The Home Teacher

Sunday schedules are often tough on the little ones. This past Sunday evening, the home teacher came while I was feeding Chloe, so we convened in the kitchen. As the visit dragged on, Chloe tried to stay awake, but in the end, her head ended up on the tray. That's the way I sometimes feel during home teaching visits.

Ice Rinsers

I don't remember when I started rinsing ice. It's something that my mom taught me to do. Maybe her mom taught her to do it. After all, my grandmother did work at a soda fountain years ago, which is probably why my mom is so particular about how her soft drink is put together; it has to have the right kind of ice and the drink has to be poured in the glass a certain way. But, I digress. Back to ice rinsing. Well, this practice has been met with skepticism and ridicule, even by my own husband. I'll admit, it seems a little strange at first, but it really does make a difference. For instance, a glass of ice water with rinsed ice doesn't have as many of those little white floaty things that seem to come off the ice; and with rinsed ice, soda doesn't foam as much and therefore tastes bubblier. I don't understand the science behind it, but this video has all the proof I need. Who wants all that foam anyway? Thanks, Mom! :)

Chloe Notes

Something amazing just happened: Chloe sat in the exact same position for the last 30 minutes. We have two "Baby Einstein" videos that we received as gifts: "Baby Bach" and "Baby Mozart." No matter what else might be on the television (though it's rarely on), nothing captures her attention for more than a few seconds except those two videos. I hope that's a good thing!

Another observation: I was eating an orange this morning and gave Chloe a little piece of it. She chewed/sucked all the juice out of the piece and then held the skin remnant in her mouth for the next four hours...all the way through her morning nap! I had to take it out of her mouth to feed her some lunch! She had it tucked up between her cheek and her gum, like a chew of tobacco. :)

Make a Wish

I don't get that excited about birthdays anymore, but for a ten-year-old, a birthday can still bring excitement and anticipation akin to Christmas, especially if it means that you're going to get your ears pierced (but I'll let Amanda blog about that). Callie's birthday was yesterday, and Duncan, Chloe and I got to celebrate with the family. It was simple: dinner, cake, and gifts. But the magic was still there. Happy birthday, Callie! (And happy birthday to you, too, Curtis!)

Turtle

Thanks to Amanda's kids, "turtle" is Chloe's first word (aside from mama and dada). It's kind of fun to hear her say it. Hear for yourself.

Chloe Tricks

Chloe is now almost 11 months old and is becoming more independent every day. For example, the other day she graduated from standing up next to the toilet (something we discourage) to putting her hands in the toilet (something we also discourage). That same day we heard a deep melodic sound coming from the living room, and discovered that she can now reach up and play the keys on the piano. Here are snippets of some other Chloe tricks. Of course, these videos do not do justice to her brilliance, agility, and charm, but we hope you enjoy them anyway. :)

Girly With Fat Cheek

Girly With Fat Cheek is the name of the woman for whom I did proxy work in the temple on Saturday. She was born in the late 1800's in the Oklahoma Territory.

A Southern New Year's Tradition

"As God is my witness, they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this, and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folks. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!" --Scarlett O'Hara

And she does lie, steal, cheat and kill, too, but it makes for a great story. Fortunately, all we had to do was go to the grocery store and pick up our southern victuals for a nominal price. In keeping with the southern tradition, we started the new year by eating black-eyed peas for good luck, and collard greens for wealth in 2009. Here is our pile of money before being cooked.

Some traditions recognize the greens as paper money, the black-eyed peas as coins, and cornbread as "gold." Well, Diannah's cornbread was as good as gold; it was absolutely delicious. She also brought the rice and the sweet herbal tea. Yum!


We finished it all off with caramel cake and speed scrabble. Happy New Year!