Waiting for "MORE"

A few months ago (well, a lot of months ago) we started teaching Isis how to sign "more." A couple months she got it and was signing "more" at almost every meal and for other things durning the day. Naturally, we were very proud. A few weeks ago I noticed that she hadn't done it for a while so I decided to re-practice this skill at lunch. Here's how it went:

Isis happily eating her lunch

When she's told to ask for more

After not asking and therefore not getting any more (5 minutes after the inital request)

After 10 minutes

After 15 minutes, knowing what she needs to do but refusing

THIRTY-FIVE minutes later...

Finally, my will (and amazingly my patience) has triumphed. She signs "more" and gets the rest of her cheese.

Isis asking herself why she waited so long. Or mocking me with her cute, "innocent" face.

Was it worth it? (Sigh) I don't know. She continues to sign for more and now I can say that I stood firm on something. :)

Jeremy's Mom

Three weeks ago Jeremy's mom suffered massive stroke. The doctors were surprised she was even alive when she arrived at the ER because she had so much bleeding on her brain. When she was transferred to another hospital for surgery the neurosurgeon did a quick response check, lift your leg, touch my arm. Thankfully she was able to do as she was asked. (Later the surgeon told us that if she hadn't responded they wouldn't have done surgery and just let her die.) The surgery was successful in draining 40% of the blood and fluid off her brain. In ICU she had a tube in her head to drain off the rest and another hole to relieve the swelling. A few days later when they removed the breathing tube she could talk though it was hard to understand. She can move her arms and legs and now talks well, but she is still in the hospital because her movements are impulsive and sporatic and she can't stay focused in a conversation. We are so grateful Heavenly Father has taken such good care of her and allowed her to stay with us. After the initial scare, I think now is the most difficult part. Waiting, watching, and hoping she recovers completely and back to normal. Please keep her in your prayers.

Is this our baby??

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Draw family tree - Free family tree

A Big Ol' Update

May was busy (hence the lack of posts) so let me jump right in to what we've been up to!
*If you're curious we chose picture A for the contest.

*In April we discovered, to our great distress, that aphids had invaded one of our trees! If you don't know and would like to be informed, aphids look like this:

Gross. So we had to do some research on how to get rid of them before they completely killed our tree. (If the Nevada heat hadn't killed it we certainly weren't going to let some stupid little grey bugs kill it.) We had a choice between praying mantis or ladybugs. We chose ladybugs.

It was fun putting them on the tree.

And even more fun to watch them do their job. This one went to town two seconds after getting on the branch! Look at him bite that aphid's head off!

And now? No more aphids eating up our tree! Amazing!

*At the end of April I had two friends who each had a baby. Luckily I got the quilts I had been working on done soon after the babies' arrivals. Here's how they turned out.

On one quilt on ONE square (out of 17) I had perfectly matched corners. No, I don't think you understand... they were perfectly matched corners!! Look again.That's the first time that's happened. I was pretty darn pleased with myself. (Monica, aren't you proud??)

*The weekend after Katherine's graduation (the 1st weekend in May) we flew to Arizona for my dad's retirement from the Air Force (I have a VERY cool, VERY accomplished father),

and my brother David's first trip to the temple in Snowflake, AZ (he's off to Monterrey Mexico for his mission),

and my Grandpa Willis' 90th birthday party (to which the whole town of Snowflake was invited to, because we're related to most of the town).

Most of the Willises... but not all of us!!It was a VERY busy and filled weekend but I am so glad I was able to be a part of all of those things!

*A few mornings after getting home from that trip we found Isis in her crib like this:Time to move the matress down! My little baby is getting so big!!
*Isis also produced her first (and I'm sure not the last) wall coloring.*This year I had my first Mother's Day (last year I missed it by a week :) ). I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, sweet, and adorable little girl as my daughter! I love her SO MUCH!!!!* Then next week Jeremy had training for work out in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and since he was going to be gone on Isis' 1st birthday, Isis and I flew out to be with him for the week. Naturally, we took lots of pictures. Here are a few highlights.

Isis didn't have a crib to contain her so when she wiggled around one night we rolled over to find her sitting in the bookcase/nightstand crying. It was pretty funny.Isis and I went to the Oak Ridge Children's Museum. I wasn't expecting very much from it but it was a REALLY good little museum... that wasn't really that little. I LOVED it and Isis had a surprisingly good time too! What a fun discovery. She loved playing this eskimo xylophone.
They had an oversized doll house that was pretty cool. (I fit just perfectly! he he he) She looks so little even in something made for her! :)
Isis had a great time. (This was after seeing the monkeys in the rainforest room.)She knows the good stuff when she sees it! :) Her birthday dessert at the restaurant.
Her party hat. The strings were a little short (it was actually a gift "tag") so I cut a band-aid and taped it to her chin. How else was it going to stay on?
Her first birthday... cookie!
We had practiced blowing air the week before and she got pretty good. But when the candle was lit, it was just to interesting to try to blow it out.We took a trip to Jame's White's Fort, the founder of Knoxville.
An afternoon at an Oak Ridge park. Got to start the tree climbing early. :)
A walk in the park with her daddy. Look how GREEN everything is!!! I loved it!
So did Isis. (Man, she's a cutie!)
We were able to take a trip to the zoo on Friday. Isis' first time. I expected her to be more intrigued with the animals. She liked watching and laughing at all the other kids running around. We had a good time anyway.
*And to top off this month, last Saturday Jeremy and I bought a spankin' new car. It is SWEET!! We are now the owners of a '08 kiwi green Ford Focus. We made an amazing deal and so feel extra good about this. It's got a CD player, cruise control, SYNC (where you talk to the car and tell it to do stuff and it talks back)...
but my VERY favorite feature of all..... the power locks! Do you know how easy it is to get a kid and groceries in the car with power locks??!! It's totally awesome!!!!
SOOOOO... that's the wrap up of our very long and eventful month! Enjoy!

Pick a Picture!! We need help!

Okay, everyone thinks they have the cutest kid. And since we are at the biggest fans of Isis we are putting her picture in a baby contest. But she's just so dang cute we need help picking which picture to send. Give us your vote on the following pictures (rank them 1-5, 1 being the best). Thanks!!! We'll let you know what happens (or if we need your vote again.) :) We need your feed back ASAP. :)

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

Need a Good Laugh?

When I saw these videos I laughed so hard I cried. I hope you find them as funny as I did. (Okay, when I actually figure out how to put videos from the internet on here I will; until then click on the links.) Oh man, these crack me up.

Injured Bad
Spinach
Karate
Charlie bit me!