Day 16 - A Healthy Toddler

Today I am very grateful that Adysen is healthy. I am also grateful that she has seemed to survive yesterday without any scrapes and bruises.

I have come to realize that my little baby is now a toddler. Yesterday we had a few close calls causing a very nervous mother.

Before Church:

Adysen was taking a bath and I was getting ready. She was playing with her toys and having lots of fun. I was just finishing up my makeup real quick. Alton came home from his meeting and Adysen said "Daddy" (she is just starting to say Daddy). Then Alton stepped into the doorway and Adysen stood up in the tub and decided she was ready to get out. Next thing I know she is somersaulting out of the bathtub. Luckily she caught herself with her hands and rolled. Her neck seemed to bend in an awkward position and I was sure she was seriously hurt. I forgot all the first aid skills that I have learned (stabilizing the head and neck) and immediately picked her up. She was crying but probably mostly from shock. A couple seconds later she was just fine and back to crawling around. I, on the other hand, took a little longer to recover. I am very grateful she did not have a head or neck injury and I am promising myself that I will stay right next to her for now on when she is in the bath.

Later that Afternoon:

I decided I would take a few minutes to lay down on the couch and relax after a busy Sunday. Adysen is wanting to be a climber. So, I helped her up onto the couch as well. She was content for maybe 10 seconds. Then after climbing all over me, she decided it was time to get down - head first. (Normally she is pretty good about going down feet first, but not this time) I caught her just in time to level out her body so that it was more of a roll and she landed softly on her back not her head. She then started to try to climb up again. It was enough to make me once again grateful that she didn't have a head injury.

A Few Minutes Later:

I realized that I still hadn't updated the blog for a few days - I have such a hard time doing this daily update thing! So, I was looking at pictures and videos I had just uploaded from the camera. Adysen likes watching the videos of herself, so she climbed up on my lap to watch with me. She was really entertained for a minute or so. Then she must have saw something that she wanted on the desk. Next thing I know she lunged forward and hit her face on the edge of the desk. I turned her around to hug and comfort her. Then I pulled her back to look at her face and saw the blood. After panicking for a moment, I took a couple of breaths and assessed the situation. After wiping away the blood I realized Adysen cut open the inside of her top lip and has a small cut above her front tooth. It was so sad! However, within a minute or two she was back to her adventurous self.

I like to think that I'm a good mother. I try to be very attentive. I am so nervous about being a mother of a toddler instead of a baby. I can't even imagine how it will be when she really starts walking on her own.

Here is a picture of Adysen today, just to show that she is healthy and happy. If you look really, really close you might be able to see the cut above her tooth. I can barely see it when I'm looking at the large version of the picture:

This is how meal time has been ending at our house. Last week I tried a couple of methods of strapping Adysen into her high chair (the disadvantage of getting the free high chair by our dumpster is that it has no straps). Shoving a towel in around her worked great for a few days, but today she has officially figured out how to free herself! It looks like it is time to either sew some strapping device or move to a booster chair.

Look Mommy! I'm ready for a story! So, I was doing something in the kitchen this morning and I turned around to find Adysen on the rocking chair! I didn't know that she could climb on the rocking chair. Scary!! After helping her get down I took the camera and recorded how she did it. Don't worry, I will watch her very carefully for now on!

Here is the video of Adysen climbing onto the rocking chair:

Day 15 - Games

We are grateful for games. We love to play games together. Our friendship started 7 years ago when we would play hearts, dominoes, and some card game that Alton made up. Through our dating years we played a ton of games. Unfortunately, it is hard for us to find the time to play games now. I always treasure the moments we spend playing games. Even if I lose most of the time. :)

Day 14 - The Book of Mormon

We are grateful for the Book Mormon. We just finished reading it again. We are grateful for the comfort we receive when reading the scriptures. We are grateful for the testament the Book of Mormon gives of Jesus Christ.

I read this quote today from the October General Conference:

"Love. Healing. Help. Hope. The power of Christ to counter all troubles in all times - including the end of times. That is the safe harbor God wants for us in personal or public days of despair. That is the message with which the Book of Mormon begins, and that is the message with which it ends, calling all to 'come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.' That phrase - taken from Moroni's final lines of testimony, written 1,000 years after Lehi's vision - is a dying man's testimony of the only true way." (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Safety for the Soul," October 2009)

I truly am grateful for this book of scripture. I know the Book of Mormon is true.

Day 13 - Diapers

We are grateful for modern disposable diapers.

Day 12 - Dining Out

I really enjoy cooking and eating at home. However, after spending so long at home during the day and doing dishes over and over and over. It is nice to have a night out occasionally. We are grateful for the time we are able to spend with each other without the stress of cleaning up and doing other things around the house. I am also grateful for the opportunity it gives us to talk and focus on each other without the other distractions at home.

This week we went out to Red Robin. It is becoming one of our favorites. Probably because it is so close. Adysen loved listening to the music and started dancing. I'm not really sure where she learned her moves.

Day 11 - Good Stock Market Days

Today we are grateful for good stock market days. We really enjoy researching companies and investing our money. We also have enjoyed using Scottrade. If anyone happens to be interested in signing up, we can be your reference. Then we can both get 3 free trades. :)

Silly Faces

Month of Gratitude Update

I have been really bad at posting each day. (Nearly all of my posts have been backdated) I'm not really sure if anybody really checks our blog very often, but if you have been anxiously awaiting my next post, I'm sorry. We have been really busy around here this last week.

I have been spending nearly all of my computer time (during nap time and when Adysen is content playing on her own) working on our website. I have to admit that I think it is looking really good! Almost all of our pictures are updated. We just have a couple of pages left to make some changes on and some cool new products to add! Now if we could just get a million sells (okay, not a million, we couldn't quite handle that kind of demand.) :)

My new plan is to get the posts ready to go early and have them post automatically in the morning. So, be looking for more regular daily posts. :)

Day 10 - Books

We are grateful to have books. I love to read! I am glad to see that Adysen is taking after me. Lately she has been playing more with her books than any other toys. She will turn the pages and gabber away. It is adorable. She also loves it when we read to her. We are so blessed!

Day 9 - Washer and Dryer

We are so grateful to have a washer and dryer in our apartment. It is nice to be able to work on the laundry during the day without having to go down to the laundry room. Adysen is a great helper. She really like to help me fold the clothes, and push the basket around the room.