House Update

I wouldn't say things are exactly "moving along" in the buying house department, since the word "move" implies some sort of action. But we are getting closer to having things move along--the bank has a new appraisal in hand and we expect to hear something in about 10 days. I'm not going to get nervous until two weeks.

In the mean time I am spending my time shopping around for furniture, etc. that we will need for the new house. We have almost nothing and need almost everything, so most of the things we will buy will probably be more "new to us" rather than "new". Mostly I am pricing out what it will cost and then stewing for a few days while good deals get away; but one that I found we actually purchased. It's a pretty white bedroom set for Belle that has a bed with a trundle drawer, a dresser, and a book shelf. It is in very good shape, pretty, and a good price for all three of the items.

Catch? There is always a catch, right?

Well...the set happened to be in SPRINGVILLE.

You understand this is nearly two hours away, right? And since the day I went to get it David was on call I drug my Dad AND Belle AND Keith to Springville. I went to look at the set and everything was still set up as if they had used them last night. Correction: they HAD used them the night before, and the drawers were even still all full of clothes, and they were having second thoughts about selling! I talked her into selling, but they needed some time to clear out the stuff. So, we went to get cash to pay them and ran to a store for an emergency change of clothes for Belle.

When we got back to the house it took a very long time to load up and secure the big load in the back of my Dad's truck, then the long trek home.

This happened to be the same day as the open house we had planned for Mom and Dad to chat with their friends. And we happened to be two and a half hours longer than we had originally thought, and an hour and a half late for the party. So all the way home I was sweating it.

Luckily for us Mom (with a little help from David) had everything set up for the open house in time, and the few people that did come came in the last hour. (since we changed the date because of the funeral we didn't get the word out very well--it was a pretty hectic couple of weeks).

Needless to say, now when I browse I rule out anything more than 50 miles away.




She likes her new "HUGE" bed, but was disappointed to learn that the pink unicorn that the previous owner had on the bed did not come with it.



Now that the novelty has worn off, she says she still likes her bed but doesn't want to sleep in it. We're working on that. She also asked for pink sheets (EVERYTHING must be pink) but the store didn't have any, so pink sheets and pink unicorn are for the future.



A cute picture of Boo, just because.

Dear Grandma

Dear Grandma,

Thank you for your smiles. The genuine kind that brings a twinkle to your eye.

Thank you for your loves. The sweet hugs that you can't help but feel like you are a super special person.

Thank you for your advice, from appropriate missionary attire to how to trim my baby boy's hair.

Thank for the generosity--dinners and countless loads of laundry to a poor college student.

Thank you for ALWAYS having cookies readily available.

Thank you for teaching my Dad the gospel so he could teach me.


Thank you for your love.

You gave us so much. I know you are smiling and teasing with Grandpa and free of the pain your body caused you, and for that I am happy.

Love always,
Lizzy







Just a few of the things that I will always associate with Grandma:
Crochet

My College Days

Lasagna

Danish Butter Cookies (Christmas time especially--one of my last visits to her we gave her a tin of cookies and she gasped and her eyes lit up. Then she had to open them right away and share with the kids)

RV camping

Two Things about David

1--what happens when you leave Daddy in charge for 20 minutes while you run to the grocery store? The next day you find a large green crayon chunk in the baby's diaper. And then Daddy sheepishly confesses the boy was gnawing on crayons for who knows how long before he noticed. Apparently wax is not absorbed by the body.


2--Now that the snow has melted we can see a few details about the house we want that we couldn't see before. Like the GREAT BIG, FLAMING RED U on the front lawn. For those of you who know David well, I'm sure you can image his reaction. For those who don't, let me enlighten you. His breath catches in his throat, his eyes begin to bulge, and as he slowly exhales he begins to shake his head in disgust. He is not a swearing man, but strong language comes in the form of vows to mow and mow and mow and mow over the thing til he hits dirt if he has to--as long as not one blade of grass has any speck of red left.


Well, now that I have thoroughly picked on him, I should mention that I really have two OTHER things I would like to say about my Sweetheart.

1--He is perfect for me. He is patient with my shortcomings and rather than making fun of my "lizzy"-ness he thinks it's cute. He can be super silly yet just as hard working. We have a lot of fun together no matter what we are doing. I am so grateful he is my Sweetheart.

2--He is a great Dad to our kids. He would play with them non-stop if I didn't put things on his "honey-do" list. He loves to read stories and get down on the floor and build things out of blocks just so they can knock them over. He works very hard for them and is so concerned that they get a good start to a happy life.

Thanks Sweetheart. Happy Valentine's Day. I love you.

Soap Box

You've been warned. This is a soap box post. No cute news about the kids or details of the illness they have this week. This purely to get something off my chest, and perhaps raise awareness (to what I'm not sure but it sounded good :-)).

Every so often David has slightly interesting stories about dealing with passengers on his airplane. Sometimes they are amusing. For example: 18 bright-eyed, and can-I-take-your-picture missionaries on their way to the Pocatello, ID mission, still with the MTC fire lit under them. Sometimes they are ridiculous. For example, the lady who wanted them to go back to the gate they had just departed from because she forgot her purse. Sometimes you can sympathize. Like on Christmas Eve and they have to divert for the night because visibility is too low. Sure, you want to be able to say--"I'm sorry that it's Christmas and you're not getting home. But it's either get there 12 hours late or end up in a flaming pile of aluminum." But, hey, it's Christmas, so you sympathize.

Then there are the annoying ones. Like today. Going into St George on an otherwise clear day, there happened to be some lingering fog right over the runway that made visibility too low to get in. So they circled for awhile, waiting for it to clear. When their fuel level reached the diversion point, they headed to Las Vegas. They were there all of 40 minutes while they got more fuel and waited for St George to clear. Now...in your mind does this scenario warrant comments like "Oh, I thought we got the good pilots today". Or (while waiting in Vegas on the ground) "I just talked to my wife and she says it's clear, whats the problem?". Ok, so....three things.
1--if you find a "good pilot" who would try to land on a runway covered in fog badly enough that he couldn't see the ground coming up--let me know who he is so I can make sure I never get on his plane.

2--It doesn't matter if you pick out your house out the window. No one is trying to land in your back yard.

3--Saying such things merely makes you sound stupid and gets the pilot's wife mad.

Obviously David doesn't get nearly as upset as I do, he can shrug it off and knows he did his job and kept everyone safe. Even the stupid people. Me, I get defensive of my sweetheart and frustrated at impatient people.

Oh. Then there is the comment when they do actually land of (with sarcasm) "It looks clear NOW." Uh, yeah, smartie pants. Of course it's clear now--or you would probably still be back in VEGAS. DUH.

Ok, that's all. It's off my chest. Now I can go get a cat nap before I have to be up with one of the sick kids. Poor sweeties are miserable.

A Conversation with Belle

Belle: "Daddy, can I watch the Strawberry Shortcake movie?"

Daddy: "You've already watched one movie today, sweetheart. Maybe another day."

Belle: "No, Daddy. You're supposed to say YES after EVERYTHING I say! Try again."
"Daddy, can I watch the Strawberry Shortcake movie?"

Daddy: "No, you have already watched a movie today. If you want me to say yes to
everything you say then Belle needs to say "Daddy, can I eat some
vegetables?" or "Daddy, can I clean up my toys?".

Belle: "No, Daddy. YOU clean up my toys. Because you are in charge of cleaning up
all the toys."


Other notable Belle-isms of the last week or so.

*On the nights David is home he always cleans up the kitchen and does the dishes while I lie by the kids to go to sleep. When David gives Belle a kiss goodnight she always asks what he is going to do, and he usually replies "clean up the kitchen". One night when he wasn't home Belle asked me "Who is going to do the dishes while we sleep?"

*Pulling into an OLD NAVY store: "I see a blue D for "Daddy", right next to the L for "Lizzy"!"

*I have been accumulating boxes of various things like too small kids clothes in the basement, and the great clean-out project to get ready for Mom and Dad to come home is on. Belle was asking why we are cleaning it all up, and I explained so Grandma and Grandpa can come home to a nice clean house. So now, every time there is a mess of any kind--even spilled milk, she has to clean it up for Grandma and Grandpa. "because Grandma and Grandpa won't want to come home and try and cook with that spill on the floor!"

On this same note, we have been talking about moving to a new house because Grandma and Grandpa are coming home to their house and don't need us to take care of it anymore. Also, David's sister is in the process of moving and I thought it would be a good chance for Belle to prepare for what it will be like when we move. So, in explaining that *cousin* will be moving to a new house, Belle asks "Who is coming home to their house?".

*All last month whenever Belle didn't want to do what you had asked her she would let you know by "Wait, Listen. I'm trying to explain something to you..." and then proceed to explain why she couldn't do what it was you wanted her to. This month it is the same process but a different catch phrase. It has now evolved to "The problem is...". For example "The problem is I have to take a water cup to bed because if I wake up in the night and need a drink then I need my water cup!"

a WHOLE year!

Last week we celebrated Keith's first birthday! He is so sweet and cute and such a little tease.

He celebrated his birthday by learning to walk. This week he has been getting brave enough to let go and take a few steps on his own. It's cute to see the concentration on his face when he is balancing then the pride when he does it!

Here are a few pictures (yes, we replaced the camera. Couldn't miss the birthday pictures!!). This is also the first time I've posted any pics of his new haircut.


I made him a soccer ball cake, since he loves balls so much. It turned out cute. Not perfect, but cute. I baked it in a round mixing bowl and used licorice for the pentagons and hexagons (I never realized that soccer balls have both pentagons and hexagons on them before!).

Fun together

Today consisted of:

Puppet shows
Play Doh
Stories
Tag (or "chase" as we call it)
Block houses
Cookies
and (of course) catch (with one of Keith's "Bawl Bawl da Bawl"s)

Belle: "Mommy, we sure do have fun together!"

Project not done, house not clean?

Worth it.

The BOY in Buggie

At this point Keith's vocabulary consists of about 6 things. Momma, Da Da, Be, Uh-Oh, Hawww (for 'hot', but very growlly), Moo (which he will say if you ask him what a cow says, but really he uses it as a universal term for all animals), and Bawwl, Bawwl, Bawwl, Bawwl, Da Ba, Bawwl, Bawwl.

Yes, Ball was his first word and is by a long shot his favorite. When he wakes up and I go to get him out of his crib I am always greeted by choruses of "Baawl, Da BaBa, Bawll". There are several pronunciations going on here. This morning he was even reaching through the slats in the crib at a ball that was on the bedroom floor. He has gone to sleep at night several times holding on to a Nerf soccer ball he got for Christmas (much to David's dismay--he would much rather that the football were the favorite). So much for a soft cuddly puppy or tiger. Nope. The kid wants a ball. In short, he LOVES balls--and anything of semi-spherical shape is considered a ball, including Grandma Grover's wooden fruit set that came from Honduras.

This is not the only "boy" trait coming out. He also gets a HUGE kick out of tackling me, and it is not safe to lie or sit on the floor. Inevitably he will grin, grunt, and lunge. Full-body slams are his favorite. Yesterday my brand new (well, about a month old) glasses were a casualty of this. Luckily the eye Dr. is here in town and it was a quick two-minute straighten fix by the receptionist.

This leads us to the next "boy" trait. Belle is always calling him something new, but this week it was my turn to give him a new name. Destructo-Boy. Destroys EVERYTHING he can get his hands on, and loves it.

Maybe it's because Belle never actually crawled, but she wasn't big into climbing on things. Oh, BOY. Keith climbs. and climbs. and climbs. Despite all my insistence that he wasn't going to really crawl and just army crawl everywhere, in December he slowly started hands and knees crawling until he eventually left the army-style behind forever. This has enhanced his climbing abilities. One of his favorite games is to climb up on the little desk that is sitting at the end of the couch, and then slide down the arm of the couch onto the cushions and then climb down to the floor and go for another round. For the record--this activity started one day while I was teaching a piano lesson. I turned around to see what all his giggling was about and he was in the middle of one of these head-first slides. I panicked, but before I could get across the room he was already climbing to the floor to go at it again.

He's turning one in all of 6 days and I can't believe it! We are getting a kick out of all the BOY going on around here.

Night's Thoughts Edition #2

1. Grateful that David is a good pilot. They spotted a hydraulic fluid leak and spent all day in Cody instead of flying an unsafe plane.

2. Worked hard enough today that toys are picked up, dishes done and kitchen in decent shape, and kids in bed--all by 8:30 pm. This includes making cookies, bread, and beef stew. Belle and Keith were needing a little Mommy play time this evening!

3. Congratulations to K & B on their new baby boy!! This is one of the perks of living here at Mom and Dad's. WE get to hear all the news first!!

4. Speaking of Mom and Dad's--we are going to do it. Brave us. We are putting an offer on a house on Monday. The house is perfect for us, the price is perfect, the yard is just small. BUT the equity we can have getting this house at this price (instant) and the good condition of the home pros beat the small yard con. I think it'll fit a garden box, swing set, and sand box. That'll be good enough for awhile, especially with parks, and Grandma and Grandpa O's huge yard so close. It's a short sale and could take awhile--so just cross your fingers!! If we got one with a bigger yard at this price they are all fixer uppers that would mean more $$.

5. I am already planning furniture and decor and where our pictures will go in the house. Nesting I guess. REALLY hope we get it.

6. The neighbors at this place have a barking dog. Ick. I had said earlier it barked the whole time we were there--but that was an exaggeration. It was only for a few minutes while I was walking around outside, and then as we were standing there chatting with the Realtor it stopped. So hopefully it only barks at strangers. Belle was nervous about the barking dog while we were outside, but I think she would adjust. It's in a dog run, but it's on the SIDE of the house, not the back (due to the tinyness of the yards).

7. Camera still MIA. I think we'll have to buy a new one. Anyone with pics of our kids this Christmas please send them our way, as that is what we are bemoaning the most. The camera was a fossil anyway.

8. The World's Smallest 1000 piece puzzle is about half done. Thanks to David. I am way to impatient for such things. Don't worry Lewis'. It will still return to next year's white elephant game. Just used!! We might make it a rule that whoever ends up with the tiny tiny puzzle each year HAS to do it!! HA!

Tonight's Thoughts

1. Where or where is the camera? Last I remember it was in the diaper bag. The diaper bag has now been several places since I remember seeing it. If I had it I would post some pics of our Christmas. As it is you have to suffer through this post instead.

2. Happy New Year! WHERE did 2009 go? 2010 Calendar is already filling up, and will likely go by just as quickly.

3. Grateful for the fact that David is on his first day of a four day trip and he didn't have to go to Fresno last night, and that we will see him in only about an hour after he is done on Monday.

4. I'm ready to take the Christmas Tree down. David isn't. So we've agreed it leave it up for a few more days. I need to take it down so we can find room for a couple ginormous toys Belle got for Christmas. A kitchen and a barn big enough that the boy crawled through it. She loves them both, but the number of square feet that they take up is ridiculous. Keith's toys are much more manageable in size.

5. I feel like I'm in "nesting" mode. Not sure if this is due to the fact that we are finally getting serious about looking for a house, or because Mom and Dad are coming home and I want to have things organized and clean. Maybe both.

6. I have never learned the trick of "clean as you go". Anyone who knows me at all or has ever walked into a kitchen where I am cooking will attest to this. So I usually end up with huge messes that take a terrible amount of time to clean up. And I'm regularly too tired to get the mess ALL the way cleaned up. The result is several days of halfheartedly cleaning and little left-over bits of mess everywhere. It is driving me crazy. I hope to someday learn the trick "clean as you go". I have to make a conscious effort to tell myself that "if it takes less than 30 seconds to put (item) away, do it NOW."

7. I would really love a good chic flick movie and a comfy blanket right now. Must sleep, however. I tend to get rather cranky on less than 7 hours of sleep.

8. Started an impossible puzzle last night. I'll let you know if it's done by Valentine's day.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Christmas PJ's

Buddled up at Temple Square

Sleeping under the Christmas Tree becuase she loved it so much the first night we had it up.

Stockings done!!

Puhta, Puhta

So statistics show it takes 21 days to form a habit, right? Well, yesterday it was 21 days since Belle has had her binkie. Or Puhta Puhta as it was lovingly called around here for the last year and a half. Can you tell I'll a little nostalgic over it? It was her last baby thing left. Potty trained--check, no more binkie--check, talks to me like she's 13--check,etc, etc.


At the same time I was also very grateful for the perfect opportunity that presented itself to get rid of the thing. I had no idea how I would forcefully take it away from her, being the strong willed girl that she is. I knew the only way would be to convince her she didn't want it anymore. I had been praying for something to naturally happen to signal the end...just like in the potty training--she decide.

The Puhta got a hole in it the night before Thanksgiving, and she didn't want it. On vacation, I know, perfect timing, right? I had only taken the one with us on vacation, and decided rather than dash to the store, to give it a try without it. It turned out that the vacation timing helped, I think. Exhausted enough to get to sleep without it, and enough extra people around to help with Keith whileI gave her the extra attention she needed. I think the worst side affect was probably a couple of two-yr-old breakdowns at really bad times over the weekend (right as people are gathering for Thanksgiving dinner, the most exciting part of the Wild Animal Park the next day, and for 40 minutes when we left the beach which included me getting pulled over in the rental car with Belle crying in the back. Good times.)


I was worried about coming home because she had asked to go home and get her pink one. She knew there was another one at home. She did ask for it a few times, and still does occasionally, but is easily distracted and takes the explanation that she doesn't have it anymore. The one at home happened to be "lost". So explained I wasn't going to buy her anymore puhtas, since one was broken and the other lost then she didn't have them anymore. Then it was finally a permanent thing in her mind. Only once has she asked to buy a new one, and yesterday she found an old baby one and played with it for awhile but didn't care when it was gone.



If I'd have known it was going to be that easy to get rid of it I
1--wouldn't have stressed over it so much the last six months and
2--would have pushed Keith more to take one. Then maybe he would nap for more than 20 minutes in a day and not be completely inconsolable tired by 5 pm. I guess we live and learn.

It was always cute to hear Belle ask for her "puhta", and everyone around knew what it was called. I guess my girl is growing up.

Sadly lacking

Sorry to anyone who might have been hoping for some updates on our fam in the last 6 weeks. I just haven't had time or energy to write anything.
I have lots of updating but some of it is just plain old news. But there is one big thing I wanted to blog about so I'll do that...and hopefully get back on track.

I don't have many pics right now bc David took our camera with him to work, he wants some pics of the CA places he flies on his last two trips out there. Next week is over Christmas and he wants the camera then, too. It's his last Fresno trip!!! Hum. Maybe we finally break down and update our fossil of a camera? We'll see.

Check it out

Check out this post on my sister-in-laws blog, and be prepared to laugh.

http://laylabean.com/2009/12/06/the-clinch/

 

Baby Blue Eyes

Halloween!

Here's some pics of our Halloween adventures. Belle has been so cute "discovering" all the fun things that go with the holiday, Jack-o-Lanterns, costumes, trick-or-treating, etc. We carved our pumpkins on Tuesday with David since he has been at work the rest of the week, then we made Halloween cookies on Wednesday and Belle spent the rest of the week making the Halloween shapes out of play doh. Saturday we went to the party the equestrian park had (you got it--to ride the ponies) and then spent the evening with family and trick-or-treating. We had fun.








Carving our pumpkins



The Princess and the Giraffe. While Keith was dressed up I had to call him "The Giraffe" or Belle would correct me. My sister-in-law made this beautiful princess dress for Belle for her birthday, and there just was never any question that she would be a princess for Halloween. She loves it. Here's a closer look.





The ponies were all wearing Halloween costumes. This one was a witch.


trick-or-treating. Once Belle figured out what was going on, before the door was even closed on one house she would say "Now I need more candy!"

Lifting Burdens

Lifting Burdens

Buggie Boo

Keith is our unexpected addition. And we wouldn't have it any other way. We are so blessed and happy to have him in our family. When Belle was born I thought that I wouldn't have any other babies as big as she was. Keith was bigger. At 9 months his personality is really starting to come out and we are all loving getting to know him.

He is and always has been a big boy. But he is not just big in size, but big in heart and mind. He is a sweetheart and loves hugs and kisses and is normally all smiles.

His nick name of BuggieBoo really just fell into him but fits him perfectly. His Uncle Keith was "Keithie-Boo" when he was little and it's interesting that without ever planning such a thing we have another Keith who is also a Boo. It just fits.

Buggie is just as stubborn, and smart as his sister but goes about it in a much more quiet way. Strong and Silent type, you might say. A prime example of this is when he eats. He is turning into a picky eater and only wants to eat what he can feed himself. So, to refuse the spoon--he doesn't fuss, cry, or even make any noise at all. He simply clamps his mouth shut with his bottom lip over the top as tight as possible and refuses to open. Sometimes head turning or pushing away the spoon with his hand is involved, but never crying about it. There were weeks as a small baby that I don't think he cried much at all. If he takes a toy from Belle...oh you hear about it! But if she takes one from him most of the time--a few exceptions--he doesn't cry about it but just goes over to her and takes it back. If you move him from something he shouldn't be doing--he doesn't get upset--but just goes right back to it the minute you let him loose again. Strong and silent.



He is a big tease, and it is so fun to watch him try and tease. If we are on the floor crawling around and tickling he joins in and has given me a few zurburts. Then he thinks he is so funny and laughs at himself. To continue with the food example there are times when he will actually take the spoon. Only because he wants to razzzzz all those sweet potatoes all over the place! He laughs at himself then, too. His favorite thing to play with is a ball and his first offical word is ball. "ba, ba". David asked him where the ball was, he went and got it and brought it back to him and held it up to show him saying "ba, ba". He also loves his puppy, knocking block stacks over, and holding things in his feet like a monkey.

Keith is also very busy and always wanting to move. He always wants to be involved in what people around him are doing/playing and doesn't like to be left out(usually displayed by quiet longing looks at whatever is going on he's not a part of). Lately he has learned to sit back up from a crawling position, and pull up and cruise on the furniture. Even though he crawls on his tummy he gets up on hands and knees to do important things like pull himself up on furniture and get back to a sitting
position.


He LOVES anything and everything to do with Belle. All she has to do is look at him and say "Hi Boo" or "Hi You, You" and he will smile and/or laugh. Her treasures are his #1 target whenever they are in his reach. Her baby, water cup, and puhta puhta are some of his favorite things, too.

His smile is as big as he is, and his jolly laugh is one of my favorite things ever.
Love you, Buggie.