Chalyse is 1!

Chalyse had her birthday and it was so fun. We are so glad that she was feeling better. We decided she had, had roseola because she got a bad rash after fever went away and all her other symptoms fit the description. But any way, for Chalyse's birthday Tom had the day off so in the morning we went to the Draper temple open house. It was beautiful but Chalyse had a hard time because she refused to go down for her morning nap a little early so we could fit it in before it was time to go. When she wouldn't even sit through the introductory movie we new we were in for a fun time. We wanted to be so reverent in the temple so we spent the entire time trading Chalyse back and forth to keep her entrained. By the end she had the tour pamphlet and was eating it but we didn't mind because it was keeping her somewhat quiet. Of course when she started choking on it we decided we needed to find a new strategy. By the time we got to some of the upper rooms she was letting out a scream every couple of minutes. Needless to say we left early but we did get to see everything and they had cookies at the end which kept Chalyse occupied until we got back into our car.

Latter at home things did not improve much. Chalyse would not take a good nap and continued to scream about everything. Tom had lesson plans and he could not find what he needed online so I was left to clean the house and get ready for the party.

The party was a lot of fun! I think everyone came except Abby (and those living outside of Utah). There were so many people there. We have a lot of family! I am glad our next baby will be born in the summer so we can have party's at a park. Any way we had cake and ice cream and opened present. Tom blew out the candle and all the kids had to help open the presents. I felt a little silly even trying to get Chalyse to blow out the candle but it's tradition. Chalyse got some fun new cloths and toys and had a great time. Thank you everyone who came and helped!

Poor Chalyse

Chalyse has been sick for over a week. She started by throwing up all night last Monday and has thrown up about once a day since then. It's so random she'll be feeling well and then all the sudden she'll be really sick then she'll be fine again. This is why it has taken me so long to take her to the doctor. When she woke up Sunday with a high fever and feeling really rotten we finally decided to take her in. Monday after checking her ears and blood for signs of infection the doctor decided Chalyse has just been lucky enough to catch two viruses in a row. So we wait and hope she starts feeling better soon so she can be back to her energetic trouble making self.

Jabber -Box

Chalyse is beginning to talk and it is very exciting. She of course she says Mom and Dad but usually she just call me Muh (Camille). Tom is going to try to call me Mom more often. Her favorite word is 'play'. She says it a lot. When Dustriana came over for the first time we told Chalyse that she came over to play with her and so as soon as they were on the floor together Chalyse said, "play, play, play," over and over and proceeded to climb on top of Dustriana. She also says "bye, bye," when prompted and often will say "hi" when you walk into room and she loves to wave. When ever some one leaves or comes into the room she'll waive. The other day Chalyse was in the highchair and i asked if she wanted to get down but then i decided she might want a drink. When i tried to give her one she yelled "DOWN". Yesterday she was playing with a picture I didn't want her to have so i hid it under the couch when she wasn't looking. She then said, looking around, "doe, doe?" and i realised she was saying go (where'd it go?). Earlier this week I was putting the laundry away and Chalyse was pulling something out of the basket. When I asked her what she had found she said "blanket". She had indeed found her blanket. And of course she has her own language. She is constantly jabbering. It is so fun to listen to. She often combines consonants that you don't here together in the English language and my Mom asked if Tom was teaching her Japanese. Oh, and she likes to say her L's with her tongue upside down. Go figure.

We're alive and kicking...and sceaming.

I was getting really tired of winter so in decided it was time for a new background. Hence the valentines background i know its a little early but i was ready for a change.

It has been a really long time since we last blogged so here's what's new with us. I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago and got and ultra sound done (we didn't have any idea when i was due because i was either on birth control or had just barely come off of it when i got pregnant so i haven't had a cycle in a year and a half). Anyway, all is good with the baby. I was 10 weeks along (i am now 12 weeks) and am due July 29th. We are excited. It will be a good time for the baby to come
.

Tom started student teaching last week and is really enjoying it. He is going to enjoy being a teacher. We are both glad he chose this profession and are especially glad that he is only a few months from graduation. YAY! He has found that he likes grading essays. He is learning alto of new things like: "the conquistadors were generally nice to the native Americans" and "that Winston Churchill was a totalitarian dictator." :)

Chalyse is getting so big. She is very active and very verbal. She screams about everything. She screams when she's happy, excited, upset, lonely, bored or just feels it is too quiet. She can crawl faster than thought possible but doesn't seem to interested in walking yet but she does like to walk along the furniture so, who knows, she may decide one day she wants to start walking. She got a walker for Christmas (the kind she can push around) and she likes to push it on her knees. If we help her she will do it on her feet. She had learned how to tease. Her favorite game is to put her hand over the keys of the computer and look up at you with a smirk. If you fail to respond she then begins banging on them as hard as she can. Another fun game Chalyse likes that Tom and I are not so excited about is "'sit down,' stand up in the bath tub". She knows "sit down" very well and will sit down almost anytime we ask her to...after which she promptly stands back up.


We have recently began babysitting a little girl names Dustriana who is about a month and a half younger than Chalyse. She is the daughter of a girl at Toms work. Chalyse likes her but it has been very stressful for everyone involved. It has been difficult for Dustriana to get used to a different atmosphere and a different way of doing things, for example she likes to be held all the time. It has also been hard for Tom and I to know how to best take care of her because she doesn't really have any structure in her schedule as her Mom is very young, she doesn't have her Dad around, and she is passed around a lot between different caregivers. We are constantly having to guess what she needs. It has been a challenge to give both girls the attention they need and desire.

That is about all that is going on here. We are all well and mostly happy (despite the dreary weather).

Christmas Get-Togethers

This season is so wonderful. We love to see so much of our family and enjoy their company. That is one of our favorite things about Christmas. We wish that we could be with everyone, though. A special "Merry Christmas" to all those in our family who we won't see this year, Cathy's and James' families and Rob. Our hearts go out to you and hope this year finds you and your families happy and in good health. We love you!

--Tom, Camille, and Chalyse

Hooray for being busy

I love to keep busy and have places to go but the phrase "careful what you wish for" definitely applies this next week. Tomorrow we have a nephew's birthday party to attend, Monday is my little sisters birthday party, Tuesday is my Grandma's Christmas party, Wednesday we are hosting Tom's family's Christmas party, Thursday is Christmas and we are going to dinner at my Mom's house, but it doesn't end there, Friday we go to dinner with my brothers and sisters (as our gift to each other this year we decided to spend some time together doing something fun), and Saturday I am hosting a baby shower for my friend. Now don't get me wrong I am super excited for this next week, plus the only cooking we will be doing is the food assignments for all these parties (toffee, soup, salad, rolls, vegetable trays, dips, punch), I am just glad we got our shopping done early. It will be nice when it is over and we can take a breath.

Chalyse Loves Noodles

Dinner Rolls and Thanksgiving

Here is the rolls recipe that Jeni wanted and some pictures from Thanksgiving.

Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup instant potato flakes
• 1 cup scalded milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 packages active dry yeast, or rapid rise yeast (scant 2 tablespoons)
• 4 1/2 + cups flour
• melted butter
• poppy seeds, sesame seeds, garlic salt, etc

Method:

Combine hot water and potato flakes. Add scalded milk, butter, sugar and salt. Cool to lukewarm. Beat 1 egg and stir into mix. Stir in yeast. Add about 1 1/2 cups of flour and beat with electric mixer until elastic (about 2-3 minutes). By hand, gradually stir in enough more flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out on a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in clean greased bowl, grease top, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in size (approximately 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours). Punch down or knead out excess air. Follow directions below to shape as desired. Just before baking, beat second egg well, lightly brush top of rolls with egg for a shiny top. Sprinkle with seeds, garlic salt, etc as desired. Note: Ideas also work well with thawed, frozen bread dough. Recipe makes 24 rolls.

Divide dough in two. Roll each piece into a 16-inch circle, brush with melted butter, cut into 12 wedges. Starting at the wide end roll each wedge up. Place on greased baking sheet with tip underneath. Curve ends to form a crescent, cover and allow to rise until double in size (about 20-40 minutes). Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.