Zach's Graduation

I'm about to play catch-up with posts since I've been so out of touch with my blog. So stay tuned!
We are so proud of our oldest nephew Zach. He graduated from high school last month and we were very excited to live close enough to be able to attend. I was the designated camera lady so I have tons of pictures:

The Graduate Himself Zach with his proud Papa Stan

With a friend and his sister Sarah

With Uncle Ben

Zach and me, his very favorite Aunt (naturally)

With cousin Daniel

With Aunt Shelley

With cousin Emily

With the group

We are so proud of you, Zach! Congratulations!!

Father's Day Shout-Out

I could not for the life of me find a recent picture of me and my dad. Notwithstanding, he is, quite possibly, the best dad ever. I love you, Daddy! Happy Father's Day!!

Yesterday we had a very fun Father's Day. Ben had no church meetings (woohoo!!) so that right there was very exciting. We did presents in the morning and then after church we headed down to Ben's parents' house for a family BBQ.

The dads in the family: Ben, his brother Stan, his dad, his brother James


Two reasons to celebrate Ben today:

Ben and the boys that made him a daddy:

James, Shelley and their kids:

So I can't believe I haven't blogged about this very exciting event in my life... Ben's brother James and his wife Shelley and their 4 kids moved here a couple of months ago. Yay!!! And not only do they live in the same town, they actually live in the same neighborhood. It has been so much fun to have them here.

Me and Shelley:

Shelley and I are having so much fun together. I consider her a very good friend so I was beside myself when they decided to move here.

One more thing about yesterday. Perhaps ya'll can chime in on a debate we have going on in our house. Ben thinks it's hilarious to pick Sam up like this:

Sam finds it very funny as well. I, the nervous-nelly mother, am very concerned that this is not good for my baby's neck. What do you think? Am I over-reacting or is my husband going to cause brain damage to my child?

I will leave you with a funny conversation exchange (courtesy of Noah, of course). After church all the kids like to go visit our bishop's office because he will give them candy if they can tell him the name of a prophet.

Bishop: Hi Noah! Can you tell me the name of a prophet?
Noah: Prophet.
Me: No, honey, you need to say the name of a prophet.
Noah: Prophet.
Me: No, honey, who is a prophet?
Noah: Happy Father's Day!
Me: Okay, you know what? You have the name of a prophet. What is your name?
Noah: Brothers and sisters?
Me: (in my head... what the crap??) Okay, sweetie, say Noah.
Noah: Noah
Bishop: Here you go! (gives him some undeserved candy)

"It's Not Nice to Eat People"

The title of this post was an observation made by Noah the other day. I started laughing so hard. He was looking at an animal book and then as he looked at each page he would say things like, "You should never eat me, Tiger."

More Noah:

Last week I was in the family room while the boys were playing in the bedroom. Noah came down and was talking to me when we heard Sam let out a cry. Noah gasped very dramatically and said, "He's in trouble! I shouldn't have left him alone!" and ran back to the bedroom to rescue his baby brother.

He also said to me recently while we were playing together, "Mom, I love hanging out with my girl!"

Oral Hygiene is Very Important

I came into the bathroom yesterday to find Sam sitting in the sink, happily "brushing" his teeth.

He had climbed up and gotten his (well, actually it was Noah's - ew) toothbrush out of the cabinet. Note to self: move the stool from in front of the sink.

At least he put the toothbrush away when he was finished.


Also, I think Sam's orange shorts are too big around the waist.

Happy Mother's Day!

I am very lucky this year that I got to spend Mother's Day with my mom (yes, I am in California again!). Happy Mother's Day to an amazing mom, and one of my very best friends.

And although they really have no clue about the significance of today, my boys must have sensed something because they were quite delightful all day. I'm a very lucky mommy.

Cystic Fibrosis Awareness

I have a friend whose kids, Maddie and Max, have cystic fibrosis. May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness month. You can learn more about it, and how you can help, here.

I Had a Dream

The dream I had last night may not be quite as inspirational as that of Martin Luther King, Jr., but it was entertaining nonetheless. And I will just preempt any questions by saying that no, it doesn't make sense; no, i have no idea what it might mean if anything; and yes, I do fear that I will one day end up in the loony bin.

I dreamt that my family and my friend's family lived together in this huge mansion (which was a tiny dump on the outside and then magically became an enormous, elegant mansion on the inside - a la Harry Potter). For some reason we also lived with several characters from Days of our Lives. Anyway... in my dream my friend's husband took one of their daughters to the doctor because her ear was hurting. He waffled about the necessity of a doctor visit but I insisted that the child get antibiotics whether she needed them or not. Somehow, the doctor's visit ended with the little girl needing an appendectomy. However, when she called to talk to her mom from the hospital, she had become her older sister. Nobody batted an eye at this surprising change of events, by the way. So, yes, this dream made absolutely no sense whatsoever (and there was an entire subplot involving the Days of our Lives characters, which I will not bore you with). But I informed my friend this morning that, just in case I'm psychic, she should probably pay close attention if any of her daughters start complaining of an earache or a stomach ache. Ben's response to this dream of mine was, "You are a sad, strange little woman."

Moving on... a little bit ago Noah was having some quiet time in his bedroom. After awhile he called for me, saying, "Mom! Can you come change my diaper? I'm stinking you out of this place again!" And I must agree with my sister: if he is old enough to put that sentence together, he really ought to be pooping in the freaking toilet. Agreed 100%. Unfortunately, a certain 3-year-old is still not on board with the idea.

Elephants and Singing Toes

I'm sure I've mentioned before that my Noah can be rather bossy. I'm also sure that I've recounted how he often needs reminding of the fact that he is not the mom. And you are all aware of his recent insistence on being called "elephant" (because he "is not Noah anymore," and he has "turned into an elephant"). These three little tidbits converged the other day when I was attempting to get Noah dressed in the morning. I tried to put his shirt on when he suddenly decided he wanted to do it himself. Noah grabbed the shirt from me and said, "NO!! I can do it. Mama, you are NOT the elephant!"

I am not the only one who is on the receiving end of Noah's bossiness (although I do tend to bear the brunt of it). The other night he and Ben were watching a show together on the couch. When the theme song started playing, Ben started tapping the beat with his foot. That did not fly with Noah who ordered, "Daddy, stop singing with your toes."

What are we going to do with this kid?

Boating

Yesterday we went boating with our next door neighbors - Dave, Jamie, and Brynlee:

We had such a great time. The weather was overcast in the morning and it looked like it might rain, but we went anyway and it ended up being a beautiful day. The wind made the water a little bit choppy but we managed to find a fairly calm spot for skiing.

Dave, Jamie and I did a few rounds of waterskiing. Afterward, Ben told me that every time I fell or let go of the rope, Noah would say, "Let's go rescue her!"

Other than skiing we just enjoyed being on the water, driving around the lake and eating lunch on the boat.

Toward the end of our boating excursion the rocking of the water lulled Sam right to sleep - while he was cluctching his sandwich. He ended up being so zonked that not even the water that splashed over the side of the boat directly onto his face could wake him up.

Thanks to our friends for such a fun day on their boat!

Baby Bookworm

Today My Heart Stopped

Today the boys and I went to the zoo today our neighbor Jamie and her little girl. After looking at the animals we stopped by the playground area to let the kids play for a bit. When it was time to go Noah asked for a couple more minutes so I said okay and started getting Sam in the stroller. And then Noah was just gone. The playground there isn't that big so I wasn't worried at first and just assumed he was crawling through the tunnels. But I watched kids go in and out of the tunnels and Noah wasn't there. I looked all around the playground and couldn't find him. I started getting a little anxious so I left Sam with Jamie and walked all around the playground. No sign of him. It was really crowded at the zoo today (dozens and dozens of school field trips were there) so my calls for Noah could barely be heard at all. At this point I'm so worried that I start to cry and I left the playground area to search around, fearing that Noah left when he heard me say it was time to go the first time. I saw a zoo worker and said, "Sir, I can't find my son." I was totally crying now as I described Noah to him. By this time, several other parents had seen the panic on my face and were helping to search around and the zoo guy was really great. He just kept saying, "Don't worry, we always find our kids here." He radioed in that there was a lost child (and I started imagining myself pleading on the evening news for the safe return of my little boy) and told me to stay at the playground. Just then, one of the moms at the playground said "I found him!" and a teary Noah came running over to me. I have never squeezed that child so hard in my life. He had been in one of the tunnels on the play structure the whole time. There were so many kids there that the poor thing had just been laying in the tunnel crying while kids crawled over him but neither of us could hear the other. And since I saw the same kids go in and then out of the tunnels I had assumed he wasn't in there. Phew. The whole episode probably lasted 5 minutes but it felt like forever and I really don't think my heart beat once the whole time.

Good Morning!

Noah likes to go get Sam from his crib when he wakes up in the morning. He can't get him out of course (although Noah can, apparantly, get Sam out from his high chair - that was a surprise the other day), but he goes into his room and talks to him for awhile. Noah will chat away and his little brother will respond with the occasional "yeah!" The other day I was listening to my boys talk to each other and after a few minutes I went in to join them. I found Noah and Sam sitting in the crib next to each other, swinging their legs through the railings. Noah gestured to Sam and said, "Mama, this is my friend, Nut. He's my friend." Melt my heart why don't you.

This little routine has been going on for quite some time at our house. Here is a picture from September with Noah climbing up to join his little bro in the morning.

Often, Noah will try to occupy Sam by giving him toys and books to play with. When I come into the room, I'll find that every single toy and book in the bedroom is piled into the crib. Sam is always as happy as can be to be completely surrounded by fun things to do.

Snip Snip

Babies and haircuts are not a good combination. At least not in my experience. Noah was a bit easier than Sam however. Noah's first haircut wasn't fun, but once we discovered his love for suckers, haircuts were downright pleasant. Suckers, however, make a haircut even more disasterous in Sam's case. Unlike Noah, who would keep a sucker in his mouth until it was completely gone, Mr. Messy makes eating a sucker a very sticky, messy, hair-filled (if given at the time of a haircut) experience. After Sam's first haircut didn't work out so well, we decided to try Snipitz, a child-specific hair salon. It was a little bit better, but still not great. Pictures from my phone (which explains the poor quality - my apologies):

Not a happy camper

Momentarily distracted

All done - that's better!

And here is a picture with Daddy after the haircut drama:

Ben and his boys

In contrast to Sam, Noah actually loves to get his haircut (rather, he tolerates it happily knowing he will get a sucker afterward). Especially now that Ben cuts it at home. This picture is from October, after his first buzz cut. I love buzzes on little boys.

Oblivious

Sam doesn't much care, nor does he take notice, that the lens is missing on one side of his sunglasses.

Mr. Messy

Don't let the above pictures (taken in October) fool you. Sam is, hands down, the messiest eater I have ever seen. I'm sure that 30 seconds after this picture was taken he had managed to turn his goldfish into paste which ended up in his hair, in his belly button, and in all the crevices of his seat. Because that would just be... so Sam. I love the child to pieces, but good gracious! I probably spend several hours a week wiping down his high chair (not to mention his body and his clothes!).

Below you will see a more accurate, albeit mild (seriously), representation of His Messiness.

March Book Review

It is my understanding that, as a female, I should like Jane Austen books. So I feel like a bit of a traitor to my gender. I'm sorry, but this book was boring. Slow and boring. I kept a mild interest in the outcome so I trudged through it to the end, but it took me forever and I really did feel like I was reading against my will. And I realize that people spoke more formally in Ms. Austen's time, but still. That formally? With their own sisters and mothers? I kept wanting to scream, "Stop talking like that!" And while I did catch a lot of the author's humor, wit and irony (which I enjoyed), I found myself constantly having to re-read paragraphs to understand what had just been said. Maybe it's just not the kind of book you can read with constant distractions around you (in the form of two little boys). I don't know. But I wasn't really a fan. Sorry gals. Maybe I'll like the movie better.

I do feel I ought to give Jane Austen another try with Pride and Prejudice. I hear that's her best book. But after that I'm done. You've got one more shot, Lady.

As a bit of an aside, I recently saw the Jane Austen Book Club and really liked it. Worth a rental if anyone's interested.

Houston Zoo

On Tuesday we went to the Houston Zoo with some friends. Noah, who pretends to be an elephant every day (all day) and even insists on being referred to as "elephant," was very excited to see this elephant statue. He also enjoyed the real elephants, of course.

Sam wasn't very clear on the purpose of the monkey backpack I bought for him. He kept wanting to hold the tail himself. So much for keeping him from running off!

That's more like it...
Obviously, if there is a carousel we must ride it. Surprisingly, Noah chose the tiger over the elephant. Sam refused to ride on anything. Party pooper.

Pretending to be an elephant... One of these days I'll have to catch this on video. It's actually very funny because while he's walking around on all fours he shouts out orders like the captain of the elephant brigade on Jungle Book. "Forward... MARCH!"
My friend Laurie and her little guy Benson: