Mckenna's battle wounds...

This past Wednesday, Mckenna was being a good little girl and was going potty. She has become fairly independent with going potty lately and is able to do it by herself most of the time. Well, we had just gotten home from the store, and I needed to go to the bathroom too. (one of the hardest things about this potty training is that I usually always have to pee when she does but I can't very well tell a little 2 year old in training "wait for mommy" so I end up waiting)

This time, I decided to run to my bathroom to go while she went. When I was about half way there, I heard a loud thump followed by some pretty loud and serious screams and crying. I ran back to see Mckenna on the ground with her jeans on her ankles. She was trying to get down, using her step stool, and tripped because of her pants at her ankles. She fell and her poor little face landed right on the edge of the bathtub. OUCH!! I felt SOOOO bad. She was just trying to be a good "big girl" and go potty and ended up getting a nice black eye instead.

This is a picture of her eye on Wednesday after it happened.


Throughout the past few days, her eye has been displaying some beautiful colors!
Today this is what her little eye looked like... kind of yellowish-green and purple!

She is a trooper. She is not even scared to go back and go potty. I was really afraid of that. She likes to tell anyone and everyone exactly what happened too. She includes details every time...clear down to the fact that "mommy put ice on it but I ate it and it made me feel better."

I will try much better to hold my bladder and stay with her while she goes potty so that nothing like this happens again.

Pine Valley

We (well, mostly me) have been very jealous of all the snow EVERYONE else in the state seemed to be getting but us. I just wished it would snow a little so we could have one "snow day" to play. Well, while we were getting all the rain last week in St. George, the mountains were getting plenty of snow!! So last Saturday, Chris got off work early and we jumped in the car and drove up to Pine Valley to play! It was so much fun. Enjoy the pictures we took up there. Mckenna loved playing in it!! It was a very fun day!!

Me and my honey!!

The snow was so deep (like 2-3 feet), Chris would pick Mckenna up and drop her in a pile of snow and she would just stick there.

Mckenna loved playing with Chris! I loved watching them! (It was a little harder for me to walk in the deep snow being 7 months pregnant!)



We didn't have a sled, so we told Mckenna to slide down on her bum. She chose backwards on her tummy most of the time!!

MY 2 SNOW ANGELS!!! =)

Valentine's Craft Projects...

Since Valentine's Day is less than a month away, I wanted to make some projects. I have been seeing a lot of ideas on TV and also on various blogs and it has gotten me in the Valentine's decorating spirit.

The first project I made was inspired by a wreath I saw on the TV show Studio 5. (anyone else watch that show? I LOVE it! Well, I love most of the projects they do on it anyways...) I showed my mother-in-law, Debbie, the heart wreath they made and we decided it would be a great project. Well, who would have thought but there was NO heart shaped styrofoam wreaths to be found in St. George. We couldn't believe it. We called around everywhere. So, we decided to improvise and came up with a topiary instead. The best part about this project was that it was made entirely out of CUPCAKE WRAPPERS!! Yeah, I know...cupcake wrappers! I think it turned out really cute.

My second project was inspired after wandering around the DI. I found a frame that I thought had potential for something and since I was in the Valentine's spirit it ended up being a Valentine's decoration. Here is Mckenna painting her "project" while I worked on mine.

This is what the frame kind of looked like before I started painting it. It was a cream frame with three little yellow frames inside of it.

And here is how the finished product turned out....

Here are my 2 new projects together... I like them! Cute, easy, and definitely adding the Valentine spirit to my home!!

I am a proud Mommy!!!

On Monday, I officially started potty training Mckenna. I got some advice from my sister in law, Rebecca, on what she did. The method is basically 3 days of non-stop attention to your 2 year old. And as easy as that may sound...haha it wasn't! I hate saying that I couldn't give Kenna non-stop attention but with being 6+ months pregnant, trying to keep up with her every move basically wore me out! But I have done my best!

She had lots of accidents the first day. We went through a lot of pairs of underwear. But towards the end of the day, she was picking up on it. I had to watch her so closely so that I could catch her in the act every time. Once I caught her in the act I had to rush her to the potty to finish there. It took a lot of patience and love. I am actually as proud of myself as I am of her. I didn't lose my cool with her as much as I anticipated. (I am still learning patience! It is one of my biggest weaknesses!) Trying to give her as much positive praise as I could really helped me stay with it too. She was so proud of herself too. It was pretty cute to hear her say "Mommy, I did it!" Hearing that almost made up for the tons of puddles and spots on the carpet I cleaned up all day long!

Tuesday, day 2, went really well. She woke up dry!! I was so worried about having her sleep in her bed with only panties on. I almost contemplated putting a pull up on her just so that I woudn't have a mess to clean up. The one thing about this method was that we had to "throw away" all her diapers and pull ups before starting so that we wouldn't be tempted with that exact thing. So since I "threw out" all of them I didn't have the option. (and when I say "throw out" I really mean put in a baggie and put away. Are you kidding me....I paid good money for those and I am still a Francis at heart and have a HARD time throwing out good things. So until my next child needs them...they will stay hidden and NOT in the garbage! =) )

Anyways...I really had to put my trust in Mckenna and let her sleep with just panties on and I was amazed that the next morning she woke up dry. I was so proud of my little girl. I went in to wake her up and she went right in and went potty!! The rest of the day she stayed dry and went potty on her own a few times. She only had a couple of accidents.

So today is day 3...we haven't had any accidents at all and she has been doing great! I hope it keeps up. I am a little worried about actually having to leave the house with her....I'm not so sure that she will do as well in public places or at friends houses. That will be my next hurdle to jump through with her.

She has made me one proud mommy though! I was really a skeptic about doing this in a matter of 3 days, but now that I've tried and mostly succeeded....I am a believer! Thanks again Rebecca for the advice!

Latest Projects...

Since I have been out of school and officially a "stay at home mom," I have been trying to think of things to stay busy. The biggest challenge in all of this is that we are trying to save money, so my projects have to be super cheap and inexpensive. I have tried to find stuff that would keep me busy but would also be projects that were meaningful and weren't just to pass the time and become something I would later throw out.

So...this is what I have come up with so far:

Magnet Board Makeover.... I bought this ugly blue magnet board at the DI for only $3. I couldn't pass it up because these babies cost like $25 at Roberts new. I didn't know what I would do with it because I already have one in my kitchen, but for 3 bucks I couldn't pass it up.


So I decided it would be cute in the girls' room. I painted it white. (with Mckenna's help...ya what a mess but it gave us something to do together) Then I found some scrapbook paper I already owned that matched Mckenna's room. I cut it into squares and just modge podged it on. I think it turned out really cute! I found some stickers of princess fairies and flowers I already had too and made them into magnets for it too.


Mckenna already is loving putting things up on it. I think it was a good project...especially because the total cost was only 3 bucks because I owned everything else. =D I love it when I don't have to go to the store (especially with a 2 year old shopping monster!).

The other project I did was kind of a makeover to something I already made last year. I made this family sign during the summer using cheap frames from the DI, then just put vinyl letters on them in different letters to spell FAMILY. I really liked it, but after I took it down for Christmas and then got it out again to put it up...I just felt like it needed something. It looked kind of blah to me.


So I thought about what I could do to it that would be cheap and not totally change the whole thing. I found some scrapbook paper I had that was all coordinating and decided to back the glass in paper. This is how it turned out. I think it added SO much to the look of it and to the look of my living room. I really like how it turned out. (oh...and please pay no attention to the fact that this one is missing the letter "L"... Mckenna broke the glass out of it and since I've fixed it I haven't replaced the vinyl for the "L" yet...got to love 2 year olds!!)


Now, on to the next project.... =D

Highlights of 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2009 was a great year! At times, it seemed to go by way too fast, but other times, I didn't know if we'd make it! However through it all, we made it! Here are some of our highlights of the year:

*Chris became manager at Sierra Communications! No more doing the managers job and only getting paid an assistant manager's salary!! Yay!! :)

*Sam marrying Holly! We all love her so much---especially for marrying Sam!! =D

*Mckenna's obsession with The Little Mermaid! I didn't think it was possible for a little 1 year old to want to watch a movie so much!

*Summer break from school! I loved having the time to spend with Mckenna before going back to school in the Fall. We swam A LOT and did lots of projects! I love summer breaks!!

*We attempted camping for the 1st time....yep, it was just that...an attempt! Maybe 2010 will bring us better luck in the camping department!

*Vacation with my family to California! I was sad that Chris couldn't join us for this week long vacation, but it was so worth the trip with my family! The beach, the sun, the shopping, and the laughs!! I love my family!!

*I turned 24, Chris turned 27, and Mckenna turned 2!!! I can't believe she is already 2. This is definitely a unique age to say the least. The term "terrible twos" is sometimes an understatement for my little monster! She has quite the strong personality. But even through all her tantrums, screams, and messes, she is still our sweet little Kenna and we love her to death!!!

*We found out we are expecting our 2nd child. Another little girl due here in April! We are very excited to have another sweet spirit enter our home! Also, we found out Sam and Holly are expecting their 1st, a boy, also in April. Our family is growing so fast!! I love it!

*Leonard left on his mission! Elder Francis is now serving the Lord in Argentina. We are so proud of him. We know he has some challenges ahead of him, but through faith and prayers and relying fully on the Lord, he will be able to touch the lives of the people of Argentina and bring souls unto Christ! I love my little brother!!

*Thanksgiving in Moab! We had a great time with my family. There is always something to do and something or someone to make us laugh. Big families are the best!

*I survived student teaching and college! It was fun, but definitely challenging, but through it all I can finally say I'M DONE!!! I finished college in December with my Bachelor's degree. It is bittersweet to know I'm actually done with college. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself sometimes...although my 2 year old and my pregnant belly seem to fill in the time nicely! =)

*Christmas in St. George! This year we stayed home for Christmas...well by home I mean in the area! We actually spent most of Christmas over at Chris' parents house. We had a lot of fun. We learned that 2 year olds dont' need as many presents on Christmas as we think. Mckenna was very content with the 1st few presents she opened and didn't want to open any more. Wish we would have known that before hand. We could have saved a lot of money!! =D Oh well, lesson learned!

Overall, we had a great year in the Summerhays family! Lots of time spent with family. We have learned a lot and have a lot to look forward to in 2010. I love new years. It is a great time to evaluate our lives and change whatever we need to to make us better people and become closer to Christ. We have already stared on some New Year's resolutions for our family.

I'm so grateful for a husband who has the same ambitions I do and who joins me in making small changes to make our lives better. I look forward to the time I have now to be a "stay at home mom" and be with my daughter (and soon to be daughters!). I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing right now with my life!

We hope everyone has a great and wonderful New Year!!