Light the Night

September is National Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. Every year the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society sponsors a fundraiser called "Light the Night". Over 200 communities nationwide walk to raise awareness, raise money, and support victims and families of blood related cancers. Last Saturday our little family walked in Salt Lake City's walk at Sugar House Park in honor of my mom. It was a lot of fun and so touching to connect with other people whose lives have been affected by this horrible disease. Every participant was given an illuminated balloon: red for supporters, white for patients and survivors, and gold in memory of loved ones who fought to the end. I hope to make this a family tradition every September!

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma's support color is lime green!

Thank you so much to all our dear friends and family who donated to the society. Our team raised $175.

Together, At Last!

   One year ago, right now, Carrie flew to Utah for a special family event. I took a day off work, and we hit the mall together. In the middle of the mall Carrie spilled the beans that she was pregnant. I was shocked. I asked, "When are you due?" She replyed, "May 12th (it later got moved to the 17th). Why are you pregnant, or something?" I nodded, "yes." Carrie shrieked, right there in the middle of the mall. I told her I was due May 17th.
   Carrie and I are convinced that Scarlett and Jude were best friends in Heaven. Why else would they come to Earth less than a day apart? Jude came 20 hours before her so she wouldn't be so scared, but then she missed her little friend and came right down.
   Well, Scarlett and Jude finally got to see each other again. Carrie and Jason came to town for Jason's little brother's wedding. S and J really are twin cousins. They both have easy temperaments, both loved sleeping by each other in their swaddles (hers pink, his green), and they have matching car seats and strollers. It was so fun to finally see them together.

We didn't get great pictures. Maybe next time. We were having too much fun (and I think Jude threw up on his shirt)

Also, Jonny and I went to Twin Falls a couple of weeks ago and got to go to the good ol' county fair. Jonny had never been to one (oh city folk). We ate lots of greasy food and had lots of fun with Grandma Debbie, Grandpa Cleve, Ryan, and Chelsea.

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Scarlett loves her Uncle Ryan

This pig was 1,200 lbs or something ridiculous like that. I think his testicles alone were about 100 lbs.

And last, but not least, Scarlett's 4 month stats:

Weight- 15 lbs 15 oz
Height- 25 in.
Head- 17 in.

Her height and weight are somewhere in the 80s as far as percentile, and her head is almost 95%. "It's like Sputnik!" She was very brave at the drs and only cried for a minute. She cheered right up when I sang her favorite song, Rainbow Connection.

Buttars Punnett Square

   Growing up, I never really liked my ears. It's not that I cried over them, hid them behind my hair, or thought, "woe is me," but I was always a little bit self-concious of them. For one reason, my ears are upside-down. What I mean is that they are bigger on the bottom than on the top instead of the other way around. Another reason is that my ears have a folded over flap of skin at the top. It didn't help that my best friend had perfectly round, tiny ears.

   It wasn't until the last couple of years that I noticed that my ears weren't as unique as I thought. They looked exactly like my dad's ears, which look just like his dad's ears. That made me like my ears a little better. I was talking to my Grandma Della last weekend and she told me that the first thing she asked when each of her kids were born is, "are their ears folded?" I thought this was funny because the first thing I asked Jonny when Scarlett was born is, "does she have my ears?"

   It turned out she did... and now I don't think I could love my ears more.

Grandpa Vince (I wonder who his ears came from)

My dad

My ear (attached lobes come from Mom)

Scarlett's perfect little ear

Three Monther

Scarlett turned three months old last Saturday. She is such a sweet little thing. Here are some facts about Scarlett at three months:

- Smiles, giggles, kicks, and talks all the time
- Can roll from her tummy to back in about 5 seconds
- Weighs about 13.75 lbs according to the "weigh yourself, then weigh yourself with baby" method
- Sleeps in her cradle from about 9:30 PM to 9:00 AM with a short little breakfast at about 7 AM
- Naps in her big girl crib during the day (naps are starting to have a pattern as well)
- Ratio of throwing up on Dad to Mom is about 5:1 even though she's with me more throughout the day (I've   trained her well!)
- Is liking her car seat less and less, but still can't stay awake in it
- Loves going on walks and looking all around facing out in the Baby Bjorn
- Watches the pages of her books intently when you read to her
- Doesn't hate pooping any more as long as I don't eat curry or other spicy things
- Sometimes sucks her thumb
- Has her dad's nose, eyes, and square head
- Has her mom's ears, chin, and square mouth
- Has about 3 times more hair on the right side of her head than anywhere else (and looks like friar tuck from the back)
- Is called about 25 different nicknames a day including: Pumpkin, Turkey, Lettie, Angel, Pickle, and "insert any word"__________ -Pie
-Has her dad's easy-going temperment

Post blessing photo-shoot in the living room (more on that great day later)

4 Generations at Grandma Ann's 90th birthday party. Scarlett is falling asleep.

At the movies. Haha.

The whole family (oh yeah.. I cut my hair off!)

S's dress, er, shirt

   At church on Sunday, we talked about developing our talents and aspirations. The lady who taught told us how she really wanted to be a painter, but lacked the time, money, and confidence to start. The desire never left her, and as a young mother she finally just gathered some computer paper, craft paint, and children's brushes from around the house and got to work. Long story short- she's now illustrates children's books. She showed us her work and it is amazing.
   Well, I really want to learn to sew. I'm not good, but I'm trying. I had to start somewhere, so I started with quilts. As long as you can cut lots of pieces and sew a straight line, you can make a quilt (especially if you pay someone else to do the actual quilting after it's pieced like I do). So I've made 5 quilts, and I'm over them for a while.

"The Baby Maker" (The Proposal.. anyone?)
I made this for Jonny as a birthday surprise.
It's a rough and tumble type of quilt.

Quilt for my nephew Jude (Lindsey, not Lloyd)

The other three (the one on the left was my first ever, the other two are for Scarlett)

I also appliqued some shirts for my nieces a long time ago (no pics), and a shirt for myself to support Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Also, super easy.

So now I'm moving on to baby clothes and other simple projects (ideas welcome). Baby and kids clothes don't scare me quite as much because babies don't have hips, or waists, or a bustline. Just big round tummies. Yesterday, I set out to make a dress for Scarlett out of scraps I've had for a while. I found a tutorial at www.gingerhendrix.com that dumbed the process down to someone on my level or lower (like what folding lengthwise means!).
   Everything went pretty smoothly (except when I had to text my ultra talented sewing friend Stephanie to ask her how to make my machine baste) until the end. I sewed up the "gutted fish" and tried it on her. It slid right on, then slid right off. The straps were way too big. So I took it off her, unpicked the straps, and sewed them on nice a tight. Well now the straps fit, but the dress would not go over my daughter's adorable globe of a head or her wonderfully round tummy.
   I unpicked the back of the dress and brainstormed how I could get this thing on Scarlett. First thought, buttons! Buttons would make it easier to get on! Only problem... I don't know how to make a buttonhole... yet, and the only buttons at my house are a random assortment of extras from my own clothes. Fail.
    So I decided to think back to my earliest experience with fashion design- Barbie. Barbie's arms are akin to baby arms in that they are impossible to get into tight clothes. How did Mattel solve this problem? Velcro. Genius. I found some velcro strips in a drawer from a previous project (Oh yeah! Another project. I sewed fabric paper dolls for my niece Evelyn. They looked like this: http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/02/flat-emelie-and-matt.html). Voila! The dress goes on.
   Now I have a different problem. The tight dress ends at the fattest part of my baby... her thighs. It keeps riding up a bunching. Dang! I knew I should have put more pleats than that front one it to make the skirt fuller. I then hacked off about 3-4 inches, re-hemmed the bottom, and the dress became a shirt. The straps were still a little big so I said, "Ah, to Heck with it!". I unpicked them one last time, tied them in a knot behind her head, and it became a halter-top.

Too tight dress

The final product! Ta da!

Is the dress shirt amazing? No, but it's okay. Am I proud? You betcha (please- I made an entire blog post about it). I'm proud that I didn't give up. I'm proud that I'm now a pro at hemming. I'm proud that I learned how to make a pleat! Who knew? I'm proud that I was able to improvise. I'm proud that I now feel comfortable doing this project again, that it won't take as long, and I hopefully won't have to unpick as many seams.

Two Months

Scarlett is two months old on Wednesday. She went to the doctor today, and he said she is doing just great! The shots were probably more sad for Jonny and I than they were for Scarlett. I almost cried right along with her. I nursed her right after and that cheered her right up.

Stats:
Head- 16 in, 90th percentile
Length- 24 in, 90th+ percentile
Weight- 12 lbs 3 oz, 80th percentile

Now we're home and Scarlett is more upset than she's ever been in her life. It breaks my heart. Hopefully she'll be back to her happy self soon!

Scarlett, White, and Blue

Happy 235th birthday, America!! Jonny, Scarlett, and I celebrated up in Twin Falls, Idaho. It was so fun to be with family, except we really missed Carrie and the rest of the Lloyds! On Saturday, Julie and Clint went to a concert up in Sun Valley so the kids stayed the night at my mom and dad's house. They had a fun little campout with Grandpa in the backyard (except Audrey. She crashed and slept inside with my mom).

Scarlett's first time on the swings

Grandma Debbie and Scarlett

Ryan, Chelsea, and the Schnoor girls (and Farfel!)

Dad and Jack setting up

Ryan made these signs in case anyone got lost

Roasting s'mores before bed

The fun continued on the 4th of July. The boys got up early and went golfing. Mom and I went to the annual neighborhood breakfast/parade. Then the fam all headed down to Bass Lake at the country club for the annual BBQ picnic.

That night Mom, Dad, Jonny, Scarlett, and I headed to the firework show at CSI (after squeezing in a quick game of hand and foot). Scarlett LOVED the fireworks.. and by LOVED I mean she didn't cry and stared at the traffic light down the street.

Scarlett's night-time patriotic outfit

I love Independence Day. It's like baseball games. Enjoyable purely for the ambiance it creates. I can't think of a better way or time of year to celebrate the birth of this great nation that we are so blessed to live in. Growing up, my sister Carrie and I made the most of the 4th. We dressed head to toe in red, white, and blue. We painted our toenails with American flags. Carrie braided our hair into "hippie braids" which basically entailed ratting our hair a bunch, braiding it in two braids, and spraying the heck out of it with glitter hairspray (our bathroom door at our parents house still has a layer of film on it). The look was completed with stick on jewels on our face or temporary tattoos. Most of the fun was the process of getting ready itself. I'm excited to spread this love of the holiday to Scarlett when she gets a little bigger. She had fun this year, but man was she worn out every night from all the excitement!

Back home and exhausted after a busy weekend and hot car ride

Grown-Ups Say the Darndest Things

    When I was a little girl, I assumed that when children grew up and turned into adults they would magically become responsible, smart, and tactful. I was wrong. I don't mean that people can't change. Most hyperactive children eventually settle down. A shy child will eventually come out of his or her shell.

   Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Often times the "know-it-all" kid becomes a "know-it-all" adult. Bullies keep picking on those weaker than themselves. Mean girls still passive-aggressively think they rule the World.

   Let me go back to the issue of tact, though. Working with different ages of elementary students for over three years, I have realized that kids don't have any tact, and it is hilarious. They have no problem pointing out zits on your face. They will not hesitate to tell you your hair looked better before you died it dark and now you look "weird". When such phrases come out of the mouth of a 5-10 year-old, you obviously cannot take offense. The kindergartener who points to you when your 8 1/2 pregnant and says to her sister, "Whoa! She's fat," doesn't mean any harm. He or she is just pointing out facts.

   Small children can get away with these things. People in their 20's, 30's, 40's and beyond...can't (until you're old and senile). Let me share with you a few brief anecdotes from my pregnancy that illustrate this.

(20something-year-old acquaintance): How far along are you?
(Me): Oh, I'm about 23 weeks.
(Her): Oh my gosh, you are soooooo small. Is there something WRONG with your baby?
(Me- already paranoid about everything that could be wrong): Uh, no. She's actually measuring right on schedule (thank-you-very-much)

(300 lb+ aide at my school as a walk my class down the hall to art): Wow! Someone is REALLY starting to waddle. You are huge!
(Me): (insert fake smile and chuckle) My midwife is actually a little worried that I'm not big enough, but uh... thanks?

(Same 300+ lb-er): Four more weeks!!
(Me): Actually, six.
(Her): No, I'm pretty sure it's four.
(Me): No, I'm pretty sure it's six.
(Her): Oh, they changed your due date.
(Me): No, they didn't.
(Her): Yeah, you used to be due the first week of May.
(Me): No, I've always been due May, 17th
(Her): Hmmm.... (looking at me like I'm one who doesn't know what she's talking about!)

Last one
(Co-worker): Oh, your baby is so cute!!
(Me): Thanks! I sure think so.
(Her): So, what did you end up naming her?
(Me): Scarlett
(Her- smile falling, voice changes to one of disgust): Ugh. Where in the World did you come up with That?!
(Me): Well... we just really like it I guess. What are your children's names?
(Her): ___________, ____________, and _____________ (I can't remember, but insert super crazy Utah names that involve 3 different syllables from 3 different names and you'll be close.

Maybe Bill Cosby needs to start a show for them. Somehow I don't think the ratings will be good.

No post is complete without some pictures of our cute girl, so enjoy.

After our friend Landon's wedding. Stay tuned for a better pic of her dress. It's darling. 

"Swimming" in the shade at Seven Peaks

Looking at the lights. Her fave. 

Definitely not "Failure to Thrive". This girl loves to eat.

Pretty girl. We still need to capture her great gummy smile!

One Month Old!

Scarlett is one month old today. I am thankful everyday that she is my daughter, and I am her mom. I am amazed that my body has kept another person alive for a month!  A great new chapter in our lives was initiated by her birth.  To read about it click here. We love getting to know her more each day.

Scarlett Loves: 

• Baths and getting her hair washed
• Nursing
• Getting burped
• Laying in Mom and Dad's bed in the morning
• Being swaddled
• Going on walks
• Tummy time
• Songs, stories, and anyone talking to her
• Her mom and dad

Scarlett Hates:

• Pooping 

No, really. It's pretty much the only time she cries.

Meeting her Schnoor cousins minus Jack

Napping with Dad

Out on a walk

After her bath

At the Salt Lake Bees game 6/11/11

Big one-monther 6/12/11