Stuffies revisited

So, Erin loves her stuffies. Especially when she's tired. She'll walk around the apartment, holding as many as she can fit in her arms, holding them up to her face to cuddle them as she gets ready to nap or go to bed for the night. If you can't tell, here she's holding a bear, the Halloween kitty (with an orange witch hat) and the panda puppy.

Speaking of panda puppies, did you know they really exist? I think I want one!

I normally don't do this...but...

I got tagged by my friend Aubri. I'm not one to play these things most of the time, but I decided to humor her. I'm not, however, going to tag anyone in response (mostly this is a self-conscious thing. I couldn't bear the humiliation if I tagged someone who doesn't actually read my blog, so I just won't tag anyone.)

What are the last three things you purchased?
1. a package of diapers
2. The Force Unleashed for the Wii (well, I guess technically Matt bought it. With money that he got for doing an extra project for one of his geology professors)
3. groceries

What are the last three songs you downloaded for your ipod?
Um, I don't download, and I don't have an ipod. lol. I listen to pandora.com


What are your three favorite movies?
(do I have to choose just 3??)

1. Enchanted
2. Nightmare Before Christmas
3. Madagascar

What are three things you have not done yet?
1. Gone into labor on my own (can you tell I'm really hoping to this time?)
2. Graduated from college (maybe someday. =Þ )
3. Owned my own house

What are three things you can not live without?(excluding people)
1. Food
2. Money
3. a bed (can you tell I'm tired, hungry and broke?)

What are your three favorite dishes?
1. Chicken Enchiladas
2. Poulet Basquaise and Salade Niçoise (okay, technically 2 dishes, but I always eat them together)
3. I'm seriously thinking here, but I'm having a hard time picking another favorite that isn't a dessert.

What are your three favorite T.V. shows?
1. Gilmore Girls
2. Burn Notice
3. The Office

What are the last three places you traveled to that were more than one-hundred miles away?
1. Provo, UT
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. Midland, MI (it doesn't specify within a time period!)


What are your three favorite desserts?
1. Ice Cream
2. Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Cinnamon Rolls if they're still warm


What are three things you would buy if money were not an issue?
1. A house
2. A cruise for my parents for a "second" honeymoon (the "" because they didn't really have a first one), and one for my in-laws too.
3. A pair of purebred puppies, a Great Dane and whatever breed Matt wants most at the moment.

Erin's new favorite book.

Okay, before I start in on the Erin cuteness, I just want to say: DON'T buy chocolates made in China!! Okay, so maybe my Dad is right and we should just boycott everything Chinese-made altogether. Anyway, here's why I say that http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,429466,00.html Cadbury found melamine in it's Chinese-made chocolates, and there have also been reports of tainted Oreos, M&Ms and Snickers. Of course, most of this is shipped to Taiwan and Australia instead of the US, but I thought I'd just tell everyone what I've found.


Okay, so we just recently got a box from Grandma Cannady (thank you!!). Along with a few other fun things, Erin got the book "First 100 Animals."


She loves this book. Several times a day she will bring it to me and just sit there with me looking at the animals. On a good day, she'll point to the ones you ask her to (kitty, dog, fish, bear, sometimes bird. We're working on "cow," "pig," and "bee" as well), and she'll name them sometimes too (mostly kitties, but also bears and the random dog).

Of course, I had to take video.



And here's a picture just because I thought it was cute

Stuffed animal vetrinarian

I can't count the number of stuffed animals I have done "surgery" on in my lifetime. Between my own stuffies, and those of my sisters, it was fairly common occurrence once I figured out how to use a needle and thread (and my mother would let me).

Of course, once we "grew out" of our stuffies (do girls ever really grow out of them??), it became something that was more and more rare.

Well, Erin is a true girl. Not only that but she is a young girl, and I don't know what it is about little kids, but they're really hard on their stuffies. So I have, again, taken up my role as the stuffy vet.

Last night was a particular tragedy. The patient in question was the Panda Puppy. And the story behind the name is also the story as to why I am so attached.

A couple days after we lost Cora, Matt and I went to Walmart. This particular trip was to return the packages of diapers and wipes that we had purchased in the few weeks leading up, preparing for her birth. So, you can probably understand that I wasn't in the most rational frame of mind. There was a couple outside the front door giving away puppies. I wanted one so badly. I guess it was all the unused maternal instinct. I needed something small to take care of. I pleaded and begged, and Matt, being the rational one he is, gently reminded me that it was in our housing contract that we wouldn't have pets. And, unlike I kept protesting, you can't hide a lab-mix puppy very long. I was devastated all over again, (to be honest, I was already devastated, but I think that magnified it into something huge) and ended up in tears. Matt agreed as we were leaving the store, that our particular circumstance was one in which it was probably common for people to get puppies. But he reassured me that it was the right thing not to take one.

The next day, he came home from work with a stuffed panda. He said that he was going to get me a stuffed puppy, but not only was the panda much cuter than the puppies, it was also cheaper. So she was christened the "Panda Puppy."

Well, she's one of Erin's favorites, so it shouldn't have been too surprising to me when I discovered the gaping hole in her side yesterday. In actuality, her hind leg was coming off. So I immediately went to my sewing box, and pulled out a needle and thread and went to work. Well, Erin took offense to this and started screaming and trying to pull her away from me. Matt had to take her into another room and play with her for 10 minutes until I was done.

But now everyone is safe and happy and all in one piece. Hopefully the stuffies stay that way for a while.

Bathtime

Adrienne asked me to take some pictures of Erin in the bath, so we had fun this evening. I should have taken a before picture (spaghetti for dinner) but I didn't think about it until she was already clean. lol.

a couple more

So, yeah, it figures that I would catalog all of Erin's words and she'd immediately throw out a couple more. =Þ

So yesterday Nyssa came over. We were watching a movie and eating chips and salsa. Well, Nyssa gave Erin something, probably a piece of a chip, and Erin replied "Angoo!" I've never tried to get her to say thank you before. I've been working predominantly on please. But I guess saying thank you to her every time she does something I ask her to do or when she brings me something paid off.

The next one I got on video



So I'd put on Milo and Otis so she could watch it, but didn't bother switching the sound over. And she surprised me with her answer to my question "what's on the TV?" I guess I shouldn't be surprised. One of her favorite stuffed animals is a bear.

Erin's vocabulary

After several recent conversations (including at Erin's doctor's appointment) in which I was asked how many words Erin has, and I couldn't answer, I decided that I should compile a list, so I can know the answer. She rarely will say a word on command, but she does say them often. She's got definite words, and some "maybe" words that she's only said once or twice, or doesn't seem to have a definite meaning for yet.

1. Mama (or Mommy or Mom) This was her first word. It was her first real syllable, and every time she said it I answered her, so she soon caught on.

2. Dada (or Daddy) Matt got jealous that she would say Mama, so he started doing the same thing when she said Dada.

3. Kitty (she says "geeyee") This was her first non-name word. We were in Vegas, and she really liked Max. After a couple days, she started saying it whenever she saw him. Of course, she thinks that birds and dogs are kitties too.

4. Please (she says "glee") She never says this when she wants some of your food and you tell her "say please." But when she wants something out of reach, she'll look at you and say "Glee?" and when you tell her "no" she'll scowl and say "GLEE!"

5. Yay She really likes this one. Especially when she's been trying to do something and she finally accomplishes it. We tell her "good job Erin!" and she claps her hands and says "Yay!"

6. Wee She loves this word. (if it's really a word) She loves doing anything that makes "wee" appropriate. Sometimes it becomes a demand, when she wants to be picked up and twirled around for instance. She'll come up to you and say "Wee!"

7. Fish (she says ich! [like the German word]) She started using this one on Thursday, at the Geology Dept. Museum in front of the aquarium. I got it on video




And then she's got some "almost" words.

8. "Booyoo" I'm not sure what it's supposed to be. She says it when she's holding a ball, or a balloon. And sometimes when she sees birds.

9. Shoe (she said "dzhoo!") She said this once. She picked up her shoe, she looked directly at me, and said "Dzhoo!!" She hasn't said it since.

10. This morning we were looking at the bucket of jade-y rocks that we brought back from Bitch Creek. She was playing with them and I was telling her about the rocks. Several times she said "Boch!" (again with the German ch, at the back of the throat). So, maybe.

Some random pictures.

So, here's a few random pictures from the last week or so. I realized I hadn't actually posted any in a while.

Here's Erin and her best friend Myla. They were hugging, but my camera isn't fast enough to catch it. So the picture is of them letting go from a hug.

And a picture of the Tetons as we were leaving Bitch Creek on Saturday. Yes, that's what it's really called. No, we didn't get any pictures of the creek itself, or of us in the water.... *rollseyes* I haven't been so good at the whole picture taking thing lately. But the mountains are so pretty. I'm going to miss them.

At the park. Erin was captivated by all the crows out on the grass. She kept pointing at them and saying "GEEYEE!" Yes, that's her word for "kitty." Everything is a kitty.

A picture for Uncle Jared. Here's her top tooth.

And her adorable overalls (thank you Shauna!) She loves the rocks. She was definitely born into the right family.

Thanks Amber!!

Okay, I love getting comments on my blog. It makes me feel like there are people actually paying attention to my silly life, and it makes me feel good about myself.

I woke up pretty cranky this morning. Probably because I was up in the middle of the night for forever. And since I was cranky, so was Erin, which just made me crankier.


And then I opened my email and I had a million comments from Amber. WOOHOO! Totally made my day. Okay, it was just four, but that's more comments than I usually get in one day...let alone from one person.

So, my dear sister-in-law, thank you for brightening my day. I'm sorry I didn't call you in the middle of the night last night. So if I DO call you in the middle of the night sometime, and you aren't awake...don't get mad at me.

=Þ

Completely Ridiculous

So, it's 2:34 am and I'm awake. Why you ask? Because half an hour ago Erin lost her pacifier, and started screaming. Once I returned it to her, she went right back into the deep sleep she never really came out of.

After 20 minutes of lying in bed next to a snoring husband, I decided to give up, get up, and blog-hop.

*sigh*

I want to be sleeping.

Addendum

So, I decided at Walmart today that I would just go ahead and buy Erin's costume. As I walked up to the wall, they were pulling these adorable little witch costumes out of the box. So, yeah, she's not going to be Batman.

All things Batman

Okay, so Matt and I finally saw The Dark Knight on Friday night. And, Matt being Matt, when we came home we looked up a bunch of Batman videos on youtube. I think we needed a comic break after the amazing intensity of the movie.

Don't get me wrong, the movie was great. It just left you emotionally exhausted. Honestly, I have never been more disturbed by a Batman villain before. Joker was just....creepy. I think the scariest part of him is that I know that men that insanely evil really exist. They're rare, I think, but still, they're out there. >_<

So I wanted to share with you my favorites of the videos. This first one is a spoof on the interrogation scene between Batman and Joker. The second one is the "outtakes" of the spoof. I find it funnier, though he uses the F word a couple times.



This one is REALLY good. Someone posted the History Channel's special "The Psychology of Batman." It's in 5 parts. I'm only posting the link to the first.



And this one has to be my all-time favorite. "Baman & Piderman" I crack up EVERY time I watch it.


And you know what the funniest part of all this is? It turns out that the only costume at Walmart and Kmart that I even remotely like in Erin's size is the Batman one. I think Erin will be Batman for Halloween. No, not Batgirl. Batman. lol.

Name in the sand

Recently, on the stillbirth support forum I am a part of, one of the ladies posted a link to the blog "To write their names in the sand." I thought it was a beautiful idea, and took a moment to request that she write Cora's name.

It's a beautiful picture.


Thank you Carly

Rendezvous

Next weekend (Sept. 19-22) is the Rendezvous for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Matt will be attending again this year. He's turning in his resumé (which looks really good) today.

Can we please get any extra thoughts and prayers that any of you have that he will be able to get a job during this?

She surprises me every day.

So, today I was put Erin's toys away and did a really good sweep. When I finally let her off the couch again, I handed her her doll. It's been buried under the rest of her stuffed animals so she hasn't played with it in quite a while. As I was putting the rest of the furniture back where it belonged I looked over at Erin and she was kissing her doll. And then she looked at me and said "Baby!"

I've never called her dolly a baby. But we've been around several small babies lately, so apparently she made that connection on her own

She's so SMART! I love it!


And in other news, I scheduled my ultrasound today. It'll be on Friday, October 10th, at 1:30 pm. So hopefully this baby is more like Erin, and not stubborn like Cora, and lets us get a "money shot." Will Erin get a baby brother or sister? What do you think?

Seven years ago today

I woke up late that morning. I jumped in the shower and got to the Smith building as fast as I could. It turns out that my Russian teacher was running late too, so most of my classmates were gathered outside the classroom door, waiting for it to be unlocked.

It took me a few seconds to understand what the conversation buzz was. And then I had to say "Wait...an airplane did what?"

In low voices they explained it to me.

A roommate and I stopped by a friend's apartment so we could watch the live news coverage, since our stupid landlords hadn't gotten our cable (or internet OR phones!!) hooked up yet. We saw the second tower fall. I'll never ever forget that.

Later that day the managers to our apartments set up a free long distance phone line so that we could call our families. When it was finally my turn, my hands were shaking almost too bad to dial the number and I was in tears before Dad even answered. The conversation was really short.

"Hi Dad"
"Nano's okay"
"Oh good."
"Are you okay?"
"Okay as I can be."
"Oh good."
"Well, there's a line, so I'd better go."
"Okay, love you bye."

The girl behind me was from New York. She was VERY stressed out and very glad I'd kept it really short.


Later, in newspapers and in the news they said that 9/11 would be to my generation like Pearl Harbor was to that one. We would always remember where we were and what we were doing.

I still get chills on this day. I still say and quick prayer for all the families affected. I still say a prayer for our nation.

I will never forget.

Finally!!

Erin's third tooth has finally cut! After two days of crabbiness, she has a visable, and feelable tooth. It's the upper left front one. And the one to the left of that is next. Her right front doesn't look at like it's planning on appearing any time soon...

That will look strange.

15 month wellbaby check

First of all, WHERE did the last 15 months go????


So, Erin had a wellbaby checkup today. No shots, since she current, so it was just the normal height, weight, ears and such check.

She is 31.5 inches tall (82%) and 22lbs8oz (45%). Her weight is beginning to catch up to her height, but she's still tall and lean. What can I say, she got her daddy's genes for that one!

It's Monday!

Monday is my "turnover day" and the day that I take my weekly belly picture. Why am I doing this? Well, I don't have many of Cora because I didn't take them regularly. I always felt that I missed out, you know? Because those few are all I have. So I guess that I'm keeping up, just in case. But I guess I should clean my mirror! >_<

So here is my 15 week belly

And here's some pics and stuff of Erin. This dress is one that my mom made for me to wear when I was little, and it finally fits her. Cute cute!

And this outfit Mom just made Erin. It makes her look like a gumdrop I think. An adorable gumdrop though!

And a video of Erin watching a youtube video of funny cats. I really wish I had gotten her say "Geeyee!" but she never did it while the camera was going!

Sunday Morning

So, we don't have church until 1:30pm. Which means our Sunday mornings are pretty lazy. And what is a better activity on a lazy Sunday morning, than taking pictures?

So here are Erin's new jammies:

And Daddy got a new keyboard, so the old one is now Erin's.


And she likes playing Wii with Daddy too.

And, just because it's funny:

I've been trying to teach Erin not to turn the TV on and off. So today she walked up to the TV, turned it on, looked at me and shook her head No!, and then turned it off. >_<

The window

Erin loves going outside. And at times when we aren't outside, she likes to be in the window. This always causes me a little bit of trepidation, but today it was cool enough that the window is latched shut, so I don't have to worry as much about her falling out it...and I'm sitting behind her watching her, so she won't fall backwards onto the floor.

And of course, being me, I have to take pictures. And I thought I would share.

Standing

Alfalfa hair

Being cute

Sitting on the window sill and being cuter


(and right now, while the memory card is out of the camera and the pictures are loading, she's knocking on the window. She's so adorable sometimes)

I love being a mother

But sometimes it really hurts. I mean, nobody told me that when my child got hurt, I would nearly physically hurt myself. >_<

We were at the park yesterday morning. I was letting Erin walk around kind of on her own. She wasn't going too far, and I could see her the whole time, so I figured it was okay to let her be a bit independent. It's good for her right? Well, there was another group there and they had a soccer ball. Now, Erin loves balls. I'm sure it's a normal thing for kids, but she went straight for it, absolutely delighted. It was just lying on the grass, and the other people didn't seem to care. So she picked it up, and turned around to bring it back to me.

Well, she was excited so she wasn't being as careful about walking, and she tripped. She landed on her face and hit her chin really hard on the ball. She didn't scream at first. No, she did the mouth wide open in pain but holding your breath thing, which mean that she really hurt herself. I was sure she'd bit her tongue or her lip or something, and sure enough, her mouth was filled with blood. WHY to mouth wounds have to bleed so much?? But I couldn't tell where she'd cut herself. It wasn't her tongue or her lip. I didn't want to traumatize her further by searching her mouth with my finger, so I just cleaned up the blood the best I could and tried to comfort her.

Later that day, after dinner, I was tickling her and got a great shot of the roof of her mouth. There was a white line and I thought "YAY! She finally has a top tooth!" Then I touched it, and it wasn't a tooth. So, thinking it was a piece of food, I started trying to rub it off. Well, Erin started screaming and I realized it...that was where she had cut her mouth that morning, and Mom wouldn't stop poking her!!! Ugh, my poor baby.

It's looking a lot better today though, and she's acting like she feels fine. So no harm done. >_<

What am I going to do the first time she needs stitches or breaks a bone?