Six Days and going strong

Hooray for Alexis! She is finally catching on to this whole potty training thing. It is now day six with NO accidents, and that includes night time! WOW! I thought I'd never see this day, but here we are. Once again... a modern day miracle. It has not happened overnight though. We've been at this for over a month now. We kept having setbacks, but she seems to have gotten this whole process down now... except she is obsessed with bathrooms. She will play in there all day if I let her. She has figured out the plug on the sink and keeps filling it with water and all her toys have been swimming lately. Kids and water. Oye! But I can't complain... she is a great kid.

Timothy is also advancing. He is getting around the house much faster now. He is army crawling and will follow me around the house. He keeps up pretty well. He is also getting his top four teeth in. They are coming in funny though; from left to right. His grin sure makes me grin. He is also waving and clapping. So many new, fun tricks. I forgot how much they learn in such a short amount of time.
Poor Timothy also had to get shots last week. It was another long day sitting in line waiting for our turn. Midway through our wait Alexis saw the bathrooms and said she had to go... so I took her in and she said, "I am fine mom... I'll try later". I about lost it! We had lost our place in line for nothing! AHHHhhhhhh! I pray for patience every day... but truly needed it that day. Alexis didn't get a nap that day either... so come dinner time we found her asleep on the table. Poor kid.We took Alexis and Timothy trick-or-treating in a private neighborhood party last night. Alexis loved it. She was so excited that people were giving her candy. She can't wait to go again tonight at the ward party. She is quite the pro. She dressed up as Lilo from Lilo and Stitch and Timothy was a rock band star. We spiked his hair. He is so cute.
Speaking of cute, my cute hubby has now finished his Kino Psych rotation. He learned lots, realized we aren't as crazy as he thought, and worked hard. His rotation preceptor was a pain in the rear though. Papers that are only supposed to take 30 min to 2hrs to complete have now taken over 30 hours to get done, and are still not approved. It makes me angry when people have nothing better to do than make others lives miserable. His next rotation starts Monday at a compounding pharmacy. After that rotation, it is off to Yuma for his final two rotations... then... GRADUATION! HOORAY... for Dr. David! Actually the correct term will be PharmD... but whatever... he'll be graduated. Then we have no idea what or where we'll go. Lots of decisions to be made here in the next several weeks. Sell the house? Rent the house? Stay in Tucson? Leave Tucson? I vote LEAVE Tucson... Anyway... enjoy some pics below... Long entry... I know...

It's official... I am old!

Nothing makes you feel older than scrubbing a tile floor on your hands and knees, then having your two year old come over and hand you something and saying, "here you go old lady!" What? Are you serious... old lady? Where did she get that one? It was said with such love though... so I couldn't get that mad. I sure do feel old some days. Since starting to exercise again, I feel much older. Waking up the day after a good workout and I can barely walk. Nice. I am improving though. When I first started the boot camp I could barely make it around the soccer field, and now I can jog over a mile without stopping. Now to some people this would be nothing... a mere mile... but for me it is HUGE. Guess I really am an old lady.

You say Hello, I say Goodbuy

Have you been to the store lately? I think this is the first year I've seen the Halloween and Christmas stuff side by side. Alexis loves it though. She is so into the lights, pumpkins and TOYS. This year her birthday and Christmas will be very different. She is already talking about her birthday cake, presents and requesting a pinata. She loves looking at the toys in the mailers too. She goes through page by page and says, "I need this for my birthday, and this, and this..." and then says stuff like, "It is only $7.99 mom". She is going to have to learn to earn some money soon if she really thinks she's going to get all those things. It is fun nonetheless.
She loves to shop and when it is time to go home she whines, "I don't want to go home!" Maybe I could get her a job at Target... she does know their theme song after all...

Modern Day Miracles

When times seem tough it can be hard to see the little miracles, but they still do occur. David found out he is getting a scholarship he applied for at the beginning of summer. He had kinda' forgotten about it... then an email arrived saying, "Surprise!" Family is a miracle in of itself. It is amazing how family all pulls together to help when someone needs it. I am truly grateful for a good family who will always catch me when needed.
Timothy is also starting to sleep better now... and that is a miracle. He has four teeth coming in and it was to the point that he wouldn't sleep more than an hour at a time all night long... but Motrin seems to do the trick and he is sleeping better. HOORAY!
The weather is also cooling down, which is a huge help on the cooling bills. Other parts of the country are worried about heating costs... we worry about cooling costs. I've even been able to open the windows in the morning to let in some cool air. It is nice not to live in a cave.
So to whomever says miracles no longer exist... I have to say otherwise! Yeah for miracles.

Teething... or not...

My dear little Timothy has been SO cranky lately.  I thought he was just going through a phase or having some bad days, but turns out it was teeth.  Makes total sense now, because he wasn't sleeping or eating well either.  At least there is an end in sight now that I know it is his teeth hurting him.  The funny part is the teeth that are coming in are in a different than normal pattern.  He has his bottom middle two teeth, and usually the next to come in are the top two in the middle.  The teeth that are currently coming in are on the top, but the teeth on the sides of the middle.  He is going to have a funny smile until those other teeth come in.

Alexis has also continued her funny streak.  A little friend of hers was over playing and she was trying to share a toy with this friend.  Her little friend was still a little shy as she had just awaken from a nap.  She did not take the toy that Alexis had offered.  So Alexis offered the toy and when it was not taken she said, "Or not..."  In other situations during the day she continued to use the same phrase, "or not..." and always in a correct manner and attitude.  I couldn't figure out where she could learn such a thing, until later that day I said the exact same thing.  Oops! Now I know.  :)

We've also had fun with Alexis's hair.  I was trying to find a way to keep her quiet and contained during conference.  So we (Alexis and I) decided to put lots of little braids in all her hair.  She doesn't have a ton of hair so it wasn't that many braids but it was fun.  So here is a picture after the braids were done and another of after we took them out.

Then here are a few pictures of Timothy eating his first teething biscuit.  What a mess!

Living on Faith and a Prayer

I love how conference comes at a time in our lives when we need it most. With this financial crunch spreading like wildfire we are currently living on faith and a prayer. I didn't think we would be personally feeling the effects, but I was wrong. As students living in debt and "financial aid" (aka. loans) we are finding out fast that loans are near impossible to get. We have super credit, but seeing that we (David) are finishing a "professional graduate program" we have accumulated debt to get this far. And since David is working for free (aka rotations) our debt to income ratio is... well... we have no income and have significant debt. We are so close to finishing, but student loans we were expecting are not coming through.
Some days you feel like just sitting down and crying, and today was one of those days. Then you hear things on the news like the AIG conglomerates going on a "retreat" to a San Diego resort and spending $400,000 getting treated like royalty on my dime. We bail out their company with billions of taxpayers dollars and then they go on a vacation with my money, when I can't even pay my own bills! It makes me irate and a little... okay... a lot crazy! I want to scream! Don't they get it?! When will someone stand up for the little man and get rid of all these corrupt government and business people. They say if you want to fix it, you have to do it yourself... maybe I should run for office! For now I will just have to vote... not like it will make a difference though... still choosing the lesser of two evils.
Back to conference though... I keep thinking about the talk Pres. Uchtdorf gave about his mom during WWII. When she thought she had lost her family she didn't just sit down and cry... she acted in faith... not just had faith... but acted! That is what I need to do. Find a solution to the problem. That is what I have to do. I know things will work out... I just have to be proactive in the solution. Practice faith and PRAY! I definitely think things change when you have kids... you make sure they have what they need at any price... you make it happen. Now I understand how my mom must have struggled when things got tough... you want to give the world to your children, but sometimes you can't... but I know that as long as I am here for them that they will have the essentials. That is all that matters for now.
Wow... what a long emotional day. Sleep deprivation hasn't helped either. Here's to hoping Timothy sleeps better through the night and that things work out financially.

Recent Pictures

Above is Timothy with Grandpa Harris. Grandpa is already getting him to watch "The Glenn Beck Show." Good ol' time with Grandpa talking politics and world happenings!

Timothy and Aunt Kathy are having some definite bonding time. He LOVES those sunglasses and getting tickled by one of his favorite "aunties". Thanks for the fun times!

Alexis making silly faces. She works so hard to make sure she gets quality camera time now that Timothy is around trying to be cute too. She LOVES it when she hears the clicks of the camera. The camera loves you too Alexis.

What a handsome little guy! And take a look at those little chompers. He can't get enough food, which might explain why all the pictures of him lately have been of him in his high chair.
You can't see in this picture, but they are holding hands watching their favorite show "Super Why" together. Alexis is such a wonderful big sister and you know that Timothy adores her too. His face lights up whenever she plays with him. My two little cuties... oh and I can't forget my other cutie...
Here is my other sweetie... Happy Late Birthday David. My guy is getting OLD! 31 years old this year... but like he said, he had to wait for me to grow up so he could marry me. Sweet! And yes, "Everyone Loves a Pharmacist"... or at least I do!

Crawling?

My Mr. Timothy is getting big fast. You'd think with his chubby little thighs and "kankles" he must not be able to get around much... but you'd be very mistaken! On Tuesday he will be seven months old and he is getting much closer to crawling. He now gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. He gets this big grin on his face, like... watch this! He will get across the room pretty fast now, especially if there is something out he is not supposed to get to. Funny how that works... they love things they can't have the most... like electronics.

He also likes to pull himself to standing up. He will sit at his little piano and try to pull himself up but ends up pulling the piano on top of himself. I keep thinking he was just born, but he is really getting to be such a big kid. It is kinda' sad that they grow so fast. I miss my little baby some days! I guess that is why it is so important to treasure every moment while you have it because tomorrow they'll be a whole different kid. Thanks for the daily joy Timothy!

Imagination

My dear little Alexis has an overactive imagination. She is always coming up with some super funny stories. Most of the funny stories are started by placing a phone in her hand. Something about that phone just makes her wild. She will tell stories of going to the zoo and the lion chasing her around. Then before you know it you are being chased by a man with a wheelbarrow... who knows where she learned that word. But look out... because here comes a shark that will turn you into a little nemo.
Each of her "owies" has an elaborate story as well. Let's just pray a stranger never asks why she has the band aid. More than likely her answer will be a made up story consisting of someone jumping off a car whacking her, or some other extreme thing. The days of kissing her injuries are also over. She now wants a band aid for EVERYTHING! We decided that she would only get a band aid if there was blood. She really wanted a specific band aid, and exclaimed, "I will bleed for that one!" Have I created a hypochondriac?
She also loved the show on PBS called "Super Why". She will be playing and get frustrated. I'll ask her what the problem is and she will say, "My story says I can't cook!" She will then proceed to ask me to "ZAP" her story so she can cook. She will point her finger in the air as if to point to the words floating in the air that need changed. I then humor her and "ZAP" her floating words in her story to say she CAN cook instead of CAN'T cook.
What a fun age... I love Imagination.... I love my little comedian.... I love my little Alexis!