Lightning Party

I almost didn't do a friend party for Mikayla because she's been timid in big groups lately, but I'm so glad we did! We had a great time, and Mikayla was in heaven! She finally got her Lightning McQueen Party.
We started off by riding on the 'racetrack' we made. We live at the end of our street and we just okayed it with our neighbors accross the way and blocked off the road. They loved it!

All the racers

Playing 'Pass the Parcel'. You pass the present and when the music stops, you can unwrap one layer to get a prize (a classic British party game).

Mikayla showing me her bracelet she won in the 'Pass the Parcel' game

All the kids showing off their bracelets

Playing 'Don't let Frank catch you' tag game that Kraig came up with

Lined up just before they take off racing to the other side of the yard

I was so pleased that the cake turned out seeing as I'm not a great baker, but I do enjoy getting creative with kids' cakes. The fence is made out of cinnamon sticks and pretzels tied together with string. The grass is coconut died green. And I searched all over to find just the right kind of tractors. For 3 months, Mikayla has requested a 'Lightning McQueen Cake' so I wanted to make sure she loved it. When I showed it to her, the reaction was "OH MY GOODNESS!" which made it so worth the effort.

Present time! Mikayla loved all of the gifts, but after opening them she just wanted to keep playing with all her friends. They went and rode bikes again while they waited for their parents to come. I think that's what made the party so happy for her - to have her favorite little people over to celebrate.

We waited till all of the kids had gone home to give her our present, a long awaited for kitchen! We knew that once we showed her this she wouldn't be interested in much else.

I think her new obsession is going to be princess stuff. She only recenlty saw Cinderella and has been asking for a ball gown ever since. Well, we just gave her her Halloween costume a few months early. Though thankfully she doesn't HAVE to wear it every day, she has asked to wear it to bed and to church.

Sisters

I have been unable to blog for months due to computer issues on our desktop and I finally found an app I like to blog with on my iPad. Yay!

I just wanted to post this video of my two little gals and their blossoming friendship. One which, I hope will last a lifetime! I hope they can be the sisters to each other that I never had. We are thoroughly enjoying Ashlynn and her happy, curious, and bright nature. The girls have already started wrestling and Ashlynn gets tossed around quite a bit but she just grabs onto Kayla's hair and doesn't let go. Needless to say they are good for each other!

Kayla Quotes

Every day is entertaining and pretty much delightful when you have a little person around who's learning the intricacies of language. Below are some statements made by my blossoming little girl during the past week or so.

"You're my little sweetheart" (talking to her dad)

"Thanks. You saved my life." (to kraig, after he helped her)

Me: 'Ashlynn has a dirty diaper.'
Mikayla: 'Yeah, babies do that.'

Every time we're about to step out the door: 'LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!'

"My question is...where's my quesadilla?"

Me to Kraig: 'She has such a cute personality.'
Mikayla: 'I not a personality - I a GIRL!'

Competition

Is life a competition? Most people would say no to that question, but many people act like it's necessary to compare children, spouses, looks, homes, parenting styles, salaries, etc. It's natural to compare ourselves with others that seem to be in the same boat. But if we get in the habit of continually comparing and competing, it seems like usually one of two things will happen: We'll become prideful or become envious.

Neither one are too pleasant.

And it's a waste of time. Because every family, every individual, and every situation is unique. You can't compare apples to oranges.

I just had to get that off my chest.

Ashlynn Eve Cramer

I fell off the face of blogging world for a while....I guess the more you put something off, the more daunting it becomes because it just piles up. Here's an attempt to give an update of our lives since #2 joined our family. (If you just want pictures scroll down)

THE DELIVERY STORY
Went into labor at 4am after a week of false labor (had the doc sweep my membranes on Monday to get things going). Got to the hospital about 8am, dialated to a 3 1/2. Got an epidural around 11am ...it stopped working on my left side of my body around 1pm. They kept upping the dosage (since I asked for a light one) but nothing worked. Around 4pm I was at 7cm and in a lot of pain on my left side. I had been at a 7 for 3 hours and wasn't progressing, so they were talking about a C-section. They were trying to get the epidural to work on my left side so they could operate! Finally they figured out that the needle had probably got dislodged so they fixed the placement and then I had relief on my left side for about an hour. About 5pm I started feeling an intense burning on my previous C-section scar, and the nurse could actually feel a little limb (probably an arm) that was pushing against it! A little concerning....but poor baby, her heart rate was declining every time I contracted, and she was probably stressed out and pushing against me to try to fight back!

Soon we decided that she was coming down the wrong way (turned out it was sideways)and under distress, so prepped for a C-section. I went into the OR this time much calmer, with more energy, and more optimistic than last time. Everything was fine until they pulled her out. They barely showed me half of her body and then whisked her away. I was listening for the cry. It didn't come. All I heard was rhythmic counting... what sounded to me like CPR. No one told me what was happening. I knew something was wrong. And that's when all I could do was pray. Kraig was frozen, watching the events unfold. After 90 seconds we heard a cry. I just remember relief and gratitude and exhaustion filling me as I asked to see her fully for the first time. Truly God has been watching out for our little Ashlynn. She was a 0 on the Apgar scale 1 minute after birth. At 5 minutes she was an 8. They said that is pretty unusual. Since she bounced back so quickly they said that she wasn't without oxygen for too long, and we shouldn't worry. So far her development is excellent - right on track.

These last 8 weeks have been overall, very happy ones. Ashlynn means 'dream'. I call her my dream baby. The delivery wasn't too 'dreamy', but now that she's here she is a little angel - a GREAT sleeper and very content! She's been sleeping 5 or more hours since about 3 weeks, and lately it's about 8. It's great!

Mikayla has LOVED having a baby in the house. She has a natural maternal instinct. I keep waiting for her to start acting jealous or throw tantrums or stop sleeping well, but so far so good! I'm sure at times she won't appreciate having a little sister when she's older, but for now she just gets a kick out of every aspect. She tries to have little conversations with her, tickle her toes, gives her eskimo kisses....it is a sweet picture for a parent to witness.

Autumn 2010

This Fall has been so fun, and beautiful, and warm - we have thoroughly enjoyed it. Here's a list of some things that have been going on in our family since September.

1. We went to the first BYU game of the season. Luckily we won that one but have been pretty disappointed with these 'young' players in games since. They're just fun to watch with Kraig - he gets just a LITTLE excited.


2.Mikayla learned how to pedal her tricycle. We were almost as excited for her as she was (it meant no more uncomfortable bending down to help her with my belly in the way). Now she always says, "Watch me! I so fast!"

3. We went to LA to have a beach party with the Cramers the weekend after labor day. It was lots of fun! The kids loved the sand and flying kites and the fire pit. It was really nice to see the big happy Cramer clan.






4. We decided to set up Mikayla in her toddler bed. She LOVED it right from the beginning - especially how she could get in and out herself, have free access to her blankies, and feel like a big kid. She has slept really well in it. Sometimes after we put her to bed we hear her playing around in the dark, but she always manages to make her way to her bed and cover herself up.



- It was really funny, last night Kraig was working late in the basement installing new plumbing, right under Mikayla's room. She was supposed to be going to sleep, but she discovered that she could hear/see her daddy through the heater vent, and for about 20 minutes was calling, "DAAAAADDDEEEEEEEEEE! What you doing?!? DAAAAADDDEEEEE!" She finally went to sleep around 10:30!


5. Our basement remodeling is in the works. SLOW. But it's started. We hope to be done by next summer.

6. We have been enjoying the warm weather. Still lots of trips to the park, and we just went to the zoo. Riding the train was one of the highlights.



Another highlight - meeting her new boyfriend.


7. Mikayla has discovered the magic of building forts. We set a big one up in our living room last week, but then had to clean it up. After she woke up and found her 'fork' gone, she was so sad we set up a little one in her room. That day, needless to say, she was a little excited about it and when I put her down for her nap she wouldn't stay in her bed. I came back later to check on her and found this.

8.We had a really fun Halloween! I got a little more crafty than normal with some decorations, and Mikayla absolutely loved her Tigger costume. She wanted to sleep in it. On Sunday we put her in a little shirt and home made Halloween skirt (courtesy of my friend Bethany) and she was so excited to go to church. She was such a happy little delight today.




9. We are excited to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas here in our home. I am getting pretty BIG and it prob wouldn't be too wise to take off for CO or CA at Thanksgiving when I'm 34 weeks or Christmas when I'm at 38!