was wheezing. I was worried, but her doctor to me to count her breaths, if she got to 60 a minute to call him back or take her to the emergency room. I spent all night counting her breaths, and she only got up to about 43. I can't imagine what 60 looks like. It was so sad, seeing her work to breath like that. The next day, she went in for a dose of steroids to help with the next night. (croup is only bad at night, when your bodies natural level of steroids goes down, allowing for the swelling of the throat). She did much better the second night. I am so grateful we live in modern times with doctors and medicenes. I know this infection can be very dangerous in young infants like Corrine, and I am so very grateful hers wasn't that bad. I felt blessed to have her before, and this experience has only increased my gratitude to be her mother.

I feel a little guilty.......

Every day, the baby takes a nap (if I'm lucky) and Ava has quiet time. For two hours, she can nap if she is tired, or just play quietly in her room. No noisy toys or talking is allowed, this is quiet time! I have done this with all my kids, and I think it is very beneficial. Kids need some time to just be quiet and be alone, and entertain themselves. This is also a great time for me to have some alone time, lately I spend it napping as well. On this paticular day, Ava was in her room for one hour longer than usual. The night before I had been up all night with Corrine who had croup. I left a note for the girls when they came home from school that if we were still sleeping, to be quiet and let us sleep. I had put out a snack for them, and they were quiet. I woke up at four, and went in to tell Ava she could get up. This is what I found:

She told me she was "watching Madagascar" on her magnadoodle. She was holding it up and pretending it was a tv. A little too much time alone that day?

Scuba Diving

Michaela's class had a field trip last week to a local scuba diving school. When I first heard about this, I couldn't quite believe they would let little fifth graders do this, but they did and it was fun! When they first got there, the instructor gave them a crash course in air pressure and what happens to your lungs under water, telling them very clearly that they were not to hold their breath at any time or else they could pop like the balloon he had drawn on the board to illustrate the concept. The kids were scared, and the moms were terrified, but we continued anyway. These fifth graders were so nervous, some of them even shaking. The instructor had also told them that the big fish in the tank would attack them if they were touched or bothered. I am not sure if this is true, but it certainly worked in getting the kids to leave the fish alone. They were so scared of the fish that if one came remotely near them, they swam the other way!

This is the group Michaela was with. They divided the class into three groups.

Michaela waiting to get into the water, and seeing the fish for the first time. She was a little nervous.

They used the same gear for each group, meaning that Michaela's second group had to use the masks and mouthpieces that the first group had just used, and they didn't clean them in between. I don't know why, gross. Michaela was really grossed out by this....she said "Mom, that is nasty! I don't want to use what was in someone elses mouth!" I can't say that I blame her, but I asked her if she was going to miss this opportunity due to being a germaphobe (like her mom) and she said no.

She put on the mask, and used the mouthpiece, and I think she was so nervous she didn't think much about it after that.

This is after she has all her gear on, doesn't she look so sweet?

This is where they were having them practice breathing.



After they practiced going under water and taking breaths, the instructor took them one by one to the end of the pool and back. I was so proud of Michaela. There were other kids who were so afraid that they wouldn't do it, but Michaela was one of the first to volunteer to go. I know I couldn't do it, I get claustrophobic when I try to snorkel! But Michaela was really brave. I don't know if this is the best picture of the fish, but some of them were over three feet long and very big.

Here she is coming back.

This is when he let them swim around on there own, Michaela is on the right.



All done, and somewhat relieved. She did a great job. I was so grateful to be able to experience this with her, and she was glad to have me there. Before she went in the water, she clung to me and wanted to hold my hand. Then after the dive, she said thanks for coming mom. That made me feel wonderful. After she changed, she couldn't find a sock, so I took off my socks and let her have them. I also gave her my jacket, since for some reason she left her coat at school, and she would be leaving with wet hair. So I left cold and sockless, but happy for the chance to have been there. After they left the diving school, they went to see a movie. A great field trip, and one I'm sure Michaela will remember for a lifetime.

Santa Baby

My dad got Corrine this outfit because he said it was too cute to pass up. Well, that proved true today as well! Corrine wore this to church today, and she had SO many people comment on how cute she looked, men, children, people from the other ward, everyone! In fact, I think she will wear it next week too, because she really was just too cute.

I wanted to take pictures before church, because of the spit up factor, but as usual we were running out the door without a minute to spare. 4 girls are hard to get ready for church! So I just hoped that Corrine wouldn't spit up on her dress....and she didn't! So as soon as we got home, it was time for pictures. I took some cute ones, noticed the card wasn't in my camera, would have sworn if I was that type of person, put the card in, and Corrine still cooperated! Yeah Corrine!

What you don't get from the pictures is how soft and cuddly she was. It was very soft fabric, fleece or velor, and soooo soft. Fleece on baby chub is a sublime feeling. Babies look so cute dressed like Santa!

Long distance love!

Ava got a long distance present today. Grandma had been visiting Uncle Paul and Aunt Jackie in Tennesee, and when she came home, she brought a birthday gift from them. I was touched that they made sure to make Ava feel special, even when they are so far away.

A gift is always fun,but more so when it's from Uncel Paul and Aunt Jackie! The girls all love their aunt and uncle, and miss them a lot.

Yeah, that looks like fun!

Hey, it is fun! They got her a little wooden bowling set; the pins are monkeys. Little did Uncle Paul know, but in Ava's dance class they play a little bowling game when they have done well in class, so Ava loves bowling right now. It was a perfect gift! Thanks Uncle Paul and Aunt Jackie!