She Did It!!

Kaia went to the dentist last week and she had a great check-up....the only problem was that she had 2 cavities. So we got to go back on Wednesday and have the cavities filled. One on each side of the mouth, so she had to get frozen on both sides. Two Needles!! She doesn't do well with pain, so I was SO nervous. Our dentist was SO good and he distracted her enough to get the first needle in. Once she decided that she didn't like that, she refused to let them do the second needle. Once promised that she could have a prize after the second needle AND after the fillings, she consented to let them do it. I was so proud. She did a wonderful job and there have been no complications. She made such a wonderful little chipmunk. Aren't you just so proud of her??

New Hair and Little Porker

Just a few quick pictures. I got my hair cut last Tuesday and thought I'd post a picture. Also, Jaymeson is just getting so big, I thought I'd show him off too!! Enjoy!




Saryn obviously was able to pamper him a little bit by donating her "Bankey Wowers" and her Winnie the Pooh stuffy to his swing. It's amazing how fast that little girl can be. Oh, and she has become enthralled with a Easter decoration. Here she is rubbing noses with it....

Jordana Fitzner - come on down.....

This is the name of Kienna's primary teacher.....and a reader of my blog, so HELLO JORDANA!! I just thought I'd write a little blog for you. Kienna LOVES Sister Fitzner (as read in her journal entry). She talks about her all the time. Sister Fitzner said this, or Sister Fitzner did that. She EVEN knows King Benjamin because she brought him to class!! (I'm pretty sure this was her husband or father-in-law dressed up as King Benjamin, but Kienna is SURE that he was the real deal. Kienna says in her prayers how thankful she is for Sister Fitzner and always LOVES going to Primary. In fact, Sister Fitzner gave her a Christmas Present last year and it had a sweet little note in amoung some other fun things in a can (that is used as a treasure chest). This note is Kienna's favorite night time "story". It simply says,

Dear Kienna,
I love having you in our Primary class. You have such a sweet smile and love to answer questions. Thanks for giving me big hugs! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Sister Fitzner

Last week (remember that this is the day after we got the "motivation items") Kienna said the prayer in primary. Jordana told me that she said in her Primary class' prayer, "Please help me to not wet the bed so that I can get my Cinderella". So funny.

Yesterday, Kaia pulled out an Activities book. It had an idea to make a Christmas Cracker...you know, the kind that you pull on both ends and it pops open. Kienna just HAD to make one for Sister Fitzner. She worked on it SO hard and was just about to tie up the second end when she realized she had to put something IN it. She had realized that one of her paint pens had dried up and she was SURE that Sister Fitzner would want that - so in it went. Somehow that just wasn't enough, so Kienna inserted a magnet she had received from this weeks visit to the dentist (more to come on that later). Isn't that sweet?? Now, it might sound very sweet, but there is a slight awkward part. Jordana's husband is also a dentist. They moved into the ward after we already had THIS dentist, so we have never gone to him. I suppose that every dentist still needs another dentist though, right? Now they have the phone number for another dentist in the ward. I probably would have tried to sneak the magnet out, but Kienna was SO excited about giving it to her and just couldn't be talked out of it. Luckily Jordana has a great sense of humour and I'm sure is laughing right now about the irony of the whole situation.

Thank you Jordana for all that you do. It sure makes all the difference in the world to have a GREAT Primary Teacher. We sure love you.

Serves Me Right....

What do Lotion, Shampoo, Conditioner, Vicks Vapo-Rub, soap and exfoliant all have in common??

No, this isn't the beginning of a very bad joke. It, infact, isn't a joke at all. The answer is simply: These are all things that Saryn was able to get into and smear all over her hands and then follow by placing her hands in her mouth while her mom was typing up the previous blogs.

I suppose it serves me right for blogging. I kept an eye on her for all but 5 minutes. I guess 5 minutes is all it takes. Sigh. The punishment?? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The look on her face when she put her hand, full of Vicks' Vapo-Rub, in her mouth showed that she did not need a punishment.... she will NEVER do that again.

Motivation, anyone??

So, it all started last Saturday. We were in the new super Wal-mart that just came near us - YAY!! Then we saw them....the princess Mega Blocks. Now, we already have a ginormous set of Mega Blocks with Ariel, Cinderella and Belle. These are wonderful. These sets were little individual ones with just a few blocks and some figurines. There was one set with Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother and the Mice and another set with Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder. We couldn't believe tat they were only $6 each. Perfect incentive toys.

All 3 of the girls have been working on something. This would be the perfect reward when they finished the appointed tasks. Each girl picked which one they wanted and we talked to them explaining that they could only have these IF:

Kaia - you have to be happy for a week. It's okay to feel sad, or even cry a little. BUT there will be no tantrums or claiming that we never get our way or that today is the stupidest day ever.

Kienna - you will have to go a whole week without wetting your bed. That's it.

Saryn - you just have to go potty on the toilet.

So it's a week later. How did we do??
They are still on the top shelf in their cases.....so, you do the math. Sigh.

Kaia has had an ENORMOUS improvement. With just slight coaching, she was flawless for about 3 days. Then a total breakdown. She has only had 2 all week, which is HUGE. She is now on day 2 again.....so there really is some hope.

Kienna went for 5 days straight. We couldn't believe it. Then Friday morning she came downstairs and I asked her if she had wet her bed. She hesitated and then said no. I asked to see her Pull-ups and she said, "Okay, They're just under my pillow". She went and got them....and they were dry.... but - well, you know what was in them. I was SO surprised. She hasn't done that for at least a year or two....but then I remembered that they were UNDER HER PILLOW!!! Gross!! So that was fun. She had a great start to the week though, so she'll get it down very soon, I'm sure!!

Saryn has not yet gone on the potty. I put her on and she'll sit for all of 5 seconds and then says she's done. The second her diaper is back on, she'll fill it. She is scared to go on the potty. I think the void freaks her out. She needs to know where everything is going. We'll get there though. Sigh. She did have 2 times that she wet in the potty a few weeks ago, but has fought it ever since. Thus needing to get the toy for incentive.

We'll get there....don't you worry. THIS WILL WORK - THIS WILL WORK......

Decision Magic

So, "Barring Unforeseen Circumstances" we will NOT be going to Colorado. We both listened to MANY people whom we respect.....and we have decided that it is time to finish up school and get on with life. We have also decided the best place to do this is near family - which is almost all in Calgary. So, we figured that getting the JD just wouldn't help us out in the Canadian market and we will be staying here....unless we see some reason that changes it, but that is VERY unlikely. YAY!!!

On Wednesday, Kaia pulled out a pot and a spoon and said that she wanted to do a magic show. She was going to make Candy. She had done this 2 Christmas' ago when we were at the Law School Christmas Party. They had a magician come in and she was the assistant. She helped him make candy and was amazed that she actually made Smarties appear.
So, she was going to do this again (she might be a little bit sick of the health kick that Jarett and I are one). She took out the pot and the spoon. She had everyone put in a magic ingredient. She said the Magic Words (which we all yelled "Happy St. Patrick's Day" for - the magicians words were 'Merry Christmas', so, as it was the day after St Patrick's Day, she did her own take on that), took off the lid and was SO disappointed. She was SURE there was going to be candy. I explained to her that it simply just wasn't a magic pot. She seemed to be okay with that response. Sigh....my little magician in the making.

Making a Record

That was the topic of our most recent FHE. We read about how Nephi kept a record on the plates and how we have been told to keep our own record in our day. We call these records "Journals". Kaia responded right away...."but Mom, I don't have a Journal". Typical Kaia. She had to have a way of being obedient. You just can't break rules. You can only imagine their excitement when I pulled out from behind me the journals that I had been keeping (VERY spuradically) since they were born. I showed them a few things that Jarett and I have written in there and they were super excited. We decided to ask them a few questions and write down their responses. Jarett took Kaia and I took Kienna and we had some "Journal time". Saryn went back and forth between the journals and the piano and Jaymeson had no idea what was going on. We have to get them Journals soon (this might show just how spuradically we write).

Anyway, these were their responses.

This is Kaia's journal. She enjoyed this so much that she has written more just by herself. This is what Jarett asked and then her responses:

Favorite Part of Church?
Ummm, learning in Primary and singing songs.
Why?
Because Princesses love to sing.

Favourite Part of School?
Going on Field Trips and when Mommy comes.
Why?
It makes me happy because it is fun.

Me and you went camping (talking about Jarett and her)
Why did you like it?
Cuz' then I got to have time with just me and one other person.

Favourite songs?
Alien french song, Whenever I hear, I am a Child of God, I Wonder When He Comes Again, Mother Kneeling.

Oh, I love doing my heart thing (this is a latch-hooking kit).

Favorite Food?
Apples and Oranges, Ham, Candy.

Favorite Movie?
Disney - Tinkerbell
About Heavenly Father - The one about the Pioneers (Legacy?)

Favorite thing about Violin Lessons?
Doing scales

My favourite things about Kienna are:
I like Playing Barbies
I like Playing dress-ups
I like doing crafts with Kienna
That's all about Kienna

Something that I like is I like going swimming. I like doing crafts.

KAIA CAHOON

Then added a couple days later:

Favourite Part of Winter:
Playing in the snow, building a snowman, making crystals, drawing in the snow and making snow angels.
And now I want to write my favourite candy:
chocolates, lollipops, cookies, popcorn, cheese and crackers.
My favourite part of Jesus:
He created us, He created the World, He can do miracles.
My favorite part of summer:
(she wrote this part)
Peking flowrs playing outside going out for a wack.

Kaia


Kienna's journal was done a little bit differently. I just asked her what she would like to say and then wrote her responses. Here are her words:

We are having Family Home Evening. I love my family but mostly Jaymeson because he's a baby.

My favorite game is checkers because I want to learn how to play. (I have never played it).

My favorite part of church is learning songs in primary. My favorite song goes like this "I love Mommy, she loves me, We love Daddy, yes-siree. He loves us and so you see, we are a happy family." I also love I love to See the Temple because it's about the temple and I've never been there before. I want to go someday.

I love holding Jaymeson. And I love kissing him and hugging him.

I love dancing with Saryn and when she plays the piano (you remember she was playing the piano at the time). I play Barbie's with Saryn while Kaia is at school. I love when Saryn gives me hugs.

I love playing house with Kaia. (Mother/Daughter). Kaia is usually the Mom and I'm the daughter.

I love to eat apples with cheese, oranges, peppers (bell peppers), and sometimes even snow - is that silly?. I also love Juice and Milk.

I love dancing with my Dad like he's the prince and I'm the princess.

I love snuggling with people and eating candy. My favorite colour is purple and my favorite movie is the Little Mermaid.

I love to colour pictures and hang them up on the wall in my room.

My teacher is Sis. Fitzner. She gives me candy snacks. She has taught me about princesses. Last year I was a Sunbeam and now I'm a CTR 5.

My favourite colour for curtains is white and curly.

Jaymeson always punches me and it makes him laugh.....but it hurts me......it really does!

Kienna

Where Should I Live??

Well, I took the test. Apparently I should live in:

Italy

You belong in Italy. You love sunny destinations, but a nice beach isn't the only thing you need. In Italy you can find culture everywhere and the food is delicious. You have the big vibrant cities, but also lovely little towns where the people are warm and hospitable. This country has everything you need, great weather, passionate people, beautiful surroundings and big vibrant cities filled with culture.

What do I say?? DONE!! I'd go there in a heartbeat. The reasons I don't??
Family, Friends and Money. Kinda the things that run my life. I just might have to go visit Italy one day though. It sure does sound like my kind of place!

Just Weighing In....

Just did Jaymeson's Immunizations on Wednesday morning. I thought I'd weigh and measure all the family while I was at it. So, here's our weighing in.....

Jaymeson is at a whopping 16 lbs 14 oz and 26" long at 4 months. He has jumped from the 50th percentile to the 75th.

Saryn is 36 lbs (she has actually lost weight) and 37" tall at 2 1/2 years - still off the charts.

Kienna is my tiny little thing (still around the 90th percentile) at 41 lbs and 45" in height at 4 1/2 years.

Kaia is at 52.5 lbs and 48" in height. She's always been tall and is still a good head above most of the girls in her class.

Jarett and I are both trekking along with the weight loss. Jarett is about 40 lbs down from last year and I'm about 30 lbs down from the day before I had Jaymeson. It's kinda cheating including all the weight of pregnancy, but it makes me feel better about myself!! Anyway, just wanted to record all that. So.....here's weighing in!

Uneventful Events

I apologize for the lack of blogging recently. I've been a little distracted and haven't been on the computer hardly at all. I had the opportunity to go to Calgary last weekend for Teacher's Convention and spend a lot of time with my Grandparents. I really want my kids to know what wonderful people they are, so I want to spend as much time with them as possible.

Kaia playing the violin for Grampa Jubber
He also plays the violin, so this was a special moment for her.

I also took this opportunity to ask them questions about their personal histories. I found out a lot of neat things. My Grandparents are from South Africa and as I was asking my Grandpa about all the places he's lived and all the significant events in his life, I learned that he was baptized at 8, but he wasn't allowed to receive the priesthood because he was South African. I didn't know that. Apparently, you had to trace your lineage out of South Africa before they would ordain you to the Priesthood. This was a rule that was not known to the leaders of the church, the local leaders were somehow lead to believe that this was necessary. So when David O. McKay came to South Africa, shortly after he was made President of the church, he changed the rule. That is when my Grandpa was finally able to be ordained to the Priesthood. I found that fascinating. I suppose it is reasons like this that the church has been globalized so much more.

On another note, Saryn has started doing two really cute things at bedtime. When I sing her a lullabye, she asks, "Will Jesus wake me up?". I'm not sure how to answer this.....or what she means, but it's sweet, so I'll take it.

I think what she is saying in prayers has finally hit her. When we pray and say, "I'm thankful for my family", she stops, opens her eyes, puts her hand in the air and says, "I have a family!!" Then we'll say, "We're thankful for this food" and she'll say, "I have food!!". I think she's finally figuring out that we're thanking Heavenly Father for blessings that we HAVE. It was a fun breakthrough. Or, it will be when she stops interrupting every prayer between every sentence.

Saryn doing a puppet show for me this morning (while in the puppet bin)

Oh, today I played with the girls for a while and then went on to cleaning. It was coming up on lunchtime and I hear Kaia run up and down the stairs. I went to go see what was going on and she had left me a note:

Mom i am hangry can we hav sam food ples
Kienna and Kaia

She totally sounded it out all by herself, I was SO proud. Not bad for a little girl in Kindergarten, eh?

Anyway, I said I have been a little distracted. We have been having a long week with making a big decision. Jarett has had the honour of being accepted to the University of Colorado Law School to get his JD. This would mean leaving in the fall and doing 2 years in Colorado. After this, he would have his MBA/LLB/JD (the LLB is a Canadian Law Degree and the JD is the US Law Degree). This would mean accruing more debt (approx. $80,000 USD) and putting off working for a year, along with relocating the family two more times. We are in the process of deciding if this degree would be worth the investment. I think it is mostly coming down to the decision between living in Canada and the States. If we don't get the JD, we will for sure be in Canada for the remainder of our lives. If we DO get the JD, we have the flexibility to go between the two countries all we want. This would also give us the opportunity to receive all of our US Citizenships in addition to our Canadian citizenships. It's hard to know what the Lord has in store for us, so this really has been a difficult decision. Anyway, we are still trying to figure out the outcome, but I will keep you all posted when that happens.