Mi Templo Bello

This is a video I wanted to share because this land and these people are very dear to my heart. Just seeing this video brings backs so many wonderful, tender, and spiritual memories that I am moved to tears. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to serve a mission and help to fortify and prepare a people for this temple, even to some small degree.

Yo Amo El Salvador.

-brian

And if the best isn't good enough...

And if the best isn't good enough, meaning breastfeeding, you switch to formula!


Today I had an interesting doctor appointment with Nathan and David. Nathan has gained 10 oz. in about 2 months, so now he weighs 9 lbs. 12 ounces. I knew he was small and predicted that the doctor would say to beef up the formula intake. Shoot. I thought I had a good nurser this time! Which I do, but my milk is too skim and Nate's metabolism is too active. So he is definitely no where near being on the chart. David I learned today, is on the chart but dropping. So he hit a spurt and now is slacking off. Not too big of a deal. I guess the point is both my boys are small for their age. I keep asking myself why I am surprised. All I need to do is look at Brian and then I can say "Oh yeah...you're the dad huh?". But the doctor suggested kidney and liver screens for both of them. That's when I knew being underweight can kind of be a serious medical issue. My gut tells me they are okay, that it is just genetics, which even the doctor agreed with, so I think I'll wait on further tests for now. Part of the deal for me is that babies in my family, the Salisbury family, are generally fat. I was pretty fat. Brian was no where NEAR fat and never has been chubby. So who knows? My mom and I joke that a fat little baby girl is coming my way in the future. She'll take after me and my family and gang up on her brothers. Or maybe I won't have a girl. Maybe I'll just have a bunch of skinny blue eyed boys. Which is okay too. So I'll breastfeed Nathan until my supply runs out, which it likely will as I increase his formula intake. It is funny because this is almost exactly how long I made it nursing David. I just need to embrace the fact that I can still be a good mom if I don't nurse my babies for a year. But I never imagined I would have a hard time breastfeeding my babies. But that's life right? Full of twists and turns you never anticipate.

Nathan is definitely spirited and lively. He has awesome head control, he rolls over, he giggles and kicks his legs. Yet a lot of people are surprised that he is four months old and that he wasn't a preemie.

Anyway. I guess that is all I wanted to say. Just a little vent.

Grocery Shopping

Last week at the grocery store I was approaching the check out in a pretty typical way. I was pushing a cart full of groceries, David riding in the car attached to the front of the cart, which of course had a broken lap belt. It was all I could do to keep him in the thing. I was holding Nathan out in front of me because he was screaming his head off which is usually what he does at some point during our shopping trip. I'm unloading groceries very slowly, using one hand at a time, when a red headed kid with a messy face, about ten I would guess, approached us. "LOOK AT THAT LITTLE GIRL!!!" he squealed. "What is her name?" Meanwhile, I'm trying to swipe my card with my one free hand to help the line along as the people behind me were understandably wanting me to get a move on. And thanks by the way, to those people for not helping me unload my groceries and just watching me in amusement. I tried to ignore this kid but he was persistent. "CAN I GIVE HER A KISS?" Woah. This kid meant business. I told him no flat out. And if I wasn't in a hurry I would have explained that we don't let kids kiss him on the face but that he could look from an appropriate distance. I kept dodging the boy who was getting ever closer to Nathan's face. I was swinging Nate out in front of me to the left and right while I was trying to find my debit card. Then his little sister got in on the action. She also thought Nathan, the girl, was cute. It was about this point that I wondered where their mother was. I looked around and found her, with a long red-haired ponytail, also juggling kids through the dreaded self-check out lane. She was brave. But short line so I could see her point. I felt her pain. She also had her hands full and probably could hear her kids talking to me but acted like she couldn't so she could just get out of there. So I go to swipe the card and WHILE I AM SIGNING MY NAME, the kid plants one on Nathan. Right on his face! Who does that? The oldest brother of a gaggle of cute red-headed kids is who would. Any I meant to include that on my way to the check out line, the sushi lady, with a thick accent, offered to hold Nathan while I finished my shopping. I politely declined. But she insisted on grabbing his hands and cooing in his face. I actually kind of liked it. I like that people like my kids.

NOW, this week at the store, I decided to ditch the type of cart that made me feel like I was a circus show, and chose instead a normal cart. It is one thing to push a normal cart with one hand, but have you tried pushing and steering one of those huge ones with one hand? Not easy. I put Nathan facing me in his car seat and stuck David in the basket. I have done this before and although difficult, we made it through okay. I foolishly took David to the store hungry though. I soon found out that he was tampering with almost anything I put in the basket. He took a bite of a banana with its peel on for pete sake! So I was strategically placing the food that he could damage in the small area around Nathan's car seat right in front of me. All the while I am breathing threats to David that he is going to have to sit up by me and not in the basket. So I was putting things around him that I thought were safe, cans of food, gallons of milk, etc. It wasn't long before David, who doesn't really talk well yet, was getting my attention "Daddy! Daddy! Hmmmmshlaaaa uhhhhhh." I tried to ignore him but after a while he started to whimper. I couldn't really see him over my mountain of food stuffed in the kiddy seat with Nathan included, so I walked around to the front to see what was up. Oh no. David had throw up all over his clothes and dribbling down his chin. My first instinctive feeling was guilt for getting after him so much. He obviously wasn't feeling very good. "Oh David. Let's get you cleaned up." I pushed my way to the side of an aisle and found a wipe. As I wiped him down I realized that the puke didn't smell sour like I thought it would. I looked around and found a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup halfway open and knew immediately that he didn't throw up at all. He popped the easy lid of the can and took a swig! And the worst part of all is that I didn't want to pay a dollar for the blasted soup! And I knew I didn't want to try and save the rest of it because it would spill all over my car.

I don't know what the point to these stories are. I guess for me it is that my idea of normal is totally different now that I have kids. I've heard stories like these before but never really understood how real they were. This is my reality. Do I love it? Sometimes. Is it hard? Oh yeah. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I love these guys so much. Even if they make things 20 times harder than they need to be.

Happy Birthday David!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!!!!

David's mommy always said "Oh David!". Oh David! You are now a terrible two! And not so terrible. Not yet. Although you enjoy an occasional temper tantrum and the need to say "no" to everything I say.

I love that you are a boy. This means nose picking and killing bugs outside.


David, I love the way you like to stick your tongue out. Especially when you feel shy. I love the way you wrap your arms around my neck when I put you to bed and giggle in my ear.


I really love your small little mouth. Just like daddy's.


Happy Birthday to the sweetest little kid I know!