Picky picky picky!

Oh my gosh, drive me nuts!

I have a beautiful baby girl. She is smart, funny, and sassy!

And lately, she has started being the PICKIEST eater! All she ever wants are crackers and other crap foods that aren't good for her. She HATES her high chair and eats so much better if she's walking around but it is important for her to learn that meal times are up at the table and not walking around the house playing while we eat.

Usually our meals go as followed:

Put apple sauce on her tray, she screams and tries to throw it off (i'm used to this now so i'm close by waiting to see if she'll take the food).

Put a cheese on her tray, she screams and tries to throw it off.

Put a sandwich on her tray, she screams and tries to throw it off (or just rips it apart).

Put a cracker on her tray, she says "Thank you."

Seriously???

All of these foods that she has always liked, she now turns down. Meal times are just full of fits and crying and I'm coming to hate that time of the day.

My husband says that it's ok to give her what she wants since I "get to choose what I eat for meal times so why wouldn't it be fair to let her choose" but I'm not a restaurant and if we are eating something, I do expect her to eat what everybody else is eating.

Meal times are really frusterating and what is even more frusterating is when we go to anybody's house, Petey ends up with like 10 crackers or cookies in her mouth by the end of the night and then she is full so by the next meal time, she will refuse everything I give her.

Right now she is seriously licking ranch dressing off of the lid so I guess I had better go. Yuck!

And that's how Suze sees it.

Back then

I really miss life back then.
I'm not unhappy now but I really miss life back then.
Do you ever just find yourself reminiscing so deep into the past that you can feel how you felt then? I have exact memories. Some have faded but some are exact.
The day my parents dropped me off for ANASAZI, I wasn't scared. I was angry but not scared. I think now that I look back on it, I was excited because I knew those people had to listen to my problems 24/7 and they had to act like they cared. I needed someone to listen and care.
Maybe that is why I started this blog. Because I feel like if someone reads this, they are listening and maybe even caring. Everybody likes their words to be cared about.
It was easier to be young and look up to someone older. I used to get attachments to people starting with Jalene, my first EFY counselor when I was 14. I spent so much of that week with her, talking in her room, walking around that BYU campus and how amazing is it that we've kept in touch! I can't say that about many EFY counselors (and I had 5).
ANASAZI brought way too many attachments that were very hard to let go of. I say let go because you get to a certain point where hundreds of kids have walked the same paths you did and you almost feel like you don't belong anymore. So much of my ANASAZI world has changed. People dont work there that worked there when I walked. People have their own lives and so do I.
I am proud of the six weeks I walked. I am proud of who it made me and what I learned. I am proud of the friendships I made. I am proud of the memories I have. I truly am proud of who I am.



Look at his face. My dad was so proud of me and has been ever since. You have no idea how many times I have heard what a good mother I am from my dad. He is the greatest dad.
Making fire. I told you I was serious. We found those materials in the woods and made fire from them. (ok, we brought the rope but everything else is from trees and plants)

Having a successful night of making fire meant the world to us. It wasnt just about the fact that we could all eat but you feel so proud of yourself for accomplishing something so hard.

That baby?

Who said that baby could get so big?

I guess, in a sense, it was us.

After telling his pediatrician who just so happens to be his grandpa that he has been downing 6-9 oz bottles lately, his grandpa says, "Well, if he isn't throwing it up, it's not going to hurt him but you can choose to stop feeding him if you think it is too much."

Well, dad, I guess we're just going to have a really fat baby. :)

When it's the middle of the night and after a 6 oz bottle your baby is still screaming for more and wont go to sleep, you're going to give him more, especially since you know he most likely wont throw it up. This kiddos sister was drinking 8 oz bottles at like 9 months, not 1 month! It's quite ridiculous and yet, if it's not hurting him, I guess he will just be a tanker. He already looks so big compared to what he did at birth.

So bring it on, big boy!

And that's the way Suze sees it.

Adventure

I am a free spirit.
I am adventurous.
And yet, I am a wimp.
???
I was the first out of my sisters to get kissed...and out of the 4, I am the youngest. Does that make me adventurous? I don't necessarily think so but it sure made me different.
I was the only child that rebelled enough to get sent to ANASAZI (refer to www.anasazi.org). Do you know what that is? Well, I used to call it the "Camp for Bad Kids" but in a nutshell, I was sent into the middle of NOWHERE (and truly, I'm talking about the middle of the desert) for 6 weeks to figure out my life, with the help of great counsellors and leaders. Seriously...I lived off of the land. And if you think they gave us a break, you're wrong. I hiked over 20 miles a week(not on a trail...I'm talking sometimes rock climbing here), carried my bed/food/clothes on my back, and ate stuff that as a picky eater, I was NOT ok with. Trust me when I say it was an experience I will never forget. And I didnt hate it. I LOVED it. So there I went off on a tangent when that wasn't what this post is about.
When I was little, I was a firecracker, much like my daughter is now. Who am I kidding, I'm still a firecracker. I liked to rebel, be different, do what I thought was adventurous and yet, I can't handle scary movies. Sometimes, I cant even handle thunder. Shh!
Did you know that I kissed my husband before he kissed me? Yeah...I did. In high school, that's something I probably wouldnt have done because I had zero confidence but apparently, when you're in love, you do crazy things.
And yet, I'm afraid of the dark.
I once went spelunking for senior ditch day.
And yet, I'm semi-claustrophobic and thought I was going to die the whole time.
I hate that I have to have c sections and yet, giving birth actually freaks me out. I'll admit, when they told me I'd be having an emergency c section with my daughter, I was somewhat relieved because it meant I didn't have to push a baby out of you know where.
I've lived an oxymoron life.
And though I complain and am not always satisfied, I truly am proud of my life and the things I've accomplished and the things I fear. It makes me who I am.

The Leash

"The Leash"

No, I don't own a dog nor do I own a leash for a dog. I have a Curious George in my house. She is 17 months old and lately, this Curious George has thought it to be hilarious to run straight into the street when I get her out of the car and go to get her brother. Not funny in a mom's eyes. So on Monday, I was doing some shopping at Target and came across a wonderful contraption, the Eddie-Bauer-Harness-Buddy. This is made especially for cute little Curious George's like mine and is not used for any type of animal (ok, I can't promise that no one has put one on an animal but I have no intention of doing so). Of course, we chose the monkey backpack because my little girl is a monkey and for the past two days, she has LOVED it. She points to her back and says, "Monkey! Monkey!" and likes to run a couple feet ahead of her brother and I. Once in a while, she'll start to veer off of whatever path we are taking and she is guided right back on gently by her loving mother.

So I am a fan. I used to think these were dumb and that kids shouldn't be put on leashes but honestly, I'd rather have my girlie safe and not in the middle of a parking lot and deal with the judging glances some people give. Oh well!

And that's the way Suze sees it!