Nathan & Fiona, Kaisa & Everett - Family Blog

Those of you who know me really well know that I have always had a dream of being a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Although I never intended on staying in Utah when I came to school here, I am now proud to call myself a Utahn and have the opportunity of living within a 100 mile radius of Salt Lake City.  A couple of years ago, I was itching to sing again (hadn’t since college) and to my dismay, learned that you have to be at least 25 to audition for the MoTab.  I joined the Wasatch Chorale instead, hoping that would get me back into my singing groove while I waited.

Well, the moment has arrived!  Every July, the MoTab allows choir hopefuls to begin the audition process.  Today, I printed out my packet, which must be returned by the end of the month.  I have gone through many, many auditions in my short life, and I usually don’t feel any nerves until right before I walk into the room.  This experience is totally different.  I have felt the nerves the past few weeks just thinking about auditioning, and I felt them again today as I printed my packet.  If I can’t control my nerves now, what’s going to happen if/when I walk into the audition room and see Mack Wilberg sitting there?  AAAAAA!

Anyway, here is the process for those who aren’t familiar:

1. Send in my packet, which consists of an application, a bishop’s recommendation letter, and my CD recording.  I will be recording one of three hymns a capella, and must play and announce my starting pitch before and after to prove I can stay in tune.  Next, I have to sing a portion of the hymn with a straight tone, in sotto voce, and fortissimo.  Next, I have to perform a series of vocal exercises.  I’ve looked them over, and they are definitely not your simple mi me ma mo mu’s!

2. If they like my recording, I get invited to take the music theory skills exam.  I have to pass with at least 80%.  I have taken this exam before (when I auditioned for the BYU Music Major in 2001) and passed, but it has been so many years and I have no idea how I will fare now.

3. If by some miracle I pass the theory test, I go in to sing for the artistic directors.  I sing another hymn of my choosing, perform more vocal exercises, and sight sing.  Sight singing has been a strong point for me in the past, but once again, I haven’t done it much recently and I’m not as confident as I used to be.

I am extremely excited and nervous about this opportunity!  If anyone knows someone who has a recording studio that is reasonably priced, please let me know.  Wish me luck, and I’ll keep you posted!

We have some bits of good & bad news to share.

The good news is, Kaisa has pooped on the potty!  She has been wearing her big girl panties since Friday and has had only a couple of accidents.  I think she just finally decided she was ready to be done with potty training.  She is doing great at letting us know when she needs to go when we are out and about.  At home, she just goes to the potty on her own.  She even stays dry during naps and at night!  It’s such a relief to have one kid out of diapers!

The bad news is, Nathan is going to be unemployed again as of July 1st.  We thought we would have longer, but the company has decided to move the search marketing department over to California before the rest of the company in August.  Since our benefits go active July 1st, we will have health and dental coverage through July 31st.  Nathan has already got some interviews set up from his first round of resumes he sent in after he got laid off from Orangesoda.  He also has a good list of places to send resumes to, so he’s going to take his 1 day of PTO tomorrow and do that.  Your prayers and job references are once again appreciated!

Now, for some fun pictures.  I bought Nathan and Everett matching ties for Father’s Day.  After church, the following photo shoot ensued:

Happy Father’s Day Nathan!  I am so lucky to have you in my life!  You are a wonderful husband and father!

Several weeks ago I posted about my desire to start potty training and the method I wanted to use. Here’s an update!

Let me first say that potty training is a whole new can of worms when it comes to rearing children. I have always wondered about it, and now that I am doing it, it has got to be one of the MOST CHALLENGING things I could ever imagine doing. Period.

Because I am the type of parent that doesn’t put up with crap (no pun intended), I decided that we were going into this 100% with no turning back. This has made a HUGE difference. Had I not decided that, I probably would have quit before the end of day 1!

Ok…here goes. We did decided to use the Fellom Method…naked from the waist down. It just made the most sense to me, and I can see how a child would be totally confused by what is a diaper and what is not, and when to pee in one and when not, etc. And let’s be honest here…pull-ups are nothing more than diapers that don’t have velcro tabs! What a joke! (They are nice for night time though.)

On day one, we fed Kaisa tons of salty snacks, popsicles, and juices hoping that she would pee a ton. I think she ended up peeing three times that first day. We spent the entire day in the kitchen (hardwood floors are easier to clean) and even moved the TV in there so she could watch her princesses while sitting on the potty. The first “hit” happened around 10am. She was just sitting on the potty when it happened, and I think it took her by surprise. We made sure to make a HUGE deal about it, and sure enough, she caught on quick. We had a big bag full of small treats and presents for her to choose from, as well as a potty chart to put stickers on. The next time she peed, she was standing in front of the TV. She started to pee on the floor, then realized that it was going everywhere and walked over to the potty to finish. Since then, she hasn’t peed anywhere besides her potty (and a pull-up or two).

So far, so good, right? WRONG! That first afternoon, she pooped on the floor. I heard her saying “ow” and then she ran around the corner and hid from me to do it. I think she started walking back to me and didn’t realize it was still coming out, because she stepped in it. Lovely. Luckily, it was only tracked on our hardwood and not the carpet. I tried very hard not to shame her, but just to show her that I was disappointed. I also put her hand in mine as I cleaned it up so she would realize how icky it was.

Day two was shot because Kaisa ate so much JUNK on day one that she woke up puking and sick!  I didn’t want to make her potty train when she was feeling so icky, so she wore a pull-up all day.

Day three was slow.  I took Kaisa’s pull-up off at 7:30am and she didn’t do one single thing until 5pm!  I spent the entire day in the kitchen with her, waiting for her to pee.  I kept telling her that as soon as she peed, we could go out to the park and play…nothing.  I never knew it was possible for a child to go so long without peeing!  It is so frustrating to have to plan my day around when my child pees, never knowing if and when it will happen.

Anyway…that’s pretty much how my week has gone. She is doing so great with peeing in the potty, that it frustrates me all the more every time she poops on the floor (or in her swimsuit, as she did today). I know that she knows she is supposed to poop in the potty, but she just won’t. I am SO sick of cleaning up poop!! We have been so blessed that up to this point, none of it has gone on the carpet! I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Because I am so stubborn about not going back, I am just going to keep her naked in the house until she gets the hang of the poop thing. Also, I don’t think she’s ready for panties until we can go out for a couple of hours and she can keep her pull-up dry. This has happened a few times, but it’s still not consistent. I would also feel more comfortable if she could make it to the actual bathroom potty consistently, rather than her little potty chair.

If anyone has advice on how to get her to overcome her fear of pooping on the potty, I am all ears! Everyone keeps saying to bribe her with something she loves…I guess I haven’t found something she loves enough yet.

Time flies!  My little baby boy is now 4 months old!  His doctor says he looks great and is growing wonderfully.  He weighs 16 lbs 6 oz and is 26 1/4″ long which puts him in 80th and 90th percentiles, respectively.  Everett is rolling over from front to back all the time, and is just about rolling back the other way.  He can move himself around quite a bit and I will often find that he’s turned completely around from where I laid him.  He is such a social little guy…always smiling and cooing…and he’s extremely ticklish!  He is such a joy in our home!  Kaisa loves him to death (almost literally) and I have to really watch her to make sure she doesn’t love him too much!  Here are some recent pictures of our little guy.  Enjoy!

My parents visited from Arizona a couple of weeks ago, and here are some of the fun things we were able to do.

Camping at Little Mill Campground in American Fork Canyon

Highlights: Nathan and Kaisa in the hammock, sleeping in the van with the kids, s’mores, corn-on-the-cob

Taking a family hike

Hanging out in the hammock with dad

Staying warm in mom's sling

Is something wrong with this picture?

Trip to Moab, Utah to see my brother while he was home from Iraq for R&R

Highlights: seeing my brother.  The rest was quite exhausting and daring, especially with two kids!

How is this possible?

Kaisa, Grandpa, Aunt Roseanne and Uncle Heath

A view of the Colorado River

Mussleman's Arch. If you zoom in, you can see my dad and brother making their bodybuilder poses.

To prove that I actually walked across it. It was about 4 ft wide and 3 ft thick, and below it was a 50 ft drop! If you zoom in, you can see that Kaisa is sitting on it with grandma and uncle Heath. Everett is in the baby carrier on my chest. Am I a crazy mom?

Provo Canyon

Highlights: fishing with grandpa, playing in the water and grass, dinner picnic, gorgeous scenery

We finally got a new camera. Nathan picked a good one...it takes great pictures for a point & shoot!

Sometimes I wish I could see the world through her eyes.

Having fun outdoors. What a lucky woman I am!

A little girl in a big world

Dippin' the feet

Grandpa sure knows how to use a fishing pole!

Here's the trout to prove it!

So this is a really funny story...Kaisa wanted to push Everett back to the car, but since it was downhill and the stroller was loaded with stuff, it just kept going faster and faster. Kaisa gave up trying to push and lifted her little feet off the ground for a ride!

Swimming in the backyard

Highlights: going down the slide into the pool, splashing, getting sprayed with the hose, bringing various objects into the pool

Yes...the grass hadn't been cut in a while...we're still getting used to the whole grass thing!

Taking a fleeting second to glance at the camera

Sliding into the pool...her favorite!

As you can see, we’ve been having lots of fun so far, and there is much more to come!  (If the rain will ever stop.)