Thanksgiving with Marley

I'm way jealous of my parents and my grandma. They got to spend Thanksgiving with little Marley. Not that Chase and I didn't have fun, because we did. Chasey booked me a hotel room in the Radisson in downtown Salt Lake City and we had the best view because we were almost on the top floor. We ate room service and watched movies all night. It was very relaxing and just the break that we both needed. But my sister sent me this picture on Thanksgiving in case I was missing the extended family, which I was. They didn't even call me but this is a separate matter. I'm assuming that this picture wasn't taken on Thanksgiving Day in Sioux Falls, SD but who knows what global warming is doing these days. I thought that I could use this opportunity to post my top five things that I'm most thankful for.

1. Izzy's sleeping patterns. My kid is awesome. She has been sleeping through the night since she was 8 weeks old. When she still awake past 9pm, she brings us her pj's and says "Time for bed." Thank you Izzy.
2. My husband's sense of humor. Chase has such a big heart. I absolutely love that about him. And it doesn't take much to make him laugh which makes him fun for everyone to be around. Yes, it can be embarrassing when we are a ridiculous movie and he's laughing while everyone else in the theater is looking at him in shock, but its all part of his character.
3. Our jobs. We have been so blessed that Chase's job hasn't been directly affected by this nasty economy. In fact, he has made more this year than last year which a lot of people can't say. Also, the fact that I'm based out of Idaho Falls now instead of Pocatello has made a huge impact on our lives.
4. My parents. That's really all I need to say but I will choose to elaborate. They have always been there for me and they continue to put up with me. They are always willing to step in and help no matter what. I love them both very much.
5. Our extended family. I have never loved my sister more than I have the last couple of years and I am so grateful for her family as well. Also, I don't think that I could have married into a better family. They are so sweet and nice to me that its my first instinct to be uncomfortable. But I couldn't appreciate these people more.

Wawweee

My kid is completely insane. I don't even know where she gets some of this stuff. Last week Chase and I took her to Best Buy and as we were walking through the store, she caught a glimpse of the Pixar movie "Wall E." She was in the cart and it was on the very bottom shelf. She screamed "Wawweee" and literally threw herself out of the cart. I thought she had broken a bone. Because the cart had been in motion, when she landed, she was about three feet away from the DVD. She started crawling on her hands and knees saying, "I want to see Wawee. I want to see. I want to see." I couldn't believe it. Neither Chase or I knew that she had even heard of this movie, let alone had such an in depth relationship with it that she would recognize it from so far away. She's lucky that her Dad was with her (he is much softer than I am) because we left with our own personal copy of Wall E.

Twilight

After a long wait, it's finally here. Actually the wait hasn't been so long for me as I just read all four books for the first time within the last couple of months. But I'm very excited. My mom is keeping Izzy tonight and I'm going out with Paula and Melissa sans kids! I don't know what I'm more excited for; a night off or the movie. Either way it will be nice. Izzy is the light of my life but being a "single" parent for weeks on end starts to get old (really quickly). In fact, last night I spent the night at my moms just to get some help. It was a horrible nights sleep (I have a cold & therefore am unable to sleep) but it was worth it. We don't have tickets until the 9 o'clock show tonight, so Izzy will have to spend the night at my moms house again. I could get used to this! My mom might have to drag me over to pick my kid on Saturday. This morning, Izzy told my mom that she wants to go to the mall tomorrow. It was cute but in the back of my head I was thinking that Izzy could keep my mom busy all day and she wouldn't notice if I didn't show up until Monday morning. Just kidding.

Bad Day

I won't be blogging today (other than this) because I'm having an extremely bad day (actually week). I might regret anything that I type.

Where's Izzy?

If Izzy is ever asked to do something she doesn't want to do, I know where to find her. Whenever I hear little feet quickly scampering away, there is a good chance that I can find Izzy wrapped up in the drapes. This is her secret hiding place that is no longer a secret but she hasn't figured that out yet. When Izzy spends the night at my mom's house, my mom thinks it is hysterical that Izzy winds herself up in the drapes to avoid being dressed in the morning. I don't find it so comical. In fact, it pretty much drives me nuts. She does it so often that it has become one quick motion on her part. A combination of running and twirling at the same time so that she thinks she's well hidden. Never mind her feet sticking out of the bottom. This morning, I couldn't believe how fast she ran to the curtains. It was crazy. And then before I knew it, she was "gone." Once I left her there for a few minutes to see who had a longer breaking point. After five minutes, I heard little giggles coming from her hiding place. She really thought she had pulled one over on me. I had to laugh with her. At least she has a safe place to go. Mostly I'm grateful that they were cheap drapes to begin with because after the abuse they have been through, they are starting to show wear and tear. When Braxton was here, I would find both kids behind the drapes playing. There must be some fascination that I haven't discovered yet.

My Daddy's At Work

My Daddy's at work is that statement that comes out of Izzy's mouth at least thirty times a day. No matter what you ask her, she responds with "My Daddy's at work." So you can imagine when she sees her Dad after three weeks of him being out on the road. It is almost hysteria. She starts bouncing and talking a mile a minute. And she forgets all about me. The person who has sustained her life for the last month without any help. The person who loves her no matter what. Oh well. Chase came home for the weekend and we had a great time. The best part was when we driving in the car and Izzy said, "My Daddy's at work." So I said, "Well then, who is that?" pointing to Chase. She said, "That's Chase!" And I said, "Isn't Chase your Daddy?" And then she said, "No, my Daddy's at work!" So I guess Isabelle knows something that I don't. But to be completely serious, I know that Izzy misses her dad like crazy and so do I! It seems like the days when he is gone drag by and our lives are seperate ordeals until he comes home. Oh well.

My Turn, Open Your Eyes & Smile!

These crazy kids! Nicole and I were trying to get some cute shots of Mia & Jade for Mia's birth announcement and there were moments of complete craziness. First and foremost, Isabelle did not like being left out of this. She kept trying to slowly slide in her foot then desperately leap into the picture. I think this kid needs a sibling. Grandma had to distract Izzy by taking pictures of her on her camera. But that only worked for a little while. It wasn't too long before she was back to her old tricks and saying, "My turn, my turn!" After we got that worked out, we asked Jade to close her eyes for one picture and from that point on, we had trouble getting her to keep her eyes open. There is a series of ten frames where her eyes are closed! Mia was definitely the best behaved. She was sweet and alert and let Jade and Izzy smother her with attention. After we were done, we threw Izzy a bone and let her get in some of the pictures and, of course, at that point, she started being unwilling to cooperate. Ryan just had surgery and was laid up back in his bedroom and my child was running around like a crazed woman. She kept slamming doors and saying, “I need to see Ryan.” I’m worried that we won’t be allowed back into their house after the commotion last night. Hopefully, Ryan & Nicole wil forgive us!

One Of Her Favoritest Things!

This is what I call Izzy's grouchy face. Doesn't she look mean? But this is her hat that Aunt Heidi bought her last Christmas and it has become her new favorite possession. She doesn't even take it off to go to nap. When we first got it, I couldn't keep it on her and now the world has ended it we leave the room without it. But I think she's pretty cute!

Bandaiditis

My kid loves bandaids. We have gone through many a boxes without so much as a paper cut. When people ask me what happened, I tell them that she suffers from a severe case of bandaiditis. Every time she hurts, we put a bandaid on it and it seems to make her feel much better. But this time, it made me feel much worse. I put one on her cheek and when we went to pull it off, it left huge red welts. I couldn't believe it. I felt absolutely horrible. The skin on her face must be very sensitive and it looks like I beat the poor kid. I felt bad all night long and every time I saw her face, I felt like crying. She seemed to be alright though and let me rub lotion all over it. It looked a lot better this morning, which was a huge relief. Izzy had fun in the bath though. The kid loves the water and would spend every day all day in it if we let her. It is not uncommon for me to give her a bath at night and then find her outside the shower door trying to get in with me the very next morning. Often whenI pick her up in the evening, she's not wearing what I sent her in because she goes to the water fountain and tries to bathe in it. It's crazy! But I know some parents who have to fight their kids in and out of the bathtub and I feel lucky that is one thing I will probably never have to worry about. She's a regular fish!

She's Sneaky!

You have to give Izzy props for never giving up. This kid kills me sometimes. Last night, I put her to bed and continued with what I was doing, which was watching The Girls Next Door (this is a real priority). I went to check on her and this is what I found. She moved her and her baby to my bed and had turned on the TV. Of course she was watching an infomercial for a new kind of steam mop but she wasn't sleeping nonetheless. She was so cute that I was tempted to leave her in my bed but then I had flashbacks of the last time that I did that and she spent the entire night trying to get comfortable on top of me. So back to her bed she went. When I took this picture, she kept saying, "Do it again Mommy, do it again." Anything to put off bed! But there is no doubt that this kid can be very enduring when she want to be.

Baby's House Outside!

My little daughter is so sweet. I ran across this picture today and was taken back by how little and innocent Isabelle was at one point. Unfortunately, right now, she's not feeling very well. She ended up getting sick last night and I feel very bad for her. But hopefully she recovers soon. I was teasing her yesterday about the baby moving into her room. I told her that she would have to sleep in the hallway because the new baby in Mommy's belly needed her room. She looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, "Baby's house outside!" She doesn't really understand the whole sharing thing yet and I'm a little worried about it. But I don't think that we will make the baby sleep outside.

Desperate For A Girl

I am desperate for this to be a girl, so naturally I'm putting my faith in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is historically right 77% of the time and was correct in predicting both Izzy and Marley. If I had been smart, I would have consulted this the moment I decided to get pregnant but I must have been sitting under a lucky star because this says I'm having a girl. Yay!

Marley Jane

My grandma gave me these picutes yesterday and I thought they were priceless. We were all standing around when my dad put Marley on Spot and we were all waiting for her to freak out. But she just turned and smiled at Izzy. All of us with digital camera were scrambling trying to get them turned on and focused and then missed the moment anyway because of the delay that digital cameras tend to have. But my grandma with her trustly old fashioned film camera didn't miss it! And she also passed on the photo of Marley in Grandpa's hat. What a doll!

A Symbol of Freedom

Well, no matter the outcome, the 2008 election season is over. Thank goodness! I don't think that I could have taken another day, especially because this one has been going on for over a year. Earlier this year, when I went and saw the movie Swing Vote (by myself because Chase hates spending time with me) something really stuck out for me. There was a line in the movie about how those of us that don't work for the government or serve in the military are really asked to do very little for all the freedoms that we enjoy. All our country asks from us is to spend a few hours every four years voting. If you can't sacrifice that, then what can you sacrifice? So yesterday I decided to teach my six year old nephew about the democratic process and I took him to vote with me. On the way over we discussed how important it was to vote because there are people are there that are giving their lives for our right to such liberties and people in different countries aren't even allowed to pick their leaders. He was so cute and innocent througout the whole process. He asked the lady checking people in if she had voted yet. When she told him she had, she asked him who he was voting for and he told her aunt Katie. On the way out, he asked when he could vote and I told him when he was a grown up. And he replied, "So you mean when I turn 7?" After I got home last night, I played with the kids and went to bed. Just getting out there and voting took a huge weight off my shoulders and I didn't feel the need to keep myself up all night watching the TV because as that point I had done all I could do. The only thing left is to make my husband feel guilty for not voting. But I'm not going to work too hard at this because I have a feeling that we would have cancelled each other out and this way I still get to feel like I won.

Izzy Quirks

Isabelle definitely has some quirks. Quirks that are cute, quirks that are not so cute. But nonetheless, I will have to learn to live with them. One of her cutest little habits is to say "Too" after you say, "I love you Izzy." She can't be bothered to actually use the lung power to push out "Love you too" so she keeps it short and to the point. Too Mommy Too. Last night, I was tickling her until she said "I love you too Mommy." Needless to say, she had almost passed out from lack of oxygen from lauging so hard before she gave in. But I now know that she is capable. Another thing that she does that drives me nuts is to pull down on her car seat until she can wiggle her arms out of the straps. No matter how tight I get it, she gets out. I think that she consciously sucks in oxygen to falsely inflate her stomach so that it becomes loose once I stop looking. I'm constantly stopping the car to fix this. We have more than one car seat, so I know its her not faulty craftsmanship. Oh well. I have discovered a new trick to fix another issue we have though. No matter how excited she is to see me when I pick her up from daycare, she is upset by the time we get home. I have solved this problem by keeping dried cearal in the car. That's right. I'm teaching my child to solve her problems by turning to food. That is what these pictures are of. I give her a huge cup of dry cereal on way to the daycare in the morning and then keep the rest in the car. We are at the point now where she asks for her cup before we even get to the car to come home. But if it isn't broke, don't fix it. I guess I'm stuck with a messy kid in loose car seat straps.

Introducing Elliott Burke!

This is a horrible picture, but I'm in a hurry. Chase and I are having another baby and the newest Burke addition is due July 4th. But I know that if I'm still pregnant on July 4th, I will be suicidal so this will probably be a June baby. Happy Birthday Chase because this is the only thing you are getting! Just kidding. Last week I was tired and grouchy and I had a feeling that I was suffering from the nine month flu. But I kept taking pregnancy test (I'm embarrassed to say how many but 5) and they kept coming up negative. All of the instructions said to wait three days until taking the next one if you still suspect you are pregnant so I made myself do that even though it was very hard. And finally one came up positive and then I took two more just be sure and they were all positive. Chase and I have been thinking about another baby but we really only decided last month. But here goes!Anyway, Chase and I decided that we would name this baby Elliot no matter what the sex is because it was my grandpa's middle name and it would mean a lot to us to have a reminder. Especially because I'm pregnant right now. I know what you are thinking. Even if it's a girl? Yes! This question was the first thing out of my moms mouth and yes I did see that look Mother! It was kind of a cringe but I looked it up online and Elliott with two t's is the feminine form and Elliot with one t is the masculine form. Plus, I think that having an Izzy and an Ellie would be cute so this is no longer up for debate. But I am praying and bargaining with God for another girl. I wouldn't know what to do with a boy and I really want another girl.

This is a test

I'm writing this from my cellphone and want to see if it posts!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Boo at the Zoo

I had high hopes for yesterday. I thought it would be really fun to take the kids (Braxton & Izzy) to Boo at the Zoo. All the kids come to the zoo in their Halloween costumes and local businesses hand out candy in between animal exhibits. My mom lovingly rearranged her schedule so that she could help me out. Braxton and I went to pick up Izzy from the daycare and she was super excited when she saw him dressed up like Batman and kept saying, “Let’s go see the animals.” So naturally I assumed this was going to be a fun experience. It wasn’t. To say the least. By the time we got home, Izzy’s mood had done a 180. She refused to put on her costume. When I finally wrestled it on her, she laid on the ground screaming for 10 minutes. I was set on her wearing it and I thought she would calm down but when she didn’t, I conceded defeat and pulled it off. This did nothing. She was still hysterical. Finally, my mom and I loaded her into the car in her ordinary clothes. If we hadn’t already told Braxton what we were doing, we would have scrapped the idea entirely. By the time we got to the zoo, Izzy had (miraculously) calmed down. So we took her in. She was the only child, in any age group, that wasn’t dressed up. My mom had tried to tell me that it was natural for 2 year olds to not want to dress up but after arriving at the zoo, I realized this was a lie. I saw plenty of young kids dressed up and looking adorable. When I pointed this out to my mom, I told her that I should have come with a sign around my neck saying that my kid refused to dress up, it wasn’t that I was too cheap to buy a costume. My mom told me that I should start the sign out with “Don’t judge me!” We had a good laugh but I still felt like a bad mom because Isabelle was in jeans and a sweater. But the story doesn’t end here. For those of you that know that Idaho Falls zoo, you know that the petting zoo is almost as far away from the entrance that you can get. This is the exact place my two year old picked to freak out. She started screaming and crying and running into people in her hysterics. I picked her right up and we left. She and I sat in the car for a half hour while we waited for my mom and Braxton to get done. She cried the entire time. It was horrible. On my way home from work, I realized that I left my camera in my office and I was kicking myself. Now I am almost glad that I don’t have a photo reminder of the affair. So much for planning something fun for a 2 year old. I tried my best!

Family Fun

The Lanier Family Photo

The Sunset the night my Grandpa passed.

Izzy watching Monster House for the first time.

The small redeeming factor in my horrible experience last week was that I got to spend the entire time with my family, which I utterly enjoyed, minus the circumstances. Our nephew, Braxton, is in town and my sister and her family were here for a few days. Overall, we managed to have a nice time together and I wanted to share a few pictures of the week.

Izzy Rides A Horse

Cyndy tried to ride a horse with help from Chuck. I wonder how it feels to have your brother's hands all over your rear end. I hope I never know.
Izzy and Braxton on Spot.

Spot is getting tired of hauling all 33 lbs of Izzy around.

Marley was a little hesitant at first, which I think is a good sign. Izzy, on the other hand, usually refuses to get off and sometimes feels so confidant that she stops holding on.

Izzy practicing her rodeo wave.

My daughter loves horses. While most normal children wouldn't think of riding by themselves, Izzy almost refuses to share the saddle with anyone else. When she and Braxton were sharing, she threw a hissy fit and kept saying,"Izzy can ride alone." At her age, I was petrified of these huge, wild animals. I mean who really has control over a 1300 lbs animal? But she has no fear. To be honest, I'm still scared and it is painful for me to watch her. My dad took her on a ride to the end of my grandparents road and the entire time I felt like she was leaning way too far to the left. But she made it back in one piece. Not only did she not inherit my fear, but she also lucked out and avoided her dad's allergies. Chase can't even get near a horse without sneezing. I just hope she always knows that it is ok to play it safe and get off and walk your horse down hills. My father never used to let me do that and to this day, I have a hard time with going downhill on any mode of transportation (that is not enclosed anyway).

Jade Aaryn

Today little Jade turns 3! It is almost hard to believe because it seems like it was not that long ago that we were at the hospital waiting for her to be born. I remember on her first birthday thinking that I couldn’t believe she has been around for one whole year and now it has been three! But there are a lot of things that I appreciate about little Jade. She has a very sweet heart and is extremely attached to her family (which I think is a great quality). She definitely brings out the soft side in her dad and in her Grandpa Lee because she can be very charming, which is something that comes naturally to her. She has the cutest little laugh because of the way that her smile turns upward and shows off her teeth. She loves to dance, her dogs and Tinkerbell and she is scared of bugs. Typical girl qualities in an extraordinary little child. Happy Birthday Jade!

Mia Love

Chase and I received a new neice today! She was born shortly before 2 pm, weighing 8lbs, 5 oz and is 21 1/2 inches long with a full head of hair. I remember that Jade was 7 lbs, 11 oz, and completely bald so her little sister is already exhibiting some differences. I'm going to head over there right after work to meet little Mia because I am so excited!

Marvin Elliot Thomas

It’s been a long week and I feel as though I have let my avid readers down! I got a surprising number of emails from people that I didn’t even know knew this site existed. So thank you! Unfortunately, last week was probably one of the worst of my entire life. My dear Grandfather passed away and the shock left me completely devastated. I was fortunate to be holding his hand when he passed, which I will always be grateful for. I now know, without any hesitation, that he went peacefully. But watching someone you love so much pass on is not a fun thing to do. Whenever I close my eyes, I still see him taking his last breath and this is a memory that I don’t think I will ever be able to escape or to come to terms with for that matter. When I was a little girl, my Grandpa was so much fun. Whenever I came to visit, one of my favorite things was to go to coffee with him at the coffee shop. I can still see their only waitress in my head and she always gave me extra whip cream on my hot chocolate. On days that I would go, my Grandpa would get a table just for us instead of sitting with his friends and we would talk. After coffee, we would go to his auto shop, where he would always slip me the key to pop vending machine and I would sit on the spin chairs until my Grandma would come to get me. I think another part of this that is so extremely overwhelming is the fact that I won’t be able to add to these memories and that my daughter will never know how much my grandpa loved her. He was so excited the day she was born that he sat in the waiting room all day until he got to hold her. I have no doubt that he loved her as much as Chase and I do. He loved us grandkids dearly and spoiled us freely, yet he provided us with the same sense of responsibility that he had and taught us how to care about other people. When I was a young child, I asked my grandmother why Grandpa didn’t know my name because he always called me “Dollface,” which he called both Heidi and I to the very end. I know that he was looking forward to doing the same for his two great-grand daughters. Being called “Dollface” your entire life can set you up for some disappointment in relationships with teenage boys though ;). I remember once when Chase and I were going through a grey area of our relationship, I went to visit my grandpa. He told me that we had two options; one was “to go get a shotgun and track him down” or “drive down to the river and check the fence.” Luckily for my current day husband, we choose to go check the fence to make sure the horses couldn’t get out, which is one thing that used to infuriate my grandpa. My grandpa was someone who could always put me back together and make me feel whole again, no matter what my heart was hurting about. At his funeral, there were so many people there that wanted to pay tribute to a man who touched thier lives that I was overwhelmed to a certain degree. Of course, the Merrick Family found a way to ruin the experience, but I have no idea why I'm even suprised. I’m going to have to end this because it’s stressing me out too much. There are no words that would justify what he meant to me, so I'm going to stop trying.

Abby Cadabby Appears

Introducing Abby Cadabby! Izzy was so excited to put on her costume that I had to pry it off her at the end of the night. She kept looking her self in the mirror saying, “I’m Abby, I’m Abby Cadabby.” It was really sweet. My camera wasn’t charged the first night I put her in it, so I had to dress her again the next day so that I could take this picture for Chase to see how adorable she is. The ironic part is that she refused to put it on the second night and fought me the entire time. Such is the life of a two year old. Izzy went to my mom’s house for a sleepover last night and it was kind of surprising how lonely I was. Unless I’m traveling for work, that kid has been attached to my hip for the past two years. Don’t get me wrong, a break is always nice (!) but as I went to check on an empty bed last night I had an empty little spot to fill. Good thing The Office was on!

Spring Break!

You learn something new everyday. Last night I was reading What to Expect during the Toddler Years when something hit me. It said, “Do not teach your child something you will want to undo at a later time.” Oops! The book was referencing such things as eating and sleeping habits but I have another thing to add to their list. Do not teach your child to lift her shirt every time she hears someone say “spring break!” I would never admit this to my overly prudish parents or husband, but I think I may have made a mistake. I found it extremely hysterical when she was one but now that she’s a little older, I have the feeling that I creep some people out. It was never intended to do so but now I’m struggling with how to make her unlearn this concept before I get reported to Child Services. I wanted to be a fun mom to Izzy and I try my best! Another habit that I’m trying to break with her is that fact that she calls me “Mom.” I absolutely hate that! Moms are old people and I don’t want her to forget that I’m still young! For the last week, I have been trying to get her to call me “Katie,” but it’s not going very well. I know that someone people have their feelings hurt when their kids call them by their first name, but not me. To me, the word mom is a title that means nothing. Just being a mom doesn’t mean that you are automatically a good mother, it is still something that must be earned through actions. So if it makes me feel better for her to call me “Katie” then I hope she will humor me!