Our New Pets

Tad, as in Tadpole

Connor and his new pet frog, Tad

Rylie and her new pet hermit crab, Minnie

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The story of how the pets came to be is kind of strange too. Late one night, about a week ago or so, Connor came out of his bedroom just sobbing and sobbing. Finally I got him calmed down enough to see what was wrong. All he could talk about was a frog that Grandpa McGinnis helped him get but, they let him go so he wouldn’t poop in the tub. Ha ha! It didn’t make sense nor ring a bell for me so, I thought he was talking in his sleep. Well, he brought it up in the morning again. I asked Mike about it and he didn’t remember anything like that. I asked Mike’s Mom and she didn’t recall it. Well, then I asked Mike’s Dad and he said it was true. He said it happened when we lived with them the 2^nd time, when Connor was probably 3 years old! So, 3 ½ years later he brings up this frog! So funny! Connor remembers everything!!!! Heck, he even remembers the room numbers of my hospital rooms when I delivered Rylie and Corie! So, I told Mike’s Dad about Connor remembering. So, last Saturday Mike’s Dad shows up at our house to take Connor to go look at frogs. Now, we are NOT ALLOWED to have pets where we live or we will be kicked out. We’ve stressed this a million times on Mike’s parents, who think we need dogs, etc. Well, they return and in walks Connor with a frog, a big ole’ tank, food, etc. Connor was so, so excited and happy about it! So, I called our landlord and he said it was ok, being that it was a small frog. So, we are now owners of a pet frog. The type of frog he is is a pacman frog. The name comes because of the way he looks when he opens his mouth to eat….a pacman. J At first Connor named him Mickey but, shortly after he changed his name to Tad, which I think is adorable. He’s a cute, cute frog. He is sometimes hard to find because he blends well with his surroundings. Connor takes very good care of him and always tells me we need to make sure we give him delicious crickets so that Tad knows Connor loves him so much. So, the story continues on! Rylie then wants a pet! She wanted a fire-belly frog, which you have to have it in water. That’s not approved so then she wants a bird or a gerbil. Well, we definitely cannot have those in our house! So, it comes down to a lizard or a hermit crab. She decides on a hermit crab. She chose one that has its shell painted to look like a lady bug and even has googly eyes glued onto it. At first she named it Tangled but, now is changed to Minnie. We’ll see how long that lasts. She loves it and just giggles and giggles. In the day time it burrows itself in the sand. AT night it’s all over the place. Rylie chose a little crab shack for it and red sand. Connor then decides he also wants a hermit crab. We told him we weren’t going to buy one for him but, if he wanted to buy one with his own money he could. So, he took his piggy bank out and counted out the money he would need. So, we took him to the pet store the next day and he picked out a bigger hermit crab that has a shell painted like the head of a pig, also with googly eyes! He climbs over Rylie’s crab. Both of the crabs like hiding under this tree-like thing we put in their tank. A few times we haven’t been able to find Rylie’s crab but, then find he’s burrowed himself underneath all of the sand and is at the bottom of the tank.

Corie's 1-Year Measurements, Etc.

I forgot to put down Corie's measurements from when she went to 1-year check-up at the Dr. So, here they are:

1. She weighs 24.67 lbs. which puts her in the 93%.
2. Her length is 30.12 inches, which puts her in the 82%.
3. Dr. Marsden said her growth pattern is text book perfect. He said he's only seen a perfect growth pattern on a child a couple times in the last few years! So, I'm grateful to know she is growing just the way she should be.
4. Corie started walking shortly after turning 11 months old. It happened the evening we were decorating the Christmas tree, November 25, 2011. She just up and walked 8 steps on her own. After that she was off! She quickly figured out how to stand on her own and use her balance. I think this came from jumping so much as an infant. It really built up her leg strength. She loves to walk everywhere!!! Rarely will she crawl now, which is great for keeping the knees in her pants longer now.
5. Corie is completely off of baby food and cereal, which is no surprise. She's been eating "human" food for a while now so it wasn't a big deal.
6. We have begun weaning her off of the bottle. I started this right after she turned 1 but, she caught a stomach flu bug, so Dr. Marsden had us wait until after Christmas to try again. So, we've started and I have FINALLY found a sippy cup that Corie will drink from! I've tried 4 or 5 different kinds. She loves cows milk so, hopefully the bottle will be gone soon! I think it may be harder to wean my husband from using formula and a bottle.
7. Words that Corie says are Mom, Dada, Wow, Ohhhh, Bye-bye, and no-no. She waves a lot now, whether it's bedtime or leaving or waking up. I've been trying to teach her sign language but, she hasn't picked up on that yet.
8. She's been especially clingy the last few weeks. Don't know if it was because we were around a lot of people for the holidays or she wasn't feeling good or what? She's seems to be doing better now that we are back into a routine.
9. Corie is still on all of her meds. for her acid reflux, etc. Dr. Marsden feels that she'll grow out of it by the time she's 2. I sure hope so.
10. Corie likes to point too!

Corie's 1st Birthday!!!!

Thanksgiving 2011

Our Family (mike was taking the photo) in front of the St. George temple.

We spent Thanksgiving in St. George this year, with Mike's parents and sister. This year was also Corie's first Thanksgiving. She was a champ with the food, especially enjoying the turkey! We also made it down to the St. George temple to see the Christmas lights and manger scene they put up each year. The kids LOVED the lights and, as you can tell, requested I take lots of pictures!

Corie 11-Months-Old!!!

This past week, Corie turned 11-months-old!!!! I cannot believe that in less than a month my baby will be turning 1!!!!! This year has flown by with her! It's strange to think that I was pregnant at this time last year! Corie is growing and changing so much! She had a busy month, which included:

1. She gained another 1, almost 2 teeth (the top, front two teeth).
2. She currently weighs 25 lbs.
3. Her favorite sound this month was "Sssss! Sssss! Sssss!" She doesn't do it as much anymore but, really made that sounds when she was scooting or crawling around.
4. Had her first flu shot ever and DIDN'T CRY AT ALL!!! She didn't even flinch or make a sound. It was like it didn't even happen! She was so brave!
5. Stood on her own for the first time, for 32 seconds on 11/11/11. Since then, she stands on her own for quite a long time.
6. Corie also took her first 2 steps on 11/11/11. Must be something with the numbers and being lucky. So, it's just a matter of time before she takes off. She would be our earliest walker, since Connor and Rylie both didn't start walking until 18 month old.
7. Corie loves the game of playing chase. She squeals with excitement!!! She will also go behind something, the poke her head out, and make it a fun game.
8. Corie loves to dance with music. She rocks back and forth, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. I wonder if she'll be a music fan like Connor is.
9. Corie ADORES Connor and Rylie. I have to say she especially lights up with Connor. He plays fun little games with her, says book, fake sneezes and she either giggles or squeals!
10. Corie loves to go into Connor's bedroom and climb up on Rylie's bed and play on there! She's so proud of herself climbing up there!
11. She has also discovered gravity and just LOVES to throw things over the edge of the bed, couch, etc. to watch them fall.
12. This month Corie also had an appointment with a Pulmonologist in West Jordan. Dr. Pfeffer is an EXCELLENT Dr. and she is BRILLIANT!!!! She looked at the x-ray they took of Corie's chest and also looked at the 10 page form I had to fill out. I also had to keep record of Corie's sleeping patterns for 2 weeks. Dr. Pfeffer said she was exhausted just looking at Corie's sleeping patterns! After talking with us she came to the conclusion that Corie has a severe form of acid reflux and feel she's been this way since birth. When Corie was a baby we gave her baby Zantac but, I thought the symptoms and problems were gone so, I took her off of the medicine. BIG mistake. Corie's lung tissue is a little damaged because the acid has gotten into her lungs. Her esophagus, etc. are also damaged. So, we were prescribed 4 different medications to put Corie on. One of them was given for just 5 days, until the other medicines kicked in. Now we have the routine down. I give all remaining 3 in the morning, one middle of the day, and 2 of them at night. Corie hates it but, has gotten really good at taking her inhaler and inhaling 10 times each puff. I am happy to report that Dr. Pfeffer had to be right on because within 2 days of Corie starting her medication regiment, she slept through the night and continues to be sleeping through the night!!!! I'm so excited about this and hope her little body can continue to mend itself so she can feel better and get off these meds. Dr. Pfeffer is hoping we can start taking her off a couple of them by the summer!

Visit from the Cook Family - Part 2

Besides going to Vegas, we did a lot of other things. One of the first things we did was take the kids on a walk on the paved trail by our house. We went as far as we could go, before the road cracked, and then turned around. Corie and Hayden were pretty tired, obviously! They slept for a while in that stroller. We also all went hiking on the red hills. This seems to be a favorite activity with out kids, as well as with people that come to visit. They have a great time exploring and seeing what's hidden in the rocks and caves. The last day they were here we also went to a splash pad/park. The kids are a GREAT time!!!! Luckily we got to do that before it cooled off too much down here. We have a carousel in the park downtown. The kids really had a great time on that!!! We took them twice on that!