FHE 3 and 4

For our third FHE we decided to finish learning the basics about taking care of baby. We also decided it was probably time to figure out how to bathe our sweet little girl. Dallas and I read two different websites. One was extremely basic and the other had about three detailed pages describing what to do, including the need to have a different wash cloth for every one of baby's appendages. We decided to try and do something in the middle. That day Emma had begun to emit an unpleasant smell and we thought a bath would take care of it. However, as we took off her onesie, we realized the smell came from her belly button, which was also oozing a yellow goop.

We were a bit concerned so I decided to check google and find out what this could possibly mean. The sites I read caused Dallas and I to become alarmed. They said that if the belly button smelled and oozed a yellow color, it could be infected and it could be extremely dangerous. To be safe, we then called the hotline for our pediatrician (by then it was 9:00 p.m.). After listening to our situation, the nurse suggested we take Emma to the ER. Now we were really worried. Throughout this whole ordeal, Emma was smiling and looking around and seeming like all was well. Because of that, I felt kind of silly taking her to the ER. Also, I didn't feel like the ER was the place I wanted to take a week old baby. We decided to call Jason. After describing the situation and sending Jason some pictures we decided all would be well for the night and we would take Emma to our pediatrician first thing in the morning. By then...FHE was over. That belly button ordeal sucked up anything else we were going to do for the night.

The next morning Dallas and I hustled to the pediatrician. Emma still seemed happy and calm, but her belly button still smelled pretty bad. When we arrived, the nurse directed us to undress Emma so that she was just wearing her diaper. We took off her onesie and voila! The dried up part of her belly button had fallen off! The doctor came in and said she looked great and all was well. He also explained that there are times when the smell and ooze can mean the button has gotten infected and that can be super dangerous. However, if that were so, we would have seen red lines and other stuff around her belly button. I tell you this story partly so that a) if this ever happens to one of your kids, you realize it could be just fine and b) you realize that Dallas and I are very new at this parent thing and might occasionally overreact. But, hey, we figure it's always better to super safe and cautious.

For our fourth FHE we wrote in baby's book and also worked on our family contract. It used to be our marriage contract, but now that we have little Emma, it was time for it to become a family contract. Dallas and I first worked on this before we were married and included things such as maintaining a plentiful chocolate milk supply, practicing safety when running or driving, and not buying food in the airpot. We have decided that we will revisit these contracts every year and update them as we have more kiddos. There were some things that we changed from our marriage contract to our family. For example, since I have done so well with making food other than apples and carrots, we felt we could take that off the list. And since now we have Emma, Dallas had to add to his contract that he would teach her as much math as she could stomach, and other such things. You can read the updated family contract here.

Well, that finishes up our FHEs for the month of January. It was fun getting to focus on baby. I had wanted one of our FHEs to include getting CPR certified and other helpful things like that. We will hopefully still do that. If you can think of anything else we should be doing to help us be good parents to baby Emma, we are open for suggestions :)

Baby Came! (FHE 2)

Baby finally came! And yes, she made her appearance on our second FHE of 2015. Actually, she was the main event of the FHE, which was just as we'd hoped (if you remember our theme for January FHE activities was "baby").

Baby Smith was due on January 3...but that day came and went without a baby. I was excited to see her but also didn't feel any super rush. However, many others tried to help hasten her arrival. For example, Dallas kept offering to spike my orange juice with castor oil while family and friends suggested using certain foods, oils, or massages to kickstart the process. Saturday evening, January 10th, Dallas and I were sitting at the couch. I believe Dallas was working on math and I was just thinking. I realized that in some ways I hadn't felt ready for baby to come. I felt like I needed to say a prayer and share that I was now ready for her to come, if the time was right. I quietly went to the bedroom and said a prayer, sharing my feelings and that if baby girl was ready, I was now ready and excited for her to come. I felt peaceful and calm and believed that baby girl would at least start coming within the next day.

Dallas and I have church from 1:30-4:30 p.m. During the last part of church, while in Relief Society, I began to feel back pains. I mentioned this to Dallas as we left church. He grinned and said, "You know what that means?" I laughed because he had said this about everything I had said during the last few weeks. For example, if I told him I felt like my nails were growing super fast he would respond with that same question and grin. For Dallas, anything I said or did, meant baby was coming. But this time, I really did think baby was coming and told him so. I could tell he was excited but I think he was also guarded...he didn't want to get his hopes up too high.

That evening we were planning to go to my parents. My sister Renae would be there and she had a bassinet that we would need for baby. This was something I had been worried about, so knowing that we would be getting one that day also made me feel more ready for having baby girl. For a moment I considered not going to my parents, in case this really was labor. I soon bagged that idea because I figured it would be good to keep myself occupied and besides, it's always fun to see family. I was also pretty certain that this was probably just the beginning of labor and from what I'd heard, labor could last a reeeeeally long time. So I might as well keep myself busy.

We got to my parents around 5:30 and began eating dinner around 6:30. The back pains had continued and whenever they came I would walk into my dad's office and continue pacing until they went away. Initially, nobody noticed. There was enough going on that me walking toward the office didn't catch anyone's attention. However, by the time we sat down for dinner and I would get up and leave the table, people began to notice. Well, at least my parents and Renae. They turned to Dallas and said, "You might be getting a baby tonight." "What?" asked Dallas. He hadn't noticed. They pointed out that I was getting up from the table quite frequently and holding my back and that these were most likely contractions. As soon Dallas heard that, he snapped into future-daddy mode. He got a yellow pad of paper and began timing my contractions and how much time lapsed between each one.  He did such a great job following me around the house and making sure I was doing okay. To make things easier, Dallas found an app on his phone and started to use that to record my contractions.

By 9:00 p.m. the contractions were 5 minutes apart and each lasting at least a minute. We decided we'd better head home. Renae offered to come with us, but I thought we would be okay for then. I wanted to go home and try to relax and do at least some of the things we had practiced with hypnobirthing. However, it was reassuring to know that she was ready and willing to come help whenever we were ready. I sat in the back seat so that I could move and stretch out more during the contractions. Dallas thought maybe he should drop me off at the birth center and then he would go get our birth bag (which he had had me pack about two weeks prior - Dallas is always prepared :). I told him no way. Number one, I did not want to be left alone. Number two, the birth center isn't open 24/7. And number three, I figured I still probably had a while till baby girl was coming.

When we got home, Dallas called the birth center. We had been told to call once the contractions were at least a minute long and 5 minutes apart and this had been going on for at least an hour. All of those things were true. However, I soon realized they were not enough. The midwife asked, "Can you walk or talk through contractions?" Of course I could! I didn't want to talk through contractions, but I could if I had to. And I walked through contractions because that hurt less than sitting or lying down. She responded, "Ah. Well, don't worry. Eventually you won't be able to. That is when you should come in." "What?!?" I thought things were already getting tough but apparently they weren't tough enough.

By 11:30 p.m. we called Renae and told her she could head over because I did not think I could hold on much longer and was pretty sure we would be leaving for the birth center soon. I was wrong. We ended up calling the birth center at least two more times before they finally gave the okay for us to come in. Our final phone call was at about 2:20 a.m. and they said to be there in half an hour. By then, I really was lying down during contractions.

Notice the red book...that's one of Dallas' math books. You know this
was a big night because rather than read it, he is focused on his phone
which was keeping record of the contractions - good husband :)

It's been a long night - this is probably sometime between midnight and 2 a.m.

I felt relief when we arrived at the birth center. I was excited for them to check me and tell me I was right to come in. I don't remember what all they checked, but for some reason they decided it was okay for me to stay. That was even greater relief to hear. While the midwives set up the birthing suite, Renae and Dallas stayed with me. The next few hours are hazy. My contractions had sped up to every three minutes before we got to the birth center and once we got there, I felt like they were coming even more frequently. The midwives would come in and check on me every once in a while, but mostly it was just me, Renae, Dallas, and baby girl. Renae and Dallas would switch off giving me counter pressure and pouring water on me when I was in the tub.

Getting my blood pressure checked

Dallas keeping record of the contractions

Feeling for baby's position

Dallas giving me counter pressure to help ease the pain

The midwives often directed me to squat - this would
hopefully give my body the needed pressure to open up

Dallas trying to rest while I laid in the tub

A bit before 7:00 a.m. I threw up everything. That was a real bummer. I knew that I would need lots of energy for labor so I had made sure to eat well during dinner. It seemed to do no good though because I threw up everything. At that point, the contractions slowed a ton and I felt exhausted. The midwives helped me and Dallas to the bed and we both tried to rest. The next thing I remember was the midwives waking me up and asking if I wanted a vaginal exam. I figured that was a good idea. After the quick exam they asked if I wanted to know how much I was dilated and effaced. I knew that in some ways, I shouldn't find out because it can be depressing to hear if one is not very far along. But, on the other hand, I didn't want to think I was further along than I really might be. I asked to know. She told me I was 3 cm dilated and effaced something like 30 percent. That is not very much.

I thought I had been working very hard...but these numbers did not sound so good. The midwife then suggested I go home and get some rest because I was still in early labor and already very tired (had been laboring for almost ten hours, practically no sleep, and now that I had thrown up - no food for energy). She was concerned I would not have the strength needed for active labor and pushing. She also said I could choose to stay at the birth center and they would give me some tylenol to help me sleep so I could rest and have greater energy. She left me so that I could think about it. I didn't need much time to think it out - I knew I did not want to go home. I felt like that would kill me mentally. I came here to have a baby and I didn't want to leave without it.

When the midwife returned, I told her that I would take her up on her offer for tylenol and to sleep at the birth center. She looked at me for a bit and then responded, "Actually, if you want to stay here, we are going to help you get into active labor." Before having me do some exercises, she first put me on an IV. I had not realized how totally dead I was until after I sucked up everything in that IV. That made a huge difference and gave me some fuel that I desperately needed. The next big help was the doula that arrived. I think Renae, Dallas, and I were all dead and I was definitely losing hope. The doula was a fresh face with fresh ideas for positions and ways to help this baby come. I think we all appreciated her being there.

One the doula's suggestions was to lean against
a chair; Dallas is giving me counter pressure.

By noon I had thrown up again. I don't know where my body found materials to throw up...but it somehow did. Once again, the contractions slowed considerably and I felt extremely tired. I rested for a while and the next thing I knew, the midwives were asking if they could do another exam. I said sure and hoped that this time there would be big improvement. They asked if I wanted to know and, of course, I did. I could tell from the way she asked that I wasn't super close to having the baby. I was dilated 5 cm and I don't remember how much effaced. Again, they got me up and tried to get me back into active labor. About that point I inwardly fell apart. I honestly did not know if I could go any longer. I burst into tears and cried on Renae's shoulder for a while. She cried too and I think it helped to know she understood or at least that she cried with me. I later found out that Dallas also broke down soon after that. I don't think either of us realized how hard this was going to be.

At some point the midwives also told me the baby was posterior. I think that might have been after that second vaginal exam. I felt super confused because she had been in the correct position for the last two weeks - how did she suddenly flip? The midwives explained that she had been on a different side (right or left, I don't remember) and that as she moved, she turned posterior. They suggested that could be why I was hurting so badly. To help baby get in the right position they had me do some more exercises. The first (and probably most difficult) was doing lunges during contractions. I would put my foot on the base of the bed and lean in with a lunge movement during the contractions, switching legs with each contraction. I did that exercise for about 45 minutes. It became extremely difficult - by the end I felt like there was no break between contractions.

After that I really wanted to get back in the tub. I remembered Rachel saying that helped ease her contractions. I asked if I could. The midwives first checked the baby's position. Even I could tell she had moved - when they listened to her heartbeat, they now held the doppler in a different place. But she hadn't moved enough. Therefore, no bathtub. Not yet. The midwives then had me sit on the toilet backwards. They put a pillow on the tank so that I could lean there. This was supposed to help me stay in the squat position without having to use as much muscle. It would hopefully help gravity open me up more as baby pressed against me. Although this was not as painful as doing the lunges, I still wanted to get in the tub. I asked the midwife if I could. She responded that I had made good progress but to keep it up I needed to do this position for at least 45 minutes. We then had a little compromising. I asked to do it for 15-20 and we settled on 30 and that she would begin filling the tub at that moment.

I think near the end of that exercise I lost track of time. Initially it seemed the 30 minutes would take forever but before I knew it, I got to get into the tub! I felt extremely excited. I had high hopes that the pain would greatly subside, so much so that I wouldn't want to get out. I asked the midwives if I would be able to just stay in the tub and have the baby there. They responded with "Of course - if that is what you want." I thought for sure I would want that. I got in and within about a minute the contractions started up again...and they were just as bad! I couldn't believe it and was so disappointed! Dallas got in with me and tried to help by massaging and pressing against my back. That helped a bit, but it still hurt.

The rest of the time I feel like I was getting in and out of the tub, sitting on the chair, leaning or lunging against the bed, wrapping my arms around Dallas, Renae, Emily, the doula, or anyone else who was around me, and squatting on the birthing stool. I kept switching positions hoping one of them would be the magic spot. I don't know if any one of the positions actually felt better but I think at least the variety and hope of things feeling better was helpful. I remember the midwives doing another exam - I faintly remember one of them saying I was dilated to 9, maybe 9.5 centimeters and I think she might have said 100 percent effaced. But at that point, I wasn't counting on anything, I figured I could be here for days. I had gotten to the point that I really didn't know if the baby was ever going to come.

I kept wanting to go to the bathroom and would leave the birth stool to go to the bathroom, but I couldn't go. While on the birth stool and again complaining that I wanted to go to the bathroom, the midwives and Renae all told me to push when I felt the need. I responded that I didn't want to push, I was afraid to tear. I remembered the hypnobirthing class emphasizing that we should be able to just breath the baby out - to be patient and not push too hard. Otherwise we most likely would tear. I really did not want that to happen. Renae and the midwives said, "Don't worry about it - just do what you feel." I began to push. I don't know how many times I pushed, but I don't feel it was very long. I think Renae said it was about half an hour.

This was the most encouraging time of the whole labor process. I began to realize that I must really be close. I'd seen the midwives bring in a cart with what looked like post-labor materials. And the most encouraging part were people's words. I was going to say faces but I'm pretty sure my eyes were mostly closed at this point. I could just see people's faces in my mind. As I pushed I heard, "She's coming...We can feel the head...Do you want to feel it.." I didn't want to feel the head - I just wanted to focus and help our sweet baby come out. The next thing I knew - the head had come and with it, the whole body! What a sweet moment! The midwives immediately placed her on my chest. Her little body was initially all curled up and she was crying nice and strong. Dallas was behind me and had been for a long time. I leaned up against him each time I pushed and a contraction came. I was so grateful he was there with me for the whole thing. He held me tight as I held Emma. It really was a sweet moment.

Renae took some videos of the pushing and the first five or ten minutes of Emma's life. As I watch those, I realize I hardly spoke for those first minutes. Neither did Dallas. We just held Emma. I think I was overwhelmed, but in a good way. According to the videos, Emma continued to cry for much longer than I remembered. She was so sweet - and still is. :) I loved the birth experience. During labor, I definitely did not think I would every say that. But looking back, I am so grateful for the experience and for all that were there to help me and most especially that Dallas was with me the whole time and that now we have our beautiful baby girl Emma. :)

Still Waiting for Baby

As many of you already know, baby didn't come before Christmas and not even before the New Year. After the new year passed, I figured baby could take her time...which she did. :) While waiting for her, Dallas and I tried to keep ourselves busy doing fun and/or useful things. A previous post mentions our first FHE - practicing for baby. That was one of our useful things. The fun was going for frozen yogurt the Friday before Emma came (Jan 9) and going to a basketball game on Saturday (Jan 10). Those were our official last two dates before becoming parents. Since we never take pictures, we decided to make up for it by taking a ba-jillion at the yogurt place. Dallas requested that we do something other than normal smiles. :)

This was the 1st BYU basketball game Dallas had attended.
It was pretty great - and we got to go for free.

Christmas Day 2014

A box of goodies that someone left at our doorstep

After a delicious Christmas Eve dinner with my parents and Stratty and Lynnsi, Dallas and I headed home for a nice, quiet evening with just ourselves. Within a few minutes of being home, somewhere around 11:30, our doorbell rang. We were both surprised and just kind of looked at each other for a minute. Dallas finally went to check the door. I don't think either of us expected anything special...but when Dallas opened the door, there was a HUGE box full of yummy treats! Wow! It quadrupled (at least!) whatever food and treats we already had. We were super excited! I remember someone leaving my family gifts when I was little and I loved it! Back then, I could see somebody giving us gifts - we were a big family without a lot of money. But now, I would have never imagined someone would do this for us. It was super sweet. I was touched that somebody was so thoughtful and it again reminded me that I want to be that kind of person. We don't know who it was...we have our guesses...but whoever it was, we are super grateful. :) 

Me with all the goodies plus some from our stockings

The next morning Dallas and I got to take our time waking up. Of course, I had snuck out of bed super early (about 5:00) and taken care of the rest of the "Santa" things. This was my first time that Santa was completely up to me and Dallas. I've always been with family and although I've helped out as an "elf", I've never been in charge of making sure things happen. Dallas and I had both gotten gifts for each other and I told Dallas I would be in charge of stockings. After filling them up, I took some pictures as you will see. It was fun sneaking out of bed and filling stockings and coming back, knowing that when we woke up, there would be a wonderland of yummy treats and special gifts. 

A close-up of the stockings and other Santa stuff

In case you didn't notice, baby also got a stocking :)

Dallas was as enthusiastic and adorable as a little boy on Christmas morning. When we finally decided to wake up, Dallas looked at me and asked, "Do you think Santa came?!" We then hustled out of our bedroom and Dallas was super impressed. I love that he gets excited about little things. I almost forgot! Not only did we wake up and see Santa had come, but also a full sheet of snow! It was a real, true White Christmas. There had not been a lick of snow the day before but now everything was covered in white and it was still coming down! We had planned to visit family during the day, but because of the snow we spent most of the day with just each other. We opened gifts, called family, Dallas played his violin (after he called his family - I think calling home always reminds him he should be practicing his violin :), I gave Dallas a super short haircut while he watched Star Wars, we played some of our new games and ate some of our delicious treats, and...I don't remember what else, but it was a wonderful day. Ah! We also learned that both our moms know us very well. I had been looking for headphones for Dallas but hadn't found any, so he got an "IOU" gift from me. Before he opened my "IOU" gift, he opened a present from his mom and it had headphones - exactly what he'd been wanting! As for me, Dallas had been looking all over for a soft, fluffy, and super warm robe, but no luck. Later on, we went to my mom's house and voila! She had exactly the robe I had been wanting - red, fluffy, and super warm. So, our moms saved us both.

Dallas drinking chocolate milk that was in our doorstep box :)

Dallas with some of baby's most important, or at least biggest, gifts

Dallas with an adorable hedgehog piggybank from his sister Chelsy to baby

Dallas with his new headphones

Dallas playing his violin with his super short haircut

Later that evening we visited Stratty and Lynnsi and played some games and afterward we enjoyed a yummy dinner with Becky and her family and my parents. As I think about it...I realize we had a very easy, low-key, enjoyable Christmas. I really loved it...but I don't expect future Christmas' to be this calm...especially since we are going to have a ba-jillion kids. :)

Christmas Festivities 2014

Dallas and I made a list of things to do during Christmas season. I had wanted to do a service project - like Secret Santa or help at a shelter or something else...but it didn't happen. I will have to be better next year.

However, we did get to do some of the other things on our list. We watched a few Christmas movies, such as It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas in Connecticut. During one of our FHEs we also practiced singing and playing Christmas songs. Then, the next week we went and sang for our neighbors and dropped off some cookies. That was super fun. I really enjoy doing things like that with Dallas.

On one Saturday (the Saturday of our baby shower) we went to the Festival of Trees. I heard about this from Dallas' family during one of his grandma's family dinners. I had never heard of it before, but it sounded exciting, so we went! We parked about a mile away (because we ate at Chipotle and we decided to just leave our car there and walk since it was a beautiful day). I loved the walk and being with Dallas and I think we were both surprised at the amount of Christmas trees when we arrived. It was amazing! It is also such a great idea - I'm pretty sure all the proceeds go to helping individuals at the hospital. By the time we finished it was dark and I was super hungry. I hadn't eaten anything at Chipotle...the last time I'd eaten were the little snacks at the baby shower that morning. For the last few days, I'd been super picky about what I'd eat because I'd been throwing most of it up. That night I felt like eating pasta...maybe alfredo, so, we went to Noodles and Company. We both chose super yummy food. But...I still threw it all up later that night. :(

Dallas with a tree that his cousins made - an I SPY tree!

Amy with two amazing gingerbread houses - we wish they had
more gingerbread houses - we really liked them!

Dallas waiting for our food at Noodles and Company

Amy trying to get the camera back from Dallas

Another Christmas activity included celebrating with our ward. We enjoyed a dinner and played a white elephant game that helped us get to know everyone better. I really liked the way they did the game - everyone wrote down something that nobody else knew about them. Then, when their paper was read, they got to go choose a present. However, nobody was allowed to open presents till the very end. It went pretty quick and gave us a chance to get to know everyone better.

We also had a Christmas celebration with Dallas' side of the family. His grandma invited everyone over for dinner. Afterward we passed around some treats and toys while grandpa read a story - we had to listen carefully for if he said "left" or "right". At the end of the story, everyone got to keep whatever was in their hands. Then we ended with the nativity and singing carols together; some of the grandkids played the carols on bells.

For Christmas Eve, we went to my parents house and made dinner with them and Stratty and Lynnsi. It was probably the calmest Christmas Eve dinner of my life, but I really enjoyed it!

I'm sure there were more festivities, but this is all I can remember. Next year I want to be better about writing sooner, doing more service, and creating other traditions, both fun ones and Christ-centered ones.

Thanksgiving 2014

I know this is ultra late. In fact, the next few posts are all going to be things that I should have written about forever ago. But! Better late than never, right?

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Idaho to visit my sister Wendy and her family. We don't get to see them very often and they would be going to Africa for Christmas. So, if we wanted to see them sometime this year, Thanksgiving seemed the perfect time. Bit by bit the "guest list' of visitors to Idaho began to grow and we got even more excited, realizing this was going to be a pretty large fiesta at the Ellison farm/petting zoo!

The visitors included Dallas and I, my parents, Stratty and Lynnsi and the Hadfield family. We all arrived at different times, but once we got there, we filled our days with all sorts of fun activities! Dallas and I got there late Tuesday night and went and watched Guardians of the Galaxy with Stratty and Lynnsi while the little kids stayed at the house with all the parents and watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Lucky for me, the kids were already pretty tired - Myria
and Alaina during scripture study before bedtime.

The next morning (Wednesday) my parents, Wendy and Jason and some of the older kids went to the Boise temple while Dallas and I watched the younger kids. Becky and her family arrived around lunch time and we felt the party had really started because now everybody was there! That afternoon we went biking at a super fun bike park. I was almost eight months pregnant, so I didn't bike. Instead I chased Zachy and Eli on their bikes while everyone else tried out the jumps and raced each other. Dallas loved it! I knew he would and was super glad we got to go so he could experience this great place. Afterward we went to Wendy's church building and played games in the gym - dodgeball, chair soccer, etc. I took the kids home early and got them all to bed so that the adults could stay up and play games. Yahoo! That doesn't happen very often :)

Briana, Varden, Dallas, Alaina, and Myria playing "Silent Night"

Thursday was Thanksgiving! Dallas and Jason played tennis in the morning. I know both of them had been looking forward to this for a while. A few kids tagged along and played in nearby courts. Meanwhile, the rest of us worked on food. Actually...I didn't do any cooking. But! I did go do some last minute grocery shopping with my Dad, Stratty, and Lynnsi. Sometime in the afternoon we all headed to Wendy's stake center and set up for our Thanksgiving feast. It was super yummy! Afterward we piled into cars and visited an old folk's home to play some music. I was impressed how many people had something to play! Dallas played "Silent Night" with my nieces and brother-in-law, Varden. He also played a song he still had memorized and did a super job! Together, he and I performed "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" - Dallas playing the ukelele and both of us singing. I enjoyed doing this with Dallas - I love that he is up for (and capable of) performing for others.

You can see that Becky had been working pretty hard on this Thanksgiving.
Apparently, Wes and Alicia had also been working pretty hard...or maybe it was playing :)

Jeremy getting ready to perform and Popsy Flopsy sporting his Thanksgiving hat :)

Stratty and Lynnsi right after performing "Holy Night" - great job!

I'd had a video...but it didn't turn out. Dallas was pretty great -
he would skip and hop as he tried to get the horse going. :)

On Friday we spent a lot of time outside with the horses. Dallas has never been much of a horse guy, but he was a good sport and listened carefully as Wendy taught him how to be an expert horse rider. Before Wendy had Dallas get on the horse, she first had him establish "authority" with the horse. He was super cute as he worked to get his horse to listen to and follow his lead. We also got to watch Zachy ride his pony and go over jumps. Zachy was especially funny. Since I wasn't riding, he figured I could be his apprentice. He showed me how to catch the pony and clean his hooves and brush him and get the saddle ready and everything else.

Wendy teaching Dallas riding skills

Dallas says the only problem is Wendy forgot to tell him how to make his horse stop :)

Zachy instructing me on proper cleaning of his pony's hooves

Zachy leading his pony to the area where they would jump

Before long, it was time to go. Mom, dad, and Becky and her family left Saturday morning. Dallas and I left sometime in the afternoon with Stratty and Lynnsi. We prolonged our visit just long enough for me to get to see my dear friend Kimberlee and her family and also just long enough for Dallas, Jason, and Stratty to get to play some lengthy board game. I know they loved it and I loved getting to visit with my friend.

First FHE of 2015

This year Dallas and I decided we would have themes for each month. We would use these themes for FHE and other activities. Shortly before the new year began, we brainstormed a list of 12 themes for the 12 months. Here they are in order: Baby, Reading, Math, Food, Sports, Outdoors, Spanish, Writing, Art, Political, Music, Christmas. We then decided who would be charge of each month. I am currently in charge of this month, which is all about baby. :)

For baby month Dallas suggested I do things like teach how to change diapers. We kind of hoped baby would be here for our first FHE or that our FHE activity would be having baby. But that didn't happen. So instead, we had a little workshop. I used good ole' WikiHow to remind us of a few baby basics. We practiced proper holding techniques, along with bathing, diapering, and swaddling. Since baby wasn't here we borrowed one of her doll's and practiced on her. Dallas did a great job holding baby and we went and found a diaper and some wipes to practice perfect diapering. We also made sure we knew where all of baby's bathing gear was located.

As we came to the end of our workshop, I confessed that I didn't think I knew how to properly swaddle a baby, so we would have to learn that from someone else. Dallas decided that wasn't an excuse and we would learn the skills right then. Thanks to good ole' youtube, he is now a master. :)

Follow the pictures clockwise and you'll see Dallas see swaddle the baby :) 

We are thinking we might make some badges for each month. You know, similar to what scouts would receive. That way by the end of the year we can be experts in these twelve areas. We'll let you know how that goes. Until next time!