Joy

We had a very merry Christmas this year. Well, a very merry Christmas day. The weeks leading up to Christmas were a bit stressful because Peter was swamped at work and was gone 6 out of the 7 days of the week. He did have Christmas day off though so we were determined to have the best day ever. The girls had us up by 7 am to see what Santa had left. After opening presents we had our traditional french toast breakfast. Delicious! Then we played with toys and games until lunch and refueled with some left over ham from Christmas Eve dinner. Next we got in our swimsuits and headed out to the hot tub. We took turns daring each other to jump out and run around the backyard in the foot of snow we got over night. The girls were so funny running and jumping around in the snow screaming and laughing. Our neighbors probably thought we were crazy but we were having a good time. (sorry no pictures of the hot tubbin') Then we all got cleaned up and headed over to my brothers house for some food and family time. The weather even worked out perfectly for us. It pretty much snowed all day until about an hour before we went to my brothers and then didn't start up again until we got home. An anonymous neighbor even cleared our driveway at some point in the morning so when it came time to head out we didn't have to shovel off 2 feet of snow. Thanks neighbor.

Here's just a few pictures from our day.

It's a Christmas miracle

So we have been living with dial-up internet for 3 long months now in order to save some money. It has been rough but necessary. Then last week Peter received an email from Qwest that they have finally set up DSL in our area and they were offering it at an affordable price. So as an early Christmas gift Peter got it all set up for me today and I am back to surfing the web at high speed. Yes!!!!!!!

Thanks honey.

Autumn Fun

I am glad we were able to enjoy some of the best that autumn has to offer before the cold of winter took over and we got our first snow of the season yesterday. I do like a good snow storm but I could have gone for a few more weeks of the most enjoyable Indian summer I have seen in a long time. For me, nothing beats going for a run at dusk on a gorgeous fall evening while the sun sets and lights up the sky with pale pinks and oranges. I am a wimp however and once the temperature drops below 40 degrees it's all about the treadmill for me.
Another autumn activity that we were able to enjoy before the snow was playing in the leaves. We definitely get our fair share of leaves from the dozen or so aspens in our backyard dumping their ornaments all at once. The girls had a fabulous time covering themselves in them and throwing them into the air.

We also had the best Halloween this year due to the great weather. We were able to sit out on our front porch and pass out candy after we finished our trick or treating. Bella and Ayva were both witches this year and Lilly was a jack o'lantern. (Notice the carved zucchini in the backround...it's a scary lizard...we grew that ourselves in our garden this year.)

And finally here is a picture of Lilly basking in some quiet time with mom and dad. She truly seems to be the happiest when her sisters have gone to bed and she is left to receive all of our attention. She has been a wonderful addition to our family and it is so fun getting to know her and she gets older and more and more interesting.

Can You Believe It Has Been 6 Months?!

Lillian is quite an angel. She has been the perfect baby. Sleeping well. Eating well. Healthy. Happy. Loved by her sisters.

I don't know what it is about these soft books but she loves 'em. I think she hopes she can learn through osmosis? Hopefully she gets over this before school starts!

It's like travelling by ox and wagon

We have recently changed our Internet back to a dial up connection and it has been painful. We have decided to tighten our belts in an attempt to pay off some bills and increase our savings and one of the things we decided to do was to get rid of our cable tv and our cable modem. It has been challenging going back to a slow, really slow, connection and I can barely stand waiting for just one picture to upload from the camera so forgive me if the posts don't include tons of cute pictures (or any pictures for that matter) of my adorable kids. I am happy to report that they are all healthy and happy. Bella is loving school and has been working on trying to make one of the mean kids in her class feel better about himself so he'll be a little nicer. She is such a sweet kid. Ayva misses having Bella around to play with in the mornings but loves being able to choose which shows she watches while I do my morning routine. She has also decided that she loves Lilly and is happy to entertain her with her silly antics. Lilly is getting so big. She has found her toes and can even get them into her mouth. She has started eating solids and so far loves bananas and carrots. She drools like a teenager having a 2nd period American History nap but I still love her.
Thanks for continuing to check back in with me even though my posts have been few and far between. I'll get better at this blogging business eventually.

p.s. A little joke I heard recently...What do you call it when you throw a cat out of a car window?...kitty litter...hahahahaha

No tears here.

Today was a big day for Isabella, she finally started kindergarten. She has been anxiously awaiting the start of school for months and it didn't disappoint. Originally I thought she had been assigned to pm kindergarten but luckily found out last week at her one on one with her teacher that she was actually in the am. This was great news to Bella because one of her great friends from church is in the am class.

She did have one concern about starting kindergarten and that was how she was going to get through the whole not-even-three-hours of school without a snack. She must have done alright because she can't wait to go back tomorrow.

While Bella was in school Miss Lilly had her 4 month check up. She is up to 14 pounds and has reached 25 inches long. She is simply the easiest baby ever! She didn't even cry during the 4 shots to the chubber thighs. (chub helps) She does have a bit of a drool problem, as seen here in her "just chillin'" picture. Isn't she a cutie?!
I have no recent pictures of Ayva. In all honesty its because she just hasn't looked or done anything cute over the last week. She woke up with pink eye last Thursday and has also had a nasty cold that won't go away. She is as grumpy as a a bee stuck in a hot window. (it's all that would come to me)

Surprise, it's Jack Johnson

Last night Peter surprised me with tickets to the Jack Johnson concert at the Usana Amphitheater. I was totally shocked. He secretly arranged for babysitting and even missed his soccer game to take me to the show. I had never been to the Usana Amphitheater before and didn't know that it was so close to our house. So as we were driving there he had me thinking we were going on some sort of mine tour out near Kennecott. (Boring) Luckily it was all an act to throw me off and keep it a surprise as long as possible. To make things even better the tickets were for the area right at the front of the stage so we were just about 20 feet from where Jack was standing. We had a perfect view and Jack Johnson definitely didn't disappoint. He sounded great and was very entertaining. He even let one of his band members, Zach Hill who plays the piano and a multitude of other instruments, steal the show. He sang The Devil went down to Bolivia while playing the accordion and it was awesome. I think he got the loudest applause of the night. I had a wonderful time and am grateful to Peter for making it possible. Thanks hon!

In other news...I had a celebrity sighting this weekend. Saturday afternoon I took Bella school clothes shopping over at a large shopping complex near our house. As we were walking into one of the stores a car pulled up next to us and a woman asked if there was a movie theater near by. I pointed her in the direction she needed to go and then realized it was Marie Osmond. Pretty cool, huh?! I remained cool and unimpressed until she drove away and then I started saying to myself over and over out loud, "that was Marie Osmond, that was Marie Osmond."

I believe in Jesus Christ.

Recently we had a lesson in Relief Society about a talk given by M. Russell Ballard entitled Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet. In his talk Elder Ballard encourages members of the church to use the Internet as a tool to share our message about the gospel with others and to be a positive voice amid the critics. After that lesson I contemplated putting my testimony on my blog but for some reason never quite got around to doing so. Then today I gave a lesson on establishing Zion. Part of what I gained from the lesson was a greater sense of responsibility to do missionary work and to share the gospel with others. I decided that one way I can do that is to post my testimony on my blog and hope that it might make a difference for someone else.

I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that he was crucified thousands of years ago by a wicked group of people but that he was resurrected and lives again. I believe that through his resurrection he has made it possible for us all to be resurrected and live again after our time on this earth comes to an end. I also believe that during his time on the earth he atoned for our sins. This makes it possible for us to seek forgiveness for times when we error thus freeing us from the pain that sin can cause.

I believe that we are here on this earth to be tested, to learn and to grow and become better people so that when the time comes we will hopefully be worthy and able to be in his presence again.

I believe that He restored His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, through a young man named Joseph Smith. I also believe that he continues to lead the church through a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who receives modern day revelation from God for our benefit.

I am grateful to have these beliefs because they help me to know why I am here and what my purpose is. Through his teachings I know what I must do to have peace and happiness in this life that at times can be overwhelmingly difficult and scary. He loves me, and it is this knowledge that gives me strength when I am weak.

I testify of these things in His name, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Lillian's blessing

Lillian was blessed at church on Sunday and behaved just like an angel. She was awake for the actual blessing but didn't make a sound. Then when Peter sat back down with her she laid in his arms smiling up at him for about 15 minutes and then fell asleep. It was so sweet.

Peter gave her a beautiful blessing. (well what I could hear of it was nice but Ayva was making it hard to listen) I missed having Peter's family there but it was nice to have my family finally make it to one. Lillian even wore the same dress that Bella and Ayva both wore.

We followed the blessing up with a nice brunch at our house and Lillian continued to behave herself all day. It's like she knew it was a special day all for her and she just enjoyed it. She is such a sweet girl and we love her very much.

For Sale

We are trying to sell our dining table and chairs for $900. If anyone is interested let me know. We have only had them for about a year and a half but I have decided I want a different style table. Everything is still in great condition.

Catching up

We have had some fun this past week and it all started with a visit from Aunt Emily. Peter's sister Emily flew in from Seattle last Friday and stayed with us through to Sunday. It was so nice to have her here and the girls were thrilled with all the extra attention. We went to the farmers market, played at the swimming pool, enjoyed lots of adult conversation and had some delicious food. I only wish she could have stayed longer. Hopefully next time.

Then Peter took this past week off to help with potty training Ayva. We procrastinated a bit and waited until Tuesday to start. She did great Tuesday morning but then had a couple of accidents in the afternoon. We were all set to have a better day Wednesday but then Ayva woke up sick. She had thrown up during the night and continued to throw up all morning. Needless to say that brought the potty training to a halt. Hopefully we will be able to get back to it today.

I have included some pictures below from our week. First I have some pictures of my Lillies. I grew them myself. (hahaha) Next are a series of pictures from Monday when Peter decided to run through the sprinklers with the girls. He is such an awesome dad! And finally a picture of me with 2/3 of my girls. (Lilly was sleeping and I wasn't about to wake her up for a casual picture)

It's hard to tell from the picture below but the girls have ganged up on Peter and are trying to squirt him with the sprinkler.

I am lookin' for a date

Peter is going to be gone all day Friday and I know I am going to need a break from the kids around 6ish. Would anyone like to go see a movie with me?

What a nice surprise

Thank you Aunt Abby for the packages, you made our day! We love you and can't wait to see you in July.

Oh, and one more thing...

Don't you just hate it when little babies fall sound asleep in your arms while eating or rocking and you gingerly lay them down in their cribs and tip toe out of their rooms and quietly close the door and breath a sigh of relief and think to yourself now I can get something done and then not even 5 minutes have passed and that little baby is wide awake and crying at the top of their lungs.

A weekend wrap up

We had ourselves a nice little Father's Day weekend. It started Friday night when we went over to my brothers for dinner and some fun on the Wii Fit. I have never been big on video games but it looks like my mind has been changed by the Wii. I will be asking Santa for one for Christmas...lots of fun! Saturday started with a great workout followed by lots of yard work and a hand full of errands. Saturday evening we had a ward BBQ that was lots of fun. Unfortunately we had to leave early to get home so we could write some talks. Earlier in the week we were asked to speak in Sacrament meeting but were so busy that we didn't get a chance to sit down and formulate our thoughts until Saturday night around 9:30pm. I think I finally got to sleep around 1:00am and Lilly was up at 3:30 and didn't go back to sleep for about an hour and a half then we were up for the day at 7:00am. Needless to say I was exhausted and looked forward to a nap all morning but Lilly managed to rob me of that as well. It's hard to get mad at her though cause she is so cute. (see pics below for proof of cuteness) We had a nice dinner for Peter on Sunday night and then went for a walk. Peter had told the girls earlier in the day that he would camp out in the backyard with them so they got the tent all set up, had some stories and singing and went to bed. Now it's Monday again and Peters at work and I am left to clean up the mess. I am on my 4th load of laundry, the dishwasher has been unloaded and reloaded, other dishes have been washed and the kitchen floor has been swept. The girls have all been dressed and fed, twice plus snacks, and I have changed a hand full of diapers. I successfully got Ayva down for a nap, Lilly won't let me put her down without fussing and Bella, well Bella just can't seem to do anything by herself for longer than 10 minutes.

Here are just a couple of pictures from our weekend. The first one is of Lilly before our evening walk and the second is of her after the walk. She loves to nap in the Bjorn. The third picture is of the girls as they got all set up to camp out in the backyard. They had such a good time playing in the tent and are really looking forward to going camping in the mountains. Hopefully we can do that sometime this summer.

Happy Fathers Day Peter, we love you!

The Potty Whisperer

Ever since teeny tiny Lillian and her teeny tiny poops came home from the hospital I have been having a hard time changing big girl Ayva's big stinky diapers. So last week I decided that once her diapers ran out I was just going to start potty training. So we got started Sunday night We got Ayva all pumped up to "become a big girl". She had success peeing in the potty before bed and was thrilled to put a sticker on her potty chart and enjoy her jelly bean reward. Monday morning started off great. She woke up dry and again had success peeing in the potty. She put another sticker on the chart and quickly ate another jelly bean. While she was having breakfast I was nursing Lilly and watching The Today Show. They just happened to have a segment on potty training. It was about a woman in Illinois who calls herself the Potty Whisperer. She runs a potty training camp and claims that she can potty train most children in one day. (special needs kids being the exception) I listened with eager ears to learn more about her technique. She says that the most important thing when potty training a child is to never ask them if they need to go potty. She says to explain to them that if they need to go then they should walk over to the potty, pull down their pants and go potty in the toilet. That way they will learn that they are the ones in control over their bodies not you. Then she spends the next five hours letting them eat salty treats and drink sugary drinks. The salt makes them want to drink more and the sugary drink never quenches their thrist so they keep drinking. If they have an accident she makes them clean it up. She has the parents present to act as cheerleaders when a child has success on the potty. She says that once a child has that success and realizes they have control over their body it will increase their confidence and they will continue the behavior. Sounds good, I'll try it. So I brought Ayva's potty down to the living room and put it on the hardwood floor. I then changed her out of her pull-up and into underwear and then briefly explained to her that if she needed to go potty then she needed to walk over to her toilet, pull down her underwear and go in the potty. I then proceeded to fill her full of lemonade and goldfish. A few minutes passed and I started to think that after having so much lemonade she should be starting to feel the urge to go but following the "potty whisperers" advice I didn't want to ask her. So I sat near her anxiously awaiting the miracle of her just walking up to the potty and taking control of her own body. Well it never happened. She peed on the carpet twice that afternoon. Once was in the living room just 4 feet from her potty. Ugh. I had her clean up the messes but I don't think that bothered her at all. Now I can't get her to sit on the stupid toilet at all. So after one day of trying I am completely frustrated and ready to quit. Maybe I'll try again in a few months or maybe I will take Ayva to Chicago for a weekend and have the potty whisperer do it.

Congratulations to our graduate.

This last week Bella graduated from preschool and as you can see from the look on her face, she wasn't so excited. She has loved going to preschool and has made many wonderful friends that she is terribly sad about never seeing again. (None of her classmates will be going to her kindergarten)
Part of the graduation program involved the kids coming to the front of the stage and saying into the microphone what it is that they want to be when they grow up. Bella said that when she grows up she wants to be a cook. I would like to say that it is because I have provided her with an outstanding example of someone who is an excellent cook, however it is Sponge Bob Squarepants who she wishes to emulate and not her mother. (Apparently he is some sort of cook on the cartoon.) One of the other children said that when she grows up she wants to make salmon and sushi...it was pretty cute.
Here is a shot of Bella near the end of the program. There were four classes graduating together so they had to go through all of the children stating their dreams for the future. Needless to say Bella got a little bored and anxious to get out of there and go have some ice cream. We are very proud of her and are excited to watch her continue to learn as she heads off to kindergarten this year. She is such a bright young lady and I am confident she will continue to do well in school.

A Memorial Day to Remember

For Memorial Day this year we decided to get out of town and head down to St. George to enjoy some much needed sunshine. When I was in college at Dixie I was fortunate enough to live at a condo resort named Los Palmos. One of my best girl friends from high school had a relative who owned one of the condos and let us rent it from him for two years. It was an amazing resort. A couple of weeks ago I decided to look it up on-line and discovered it was still up and running and I convinced Peter we should rent a condo for a few days. When I lived there back in the day it had four pools, one indoor and three outdoor, and it has since added a fifth pool. Since Peter had to work the weekend we didn't leave until Monday morning but were able to stay through until Wednesday. I think it worked out wonderfully because we missed out on the big weekend crowds and three days was just long enough to enjoy ourselves and not get on each others nerves too much. So here are some pictures from our swimming adventures.

I love the next picture because it looks like Bella is walking on the water. (This pool is only 2 feet deep and is perfectly heated. The girls really had the best time jumping in over and over. )


And here is a picture of the view I had from my lounge chair.


Besides swimming, we did a little shopping at the outlets, took a nice drive through Snow Canyon, played in the sand dunes, ate at my favorite Pizza Factory and took a nice little stroll through the updated downtown area. St. George has really changed so much since I lived there ten plus years ago and it was fun for me to return and see it all again. Hopefully we can make it a family tradition to visit at least once every year.

A fun sunny day

So I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus since Lillian was born. It hasn't been for lack of interesting topics but rather the physical and mental exhaustion that has plagued me since her arrival. To be honest, she hasn't been the one to cause the exhaustion, she is actually a great sleeper and had her first 7 hour block last night. Her older sisters however have been putting me through the ringer. (mostly Ayva) Everyone keeps saying they are just going through an adjustment period and will settle down soon. I sure hope they are right. We did have a nice afternoon today though so I thought I better take advantage of it and blog about something positive.

It is a gorgeous day here today so after lunch we set up Bella's new sprinkler in the back yard and the girls had a fun time running through it. I was able to get some great pictures that I just had to share.

And I didn't want to leave Lilly out so here is a picture of her. She is such a good baby and I am so grateful that she is healthy and a part of our family. She gave us a bit of a scare when she was born but she recovered quickly and is just beautiful, just like her sisters.

This Colasurdo Clan...Grows!

Lillian Marie Colasurdo.
7 Pounds 14 ounces.
19 inches long.
Born 4/21/08 at 1314.

Made quite the entrance and gave mom and dad a bit of a scare.

It was supposed to be a routine appointment. Mindy was not due for nearly 2 more weeks. Baby girl was rightside up however, and what we had thought was her bum was really her head. The doctor tried to turn her and it was going well until her heart rate dropped and he said calmly to the nurse and anesthesiologist there, "let's go."

To make a long story short, within a few minutes we were in the OR and she was here!

Mom and Lilly are both well, though will stay a few more days in the hospital.

Close up shot. You can see the poor kiddo's IV.

Thanks for all the help and prayers.

Posted by Peter for Mindy.


PS

Bella and Ayva say hello!

A bit of bragging

Saturday was the Salt Lake Marathon and as I mentioned earlier Peter and my brother Forrest signed up to run the 1/2 marathon portion of the event. The start gun went off at 7 am and they both finished just under two hours later. Not bad for their first attempt at running this distance. They had nice weather throughout with just a slight bit of wind at times. **Side note**(This nice weather didn't last all day. We had the windiest day EVER here in Salt Lake yesterday. Dust flying everywhere all day long. You couldn't see the sky, just a dusty haze everywhere. I have to say it was a bit annoying!)

Here's a shot of Peter as he ran the all important "final stretch" through the Gateway Plaza with the crowd cheering the runners on. (He's the one in the dark green shirt and black shorts.) Overall he had a decent run. His knees started to really bother him at about mile 9 but he powered through the pain and finished the race in 1115 place out of over 3000 runners.

Here they are after the race. I know they were both experiencing that runners high that you hear people talk about. The run was difficult but the sense of accomplishment that you feel afterwards is euphoric. I am very proud of both of them and hopefully I can join them next year in their quest to do better.

One funny thing about this marathon was the choice of vendor they used for the post run re-fueling station, or snack station. It was 7-11. That's right, the convenience store. So after running between 13 and 26 miles you had your choice of a hot dog or a deep fried bean burrito. Isn't that strange?! They did have bananas and cantaloupe and, my favorite, chocolate milk but a hot dog? Come on now, that's just ridiculous.

Waiting

With my due date just over two weeks away, I find myself getting more and more anxious to have this baby. Not only am I looking forward to getting my body back but I simply can't wait to meet her, see what she looks like and to find out what her name is going to be. (That's right we still haven't decided on a name.)
In the mean time, Peter is going to be running a half-marathon this weekend with my brother. He hasn't had much time to train, work has been insane, but I know he will push through it and do a great job. I am a bit jealous though. I wish I was running it with him. Maybe I should give it a shot, I am sure it would send me into labor.
Also this weekend, my sister in law, Angie, who wrote Bound on Earth, is going to be at the Barnes and Noble on 10180 S. State St. for a book reading and signing from 1-4pm. For those of you who live in Salt Lake you should check it out. It really is a wonderful book and there will be refreshments. Yippee!
Wish me luck this week, maybe baby will decide to come a little early.

Sweet Pete!

After having been stuck at home for almost two weeks with sick kids and being sick myself, my wonderful husband suggested that I take some time for myself and go to the spa. Fabulous idea! Yesterday morning Peter was off after having worked all weekend so he hung out with the girls and I headed to the Sanctuary Day Spa for a little r & r. A massage sounded heavenly but a haircut was necessary so I went with the haircut and a pedicure of course. (I have always had cute toes close to baby due dates and have always ended up wearing socks during delivery. I will have to remember this time to leave my socks off.)

Sorry about the foot shot but I had to show off the toes. Plus I am excited that my feet haven't gotten too swollen yet.

Here's the new do. Not drastically different from before. A bit shorter and thinned out a lot. The best part about it was that the spa used Aveda products (my favorite) so my hair smelled and felt amazing.

(And a little belly shot for Torrie)

After I was done at the spa I picked up some lunch from Chick-fil-a, another of my favorites, and headed home. Peter had bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers while I was out and had them sitting on the kitchen table. I am so lucky to have him, he is a wonderful husband.

Finally to top the day off, a friend from church brought us a delicious dinner complete with the most divine mint brownies. Thanks Carrie! I couldn't have asked for a better day.