Happy Birthday Hallie-Bug

Hallie celebrated her 7th birthday a few days ago. Wow, she is getting so big. I just wanted to take a minute and share some things about Hallie.

First some funny stories:

~When Hallie was 2 she had some m&ms and was playing in a room with our little dog Belle. After a few minutes she came out of the room in tears and said, "Belle ate my m&ms. Me said 'NO!' Belle said 'Yes, Yes, Yes!'' That's when we first learned that Belle could talk.

~ When Hallie was 10months old we were watching TV and I started singing loudly and emphatically :) to a commercial that came on. I remember Hallie looked at me with a very puzzled expression then promptly took her binky out of her mouth and stuck it in mine. ...Message recieved.

Hallie is the sweetest and most thoughtful little girl I have ever known. She is always thinking about other peoples feelings. Hallie is very sensitive in many ways. I have to be very careful with my tone of voice at our house. My "yelling" (as Hallie calls it) is really just talking in a lower tone of voice and that is traumatic enough for Hallie. If anyone (including her new soccer coach or the lifeguard at the YMCA) actually "yells" at her you can count on at least an hour of tears and sadness. She doesn't understand why anyone could do something so mean.

Hallie wants to do what is right. She is quick to point out the warning signs on the grocery cart if Megan or some other kid is riding on the cart improperly. She is a rule keeper which is great when your her mother.

She is also sensitive to the spirit. She has always been.

~I remember when she was 3 years old she was laying in bed and she said, "The other night I felt my heart right here (pointing to her chest) and it felt warm and I think it was the Holy Ghost talking to me."

~Another time when she was 4 Hallie woke up in the middle of the night with a tummy ache. I gave her some Tylenol then headed back to bed. When I got in my room I could hear her little voice on the baby monitor. I turned up the monitor and listened as Hallie prayed to her Heavenly Father to help her tummy to feel better, it was a sweet experience for me.


Hallie is a great helper. She loves to help me clean (I know, I'm enjoying it while it lasts!) and to help in any motherly way possible (my dad calls it "big sister syndrome" the need to "help" the younger siblings).

She is a lot like me in so many ways and yet stronger and better than I think I was at her age. She is going to be a wonderful mother some day. But for now she is my little girl, my little 7-year-old girl and I so blessed to call her mine.

Happy Birthday Hallie!

When I got my hair cut

I got my hair cut today!! It was very fun! Now it's up to my chin it is very very short now it will be fun to have very short hair!!! I donated my hair to locks of love and they are going to make a wig out of my hair. I'm glad I did it cause it was lots of fun!!!!! I hope they like their new wig.


Kathryn's comments: Hallie is loving herself with short hair. I can't get her to leave the mirror! On the way home from the salon she said, "Everyone's going to be so astonished (yes, she said astonished), they might even faint!" And to make things even more exciting tomorrow is her birthday. She is one happy little girl and that makes for one happy mommy.
P.S. This post is dedicated to Trevor who is working tonight but couldn't wait to see the new do.

He's always watching.

We've given Meg a complex.
I think we may have emphasized the principle that Jesus is always with us and watching us too much. Yesterday (and again this morning) Megan had to go potty and was convinced that -"Heavenly Father and all the people in heaven are going to watch me."
We stood there (well, I stood while Megan did the potty dance) for 5 minutes while I tried to convince her that nobody in heaven was going to watch her go potty.
I'm pretty sure my explanation was not scripturally sound... "Ummm Heavenly Father is always watching you... except for when you go potty."
I fear that I am really messing my kids up.

Conversations over dinner

Hallie is an animal lover. She is not currently a vegetarian but she has considered it. This was our conversation tonight over dinner.


Hallie- "Megan this is an animal."
Megan- "What kind of animal?"
Hallie- "It is a chicken, you know, like a hen."
Megan- "Oooh... but, I like chickens."
Hallie- "The chicken wants a life, it wants to learn. It doesn't want to 'peep, peep'... KILL!"
Megan- "... How does Heavenly Father kill the chickens?"


This conversation reminded me of many conversations we had a few years ago when Hallie first discovered that we eat animals. We were eating steak and she asked me what it was and where it came from. I made the mistake of being totally honest and she was horrified. She still will not eat steak. Megan witnessed all of these conversations and I remember one day at preschool Megan and I were playing in the little kitchen with the plastic food and I said, "Megan will you make me a hamburger?" She said, "That is not a hamburger. It's dead cow."

Last weeks snowstorm

Last week we had record snow here (everyone we talked to said it had been 10 years since they last saw this much snow)
School was cancelled (for the 5th time this year) and the kids had a blast playing in the fresh powdery snow. They built this snow fort and a snowman and went sledding with the neighbors which I hear was awesome (I stayed home with Cam). It was fun to get a good snowstorm. Now, it is time for Spring!

Yummy

Megan must be growing because she is constantly eating lately. The other day she asked me if she could look under the stairs (where we keep our food storage) for something to eat. I turned on the light for her and went about doing other things. A few minutes later I walked in the kitchen to find Megan with a huge bottle of canola oil on the table. She said, "Mom, I want to have this." I said, "Megan, that isn't something you drink, it's oil." "YUM" she said.

Yet another Tag

I was tagged with this one several weeks ago...whoops


1. How long have you been together? We met on July 3rd, 1999, almost 9 years ago
2.How old is he? Trev turned 30 today! We are getting so old ;)
3.How old are you? 29
4.Who eats more? Trevor, but I have recently realized (from having dinners with friends) that we both eat a whole lot more than the average person!!!!
5. Who said “I love you” first? Trevor, the night he found out I was waiting for a missionary (who was coming home soon).
6. Who is taller? hmmm... Trevor
7. Who sings better? hmmmm....Me
8. Who is smarter? If Trevor is not smarter then the UofU owes us A LOT of money!!!!
9. Who does the laundry? Me
10. Who does the dishes? Me
11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Is this if you are facing the bed or if you are laying in the bed ?????? I'm just asking.
12. Who pays the bills? Both of us do- reluctantly.
13. Who mows the lawn? Most the time it's Trevor.
14. Who cooks dinner? Mostly me although Trevor is famous at our house for his "mac and cheese surprise". Trevor does make breakfast on the weekends, if he is home.
15. Who is more stubborn? Well, it is certainly NOT me!!!
16. Who kissed whom first? Trevor kissed me for the first time (also on the night I told him about the missionary). I think he was a little anxious to let me know his intentions (bring it on!)now that there was some competition.
17. Who asked whom out? Trevor asked me out on our first date. We were at a party and he was flirting with my friends (which was fine with me- my missionary was almost home) then all of the sudden he stood up and walked across the room to me (we were all in a circle playing a game) and said, "Will you go out with me next Sat?" Needless to say, my friend wasn't very happy but Trevor later told me that he "felt like" he was supposed to ask me out.
18. Who proposed? Trevor proposed to me on BYU campus where his dad proposed to his mom.
19. Who is more sensitive? Trevor is more sensitive to peoples feelings, that is why everybody likes him I think. I'm learning from him.
20. Who has more friends? We are both blessed with lot's of great friends.
21. Who has more siblings? Trevor and I both come from families of 5 kids so I guess this one is a tie.

Now, for your amusement, some wedding photos... yes, I was a blonde and yes Trevor was a twig.

It's been 30 years in the making.

Happy Birthday Trevor!

A poem for you...

Thirty years ago today,

You were tiny, and cute and had little to say.

You grew to be an active toe-headed boy,

Your three sisters- you loved to annoy.

The older you grew the more trouble you made,

and it didn't help when you hung out with Wade.

But, a nice young man you turned into,

and all your dreams you began to pursue.

Then into a party walks a bleached-blond girl,

let's just say she sent your mind into a whirl.

Marriage, children, and off to med school,

Gone are the days of tanning by the pool.

Off to Kentucky and off to "room 9",

wondering what kind of trauma you'll find.

So 30 years now, three kids and a wife,

Is this how you imagined your life? ;)

So happy to have you as a husband and father to our beautiful kids. You are stronger and better than anyone (including you) knows. How did I get so lucky?

We love you so much Trevor!

Happy Birthday!!!

P.S. Megan asked me today how old you are. I said, "30" and she said, "Oh, he's going to die soon." heehee

Everybodies doing it

Hallie and Megan want in on the fun and now have their own blogs.
It's been fun so far, they can write their own posts and post their artwork etc.
We are keeping their blogs private so email me if you want an invite at kathrynsphotography@gmail.com.

Finding Megan's Voice

I've debated about writing a post on this because I think it is very dangerous to label a child but, I've had a lot of people ask me about Megan and I think it might help people understand her better and know how to interact with her.

We believe that Megan has what they call "Selective Mutism" which is an anxiety disorder where the child is so afraid of social situations that she can't physically speak. She talks up a storm at home and with her close (little) friends but as soon as someone out of that circle (even her friend's parents and some relatives) approaches her and tries to engage in conversation ("Hi Megan, how are you?") she freezes and won't say a word. When we are in public places she will talk to me if she believes no one else is listening/ paying attention to her but as soon as someone smiles at her or says hi she goes silent.

Basically is boils down to social anxiety and a big part of the treatment is to try to take the anxiety out of social situations and take the pressure away from Megan to speak as much as possible. They say to tell people to talk to Megan but not ask her direct questions ("Hi Megan, it is so nice to see you today."). Smile at her and show love and acceptance for her and not pressure her to respond to you. The idea is that if she feels safe (loved and accepted without needing to speak) that the anxiety will eventually go away and she will speak in those "safe" environments. I'm also learning that she needs to have more social experiences (anyone up for a playdate?). So, I guess that means we need to get out more. ;)

I signed her up for kindergarten this week and I am nervous but I feel like the Lord will guide us to the right people. She needs a teacher who will just love her into talking and not pressure her to perform or put her on the spot. I think if she has a great teacher and just one great friend in her class she will be okay.

I'm understanding more the depths of love a mother has for her children with this experience with Megan. I'm so worried but at the same time I have a feeling of strength and courage when it comes to fighting for what is best for Megan, for all of my children. Megan is such a blessing in our family, she makes us smile.

Random

-Thanks for the tips on cleaning my shirt. I think the stain is gone (it's not completely dry yet so I'm not positive, but it definitely looks better!)

-Hallie's prayer today, "Please help Daddy to do good at work. Please help me to have fun at school. And please help Mommy and Megan and Campbell to find something to do at home." HAHA!!

-Megan got her kindergarten shots Tuesday, all 4 of them. She flexed her muscles so hard when they gave the shots that it hurts to walk now. Her thighs are red and swollen, poor kid ...ouch!

-I've decided I have been blessed with the dearest friends. I've started a type of "gratitude journal" and I have yet to have a day that I haven't felt the Lord's love in my life through the blessing of friends. The good women that have come into my life are proof that my Father in Heaven is aware of me and loves me.

-It's official, Trevor started cutting sheet rock to get above the garage and start the new room. When I look at the big hole in our wall (and another one in our garage!) I feel a little sick but in our 8 years of marriage I've learned that Trevor can accomplish anything he sets his mind to... I just hope he gets it done before residency is over ;)

-If I catch Campbell with dog food in his mouth one more time I'm going to scream. "How many times do I have to tell you guys to shut the door to the laundry room?!?"

HELP

I spilled vegetable oil on one of my FAVORITE shirts and I can't get the stain out!
I need your ideas please!!

Auntie Kim comes to Kentucky

We had a very short but nice visit from Trevor's sister Kim last week. Hallie and Megan loved playing Sorry and Chutes and Ladders with her (over and over again)



We also enjoyed a girls night including ice cream, painting nails, and a chick flick.
And of course we had to pay a visit to the GAP clearance center where I found this hat for 99cents, it was worth the drive just for that. :)


Thanks for the visit Kim. Come again soon!

I recently read this quote and wanted to share it.

"If I were Satan and wanted to destroy a society, I think I would stage a full-blown blitz on women. I would keep them so distraught and distracted that they would never find the calming strength and serenity for which their gender has always been known." -Patricia Holland

Another tag

Whoops, I've been tagged two more times and just found out. Luckily for you they were the same thing so here it is...

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: That's a tricky one. Definitely my hubby and my sis at the top of the list.
C-Cake or Pie: Pie, pumpkin pie to be exact.
D- Day of Choice: I love friday! Spin class with the girls! And I get to go to bed without setting my alarm clock and dreading the early morning.
E- Essential Item (s): Wet wipes, chapstick, hand cream, and stretchy pants.
F- Favorite Color: green, any shade except forest green (it's so 90's)
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Gummy bears
H- Hometown: West Point, Utah but I also grew up in Indiana, Germany and Texas.
I- Indulgence(s): Almond dipped chocolate ice cream bar at Costco, Mmmmmm.
J- January or July: Depends on where I live.... But, if I must choose, then July.
K-Kids: 6 year-old girl, 4 year-old girl and 1 year-old boy
M- Marriage Date: December 29,1999
N- Number of Siblings: 3 brothers and 1 sista
O- Oranges or Apples: gala apples
P- Phobias or Fears: stage fright, snakes, stomach flu (yep, I'm scared of it)
Q- Quote(s): "Chill out" is a quote I like to use daily ;)
R- Reason To Smile: Campbell's giggle (which cannot be duplicated no matter how hard you try), Hallie's sweet tenderness, Megan's humor (that girl makes me laugh!), and Trevor's desire to make me happy.
S- Season: Fall
T- Tag Six: Melissa, Mom (dad can't do it for you ;)), Marlene, Noelle, Emily, Adrienne
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I still wear a retainer at night... 15 years now. My teeth were so crooked I'm scared NOT to where it!
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Where's the beef?
W- Worst Habit: I can't think of even one bad habit ... ;)
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: ultrasounds (I worked in Labor and Delivery when I was pregnant with Hallie and when it was slow I would pull out the ultrasound machine and ultrasound myself! I could just sit and watch my baby forever.)
Y- Your Favorite Food: anything pumpkin
Z: Zodiac: Virgo

Book Tag

Okay, I've been tagged and this is my assignment.

1. Pick up the nearest book (with at least 123 pages)

2. Turn to page 123

3. Find the 5th sentence

4. Post the next three sentences

5. Tag 5 people

(borrowed this book from Lacey, sooo good!!!)

"They were almost dying from walking so long,"the mother told our cameras. "We will share our very last piece of bread with them." That morning , even the children joined in the greeting. The villagers donned their best outfits and danced to the sound of one violin.

"Such an arrangement will give the child access to a talking partner on a far more regular basis than most outside professionals are able to provide. It will be helpful to agree and prioritise the range of people and places to be included in the treatment programme."

I know... sounds boring. This is a big part of my life right now... trying to help Megan.

"After tracing the "u" several times, child is to make 3-5 "u"s. Help child if necessary. For each acceptable letter say- good writing uuuuu."

Wow, this post says a lot about my life right now. I'm consumed with being a mom and I need all the help (and good books) I can get my hands on.

Daddy's Girl on the Res

These pictures of Hallie bring back a lot of memories for me - so I thought I would share them.

It's only cute when you're two.

Happy Birthday Mom!

A big shout out to my mom today!

I wish we could be there to celebrate this special day with you mom.

We love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

PS I found this cake on the web, isn't it awesome! I have no idea what GS stands for but we are going to pretend that is stands for "Grandmas Sweet!"...or maybe it says 65... I can't tell.

Blog Safety

My friend Jamie posted a tutorial on how to keep your blog secure. It's really easy and it protects you and the people that visit and are linked to your blog.
Click here to read.
Thanks Jamie

1 year old

365 days, 22lbs 7 oz (30%), 29 1/2inches (50%)

1 down -> more to come

Campbell had his first birthday this week and he loved it. He really liked the attention, the phone calls, and his cupcake. He even had some friends over ... I didn't witness the event, but I believe there was a lot of drooling, chewing, and sucking on things. And even Campbell and his friends did some of the same. Campbell has been such a great addition to our family. He adds a little spunk to everything. We are blessed to have him in our lives. Hallie and Megan have been great big sisters. I think when he grows up he would be best suited to a government or special ops job where he identifies anything dangerous. Just at the mention of the word his ears perk up and his mind races. Even as I type he is making plans for his next move. We love him.

Thanks

Hey, thanks everybody for your thoughts on my previous post.

I just want to be blog smart, after all, I share a lot about the people I love most on this blog and I don't want to open our lives to people who would do us harm.

It also doesn't help that Trevor makes a lot of addicts mad when he won't give them drugs in the ER and we don't want those guys looking us up.

So for now, I'm going to try to at least get my last name out of the blogging world. If you have my last name on your link list will you please change it to "Kathryn" or "Kathryn and Trevor" or "my crazy friend"... whatever you like as long as is it doesn't have the "G" word in it ;). Thanks for your help!!!


BTW- you will notice on my link list I had to change the Planet sites to take out last names. Go to "Planet G" for Trevor's fam and “Planet L” for my fam.

Going Private

I'm thinking about making my blog private. I'm not sure yet...

Life as we know it

-Megan is learning how to read and write the letters. She loves to color and lately when she is done with her picture she adds some of the letters she has been practicing ex. "LMRGOLH" etc. The letters never spell a word; they are just a bunch of letters. The other day she finished her picture and then wrote "DANG". I got all excited and told Megan that she had made a real word! She thought that was great. For the next few days all of her drawings were signed with "DANG", as in -DANG I'm good!

-We recently joined the YMCA. (As a side note, up until a few months ago I thought the YMCA was a community center for the hoodlums in the area.) Anyway, it was a cold morning and I ran in the front door with Cam on my hip and Megan at my side. There were people in front of me and people coming up behind me and I was digging around in my exercise bag for my keys, which have my card. I finally found them at the very bottom so I yanked them out -with force- and out they came along with a maxi pad, which flew into the air and landed about 5 feet away from me on the floor... whoops

-Yesterday it was 68 degrees. Today it is 72 degrees. Megan is running around the house in a swimsuit with a winter scarf around her neck. So confusing.

- Campbell finally figured out how to get the muffin tin out of the drawer (it took 10 very frustrating minutes- with lots of grunting. He is a very determined little boy). He was carrying the tin in front of him when Megan saw him. She laughed and said, "Look at Campbell, he looks like a Lamanite!"

-Trevor and I have decided to build a room over the garage. We have never built a room before... we have never built a wall before... what are we thinking?

Fun with Jerry and Kaye

Jerry and Kaye stopped by Louisville on their way home from Florida and stayed for 2 nights. It was really nice to have them here. They went to lunch with Hallie at her school and then we went swimming at the YMCA- which we joined about a week ago (more to follow on that subject later).

(Yes this is my mother-in-law. Yes she looks too young to be Trevor's mom (not to mention his 3 older siblings). Yes it is a little intimidating. Yes I love her anyway. :) )


Unfortunately, I didn't pull out our camera and all of these pictures were taken by Jerry which is why there isn't a picture of Jerry but I promise he was here. Everytime he visits (this was his 3rd time to Kentucky in 7 months) he is busy actively playing with the kids and making my job easier (cleaning up after every meal, hello!). It's great!

The kids sure love having family come visit... so do the adults :). We miss you guys!

There I was sitting on the bench of the chapel in my underwear looking around and noticing that everyone else is fully clothed.
I think to myself- why didn't I get dressed before I came to church?
I silently answer myself- because I would have been late!
Then the thought hits me- Next time I think I will come fully dressed, even if that means being a little late to church...

...good thinking Kathryn.

Am I the only one that has crazy dreams like this? This one has been making me laugh for several days now. Does the fact that I was in my underwear mean I have self-esteem issues? (Any dream interpreters out there? ;)).

I found my word

I didn’t have any new years resolutions this year like I normally do (not because I couldn’t think of anything I needed to improve on, but because there were just too many things for my list) then I read a friends blog and I was inspired by it and decided to do like she did and choose a word to focus on for the new year. I’ve been thinking about my word a lot ever since I read her post and her beautiful thoughts.

So many words have come to my mind but none were exactly what I wanted to focus on and then today it came to me.

“Embrace”

I’m constantly learning about myself and one thing I’ve recently recognized is that I’m often disappointed with who I am. I feel like I should be a better wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, missionary etc. especially with the knowledge I have of the eternal importance of these things. Too often I compare myself with others, their talents, abilities, etc and feel that I come up short. Why do I do this? I get frustrated with myself because I feel that I have been so very blessed and I often just sit at home hording all my blessings and feeling ungrateful because I’m not good enough.

I know that it is good to have desires to be better but for me all of these desires sometimes just turn into anxiety and a feeling of panic because I can’t do it all.

And so for me, this word is perfect as I strive to embrace who I am with my talents, my weaknesses, my desires and my blessings and not wish for someone else’s or apologize for my own.
*Embrace the fact that I am not perfect and some of my flaws make me…me.
*Embrace my desire to be good and do right and remember that the Lord knows that about me and sometimes that is good enough.
*Embrace my husband and children; embrace them physically- because I don’t give enough hugs- and embrace who they are and their uniqueness.
*Embrace my dreams and desires and move towards them without fear of failure.
*Embrace my individuality and not look for others approval but find my self-confidence grounded in the love of my Father in Heaven.
*Embrace the plan he has for me.
*Embrace the life I have, the lessons I’m learning, the joy I feel, the challenges I face, the person I am now.

Most of all this year, and hopefully for the rest of my life, I hope that I can stop trying to do everything on my own and embrace the help the Lord so generously offers me. I know that He is there with outstretched arms, waiting for me to take those steps toward Him so that He can wrap those loving arms around me.
That’s the embrace I am ultimately seeking…

Please pass the Tylenol

I promise I don't beat him.

He does this to himself. It's like he has a huge magnet in his forehead that is attracted to any hard or pointy object that is sure to leave a bruise or puncture wound.

Seriously, what is the deal with boys?!? If we even say the word danger Campbell's head pops up like "where?"

His favorite things are cords, electrical outlets, stairs, sharp objects, and anything he might possibly be able to choke on. I'm serious! I can put a pile of brightly colored, brand-new, fun toys in front of him and he will climb right over them (probably trip on them and smack his head on the coffee table) and head for the newly sharpened pencil or electrical outlet 4 feet away.

I have a feeling Campbell's grandmas are feeling a little worried right about now...sorry grandmas ;).

Campbell's other favorite thing to do (at least twice a day) is find each an every cabinet in our house and open the cabinet then slam the cabinet on his fingers and scream. This is a really fun game.

Trevor is trying to come up with a bungee cord system. Maybe attach the bungee to the ceiling fan in our family room and clip it onto a harness for Cam with like an 8 ft radius.

I think it just might work.

Finally posting the scrapbook pages

I promised some of you (awhile ago... sorry it's taken so long) that I would post a few of the scrap book pages I did for my sister and sister-in-law for Christmas. I made a 8x8 scrapbook for each of them with the bridals/ wedding pics I took. These were really fun to do because I kept them really simple. I didn't use a lot of embellishments mostly just beautiful paper I found and a lot of sewing. The best part of these pages are the women in the pictures. Melissa and Julie are two of my very favorite people in this world. I'm not just saying that. They brighten my life and I feel so blessed to call them my sisters.