Icecream for FHE

A couple of days after Blake's first surgery on May 25, 2010, we went out to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. I had gotten a coupon from the newspaper and Blake of course had been famished from not being able to eat for so long that decided to make it an outing while Blake's mom was still here with us. She had stayed with Kelsey and Mylee while Blake, Lanaea, Blake's dad, and I were in Abilene. Amazingly Blake was discharged earlier then we had expected, so we got to enjoy Blake's Mom for a couple of days before she went home to Utah. We all enjoyed our yummy treats and Grandma's company!

Mylee Taking Care of Sister

On May 11th, 2010 Lanaea became really dozy in her little bouncer. Mylee noticed this and decided to get the baby she sleeps with every night for Lanaea to sleep with. It was so sweet to see Mylee taking care of her little sister.

It looks like it comforted Lanaea like it does for Mylee.

Sleeping in a Fort

Kelsey is an excellent fort builder!! She will literally spend hours building them. She'll grab

all the blankets and pillows that are accessible to her, all three of our stools, occasionally a table chair, her activity table, and occasionally her play tent. She's become quite creative by stuffing blankets down the couch pillows to hold them in place and making little windows and doors by drapping the blankets just right. Usually they are quite elaborate and of course usually wants to sleep in them. The pictures shown above is on April 20, 2010. Kelsey and Mylee decided they wanted to sleep in their tent fort together. Grammy Polly gave the girls this little tent and it has been put to good use. The next morning I asked Kelsey how she slept. She said, "Okay, it was a little bit uncomfortable." Usually the nights I let her sleep in her forts, I'll find her in her bed the next morning. But she's learned to line the whole floor of her forts with pillows to make it more comfortable. The picture below was taken on June 30, 2010 in one of Kelsey's homemade forts in our front room. That had been reading books with a flashlight until they fell asleep.

Kelsey Looses her First Tooth

On April 17, 2010, Kelsey lost her first tooth!! One day Kelsey came up to me and said, "Mom, I feel something funny by my tooth." I was alarmed when I looked in her mouth and saw what looked like a tooth coming in!! Thinking it was WAY too early for her to be getting a tooth, I called Trent, my brother-in-law who is in dental school, to see if it was normal. He assured me it was. When Blake got home later that day he inspected her new tooth and in the process of helping her wiggle her baby tooth, it came out. Both Kelsey and I were surprised. The tears that had began to well up in her eyes were soon replaced by laughs and smiles as Blake and I praised her for loosing her first tooth!! She was excited to get visited by the tooth fairy that night and get some money from her!

Kindergarten Orientation

On April 14, 2010, we went over to Kelsey's school for kindergarten orientation. I was surprised that they were having orientation so early with school not beginning until August 23rd. The school had a power point presentation to show us parents while the kindergarten teachers took the children to their classrooms to get to know them so they could better assess what teacher to place them with. I had to fill out a lot of paperwork and give the school Kelsey's immunization records. I learned about the school's schedule and about their curriculum. I was impressed with their staff and with the curriculum and think school will be good for Kelsey. When I went to pick her up at the kindergarten classrooms, she was playing simon says. She had drawn a picture and was nothing but smiles! She LOVED going to school and was disappointed when she couldn't go to school the next day.

Tiara and Bugs

Don't let that pink headband accessorized with a purple bow fool you (she designed it herself!)! My girls are girly girls, BUT they don't mind getting a little bit dirty and I'm okay with that ;). On April 14, 2010, Kelsey decided she wanted to go digging for bugs. She was so excited I had just finished off a jar of jam because the jar made a perfect bug home. Don't you love her shovel? Know that shortly after the video her measuring cup was traded out for a real shovel. It's not uncommon for my girls to go squish a pesty little bug when it is not in a place they believe it should be. They've stepped on many bugs at Walmart and had a fun time chasing around a little black beatle in Firestone on day while we waited for our car to get inspected. Those men didn't know what to think of these little girls who were so unafraid of bugs and I'm sure they appreciated them killing their pesty beatle.

Don't Be Fooled by this Cutie!

Mylee as you have probably learned is my mischievous one. For months we had lost the movie Cars. I had looked EVERYWHERE and it was no where to be found. Well today we decided to open our old DVD player to try to fix it because we had learned from Kelsey that Mylee had stuck a pony card in the DVD slot and after that it wouldn't open. Low and behold, look what we found!! The movie Cars, a workout movie and of course the pony card that got us to take the DVD player apart in the first place.

A Newly Painted Fence

On April 10, 2010, we gave our fence a well needed makeover. The color the fence was painted before was hideous and it had come off in a lot of places. Blake and I agreed on the color capaccino--it makes a color in our brick perfectly. We both were really happy with the results. AND we were really glad we had invest in a paint gun or this job would have taken much longer. When our paint got low, we had to hand brush some of the fence, but it wasn't a big deal.

Kelsey and Mylee did a lot of this. Mylee even at one point came over to help and stepped in our bucket of nearly empty paint. It made for some cute foot prints in our paint bucket that we now use as a garbage can in our garage. As Blake painted with the paint gun I stood on the opposite side the fence with a big cardboard box to help prevent overspray. Both he and I were covered in stain.

Our Little Thumb Sucker

Have I ever mentioned that Lanaea is a thumb sucker? This picture was taken of her on April 10, 2010. She was just a little over 3 months old. Now nearly at 8 months old she still going at it strong. Granted, I realize that thumb sucking has its disadvanges, but man it's really nice that she can soothe herself. Since she has been 2.5 months old, she has been sleeping through the night. It's been wonderful and more then before I have REALLY been enjoying having a baby. I don't know if it is because I am a seasoned mom now with her being my 3rd or that she's seriously a perfect baby! Whatever it is, I can't get enough of this sweet little bundle of JOY!! Lanaea Joy, I Love You!!!

Swimsuit Mylee

Mylee thinks the best clothes are swimming suits. Be it winter or summer, you will find her in a swimsuit at least once during the day. I don't know what it is. She feels so beautiful in them. I must say I have to agree with her--just look at that cutie!! But really? Does she had to wear one every day? It's a good thing I have a lot of hand-me-down swimsuits in her size. I end up putting them ALL through the wash every week.

Stylin' Kelsey

Kelsey prides herself in getting ready for the day before she comes and sees me in the morning. On April 8th, 2010, I thought her choice of clothes and hair bows was too cute to not share with you all. She LOVES that green scort and would wear it every day if I didn't snatch it to get it cleaned every so often. Oh and that little baby giraffe is her little companion. It goes with her everywhere. Her name is Cassia. Yes she came up with that herself. Grandma Cheryl got it for her at the Hogel Zoo when she was just over 3 years old. She's now 5 it still goes with her everywhere!

Blake's surgery

For those who haven't heard. Blake has Ulcerative Colitis and had a really bad flare that included a week stay at the hospital, TPN (nutrition through a picc line to give his bowel's rest), and 2 (+) months of being really sick. He had to have his colon removed and this surgery will be one of three surgeries over the course of this year.
Dear Family and Friends, Blake is now home. He was discharged Monday. The doctors and nurses were surprised at his recovery! Two days after his surgery I overheard the nurses saying how fast Blake was recovering. Then the doctor said, yeah, almost too fast. Only we know why he has done so well ;) It’s all your prayers, love and concern. It’s been comforting and humbling to hear from so many of you that have been praying for his health and our well-being. It’s also been neat to hear how many of you have placed our names in the temple all over the country—THANK YOU! We both have been strengthened from your prayers. I’ve been blessed with the faith that Blake is going to be okay and that Heavenly Father will not give us more then we can handle. We have felt so at peace during all of this and have felt like our burdens are light. We are counting our blessings and thankful for the many tender mercies Heavenly Father has blessed us with. The program director of Blake’s Orthopaedic Residency Program has been nothing but understanding and generous. He has assured us that Blake will not have to make up any time in his residency and that he can take off as much time as he needs. With Blake being gone the other residents have had to work more, picking up more call and such, but they have been so generous and understanding. Speaking for all the residents, one of his colleges said, “Blake, we have your back!” We feel so blessed that Blake works with such good men.
This past month Blake has also been working with a doctor that ironically (well I call it a tender mercy) has Crohn’s Disease. Like Ulcerative Colitis (what Blake has) it is an inflammatory bowel disease, only it can’t be cured with surgery like Ulcerative Colitis can because it affects both the large and small intestine. This doctor has been on all the medications Blake has been on and has had some bad flares over the years. It has been such a blessing for Blake to work with someone that has complete empathy for what he has been going through. His understanding and experience with his disease has given Blake comfort and a stronger confirmation that surgery was what he was supposed to do.
Recently our ward (church congregation) boundaries were realigned so our meetings weren’t so full. Because of this, a new bishop was called to preside over our ward. I had heard at one time that he had had some sort of bowel surgery, but my sources were never confirmed. The Sunday before Blake’s surgery, Blake was called into the bishop’s office to get a new calling (he’ll be working with the 11 year old boy scouts). During his visit, Blake found out that the bishop has Ulcerative Colitis too and had had his whole colon taken out 4 years earlier. Only the bishop had had the disease for 18 years and parts of his colon had turned cancerous. It was such a comfort to talk to someone that had had the same surgery and to see that he was okay and that he was living a very normal life. Yet another tender mercy!!
Blake’s dad Chuck arranged for me to stay at a hotel during our stay in Abilene where Blake got surgery. Blake’s dad arrived in Abilene on Thursday night and was there until early Monday morning. It was a comfort to have him there especially when Blake was getting his surgery. It was nice to have someone to talk with to distract me from the thought of my husband being cut up a few floors up. Lanaea, Blake’s dad, and I hung out with Blake during the day in his hospital room during his recovery. Lanaea was an angel!! Monday when I arrived at his room I was surprised at the news that Blake could go home. We’re happy to be home! Blake’s Mom has been here with the girls and will leave to fly back home to Utah on Thursday. We’re happy she’s here. Blake continues to improve and is doing great. Heavenly Father has blessed him with amazing faith and knowledge that whatever happens to him is according to God’s plan for him and it is for his good.

Love, Cami

Trip to the Farm

On April 8, 2010, we went to the farm for our co-op preschool to learn about animals. The Mills Family would go here often because Corey Mills studied the cotton fields near these animals. He is a PhD student at Texas Tech studying agronomy, specifically how to grow better crops of cotton. Corey, Kimberly and their twin daughters Abigail and Sabrina showed us all the animals. When Kelsey saw the donkeys she said, "Look Mom it's like what Mary rode when Jesus was in her tummy!!" I was so proud that she had made that correlation! The girls were also fascinated with the sweet baby lambs that had just been born. They were also able to pet a baby cow. Mylee didn't that that was too great, but Kelsey was lovin' it!!

After enjoying the farm, we took a stroll over to the cotton fields to learn how cotton was grown and what it was used for. I loved the picture below of Kelsey holding hands with her little friend and her other little friend holding her dad's hand.

While over at the cotton fields Corey took the kids on a tracker ride through the cotton fields. Kelsey and Mylee that that was so neat. Corey taught them about the importance of cotton and show the kids that all the clothes they were wearing were made from cotton. Kelsey was amazed at that. She prides herself in knowing how her clothes are made now.

I'm Officially a "Couponer" Now

I blame it on one emotional evening I had regarding our grocery budget. Yes, we do make a salary now, THANK GOODNESS!! But that doesn't mean that we don't follow a very strict budget. I just haven't been able stay within the limit that we had set aside for groceries (food, home items, diapers, etc.). After lots of prayer and some humbling, I came across this blog:

freebies2deals.com.

The day I came across it was a day when there was a deal going on for Toy Story 1 and 2--Get both movies for 13.98 using coupons and a Toys R Us sale. Well I got my movies and I was hooked! I truly felt that my prayers had been answered. I went through her blog trying to learn more about couponing. Then I remembered there was a lady in our stake that does couponing so I contacted her and she invited me over to her house and gave me the 101 on couponing and gave me some leftover newspaper adds and directed me to some sites she refers to to learn about deals:


hip2save.com

moneysavingmom.com


I've created a binder with categories and inserts to put all my coupons in like this:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1235782586981


So far I have saved over $65 in 2 weeks from couponing. I have been tracking my savings using this:

http://www.thecouponproject.com/the_coupon_project/2010/01/free-downloadable-2010-savings-tracker.html


Today I hit K-mart's Double coupon sale event (goes on all week) and went to Walgreens using their Register Rewards Program along with Coupons and got all these items for:

$23

3 (75fl.oz.) Tide
2 (6 pack) Ensure--that's all Blake can eat right now
3 Oral B crossaction toothbrushes
3 Pro-health Crest Toothpaste
1 Gallon of milk

Without coupons I would have paid, $55--that's even with the items being on sale.

Anyone want to do this with me? check out those blogs :)

I'm hoping that I can go under our specified amount for groceries and save the excess to go towards a trip to Disneyland!!

The lady on moneysavingmom.com uses only $40 a week for her family of 4. That includes diapers and non-food items. I love how she does freezer meals too, she has some great tips.

Easter 2010

We had a great Easter. On Monday we kicked off the week with a family home evening about the Savior and his Resurrection. On Wednesday we went to our ward's easter egg hunt. Kelsey and Mylee both had a blast!! Ever since that day in fact, Kelsey has been carrying around her bag of easter eggs, hiding them over and over again. The funny thing is is that she hides them and then goes looking for them. Who knew that some inexpensive plastic eggs would provide so many days and hours of entertainment!?

On Thursday I hosted preschool at my house where we again learned about the Savior's Resurrection, went on another easter egg hunt, dipped rice krispie eggs in chocolate then in sprinkles, learned about the letter "E" and enjoyed coloring a picture of Jesus. Saturday we enjoyed listening to conference and coloring easter eggs. Sunday morning we had a yummy breakfast of crepes with strawberries and cream. We would have had a special dinner, but Blake is sick again :( and can't eat anything but liquids. So we decided to save our Easter feast for when Blake can enjoy it too. Poor guy, hopefully I don't get in trouble for letting you all know that.

Fun in the Sun

The weather has been really nice here--in the 80s and 90s. Blake was outside working on the sprinklers, making sure they were up and ready for this coming summer. Without any suggestions from us, they both turned up outside in their swimsuits! They had a blast!! Unfortunately we didn't think to put sunscreen on them and they both got sunburned--bad parents! Poor little Mylee didn't know what to do with herself. It's been a week and she's just now getting over it. Kelsey didn't get it too bad. We're LOVIN' our covered patio too!! Thanks honey!! It's makes being outside so much more enjoyable.

Oh yeah....Did I mention that Mylee is POTTY TRAINED!!! Yay!! Of course we still have our accidents, but she is doing great. It's been two weeks with nothing but panties and she hasn't wet her bed once (knock on wood). I've even braved church and shopping with nothing but panties and she's learned to hold it until we make it to the bathroom--ugh! public bathrooms, yuck!

Lanaea's Blessing Day

Because of busy schedules and church responsibilities, we were't able to get pictures of Lanaea on her blessing day when she was 5 weeks old. I'm lame and just took some pics two weeks ago when she was about 2.5 months old. The day of her blessing day was very busy. I had to be to church meetings early in the morning and subsequently forgot her dress at home. I was able to borrow someone's cell phone to catch Blake before he left home to make it in time for our meeting so he could bring me her dress. I didn't want to dress her in her blessing dress while visiting other wards in case she soiled it.

The week we blessed her was the same week that Sister Lant from the General Primary, Sister Cook from the General Young Women, and Sister Allred from the General Relief Society came to visit Lubbock to do some training. With my calling in the stake young women's, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Sister Cook personally. It was a really neat experience. On Sunday she visited our ward sacrament meeting so she was able to be present during Lanaea's blessing. It was so special to me to have a faithful woman like her be present for such a special occassion. We wish we could have shared with experience with all of you.

The blessing was beautiful. Blake did a wonderful job. She was blessed as Lanaea Joy Clifton. In her blessing she was blessed that she would have a healthy body, a strong mind, and a keen intellect. She was also blessed that she would learn and grow, search the scriptures and gain a testimony. She was blessed that she would live a life pleasing to the Lord and counseled to follow the faithful examples of her siblings and Mother and Father. She was blessed to be sealed in the temple one day and that she would learn to pray and find ways to communicate with others.

We couldn't have picked a better middle name for Lanaea because everything that she does and doesn't do (cry, stay up all night, etc.) brings us joy. We love you sweet Lanaea!

Good Morning Sunshine

I really could not have asked for a better baby. Lanaea goes to bed consistently at 9PM every night, wakes up around 3AM to eat then goes right back to bed and sleeps until 9AM. She rarely cries, is content to just sit and look around, eats great (I think that is obvious), and enjoys interacting with her family. Seriously, she's a dream child. She is my bundle of love and joy!! Her middle name suits her very well, because she brings me nothing but joy!!

Just getting some z's

Oh hi Mom!! Streeettch...

Mom is this picture taking really necessary?

You're funny Mom!

Girly Girls

Can I just say I LOVE being a Mom of girls!! Just look at these kiddos!! Are they just not cute? Every day they come out in some fashion. Mylee comes out in about 10 every day--no joke!! Swimsuits are her favorite. Seriously, I need to hide them--it's sort of getting out of control. I'll put her to bed in jammies and she'll come out with some sort of request or complaint in a swimsuit. If she can't find hers, she'll go through Kelsey's drawer and find hers. Their room is constantly cluttered with clothes because Mylee is constantly changing them. Kelsey is pretty consistent with her leotards and princess dress-ups. Don't you love Mylee's fashion with her swimsuit, bloomers, princess shoes and sunglasses :).

Orthopaedic Ski Retreat 2010

A week after we got home from vacation, Blake's department took him along with the other interns, 3rd years and 5th years on a 5-day ski retreat in Colorado as his chairman Dr. Schutt's cabin. The residents drove up together and enjoyed 5 days of relaxation and fun. 2 of the days Blake skied and the other days he utilized Dr. Schutt's supply of snow shoes to go snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. The retreat sort of came at bad timing with it being so close to our vacation, but it was a great opportunity for the program to give back to the residents for working so hard. The poor 2nd, 4th, and attendings had to stay home and hold the fort down at the hospital while everyone was away. We are also pleased to announce that Blake no longer has to do any more rotations with surgery, he's now with the Ortho department for the next 4.5 years!! He's loving that he can completely focus on his chosen specialty now.

Unfortunatley Blake didn't have any pictures taken of him.

2 Month Appointment

I'm a little late in posting list--say a month late, but better late then never!! Here are Lanaea's 2 months stats:

Weighed: 12lbs. 1 oz.

Height: 22.5 inches

She is just a bundle of joy!! She truly is our little angel :) In these pictures she is about 2.5 months.

From with the Brown's

We made our last stop at the Brown's. And what do you know? We welcomed again with yet another birthday celebration!! Kelsey and Blake had never been so spoiled on their birthday!! Before the birthday celebrations began Kelsey and Blake went on a daddy-daughter date up the canyon for some skiing and me Lanaea, Mylee and my parents went to the Living Aquarium in Salt Lake. It was really neat!! Mylee even saw Nemo and made sure that she showed him to us ;). My favorite animal was the an octopus. I had never seen an octopus in real life before. Wow, what a neat animal!! The jelly fishes were really neat too.

At the party my Grandpa and Grandma Brown came along with my two Aunt's Cindy and Denise and their families. It was a full house!!

Kelsey opening her presents

My 3 cousins holding Lanaea

A 4-Generation Picture. From left to right, Grandpa Brown, Dad, Lanaea, and me!!

Grandma Cheryl with Lanaea. Lanaea loved Grandma Cheryl and gave her some really great smiles!!