you, me & the z

Nursery Bedding

2012-01-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

For Grant's nursery I took on the ambitious/audacious task of making the crib bedding. I was inspired by this project, which I can't even recall how I came across, from sew4home.com. After spending an inordinate amount of time on the internet looking at crib bedding, and fabrics, and color combinations, I eventually settled on the T aza line by Dena Fishbein and decided to use the crib bumper and crib sheet tutorials from sew4home.com. I slowly collected all of my supplies and finally got started sometime in November. I took my time, did the bumper first, and finished the crib sheet on Christmas Eve (in the nick of time for Grant's arrival on the 28th). It wasn't too difficult for a beginner, but I wasn't in a rush, and I did reference other online tutorials when I wasn't sure how to do something. I even learned how do make continuous bias tape! These are the instructions I found the most helpful for the bias tape although I did watch a couple of YouTube videos to really understand how to do it.
My cousin Beth (of Seasons of Home - you should head over there, they're doing a giveaway!) has become quite the quilter and encouraged me to make an applique quilt which she also helped with (i.e. did most of the work). It is off being quilted right now but should be back in a week or so. The pattern came from this book of pretty simple and modern baby quilts. Here is the quilt top before being quilted. The back is going to be super soft minky.
I'm finding sewing to be less and less intimidating the more that I do it (duh!) and have been looking for my next project. We have a "sisters" quilting weekend coming up in March. Any suggestions for what I should take to work on?

Since Grant Was Born . . .

2012-01-27T17:08:00.007-07:00

his big sisters have been doing a lot of

baby gazing,
playing with things in the nursery,

dressing up,
jumping on Mom and Dad's bed,
and staying in their pajamas all day long.

Proof that there's a baby boy in the house. . .

2012-01-26T07:00:00.001-07:00

Ben stood a little too close to the changing table last week while I was changing Grant.

We had a good laugh.

(More hospital/baby pictures coming soon. Oh, and a birth story. Promise.)

4 Weeks Old

2012-01-25T20:13:00.005-07:00

Grant:

and just for fun. . .

Paige at 4 weeks:

Claire @ 1 month:
which sister do you think Grant resembles?

Introducing . . .

2011-12-30T18:58:00.004-07:00

Grant Benjamin

born December 28th @ 4:18 am

7 lbs 10 oz
19.5 inches

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:10:00.004-07:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Paige told us the story of Christ's birth, with pictures.

Claire said, "my turn" and tried to copy her.

Daddy read to us from the scriptures.

Mom read Twas the Night Before Christmas and almost started to cry because she misses her Grandma (and the rest of her family).

The girls got to open one gift. . .

. . . and of course it was new pjs!

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

A Lifelong Tradition

2011-12-18T20:31:00.007-07:00

We made gingerbread houses last night - something I've done every Christmas season since I was a much younger girl. And it all started with Diana West. A wonderful Young Women leader who not only used to bake tons of these houses from scratch for an annual mutual activity but who also came to my family's home to make and refill frosting bags every year while we decorated houses as a family (I am just now appreciating what a huge amount of work that was for her!). It really is one of my favorite annual traditions. Paige LOVES it and Claire really got into this year too. It's a lot of work but totally worth it - even if I didn't get to sit down and decorate my own house until the girls were in bed :)

Claire ate at least 5 pieces of candy for every piece that she put on her house. And she licked every piece that did make it on her house (before gently placing it down). She was in heaven! For reals.

Paige loves, loves, loves this kind of thing. I think she would have gone at this for at least 2 more hours if I had let her. She is already suggesting additions and changes she would make.

Ben is a good sport and puts a lot of effort into his houses every year, even though it's not nearly as important to him as it is to the rest of us.

She's excited!

Busily working away.

And I got to participate too.

Thank you, Diana, for starting a wonderful Christmas tradition (and, Mom, for keeping it going) that I'm sure will last at least a lifetime and hopefully well beyond!

3 1/2 Weeks til My Due Date . . .

2011-12-13T22:06:00.003-07:00

. . . although at my appointment last week the OB said he didn't think I would make it to January. So, we are slowly but surely finalizing preparations around here. Such as:

I made a crib bumper (spare me the lectures) that I am super proud of especially since I am not an accomplished seamstress or even an amateur seamstress (although maybe now I can call myself that).
My hospital bags are packed. Claire came in less than 2 hours so we need to be prepared to get to the hospital fast.
Christmas is ready except for the wrapping. I should probably tackle that before the weekend.
The baby's things are all washed and ready to be used.
I ordered the new car seat today. It gets here tomorrow. Isn't that amazing?! Free shipping, in one day, and the best price online or in stores. I don't use it much but when I do I love diapers.com.
My new camera lens arrived today. It's awesome. I broke the 2nd of 2 that I owned on the day of my baby shower (boo!) so I haven't taken pictures in two months! I finally talked myself into buying it and now wonder why I waited so long. I'm going to need it to take pictures of Christmas and of course of the new baby. Merry Christmas to me!
And finally, I have a growing list of things for Ben to do once he finishes finals this Friday: A light fixture to hang, a bed to put together (for us), a book shelf to put up in the nursery, etc.

One thing we have not done yet is name this baby! Why has it been so hard to decide on a boy name? We had Paige and Claire named within weeks of our 20 wk ultrasounds, so the fact that we are just weeks and maybe just days away from meeting our son and we STILL haven't picked a name (or really even agreed on any) kind of worries me.

So, please, take the poll in the sidebar. One or the other of us has suggested each of the names listed. And if you have a different first name/middle name combination to suggest, go ahead and comment! We need all the help we can get. Maybe you guys can convince one of us to just give in already :)

Military Ball

2011-11-08T09:02:00.004-07:00

Every September we get to attend the annual MI Ball with the rest of Ben's National Guard unit. This was the first year where they took our picture. I've posted it here because it will mostly likely be the last picture of Ben in this particular dress uniform since the Army has switched over to this new, dare I say snazzier, one.

Also, when Ben saw this he got after me for not straightening his bowtie, and I must add that I don't really have any formal attire to wear when I'm 6 months pregnant; this outfit was a last minute effort.

Baby Shower

2011-11-06T11:18:00.005-07:00

My good friend Kendra threw a fantastic baby shower for me a few weeks ago. We had very fun/funny games and a yummy brunch. It was a lot of work! I am so grateful for her thoughtfulness and friendship.

Since I forgot my camera's SD card, we had to use my Mom's camera which was on some sort of weird setting so the pictures didn't turn out so great, but here they are anyway.

The food, plus Kimi and her cute Halle (Kimi and I are due the same week . . . I know!)

Gabbing and eating

See! Funny game. Needs no explanation. Kind of embarrassing. Amber won; guess that means she's next? :)

We played another great game where Kendra pre-videotaped Ben talking about our baby and what features of ours Ben hoped he would inherit (ie: Ben's nose, my eyes, his athleticism, my intelligence, etc. . .). Without telling us she already had Ben's answers she had everyone (including me) guess what my answers would be. Then we watched Ben's video and compared our answers. For every trait Ben and I agreed on, I got a point. Kendra gave me one thing of baby wipes for every 5 points. Surprisingly, I went home with a lot of wipes!

Cute boy clothes from Honey (my mom). The onesie says "Mommy's Little Moose". Which is funny because of what my Dr. said. Let me just say, it was really weird to come home with a bunch of stuff that wasn't pink!

In the pic above, do you see the awesome diaper cake in the background? and the bouquet of baby socks (right next to my mom's giant Diet Coke)? See, Kendra is awesome.

Thanks to all those who were there and those who helped! It was great to see you :)

Name Poll Results

2011-11-06T09:31:00.002-07:00

We still haven't even come close to landing on a name for our baby boy due in 63 days (closer but not close). But I thought I'd share the results of the name poll you all participated in way back when. Too bad I can't! The website is no longer functioning and I never printed off the results, ugh! Oh well, it was fun and started some good name discussions for me and Ben :) Too bad we still can't decide.

Claire Turns 2!

2011-11-01T19:04:00.009-06:00

Claire turned two today! We celebrated last weekend with Sunday dinner in Heber since Grandma and Grandpa Miller and Honey and Papa were in town. Keeping with tradition, Claire had a Mickey Mouse party for her 2nd birthday, but unlike Paige she wasn't too keen about dressing up. I was a bit disappointed, but at least I got her to wear the ears while she was eating cake.

This party was basically a direct knock-off of Paige's party from when she turned 2. Same balloons, exact same banner, but minus the matching wrapping and homemade cake. I think I already burned myself out on the first kid (plus we decided to do this party the night before).Her big present of the night was a tricycle of her very own. But for some reason she still wants to ride P's.This cute girl is definitely two. Strongly opinionated, but Oh, SO funny!
We love you, Claire!

School Pictures

2011-10-30T16:14:00.004-06:00

We finally got Paige's school pictures back on Friday. It made me sad, because I realized how much she's grown up since last year. She's so terrified of growing up and not needing me anymore but at the same time wants to be independent and like the "big kids". That's funny . . . I feel the same way.

(Paige and her cousin, Anna)
Look at those two cuties! I love P's smile in this picture. It's such a cheeser Reed grin!

New Due Date

2011-10-01T18:31:00.004-06:00

This baby had his 5th ultrasound yesterday while at my 24 week OB appointment. I've had an ultrasound every 4 weeks so far since I was 8 weeks along , lucky me :) My OB has a really awesome machine that does 4D images and while it was a little freaky a month ago, this time around was pretty cool now that our baby has developed a little chub. And by little I really mean a lot. After the tech did her thing and it was time to meet with the Dr. the first thing out of his mouth was, "well, apparently you're going to deliver a moose!". The kid is measuring over 2 weeks ahead of his original due date. And has been measuring ahead at every single ultrasound, so the Dr. finally decided to change my due date to January 8th. Fine with me! That actually helps me out a lot because I feel HUGE (compared to this point in my previous two pregnancies) and to be able to skip a whole week makes me feel a lot better about it. And as proof of my huge-ness (no I am not making it up) I will disclose this: I only have about 5 to 6 more lbs to gain before I reach my delivery weight with both Paige and Claire;. . . I have roughly 14 weeks of pregnancy left. Ummmm, I don't think that math works out, and I'm going to blame it on the fact that this time it's a boy.

I think he'll be worth it.

Naturally Platinum

2011-09-18T14:33:00.004-06:00

(Claire, about a month ago, with one of her favorite past times, monopolizing the iPod touch)

A young girl at church today told me that she thought it was "so weird for a baby to have white hair. . . like an old lady". It's probably what people comment on most about Claire. I don't know if the picture does it justice, but her hair is really truly platinum blond. I wonder how long it will last...

Soccer

2011-08-27T12:17:00.002-06:00

At 4 1/2 Paige is playing her first year of youth soccer.

She is on an under age 6 team of girls who lucked out and got pink uniforms. Paige is happy about the color but also wishes they had some purple too.

At their first practice the coach took team name suggestions. The top 3 suggestions (which were Pinkalicious, the Pink Unicorns, and the Pink Sparkles) went to a vote. The Pink Sparkles was the winning choice.

Not surprisingly Paige is the littlest one on the field. I couldn't find any soccer shorts to fit her and ended up buying size 2T boys sweatpants and cutting them off. We're lucky they start making cleats in a toddler size 8 cause Paige wears a 7 1/2, and she is just tall enough to fit into the XXS shin guards (the smallest they come). The heels on her socks go up to her calves.

I went ahead and bought the pink cleats because I figured I won't have any sons with feet that small by the time they're old enough to play.

Claire is the ultimate cheerleader and listening to her yell "Go Parkles!" is just as entertaining as watching the "parkles" run around the field.

Paige is particularly entertaining (and a little frustrating) to watch. She can barely keep up with the pack on her little legs and likes to volunteer to take a break when it's time to sub. This morning while getting ready she asked me if it was going to be a lot of running around like last time; she didn't say anything but looked a little disappointed when I said yes.

I have a sneaking suspicion that half-time and after game treats are what's keeping her interested. Time will tell.

She's trying really hard though and having a good time. We're proud of our little Sparkle.

Man in Uniform

2011-08-27T08:13:00.003-06:00

Ben was off for some Army training, and I forced him to let me take his picture. He was embarrassed that I made him stand in front of the house where people could see and he will probably be equally embarrassed by this post. Oh well! I wanted to show off my handsome husband!I love you, Sweetheart! Thank you for all that stand for and all that you do for us!

Back to School

2011-08-27T07:56:00.008-06:00

Paige started her second year of preschool at Kid's Village this week. She was so excited to go back!

(try not to be disgusted by the half chewed wheat thins in her mouth)

And just for fun, here is P's first day of school pic from last year side-by-side with this year's:

Boy Names

2011-08-07T21:24:00.003-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I am not very excited about boy names. I just don't seem to like that many. I've been perusing name lists over the last few days trying to find one that jumps out. Hasn't happened yet, but I've come across a few I could tolerate forever. I also found this website where you can open an account to accept votes and name suggestions from the public. It's really easy. All you have to do is spend a few seconds, minutes, however long you want really, clicking on name preferences, and the computer keeps track of all the votes. You can even click on "suggest a name" up at the top if you'd like to add one to be considered in the voting. It won't give you the results, but eventually it will give them to me and when it does I will share with the world what you and the computer decided was the perfect name for our baby :) So if you like to give it a shot and help us pick a name go HERE and start clicking! Please? You know you want to . . .

We're Having a . . .

2011-08-03T20:47:00.003-06:00

BOY!!!

It's actually kind of hard to believe even though I was leaning towards boy. I know what to do with girls; what the heck do I do with a boy? The ultrasound tech said, "try to keep up".

Paige is super excited and buried her huge grin in her dad's chest when the tech made the announcement.

We all knew it was a boy before she said anything; it was obvious.

Ben has remained quite contained about it all, most likely to avoid any appearance that he's happier with a boy than he would have been with a girl.

My mom sat on my couch for almost an hour afterwards looking up and discussing names. I just can't seem to get excited about any boy names.

I AM excited about getting some new baby clothes, blankets, and things for the nursery. And OF COURSE I'm excited about having a SON!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And the winner of the contest is ...................................LIZ

Liz, I'll email you!

16 Weeks

2011-08-02T20:15:00.002-06:00

I have a 16 week gender ultrasound tomorrow. You know what that means. . . .

So, here's the deal. In honor of this occasion I would like to hold a little contest. Just write in a comment your prediction for whether it's a boy or a girl. Once we find out I will pool all of the correct predictions together and hold a drawing. Whomever wins the drawing will win... something. We'll work that out when you win.

Happy Guessing!

It's all about fashion

2011-07-14T11:35:00.002-06:00

I signed Paige up for soccer the other day.

When I asked her if she thought she might like to play she replied,

"Hmmmm, what kind of shirt do I get to wear?"

We're expecting our third . . .

2011-07-06T22:05:00.003-06:00

baby in January. And we're very excited! Paige is really hoping for a baby brother this time. Claire has no clue what is going on. I am thrilled to be able to see the light at the end of the 1st trimester tunnel, and Ben says he'd be just as happy with a third girl as with a first boy. January sounds forever away, but I'm sure it'll be here before we know it!

Cascade Springs

2011-07-05T17:40:00.004-06:00

Have you been to Cascade Springs? It's beautiful this time of year and totally worth the drive. We went every summer as kids and got to ride on the dirt road up the mountain from Heber, all piled in the back of Grandpa's pick-up truck.

This afternoon, we (me and my kids, my sister and hers, and my cousin and hers, plus two of her sister's) all piled into one truck (shhh!) and took the kids for an easy, educational, and beautiful hike. Beth acted as tour guide, I tried to keep Claire from crying (she's been really whiny lately), and Chelsea helped. There is something really fun about doing things with your kids that you did when you were young. It also makes you appreciate how much your parents did for you.

The "big" kids on the hike

Silly faces

The stroller babies

(see Claire whining? I'm beginning to wonder if it's ever going to stop)

The Fourth!

2011-07-05T10:15:00.003-06:00

Saturday night Ben and I went on a date to Stadium of Fire (yes we left the kids at home with a sitter, I'm not crazy) and had a great time with David Archuleta and Brad Paisley.

On Monday morning we joined our ward for the long-standing breakfast-in-the-park at 7am, after which we went home and napped :).

We spent Monday evening at my Aunt and Uncle's in Heber eating hamburgers, watermelon, chips, and brownies and setting off the fireworks Ben and Paige picked out at the firework stand down the street.

Cousins playing in the backyard

Claire whining

My sister Chelsea and her kids (no I did not manage to get a photo of my family). Chelsea made Juliette's dress.

The dads running the firework show. We couldn't wait for dark; the little ones were tiring quickly.

God Bless America!

Ballet Recital

2011-06-30T09:53:00.006-06:00

Paige started her first year of ballet this January at a dance studio that is right across the street from our house. For the end of the year performance she was a songbird in the company's production of Sleeping Beauty. Her class's appearance lasted about 3 minutes out of 120, but it was so worth sitting through to see her up on there having fun and trying her best.

Paige and her cousin Anna during rehearsal

The big day. "I have never looked more beautiful!"

If you are new at this (like I am), DO NOT forget flowers. If they hadn't been selling them for $5 in the lobby we would have had a disaster on our hands.

Good Job, Paige!

the River

2011-06-30T09:41:00.004-06:00

I took the girls to meet up with my parents and 2 of my sisters and their families earlier this month for a week at the Colorado River. We've been going there since I was Paige's age and it's still just as fun as it was then. Too bad I didn't take more pictures. Thank you Honey and Papa for a great time, as always!

Claire loved riding the "bug".

Resting during a late afternoon movie.

A tradition. One last picture before we head home.

Crazy Hair Day

2011-06-05T20:56:00.003-06:00

During Paige's last week of school they had a crazy hair day. Paige was excited to have lots of little pony tails all over her head and glitter in her hair. Though I think her cousin might win the prize for craziest hair. In Paige's words, "nice job on the hair, Aunt Noelle!".

Preschool Graduation

2011-06-05T19:54:00.004-06:00

Paige and her cousin Anna graduated from their first year of preschool last week. They sang songs, had a slideshow of their year in the classroom, and walked down the red carpet to get their diplomas as their names were called. Then they threw their caps in the air for the finale.Paige loved her first year at Kids Village and is excited to go back again next year. In fact, I think she'd go back right now if she could. I love that Paige's first experiences with school have been positive and that she's so excited about learning.

This is our attempt at a family picture. Obviously no one was cooperating, and the camera caught me mid eye-roll. Nice.

buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks. . .

2011-05-07T15:53:00.003-06:00

We took the girls to the final home BYU baseball game of the season today, which was kicked off with a fun little tailgate party catered by JDawgs. Yum! We had a great time in the sun and actually made it through four entire innings before the girls got tired of the heat and we had to head home. The highlight for Paige was meeting Cosmo, high-fiveing him and yelling, "Go Cougars!". Claire was a little less enthusiastic as evidenced by
Ben trying to pin her next to him in this photo.

Ben's favorite part of the game was when Paige surveyed the field and asked,
"Is Jimmer here?". Haha!

Tulip Festival

2011-05-07T15:21:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, my friend and I took our girls to the gardens at Thanksgiving Point for their annual tulip festival. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun that we were thoroughly exhausted by the time we got home. So worth it though, and I'll definitely go back next year.

Is this what heaven looks like?

Posing Paige
Sisters

Claire

Friends

18 months

2011-05-05T21:33:00.007-06:00

Length: 31 inches (31st %ile)
Weight: 22.6 lbs (24th %ile)
Head Circ: 48.8 cm (95th %ile)

Since the last development update 3 months ago, Claire has changed so much and is growing up so fast!

She's down to one nap, sleeps 12 hours at night (now waking up at 7 instead of 6, yay!), no longer nursing - she stopped abruptly all on her own the day she turned 16 months (we were down to only one feeding anyway), she runs and dances and climbs everywhere, loves to 'color', listen to "moosssick", ask for marshmallows, jelly beans, cookies, "doughduts", any kind of sweet really, and imitate her big sister any chance she gets.

She's talking like crazy and is very good at communicating her desires and opinions (which are many), she will resort to fist clenching and screaming and sobbing on the floor if needed.

She loves Elmo and books and pushing the cart at Costco all by herself (Ben let her do it once and now she thinks it's her right), and going outside and shoes and teasing. She's still a good eater and generally out eats Paige at every meal (not too hard to do). She waves and smiles at everyone and they melt over her dimple and blond hair which is still so short that she is often mistaken for a boy.

She loved the pool at Easter and I know we're going to have lots of fun swimming this summer (and possibly some scary moments because she doesn't seem to have the same apprehension about water that her older sister does).

Just in the past couple of weeks she has been practicing her dirty looks. I catch her concentrating on furrowing her brow at no one and nothing in particular and it makes me laugh out loud to which she responds by turning her glare on me for a moment before she breaks into a smile.

Everyday I'm amazed at how fast she's learning. Just yesterday we were out for a walk before bed (yay for finally warm spring weather!) when we encountered another mom and two-year-old coming toward us. We all ended up on the sidewalk right in front of our house. Paige introduced herself to the two-year-old and then Claire walked right in front of her, pointed to her big sister and said "Paysh", pointed to me and said "Mama", and then pointed at our house and said, "housh". Smart, huh? and not shy.

If you ask her to say Claire she says "Paysh" every single time. With a big grin. Did I mention she likes to tease?

She is such a joy to have in our home and we can't imagine life without her. Her smile in infectious and her personality is delightful, opinions and all.

Oh yeah, she loves her mommy best, but often calls out "DaDEEE" from her crib in the morning, which makes both of us smile.

Easter in St. George

2011-04-29T10:43:00.006-06:00

We spent Easter weekend at my parents'. It was a lovely warm weekend of egg-dyeing, swimming (at my sister's), church going, egg hunting, and eating.

Menu Planning

2011-04-19T12:00:00.002-06:00

This little tool has been keeping me organized lately.

Because of this simple little weekly calendar stuck to the side of my fridge, my weekly menus are planned, my grocery shopping is quicker, cheaper, and much more enjoyable, my afternoons are less stressful, and dinner is always ready on time. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. Having the menu out for all to see makes me plan better meals, and reminds me to move things from the freezer to the fridge to defrost the night before. Planning the menu for a whole week also forces me to plan other things about my week -- what we have planned during the day definitely impacts what we'll eat that night: will I have enough energy to cook? should a certain day be a crockpot day? what night will work best for pizza?

After 3 hours of church on Sunday mornings, a quick lunch, and putting the girls down for naps/quiet time, I retreat to the craft room to plan my week and menu. I actually look forward to it.

I'm sure most of you reading this already have a system in place. But up until about 4 weeks ago, I didn't! I wouldn't say the way I was doing things before was bad, but I will say that this way is SO much better. It has definitely simplified my life.

I pretty much followed the tutorial from here.
I got my 12 x 12 inch frame for half off from Hobby Lobby and
used E-6000 (best craft glue ever) to attach my magnets.

Easter Tree

2011-04-18T20:20:00.004-06:00

This is what kept me busy for a few evenings while Ben was studying.
(I made the decoupaged eggs and pomanders)

Yes, for some people a Christmas tree just isn't enough.

Catch Up

2011-04-16T22:14:00.006-06:00

Wow. I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. And guess what. I haven't taken a single picture since then either. What in the world?! It's not like we haven't been doing things. There were many picture worthy happenings.

In no particular order:

The girls and I went to visit my parents one weekend in St. George while Ben had drill. We made a little trip to the sand dunes, which Chelsea and I raced up and then down :)

My parents came to visit up here for like 2 weeks - Claire has asked for them by name (Honey? Papa?) every single day since; sometimes first thing in the morning, often while looking longingly out the window. She is now also very familiar with and fond of "doduts" (donuts).

Papa and Paige and Claire rode the tractor. And the horses, kind of.

My mom and I went skiing at Deer Valley! Just the two of us! My only day out on the slopes this year. It was lovely. Thanks, Mom!

Ben and I went on a real date and ate at Shabu Shabu House and saw Adjustment Bureau while the girls basked in the attention of their babysitters/grandparents, and we didn't worry about them one bit.

My sister and her two kids, who are the same ages as my two kids, came to visit. We played and shopped and talked and ate Chick-Fil-A and Cocoa Bean cupcakes.

My niece had the mother of all 4-yr-old birthday parties at Provo Beach Resort.

My nephew turned 1 and destroyed/enjoyed an entire half of the giantest chocolate cake you can buy.

3 daffodils sprouted and bloomed in the middle of my lawn. They were not there last year.

I got a very part-time job (not really picture worthy).

I've been crafting for Easter. A lot. Well, . . . a lot for me. (while watching Ugly Betty on netflix).

I started a menu/grocery shopping system and I've stuck with it for 4 weeks (again not picture worthy). It's been great. I may share more about that in a separate post.

We (including Ben!) visited the baby goats at Thanksgiving Point farm. Claire was adorable feeding those goats. So brave and giggly the entire time. I was a teensy bit afraid for her fingers.

We've had a couple of yummy Sunday dinners in Heber with the cousins and second cousins.

I went to "Girls Night Out" at Seasons of Home with my grandma, aunt, mother, and sister.

And

I held a small lunch/play-date/baby shower at my house for two of my most favorite people. We had 8 little girls and 1 baby boy running around :). One of those friends gave birth to her 3rd girl less than a week later. I've visited her twice. So sweet.

The End. Although I am sure I'm forgetting something.

- - - - - - - - - - -

As I read back over that I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures! I vow to do better this month.

And, if you read all of that, you deserve some kind of award.

Giddyup!

2011-03-06T21:16:00.015-07:00

Paige's birthday was last Sunday, but we held a birthday party for her on Friday at our house. My parents came to town for it and stayed for a few days which made it extra special for Paige.

This year Paige wanted a Cowgirl/Cowboy themed birthday party. I was so excited to move away from princesses (thank you Toy Story), that I kind of went overboard. I don't think it was extravagant, just that, considering my amateur skill set, it kind of set a precedent I cannot possibly keep up if I plan on having any more kids and plan to treat them all equally.
Paige invited 8 friends. As each guest arrived they were given a cowboy hat and a bandanna to wear, before having their picture taken here:

Luckily it was a beautiful day and we were able to have most of the rest of the party outside. We played pin the tail on the donkey:
Then each of the kids got their own stick horse (which my mother and I made) before heading to the driveway for stick horse races (the best part of the party, imo):
After which we headed inside for drinks and snacks (of which I have no pictures) and then proceeded to every child's favorite part, presents:

Paige was mostly gracious although she broke down for a moment after receiving 3 Veggie Tales DVDs from my parents, throwing them down and declaring, "I didn't want these! We already have these on Netflix!". Sigh. My mother laughed and caught the pouting moment on camera:Everyone knows that cake follows presents (or is it supposed to be the other way around?) and the kids were no exception, following quick on my heels as I went to the kitchen to light the candles. Paige requested the piece with Woody sitting on the block.
Then once again we headed outside; this time to bash a pinata. Paige went first and then the kids lined up by height. We didn't bother with a blind fold.That brings our party to a close, ending right on schedule! The children also received a little goody bag (that I didn't take a picture of) to take home, filled with cowboy themed stuff like stickers, silly bands, sheriff badge, little plastic horses. . . and Paige spent the rest of the afternoon playing with her gifts and having mini-meltdowns as any little girl is wont to do on her birthday.

Art

2011-03-05T23:22:00.000-07:00

Did you happen to notice this in the background of my last post?:Rescue of the Lost Lamb, by Minerva Teichert

It was my Valentine's gift to Ben :)

It's our first piece of real art. And I love it.

Wall Update

2011-03-05T23:08:00.002-07:00

Before:

After:(So glad Sesame Street is available instantly on Netflix now!)

Not a huge difference, but I like that it adds some color and repeats the pattern of the mirror and rug and the color of the lamp on the other side of the room. It was also super easy. All I had to do was custom order the vinyl quatrefoil cutout from here on etsy and stick it on! Thanks for the idea, Tiffany!

A New CAR. . .

2011-02-28T21:07:00.001-07:00

(I cannot hear or say or see that phrase without hearing Rod Roddy's voice in my head)

. . . only it's not new, just new to me. Still, I'm pretty excited to be joining the minivan club. Seriously, I am. If you're one of those moms who remains unconvinced let me ask you, what is better than heated leather seats, a six-disc CD changer, fold FLAT 3rd row seating, lots of room in the rear, a back up camera, AND power sliding doors. Not much. It's heaven! At least compared to my 10 year old Saturn Vue. LOVE that car by the way. It's just that it's dying, so it's time to move on.

On Sunday I was actually sad I didn't have anywhere to go and thus had no excuse to drive my car. On Saturday I practically invented a reason to go to Ikea (30 min away). SATURDAY at Ikea! Maybe I'm crazy, but it was worth it. And I am positively giddy with the thought of taking a road trip to St. George to visit my parents. Can't wait! It'll feel almost luxurious (if you think I'm exaggerating, then you've never been on a hwy in my Vue, now Ben's Vue). Plus Claire and Paige cannot touch each other! Yay! I don't even care that we don't have 3 kids yet. I will drive that minivan with pride til we do, and enjoy all the extra room in the meantime.

*the picture above is not of my actual car, but it is of the same year, model, and color.

Daddy Daughter Date

2011-02-27T16:09:00.006-07:00

Paige's school held a fifty's themed Daddy Daughter Date Night last night. Ben "asked Paige out" yesterday morning and she was so excited about it all day. She kept talking about how she was going to get to dance with her Dad and how Claire and I were going to stay home.

I helped her get all dressed up with clear lip gloss and glitter in her hair (she was very happy about that) and pretty soon she was running for the door. Impatient, she turned around to find Ben, still tying his shoes, and said, "let's go, Handsome!". So funny.

Here she's trying to pose. . . she's 4 going on 14.

The cute couple.

They had a lot of fun. Ben said it was very well done with good food, a DJ, a balloon net, and a photobooth (they came home with a cute picture in a frame they decorated themselves). Ben taught her how to twist and how to "swim". Paige wanted to swing dance and insisted Ben throw her through his legs. I was actually jealous when they came home and told me all about it!

Next year I'll at least go and take pictures.

P turns 4

2011-02-27T14:17:00.005-07:00

Four!

She thinks she's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO big. A "little adult" as her preschool teacher puts it. She just can't wait to grow up!

She woke up early this morning, got excited about the balloons and donuts and the 'you are special today' plate that I set out the night before, hurried downstairs, flung open Claire's bedroom door, flipped on the light, and said, "Claire, wake up. It's my birthday!". I heard it all and groaned from my nice cozy warm bed.

Since we have church at 9am we all promptly got up and headed to the kitchen for sprinkle donuts and milk.

After which, Paige got to open a couple of gifts from us.

The first was a children's book about the human body, which Ben picked up from Costco. Paige is very interested in how things work, and since they'd already exhausted the only other anatomy related book we own (a children's book about the human skeleton), Ben was excited to get it for her.The second was a digital clock for her room.
Tonight, the birthday girl is going to get another gift from me: a little lesson on how to tell time and when she will be allowed to get out of her bed in the morning (7am). I hope she likes it.

Happy Birthday, Paige! We LOVE you!

Build-A-Bear, take 2

2011-02-14T19:31:00.001-07:00

It'd been a year since Paige's first trip to Build-A-Bear (when she built the world's tackiest frog), so we'd thought we'd go again and try to make it a Valentine's tradition. She did a little better this year, if only because she chose an actual bear.

See that dress? It has an awesome rhinestone choker that's attached. High heels? Really? And don't get me started on the glaring pinkness of it all.

I think this is one family tradition that I won't be sad to let die. . .

Ice Castles

2011-02-13T14:56:00.004-07:00

My oldest friend (a lovely term she used to describe me once; not as in age, as in length of friendship) and I took our 4 girls up to Midway on Friday to see the ice castles in town square.

It was really cool! And my pictures don't do it justice because I still shoot in auto (I'll learn someday) but here are some of them.

Paige and Mae

Me and my girls

I love the light showing through from behind in this one.

These castles were huge and really impressive especially when you know that they're made of ice and only ice. They grow the icicles and build the castles; it changes every day based on the weather and how fast they can grow and add more. A couple of the guys were up on top working on them while we were there. So cool.

V-day Cookies

2011-02-08T22:52:00.005-07:00

This is what we did tonight (and what I did all day - from making the dough, to buying candy for decorating, to rolling out and cutting out and baking dough, to running back to the store when we ran out of butter: an essential ingredient in buttercream frosting...). I wanted to do this because I remember decorating cookies for Valentine's Day when I was a little girl, and I loved it! Paige displayed the same laser-like focus as she did for decorating her gingerbread house. She decorated 13 cookies and wanted to keep going but I had to force her to stop because it was a half hour past her bedtime.

Originally I planned to give them to the women I visit teach (the cookies wrapped up on the real plates are for them). The plates look like this underneath all those cookies:

I cut the vinyl out on my Cricut with the "home accents" cartridge. The plate is $1.97 from Tai Pan.

But obviously we have too many cookies for just the 3 ladies I visit (none of whom have children to gobble them up - the cookies that is.). So I asked Ben if I could wrap some up for the families he home teaches. His reply was something like this, "No. What's the point? No one's going to eat any. They're just going to dump them in the trash."

???

Is this true? Did I just waste my entire day? Doesn't anybody out there like sugar cookies? I mean, you can pick off the red hots and the conversation hearts . . .

Thanks!

2011-02-08T22:32:00.002-07:00

Okay, I haven't made any decisions about this yet, but I wanted to thank you all for your sweet comments and your suggestions about my living room. They are all much appreciated! I really liked Tiffany's suggestion to do something to the picture frame mats. I hadn't thought of that before and when I read her comment, I was like, "Aha! That's what it needs!" I have something in the works. We'll see how it works out. I may still paint the mirror too. I haven't made up my mind about any of it really. My mom is going to be in town in a few weeks, so I may just wait for her to help me :) I have problems when it comes to committing to decor; she often gives me the shove I need to just do something. Thanks again ladies!

Oh, Hilary, I'm working on a source list but just in case you're waiting on this: the couch was on sale, off the floor from a Thomasville showroom in Las Vegas. And the rug is my carpet. Boo. When we bought the house the previous owners had covered over the original hardwood with carpet. We haven't taken it up because the wood underneath is damaged in parts and it's down to it's last layer and can't be refinished anymore. We're currently looking into replacing the flooring though. I'll be sure to keep the blog updated when we do!

Valentines

2011-02-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

My mom sent a valentine's kit to Paige so that she could make handmade valentines for her preschool classmates. Paige was so excited! And I was so excited because Honey had done the hard part (cutting out oodles of stuff on her Cricut); all we had to do was glue the things together.
This is what Paige and I did while Claire napped Sunday morning when we had to stay home from church - both the girls were getting over colds and Ben was off at drill.

Then last night for our FHE activity, Ben helped Paige write her name on the backs while I tied each heart person to a little sucker.
Thanks Honey!

Claire's New Best Friend

2011-02-07T21:00:00.005-07:00

Claire has suddenly and inexplicably become attached to her little Baby Orajel toothbrush. She asks for it frequently by sticking her finger on her upper teeth and gums and "brushing" vigorously. She is so happy when I give it to her, and carries it around like a little trophy attached to her pointer finger. It was the first thing she "asked for" this morning.

Silly girl.

I may have let her take it to Costco on Saturday. Don't judge.

Meditation

2011-02-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

In my last post I mentioned that when it comes to prayer time, Claire is much more reverent than Paige.

Here's a little story (that is now very popular with my family) to illustrate the point:

Several weeks ago in Sacrament Meeting Paige was having a particularly hard time sitting still. When it came time for the Sacrament, we reminded Paige a couple of times to sit still and to fold her arms for the prayer. Half-way through the prayer she was up on her knees, turned around on the pew, trying to get the attention of the people behind us. Again, I told her to sit on her bum and be reverent for the prayer. . .

She promptly spun around, sat on her bum, crossed her legs Indian style, pinched her thumbs and forefingers together, extended her arms, closed her eyes, lifted her chin, and said, "oooommmmmmmmmmm."

15 Months

2011-02-01T20:15:00.002-07:00

Length: 30 3/4 inches (61st %ile)
Weight: 21 lbs (22nd %ile)
Head Circ: 48 cm (91st %ile)

Claire is walking, as you know, and is getting braver every day. She's still in the cute arms out for balance stage. She still prefers to crawl if she's in a hurry.

She loves to eat and will accept a snack almost anytime it's offered. And she hasn't gotten to the super picky stage yet. For which I am very grateful.

She's slowly warming up to cow's milk (since I started adding a little instant breakfast) but isn't ready to quit nursing yet (we're down to morning and night). Or maybe I'm not ready? Who knows. We both will be by 18 months :)

Claire is still a champ at going down for naps and bed at night (although not when we're traveling). Sleeping 11 hours at night. Too bad she goes to bed at 7 pm and wakes up at 6 am. I can't break her of that either. She's stubborn! 6 is EARLY for a night owl like me. Luckily Ben gets up with her most mornings and let's me catch a little more sleep.

It looks as though she might drop a nap soon. But as long as she's waking up at 6 am, I'm encouraging two!

Claire knows the sounds for 10 animals. She knows: cow, horse, dog, cat, goat, sheep, snake, tiger, bear, and bee. Paige loves this skill of Claire's and has been instrumental in rounding out her repertoire.

Her overall vocabulary hasn't really increased much lately (she says mama, dada, paige (paysh), papa, hi, bye (which often sounds like "die"), ball, baby, puppy, no, yes (yeshhhh), uh-huh, thank you (da do) . . .) but she'll try to repeat almost any simple word that I ask her to.

Claire and Paige now play together. REALLY play together. Until Paige gets pushy and Claire starts crying that is. But nothing sounds sweeter than hearing them squeal in laughter together.

Claire has discovered Blue's Clues. She will frequently point to the blank tv screen and ask, "Boo Cue?". Don't worry, it really doesn't hold her attention for long.

I mentioned that she is stubborn, and I meant it. She knows what she wants. And it looks as though she may soon rival Paige for highest decibel ever reached by the human voice. Those loud Reed genes are dominant.

She's still a cuddle-er. Though a little less so. She's pushing away sooner than she used to.

She has her own babbling language that she seems to expect me to understand :) I've been answering back as if I know what she's saying. Mostly she likes this. Sometimes she gets frustrated because I obviously don't know what she's talking about.

She LOVES to sing songs with actions. Do NOT say the word popcorn in her presence unless you are prepared to sing "popcorn popping" and act it out at least 3 times in a row. She knows, and does, all the actions herself too. Her favorite part is "it wasn't really so" to which she vigorously wags her pointer finger back and forth while saying "no, no, no, no, no." She also likes "wheels on the bus", and the "itsy bitsy spider", of course. We've recently added "the wise man built his house upon the rock" to the routine. Are there any other great action songs I'm missing? I would really appreciate a little more variety!

She also likes books. But the regular variety don't hold her attention for long. She prefers the "lift - the - flap" ones. Again, any recommendations? We have Dear Zoo, Where's Spot, and several Karen Katz ones. They are all great, but we could definately use some more.

She gets very excited to brush her teeth.

And she loves to pray. She started folding her arms and bowing her head all on her own one night when we were putting Paige to bed. She now insists on a prayer whenever we sit down to eat - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She's much more reverent than Paige.

She is very attached to her mama.

And I am very attached to her.

Up on the Wall

2011-01-26T21:52:00.006-07:00

I am a slow decorator. We've lived in our house a year and a half and there are still walls with nothing on them. In fact I think I'd been warming up to the sparse minimalist look, but that ended over 3 weeks ago when I took down all the Christmas decorations and realized my living room was bare and borrrrrrrrrrrrring! So, I finally took action, and now there are things up on the walls - at least in the living room. And while I'm not sure what's there now will stay or that I won't add more, I thought I'd share my latest "project".

First I wanted to tackle the empty space on either side of our very large front windows. At Christmas I'd had an ornament wreath hanging on the left side and the Christmas tree in the right corner. Taking those things down made me feel as if something were missing. I'd remembered seeing this post on Little Green Notebook and I thought 2 of these might look cool in my living room, at least the colors seemed to go, and at only $4.50 a pop how could I go wrong? If it didn't work out I could always pass the goods along to my mother for one of her paper "quilts" or use them to wrap up a special gift. At least that was my reasoning. So I ordered away, they arrived shortly, I purchased 2 of the largest Ribba frame they make, and here you have it:

Ben was studying, didn't have the heart to ask him to move. There's not enough of him on here anyway.

I wasn't sure at first, but hung them on the wall anyway to give it a trial run. I like it. Inexpensive, easy, fun. And if something better comes along, I won't feel guilty replacing them :) Perfect. For now.

Then I had the problem with the wall above the entertainment center/tv console. Nothing had yet to occupy the space. That empty expanse of gray bugged me all the time. I was waiting for the perfect solution. It never came, and so one night last week I sat down and sketched this.

The plants, hurricanes, and family photos on the console were already there. The mirror was one I'd seen recently on Young House Love and the frames I'd seen at Ikea and really just added them in to take up more space. It's a big wall. No idea what I was going to put in them. I liked the sketch, showed it to Ben, he said, "looks good", and then I went shopping. Got it all up on the wall (without anything in the frames) and then pondered art. Etsy art, ebay art, homemade art. I'm on a budget. Hmmmm. I couldn't commit to anything. Then I remembered that I love silhouettes. And the silhouettes we have are in the master bedroom. Which nobody ever goes in besides us.

Time to bring out the silhouettes. There was a couple problems though - the silhouettes weren't the right size and were framed with an oval border. Solved that by scanning them in, downloading a free trial of Photoshop, photoshopping out the border, resizing them and printing 'em out. On regular printer paper. Maybe I'll get around to having them printed for real. Maybe not. I'm not sure I can tell the difference when they're up on the wall. Can you? But we only have 2 silhouettes, and not one of just Claire. Boo. Could I do it myself? Vaguely remembered a past post on YHL on DIYing your own. Looked it up. Looked up another. And attempted it. Took this picture of Claire:

and broke out my newly downloaded 30 day free trial of Photoshop. Followed the tutorials. Worked like a charm:

Man she has a big head.

Now for that 4th frame......a silhouette of a dog or cat that we don't own? Nope. Something to symbolize family?......how 'bout a tree? Okay! Googled 'tree silhouette' and came up with this free image:Oaks have nice deep root systems. Right? Symbolic of how stable and grounded and lasting I hope my family to be.

Downloaded it, resized it, added our last name and wedding date, tried to add 4 little brightly colored birdies with names and birthdates, failed. Not that good with Photoshop yet. Can you even do that with Photoshop? Oh well, good enough for me! For now.

Loving my "new" living room. The End. Phew!

Wait!!! One more thing. What do you think of that last picture? I've considered that maybe the wall's too blah. Needs more color. What if I painted the mirror frame? Or printed the silhouettes in a bright color instead of black. Something to match the pillows? or the lamp I scored from Homegoods? Thoughts?

First Steps

2011-01-21T19:41:00.003-07:00

Claire took her first real steps on January 1st. She's been hesitant to keep it up and so we've seen gradual progress over the past 3 weeks. Last weekend while we were in Vegas (celebrating my oldest sister's 40th birthday) she got a little braver and walked across the area rug to Papa. Yesterday she caught the walking bug and has been practicing like crazy, cheering for herself when she's done. I've had a hard time catching it on camera but I got a couple of VERY short clips today while the girls were trying on some new clothes that we'd just brought home from Target. She loves watching herself on the video camera so much that she won't perform any more once I get it out. In the first clip she's crawling so fast after she falls because she can't wait to climb into my lap and grab the thing away from me. And in the second clip the look on her face is a mixture of excitement and anger because I haven't given it up to her yet and she's determined to take it away. Oh, and you might notice that large bruise on her forehead. Yeah, that's what happens when you're crawling too fast and slam into the corner of the doorway :(

Healthy Foods

2011-01-21T18:03:00.001-07:00

This week I got to teach a nutrition class for our Tuesday night Relief Society meeting (or the-meeting-formally-known-as-enrichment). My focus for the class was on increasing fruit/vegetable and whole grain intake, and so we had a little sampling of some foods that are easy to prepare, healthy, and high in either fruits or vegetables or whole grains :) Here are the recipes that I shared.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

2 red potatoes, cut into 1” cubes
1 sweet potato, cut into 1” cubes
20 baby carrots
½ red onion
1 TB olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 handfuls of green beans

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine prepared vegetables in bowl (leave out the green beans). Pour olive oil over vegetables and stir until all are coated. Stir in salt. Spread the vegetables onto a jelly roll pan (baking sheet with raised sides) in one layer. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in green beans. Add a little more oil if the vegetables seem to be sticking to the pan, stir and spread the vegetables out again. Bake for 40 more minutes (stirring halfway) or until desired tenderness is reached.

Vegetables are so delicious roasted like this! This is hands down my favorite vegetable side dish. I've included my favorite combination of vegetables, but really any combination of veggies you like will do. This is how I always cook asparagus and I LOVE how it brings out the sweetness of the carrots. Hmmmm, and the red onion tastes sooooo good - nice and crispy. I actually crave this dish! Weird, I know.

Tomato Feta Quinoa Pilaf

1 TB olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped shallots (about 2)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup quinoa
1 ½ cups broth – vegetable or chicken
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 TB fresh parsley
¾ cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 TB chopped basil
1 TB lemon juice

1. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan and when warm add in the shallots. Cook for two minutes and add garlic. Cook until fragrant, around 30 seconds. Add rinsed quinoa and sauté for two minutes. Add broth, salt and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and allow to simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to sit covered for five minutes.
2. Stir in parsley, basil, lemon juice, tomatoes and feta. Enjoy!

This recipe also works well the next day turned into a cold salad. I just add a few more grape tomatoes and a bit more feta. Delicious!

Spinach and Fruit Smoothie

1 cup apple juice
4 cups fresh spinach
½ - 1 banana
3 cups frozen fruit and/or fresh fruit
1 TB ground flaxseed

Add apple juice and then spinach to blender. Blend until smooth. Add banana and blend til smooth. Add frozen fruit and blend again until smooth. Add flax and blend to incorporate. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

When I make this I use 2 different fruit blends from Costco for my 3 cups total of frozen fruit. I use 2 cups of the Kirkland brand berry blend (marionberries, raspberries, and blueberries) and 1 cup of the Wawona brand Spectrum fruit blend.

You may be tempted to cut out the apple juice, but this smoothie really isn't sweet enough without it. Of course you could make some other substitution for sweetness, but apple juice is what I usually have on hand so that's what I use.

Nutritional Information for ENTIRE smoothie (without added flax):
450 calories
~18 g fiber

1 Tbs ground flax adds:
35 calories
~2 g fiber

If you were to split this smoothie in half you would each get about 240 calories and 10 grams of fiber! As well as 1 serving of vegetables and over 2 servings of fruit! And it contains NO added sugar. Can't say the same for those fast food smoothies that are popular right now!

Bulgur Chickpea Salad

1 cup bulgur
2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup olive oil / vegetable oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1 cup chopped green onions
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
½ peeled, chopped cucumber
1 cup grated carrots

1. In a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over bulgur. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature.
2. In a small bowl, beat together oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour over bulgur; and mix with a fork.
3. Place bulgur in the bottom of a nice glass serving bowl. Layer vegetables and garbanzo beans in this order on top of the bulgur: green onions, garbanzo beans, parsley, cucumber and carrots on top. Cover, and refrigerate. Toss salad before serving.

This is very light and fresh tasting. It is easily prepared before hand, and I really like it the next day as leftovers because the flavor is a bit stronger.

About 2 years ago I posted about how I was going to put my degree to good use and do a nutrition related post every Friday. Ha! This has been the first one since then :)

Starting Young

2011-01-10T16:17:00.003-07:00

Paige is at the age where she is happy to help with anything and everything. When I ask for her help she is quick to respond, whether it's throwing away a dirty diaper or grabbing a tissue. Unfortunately she is just as willing to help with tasks that I'd rather not have her help with, like loading the dishwasher and making dinner. Such a hassle! I don't want to discourage her from pitching in though because I know that soon enough she'll no longer be willing, so I try to find something she can do whenever I can. A few months ago she wanted to help with the laundry. I spent a couple of minutes teaching her how fold a washcloth and voila! She gets to help and is happy, I no longer have to fold washcloths and dishcloths, AND I have the pleasure of her company while I fold the laundry.Good enough for me!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-30T15:09:00.001-07:00

Claire tries out her new Rody, the first thing she saw.
This picture sums up Paige's reaction to pretty much every present she opened.

This picture is to show Sparkles, Paige's pink and purple unicorn pillow-pet.
It's her favorite gift. Also, it's the only picture I'm in.

Daddy helping Claire open one of her gifts.
I recall she was saying, "Ooooooooooooo."

Claire and Juliette enjoying the Rodys

Cute babies!
It was a very merry Christmas morning followed by a delicious brunch of (among other things) oranges off of Grandma's tree, avocado on sourdough toast, and the most delicious orange rolls you can imagine. And brunch was followed by a lot of lounging about reading, talking, and playing with our new toys. A great end to a great year.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-29T10:00:00.002-07:00

Like many families on Christmas Eve we have a reading (by Grandma) from the bible of Jesus' birth and this year was no exception. However we were a little lame this year as far as participation and costumes go. Claire was not too thrilled about being baby Jesus. Paige was ecstatic to be a cow in the manger (really she was), and Ben was happy to be one of only two wise men.

After the nativity, Honey read aloud 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and we all recited the poem right along with her.

Then the kids got to open their first gift (pajamas, always pajamas), everyone changed, and we sang Christmas carols.

I LOVE these traditions we've done since I was tiny.

Somewhere there's a picture of me, my siblings and cousins in our
pajamas on these same stairs from every Christmas we were growing up.

The only cousins not pictured are William - he was already in bed,
and Allie - she had to be responsible and go back home for work.

Disneyland!

2010-12-28T08:00:00.004-07:00

We had Christmas with my grandparents in California this year along with my parents, every single one of my siblings, the spouses, and all of our kids. It was so fun!

The Wednesday before Christmas Honey & Papa (my parents) treated us all to Disneyland. I think there were 28 of us, and it was super crowded since it was the first day of sunshine after almost a week of rain in southern California, but

We had a blast!

I don't have too many pictures, but here are the best of what I took. I remember to take my camera everywhere, I just forget to use it.

Paige, Anna, & Maggie - the 3-4 yr old girls - in their matching outfits.

Paige coming through the turnstile, upright this time.

Our little family out front. Can you believe we didn't try to get a picture of all 28 of us?

We were able to ride almost every ride we wanted to without having to wait long at all thanks to some very serious planning. And Paige rode the Matterhorn! She said she liked it and that it wasn't scary, but when I asked if she wanted to ride again with Dad (we were using the rider switch passes) she said, "No, it was a little bit scary."

Here's a video of us waiting in line for the Matterhorn.

We also had great curbside seats to watch the Christmas Parade. I really liked the toy soldiers, the kids were enthralled with all of it (including Santa at the end) and we all agreed that it was well worth the wait!previous picture downloaded from the internet here

Honey & Papa let each of the grandkids pick one souvenir. Paige choose a Rapunzel doll (we saw the movie just the day before) and ohmygosh, the hair is INSANE. You know how awesome barbie doll hair looks after not too long? Imagine 17" of it. Tangled is accurate, but maybe not a strong enough word.
And I chose this on Claire's behalf. I love Silhouettes.

On our way out of the park we stopped to take a few final pictures in front of Disneyland's tree:

Maggie and Paige with Honey & Papa

We had been there longer than 10 hours and still had huge smiles on our faces!

Thank you Honey & Papa!

They're Home!

2010-12-18T16:20:00.001-07:00

My parents came home from their mission to South Carolina at the beginning of December. We all congregated in St. George to welcome them back, hear their homecoming talks, and decorate gingerbread houses. It was so good to be together again!

Honey with Paige and Miller. Miller was born while Honey & Papa were away.

Helping P with her house.

Paige with her gingerbread house. She sat and decorated that house for a long time - as long as any of the adults. And she was very proud of it.

Me and Claire with mine. Claire is eating a slice of cheese. She wasn't feeling well that weekend and since Ben didn't come with me
(he had to stay home for drill and finals) I had to hold her the entire time.

My sister Noelle and I carpooled down there and back with our kids. We stopped somewhere at a McDonald's on the way home where they have the tiniest little kids cones. Paige didn't want hers and Claire was happy to take it off her hands. Here's a video of Claire eating her first ice cream cone and cousin Miller is next to her eating his very first french fry.

Happy 34th!

2010-12-09T22:30:00.001-07:00

To celebrate Ben's birthday we had a yummy breakfast at home this morning after he opened his gift. Paige kept telling me he needed more - one gift is not enough, and where we're all his balloons? She must have told him "happy birthday" at least twenty times today, followed quickly by "I love you" and a hug. She was also so excited to surprise him with a cake-plate full of cupcakes when he got home from class. This evening we left the girls at home with a sitter and went out to dinner by ourselves. That feels like such a luxury these days, and so much fun to spend some time together - just the two of us.
Happy Birthday, Ben!

Kids Village Christmas Party

2010-12-08T21:39:00.003-07:00

Paige's preschool held their annual Christmas in the Village open house tonight. I have to say I was very impressed. We had a great time eating yummy food, meeting Santa, making a special snack for the reindeer for Christmas Eve (which Paige already ate herself), and listening to the children sing. On our way out the door we were also given a little present from our child's class. Paige's class made cookbooks.

Here's a video of Claire and Paige with Santa. This was Claire's first time meeting Santa. I was surprised she didn't cry. This was the first time Paige was excited to see him.

This is an excerpt of the kids' performance. The cute blond next to Paige is her cousin, Anna. I like the beginning when Paige is trying to keep a littler kid from leaving the stage and the end where Paige looks very concerned when a much bigger kid stands right in front of her. Paige cooperated with the performance much better this time. I was happy not to have a repeat of Halloween.

And here is Paige's entry in the class cookbook. So cute.

Blue Hat, Green Hat

2010-11-24T22:23:00.003-07:00

Have you read this book to your baby?

I read it to Claire tonight before bed, and by the third page (when the turkey is wearing his pants on his head) she was laughing hysterically - like I've never heard her laugh before. By the time I finished the book we both had tears running down our cheeks from laughing so hard. She was literally gasping for breath - which made me laugh all the harder. Ben came in to see what was so funny.

Claire made me read it four more times, chuckling all the while. Who would have thought a 12 month old would get it?

AGH!

2010-11-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

Paige just found half of her Christmas presents! What do I do now?

12 Months

2010-11-06T20:00:00.001-06:00

Length: 29 1/2 inches (75th%ile)
Weight: 19 lbs 8 oz (25th%ile)
Head Circ: 47 cm (95th%ile)

Some things about Claire:

She loves fresh pear slices, yogurt, soggy Life cereal, avocado on sourdough toast, string cheese, and drinking out of a straw.

Most days I have to go back into her room after putting her down for a nap because she stands up in the crib, throws her binky over the side, and yells until I come to retrieve it for her. What she really wants is an extra cuddle. So we snuggle for another minute or two and then she's good. It only takes once!

She LOVES to cuddle. And she makes the cutest little sighing sounds.

She loves the sound velcro makes so we have a problem keeping shoes on her feet.

She made up a "sign" for when she wants me to sing the itsy bitsy spider. She grabs her wrist with one hand, spreads out the fingers on her other, and holds it out in front of her and waves. She gets really excited when we sing songs.

She likes to wrestle and gets pretty feisty. Her idea of wrestling is crawling all over you. It's hilarious when she comes after Paige.

She loves to wave and say hi. She gets excited when Ben comes home in the evening (usually when I'm finishing up cooking dinner) and says, "hi, Dada" repeatedly until he picks her up.

She's still a mama's girl but is getting better at letting other people hold her.

Her sleep schedule is finally pretty predictable. She's always been a good sleeper, I could just never tell when or how long she was going to nap. The last few weeks she's been consistently sleeping 12 hours at night (7pm to 7am), taking a 1 1/2 hour nap in the morning at around 8:30am and a 2 hour nap at around 2:30pm.

She's cruising around everywhere, but not walking on her own yet.

She seems to be fascinated with the cords plugged into electrical outlets and she likes to pull them out. She also likes to get into the lowest drawer in the upstairs bathroom which contains all my hair product.

When she wants to crawl extra fast she tucks her head and charges.

She loves to rip apart paper and suck on it. I had a bunch of magazines that are now in shreds.

She won't actually kiss me, but she'll make the kissing sound.

She finds animated stuffed animals (like if you move their arms and talk for them) funny and frightening at the same time.

Her dimple still melts my heart.

Happy Birthday, Claire

2010-11-01T09:08:00.004-06:00

Our baby is 1 today. Her first year has gone by SO fast. I still can't believe she's not a little infant anymore! We celebrated her birthday yesterday at my sister's house in St. George. Thanks, Jen! Since we were all down there for Halloween anyway all my siblings stuck around Sunday morning for a birthday breakfast. Thanks for being there everyone!

Halloween part 3

2010-10-31T21:45:00.003-06:00

Saturday night we, all of my siblings and their families, ate a yummy dinner at my sister Jen's house before heading out for trick-or-treating. Paige, Claire, and the girl cousins were mermaids, the baby boys were lobsters, and Andrew was a pirate -- much to Paige's dismay; she REALLY wanted Andrew to be her Prince Eric.Major props to my little sister Chelsea for the handmaid mermaid and pirate costumes!

Halloween part 2

2010-10-31T21:24:00.004-06:00

On Friday we drove down to St. George to spend the weekend with all of my siblings and their families. My friend, Anne, was kind enough to let us stay at her house and her son, Cameron, was sweet enough to give up his room.

Friday night we went to Anne's ward's trunk-or-treat. Paige was a ballerina and Claire was a pig. Anne had the ingenious idea to bring a fire pit and roast s'mores at her car in lieu of passing out candy.

I think it was a hit!

Halloween part 1

2010-10-31T21:01:00.004-06:00

We kicked off Halloween with Paige's preschool performance on Thursday. She choose to be Cinderella and was really excited to go to school dressed up.
She reminded us of her performance several times that morning to make sure we'd show up. We arrived at the appointed time. Things started off great.
And then about one and a half songs into it, Paige yells to me from the stage, "Mom, I'm tired of this." And then proceeds to sit down and make this face.
Unfortunately I did not get a shot of when she laid down, rested her head on the kid next to her, and then pretended to sleep.

Claire's Words

2010-10-25T16:10:00.005-06:00

I know not everyone will be interested in this, but I realized today that I have very little video of Claire. So I got the flip out this morning and attempted to capture her saying some of the words she can say. She wasn't too cooperative, but I still think it turned out pretty cute. She speaks so softly though that it's kind of hard to hear. Her favorite is "hi", which she says ALL the time (accompanied by vigorous waving), especially when we're out in public. Her most recent word is "Paige". Paige was anxiously awaiting the moment when Claire would say her name; she was elated when it finally happened.

School Pictures

2010-10-13T14:36:00.007-06:00

Paige's preschool did pictures last month. I felt like a "real" mom filling out the order form and sending her off with a check in her bag :) She was really excited and practiced poses for me in the driveway before climbing into the car. What a ham!My only hope was that her hair would survive by the time the picture taking rolled around. And it did for the most part, but I really wish I had been there with a comb! Ah well, she still looks adorable!

I love the way she looks in the class photo. Super cheesy! That's our Paige!

Yes, yes i did. . .

2010-10-08T19:38:00.003-06:00

Ben loves it.

I had a mini panic attack driving home.

I'll get used to it. I think.

Ben doesn't think it's blog worthy (not that big of a deal).

He may be right.

But, I don't want my family and friends to be too shocked when they first see me like this.

I'm already tired of the extra attention.

Cute Girls

2010-09-19T23:03:00.006-06:00

Last week we took yet another trip to Thanksgiving Point. Paige has been begging to go back to the Discovery Gardens, and I figured we'd better go before it's no longer warm enough to splash around Noah's Ark. We invited my friend, Heidi, and her girls, and they brought along their cousin, Stella.

Heidi reminded me a few weeks ago via text that we have been friends for 20 years! Amazing. (We met playing softball in about 4th grade). And now we each have two daughters, the same ages. Also amazing! AND so so SO so much fun!

The three-year-olds courtesy of Heidi's iPhone.
This Picture make me want to be 3. They look so happy!

Paige figured out how to reach the drinking fountain!
I think Mae helped :)

Cute babies' bums/Exploring the water

An attempt to get them all in one picture/Penny stealing the show

Does it get any cuter?!

Agh! Looking at this picture makes me
want to go wake Claire up and squeeze her!

I'm loving all these girls!

THIRTY

2010-09-13T23:26:00.004-06:00

Bleh.

But I had a great day. Mostly thanks to my wonderful husband who arranged for a friend (THANK YOU, Kelly) to watch our kids this morning and then sent me off to the spa for a facial, manicure, and pedicure. Then he had a present waiting for me when I got home. Then after he got out of class he brought home a bouquet of flowers and the babysitter. Then he took me here where we took these pictures with my phone.

(I kicked butt, by the way)

Then he took me out to a yummy dinner and dessert.

Like I said, I had a great day, AND I didn't have to plan a single thing!

This Summer, . . .

2010-09-09T13:20:00.003-06:00

I've been bad at taking pictures, so I haven't been too good at blogging and documenting what we've be up to. But I've decided it must be done and I'm just going to do one long post with the pictures that I have. You're welcome :)

We got two memberships this summer. The first was a season pass to Seven Peaks Water Park (which I don't have any pictures of) and the second was a year membership to Thanksgiving Point (which includes the dinosaur museum, farm, and discovery gardens). We've gone to both of these places lots of times.

Here are a few of Paige and Anna at the discovery gardens.
and here's one of us at the dinosaur museum with our friend Cameron and some of his cousins;
and later, Paige and Cameron at our house.
Here is Paige and our friend Mae with painted faces after a visit to the dinosaur museum;
(Mae is only 4 months older!)
and playing at the fountain near the water tower.

We went swimming with cousins at Scera Pool. The cousins went every Wednesday this summer. We joined them on the Wednesdays that Claire wasn't napping during pool time and/or when my kids weren't sick (more on that later), which turned out to be maybe 4 or 5 times. (Thanks for the pictures, Emily!)

We went to many playgroups at the local parks with the moms and kids from our ward. On Tuesdays we met at the park in our neighborhood and on Thursdays we rotated through the other parks in the city. I loved this idea because we visited parks that I never knew existed and now I have some new favorites. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this either. However, I do have a picture of the time we met my cousins, Emily and Beth and their kids at the park in the Provo Canyon.

This one is of me and Beth and some of our kids, plus some of Emily's, oh and my niece Anna.

We played with visiting family members at my grandparents' place in Heber. It is heaven on Earth. My sisters Amber and Chelsea and their kids came up from Vegas for 2 weeks. Of course I don't have any pictures. My sisters might. Sisters? I am lame.

***UPDATE***

I found ONE picture on my phone from when we hung out with my sisters in Heber. Here are Chelsea, my nephew William, my niece Juliette, and Claire. These cousins are about 6 months apart.

We were sick. It seems like the past month held on and off sickness. Colds, colds, and some horrible 24 hour stomach bug. Claire woke up barfing in the middle of the night on a Tuesday and Paige followed suit almost exactly 48 hours later. Why do those things always come on in the middle of the night? Just what a mom wants to wake up to at 2am; a baby and crib covered in vomit. So gross.

Claire with one of her colds.

Paige asleep on the living room floor near her barf bowl.

Ben built me a craft table. Isn't it beautiful? He actually finished it back in April, but I hadn't bragged about it yet, so there you go. He built it (in our living room) with plans from Knock Off Wood. I love it!

Preschool

2010-08-26T13:46:00.005-06:00

Paige started preschool this week at the cutest little school in the world (well, at least in Utah County). I keep saying it's the preschool Pottery Barn and Disneyland would create if the two were to get together and create a preschool. How is my child supposed to want to go to real school after 2 years of this place? So far that's my only regret in choosing it - Paige may never want to grow up and leave. Anyway, here are the pictures:

Ready to go! Can you tell she's excited?

In front of the school.

The tree house in the courtyard.

Miss Erin tying on her "uniform".

Preschool buddies!

Talking about how excited they are.

Getting settled.

Okay, seriously, stop taking pictures and leave. Time to let go.

Despite a few tears right before we left the house and telling me she was a little nervous in the car, Paige really loved her first day at preschool. She told me all about cooking class, playing class, and singing class, how the teacher asked her to use her inside voice (not a surprise), how she knocked down a girl's tower because she didn't like her (?!), and how some kids were fighting. When I asked her which kids were fighting she replied,"Me and Anna!". She came home with two papers from the day, on one of which she had written her name. It was spelled "TTTOOCPO". I asked if she had any O's in her name and she answered,"Oh, I added some 'cause I like O's".

I think she just might have some things to learn! :)

Little sisters are good for lots of things . . .

2010-08-20T17:41:00.003-06:00

like modeling your dress up clothes.

Funny Girl

2010-07-29T19:00:00.010-06:00

Paige just walked up to me wearing this outfit and said,

"What up, yo?"

Paige, you make me smile.

9 Months

2010-07-28T17:29:00.011-06:00

. . . well she will be on Aug. 1st, but we had her well-baby check today, so . . .

Length: 28 inches (75th%ile)
Weight: 18 lbs 3 oz (50th%ile)
Head Circ: 46 cm (95th%ile)

Claire is now army crawling everywhere, usually on the look out for me or the springy door stops. She's is very much a momma's girl these days and it is getting increasingly difficult to get things done if she is awake. She senses when I'm busy, seeks me out, and head-buts my ankles until I pick her up. It's nice to be loved. She can open the doors on the cabinet where we keep the toys, and she has a knack for dumping them all out. She gets up on her knees and crawls a "step" or two that way, but has not quite figured out how to synchronize the movements of her arms and legs and mostly rocks back and forth or launches herself forward. She can go from lying down to sitting up by getting up on her knees and pushing back to get on her bum. She tries to pull herself up but can't get all the way up without help. And she doesn't clap or wave yet, but that's probably because we've relaxed a lot since being first-time parents and rarely, if ever, clap or wave around her. Sad, huh? I've already clapped for her 3 times since realizing this at her dr's appt. this afternoon. Claire inherited my large head, and it looks like it's growing faster than the rest of her. Claire and Paige adore one another. They're all smiles for eachother unless Claire is playing with Paige's things or Paige invades Claire's personal space. Paige loves to play with Claire and to try and teach her things, but she is also a bit rough sometimes. In the interest of self-preservation, Claire has realized that if she yells out I'll come running to make sure she isn't being squashed or contorted, so sometimes she yells out prematurely just to make sure Paige stays at a distance. Paige also knows that I come running if Claire yells out, and so I often hear yelling from Claire accompanied by shushing from Paige. Claire also yells very loudly when she is tired or if I'm not feeding her fast enough. VERY loudly. Like ear-drum splitting loud. It's embarrassing in public. She loves food. She doesn't like everything, but the only thing I can think of that she spat out and refused to eat more of was baby peaches. Too tart, judging from the faces she pulled. But she loved the fresh peaches my grandma served at dinner in Heber last Sunday. Today she snacked on shredded cheese while I was making quesadillas for dinner (fancy, I know) and the whole time she was making "mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm" noises. So cute. She still loves to cuddle. She is very sweet and smiley the majority of the time. Strangers frequently comment on her adorable dimple or her blue eyes and her friendliness. But she is really only friendly at a distance. Once they reach out to take her from me, her lower lip starts trembling, her eyes turn red and fill with tears, and they get the stiff-arm to the neck. Unlike her sister, Claire is very grumpy when sick. Paige was kind of passive and sad and cuddly when she wasn't feeling well, but Claire is angry when ill. She whines and yells and writhes and throws herself around, and I kind of get the sense she wants to punch someone. This is fresh in my mind because she has a cold right now and I was up with her squirmy little self for several hours last night while she yelled about not being able to breathe through her nose.

Oh, Claire Ruby, how we love you!

Milestones

2010-07-13T00:26:00.008-06:00

(because I haven't written them down yet)

10 weeks - first laugh

4 months - rolls from front to back

6 months - sits up unassisted

6 1/2 months - rolls from back to front

7 months - first tooth

7 months, 1 week - second tooth

8 months, 3 days - army crawls

8 months, 4 days - looks at Ben, says "DADA!", and grins. Daddy grins back, then tears up :)

8 months, 5 days - cries out, "MaaaaMaaaa!" from her crib upon waking up in the morning.

Claire at 8 months

(I am never going to get over that dimple, am I?)

Overheard

2010-07-04T10:47:00.003-06:00

Paige may have a bit of a perfectionist streak. She often gets frustrated while coloring or drawing because things don't turn out as she envisioned.

While drawing a picture of the sun this morning she exclaimed,
"UGGGGGH! This crayon is not listening to me!"

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T22:10:00.002-06:00

Here is the note which Paige dictated and I wrote on a card to Ben for Father's day:

Dear Daddy,
Happy Father's Day! We love you! Thank you for being a nice daddy to your little girls. My favorite thing to play with you is Prince and Princess when you are the prince and I am the princess and Mommy is the mean queen. Your little girls are sweet. I like to play in the snow with you. We love to eat ice cream. You kiss me. I love eating apples with you. I like to work in the yard with you. You are the best daddy and your breath gets so silly.
love,
Paige (& Claire)

Photo Shoot

2010-05-26T20:23:00.008-06:00

We had some new family photos taken a couple of weeks ago! Here are just a few:

I know I'm biased, but aren't our girls adorable?

We used a local photographer who was featured on a blog I follow. If you're interested her website is www.jesseephotography.com

Monday, May 24th, 9:36 am

2010-05-24T09:44:00.004-06:00

Ben said it started snowing at about 6:30 this morning when he was out running.
So this is only a 3 hour accumulation.
When I opened the blinds for Paige to see outside, she exclaimed, "WINTER! MY FAVORITE!" and began jumping up and down and clapping her hands.
I had the opposite reaction.
Already 5 branches have crashed to the ground in our front yard.
Last Monday the high got up over 80 degrees.

6 Months

2010-05-03T15:20:00.003-06:00

Length: 26 inches (50th-75th%ile)
Weight: 16 lbs (50th%ile)
Head Circ: 44.1 cm (90th%ile)

Somethings about Claire:

She is a very happy, smiley, friendly, and snugly baby! She has even begun giving me kisses. I love it!
Her babbling gets quite loud sometimes - I had to leave Relief Society on Sunday because I couldn't hear the teacher over Claire's happy noises.
She really enjoys "close talking". Especially when she's tired. Last week Paige got close to Claire's face in Sacrament meeting (which happens to take place during nap time), so Claire snatched up fistfuls of Paige's hair, pulled her in nose to nose, and just yelled and yelled. It took me awhile to pry Claire's hands out of Paige's hair. The young childless couples surrounding us got quite the kick out of the apparent sister spat on display. Paige laughed hysterically all the while.
She still loves naptime and bedtime. She gets quite giddy about it actually and is mostly content to fall asleep on her own. Ben says that's more evidence that she takes after me. Sometimes if she fusses a bit when she's trying to fall asleep I'll just stand by her crib and let her play with my hand for a moment. She loves that.
She still doesn't like being on her tummy for too long and sometimes forgets that she can roll to her back.
She's not quite making it from her back to her tummy. She'll go almost the whole way and then it's like she remembers, "oh yeah, I don't like being on my tummy".
She can sit up now, albeit briefly.
She mostly pushes rice cereal out of her mouth, but likes to suck on pieces of pear, apple, cucumber . . . and drink from (I mean slobber in) my water glass.
She likes being naked. And even does a "nakey dance", wiggling her little body and flailing her arms.
I love her chubby thighs and dimpley knees.

People keep commenting that she's "getting so big" and "growing up so fast!". They say things like "six months already?" and "but it seems like you just had her!" and "when did this happen?". All I can do is shake my head and agree. Her babyhood (is that a word?) is going by so much faster than Paige's seemed too. I feel like I can't even remember what she was like as a newborn. Before I know it she'll be crawling, talking, and walking. It almost makes me ready to have another. Almost.

p.s. Ben just reminded me to add that Claire can say "DaDa", but it comes out "BaBa" :)

Easter

2010-04-06T16:58:00.002-06:00

My sister, Chelsea, her husband Eddie, 5 week old baby girl Juliette, and 3 yr old Andrew, were all in Heber over Easter weekend along with Chelsea's in-laws who came all the way from England!

Paige was so excited to get to spend some time with Andrew.

We dyed eggs on Saturday evening.

Found treats left by the Easter Bunny on Sunday morning.

Hunted eggs on Sunday evening.

Watched General Conference all weekend long. . .

and had a REALLY great time!

Gymnastics Performance

2010-04-06T16:46:00.003-06:00

Paige's 10 week long gymnastics class concluded last week with an evening performance. For her solo trick Paige did a forward roll.

waving to mom and dad

taking a bow

climbing the ladder

fantastic gymnastic buddies

Ready for Spring

2010-03-31T22:45:00.003-06:00

The crazy weather in our state has given us lots of teasers of spring lately, only to throw us right back into winter. Monday and Tuesday of this week were about 70 degrees. This morning? - it snowed.

I'm SO ready to decrowd the closets, put the winter clothes away for good, and leave room for only the cute spring and summer outfits. Even though the first day of spring officially arrived on Saturday, March 20th, it obviously isn't quite warm enough yet to consistently dress like it. But I couldn't help myself last Sunday with Easter just around the corner and so I dressed the girls for church in these adorable smocked dresses, snapped a picture to send to Honey and Papa to show them just how much Paige loves her birthday present, then wrapped a blanket around Claire, put a sweater on Paige, and off we went.

"But, Mom, I'm 3 now!"

2010-03-27T11:41:00.004-06:00

I'm missing the days when Paige was two, unquestioning and immediately obedient. I used to be able to say that she was such a reasonable toddler. Now that she's three she is much more capable of reasoning and she has a rebuttal almost everytime I ask her to stop doing something.

For example:

Me: Paige, please stop jumping on the couch.
P: But, I'm not wearing my shoes!

Me: Paige, don't play with the big clock.
P: But, Mom, my hands are not dirty!

Me (while walking through a store): Paige, I need you to hold my hand. Don't let go.
P: Why? We're not in the parking lot!

Me: Paige, stop doing that to your sister.
P: But she's not crying!

Me: Paige, I want you to wait for me to help you wipe your bum.
P: But, Moooooomm, I'm 3 now!

Yeah, I noticed.

Mirror, mirror on the wall . . .

2010-03-23T07:30:00.003-06:00

I have a problem. The more I fill my house with pretty stuff, the more I like it. I try not to let an unfinished room affect me, but it does. It drives me crazy.

BUT

for the past few days I have been content because there is finally a large round mirror on my living room wall. FINALLY! I have known I wanted a large round mirror there for several months, almost since the moment we moved in, but since we needed lots of more functional furniture as well, the mirror got pushed towards the end of the home decor budget list.

This is the mirror I've had my eye on since oh, maybe September. Isn't she pretty? And even though the price is pretty good for a mirror of that size, I thought I could do better. And I did.

At Home Goods in Salt Lake last Thursday afternoon (after spending the better part of the day at Temple Square), I found this beauty (at more than half the price and a full 6" diameter bigger). And it makes me smile every time I walk into my living room.

Visitors

2010-03-22T14:17:00.006-06:00

Ben's sister and her family drove from Oklahoma to Utah last week to go skiing and to show their two oldest children where they fell in love (BYU) and where they got married (SLC Temple). We were lucky enough to get to spend two whole days with them.

On Wednesday we shopped at the BYU Bookstore, wandered around on campus, ate at the Creamery on Ninth, played at Kangaroo Zoo, dined at Cafe Rio, and stopped in at the Distribution Center where the Oklahomans got to pick out their own unmentionables, thank you very much - a luxury we Utahns take for granted.

On Thursday we drove up I-15 to Temple Square (passing 5 temples along the way), saw as much as we could and ate lunch at Olive Garden before we caught a whiff of a storm rolling in and our visitors had to hightail it home to avoid getting stuck in the snow somewhere in Wyoming.

They made it home safely, but not without getting delayed somewhere in Wyoming.

Thanks for coming to visit! You're welcome anytime! And don't wait so long next time.

19 Weeks

2010-03-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Here's how Claire measured up at her 4 month checkup a week and a half ago:

Length: 25" (75th%ile)
Weight: 13 lbs 12 oz (50th%ile)
Head Circ: 42 cm (75th%ile)

I can't believe she's gained over 3 lbs in the last 2 months. I found a copy of Paige's old medical records and at 4 months she was also 25" but only weighed 12 lbs 8 oz. It was after this that Paige's growth really started to slow down.

Anyway, I'm always surprised when two kids from the same family are so different.

Here's a picture of Paige at 6 1/2 months
wearing the same outfit that Claire wore today at 4 1/2 months.
And I think Claire fills it out better.

Paige's Princess Party

2010-03-08T15:42:00.006-07:00

We had Paige's 3rd birthday party last Saturday. We rescheduled twice to try and accommodate Ben's work schedule and eventually just had to go ahead and have it without him. Since the party was at 11am I prepared everything the night before, after the girls went to bed. The first thing out of Paige's mouth the next morning when she saw the living room and kitchen was, "This looks GREAT! Mom, you planned the PERFECT party for me!" It's so nice that she's appreciative.

It was ALL princess. The girls came dressed as princesses, we had princess music, princess hair glitter, princess coloring, princess bingo, princess gift wrap, princess bracelet making, princess place settings, princess balloons, princess punch, princess cake, princess pinata, and princess goodie bags. You might say that I went princess crazy and as a result I now have princess burnout :) I actually had at least 6 other princess themed ideas for the party that I didn't use (princess: tea party, cake walk, make-up station, story-time with a "real" live princess, inflatable castle, . . .). I had to stop somewhere; after all, the party was for a 3 year old.

Here are some pictures:

My first and last solo

2010-02-28T07:00:00.001-07:00

I sang the first solo of my life this past Thursday. It was at a Stake Relief Society "meeting". Have you seen or heard about the 10 Virgins Musical? I hadn't until last month when a girl from my ward called and conned me into participating. I specifically told her that I don't sing solos. She responded with, "Oh, you'll maybe only have like one line to yourself. The rest of it is group stuff."

Yeah, well, that one line turned into SIX PAGES.

I don't know why I didn't back out as soon as I found this out, but I thought it was an innocent mistake on her part. Later I found out she'd performed this program before so she knew that every single participant, all eleven of us (10 virgins + narrator) had a solo. When, on performance night, I finally kind of sort of confronted her (in a joking way) she feigned shock and said that she'd told me there'd be a solo.

Yeah, one line.

Anyway, I sang it. All six pages. On stage, lights off, spotlight on me, microphone and all. It was fine. I wasn't the best; I wasn't the worst (I don't think?). The program was a success. The Spirit was there. I didn't die. People offered compliments.

But I know my limitations. I'm comfortable singing with small groups and choirs. My voice needs others to b-l-e-n-d with. It knows when it's out there all alone, and it doesn't like it. So next time someone asks I'll be adamant. I DON'T SING SOLOS. Oh, wait. There won't be a next time. Pretty sure I took care of that on Thursday. . .

Mission Accomplished :)

THREE

2010-02-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

How did this happen?

one day
one month

six months

one year
eighteen months

two years

three years

And we love her more and more every day.

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY, LITTLE P!

My Brand New Niece

2010-02-26T22:47:00.005-07:00

My little sister gave birth to her second child (first girl) this afternoon. Juliette Magdalena and Claire Ruby (who are both middle-named after this man) are going to be the best cousin-friends ever; I can just feel it.

Congratulations, Eddie and Chelsea!

16 Weeks

2010-02-21T21:15:00.004-07:00

Paige has said that Claire is the best baby ever, and I would have to agree except that she ties with Paige which makes her one of the best babies ever :)

At any rate, she is pretty great. From her cheerful gurgles and smiles in the mornings to her grumpy frustrated yelps in the evenings, I love EVERYTHING about that little baby. I even love when she gets really mad. Really, REALLY mad. It happened this evening. She decided she was hungry while Ben was changing her diaper, and she just exploded. Red face, tight fists, stiff legs, and yells. Not crying, YELLS. That baby can yell. Even Paige (the loudest kid in the universe) covers her ears. For some reason I react to Claire's infrequent yelling fits with laughter. I just can't help but smile. Maybe it's the sudden onset or the intensity and it takes me by surprise. Or maybe I can smile because I know it will stop just as quickly as it started. I think mostly I just appreciate that she knows what she wants and she is going to let you (me) know it too. I admire that. Anyway, she's definitely got a temper (now I wonder where she got that from....), although it doesn't show up often.

Some other things we love about Claire:

Her precious dimple (singular) - seriously it will make your heart melt
She's patient (mostly) and watchful
Those deep blue eyes (please stay blue!)
She falls asleep in her crib by herself
Her coos and goos - she gets especially talkative right before she gets tired
She takes a pacifier (so nice!)
Her snorts and horse noises (what's that called when horse's blow air through their lips? - Claire does that)
and that wonderfully intoxicating baby smell that makes me want to nibble her neck (and listen to her giggle) all day long

My mother once told me the reason she kept having kids is because she loves babies so much. I think I'd have to agree with her, because almost-3-year-olds?, yeah, not so much.

Build-A-Frog

2010-02-15T22:36:00.004-07:00

We took Paige to Build-A-Bear this morning for her Valentine's Day present.

I imagined she'd pick out a cute bear or maybe a puppy and we'd find an adorable outfit and the trip would almost be worth the $40 it'd cost for a stupid stuffed animal, 'cause at least it'd be cute and we'd have fun.

I was wrong.

Paige had fun, I was miserable (why was everything she picked out SO tacky?!), and we came home with quite possibly the ugliest creature ever built at Build-A-Bear.

Paige adores her frog, has undressed it too many times to count (only to ask me to put it's clothes right back on) and keeps referring to it as a boy and having it kiss me to turn me into a frog.

I think it might be awhile before we go back there.

Furniture Shopping

2010-02-13T18:30:00.002-07:00

Since we moved into our new-to-us c.1928 house last July, I have learned just how much money it takes to furnish a house (a lot more than I can spend and still be considered responsible), and how much time it takes to do it on a budget. Even after buying a refrigerator, washer/dryer, two sofas, an entertainment center, a kitchen table and chairs, three armchairs, two ottomans, furniture for the nursery, shelving, bookcases, storage bench, some bedding, and several accessories (all at the best deal I could find without waiting forever), our house does not yet feel completely finished. But I know that what makes a house a home are the relationships of the people who live there and the memories made there - not the fancy furniture and perfect decor... so I'm trying to be patient with my not quite finished living spaces. The better I am at being patient with it, the more fun it becomes to find those last finishing touches.

Back in August I found this Pottery Barn Kids magazine rack at DownEast Home (a great place to find discounted furniture and accessories) for more than half off the original price.

With my mother's encouragement I snatched it up, and Ben hung it in Paige's room to hold her books. Its espresso finish matched the cherry wood of her crib perfectly. But she moved out of the nursery in December and moved into a big girl bed and room which has no place to hold her books. Since there is limited floor space (old house = smallish rooms) I really wanted to get the same magazine rack in white for her room. But DownEast isn't the kind of place that carries the same things all the time, and I didn't want to pay the Pottery Barn Kids price tag.

Today while sorting through a stack of old mail I came across a catalog called Through the Country Door. I had never heard of this company before, never received a catalog, yet there on the front was a sticker telling me this could be my last one unless I ordered something. Both girls were napping so I thought I'd give it a look even though the style I'm going for in this house is more modern, more YHL, than country. And lo and behold what did I find? This.

Same dimensions, same materials, same everything, MUCH lower price,and it comes in white. I did a quick online search and found a 15% off promo code. Ordered :)

This or this is what I might be saving up for next.

For any of you looking to get ideas or decorate for less, I like these sites:
copycatchic.com
younghouselove.com
littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com

And if you're ambitious/handy, take a look here:
knockoffwood.blogspot.com

Do you have any sites you like to go to for DIY or ideas for less? Please share.

Ben's Side

2010-02-08T15:23:00.004-07:00

We don't get to get together with Ben's side of the family very often, but we all met up for almost the whole week between Christmas and New Year's at Ben's sister's house in Oklahoma (thanks again, Em and Russ!). The last time we were all able to get together was 4 years ago in Michigan. Just look at how much we've changed (and grown)!

2005:

2009:

Princess Etiquette Class

2010-02-01T22:29:00.004-07:00

On Saturday we attended a free princess etiquette class at our local Disney Store. The students came dressed in their finery and for 45 minutes learned how to curtsy, drink tea, and . . . I'm not sure what else because I was too busy talking to friends :)

The class was a bit slow-paced for 2 and 3 year olds, but Paige was so excited for an excuse to wear her dress-up clothes out of the house and show them off for all the mall to see.

Bowling

2010-02-01T22:06:00.003-07:00

Last week my sister and I took our little girls bowling for the first time. They were pretty cute in their tiny bowling shoes. They both cheered loudly for each other and waited excitedly as the ball SLOWLY rolled toward the pins.

Anna

Paige

Unfortunately these are the only pictures I got because some ladies 4 (FOUR!) lanes away said the flash was ruining their game. . .

Really? On a late Wednesday morning?