We had our very first FHE this week. Yes, our very first mini family FHE and it felt pretty awesome. Why did we wait so long to do one? Well, honestly, because we always thought it was a little weird to do it alone when we didn't have kids and then when they came it just fell down to the bottom of our to-do list like a lot of things that shouldn't. Now that they are both starting to understand things it seems to be the perfect time to start.
It was all so random but we had so much fun. We pulled up pictures of temples on the computer and taught them that our family can be together forever through the temple. It's crazy to see how much they soak in and how willing they are to learn. Elina's understanding is that Heavenly Father and Jesus live in there and begs us to go there all the time. Talanoa can say the word temple and recognizes pictures of it. She yells and points at my phone because my screen saver is a picture of the Provo temple. It melts my heart that they get so excited just to see pictures and even to simply drive past it. One day the excitement will be because they are actually go in it. Can't wait! :)
Favorite part of FHE was when we pulled up a YouTube of primary kids singing "I Am a Child of God" to sing along with and Elina telling her Dad to please stop singing but letting Mom still sing. Hilarious!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
HFMD
Both kids got the dreaded Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. Disease sounds so scary to me. I wish they called it Hand Foot and Mouth VIRUS so people wouldn't think that my kids have cancer or something that serious, especially for first timers who have never heard of this virus before.
If you don't know about this "disease", I hope that you never have to find out because it is AWFUL. It consists of fevers, lots of pain painful blisters all over the body and inside the mouth and throat, and possible dehydration because it is hurts to eat and swallow. Except in Talanoa's case where she would cry to eat/drink things that she knew would hurt her mouth. Not too surprised about that though. Lol. Worst part, no antibiotics! It just has to run it's course. You'd think with all the technology and medical advancements out there that someone would find a cure for this but who am I to talk?
Back to the girls. Talanoa got it the worst! Hers started with random fevers which I thought were teething fevers but a day or two after her fevers we noticed some bumps in her diaper area. At first we thought it was a rash but then they started spreading and Elina got them on her thighs. Took them to the doctor and found out it was this. That first couple nights were miserable for all of us, especially poor Talanoa. Elina hasn't had any problems because she never got a fever and her blisters are in areas that don't affect her much like her thighs and elbows, mostly. Talanoa on the other hand got them all over her diaper area, her legs, arms, mouth, and throat. She couldn't even sit in the bathtub that night because her blisters were so painful :( I'm surprised we didn't overdose her with all the meds we gave her last week!
Good news is they're no longer contagious! It's been one whole week and we're free to go out in public. Yay for us! Hahaha. We've been couped up for far too long and we are ready to get out of the house!
Notes for the future:
-Yogurt, water, and milk were less painful to eat/drink than Gatorade and juices. Popsicles helped a little.
-Rotate between Tylenol and Ibuprofen every 3 hours.
-1/2 tsp Maalox 1/2 tsp Benadryl solution for mouth every 6 hours.
-Only contagious while fevers last and blisters scab over.
If you don't know about this "disease", I hope that you never have to find out because it is AWFUL. It consists of fevers, lots of pain painful blisters all over the body and inside the mouth and throat, and possible dehydration because it is hurts to eat and swallow. Except in Talanoa's case where she would cry to eat/drink things that she knew would hurt her mouth. Not too surprised about that though. Lol. Worst part, no antibiotics! It just has to run it's course. You'd think with all the technology and medical advancements out there that someone would find a cure for this but who am I to talk?
Back to the girls. Talanoa got it the worst! Hers started with random fevers which I thought were teething fevers but a day or two after her fevers we noticed some bumps in her diaper area. At first we thought it was a rash but then they started spreading and Elina got them on her thighs. Took them to the doctor and found out it was this. That first couple nights were miserable for all of us, especially poor Talanoa. Elina hasn't had any problems because she never got a fever and her blisters are in areas that don't affect her much like her thighs and elbows, mostly. Talanoa on the other hand got them all over her diaper area, her legs, arms, mouth, and throat. She couldn't even sit in the bathtub that night because her blisters were so painful :( I'm surprised we didn't overdose her with all the meds we gave her last week!
Good news is they're no longer contagious! It's been one whole week and we're free to go out in public. Yay for us! Hahaha. We've been couped up for far too long and we are ready to get out of the house!
Notes for the future:
-Yogurt, water, and milk were less painful to eat/drink than Gatorade and juices. Popsicles helped a little.
-Rotate between Tylenol and Ibuprofen every 3 hours.
-1/2 tsp Maalox 1/2 tsp Benadryl solution for mouth every 6 hours.
-Only contagious while fevers last and blisters scab over.
Joyous July
So late posting this but enjoy!
Talanoa:
-Can really walk now! Last month she was taking steps here and there but now she's really walking :)
-Grew 4 molars this month. Still growing but they're almost all the way in.
-Says wow, whoa, chicken, up, uh-oh, uh-uh. She's getting a little too good at talking.
-Copies everything Elina says and exactly how Elina says it.
-Literally opens our arms up and forces us to cuddle with her. Very cute but also very annoying at the same time. Haha!
-Has the hardest head, literally. Always head butts us and it only hurts us not her.
-Digs my purse for gum on a daily basis. Today I was reading a blog and turned around to find about 10 empty gum wrappers on the floor with no gum to be found anywhere. Not in her mouth, Elina's mouth, or on the floor which means she swallowed it all. Lol!
-Thinks it's so funny to take off her diaper.
-Bullies Elina all the time and is constantly in time out for it. Lol!
-Can open the doors in our house now. Not looking forward to this one.
Elina:
-Is potty trained!
-Cheers for me if she hears me go to the bathroom. Says, "Go Mommy" and "Good job Mommy! Mommy go pee pee!" Hahahaha!
-Blames everything on Talanoa. It's pretty hilarious. Even before I ask what happened she's already pointing fingers and blaming her sister.
-Says "What's that?" or "Who's that?" every five seconds. Also says "put it back" referring to cartoons when we're skimming channels, "help me out", "sure". Other popular line is, "Where Mommy/Daddy goes?", "I wanna go gramma house", "I wanna watcha movie."
-Understands that Mom and Dad go to work and that we'll be back.
-Finally went to nursery all by herself! Which means I got to go to Relief Society :) And of course they just called me back into nursery. Coincidence? I think not!
-Loves to see the temple. We pass it on the way to my Mom's and she points it out every time and also reminds us that Heavenly Father and Jesus live there.
-Knows how to open the apps on my phone. Her favorites are angry birds, instagram, and a drawing app.
-Doesn't enjoy Vili's singing. Every time Vili starts to sing, she tells him to stop and to please be quiet. Lol!
-Loves brushing my hair and pretending to do it. Asks, "Mommy, you want pony tail or braid?" This girl!
-Stuffs her Elmo backpack full of toys to the point where it's too heavy for her to carry. Lol
Vili and I:
-Took the girls to see Brave and they loved it! Learned that we have to split up at the movie theaters for a better experience. Lol
-I read a couple novels this month. Easy reads but it felt good to have my "me" time at work and at night after the girls went to bed.
-Vili has been working a lot lately especially since school starts soon.
-As you can tell from the pics, Vili has been experimenting with facial hair lately. Lol!
Talanoa:
-Can really walk now! Last month she was taking steps here and there but now she's really walking :)
-Grew 4 molars this month. Still growing but they're almost all the way in.
-Says wow, whoa, chicken, up, uh-oh, uh-uh. She's getting a little too good at talking.
-Copies everything Elina says and exactly how Elina says it.
-Literally opens our arms up and forces us to cuddle with her. Very cute but also very annoying at the same time. Haha!
-Has the hardest head, literally. Always head butts us and it only hurts us not her.
-Digs my purse for gum on a daily basis. Today I was reading a blog and turned around to find about 10 empty gum wrappers on the floor with no gum to be found anywhere. Not in her mouth, Elina's mouth, or on the floor which means she swallowed it all. Lol!
-Thinks it's so funny to take off her diaper.
-Bullies Elina all the time and is constantly in time out for it. Lol!
-Can open the doors in our house now. Not looking forward to this one.
Elina:
-Is potty trained!
-Cheers for me if she hears me go to the bathroom. Says, "Go Mommy" and "Good job Mommy! Mommy go pee pee!" Hahahaha!
-Blames everything on Talanoa. It's pretty hilarious. Even before I ask what happened she's already pointing fingers and blaming her sister.
-Says "What's that?" or "Who's that?" every five seconds. Also says "put it back" referring to cartoons when we're skimming channels, "help me out", "sure". Other popular line is, "Where Mommy/Daddy goes?", "I wanna go gramma house", "I wanna watcha movie."
-Understands that Mom and Dad go to work and that we'll be back.
-Finally went to nursery all by herself! Which means I got to go to Relief Society :) And of course they just called me back into nursery. Coincidence? I think not!
-Loves to see the temple. We pass it on the way to my Mom's and she points it out every time and also reminds us that Heavenly Father and Jesus live there.
-Knows how to open the apps on my phone. Her favorites are angry birds, instagram, and a drawing app.
-Doesn't enjoy Vili's singing. Every time Vili starts to sing, she tells him to stop and to please be quiet. Lol!
-Loves brushing my hair and pretending to do it. Asks, "Mommy, you want pony tail or braid?" This girl!
-Stuffs her Elmo backpack full of toys to the point where it's too heavy for her to carry. Lol
Vili and I:
-Took the girls to see Brave and they loved it! Learned that we have to split up at the movie theaters for a better experience. Lol
-I read a couple novels this month. Easy reads but it felt good to have my "me" time at work and at night after the girls went to bed.
-Vili has been working a lot lately especially since school starts soon.
-As you can tell from the pics, Vili has been experimenting with facial hair lately. Lol!
Enjoying the our movie day with the kids....
The girls being silly as usual.
Elina came and asked me to wrap this around her hair like I do when I get out of the shower. I decided to make her a girl Aladdin. Lol! She saw it in the mirror and loved it. Crazy girl!
So the girls have been transporting toys to places they want to play. They just expect me to clean it up and put it away when they're done. Lol! Here they are by the front door....
Then in the hallway!
Not sure why Talanoa tries to fit herself in the tiniest spaces but here's proof that she does. Oh and you're probably wondering why that chair is there. Vili, smart one, broke our little gate thing. Haha!
Squeeeeeze! Lol
Moving cans to the chair for no reason at all.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Potty Training Boot Camp
So I've been letting Elina take the slow and easy route with potty training where she would just let me know if she wanted to use the toilet, I would take her, we'd do a little dance, and she'd get a treat. This usually meant she only went once or twice a day on her own free will but was always in diapers. I finally decided to step up my game (lol) and make the final push and put her in big girl mahi's (underwear).
Things that helped us along the way:
1. A book called "3 Day Potty Training" that a friend of mine emailed me. I would highly recommend it to anyone out there who is potty training or wants to. Love her method and I will use it again. Elina is our firstborn and the oldest grandchild so I had NO clue what I was doing or what to expect but this book helped me with that.
2. Rewards system. I did a sticker chart as well as candy. Chocolate seemed to work better than fruity candy for Elina. She tried to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes when we busted out the chocolate! Lol.
3. PRAISE. Elina absolutely loves being praised when she does something good. We called everyone so Elina could tell them all about her progress and also had people visit so they could give her compliments and tell her how proud they were of her.
3. Small things-letting Elina flush the toilet by herself, washing her hands each time even if it was just a false alarm, letting her turn the lights off, letting her choose what sticker to put up on the chart, and even letting her dig through the candy box even when I knew she'd pick a Hershey Kiss each time. It made her feel like such a big girl when options were given to her and she was allowed to choose.
4. Vili. I could not have done this without Vili's help so, thank you hun for being there every step of the way. It is so tiring to remain positive when they make mistakes especially after being couped up for 3 days so I'm glad Vili was always willing and ready to give me the breaks I needed to stay sane.
Some pains:
1. The million false alarms was probably my biggest headache and still is! It's hard to keep your cool when your child is crying wolf all day just to get a piece of chocolate. Lol.
2. Accidents. Especially when they were my fault for not being attentive!
It has been a little over two weeks now since day one of training and Elina has been doing amazing! She's had accidents here and there but goes days at a time without one. She has never wet the bed at night either. I'm so so so proud of her! I wish I had more pictures to share but the kids took my phone swimming with them in the bath tub so they're all gone!
Things that helped us along the way:
1. A book called "3 Day Potty Training" that a friend of mine emailed me. I would highly recommend it to anyone out there who is potty training or wants to. Love her method and I will use it again. Elina is our firstborn and the oldest grandchild so I had NO clue what I was doing or what to expect but this book helped me with that.
2. Rewards system. I did a sticker chart as well as candy. Chocolate seemed to work better than fruity candy for Elina. She tried to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes when we busted out the chocolate! Lol.
3. PRAISE. Elina absolutely loves being praised when she does something good. We called everyone so Elina could tell them all about her progress and also had people visit so they could give her compliments and tell her how proud they were of her.
3. Small things-letting Elina flush the toilet by herself, washing her hands each time even if it was just a false alarm, letting her turn the lights off, letting her choose what sticker to put up on the chart, and even letting her dig through the candy box even when I knew she'd pick a Hershey Kiss each time. It made her feel like such a big girl when options were given to her and she was allowed to choose.
4. Vili. I could not have done this without Vili's help so, thank you hun for being there every step of the way. It is so tiring to remain positive when they make mistakes especially after being couped up for 3 days so I'm glad Vili was always willing and ready to give me the breaks I needed to stay sane.
Some pains:
1. The million false alarms was probably my biggest headache and still is! It's hard to keep your cool when your child is crying wolf all day just to get a piece of chocolate. Lol.
2. Accidents. Especially when they were my fault for not being attentive!
It has been a little over two weeks now since day one of training and Elina has been doing amazing! She's had accidents here and there but goes days at a time without one. She has never wet the bed at night either. I'm so so so proud of her! I wish I had more pictures to share but the kids took my phone swimming with them in the bath tub so they're all gone!
I Spy....
More teeth! Talanoa is growing FOUR molars right now. Yes, four! :( She has been dealing with fever after fever and has been fussy, cranky, congested, and so tired. I feel so bad for her and wish with everything in me that I could take it all away. Teeth, hurry up and grow so I can have my Talanoa back!
Top that off with an ear infection and an antibiotic for wheezing. We took her in to get a prescription for her ear drops and find out she's wheezing too. Sheesh! Give my kid a break :( It's not even winter yet!
Top that off with an ear infection and an antibiotic for wheezing. We took her in to get a prescription for her ear drops and find out she's wheezing too. Sheesh! Give my kid a break :( It's not even winter yet!
Marshall, Marshall, Marshall!
Elina got invited to a birthday party by one of her friends who lives downstairs in our apartment complex. I put the invitation on the fridge after explaining to her that we'd be going to a birthday party within the next week or so. Elina would go to the invitation everyday and say, "Mommy, I want to go this one" and I would explain to her that it wasn't time yet. To make things better Elina would sing Happy Birthday Marshall, wrong tune but right words, all day long. Always Marshall. Never Mommy, Daddy, or baby. Lol. I hope I can get a video of her doing it because it's so cute and makes me laugh. Saddest part is we didn't make it to the party because her and Talanoa both woke up with a fever. Sad!
Monday, July 23, 2012
The 4th
The fourth of July here in Provo is probably the most lively this city gets all year! Lol. We got to enjoy some of it by first checking out the Freedom Festival on July 3rd. We love going there to check out the booths and our favorite part, the different food vendors! Vili and I both worked the morning of the 4th so we didn't get to visit everyone camping out on University and we didn't get to check out the parade this year. Let's be real though....it's way to hot for the parade to be enjoyable. Well, for us anyway! Lol. We took Elina last year and only lasted about 30 minutes before we gave in and went home with heat exhaustion and dehyration. Hahahaha! When we got off work we spent the afternoon barbecuing on the MTC field with my family and had so much fun! We were there all day eating, playing, and eating some more while we waited for the Stadium of Fire fireworks show. Such great spots for the show and even better company!
Walking around the Freedom Festival...
Talanoa wouldn't let go of this caterpillar we bought her. She loves her stuffed animals!
Molly enjoying popsicles on July 4th
Best aunties ever! Singing the girls songs to keep them occupied.
It was hilarious watching my mom play volleyball with everyone. She couldn't stop yelling and laughing and her laugh is so contagious!
Granpa Lemoto bought Elina cotton candy and she couldn't hide her excitement!
Our attempt at a red, white, and blue series was a major FAIL! Lol.
Glow sticks and funny faces! Hahaha
Fireworks show!
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