Beautiful Baby

Just a cute picture

India wanted "Cinderella braids" today.  Wait, she's old enough to make requests?  She looked at herself in the mirror the other day and frustratedly exclaimed, "I want straight hair - not curly!"

De-Mulleting the Baby

Beautiful & Spunky: Aunt Livia-O

Before: (shudder)

After: It actually looks a ton better.  Thanks to Hannah for your honesty and to Livia-O for Maya's first haircut!

She Told Me She'd Like a Pink One

I've Learned to Upload Videos!

Maya has recently starting "talking" to us. India was not as social at this age.



These girls adore each other.

Point for Me

I loathe insurance companies.  Even more so than Walmart, bad drivers, potty soup, ranch dressing, and the obnoxious cartoon Sid the Science Kid.   We pay mega-bucks for a 100% insurance coverage, but surprise bills and more deductibles keep popping up.

But you know what?  This post-pregnancy I've actually got some time and a killer cell phone plan to battle it out.  Me vs PEHP. And they cannot hang up on me.

The Battle: Infant Audio Screening Test $84. Insurance denies the claim because the doctor is out of PEHP's network.  I go ballistic, not necessarily because of the money, but because I'm confused as to why the hell an out-of-network doctor is working at my already-insurance-approved hospital.  (No wonder people have their babies at home.  That almost might be worth giving up the epidural and going natural).

Many phone calls later, PEHP pays for part of the claim AND I get the bill down to $50.25 for Maya's deductible.   BOOYAH!  I saved $30 bucks, and I won a moral battle.  I have now saved our family over $200 as of January because I would not give up.

Oh yeah, and it turns out the doctor is in the PEHP network.  NEVER trust your insurance. Apparently, PEHP only hires old women for customer service to make you feel bad for swearing at them, but it's still a ruse.  (And for the record, swearing only happens when x amount exceeds three digits).  

Ugh

Ammon is talking and playing with Maya in the living room when I return from work. I ask "where's India?"  to which Ammon replies, "Maybe in the bathroom.  She's been in there for a long time."  I wait a few more minutes since India does NOT like to be disturbed when she's taking care of business.  I open the door and find India swishing her hands in the toilet.  She says to me, "I making soup in the potty for you Mommy." Luckily, the only soup elements are toilet paper and un-yellow water.

We laugh, put her in time out, and laugh more.  Afterwards, Ammon explains to her that she and her friends are not allowed to play in the bathroom.  Then they role play future scenarios a couple times.  A few minutes later India yells at "Shrek" to stop playing in the bathroom.  She puts him in time out and gives him the exact same talk Ammon gave her.  Lesson learned.

3 Months Old & a Liar

I celebrated Maya's 3 month birthday by packing the newborn clothes and pulling out the three to six month clothes!  She is a very sweet baby, but managed to cry herself out of the last hour of church.

  

Last night India came crying into her bedroom.  I asked her what was wrong and she said, "Daddy called me stupid."  Naturally, I yelled at Ammon.  However, it turns out Ammon actually told India, "time to go to bed", which translated into "Daddy called me stupid."

For Daddy

India hates it when this happens.

 Oh yeah, and her only agenda today is to make sure Maya is awake while the sun is up.  However, I did Pilates and have not lost my temper yet this morning.  It is 4 hours into Monday, and I miss you already Ammon.  

Love, 

Erin

Fact

I hate March Madness.  

Does this look familiar?

Both pictures are of Maya.  She tries to suck the same two fingers as India.  And what's funny is that India found her fingers when she was the same age as Maya.  We're thinking we might lose the binkie next month and let her work on self-soothing.

I'm a Nerd

My latest find is a Satirical Political Beliefs Assessment Test.  Seriously, I can't stop laughing. Here's a teaser:

139: What should be preserved for future generations?

CONSERVATIVE: - Family fortunes

- Historic Buildings

- Black and white movies

LIBERAL: - The national debt

- Graceland

- The Ozone layer

- Barbie dolls

LIBERTARIAN: - Liberty

COMMUNIST: - The Berlin Wall

- The Iron Curtain

- Lenin's remains

176: What does women's rights mean to you?

CONSERVATIVE: Treat women better than men.

LIBERAL: Treat men worse than women.

LIBERTARIAN: Treat men and women the same

COMMUNIST: Treat men and women equally bad.

76: What bizarre practices conducted by some human cultures do you find particularly barbaric?

CONSERVATIVE: - Human sacrifice.

- Cannibalism.

- Matriarchal societies.

LIBERAL: - Animal sacrifice.

- Carnivorism.

- Female circumcisions.

LIBERTARIAN: - Arranged marriages.

- Shaming people living in torrid tropical climates into wearing clothes.

COMMUNIST: - Free enterprise.

If you appreciate good satire, go here.

Draper Temple Openhouse

Yesterday I took the girls and tagged along with the Redding family to the Draper Temple Openhouse.  Ammon couldn't come because he had parent-teacher conference.  We met a stake center and watched a brief movie about temples before we were shuttled off to the temple. India told me that "we get married and dance at the temple."  She also kept telling the bus driver to slow down.  Our silent tour through the temple was fun.  I was amazed at how reverent India and Tristen were.  My favorite parts were the baptismal font, the bride's dressing room, and the sealing room (where families and couples are married and sealed for eternity).  Also, the chandelier in the celestial room was just exquisite.  India told Susan that she wanted to wear a pink dress in the temple.  But after Susan explained to her that we wear white in the temple, India seemed ok with a white dress instead.

After the tour, they served cookies and water in another nearby stake center.  What a blessing!  India had been asking for a snack the entire time.  Maya slept until refreshment time.  But no cookies for her for a while.  Tours for are still going on until March 14th for the general public.  Click here to get your reservations.

Miracle: When we returned from the temple 1 1/2 hours later, I found my car--with the lights still on.  I had a bad feeling.   However, I've gotten good at asking for help from perfect strangers and most people are more than willing to help (especially when you flash that newborn).  I opened the car to see if the car would start and it did.  The battery should have been dead, but it 

was not.  You see, I've gotten in the habit of praying beforehand every time I drive more than 10 miles , and yesterday was no exception.  I didn't deserve to have that miracle because it was my own stupid fault, but I'm REALLY grateful anyway. 

The Reddings: David, Tristan, Susan, and Drew.  At one point of the tour we were walking single- file, Susan holding Drew, David in the middle holding the hands of India and Tristen, followed by me holding Maya.  The lady behind me asked if India and Tristen were twins.  Then she asked Susan if we were sisters.  We had a short discussion sorting out who belonged to who and who was married to who and who was not married to who.  Slightly awkward.  

In other news, both girls survived their doctor appointments this week.  India is still small (12th percentile), and Maya is not as big as I thought (47th percentile).  Maya recovered much faster from her vaccinations than India did.  India told Hailey "the doctor shot me."  Maya still slept through the night and is still smiling at us.  The doctor did confirm that Maya is a lazy baby though that's not quite the word he used.  I give the kid tummy time and she just lays there. Eventually she'll get angry and start kicking her legs and crying, but still doesn't try to lift her head.  When we stand her up, she flops to the ground.  She can hold her head up when I have her upright.  She's much more complacent and laid-back than India was.

Flower Girl

Headbands designed, created, and sold by Hannah Zitting.  (Model not included). All of Ammon's sisters are so talented and creative.

Cake

This is for you Laney.  My first non-traditional cake!  I used strawberry whoppers instead of gumballs.  I don't like either candy, but it wasn't hard to find people who did.

  

Jared (nearly 15) and Marshall (recently 17)

One of the perks about a big family is that there's always a birthday around the corner.  

Grandma, Maya, Nathanael, Jared, David, Marshall, Rachel, and India.  And that's only half of us.

Bedtime.

For the Grandmas & Grandpas

Happy Valentine's Day

(a couple days late)

How can you not love those baby chubbo cheeks, tummy, and legs?  Naked babies are always my favorite.  

Maya (7 weeks old) enjoys eating, going to bed late, her butterfly mobile, baths with India/showers with Daddy,  and church - aka - 3 hours of uninterupted cuddling from Mommy, Daddy, & Kenna.  She coos and smiles a lot more now.  She dislikes putting on lotion after bath time and not being held and cuddled during the day.   However, after an entire day of catnapping and constant whining, Maya slept 8 hours last night! Unfortunately, that meant Ammon slept in and was late to work this morning.  

India (officially 3 years old!) learned something interesting in church this week.  She told us, "the rain came crashing down and the floods came up and killed Jesus." Still working on getting that story right.

On Valentine's Day I got to sleep in.  When I woke up, I found this typed note from India (transcribed by Ammon) on the bathroom mirror:

Dear Mommy, 

     Get flowers.  And get some chocolate.  And milk.  Some food.  Get some more chips.  Get some cake.  Her pretty.  My mommy pretty.  Get a movie and popcorn.  Thanks for snuggle Mommy.  Happy Valentine's Day.  

Love you.

India

And a few minutes later Ammon and India walked in the door with flowers and the rest of the V-day loot.  I love you both!

I Heart the Internet

India asked me to draw her a picture of a princess.  After attempt #1 she told me, "That not very good," which was true.  But I couldn't live with that.  So I googled how to draw a princess.  She was happy and dubbed princess #2 Sleeping Beauty.  Then she requested a horse for Sleeping Beauty.  Never mind the picture turned out to be more mythical monster than horse - India liked it.

A Bit of Honesty

In a nutshell, I am just plain tired.  The girls are unbelievably good, but I am still overwhelmed. Before I didn't understand how educated adults became addicted to methanphetamines, especially moms.   But now I see the temptation: being skinny, feeling "good", having surplus energy to get everything done, not having to sleep, etc.  The reasons I don't turn to drugs are a) we're dirt poor and can't afford it because our insurance costs so freaking much, and b) I visit teach a lady who has struggled with substance abuse for a long, long time in her life, and I do not want to go through those types of lifetime hardships. 

Balancing fatherhood.  

Yeah, Ammon has got the hang of it and makes it look like cake.  

Great Grandma Parker, India, & Maya.  

Grandma babysat the girls for me while I got my teeth cleaned.  She also did a bunch of my chores because she's not used to "just sitting around."  (My mom is the exact same way).  When I got home, Grandma told me how good the girls were and how easy it was to watch them.  I feel like a loser because she got more done in three hours than I do in a whole day and called it easy.  

Not my kids, so I can laugh.  Look how triumphant big sister looks.  Their mom was probably blogging instead of supervising coloring time.  I better go check on India . . .

1 month

Maya the binky baby.  However, she prefers her thumb when she can find it.

Crazy hair and a cute pot belly.

India & Maya

Bath Time & Child Labor

Enough said.

Not a future star of the WNBA

Among all of the frustrating moments, it is nice to have a few proud ones.  

First, a frustration.  Yesterday, we were watching one of our neighbor kids (Tristen).  He and India were playing in the other room and having way too much fun -- at least it was audibly apparent that India was having fun.  Usually, that is not an encouraging sign.  So, I went to investigate.  When I enterred the room, India had juice all over the front of her dress.  I promptly put her in time out.  When the requisite 3 minutes were expired, I had her come talk to me.  I asked her "India why were you in time out?" She replied "I don't spit at Tristen."  I had no idea the reason she was all wet was because she was spitting at her friend.  She had to go back to time out for the second time.

Last night for family home evening we had a lesson about how to treat friends.  We came to an understanding that if we want friends to contiue to be our friends that we shouldn't spit, hit, or excessively kiss them -- we've been having that problem too.

Now, a proud moment.  On Saturday afternoon I was watching basketball on tv.  India snuggled with me on the couch.  I asked her "India, what are we watching?"  She said "boys playing basketball." That was good enough for me.  A few minutes later India said "girls don't play basketball.  They're dumb. Girls play soccer.  They're good."  I almost cried I was so happy.

Boccioni, Umberto Dynamism of a Soccer Player 1913 Oil on canvas 193.2 x 201 cm Museum of Modern Art, New York

A Benediction

I listened to the presidential inauguration earlier this week.  The most impressive part of the whole swearing in ceremony was the benediction offered by Rev. Joseph E. Lowery.  Once again I am disappointed to hear the commentary surrounding his remarks.  The only thing that I have heard is negativity about the final few lines of his prayer.  I'm sad because people are so used to finding the spin -- looking to condemn.  Instead, I think we should take what he said in the spirit in which it was given. I feel he was sincere in the petitions he made.  Among the notable pleas he made, he said

"And while we have sown the seeds of greed — the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other."

I think that is something altogether missing from Washington -- asking for forgiveness and recognizing wrongdoing.  I have no problem with that.  We would all do well to recognize where we have been greedy and work to honestly correct those such instances. So many of our economic problems are solely rooted in greed.  

The section of the prayer where most people object is where he used rhyme and color to request a change. Remember, change has been a major part of Obama's platform.  He says 

"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen."

Once again, I have no objection.  I hope that I, a white man, would "embrace what is right."  I have read and heard many people cry foul saying "he is accusing white people of not doing what is right already." To that, I say he is right.  I'm willing to admit that I don't always embrace what is right.  I don't always treat people of other races as equal.  I appreciate someone praying for me.  I hope I can do better.  I've had to pray myself that I will act in the spirit of what is right and set aside my initial impulses.  I think we all should do that.  

I'm sad that people would rather argue over semantics than make much needed change.  In the end I hope we may do just what the Reverand asked and "turn to each other and not on each other." It is good to prayer for our leaders.  It is good to pray for each other. I have no problem with any of this. I think if people read the entire prayer again in the spirit in which it was given, they might not be so offended.  If they are offended perhaps they are the ones who need change and prayer the most. 

Maya Lee

I would have posted sooner, but Maya was pretty bloated and goofy looking the first week of her life. I am still bloated and goofy looking, so enjoy the pictures of my beautiful girls instead.

Maya Lee - December 26th, 2008 - 8 lbs 2oz - 20 1/2 inches long

Maya takes incredibly long naps during the day, so she can be perky and alert right before Mommy is ready to go to bed. Once she goes to sleep (around midnight or 1am), she wakes up 2 or 3 more times to eat.

You wouldn't guess from these pictures, but India was a devil woman for three days after we brought Maya home. She didn't want anything to do with her. However, she seems to have adjusted a bit and tries to be very helpful with her sister.

India finds it amusing that Ammon wears blue panties (his blue soccer shorts) and mommy now wears diapers.



It feels so good to not be pregnant anymore. We figured out another way to get admitted to the hospital early if your water doesn't break: car accidents. Although only our Toyota and wallet suffered any damage, I would rather wait it out next time.