off to teacher's house

Ella is "off to teacher's house". Today is her first day of preschool for the school year. (She went to preschool summer camp over the summer with Michelle.... Today is her first time without Michelle.) Here are just a few shots before we left.

high fives

my little monkey

Michelle loves swinging on our monkey bars. She has gotten quite good... she can go across them now, hang upside down from them and can almost go across backwords. This morning she wanted to show off her skills for me and I happened to have my camera since we had just dropped Ella off at preschool, so I snapped some shots of her.

Look at that concentration... it's still challenging for her to go across but she loves that she can do it.


"I did it!!!"

August Reads

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Clementine's Letter (children's chapter book)
Escape by Carolyn Jessop
Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers (very fast, touching)
No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay (good story, but too much profanity)
Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter
Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde
The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam
The Mislaid Magician by Wrede and Stevermer
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (very interesting, thought provoking, troubling, strange)


****Just a note: Alfredo is not much of a reader. He can read but really doesn't read very often. Yet in just over a week he read all four of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books. Anyone know any other good vampire stories? or books that your husbands really loved?

update

Gabrielle's fever broke in the middle of the night. She seems to be feeling much better. She slept pretty well last night and is back to her happy self this morning. Thank goodness!

the good, the bad and the ugly

The good news: Alfredo found a new job. (I don't think I ever posted that he quit his job at Primary. It's a long story, but he quit about 2 weeks ago.) He didn't really start looking for a new job until last week. His friend Leo told him to apply at his job, Utility Trailer. Alfredo did. They offered him a job running the storeroom there. He'll make almost the exact same wages as he did at Primary Children's after 7 years there. And it's much closer. He started today. He thinks he'll like it. However, it is a 5 day a week job rather than 4 day a week job. Thankfully, Janene is willing and able to watch our girls all 5 days. We love and appreciate her. It's amazing how the Lord takes care of us. The timing on everything just worked out perfectly. His insurance stopped covering us on August 31. I was able to sign up for district insurance that began coverage on Sept. 1. I had really struggled last April/May to decide whether to be half time or full time but felt like being full time was the right decision to make. Even though Alfredo was technically unemployed for only a week, it was reassuring to know that we would be okay since I had my job. Everything has worked out for the best.

The bad: My poor 3 week old Gabrielle is sick. Poor baby girl. She has a fever and has been so fussy and sad last night and today. I took her to the doctor. They couldn't find anything wrong other than the fever. Her fever was 100.3 at first but then 20 minutes later was 99.6. The doctor said that if it went over 100.4, she'd need to go to Primary Children's to have blood tests and stuff done. I feel so bad for her. It's probably some type of infection, and he said probably/hopefully she'd fight it off on her own. but we have to keep an eye on her and take her temp every few hours to see how she's doing.

The ugly: Can't think of much that's ugly. The weather is beautiful. My girls are beautiful. Oh, the dishes piled in my sink are ugly... haven't had the energy or inclination to do them today. Probably my hair too, since I never did it today. :)

Gabrielle's blessing day

On Sunday, we blessed Gabrielle. Alfredo asked my stepdad, Mike, to bless Gabrielle. It was a beautiful blessing. I'm grateful that we were able to do it while my family was here in town. (Even though so many of our friends in the ward were out of town or at other wards. We missed you! :))

Somehow I neglected to take any pictures of Gabrielle by herself in her blessing dress, so I'll do that soon and post them. But here are a couple shots from that day and two of our family.

These first two I had to include because I love the expressions on her face. She looks so inquisitive and alert in this first one. Also, I love how she folds her hands in her lap.
I know that supposedly babies don't smile as newborns... that it's just gas. I don't believe it. Gabrielle will look right at you, make this contented noise and smile. Here she is looking at my mom, with a half smile on her face.
Gabrielle was wiped out after church and slept for almost 2 hours. maybe that's why I didn't get any shots of her... But here we are.

photos of family

While my mom, stepdad and sister Suzy were here visiting, we were able to visit with a lot of my extended family. It was nice to see everyone, and especially to spend time with my mom and Mike and Suzy. This is my great aunt Joan holding Gabrielle and my (paternal) grandma Marj Bills. My dad and grandpa were also there, but I didn't get pictures of them.
My cousins Colton, Tanner, and Ashley and my aunt Diane.
My mom with Gabrielle
Mike, my stepdad, with Gabrielle
The girls: me, Ella, Suzy, Gabrielle, my mom, Michelle

We also visited with my maternal grandparents. And with my uncle Dan, aunt Suzanne, and cousins Melissa and Emily.