A Prayer by Ever

We worked all day on the house and yard. Jim chopped down a bunch of trees, and we borrowed Derrick's truck so Jim could haul the stuff to the green dump. We went out to eat at a Mexican diner tonight and then treated ourselves to frozen yogurt.

Ever said our bedtime prayer. She half-screams her prayers these days, as if that helps Heavenly Father hear her. Here's how tonight's went, the best Jim and I can remember:

"Heavenly Father,

Help the baby not to push on Mommy's belly.

Help me not to have to go potty in the middle of the night, so I can sleep through the night.

Thank you we could have a good Mommy/Daddy/Ever dinner date.

Thank you that I have a phone.

Please bless that I can still get sugary yogurt after the baby is born."

She asked, "What else?" and Jim prompted her to close. I know we're missing some of it, but that's the highlight reel, in any event.

So Far in 2015

Since the fam left in January, we (and especially I) have had cold after cold, with a little flu-like action in between. I have never been sick for so long. I think pregnancy killed my immune system. It's been a rough winter. (More on that below.) I am finally well now, except for a little stuffy nose that may be pregnancy rhinitis, as they call it.

One day Ever heard the garbage truck, and we ran out to see it. She ended up chasing it all over the neighborhood. Literally. She just ran after it down all the culs-de-sac until it finally headed out of the neighborhood and we couldn't keep up. The driver was really nice and gave some honks, waves, and smiles. I imagine our following him caused him a little discomfort, but he was a sport.

 

 

We took a family walk one evening. Before we got to the tennis courts, Ever just stopped and wanted to hang out. She wouldn't go any farther. We took some pictures and then headed back:

I mentioned in my Christmas post that Ever is really into conducting music. She is also quite the singer. She makes up songs, often involving toilet paper for some reason. She was doing some nice singing and conducting one day from her stool, which she had taken into the living room. I started videotaping her, and her song took on an angrier tone. Notice how she goes from gibberish to "picture a foggy Christmas, to a loving family":

When we put her to bed, we sing one song with her, and then we sing a "leaving song." When she started giving us a hard time about going to bed and didn't want us to leave her room, Jim came up with singing a song (the "leaving song") as he walked out. It helped. Since Christmastime, she's been obsessed with "Angels We Have Heard on High." She almost always picks that for the song we sing in her room (she knows all three verses pretty well), and then she often picks "Silent Night" for her leaving song. How many months it will take for her to tire of those, I don't know. She's keeping us in the Christmas spirit all year round.

I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, February 4th. My belly measured small, so my doctor did a quick sonogram to check my water. It was borderline (just over the minimum they want to see), so I started having to do non-stress tests ("NSTs") twice a week until my due date. They check the baby's movements/heart rate and measure the amniotic fluid. I haven't been good about increasing my fluid intake, partly because I have a hard time believing it will really make a difference (but apparently it does). My water level has varied without any reason I can identify, but it hasn't dropped below the minimum. Going out to San Marcos for these NSTs has been time-consuming and annoying, but better safe than sorry, I guess. You're technically not supposed to take kids to the NSTs, but I've taken Ever to all of them. She is an angel. She sits and chats with me and eats ice with me. (They give you ice or ice water because it makes the baby move.) One of the nurses told me that they'd had a kid in there who would not listen to his mom and kept running out of the room, so they couldn't complete the test. Ever makes me proud.

On Saturday, February 7, I took Ever to Luc Oddou's birthday party and then to Christian Karner's birthday party. Karners had a bouncy house, so we stayed for hours and I relaxed while Ever played.

The following day, Ever's Sunbeam teacher, Sister Myers, pointed out that Ever had a huge lump on her neck. Sister Myers said "bump," and I looked for a little red thing. It was more like a giant mass. Jim took a look at it that afternoon and got freaked out that it was cancer. Ever had had unexplained fevers over the last month or so, and that added to the concern. He said it could just be a virus causing enlarged lymph nodes, or it could be something terrible. We planned to take her to the doctor the next day.

That night the Karners hosted a bishopric/youth fireside. We made cookies to contribute. I started to feel a little weird after dinner. I thought it was nothing, so we decided that Ever and I would go with Jim to the fireside. We took the stroller and walked to the Karners as quickly as I could go. I wasn't feeling great and thought I was having some contractions on the way. I made it through the lesson portion of the evening and then started feeling worse while the kids were eating dessert. After they all left, we were getting ready to head out. I walked outside, squatted down, and starting throwing up off the driveway. I have never puked so much. It seemed like gallons and gallons. And the really great part was that every time I hurled, I wet my pants (thank you, pregnancy). Sort of mortifying. Mostly just Jim and Melanie witnessed it, so that was good. Ever was scared and started crying. The men whisked her away and kept the kids inside. Words cannot express how happy I am that it happened 1) after everyone else left and 2) outside. Melanie drove us home after getting a couple of towels, one for me to wrap myself in and one for me to sit on in the car.

I was then violently ill for several hours. Things were happening on both ends simultaneously and virtually without warning. We moved the chaise lounge into the hall RIGHT outside the bathroom, but being five feet from the toilet wasn't always close enough. Jim witnessed things that night that no husband should ever see. There were multiple loads of laundry and multiple showers. It was really unimaginable. Jim stayed most of the night downstairs with me. He eventually went to sleep on the couch, and after my last episode at 2:30 A.M., I got a little sleep on the chaise. Ever found me here in the morning:

The whole thing was extra awful because I thought I was going to lose the baby or something. I had just been told to drink lots of fluid, and then my body purged itself of EVERYTHING. I couldn't even keep a sip of water down that night. I couldn't deal with doing my kick counts (you're supposed to make sure you feel 10 distinct movements of the baby within an hour) because I was dying. I kept wondering if I should go to the hospital, but I didn't know how I could do that because I couldn't be away from a toilet and a bucket. My belly issues ceased in time for me to go to my NST on Monday. My fluid level was up, inexplicably, and all was well with baby. The stomach flu has been going around. I thought that's what it was, but it was so short that we wondered if it were food poisoning. Our friend Amber Sorenson (who had also been at Christian Karner's birthday party) had a similar experience. She started feeling sick Sunday night but didn't start the horror until Monday morning, and then she was just sick Monday. She wondered if we ate something bad at the party Saturday. All I know is I hope never to experience that again.

Jim took that Monday off so he could help with Ever and me. He got her in to the doctor at the same time I was at my NST, and then I met them as she was going in for x-rays and her second attempt at getting blood drawn (they hadn't gotten enough the first time). We took her to lunch at Chipotle and then got her ice cream to compensate for the traumatic events of the morning.

As the test results rolled in, we learned she just had mono. What a relief! When I had mono in high school, I remember saying I had never been that sick in my life. Apparently a lot of people get mono without any symptoms, though, and that was Ever's situation. She always felt fine.

Valentine's morning Jim took Ever on a long run because I was really tired and hoped to sleep some more. She was a really good sport:

I couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up and baked and frosted the cinnamon rolls I'd put together the night before. They were a nice Valentine's treat.

We spent the rest of the morning cleaning and getting the crib set up for New Baby. It made me really happy to work on house stuff together. We skipped Ever's nap and went to the beach in the afternoon. Ever played in the sand for a while and then wanted to get in the water. Jim was very pleased that the water touching was minimal, and he got good snuggles to boot:

Toward the end, she starting picking up all the rocks on the beach and throwing them in the water:

We walked down to the pier (that was my exercise for the day) to get dinner at a new pizza/salad place called Zigzag Pizza. We had promised Ever frozen yogurt, but she was so tired after missing her nap that she fell asleep in the car. We went to the frozen yogurt place and were in the parking lot debating what to do when she woke up. So we all went in for yogurt, and she even got a balloon. 

A friend, Amy Thompson, convinced a few of us to sign our toddlers up for a "tumbling" class through the City of Oceanside. Lelei Thompson, Ella Rondo, Parker Moffat, and Ever are all in this session. Ever is well-behaved but incredibly slow. She usually holds up the others. She and Ella have started having play dates, and Ever is pretty obsessed with Ella. Ever was unhappy after the first day that other kids sometimes sat by Ella. 

I took these pictures last week, at lesson 1. Ever is in the blue polka-dot shirt; Ella is in yellow:

They walk, run, jump, roll, play with balls and other items, jump on a little trampoline, walk on balance beams, hang on a ring, and just generally learn to follow instructions. The teacher is pretty strict. The first day a girl named Hazel was in nonstop trouble. Today was the second lesson, and it was Parker Moffat's first time. (They were out of town last week.) He was the one who kept getting in trouble today. After the class we go to the park by the recreation center and eat and play. I think it's fun for Ever.

At her first play date with Ella, they had strawberry milk courtesy of Nesquik. Ever convinced me to buy her some. I didn't think she'd really drink it because she generally wants nothing to do with milk unless it's in the form of hot chocolate (she's a chip off the old block). But she sucks down the strawberry stuff:

So can I justify giving her tons of sugar in strawberry milk and hot chocolate because that's the only way I can get some good calcium in her?

Mamo wanted to buy Ever Candyland over Christmas but only found an expensive version. I grabbed a mini version at Target recently, and Ever has enjoyed playing it over and over with Jim:

Besides Ella, Ever has also had a couple of play dates with Aven Dalton, who is new in the ward. Aven just turned eight. Ever loves older kids, and they generally ignore her. Aven, however, is really sweet to her. She loves playing with Ever and always asks when I see her at church if there's choir (Aven and Ever play while we practice) and/or if she can come over to play. Ever needs to learn not to copy everything her friends say and do, not to cry about everything, and how to share/take turns. She's so little, and she may be a little behind on some of those skills because she doesn't have an older sibling. But Aven is good to her, and it's fun for Ever to have friends.

Aven was baptized on Saturday, and we went to a BBQ at their house afterward. While there, I started feeling shaking and weird, and my vision started going funky. I thought I was going to pass out. I sat down and ate and drank, and it went away. 

Sunday I had to go in for a special ultrasound to check the baby's measurements. The midwife I've been seeing when my doctor is unavailable (which is often) said at my last appointment that I measured 29 centimeters (which should correspond to 29 weeks), when I should have been about 37 centimeters (for 37 weeks). All of the measurements were within a week of where I am in my pregnancy, so all was well. But I started feeling weird again as I was leaving the doctor's office. I was trying to get back to church to pick up Ever at the end of Primary, but I finally decided I shouldn't put my life on the line to do that and pulled off the freeway. I called Jim, and then I ate all of Ever's pretzels and drank what little water I had in the car. I closed my eyes for a while and then finally decided I felt OK to drive. I've never felt in danger of passing out while driving before, so that was scary.

It happened again on Monday after my NST, although it wasn't quite as bad. Jim said I should tell my doctor and maybe stop driving out to San Marcos for these NSTs. I've tried over the last couple days to drink more water, and the passing-out thing hasn't happened again. 

I went in to the office yesterday for the last time. No labor on the train or passing out in L.A. for me. The girls took me to lunch. I wrapped things up and told the couple of people I work for and the managing partner that that was my last day in the office before maternity leave. I'll do a little more work from home over the next week or two if the baby doesn't come. It's so odd that I can do whatever I want and don't even really need to tell anyone what I'm doing. I talk to Stacey Sullivan, but that's about it. Telling the managing partner, Mike DiBiase, that I was starting maternity leave was almost an afterthought yesterday. They don't care when I come back or what I do. I told Mike I'd probably just check in with Stacey after three months or so, and he was like, "OK, well, we're flexible. You know we'll be here." Stacey has said I can work completely remotely when I come back if I want, and I can take whatever time off I want. Now that I'm just paid based on my collections, it's pretty simple accounting-wise, and it's no skin off the firm's nose when I take off. It's quite a gig I've got going there. The flexibility is amazing.

Last but not least, I have to post some of the funnies I've written down over the last couple months. Ever makes us laugh so much. Here are some of her gems:

- "I don't know why I didn't say 'hi.' I think I was busy waiting."

- As she was using the remote control to try to turn on the TV: "By and by, I turn [or turned?] on the TV." Where did she get "by and by"?

- After Jim told her not to get big (which he says frequently): "I have to. It's part of life." Or, another time, "I have to. That's how Jesus made me."

- "We have to sing your happy birthday song. It's called 'Friends Leave, and You're Sad.'"

- "Maybe my baby brother or sister won't come out because she'll think it's a good hiding place in case a bad man comes and tries to hurt him."

- After we put her to bed, we heard her on the monitor talking about tacos for about fifteen minutes, saying things like, "We need to go to the store and get taco stuff. How can we have tacos if we don't have taco stuff? That doesn't make any sense!" She loves her some tacos.

I also wrote down a funny by Jim. His work gave him a new phone a few months ago, and he had to get a new number. I took over his old phone and changed that number, too. He was talking to some business on the phone recently, and they were trying to confirm his contact info. I heard him say, "No, that one is also deceased." I started laughing so hard. Who says that when asked if a phone number is still good?

Christmas festivities

After some deliberation, we decided to do Christmas in California this year (or last year, I should say). Our every-other-year-in-Hawai'i tradition would have had us go home to Hawai'i this year, but we ultimately decided next year would be better for the trip.

Mamo and Pod graciously agreed to come to California even though they'll be back on the mainland in March. They were supposed to arrive the night of Thursday, December 18th but got stuck overnight in L.A. and arrived in Carlsbad the next morning. I had booked us on the Newport Holiday Light Boat Parade cruise that night. We left hours early, as I had read that it's a zoo and parking is a nightmare, and I knew there'd be plenty of traffic. Once we found the boat check-in, we had a few minutes to kill because they were busy with people checking in for the boat that left before ours. We rode the ferris wheel right there by the water. It turned out to be the fastest and longest ferris wheel ride I've ever been on, so it was actually really fun. It made my stomach drop a few times. Dolly was freaked out when it started so quickly, and she cried briefly. Then she decided she passionately loved it, and she didn't want to get off. After the ride, we had just enough time to grab a rushed dinner at a mediocre cafe-type restaurant before going to the designated spot on the dock. The gang waiting for the boat:

The boat we were on was all decked out in Christmas lights and was part of the holiday boat parade around Balboa Island. We were viewing decked-out boats as well as decked-out (and just generally amazing) houses on Balboa. We had a freaky cold spell while Mamo and Papo were here, so the temperature was probably in the 40's that night. It was really cold. Hot chocolate was included in the price of our tickets. It was watery and therefore not super delicious, but it helped warm us up a bit. The second half of the cruise got a little slow, but overall I thought it was a fun, festive adventure. Some pics from the boat:

Saturday we went to a matinee of The Nutcracker at the San Diego Civic Center. Blue Steel posed with me before it began:

We all took naps of varying lengths during the first act. We did better during the second act, and the Russian dancers brought down the house, as always.

That was the extent of my planned activities. I did a bunch of research about Julian (old mining town) and wrote down info about all the things we should do there. Then I checked the weather - it was supposed to be a high of 42. So that was scratched. We filled our time with walks, dinners, desserts, and TV shows and games in the evenings. Pod went to Utah for a couple of days to visit Grandma and returned Christmas Eve. Mamo did lots of cleaning while they were here, which was really nice of her. One day she wanted to know what task hanging over my head bothers me the most. So she washed windows and swept the concrete patio in the back. She did lots of cooking, too. They'll never want to come back!

Christmas Eve we read the Christmas story from the Bible (Pod), read "The Happy Prince" (Mamo), and sang Christmas songs. I had borrowed a Christmas songbook from my visiting teachee, Elaine. It happened to contain a song called "Christmas for Cowboys" that Pod had just heard for the first time while visiting Normie. (Ryan Strong had sung it while Pod was there.) "So many gifts have been opened today; Ours is the sky and the wide open range." It actually is a really nice song, and it speaks to my romantic ideal of an outdoor life. Pod got choked up at certain spots every time we sang it. So cute. Ever stood up by the piano and led most of the music. She is really into being a chorister.

Christmas morning Ever enjoyed pulling about a zillion little things out of her stocking - various noise-makers, a harmonica, a recorder, a ring, candy, etc. The harmonica, especially, was a hit, although the magic has mostly worn off by now.

Papa showed Ever how to work her new cash register from Coco and Dun Dun:

Ever and Jim tested out her new little walkie talkies. Santa may have accidentally injured one of the antenna, and they were pretty much a bust:

She was excited about the aprons Grandpa Kringel sent and the scooter from Auntie Dawn and Uncle Ed:

Ever helped open all the presents, regardless of the intended recipient. It was a lovely Christmas morning. We had a nice waffle breakfast, talked to some of the absent family, and went for a nice walk in Hosp Grove:

Jim got some snuggles at sunset that my phone couldn't really capture:

Another day we went for a walk around Lake Calavera. I didn't take a stroller, partly because Ever usually doesn't want to ride and partly because some of the trail is really steep and rocky. Jim kept Ever motivated by calling Mamo, Pod, and me "slow pokes" and trying to beat us. With that inspiration, she was amazing and ran much of the way.

Jim and Ever in the distance:

Running to make sure we didn't catch up:

We went to Baskin Robbins. Ever made sure no drop was left behind:

Tutu spent a lot of time entertaining Ever. There were endless stories - both books and "made-up stories" (often based on fairy tales/books). We often threaten to take away stories when Ever misbehaves because stories are probably her favorite thing in the world besides treats. She has two books of fairy tales. Most of the stories in them are incredibly long, and they are not very heavily illustrated. Mamo sat down to read Ever a fairy tale and started just summarizing the story using the pictures. Ever recognized quickly that she wasn't getting the real story and insisted that Mamo read the words. Mamo couldn't believe how long Ever will sit and listen. Every time we drove somewhere, Ever wanted Tutu to sit next to her and tell her stories. I think Tutu was relieved when Ever temporarily lost her stories for bad behavior. It's hard to come up with that many stories!

It wasn't all storytelling. Tutu got Ever a rubber ducky that she could paint, and Ever loved that. She painted the duck, and then she painted a lot of paintings on paper. They also spent some time drawing on Ever's easel (the easel, table, and chairs were all Christmas presents):

Jim, who generally hates being in the kitchen, has gotten into Sunset magazine and the recipes it contains. He found a no-fail pie crust recipe he wanted to try. While fam was in town, we made at least two apple pies and two pumpkin pies. It was delicious and totally disgusting what went on on the dessert front. This is one of Jim's servings of apple pie and ice cream:

Can you say "portion control"? Because we can't.

At the end of December, they did a graduation ceremony in nursery for the three-year-olds going into Sunbeams. They had caps and everything. Ever's would not stay on, and she was having some major hair issues:

Coco and Dun Dun arrived on New Year's Day. We took them on a nice neighborhood walk (photographer Pod is the shadow):

Friday we took the train down to Old Town San Diego. Jim bought the train tickets online, and we had to catch a certain train. It ended up taking us longer than anticipated to get out of the house, as it always does. We took two cars to the train station, and poor Mamo got stuck in my car. My driving terrified her, but I got us there alive and in time.

The lucky ones got to play cards on the train; the boys entertained Ever:

Our first stop was the Mormon Battalion. I think it's worthwhile, but the scripted presentation is painfully interactive and kid-oriented. We tried to be at least minimally responsive to help out the poor sister missionary who did our tour.

Pod modeled the Battalion gear:

At the conclusion of the tour, our guide, Sister Chung, took this group photo:

We poked around the display room briefly. Dustin's many-greats-grandfather, George Washington Taggart, was a fifer with the Mormon Battalion. Dustin found him in the database:

Grandpa Taggart's fife was even on display:

I took Ever to the bathroom before we went outside to pan for gold. The adults entertained themselves in the meantime:

Ever was obsessed with Sister Chung. While we were in the bathroom, she kept asking if Sister Chung would be there when we went outside. They were happily reunited when Ever joined the panning expedition.

After the Mormon Battalion, we took a spin around the nearby Victorian section:

We went into the stagecoach museum. Dustin was impressed by the leather-strap suspension system on this one:

He also admired this chair:

We stopped for a snack. The Kringels had cookies. Bags got bread and jam that she shared with Pod. Mamo enjoyed a sarsaparilla. When I tried to photocize the group, the sun was in Jim's eyes. He came up with a new picture-taking technique: keep your eyes closed because somehow that's better than being caught blinking or squinting. This is the result:

Ever got in on it for this one:

There was a little extra jam, and Pod couldn't watch it go to waste:

We went by the courthouse that the Mormon Battalion helped build and took a peek at this jail cell out back:

We tried to visit the Mason School, but it was closed:

I remembered from Mamo and my previous visit to Old Town that the Sherrif's Museum was cool. Turns out the best part is the shank display. Prisoners make some pretty cool stuff while they're cooped up.

Ever struck an interesting pose for her mug shot:

She was excited (though she doesn't look it) about going into a "real" jail cell:

Yes, Jim is sitting on the pot.

The females took turns on the two motorcycles:

Ever got to know the Princess-look-alike police dog:

Then she decided the fake courtroom was an opportunity to give a talk, which concluded with a stunning rendition of "I Am a Child of God":

There was a room dedicated to fallen officers, and I just thought of Alyn Beck and had to leave immediately. Outside, we sat in the back of the sheriff's car, and then Ever took a spin in the helicopter. She had to be co-pilot at first; then the other little girl got out, and Ever took over the controls:

We found a Mexican restaurant by the train station that didn't have a wait. After we dinner we killed a bit of extra time and caught the train back. At home we enjoyed treats and cards.

Saturday morning I took Jim to work at Palomar Hospital so we could have two cars at home. The rest of us got a late start on a hike somewhere past Escondido (almost to Ramona, I think). I'd never been before, and it was nice. Ever wanted to walk, but we eventually got her into the backpack so we could make better time. I felt bad about making Dustin carry her, but it was really the only way. 

Dustin carried a dead tree for a little while:

The gate to the parking lot closed at sunset, and we also had to pick Jim up from work at the hospital at 6:00. We were going to turn back, but Pod ran ahead to see what he could see. I followed because I hate not getting to the end and knowing what's ahead. The white dot is Pod's t-shirt:

He photocized the view: 

Then he ran up this little hill to get a better look:

We headed back. Mamo was highly concerned about not returning before the parking lot gate closed, so she rushed ahead. Pod eventually caught up to her toward the end, and they hung out in the parking lot until the rest of us arrived. 

You can't really tell from these pictures, but there were some really nice green hills:

Bags took one car home, while Pod was kind enough to go with me to pick up Jim from Palomar. Jim ended up getting done late, so Pod and I chatted in the lobby and waited. We rendezvoused with everyone at the house and then went out for Thai food at Rim Talay. Jim and I had been once before with friends, and I had loved it. This time my food was too spicy (possibly my fault in ordering 4 out of 10 on the spice scale), and some but not all of the others enjoyed their meals.

The heat was always on while the fam was in town, so the house was never below 70 degrees during waking hours. Nevertheless, Mamo and Pod (especially Mamo) were absolutely FREEZING in our house. Mamo would wear multiple sweaters and her head-to-toe robe while we played cards and would still be cold. We had many fires, which were enjoyed by all but especially the frozen parentals:

The thing I cannot figure out is how Mamo and Pod live in a house with no insulation, no heat, and windows always open - a house that has gotten into the 50's inside. Somehow they are not cold in those conditions but can't handle our 72-degree house? I'm so confused. In any case, I won't complain about any excuse to have fires.

Sunday night we sang a few Christmas carols since Bags and Dunford had missed Christmas Eve with us. Then Bags opened her birthday presents, with help from Little Love:

Monday saw the end of the crazy cold spell. We enjoyed a nice walk in the morning before I took Mamo and Pod to the airport. 

Bags and I made doughnuts using my new deep fryer and recipe book. Don't they look legit?

This giant lizard was spotted in our house right before Bags took Dustin to the airport:

Thank GOODNESS Dustin was still there to catch it and throw it outside. I would have had to evacuate. Bags left that evening, and we were left empty nesters.

The devastating part of the partial family reunion was the sickness. Pod came down with a really bad cold shortly after arriving. Dustin caught it (or something like it) and had to cancel his plans to go to Boise from here to help his mom, Jill, after her bone marrow transplant. Pod and Jim helped Dustin give Bags a beautiful blessing that she would remain healthy, and she was able to go by herself to Boise and help. I got sick as soon as everyone left. I don't usually get sick, and when I get sick it's usually not so bad. But this sucked. And the really awful news is that our house has been plagued by various illnesses pretty much ever since. But more on that in another post...

It's always wonderful to have family visit. Hooray for holidays with family! We're excited about having Bags and Mamo back soon when the critter in my belly makes his/her debut. Ever wishes "Dun Dun Tickle Bug" would return, too, but we'll happily take what (or whom) we can get. (Yes, "Dun Dun Tickle Bug" is a ridiculous name, and yes, that is what he was called this visit. I'm sure you can imagine why.)