Silver Dawn Almost One Year

On Thanksgiving (3 days ago) I remembered last Thanksgiving (2008). I was less than 2 weeks away from giving birth to Silver Dawn. It's been almost a year that we've had her happy spirit in our home. What an absolute JOY she is to us. It was a special time to have a new baby in our home last year thinking about Christ as a baby and celebrating his birth.
Silver is a very choice spirit - she is very mellow and very happy. She is very smart and determined! She has brought a sweet spirit into our home from the minute she entered it.

River is SO sweet with her, always calling her "little sweetie" or "sweetie pie". They hug and will play really well together. Now that Silver can walk -- Yes! Can you imagine, she's REALLY walking at less than 1 year old! -- they play ring around the rosies together. Daddy is Silver's best friend! She loves to be in his arms, or sitting right by him.

Both of our girls are very healthy. A good sleeper too! I am a firm believer in schedules! She is really good about taking a nap at 10:30 and again at 1:30. We've also started getting her to bed at 8. This is a huge improvement, we used to not get them into bed very early, and it is so nice to have a couple of hours at night to re-group. Being in the office so much, River didn't have a schedule, so it's been nice to be able to develop a routine that we can stick to. River also takes her nap at 1:30. She always tells me that she's not tired. She doesn't have to sleep. Just one hour of quiet time. I set the timer for 1 hour. Sometimes she reads for 45 minutes, and then takes her hour nap!

Here's Silver playing Peek-a-Boo. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a movie is priceless!

Silver LOVES playing Peek-a-Boo! She'll play it laying down on the floor, with a blanket, or pulling up her skirt if she's wearing a dress. What a sweetheart!

Here's a video of River walking. This movie was taken a couple of weeks ago now. She is so solid on her feet. People are amazed at how little she is and how well she walks. She can stand straight up and walk. She walked all the way down the hall at church today. She gets so proud of herself - she knows when she accomplishes great things and breaks out into a huge smile and laughs. At first she would take a step or two and be so happy that she would fall down laughing.

Silver also climbs! We take off the couch cushion on one side. She climbs on the cushion, then on the couch, and up to the cushion ontop of the couch.

The girls (all 3 of us) love to be around Daddy. He is a girl magnet! Wherever he sits down, there is at least one if not all of us sitting by him. River's reading the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet. Lately this has been her favorite book. She makes up stories and turns the pages. She licks all 3 fingers - her thumb, pointer and middle fingers to turn the pages. Silver loves waving, but she's only got one wave in her, better be watching the first time!

Silver crawls REALLY fast! She's such a great crawler. But her sheer determination won over crawling. Walking is now her preferred way of travel.

Video of Silver blowing on her rice! She loves to blow on her food. She also claps, waves and also does indian war whoops - watch the video, you'll get what I mean.

Last movie of the day: Happy Girl!!!

Four Years

I feel like Reminiscing today. Colt been in the insurance business for 4 years. 4 years and 4 office moves later, here's a brief summary:

Colt and I were married in '04 and graduated BYU together in 2005. We actually rented our office 3 months before we graduated to be sure to have a spot. This was our first office:

Practically our home for the 1st year we were open. I loved that flag, we flew it when we were open. The church was right across the street, and would play bells on the hour. We graduated in August of '05, opened our insurance office the end of August. We practically lived here. We were here early and stayed most nights until at least 9:00. We were pretty dedicated to making it work even though our income was $1000, rent at this office was $300 and our home rent was $500. $200 left for both running a business and a home was tricky! Add in cell phone for Colt, Office phone, and Utilities.....Finances were pretty slim. We only had our Trooper as transportation, so we literally went everywhere together. Colt and I were together 24/7 and most weeks we were only apart when I led Singing Time in Primary and Colt went to Sunday School and Elders Quorum.

Here's an interior shot of our office. It was barely wide enough for Colt's desk. I actually have a desk just behind Colt's. I was his secretary, and this first year was pretty stressful trying to make it all work and start a book of business from scratch. I got pregnant September 2005, which was a step of faith for us, because we didn't know if I'd get morning sick or not. Thankfully we were very blessed, and pregnancies for me are great!! In fact, I feel better than at any other time when I'm pregnant. I would knock doors pregnant trying to get business. My goal was to not come back every day to the office until I found someone. River was born in June of 06 and came to work with me after about 3 weeks. While it was small, it was very comfortable, and we made it homey, people said there was a really nice feeling there. It was a high stress year, but not anything I'd ever change because we work together well.

August '06 we moved right next door to our 2nd office. This one was quite a bit bigger. We still had the problems of heating and cooling - it was so cold in there in winters, and SO hot in the summers. But, it was a nice location, we were central to the bank, newspaper office, hospital, school, library and post office. There was a lot of traffic back and forth.

River practically grew up here. I brought River to work with me every day until she was around 2. At that point we were going for a once in a lifetime bonus opportunity with the company, and after much prayer, we decided it was worth it for me to keep working to try to hit this bonus. After MUCH hard work and effort, we finally hit our bonus. The deadline was the last day of August 2008. We worked like crazy up until that last day, and sat back to see what we had done. We needed 1000 units in force (homes and autos). We had 1025. Absolute Miracle. We decided to go for it the previous February. That meant that for the next 6 months we had to break the agency record, every month for 6 months. It was a very busy time, especially considering our callings (Colt: Stake YM Presidency and in the Ward Elders Presidency and me as YW President). We were blessed! This bonus allowed me to move home and be a stay at home mom. (Note: We didn't see any of the money of the bonus: Most of the bonus went to pay off debt incurred during our 1st 3 years, and the rest was used to remodel office #4, but it got us out of debt and allowed us to make the move to office #4)

On to move #3: September '08

I finished up what work I had and helped moved the office:

Colt had by this time made a name for himself in the community and a accountant wanted to office with him. After much deliberation, we moved to this building on the 2nd floor: A very professional atmosphere. Colt during this 3rd year started focusing on helping people with Retirement. Saving and growing their money and knowing how to preserve wealth for the future generations. Colt is very good at what he does, and has a personal approach that I think has made him so successful. He builds relationships with people easily and he does what is in their best interest.

DID I MENTION I LOVE BEING A STAY AT HOME MOM!!!

Office #4: Move September 2009

Colt took an office location that was not very functional at all, and turned it into a very nice professional place:

The crew completely gutted the building and remodeled it with a very nice central reception area and 3 nice offices. Colt has one, and now shares the office with 2 accountants. This is our best office yet! Professional atmosphere, and great location, next to the grocery store and gas company.

A photo we had Kin snap one day of us. Little did we know this was to be the picture used for multiple ads and all sorts of things with Colt's picture on it.

I loved being Colt's secretary!

We couldn't have done what we did without help. We have an Amazing secretary that handles most everything. We also had a lot of help from John and his secretary while going for the bonus. Here's a golf game after we hit our bonus.

River in the office. Can I tell you what a relief it is just to stay home and take care of kids instead of take care of a kid at the office while nursing and typing with one hand? Or handling the phones and a crying kid? I look back at it, and it just makes me tired to think about what we did. But that's the funny thing about things like this: They help you see that you have the energy required for the task at hand. The fun thing about it was that we were all together all day every day. River got to crawl down the hall and see Dad, and we got to have lunches and dinner together every day.

Office baby - We love having a fish tank at the office

MAIL TIME!!

Colt's office was the one you see in the back right. I think it actually helped us sell more insurance to be a family business. I thought it would hurt business to have a wife and kid there all the time, but I think it really helped us. People would stop by the office to see River.

River would sit at the door and would love to wave to the kids when they walked home from the elementary school across the street.

When there was something I had to get done without a crying baby, Colt would walk River up the street so I could have a few minutes. This is a picture of him coming back with her outside the front window.

Notice the pile of papers in the background. Half of my time must have been putting everything back the way it was. We tried not to have anything in her reach. They weren't important papers, just blank forums. No wonder she loves paper and coloring now.

My front desk: River would sit at this chair and put her feet up on the desk for me to tickle them. I can't imagine working with kids at home. It broke my heart to leave River for those 6 months. I left her with Colt's sister, so I new she was in good hands. It was SO hard to leave her and not be around her while she growing so fast.

A video of River's wave to the kids.

River grew up watching people on computers with pens and calculators all day long. She LOVES art and pens. She started really young with pens. She especially loved the kind she could click, but pens with lids were cool too. People were amazed with how small she was, and how she could do things with fine detail. Being around adults was another good thing for River. She is SO social, and I think a big part of it was she said hello to dozens of people a day when she was little. I'd ask Colt if I was ruining my baby by not being home with her, and he said no, that she had so many experiences. She did, I still was able to spend all day with her and she learned like a sponge and soaked everything up. I think if anything, it helped me to be out and her to be involved in everything too. For me, 2 kids at home is much easier than one at work and working a lot, so it gave me a good perspective that I can totally do this!

Thank you Colt for working so hard so I can stay at home with our girls. I know it is not an easy Profession, but one that takes care of us.

Kid Tested Mother Approved

I LOVE to see River sit up and eat. Even if she likes something, she rarely eats more than a couple of bites. I've started doing this with her, and it really works for us: She has to eat one bite of everything on her plate. If she doesn't like it then she doesn't have to have any more, but if she does like it, then she can eat more of it. Also, dinner is dinner, she knows that when she gets
up from the table, that's the food for the night.
Here's River making her shopping list:

So, here are a couple of dishes I've tried this week that River has eaten well and liked it! (I'm always open for dishes that other families like, so I thought I'd pass these ones on)

SOUR CREAM PORK CHOPS: Just tried last night, and definitely a keeper!

6 Pork Chops seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and other spices - I like Emeril's original essence, then dip the seasoned pork in flour. Lightly brown the brown in some oil.

Put in a 4 quart baking dish and top with 2 sauteed onions. I put about 4 cups of water with about 4 tsp chicken bouillon base in the pan after the pork and onions were out of it to get all the flavor out of the pan. Pour that over the pork and onions. Cover and cook at 350 for 1 hour then turn down oven to 200 and cook for another hour. Remove the meat and add to your meat juices 8 oz sour cream and some flour to thicken it, put back on heat for a bit until sauce has thickened.
You can also do this in a slow cooker: Put it on low for 7 to 8 hours instead of in the oven.


River at first turned up her nose, Mom, I don't like that kind of meat!! I said "You have 1 bite and if you don't like it, you don't have to have any more" Okay. HHHMMMM! This is SO yummy Mommy! We also had two of Colt's YM over for dinner and they Loved it too.
This is very tender, and just is SO good! I served it with wide egg noodles and a pack of frozen vegetables - cook the vegetables with Teryaki sauce. Yum!


WHITE CHILI:
I have had this a variety of ways, and they are all yummy.
1 can chicken broth or 2 cups water and 2 tsp chicken buillon base
2 cans great white northern beans
1 pint cooked chicken (I love this because I just throw in the cooked chicken I've canned) You could do it with 1-2 chicken breasts
1 onion
Cumin
Garlic powder
Sour cream - I use around 8 oz
1/3 pound monterey Jack cheese
Actually the sour cream and Monterey Jack cheese amounts are for a larger batch of this chili, so you may want to tone it down a might, or leave it full strength for more kick! We don't mind calories in our home :) The larger recipe calls for 2-3 cans chicken broth and 5-6 cans white beans.

I really like onions, so sometimes i put 2 onions in and I like to coarsely chunk the onions. I like big onion pieces.
I serve it with green salsa on the side. That way the main dish is non-spicy but then Colt can put in his green salsa. Also good with green chilies. Sometimes I add Cilantro too.
You can do it without the sour cream too, that way is good over some rice.
River: Mom, This is the BEST Meal You ever MADE!

We had one of River's friends over for lunch one day. "Yuck, I don't like Soup!" was the first response: After hearing our rule that "you just need to have 1 bite" the friend tentatively tastes it ....hhhmm, I'll have to try some more to see if I like it, and ended up eating 2 bowls. "You have to give my mom the recipe, I'd like to eat this every day!!" The funny thing was that River after hearing someone else say they didn't like it turned up her nose at it and didn't eat it. We had it later that night for left overs and she again liked it :) Silly kiddo!


CREAMY AU GRATIN POTATOES
5 large potatoes, sliced
2 onions, sliced into rings
Preheat oven to 4-- degrees and butter a 4 quart baking dish. Put potatoes and sauteed onions in the dish. Melt 6 TBSP butter and mix in 6 TBSP flour. Stir in 4 cups milk. Cook until thickened. Stir in 3 cups chredded Cheddar Cheese. Pour this cheese sauce over potatoes. Stir around. I put on crushed cornflakes on top for a crunch. Bake 1 1/2 hours.

TIP: Don't try to make Blueberry Waffles - Grandma and Grandpa gave us a belgium waffle maker for Christmas. It makes wonderful waffles. Well, River and I tried blueberry waffles........I'll save you the effort and whole day clean up to get the waffle maker clean again :)

October Quote Board

River has a very dramatic side to her. Lately instead of doing what I ask she tells me she can't do it. "Mom, I keep falling down so I can't put my jams away" then she stands up takes a step and flops on the ground. Or "Mom, my arms hurt, or my tummy says I can't or my arms aren't long enough or it's too hard." She doesn't get out of it though. She still has to do her job (pick up toys or put away clothes) sometimes it can take a really, really long time.

I think I've stumbled upon why River doesn't eat. "Mom, if I eat too much then my tummy will grow really big" or "mom, I can't eat too much or my pants won't fit" I think she's worried about getting fat. We read a Bearenstain Bears book about junk food and how we need to make choices between healthy food and junk food. Sister and Brother bear in the book got pudgy because they ate too much junk food. We've had some chats about healthy food making you strong.

River: "A Little Girl named River is Hungry" or "A little girl named River wants to watch a movie right now"

River: When my Dad is gone, my whole world falls apart!

River wanted a tie to wear when she visits daddy's office. Daddy always wears a tie to the office, so she has a little clip on pink tie that she wears to go see Daddy.

River: Mom, when is Jesus going to come? I've been waiting a LONG time! He's going to come out of the clouds!! I want Jesus to come!

1 Samuel 12:24 "Only Fear (Reverence) the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you."
D&C 38:7 But Behold, veryily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me"

River: Mom, my tummy says I need to read a book. (River used to say that her tummy told her if she was hungry or not, but now her tummy tells her if she wants to do just about anything or not)

Silver Dawn is getting really good at walking while holding onto things. She will hold onto my pants while I walk around slowly and she'll walk with just one hand holding onto my pants. She also walks with the kitchen chair, she pushed the chair forward, and then walks to catch up. She walked across the kitchen that way, but of course when I pull out the camera she stops and sits down to come over to check out the camera :)

I turned the corner to find River with a huge frown look up at me with huge sad eyes: "Mom, you broke my heart!" (I had told her earlier today that we were going to stay home today and not go to visit any friends today.)

River: "Look, I'm coloring a picture of Jesus...I love Jesus....One day, Jesus will come out of the clouds and he will hug me!"

In the car driving the church, Daddy says: You're my Princess. River says: Yeah. After a minute of quiet thinking River says: So, if I'm a princess, then Jesus is the King!

We use the nursery manual as our FHE lessons. River was coloring a picture of a family to be used that night for FHE. She was coloring the Daddy, Mommy, Sister and Baby. Then she looks up...."Mom, Who is this BOY??" Mom: "That's a brother, some families have little boys and they are brothers" River: "Oooohhh......(after coloring the boy) .....Mom, I think we need to get a brother for our family too."

River: "Oh, I can't do that....I don't have enough air." (to explain to a friend that I'm playing with this toy now, I'll let you play with it when I'm done).

Aga, Zozo, Jaja are all names River has made up to name her stuffed animals. River's bear is white and named Mr. Carrots after a polar bear at the San Diego zoo last year that ate carrots and Silver's bear is brown and named Jaja.

River must have said this 20 times this morning in a caring voice: "Silver, you won't die....I promise"

River got the biggest kick out of Grandpa Brock's glider up in SLC. I wish I had a picture of it. It is a HUGE glider that I used to play on when I was little. It is big enough to hold adults too. Colt and I took her on it with Colt in back of her. I was surprised she didn't get scared - we went really high!! After the BYU football game, River and Daddy rode it and she laughed and had the wind blowing in her face.....had SO much fun. Today she kept asking to go to Grandpa's house for his glider. I said it was a REALLY long drive to get to Grandpa's house. That's okay Mom, let's hop in the car!!

It's Autumn Time

Aaaahhh, It's that time of year when we pull out our sweaters and get to decorate in ORANGE and YELLOW! Orange has to be my favorite color, I love seeing Orange Leaves! There's a road I drive regularly that has TONS of big trees on it that are turning yellow and orange. Their leaves fall on the road and it's so pretty to see cars drive through them and throw up orange and yellow leaves around the car. Falling leaves are SO much fun to play in!
Halloween Costumes

Colt "The Law" and Karin "Indian Princess"

River was our "Zeep" 1/2 sheep, 1/2 Zebra!

The Girls! There are 4 little girls River's age - they have SO much fun together!

Our Community did the greatest thing for Halloween, a Trunk or Treat. We met at the church parking lot. That way the kids could see their friends costumes and show off their own. They had a chili cook-off, so there was dinner and a parade around the parking lot for the kids to be in. Then they got to go trick-or-treating to all the cars up and down the parking lot!! Superb idea!! Lots of friends, fun, food and CANDY!!!

River's pumpkin carving!

River got a turn holding the camera.

Hey Didn't your Mom ever teach you not to stick out your tongue?

Okay, that's better

Oh, I do love the colder weather! I have a theory - you ready for this? So, when I was in Logan people dressed for the Cold, you wore sweaters, gloves, hats and coats, and I was always really toasty and warm. Here it's SO deceptive, no snow, lots of sun, so we go outside with a light sweater, not properly dressed for how cold it's going to be and end up getting cold. So (conclusion of the theory here) people in Logan and snowy areas are warmer than they are here in S. Utah!! LOL :)