7 Months Already?!

Time is a weird thing. It seemed to go by so slowly sometimes during the first 6 months and now Naiya is already 7 months old and I can't believe it! Melia decided to play dress up with her on her 7 month birthday (even though I didn't realize it was her 7 month birthday until the day after. Luckily, Melia wanted to take a picture of Naiya dressed up in her tutu or else we would have no visual record of that day. :) ) Anyway, Naiya is growing fast--we already had to bust out the 12 month old clothes for her. She's having fun discovering her voice and is still my cute little smiley baby. Pooping is going better, which leads me into the fiasco that happened today. Luckily, it happened to Bo and not me. :)
Today, Bo was watching the girls while I went to a doctor's appointment. I actually got lost on the way there and called Bo so he could help me find it on mapquest. While he was helping me, I could hear Naiya crying in the background and Melia wanting stuff, so I told him to just call me back after he put Naiya down for her nap. Well, he took quite a while to call back. This is why, according to Bo: He started to put Naiya down for her nap when he remembered he hadn't changed her diaper. As he went to do so, he smelled something not so pleasant. He investigated further to find out that Naiya had had one of those explosive poops that went all the way up the back of her onesie. As she was screaming and he was trying to hold her legs up in the air so that the poop didn't get all over the bed, he dropped the poopy diaper on the floor and started throwing the wipes into it as he used them. Well, pretty soon Melia comes over to see what's going on and accidentally steps in the poopy diaper. Bo realizes this when she says, "Daddy, I got poopy on my toe!" Meanwhile, Bo is still trying to hold the crying, half covered in poop, baby's legs up to save the bed. He tells Melia to go wash off her foot in the shower and to try not to put her foot down on the carpet. She becomes distressed and adds to the chorus of crying. She makes it to the shower but can't turn it on, which causes more distress. Finally, Bo gets Naiya cleaned off and then comes over to help Melia as Naiya continues to cry. Bo turns on the shower for Melia who not only sticks her foot in to wash it, but her entire leg--pants and everything. Anyway, by the time I got home, Melia and Naiya were both clean and taking naps, so it all turned out in the end. I did find a little present left on my side of the bed--the poop covered onesie. So sweet of Bo to leave me that little momento so that, although I wasn't there to experience it firsthand, I could still feel (or smell) like I was. But I do totally appreciate Bo for his help with the girls and I have total empathy for him, having dealt with many similar situations in my stint at motherhood. It's all worth it though! Happy 7 months Naiya! We love you!

We Survived!

Ahh, the wonderful germy world of preschool. Melia came home with a cold about a week ago which I then came down with, promptly followed by Naiya and finishing up with Bo. Let's just say this week has been filled with more mucus coming from every direction than I ever care to see again. I haven't been sick since last Christmas, so I've never faced the challenge of taking care of two sick kids while being sick myself before. Not so much fun, to say the least. The good news is we are all feeling much better--well, Bo is still having a hard time, but 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

Beauty and Teen Wolf?

So this Halloween, Melia decided she wanted to be Belle and that Daddy should be the Beast. It was a cute idea, but it was only a few days until Halloween and I wasn't sure we could pull it off. But listening to Melia talk about it to everyone and hearing how excited she was motivated me to try to come up with a Beast costume. And vuala!....Here it is. Bo was totally a good sport to do this. He was not feeling very festive, but he did it--2 days in a row--itchy beard, make-up, fake teeth and everything! Proof that Melia really does have daddy's heart. I had fun being a farmer with my cute little chicken. :)

6 Months Old!

I can't believe we are a half a year into this already! Naiya is such a cute little chunky monkey. Her crazy hair brings us many laughs, especially when Bo makes her kick her legs and sings "We represent the lollipop kids". She absolutely adores Melia and watches her with a smile wherever she goes. Melia can also make her laugh harder than any of us can. I'm glad they have a good relationship so far. Naiya has been having some constipation trouble, so that's made feedings not so fun lately. But we've been looking into some things that will hopefully help. She is sitting up on her own now, but can basically be pushed over by a fly, so she's currently working on her core strength. This week, we bought Melia new sparkly princess shoes that she's in love with--so much so that they snuck their way into Naiya's 6 month birthday pictures. :)

What a Little Sweetie

Melia (while handing her first tithing envelope to the Bishop): "Here's my money for Jesus. Can you hold it for him?"

Arrgh...I'm One of Those Moms

Monday was Melia's first day of her Tiny Tots preschool class. She was so excited to finally be able to go to school! She has been talking about it for like a month now. When we got there, she was a little unsure at first, but then started playing with the toys and I said good bye to her. On my way home, I started having all of these feelings--This was the first time I was leaving my child with complete strangers in a new environment where she is facing the world all on her own. I know she is totally capable but there's something about a mother's instinct where you just want to protect your child and keep them safe from harm. I don't know exactly everything that I was feeling, but I did it--I cried. I am one of those moms that cries when they drop their kids off at school on the first day. As a kindergarten teacher, I saw it happen many times and never in a million years did I think I would be doing it, but I did. I admit it. At least I didn't do it until I had already dropped her off and had gone back home. Anyway, when I went to pick her up after her class was over, she ran up to me and gave me a big hug and started to tell me all about what they did in class. Her teacher said she was a delight and that she danced for them and just really enjoyed herself. They said she asked where I was one time and they told her that they had one more activity to do before I would come to pick her up. She said, "Ok." and went back to what she was doing. I don't know what I was worried about. :) She told me all about everything all the way home and about how much fun she had and how she loved school. Today was her second day and it went great. I didn't cry this time. :)

My First Battle Wound

So after 5 years of dog training, I actually got bitten--courtesy of Snowy, the fearful aggressive Australian Shepherd. I have been nipped at before, but never had a dog break the skin. Luckily, it wasn't that bad and I was able to remain calm, correct her, and then continue to take her for a walk. The important thing is not to freak out and become fearful because then you're in no position to help rehabilitate the dog so she can obtain a more balanced state of mind. Although I did not love getting bitten, I love the work that I do and every experience teaches me something new. What did I learn from this? 1. Don't wear shorts while working with big, fearful aggressive dogs. And 2. Charge the client more if their dog bites me. :)