a week of milestones

It was a bittersweet day on Thursday. I put Peyton down for a nap, and was going about my activities, all the while listening in for her on my baby monitor. When I could hear noise, I turned the video on (our monitor has a video screen), and I gasped in horror, threw the monitor on the ground, and ran (literally) upstairs. Peyton had pulled herself up on the crib rail and was standing, looking over the edge. I don't know if she necessarily would have been able to fall over, since the railing was still at chest-level, but the incident was scary enough to motivate me to move her mattress down to the lower setting. My baby is growing up far too fast. Another cute (and less scary) crib incident happened a few days prior. I again went to get Peyton after her nap was over, and walked in to find the cutest sight: Peyton sitting up, playing with her binky, legs sticking straight out between the crib slats. and talking to herself. I laughed out loud when I saw it. It was so sweet. Also last week, Jade started his new job! He officially signed on with New York Life, selling life and health insurance. Today he even wrote his first policies- for his brothers Jeremy and Justin. I'm so happy that he's finally doing something he has wanted to do for years. Congratulations babe- I'm so proud of you for turning a goal into a reality! On Friday, Peyton said "ma-ma". I'm not even joking. She's been saying "ba-ba" for a few weeks now, but I don't count that as a real first word since she's not really using it as a noun (bottle), just kind of saying it because it's a fun new sound. Every time she would say "ba-ba", I would say "ma-ma", and do the sign (ASL), and point to me. So Friday I'm at the salon getting my hair done, and Peyton is playing in her stroller with some toys. She looked over at me and reached for me and said "ma-ma". I almost had a heart attack. I asked the hairdresser "Did she just say momma?" And the hairdresser said "She definitely just said momma". I was floored, and so happy. It has since only happened one time. Today she was playing in her playpen and she was sick of being alone and I walked into the room and she saw me and reached for me and said "ma-ma". It is a wonderful sound, even if it's only happened twice. I would normally write this off as a fluke, but I have now had a second opinion, and deduced it is definitely intentional. Peyton has spoken!

Valentines Day

Since we've been married, Jade and I haven't had the best luck on Valentine's Day. Our first Valentine's Day, when we were dating, Jade set the bar really high and I had the best Valentine's of my life. So naturally, I had high expectations the subsequent years, and both times crashed and burned. Both married Valentine's days have ended in a fight. After the debacle last year, I decided that maybe I just wasn't cut out for Valentine's Day. So I decided we weren't going to celebrate it anymore. I let go of all my romantic notions, bought Jade a little gift (MarioKart for Wii- SO fun!), and figured he would probably get me some chocolates and we could call it a day. Well, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, he came through for me this year, and we had a really great V-day. He brought me breakfast in bed (strawberry and banana french toast and hash browns- yum), and when I got downstairs, he had a cute little setup waiting for me!

And he even remembered his other Valentine! He got her a mini bear like mine!

After breakfast, we went about our Saturday routines, then we dropped off Peyton at Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Kristin's house, and went to dinner at The Reserve. The Reserve is the golf course that Jade worked at all throughout high school and after his mission. It was super nice, and we had a nice long meal without any interruptions. It was the first time we've eaten out at a restaurant together without having Peyton with us. I don't really like leaving Peyton, so usually we bring her wherever we go. Most of the time she just sleeps in her car seat, but it was still so nice not to have to worry about her at all, and just relax and enjoy each other's company. What a great way to break the Valentine's curse!

I've been working so hard at getting a picture of Peyton's first teeth (I didn't post about it, but her second tooth came in about a day and a half after her first. They're the bottom middle teeth). Peyton does not cooperate with this undertaking, at all. So, this is the best I could do. This picture was a 2 person undertaking.

Peyton is now 8 months old. I can hardly believe it. She still crawls around backwards, and scoots and rolls all over the place to get where she needs to go. She is getting into everything now, so I have said farewell to the days of her just sitting nicely and not having to worry about her. She is now eating snacks, like Rice Krispies, and other puffy treats. She loves picking up individual pieces with her thumb and forefinger, and putting them into her mouth. It is so cute to watch because she concentrates so hard and is so determined. Also, she holds her other 3 fingers straight out, so it is even cuter, and when she puts the treat in her mouth, she puts about 3/4 of her hand in her mouth. Adorable. She definitely didn't inherit my patience. Or maybe she did inherit my patience, because she isn't patient at all. When she wants something, she doesn't hesitate to let me know, and she gets really mad if she doesn't get it pronto. I suppose we might consider her spoiled. She is also "pulling up", pulling herself up to a standing position. She really surprises me with how strong she is, considering how tiny she is. She's very tiny. I should note that almost all of her 0-3 month clothes still fit (the ones that don't are just too short for her long body), and most of her 3-6 month clothes are a little baggy on her. Unfortunately for her, she got her dad's feet. She may be a size or two behind in clothing, but she's a size ahead in shoes. She is totally adorable and we love her so much!

(If you're wondering why she's next to a sign, it's because in addition to the hundreds of everyday pictures we take, I take monthly pictures for her scrapbook, so I can put them all together on a page and we can take a quick look at how much she's changed over her first year)

Sunny Portland

I don't understand why the Pacific Northwest has such a bad reputation! I think it has really rained about 10 times in the 4 1/2 months I have lived in Portland. Sometimes it's overcast, but mostly it's just (relatively) warm and mild. The past few days have been around 60 degrees, sunny and BEAUTIFUL! I couldn't be happier with the weather here. Okay that's a lie. I visited Las Vegas last week for Cheyanne's 13th birthday... it was in the mid-70's the whole week I was there. You can't ask for more in (late) January. But I digress. It's awesome weather for Portland. Today Jade, Peyton, Tinky and I even went on a nice bike ride! In other Thelin news, Jade and I are speaking in Sacrament meeting tomorrow, so if I all of a sudden get "deathly ill" tonight, don't worry- you'll know it's temporary. Also, my biggest fear of teething finally became a reality. Peyton bit me while she was nursing. Nothing could prepare you for that sensation. Puppy teeth are notoriously sharper and more painful than dog teeth. I think it must be the same for people teeth. That little mouth is a lot stronger than you would think! Luckily we survived, and it hasn't happened since.

#27

Yesterday was Jade's big 2-7! We had dinner at his favorite restaurant (Outback, of course) on Saturday night, then we had a family dinner for him Sunday night. Jade's mom made his favorite German Chocolate Cake, and we spent the night playing the original Super Mario Brothers and Super Mario Brothers 3 on the Wii. Classic games! Jade's birthday present from me and the rest of the family was a Wii, and it's already set-up and has been played several times since he opened it up last night. Actually, to be honest, he didn't really open up his Wii. Our nephews Gabe (4), Max (4), and Trenton (2 1/2) forgot that the presents were for Jade, and while the adults were dishing up the cake, they were opening Jade's presents. It was so funny. One second we were plating cake, the next second Jade's brother was yelling NO! and we turned around to see a flurry of wrapping paper and ribbon and little arms. It was quite a sight. Happy birthday babe!

If you look closely, you will notice 2 things: 1) Jade is flanked by 2 of the culprits in the unwrapping scandal and 2) the front of the cake has already been picked at by none other than the birthday boy himself. It was just that good.

Faith

Over the past few years I have had some incredible experiences that make the Lord's love for me so indisputable. These things have made my faith grow so much, and I felt like I needed to write them down somewhere because they have shaped my faith and strengthened my testimony of my Savior's love for me.

1) In April 2005 I began to plan a trip down to Las Vegas from Provo (where I was at school) to spend the weekend of my dad's birthday with my family. Mother's Day was only two weekends later, so my dad suggested that I come down for Mother's Day instead. For some reason, I knew I needed to come down the weekend of my dad's birthday. I really have no idea why I was so adamant about coming down that weekend, but I just knew I had to come down. I am so glad I listened to that prompting because that was the weekend that my father passed away.

2) For as long as I can remember, every day of my life, my dad told me "I love you" whenever he ended a conversation with me. We never, ever ended a conversation without saying "I love you." The day that my dad died, I talked to him on the phone for about 10 minutes. It was a great conversation, and at the end of the call, we told each other "I love you", as usual. Just a couple hours later, he was talking to my mom on the phone, and I remembered something I needed to tell him really quickly. I talked to him for probably thirty seconds, then I gave the phone back to my mom. Because we had just had a long conversation a few hours earlier, (and ended that conversation with an "I love you"), and because we only talked for a minute this time, my dad didn't say "I love you", it was just really quick, like "Okay, here's mom". I was prompted to say "I love you" to him. I just blurted it out, when usually I wouldn't have said it since I had just said it. I'm so glad I listened to that prompting because that was the last conversation I had with my dad, and even though it was just a short chat, I'm glad it ended it on a great note.

3) I used to have this car with an electronic key. The key had "lock" and "unlock" buttons on it, and unbeknown to me, if the key's mechanic parts weren't right in place, the key wouldn't start the car. Well, I learned that lesson the hard way. My key broke when I was at school, and I didn't realize it until it was too late; I was at my car, bawling hysterically, because my car wouldn't start, and the only way to make it start (the mechanical piece) was lost at the University somewhere. Even worse, the spare key was in Las Vegas, so I was pretty much toast. At the time I was dating a returned missionary, who told me if we just said a prayer, the Lord would help us. We prayed, then retraced my steps I had taken that day. When we were at my first class, the last classroom we would check, two teachers just happened to walk by and ask us what we were doing. We told them we were looking for a small mechanical device about the size of a nickel. One of the men said "Wait one second, I think I just saw something like that and threw it away." We walked down the hall to a trash can and right underneath a piece of cardboard was the missing piece of my key! It was an incredible miracle. Even though it was such a small thing, it made a huge deal to me, and strengthened my testimony in prayer, and that my Father in Heaven really does care about the little details of my life.

4) I had a friend named Kate, who moved away with her husband for the summer one year. Several weeks into the summer, there was a day where I just couldn't stop thinking about her. I had no idea why she was in my mind, but I had a prompting to just drop her a little note, or a call, or something. I decided on a simple text message telling her I was thinking about her, and I missed her, and I couldn't wait for her to move back to town. About 2 weeks later I found out that the day I text her, her dad passed away. I was so glad I followed the prompting and let my friend know I was there for her, at a time that was very dark in her life.

5) A boy that I dated for a long time passed away very suddenly and tragically. I found his sister online, and wrote her an email just telling her how sorry I was for her loss, and all the memories that I could remember that involved her and her brother. I told her how much he cared for her, and everything I could remember that he had ever told me about her. Later on she wrote me back, saying that she was so happy to get my email because right before her brother died, they hadn't been getting along. She said she was so confused about his feelings toward her, and she was so glad to get an unbiased third party's opinion. I was really grateful that my Heavenly Father inspired me to write to her, to help her heal, in any way I could, even though it was a small gesture.

I am so grateful that I have the Spirit in my life to guide and direct me. I'm grateful for a Father in Heaven who loves me so much, and I'm grateful to feel it every day.

Oh my goodness

We got our family pictures back...

TaDa!

Tink and Tooth

My baby is officially growing up... Okay well not really, but she sure seems to be growing up, way too fast if you ask me. Sunday night I was talking to Jade's mom about Peyton grabbing her ears a lot, I knew she didn't have an ear infection, and she said "I bet she's teething". So, I rubbed my finger along her gums: nothing. Monday morning I was talking to Jade and our friend Branden in the kitchen, and mentioned that Jade's mom thought Peyton was teething, again I rubbed my finger along her gums, and sure enough there was a little something poking out of her gums on the bottom, in the center. Taytoe is teething!! So far she's been an angel- it's not very often that a mom doesn't realize her baby is teething until the tooth has already popped through the gums. She has yet to scream, cry incessantly, refuse to sleep at night, or otherwise make my life a living hell, as I have often heard teething described by other moms. She's been a trooper, and the only way she seems to be affected is her desire to be held. She doesn't want me to put her down! It's really cute, although it has put a damper on me getting things done. She also has banned daytime napping, but as far as I'm concerned, that's a small price to pay for how well she's behaving otherwise.

Take one last look at this adorable gummy smile, because before too long she'll have at least one pearly white! I should also mention that since June 30th, she has been sitting up by herself. Wait to work on those abs, baby! And, she is starting to become identified by her bow. This week I babysat her cousin Max (4), and when I came inside he asked who the baby was that I was holding. I told him it was Peyton. He said "That's not baby Peyton. Where is her bow?" I pulled it out of my diaper bag and he told me to put it on her because "Baby Peyton needs a bow." So cute. At family dinner Sunday she came in her jammies (bow-less), and when we walked in, we were asked by about 4 people where her bow was. I know it's a habit when people, even kids, notice when she's not wearing a bow.

In other news, Tink is being as funny as ever. I should write a disclaimer that although I know not everyone enjoys reading about my dog, I consider her one of my babies, and this is my "journal", so I'm going to include little nuggets about my Tinky as I deem necessary. Anyway, Tink is so cute. Whenever Jade goes out of town, or even when he's just at work, she gets really clingy, and doesn't leave my side. Recently she started demanding that I let her sit on my chair with me in my office. It cracks me up every time she does it, although I shouldn't be surprised, since whenever we ride in the car she almost always has to sit on my lap. She also has decided that she likes sleeping under the covers. Every night when we're all ready for bed, Tink jumps on the bed and walks up by our heads and nudges the top of the comforter, sliding first her nose underneath, then her head, followed by the rest of her 75 pounds, then walks to her spot on her corner of the bed and falls asleep.

This little lump is Tink

The funniest part is that sometimes she decides she needs a little fresh air, so she'll make herself a little air pocket. These are real pictures... I love my Tinky.

Divine Intervention

Those of you who read my post about bed luck Sundays will remember my run-in with a bus. Well, there was a horrible she-pig involved, and she gave me a citation. Basically serious discrimination going on, and Jade's friend who is a cop in her district knew her and said it didn't surprise him one bit; she has a reputation. Anyway, today was my court date, and I showed up, waited 15 minutes, and was dismissed because she didn't show up. She miraculously got called in a few minutes before to go across town to another court. I must have guardian angels. Hooray for no ticket!

Auld Lang Syne

Peyton, demonstrating her newest obsession: sucking on her toes What a great holiday we have had. Jerai and Phil came in town! We are so happy they're visiting. We really miss them. We also got to see Nathan and Jessica, whom we also miss very much. We've been having fun all week playing with Hank, Charlotte and Lucy, and Gabe and Sam, of course.

No pictures do them justice of just how small they are

Gabey loves Peyton, and he is so sweet to her. Peyton loves Gabey, too, and takes advantage of his sweetness. Here she was almost strangling him with his tie.

Kisses

Babies
The triples are darling. For New Year's we had a party at Nea and Nipper's, and rang in the new year playing cards and laughing lots. 2008 was a phenomenal year in my life, and I was so blessed. I know 2009 will be just as great.

Mela Kalikimaka

We're back! We've actually been back for a week now, but it's been crazy busy, so sorry for the delay of posts. On the 17th, we went to Hawaii! My family took a trip to Maui for Christmas, and we had an unbelievable time. It was really one of the best vacations I've ever been on. Now that we're all getting older, there isn't (hardly) any fighting, and we're able to hang out with each other and just have a good time. And quite a good time we had, indeed. The day we got there, we just played at the beach at our hotel, the beautiful Ritz Carlton of Kapalua. It was Peyton's first time in the ocean, and her Nona was incredibly careful not to let any sharks sneak up in the 2 inches of water she was playing in.

Beach babe

We had an incredible suite that was on the main level, so we just walked outside into the lawn/pool/beach area. It was beautiful.

I took this picture, if you can believe that. It was beautiful.

The Ritz was decorated for Christmas, and it was so cool to see all the palm trees lit up, and a big Christmas tree in the middle of all the pools.

It's hard to tell, but it was pretty spectacular

The next day we left Peyton with her first babysitter! I was a little nervous, but we used a highly reputable nanny agency [fingerprinted and background-checked ladies], and they sent a really nice lady, Miss Susan, to watch Peyton. Meanwhile, we went ziplining! It was so fun! We were in the mountains close to the ocean, the view was incredible, and the guides were really fun.

In action: Superman-diving off the platform

Then we picked up Peyton and went to the beach again. Jade, Cheyanne, Chazton and I all went cliff diving, and we also went swimming with wild sea turtles. It was so cool! Friday we took it easy and relaxed by the beach and pools at the hotel, and Friday night we went into LaHaina, an ocean-front town with all sorts of shopping and snacking.

Loving that orange peel

Saturday we hung out at the beach and also went surfing. Jade and I had both only been one time, and Chaz had been a couple of times, but he totally owned us. Jade got up a couple of times, and I only got up once. It seemed so much easier when I was in high school!

The boards are so long, it's pathetic

Sunday we went to church in a Hawaiian ward, and then laid out in a cabana on the beach. Monday was our last day, and we were so sad to leave. We went out in a catamaran to Molokini crater, an underwater volcano, and to Turtle Town, a shallow point in the ocean (30 feet), inhabited by several sea turtle colonies. It seems like every time I post, I have an embarrassing story about myself. There was another catamaran at Turtle Town, and while the five of us (afore mentioned cliff divers, plus JC) were snorkeling I got cold, so I decided to head back to the catamaran early. Well, I got on the boat, took off my gear, and started to head back to where my momma and Peyton were, laying out. Wait a second, they are serving lunch. We already ate lunch. Wait a second, is this the right... [look over to the side and see]... I'm on the wrong boat! I grabbed my gear and swam as fast as I could to my catamaran. What a fiasco! The snorkeling was pretty cool, but it was even cooler seeing the whales that were swimming all over the place, since December is whale time in Hawaii. That night we went to a luau, complete with dancers and even fire swallowers. It was a little tourist-y, but really cool. Did I mention the food was great, too? Tuesday came way too soon, and we were really sad to leave Paradise. Luckily, our vacation wasn't over yet. We flew back to Vegas and got to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family. We had a raucous game of Bunko, which my cousin won (cheater), and did a white elephant gift exchange, in which Jade and I made out like bandits. Jade got a really nice USAF golf club head cover, and I got a Black and Decker electric mini screw driver for little things around the house (I've already used it to put batteries in Peyton's toys). I got all sorts of nice things for Christmas; a craft-sewing machine (learning to use it is one of my resolutions), a beautiful diamond necklace, perfume, clothes, a Nordstrom gift card, a panini maker, gift cards to some of my favorite restaurants, and a whole bunch of other really great gifts. Peyton was spoiled rotten. She got clothes, accessories, toys and toys and toys, and diamond earrings. I think she got more presents than everyone else put together. My favorite gift was the present I got my momma for her [and me, too]. Logitech cameras, for video chat! We've been able to video chat with each other every day! It's almost as good as being there, except it's not. We flew back to Portland that afternoon, and besides something being wrong with our plane (scary), and causing an hour plus delay, the flight was good, and Peyton slept the whole time. We made it just in time for family dinner at JaNea's, and ...drum roll... we got to meet the triplets- Henry, Lucy, and Charlotte! My sweet nieces and nephew were born while we were in Hawaii. They are adorable, and make my petite daughter look like Goliath. Basically our Christmastime was wonderful, and I am so happy we have a special time every year that we can celebrate the birth of our Savior. Merry Christmas. Mela Kalikimaka.