Caleb's Birthday and the end of March

There's something wrong with the fonts on this post, but I played with it for a while and decided I just didn't care. I hope you enjoy the erratic font changes. :-)

Well, Caleb’s birthday turned out to be a lot of fun. He’d been asking to go bowling, so we got together with Daniel’s sisters and we all took a trip down to the bowling alley. All of the adults used a normal bowling lane, and Caleb and his two teenage aunts used one with bumpers. Jane bowled the best out of any of us, and she really didn’t use the bumpers more than once or twice. It was her first time to go bowling, so we were all very impressed. I think she got a score in the 120 range, which is pretty good in my book. ;-)

Jane and Caleb helped me decorate his cupcakes. Here are the ones that I did:

Caleb specifically requested these, but it was kind of funny because he called them “Spider Cupcakes”. I showed him some actual spider cupcakes, but he wanted these instead. Jane and Caleb decorated according to their own preferences. Here are Caleb’s cupcakes

And these are Jane’s:

Daniel’s parents came to party with us that evening, and both children had a lot of fun opening gifts. Kaiana’s favorite is her little pink stroller. We still haven’t convinced her that it’s for baby dolls rather than her. :-)

I gave Caleb an apron and promised to let him help me cook on a regular basis, and he;s been pretty happy about that. Anytime that I’m cooking, he asks to help. He loves helping me measure ingredients and dump them into bowls. He also really enjoys stirring, but I find that to be a little less helpful because he gets a llittle over-exuberant about it. In this picture he’s playing a memory game that Jane made for him. You match up the capital letters with the lowercase ones.

Work has been… interesting. I was pretty excited a couple of weeks ago because I got a promotion of sorts. I was made a “floorwalker” which means that rather than being on the phones, I would answer other people’s questions. It was really nice because I don’t really enjoy being on the phones. The other representatives are a lot nicer than some of the people who call in. ;-) There was no increase in pay, but I figured that better working conditions constitutes a promotion. Unfortunately, they decided to reduce the size of our department (they didn’t fire people, just transferred them. Rather than taking care of prescriptions, they are training to help with cell phone questions.) which means that we need everyone on the phones again. The team leads have told me that they’re pushing to be able to continue having floorwalkers but so far they’ve been turned down.

I also got a letter in the mail congratulating me on being a “Top Performer” for the company. I got a little pin that identifies me a top performer. I would rather have a monetary bonus, but I guess a pin will do. :-)

Caleb’s been really funny lately. It’s really amusing to see what he picks up on. The other day we were in the car driving home from my parents’ house and he said, “Kaiana is pretending to be Sarah!” I didn’t really think anything of it until we got home and I realized that she’d fallen asleep. My sister, Sarah, is often asleep when we go to visit and apparently Caleb had picked up on that.

Caleb has also been really into being like Daddy. On March 21^st, Daniel told him to get dressed, and he came out like this:

Yes, those are his father’s pants. :-)

Last week, Caleb had been playing in the backyard and all of a sudden he came racing into the house. He yelled, “Mommy! Mommy! I found a love you leaf!” Here’s a picture of what he was holding:

Daniel's brother, Nathan, got married on March 24th. Daniel flew up to Boise for the wedding, and then on the 25th, Nathan and Quincey joined Daniel on the flight home so that everyone in Arizona could meet Quincey. I was sure glad to have Daniel back home, and it was really fun to get to know Quincey. She and Nathan will be living up in Oregon, so we were glad to get the short visit.

Happy Birthday, Kaiana!

Well, Kaiana turned one today! It's hard to believe it's been a year since she was born. I had fun picking out her birthday cake. My mom has given me a couple of recipe books for cupcakes, so I've been really into making cupcake creations rather than full-sized cakes. It works out really well. Here is what I made for Kaiana:

They're Teddy Bear Picnic cupcakes, and I think they turned out pretty cute. ;-) On a related note... If anyone needs paper umbrellas, I can hook you up! The smallest package I could find was 144. For cupcake creations part 2, tune back in next Friday for Caleb's birthday. You won't see the umbrellas, though, he picked a different theme.

Kaiana loved chowing down on her frosting. She got full before trying out the cupcake, though. She's a girl after my own heart, I prefer the frosting the the cake, too.

We got together with my friends Lindy and Sarah yesterday. Lindy has a new baby, his name is Alexander and he is 4 weeks old. He isn't that much smaller than Kaiana, so we took a picture to compare. Can you believe how big he is? Or I guess the real question is: Can you believe how small she is? You can tell that Alexander has a great personality by his facial expression, isn't it great? :-)

Criticism

I wonder why it is that it's so much easier to remember the negative things people say to you rather than the positive ones. I had tons of great calls today where people told me how polite, helpful or efficient I was. And yet, the ones that really stuck out were the 2 in which the people were rude to me. In one of them, I was at fault (I was having trouble understanding her plan. She actually understood it completely, but didn't bother to enlighten me about what she knew. I never did find the part of the plan that actually explained the issue she was having.) For the other one, the problem was either that the customer was lying to me (which was a very real possibility with him) or that the previous representative had told him one thing and done another. I'm just reminding myself that two negative calls in 11 hours (I worked overtime) isn't too bad.

I did have to laugh after one of my calls. While the caller was hanging up I heard her say, "Wow! She sounded so young!" :-)

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Well, the month of December has been very full, but I think things are slowing down a bit now!

I am enjoying my job. We've just finished up our classroom training; yesterday I spent all day on the phones (and worked two hours of overtime) and it went really well. My training group is currently just on the "refill line" which pretty much means that when people call in to talk to the automated system, if they say they want refills and end up needing a representative, then we get to talk to them. Most of the people I've talked to have been really nice and friendly, although there were a few who were upset.

I have a recommendation to those of you who use mail-order prescription service: Have your doctor fax in your prescriptions! It takes us 5 days to process a new faxed prescription, it takes us 11 to process one that's mailed in, and that's only if we receive it in time. I had so many calls yesterday from people who were wondering why they hadn't received their orders yet, and they weren't even in the system.

I am also amazed by how many people on maintenance medications wait until they only have a week's worth of medication left before they order new stuff. It's funny because it seems like we rarely get calls for people trying to get refills at an "appropriate" time-frame. Either they want to do it way early (most plans don't let you get refills until 75% of your day supply is used up) or they wait until they're practically out and then they're upset that we can't magically make medication appear on their doorstep that afternoon. I had one lady call in yesterday who takes anti-depressants and sleep medication and she was out of both. I tried to convince her to talk to her doctor about getting a short term supply from a retail pharmacy to hold her over until her order could arrive and she just said, "No, I'll just drink a lot until my medication gets here. That works."

Daniel has been doing really well with the children. The first couple of weeks this month were pretty crazy because he was doing final projects for school, so my mom took care of the kids most of the time (Thanks, Mom!) They both love Grandma, so that worked out really well. Once Daniel finished up with finals, though, he took over. It's taken a bit for him to get used to it, but he's been doing a great job and the children are having a blast. I can already see the special bonds that they are developing, and I love it. I'd imagine that this experience will be great for their relationships throughout their lives. I miss all of them like crazy, but that's to be expected. I'm looking forward to Jan. 5th, because that's when I start my 4 day a week schedule. I'll really enjoy having an extra day to be home.

We've have a busy Christmas week. On Monday, we went caroling with my family and exchanged gifts there. The caroling was a bit of a bust, we caroled to quite a few houses, but only 4 had people home. It was fun, anyway, though.

Then on Tuesday, we had our annual Christmas bash with my Dad's sibling's families and my Grandma. That party is always really fun, and this year was no exception. My cousin, Christina, played a really showy arrangement of "Oh Holy Night", it was really impressive. Then my sister, Julie, sang a song that she wrote about the Savior. It was beautiful and touching. We also sang Christmas carols as a group and then Santa came. My brother, Jared, dressed up this year and did a great job. I'll have to post pictures once I get them. Caleb was really excited to see him. Kaiana was a little unsure, but she didn't cry. While we were at the party, Caleb just talked about how cool Santa was, but the next day he said, "Santa looks a lot like Uncle Jared. He sounds like Uncle Jared, too!" I guess next year we'll have to have someone else dress up.

On Wednesday, we went to my grandparents home to visit. We had to show up late because of work, but it was a nice visit anyway. Kaiana was pretty excited by their dog. She's a little one so she was only a little bit bigger than Kaiana.

We had a pretty quiet Christmas. We've made a tradition to stay home and just celebrate with our immediate family, and that works out well. We played with Caleb's new toys. Santa brought Twister for our family, so we tried that out. Caleb thought it was pretty fun.

Today we're headed over to my in-laws for a Christmas celebration there. I need to finish my mother-in-law's gift, but I have everything else done. I made pillowcases for everyone else in the family, but I decided to make a photo calendar for her. Unfortunately, with how busy I've been, I haven't gotten it finished yet. I'm close to done, though. :-)

Kaiana had a doctor's appointment a week ago, and she is now 16 lbs. and 25 1/4 in. That puts her at the 15th percentile for weight, and way below the 3rd for height. lol The nurse looked at me and said, "So... who in the family is petite?" :-)

Well, hopefully the next post I make won't be quite so long!

Employment

Well, I have a job! I'm working for a call center doing inbound customer service calls for a prescription drug company. I'll be working 10 hours a day, 4 days a week, and the company is closed on Sunday so I don't have to deal with being asked to work on the Sabbath! I also have Wednesdays and Fridays off.

The job isn't really what I want to do for the next year and a half, so I'm still looking, but it's nice to have something for now. I start December 1st. Unfortunately, I have a mandatory 4 week training, so we won't be able to go to Utah to visit this Christmas. (Sorry everyone.) I didn't think to ask about vacation days, so I'll have to find out about that once training starts. The job does provide medical, dental and vision benefits as well as a 401k plan, so that's nice.

I kind of got a taste of what working life is going to be like the last few days. I've had a lot of job stuff to do, so I didn't get to spend much time with the children. Boy am I going to miss them! Kaiana's going to be 2 when Daniel graduates. I hope the time passes quickly. :-) I plan to encourage her to only reach new milestones on my days off so that I don't miss them. Think that will work? :-)

I keep forgetting to blog about Caleb and Oklahoma, but this time I remembered! Ever since Caleb's buddy Paul moved to Oklahoma, he's been obsessed with it. He's always talking about how wonderful it is and that he's going to go visit. Well, then recently he told me, "Mommy, Jesus lives in Oklahoma with Paul." I've decided to interpret it as him believing that Oklahoma is a wonderfully righteous place. The other possibility is that we've had discussions about death and how when you die you go to live with Jesus. I've tried to be clear that Paul just moved away, so hopefully he understands that! If not, I guess Paul's just going to have to come visit! ;-)

We figured out how to block Kaiana from climbing the stairs. We overturned the piano bench and tied it to the bottom step. It works really well, and I can use the bench for our kitchen table when I want to play piano. So far, Kaiana just thinks the piano bench is a lot of fun.

Kaiana got to try grapefruit yesterday and she loved it! Daniel shared his with her, so it had salt on it (I'm a sugar on grapefruit sort of person myself) and she pulled awful faces with each bite, but gobbled it all up! Today, I was gone for about 4 hours doing competency tests and interviewing, so Daniel gave her a bottle of formula. At first she wouldn't have anything to do with it, but eventually she got hungry enough to take a few sips. When she finished, she tried pushing it into Daniel's mouth as if to say, "Here! You try this nasty stuff!"

For Daniel's birthday, Caleb gave him a picture frame with a picture of Caleb and a picture of Daniel when he was about the same age. It turned out really cute. Here are the pictures I used:

Can you see the resemblance? I can! I'm also starting to notice just how similar Caleb and Kaiana look. Daniel made some movies with video clips of Caleb when he was just a little older than Kaiana is now. I can't believe how much alike they look! I'm looking forward to when Daniel makes some for Kaiana, too. :-)

Life continues

Things have been really busy lately, so I apologize that this blog post will probably be a little lengthy. :-)

While we were at my mom's house on the 12th of October, my brother snapped a picture of Daniel and I. Looking through my old photos I realized, this is the first picture of us as a couple since January of 2006. The only other pictures we've been in together were when we took some family pictures with my in-laws at the park. We didn't think to have pictures taken of just our family while we were at it, though.

From 2008_10_12

In case you can't read Daniel's t-shirt, here's a picture of it. It's his new favorite shirt. :-)

Kaiana has learned to climb the stairs. She started doing it on the 27th of October. She's so proud of herself for learning how! I don't really like her new skill, but it is cute to watch her. Our railing doesn't really work for a baby gate, so we've been blocking off the stairs with an overturned chair. It works so far! She climbs up really well, but hasn't been interested in learning how to climb down. It will be a huge relief once she learns that!

Caleb has decided that naps just aren't for him anymore. I miss naptime. He usually does just fine without them, so I guess he really is getting old enough not to need them anymore. Every once in a while, though, something like this happens:

From 2008_10_23

The poor kid just couldn't keep his eyes open!

Daniel decided to shave on October 29th. I was pretty excited. He's handsome with the beard, but I still prefer him clean-shaven. Kaiana was a little unsure of him at first, but decided that Beardless Daddy was still good. She kept reaching out to touch his face as if she couldn't believe it was really gone. As soon as Caleb saw Daniel, he said, "Where is your beard?" I said, "It's in the trash." Caleb replied, "You need to go get a new one!" He continues to insist that Daddy needs a beard and moustache, and it's just not right that he doesn't have them anymore.

From 2008_10_29

Kaiana thinks that Daniel's shoes belong to her. If he isn't wearing them, she always races over to play with them. Caleb was fascinated by them, too. He would wear my shoes sometimes, but they weren't nearly as exciting as Daddy's boots!

From 2008_10_30

Halloween really snuck up on us this year. Luckily, I'd found costumes at the thrift store, so the children were prepared. Kaiana was a pink leopard and Caleb was a pirate. I'd been planning to make a SuperWHY! costume for Caleb, but didn't end up getting around to it early enough, so we just bought a costume. Caleb was really happy with it.

From 2008_10_31

From 2008_10_31

I've been keeping busy job hunting the last few weeks. Daniel and I talked it over and decided that he needs to focus more on school until he graduates, so I'm finding work so that he can quit his job. I've applied lots of places and sent in tons of resumes and cover letters. I'm hoping to get some interviews soon. I feel really confident that I will be a good employee. The hard part is getting employers to look past the fact that I've been unemployed for the last 4 years. :-) If anyone local knows about any job opportunities, I'd love some recommendations.

One of Daniel's instructors invited him to take a special independent study class next semester. It's only offered to students who have proven themselves to be exceptional at computer programming. He got to choose a project to work on, and will be developing a calendar program. He said that students have been working on this program for 7 years (I think... unless it was 9) and it is pretty in-depth. Hopefully he will finish it off. He's pretty excited about it. He chose this particular project because it will teach him new things, but he doesn't think it will be such a stretch that he'll have trouble accomplishing it.

Kaiana is loving real food now. For a while there she'd eat barely any of it, but now she's really coming into her own. She eats pretty much anything I'm willing to give her, including shredded meat and broccoli. She's developing her pincer grasp pretty well, too. I love it when my children learn to feed themselves. :-) Here she is eating one of her favorite foods: Otter Pop!

From blog stuff

She loves getting cleaned up, because she thinks washcloths are some of the greatest inventions ever made.

From blog stuff

Well, thanks for reading my novel of a blogpost!

She likes to move it, move it!

Caleb requested that I play this song on the computer (It's from the movie Madagascar 2, and Caleb loves the commercials because of this song!) and Kaiana really got into it!