November

My parents were in town for Halloween, and were here for half of the next day before returning to Utah.  The rest of the month was pretty average.  Hyrum was still gone.  (He returned a few days before Thanksgiving.)  And I decided to potty train the girls.  And I was feeling overweight and discouraged.  And I was starting back at the gym at level 0 since I hadn't been able to work out hard since September.  

An art/counting project Tiago did at pre-school. 

One Sunday  morning we read Gingerbread Pirates.  The kids loved it, and asked if we could make our own.  We had nothing else to do that day (besides to to church) so we went to the kitchen and got busy.  If only cookie dough didn't need to chill...   But eventually they were done, we made some frosting and the kids kind of helped decorate but mostly watched.  Which was perfect because then many of them still turned out cute like I wanted them too. haha

Really, the girls' hair gets out of control.  This day I just pulled Siena's knotted hair into three ponytails for a faux-hawk, complete with bows. 

Potty-training lasted about the first two weeks of the month.  I moved the carpet and tried to cover the sofa with blankets/towels.  Most of the time we stayed home and they ran around naked.  I hate being stuck at home all day!!  But I suppose it was necessary and worth it.  Mila caught on pretty immediately, although she was still having accidents.  Siena took a while longer and didn't seem to care where she went.  (I tried the approach of really celebrating when they used the toilet.  One day Siena peed all over the floor.  Then she started cheering, "Yay!! I did it!"  *eye roll*)  Initially I had underwear for them, but since then we've mostly switched back to pull-ups day and night.  They rarely have accidents but I don't have energy to clean it up when they do, especially in public.  

One Saturday we were bored and went on an "exploring adventure." 

Tiago's class had a Thanksgiving feast that families were invited to.  Each kid brought something to share, so basically they could get a little bit of sixteen foods.  Tiago rejected everything except chocolate milk and donut holes.  The girls, on the other hand, were thrilled to get everything. 

More stuff to entertain us: play dough and 'movie nights' that start at about 4 pm.

And finally Hyrum came home after a little over a month in Louisiana.  (That included 3 weeks of no contact.)  The kids were more excited to see him than they even had been after the last deployment. 

These faces are pure "Mila."  She loves to fold her arms and pout. Then it's usually followed by laughing.

Tiago was so excited to have Papa back, that he insisted Hyrum squeeze in the backseat with him.  Tiago didn't stop talking to him and showing him things for hours.  And I was happy to see him, too, and most grateful that he was around to put the kids in bed at night. 

Day light savings time really killed me in November.  The girls don't nap anymore, so I was already dead by the end of the day and put them in bed at 6-6:30 pm.  So after turning the clocks back a hour, I still was putting them at bed at 6 (new time) and they were waking up earlier than ever.  One morning the girls woke me up at 5:45 and I wanted to die.  I saw way more sun rises than I ever hoped to.  Things are back to normal now a month later, at last. 

The girls loved these big blow-up things at the gym.  We took a picture to show Tiago.  (We usually go to the gym while he's at preschool.)

My family came to visit for Thanksgiving, which I wrote about separately. 

November ended with a bang.  We were at the playground on the 29th killing time before Hyrum came home from work.  Mila was climbing on one of those rope net ladders and fell down.  (It's wood chips on the ground.)  She immediately started screaming and ran over to me.  We loaded in the car (that was painful) and went home.  I turned on a show trying to calm her down but she wouldn't stop crying even enough to tell me what was going on.  I gathered that her right shoulder area hurt, and she cringed every time I tried to pick her up under her arms.  I gave her medicine and hoped to have a calmer (less tired) child in the morning.  (Unfortunately Hyrum came home really late that night and I said, "So... I think Mila broke something.")

The next morning when I went to get her out of the crib she said matter-of-factly, "I fell at the playground.  I hurt my shoulder." I could tell it still really hurt her and I couldn't pick her up, so I called to make a doctor appointment.  They said to just take her to the E.R. so they could do x-rays.  So as soon as Tiago was on the school bus the three of us went to the hospital.  After a few hours we found out she broke her collar bone, but fortunately it's the kind of injury they don't really need to treat.  It just heals on it's own in about 4 weeks.  It's nice to know what's wrong though so we don't make her hurt even worse.  Still, it's hard to remember to pick her up under her legs not her arms, especially trying to get her on and off the toilet multiple times a day!  Sorry Mila!