Duct Tape, Staples, and Pogo Sticks

Hi. What of my feet you ask? Funny you should ask.

Well, this is what they looked like a little less than a year ago:

And this is what they look like now!

AMAZING!

Truly, the purpose of my having a double bunionectomy was to prevent suffering from arthritis in my feet at an obscenely young age. But now looking at my feet, they look so NORMAL. For vain reasons alone, I would have done it! Was it worth it? Yes. 

I prematurely stocked up on wedges and attempted wearing them about 6 weeks ago. The swelling in my feet had gone down tremendously and in summer...it's just so hard to pass up a cute pair of shoes.  My big toes went numb after wearing them to church, so I decided I should wait another few weeks. I wore them yesterday to church and they didn't go numb! I think we are almost healed! All that's left are some fading white scars. As you can see, my left foot still isn't perfect, but it's a great deal better off than it was before. 

Friends!

We got to spend some time with dear friends of ours who were visiting Utah. We met them while living in Chicago and love every chance we get to be with them, even though both of our families have moved from Chicago. The sad thing?  No pictures of us together. Bummer. They were so sweet to invite us to their daughter Delaney's 7th birthday party at Build-A-Bear. My kids have never been there, so this was definitely a baptism by fire experience for both myself and the little ones. Cade got bit by the "I want" bug and tearfully left the store with "only" a new bear in a Darth Vadar outfit. Not one of my proudest moments as a mother.  Savvy picked a white kitty and a white wedding dress...to offset Cade's bear's black on black I suppose?  In any case, both of my kids L-O-V-E their bears and it has been fun to see how they truly have become their little "buddies."  Savvy sleeps with Kelly every night and when she leaves the house she makes sure I know to feed her and to play with her while she's gone.

Staples.

Long story short, Savvy ran into a table (nothing new) but this time a trip to the Urgent Care resulted (new).  This is how the nurse applied local anesthetic to her head to prep it for a staple:  (notice Savvy clutching Kelly. I'm so glad we brought her!)  If you'd like to read the long version, you can check it out here on my other blog...

Sibling love.

Motherly love.

Ruby hanging out in the procedure room with us. She was pretty content at the moment. 

Speaking of Ruby....

She's walking along anything she can get her hands on. Lately she's been free standing for a few seconds.

I'm sure it won't be long before this little one is walking. 

I wouldn't mind if she took her time though hitting that milestone. The last 11.5 months have gone by way too fast...

We had a little pool party in celebration of my brother and his family's arrival to Utah before heading off to China....

Mom holding Ruby. For many it is a rare sight to see Ruby being held by someone else besides me and her not crying. It's a miracle. Especially the fact that I was in plain sight because was the one behind the camera!

This is my crazy running sister Melody. She ran 18 miles that morning...or was it the next morning?  Not sure. Yes, that is her baby and her tiny waist despite that being her baby. Don't hate her. :) She provided the meal for us that night. Hawaiian Haystacks. 

Dr. Jon on the phone during part of the party. I can appreciate this shot, because had my husband been present, he would have likely been doing the same thing. My guess is Jon was either on the phone with a patient, or discussing the Young Men's organization in his ward...

Austin was very sweet to entertain Savvy. She can be kind of bossy and sassy but he just plays right along with her. Isn't she cute in her swim cap? No, she's not on swim team. No, I'm not worried about the chemicals in the pool or hot tub ruining her hair. She had to protect her newly stapled together head. I just couldn't bear to tell my daughter she couldn't swim for a whole week so we solved the problem pretty effortlessly with this darling pink swim cap.

Little sis Rebecca bringing out the dessert she made. Jake did the toppings. It was yummy!

This was the highlight of our evening. I jokingly refer our back yard to the Woodbury Swim and Pogo Club. We grew up pogo-sticking and my Dad recently invested in a new one so we had to Christen it by my brother pogo-sticking into the pool.  Awesome.

Duct Tape.

So, what is one to do when company comes to town and you need to house more bodies and still keep your baby napping? You find a new room for the baby to sleep. Our closet seemed good enough. 

Except for the skylight. Remember, baby likes sleeping in a dark cave?

So, I did this:

About 45 minutes after putting Ruby down for her nap in the closet I came in to see her playing the drums on the cardboard that had fallen at just the perfect spot over the crib so she could stand and pound on it to her heart's content. Sigh... I did try. I need to get more duct tape I guess.

Two extra kids around...

Whew. My hat is off to moms with lots of little ones. Granted, my nephews are not babies, so they can mostly feed and dress themselves, but it still is a lot of work keeping 5 kids fed, bathed, and happy.  So far it has gone well. Finn is a little older than Savvy and they play great together. Eli is 7 months younger than Cade, and equally infatuated with all things Lego, so they get along well together, too. It's really a great combination and it has been so fun getting to know my nephews better.

Finn, reportedly dressed up as an alien after refueling the rocket ship's fuel tank. (Putting the recycling in the recycling bin)

Lego City was leveled soon after Eli's arrival and they are now in the early stages of redesigning it. Every day it gets a little bigger.  

Ruby, just being Ruby! We have to make sure there are gates EVERYWHERE. This girl recently has been caught attempting to climb up the stairs. 

Savvy, very clearly being Savvy.

After I snapped this photo Savannah asked me, "Didn't you like my cute smile for that picture, Mom."

Why yes. Yes I did. My favorite was her wearing my sandals though. A very common occurrence around here.

Finn, truly happy to just be alive!  This is the look on his face 98% of the time.

Finn is also often deep in thought. He spends a lot of time contemplating something or other while staring at the bottom of the hot tub. It's hilarious.

Todaywe were treated to a very special visit by Allie Schmutz and her cousin. Allie used to babysit my kids when we lived in Chicago and her mother is a very dear friend of mine.  They came over and joined us for a swim and then spend the next few hours reading to kids and keeping Ruby happy even though I wasn't holding her. What teenager comes over to a twenty-something's house to hang out and help out? Allie does. She's the best! Of course her arrival was celebrated with nothing less than chocolate cake. It was delicious, if I do say so myself.

Evolution of Ruby...

Contentedly reading a book...totally oblivious that Mom is not holding her.

Oh. Mom. You are behind the camera. Which means you aren't holding me.

Waaaaaaaaaaaah!

P.S. I love this picture because Allie is in it and right behind her is the cute little secretary's desk that her Mom gave me when we were in Chicago. I love it because of how functional it is, but also because of who it came from.