Eternal Family

Today we were sealed in the temple as an eternal family. It was very special. Elder Kakutchi of the quorm of the seventy sealed us. He spoke to us for a good 15 minutes before hand. His presence and the spirit in the room were incredible. The whole experience was wonderful. To be able to be there to see my parents being selaed to eachother was incredible. Most children aren't able to be there to see their parents make that covenant to eachother to love and honor and be eternal companions. After they were sealed- we were sealed to our parents. We cried and cried. It was so special to know the covenant we were making. To know that our family is now eternally together. It was a very unique experience. I know that temple work is very important and sacred. I am so happy to have a family who is united in one cause. Christ is our Savior. He loves us, and shows us daily of his love for us.

Frustrating

Why is sleep with children so frustrating!? Claire has actually been pretty good to us when it comes to sleep- as far as babies go that is. She has always gone right to sleep at 8:00 pm every night. Lately though she has decided she would like a later bed time. Try maybe 11:00? NO Claire- NO! This is NOT okay. You see- she goes down at 8, but then 20 minutes later what do I hear? WHAAAA! Screaming... and you think maybe she will stop, but no, she just gets louder as time passes until she is blue in the face. So- I've tried rocking her back to sleep immediately- didn't work, I 've tried letting her cry it out, nope... then I've tried letting her hang out until she decided it is time to go back down again. That seems to work- but then I have Claire around for another few hours. UGH. I need a break from her- while I am AWAKE preferably! Any ideas? Do you think I should try putting her down earlier? I am all out of ideas. She has only done it the past week, but it is quickly becoming the norm...

Emma and Francisco

Progress

This little girl is doing pretty well at being a "big girl". She used to tell me "Mom, I'm not a big girl, I'm Olivia, I'm little." She has now come to see the benefits of being "big". She knows little people can't eat treats, can't dance, run, and go to nursery. Olivia is now sleeping most of the time through the night in her big bed, she is getting pretty good at potty training. She can sleep through the night without wetting the bed (I don't want to jinx myself, but she hasn't had an accident at night ever since she has gone without diapers) She still has day time accidents every couple days. She sometimes gets crabby and refuses to go to the potty, which results in an accident. And sometimes I think she just has a hard time knowing when she needs to go, and it comes on so suddenly that she can't get there in time. We don't really need the pull-ups anymore. She goes on the potty in public without much fuss (although she HAS to have her fold up potty top) In a few weeks she will be giving up her binkys. We have talked about it a lot. She says she is ready. I gave her a few options and she has decided that she wants to buy a new scooter with her binkys. She is pretty excited about it, but we'll see what happens that night when she has no binkys to go to bed with. I'm scared...

What a cutie!

Playing in the Wind

Windy Day from Sarisker on Vimeo.

Olivia the photographer

Olivia is always taking pictures with me. She's always telling me "Take my picture mom! Here- I have a camera..." When we saw the rainbow the other day- I ran to get my camera, and Olivia ran to get hers ;)

I added a new gadget

Thanks to Kristen- I added a new gadget- to the right. It is what we are having for dinner- or had for dinner. She is doing it on her blog too- this way maybe it will give us new ideas for dinner every day!! Yea! Love it! You all should do it too- we can all inspire each other!

I am curious..

A lot of you said you were going to try the cookie recipe- I want to know if they turned out for you too!

What a BIG girl!

Olivia loves to be like mommy. She puts on make-up every day- she even puts on the head-band to keep the hair out of her eyes (just like me!) Oh- and that mascara wand it actually free of any make-up- it is hers to pretend.

Olivia is back to it... She is potty training like a pro this time around. At first it was rough, but she has really done well the past 3 days. Only a few accidents! YAY Livie!! I thought I was destined to a 5 year old still in diapers for awhile there. She is still wearing pull-ups to bed and when we go out, but I'm sure as she gets used to 'holding it,' we can loose the pull-ups. Maybe another few months?

They Love each other

Olivia is really starting to love her sister. She plays with her, makes her smile and even tries to take care of her every cry. Last night at 4:30 am she went in her room to give Claire her binky and talk to her when she was crying. Then, she decided to steal the binky and come tell us that Claire was crying. (I already knew, I was trying to let her cry it out...)

Claire is perfecting her rolls... even during diaper changes! haha She can now roll from her tummy to her back too.

I have FINALLY done it. I can make chocolate chip cookies. This is quite the accomplishment. I have stunk at it now for years. They NEVER EVER turn out well, until now. I found the perfect recipe. YESSSS! Well, I did tweak it a bit, but after a little tweaking it is perfect! )
Here is the recipe itself (Sarah style that is!):
(it has over 3,000 reviews and still has a 3.5 out of 4 stars rating)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
   
4. Bake for about 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are LIGHTLY toasted. These cookies always look not quite done, but they are ;) Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

"My Hair is Growing Up!"

Well- Livie is almost 3, and still doesn't have much hair. We are okay with it- it will come some day. It is mostly ironic since I am a hairdresser- yet my little girls have no hair to play with or cut! Olivia loves her hair. Here are some things about Livie and her hair that are funny...
-Olivia will ask me "Mommy, can I go outside so I can feel the wind in my hair?"
-Olivia was playing with a little hispanic girl a few weeks ago- she had hair down to her bum (same age as Olivia) Anyway- Olivia kept grabbing her hair and playing with it saying how pretty it was. The little girl was not happy about it! We kept having to tell Liv to stop touching her hair! hahaha
-Olivia likes to push her hair back (as if it were in her eyes). It is funny- I think she is just copying mannerisms.