What's new in our world...

Life has been pretty same-old, same-old around here lately. We haven't had any amazing adventures lately, but we did have a wonderful Valentine's Day. It was more like three days of Valentines-y stuff, which was fine with me. On Friday Daniel's parents watched Lynny so we could go out on a real grown-up date, just the two of us real grown-ups. So what did we do? We went and saw the new Percy Jackson movie and then hit Chic-fil-A. So grown-up of us.

Then, Saturday, we had Daniel's cousin watch Lynny while we went to the Salt Lake Temple to participate in an endowment session as my sister-in-law's boyfriend went through the temple for the first time. His family aren't members so we were all there to support and celebrate with him. It was my first time doing a live session, and it was definitely an experience! If there's anyone out there who hasn't had the opportunity to do a live session, I highly recommend it.

And on Sunday night I made the traditional Valentine's Day dinner: Heart shaped meatloaf, pink mashed potatoes, and (this is a new addition from about two years ago) beets. I was excitied because I got to go out and buy my own heart shaped pan this year (I've been borrowing Molly's since my freshman year.)

I also got a surprise delivery from my mom on Saturday: beautiful tulips! And a teddy bear for Lynny--which she loves. With our cards, dollar-boxes of chocolates, and flowers we had quite a festive holiday!

A couple of days later I got another surprise delivery: chocolate covered strawberries! The card said they were from Lynny (it actually said they were from my "my little monster") but I have a feeling Daniel was behind it. They were the same as the ones "Lynny" sent both of her grandmas for Valentine's day. They were beautiful!

In other news, Lynny has definitely decided that there are some activities that she absolutely loves. Here are a few shots of her doing her favorite things.

Bathtime is a big hit with the little monster. I like it too, because I can usually clean the kitchen while she plays. I just have to watch out for the puddles she makes.Lynny loves to play with her best friend: Lynny. When she gets bored with her toys I'll bring Lynny into the bedroom and let her play with her reflection. She thinks it's great.Lynny's an old hand at the "pincer grip" now, so we've been letting her feed herself more and more. Her current favorites are scrambled eggs (pictured), bananas, carrots, chicken, and recently meatloaf. She still downs applesauce like there's no tomorrow, and thinks oatmeal is the best thing since...well, oatmeal.

Lynny has a fascination with the outdoors. She loves being outside, and she loves looking outside. When I'm getting ready in the morning, I just plop her on the bed in front of the window and she keeps herself entertained.
A couple days ago it got warm enough that we decided to open the windows and let in some fresh air. Lynny loved it. Not only could she see what was going on outside, but she could hear it all too. Every time a car passed, or someone walked by Lynny would start gasping and flapping her arms like it was the coolest thing in the world.

So while Lynny happily spends her days doing the things she loves best, we've started having some troubles with her at night. She's great during the day--and is napping really well--but nights are suddenly a little different.

About a week ago Lynny woke up screaming. I mean instant hysterics--no build-up whatsoever. I went in to see what was wrong, but it was like she wasn't even seeing me. She continued to scream hysterically for about ten minutes before it was like she suddenly realized where she was. It was like she could finally see me holding her and hear me talking calmly in her ear. She was all sweaty and her heart was just pounding. I wish I knew what had caused it. Then it took at least another half hour for her to settle down and start breathing at a normal pace again. We decided to start the bedtime routine over--changing her diaper, nursing and cuddling her, etc.-- before putting her back down. Once she was asleep, it was like nothing had even happened. She slept til about six am, nursed, and went back to sleep til about eight. Perfectly normal.

And then it happened again the next night. And the next. It's happened every night for the past week. Daniel gave her a blessing the third night, but nothing's changed. It usually happens within an hour or two after she goes down, and it's a really terrifying thing.

Has anyone had any experience with this kind of behavior? Is there anyone out there who can shed some light on what might be causing her sudden nightime terror?

When Momma ain't happy...

Ain't nobody happy...right?

Wrong.

The past two days I was sick with a stomach bug. Lynny had it first, but it was kind to her: she threw up once, had a few nasty diapers and then she was done. But whatever it is decided to do a number on me. I'll spare you the details, but know that I was not a happy camper. I wasn't able to take care of Lynny the way she needed (that happens when you can barely lift your child) so Daniel took some time off work to help out. And I think Lynny enjoyed having Daddy home to play all day. And I think Daddy had a little bit of fun with Lynny too. So even though Momma wasn't happy, everyone else was!

The first day, Daddy pulled out a balloon. That was a big hit. Lynny thought it was fun to play with. And Daniel thought she was fun to play with, with the balloon.

Then Daddy was nice enough to take Lynny for a ride to Costco to get some essentials. She has a bug bite on the side of her head that she picked at until it got infected so we try to hide it with headbands whenever we go anywhere. Well, on the way home from the store, her headband slipped out of place. It didn't seem to bother her though!

And finally, Daddy taught Lynny how to play hide-and-seek. He would hide her head and let her seek for a way to play with her toys while also seeking for a way to get her bag off her head. What fun!

And finally, when Daddy wasn't able to be home to help me, I had to try and find a way to keep Lynny (and her bowl of balls) contained while I tried to fold some laundry. She's finally at the point where she can roll her balls all over the room until they're all out of reach...and then she fusses to get them back. So I plopped Lynny in her laundry basket and let her play! (We used to do the same with our pet rabbits...Not that I view my child as a pet.)