Scary Snow

Lance isn't afraid of many things. He's a pretty tough & fearless little boy, but the few things that he is afraid of are kind of silly. For instance, what is so terrible & frightening about bubble bath? Or that ever terrifying green stuff on the ground called grass (I think he's finally conquered that one)? And then there is...snow. It's white, it's fluffy, it's soft (unless frozen), and yet it is some of the scariest stuff there is. Just ask Lance.

After the first snow, we couldn't even get him to walk down the sidewalk in an inch of snow. He kept holding his hands up to us to be carried. When we insisted that he walk, he went back inside the house & got his trike. Clever little guy. He rode it down the sidewalk, through the horrifying snow, to the van. His feet never touched snow. The next day he did the same thing. We've been wondering how we'll ever get him outside to play this winter. He loves to get bundled up, and he even wears his snow boots around the house all day long. But he refuses to touch that darn snow--he definitely won't be making snow angels any time soon.

I guess I'll keep bundling him up & taking him outside (without the trike), and maybe one day he'll actually have fun. Until then, he'll just have to enjoy his winter attire...indoors?

He played inside for quite a while, refusing to take off his coat, hat, or boots.

We did finally get him to play outside (on the cleared sidewalks).

Those are some mighty cold cheeks--proof that he was actually outside. :)

Another one? How lucky that we get not one, but two Daily Doses in one day! This is David talking about his sister, Julie, who has lived in Virginia for over 3 years now. I do feel a little better now. Apparently I'm not the only one he doesn't listen to.

David (sounding incredulous): Rachel, did you know Julie lives in Virginia?

Rachel: Yes, i knew that. She has lived there for quite a while. Why?

David: I thought she lived in Alabama.

Look How Big

My baby is getting too big too fast. He's 4 months old, & I have no idea where the last 4 months went! He is still the happiest & smiliest little thing, and I just can't squeeze him enough. It's a good thing he likes to be squeezed because he gets it all day long--from Mom & big brother. He still doesn't do much more than sit & slobber, but he does have a knack for making us all happy.

This is our little moose. :)

Here's your DAILY DOSE of DAVID. Luke got his first spanking at 4 months. At least that's what David says. We all know what that means--it's probably not true, but David does aim to entertain. I had left Luke with David who was sitting on the bed eating dinner & playing video games (he told me not to tell anyone he plays video games, so shhhhh, don't tell). According to David, Luke looked directly at him, rolled off the pillow he had been propped up with, smiled at Daddy, & intentionally stuck his foot right in the plate of food. So David spanked him. Hmmmm...I'm preeeetty sure Luke did no such thing. He he. For those of you that are worried that this might be true, rest assured that David would never do this. He's a big softy when it comes to his boys. He's also full of crap. :)

M is for....

Top Ten Wednesday - Letter M

Game time!!!! I thought that this might be fun to play. All you have to do is make a list of ten of your favorite things. But there is a little catch. Everything on the list has to start with a specific letter of the Alphabet. That letter is randomly assigned by the blogger who you are playing with!

I was assigned the letter M by Alicia at Two B's and Me.

Marriage - It certainly has it's ups and downs, but I still love being married to my crazy man.

Motherhood - I love every part of being Mommy. It is what I wanted more than anything, & I believe it is the most important job a woman can have.

Making Memories - I love every memory from family outings, kiddie milestones, family get-togethers, friends, holidays, and silly every day things.

Money - Of course it is a necessity, but it's also fun to spend shopping!

Music - I love music & singing along with music & watching my son dance to any music that is playing.

Mint M&M's - One of those wonderfully delicious candies that I eat as much as I can before the holidays are over & I can't find them anymore.

Milk - I love, love, love milk. I have to have it with every meal & every dessert.

Mail - Who doesn't like to get mail?

Math - I know, I'm weird. But I really love Math. In high school I could have been happy doing math all day long. I'm a math dummy now (since I have no need for algebra, trig, & calculus on a daily basis), but I'm pretty sure I still love it.

Merry Christmas - I love so many things about this time of year, & I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Let me know if you want to play, & I'll assign you a letter.

Things to Smile About

We've all had 'em--crazy days that feel as if you don't stop but still get nothing accomplished. Then Daddy comes home, & you shout HOORAY because reinforcements have arrived. And then....you want to choke Daddy & send him back to work because he only adds to the chaos. In fact, what were you thinking? That daddy was going to make things a little better? help wrangle the toddler & bounce the attention demanding baby? But really all he has done is torture the kids so they fuss (because he thinks its hilarious), knocked a hole in the wall while wrestling with the toddler, melted plastic to the ceramic stove top & to a cookie sheet, & spilled a large cup of pepsi on the carpet. Yet, in spite of it all there are so many things to be grateful for & to laugh at, & so many reasons why we love the little people we call our babies & the tornado we call Daddy. Here are a few examples of the things that make me smile.

Today while I was sweeping the kitchen floor, some toddler (I won't name names) repeatedly ran through the pile of dirt & crumbs & junk. After he tracked the pile all over the floor several times, I finally gave him the frustrated mother tone & told him to get out of the kitchen. His reaction was to scowl, point his little finger at me, & say, "You a pankin'?" Interpretation: you want a spankin'? I wonder where he could have possibly picked that up?

Here's a picture of the same little stinker trying to escape. He couldn't find his shoes, but that didn't stop him. He decided Mom's shoes would work fine.

Of course what sleeping baby doesn't make us smile? After a long & hectic day of chasing the toddler & feeling as if you have a baby constantly stuck to you (which in fact you do), you put the little ones in their beds. Then after you're sure they're asleep, you tiptoe into their room to check on them & watch them sleeping peacefully (and then you realize that one of them is only pretending to be asleep). You're reminded of how precious & perfect & innocent they are, and you are so filled with love that you wonder how you can possibly contain it?

Last but certainly not least is Daddy. Even though he may drive you absolutely bonkers, he does make life more interesting, & he certainly makes you laugh. Especially when he is heading out the door & tells you he's going to the gym. You ask him what he's doing with the toddler's sippy cup. He says he's taking it to the gym. Huh? You wonder if you've heard him right & ask why he's taking it to the gym. He says he needed a cup with a lid for his gatorade. So that's A Daily Dose of David (our very own Daddy). And yes, he did take a purple sippy cup full of gatorade to the gym--that's my macho man!

The Jokester Strikes Again

I don't know why anything even takes me by surprise anymore. You'd think I would hardly bat an eye at David's daily pestering, pranks, & jokes. But silly me, I just keep falling right into his traps. It's just so dang hard when he "swears" he's serious or gives no indication at all that he's joking only to inform me later that he was just joking (and by later, I mean days or weeks later).

Tonight the big jerk about gave me a heart attack.

David & I both went upstairs to get Lance ready for bed, & we left Luke in his car seat on the couch. (Yes I know, not the smartest thing to do, but we did it, & now I'm confessing for the sake of a story.) Luke started fussing, so I went back downstairs to get him. I walked behind the couch into the kitchen for a quick second (not looking at the fussing baby), but when I came back, I saw the car seat tipped over on the couch with no baby in it. Talk about a moment of panic. I couldn't see Luke, so I ran around the couch knowing he must have fallen onto the floor--only to find this.....

Does it seem a bit strange that he would have fallen right onto a cushy blanket (which was draped over a boppy pillow)? Of course this prank reeked of David, and I breathed a big sigh of relief. So I took Luke upstairs where David was already waiting for me to tell him about Luke falling out of the car seat & off the couch & trying not to laugh. I didn't say a word. And David pretended he was laughing over something else--no doubt cracking himself up. It wasn't until much later that I confessed my initial feeling of horror when I saw the overturned car seat & no baby. And we both had a good laugh.

Upstaged

I make really good forts. Lance & I love our forts--with flashlights (he has a flashlight fetish). We use the couch, the dining room chairs, any nearby piece of furniture, & every blanket in the house to make the biggest fort possible. The goal is to make the fort take up every bit of space in the living room (so the only way to get through the living room is to crawl through the fort). My mom taught us how to make forts. It's like an ancient art passed down from generation to generation. All of you mothers know what I'm talking about. :) I love that I can do this with Lance & that he is so excited with our forts. And then David has to go and outdo me with this....
Hmmmmm, that is a bit simpler. Now that Daddy's fort has replaced mine as the best--Lance really did love this--Mommy will have to stick to kissing owies better. I do that way better than Daddy anyway.

And now a Daily Dose of David. David recently informed me that Christmas was his favorite holiday. I laughed because as far as I know, Scrooge doesn't like any holiday. I reminded him that he doesn't like to give gifts (that means spending money), he doesn't like Christmas trees or Christmas lights, & he hates snow. He responded with, "I love Christmas music, & I love receiving gifts." And to prove his point he began singing Jingle Bells. Way to have the Christmas spirit, David. I should have known.

"Emmo"

Lately Elmo (or as Lance says, Emmo) has been hauled around, thrown around, beaten, & loved all day long every day. Lance has had this Elmo (thank you, Grandma Holm) for almost 2 years, & I don't know how he has withstood the abuse. He is loved very much, but he is also thrown off of everything. I hear little crashes all over the house from morning to night. Upon inspection I find it was just Elmo--again. Today I found him in the high chair, in the power wheel, on the tricycle, & in the baby swing. He also sits at the table for dinner & on the couch to watch TV. But I don't like it when he messes with the computer. It's a good thing he gets many, many hugs & kisses from his buddy, or I don't think he'd hang around for long. :)

And just because he cracks me up, here's a Daily Dose of David.

"Is dinner ready, Homebody?"

"The boys need diaper changes. That's your job, Caretaker."

"That's not my job. You're the housemaker.

When taxes were done this year, David found out that my occupation was "homemaker." For some reason he hadn't heard this before?! Anyway, he found it hilarious & continues to call me by my occupational title--at least that's what he thinks. He is horrible, horrible, horrible at remembering names. This is no exception. Housebreaker & homeworker are two more of my titles, as given by my hubby.

Happy Birthday Lance!

My baby turned 2 today! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. Kids grow up so fast, and while I enjoy all the new things Lance is learning & doing, I also am sad to see some other things disappear. But one thing will never change, & that is how much I love being a mom--how much I love being Lance's mom.

I love his little blond head & blues eyes. I love the way he needs to dance whenever he hears music. I love his constant jabbering. I love the way he rubs my cheek ever so softly & then kisses me when he thinks I'm sleeping (and sometimes when we're wide awake, & he is just lovey). I love that he is the most gentle big brother & that he piles his toys on Luke while he plays next to him--so that they are playing "together." I can't get enough of his hugs & kisses, his smiles & laughter. I can't look at him enough or squeeze him enough. He is such a happy little boy, & I marvel everyday that my Heavenly Father sent him to me.

I love you so much, Lance. Happy Birthday, Baby!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Arctic Cat (Power Wheels) was all David. We had never talked about getting one of these--never. I'm too cheap, and David is cheaper. I just think they are way too expensive. So you can imagine my surprise when David calls me & says, "I know what I want to get Lance for his birthday." My response, "No." I know...I'm a meanie, but I just thought it was way too much, & Lance loves so many things that I thought we could surely find something (or a bunch of somethings that would still cost less than the Power Wheels) else. We talked about it for a minute, & I thought the matter was settled. So imagine even more surprise for me when I walk into Toys R Us to find David & Lance still in the Power Wheel isle getting info on a few models.

Lance was trying out everything--sitting in every car, jeep, 4-wheeler, & suv. He had no idea that they actually did anything other than just sit, & he was happy with that. See how easy he would have been to please (and for a much better price)? He didn't need great entertainment, just a place to sit. :) But David was sooooo excited about getting a Power Wheel for him that he had made up his mind from the beginning.

We had already made the purchase when David remembered that Lance can't even steer his trike. This caused Daddy much stress, & he asked me why I hadn't reminded him of this little fact before we checked out. To which I asked, "Do You EVER listen to me?" I distinctly remember sharing this tidbit with him while in the store. Not only does Lance not know how to steer, it turns out he cannot brake either. But boy, did he ever have a wonderfully fun day.

I heard "Woo hoo--wooooo" all day long. He's a maniac in the Arctic Cat! And his amazement at discovering that it actually drove....well, it was priceless. Daddy got an A+ from his boy on this present. And I think it's pretty cute, myself.

The rest of the day was really uneventful (compared to the Power Wheel). After church we went outside to try it out. Then we had cake--well, Mom had cake. Lance just licked off the candles, & David doesn't even like cake (weirdo). Then we went out again for some more driving. Lance is a great little driver--as long as he never has to turn or stop. :)

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Lance is a lucky boy to share a birthday with his Grandpa (who he adores, of course). We just wanted to tell him Happy Birthday. We all miss you (Lance misses you the most) & love you. Hope you had a wonderful day. Happy Birthday!!

Grandpa & Lance

Grandpa & Luke

The Ninja & the Ghost

Make a Smilebox slideshow

On Halloween we did some pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, & lots of candy eating. I had never carved pumpkins before, & I found it wasn't fun, & I was horrible at it. David tried to get Lance to help, but he hated to touch the pumpkin guts. He did love them once they were done & had lights inside them. Oh, and he enjoyed pulling the teeth of David's pumpkin--funny kid.

The trick-or-treating was a bit more fun. Lance was a ninja--or as he says, a "nawsha." And Luke was a ghost. Okay, so we didn't plan on taking Luke door to door, so he just got a little onesie with a ghost face, but he's cute anyway. :) I had to bribe Lance with a sucker just to get him to sit still for a few pictures. But this meant he had a sucker in his mouth for every picture. Oh well, at least he held still & didn't push Luke off his lap. After pictures Lance threw his hat on the ground & gave his trick-or-treat basket to his dad. David had to carry it the rest of the night (unless he needed to peer inside & grab an occasional treat). Our ninja didn't really get the whole door to door thing. He mostly ran up & down the sidewalks following all the other kids. In fact, if he couldn't see any kids or adults at the door or on the porch of a house, he didn't even want to approach it. The good news is he really wore himself out running up & down sidewalks and back & forth between houses following kids.

On the way home from trick-or-treating we spotted some "Rexburg Heroes." I'm so disappointed that I didn't get a picture--I actually drove around the block to find them for a picture, but they disappeared. It was three college guys dressed in tight shirts, tights, sneakers, capes, masks, & over the top of the tights...tighty whiteys. Two of them were wearing ski masks--you know the kind that cover the whole head & face. And one of them had a leopard print scarf tied around his eyes for a mask. They stood on the curve, hands on hips & chests puffed out, occasionally giving a parade wave. Talk about hilarious.

I also didn't get pictures of the ward costume party. It was a couple nights ago, & Lance once again had a ball following the big kids around. One kid was playing with Lance, & then when he turned his back, Lance gave him a bear hug from behind--what a nice boy. And my favorite was the cupcake walk: all the kids walking in a circle while music played, Lance in the middle of the circle dancing. Who needs cupcakes when you can dance?

I'm Such a Dork

I know, I know. David told me I'm a dork for even taking this picture, but it just made me laugh so hard! I am the queen of kitchen messes & disasters, as anyone in my family can attest to. This one is a very, very small, hardly worth noting, everyone makes these, kind of mess--I've done so much worse with a microwave (even set one on fire). But I happened to look over at it just as the lid popped off the container & spaghettio's exploded (I didn't think the lid was on tight). This alone was enough to give me a little chuckle, but then I ran over to open the microwave--to stop it--and out popped a meatball. It really just shot out of the microwave & landed "plop" on the stove top. Like microwave poop. :) This really made me laugh & laugh! I know, I'm a dork. Come on, didn't it make you laugh just a little?

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we went to Idaho Falls to take Lance to a pumpkin patch there. Getting there was quite an adventure. We searched for it for a while, had to stop for lunch, & then searched some more. We were about to give up & go home when David finally started listening to me. He's worse than a kid--he can apparently answer my questions all the while not paying attention to anything I'm actually saying. The one thing I knew about the location of the patch is that it is across the street from the camels. So when we first started looking for it I asked David, "Do you know where the camels are?" David's response, "What?! What are you talking about? What camels?" (imagine a very exasperated, loud, frustrated tone) :) Much, much later I tell David that the patch is on Rollandet, & he says, "I know where that road is. It's where the camels are." And he was serious--he really knew about that road & the camels--we drove right to them. I wanted to choke him. In his defense he says, "I didn't know which camels you were talking about." Oh, you thought I meant the other camels. As if they are all over the place.

We did make it to the pumpkin patch, & we all had fun. There was a cute little hay bale maze for little kids. Lance liked it, but didn't get far before he was confused. He finally found a low spot & crawled over it & out of the maze. Mostly he spent his time running around & throwing pumpkins. Lance didn't really care that we got a couple pumpkins, but maybe he'll like them carved & lit up. Or...he'll just like throwing them. Such a boy--run around, throw things, make some noise, & get dirty.

Here he is running all over the patch.

After some confustion in the maze, Lance sat down for a little break before breaking out.

Lance & Daddy in the maze.

If you look closely, you can see Lance in the maze (center of photo).

Oh, and here is the camel. It's actually a small zoo, & we're going back to visit next week. :)

Today David asked, "Do you think a camels hump is like a whale's fin, & they flop over in captivity?" I asked, "Do you know what a camel's hump is for?" David answered, "To ride on." I laughed & laughed. But he was serious. More laughter.

P.S. The hump stores fat (not water), and it droops over when food is scarce & the fat is used--we looked it up.

Whose Handiwork?

I walked into Lance's room one day looking for Luke. I was pretty sure I had seen David go in with Luke & come out empty handed. When I didn't find him I asked David where he was. David said he was in Lance's room. I found him in Lance's big box (the one for coloring & stickering). David walked into the room just then (obviously staged) & says, "Oh, he must have crawled into the box." Uh-huh.

A while later David brings Luke down to give him to me, & this is what I saw:
David said, "It was a Lance attack." Again, uh-huh. What David doesn't know is that I am quite the sleuth, & I possess awesome detective skills. So judging from the perfect sticker spacing and the fact that there are no stickers on his eyes or nostrils (which are Lance's favorite stickering places), I would say this is the work of a daddy who really amuses himself. :) Uh-huh.

Nutmeg & Tears

Why is it that as soon as you start nursing a baby that the toddler slips out of sight? Well, to get into all the forbidden cupboards, drawers, & closets of course. So what has my little stinker been up to lately? Just a little mess makin'.

My little mischief maker came to me while I was nursing Luke, to give me his dirty socks. He does hate to be dirty--I guess his socks are no exception. When he was dropping off his soiled laundry, I noticed he was covered with something brown & powdery. Hmmmm, what could he possibly have gotten into? I put Luke down to follow Lance into the kitchen (he actually beckoned me to follow him as if to show me some big accomplishment). What I found was that Lance had shaken an entire bottle of nutmeg onto the floor, rubbed it around, & trampled through it tracking it everywhere. At least he took off his socks before tracking it through the living room carpet. What a...good...boy?

When I walked in & saw this I said, "Stay right there while Mama gets the camera." Doesn't he look so happy (probably pretty proud of himself) in the first picture. But then for some reason his little heart got completely broken. I wasn't upset & didn't say anything except telling him to stand there so I could get a picture, and he just started bawling. It was so sad--and it made his poor heartless mother laugh. Which in turn made him cry harder.

If you look closely you can see real tears along with some smudged nutmeg. :)

Well, after a bit of hugging & consoling, we got the tears under control & I stripped him down to clean him up before hauling him to the bathtub. I put him up on the kitchen counter, & before I could even blink he began peeing...right onto the stove top. I reacted with, "No, no, no,no," which I may have said about ten times. That seemed to stop him midstream, & I ran him to the bathroom to put him on the toilet. After about 15 minutes of toilet inactivity, I admitted defeat & took him upstairs to the bathtub.

Once he was all cleaned up, I let him run into my room & climb onto my bed while I got his clothes. That took about 15 seconds, & I got to my bedroom about 2 seconds too late. I found him sitting in a big wet spot on my bed. I guess he finally finished peeing. Arghhhhhh! I still hadn't cleaned up the kitchen (nutmeg on the floor, pee on the stove), & now I had to wash & change bedding. Oh yeah, & finish nursing the crying baby in the living room.

But after cleaning up & taking care of Lance & Luke we all got a nice, long, very much needed nap! :)

THE END (of the messes that day)

Already Running & Talking

Can you believe it? Luke is barely two months old, & already he's running & talking. He's like a baby genius. He must take after his highly intelligent Mama (wink). Since I knew you wouldn't believe it, I took some pictures for proof. I know, I know--you wonder why he can run but can't hold the phone by himself...and my my, what big feet he has. :)

This is actually how I found Luke one day while Daddy was watching him. I'm sure David was getting quite a kick out of this. Leaving him sitting on the couch by himself watching television in giant shoes, waiting for Mom to find him. Kind of like putting him in the closet & waiting for me to come down the stairs & ask, "Where's Luke?" Just so he can casually (while studying at the table) say, "He's in the closet," and watch for my reaction when I actually find Luke in the closet. I know he was really hoping I would hear baby crying coming from the closet, but Luke was a good baby just waiting to be discovered.

And Luke on the cell phone, well that was just Lance helping him talk on the phone. Lance was jabbering away (who knows what he was saying) on Daddy's phone, & out of the blue he put the phone to Luke's ear & said, "Hewo?" He then carried on a phone conversation for Luke. What a good big brother.

The Swing

I have tried & tried to keep Lance out of the swing, but he refuses to accept the fact that the swing belongs to baby brother Luke. He climbs in & gets it swinging so that the legs are coming off the ground & thumping back down on the floor with each back & forth motion. The now squeaky, off-kilter swing may not last much longer, but it provides much needed quiet time for mom. Proof of this is seen in the pictures below.

He actually swung himself to sleep. Then he really made himself comfortable & settled in for a nap.





This is Lance "fixing" the swing. He was so proud to show me the part he succeeded in pulling off. No tools were necessary for the removal, but the key to Mom's car might have been helpful (it unlocks & fixes
everything--at least that's what he thinks).

Picture Tag

I saw this tag a while ago, & thought it was cute. You just search for images for your answers (google or yahoo), and pick a picture from one of the first 4 pages.

My first name

My middle name

My last name

My age

Place I'd like to visit (Venice, Italy)

My grandma's names

Where I grew up

My first job

Pet I've owned (for a day)

Nickname of my best friend

Favorite food--CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE,CHOCOLATE

Favorite color

Where I live now