A year went so quickly

We had Ivy's birthday party on Halloween, which seemed fitting because I sometimes forget that Halloween isn't actually her birthday. All of the scary stuff; the onset of HELLP, the ambulance, and her birth happened on Halloween or just after midnight. I'm glad to say this Halloween went much better.





Almost everyone from both families crowded into our house (Uncle Davin and Grandpa Leon were missed) for food and to watch Ivy down her first cake. Costumes were encouraged, though I didn't get pictures of everyone (share, people! That's what Facebook is for.) People went all out, though; the costumes were fantastic.





It has been pointed out that this picture showcases three of Mom's grandchildren; Kezie, Ivy, and Alli's Bean.
My little butterfly loved the attention and the cake. She got pretty carried away and required a post-cake bath.







We went trunk or treating with the Averett cousins that night. Here is my little witch Kezie having a great time. She's wearing a moustach courtely of either Mario or Luigi, who looked suspiciously like her uncles Mike and Dan.

dress up

Kezie has been watching rhythmic gymnastics, and practicing in the family room. She wanted a costume, and we played around with some costumes for a while. This is what we came up with. She looked so grown up, it kind of freaked me out. Then she hammed it up for the camera for a while.

Motherhood can be so much fun

WARNING: gratuitous potty story.


Kezie was throwing a fit about something or another, which is why I didn't notice her little sister creeping into the bathroom, or reaching for the little training potty. Successful in her mission to knock over Kezie's (just-filled) potty, Ivy grinned up at me, hands, belly, and bathroom floor soaked in pee.
I got a towel thrown over the mess and tossed the baby into the tub. This caused another screaming fit from Kezie because her sister was taking a bath without her. Shooed Kezie out of the bathroom to avoid further mess, and found Ivy had already taken off her own diaper (new trick; I'm so proud) which was full, and not just with pee. There were streaks and clumps all over the tub, and up the sides because she was trying to climb out. Got her hosed down, the tub hosed down, stepped over the original mess into the hallway where I was greeted by a still screaming toddler.

Tossed the kids into their respective rooms for naps, both wailing at the top of their lungs. Went to take out the garbage in preparation for the gross cleanup that was coming, and broke the garbage can.

Then the power went out. There is no light in that bathroom.

I decided this was a message from the heavens to give up for a while and take a nap.

Which I did.

OK.

Let the regularly scheduled insanity commence.

Little partners in crime

Who? US?

Yes, them. These two are such good buddies. I love going into their room at night, when they talk and giggle themselves to sleep. I don't love going into their room when Kezie has climbed into Ivy's crib, taken apart the mobile that Ivy loves to look at, and is helping her little sister throw the pieces around the room.

Lately, Kez has taken to opening the gate to let Ivy into parts of the house that she shouldn't be in. Today, Ivy was halfway down the stairs before Shawn and I both caught her, running from different directions. She was fine, but it was scary.

Ivy after a long day of getting into things she shouldn't.

She can't crawl on all fours yet, just army crawl. Last night, I left her in the downstairs family room so I could start some laundry. I finished, and she wasn't in the room. I found at AT THE TOP of the stairs. She's somehow managed to pull herself up six stairs that quickly. Bout gave me a heart attack.

Guide to speaking Toddler

It's nearly impossible to figure out what a toddler is saying without a decoder. So I'm providing this handy guide.

Fine Print: may only apply to toddlers named Kezie. All words are subject to change without notice.

Gorilla: May mean either gorilla or umbrella.
It's raining outside, I need a gorilla

Mr. Scott: I just forgot
I Mr. Scott to put my books away

Eat meal: oatmeal
For breakfast, I want eat meal

The Wee-hab: this is Kezie's favorite video on YouTube. It's the Rehab number from the TV show Glee. This video also features "princess dresses"
I want to watch the princess dresses and the wee-hab

Drawing thing: a magna doodle, or similar product
I am going to bed and I need my drawing thing.

Trunker: trunk of a car
The broken red car has a messy trunker.

Banka-let: Blanket
I need by duck banka-let

Grandma Wheat: Grandma Marie

Squeaker (also, The Sqeaker): cousin Mileia Averett
This is derived from the squeaky shoes she wears, which Kezie finds fascinating. And Becky, I'm sorry if I spelled her name wrong.

Burst: First
Burst I need something to drink.

Dolla-fin: dolphin
I want to play with my dolla-fin puzzle.

Care of me: carry me
I'm tired and I want you to care of me.

We headed to Roosevelt last weekend to hang out with Shawn's fam; I took off with the sisters-in-law for a girls' night, the kids and grown-up kids lit fireworks, there was a marathon Risk game

And a tractor. A really loud tractor.

At three a.m.

In the field next to Shawn's brother's house.

Mowing hay.


I am, as we all know, a city slicker. I couldn't see what was making all the noise in the middle of the night, and I had no idea what it could be. Poor Kezie was kept awake too, and Ivy kept tossing and turning. Add to this loud and unidentified sound: mice scritching, cats fighting, and diesel trucks driving by at all hours, and you can imagine how much sleep I got that night.

They're always telling me that the city is too noisy and crowded. This is why I just smile.


The rest of the visit was fun. Ivy met her Grandpa Leon for the first time. The girls had fun on our night out without the kids (thanks, girls!) Kezie got to be terrified of cows and chickens up close. The black spot was that my camera decided to announce that it was out of batteries about five minutes after we arrived. My love affair with that camera has definitely ended. We are no longer friends.

Trip to Logan

We made our annual summer trip to Cache Valley last week. Shawn has paperwork to fill out with the student loan office every summer, so we use it as an excuse to head up there and spend the day visiting some of our favorite Cache Valley places. We eat at the Bluebird, get ice cream at Charlie's, and stop at all the food outlets and factory stores that we miss.

It was fun to take Kezie on campus and show her the big school where Mommy and Daddy went. It's the first year she's been old enough to begin to understand what that means. While Shawn did paperwork (two more years of teaching and his loans are completely forgiven!) I took the girls around and showed them some of the buildings where Shawn and I spent most of our time.

Future Aggies?