They Grow and Grow

Lynnden - 3 months (September 26th)

Ammely - 2.5 years (October 3rd)

Sisters (forever)

What A Vision

Towards the beginning of the year we began to notice that Ammely has a bit of a lazy eye. Her left eye doesn't work as well as her right eye and begins to turn towards the center of her face sometimes.

 

It seemed to get more and more pronounced as time went on and so we scheduled her for an appointment with the eye doctor.

It went horribly.

She did not cooperate at ALL. You would have thought we were performing some specialized form of torture for all the screaming that she did. We went home tired, frustrated and depressed. And with pizza. Our exhausted parental souls needed pizza.

Last month we decided to give it another try. Ammon dilated her eyes in the morning and then we went in for her appointment that afternoon.

And she did GREAT.

She looked into all the machines with BOTH eyes.
She looked where the doctor asked her to look.
She looked into the bright lights.

And we at last got a prescription (yahooooo!).

This meant that we could pick out some frames for our cutie pie. Not many options exist  in her size and it was not looking too great.

But then we came across a small pair of frames. No straps. No goggle-look. Just normal frames. And they were pink.

And adorable.

See?

 We eagerly awaited their arrival and by the end of the week they were in!

Ammon brought them home and we put them on her. Everything went well for, oh, a couple of minutes.
But then her eyes started watering. And she kept taking them off.

She did not like them. At all.

 Poor dear.

So the next morning we put them on and hoped that her morning-fresh eyes would adjust better and she might enjoy them a bit more.

And we tried to show her the joy of actually seeing what you are doing.
So we colored and painted.

MUCH better, right?

Still, it was quite a long process of getting her to wear them all day. Time and time again we'd have to go searching for glasses. It was only a couple of days before she totally bent one leg of her glasses completely outward and we had to go get them fixed.

But we made small improvements day by day and it's now been several weeks and she does GREAT.

And do you SEE how darling she is?

We'll go back to the doctor again in a few months and see if they're helping her lazy eye to not be so lazy.

Meanwhile, we are grateful she has them; we are grateful she is wearing them; we are grateful she's such a cutie pie no matter what we do with her!

Attention Single Ladies

Good news for those single ladies searching for a soul mate in the world:

THIS good lookin' guy is available!

Perhaps his charming smile is not enough for you all on its own.

That is okay. I, his adoring (if not slightly embarrassing) sister, have plenty to tell from his last sojourn down to my house.

He cleans! 

I caught him doing my dishes and sweeping my floors on more than one occasion.

He cooks!

Yes, he was our guest. Still, we made HIM cook for US. He made the most delicious curry I had ever tasted. (Sure, it was the only curry I had ever tasted - but still, I know delicious when I taste it!)

He's GREAT with kids!

Seriously.

We put him through plenty of tests just to be sure.

Sure, he's got the fun stuff down...

Like making sure the cookie jar is stocked up.

And playing at water time.

But he goes ABOVE and BEYOND!

Like showing Ammely how a tea party is realllllyyy done...you know, with actual, not-pretend liquid!

And doing endless baby-bouncing, baby arm-curls in the Arizona heat just to keep a wee one from crying.

And turning big boxes into giant coloring books...and houses...and airplanes.

He even goes ABOVER and BEYONDER

Like taking the toddler to the library while the baby sister goes to the pediatrician.

One Month: 9lbs 12oz and 21 inches

Or just flat out accompanying you to the pediatrician when the toddler wakes up with a bloody pillow and an infected lip.

Heck, he'll even reign in your tantrum-throwing, hysterical toddler in the waiting room while YOU go to YOUR check up at the OBGYN.

Poor guy. I left him with a screaming Ammely and took the diaper bag with me. He had no toys. No snacks. No keys. Just a screaming toddler in a waiting room full of people thinking he was the world's worst father. Nope, he's just one of the world's best uncles!

THE CLINCHER?

He's SMART and patient too!

Yes, ladies...this is the guy studying for entrance to graduate school...in Chemistry Education. 

Trust me, it takes brains to do all of that chemistry.

And patience to teach it to others.

You know what else takes patience? Endless requests to watch "snowman juice" on the laptop you're supposed to be using as you study.

But he did both. Over and over and over again.

He's a keeper.

I wish I could keep him here with me. 

But he's far, far away from me building futures for himself, his students....and one lucky lady!

There's only one of him though.

So you better date your Jared while you can. He's sure to not last long in this market! 

(See, there are already ladies jumping in his arms!)

What a Blessing

One of my favorite things about the gospel is knowing about and utilizing the power of the priesthood, particularly in priesthood blessings. What a merciful and wondrous thing it is that God has given us the ability to call upon his powers for our own particular needs. This has worked miracles in my life.

One of my favorite things about being a mom is baby blessing day. At least for me it is one day in the middle of the newborn chaos where I get to really step back and get some perspective. I'm reminded of the glory of motherhood. I'm reminded of the glory of righteous priesthood holders. I'm granted some insight into the person my child really is. I'm given a full heart and an extra measure of love for my little one. I get to sit and welcome the Spirit into my heart as my baby is officially given a name and a few extra blessings to carry throughout life. After the tribulations of pregnancy, birth and newborn insomnia, this moment is sweet. This moment is precious.

Lynnden's special day was Sunday, August 3rd. 

She was beautiful. 

She was mild mannered for the first day in her whole life...that was a tender mercy all on its own.

And Ammon gave a particularly sweet blessing to our newest angel. I love him for that. And she will too.

We had SO many wonderful men able and willing to stand in and take part in her blessing.

Left to Right: Uncle Boyd, Grandpa Baysinger, Uncle Jared, Uncle Kent, Daddy, Grandpa Breakall, Grandpa Lords, "Uncle" Tyler.

A few special mentions here.

Uncle JT was also at the blessing, but his own little newborn kept the Olmsteads at home for the celebration and picture-taking portion of the day. SO glad they were there for the important part though.

Also, my dad was there! (Obviously, he's in the picture). However, it was NOT an obvious thing to me at all. He wasn't able to make it. Or so he said beforehand. I was never so happy to have someone unexpectedly open my front door and walk into my house unannounced. Thank you Dad for being here! It made a special day even MORE special.

And we had a HUGE turnout of truly magnificent people there to hear her blessing and celebrate with Root Beer Floats afterwards. As usual, I wish I had taken more pictures as proof.

But here are the couple that I did manage to get.

Charis

Kailey and Lynnden

Samuel - this kid makes me smile so much. SO much.

Aunt Tammy

Ammely and Jenn

Lynnden and Holly

Rocky and Lynnden

Uncle Jared and Lynnden

Grandma Baysinger and Lynnden
 Lynnden has always been especially good for Grandma - a special love here.

And that doesn't even begin to cover everybody that was there! Truly, we are SO thankful for every single person that made the effort to be there.

Also worth a special viewing is this shot:

This is Grandma Marlynn and Grandma Dena with Lynnden - our two wonderful mothers who inspired our little girl's name. SO glad we have this picture on this day especially.

It was a perfect day. 

What a blessing.