I saw this video on a blog the Tori follows, and couldn't help but share. Enjoy!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
"Yah, Yah" and "Dao"
Katrina still can't say any words, though she tries to say "dog" in a variety of ways (usually with "ba" or "ma"), but we figured out this week that she can bark and meow. When we were at Nana and Pop Pop's last week, I noticed her trying to bark at their dog Gigi. We experimented and when we tell her to bark and make the noise for her, she imitates us with a "Yah! Yah!" Nana asked her to meow and Katrina said "Dao." Sometimes she gets the "m" sound in there. I tried other animal sounds but the only other one she imitated was my sheep baa, or "aaaa."
This is exciting to me! It means she actually has a desire to talk and communicate! Katrina also has been using new sounds a lot since last week, which I think is because of the time spent with her cousin who is a year older than her.
Mealtimes are easier once I figured out that she signs to me that she is "all done" when she is finished with the food on her tray, not necessarily completely done eating. I still have to occasionally resort to the pull-the-tray-away-and-see-if-she-pulls-it-back method, but usually she signs "more" if she is still hungry.
Oh, and I had a video of her saying animal sounds, but then Katrina was holding the camera and watching the video, and managed to delete it.
This is exciting to me! It means she actually has a desire to talk and communicate! Katrina also has been using new sounds a lot since last week, which I think is because of the time spent with her cousin who is a year older than her.
Mealtimes are easier once I figured out that she signs to me that she is "all done" when she is finished with the food on her tray, not necessarily completely done eating. I still have to occasionally resort to the pull-the-tray-away-and-see-if-she-pulls-it-back method, but usually she signs "more" if she is still hungry.
Oh, and I had a video of her saying animal sounds, but then Katrina was holding the camera and watching the video, and managed to delete it.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Sticking around
I woke up this morning at 6 or so, and thought, "Not again, why can't I just sleep all the way until the alarm goes off?" I woke up several more times, like when Adam left, and about an hour later, and then finally at 9:40 I dragged myself out of bed to go see why Katrina wasn't up yet. Right then I heard her wake up. She refused to go to sleep last night and I finally stopped hearing her about 9:30--which means she really is conditioned to sleep 12 hours, no matter when she goes to bed!
Speaking of Katrina, she is currently sitting on her big stuffed frog and bouncing on him repeatedly. He ribbits when squeezed. It's pretty cute. What not cute is that now she is going over and pressing buttons on our tv. For some reason, when she presses the channel or volume buttons, the tv turns on! It's super annoying, because she can't get the power button to work, which should ensure that she can't turn the tv on. I don't understand why the other buttons are turning it on.
Well, our good news is that we are sticking around in these apartments for another year. We thought we were going to have to move to a cheaper place, but we're able to make it work now and we signed a year lease again. We're very happy because the apartment itself is very nice, and we are so close to a park and the grocery store, which is important to me because I won't be having a car of my own for probably another year and a half. Having always lived with housing contracts (in my adult life), it's weird for me to be out of college and have no timeline to my life. So in this small way, knowing that I will at least be here in these apartments for another year is a comfort to me.
Speaking of Katrina, she is currently sitting on her big stuffed frog and bouncing on him repeatedly. He ribbits when squeezed. It's pretty cute. What not cute is that now she is going over and pressing buttons on our tv. For some reason, when she presses the channel or volume buttons, the tv turns on! It's super annoying, because she can't get the power button to work, which should ensure that she can't turn the tv on. I don't understand why the other buttons are turning it on.
Well, our good news is that we are sticking around in these apartments for another year. We thought we were going to have to move to a cheaper place, but we're able to make it work now and we signed a year lease again. We're very happy because the apartment itself is very nice, and we are so close to a park and the grocery store, which is important to me because I won't be having a car of my own for probably another year and a half. Having always lived with housing contracts (in my adult life), it's weird for me to be out of college and have no timeline to my life. So in this small way, knowing that I will at least be here in these apartments for another year is a comfort to me.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Word of the Day: Itchy
I spent a total of about ten minutes outside yesterday and got an average of a bite a minute. My poor legs are so itchy right now that I couldn't take my normal Sunday afternoon nap! Horrors. My bites always swell up right away, so they were pretty bad yesterday, but then they subsided, until I must have spent the whole night rubbing the blankets all over my legs, judging by how huge and red they were this morning. And now my lacey skirt is just the right length to rub against them too, so I can tell these bites are going to be here for awhile.
I didn't realize it's been a week since my last post. Adam was gone at Scout Camp this week, so I spent Thursday-Saturday down in New Jersey with his family. I am so glad to have Adam back. We both expected Katrina to be so excited to see him, but instead she barely reacted when he came home. She just looked at him with a half-smile, half-grimace on her face, and the only sign she gave that she missed him was when he walked into the other room and she complained. I think she definitely let her opinion be known that it's not cool when Daddy leaves town for that long!
I am gathering quotes for another Junior Primary Wisdom, but I'm still hoping for a couple more good ones first. The girl that says most of the funny things was gone this week, so maybe next week will be more fruitful. :]
I just realized Katrina is due to wake up in about ten minutes, so I need to run and eat something before she gets up. Have a great Sunday!
I didn't realize it's been a week since my last post. Adam was gone at Scout Camp this week, so I spent Thursday-Saturday down in New Jersey with his family. I am so glad to have Adam back. We both expected Katrina to be so excited to see him, but instead she barely reacted when he came home. She just looked at him with a half-smile, half-grimace on her face, and the only sign she gave that she missed him was when he walked into the other room and she complained. I think she definitely let her opinion be known that it's not cool when Daddy leaves town for that long!
I am gathering quotes for another Junior Primary Wisdom, but I'm still hoping for a couple more good ones first. The girl that says most of the funny things was gone this week, so maybe next week will be more fruitful. :]
I just realized Katrina is due to wake up in about ten minutes, so I need to run and eat something before she gets up. Have a great Sunday!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Angel baby?
(Edit: I just realized that Angel Baby is how people refer to a miscarriage on my birth boards on Babycenter. No miscarriage here!)
Since when does Katrina sit through Sacrament meeting on my lap? Since when does she only try to run away once and not even complain when I bring her back? Since when does she allow me to actually listen to both speakers enough to remember what the meeting was about?
My ride pulled through and this morning we all squished in their car (turns out they regularly give someone else a ride too) and made it just a little late. We all shared a bench and Katrina just sat on my lap, looking at people. She had this expression on her face as if she had never seen anything like this before. I had to remind myself that no, we did not skip church last week or anything. She sat there until the end of the first speaker's talk and then got down to walk a little. That was when she made her one dash to freedom, but didn't attempt it again. After the hymn, she saw a man on the bench behind us that she really likes. Since his in-laws were there and he had help from them with his own two children, I let Katrina go back to that bench and join their family. For almost the entire next speaker she sat on his lap and watched his older daughter play next to her. Katrina didn't even complain when I gave the other girl's toys back to her. Weird.
I think it was my blessing from above for having to go through church without Adam. I was able to give her to someone else to watch for part of Sunday School, and wow, she was upset when I left. Then she had a blast in Primary eating and running around with someone's strand of (fake) pearls. Her patience had no end, because we had to wait 45 minutes or so after church for our ride to interview with the Stake President for what I think were some new stake callings.
So the day is great so far. Earlier, I was so tired, and Katrina had just woken up from her nap. I kept dozing off, and listening to her play around me. I just couldn't stay awake, so I kept sending vague prayers heavenward like "please don't let her hurt anything" and got a few minutes of a nap. And now she is entertaining herself with one of her musical toys. I really wish I could get a video of her these days without her seeing the camera and immediately running to me. She hears music and starts dancing with these weird swaying motions and head jerks. And now she is throwing her blanket over her head like a ghost and making cute noises at me. Wow, I cannot handle her cuteness. If the other one is this cute, Katrina better get less cute, because their combined cuteness would probably do me in. For instance, she discovered the pile and box of stuffed animals in her room, a combination of my old favorites and hers. She regularly goes into her bedroom and comes out proudly holding a stuffed animal almost as large as she is. She loves to rest on and hit our exercise ball. She recently discovered my box of craft supplies in her room, so I went in to find her draped in pretty ribbons I have collected. The box is now in my room and I'm pretty sure her room is as childproofed as possible (oh, except she figured out how to pull socket protectors out), so when she goes in there, I don't automatically follow. If she starts crying, I know she probably just can't get her blanket through the crib slats. :] It's really nice having a more independent child who is also really good at entertaining herself, most of the time.
Okay, this ended up way long. I'm off to make plans for my first craft project in awhile. I want to make a soft quiet book with pictures of temples and prophets, etc, for church. No activities like her other quiet book (which I am still saving for Christmas, probably), just pictures. I think there are things you can get that you can print off pictures from the computer and then iron them on fabric. If that works, I might try a simple book like that to bring to church instead of our current features, "Touch and Feel Farm" and "Peek-a-boo I Love You."
Since when does Katrina sit through Sacrament meeting on my lap? Since when does she only try to run away once and not even complain when I bring her back? Since when does she allow me to actually listen to both speakers enough to remember what the meeting was about?
My ride pulled through and this morning we all squished in their car (turns out they regularly give someone else a ride too) and made it just a little late. We all shared a bench and Katrina just sat on my lap, looking at people. She had this expression on her face as if she had never seen anything like this before. I had to remind myself that no, we did not skip church last week or anything. She sat there until the end of the first speaker's talk and then got down to walk a little. That was when she made her one dash to freedom, but didn't attempt it again. After the hymn, she saw a man on the bench behind us that she really likes. Since his in-laws were there and he had help from them with his own two children, I let Katrina go back to that bench and join their family. For almost the entire next speaker she sat on his lap and watched his older daughter play next to her. Katrina didn't even complain when I gave the other girl's toys back to her. Weird.
I think it was my blessing from above for having to go through church without Adam. I was able to give her to someone else to watch for part of Sunday School, and wow, she was upset when I left. Then she had a blast in Primary eating and running around with someone's strand of (fake) pearls. Her patience had no end, because we had to wait 45 minutes or so after church for our ride to interview with the Stake President for what I think were some new stake callings.
So the day is great so far. Earlier, I was so tired, and Katrina had just woken up from her nap. I kept dozing off, and listening to her play around me. I just couldn't stay awake, so I kept sending vague prayers heavenward like "please don't let her hurt anything" and got a few minutes of a nap. And now she is entertaining herself with one of her musical toys. I really wish I could get a video of her these days without her seeing the camera and immediately running to me. She hears music and starts dancing with these weird swaying motions and head jerks. And now she is throwing her blanket over her head like a ghost and making cute noises at me. Wow, I cannot handle her cuteness. If the other one is this cute, Katrina better get less cute, because their combined cuteness would probably do me in. For instance, she discovered the pile and box of stuffed animals in her room, a combination of my old favorites and hers. She regularly goes into her bedroom and comes out proudly holding a stuffed animal almost as large as she is. She loves to rest on and hit our exercise ball. She recently discovered my box of craft supplies in her room, so I went in to find her draped in pretty ribbons I have collected. The box is now in my room and I'm pretty sure her room is as childproofed as possible (oh, except she figured out how to pull socket protectors out), so when she goes in there, I don't automatically follow. If she starts crying, I know she probably just can't get her blanket through the crib slats. :] It's really nice having a more independent child who is also really good at entertaining herself, most of the time.
Okay, this ended up way long. I'm off to make plans for my first craft project in awhile. I want to make a soft quiet book with pictures of temples and prophets, etc, for church. No activities like her other quiet book (which I am still saving for Christmas, probably), just pictures. I think there are things you can get that you can print off pictures from the computer and then iron them on fabric. If that works, I might try a simple book like that to bring to church instead of our current features, "Touch and Feel Farm" and "Peek-a-boo I Love You."
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Just a little mopey
Adam left for Scout Camp this morning. It's a week long. He does come back late Sunday night so he can work two days next week, and then he'll be gone again. I will be fine these first two days, though I really wish he had left me the car, because I don't know how I am going to get to church. I called some people that live near us and they haven't returned my call. Everyone else has too many kids to fit us in. A little later today, if I haven't heard back from that one couple, I will call the only other person who lives nearby who could take me, though she's the ward organist and gets there over an hour early to practice, so I'm not too keen on that.
Katrina is delightful, so we've been having fun. But she is also more challenging because she is getting into more things and being a little more willful. Usually, when she picks something off of the floor, I ask her to bring it me and she does, no problem. But today she was throwing tantrums even when I took trash from her, not just the things she loves like the phone and remote. She also refuses to tell me during mealtimes whether she is still hungry or not, so I have to guess, and today I guessed wrong. She was cranky all morning, and I think it was because she didn't get enough to eat for breakfast.
Blah, she's not asleep in her crib, like I thought. I better go pick her blanket up, since she likely threw it on the floor and of course she can't fall asleep without it! :] Then I can get back to the huge stack of books I picked up from the library yesterday. The first one I read was a little weird (girl turns highwayman and then somehow ends up in a conspiracy plot against England and must run away to France, where she is barely saved from the guillotine by the death of Robespierre. Weird. I don't think I'll read more by that author.)
Katrina is delightful, so we've been having fun. But she is also more challenging because she is getting into more things and being a little more willful. Usually, when she picks something off of the floor, I ask her to bring it me and she does, no problem. But today she was throwing tantrums even when I took trash from her, not just the things she loves like the phone and remote. She also refuses to tell me during mealtimes whether she is still hungry or not, so I have to guess, and today I guessed wrong. She was cranky all morning, and I think it was because she didn't get enough to eat for breakfast.
Blah, she's not asleep in her crib, like I thought. I better go pick her blanket up, since she likely threw it on the floor and of course she can't fall asleep without it! :] Then I can get back to the huge stack of books I picked up from the library yesterday. The first one I read was a little weird (girl turns highwayman and then somehow ends up in a conspiracy plot against England and must run away to France, where she is barely saved from the guillotine by the death of Robespierre. Weird. I don't think I'll read more by that author.)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Quirky Katrina
This pictures used to show up larger on my computer, but now they don't. I should probably check if Katrina changed the resolution while playing with my phone. This is Katrina with her hair in a topknot. Sometimes she leaves it in for a few minutes. I wish I knew how to get her to leave it in all the time.
She likes to use her big stuffed frog as a pillow, or in this case, just is burrowing into him with her head. Also, I haven't been able to catch it on camera, but I have come across her several times, in her crib and outside of it, balancing on her head. It looks like she's trying to do the beginnings of a headstand. I'm not sure why, but it's pretty funny.
I guess she is a budding bookworm. I frequently find her looking at her books, or in this case, Daddy's Aaronic Priesthood manual for Deacons. It's really cute.
What else does she do? Well, you know that gurgling sound the dentist's suction tool makes when it sucks the water and spit out of your mouth? Katrina was making that today while I was preparing her lunch yam. It was so bizarre. She also has several large bruises from tripping and running into things. I was actually nervous to take her out in public on Monday because she had two huge bruises on one side of her face just from Sunday. Oh, she often comes up to me and brings me things she has found, and is pretty good about me taking them from her. She brings me hair that she has picked up off the floor and has gotten stuck on her hands, and I get it off for her. She also turns off the computer regularly, which is why I am typing this at warp speed in case she turns it off while I am typing. Also, I wish I had a photo of her sleeping, because she sleeps now on her stomach, with her bum really high up in the air. It's super cute.Bad things she does--bites my toes. Ok, this one isn't too bad, but it's really weird. Sometimes she gets on these kicks and I have to go put my feet up out of her reach because she just won't stop biting them. Also, she is almost impossible to change on her changing pad. We'll have to start changing her on the floor, which stinks for me because it hurts my back. And she can crawl away if we do that. She rolls around and around and tries constantly to sit up. It's frustrating. Also, she will tell me she wants to eat initially, but when I ask her during the meal if she is still hungry, it's like pulling teeth (she's getting her molars, two are poking through!) to get her to tell me if she wants more food or not. Usually I just try to take the tray and if she pushes it, she's done, and if she pulls it back, she wants more. And when she pushes it and then pulls it back, I throw my hands in the air.
That's all, hope there aren't too many typos because I need to get back to Katrina. I'm letting her play with my phone and I need to protect it. Also, she is sitting on my lap and any minute will decided that she wants to type or play with the mouse too.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Happy Father's Day to some great dads
Happy Father's Day, Dad, Dad-Bill, and Adam!
My dad is wonderful and I was happy to be able to see him this last week. I really miss his wisdom and his hugs! Adam is such a good dad to Katrina and I'm sure will be a wonderful daddy to baby X too. I really can't express my love and gratitude to him so I thought I'd stick some beautiful pictures in of him and Katrina.
My dad is wonderful and I was happy to be able to see him this last week. I really miss his wisdom and his hugs! Adam is such a good dad to Katrina and I'm sure will be a wonderful daddy to baby X too. I really can't express my love and gratitude to him so I thought I'd stick some beautiful pictures in of him and Katrina.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Reunion pictures
Blogger always uploads my pictures backwards, so rather than the usual extensive planning to make sure things are in chronological order, I just loaded them however.
Clapping the van getting pulled out.
I look fairly pregnant here, which I blame on walking downhill and the maternity shirt. I really don't have to wear maternity yet, I was just bored of my normal clothes.
I was on the couch and snuck the camera around to try to get a picture of Katrina, without realizing she had already walked away. I still got a cool picture, though.
Katrina was such a mama's girl all weekend. Did I mention how she wouldn't let even Adam hold her during the Oquirrh Mountain Temple walkthrough, so I had to carry her up all the stairs? Ahh! While at the reunion itself, she liked interacting with a lot of people, but she preferred my two sisters.
Ah yes, the van that got super stuck. This pushing attempt did nothing.
Such a beautiful cabin in a beautiful valley. I'm not sure this picture does the driveway justice though. It was so steep.
And the family picture. This one was the best. I wish I had lifted Katrina just a little higher though.
Clapping the van getting pulled out.
I look fairly pregnant here, which I blame on walking downhill and the maternity shirt. I really don't have to wear maternity yet, I was just bored of my normal clothes.
I was on the couch and snuck the camera around to try to get a picture of Katrina, without realizing she had already walked away. I still got a cool picture, though.
Katrina was such a mama's girl all weekend. Did I mention how she wouldn't let even Adam hold her during the Oquirrh Mountain Temple walkthrough, so I had to carry her up all the stairs? Ahh! While at the reunion itself, she liked interacting with a lot of people, but she preferred my two sisters.
Ah yes, the van that got super stuck. This pushing attempt did nothing.
Such a beautiful cabin in a beautiful valley. I'm not sure this picture does the driveway justice though. It was so steep.
And the family picture. This one was the best. I wish I had lifted Katrina just a little higher though.
We're Back!
Wow, it's been awhile, hasn't it? We've had a big week. We were at a family reunion in Utah since Monday. Also, Adam's sister had her baby on Saturday morning before we left, so we were excited to hold him and see the new family member. He's adorable and tiny.
The family reunion was a great vacation, one with a healthy mix of big family time and our small family time. We left on Monday at 7 (which meant we got up at 5) to catch a thankfully nonstop flight to Salt Lake. Katrina was as excellent as she possibly could have been. She only had trouble midway because she wanted to fall asleep but her car seat wasn't as reclined as it normally is, so she struggled a bit. We arrived at last, and got to visit my parents who are serving as missionaries at Church Headquarters. They took us to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan where we were able to walk through it as part of the Open House before it is dedicated. It was a very pretty temple! After that we wandered around Provo a bit before heading up the canyon to the cabin in Heber where the reunion was. I'll post some pictures after I find the DVD with all of the pictures people took. I'm pretty sure it's in Adam's bag in the car, with him.
The first night was a little crazy. We were so exhausted. Katrina, even though she was tired too, and must have been confused by this day that wouldn't end, did really well with all of the noise and attention she received. She also loved walking around everywhere, especially right under people's feet. I was freaking out a little all night because there was a set of stairs I was afraid she would fall down. We kept trying to teach her how to go down stairs on the two steps between the kitchen and living room, but she would scoot down one and then go face first down the other. So I was very nervous about her falling down the large staircase. We finally rigged up a baby gate with one of the tables, which worked except when we needed it at family meals. I was much happier after that. She also figured out how to climb stairs on the other staircase, but she didn't do that too often, so I could follow behind her and save her when she got tired of climbing.
Our second day was mostly free time. We headed out to the grocery store for diapers and didn't get back home until after 3! First we decided to just drive around and ended up looking at huge houses in Midway and then finding this fun place called Memorial Hill. We had to circle it several times and it had awesome views of the whole valley. We also checked out a cemetery and just had fun driving around. Then we got a call to join everyone else in a short hike farther down the canyon. We agreed, even though we had only eaten M&Ms and Jelly Bellies all morning, since we thought it would be short. Turns it it took a long time to get there, and was on a super windy road deep into the mountains. The hike around was short and pretty, but we had to head back quickly just to go get food! My brother entertained Katrina in the back seat, and she went from giving him wary smiles (he has long hair and intimidates some small children at first) to absolutely loving him. We did have to stop for a few minutes after she got into a screaming fit. That happened a couple times this trip. We figured she must have been fed up with her carseat and just needed a break. Hey, I would too!
That evening and Wednesday morning were mostly family time. We always have a family meeting and we also celebrated a handful of June birthdays with decadent pies made by my brother. Oh, and then we had to orchestrate the family picture. I had kept my camera in my bags because it is so big and I didn't want to carry it around, but it turns out we have the nicest camera! So it took the pictures. That afternoon we decided to explore Park City up the road. We didn't actually make it to Park City because we got distracted by Olympic Park. We walked through a ski museum and got to watch aerial sky jumpers practice. During the summer, they train by skiing and snowboarding into a pool! We got some cool videos from that.
Wednesday night was the incident that I'm sure everyone will remember the reunion by. My nephews play hockey and about half the family decided to drive to the older one's game in Salt Lake. I really wanted to go, but Adam and I were still on Eastern time and we got wiped out each day at about 9 or 9:30. Most of the cars were about to leave, when we realized that my brother's van was absolutely stuck. This driveway was horrible. Fitting everyone on it was difficult enough, without the fact that it was so steep and it was rainy! We were afraid our rental PT Cruiser wouldn't make it back up, and I saw several other Hondas and Hyundais and other cars struggle too. But in order to make room, the van had been moved forward to the very bottom of the hill, and with all the rain, well, the front two tires were absolutely stuck. All the able bodied men tried to push it out, but that didn't work. We had my dad's truck, but no one had keys. Luckily it was unlocked and we were able to locate the key to his metal box in the back that had ropes. The only other car with 4 wheel drive was my uncle's rental Yukon. Adam and my grandma tied the knots and the Yukon and my brother got ready to back out. At first they tried to just pull it out, but it wasn't quite enough, so they reversed at the same time and the van popped right out. There were many cheers all around!
Yesterday was the last day, and it was mostly traveling. We left the cabin at 11 and drove to Salt Lake, but stopped in Park City first to see what it was like. We would have loved to have gotten out and walked on Main Street, but Katrina was asleep. So we headed to Salt Lake. We walked around Temple Square and tried to go to ZCMI Mall to eat at the food court. Umm, that mall isn't there anymore. When did that happen? So we ate at the Lion House and headed back to my parents' apartment. They took us on a tour of the translation part of the Conference Center! It was really cool to see what goes on right underneath the balcony floor. They have fifty or more translation booths and my parents explained the process that goes on to translate each talk at General Conference or for any other event (like the Stake Conferences that are broadcast). It's way impressive. We got to see a couple of rooms full of servers and other equipment that monitor everything going on. I'm sure it's quite a production come General Conference! After that we headed to the airport.
The flight back was not as nice as the one over, even though it was about an hour less time in the air. Katrina was super hungry and ate most of her food before the plane took off. She kept complaining and we had a hard time entertaining her. We had had pretty bad turbulence on the way over, but this was so much worse. The whole plane was rolling from side to side and we were bouncing around in our seatbelts. The flight attendants in the aisle just had to sit down on someone's armrest and stay there for maybe ten minutes or more until it settled down. Katrina finally fell asleep when there was less than an hour left, and slept through the whole landing. I wish I could say we were able to go straight home, but after we got our luggage we had to go on a 20 minute or so shuttle ride to long term parking. We finally got home at 12:30.
Katrina slept until 9:30 this morning. We were woken up at 7:15 by a chainsaw outside our window chopping branches off our our bushes. 7:15! With a chainsaw! It lasted forever and I wanted to kill somebody. At least I got to go back to sleep, but Adam had to go to work. He has a campout tonight. No rest! I hope he doesn't get sick. The other bad thing is that we have no food. I really stretched my imagination to give Katrina breakfast (graham crackers, a cheese stick, and applesauce). We will be going shopping with the stroller sometime today.
Katrina just told me she wants to take a nap. I'm not sure she understands that sign quite yet, but I put her down anyway even though she's only been up for an hour and a half. I like teaching her sign language! It's so fun to communicate with my baby.
The family reunion was a great vacation, one with a healthy mix of big family time and our small family time. We left on Monday at 7 (which meant we got up at 5) to catch a thankfully nonstop flight to Salt Lake. Katrina was as excellent as she possibly could have been. She only had trouble midway because she wanted to fall asleep but her car seat wasn't as reclined as it normally is, so she struggled a bit. We arrived at last, and got to visit my parents who are serving as missionaries at Church Headquarters. They took us to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan where we were able to walk through it as part of the Open House before it is dedicated. It was a very pretty temple! After that we wandered around Provo a bit before heading up the canyon to the cabin in Heber where the reunion was. I'll post some pictures after I find the DVD with all of the pictures people took. I'm pretty sure it's in Adam's bag in the car, with him.
The first night was a little crazy. We were so exhausted. Katrina, even though she was tired too, and must have been confused by this day that wouldn't end, did really well with all of the noise and attention she received. She also loved walking around everywhere, especially right under people's feet. I was freaking out a little all night because there was a set of stairs I was afraid she would fall down. We kept trying to teach her how to go down stairs on the two steps between the kitchen and living room, but she would scoot down one and then go face first down the other. So I was very nervous about her falling down the large staircase. We finally rigged up a baby gate with one of the tables, which worked except when we needed it at family meals. I was much happier after that. She also figured out how to climb stairs on the other staircase, but she didn't do that too often, so I could follow behind her and save her when she got tired of climbing.
Our second day was mostly free time. We headed out to the grocery store for diapers and didn't get back home until after 3! First we decided to just drive around and ended up looking at huge houses in Midway and then finding this fun place called Memorial Hill. We had to circle it several times and it had awesome views of the whole valley. We also checked out a cemetery and just had fun driving around. Then we got a call to join everyone else in a short hike farther down the canyon. We agreed, even though we had only eaten M&Ms and Jelly Bellies all morning, since we thought it would be short. Turns it it took a long time to get there, and was on a super windy road deep into the mountains. The hike around was short and pretty, but we had to head back quickly just to go get food! My brother entertained Katrina in the back seat, and she went from giving him wary smiles (he has long hair and intimidates some small children at first) to absolutely loving him. We did have to stop for a few minutes after she got into a screaming fit. That happened a couple times this trip. We figured she must have been fed up with her carseat and just needed a break. Hey, I would too!
That evening and Wednesday morning were mostly family time. We always have a family meeting and we also celebrated a handful of June birthdays with decadent pies made by my brother. Oh, and then we had to orchestrate the family picture. I had kept my camera in my bags because it is so big and I didn't want to carry it around, but it turns out we have the nicest camera! So it took the pictures. That afternoon we decided to explore Park City up the road. We didn't actually make it to Park City because we got distracted by Olympic Park. We walked through a ski museum and got to watch aerial sky jumpers practice. During the summer, they train by skiing and snowboarding into a pool! We got some cool videos from that.
Wednesday night was the incident that I'm sure everyone will remember the reunion by. My nephews play hockey and about half the family decided to drive to the older one's game in Salt Lake. I really wanted to go, but Adam and I were still on Eastern time and we got wiped out each day at about 9 or 9:30. Most of the cars were about to leave, when we realized that my brother's van was absolutely stuck. This driveway was horrible. Fitting everyone on it was difficult enough, without the fact that it was so steep and it was rainy! We were afraid our rental PT Cruiser wouldn't make it back up, and I saw several other Hondas and Hyundais and other cars struggle too. But in order to make room, the van had been moved forward to the very bottom of the hill, and with all the rain, well, the front two tires were absolutely stuck. All the able bodied men tried to push it out, but that didn't work. We had my dad's truck, but no one had keys. Luckily it was unlocked and we were able to locate the key to his metal box in the back that had ropes. The only other car with 4 wheel drive was my uncle's rental Yukon. Adam and my grandma tied the knots and the Yukon and my brother got ready to back out. At first they tried to just pull it out, but it wasn't quite enough, so they reversed at the same time and the van popped right out. There were many cheers all around!
Yesterday was the last day, and it was mostly traveling. We left the cabin at 11 and drove to Salt Lake, but stopped in Park City first to see what it was like. We would have loved to have gotten out and walked on Main Street, but Katrina was asleep. So we headed to Salt Lake. We walked around Temple Square and tried to go to ZCMI Mall to eat at the food court. Umm, that mall isn't there anymore. When did that happen? So we ate at the Lion House and headed back to my parents' apartment. They took us on a tour of the translation part of the Conference Center! It was really cool to see what goes on right underneath the balcony floor. They have fifty or more translation booths and my parents explained the process that goes on to translate each talk at General Conference or for any other event (like the Stake Conferences that are broadcast). It's way impressive. We got to see a couple of rooms full of servers and other equipment that monitor everything going on. I'm sure it's quite a production come General Conference! After that we headed to the airport.
The flight back was not as nice as the one over, even though it was about an hour less time in the air. Katrina was super hungry and ate most of her food before the plane took off. She kept complaining and we had a hard time entertaining her. We had had pretty bad turbulence on the way over, but this was so much worse. The whole plane was rolling from side to side and we were bouncing around in our seatbelts. The flight attendants in the aisle just had to sit down on someone's armrest and stay there for maybe ten minutes or more until it settled down. Katrina finally fell asleep when there was less than an hour left, and slept through the whole landing. I wish I could say we were able to go straight home, but after we got our luggage we had to go on a 20 minute or so shuttle ride to long term parking. We finally got home at 12:30.
Katrina slept until 9:30 this morning. We were woken up at 7:15 by a chainsaw outside our window chopping branches off our our bushes. 7:15! With a chainsaw! It lasted forever and I wanted to kill somebody. At least I got to go back to sleep, but Adam had to go to work. He has a campout tonight. No rest! I hope he doesn't get sick. The other bad thing is that we have no food. I really stretched my imagination to give Katrina breakfast (graham crackers, a cheese stick, and applesauce). We will be going shopping with the stroller sometime today.
Katrina just told me she wants to take a nap. I'm not sure she understands that sign quite yet, but I put her down anyway even though she's only been up for an hour and a half. I like teaching her sign language! It's so fun to communicate with my baby.
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