I am so irritated...

I started filling out the Arizona Bar application a few months ago. Yes, I am still filling it out and I will tell you why in a minute. I want you all to read through this and see if you could actually come up with all this crazy information. It is seriously harder to fill out the application than study for the bar. I am paying almost $500 for a background check, but I think they should be paying me for all this information I have to provide. Here is just a sampling:

1. Every permanent and temporary address for the last 10 years.

2. Account for the entire period of your life since age 18, including employment, schooling, unemployment, military service, extended vacation, etc.

3. Any traffic violations in the last 10 years, including non-moving violations.

4. Driving records from everywhere you have been licensed in the last 10 years.

5. List 5 attorneys that know you, oh but they can't be anyone that is related to you, has supervised you or is listed elsewhere in the application (see below).

6. Oh, by the way, for each event listed in #2, fill out another page that includes the position you held, dates, employer's name, employer's address at time of employment, employer's current address, supervisor's name, reason for leaving employment, and a current reference at the employer who can verify your employment. However, this reference can't be listed anywhere else in your application. (That is 11 more pages for me.)

7. Oh, by the way, for each place you listed in #1, fill out another page that includes 3 more references. That is 3 for EACH place. Include their name, contact info and how many years you have known them. And, of course, you can't list anyone that has already been listed elsewhere in your application. That is 36 more references for me. Does anyone even know this many people. If you are reading this blog and even feel like you know me at all, can I use you as a reference? Please email me your contact info and how long I've known you. Thanks.

As you can see, I'm stalling on completing the application. I'm seriously debating whether I should actually finish this thing after all. Thoughts?

Christmas...Finally

December was a whirlwind of activity. I will try to capture a summary here without boring too many people. And if you do get bored, well, then just pass right on by and I won't be offended.

Christmas started early in Tucson. Erica received some gifts from her great aunts and I didn't want to wait until we got back from our trip to open them. Troy knows I can't wait, so we got to open them on the 18th. She got stacking blocks, books, a puzzle and a dolly. She loved them. She still hasn't grasped the concept of opening presents and the paper is usually more interesting than the gift.


On the 19th we headed to Utah. My mom put together a Phillips Family Reunion. She rented a home in South Salt Lake for a week where all 8 siblings, spouses and children could stay. It was a great set-up with a ping pong table, huge screen TV and lots of toys.

We also got some free babysitting so Troy and I were able to hit the slopes a few times. It was soooooo cold though. I actually ended up getting mild frostbite on the tip of my nose. It turned brown and peeled off like a sunburn. I tried to get a picture of it, but it ended up being a really unattractive close-up of my nose. Not something I wanted on the web.

My Papa (maternal grandfather) celebrated his 85th birthday and we were lucky enough to attend the party. For his present, I spent hours and hours putting together a slide show of his life. It was worth it when we got to show it at the party.


Santa Claus also showed up at the party. Erica was clawing and climbing up me like Santa was out to get her. I thought she would like him because she usually likes bearded men. Oh well.

My nieces and nephews acted out the nativity scene on Christmas Eve, complete with live dogs and stuffed monkeys.

Erica with Grandpa and Grandma Tutu on Christmas morning. Thanks for giving us such a fun week. It was great to see all my siblings and their kids. Some I haven't seen for more than 2 years. It was such a great week.

Erica's favorite present was a $3 cell phone from Target.

She also liked the big box.

So did her cousins Mary and Lincoln. I don't think she wanted to share.

After family week in Utah, we headed to Pocatello to see my parents new abode. Both weeks were full of storms, wind and unusually cold weather. I was happy to return to the Arizona sun at the end of the trip. It reminded me of why I put up with hot summers.

Erica enjoyed her ride on Grandpa Tutu's tractor.

So did Troy.

Lena, a girl who got baptized my first day in Ukraine, happens to live in Pocatello right now with her husband and son. I have not seen her since she was serving her mission in St. Petersburg about 7 1/2 years ago. It was great to visit her and eat some authentic Ukrainian food.

Had our trip gone as planned, we would have spent a few days in Pocatello and then returned to Utah to visit friends and family and to do some more snowboarding. However, we ended up getting really bad colds and stayed indoors in Pocatello until the day we left. Sorry to all those we were not able to see.

I guess if we had to be sick anywhere, it was nice to have my parents providing food and babysitting while we recovered. Grandpa Tutu was always a sucker to Erica's requests to watch trains on YouTube.

Starring Erica and Cousin Noah

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15 Months Old

Erica turned 15 months on December 10th. I can't believe she is already this old. Time seems to go much more quickly once you pass the one year mark. She is at such a fun age and I'm enjoying her more and more. How could you not with a face like that?!!

She is turning out to be quite the jokester. She loves to be silly and make us laugh. She loves to play peek-a-boo, hide and seek and she makes all sorts of funny faces and sounds. She also loves to have her dad throw her in the air or make her fly. On the flip side, she can also be very fussy. It is still better than when she was a baby, but that fuss wears on my nerves!! She is currently suffering from separation anxiety with her mom, which is not fun for me. Thank goodness the happy days outweigh the fussy ones. Here are some updates about her:

Height - 30.5 in (51%)
Weight - 20 lb 13 0z (20%)
Head - 47.5 cm (88%)

• Teeth - 11
• Hours sleeping at night - 12
• Naps during the day - 1 nap (1 1/2 hours)
• Surgeries - one (tubes)
• Airplane trips - 7 (Utah, Washington, Utah, Hawaii, California, Washington, Idaho)
• Music she likes - Dashboard "Vindicated", Amy Adams "How Do You Know" from Enchanted, "Old McDonald", Laurie Berkner "Moon, Moon, Moon", Bingo (she likes to clap along)
• Books she likes - Loves all books, but especially those with pictures of balls, toothbrushes, bears and shoes (I think this encompasses all children's books)
• Movies she likes - Baby Signing Time, Baby Einstein, Laurie Berkner, Brainy Baby
• Words she can say - ball, bear, bone, bra (I know, but she likes "b" words), dada, bye bye, mama, duck
• Words she can kind of say - shoes ("sh"), shapes ("sha"), star ("ta"), banana ("nana"), water ("wa-wa"), ladybug ("lulu")
• Words she can sign - we counted about 50+, so I won't list them all here, but generally they include foods, animals, clothing, people and objects. Some favorites are milk, cookie, cracker, dada, grandpa, dog, banana, cell phone, outside and shoes.
• Body parts she can identify - 11. Showing off her belly is her favorite. She might also try to lift your shirt to check out your belly. Consider yourself warned.
• Food she likes - All foods, except for coleslaw (just found out). She is generally willing to try anything and has been a fantastic eater. We feel very lucky.
• Sleep habits - She has to have a knitted blanket. She likes to stick her fingers through the holes. Somehow that is comforting for her. She also uses a pacifier to fall asleep, but she never needs it when she is awake. She goes down easy, most of the time, as long as she is in her own crib.
• Favorite You Tube Videos - "kitty cat dance", "A Christmas Train", "cat moving closer", "grand canyon train"
• Favorite Toys - stuffed animals (she loves to cuddle and kiss them), shape sorter, play stroller (she loves to drag it around), any kind of ball (especially if she can throw it for Kayla), the trampoline, magnets (she likes to take them off the fridge and throw them), cell phones, ipod, laptop, toy train, stoller shaped like a car with a steering wheel (I want to get her one for Christmas)

Typical Day - Wake up between 7am-7:30am. Eat cereal and a banana. Play with toys. Go on a run with mom and Kayla in my stroller. Walk around outside in the yard. Possibly jump on the trampoline. Watch a movie for a 1/2 hour. Have more food (yogurt or raisins). Read books. Take a nap from 11:30am-1pm. Have lunch - usually a PB&J sandwich. Go on errands with mom or go to a play group. Come home and have an afternoon snack. Watch a 1/2 hour of another movie. Walk around outside. Play with more toys. Skype with Grandpa. Dad comes home. Have dinner. Play with dad. Read books and sing songs. Go to bed about 7:30pm.

On Saturday I got to run in the annual 5K Jingle Run. The participants wear jingle bells on their shoes and they play Christmas music. It was pretty fun. I got 101st place, I think. My goal was to finish in under 40 minutes - I set my standards high :) I finished in under 33.


Erica had more fun playing in the leaves.

This is just a random shot of Erica at our neighbor's birthday party a few weeks ago.

Tubes in Her Ears

Today was Erica's surgery. We have been talking about putting tubes in for awhile now, but we just kept putting it off. Neither of us wanted to have Erica be put out for a surgery, she just seemed too young. We did A LOT of praying and finally decided it was the right thing to do. The surgery was scheduled for 12:15 p.m.

Here's a summary of our day:

7 am - Erica wakes up. As instructed by the doctor, she is only allowed to have clear juices until 8:15am. She drinks a bottle of juice.

8:15 am - I keep waiting for Erica to sign "eat" or "milk" and dread the thought of having to tell her "No." Thankfully, she doesn't indicate she wants food.

10:00 am - She is acting mad and tired and hungry. I attempt to put her down for a nap early because she is going to miss her regular nap time today.

10:15 am - She is still awake, so I cuddle her in the rocking chair and sing Christmas carols. That seems to soothe her for a few minutes.

10:30 am - Troy gives Erica a blessing. We leave for the doctor. I bring a whole arsenal of items to make the 45 minute drive more bearable.

10:45 am - The arsenal is exhausted. I succomb to my strict rule of no cell phone playing and hand mine over. Amazingly, it occupies her the rest of the drive.

11:15am - We arrive at the doctor's and it is also nap time. Troy signs 1000+ papers while I try to occupy Erica. She is not happy.

12:00 pm - I give up on trying to occupy her and let her run around the surgery room in socks and a diaper. She is much happier.

12:15 pm - The doctor is not here yet and I'm trying to suppress my anger about starving my child and making her miserable to be ready at this exact time.

12:25 pm - The doctor finally shows up and answers all our questions. We still feel this is the right thing to do.

12:30 pm - I hand my child over to a complete stranger to take her off for her first surgery. Thank goodness the man has a big gray beard. For some reason, Erica loves men with beards. I don't hear her screaming as they take her away, so I am comforted a little.

12:35 pm - I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for how strong I am being about this whole situation.

12:40 pm - The doctor comes out and says she is ready. As we are walking back to the recovery room I hear Erica shrieking. As we come around the corner, I see her thrashing and screaming.

12:41 pm - I lose it. I start crying and rush to comfort Erica. She is not comforted.

12:42 pm - The annoying nurses assure me that this is a normal reaction to anesthesia. I am not comforted.

12:50 pm - We leave the doctor's office and make the 45 minute drive home. Erica is screaming and whimpering the whole way. She doesn't even want her juice. She eventually falls asleep about 20 minutes before home.

Afternoon - Erica slowly calms and regains her appetite. Otter pops were her favorite today. She clings to me for hours and fusses if I set her down.

6pm - We put drops in her ears. A little blood trickles out. I get nervous, but then I remember that they told us this could happen.

6:30pm - She is out cold.

What a day. And this was only for tubes. I can't even begin to imagine what other parents have gone through for way more serious procedures on their children. My heart goes out to you. Please share any experiences if you want.

And, I can't ever do a post without putting up pictures of Erica, so here is a comparison of how she has changed over 15 months. It doesn't even look like the same baby.

Thanksgiving in Boise

Every other year, the Tegeder side of the family gets together in Boise at Thanksgiving time for a family reunion. Because of marriages, babies and pets added in the last two years, it made for a very full, but fun house. We do nothing but eat, relax, play games and hang out. It was a wonderful vacation and I already can't wait to do it again in two years.


Erica's first Thanksgiving dinner. She loved it.


Erica cuddling with O-ma.


Erica loved to play with her cousins Lovi and Noah.