Thank you to my friend Lisa for helping Ava create this fun picture and for taking a picture of her with the picture.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!
Sleeping Together (not that kind!)
The girls are officially bunked together in the same room. Lily's sleeping has taken a turn for the better. We let her cry it out for the past few nights and in the process discovered that the cry around 12:30-1am is indeed a hungry cry. The rest of the night she will sleep with no problem; in fact after feeding her we don't hear from her until morning. As such we decided to tackle the next step - getting both Ava and Lily to sleep in the same room. We had to do it sometime and with Thanksgiving company coming soon, now seemed as good a time as any.
Last night was the first night we tried it. I put Lily down and then left for a meeting, leaving Elliott to try to finish the task of getting them to sleep at the same time in the same room. He reported that Lily was up like a shot as soon as he walked in the dark room with Ava, which was surprising to us both since when Lily slept in the office she would sleep right through our computer use. So when I came home Elliott was juggling two awake, albeit sleepy, children. I got Ava back down then started to soothe Lily. I took her back into the girls' bedroom where Ava's little head popped right up. I said "lie down Ava" and she did, just watching as I rocked and nursed Lily in the dark. As I lay Lily down in bed Ava said something to me but I just said "go to sleep Ava. Night night" and left. That was the last I heard until 12:30, when I awoke to Lily's hungry cries; Ava however didn't and slept right through my nursing session in her bedroom. At one other point in the night Lily cried out but once again Ava alept through it. This morning they were up at the same time, 7:30ish, which is a bit earlier than Ava normally gets up but oh well.
I am reassured by last evening's events and heartened that we CAN DO IT! Tonight I think the plan is to keep Lily up, sleepy as she may be, until Ava is ready for bed (which is usually only about 1/2 hour after Lily). I think Lily will be so sleepy that she will just sleep right through putting Ava to bed, hopefully avoiding what happened last night. We'll keep you posted!
Last night was the first night we tried it. I put Lily down and then left for a meeting, leaving Elliott to try to finish the task of getting them to sleep at the same time in the same room. He reported that Lily was up like a shot as soon as he walked in the dark room with Ava, which was surprising to us both since when Lily slept in the office she would sleep right through our computer use. So when I came home Elliott was juggling two awake, albeit sleepy, children. I got Ava back down then started to soothe Lily. I took her back into the girls' bedroom where Ava's little head popped right up. I said "lie down Ava" and she did, just watching as I rocked and nursed Lily in the dark. As I lay Lily down in bed Ava said something to me but I just said "go to sleep Ava. Night night" and left. That was the last I heard until 12:30, when I awoke to Lily's hungry cries; Ava however didn't and slept right through my nursing session in her bedroom. At one other point in the night Lily cried out but once again Ava alept through it. This morning they were up at the same time, 7:30ish, which is a bit earlier than Ava normally gets up but oh well.
I am reassured by last evening's events and heartened that we CAN DO IT! Tonight I think the plan is to keep Lily up, sleepy as she may be, until Ava is ready for bed (which is usually only about 1/2 hour after Lily). I think Lily will be so sleepy that she will just sleep right through putting Ava to bed, hopefully avoiding what happened last night. We'll keep you posted!
Finally - pictures of our van!
We are really enjoying our new family van. Thanks to a friend of Mom and Dad Kay's, we got an excellent deal on this 2008 Toyota Sienna with only 20,000 miles. Our plan is to keep it for a long, LONG time.
Whew - what a difference from driving my little Hyundai Accent (but I am sure that is just plain obvious!). It is such a smooth ride (rather too smooth actually - I have no idea I am speeding) that Elliott really enjoys driving it around town and says he is actually looking forward to driving it to Utah for Christmas. As you can see, the girls enjoy it too, especially Ava who climbs up into the van and then her car seat all by herself, which pleases her to no end. It also has SO much storage and leg room, that Elliott and I are simply in heaven. Thank you Lord for providing for us once again!
Sick Days
Just when I thought Lily was on track to sleeping through the night - she gets sick! With a fever of 102.2, then down to 101.8 after an hour and Tylenol on Wednesday I called the nurse and they said to bring her in. Of course her temperature was normal at the doctor's office. OF COURSE! However, that night it shot back up and stayed there until Friday morning (hovering between 104.6 and 101.8), when I took her back in to the doctor. I had tracked her temp for the last 48 hours and when I had taken her temperature that morning, it was still high However when we got to the doctor's - you guessed it - 99.2. I cried. Seriously, I cried in the exam room in front of the doctor, who was ever so kind and offered to take a urine sample to see if anything was wrong on that front. I gratefully agreed, not being able to face to alternative - being sent home AGAIN with a baby who has a consistent high fever but we "can't find anything wrong" answer.
In the end the urine test came back negative and her fever broke on Sunday. Yeah! However, Elliott and I caught a little something, both of us with lots of aches and yuckiness, while I picked up an extra dose of stomach flu. Lovely! Ava seems to have fared better than us all with no signs of sickness, just alot of two-year old whininess (which Elliott would like to believe was caused by sickness but I trust to just be her whiny personality in general of late).
Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of our new van soon (yes, we have it and we love it!), when I start to feel better and life returns to normal.
In the end the urine test came back negative and her fever broke on Sunday. Yeah! However, Elliott and I caught a little something, both of us with lots of aches and yuckiness, while I picked up an extra dose of stomach flu. Lovely! Ava seems to have fared better than us all with no signs of sickness, just alot of two-year old whininess (which Elliott would like to believe was caused by sickness but I trust to just be her whiny personality in general of late).
Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of our new van soon (yes, we have it and we love it!), when I start to feel better and life returns to normal.
Birth Order of Children
Thank you to my friend Gina who sent this to me as an email forward (and to my mom who made up a few of her own). I thought it was absolutely hilarious. I fell into the 1st baby category every time with Ava and now I do exactly what the it says for the 2nd baby with Lily. Oh boy! I guess that means pretty soon I will be hiding from my kids when the third child comes along...
_____________________________________________________
Clothing
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
_____________________________________________________
Preparing for the Birth
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother becau se you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.
______________________________________________________
The Layette
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?______________________________________________________
Worries
1st baby: At the first sign of d istress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing. ______________________________________________________
Pacifier
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in. ______________________________________________________
Diapering
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees. _______________________________________________________
Activities
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, Baby Zoo, Baby Movies and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaners. ______________________________________________________
Going Out
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood. ______________________________________________________
At Home
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children ______________________________________________________
Swallowing Coins
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!
______________________________________________________
Photos
1st child: You fill album after album. Every new look, smile, and activity deserves a place in the album.
2nd child: You try to remember to pull out the camera occasionally. Pictures are fewer and farther apart. Photos are usually with Baby #1. "Are we twins?"
3rd child: What's a camera? Later, the child asks, "Was I adopted? Why aren't there any pictures of me when I was little?"
______________________________________________________
Taking a Bath
1st child: Bedtime baths are a ritual, as well as during the day anytime there's a bit of spit-up or a little messier diaper.
2nd child: Grab a wash rag when absolutely necessary. Full bath once a week whether he needs it or not.
3rd child: Baths are a dim memory. "Honey, that's why you're a little darker than your siblings...."
_____________________________________________________
Clothing
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
_____________________________________________________
Preparing for the Birth
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother becau se you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.
______________________________________________________
The Layette
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?______________________________________________________
Worries
1st baby: At the first sign of d istress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing. ______________________________________________________
Pacifier
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in. ______________________________________________________
Diapering
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees. _______________________________________________________
Activities
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, Baby Zoo, Baby Movies and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaners. ______________________________________________________
Going Out
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood. ______________________________________________________
At Home
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children ______________________________________________________
Swallowing Coins
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!
______________________________________________________
Photos
1st child: You fill album after album. Every new look, smile, and activity deserves a place in the album.
2nd child: You try to remember to pull out the camera occasionally. Pictures are fewer and farther apart. Photos are usually with Baby #1. "Are we twins?"
3rd child: What's a camera? Later, the child asks, "Was I adopted? Why aren't there any pictures of me when I was little?"
______________________________________________________
Taking a Bath
1st child: Bedtime baths are a ritual, as well as during the day anytime there's a bit of spit-up or a little messier diaper.
2nd child: Grab a wash rag when absolutely necessary. Full bath once a week whether he needs it or not.
3rd child: Baths are a dim memory. "Honey, that's why you're a little darker than your siblings...."
Lily Sleeps!
Maybe I am shooting myself in the foot with this post, but for the past two nights I would go so far as to say my baby is sleeping normally. No night terrors and up only twice. Yeah! With all of this sleep, I almost don't know what to do with myself. .
After reading The No-Cry Sleep Solution, I decided to try some of the books ideas and suggestions. Here are some things that seem to be working:
After reading The No-Cry Sleep Solution, I decided to try some of the books ideas and suggestions. Here are some things that seem to be working:
- Feeding her formula with dinner. I think she may not be getting enough from nursing before bedtime, as last night she chugged an eight ounce bottle. And I do mean chugged. Boy, I felt a little bad wondering if she has been starving all of this time.
- Breaking the nursing to sleep association. She has always been pretty good about going to sleep without nursing, but I believe that in the middle of the night that th e comfort of it was all she wanted, just the comfort of nursing - not actually anything to drink. So the past couple of days I have been nursing her in the living room where it is bright, making sure she has had enough to eat. Then I transfer her to her bedroom, where it is dim and give her a pacifier and stuffed animal and lay her down while she's still awake.
- Introducing a "lovey." Lately when she's been nursing, Lily likes to stroke at my shirt and such. So I thought the idea of trying to introduce a special object, known as a "lovey" in some circles, might be a good comforting tool. I received a little teddy bear in the mail the other day and decided it was just the right size, not to mention so soft, for Lily. So now before bed she gets a pacifier and her bear. She seems to like the bear and both are soothing for her.
So stay tuned! We'll see how she does for another week ....
Saturday on the Strip
Saturday we took in the lovely weather in Las Vegas as we ventured out into the city. First we went to the Target Children's Book Festival in downtown Las Vegas. We scored LOTS of free kids' books (giveaways sponsored by Target and the City of Las Vegas) and a free lunch (the city also sponsored hot dogs and chips). The PBS station was in attendance along with the a larger than life Super Why mascot, Ava's absolute favorite show. She was thrilled to see Wyett, but too nervous to get close to him. We took home some Super Why stickers and pictures from the PBS booth, along with superhero cape (made from a vinyl tablecloth) which Ava is really enjoying wearing around the house.
Since we were already halfway there, we went ahead and headed down to thr Strip to take in a Bellagio water show and enjoy their ever-changing conservatory. They had a beautiful autumn display up, complete with walk-under canopies of water and leaves; an old mill with waterwheel; bronze sculptural trees; and a robotic talking tree, which fascinated Ava but which she declared for the rest of the day "I scared of tree."
After the conservatory visit, we went outside to take in the famous Bellagio watershow. Since Ava loves waterfalls, we thought she would really enjoy the show - and she did! Luckily the song to which the water "performed" was a quieter opera number, so the water show a bit tamer than some we have seen. She really, really enjoyed and didn't want to leave when it was over. All in all, a very good day of free fun for the family (and gorgeous weather to boot!)
On a final funny note, when we were parking the car downtown for the festival, a guy came up to me as I was unloading the kids, stroller, etc. and asked if we had a chapel yet, attempting to hand me a flyer. I said we were all set and he walked away. There was ALOT of activity at the building across the street from the car and I wondered what type of religious conference they were having. Before we had finished getting away from the car another guy approached us and I waved him off saying we were going to book fair. But on the way back to the car we noticed people standing on the steps taking pictures, holding up a paper. AH HA! It's where you pick up your marriage license in Vegas! To confirm it, when we were back at the car and loading kids in, a limo pulled up next to us and asked if we had a chapel in mind for our wedding. Ha! We laughed and told him we were already married, but thanks. He laughed too and drove away. I really love "only in Las Vegas" moments, don't you?
Family Update
I realize it has been almost two weeks, so I can't do a "Week in Review" post. Wow, time flies doesn't it? I figure the easiest way to fill you in on all of our adventures is to tell you about us individually:
Ava
Not too many new behaviors from Ava, but her vocabulary increases on a daily basis and Elliott and I get such a kick out of carrying on conversations with her. Here are two more recent ones (and the ones we get an especially good laugh over):
* When Ava and I were cuddling and playing on the couch the other day, I was playing with her toes. I jokingly put her big toe in mouth (folks, she had been wearing socks all day until that point, so don't be too grossed out!) and made little playful chewing noises. Ava giggled at first then said reproachfully "Mommy that's gross. That's gross."
* Today I think Elliott was trying to shoo Ava out of the office so he could get some work done. He said "Go tell Mommy how cute you are" (we like to play the "go tell" the other parent something game as to keep her running back and forth in the house and hence occupied), to which Ava replied "No. I'm not cute. I'm a big girl."
Lily
Lily gets bigger and bigger everyday, as evidenced by her stunning mobility. At little more than eight months, she has mastered crawling and is trying hard to work on cruising along furniture, like the piano bench (now if only her feet would move when she wanted them to!). Along with her mobility however is a downside - sometimes I lose track of her. The other day I could hear her fussing somewhere at the other end of the house, so I went to investigate. She had crawled into the galley space of the kitchen and when I walked right past her, she got very upset at me for not noticing her there.
Lily now has two teeth and has bit me while nursing. Oh joy!
We did a pediatrician run to Dr. Duddy almost two weeks ago to rule out an ear infection, as her sleeping was SO bad. Dr. Duddy diagnosed her with a hunch we already had - it's behavioral not physical. The poor little girl has night terrors. She has been waking up between 2-3 hours after we put her to bed, screaming inconsolably. She's not awake though and no amount of jostling her or calling to her will make her wake up and snap out of it. Listening to her scream is pretty tough, knowing there is nothing you can do but trying to remember she is fine and won't remember this in the morning anyway. Aside from her nightly terrors, she also does wake up quite a bit at night and I am still working on solving this problem. It's a rather sad statement when I get excited that I only got up three time last night.
Besides the horrible sleeping Lily does at night, the time change really threw her for a loop. Last week she was up around 6am almost every morning, which in turn threw off both naps and bedtime. This morning though she got up around 8am so I very hopeful that that is where she will stay.
Elliott & Sarah
We spent Halloween afternoon doing some research at dealerships on which minivan we would like to buy (as we know this is a bullet we need to bite) and got some good numbers and deals/ideas to throw around over the weekend. By Sunday night though we had decided to pass on buying a new car, no matter how attractive the sales as we just shouldn't be spending that much on a car. So Monday morning I called the guy that Mom & Dad Kay use in Provo. He goes to car auctions in Las Vegas and is able to find some pretty good deals. After only 5 minutes on the phone with him I found out he had exactly what we were looking for in the price range we wanted to spend! I also find him perfectly trustworthy - Mom & Dad have always bought their cars from him; Josh & Lizzie got their van from him; he's a firefighter and personally knows both dad and the finance guy at the Provo Police and Firefighters Credit Union who we are getting our loan through (and who happens to be Elliott's old Boy Scout leader). Talk about a sense of peace! Everything just fell into place in under 30 minutes and we are so excited that we will be getting a new car at the end of this week. So stay tuned for pictures and details!
We either joined the human race or took a step back this week (I can't decided which) as we now have a home phone and are in the process of switching our cell phones to prepaid for emergency only. This will save us a good amount of money each month for we are not on the go nearly as much as we used to be. This would fall under the category of "things that change with children", like when I finally put away my martini glasses to make room for sippy cups in the cupboard (it's true!). You just have to come to grips that life is different and you need to do what you need to do. So we signed up with Vonage and have unlimited calling for local/long distance/foreign, voice mail and caller ID. Yeah!
We are anxiously awaiting the sale ads to start appearing for Black Friday this year as we are gunning for a cheap laptop and wireless internet. Woo hoo! I can't wait! We have decided that will be our family present to each other and, besides the car, the last big purchase we want to make. So hopefully I will be able to update this blog more often. Fingers crossed!
Ava
Not too many new behaviors from Ava, but her vocabulary increases on a daily basis and Elliott and I get such a kick out of carrying on conversations with her. Here are two more recent ones (and the ones we get an especially good laugh over):
* When Ava and I were cuddling and playing on the couch the other day, I was playing with her toes. I jokingly put her big toe in mouth (folks, she had been wearing socks all day until that point, so don't be too grossed out!) and made little playful chewing noises. Ava giggled at first then said reproachfully "Mommy that's gross. That's gross."
* Today I think Elliott was trying to shoo Ava out of the office so he could get some work done. He said "Go tell Mommy how cute you are" (we like to play the "go tell" the other parent something game as to keep her running back and forth in the house and hence occupied), to which Ava replied "No. I'm not cute. I'm a big girl."
Lily
Lily gets bigger and bigger everyday, as evidenced by her stunning mobility. At little more than eight months, she has mastered crawling and is trying hard to work on cruising along furniture, like the piano bench (now if only her feet would move when she wanted them to!). Along with her mobility however is a downside - sometimes I lose track of her. The other day I could hear her fussing somewhere at the other end of the house, so I went to investigate. She had crawled into the galley space of the kitchen and when I walked right past her, she got very upset at me for not noticing her there.
Lily now has two teeth and has bit me while nursing. Oh joy!
We did a pediatrician run to Dr. Duddy almost two weeks ago to rule out an ear infection, as her sleeping was SO bad. Dr. Duddy diagnosed her with a hunch we already had - it's behavioral not physical. The poor little girl has night terrors. She has been waking up between 2-3 hours after we put her to bed, screaming inconsolably. She's not awake though and no amount of jostling her or calling to her will make her wake up and snap out of it. Listening to her scream is pretty tough, knowing there is nothing you can do but trying to remember she is fine and won't remember this in the morning anyway. Aside from her nightly terrors, she also does wake up quite a bit at night and I am still working on solving this problem. It's a rather sad statement when I get excited that I only got up three time last night.
Besides the horrible sleeping Lily does at night, the time change really threw her for a loop. Last week she was up around 6am almost every morning, which in turn threw off both naps and bedtime. This morning though she got up around 8am so I very hopeful that that is where she will stay.
Elliott & Sarah
We spent Halloween afternoon doing some research at dealerships on which minivan we would like to buy (as we know this is a bullet we need to bite) and got some good numbers and deals/ideas to throw around over the weekend. By Sunday night though we had decided to pass on buying a new car, no matter how attractive the sales as we just shouldn't be spending that much on a car. So Monday morning I called the guy that Mom & Dad Kay use in Provo. He goes to car auctions in Las Vegas and is able to find some pretty good deals. After only 5 minutes on the phone with him I found out he had exactly what we were looking for in the price range we wanted to spend! I also find him perfectly trustworthy - Mom & Dad have always bought their cars from him; Josh & Lizzie got their van from him; he's a firefighter and personally knows both dad and the finance guy at the Provo Police and Firefighters Credit Union who we are getting our loan through (and who happens to be Elliott's old Boy Scout leader). Talk about a sense of peace! Everything just fell into place in under 30 minutes and we are so excited that we will be getting a new car at the end of this week. So stay tuned for pictures and details!
We either joined the human race or took a step back this week (I can't decided which) as we now have a home phone and are in the process of switching our cell phones to prepaid for emergency only. This will save us a good amount of money each month for we are not on the go nearly as much as we used to be. This would fall under the category of "things that change with children", like when I finally put away my martini glasses to make room for sippy cups in the cupboard (it's true!). You just have to come to grips that life is different and you need to do what you need to do. So we signed up with Vonage and have unlimited calling for local/long distance/foreign, voice mail and caller ID. Yeah!
We are anxiously awaiting the sale ads to start appearing for Black Friday this year as we are gunning for a cheap laptop and wireless internet. Woo hoo! I can't wait! We have decided that will be our family present to each other and, besides the car, the last big purchase we want to make. So hopefully I will be able to update this blog more often. Fingers crossed!
Grocery shopping SCORE!
All of the above I purchased for $22.55. I posted the full details on my other blog if you care to read how I did it (yes Travis, I know you don't care, but somebody else might).
I am one of "those"
The media have been incredulously reporting on the amount of undecided voters, wondering out loud how it can be this close to the election and people can still be undecided. Hello, my name is Sarah and I am undecided.
I know who I will not be voting for (due the public nature of this blog and my desire to NOT receive anybody else's political musings I will not reveal candidate's names) but I have been nervous about voting for the other main party candidate. Unhappy with 100% of either candidates platforms, etc. I am more and more inclined to vote third party along with Elliott, to take a stand and say we need more than a two party system. If I lived in a state where it would obviously be a Republican vote or a Democratic vote it would be easier for me to "throw away" my vote to the third party. However, Nevada is a hot battleground state with McCain, Palin, and Michelle Obama campaigning here today for my vote.
This morning, thanks to Good Morning America, I am getting closer to deciding. They had an interactive screen which showed various scenarios for electoral votes based on which states went either blue or red. That right there is what I needed to help me make a decision, which I will be thinking over today. Good thing I have another 24 hours.
VOTE TOMORROW! EXERCISE YOUR VOICE! PLAY YOUR PART!
I know who I will not be voting for (due the public nature of this blog and my desire to NOT receive anybody else's political musings I will not reveal candidate's names) but I have been nervous about voting for the other main party candidate. Unhappy with 100% of either candidates platforms, etc. I am more and more inclined to vote third party along with Elliott, to take a stand and say we need more than a two party system. If I lived in a state where it would obviously be a Republican vote or a Democratic vote it would be easier for me to "throw away" my vote to the third party. However, Nevada is a hot battleground state with McCain, Palin, and Michelle Obama campaigning here today for my vote.
This morning, thanks to Good Morning America, I am getting closer to deciding. They had an interactive screen which showed various scenarios for electoral votes based on which states went either blue or red. That right there is what I needed to help me make a decision, which I will be thinking over today. Good thing I have another 24 hours.
VOTE TOMORROW! EXERCISE YOUR VOICE! PLAY YOUR PART!
Halloween
This year we celebrated Halloween twice - once with a "Trunk or Treat" at Josh and Lizzie's church and also on the actual holiday by trick or treating in our neighborhood. The Trunk or Treat was a lot of fun, as the girls were able to have a good time with their cousins, Xander (aka Peter Pan) and Julia (aka ladybug). Ava went as a princess (naturally) and Lily inherited last year's Halloween costume (don't tell her!), an angel. As I walked the parking lot with Ava (Elliott strolling along with Lily), I tried to teach her to say "Trick or Treat" which she did admirably, but not loud enough for anybody to hear. She quickly picked up on the scheme of things though, figuring out her bucket of candy was growing. I am pretty sure that she ate more chocolate that night than dinner.
I heard about how much Ava loved Halloween over the next few days, and each day she wanted to wear her princess dress again. I did manage to stave her off until Friday, when she wore a "new" princess dress. Our neighbor Amanda brought over her daughter Courtney's past Halloween princess dresses and Ava had a blast choosing a new costume(that's why you see her in two different costumes in the slideshow). She decided she wanted to be a "butterfly princess" and insisted on wearing the wings all day (which she had trouble maneuvering through doors, but enjoyed nonetheless).
Halloween night I took Ava out trick or treating while Elliott sat out in the front yard with Lily and passed out candy, so the neighborhood kids wouldn't have to walk up to our side door. I think all in all, ALL of us had a good time. I ended up joining Amanda's party as we walked along, and her little boy Dylan took a shine to Ava and held her hand as they went to the front doors. Ava had a good time, but got tired pretty quickly. So we went back and hung out with Elliott to pass out candy. Ava's sugar high kicked in after awhile and it was a good thing we were outside - we just let her run in circles in the front yard while kids walked past. She even started to holler out "Happy Halloween!" with zero prompting from us as people took their candy and left.
In the end we passed out all of the candy we bought, Ava still managed to come home with PLENTY, we spent some quality time with neighbors, and enjoyed some much appreciated family time ourselves. So Happy Halloween to us!
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