Meleah Susanne

My little Meleah is not quite a year old now, but she answers to many different names. I read an entire book titled 45,000 Baby Names and Their Meanings during my pregnancy with her, and came up with an extremely long list of names that I liked; including Ashlynn, Ellie, Cayla, Julia, Emmalynn, and various spellings of Meleah. Much to my dismay, my husband didn't want to use any of them. He had suggested Melanie years ago, before we knew that Carter was a boy. I decided on Meleah because it was the closest name to Melanie on my list, and I could call her Ellie for short. We planned to spell it Melia until our midwife pointed out that people might pronounce it like Amelia without the "A," so we switched to the current spelling: Meleah. What happened after that is a bit of a confused mess. I started calling her Ellie and before I knew it she was Ellie Belly full of Jelly which is occasionally shortened to Jelly Belly...and sometimes just plain Jelly. I have also called her Meleah Susanna Banana on many occasions. Therefore my youngest daughter now responds to:

1. Meleah
2. Ellie Belly Full of Jelly
3. Ellie Jelly
4. Jelly Belly
5. Jelly
6. Meleah Susanna Banana
7. Meleah Susanne

Not bad for an eleven month old! Carter's favorite nickname for her is Ellie Belly Full of Jelly, and Lydia's is Meleah Susanne. I think Lydia likes that one because that's what I say when Meleah has just demolished something and spread it all over my house. Any bad light on her competition is good in her book. I just hope that Meleah doesn't get a complex because her nicknames can also be associated with a fat man in a red suit, a gourmet jelly bean, a sticky substance generally served on bread with peanut butter, and a long yellow fruit that's loaded with potassium. However, I've had to live with the name Candy-pooh my entire life and I turned out okay. At least her nicknames sound delicious. Even if I take the more desirable meaning to my nickname, it's still a chubby bear that's not exactly the brightest color in the box. I'm not even going to go into the other meaning.


I was shocked to find out that Meleah was a girl at her twenty week ultrasound, not only because her pregnancy was just like Carter's, but because she was so dang active. Her energy level has not subsided at all since she's been born, and although my ribs are grateful that she's no longer taking that energy out on them, my legs are a little tired of chasing after her. I can't even tell you how many times I've found a long trail of raisins, wet wipes, etc., leading to one little angelic face framed by short blond curls. How can I be angry when I see those big beautiful eyes looking up at me, and that little toothy smile begging me to smile back?

Meleah is really good at saying Ma-ma, Da-da, and her own version of Uh-oh (which sounds a little bit like she's constipated, but still very cute). One of her favorite things to do is to give me something that I drop "accidentally." We say "Uh-oh" together and she picks up the item, gives it back to me, and the game begins again. A few other favorites are: playing with her brother and sister, turning off the TV that everyone is watching, giving and receiving high fives, dancing to music, waving and saying bye-bye (ba-ba), and hearing Mommy's high-pitched reactions to her stinky diapers. She thinks life is full of amazing treasures and is always finding them and holding them up high for all to see. She is also starting to stand all by herself which makes her so excited that she can't help but clap and giggle, thereby throwing herself off balance and leading to a quick descent onto her backside. She's a tough cookie however, and she just gets up and tries it again.

Meleah has been such a good baby, and has made the transition to three so much easier than I expected it to be. The girl is still taking three naps a day and going to bed at 8:00 pm. That's unheard of in my family! Granted, she wakes up a tad bit earlier than I'm used to...but it's worth it. I think my kids just wake up earlier and earlier the more I have, so that they can each have their own individual time with Mommy in the morning. Our current schedule is - Meleah 7:00, Lydia 8:30, Carter 9:30-noon. (Yes, I'm putting him in afternoon Kindergarten next year!) I better not have too many more kids or I'm going to be getting up at the crack of dawn!


Meleah is such a fun addition to our family. I love watching her little body go up and down our stairs fifty times a day. I love watching her shove things in her mouth and swallow immediately, rather than taking the time and effort to chew. I love how she won't even give you a smirk when you're doing absolutely humiliating things to try to make her laugh, but will giggle uncontrollably when she feels the time is right. (Generally when no one else has a clue what is so funny.) I love that she has three teeth on the bottom, and four on the top, which is how it's been for months now. I love that no matter how many times you move the remote or phone out of her reach, she's still determinedly going to go after it. I love how she snuggles up to my neck for two seconds, then is up and going on to her next adventure. I love how she's always played with her hair when she's nursing or tired, even before she really had any. I love my little Meleah, and will forever cherish the sweet moments I've had with her.

My Sweet Angel

I already wrote about Lydia, but I want to share some of her current quirks and personality traits. I'm also going to try to cut back on the big colorful words because, I'm not going to mention any names, but SOMEONE informed me that it's annoying. (Just a clue - his name starts with R and rhymes with Candle). Anyway, back to my Sweet Lyddies. I've spent hours trying to figure out how to put a video clip onto my computer from my camera because you just can't get a full sense of who she is without hearing her little soft, sweet, voice. It's not always soft and sweet mind you, but when she's not throwing a fit or extremely EXCITED about something, her voice is very endearing. I've wanted to share some of the hilarious things she's said on this blog, and it just isn't funny unless you hear HOW she says it. Therefore, as soon as I find the cable I need for my camera, I'll put on a video clip.

Lydia REALLY loves to sing. She'll sing anything from "I Am a Child of God" to "We Will, We Will, Rock You!" One of her favorite things is to sit on her Grandma's laps and sing the Rabbit Song or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She just loves uninterrupted, individualized attention. She'll do pretty much anything for an audience and a few laughs. One of her favorite ways to catch people's eye is to spin around on the floor in her very own style of dancing. As you can see from the pictures, she also has found that putting random objects on your head usually achieves the desired result.

Lydia also loves to tease, and say things like "My name is Mommy," or tell people that she's four or five even though she knows darn well that she's only three. She's very good about saying thank you when someone pays her a compliment which is really nice because before she learned that, I would always feel like I had to say something. I realize that I helped to create her and all, but is it really my place to say thanks when someone says that she's so cute, so smart for her age, or whatever? Is that weird for anyone else? I've tried to mix it up and say "we sure think so" or "SHE sure thinks so. (Trust me, she doesn't just think so, she KNOWS so!) No matter what my response was, I'd always walk away feeling vain or like I'd taken credit for the gifts that Heavenly Father has given her. I know, I'm crazy, but I love that she can take credit for herself now. That's all I'm saying.

Lydia is a mix between a girly-girl and a tomboy. On the girly side, she loves to play Mommy and feed her babies. She's even tried to nurse a couple of them. One of her favorite things is to get all dressed up like a princess and have "pretties" in her hair. She also eats very carefully and ALWAYS has to have a napkin because she doesn't like to get messy. However, she has no problem getting DIRTY. Much to my dismay, she loves to play in the dirt just as much, if not more, than any boy I've ever seen. (Note: if you have a sensitive stomache, it would be in your best interests to NOT look too closely at her teeth in the picture to the left.) Cars and Ninja Turtles are some of her favorite forms of entertainment. Whenever Carter's around she MIRACULOUSLY ends up with the "girl toy", such as Sally or Flo from Cars, but I've noticed that she usually chooses Lightning McQueen and Michaelangelo when her brother's not looking.

Lydia is so SWEET and LOVING. She gives great back tickles and she's always saying "I love to hold you," "I love squeezes," etc. She's very cuddly and loves nothing more than to fall asleep in Daddy or Mommy's arms. It makes me think of that book that says "I like you forever, I love you for always..." because I can picture myself rocking my little Lyddies to sleep even when she's all grown up. She is just so precious to us, and I can't imagine my life without her.

Happy Anniversary!

I feel somewhat cheesy paying tribute to my own marriage, but we are about to celebrate 6 years of wedded bliss. I'm really making a big deal about it this year because our 5 year fell a little flat. Amazingly, it was the first time I was pregnant on our Anniversary. I realize that there are many selfless women out there who truly enjoy the entire pregnancy experience, and although I'm extremely grateful to be able to have children, I am definitely not one of those women. I strongly dislike many of the aspects of being pregnant. (I would say that I hate it, but according to my son, "we don't say hate.") Therefore, at eight months along, I was admittedly a bit grumpy. This year however, I will actually be able to enjoy food, and hopefully even sleep for more than an hour and a half without having to get up and use the bathroom. Yay!

I have to be careful not to get too sappy and embarrass my husband, but I am so grateful to be creating my eternal family with Randall. He is the greatest blessing that Heavenly Father has ever given to me. It was so difficult for me to see past school and having to leave my friends and family in Henderson, that I almost missed out on the chance to be with him. Fortunately, he was a little more in tune with the spirit than I was back then, and he stuck in there through all my stupidity. Now we have the most beautiful family, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Not even a college degree and the promise of never having to drive in the snow again! Here's to six years of happiness, and many more to come!

Carter Cutie!

Carter is my little sweetheart, even though he is always telling me that he doesn't like kisses. His response to my sad-face is a disgruntled, "but, I just love hugs!" I hope he still feels that way when he gets to be dating age. He's very inventive and mechanical. Many of you have heard the story of how he cut my blinds in order to get some rope to make a parachute. He loves to show me spaceships he's made of legos, or castles made out of paper cups.

Carter generally doesn't cause a lot of trouble, and when he does, he always has a perfectly good reason for it. For example, the other day at the park he pushed his cousin Macie off the playground equipment because "She was just in my way, and she wasn't going!" I've also gotten after him for taking toys away from his sister only to be informed that he said please and she just wasn't giving it to him. You may have noticed in my quotes that he says the word just quite frequently. He also likes to say "You're just not trusting me, Mom!," and add "or something" to the end of many of his sentences. Such as: "Why can't I have a cookie? Is it junk food or something?"

I'd like to tell you that I taught him the difference between junk food and healthy food...but no. It was Captain Carlos from Nickelodeon. He's also always telling me when I have "a safety violation," which he learned from some cartoon brother and sister of whose names I can't recall at the moment. I know, I know, I need to cut down on the tube!

He doesn't spend ALL of his time watching TV, however. He's very interested in art and music. He loves to make "cards" for me, and he's getting much better at drawing. There is never a square inch of space on my fridge due to all of his artistic creations. My friend BreAna even noticed that he's no longer drawing heads with arms and legs like kids do when they're first learning. His people have bodies now, and a few weeks ago, Mommy's body even had a baby inside it. Don't get too excited folks, his drawing was not accurate.

He takes his role as big brother very seriously. He likes to carry (drag) Meleah all over the place and warn Lydia that if she does that again she's going to have to sit on the naughty stairs. Another big brother trait is that he can be a bit of a

know-it-all. (Love ya Steve!) There have been many occassions that I have asked him what something is, and rather than admit that he doesn't know...he just says that it's a shoodle, or a chauster, or something equally inaudible.

I've been a little bit concerned about his manners lately. I mean, for a kid that's first words were do-do for thank you, he sure seems to be regressing in the politeness department. For example, these days a common way for him to tell me he needs food is "Huuuungry Mom!" Sometimes he even goes so far as to just point at his open mouth and make grunting noises. Is it really so hard to say those few extra words and make a complete sentence? Would it just take too much time and effort?

Whether Carter is behaving good or bad, he brings so much laughter into my life. Even the time I discovered my blinds strewn haphazardly across the playroom floor, I couldn't help but giggle at his justification. Friends and relatives love to tell me about the funny things he's said while they tended him, and although it can be a little mortifying at times...it's so much fun. I realize that all parents are somewhat biased when it comes to their own children, but I know that my little Carter-Cutie is one in a million. I "just" love him to pieces!

Birthday Season!

Spring time is Birthday time in my family and we have just finished celebrating a couple of them. Carter turned five on February 25th. I decided to be adventurous and make him a cute cake myself, and I'm not going to lie...his Lego cake was pretty darn amazing. Sure it was the easiest idea on the website I looked up, but I don't care! He loved it! He recieved a Spiderman bike, a somewhat noisy and repetitive pizza elmo (thanks Grandma!), and some dinosaurs that are "so awesome!"

Lydia turned three on March 23rd. Since Carter's cake was such a success (and because I'm a bit of a tight wad), I decided to make her cake also. "I" meaning my sister Rachel, who was too big of a pansy to turn me down when I told her to make it. I figured that since Rachel shares Lydia's Birthday, it would be a good idea to put her to work so that all the special attention would not go to her head. Their Birthday also happened to fall on Easter this year so I had the brilliant idea of making the cake a bunny rabbit. It turned out better than I expected considering I was only the mastermind behind the project, not the one to actually assemble it. Lydia recieved some princess art supplies, a Dora greenhouse, a Dora cash register, and some Dora dolls. Can you tell what her favorite cartoon character is at the moment? (Sorry princesses, it's three to one!) She truly loved her gifts as you can see in the picture. Birthdays are so much fun!

Lydia's Story

Lydia's story begins with a routine ultrasound that took place in November, 2004. Randall and I went to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl, which was really all I thought a 20 week ultrasound was for at that point in my life. The ultrasound technician was not as bubbly and happy as she was during Carter's ultrasound two years earlier, and she seemed to be taking quite a long time to get to the really important part...finding out the gender. Finally, to my great joy, she informed us that we were having a girl. She then proceeded to show us what looked like a tiny gap in my daughter's spine and a small bubble on her back. Lydia's head shape was also more like a lemon than an oval. The technician went to talk to the doctor and I began to feel a little bit uneasy, but it was not until the doctor informed me that my daughter had spina bifida that the devastation really sunk in. As the day progressed and we learned more about spina bifida all the dreams I'd had for my daughter were slipping out of my grasp one by one...no leotards and tutus...no soccer practice after school...could she even go to a regular school?

As the pregnancy progressed, we realized that we were going to be blessed with a very special child, and we couldn't wait to get her here. Lydia arrived via C-section on March 23, 2005. She was immediately given over to the NICU and her spine was repaired the next day. After two days of observation, we were informed that her hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain) was getting worse and that she was going to have a shunt placed the following day. We were hoping that she wouldn't need one, but knew that it was a likely possiblity. The shunt was placed, and she was kept at Primary Children's for only 8 days. She was so fortunate to not have any of the other birth defects common in spina bifida children, and was able to leave the hospital after such a relatively short period of time.

Lydia is 3 years old now and has been such a blessing in our life. She has just switched from Kids on the Move (an excellent early intervention program) to the school district for physical and occupational therapy. We are really going to miss her therapists from Kids on the Move, but she has taken very well to her new therapists at the school district. She's currently walking with her walker, and we are hoping to have her walking with canes or even just her braces by the time she goes to Kindergarten. I consider the song " In My Daughter's Eyes" by Martina McBride to be mine and Lydia's song. It perfectly sums up my feelings about Lydia, and I can't listen to it without crying. She has been such an unexpected gift, and I have very high hopes for her future.

Okay, okay, I'll make a blog!

I've just decided to make a blog becuase Lindsey informed me that everybody's doing it, and I guess that's all it takes for weak minded people like me. I'm still a little confused about how everyone's blogs are so cute because according to my calculations, there are only like twelve templates to choose from. I have yet to figure out how all of the blogs I've seen don't look like any of them. Therefore, if any of you want to let me know where the secret clipart is, that'd be great. :) You see, I'm still using the old-school colon bracket smiley face! I'll eventually figure it out, and hopefully this will be a great way to let my friends and relatives see what's going on in my life without actually having to call them. Oh yeah, and to show off how adorable my kids are too. I'm so excited!