From the mouths of babes

• Xiana is under the impression that it is always her birthday so I explained to her that next is mommy's birthday and then Brian's. Well, mommy's birthday has come and gone so next is Brian's right? The other day we were playing at the neighbor's house and one of the boys said that is birthday is next week. Xiana defensively exclaimed, "no! Brian's birthday next!"
• One morning I saw her put a piece of cheese under her shirt and say, "my baby in my tummy."
• One of her new favorite expressions was coined one evening when Kacie and I were shopping. We were in the front seat talking and Xiana said, "hey, what you talking about guys?" I thought it was so adorable then.... but I might have mentioned it a time or two in her presence and as a result, she asks it several times throughout the day. If she doesn't understand or hear what we're talking about, or if she finds that she needs a little more attention than she was previously receiving.
• A car pulled out in front of me and I said, "look at this nonsense," to myself. My ever hearing child innocently asked, "what's nonsense?"
• We were reading the story of Samson and she perceptively exclaimed, "that boy hurting!"
• Yesterday she came to me while I was eating and said, "I up" "no" I replied. She waited all of 20 seconds before asking, "how bout now?"
• I was talking to Brian on the phone and asked if Kevin (his brother) was coming with us. Xiana immediately said, "hey, I know tevin, I yike tevin." She listens to every word I say whenever she is around. I have to be careful!
• Xiana came to me yesterday asking to sing the Jesus song. It took me a little while to discover that she was talking about "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam." It's really sweet that rather than the irreverent and emphatic sunbeam for reference, she thinks of it as the Jesus song.
• Brian has been shaking Xiana'a hand and saying, "nice to meet you." Which she, of course, mimics. The other day she walked up to my dad, shook his hand and said, "nice to meet you grandpa." He was so impressed I didn't have the heart to tell him that she was not the originator of this expression.
• If ever she gets frustrated that someone doesn't understand her, she has taken to telling them, "tome here, I'll show you."
• Likewise, if you are eating her pretend food, or playing any of her wide array of imaginary games, she likes to tell you exactly how you should be playing. If you take a bite the wrong way, or drive or fly or talk on the phone the "wrong" way, she says, "no, not yike dat, yike dis," demonstrating the proper way.
• Brian was asking her what her whole name was the other day to which she replied, "Xiana with an X."
• Speaking of which, I don't know if I've mentioned she now calls herself Xiana. No more nana.
• We were shopping for a birthday present for one of her friends and Xiana said, "my pony." I explained to her that it was a present for Kamryn. She thought for a minute and then said, "and we share."
• Ever since it snowed she cautions me every time we leave the house, "be tareful mommy."
• I overheard her on the phone saying, "I'll email you." It took me a few to figure out where she got that. Then, we were watching Sesame Street and Elmo was checking his email. That must be the source as she is a Elmo junkie.
• We were at Walmart and Kacie and I were talking about how cute a pair of socks were. Xiana, listening as always, grabbed the socks off the shelf and yelled, "Oh! My! Gosh!"
• The shower curtain in our bathroom is lighthouses. Xiana always points to them and calls them temples.
• One day Garrett couldn't understand what she was saying when they were playing with her fake food. She said, "eat it tending," and he said, "no honey, we don't really eat this food." She replied, "no, tending!" I had to translate that she was saying pretending.
  
• I am still not sure where she got this one from, but all I can think is that her 2 year molars are coming in and I referenced them because yesterday she asked me to open my mouth so she could see my "molars" and then identified the correct teeth.
• When she plays hide-and-seek she can now count to 30. Also, she can spell her name.
• She was in the bath and I changed into a dress for school. When I came back in she said, "what you wearing mommy? You wear a dress? You a pretty princess?" I assured her that, yes, I am a pretty princess and that she is too. She looked down at her naked body in the tub and said, "no, I a mermaid."
• "I yike Elmo," she told me, "I no yike cookie monster, you yike cookie monster?" "Yes," I told her, "it's okay if you like them both. You can like Elmo and Cookie Monster." "Oh" she said. We went through this several more times throughout the day before she finally said, "no, I no yike cookie monster. He kinda scary."
• One day when she was pretending to drive her car to go grocery shopping she came into the kitchen with her arms full of "groceries" and asked, "hey, where I park my car?"
• I did her hair for church on Sunday and put bows on top. She asked if Garrett would get her dressed so he did. As we were heading out the door I asked, "hey, what happened to your bows?" She replied, "Garrett take them out." (which he most certainly did not) My dad said it was her first alibi.

Earthquake

Morre had her baby and after a myriad of complications got to take him home. Xiana had been really excited to hold the baby. She got her wish and then proceeded to be a holy terror the rest of the time we were over, sorry Morre! Calin is a sweet baby and so far, very good. Xiana didn't quite get the concept of the baby being out of her tummy and kept assuring us that there were two babies now, one in Morre's belly and one in her arms.
awwwwww
The next night for family home evening we made a gingerbread house.
It turned out really cute. My mom makes her own gingerbread and then she melts hard candies in the windows to make stained glass. I remember in years past creating exact replicas of our homes and gingerbread houses with electricity. I even remember one year for my birthday, my mom was ambitious enough to let 13 of my friends and myself make our own houses. She was crazy. But, as usual, I digress. So, we made the house and it was really cute and fun.
Can't you tell how much fun it was? jk, Garrett really did have fun.
Here is the front finished product.
And Suzy homemaker here attempting to make icicles.
Then... two days later my good friend Kate and her son came over. Kate and I were talking in the living room roughly 10 feet away from the kids. They were awfully quiet all of two minutes before we heard a crash. I instantly knew what it was. Both kids were scared out of their minds crying hysterically as they pointed (from on top of the table mind you) at the shattered gingerbread house on the floor. Kate and I assured them that it was okay. They both looked like they were trying to quickly figure out who to blame. Of course, the fact that they were on the table with vibrant colors from m&m's running down their faces didn't leave them with much of an alibi. It was pretty funny. So, in the end we determined that there must have been an earthquake; judging from the damage a rather large one :)
Here is my little ham hamming it up before church last week. She got to wear her snow boots to church because Brian specifically selected the black ones which would go with her dresses. Good job babe!
She insisted that I take a picture of her and her bear. By the way, this is not actually her bear at all. I tried to explain to her that it was my bear and I was letting her use it. She didn't believe me and exclaimed that it was hers. To prove my point I read the tag on the bear's ear, "to Lenaya, from Nic." The next day I saw her rip the tag off the bear, hold up the remnants and read aloud, "to Xiana love mommy." It was priceless!

Let it Snow!

After the first huge snow storm in Reno, all of the stores were sold out of snow gear. And I mean sold out! Because I lived in Vegas for the last four winters and all of Xiana's life, the thought never occurred to me that she would need actual snow clothes should we want to venture out and about. For a few days I made do with extra layers and plastic bags over her boots, but then I decided to check the stores. I guess you snooze you loose because Walmart didn't have a single pair of boots or gloves or snow pants left. Target had exactly one pair of snow pants...nothing else. Fortunately, they just happened to be pink... and size 12 months. You'd think this would be a problem since Xiana is over 2, but... she is tiny so they fit perfectly. I still couldn't find boots, but in Brian's Christmas shopping endeavors, he came across some that are, not only warm, but adorable! The final touch was gloves for both of us from Costco... Score!
Thus, we were ready to go!
The snow was really dry so when we attempted to make a snow man, we were pretty unsuccessful. I decided to make a snow turtle instead and Xiana certainly didn't mind.
We made some snow angels too. Xiana got such a kick out of it that she asked to do it again and again and again. She also asked if we could bring the angels to Brian tomorrow.
Her little angel is priceless!

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

This is Kacie's beautiful Christmas tree. I had Xiana pose in front of it so that I could pretend it was my own. I marvel at her ability to go all out for Christmas. I think it looks beautiful, but maybe I'm a little bah humbug-ish because it also seems like a lot of work (to say nothing of cost). Regardless, Kacie always decorates her whole place extravagantly, and I love visiting.

Please notice all the presents under this tree...mind you, Kacie lives alone!
Then we went to the ward Christmas party... speaking of extravagant decor....
Xiana hasn't been able to see as much of Charlie as normal lately between winter colds and busy schedules so they were thrilled to get to spend an evening by each other's sides.
Xiana is not into sitting on Santa's lap. She proclaims to all who will listen, "I no sit on Santa yap, I sit on mommy yap." Although she did tell him she wanted a princess which is a step in the right direction from the last 2 Santa's laps she did not sit on.
We got a tip from Kacie and went to the same lot she used for a tree.
Surprisingly, we picked the first tree we laid eyes on. The guy working said we must look around because it couldn't be that easy. Still, true to our word, the first tree we saw was the one we took home. It's funny that it never worked that way when we went out to cut one down. We usually traipsed around the woods for a long time before we found the perfect tree. This meant that we got to carry it that much farther. Disclaimer---I'm just saying. I'm not complaining because I LOVE cutting down a Christmas tree. We will have to reinstate that tradition next year.

Let it Snow!

Last Sunday we got ready for church and I decided to let Xiana wear her Christmas dress so that she would have more than one opportunity. Little did I know, this was the foreshadowing of the weather.... white Christmas indeed! Anyway, this if from the back because this dress has beautiful bows on the front and the back... and she looked beautiful!
My cheesy little angel!
My friend Karina gave Xiana some homemade bows for her birthday that looked like they were made with the dress. So much so that Karina herself was wondering where I had gotten them for a little while. It took her a moment to recognize them as her own.
That evening we went to our monthly potluck (there is a group of us that have a potluck at rotating houses every month. It is so much fun and doesn't leave an extraordinary burden on any one family. I really look forward to them. The only sad part for me is that, thus far, Brian has only made it to one of them.... we will try to remedy that!) When we got there it was chilly. And when we left....
It was snowing!
Kacie picked up this adorable and warm jacket for Xiana right in the knick of time!
The next day we played in the snow. Well, let me rephrase that, I helped my dad shovel snow while Xiana ingested as much as humanly possible until she was frozen. She loves to eat the snow! I have to tell her everywhere we go that she is only allowed to eat snow at our house.
My dad found her a little sand shovel so that she could help with the clearing. Phew, it's a good thing she was there. I don't know how we would have managed without her.
The shovel also served as a helpful utensil to consume more snow.

you you you you say it

Yesterday Xiana started stuttering. She has an immense vocabulary and speaks really well. She suddenly started saying, "you you you you you you you you try it..." or whatever. I was a little freaked because it was so out of the ordinary for her. Tonight I looked it up and was filled with great relief from webmd and parents.org. Here is what they had to say (and it makes sense to me):

• Normal nonfluency looks like stuttering, but is usually temporary. When children are developing their language skills they often try to organize their language and process information quickly resulting in repetition of sounds or words.
• There is a difference between developmentally normal stuttering and speech impediments. The former is quite common and is the result, essentially, of being able to think faster than one can produce words; in the mismatch, some language gets "stuck". This is likely to occur right after having a linguistic growth spurt when sentences are moving to a new level of complexity. (Xiana's sentences have certainly evolved to a new level of complexity lately. She suddenly understands and articulates concepts that shock me)
  
• Wait it out. Do not draw attention to it (which would foster self-consciousness) and do not finish his/her sentences or offer the next word.
• It may be a result of a rapid development in conceptual knowledge and a need to communicate that knowledge without the requisite vocabulary skills.
• Essentially, the child's cognitive development is slightly ahead of his/her speech development. In other words, they can't get the words out fast enough!

• Basically the idea is that they are focusing so hard on expressing a more complex thought than they have before, that in doing so, they regress on skills they already had, like articulating clearly or getting a whole sentence out smoothly.
• Some children (especially kids who are articulate and have big vocabularies) have brains that work ahead of their mouths. Their thoughts are so far ahead of them that they have to repeat words as their brain resupplies words already passed by. The problem stops when their mouths catch up with their brains.

So, all is well in the mind of Lenaya and I am, once again, reassured of the incredible intelligence of Xiana :) And we both remain ever so modest! good good good good good good night!

Psycho- analysis

Last week I had my high school students write poems following the format of "I too" by Langston Hughes. Now, I will grant that the poem is dramatic and certainly follows the motif of teenage drama so what I received should not have come as a surprise to me. I asked them to speak from their hearts and to write about themselves, who they are. The poems I got were beautiful, tragic, haunting, and filled with teen angst. At first I found myself somewhat envious of them. They are still capable of defining themselves in such dramatic, self indulging ways. Their ability to just put their raw emotions out there was both shocking and satisfying. Then I felt a little sad. Sad because in them, I saw so much anger and discontent; so much passion and confusion. It made me wonder if I was ever like them. Then I felt silly for reading so much into it. Of course I wrote poems just like these when I was 15. Of course they are filled with teen angst...they're teenagers and they're filled with upheaval. Yet there was something so profound about their expressions. I remember feeling with such intensity about people and things that wouldn't hold a candle to the people and trials of my future. Still... when you're a teenager you're so honest, so confused, so lost, so alone, and yet, you know everything. In these poems I saw so much anger, fear, such defensiveness. Already so many of these kids have built walls in ways that could be destructive to them. It surprised me how much pain I saw in these kids, but then I was reminded that you can't feel joy without pain so.... I guess they are on their way to extreme joy. I also found myself analyzing my own feelings. Why is it that we are so capable of such passionate emotions as teenagers and then so much more muted as adults? In a lot of respects, I have considered myself to be quite rational over the last 5 years or so. I don't feel like I am particularly moody, or emotional, or sensitive. This is, in part, because I was single. It's easy to maintain one emotion when you aren't actively involved in a relationship. Xiana was too young to really push my buttons, and I was lost in the void of motherhood, incapable of seeing anything beyond my own frantic circle of "new mommy." But now, suddenly, I am emotionally tied to her and she can make me want to simultaneously scream and laugh. Likewise, since I have been dating Brian, I suddenly find myself feeling and expressing so many things I thought I had left by the wayside. Jealousy, insecurity, anxiety, joy, peace, happiness, passion, excitement. So the adult me and the teenager me are really not so different at the root. It's just that the adult me is better disciplined and more equipped at keeping raw emotions at bay. Also, with more wisdom comes the ability to discern and then articulate what I am feeling making me more able to get to the source of most emotions and then deal, clarify, or validate them. I will admit, however, that I'm still a sucker for writing a haunting, dramatic, narcissistic poem when the mood strikes me right. I guess I'll settle for a brooding blog instead :)

FHE.... and cold weather

For FHE last week Brian did the cutest lesson. I would steal it if it hadn't already been done for Xiana. He made a prayer book for her. It starts with a page that says "my prayer is" and then he put a picture of her on the cover. Then he printed out pics of family, friends, the prophet, Jesus, temple, the scriptures, items she's thankful for, etc. Next he cut them out and on some pages wrote, "I thank thee for:" and other pages, "I ask thee for:" He glued the pictures to the appropriate pages and then put "in the name of" (Picture of Jesus) "amen." Next he had each of us write a page or so about memories we have of Xiana's prayers and of our own special experiences with prayer. We read them aloud and they were touching. It was really special to learn more about my parents and their perspective of myself and Xiana. Then Brian glued each of our pages to construction paper to make a book. It was really neat. Xiana will treasure that book as she gets older and gets to see the special messages it contains.
A few weeks ago we went to the park and this is how bundled we had to be....
This week it DUMPED snow... more on that later!

We came home to cousins!!

While we were in Vegas, my brother and his family and my aunt all came to my parent's for the holidays. I was bummed that I was going to miss them but.... they were still here when we got back! Xiana couldn't have been a happier little girl to go from playing with Brian's nieces and nephews to mine! She loves Eva so much and followed her around the whole time they were here.
She also loves Jared a lot. Despite the fact that they are a year apart... he is bigger than her. That is not so surprising I guess.
The Frey kids LOVE to read! They will sit for books for hours and hours. When Xiana was one she had a short attention span and I was worried because all the examples of toddlers in my life have had such an adoration for reading. I thought that she had missed the gene... I was just being silly I know now. She loves to read with the best of them these days!

Stratosphere

Several months, yes months, before our trip I told Brian that for my 30th birthday I wanted to go on the Stratoshpere rides. I have been on them several times before, but since I got pregnant had not gone on a single ride (unless of course you count the kiddie rides at the carnival that I finagled my way onto for free as Xiana's escort) and I was fiending for a thrill. I absolutely adore roller coasters, rides, anything that makes your stomach do little flips. So... he said, "sure" maybe he even said, "of course." I don't really remember what his exact words were, only I know that he was supportive of my plans. Then, a few weeks before our trip, he went to Vegas for the weekend and when he returned he explained to me that I had somehow failed to mention that these rides were 100 stories up. I don't know how that could have slipped my mind, but I also don't know how he could possibly not know about the Stratosphere... he is from Nevada after all. I know people who think it is a compass that EVERYONE uses for directions. At any rate, he wasn't quite so pleased once he got all the details. Nevertheless, he agreed to take me on the rides. So...after much pleading, persuading, cajoling, and finally snapping, we went to the Stratosphere. For those of you who don't know what these rides entail... here are some descriptions...

The Big Shot

The Thrill Ride that Touches the Sky! Strap in to the Big Shot and prepare to be shot 160 feet in the air at 45 miles per hour as you overlook the majestic Las Vegas Valley. In a matter of seconds, the Big Shot thrill ride catapults 16 riders from the 921-foot high platform up the Tower's mast to a height of 1,081 feet and down again. Before you catch your breath, you'll be shot back up again! Experience a gut-wrenching four 'G's of force on the way up, and feel negative 'G's on the way down as your legs dangle in the Las Vegas skyline.

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream on X-Scream!

Ever played on a giant teeter-totter, 866 feet above the ground? With the X-Scream, you can! With a space age, yet simplistic design resembling a massive teeter-totter unlike anything you've ever seen, the X-Scream will propel you and several other riders head-first, 27 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower. Try not to scream when you go over the edge - you don't want to scare the other riders! After being shot over the edge, you'll dangle weightlessly above the Las Vegas Strip before being pulled back and propelled over again for more.

Three 'G's of Pure Insanity! Insanity the Ride is a truly mind-bending experience! A massive mechanical arm extending out 64 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower at a height of over 900 feet, Insanity will spin you and several other passengers in the open air at speeds of up to three 'G's. You'll be propelled up to an angle of 70 degrees, which will tilt your body into one position - facing straight down! If you're brave enough to keep your eyes open you'll be rewarded with a breathtaking view of historic downtown Las Vegas. Experience Insanity and walk away to tell the tale!

His sister is brave like me and she willingly, I dare say enthusiastically went along.
Here is the view from the window at the top of the tower. Brian has an uncle who got out of the elevators and then ran, oops, I mean crawled back into the elevators immediately. Brian kept teasing me that he was going to do the same. But...
he made it!! He doesn't look too scared either does he? He claims he was, but he seemed to be having such a great time I think he was just joking about the fear of heights thing, right babe?!
Double thumbs up ready to go.
I could not persuade him to go on the swings, but his sister went. Truth be told, I knew that he wouldn't go on that particular ride because it spins in circles which I know he can't stand, so I let him off the hook of that ride very early on.
The other rides, however, I insisted on... and he liked them. In fact, I heard him say more than once, "that wasn't bad." Okay, so that might not be a shining recommendation, but it sure beats the alternative. I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed myself and am so happy that I got to go on the stratoshpere for my 30th birthday. Maybe for my 40th I can jump out of a plane.....

Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving morning: the house was bustling with busy hands cooking, prepping, baking. There is an Andersen family tradition to have scones with ham and cheese on Thanksgiving morning. I have to admit, I initially scoffed at this plan. Why on earth would you want to have such a fabulous breakfast on a day that you are going to be eating forever? Why? Because it is ah-mazing. Seriously, this is a tradition I can get behind. They were delicious. And I am happy to report that the Andersens, like the Freys, call fried bread scones, unlike the traditional-what-people-really-call-scones-scones. I love it! At any rate, whilst all these hands were busily preparing food, what were my hands doing? They were heading up to the mountains to go four-wheeling. *gasp* I know, pretty rotten of us to desert the women folk and head for the hills, but believe me when I say they were better off leaving my contribution with clean up rather than cooking. Brian's cousin was so kind as to invite us to go ride his four-wheelers and get the kids out of the way for a bit. So we went out where the sheep hunt had been taking place for the earlier part of the week. It. was. beautiful. Living in Vegas it's easy to forget that there is gorgeous scenery on the outskirts of town in every direction. The city is so cluttered that it's hard to imagine these empty hills and mountains. This was the beast that we got to ride in. Please notice that Xiana's car seat is attached into the back seat. That is a serious mountain climbing monster spacious enough for the whole fam!
Ready to go!
Brian's cousin and his twin boys on either side of him. Did I mention this was a blast?!
Xiana woke up pretty cranky (I think from all the over stimulation and lack of sleep) and as soon as we got on the bumpy roads, she followed her normal motif and fell asleep. I don't know how she does it with her head bouncing around all over the place, but it seems like every time we go off the main roads, she falls asleep.
We got out and hiked around and got to see the "blood rock." I think I'm gonna stick with the "don't as don't tell" policy on that one.
Xiana got to drive and it's a good thing because we were out in the mountains. She always assures me that "only mommy drive on street, but nana and brian drive in mountains." Right she is.
I wish their faces weren't shadowed because I love this shot!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... The girls really did outdo themselves. There was enough food to feed an army! Everything was delicious.
I felt a little guilty not helping and then eating away, but like I said, I adamantly insisted on being the clean-up crew which helped assuage my guilt.
Xiana is giving Brian kisses and Ali is taking a little Thanksgiving nap.
This was a great day. The food, company, setting, and feelings were perfect. I am thankful for family and friends who mean the world!