Rock-A-Bye Baby

When I was pregnant with Sam, I asked Steve if he'd build me a cradle.

He said that if I gathered all the supplies, he'd build it. He thought that'd be the end of that. Oh ye of little faith . . .

Many frustrating months, a few tears and another baby later, the cradle is finally finished. And yay!! Leah still fits!

We figure she's so small that we can still get a good month or two of use out of it.

I love the little key that fits in the side to keep it from swinging. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Sam doesn't make off with it and banish it forever to the black hole of my house.

It took a lot more time than either of us anticipated, but Steve did a great job! Leah thinks so, too.

Battle of the Button Pushers

The Ocean Wonders Aquarium is my favorite baby toy. We lay Leah down in bed and turn it on. She immediately rolls over to see the soft, soothing lights and bubbles. And then she goes to SLEEP.

It also comes with a remote control button. It's a good idea to keep it in your nightstand drawer or another convenient-from-bed location. So if you're ever lying in bed, and the baby (who still sleeps in your room) rolls and kicks the button on the toy and turns on the soft, soothing music and lights, you can push your remote button without ever having to get out of bed. If she happens to do this ALL NIGHT LONG, you can continue to sleep with the remote in your hand playing Battle of the Button Pushers every few minutes ALL. NIGHT. LONG.

Also, when you drag your tired body out of bed in the morning, try to remember that there is an off switch on the back of the toy so that you can kick yourself . . .

. . . as you yawn ALL DAY LONG.

It's a good thing she's cute.

For my birthday, which is today, we were going to go see a movie tonight (a rare occurrence), but not after the night I just had. I'd never be able to stay awake.

Anna Is a Champ

Anna is my hero.

The other night, she was holding the baby when Leah started to vomit. I'm not talking about a little spit-up. I'm talking about what seemed like a gallon. It was probably only about half a bottle's worth, but when it's spewing out all over the place, it sure seems like a lot more.

Anna was an absolute champ. She didn't even flinch, just kept calmly holding the baby and soothing her while she puked over and over again all over Anna's entire front. She's 15 years old and handled it better than most adults would! Leah agrees; she layed her head back down without crying a bit and went right back to sleep as soon as the puking stopped.

Nursing and Hypothyroidism

I've always loved nursing my babies. It's free, it's easily portable, it doesn't require refrigeration, it forces you to sit down and rest a few times a day, it promotes excellent bonding time, it's something only I can do, etc. And the baby always looks so sweet and happy while she's nursing.

I never had any trouble nursing until Sam. He was doing fine, and then sometime between 2 and 4 months, he quit thriving. The poor little guy was a skeleton, but since all of my babies have been on the small side, and I was so used to the way he looked, I didn't realize how horribly skinny he was.

He was my 5th baby, and I'd never had any trouble nursing before. So even though he was a fussy, difficult baby who always wanted to nurse, it never occurred to me that he might not be getting enough to eat. My mom and Liz even teamed up and called together to stage a sort of intervention. They both told me over and over that he looked sickly, and it made me so mad. I insisted that he was just skinny like Anna was.

Poor Skinny Sam

When I took him to the doctor a week later for his 4 month checkup, I found out he only weighed 10 pounds and had fallen quite a ways below the growth chart. I started supplementing him, and he immediately turned into a completely different baby - happy and thriving. Apparently, when your thyroid is messed up, your body might not produce enough milk. Good to know! It broke my heart to realize that I'd been starving him. I felt terrible, especially when I looked back at pictures and could see how skinny he was.

Look at his ribs! How could I have possibly missed that?!

Needless to say, we've been watching Leah closely. She's just over 3 months old now. She's small, but all my kids have been, and she hasn't seemed overly hungry. I've been drinking plenty of water and taking breastfeeding supplements. So far, so good, right?

But for the past couple of days, she's been really fussy, so I took her to the doctor just to be sure. It turns out that she's starting to fall on the growth chart. For the past month, she's only been gaining about 1/4 pound per week (half what she should). I was hoping that by testing it every few weeks, we could keep my thyroid in check, and I could nurse my last baby for more than a few months. It makes me sad, but a happy healthy baby is much more important. We're going to nip this in the bud and see if we can catch her up to this chubbo. And I refuse to be sad about it! Sniff.

Leah's Blessing

We had an awesome day on Sunday. It was Leah's blessing day, and we were so happy to be able to bless her in California with most of our family there. She's the last grandbaby on Steve's side of the family and named for his mom, so it was especially nice that she could be there.

I love her beautiful dress.

I love that Steve sincerely enjoyed ironing her beautiful dress.

It warmed my heart to see him take pleasure in such a sweet and simple thing for his last daughter. With our oldest child already 15, we've learned to try to appreciate and savor the quick, tender moments. That's not always easy to do, especially at 3 a.m., but at least we try.

Steve gave her a very sweet blessing that I had to concentrate hard to hear because Leah cried the whole time. Nana (Martha) took the blessing down in shorthand that she learned way back in the olden days. In the circle were Daddy Steve, Grandpa Steve, Uncle Steve, Dave, Brad, Scott, Chris, and Erin Butler. Later, Steve (Daddy Steve) and Brad were laughing about how high they were bouncing her to try and soothe her. They had her lifted up to almost head level, 5-6 feet above the floor, and her feet were higher than her head. Of course, no one else could see that because she was inside the circle they made around her. Steve wanted to pause in the blessing to direct them to bring her down a little, especially the feet end. That must have been a powerful distraction for him, but he soldiered through without a hitch.

We had all the family over to my mom's house afterwards for dinner and were able to get some beautiful pictures of Leah with her cousin, Will, in their blessing outfits.

Sam calls them Weah and Weahll.

The best part is that the whole family from both sides was in the same place at the same time, so we didn't have to run ourselves ragged trying to see everyone. It was my favorite day of this whole Christmas season!

Chocolate Trifle with a Christmas Twist

We are having a great Christmas season. It is so fun to be in California having a non-white Christmas. It's especially fun being with almost all of our family and the plentiful food and gifts.

Sam is especially pleased with his Nosecracker ornament from Oma.


I had fun this year coming up with a new Christmas dessert recipe.




Christmas Chocolate Trifle

1. Make brownies according to package directions.  Mix Junior Mints into brownie batter.  Cook in a 9x13 pan. After the brownies cool, cut them into 1/2 - 1 inch cubes.


2. While brownies are baking, make your pudding mixture.

• In a heavy pan, mix together 2 cups sugar, 2/3 cups flour, and 1/2 tsp salt.
• In a separate bowl, mix together 4 cups milk and 6 egg yolks (yolks only).
• Add milk/egg mixture to sugar/flour mixture.
• Add 4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate.
• Cook over medium heat stirring constantly. When mixture begins to boil, continue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add 1/2 stick of butter and 2 tsp. vanilla
• Cover with plastic wrap so that plastic is touching the top of the pudding so it will not form a skin. Cool in refrigerator.
• Once the pudding is cooled, lighten it with 2 cups of heavy whipping cream that is whipped but unsweetened. Lighten by gently folding the whipped cream into the pudding mixture in 3 stages until color is uniform.

3. Whip another 2 cups of heavy whipping cream. Sweeten with about 1/3 cup of powdered sugar and a drizzle of vanilla.

4. Set aside 12 candy canes (keep them wrapped so the colors don't run after the trifle is assembled). Unwrap another few candy canes and pound them to dust with a mallet or rolling pin (or pulverize them in a food processor). You don't want any big chunks of hard candy, so really pound the heck out of it.


5. Now you are ready to layer. In the bottom of your trifle bowl, put a layer of brownie pieces. Arrange the 12 whole candy canes around the sides of the bowl. Then layer about an inch of pudding mixture, spreading it carefully to the sides of the bowl. Sprinkle on a layer of finely crushed candy cane, getting it all the way to the sides of the bowl so it adds a red and white layer. Next, add a layer of sweetened whipped cream.


6. Repeat the layers. End by decorating the top with chocolate shavings or a dusting of cocoa powder and a sprinkling of coarsely crushed candy cane (slightly bigger chunks are okay here).

7. Voila. You have a beautiful and yummy chocolate mint Christmas dessert.


Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat . . .

Name That Sam

Sam is always good for a laugh.

This picture made me laugh so hard,
I think it deserves a title.
Any suggestions?

My Little Men

I got Sam new church clothes a few weeks ago. They're so cute: herringbone pants, striped oxford shirt, and a sweater vest. I had him try them on, and I said, "You look like a little man." He answered very proudly, "Yeah, I like a dad."

I took him downstairs to Steve's office to show off what a little man we have. Sam told Steve, "I a Dad. Dat my friend, Mommy," like he was introducing me. I *love, love, love* that I'm his friend. That officially makes him my new favorite child. Now, when he thinks he's looking sharp, he tells me that his name is Steve, and he calls me Susan.

Speaking of little men . . .

Matt has grown 1 and 1/2 inches since Halloween! He's only about half an inch shorter than me now. This is happening too fast! Please make it stop!!

And just because it's one of my favorite Sam faces, here's Bucky Beaver.

If You Have 7 Minutes . . .

Copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done.

1. Started your own blog (of course)
2. Slept under the stars (hiking in the Tetons with my dad at 13 years old and my first newlywed summer)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (when I was pregnant with Matthew)
5. Watched a meteor shower (from my back porch swing)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (I got a concussion there)
8. Climbed a mountain (the Tetons and to the Y)

can't say which kid for fear of potential vengeful behavior

9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (Silent Night in the 4th grade Christmas play - that was way, way back before separation of church and state)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (hand-tinting black and white photos)

15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (maybe the worst night of my life)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (tomatoes, tomatoes, and tomatoes)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (Bergen to Oslo)

Bergen, Norway

21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort (the snow was to my waist that year)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (hmmmm . . . turtles in Sugar Creek, Ashly?)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (in elementary school)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

Mexican sunrise

31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Sweden)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (Steve's hobby that monkey Anna excels at)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (from Disneyland with a concussion)
47. Had your portrait painted (awesome New York street artist)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (Hawaii and Mexico)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (to Jungle Book with the Blatters over 30 years ago)
55. Been in a movie/commercial
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (Shepherd's Cradle)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (Samoas are the best)
62. Gone whale watching (Cabo)

Whale watching in Cabo

63. Got flowers for no reason (Steve loves me)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (as often as I can)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (that was embarrassing)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (porcelain doll and geisha doll)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (awesome vacation with Carol)
71. Eaten Caviar (only on sushi)
72. Pieced a quilt (many times)
73. Stood in Times Square (one of my favorite places)
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (my nose - twice)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (first newlywed summer)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (my first car, little red Toyota Tercel)

83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (wedding announcement)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox (shared it with nearly my entire kindergarten class)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club (reading Digging to America for next month)
93. Lost a loved one (sister Sarah, sister-in-law Susie, and grandparents)
94. Had a baby (6 times!)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone (still have the same number we started with over 10 years ago)
99. Been stung by a bee (at least I'm not allergic)

That was a fun memory sparker, Katy. And it reminded me of all the things I still want to do someday!

Night Terrors

Over the past month, Sarah has woken up 3 different times because of night terrors. About.com says, "When you hear how most experts describe night terrors, it is easy to see why parents find them distressing. Children who have night terrors are usually described as 'bolting upright' with their eyes wide open, with a look of fear and panic, and letting out a 'blood curdling scream'. These kids will usually also be sweating, breathing fast and have a rapid heart rate (autonomic signs). And although it will seem like they are awake, during a night terror, children will appear confused, will not be consolable and won't recognize you." Night terrors can be caused by over-tiredness or stress, and usually the child doesn't remember them in the morning.

The first time, she woke up screaming and sweating and babbling something about the house only being halfway done and wanting to be a zoo keeper. It was a little funny and a little frightening, but once we figured out what was going on, we could deal with it much better.

The second time, she was screaming about having to clean her room by herself. Are you sensing a pattern here?

Last night, she woke up screaming again. Steve took care of her and doesn't know what it was about, so this morning, I asked her. Confused, she answered, "Nightmare? I had a good dream last night." No help there.

At least two of the three times, she, apparently, had nightmares about chores! So I've started wondering . . . . Am I stressing her out by making her clean her room? Is picking up her toys and clothes too difficult? Am I really that tough of a taskmaster, that she would have choremares?!?

I hope she outgrows it soon. Anyone who has known Sarah for a while knows how loud and ear-piercing her scream can be. It's quite an unnerving sound at 2 in the morning. At least she doesn't remember it.