This is Today

/0 Comments/in , /by

How many girlies do you know who get such royal treatment when they scrape their toe? Princess pillow and all for her wounded foot. It was quite dramatic for her to have her toe cleaned and bandaged, even with a Hello Kitty Bandaid. It’s probably quite good that this girlie won’t be the baby of the family pretty soon. She may have a bit of a shock though in 4 weeks when Baby arrives.07-july-201430In other news… we had an awesome 5 minute downpour and the boys rejoiced by jumping in the puddles. Also… Abe has been tucking Liza into bed lately. He reads her a book and sings her a song. He likes to be needed. She likes the new attention.

07-july-201429aMade ice cream tonight! It really was one of our best batches ever. Hannah declared, “This is the best ice cream I’ve ever had!” We made vanilla and added fresh/frozen raspberries. Who liked it? Hannah, Truman, dad, & mama. Liza quickly turned over her icecream cone to me… too many chunks I suppose.

Delight in Dancing

/0 Comments/in , /by

Collages2This is just totally Liza! First she finds the desired dress. Then we put on music and she dances. She actually has graceful arm movements for a 2-year-old (definitely didn’t get that from me!). Today she was dancing to Frozen soundtrack. Just something I want to remember … before she grows up too fast.

A Fever

/0 Comments/in /by

httpinlinethumb03.webshots.com440342858545440105101600S600x600Q85

Max:
“Why do I have a fever?
Oh, is it because the white things are attacking the green things?
And when I take medicine it helps the white things do their job so then the fever goes away.
I used to think that I had a fever because there was a feather in my brain.”
Laughing, Laughing, Laughing Max over that one.

Mom:
“Uhhhh, yes. It is. Actually. (not the feather part!)
The White Blood Cells are fighting the infection in your body.
You learned that from Magic Schoolbus, I suppose?”

download

A fever occurs when the thermostat resets at a higher temperature, primarily in response to an infection. To reach the higher temperature, the body moves blood to the warmer interior, increases the metabolic rate, and induces shivering. The chills that often accompany a fever are caused by the movement of blood to the body’s core, leaving the surface and extremities cold. Once the higher temperature is achieved, the shivering and chills stop. When the infection has been overcome or drugs such as aspirin or acetaminophen have been taken, the thermostat resets to normal and the body’s cooling mechanisms switch on: the blood moves to the surface and sweating occurs.

When an infection occurs, fever-inducing agents called pyrogens are released, either by the body’s immune system or by the invading cells themselves that trigger the resetting of the thermostat.

Fever is an important component of the immune response, though its role is not completely understood. Physicians believe that an elevated body temperature has several effects. The immune system chemicals that react with the fever-inducing agent and trigger the resetting of the thermostat also increase the production of cells that fight off the invading bacteria or viruses. Higher temperatures also inhibit the growth of some bacteria, while at the same time speeding up the chemical reactions that help the body’s cells repair themselves. In addition, the increased heart rate that may accompany the changes in blood circulation also speeds the arrival of white blood cells to the sites of infection.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/fever.aspx

Mueller Park Trail

/0 Comments/in , /by

07-july-201425I keep wanting to explore new paths outside this summer. I know Truman loves and glories in broader boundaries in the out-of-doors. This mini walk on Mueller Park Trail by the Bountiful Temple didn’t appeal to Truman once he heard we were in Black Bear Territory. For some reason he was quite scared and wouldn’t let go of Hannah’s hand the entire time. Usually he roams down every side path. We wandered up the trail for a bit. The kids and grandma sang ‘Give Said the Little Stream’ while waiting for me to pack up water bottles. The creek there is delightful! As we walked, Max sang, “My Heavenly Father Loves Me.” So super sweet!

p.s. I keep having more & more contractions this week (probably just braxton-hicks… but still). I think one more simple hike to Silver Lake on Saturday, and I’m going to have to call it quits until I have this babe in 3 or 4 weeks. Sigh…

Smith Family Eye Color

/0 Comments/in , , /by

07 july 201426I thought it would be good family history documentation to share pictures of our eye color. It was harder than I thought to get the right lighting to brighten up those eyes (especially those of us with squinty eyes). The photos are what they are … when I learn how to use my camera smarter, I’ll retake them. I’m kinda hoping our babe will have my light blue eyes, since we have no other blue eyed kiddos. I do like each person’s eye color… so interesting that they are slightly different, even the hazel ones.

Interesting note: Sensitive eye people in our family = Mother, Abraham, and Truman. Sunglasses make life outside much better. I found a cheap pair of polarized glasses for this summer and it makes such a huge difference on the sun’s glare! Love them!!!

DeMordaunts, Love, and Snow Cones

/0 Comments/in , /by

07 july 201423Amy & family stopped by for a quickie visit. Jim was just released from his mission and thus they headed to Idaho… and Utah from Arizona to spend time with family and to run errands at BYU for Jim. My kids know how much Amy loves them. It’s cute how much they adore her. Funny quote from Truman as Amy was giving them little wind-up car toys, “I will share these with my family… because in our family, we share!” (I guess he occasionally listens to guidance from parents)

The DeMordaunt boys helped set up for snow cones (including lashing the broken shelter). We said, “Au Revoir” and then did 2 hours of snow cones. It was hot! Téa came to help Hannah this time. Cute girls!
07 july 201422

Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

/0 Comments/in , /by

IMG_3187 copyWe’ve got:
Truman: Captain Hook’s Apprentice
Hannah: Wendy
Liza: Tiger Lily
Max: Peter Pan (of course!)
Abe: Captain Hook the Fierce

I laid down in the morning after my shower and Hannah put together this acting group to put on the play of Peter Pan. I don’t know that the actual drama panned out, but they had a delightful time dressing up. Hannah rocks at putting together creative costumes.

07 july 201421Tiger Lily loved the Pixie Dust Glitter. She figured out how to open it and the kids delighted in the sparkle and shine on hands and hair.

Isn’t Max a cute Peter Pan?!
And last of all… sometimes I think I need to note that things are not always perfectly swell with 5 kids playing together. Tru was crying over the pictures or something. Liza was crying over possession of the pixie dust.

Thanks Miss Hannah for providing an uplifting and fun summer day activity!

Sibling Love

/0 Comments/in , /by

07-july-201418This happened today … at the same time. Amazing Sibling Love! Hannah & Truman have been “Buddies” since last summer when we went to Seattle. He responds best to her helping, though lately he even fights her. Sigh… Loved watching her play the piano while he watched.

And Abe & Liza… Abe has been making extra efforts to help Eliza. Sometimes she’ll let him. She wanted to dance with me but ended up being okay playing Ring-a-round-the-rosies with Abe. Such Delight on her face! He has been asking to tuck her into bed at night. He does a great job when she’s amiable.

Max was playing my Ipad when all these pictures were taken. Soon enough he’ll have a little brother to buddy-up with!

Lego Creations by Abe

/0 Comments/in , /by

07-july-20141Abe has spent hours in his room this summer during quiet time building innovative lego creations. He sure has some creative ideas.

Abe: “I like building big robots for my mini-figures. I like building big creations and getting new sets with cool pieces.”

Little Liza Ruth

/0 Comments/in , /by

06-june-201420Liza has been pretty nice about me braiding her hair (in her mind she has Elsa or Ana hair). It is so darling all tidy and out of her face. This hair do doesn’t usually last long because she wants it out for her nap or bedtime. A few other things about Liza. About 3 weeks ago she started stuttering. She would stutter ‘Tru, Tru, Tru, Tru – man hit ziza” or something like that. So – mostly stuttering syllables rather than just the beginning letter sound. I thought it happened mostly when she was upset… which is true, but more recently it also happens when she’s excited or just in normal every-day talking. Perhaps this is a normal 2-year-old speech phase as her tongue is trying to catch up with her brain processing or vice versa. But we wanted to note this change in her speech patterns. What else? Potty training. She does awesome when we are away from home. But I think at home she is lazy and goes only when it is convenient. I need to crack down on wearing pull-ups. Sigh… Liza is such a delight in our home … and also has added significantly to the drama factor. Love this Liza Ruth!