Another Get-A-Way

I headed to Seattle last weekend with some of my family. It was a great time. My little brother, Patrick, has grown into a respectable adult, he has blossomed out of his bud and is a shining star. I sat by listening to him as he talked with such passion about his true passion in life, Culinary Arts. I went up to support him and see him graduate from Le Cordon Bleu, School of Culinary Arts. Patrick has always been shy even when it came to being with his family, he liked to be alone. I absolutely LOVED spending time with him, listening to him be so excited about sauces. He was so excited to tell us about his challenge of cooking with something that was not a staple. He picked Starbursts, WHAT?! He was able to melt them down, mix them with some other ingredients and make it into a fabulous sauce served over duck. Pat shared stories of his growing experience in Culinary school, cooking for world renowned chefs, building friendships for a lifetime, blossoming into a respectable adult. I am so proud of him and so glad that I could witness such an amazing accomplishment for him. After the graduation I took a picture of him with Chef DeLaCruz, a chef that took Pat under his wing. Chef DeLaCruz told me that Pat will go places and that he will eat in Patrick's restaurant one day. That was a wonderful compliment to end such a terrific day. I am so proud of Pat. I love you Patrick!! Will post pics soon...

2 weekends in a row to leave my babies was a bit too much. I missed them a ton and they missed me even more. Jer said Aliya cried for me a lot more the second weekend. Sunday the kids were at Grandma's and Aliya Juel crawled to the front door crying for me and pointing at the door. Jaxon was mad at me for not being home yet and he continues to tell me that he doesn't like me to leave. I hope not to leave them again for a while.

A little get away

I went to Jackson Hole this past weekend with a group of amazing woman. My friend Janelle is getting married and we went to celebrate her last few days of being a bachelorette. It was a great time, very relaxing. We slept in...until 8 AM both days :) I missed my babies much more than I thought I would. This was the first time I had left Aliya for more than 7 hours. They always make me smile. It was a nice little get away, and very nice to come home to my sweet kiddos. Here is a picture of the ladies...

Easter 2010

Aliya Juel is 10 months

I love that she actually has a bum in this picture (thanks to cloth diapers). Now she can actually where pants bigger than 0-3 months.

Aliya Juel is 10 months old and such a happy, giggly baby. She is still one of the most laid back babies I have ever seen. the only time she gets frustrated is when we are all eating and not feeding her. Aliya Juel is 15# 6oz (clothed). We went to the Dr this week after having a high fever for a few days and a rash all over her body. No big deal and she was better with in a few hours of leaving the Dr, of course.

Some new things with Aliya:

*She cruises all over the furniture, she will go from one piece to the next, but still pretty cautious of not standing alone for more than a second or two.

*Aliya is very laid back, she loves watching her surroundings.

*She wakes up and plays in her crib before she wakes me up.

*She is no where near ready to wean, she loves that little bit of time she gets with me a few times a day still. Thanks to medication that enables me to continue to nurse her.

*She says Mama, Dada, Baba, and Baby (bayba).

*Aliya signs milk, more, food, and as of today tired/sleep.

*She waves good night when we put her in her crib and we don't hear from her for 11-12 hours. 

*Aliya got two teeth last week and they didn't phase her much, but since then she has started to chew her food more. 

*We take a signing class with her and Jaxon and it is really fun to see her interact with other kids all within 6 months of her age. She observes them all and is very content playing with one toy, if hers gets taken away she moves on to the next.

*She loves music and will dance as soon as any comes on.

*She sleeps on her tummy.

*Her hair is coming in dark and sticks out on the sides. 

*It looks like she will have brown eyes.

*She is an absolutely beautiful baby.

We switched to cloth diapers 90% of the time. I was a little nervous to switch, but could not be more happy with our decision. After looking into having to by diapers, I decided to give it a try since I had coupons for Gdiapers (hybrid diapers). I LOVE them. I actually have been making my own cloth inserts and have used a few of their flushable inserts. Jer and I have found the cloth diapers to be quite easy to use. I made the inserts with a layer of flannel on the outside so when she makes a mess we just drop them in the toilet, swirl them around and then transfer them to the bucket with water and Borax. I was nervous that Jer would not like them and give me a hard time about being green and trying to save money, but he actually likes them and supports my decision as well. He has had the messiest diaper so far and I was quite impressed with how he handled it. With our next baby we will start cloth diapers much sooner. I am glad that I was able to not have to buy more diapers. It is quite cheap to make your own inserts. I will take some pictures soon of how cute the diaper covers are. I got a great deal on the covers that I did buy. I only do disposable when she goes to grandma's and the babysitters, so about 4 diapers a week (that's less than $1 a week and only adding 12 diapers a month to the landfill). It takes diapers 10-20 years to decompose, if they will even decompose. The cheap ones have more plastic in them and do not decompose. It is worth it to use cloth, when you look at the whole picture.

Sisters

I am so lucky to be in such an amazing family. This post is not intended to leave anyone out, it is more just a post to express my appreciation to my amazing sisters and best friends. My entire family is amazing and I married into a wonderful family that I love and appreciate so much.
My 3 sisters help me with everything in my life. I wish that all 3 of them lived as close as Elizabeth but they have amazing lives on the East coast.
Rachael is always so amazing with her advice. She is so sweet as well as being very matter of fact. I appreciate her advice on many areas in my life. What sister would fly from Boston for a weekend to meet her new little niece, or fly home to see her niece and nephew play soccer, since she hadn't seen a game all season. She is always there when it is an important event in all of our lives. I will get to see her at Pat's culinary school graduation. Rachael is an amazing woman in the workforce, always working 80+ hours a week as to not put too much of a work load on her team. I love her so much!!!
Kate is always saying the right thing at the right time. Her thoughtful cards are an uplifter on many days, I keep them on hand just in case she hasn't sent one in a while. Kate is in town right now, it is so nice to have her here. She is so funny, I love how she gets down on the floor to play with all the kiddos. She spends most of her time visiting with family. She is doing amazing things in her job. I hope that she will return to Utah one day. Since I know I will never convince Rach, I can at least work on Kate. Rachael argues that she needs Kate close to her.
Elizabeth and her family are there for me in too many ways to list. I am so lucky to live close to her. She is a mentor to me. I hope that I can be half the mom that she is. I love that she is best friends with Aspen and Dylan. I can always call her for parenting advice, a couch to sleep on, or a shoulder to cry on. Elizabeth is ALWAYS willing to help me with the kids. She will always find a way to rearrange things to help me out. I am lucky that I never have to worry about my kids when she has them. We are both lucky in that aspect. I look at and love her children as my own. They are both so sweet and patient with Jaxon, even when he probably bugs them with his 3 year old ways. They never lead him to feel like he is a bother. And Aliya Juel just loves watching Dylan. I could not be where I am today if it weren't for Elizabeth and her family.
I am so lucky to have 3 sisters that are also my best friends. I do not express to them enough how grateful I am for everything that they do for me. Thanks for all of your support over the years. I wish I could repay you in the same way. I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Jaxon

Jaxon is such a funny little guy. Some things he has said lately that has brought smiles to my face...

Today:
J: Our house is so messy, I need to clean it all. Then I can be happy again.
This is his way of being allowed a spray bottle to spray down the house. He also loves mopping.

Nightly:
J:Mom, I love you LOTS!
M: I love you LOTS too baby.
J:Thanks Mama!
Then he rolls over and goes to sleep.

Last night:
J:I don't love dad, just you.
M:Why? You can love more than 1 person.
J:No, just you.
M:Do you love Aliya Juel?
J:Yes
M:Mo, Aunt Kate, Aunt Rach, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Elizabeth....
J:Yes, and Dylan
M:See you can love everybody. So, do you love dad.
J:No
SAD! After awhile I was able to convince him to give Jer a hug and tell him that he loves him.

He says funny, sweet things daily. I try to remember the good days, over the bad since there are more of them.

Last night Jaxon was able to read a whole book (beginner of course) all by himself. It is something that he enjoys doing, and he continues to lead the way in this area.