Soooo Excited!! 27 hours and counting...

Erik is flying in tomorrow to visit 8 days for Thanksgiving! It's going to be the best spending time with him and the girls :)

In other news, for the last several weeks, Sarah has been acting like this:

Will the nightmare of teething ever end? Only one, repeat ONE of the 6 teeth she has been trying to cut has come through. Is this some kind of sick joke my kids like to play on me? Erik has been joking that he's going to bring a scalpel with him to help her out. Some kind of sick sense of humor eh? Hahaha. Here's to hoping that the others cut through very soon. Her teeth seem to be cutting her a little slack so I'm thrilled that now she's acting a little like this:

What's going on with our little Sarah bear...

Sarah is now 10 1/2 months and is changing oh so fast! She started walking about 2 weeks ago and gets better at it every day! She has such a personality. She's very social. She hates feeling left out and wants to be right in the middle of things...preferrably in mommy's arms. She's very attached to me right now and has a hard time going to anyone else if I'm within sight.

She has said a few words: baby, hieee (hi with emphasis at the end), bee (for binky), beeyah (for bottle), and mommma (emphasis on mm)

She's currently trying to cut 6 teeth at once for the last 6 weeks. Can you say nightmare?! Needless to say, I'm getting in and out of bed constantly all night long most nights. I think two finally cut through though so she's been doing a bit better.

She LOVES food! She's always crawling around on the floor in search of crumbs or morsels that Reagan may have dropped. She also hangs out near Reagan while she eats and steals her food. Reagan doesn't care because she's not much of an eater these days. I think Sarah's probably 22 lbs. and Reagan's probably 28...yeah :)

She also loves to dance when there's a little tune and she even has her own style of breakdancing which is quite entertaining.

Proudly stealing Reagan's lunch.

Taking a big bite!

Playing with Reagan and doing what they do best...making messes!

So tired!

Striking a pose in her sunday dress :)

Here's a video of her walking but it's already outdated. She's walking everywhere now!

Here's a video of Sarah stealing Reagan's lunch :)

Here's a video of Sarah break dancing:

Best Birthday Surprise Ever and Halloween!

My birthday was on October 22nd and all I wanted was to see Erik. He told me he was sending me a package for my birthday. I told him all I wanted for my birthday was to fly out to Detroit to visit him! Little did I know he had other plans. So, Erik's sister Elizabeth is going to school here at BYU-Idaho. She called me up on the 29th saying she had cut herself really bad making dinner and wondered if I could take her to the hospital. So I halted dinner preparations and threw a few things together before rushing out the door with the kids. While I'm rushing around, Erik called me to chat (so I thought). I talked to him while I drove to Elizabeth's but said goodbye when I got to her apartment. I called Elizabeth to tell her I was there and then all of a sudden I heard a knock on my car window. I turned over and there Erik was! I was totally shocked. I had just talked to him on the phone seconds earlier, totally thinking he was thousands of miles away in Detroit. My jaw literally dropped and I had all sorts of emotions going on at the same time: shock, disbelief, pure joy, excitement, confusion, and just plain emotional. Erik said the look on my face was priceless and wished he had gotten a picture of it. It was the best surprise ever and the best birthday gift ever. It has been really hard on us being apart so much and it just seems to get harder. We had a great weekend while he was here (even though I was really sick the whole time).
Sarah desperately trying to grab the candy out of the bowl. This kid loves any and all things that she can stick in her mouth, especially when it's edible and delicious. She sure enjoyed her sucker :)

Here's our little family right before we took the girls trick or treating.

Reagan's super cheesy "pretty smile" mingled with a yawn I think :) Don't mind my bug eyed look. I was feeling really crappy that night.

Sarah was our little chunky monkey. The pictures just don't do justice how cute she was!

Reagan was a little princess and loved that mommy put real makeup on her.

Reagan relaxing with her daddy while watching Care Bears or one of her regular favorites. She absolutely adores him and has had a hard time being away from him. We had a great time together and are counting down the days until he visits for Thanksgiving!

Huntington Beach! (From July)

Oh how I LOVE the beach! I'm trying to convince Erik that we need to live in California so we can be near the beach. Not going over very well :) The week of Dave and Laura's wedding we went to Huntington beach twice. The first time was great for me because I didn't have my kids with me so I was free to get smashed amongst the waves trying to body surf with my brothers, Laura, and her brother Chris. SO much fun! A few days later we went back so that I could take Reagan to the beach for the first time. She had a blast. Here are some pictures and a video.

I spent a lot of the time with Sarah in the Ergo carrier. She had gotten sand in her eyes and wore herself out crying while I desperately tried to wash it out. A 7 month old at the beach isn't the greatest idea :)

For some reason the pictures uploaded backwards but my mom and my brothers George and Garrett buried her legs in the sand. She loved it, especially all of the attention.

Here they all are working on the burial. I'm amazed she actually stood still long enough for them to do this. Anyone that knows Reagan very well would be amazed too! Hahaha.

Reagan's signature "pretty smile."

Having fun with Grandma Garner.

Dragging water from the ocean to our sandcastle.

Sarah chilling on the towels before the sand invaded her eyes. I just love that chubby body of hers!

Having fun in the sand.

Here's a video of Reagan and I "jumping" the waves.

Catching up July 2008: Dave and Laura's wedding & Cannon Family Reunion

My older brother Dave and his bride Laura were married in the Newport Beach temple on July 25th. It was such a beautiful sealing and I started crying even before they entered the sealing room together. The spirit was very strong and I was very emotional. I love my family very much and my brothers hold a special place in my heart. They make such a beautiful couple. Laura comes from a wonderful family. I was seriously so sad that it would likely be the only time I'd be around them. They're so much fun and such great people.
The whole group minus Reagan and Sarah. They were staying with Grandma Rosenlof and would join the wedding festivities for the reception the next day.
I love this shot of Reagan. Their photographer did an amazing job. I actually know him from when he was roomates with my brothers during college. I'm hoping to get him to take a family picture of us when we move out to California in February. I love this one of Sarah too :)
Gotta love action wedding photos!

Coming out of the temple following the sealing.
Don't they look excited and happy!
Laura's bridesmaids. The other two are her older sisters Alicia and Kerri.
The Groom's family and bride.
It was a fantastic day, besides the fact that I got really burned. Congrats Dave and Laura!

After the wedding we left California and headed to Utah to one of my absolute favorite places. This was pretty much the only vacation destination we had as kids but I didn't care. It was the best. Isn't it beautiful? My mom's family owns a bunch of acres on the top of Cove Mountain in Utah. I was so excited to take the girls there for the Cannon family reunion because I love it up there so much.
Here's Reagan visibly thrilled while wading through a mountain stream. She had so much fun splashing around and getting wet. There are tons of fish in this stream and as a kid we'd make our own fishing poles with a wood stick and some fishing line with a hook. We'd then catch our own bait-there's tons of grasshoppers everywhere up there. You were pretty much guaranteed to catch about 7 fish in 30 minutes. We'd always release them though.
This is my Grandma Cannon's cabin. Lots of fun memories there.
Just gorgeous. I love to go hiking up here. The view is breathtaking.
The favorite activity for the kids on the mountain is to go riding on the 4 wheeler. I took Reagan out twice. She wounldn't take a nap in the cabin and she actually fell asleep on the ride! I couldn't believe it! With all of the bumps and jumps on the trail she still fell asleep. We only stayed one day as opposed to 3 or 4 because there were too many people in the cabin and it would have been extremely rough going to get them to sleep very well. We had such a good time and can't wait to go back again!

July Catch Up Week One: Yellowstone Bear World

This is way back on the 3rd of July. I know I have taken forever to catch up. This month was filled with a lot of traveling and lots of fun. Erik was visiting us this week and we decided to head to Yellowstone Bear World with the kids. It turned out a lot better than I expected which is always nice :) Here's Reagan feeding a very friendly and hungry goat at the petting zoo. It was funny to watch her chase all of the animals around. At first she just chased them and then chucked the food at them. We finally got her to feel comfortable feeding them from her hand.
The baby deer were very shy but after some persistence on Reagan's part, she was finally able to pet it for half a second.
They had a 5 or 6 little kiddie rides that we went on before we left. They were absolutely perfect for a two year old. Reagan had so much fun!
Except this ride gave her some serious butterflies in her tummy. I'm sorry, but I love this expression even though she's a little scared. So glad I caught it on camera.
The mini roller coaster was her favorite I think. It turned out to be a really fun trip for our family, especially with Erik there!

Reagan's 2 Year and Sarah's 8 Month Stats

I'm posting these just so I can remember for future reference. I was 2 months late taking both girls in. Sarah was 20 lbs. and 28 1/2 inches long. That put her in the 85th percentile for her weight and the 90th for her height. A big girl! Reagan was 37 1/2 inches and 29 lbs. That put her off the charts for her height and the 75th percentile for her weight. So, it looks as if my girls are taking after me on the height. (I said that just to rile Erik up a bit).

Do I Dare To Try?

Reagan turned 2 at the end of June and I've been considering all summer potty training her. Now that we're stable in one location for awhile, I'm thinking about trying. I feel like she shows a lot of the signs of readiness but I don't know...Everything I've heard about potty training just seems like it'd be a nightmare and very frustrating. I don't want to start if she's just not ready. She actually peed on the potty for the first time a few days ago but seemed pretty freaked out about it even though I was super excited and told her how proud I was of her, etc. For all you potty training pros out there, is that normal? She seems to want to sit on the potty now and then but won't stay there for very long. Any suggestions? Tips? What worked for you? Any books you recommend? I need help!

Thank You Jeff, You Saved My Life- REALLy LONG

So, I thought I'd blog about my lovely experience flying from Indiana to Utah on Thursday while it's still painfully fresh in my memory. The flight from Evansville to Cincinatti was on time and was less than an hour. Of course actually getting all of my crap plus my kids onto the plain and situated was a lot of fun. By the time we got seated (we were the last to get on the plane), I was sweating like a hog and everyone was staring at me. That seems to be a common thing when I fly by myself with the girls. I wonder why...

Anyways, I arrived at the Cincinnati airport and bought us a scrumptious dinner at McDonalds... right. I changed the girls' diapers and got more hot water for Sarah's bottles. Then we sat and sat while we waited for the plane to arrive from SLC. In the meantime I asked the airline worker at the desk if he could switch our seats to the 2 seater side as opposed to the 3 seater side. I really wanted to avoid irritating the poor unfortunate soul who was assigned to sit by us the 3 1/2 hour flight to SLC. Why is it every flight these days is delayed? Mind you, the time was rapidly approaching 9 pm. My kids go to bed around 8:30.

Time continued to drag on and I thought the airline worker had completely forgotten about my plea to have our seats reassigned. By some miracle (which it really turned out to be), he hadn't forgotten about me and had seated us in the front of the plane right behind first class. When the plane arrive and the passengers were getting off, a stranger approached me and asked if he could help me in any way. Even though I'm a very independent person, I have learned to never refuse help from anyone who offers when I'm flying by myself with the kids. So, I graciously accepted and said he could carry in Reagan's carseat for me. I also had two loaded backpacks, Sarah strapped in the Ergo carrier, with Reagan buckled in the double stroller.

Fortunately, I was allowed to board the plane immediately after first class. Hallelujah! We got situated and then Reagan started grunting like she was pooping. I thought "Oh fantastic! We still have a ton of passengers to board so I can't change her and everyone that passes by will smell it and glare at me." I couldn't smell anything but I was so anxious as people loaded the plane. Since we were behind they immediately started taxiing and so I couldn't change her until after we had taken off. Once we were in the air, the seatbelt sign was illuminated for at least 45 minutes! When it finally turned off I grabbed Reagan and headed quickly to the bathroom. I left Sarah strapped in the carseat with her binky, blanket, and some toys. I was ticked/relieved that Reagan hadn't actually pooped since there was no changing table in the bathroom. When we got back to our seats, Sarah was screaming her eyes out in the arms of the flight attendant who was looking at me like I was the most negligent awful mother. Thanks lady.

Throughout the flight the kind gentleman who carried in the carseat held Sarah now and then for me while I worked with Reagan or fixed a bottle. At first things were going ok but they quickly went downhill. Reagan proceeded to scream and hit and throw things the entire flight. I kept trying to calm her down and get her to go to sleep since it was so late. No luck. At the same time Sarah was exhausted and so I was trying to put her to sleep but as soon as she started to dose, Reagan's screams woke her up. I was so frazzled. It was the longest 3 1/2 hours of my life. Wasn't it so nice that Reagan finally fell asleep for the last 15 minutes of the flight. Needless to say she was not happy when I woke her up shortly after we landed.

We finally arrived to SLC. The name of the kind man sitting behind me was Jeff. I overheard the conversation between him and the guy sitting next to him. Jeff turned out to be a member of the church and somehow they had started talking about the gospel. The other guy was very curious and it was neat to witness someone else having a missionary experience. Jeff helped me get my things out of the plane. It took them about 15 minutes to bring out my double stroller. Reagan was falling apart because it was now 11 pm Utah time and 12 am Indiana time. Jeff stayed with me even though I told him I would be fine. I'm so glad he stayed. We got down to baggage claim and I reached into my pocket for my phone so I could call the shuttle of the hotel we were staying at that night. Nothing was in my pocket. Oh crap! Just what I needed...my phone had fallen out of my pocket. I explained this to Jeff and he said he'd wait with Reagan and my things while I took Sarah to go see if I could get through security back up to the plane.

Turns out I had to get a special pass to go through security. It took them about 30 minutes to get that for me. Are you kidding me? So I go back to Jeff to tell him I have to head up. Reagan starts crying once she sees me. So, I switch and hand him Sarah and take Reagan with me. I start sprinting with Reagan (who weighs 30 lbs) on my hip. The gate wasn't close and I was huffing and puffing running with Reagan in my arms. I finally get my phone and sprint back. Jeff is still standing there waiting for me. Seriously, this guy was incredible. So so so so nice. He helps me out to the curb while I call for a shuttle. No answer. I thought hotels always had someone at the front desk 24/7. So I call again. And again...about 15 times total. No answer. Not even an answering machine. I had been assured the previous day that a shuttle would be available. I just needed to call. So, what does Jeff do? He offers to drive me over to my hotel. It's about midnight at this point. I have already thanked him about 100 times and it doesn't seem adequate. So, he loads all my crap into his car and drives us over. He helps me unload and waits while I check in. He then helps me all the way up to the 4th floor to my door. He wouldn't leave until I got to my room no matter how many times I told him I could handle it. I wanted to get his last name or contact information so I could send him some huge gift basket or something but I thought that wouldn't be right since we were both married. I just wish I could have done something more than just say thank you over and over again to show him how much I appreciated his selflessness and goodness.

So, my burdensome trip was made much lighter by Jeff. Thank you Jeff for saving my life. I probably would still be on the curb at the SLC airport sobbing my eyes out if it wasn't for you.

Oh and one last thing. The entire carpet in my room was soaking wet. They must have cleaned it 10 minutes before we checked in. I was way too tired to say anything about it. And I was so excited about my super hot priceline deal to stay at the Marriott Residence Inn.

Sorry Erik but I think you'll need to come visit us next time! I can't handle another trip for awhile :)

Farewell Evansville

The girls and I flew out last minute to Evansville, Indiana to be with Erik for 3 weeks. I got a great deal on tickets a day and a half before we flew out! Woo hoo :) We were very blessed that the hospital allowed us to stay with Erik in the 2 bedroom apartment they furnished for him for free. We also had access to 2 non coin operated washers and dryers. So nice. We are so grateful everything worked out so well.

Flying out here by myself with the girls was another story though. I had already done it before in July (which I need to catch up on) and although that was rough it was nowhere near the nightmare this trip was. Reagan was behaving like a monster! I thought what has happened to my child?!?! She was screaming on and off the entire 4 hour flight from SLC to Atlanta, constantly kicking the chair of the person in front of her, yelling at and hitting Sarah whenever she came within a 2 inch distance of her personal space, chucking snacks, books, and toys on the floor and then screaming until I picked them up for her. I could go on and on but I will spare you the rest of my sad story. Needless to say I was ragged and frazzled by the time we met up with Erik.

I'm flying back to Idaho in a few hours and I'm trying my hardest to be optimistic that my children will be perfect angels despite the fact that Sarah's gums are swollen and bulging, waiting for her bottom two teeth to erupt after months of teething (I swear).
We love spending time with daddy although it wasn't a frequent thing. I spent a lot of time by myself with the girls walking everywhere. I still managed to lose weight here while still stuffing my face with this:
Oh how I've missed you Blue Bell ice cream. I first tasted this stuff when we moved to Texas in 1996. It's only sold in a few select states in the south. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it at Wal-Mart here. I didn't eat all of that but I did eat lots of Strawberries & Homemade Vanilla and a new flavor, Candy Jar. Oh it is heavenly...caramel ice cream with peanut butter cups, chocolate and caramel chunks, peanut brittle and chocolate crisp pieces. Oh yeah.

Besides walking everywhere with the kids in tow in my wonderful double stroller, we fed the ducks across the street regularly, played at the park of course, rode the carousel at the mall, and played in indoor mall play area.

A very few ocassions Erik joined us. We went to a water park one day but didn't get pictures. Both the girls love the water so it was a total hit. Reagan couldn't get enough. We also went to the Mesker Park Zoo and it had a brand new Amazon rainforest exhibit that was amazing. Unfortunately Reagan was in a bad mood so it wasn't as fun as we had hoped. We bribed her to smile for the few pictures we got. Hahaha!


Absolutely love my Ergo baby carrier. It has saved me and made me a much happier mommy. Sarah is blissfully happy in this thing. It allows me to go anywhere with the girls and she'll fall asleep in it when she gets tired. (I promise I'm not getting paid or anything to advertise for Ergo but I just love it so much I can't say it enough)
Reagan checking out a turtle and a weird looking lizard that can detach it's tail to escape from predators. Crazy huh?
Flashing her signature cheesy grin.
Mommy trying to keep Reagan happy even though she's soooo grumpy.

Admiring the giraffe who was eating.

Checking out the Zebra and her baby.
Pretending to be bats
Feeding the goats crackers at the petting zoo.

We loved being out here with Erik and hope we get to see him again soon!