February 27, 2011
Cole is fascinated with this book. Every other page has something fuzzy, soft, fluffy, or scratchy on the picture. After a few days of mom and dad making "moos," "quacks," "clucks," "woofs," "brrrrmmmms," and "baaas" as we rubbed his dimpled hands across the pages, Cole has figured out that each animal makes a different noise. Which he decided to showcase this new-found knowledge during the middle of sacrament meeting today - you know, when it's supposed to be quiet and reverent. With every turn of the page, Cole made a different grunting and "agrhhh" noise. You had to listen carefully, but they were all distinct sounds. Very boy-sounding type sounds too. And he made the same sounds for the same pictures. It was hilarious.
February 26, 2011
There's a lot to be said for tonight's picture.
#1 Date with cute husband... kid free!
#2 Date with cute husband... kid free... in the greatest place on earth. As Jeff calls it, "his temple." No, he's not serious. Well, maybe a little. Idol worship maybe?
#3 Back-to-back-to-back-to-back (did I get all 4?) WAC season championships.
#4 Watching "The Quad Squad," as the seniors this year were called, win their final home game against Idaho. The winning-est group of seniors in USU history.
#5 Wild Bill's epic costume (and hoping he doesn't retire). An entire front row of his buddies dressed up in his most classic costumes from the past few years. Awesome.
Totally awesome.
February 25, 2011
Um, gross. Especially if anyone is familiar with the odor that typically accompanies Pearl's sweaty piggy toes. Sadly, this comes from MY side of the family.
But the grossest part? Cole actually enjoyed this game with his sister. He kept coming back for more.
February 24, 2011
Please overlook my too long face, bad eyebrows, pulled back hair, and baby fat that has somehow migrated from my pooch to my cheeks. Ok, so it's still there around my belly too.
Oh, and the spoon in front of Cole's cute nose.
But with too many babies screaming at daycare, I decided to take Cole with me to the cafeteria during lunch. Shhhh.... don't tell Pearl. She'd be super jealous! We had a fun time together.
February 23, 2011
I have a feeling these type of pictures will be a reoccurring theme on my blog.
For a very, very long time.
February 22, 2011
Someday my kids will be mortified that we gave them a bath together.
Someday I will laugh hysterically about Pearl wearing her goggles and new swimming suit in the tub. Oh wait, that's today.
Someday I hope my kids still love each other as much as they do now.
February 21, 2011
Three-day weekends, well technically four since I don't work on Fridays, can be pretty boring with your fuddy-duddy parents. At least if you ask Pearl or Cole.
So we packed up and headed over to the rec center for some fun at the pool. Pearl was bouncing off the walls with excitement. Cole, not so much. At first anyway. As soon as his little body hit the cool water, he clung to me and cried. After a few minutes he started splashing timidly and smiling at all the kids running around. But once we stuck him in the floatie and he realized he could touch the bottom of the pool... there was no stopping him! He ran around the pool as fast as he could, laughing, splashing, and smiling. Then he started jumping up and down squealing with delight. He was everywhere.
After two hours of splashing, Pearl tackling me in the water, going down the slides, and having all traces of moisture sucked out of our bodies from the chlorine, we called it quits. Although, once we hit the cold air in the locker rooms and then the cold air outside as we walked home, I was half-tempted to jump back in.
February 20, 2011
Have I mentioned Cole's new trick? Yes, standing up on his own. And getting into all sorts of trouble when mom's back is turned.
February 19, 2011
I've explained before that Jeff doesn't do the whole Valentine's Day thing. If he doesn't get the day off of work, then it's not a holiday. And I'm ok with that. Mostly because come President's Day when other women are still fuming at their husbands for forgetting V-day, I'm getting roses. Lots and lots of gorgeous, yummy smelling roses. And this year they came a couple days early.
February 18, 2011
The things babies learn to do in their first year of life is truly amazing.
Take for example, Cole. Overnight - literally within 24 hours of his 9 month wellness checkup - he has figured out to really crawl, none of this army crawling with one arm pulling and one leg pushing... ok, so when he wants to get somewhere fast he still army crawls, pull himself up to a standing position, sit up on his own, eat big-boy foods (as evident by all the graham cracker crumbs on his face), and drink from a cup. We were starting to wonder if he'd ever crawl on his hands and knees because he's been more interested in having you walk him around as he holds onto your fingers than actually crawling like most kids. But when I walked in to get him this morning I knew we were in trouble... he was standing up in his crib! I couldn't believe it... really, I was shocked at his new trick. He'd never done that before and he must have stuck there for a good 30 minutes because I didn't want to get out of bed and the last thing on my mind was the potential for him to tumble out of his crib because he was standing up! It's obvious we hadn't lowered his crib... until today.
While I'm loving my big boy and all his new tricks, I almost had a breakdown thinking my baby is growing up. Jeff was quick to say we weren't having this conversation nor was he procreating again! I just want to keep my sweet baby boy forever.
9 month stats
Weight: 19 lbs. 4 oz. (29%)
Height: 28 1/2 inches (60%)
Head circumference: 44.4 cm. (25%)
February 17, 2011
Jeff gave Pearl her second computer lesson today, focusing on using the mouse properly. PBSKids.org is a great site to help sharpen her computer skills, along with some math, science, and language skills too. I guess I don't give Pearl enough credit for how smart she really is until I see her doing something like computer games. It amazes me that she recognizes numbers, can listen to and follow directions (from the computer... not her parents), and in just a few minutes, figured out how to move and click the mouse to get the games to work. She really is smart.... she gets that from me, you know!
February 16, 2011
We finally made our way to the library yesterday after a several month hiatus. Pearl picked out nearly every Curious George book they had and then begged me to let her get a movie. We ended up with Pocahontas, which I actually enjoy watching so I didn't mind. But after a morning of Pocahontas and cartoons I said enough T.V. Pearl immediately began the whining until she decided to lug out her paints into the kitchen. Rather than fight her, I said o.k. and helped her get set up so we didn't end up with paint all over the floor. She ended up painting a series of Pocahontas-inspired pictures including "the colors of the wind" (get it... the theme song of Pocahontas) seen here, the "river," and my personal favorite "Pocahontas and John Smith kissing" which is two giant blobs of brown paint, that I suppose with a little artistic interpretation you could depict two heads touching each other and some hand-holding going on.
February 15, 2011
Four months in a row and four ear infections. Luckily, this go-around we've only had to get up once in the night. But the whining, crying, not eating, fevers, and boogers are in full swing as usual. Which is what I got plenty of when I went in to get Cole from his nap... boogers and crying that is.
February 14, 2011
I'd like to think Cole is burying his head in shame over what he did to me today, on Valentine's Day no less. The day of love. And since he's got no other woman in his life besides me - ok, let's face it, he just likes the boobs - I'm obviously his Valentine.
But alas, he's just napping because he's got a fever.
I had a press conference scheduled for today (lovely topic for Valentine's Day... teen dating violence... in case you were curious) right at the same time I normally go down and nurse Cole before his nap. So I bumped up our feeding time about an hour, one, so my boobs wouldn't explode, and two, so Cole wouldn't feel like I had forgotten about him.
I should have just skipped it because the moment I walked in he just stared at me with this blank gaze, like "what are YOU doing here?" He didn't move a muscle, just watched me walk past him, sit down, and hold my arms out toward him. I kept saying his name and trying to get him to smile at me but got nothing in return. Then the little twirp up and crawled over to his teacher, Ms. Nora! Not only did he blatantly ignore me but he then proceeded to paw his way up onto her lap where he sat and looked back and forth at both of us until I marched over there and picked him up. Only then did he decided to smile at me, grab my lips with his chubby hands, and snuggle into my neck.
Too late, my friend. Too late.
February 13, 2011
Thanks to Jeff who purchased, stuffed, and prepped 28 princess valentines, Pearl is ready to go for tomorrow's most anticipated Valentine's Day party at school. I'm sure it about killed him to buy princess valentines... that and being told over and over he couldn't eat any of the suckers.
February 12, 2011
My niece Ruby-juby dropped by for a few minutes today. When she got out of the car, I couldn't help but crack a smile. Which was a good thing because I needed a good smile today. I asked her if she had picked out her own clothes today, to which she happily replied "YES!" Pink cowgirl boots, shades, a cute jacket, and her phone. But it wasn't just the clothes that made me smile, but that girl has some model-esqe attitude. A fashion diva! Which is funny because Roo-bug is more tomboyish when it comes to playing with stuff... she likes video games, sports (and she is super athletic and coordinated), trucks, race cars, and climbing on everything like a monkey. Pearl on the other hand couldn't throw a all to save her life, likes to dance, dolls, art, and yet would wear her USU tee-shirts every day if I let her.
February 11, 2011
I've been so pent up with anger today that I decided I better get us all out of the house - even with dust, laundry, and crumbs on the floor needing my attention - before I yelled anymore. Pearl suggested we "do something fun" so we settled on Kangaroo Zoo (or the indoor park as Pearl calls it). It's basically $9 of as much bouncy house, bouncy slides, stale air, and germs you can handle. I thought it a bit weird that even myself and Cole had to take our shoes off even though we weren't going to do much bouncing. Although Cole would have loved to join his sister on everything. He kept trying to follow her until he figured out he could roll off the edges of everything and I'd catch him. Sort of like the roll off the bed and couch games his Dad lets him play. After two hours of fun, Pearl finally told me she was "soaking" (aka, sweating) and could leave. We made a pit stop at McDonald's for an ice cream cone on the way home. But you probably guessed that from the remnants of my cone on Cole's face. If only all of life's problems could be solved with bouncy houses and ice cream.
February 10, 2011
The last two days have been long. Long.
So when Jeff got home, he asked Pearl if she wanted to do something fun tonight. Her little eyes sparked with delight when we decided upon Chuck-E-Cheese's for our family outing. We'd never been there before but if the commercials on PBS tell you Chuck-E-Cheese's is THE place to go, then you go. At least that's what Pearl's train of thought was. It was almost torture driving the 20 minutes there. But not nearly as torturous as having to eat a few bites of pizza before heading back out to the arcade games. Pearl had fun running from game to game, dancing in front of the blue screen and watching herself on the TVs, and picking out a small prize with her tickets. Cole enjoyed people-watching until his "ugly" hour hit and Jeff and I enjoyed having a few hours away from phone calls and problems.
I have to say though, I wasn't quite sure what to tell Pearl when she asked us, almost sounding heartbroken about it, why Chuck-E-Cheese wasn't real. Apparently she thought she was going to meet the real Cheese tonight. It made me laugh. And despite the horrible pizza and knowing full well whoever franchised this joint is capitalizing on sucker parents, I'm sure we'll be back.
February 9, 2011
It's been a Mtn. Dew kind-a day today. More like Mtn. Dew kind-a week.
Let's just say, with all my family's drama lately I've been reminded - like a truck hitting a brick wall at high speeds - that I'll keep my own trials. And that I am so eternally grateful to have a husband who works hard to provide for us, comes home and gives my kids a bath, tells me no when I need to hear it, cleans the bathroom, and drops everything to help my family out. And I can't forget how blessed I am to have two beautiful children, who keep me on my toes and remind me everyday what love really is.
February 8, 2011
Pearl's godparents bought her some new dance gear today. Pink tights, pink leotard and one very pink, very glittery tutu.
February 7, 2011
For some reason, I've really been enjoying asparagus lately. Like every week I'm forcing my family to eat it. But this week, it was Pearl who wanted to have it for dinner. Well, at least when she was at the grocery store and told Jeff she loved to eat "mastachios."
Mastachios, you ask?
If anyone out there has seen Veggie Tales, you'll know the main character is an asparagus named Pistachio. Pearl has dubbed him "Mastachio" and once she found out that those green vegetables we were forcing down her throat were the same as on Veggie Tales, she was pumped. I'm just hoping one of these days the excitement of buying and then seeing them on her plate will translate into actual consumption of them without complaining. It seriously took her an hour to eat three of them.
February 6, 2011
Next to Thanksgiving, I'm fairly certain Jeff's favorite "holiday" is Super Bowl Sunday. Mainly because it involves food, snacking, food, football, and a "vacation" from church. For the record, just in case the man upstairs is paying attention to this, I drug two hungry, tired, and unhappy children to sacrament meeting before the game. Then proceeded to wonder why when Pearl started crying and screaming the second we sat down in the apparently wrong set of chairs and Cole reached "ugly" hour within 15 minutes.
Anyway... Super Bowl Sunday. This year my parents went all out. Not only did my mom spend two days cooking food, but they also surprised everyone with new leather couches downstairs. And my dad put together a bunch of game-day competitions, complete with a prize basket. I forced each of my siblings to fill out this game card pre-kick off (we barely made it). At the end of each quarter, we matched up the last digit in each team's score to see who won. It's funny what my family will try to do for some candy bars, rock 'em sock 'em robots (finger sized), and a pair of naughty "lucky lovers" dice.
But there was little competition to be had as Jeff and the two pip-squeaks (Pearl and Ruby) won every single game and cleaned out the prize basket of all goodies.
February 5, 2011
My brother and sister-in-law have had a rough week. I've agonized over what I can do to help ease the pain and heartache they've gone through but the only thing I could come up with was to take Ruby-juby for the day. I just wish we lived five minutes away to keep her for a few days (and maybe teach her a reasonable bedtime :)). To kick-off the day-o-fun with Uncle Jeff, Aunt Jenny, cousins Pearl and Cole (and grandma and grandpa since we technically babysat at their house all weekend), we bought the most delicious, creamy, smooth ice cream on the planet. Aggie blue mint chocolate chip. It was a big hit with our little Aggie fans!
February 4, 2011
Since we couldn't see Cole's ears or neck, I decided it was time to get a hair cut. The problem? Cole wasn't so thrilled with the idea. Despite the many screams, big alligator tears, and boogers dripping down his face, the five minutes of torture was worth it... my little man is quite handsome with his new do.
February 3, 2011
Jeff went into work late this morning so he could help wrangle two kids into their clothes. I sure appreciated it. Even if he dressed Cole up as a "hood-loom" as Pearl calls, what she perceives to be, wayward, lazy, and troublesome looking teenage boys. But you got to admit, he does look pretty cute in his visor.
February 2, 2011
People call us crazy. I understand, really. Driving to Logan for a 9 p.m. basketball game with two kids who you know will be crazy the next day because they're too tired is nuts. Especially considering the frigid temperatures we've had lately.
But those same people have obviously never experienced the Spectrum. AKA, the LOUDEST arena in all of college basketball.
And with a blowout over Nevada, the game on ESPN, and Wild Bill bringing the entire student section to their feet to sing, "I'm a little teapot" and effectively distract a Nevada player from making his free throws, the entire nation is now starting to give the Aggies some long overdue love. It was well worth getting home at 1:30 in the morning.
Go Aggies!
February 1, 2011
I can't believe we are headed down this road.
Dance class.
Ugh. I was hoping Pearl would want to pick up a sport that involved a ball. I know nothing about dance other than I made my poor parents sit through the longest recital ever - with me in the very back row where they couldn't even see me - when I was in kindergarten and took dance from THE elite dance school in Cache Valley just because my friend wanted to. I hated it.
But my little pip-squeak has been dancing, spinning, and twirling around from the moment she could walk. It was only a matter of time before I sucked it up and let her do what she wanted to. That and I had to tell myself we could afford the small fortune it's going to cost to buy all the required dance gear... ballet shoes, leotards, tights, and I can only imagine the recital costumes to come.
Heaven help me, 'cause her teacher said she was a natural.
January 31, 2011
Jeff always sets his clothes out that he's going to wear the next day the night before. Something about saving time in the morning and helping to make sure everything matches because I'm still in bed and the room dark when he gets up. He apparently had a specific outfit in mind for Monday morning because tonight he asked me, with a bit of accusing tone in his voice, if I had seen his new blue shirt. He continued to tell me it had been missing for 10 days and wanted to know if I had washed it yet. I didn't say a word, went straight to the closet, moved one shirt, and BINGO! There it was, washed, and ready to wear. His expression was priceless. I tried not to laugh hysterically or ask him if was going blind. Ok, so maybe I did tease him a little. We both looked at each other with this silly look in our eyes, thinking this is what marriage is really about, and then Jeff simply said, "Thank you, Kay."
You're welcome, Babe.
February 27, 2011
