Lots to Catch Up On

Whew!  Been busy the last few weeks traveling, organizing, getting back into the groove.  Ash has been working non-stop, leaving me little time to myself to actually put some coherent thoughts on ye old blog.

We had a really fun trip back to Kansas.  Our massive road trip went really well (got really lucky with the weather).  When driving 16 hours with small kids I would highly recommend a dual screen DVD player with an arsenal of movies and a hospitable place to stay in between days of driving (Thanks again Todd & Erin!) 

I'm currently sifting through the 300 pics I took while we were gone and will try to recap December before the end of January. :) 

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New Year!

-Emily :)

Us on Christmas Eve.  Man, it's hard to get a good pic of everyone~!

Dear Santa...

Helena wrote her own Christmas list this year -- I helped with the spelling, of course.

Who can translate the best?  Go!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Hope to get to see some of you while we're in the heartland!

-Emily :)

Skiing, Nutcracker, Parties, Teeth

I feel like I've been running around half crazy for a week now...getting last minute shopping done, visiting family in town, doing our normal 'stuff', baking, packing, holiday partying, organizing....ahhh!  We leave for Kansas on Wednesday -- we're driving -- may the force be with us.  We're armed with DVD players, songs, books, colors, stickers, and good attitudes.  :)

A few things (I love lists these days!):

1.  I got my first ski day in last Thursday thanks to Ash's Aunt Deb who watched the kids for me while she was in town at her condo at Snowbird. (Thanks Aunt Deb!!  You rock!)  I went skiing with two old timers who are friends of hers and had a great time.  I love skiing with people who have things to teach me and who KNOW the mountain.  Anyway, despite a very dry December so far (and thank goodness for snow making machines), the snow wasn't too horrible.  I only fell once and made my first tram ride in the winter to the top of Hidden Peak!

2.  I took Helena to see the Nutcracker this past Saturday.  It was fun to do something just her and I.  It doesn't happen very often, for sure.  I took her to a play last Christmas and she kept calling it a movie -- same with the ballet.  I think she liked it even though she kept asking me when we could leave and why they weren't talking (all totally NOT in her whispering voice!)  At intermission she made sure to stop and tell the usher that "We were going to be right back!  We're going to the potty!!"  Embarrassingly, halfway through the second act I noticed this bad smell and realized that H-dog had a bad case of the farts.  And then she told me she had a bad case of the farts (also not in her whisper voice).  Evidently we need to go out in public more to practice our manners.

3.  We had fun the last two Saturdays at some holiday parties.  Jason & Audrey's cocktail bash was lively as ever -- Ash had a little too much fun and slept in his tie and dress clothes all night on the couch.  This Saturday night was Ash's company party and it was a lot more mellow.  One of the highlights for Ash was watching  a slide show of his work peeps and projects and trying to race his co-workers to identify which bridge this one was in the picture and which road project that one was.  Lord.  After yelling out some erroneous project names myself to participate ("That's Willowlake Road!"), I said "Honey, you surely realize HOW NERDY this is, right?"  Time to go. :)

4.  Here's a silly video of Harper 'brushing his teeth'.  He moves his head, not his hands, and yes, that is him spitting on the ground that you're looking at.  And then he falls at the end.  Because, I swear, he does that EVERY TIME I shoot a video of him.  Boys.  So silly.  Oh and as a bonus you get to hear Helena butt in and boss me around.  Welcome to my life.

-Emily :)

Wino

Great news!  I found some babysitters!  And they're across the street and they're cheap!  Hooray!  Let's hope they do a good job the next two weekends and we'll be all set!!

So yesterday afternoon said neighborly babysitters came over to our house so I and the kids could meet them and chat.  They are sisters and in early high school and play sports and are smart and good kids and reminded me of me and my friends in high school.  Kind of.

So I'm chatting with them and I go up to the kitchen to get Harper's milk and one of them says -- "Oh cool, I like those bottles you have on top of your cabinets.  They're pretty.  What are they?" 

(If you've never been to our house in Utah, the theme of our kitchen decor is WINE.)

"Ummmm, they're wine bottles."  I say.

"Oh, cool....do you collect them or something?"

"Um, well yeah, I guess you could say that." (As I gaze at the 50+ wine bottles lining the tops of our kitchen cabinets.)  Then I make up a story about a project we're planning on doing with them...you know, to make it seem less alcoholic.

So now I'm hoping they don't go home and tell their mom that we have obviously drank inordinate amounts of alcohol and we scared them and then they can't babysit for the heathens across the street.  That's why I told them I'd pay them double what most people pay them (which to me seemed like 1987 levels...poor girls!).

One thing I enjoy about Utah is that every once in awhile I am reminded that I in fact live in a place where 14 year old girls have never even seen a wine bottle.  AKA Mars.  Thank the good lord there's snow skiing.

-Emily :)

Harper-- 17 Months and a Little Bit

Whoa! Where did the last year and a half go?!?

Newest Words/Phrases:

Harper's getting very good at repeating most words....so listing them all would be hard.  Kind of crazy that just 3 months ago he was just starting to say words consistently.

• "I want ____!"
• Calls Helena "EE-AWW" and my mom, who goes by Meemaw with the grandkids, is "Mee-Mo."
• Ho-Ho-Ho!
• Says "YES!" with vigor --  more like "YEEEESSSSSSS!!!," like if you won the lottery.
• Help Me! (Also used in the context of if he wants to help someone else)
• Increasingly good at animal sounds (all of the standards plus sticking his tongue in & out for the iguana sound)
• Mommy Coffee (not kidding...and also used for wine and cocktails)

Current Fascinations/Obsessions:

• Elmo
• Cookie Elmo (aka Cookie Monster)
• Trucks, Backhoes, Buses
• Juice
• Sausage
• Chips (tortilla, chocolate, and kale-- well rounded, he is)
• Christmas Ornaments (as well as hoarding them in his room)
• Frosting
• Riding his car
• Fish tanks

Eating apple pie and frosting (cool whip) at Thanksgiving.

Hates:

• Diaper changes
• Sharing (almost as much as his sister)
• Sleeping through the night
• Coming in from outside

- Emily :)

Morning Quotes

(After Harper woke us all up at 5:30 this morning....)
'Mom, it's so early I'm having trouble buttering my pancakes.  I need to sleep more."

She also thought she heard someone knocking on our door this morning.  My response...."NO ONE WE KNOW IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF UTAH IS AWAKE RIGHT NOW."

-Emily :)

Recaps

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  We've had visitors -- Ash's brother Alex and his girlfriend, Emily last weekend and my mom for Thanksgiving.  So, a little busy for blogging, unfortunately.

Here's some snippets of what's been going down around here lately. :)

1.  I've now officially been sick 3 times in the last month.  Two of the times I was incapaciatated for 24 hours -- which hasn't happened to me since around 1999.  Pretty sure there's nothing left for me to get.  Thank goodness the kids have escaped thus far (knock on wood).  Ash hasn't, however and my mom was sick on Thanksgiving, too (boo!).

2. I joined Jazzercise.  And even though it has an old lady reputation, I really like it.  It's fun, there's free-ish childcare, it's very close to my house and it puts me in a good mood.  And I've lost 3 pounds.  (Partially from #1 above, as well).

3.  I switched Harper to cloth diapers to try to help his skin issues.  More on this later, as I have a lot to say.  However, it's not AS BAD as I imagined it could be, but I do wish Harper didn't poop 3+ times a day.

4.  I just realized every number in this post is a 3.

5.  Ash & I get to go on a date tonight.  Finally going to see 'The Help' and go out to dinner.  Thanks Mom for babysitting!!  The awesomeness of a worry-free and financially free babysitting experience makes me want to move home.

6.  Speaking of babysitting, I need a new sitter so if anyone in SLC knows someone good for occasional weekend evenings, message me.  My old ones have all grown up all of the sudden and I'm coming to some major dead ends on any other leads.

That's all for now!

-Emily :)