Good News!

Today I am trying to get ready everything ready for our trip to Utah tomorrow. My list of things to do involved calling my old health insurance company about a $1,050 claim they still haven't paid from two years ago. It is a very very long and drawn out story so I will spare you the details but will suffice it to say that I have spent many hours on the phone and in tears over the whole matter. The good news is that they finally paid the doctor and the doctor waived all of the late charges that had been piling up! I am soooooo excited to finally have this taken care of! It has been such a stressful battle with the insurance company and the doctor's office and now it is done! Now I need to stop procrastinating the cleaning, laundry, and packing and finish getting ready to go (with one more burden off my shoulders!)

Potty Training Here We Come!! - Just Kidding

Yesterday Stephen was taking a bath and I noticed some signs that he was thinking about going poopy in the tub (which if you have experienced with your own children - is to be avoided at all costs) so I asked him if he would like to go on the toilet. (ha ha) He said "eesss" (yes) and so I sat him down on the edge of the potty and thought to myself "this won't work." Well to my extreme surprise he actually went! I thought it was pretty funny and he was quite proud of himself and enjoyed flushing the toilet and watching everything go down. Then we ran to tell daddy. Don't worry - I don't have any false hopes that he is ready to start potty training anytime soon - the incident is a welcome fluke that saved me a diaper change (and a diaper!)

18 Months and Not a Smile to be Found

We had Stephen's pictures taken at JC Penny last week. He was not very happy about it as you can see in the pictures... We did manage to get a few at the end that turned out ok! If you want you can look at them through this link:

http://www.smilesbywire.com/asp/sbw_view.asp

Customer Name: CAMI SMITH Access Code: LTPP0540106616JCP

Yes, that is a pink cell phone in the pictures...I was getting really desperate!

Antics

Stephen after he bent the mini blinds to death...


















Stephen reading the Ensign on the end table...




























Stephen escaping out the doggy door...


















Stephen in his preferred sleeping attire... (he has done this twice now, luckily only "number one" messes so far...)


















Stephen with his cousin Talan...

Nursery

Stephen is now officially 18 months old and went to nursery for the first time on Sunday! He LOVED it!! Scott and I were sure that he would cry at least a little bit when we dropped him off or maybe would only make it part way through. Well, he proved us both wrong because he went right in, started doing a puzzle and didn't cry at all when we left. When we went to pick him up he ran away from Scott because he wanted to stay longer! I was happy that he liked it, but also sad because my little baby is growing up too fast! The other reason we know he enjoyed himself is because he had yellow crayon in his front teeth - apparently he tried to eat one...

Out for a Stroll

Steve and I have been going out for a walk every morning with our dog Kloie. We started a few weeks ago with the $12 umbrella stroller from Target and have now moved on to a new (new to me - from Craigslist) jogging stroller. We go around the neighborhood which is sometimes like off-roading because the roads are in rough shape in places. We have a lot to look at - cars, houses, airplanes and helicopters, occasional stray cats and abandoned buildings. We also see a lot of grass trees, flowers, and blues skies! The weather has been absolutely awsome! For me it is an attempt at excersise - I try to run for part of the time. It is a chance for all of us to get out of the house and get some fresh air! I have decided that we live in the strangest place - it is a college, an airport, a neighborhood, a golf course, army reserve place, and an elementary school all rolled into one!

Happy Presidents' Day!

Who doesn't love a good newspaper hat? Anna and Stephen sure got a kick out of this one...or maybe the adults just got a kick out of putting the hat on their cute little heads. The kids don't actually look all that excited about it!