Fairies, Damsels, Release, and a Tie

Wow! We didn't quite see this coming, but here we are! Our first baby is officially growing up! But Cali on the verge of missing a couple of teeth actually started out as a little scare. Earlier in the month I was trying to capture a photo of the girls who were dressed up cute. I plunked Carice in front of a willing Cali, but I should have known better...Carice wasn't havin' it and head-butted Cali right in the mouth. Her teeth were then sore. They didn't seem loose, but the gum line was a little gray. We luckily made it in time to our dental check-up that just so happened to be scheduled this very month.

Her X-ray revealed that the roots of the primary teeth were indeed dissolving and her big girl teeth were on their way! The bunk in the tooth was not the cause. At the end of the month she lost both her lower incisors; ironically, the two teeth that she sprouted first as a 7 month old. :) The tooth fairy visited both nights leaving a five dollar bill for each tooth! (Inflation must have hit the tooth-taking winged one, too) I figure at this rate she will make a cool $hun$ after loosing all her baby teeth. Lucky! And incidentally, we almost didn't have that first lost tooth to place under her pillow for the tooth fairy to find. I brushed her teeth that night a little too rough and her gums started to bleed. Well, Cali wanted to 'see' the blood (of sorts) and so I went back in with the toothbrush to 'squoosh' a little blood onto the bristles to show her. When I did and had the toothbrush to show her, Cali tells me I knocked out her tooth! ("I did?!") It was gone...and nowhere to be seen. We looked and looked and finally I found it stuck in the fur of her bright pink slipper! All in a day's work...



We actually, finally, really, can-you-believe-it, found a preschool for Cali to attend. I know we are starting late in the school year, since obviously schools start classes in the fall, but the owner said that some children do start in January or change preschools after the holiday break. So, after hearing that, I didn't feel so out of place. At any rate, we just new Cali needed 'something'. I think she was bored at home. (We didn't go to Gymboree in December. We were going to catch up with them this month, but we haven't yet and most likely won't be going back...bummer for Carice because it fits her age group so well. What to do, what to do.)

The first day of preschool was tough. The apron strings that never seem to be there when Cali was a toddler have somehow been sewn tightly to me and Daddy over the last year or so . I could tell she wanted to join in here and there with the other children and/or with toys, but yet she still was so nervous and clingy for me to leave her alone. Finally, her teacher, Miss Debi, had her on her lap attempting to read and that is when Carice and I made our way to the door. My Cali had such a worried little expression on her face. I cried on the way home. We've been through so much with our sweet little first-born and I just want her physically safe and emotionally happy..and to know I am making the right decisions for her right now. I don't think I did much that day when I came home from the school. I prayed for her while we were apart and I felt like she was okay. She ended up loving preschool and the next time she went, I was able to do the 'drop off'. Miss Debi comes and gets the children out of the car and escorts them into the building. Parents and siblings don't have to unbuckle or get out of the car. It really is so helpful. And Cali went willingly! But-I still cried on the way home the second day, too ;) She's my baby and I love her...it's just the way it is.

However, on that second day, I was able to get Carice back to sleep when we got in the house (she fell asleep in the car on the way home from the school.) She napped while I watched something on TV other than Caillou or Sesame Street, folded some laundry and actually go the bathroom all by my lonesome! Wow! And at one point, it was quiet in the house. Nothing but sweet blissful silence. Maybe this preschool thing is pretty cool after all. Cali had her very first field trip this month. They were finishing up learning about people in the community and so we all went to Smith's grocery store for a tour. We sampled a carrot from produce, a cookie from the bakery and a yummy fry from the deli. So fun. I also had to show you this picture she colored at home. She has such a way with colors already. The artist in her is starting to beautifully ooze out; you can see she definitely is her father's daughter.

Our other little daughter is such a goose (as we call her) :) I've decided that I really love one year olds. They can be soft and squishy and cuddly like a baby, yet so fun to watch run around and play and be so funny. She has this little galloping run she does with one foot flat on the ground and the other half on the ground. And she would get up and stand on her gray little step stool, hold onto the the bar in the kitchen (or be somewhere else in the house) and cry out, "Mama, Mama." with a pained expression until I (or Daddy) came and 'rescued' her off the stool. We called her our little "Damsel in Distress" Like I said...she's a goose :) She had a rough go, though, this month...she had a double ear infection. Well, at least that's what I think she had. It's hard to hear our kind, gentle, soft-spoken pediatrician with a screaming Carice on my lap. Looking back, it makes sense when she held both of her hands over her ears when she would scream and/or cry. It reminded me of the famous painting "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. I thought maybe it was just a 'new thing' she was doing, but now I'm thinkin' she was in pain! (Good grief, Mommy, get with the program.) Not to mention the not sleeping well part. Glad you are feeling so much better, Love! :) We love you annnnddd anti-biotics.



Rick entered a poster contest this month at work. It was for the annual design review that was held at the Salt Lake Library. The 'model' in the background is yours truly ;) The pop-up portion of the book he actually made and then he 'tweaked' the rest in Photoshop. He tied for first place! Way to go, babe! If you ask me, I think he should have won. His poster was so creative and unique, but at least he got a prize out of the deal. He received money to spend at Resist Today so, her ordered a one-off wallet. They even were going to throw in a free T-shirt; fitting for a t-shirt designer. Which, by the way, his and Juna's online shop kicked booty in December selling over 900 shirts! Wow! Rick also informed me that he is going to do freelance again...much to my chagrin. "Do you want a house?" he asks (tells) me. "Yes!" I said, with blechity in my voice. I know, I know, we need the cash-houses are expensive. So, I will just have to endure viewing Rick's head from the side and/or back again for a time while the computer screen gets to see his handsome, tired face. All in a day's work for a sweet huzbind.



We are so ready for our home, though. We desperately need the room. The Moore4 have just outgrown this humble town home. Most of the time it looks as though our place has been ransacked by thieves. Soooo many toys and junk everywhere with ofttimes not enough space to store it all. Ugg. Our design for the interior and exterior of our new home has all been decided and we had our electrical meeting with our sales rep. We are just waiting now for our pre-construction meeting to take place. Exciting!

And lastly, I was released from my calling at church as the Primary Chorister. You would think I would be jumping for joy as it was not a calling I was looking forward to doing, but actually it was bittersweet. It felt as though I finally was getting that invisible rug straightened out beneath me with this calling and was looking forward to starting a new year with a new program to follow with the children. But we are indeed moving (unsure when) and they didn't want to have to switch in the middle. So, I understand, but I was finding some confidence and was doing okay. Maybe I shouldn't say that out loud, there is always the next ward we will be in. And if the stars allow...we will be in that ward for a very, very long time.



An almost buried Cali in the seemingly never-ending snowfall 2007-2008