General Conference Activity Packet for Children

Check this out and enjoy!

On the B Side: I am grateful for great learning material such as this!

24 Weeks = 6 Months = 1/2 Year

It's odd to think of it in terms of being a half a year pregnant! That will be me tomorrow. At the end of this journey I will have spent exactly 2.5 years of my life pregnant. Weird.

I found out that our baby is almost completely formed. She is now between 1.25 and 1.5 pounds and is about a foot long. She will continue to gain weight in muscles, developing organs and the deposit of brown fat.

Yes, as if there wasn't anything worse than fat now we know there's brown fat! Just when you didn't think it got any grosser! The purpose of the brown fat is to retain body heat. Newborns are notoriously bad at regulating body temperature and both Dayton and Ellie were no exception.

We had a frightening day when the docs thought Dayton had been infected with Group B Strep because of his elevated temperature. Grandpa Packer gave him a blessing and we were all blessed as all went well and our baby boy came home. He was a string bean and never really did have any rolls or even any wrinkles about him.

Ellie had a difficult time maintaining her body temperature and blood sugar which was also stressful. She was born just before midnight on a Thursday. Saturday morning I sat in the hospital alone crying because she had to stay in the nursery until she could maintain these things on her own. In the end she pulled through and came home.

Too bad I couldn't share my 'brown fat' with them when they needed it most!

On the B Side: I feel really grateful to have a fairly normal pregnancy and hope that baby remains healthy! Again, you don't have to look very far to see just how luck you are!

Out of the Mouths of My Babes

I was explaining to the kids that tomorrow we are going to see Christian. Up until now we have really focused on Dayton and helping him work through some things. Ellie has been a little out of sorts lately so I told her that Christian was also going to be her friend and asked if that was okay. She didn't respond so I asked again and here's how it went down.

Ellie: Mom, I can handle myself.
Me: Ellie, What does that mean?
Ellie: Mom, I can handle myself to make good choices so back off.

I wasn't sure I heard her correctly and didn't know if I should laugh or cry. She wasn't mad but merely defiant and apparently understands way too much for her own good! She often reminds me that she is 4 AND A HALF.

Then while we were coming home from a doctor's appointment Dayton informed me that he really had to go to the bathroom. I was trying to change the subject to preoccupy him. We were stuck in traffic and were only a few minutes away. Here's what the exchange sounded like:

Me: Well Dayton, the good news is that you don't have chicken pox so you can still go to Ben's bowling party this weekend and skiing with Grandma Mikey.
Dayton: And the bad news is Mom that I gotta poop real bad!

Needless to say I burst into laughter and we made it home just in time!

Dayton also has made a habit of weighing himself daily and some times several times throughout the day. He's been at 44.5 lbs and has been anxious to hit 45 lbs. Today before his bath he weighed in at 46.5 lbs and commented the following;

Dayton: Mom, look I'm 46 point 5!
Me: Wow, that's awesome D! You must be doing a great job eating healthy.
Dayton: Nah, it's just my clothes and my shoes. I don't really weigh that much, Mom!

How foolish am I? Later after his bath he put his jammies on and hopped back on the scale and came in at 45 lbs even! You've never seen a 5 year old so excited! Now our little Beansie is another story. She hopped on the scale after tubby time and she came in at a whopping 35 lbs!

Bedtime for her has been a struggle and she has pulled some pretty funny one liners out of her sleeve. This was tonight's conversation.

Ellie: Mom, I just want to come snuggle with you for 5 minutes.
Me: No Ellie. It's time to go to bed.
Ellie: But Mom, if you let me come out there with you I will get you a nice chair.

Yeah, I have no idea what prompted her to think that I need or want a nice chair but I know her well enough to know that there was some serious logic in there somewhere!

On the B Side: I am grateful to be a parent, to be a Mother. I must admit that it is an extremely humbling experience at every moment and I wonder how on earth I am going to manage/parent tomorrow. Parenting is a responsibility that you grow into. You don't go into it knowing how to do it well regardless of what you think you know. When they are infants their needs are basic and fairly easy to attend to. As toddlers their needs become more apparent and beyond that I am still trying to figure it all out! If you didn't know what your weaknesses were before you sure do after you have kids. Bless their little hearts, I love them so much and that is the piece of this confounding equation that I never have to ponder because I just feel it so strongly and naturally deep inside.

Tag, We're It!

Angela tagged Dayton and Ellie with 10 Things You May or May Not Know About Me.

Here's Dayton's List;
1. I am a sensitive and affectionate kind of guy. If I was a Care Bear I would be Tender Heart. I love to hug people and I'm big time into snuggling!
2. I was a miracle baby! Everyone said I wasn't possible and unexpectedly I arrived on Canada Day in 2002 against all odds. I knew it all along!
3. I love my Dad. Even in the delivery room I was searching for his voice and have always been his little buddy. Maybe some day I'll be as big as he is.
4. I love to ski! I have strong legs, can cut turns, ski off trail and hit the moguls. I enjoy my lessons cause I GOT SKILLZ!
5. One of my favorite things to eat is caramel rice cakes with peanut butter (Shellbait rocks!) but if I had my way I'd live on raspberries, strawberries or an unlimited amount of butter (not on the berries!)
6. I go to all day Kindergarten at La Petite Academy. I really like my teacher Miss Kari and have 11 friends in my class but only 3 of them are girls. Arianna and I hug but only on Mondays.
7. I like to play the computer and I really love to play Star Wars Legos on my Dad's game system. When I'm at Mom's I mostly play UNO and I'm the King, baby!
8. I like to dance in the shower!
9. I sleep with my "Grandma Packer" blanket every night! It was my Dad's when he was little and even though I've out grown it I just like to have it on me at night (even under my Spiderman blanket!)
10. I lost my first tooth and was so excited to find out yesterday that my first grown up tooth is coming in! I'm running with the big dogs now!

and one more thing...GO UTES! That's all.

Here's Ellie's list;
1. I am a girly girl through and through. I insist upon wearing skirts everyday and love to have my nails painted with Mommy Amy.
2. I have a personality the size of Texas but I am discriminate as to who I share it with. You must earn my trust!
3. I have my ears pierced but I REFUSE to change out my earrings because I am certain it will hurt! We tried once and it was just bad news. Way to go Mom.
4. I have a freckle on my left hand that I call an "Angel Kiss". It's simply beautiful, Mom's favorite and always tells me which hand is my left! ;)
5. I love sparkly shoes and mostly I don't care if they match or not! I'm my own person, you know?
6. I am a smart little girl with a mind of my own. At 8 months I was doing sign language and am already ahead a year in school! That's Ms. Smarty Pants to you!
7. I pray for all of he people, puppies, kittens and babies in the whole world each night. I'm a doll, I know.
8. I like to read and be read to.
9. I love to color and draw! You have no idea how many wonderful things I create each day. Just call me an ARTISTE!
10. I love to help! I will help with just about anything...even cleaning the toilets! Mom says this makes me a hot commodity ;)

and one more thing...I talk AND giggle in my sleep! I know, cute, huh?!

There you have it folks! I had a lot of fun with this one and hope Clancy's Mac/Ella/Ro RO and Shellie's Dalley Boy/Kate do too! TAG, YOU'RE IT KIDDOS!

On the B Side: I love the little people in my life!

School Day

Here are some pictures that I took of the kids before school yesterday morning! Here's Ellie enjoying one of her favorite past times.

Here's Dayton with his classic "smile" on command!

The Best April Fool's Day Ever!

No foolin'!! Five years ago today I found out that I was expecting our little Ellie! I was working at St. Mark's and ran upstairs for a quick blood test because something just felt different. Dr. Neilson called me shortly there after and said, "Not only are you pregnant but you are really pregnant!" I was so excited!

Dayton was exactly 9 months old that day. We quickly found out that I was 3 1/2 months along and of course nobody wanted to believe it because it was April Fool's Day! My only hope was that Dayton would be walking by the time our next little surprise arrived!

We didn't find out the gender for Dayton and also waited to find out with Beans. They ended up 14 1/2 months a part and our little D Man was walking just in time and also transitioned into a twin bed at that time as well. I was ecstatic and surprised to have a little girl!

Here she is with her first pig tail ever thanks to Shell Bell! She was almost 15 months old and cute as a little bald button!

On the B Side: While she was not planned or ever expected I am so grateful for the wonderful surprise and blessing she was and is in our lives! She was the perfect compliment to our little Dayton and I wouldn't have it any other way! Thank heavens for little girls and most especially our little Beans!