Tolman Family

Christmas in Tucson, AZ  Hank surprised us last weekend with a trip to a nice resort in Tucson.  We really needed the break from packing.  We got all dressed up and went to an Army Ball on Friday night while his brother watched the kids.  Saturday we ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant then spent the day lounging around at the pool and shopping.  We ordered pizza and watched a movie in the room, then drove back for church first thing Sunday morning.  It was a really fun trip! Hank and I at the ball.  I thought we had been to our last ball since we are out of the military, but it was fun to go as civilians.   Since we're moving the day after Christmas we didn't get out many of our decorations.  We just hung up our stockings and put out a little 3 ft tree.  Since we didn't have any ornaments we decided to make some.  Jessica and I made these fun cinnamon ornaments.  We mixed 1 cup applesauce with...

We have lived in our house here in Huachuca City, AZ for three years and eight months.  The longest I have ever lived anywhere in my life was four years (from 3rd to 7th grade).  It has really begun to feel like home here.  We live in a tiny town.  I mean tiny.  No stop lights, no grocery store.  Just a Circle K gas station.  Sierra Vista, however is just a few miles away.  That's where we do all our shopping, go to church, and just about everything else.  It is a very small town too.  We had a celebration when Walmart finally opened.   When we first moved here I was pretty skeptical.  It is very...desert.  I mean cacti everywhere.  We can literally see Mexico from our house.  It took me a long time to get used to the lack of restaurants, craft stores, and normal people.  But now, surprisingly, I think I'm going to miss it.  I've made a lot of really good friends.  I've been the Primary Presid...

We found out a little while ago, we're having a girl!  She's growing right on track and looking great!  Now that the question of gender is out of the way people always ask what we're going to name her.  Here's Jessica's response: "We're just gonna wait until she pops out and see.  If she's a human, then we'll name her Wendy.  If she's a fairy, we'll name her Tinkerbell."  (I have a feeling that if it was a boy, we would have named him Peter Pan.) I've tried to explain to her that since Daddy and I are both humans, there's a very good chance that our baby will also be human.  She just says, "We'll see."

Baby Tolman #4 is on its way! Yep, we're expecting another little one and we're so excited!  I'm due April 17th, 2013 , which makes me 14 weeks along now.  We have had a couple ultrasounds already and aside from pushing our due date back a couple weeks (from April 1st) everything is looking great!   I have been very lucky and have not been very sick at all.  I have been overly exhausted, but that might have something to do with the two monkeys I chase around all day.  I also have a strange pain in my right leg, but that may be totally unrelated. :)   In an effort to prevent another preterm birth I am going to start getting weekly shots of progesterone.  Hopefully it works and I'll be able to avoid bedrest and another stay in the NICU.   The kids are pretty happy, too.  Cameron is still clueless, but Jessica can't wait for the new baby.  She's really hoping for a little sister.  Hank thinks it's a girl, too...

Today there was a HUGE thunderstorm so we stayed inside and made a "reading fort."   For a while we just laid there and listened to the rain.  Sippy cups and a bowl of m&ms made our fort complete.  It was a nice afternoon. In a related story, we had workers come and put in a sprinkler system for us.  This is the first time we've ever hired someone for something big like that, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I think I got walked on a little bit, and probably overpaid, but whatever.  I thought it was pretty funny because the second day they were supposed to be here they called and said that the forecast said it was going to rain, so they weren't going to come that day.  I looked out the window and didn't see any clouds, but I said that was fine.  It didn't rain a drop all day.  Then today, when they did come, there was a torrential downpour.  Ironic...and funny.  They said they're pretty much done now, they just have...

While we were in California for Fashion Week Hank and I got to eat at Club 33 in Disneyland.  This is kind of a once in a lifetime experience, so we made sure to take full advantage of it.  It was pretty pricey, but so worth it.  We had a great time!   Because we were there in the afternoon we had the dining room and staff pretty much to ourselves. I would like you to take note of the disks of butter.  I don't know why, but that was very impressive to me. :)  Our table was right next to the balcony.  We could step outside and look out over all the little people (insert snooty voice) in New Orleans Square who didn't even know what they were missing.   My choices from the expansive dessert buffet: Creme Brulee, a s'more made with marshmallow and brownie and then dipped in chocolate (holy cow!), and an embossed cookie that I couldn't help but smuggle out to Jessica. Such a great experienc...

I got to go to Fashion Week a few weeks ago for Cookie Lee!  I think this was my ninth time going, but this time it was so fun because my sister-in-law and mother-in-law were there with me.  The brand new catalog was unveiled (click here to see it!) and I absolutely love it.  The great thing about going to Fashion Week is that I get so motivated to work hard again.  Honestly, I hadn't done much with Cookie Lee since Cameron was born and I even considered just giving it up.  But getting great training and seeing thousands of other excited women always gets me excited.  Plus I think it's going to be so fun to work with my family.  I know they are going to be great at it! Now you may enjoy our fabulous pictures from the 80s Party:

Our life is made up of a series of boring little events.  Here are a few of them from the past week:  A week or so ago, Cameron decided he was ready to walk.  He had started a couple of months ago, but he really didn't like it.  He would take a few steps then realize it was faster to crawl.  But then one day he was just ready.  He spent the whole day walking back and forth across the living room, just practicing.  Now he's a great walker! Cameron also went to the Doctor yesterday for his 15 month check up.  He weighed 20 lbs 13 oz (7%), his height was 29.75" (10%), and his head circumference was 48cm (74%!).  Also, his first two teeth are finally coming in. He is obviously a little behind on his gross motor skills, which may be due in part to being premature.  But he says about 10-15 words plus a few signs, which is more than the 5-7 that's expected, so he's doing well with communication. On Saturday our stake had...

Well, I'm 28!  And I'm really starting to look it...  But I had a wonderful birthday yesterday!  It was actually a pretty lazy day.  Hank made me crepes in the morning and then we opened some presents.  Hank went to work and the kids and I spent the rest of the day lounging around the house.  Last night Hank arranged for a babysitter and we went to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse.  Yum!  Jessica would not sing to me until we had a cake because it's simply not a birthday unless there's cake.  So, after dinner we finally sang and I got to blow out a candle.  Yes, those are "Brave" cupcakes.  I certainly got spoiled this year!  Here are a few of my favorite presents:  Hank gave me this awesome " photo board ."  I chose pictures for it yesterday then we printed them out at Walmart last night.  I love it so much!  I decided to pick a theme for my pictures and then I'll switch them out whenever I feel...

A few months ago Jessica fell at the park and cut her chin open and had to have stitches.  It was very traumatic.  A few days later she complained that her tooth hurt and I looked inside her mouth and saw that one of her molars had broken almost in half.  We took her to the dentist but he said that it looked like it hadn't hit a nerve and to not worry about it unless she kept complaining.  Well, she did.  We made an appointment but they couldn't get us in for a couple months.  So, finally today, we took her to the dentist.  She was surprisingly excited about it.  I kept telling her that the dentist would fix her tooth so that it wouldn't hurt anymore, so she had been waiting for this day. We went in at 7:45am and sat int the waiting room for a good 45 minutes before they brought us back.  Then they gave her a little concoction of yucky-tasting drugs and sent us to the waiting room for another hour.  by the time they called...

Being a one year old, Cameron's life is full of firsts.  And a whole bunch of them seemed to come this week. His first teeth are finally coming in!  I was beginning to worry.  He also had his first accident where he actually bled.  He hit his chin in the bathtub and those new sharp little teeth cut the inside of his mouth.  Jessica cried for him, but he toughed it out.    He also got his first haircut (Just look at my previous posts to see the "before").  It was amazing how within a few minutes he changed from little baby to little boy.  He was a little bit wiggly, but didn't cry or whine at all.  He looks so handsome now! He is now spoon-feeding himself.  He's been able to for a while, but I tried not to let him because it's a lot messier (is that bad?!), but now he refuses to eat if he can't do it himself.  I have to admit that he's pretty good at it and doesn't really make much of a mess, so I don't k...