2 Two weeks & counting

0 Tractor Girl

Allie is definately a daddy's girl & loves to spend time with him on the farm.
It was an extra treat Friday night to get to take a spin on the tractor.

0 Kylie's two photos

Here are the only two shots we got of Kylie during our horible photo shoot (see the terrible day post below). I will definately be trying again.

0 Allie & Nursing Nancy Cat

This is the closest thing we got to a smile (see horrible day post below). Note the 'chap' in every photo. This stuffed cat is one of Allie's favorites. A few weeks ago when we were in the car with Nate's brother Layne, I heard Allie saying 'milk'. When I looked at her she had her shirt lifted & was pressing Nancy to her chest. Now the cat is know as Nursing Nancy.

0 Allie & George

Here are the shots of Allie with Curious George from the terrible photo shot detailed in a post below. You can see the "chap" in most of the pictures. It is obvious how tired she was.

0 Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

If you haven't read this children's book you should! (author Judith Viors) I bring it up because the title of my day yesterday could have been Sarah and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

It started out with a photo appointment with both girls. Even though I have a million snap shots of the girls, I wanted professionals with a plain background to frame. The plan was to get pictures of the each of the girls individually, but more importantly one of them together. I knew this had the potential to implode, so I invited Grandma JoAnn along to help contain Allie. Little did I know that she, I, & the photographer were little match for one "busy" two-year-old.

Allie, or 'big business' as she is affectionately known, refused to sit still, look at the camera, or smile. We had a hard him corralling her in the photo shop, let alone her seat in the little room. I tried to amuse her with her favorite distraction, “chap”, a.k.a. chapstick. Once I realized the tactic was flawed (chap in ever shot) it was too late to abort mission. I pondered, how do I discipline a toddler & then hope for a great smiling photo?

Kylie, ‘small business’, was tired by the time we reverted to her & wanted nothing more than to be swaddled and suck on the pacifier; a pose we’ve capture many times at home. The photographer was not much help, although I don’t blame her for the debacle. After 45 minutes, she dropped strong hints that our time was up & I waved the white flag. We surrendered exhausted, batter, & bruised with only a few shots to choose from: none with smiles & only 2 of Kylie. We didn’t even attempt getting the girls in the same shot. I’ll have to try again. Maybe more backups?

Allie’s nap time has become a struggle the past few weeks & this day was to be the worst! Since she had a 30 minute power nap on the drive home, she put up quite a fight. Her sleep-avoiding strategy has been evolving over the past days & weeks. First she knocked on the door, then she opened the door, & now she doesn’t try to come out of here room since we’ve established the fact she will be put right back in. Since asking for a drink & begging ‘hungry’ have failed, she now puts her energy into demolishing her room.

This day she was VERY tired when I first put her down to sleep, in fact ‘bed’ had been her request. As I feed Kylie, I heard her for playing & singing for nearly an hour. Then she opened the door buck naked! I dressed her & tucked her in again. She snuggled into the pillow & appeared to be ready to drift off. But no, when I looked in on her almost another hour later she had pulled all the bins of clothing out of the closet, scattered all the toys, & pulled all the diapers out of the Sam’s club box.

What is a mother to do? I must have missed the class on dealing with two-year-olds because I was/am stumped. If anyone attended, PLEASE fill me in! Frustrated, I tried a new approach: checking if she was in bed every 10 min & taking a toy if she wasn’t. She understood the idea when I explained it, but tested me, with lots of crying, for an hour before giving in to sleep. By that time I was developing a headache & it was time to feed Kylie again. When Nate called to say he was on his way home (we planned on going to the lake a 4pm), Allie had slept 45 min & me less than a half hour.

It was a big rush to make sandwiches, load the girls, & hitch on the boat since we had guests waiting to go. I could hardly think due to the headache , which didn’t let up as I had hoped. I ended up throwing up over the side of the boat as our friends wakeboarded. I have to say that it was a gorgeous evening and Allie & Kylie were both very well behaved on the boat. Thank goodness! Once my stomach was empty, I started to feel better & even got out on the board myself even if I didn’t feel like it. It would have been the perfect ending for a terrible day, if Kylie hadn’t screamed the last 20 min & the whole way home. Come to find out she was hungry – so much for nursing on the boat (guess the bumps make it hard or something).

Today we stayed home in jammies all day. Maybe we will venture our tomorrow…maybe.

1 Uncle Troy!

Here are a few photos of uncle Troy, taken last weekend. After living in Korea for a year, we are glad to have him back, close to home in Layton. (Troy, Nate's brother, is a doctor in the air force) Our girls, and rest of their cousins, LOVE uncle Troy. He even babysat both my girls while I went to the grocery store.

0 Pumpkin Farm Update

The pumpkins are definately growing, but so are the weeds. Most days Nate goes out to weed & water the farm before (at 6am) & after work (till 10pm). We miss seeing him in the evenings & love to go with him when it is a quick trip. Right now each plant must be hoe-ed around by hand...all FOUR ACRES! Then they use tillers inbetween the rows. Even with hired help, before they are done with the last rows, the first rows need to be started again. As the plants grow together, we won't be able to weed anymore & can still back and wait for harvest time. Then the real work begins.

0 Kylie goes to Church

This week we took Kylie to church for the first time. She slept most through most of the meetings. It was good to be there as a family for the first time in a month. Big sister Allie was even well behaived...for a two-year-old anyway.

0 The Skunk got us!

On our way home from the pumpkin farm, we had a close encounter with a skunk. I don't think we hit him (or her) but it definately got us. Luckily, I think all the smell hit under the car, but it was still covered in dust. When we got home, Allie helped me wash the TrailBlazer...it is one of her favorite activities. All I had to do was mention we might wash the car & she was running to get the special car washclothes. I don't know which got wetter, the car or Allie. What a fun way to spend a warm summer evening!

0 Grandparents visit

My parents stopped by on their way home from my cousins Kurt's wedding in Bountiful last week. Allie was go glad to see her Grandma Martha. I think they got very close during the week they spent together after Kylie's birth. Allie didn't seem to mind that Grandma was holding Kylie, as long as there was room for her too!

Grandpa Paul had a hard time staying awake. He and Kylie had a great nap together. Bonding at its best.

photos taken June 16, 2007

0 Me be...

Devony introduced me to this webpage that determines your pirate name.

My pirate name is:

Captain Prudentilla Read

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Even through many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You've got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

0 Kylie's first trip to the lake

Yesterday we took Kylie on the lake for the first time (one day shy of being 4 wks old). I was a nice day & smooth water. We kept her under the canapy, in the shade & she was a happy girl.

I was going to take it easy, but once I got on the wakeboard I couldn't help myself. My arms, back & legs are quite stiff after jumping, but I didn't have any major wrecks which is more than I can say for Nate-he can hardly turn his neck this morning.

Allie rode in the tube for the first time with her Schwartz cousins (Keiko, Kai, & Koji). She was a little aprehensive at first, but she loved being with the 'kidz'.

0 Pumpkin Update

This photo was taken just a week after the one I posted earlier.
Pumpkins seem to grow like weeds!

Allie loves to help on the farm - she is such a daddy's girl!

0 New Sunday Dress

Grandma JoAnn Schwartz just couldn't pass up this cute dress for Allie.
It totally fits her personality!

0 KYLIE SLEPT THREW THE NIGHT! w/ update

HAPPY NEWS!!!
(she will be 4 wks old on Saturday)
I had put her down at 10:30pm right before my head hit the pillow.
I woke up disoriented at 6am & asked Nate if I had gotten up to feed Kylie in the night,
since I couldn't remeber.
It was a moment of panic followed by relief.
What are the chances of it happening again tonight?


UPDATE: the next night (6-15-07)
Kylie did wake up at 3:30am last night, but she went back to sleep before I could get to her...so I went back to bed. However, before I could fall back to sleep I heard a few things.
First, a door opening...but sometimes the cat pushes a door open.
Second, some shuffling...again, it could have been the cat.
Third, a stool scooted on the tile...althought the cat does jump on /off the stools, this was a little too loud.
After a min I went to investigate & there, in the dark, was Allie sitting on her stool trying to get her cup. 'Hungry,' she said, but I gave her the sipper cup & put her back in bed. So much for ME sleeping through the night.

0 Kicks on the floor

Yesterday I laid Kylie on the floor to 'kick'. Allie spread her blanket out next to her & kicked, too.

2 Too many strawberries?

Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to keep up with the production of our wonderful strawberries. We've been eating them in the morning on cereal, in the afternoon for snack, & in the evening for dessert (on ice cream, in shakes, on cake, ect.) BUT STILL they have been piling up in the fridge. So to avoid wasting the delicious berries, I started making jam. One batch down, many more to go.

4 Kylie's Blessing

You are all invited to come to Kylie's blessing on Sunday, July 1st at 9am. More details to follow.

0 the Pumpkin Farm

This photo is of the river bottoms in Amalga, Utah (a few miles from our home in Smithfield) -adjacent to Nate's pumpkin farm.

This is the third year Nate has raised pumpkins for the local grocery stores.
This year they are expanding once again & planted about 4 acres (2 fields) last week.

On Sunday we saw the first plants poking through. Today's rain storm couldn't have come at a better time!

Allie LOVE going out to the farm...especially when she gets to ride on the 4-wheeler with daddy. It is hard to get her back into the car when it is time to go home. Kylie just like to sleep in the car at this point, but I'm sure she will be riding with her sister before long.