Elise

Here is what Elise is like lately

Throwing a tantrum about getting out of the bath., lasting for 20 minutes after I drained the water

-acting more like a 2-year-old. We are getting some tantrums but I am hopeful they will dissipate with age. Given the fact that Elise is starting her big tantrums more than a year older than Sadie started hers, I know we can survive it.

-being hilarious. The other day she started talking in this weird voice. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I am Donald Duck." It cracks us all up when she does her impression.

Cuddling with her blanket after a nap

-still taking good naps about 75% of the time. When she does nap it is usually between 2 and 3 hours. A couple of days each week she plays in her crib instead of napping. I don't want to ever put her in a real bed. Can't she just sleep in a crib forever?

-seems to be getting taller by the day. She is starting to outgrow her size 3T clothes. This confuses me. It doesn't seem like she is super tall, but she is going to be in 4T before she turns 3.

One her favorites- "booburries"

-is a great eater. I completely trust her eating. If she doesn't eat much at one meal I don't nag her because most of the time she eats a lot. She will frequently come back a half hour after a meal and ask where her food is if she didn't finish it. She also asks for snacks between meals. Sadie rarely asks for snacks so it still throws me off when Elise tells me she is hungry.

-knows all her letters, numbers and colors. We just discovered this last week. I assumed she knew some of them. But we pulled out some alphabet cards last week and Elise named each one correctly.

-getting more interested in the iPad/phones. She will still watch Sadie, but demands her own turns as well.

-not interested in potty-training. She loves to sit on the potty, wipe, flush, and wash her hands. Just no actual potty-ing occurs. I tried putting her in underwear last week and she was very confused when pee came out of her and she got all wet. She didn't like it. Maybe we'll try it again in a few weeks.

-enjoys playing pretend. She plays pretend with our toys but her favorite thing is to pretend to be someone else, usually a princess. She assigns everyone in the family a character. She will call us all by these names for hours. She generally calls Daniel "Flynn Ryder" more than she calls him dad. Her other new favorite is General Chang, since she is frequently pretending to be Mulan.

-is extremely independent. If I try to help her with something she usually undoes my action so she can do it herself. She also plays by herself a lot. She will go up in Sadie's room for a while. You can also almost always guarantee she is pooping if she stays by herself. The girl likes to poop in privacy.

-thinks my jewelry is her jewelry. On Sunday at church she insisted I take off my necklace so she could wear it. She also likes to spin in place until she falls down.

-hits and pushes more than Sadie. The girls have been duking it out more lately. Both of them hit and kick each other and the screaming volume increases until both of them are crying and hitting. I try not to get too involved. I want them to work it out, but if it gets to that point I have to send them to time-outs. They get over it pretty much immediately and go back to playing what they were playing.

-loves to put her toys "down for naps". Apparently that is the best thing in Elise's mind about being the mom. You get to tell other people when to sleep.

Sadie

Now that I have taken a nice long break from the blog I want to spend some time writing about my girls at their current stages of life. Let's start with Sadie.

Taking a break while pretending to be a BYU cheerleader. 

Apparently they perform shirtless?

 -loves to sing and dance. Her songs are frequently improvised with words about whatever she is playing make-believe with at the moment. Her dancing is equally amazing. I turn Pandora on and she performs on the stage, which is, obviously, the tile in front of the fireplace.

-is a very conscientious student. It seems like she is a very similar student to me as a child. She follows rules precisely and is very concerned with getting anything wrong. She is hesitant to try anything that seems too hard for her. I am trying to loosen her up about school a little.  

Fell asleep on the 6 minute drive to dance class 

-is very excited to be taking a dance class again. After trying a couple of classes at a private studio in Pleasant Grove, I was pleasantly surprised that Sadie chose the hip-hop class. The more serious class was way over Sadie's head (and ability) and I am glad she chose the more fun class. Don't worry, she still wears ballet clothes to hip hop class.

 

Ice cream rewards for good behavior during various things

-has greatly improved in behavior. Sadie has been throwing crazy tantrums since she was about 17 months old. In the past 6 months the number of tantrums has decreased dramatically and she has become a much better listener and helper. When Elise is upset Sadie frequently tries to help by sharing or coming up with fun ideas. I am looking forward to having her help with the baby. She likes to tell people I am tired because I have a baby in my tummy.

-constantly asks for play dates.

On Facebook, which probably won't even exist when Sadie is involved with social media

-is a great reader. I have no idea how she compares to most kids her age but her reading has gotten really good since she started school. Her teacher told me that she is now sending home 1st grade level books for Sadie. Today I had to help Sadie with 3 words from her school book.

-has a hard time with sudden new things or changes. On the first day of the new year in Primary she freaked out because she didn't want to be a CTR-4. She doesn't like that she sits on a different row, has a new teacher, and new classroom. We completely forgot to tell her these things would change. She also has some anxiety about being in front of a big group unexpectedly. We have been at a few things where they invite kids to come up and dance or do something in front of people. Sadie will get excited about it and then cry. At Daniel's home games they invite all the kids to come down to the court to do the chicken dance during a time-out. At the first game Sadie went out there and cried. But now it is is one of her favorite parts of the game.

-is an expert sign-maker. She likes to make notes like the ones above. One day she wrote out lists of all the people allowed in each room. She decided that she and Elise are not allowed in each other's rooms. She loves Dad the most and taped that last one by his side of the bed. A couple days ago she got mad at me and ran to make some special signs. The first one said "I not love you" with a picture of her being mad and me crying. The second one said "I love Dad" with pictures of her and Daniel smiling. Today she made new signs that clarified she loves me and she does want me to be her mom.

-is branching out in favorite colors. For a long time Sadie's favorite color was pink and only pink. She would cry if she had to have a blue plate or utensil at a meal. Around Halloween she decided orange is her favorite color. She also no longer throws tantrums about dish/utensil colors. Thank goodness.

Craft master

-enjoys coloring and crafting. We go through so much paper! And I feel bad, but I usually just throw away her creations. We don't have room for 15 new pictures a day.

 

Pattern blocks and Magna-tiles

-loves anything and everything princess. Although, she got several different block-related toys for Christmas that she has been playing with. Magna-tiles are so cool and she has started to branch out in what she makes. At first she would only try to build things that they had pictures of on the box. We also spend a few hours each week playing with pattern blocks. I am weird and I still love pattern blocks so I don't mind playing with them with her.

-wakes up at the crack of dawn every day. She comes into our room between 5:30 and 6:15 and wants to snuggle in our bed. Usually about a half hour later we kick her out with the iPad and tell her to watch shows.

Baby Addawade

 Rewind to the end of 2013. Alicia, Bryce and Adelaide came to visit one day during their trip to Utah. Sadie was very excited to hold her all by herself. Elise didn't show too much interest but she now points to every picture of a baby in our house and calls it "baby Addawade".  I was happy that my kids very clearly remembered Alicia and Bryce. It has been a year and a half since they moved so I wasn't sure how Elise would feel, but she still has a soft spot for that silly goose Bryce. 

 Sadie keeps telling me about how she held Adelaide and she is going to hold her new baby sister too. She has started carrying Elise around, which basically means, hoisting Lou 4 inches off the ground and walking until they both fall down. 

Baby Adelaide was adorable and smelled like spit-up, which is nostalgic for me. It was fun to hold a small baby, since it has been a while since any of my friends have had kids. 

That night after Adelaide was in bed, Alicia and Bryce came back and hung out with us for a while. We miss having them in Utah. 

Ramblings

By the way this blog has looked in 2014 you'd think I was 6 months pregnant with 2 crazy young kids and a husband who is never home or something.

First, let's talk about January. January is the worst month of the year. For sure. How is it only January 17th? This month drags forever. February is only a few days shorter but it always goes fast. My mom comes to visit, spring is just a few weeks away, and I can almost taste the end of the basketball season.

Second, let's talk about being sick while pregnant. Not pregnancy-related illness, but a terrible cold. This is very unfair.

Third, I need to acknowledge how grateful I am that it hasn't snowed in a couple of weeks. December was a super cold/snowy month and this January hasn't been as bad.

Fourth, I have no desire to cook delicious meals, but I have strong desires to eat delicious meals. Who wants to come remedy this problem?

Fifth, why are all maternity pants terrible?

2013 Summary

We had an eventful year. We have a lot to be grateful for. This is a long list for me to remember and read when I am pouting about who-knows-what. Feel free to read it if you want to.

-We all turned a year older, including Daniel hitting the big 3-0. The presents he received made up for the fact that I normally don't get him anything. An iPad and Lasik. Both life-changing. I frequently forget that he can see now when he wakes up in the morning.

-I paid off all my student loans from graduate school.

-We said good-bye to my youngest brother Matt, who is serving a 2 year LDS mission in Idaho. The decision to serve others and try to bring happiness into their lives through the Gospel of Jesus Christ is incredibly difficult and unselfish.

-We were relatively healthy all year, besides the typical colds and flus that come along.

-I met up with some of my nearest and dearest girlfriends in Chicago for a wonderful weekend away. Got to have another mini-girls weekend during Melissa's wedding in Utah.

-We visited Boston

-We visited Austin. First family road-trip and it went pretty well. Thank goodness for DVD players and mini-vans. And DVD players in mini-vans.

-We hosted several visitors in Utah: my parents, Carolyn, Meredith & Weston, Alicia, and the whole Nielson family for Thanksgiving. Then we got to see a lot more close friends and family who made special efforts to see us during their Utah trips: Carrie, the Gessells, the Cottles, the Johnsons, the Dunns, the Singers, the Moss', Margaret, and the Bennett-Kimballs. It means a lot to me to get to see these people.

-We got to spend lots of time with people we love who live in Utah- the Salazars, Faucettes, Sullivans and Gaines family. It is very important to me that my kids know and love their relatives, so it is especially significant that my girls spend so much time with Hillary and Ben in this last year before the Salazars leave Utah.

-We bought our first house. Sometimes I still sit in our house and can't believe I own it. I never imagined I could own a house like it. I mean, a garage door opener?!? I have never lived in a house with a garage that people actually parked cars in, let alone a garage door opener. Along with that came more exciting purchases like a washer and dryer that actually work, lawn-mower, ladder, etc. All thrilling possessions.

-Sadie started, and is thriving in preschool.

-Elise started being tended by a friend from our previous neighborhood. This friend is a better mom than I could ever hope to be. That tends to be my criteria for babysitters/daycare. Could I never compete with them in the mothering department? Okay, they are hired. Just yesterday when I arrived to pick her up there were several loaves of hot homemade bread coming out of the oven. Elise was in different clothes because she soaked herself when Shelby allowed her to "help" with the dishes. (Something I rarely do because I don't want to clean up the mess made all over the counters and floors)

-I got an unexpected and significant salary raise. Granted, it was because UVU went through their thousands of employees, identified the most severely underpaid and gave them raises, but it is still very much appreciated. Accepting this job 5 1/2 years ago over several other, higher-paying jobs continues to be one of the best decisions I have ever made.

-We found out we are expecting our third little girl. This pregnancy has not been fun but, interestingly, I am more excited to meet BG3 (baby girl 3) than I was in my other pregnancies. I think about her and what she is going to be like a lot. Holding my 3 month old niece Adelaide yesterday made me even more excited. The slight smell of spit-up is nostalgic for me.

-We found out that our little girl is going to have 2 cousins the exact same age (twins!!! due exactly 6 weeks after) I am also grateful that I get to be the aunt of the twins and not the mom. Love you, Meredith. We'll find out their genders in a few weeks. I see lots of matching cousins outfits on the horizon.

-Daniel got a new job. His previous job at UVU was fine, but after 4 seasons he was ready for a change. Daniel was very close to getting a different job earlier in the summer and it was a definite hit to his ego when he didn't get the offer since he was absolutely the best candidate. (You know that is true since I don't offer many compliments to Daniel) Well, we are all happy now because he got a better job--in more ways than one-- back at BYU in August. He has enjoyed it. Of course it helps that they are 12 and 1 on the season so far, but again, we feel very blessed Daniel has a great job.

I am little nervous for 2014 because I think it will be tough to come down off a year like we just had. Good thing we are adding another person to our family. One more crazy kid is more important than any house or trip we could take.

Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime

We had a nice quiet Christmas. 

On Christmas Eve Daniel spent the morning cleaning our house and running last minute Christmas present errands. I think I laid around doing nothing? I did some dinner prep. That afternoon we headed to the local dollar theater to see Despicable Me 2.  Elise was loud and restless but it didn't matter much since the theater was mostly filled with families with young children. It was a bit distracting when Elise dumped out 2/3 of a box of candy and it rolled down the sloped theater floor. 

We came home from the movie and ate a delicious dinner of enchiladas, slowcooker refried beans and cilantro lime rice. Sadie was anxious to get to bed so that Santa would come. I got the last few presents put together and set up while Daniel put Sadie's bike together. It has a tiny seat on the bike to strap dolls into. That part took Daniel the longest. Around 10 o'clock that night Sadie came out of her room and yelled at us to go to bed so that Santa would come. 

Christmas morning the girls actually slept in until past 7 o'clock. Sadie came running in and announced that she thought Santa had come but she did not go downstairs. She is a faithful rule follower when it comes to Santa. Elise was angry and disheveled. We have her on video declaring she didn't want presents and Santa. Her tune changed drastically when she hit the bottom of the stairs. The girls were spoiled, as usual, and we somehow found a way to own even more Disney princess items. 

 I woke up around 5:30 AM not feeling too hot but I hoped it was maybe just excitement about Christmas. As we watched the girls open presents I felt worse and worse. My stomach held off until the last present was opened before I spent the rest of the day with a stomach flu. 5 months pregnant with a stomach flu on Christmas is just unfair. No delicious Christmas dinner that I had planned. I laid in bed and slept and occasionally read the hilarious Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan. Daniel kept the girls away from me all day and while it wasn't fun being sick it was kind of nice, in a way.

The next morning we opened presents from Hillary and Ben, who had spent Christmas with Ben's family. They had us in the John family rotation this year and they really spoiled us. The girls got Jasmine and Mulan costumes (which have been worn non-stop), Aladdin the movie, a toy vacuum, and a trip to the Disney Store. They got Daniel some amazing headphones and me the world's fanciest crockpot. 

We are feeling so content and blessed in our lives. Sadie told me it was the best Christmas ever and I agree.
We are looking forward to the next baby girl's arrival in just 4 short months! 

December Randoms

Our local Walmart carries a wide variety of Carvel ice cream cakes. Fletcher family tradition. I may have to purchase one soon. Or maybe we should do that in February, mom? Your birthday celebration??

After Daniel's games Elise generally lays down on the court and whines to random strangers until he is done.

 Sadie wrote Daniel an encouraging note last Saturday before his game. I think she was feeling bad about the previous week's double OT loss to Utah. It says "Yes, you, BYU" She thought of, and wrote it, completely by herself.

 Lou enjoyed a John family tradition- cinnamon toast dipped in hot chocolate.

 The girls love to play with my jewelry. Sadie has now memorized where I got every piece of jewelry I own. A few pieces are from grandmothers, but most of it is just crappy stuff from the store. Her favorite pieces are from my grandmother (Grammie), who Sadie is named after.

Elise's new thing is climbing on top of our play kitchen. She stands up there and throws each food item or tea set piece individually to the floor.