Under the knife

If any of you have spent more than 2 minutes near Tevita, you know he's a heavy breather. :) He snores and snorts...but sadly, the snort is no more (though he is still my piglet!).

Tevi had a minor surgery on Friday—adnoidectomy—and after a hitch with the anesthesia that gave me a small heart attack, everything went well.

So I haven't done ANYthing yesterday and today but hold a cranky baby, but I still enjoy him. And when he heals, he will definitely enjoy breathing, eating, and sleeping with more ease. These pics are just for his scrapbook. (What's with the hospital gown from 1960?)

for the grandparents

Easter Greetings

Elder Holland's talk last week at General Conference was so poignant and delivered in such a loving way. I couldn't stop the tears while I listened.

Here is a piece the Church has done putting excerpts of his talk with images and music. As nienie says, click below for spiritual enlightenment.


P.S. Click here to be taken to a list of more of these Mormon Messages on youtube.

Three Days

A few years ago my sweet grandma, Gwen Udall, sent me an Easter note and story that ends with the following thought, encouraging me ever since:

"Well, when Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, that was the worst day for the whole world. When I get troubles I remember that, and then I think of what happened only three days later—Easter and our Lord arising. So when things go wrong, I've learned to wait three days…and somehow everything gets much better. Give God a chance to help…wait three days."

I'm grateful for the love Heavenly Father had for His children that He would send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Christ rose again three days later, overcoming death, as we will. He also conquered sin—He suffered and paid the price for our sins, if we will only repent and turn to Him. On this Easter Sunday as always, the knowledge that He lives and He loves us brings me great joy and hope.

Here's that Tevi-heavy post I warned you about

My babe is now 8 months old. (It feels like 3!)
He has two teeth with more on their way.
He is crawling, rolling, sitting, pushing, grabbing.
He is mastering the fake cry.
He chows on graham crackers.
He graduated to a new car seat.
But his grip on my heart hasn't changed—
I love this little boy more than he'll ever know.
I thank our Heavenly Father for him every single day.
Tevi just makes everything all better.

His favorite teething toy:
a (highly-sanitary) squishy rubber lizard.

Tevi gets so riled up when Makai is around.
The brothers love to play together.

And how this baby loves his daddy!
When Aki gets home from work
Tevi greets him with a heart-melting grin.

We don't have a high-quality video camera, but we do have a little Flip camera that I use to take short videos. It's a lot of fun and I'm glad we have it. The images that follow are stills from those takes.

We were playing peek-a-boo, his favorite.

If you ever try to call me at home
and get a busy signal, THIS is why.
It would never be busy because
I'm talking on the phone...never.

The swinging sensation brings out his best laughs!
We're so glad spring is here.

He would stay in the bathtub the whole day if I let him.

He reached too far for the cup and did a
slippery loop-de-doo that scared the snot out of him.
Of course, we laughed—
after we made sure he didn't drown.

I was really hoping for another March post…

…but it just didn't happen. Other stuff did, though. For instance:

• Aki's birthday.
• Aki lost his less-than-a-week-old job.
• I quit sleeping and was mad at the world.
• We enjoyed much of March hanging out at home together.
• After a month of being unemployed, Aki got another job.
• I was humbled, feeling very appreciative of all the good in my life.
• I decided Daylight Savings Time is not a good thing in my life.
• I went to see an allergist...starting allergy injections this month.
• Several friends birthed babies.
• Book club.
• I went to a square foot gardening class and am enthusiastic about trying it out.
• My baby started crawling.
• My parents came for a visit—the kids love seeing Grandma & Grandpa.
• They brought their wheat grinder to me, so after grinding wheat, I made bread for the first time all by myself—a New Year's resolution fulfilled.

That's my attempt at "catching up." I will do some photo posts below of other March happenings, so be sure to scroll down! They're probably Tevi-heavy, but he's just such a cute little booger I can't help myself.

Here it is, the only documentation that we celebrated Aki's birthday. :) He got some good presents, though!

Aki's break from employment found him busy helping at home—what a guy!

Children's Museum

During our stress-filled, money-less days, my friend Jenn dragged the kids and me out of the house and took us to Ogden to visit the Treehouse Children's Museum. We had a great time with so many kid-centered things to do!

I didn't take many photos, but you can check out Jenn's post to see what else the museum offers.

Train conductor Tevita had fun in the baby areas. I was glad for the arm-relief, since strollers were not allowed (and I didn't know ahead to bring a baby carrier).

The international area featured dress-ups and activities from areas around the world. I believe Makai was pretending Kung Fu Panda here.

Hanging out on the world map.

Makai in time out while waiting for the picnic. It wasn't all fun and games. :)

Free Day at the Zoo

My sister and I got the crazy idea to take advantage of the Hogle Zoo's "Wild Wednesday" promotion, letting everyone in for free. That meant the place was filled with preschools, daycares, mom, tots, and strollers. It was pretty chaotic, but the weather was beautiful and the kids loved it.

Ame with her friend Marcela, who we brought along for the day. Marcela's mom Daisy had just given birth to baby sister Cecilia, so we wanted her to rest.

This was Tevi's first real outdoor adventure. He loved being outside!

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

As Tevi was growing out of the Bumbo seat, he would arch his back, straighten his legs, and do whatever it took to buck out of that seat. On this particular day, he had a pencil in hand, so when he started "bucking," he looked a little like a mad magician.

New Set of Wheels

We are really enjoying our new van (even though for a while there we thought we'd have to turn right back around and sell it!). Here are a couple pics of the kids helping me wash it. It's going to be with us for a looooong time.

King-sized Tetris using every pillow that exists in the house

I guess jumping on the bed got boring.

Friends, Family, and Chocolate Cake

My friend Chantelle came to visit and helped make an awesome birthday/Sunday dinner for Aki. It's always fun to see her!

Another weekend, Symonie brought Nina and Satchel over and Shayla brought Max. We kind of celebrated Aki's and Max's birthdays with a 5-minute Microwave Chocolate Cake (recipe to follow).

[Click to enlarge] It's crazy, but fun...try it! Best eaten with ice cream. Recipe from Lickable Spoon via Mandee.

Max, show me your teeth!