Trunk-or-Treat

 On Saturday, my mom's ward had their annual trunk-or-treat and chili cook-off.  The primary is so small in my ward (we are talking six kids including Zuri in the whole primary) that we don't have a trunk-or-treat, so for the second time we crashed my mom's ward.

Since we have to plan our respite hours before the 15th of the month prior, we don't always know exactly what our plans are going to be (or what pops up).   Therefore, we try to be flexible, but we have to plan things in advance.  Well, we planned to have respite hours Saturday evening for a date night, but it happened to be on the weekend of the deer hunt (which we hadn't planned on).  When I found out about the trunk-or-treat, I figured it would be perfect--except the trunk-or-treat started at four and our respite hours started at five. 

My plan was to take Kai for the first half hour, take him home, then go back.  My mom and sister were still at the trunk-or-treat, so they would be able to watch Zuri and she wouldn't miss anything.  Well, I got to talking and left the trunk-or-treat later than I planned, which put me in a frantic hurry to make it home before the nurse.  I made it home with one minute to spare, and was relieved when I discovered the nurse hadn't arrived yet.

Then I waited...and waited.  The nurse was over fifteen minutes late.  I was calling our nursing agency (to make sure a nurse was coming, or find out what was going on) when she arrived without so much as an apology or explanation.  I quickly gave her the rundown on things with Kai, but it had been quite a while since she had last taken care of him, so she had several questions.  By the time I made it back to the trunk-or-treat, I had missed the winner of the chili cook-off, the parade of costumes, and the magic show, Zuri was almost done with trunk-or-treating. 


After the trunk-or-treat we went to pick up my sister, Breanna, from work, then we went over to my mom's house and we chatted and played scrabble (Shin, Heather, and Dad bought me a really nice Scrabble board last week while Dad was here).  I was safely in the lead until Breanna used all her letters on a triple word score and trounced Mom and I.  We had fun and it reminded me of old times.



* Side Note:  We were originally going to have a pirate theme for the kids, but when we were looking at costumes, Zuri saw the Cinderella costume and just had to have it.  She would not be persuaded toward anything else, and she had to carry the costume around the store herself.  She would not let it out of her grasp.  It was too funny.

October Conference and Dad's Visit

For General Conference this October, we had unusually perfect weather both Saturday and Sunday.  My dad came out Thursday from Tahoe and ended up staying over a week--leaving the following Sunday; he stayed in Orem with Shin and Heather all but the last two nights.  We spent a lot of time with my dad, Shin and Heather throughout the week, which was a lot of fun.  I miss doing things with family.

I didn't take many pictures for this Conference.  Zuri, of course, was running around in between sessions.  She found some friends to play with at one point, and played tag with Heather, Dad and J at another.  She did really well this time; we didn't have to take her out during any of the four sessions. 

Saturday afternoon, as Heather and I were talking on our way home (the guys all stayed for the Priesthood session), Heather made a comment about how she really loves Conference.  From the backseat, Zuri pipes up: "I love Conference too!"  It was so cute.

The youth from the Tahoe ward also made it out, and we met up with them briefly on Saturday, and we all had lunch together on Sunday.  It is cute to watch the young women get excited to see Heather.  J made a joke that I am long forgotten when Heather is around.  I reminded him that when I left Tahoe, the young women were just babies (wow, I feel old) and so they didn't grow up knowing me as they do Heather (who just moved out here last year).

It is hard to believe that it has been over ten years since I moved out here.  Over ten years that my dad and I have been attending General Conference in Salt Lake--and we haven't missed a Conference all that time.  Crazy (in a good way).  :-)

Dad was originally going to leave Tuesday, but Monday evening we got a phone call from Heather saying that Shin was in the emergency room.  He had flipped over his bike and hit his head.  He was all right except for a few scrapes and some bruising, but he couldn't drive for a few days, and he needed to be woken up every few hours during the night the first night.

Dad, who had planned on staying with us that night and leaving in the morning, got the rest of the week off work and went up to Orem to help Shin.  It gave us a few extra days with Dad, and we also got to see Shin and Heather more, so although it was an unfortunate accident, it had its silver lining. 


Thursday, we all went out to dinner together.  It was our second restaurant excursion with Kai, and just like the first (for my birthday a few weeks prior) it went well!  Kai just sat munching on his hands and being cute while we ate.  We had two tables and placed Kai in between the tables, so we were split up a little but it worked really well. 

I love the curious expression on Kai's face in the photo above.

Zuri had her first experience with cotton candy.  She got all excited about it, hugging it, and liked the cotton candy up to the point when it dissolved into the small, chewy candy in her mouth.  She would spit it out then and no matter of coaxing could get her to eat that part.   Funny kid.


We were sad to see Dad leave on Sunday, and he didn't want to go either.  Shin kept trying convincing him to sell his house and move out here.  Who knows, it may happen! ;-)

Milestones

Kai hit two milestones this week: he brought a toy up to mid-line, and he switched the toy from one hand to the other!  Two very big milestones!  (Remember, Kai is developmentally at the age of a 3 to 5 month* old even though he is 16 months old.)   I was able to capture a replay on video last night.  He prefers to hold toys in his right hand, so if I give them to him in his left, he will transfer it over to his right.  Sometimes it takes a few tries before he will hold on to the toy long enough for the transfer, and oftentimes he will forget about the toy once it leaves his hand, but I was able to capture a moment when he not only remembered the toy (probably because it was on his face) but was excited when he managed to pick it up again.  It is so exciting to see the progress he is making!

If you watch (and listen) closely in the video, after he makes the switch, he starts blowing raspberries as if to say "hey, I did it!"  Then he gets excited after he picks up the toy from his face.  



* Last assessment done in July 2012

Preschool

Monday Zuri started preschool.  She is in a brand new building and it wasn't completed on time, so she had to wait two weeks to start.  She was so excited to go to preschool and see all her "friends."  It was all she talked about.

My mom is taking her to school and I will pick her up.  We have arranged it so because her preschool is in Riverton (about half an hour drive--and don't even get me started on that subject).  There are no buses, so I need to load up and haul Kai with me.

Zuri was fine when she got to school yesterday, but then one of the kids in her class was crying and it made her nervous.  My mom got her interested in a puzzle, and that calmed her to the point where my mom could leave.

When I picked her up, she was so excited to see me!  She was ready to go and kept pulling me toward the door.  When I asked her if she had a good time, she told me that she "got scared."

Her teacher told me she did really well until about half an hour before class ended.  She got really nervous and clung to her teacher.  I asked Zuri what she was so scared about, and she said a boy scared her.  When I told her it will be better tomorrow, she said she didn't want to go to school tomorrow!  Luckily, by the time she went to bed, she was okay with going to school in the morning.

This morning, she was even more nervous and threw a little tantrum when my mom got here.  She was a little more clingy with my mom when they got to school, but soon became interested in a puzzle.  When I picked her up, she was a bit more social and telling all her friends that she will see them tomorrow.  Progress!  Her teacher said that she had a short period where she got nervous, but otherwise had a good day, and mentioned how well behaved and advanced she is!  :-)

Anxious to go to school!

Dentist Visit

So this little cutie had a dental appointment on Wednesday afternoon.  All week she was really excited to go to the dentist.  We get there and they start the bite wings for the x-rays.  She makes it through the first two without too much issue, but when we get to the third one (where they get your back teeth) she threw a fit.  After a good ten minutes or so of trying to coax her into it (with even me trying to get it in), we finally gave up and just went into the next room for the cleaning.  At that point the dental assistant had lost Zuri's trust (and I wasn't high on her list at the moment either) so it took another fifteen minutes to convince her to lie back in the chair and permit the cleaning.  Three teeth were cleaned before she freaked out again and wouldn't let anyone near her.  She hid in the corner behind some chairs.

Another ten to fifteen minutes and we finally gave up and just pulled the dentist in so he could get a look at her teeth.  We had to literally hold her down kicking and screaming.  It was rough.  For such a little thing, she sure has a lot of strength.  The dentist was able to get a good look at her teeth though and pronounced "no cavities!"  He also said she was a ten out of ten on her fight.

Zuri has been to the dentist before and not had any issues.  With all the appointments that we have had for her, we haven't had to deal with anything like that.  She has been a champ through vaccines and blood draws.  I don't know what was different this time, but she definitely wasn't having any of it.  Hopefully, in six months the visit will go better! 

Labor Day Weekend

Saturday, we had a nurse all day for Kai, so we took advantage of the time and dropped Zuri off with my mom and went looking at houses, which was a bust.  Nothing really fit our needs; so we will keep looking.  J and I had a date night--we went to Texas Roadhouse and then to a movie (one we have been wanting to see since July but haven't had the opportunity).

Sunday night the nurse who was supposed to come had a "family emergency" and was unable to make it.  We didn't find out until after seven and we were having our Sunday dinner and games with my brother and sister-in-law.  They were so sweet and offered to stay overnight and help keep us awake.  We didn't take them up on the offer (as tempting as it was) and J and I took shifts.  J went to bed just before eleven and I stayed up until a quarter to six.  Zuri woke up at seven-thirty and came into the room with me.  She snuggled until eight-thirty.  Despite J's best efforts, she kept coming into the room and I was "up" before nine.  Needless to say, I was tired all day Monday for Labor Day.

I only mention it because we are starting to get really irritated with nurses calling off.  That was the third time in less than six weeks--and it only seems to happen on the weekend or holidays.  I just don't understand the lack of work ethic.  If the nurse calls off, the family is left without a nurse.  I am not supermom--I cannot function 24 hours around the clock.  I need my sleep.  We take care of Kai for 16 hours a day, plus we have another child to care for--we need that 8 hour break at night.  I understand something happening every now and then, but three times in less than six weeks?  Not cool.  I don't want to complain, but come on!

Getting back on track; for Labor Day we met up with J's family and went to the Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park in Salt Lake City.  My sister, McKenzie came along with us, and we took our first adventure out with Kai.  Although the weather was hot, we had a lot of fun.  Kai did really well for most of our trip, but he started getting fussy when we stopped for the rides after the aviary.

It has been years since I have been to Tracy Aviary, and a lot has changed.  We didn't watch a bird show, but the kids were more intent on going to the splash pool to get cooled off.  They did have fun with a couple of misters that were set out, though.

The kids were (obviously) most excited about the birds that were out in the open.  Peacocks ran all over the place, and there are a couple sections where you can get pretty close to the birds.  The aviary has pellet machines where you can feed the birds--the kids had a blast doing that.  Zuri had fun but wouldn't smile for the pictures.

After the aviary, Adilynn, Emery, and Zuri went on a little airplane ride (it swoops up and down as it goes in a circle).  McKenzie was too big for that ride, so she, Maria and Kynlee, and I went on the Ferris wheel.  McKenzie was a little nervous at first on the first couple of complete circles, but she enjoyed it.  Poor Kynlee was terrified for the first quarter of the ride, then Nolan was able to get her to smile (he was off the ride) and she was laughing by the time it was over.

The splash pools were our next destination (also in Liberty Park), and the kids had a blast splashing around in the freezing water.  We had a picnic, and not too long after we finished eating, Kai's ventilator beeped "low power" so we had to head back to the car for a power source.

The ventilator only goes for four hours on battery charge before it alarms low power.  At that point we have approximately 45 minutes to get it plugged in before it shuts off.  Scary.  For obvious reasons, we don't try to test the limits of the battery life.  We have a car adapter for the vent, but we have found that it doesn't charge the battery, it just keeps it from draining, so when we go places with Jeremy, we need to either have a power source or keep it under a four hour excursion.

We drove home with Kai's ventilator alarming at us most of the way.  He fell into a deep sleep the last five minutes of the drive and didn't even wake when he was moved from the car seat to his stroller to transport him inside. 

Patience and Persistence

Okay, time has come to spill the beans...J got a new job!  Ever since his internship in Georgia, he has been wanting this job, and through much patience and persistence, he has gotten it!  He is working as a Development Specialist in Salt Lake County!  No more long commutes!  He is back to a five day work-week though, which has been really nice having him home earlier in the day, but the trade-off is having to work Fridays.

His last day at DBH (his previous job) was Wednesday, and he started at the new job on Monday.  It worked out perfectly for our anniversary since J had already taken Thursday as a vacation day.  Today completes his first week and he is really enjoying the job.  He gets to work with a variety of people, and right now the store he is working in has a lot of refugees from Nepal.  He is getting a work phone (Utah area code--we still have California area codes on our phones) which he is really excited about.

J will miss his clients and coworkers at DBH, but he is looking forward to this new career.  With this new job there is a high probability of being able to move around the country (which I am really excited about).  I love exploring new places, and we count our summer in Georgia as one of the highlights of our marriage.  

Congratulations J!