Who needs an appendix?

John-Charles decided a while ago that he really wanted to become a high school physical science teacher.  A few weeks before I was to give birth to Max, John-Charles informed me that he would have to take Geology 210, which means that he would be gone for two weeks in August adventuring in the mountains.  I'm not going to lie, when he told me I broke down in tears. I didn't know how I could handle a newborn and Penny.  I instantly called my Mom and asked her if I could come and be with her during those two weeks.

The summer flew by before I knew it, and the time for John-Charles to leave on this mountainous excursion had come.  He left August 12th.  My mom drove down from Boise to pick me and the kids up. She stayed for a few days and then we decided to head back to Boise on  Wednesday, August 14th.  Cindy came over that morning with Garrett and we just enjoyed being together as we packed and cleaned. We weren't in any hurry to get going.  After we had the car all packed and ready go, we were hungry so we went to lunch at Kneaders.  By the time we finished lunch it was almost 4. We also wanted to stop by Lisa's house to see her and Michelle, who was in town for a little R and R.  We didn't leave Lisa's house until 8:20pm.

Max and Penny were both great travelers.  Penny slept for a little while, read some books, sang Barney songs, and played a little on the iPad. Max just snoozed away and we only had to stop once during the drive so that I could nurse him.  We stopped in Jerome, Idaho to get gas, feed Max, and eat a little snack. It was around 11pm but Penny was so hungry, and I was getting hungry as well, so we got McDonald's.  When I was pregnant with Penny we had stopped at the Burger King in Jerome to get food on our way back from Boise once and I got terrible food poisoning. We were not going to go to Burger King this time because I was afraid of getting sick again.  After we got our food and got back onto the road, I started feeling a little nauseated and thought "Oh no! I got food poisoning again." Through out the rest of the drive I kept getting waves of nausea but it was manageable. I figured I either had food poisoning or I was just really tired.

We rolled into Boise around 1:30 am.  My mom lives in Nampa, which is a little town about 30 minutes outside of Boise.  As we got closer to her house, my mom had the sudden realization that she had left her house keys in my apartment in Utah. She thought that maybe she could get into the house from the back door, but upon trying, she couldn't get in. We had to turn around and head back to Julie's house which is about 25 minutes in the opposite direction in Meridian.  We got to Julie's house around 2:30 am, and after chatting for a bit, I took the kids and we conked out. I was so incredibly tired I could hardly keep my eyes open and fell fast asleep.

Around 5:30 am, I was abruptly woken up by a sharp pain by my belly button. I instantly thought it was my IUD I just had put in about 2 weeks ago.  It would be my luck that it would dislodge and perforate my intestines or something.  I ran to the bathroom to make sure the string was still where it should be. and the string was where it should be so I just drank some water and went back to bed.  I was able to fall asleep for short periods of time and then I'd be woken back up by these waves of incredible pain.  Finally, when Penny woke up for the day, around 8:30 am, I got up with her and we went to eat breakfast.  I could not eat anything because my stomach was hurting so badly.  Julie got me some Tylenol and Tums, but that did nothing for me.  The pain was now constant and it was radiating throughout my entire core.  After I had Penny, I had liver complications, and the pain I was now feeling felt really similar to the pains I felt with my liver.  I was terrified that it was my liver again.  I called Dr. Lind's office and the nurse told me to go to the ER right away.  This was the worst possible timing as Julie's baby shower was later that day and she really needed my mom and I to help her prepare. However, I was just in so much pain I knew I needed to head to hospital because the pain I was feeling was not normal.  Julie really needed my mom to help her with the kids, so Jules dropped me off at the ER. This was around 1pm.

I thought I'd be in the ER for at most 3 hours and then they'd be able to figure out what was going on, fix it, and go home.  Wrong! After many hours and a battery of tests, they found everything looked normal. It wasn't my liver or my kidneys.  At this point I was in agonizing pain, I was terrified of what was happening to me, I was all alone, and extremely emotional.  Hillarie called Dave and told him what was going on. So him and his brother Michael came in to give me a blessing. It meant a lot to me to have them come and be with me as well as to hear the comforting words of the blessing. Then they had to go back to work, and I was all alone again. Being alone in a situation like this is lonely and terrifying.

  The nurse assistant and the doctor treated me like I was a junkie looking for pain medication because, according to the tests, I was healthy.  I knew something was horribly wrong because of the pain I was feeling.  In between tests, I called Hillarie seeking comfort and her roommate, Karen, had the thought that maybe it was my appendix, which had never occurred to me.  When the doctor came in, around 5:30 pm, he sat down on his stool and looked at me and said, "My shift is ending so I will give you two choices. A) You can go home and come back in the morning or B) we can try a CT scan with contrast to see what is going on in your belly and my partner will follow up with you." I broke down in sobbing tears and told him "I'm not making this up! I know something is wrong."  I then proceeded to tell him that maybe it was my appendix and he said, "No. no. I don't think it's your appendix. Your symptoms don't seem to go along with that diagnosis. But, if you're fine with waiting for a couple more hours, we will do the CT scan and see what is going on inside your belly."  I, of course, was all for the CT scan because I knew that they'd find what was wrong with me with this test, and did not want to go home!

 The girl from radiology came in, had me drink the awful contrast mixed in with about 32 ounces of Sprite, and then I had to wait for an hour before I they could do the test. Such a long hour.  I was wracking my brain about what could be going wrong with me. The thought kept going through my mind, "Can I really have any more kids? Every time I've had a baby, at exactly 8 weeks my body does something crazy..." I kept sobbing from the emotions I was feeling and as well as the pain.  I called my family and gave them updates about my condition. Hearing their voices was comforting. All I wanted was John-Charles but he was in the middle of the mountains and I had no way to get a hold of him. I called my father-in-law, Paul, and just sobbed to him.  I was so worried about being a burden on my mom and Julie.  I knew that caring for Max and Penny was taxing on both of them because my mom is 67 and Julie is about to give birth any day.  I couldn't find peace because I just didn't know how my kids were going to be cared for without really being a burden on my family.  Plus, I was all alone and it was scary! Julie and my Mom were at the baby shower, and Dave was taking care of all of the kids.  Literally, no one could come and be with me. Finally, the hour passed, and they came to get me to perform the test. I was so cold, scared, and in pain that I was trembling as they laid me on the table to start the test. When they injected the rest of the contrast into my veins I welcomed the hot sensation it sent through my body. All I wanted was warm blankets wrapped around me.

I had to wait another hour to get the test results. By this time it was round 8:30 pm. The 2nd doctor came in and happily exclaimed,  'Get ready! You're having surgery to get your appendix out tonight!" I was so relieved to hear that news. They found what was wrong and it was fixable. Remember, I still had not received anymore pain meds since I had first gotten to the ER, and I had never felt the intensity of pain I was feeling at that moment.  When they discovered it was my appendix they were able to give me more pain medication and it was stronger too.  At last I was able to feel some relief.  I also had not eaten anything since the night before when we stopped in Jerome, and now that I was getting surgery I couldn't eat/drink anything.

Shortly after I found out that I'd be getting surgery, they transferred me from the ER to the MedSurge floor to room 508.  I had the most wonderful nurse, Sarah. She was blessing from heaven.  She is young and just had a baby 3 1/2 months ago.  We were able to relate on so many levels and she became my friend. I no longer felt alone.  Since she has a young baby, she has to pump when she works.  After she had gone down to pump, she brought me back a breast pump so that I could pump and keep up my milk supply for Max. After not feeding him all day long, I could tell my milk was diminishing. I was so thankful for the pump! I love breastfeeding Max.  Once I was admitted to MedSurge, the surgeon gave them permission to give me more medication more often.  It was heaven sent.  It greatly reduced the amount of pain I was feeling.  Sarah came in around 11pm and told me that all of the operating rooms were books and so I wouldn't be able to get in for surgery till the morning.  I was so hungry/thirsty this was a bit of a blow, and even with the pain medication, I was still feeling a great amount of pain.  My body must have had enough around 1 am, because I started throwing up uncontrollably for the rest of the night.  Sarah came in around 3:45 am, and told me that I was getting in for surgery at around 7 am.  I was so happy! I tried to sleep but I kept being woken up by my nausea and pain.  Throwing up straight bile for many hours thrashed my throat. By 6 am, I couldn't talk and was so weak.

At 6:45 they sent a gurney up to retrieve me for surgery.  I kept throwing up as they wheeled me through the halls and by the time I got to the prep room for surgery I must have looked like death because they were rushing to get me into surgery. The nurses kept saying, "she isn't doing well. We need to hurry. Get her this {insert medication}.."  They put cold rags on me to help cool me off and give me some comfort.  The last thing I remember is a nurse coming up to me, looking me in the eyes, and saying "It's going to get much better now, honey. What I am about to give you will put you to sleep and make you forget what is going on..." and then I drifted off.  I remember them putting me onto the operating table and putting the light over me but that is it.

When I awoke from surgery, I heard the doctor say, "We got it out just in time." Thank goodness my appendix didn't rupture! That would have been horrible. I was so in and out of it as they wheeled me back to room 508.  I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience because I could hear them talking to me and could see them, but I couldn't move or speak. I kept drifting in and out of consciousness. At around 11:30 am, I woke up to my amazing father-in-law walking into my room.  It was such a sense of relief to see him there and it was so comforting to feel him be there for me.  He really is like a dad to me. He stayed by my side for the next two days.  We talked a lot and I was able to really get to know him on a different level. It was wonderful.

Max was having a hard time with Julie because he didn't want to drink formula.  The doctors told me at first that I needed to pump and dump because of what medication I was receiving, but the lactation specialist came to see me and told me it was fine if I nursed.  So my mom brought Max and Penny into be with me.  Penny only stayed for an hour.  She loved pushing all the buttons all around the room and got in trouble from the nurse.  Max, however, stayed with me in the hospital. They even brought up a crib from Mother/Baby.  Someone had to be with  me at all times while he was there because I couldn't by myself with him since I was on some serious pain meds. Paul stayed at a hotel near-by and my mom came to be with me.

Bless my sisters' souls, Lisa bought Michelle a plane ticket to fly up and help out.  Michelle is such a trooper and took over the care of Penny.  It has been so wonderful to see Penny bond with her.  You can tell they will have a special relationship.  In fact, as I write this, Penny is at Michelle's house the for week in Rexburg so that I can recover.

Thank goodness for family because I couldn't have done this without them.

Max's Birth Story

My pregnancy with this sweet baby was fantastic. In the first trimester I threw

up maybe a handful of times, the second trimester I felt energized, and in the

third I felt great up until the last few weeks when I started getting really big. The

only thing that wasn't so fun was the lack of sleep due to uncomfortableness, but

considering all that could have gone wrong I really can't complain.

The easiness of Max's pregnancy definitely carried over into his labor and

delivery. Throughout this pregnancy, I was going to school, being a mommy to

Penny, and had other various trials so I feel like Heavenly Father really blessed me

with a tender mercy of an easy pregnancy and birth.

I had to learn patience this time around because I was determined that I

wouldn't do anything to speed things along like I had with Penny. Remember the

caster oil story? Yeah, that was not happening again. Talk about embarrassing.

At an appointment I had in the beginning of June, Dr. Lind told me he would

induce me on June 20th, five days before my due date, June 25th. At first I was all

for it, but then as time went by I felt really uneasy about being induced. With that

uneasiness came a determination that I would stick it through as long as possible

because I really wanted to experience going into labor on my own, the natural way. This became very important to me, and gave me the willpower to maintain my sanity until baby boy arrived.

Towards the end of my pregnancy I was getting extremely uncomfortable

and it was getting hard to meet all of Penny's needs because physically I just

couldn't keep up.  Dr. Lind had a trip to Africa planned and told me he was leaving but assured me he would be back before I went into labor. He would be back in the office by the 15th. Since my due date was the 25th I assumed it would be fine, but I did have Penny at 38 weeks so there was a big possibility I would have the baby before my due date. My sister-in-law, Jenny, who also is a patient of Dr. Lind's, had an appointment scheduled with him on the 15th, and while she was at our house received a call from his office telling her that he had gotten stuck in Africa and wouldn't be returning until later into the the next week. This of course caused great panic in me because when I had Penny my OB/GYN was out of town and his forcep-episiotomy-happy partner delivered me and it was not at all what I

wanted. I really wanted MY doctor. So even though I was extremely

uncomfortable, could hardly get anything done, and wasn't sleeping, I mentally was

willing myself to keep that baby inside until Dr. Lind got back.

However, the night of June 15th I started having some serious contractions that were about every 2-3 minutes apart. I had a false alarm with Penny and got sent home from the hospital and really didn't want that to happen again. So, we were sure wait a couple of hours before going into the hospital.  While we were waiting it out, John-Charles and I decided to start watching the new Sherlock Holmes movie and had to turn it off early because my contractions were so intense and so regular. We were both convinced this was the night our little guy would be making his debut. At 12:30 a.m. we packed up the car and headed to the hospital.

 Both of use were starving so we made a stop by McDonald's, since this would be our last meal for awhile. When we arrived at American Fork Hospital,  they put us in the observation room to track my progress over an hour. When the nurse came back after an hour of long, hard contractions and told me I hadn't progressed at all I honestly wanted to kick her. How dare she insult me

with that news! I knew I was in labor. She sent us home with some Percocet and told us it probably wouldn't be too much longer until we were back

at the hospital again. The walk-of-shame out of the hospital was humiliating,

especially since we passed the same security guard that we had passed on the

way in.

Saturday passed, Sunday passed, and by Monday I just given up the thought that I

would be going into labor anytime. Each day John-Charles and I would look at

each other and say "Is today the day?" It was exciting because it felt like the night

before Christmas as we both anticipated when he would come. Yet at the same

time it was frustrating because I was getting so uncomfortable and everyone kept

calling me everyday for updates about how I was feeling. When I had to keep

telling them "Oh, nothing. Just the same old news. He's just content as can be in

there." I began to believe that I might be pregnant forever.

Currently, John-Charles is doing his ESL practicum at Springville Junior High and is also taking a Dinosaur class for his major. So Mondays and Wednesdays he is gone all day. Tuesday night, the 19th, I was gearing up mentally for the hard day that Wednesday would be because he would be gone all day and I would have to meet all of Penny's needs by myself. That probably sounds silly but I was so physically tired that I couldn't honestly see myself getting through the next day. As I sat up in my makeshift bed I had made on couch because my bed was so uncomfortable to me at this point in my pregnancy, I was just filled with dread for the next day.  Going through one more day pregnant seemed nearly impossible to me.

At the same time I was stressing about the next day, I was experiencing A LOT of pressure everywhere in my body and couldn't relax. I would fall asleep for about

45 minutes and then wake up because I just felt like my body would burst.  I made lots of trips to the bathroom that night. At  5:30 a.m. I got up and went the bathroom once again and was just starting to drift back into sleep when I felt a gush of fluid come out of me. In my mind I was thinking, "Wait a second, I just went the bathroom. That isn't pee is it? Did I just wet the bed?" and then more fluid gushed out and I sat up realizing that my water had just broken! In a hushed yell, so that I wouldn’t wake up Penny, I said, "John-Charles! John-Charles! (at this point he aroused from his sleep) my water broke!" He sat up like a bolt of lighting and excitedly said, "Really?!" I quickly stood up and more water splashed on the floor. Within 10 minutes we were out of the door. I was so excited my water broke! My mom's water broke when she was pregnant with me at the library.  I always thought that was pretty cool. Having my water break was something I really wanted to happen because A) usually it's a good story and B) there is no second-guessing that you're really going into labor. Once that water breaks you know there is a baby that will soon be following.

As I hurried to get ready to go, I felt so much relief we were having this baby, and I wouldn't have to go through Wednesday all by myself. Also, it was early in the morning, and that meant that sweet Penny wouldn't wake up in a panic in the middle of the night wondering where we were (which had happened Friday the 15^th with the false alarm. She woken up right after we left, and had been up the whole time we were gone. Poor Grandpa tried to console her but she just cried the whole time). My mind was at peace and I felt so happy I could burst. I had prayed that my water would break and that I would go into labor in the morning. 

At this point I wasn't having any contractions at all. We were in such a hurry to get to the hospital that I didn't think to put a pad or toilet paper in tocatch the water, so as I walked I kept feeling little gushes trickle out. Since my water broke we were admitted right away into a labor and delivery room, which by the way, were gorgeous and huge. At 6 a.m. my water broke, by 6:30 we were

in a L/D room, and by 7:30 a.m. I had my epidural.  I still wasn't

having regular contractions so they started me on pitocin to get things going.

Dr. Lind had gotten back on the 19th and wasn't on call to deliver that day. So his

partner Dr. Jones came into talk to me and introduce himself since he would be

delivering me that day. He seemed really great and although I really wanted Dr. Lind, I was okay with it all.  Surprisingly, a short while after he had come into see me, my nurse, Mary Ellen, informed me that Dr. Lind would in fact be coming in special to deliver me! I was so excited! I felt so at peace and so blessed. So many of the things I had hoped and for were coming to fruition.

John-Charles laid on the couch trying to catch some Zzz's and I tried to do the same but I was just so excited that it made it hard to sleep. At around 11:45 a.m. I

started feeling some serious pressure and discomfort, even with the epidural.  The nurse checked me and I was an 8.  Lyssa, my sister-in-law, was coming to take pictures of the labor and delivery, and so we called to let her know it was going to be soon.  I tried to relax and sleep, but it was difficult. By 12:15 p.m. I was experiencing even more discomfort and pressure and another nurse came in and said, "Let me check you again. I'm thinking we are getting really close. Something for sure is going on down there. " So, she checked me and I was a 10! They called Dr. Lind, got everything set up, and by 12:45 p.m. Dr. Lind was in the room. At 12:51 I started pushing. Quickly, as the baby was descending, Dr. Lind could see that the baby was face up. Dr. Lind had to turn him by his ears to be facedown. By 12:59 p.m. little Maximus Alexander was here! He was 7 lbs 10 oz and 21 inches long. 

Seeing your baby for the first time is the most magical, spiritual experience.  Both John-Charles and I were filled with emotion as we witnessed this sweet little baby come into the world.  There is nothing like it. He was beautiful, healthy and had no problems. 

One of the first things I noticed is that he has John-Charles's feet. :) They were able to give himto me right away and I got to help clean him off while he lay on my stomach.

With Penny I didn't get to see her for about 10 minutes after her birth because

she had swallowed meconium and they had to suck it out of her lungs. The way

everything was panning out seemed liked a dream, almost to good to be true.

Right away I was able to try to nurse him. He was a champ and latched on. He

definitely has a good suck. Side note--Penny is a joy and light in my life beyond

anything I had ever hoped or dreamed was possible. However, as an infant she

was extremely colicy and was not a good nurser. Until she was 9 months-old I

pumped about every 3-4 hours so that I could at least give her breastmilk.

Thanks to my sister's hospital-grade pump that was possible, but boy was it a

pain. I was really hoping that this sweet baby boy would be a good nurser, and he

is! However, he would get really tired after a few minutes and we soon

discovered he was tongue-tied. Dr. Glade came in and did a little surgery (clipped

his tongue) and wa-la! he was a much better nurser than even before. Such a

blessing!!

My whole experience at American Fork Hospital was awesome. I wish that I could go back and relive those few days.  

Sassy Penny

Penny has been so funny lately.  Her personality is emerging with a BANG.  As an infant she was so mellow, calm, and sweet.  As a toddler she is turning into a fiery little creature. Still so sweet and pleasant, but has these explosive moments that make me ask, "Where did that come from?!".  I love this age.  Every stage has been my "favorite" but I truly think that this stage is the real deal.

She is a little mimic. I called John-Charles "babe" yesterday and she turned to him and said, "baby-daddy." With every word I say, I hear her little, liltish voice try to mimic it. It is heart melting.

She is definitely learning how to work her parents as well.  She has always been really great at going to bed.  In December, a light switch went off and she decided she really didn't like going to sleep anymore.  This means no more 7 pm bedtime and only a 30-45 minute nap/day.  We're lucky if we can get her to sleep solidly through the night.  Lately, she wakes up around 10ish and will say she is "hungry." Even if I offer her a granola bar, she will still say "hungry, Mommy. Highchair, please." Suddenly we realized that she wasn't really hungry and was using this as an excuse to get out of bed. We are suckers though. Last night, she woke up right on schedule at 10:30 pm. I think she must be having nightmares that wake her up because she wakes up crying hysterically.  When we go in to console her she usually wants to come to our bed and be with us for a bit.  Well, last night was no different and so we did just that.  We laid her down with us, and all of the sudden she sits up and says to John-Charles, "Daddy, me hungry."  John-Charles and I have wised up to this, like I said before, and so of course he said, "No, Penny. It's time for bed. We will sing a song  and go back to bed."  She keeps persisting, "Me Hungry, Me Hungry, Me hungry."  We keep telling her "No. Bed time." She finally turns again to John-Charles and tilts her little head and gives the sweetest smile, "Daddy. Me hungry. Pweeze." :)  We just burst into laughter, and then she started laughing too (she loves to laugh with us even if she doesn't understand what we are laughing about.) We couldn't help but laugh because it has finally happened.  She is workin' the parental system like a mastermind.

She is usually on hyperdrive and getting into everything from the time she wakes up until she goes to sleep. For this pregnant Mama, it can sometimes be a tad bit overwhelming and tiring. But, I really do love it. She is such a vibrant little girl and I just love watching her come into her own. It makes me happy, truly it does.

Baby #2

I've always admired those women who can have baby after baby. Bless their souls. I admire them greatly! If only...But after having Penny I needed some time to get back into shape and mentally prepare for the next one. Two years later I was ready! It was exciting to start trying again and dream about this little person who would be coming to our family.  I am very blessed with fertility because we only tried for two months and SUCCESS! We were pregnant. Currently, I am 17 weeks pregnant and my due date is June 25, 2012.  

When we first found out that we were pregnant it didn't seem real.  It wasn't until week 6, when the sickness hit, that I suddenly realized "okay, this is real and I am definitely having a baby." This go-around, the sickness was a little different. I wasn't throwing up as much. I was still very nauseated, but I had more of an appetite. Although, few things sounded appetizing. Also, I started getting really bad migraines. Thank goodness for Tylenol! Luckily, after about week 14 the sickness started dissipating. 

This is the first week that I actually feel really good and have energy back. I have even started working out again. With Penny it took me forever to lose the baby weight and I think it's because I completely stopped all forms of exercising.  I have been doing some prenatal Yoga, walking, and I just bought Summer Sander's prenatal workout DVD. I'm excited to try it. I have definitely felt better working out in this pregnancy and I notice that my hips feel better after I work out.  In pregnancy my hip/groin area gets intensely sore and achy so I am happy to see that this is helping! I'm hoping this will help me bounce back faster! 

Last week I started feeling little flutters. It's not regular at all but I can especially feel the baby when I lay on my side. It's so fun.

I'm excited/nervous to have another baby. Sometimes I feel like I can hardly handle one and what the heck was I thinking getting pregnant again, but then that goes away and I feel really happy/at peace. I go to the doctor tomorrow for my 17 week check-up. I am excited to hear the baby's little heart beat. It always makes me feel better to know everything is okay.

Crazy Life and Updates

We have been insanely busy as of late.  I can't say that is why I haven't blogged though because frankly I just got out of the habit of doing it! I am sorry. I will try to be better about updating more often.

Some updates:

• I ran a half-marathon in Rexburg in June! It was awesome and such a great experience. I am excited to do more races in the future! I ran it in 2:18 minutes. Definitely a great way to get back into shape. I think I will be doing this after every baby.
• I graduated from BYU with my bachelors degree in 2010, but have decided to go back to school and become a nurse.  Right now I am in the midst of taking some pre-reqs at UVU to apply to some programs.  I am really shooting for the University of Utah's accelerated program that will give me another bachelors through a one year program.  So far my pre-reqs are going well and I'm crossing my fingers that things keep going as planned.  I am hoping to get into any program really because it is so competitive to get into nursing school right now.  
• It is very hard to be a mommy and a student at the same time, and then I got called to be in the Young Women's presidency as the secretary in my ward. Basically, my life is INSANELY busy. I honestly never have free time except for the rare occasion. I keep telling myself that this won't be forever because there are some days that it feels like too much. I'm really trying to find joy in the journey, and most days I do. I'm loving my calling and working with the young women. It is exactly where I need to be right now.
• John-Charles and my sister-in-law, Jenny, started a new business called EXCELLENCE IN-HOME TUTORING.  They have been ACT and subject  tutoring now for 2 years and decided that instead of working for someone else while just making $16/hr they would start their own and make better money for their families.  So far so good! The business has really taken off and they even have a waiting list.  They go to their client's homes and tutor them there. John-Charles is hardly ever home between school and work.  Another reason my life is so crazy! Most days I feel like a single mom.  I feel very blessed that everything is going so well though.

Here are some updates about Penny (This is more for journaling purposes. So you can tune out if you get bored):

• Penny is talking up a storm.  She says, "I love you my mommy," "I love you my water,"...she likes to say "my" in front of a lot of things.  She knows what most things are called. She calls my mom, Grandma Linda, "Grandma Deda." Penny ADORES all of her cousins. She knows all of their names and says them everyday at least 2 times. When I ask her if she wants to do something and she doesn't, she'll say, "No, ok." Like saying "No, I'm ok." She says thank you for everything. It's adorable. She also has mastered using my iPhone and iPad and will ask to play with "iPhone" and "iPad." 

• She is insanely good at completing shape/figure puzzles.  She is starting to do some jigsaw puzzles.  She can count to 14, but I don't think she knows what the numbers mean.   
• Her favorite animal is an elephant. 
•  Bath time is an all-time favorite activity. She could stay in the bath for two hours everyday if I let her.
• Eating is still a struggle.  She mainly eats Gerber graduate meals, Mac 'n Cheese,  Cheese Quesadillas, Grilled Cheese, fruit, etc.  Vegetables are pretty much non-existent in her diet as much as I try to push them. She sometimes will eat peas, green beans, and carrots.  The only vegetable she LOVES is purple cabbage with Olive Garden dressing on it. She also LOVES fruit snacks.
• Around her 2nd birthday (which I will have to post about soon) we weened her from bottles.  She is still drinking mainly from sippy cups and sometimes from open glasses.  She has been using her little Camelbak a lot lately.
• Penny LOVES Barney, Super Why, Elmo, and basically anything on Sprout. I put all the Barney songs on my ipod and she always request them when we drive.  She sings along to almost every song.  She is very musically inclined.  In fact, she knows all the words to "I Am a Child of God," "Familes are Forever," and most of "I Love to See the Temple."
•   Every night for our nightly routine we read a few books and sing a few songs.  We always sing Barney's "I Love You" song before we put her down in her crib.  She loves it.  She is going down about 7pm and wakes up sometime between 6:30 and 7:30 am. She still takes a nap during the day. Usually around 1pm and will only sleep for about an hour.

Penny is a little ray of sunshine that is so sweet and mellow.  She lights up my life. I love her so much! Motherhood can be challenging and there are can be really hard days, but she makes it all worth it.

Enter my friend's fun giveaway

My cute friend Marie has an awesome giveaway right now. She is giving away a DownEast swimsuit!! Go to her site and find out the details of how to enter.

http://mandcgreen.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-and-giveaway-downeast-basics.html

Fun Times With The Penster

Aaron caught this video while we were watching the Super Bowl. She is so fun! I love her funny antics and yoga moves. :)