But there's sick here again.  Since I last wrote, pre-Christmas, Sam, myself, and Jack have all been sick again.  Here's a summary, read it and pity me:

Nov 11-15 Jack diarrhea
Nov 13-15 Ben cold (missed office party)
Nov 18-25 Jack flu/cold
Nov 22 Jack ear infection, plugged eye duct
Nov 20-25 (ish) Ben cold part II
Thanksgiving - Jack and Ben still recovering with mild symptoms
Dec 1-4 Jack stomach flu
Dec 3-4 Ben stomach flu
Dec 10  Jack stomach flu part II
Dec 12  Sam rash
Dec 15-17  Rachel stomach flu
Dec 20-25 Ben walking pneumonia
Dec 22-26 Sam cold
Dec 25- 29 Rachel cold
Dec 31 Jack stomach flu part III
Dec 31 Sam plugged eye duct

WHEN WILL THE MADNESS STOP???

I made this over the holiday!








So cute, right?  I could have made it even bigger around his tummy and in length.  I was trying to get the size right for wearing this winter.  I can easily add another 1 1/2 inches if I decide it's rolling up over his tummy too much.  Next I'm going to make some matching pants using this pattern.

All my pictures went into flickr, like usual.  This is the highlights.

We arrived in GJ the afternoon of the 23rd.  My other siblings were already there.  The next day Grandma Cook flew into town.  She got to meet her second great-grandson!




Brian came over to visit briefly. 


Jack entertained us with a Christmas carol.

Then the middle generation went to see The Hobbit Part Deux.  It was fun, but wacky, and even less like the book than the first one.

We came back from the movie to the traditional Christmas Even dinner - Chinese food!




Sam photo-bombed me and Ben.



Then we introduced Jack to the other Christmas Eve traditions: reading scriptures, reading Santa Mouse, setting out stockings and cookies and milk. 



Surprisingly, we didn't get going Christmas morning until after 7 AM.  Sam and I were up for the usual feeding, and Ben was up with his usual Christmas antsy-ness.  We roused Jack (easily) and sent him to gather the family.

Jack was most keen on Skylanders Swapforce this year.  So we fired it up before opening much else. 



Sam got a soft monkey and it's perfect for his latest craze: putting fabric in his mouth.  Om nom nom.



Andy and Amanda amazed us with their homemade presents.  I got some beautiful art from both of them.  Andy won most elaborate by making this vertical chess set for my Dad.  The characters are all based on The Big Lebowski. 



Meanwhile, Jack ate a croissant while playing his video game with one hand.



Sam got this play mat from Santa.  He was immediately entranced:



Lucy got cuddles :-)



Mom mulling spices with her laboratory spinner from Dad.  Checking the temperatures with the laser gun I gave Andy.




We played games and puzzles.


Went sledding.







The next day we opened presents from the Mason family.  Sadly, they were without power due to the ice storm, so we waited until they were able to facetime to celebrate together.  The boys got matching outfits.


But the runaway surprise winner was the pirate dagger and eyepatch. 



Indulgent food, visiting, movies, games.  That's pretty much the week. 





And baths.  Baths are fun. 




Ben and Jack went home Saturday as planned.  I stayed with Sam a couple more days to wear out the sinus congestion.  Even still, the drive home over the mountains was head-pounding.  But the extra days meant more relaxing and baby helping.  Amanda and I even went to see another movie - Saving Mr. Banks (meh.  entertaining but not a real winner).

I was also glad to watch the Nutcracker one last time.  I really love that ballet.


The dancing led to this.  Enjoy!

Can you believe we didn't take a picture of just the four of us together since the hospital?  Since I had both boys in nice sweaters (adorable, yes?) I had to take the chance before we bundled up to go to church.  Sure, they are blurry and poorly lit and from the end of my arm, but they exist!













(More outtakes on my flickr stream, up on the right hand side)

It's only 1:30 in the afternoon and we are on blowout #4.



I hate diapers.  Some grad student needs to solve this engineering problem for us. 

On the other hand, it gives me more opportunities for baby belly admiring and neck tickling.

Look who is a third of a year old already!

Sam is all about the mouth.  Everything goes in the mouth.  Especially fabric.  He loves to gum on my scarves and sweater sleeves.

I was bit several times last week.  I wonder if teeth are not far away.  He's super interested in watching me eat.  I got the go ahead to start solids when we feel like it. 

He's a rolly polly guy, mostly side to side.  We need to work on tummy time more, but his pediatrician said he's doing fine. 


He's still topping the charts on growth!  27 inches, 17 pounds 12 ounces today. 


His hand-eye coordination is getting really good.  He can take out his pacifier and put it back in. 


See?  (He succeeded, I promise.  About 2/10 times he gets it right).


He also started conversing in earnest this week.  All day long (if he's not moaning) he's cooing, trying out his voice. 



He likes to watch TV (grrr) and listen to stories and talk to the baby in the mirror.  But his favorite entertainment? This:

(I don't know what is up with youtube's audio this week.  A lot of videos are flaking out.  You can turn up the audio on each one as it plays.  Sorry if you have a hard time hearing these.)

What a busy week!  Jack started drama class yesterday at the rec center.  He's going to LOVE it.  He's so into pretending lately.  He told me they pretended to be snowmen, that some kids were snowflakes and he was a stick, like this [lies on floor with arms pressed to sides].  I snickered inside, singing to myself and everybody's saying 'I feel the snow!' 'I feel the cold!' 'I feel the air!' But I felt nothing.  He told me they didn't do any Curious George, which the class was billed as being about.  I told him we would ask his teacher together next week.  But she sent out an email today about the class so I was able to read the schedule to him.  The email is so cute, I thought I'd share it with you

Hi! The actors did so well in class yesterday. They are so sweet, energetic, and creative. It is going to be a fun session! 

I love how collegiate the course material sounds, until you get to the reminder to use the bathroom.  Actually, many grown-up activities could use that reminder too.

Today was ballet class again.  Ballet and drama overlap for two weeks.  Today they added a new move to their repertoire.  These are chaines turns:



And this is how you introduce a three year old to chaines turns:



I had 1 1/2 hours after class to get him lunch, give Sam lunch, change everyone's clothes, and pack up to drive to Bailey for musical rehearsal.  This was the first dance rehearsal of the year.  The number will including dancing with canes, which got Jack very enthusiastic.  He watched me working it out at home the night before, and I caught him copying.  He counted along and actually is doing moves from the piece.  Mostly he wanted to wave sticks in the air as long as he could, and I let him so long as he didn't hit anything. 


My favorite part of the rehearsal was when I said "go upstage" to the dancers, and Jack called out to the leads who (correctly) stayed downstage that they need to go upstage too!  He totally knows his stage directions.  Amanda kept Sam and Jack happy for the duration, allowing a successful start to the show (at least from my end).


No videos of Sam, hmm?  Well let's fix that.

One of my best friends from high school, Jenni Case, got married last weekend.  This was quite momentous.  Jenni has had, I think at least 14 proposals?  That I know of at least.  So I had to be there to meet the man who finally won her heart.  I was able to visit Grand Junction for the reception, and got to fit in a lot of grandparent time over the long weekend. 





Dad started showing Jack some simple magic tricks.  Jack was astounded!


Jack made them reenact the snowman scene he did in drama class last week. 


Sam had his first solids that week (see pics of that at the bottom).  My folks enthusiastically offered him more meals.  It's fun for them to be able to feed him, especially since he practically refuses bottles now.  He ate banana and oatmeal and drank water from a cup.  The faces he pulls here are from first trying them.  After a few spoonfuls he was happy to eat more. 




Jack and I made Valentine owls.


The beautiful bride and groom!


It's so nice that I can see these girls again for for our big life moments.  Kristin is expecting her third baby (a girl #3) and I just had my baby to show off.  And of course, seeing Jenni in a white wedding dress was amazing.  She looked so happy, I'm so happy for her. 


The reception was at a fun park and after the formalities they inflated 5 bouncy castles and the giant slide.  Jack exclaimed in wide-eyed wonder "This place is AMAZING!"


After church Sunday, trying more food.


Sadly Mom got a flu bug.  Dad had double duty entertaining.  I felt bad that we were having so much fun while she was suffering in her room.  At least it was a quick one.  We were able to visit in the morning and play a little more.  The drive home was lovely and the boys were well-behaved.  I have two really great kids. 


Sam's First Solids
I hadn't posted these photos yet, so let me squeeze them in.  Mushed bananas were received with unsure faces, but he ate a tablespoon full, so they must have tasted good :-)

I've been shopping for months for new frames. After two rounds of try-ons from Warby Parker and browsing Target, I ordered a third round, as well as try on kits from three other companies. WP started a trend and now there are are at least a dozen copy cats. The problem is now that I like too many of them . . .

We had our trees trimmed this week. They look so much better (and safer).

Look what I did during naptime:

Ben kindly entertained the kids/put them to sleep while I changed out the faucet in the hall bath.  Not only was it ugly, Jack couldn't turn it on by himself.  Every single time he washes hands, I thought "Man, I need to replace this faucet so I don't have to get off my butt."   It's finally done after 8 months of procrastination. This is why we knew not to get a fixer upper when we were shopping for a new house.  We don't roll that way.

There were some hard to reach nuts and bolts corroded stuck.  I started to distress.  Then I sliced those suckers off with my Dremel tool.

There were leaks all over when testing.  But then I brought back my dialysis plumbing skillz, ID'd the culprits and wrenched the crap out of them.  (Good thing too, because my next troubleshooting step while hooking up in the ICU was to say "Screw it" and make a fancy drip catcher out of an eye-shield mask to guide the water down a drain.  That's only a good a few hours of treatment while I monitor for flooding.)

W-O-M-A-N!

Jack came home from church brimming with excitement to share the story they learned in class (called Sunbeams).  It's a familiar story, but with extended edition directorial cut.

I decided to go with Penn Avenue, and they were having a buy one get one half off sale so I bought two!

Left: Olive stripe Laura Lynn
Right: Crystal Burgundy stripe Nicky

(Wow, the Nicky pair and higher angle takes 5 pounds off my face.)

Look at my adorable boys in matching sweaters!

Lest you be deceived, this is what it took to get that photo:








There are more outtakes in my flickr stream if you want to see how complicated taking their picture can be. 

Ben discovers that Sam is a delicate flower, who reacts to puffs of air with gasps in glee.

January meant the start of a serious health turnabout.  For various reasons (postpartum recovery, never-ending family sickness, and holidays) I put off losing the baby weight until the new year.  I have a lot of work to do.  Not only did I start the pregnancy 10 pounds heavier than my first one, I was 25 pounds heavier at Sam's birth than I was at Jack's.  So, yeah.  Need to lose the weight.

I'm doing it!  I lost 15 pounds last month.  I have 12 pounds to go to meet my goal.  (My goal is reasonable, and hopefully I can reach it and then lose more.)  I expect it will take a lot longer to lose that last 12.  There was a lot of holiday bloat and pregnancy fluff that comes off fast.

My method is simple:
Eat whole foods.  No processed.  Exercise every day.

Ok, I have more rules than that.  But in general, I wanted to make an easy plan that I can follow long term.  I've counted calories and carbs.  It works for a while.  Then I burn out and fall off the wagon.  I also feel restricted and crave junk, often searching for fancy products that meet my limitations in weird ways (Atkins products, for example).

My eating rules:
I can eat as many whole fruits and vegetables I want.
No processed foods.
No refined flour or sugar.
No soda, even diet.
If I eat starches they need to be whole grains (whole wheat, oats, quinoa, etc)
Stevia and xylitol are allowed.
I can eat two chocolate servings a day.
Weekends are rule relaxed. 

In practice what this means is I make most meals from scratch and I can eat as much as I want so long as I follow the rules.  Potatoes in a slow cooker roast are fine.  Cocoa, banana, greek yogurt smoothies with stevia are good.  Steel cut oats for breakfast with cinnamon and maple syrup, or eggs and fruit:

We can eat out, but the restaurant needs to be fairly wholesome.  ModMarket Fresh, Panera Bread, Subway, Boston Market, Jimmy Johns, Chipotle.  These are places where you can look up all the ingredients and judge whether they use too many processed foods, too much salt, and other junk.  It's nice to have this option on the weekend, so I don't feel like I'm starving myself indefinitely.

I also let myself have a diet soda, preferably caffeine free, on the weekend.  I have a serious diet coke addiction.  It's something I really enjoy and I was probably drinking 2-4 cans/fountain refills daily.  I went cold turkey for three weeks and now have a couple on Saturdays.  Much better.

I also don't eat the chocolate I'm allowed.  But sometimes I do, and I eat more than I should.  Tonight I made pumpkin oat cookies (low sugar, dark chocolate chunks, no fat) and I ate more than I should have.  But I try not to let it ruin the day.  There's no calorie count, so I don't feel like I failed my record and I need to make it up the next day.  Flexible and low tracking effort - that was my goal and it seems to be working.  The weekend cheat days sort of reinvigorate me to start afresh each Monday, sticking to the plan better. 

I exercise every day but Sunday.  At least 5 minutes, and I aim for 10-30.  I do this right after Sam wakes up and I feed him.  This is how I get it done:



He's gotten better at using his saucer.  At first he didn't like to hold himself up in it and he felt alone.  Now he turns himself and plays with all the toys for the whole time I work-out.  I do sit-ups, squats, lunges, planks, etc in my bedroom.  Or I run on the elliptical that Amanda loaned me.  Or if I have musical rehearsal, that counts for my daily exercise.  I always spend a good amount of time stretching too.  I also have very active boys.  I rarely spend time sitting at home except during nap.  I'm constantly going up and down the stairs, picking up after them, cleaning, cooking, and squatting and lifting Sam.  All of that, plus breastfeeding, is burning off more calories too.

I hope in a couple months I can report that I'm closer to my goal and still living the healthy, active life!

Update: forgot to mention one of my motivators.  For every 5 pounds I lose, verified by three consecutive days of weighing, I get to buy new clothes!  My wardrobe is horribly out of date, too young for me, slubby, and almost nothing fits.  So this is a great reward for myself.

Just a quick note to say what's going on in our lives.

• Jack is registered for preschool in the fall.  He will go 4 days a week in the morning for 2.5 hours.  Oh, what am I going to do with that time?  It will be lovely.  If they had openings I would have started him now.  He is SO ready for school.  I had to drag him out of there both days we went for registration.
• Jack is also sick again.  A mild cold with cough and runny nose.  Poor kid.  I think we made it three weeks without illness?  Four perhaps?  Not bad.  
• I'm listening to far too much Pitbull for a white girl in the white snow wearing a white cardigan.  Time to get back to zumba.  I need to find a new evening class or wait until Sam is old enough for the gym daycare (6 months).  
• Rehearsals for Spamalot are going great.  The boys are super excited for their Lancelot dance.  I even heard them wondering if they could give the track to the winter formal dance DJ.  I have just one more number to create and teach.  It's the biggie: The Knights of the Round Table.  A long dance sequence and perhaps the best known song from the original movie.

Sam cut his first tooth!  He was going to town on my thumb, drool oozing everywhere, gumming it thoroughly.  After awhile it occurred to me that he had a little, sharp nubbin he was working on.  Poor guy!  That explains why he woke up screaming twice today.  I gave him some tylenol when he was too tuckered out to chew on my finger or the squishy teether I dug out of storage.  He bit me twice during his bedtime feeding.  I'm not thrilled about that.  Even so, yay Sam!  Growing up so fast.

To save you the trouble of searching my archives, I'll make the comparison.  Jack was born in May and got his first tooth in the first week of January.  Sam was born in September and got his first tooth in the first week of February.  I'm constantly amazed at how similar and how different these two can be!

I finished these adorable pants for Sam.





 I wish I had a pair!

Sam is getting into the fun stage of babyhood.  He is happier more of the time and so curious about the world.  Last month he started solid foods, cut a tooth, and slept 11 hours straight for one night.

His sleep is generally good, but not consistent.  I put him down anytime between 7 and 9 pm dependent on previous nap times, dependent on the day's activities for me and Jack.  He gets up usually once per night, between 4 and 6 am.  Sometimes he wakes up two times, starting as early as 2 am.  I can usually get him to settle back in bed until 7 am.  He doesn't always go back to sleep, but he coos and plays by himself if he wrestles out of his swaddle.

He discovered his toes last month.  He loves to hold them when his legs are bare.

He is learning to sit up.  He can do it, but not for more than a couple seconds.

He is a super cuddlebug.  I love it!  He would love to be held all day.  After burping him he rests his head on my shoulder and coos and chews his fingers. 





He loves fabric toys, his pacifiers, and his rattle.  But best of all is watching his brother.

Well, look who just decided he wanted to be able to sit now.

Just like that.

Happy birthday to me!




Last weekend my parents and brother and sister in law came to visit, and we partially celebrated then.  It was fun and I was mucho spoiled with presents this year, especially from my husband.  Ben also took today off work - which I think is the best way to celebrate a birthday.  That way I had a low stress day with my family.  Everything I asked for was greeted with a "yes," from bacon and eggs for breakfast, to rearranging my living room.

Now please enjoy this video of Sam splashing in his bath.  It has nothing to do with my birthday, except that he got a bath tonight.

Friday after my birthday I woke up to my usual routine.  I fed Sam and then exercised in my room.  As I bent to pick up his pacifier my lower back had a spasm.  This has happened before.  I can remember four other times since I originally injured my lower back in a dance performance in high school.  Last time it spasmed was October, but it only lasted about a day.  This time I'm quite incapacitated. 

Lucky for me, Ben works at home on Fridays.  I had my phone with me and texted him to come upstairs because I couldn't pick up Sam.  He half worked, half took care of the kids for the day.  The weekend had lots of fun plans that I had to cancel.  Monday he went back to work and I was well enough to carry Sam for short distances.  Heat pads, NSAIDs, and a tens unit have been my friends this week. 

Jack has another cold (runny nose, hacking cough) and Sam is teething ferociously.  We three make a sad scene this week. 

Today we are feeling a bit better.  Jack is in good spirits.  Sam seems content.  My back is improved.  Mornings are the worst for pain and I was able to send Ben to work at a normal time today, rather than keep him around to do all the lifting. 

I'm glad I'm done with dance rehearsals.  Saturday is the big double dress rehearsal day.  If I continue on this course I should be able to go as planned.  I don't have to dance or demonstrate, but I need to be able to handle Sam for a full day in an uncomfortable high school auditorium.  Then on Sunday we are hosting an Oscars party.  I have a long to do list for that, so I had better get started slowly soon.

First, Jack has been on a serious superhero kick.  Heavy emphasis on Spiderman.

He already liked the Avengers in toys and TV.  Then he got really into the Lego Marvel video game.  Then it became everything Spiderman.  Soap, undies, shirts, toys, he can't get enough.

But what I love most is that he has started to make up his own superheroes.  Here's his current team:

Ringer Leader

Star Swiper

Pants Whipper (pictured)

Ninja Bubs

Dragon Ball (a bad guy)

He has described costumes, attack style, and upgrades for each.






Second, Jack had his last drama class today.  Family and friends got to attend to see what they have been up to.  It was cute, exactly what I expected for their age.  He had so much fun in this class.

Blowing up their acting-space balloons:



After they caught and swallowed their big-acting-voices, they each got to introduce themselves on the mic (you talk into it, but you cannot kiss it, Jack informed me).



Reviewing the story they will be acting out:


Getting into costumes:



Enjoying the show:




Bows:

The boys are STILL sick. Remember how last time I mentioned it, Jack was recovering from a cold in January?  But then he got a runny nose and the lingering cough worsened?  So I declared it a second cold at the end of February.

That was a couple weeks ago.  His cough died down enough to where I took the humidifier out of his room (I was tired of maintaining it).  He protested and claimed to still be sick.  I pooh poohed him and thrust him out the door to our play date at the park this morning.  When he fell asleep on the 10 minute drive home, snacks uneaten in his lap, I finally believed him.  He barely woke up enough to walk to the couch.  His temp was elevated at 99.4.  So that makes THREE overlapping colds?  For real?? (In Gob voice) Come on!!

Sam, meanwhile, has a worsening cough and stuffy nose.  Unfortunately I have had to wake him up from a few naps this week to get to outings relatively on time.  Poor guy seems tired all the time now.  Last night he had a terrible coughing fit at midnight and wouldn't settle until I nursed him.  Then coughing and soothing again at 3, feeding at 5:30, then blessedly slept until 8.

Is it bad that I'm thrilled both of the sick boys are asleep right now - granting me time to eat a hot lunch and catch up on some work?  Do moms ever NOT feel guilty?

We need Grandpa Rick out here to teach Jack some sports skills.  Ben and I are obviously failing in this regard.






To be fair, he hits the ball with a bat >50% of the time.  So hope is not all lost. 

Also we quizzed him on up/downstage, stage left/right, echappe, passe, coupe, and saute, and he remembered all of his ballet.  He excels at what we give him, and that ain't sports.

I've had a history of back problems.  No one has ever recommended chiropractic care.  Usually my problems resolve in a week or less.  This injury was the worst.  I felt like I was in labor.  I had to deep breathe to get up out of bed, shuffle to Sam's room, and groan into the rocking chair.  I used heating pads continuously, a TENS unit, Motrin and Tylenol, then Aleve and Tylenol as needed. 

After two weeks I was still in crazy pain.  For the last five days I didn't see any improvement.  I lived with 4/10 pain constantly, going up to 8/10 with effort (lifting car seat, sitting down while holding Sam, bending to pick up toys, sitting on hard chairs, basically what I do all day every day).  A mom at playgroup saw my TENS unit and mentioned her husband was a chiropractor.  Huh.  I didn't even think to try that.  After some online research I found a guy in Denver with great reviews and transparent prices.  (I felt weird going to see a guy in my bishopric for health concerns, but maybe I will switch now that I know what it's like). 

I couldn't wait for an appointment that would work with a babysitter/Ben, so I schlepped the kids along Monday afternoon.  The doctor interviewed me about the pain, assessed my posture and flexibility, and then suggested a basic treatment plan.  He thinks it could be disc related, but doesn't recommend imaging until this happens again.  I did a 10 minute heat and electrical therapy set, then massage with a giant jack hammer tool.  I kid you not, it was enormous.  But it worked because I could feel my muscles loosen up.  Then he did the classic adjustments, cracking up my spine, twisty on both sides, then again lying on my back.  I was a little sore but no big change. 

But the next morning I noticed I was MUCH better.  I even skipped my pain meds because I was sick of taking them.  All day I paid attention to my pain.  It was about a 2/10 all day, bumping up to a 4 with aggravation. 

Today?  Even better.  There are times I don't even notice my back.  I can pick up Sam in his car seat with almost the normal amount of strain.  My muscles are a little sore, like after a bad sleep position or a long workout.  But hardly any actual "pain" today.  I'm thrilled! 

I have another appointment on Friday and I'm very much looking forward to it.  I was so wary of chiropractors in the past.  I'm totally converted.  There are scammy ones out there.  I read some ways to be sure you are seeing a decent practitioner.  But I think it's another tool you can use, like massage, to take care of your body.  Maybe one of my readers is saying, "Duh.  I've been seeing a guy for years."  In that case, shame on you for not telling me to go sooner!  I wish I had gotten treatment immediately.  When this inevitably happens again, I know I'll be seeking help right away.

Today my Sammy is six months old.


Everything goes in his mouth.  EVERYTHING.  If I really want to make him happy, I left him tangle his fingers in my hair and pull my nose into his mouth.  But I rarely make it all the way because OW!




He's a serious kid.  Strangers can easily coax a smile out when we pass in stores.  But most of the time he is quietly looking about, absorbing everything. 


He still has that tuft of dark hair in the back.  I'm surprised he still has as much hair as he does.  Maybe it won't all rub off like his brother's did.




He's so curious about food.  He likes everything I've given so far except one - sweet potatoes.  But bananas, apples, oatmeal, rice cereal, celery, carrots, those were all happily eaten.  I got the go ahead today from his doc to give him mashed up anything (except honey). 


Oh my gosh, his goober grin kills me.


That old man jowl!


Obviously he's sitting like a champ.  Well, he falls often enough that a pillow or person needs to be close by.  But he loves sitting and playing.  Tummy time still sucks.  Maybe he will skip crawling and just scoot around from sitting position. 


His growth measurements are still absurd.  He wears size 9 - 18 month depending on the brand.  He weighed 19 pounds 8 ounces on their scale (20.2 pounds on mine last week).  He is 29 inches long.  According to their charts that makes him 85% weight and way off the chart for height. 


For fun I exported my growth charts on my iphone. 

All that does is confirm that yes, yes I have big boys, and Sam has a slight edge so far.  Hoo boy, no wonder my back is broke.

But that's more boy for me to love!

I have neglected posting pictures from the show!  I took my camera the last night and got pictures from the back row.  These are some of the better shots, but they are all on my flickr.

Jack's first haircut at a salon. It went as expected. But faster and cleaner than me doing it at home again. With celebratory lunch out.

You know I'm a cold weather gal, but kids are changing my tune.  Between all the sickness this winter and the NOISE OH MY GOSH THE NOISE GET OUT OF MY HOUSE I'm excited for the season change.

Jack earned this Spider-Man bubbler by sticker chart, with the final sticker this morning. 


I got flowers at the store to celebrate.  Also, I told Jack we should make a Spring Cake.  A Spring Cake is just a regular cake, made on the first day of Spring.  This might have to become a tradition, like my first-snow-waffle making.  Seasonal baking FTW!



We made the cake from scratch but I drew the line at homemade frosting.  Sam was not in a patient mood today. 





One of the few moments he wasn't in tears today.


Fork?  Ain't nobody got time for that!

I'm a little embarrassed how much I like Frozen.  We bought the movie download on Friday and it's been on whenever Jack is allowed to have a TV on.  I'm not sick of it yet. 

It's not perfect - the plot has a lot of holes, the trolls look like early 90s cartoon characters, and it's obviously geared for a Broadway adaptation.

But there's a lot of goodness about it:

• The feminist slant on saving yourself without a man
• The first true love being false
• Josh Gad
• Broadway singer casting all around
• The costumes
• The rosemaling
• Oaken's trading post
• Let It Go (I know, I know)
• The snowy clothing animation
• Jack quoting it
• Jack singing the love songs
• Jack asking me to make heart hands 

And now a new reason to love Frozen.  He asked me if we have carrots so we could eat them like Kristoff and Sven.  Egad, really?  He's gagged on carrots when I offered them in the past. 




Jack has eaten seven baby carrots by the writing of this entry.  Yay, Disney!

Hmm, what to say? I just have a cute video and photos to share, but I feel like I need to have some substance.  We had a fun weekend with family.  Jack has discovered Pokemon and I'm scared.  Sam is a teething monster.  I've hardly had any sleep the last few nights because he wakes up nearly every hour.  We got a stair railing installed and I LOVE it!  It was one of the first big improvements we knew we needed to make on the house.  It's much safer now and it looks good too.  Next up?  Paint the walls!

Anyway, here's the good stuff:

Another round of classes has started for Jack.  After drama he did short session of Messy Art Class again.  Now he's on to Tumbling.  Next week he also has Wee School - sort of a faux preschool class for a couple hours once a week.  I had a request for tumbling pictures, even though I don't think they turned out that good.

It was a lot of running around.  They did some opening exercises very similar to his dance class - circling up and stretching and moving in different styles.  Then the split into smaller groups and worked on the equipment. 




 

Sam was fascinated the whole time. 


At the end of class they each got to run down the trampoline strip into the foam pit. 




I love the tension in this group of kids waiting their turn.  Look how fast Jack pops up.  They were all wound up springs ready to pounce.

He LOVED tumbling and said over and over that he didn't want to leave.  Later during quiet time I found this:



The sign of a good day.

What a fun weekend it has been!  Friday we got to play at April's house with Ella, Charlotte, and their friend Nicolas.  I had a great time catching up with April and Jack was in heaven playing with other kids. 

That night Neil gave us a ring because his wife was out, leaving him with their girl McKayla, and he was in our neighborhood.  Of course we invited him over to watch Frozen and eat pizza with us.  Sam got a tray of spaghetti and he was soooo happy.


After the kids were in bed Amanda came over and we finally watched the second episode of Sherlock from the last season.  Oh man, it was so good.  I'm in love with that show.  This episode was really sharp too.  I can't wait to rewatch it after I finish the season.

Saturday I escaped to Zumba for an hour, then ran errands with the family.  After quiet time we picked up Indian take-out and trekked up to the Arcands house in Conifer.  Erin and Steve are our friends with two kids our age. 

Here's Sam and Henry.


And buddies Nora and Jack. 


Oh my word, these two get along so well.  Every time we get together, Erin and I remark that we need to do it more often.  These two are so well matched for play.  They are absolutely adorable to watch play act with their toys and crack jokes all through dinner. 



In the above they were watching Tangled together.  Right then Nora put her hand to Jack's ear and stage whispered "I love you, Jack."  He turned and smiled "I love you too."  Erin and I about died.


Tomorrow we get to watch Wolfie for a few hours, so the playdates continue!  I'm looking forward to a laid back day since it's General Conference weekend.  Plus Ben said I could sleep in tomorrow - woot!

Our cat Molly has led me on a mystery this past month.  I started finding blood spots on my bed sheets.  Then I tied the blood to the cat when it started showing up in other favorite spots of hers.  The blood got worse, smears on the stairs, drips across the floor.  But in every other way she was perfectly normal.  Happy, diet and elimination all normal.  No signs of illness, no visible wounds.  It always appeared in the morning, so I never caught her bleeding.  A complete mystery.

I suspected a UTI.  Instead of taking her to the vet right away, since she seemed ok, we switched up her diet and gave her supplements.  After a week it hadn't improved.  I also noticed the blood was whole, not diluted like you would expect with a UTI (and I would know - I've cleaned up a LOT of blood in my old line of work ;-) 

I begrudgingly took her to the vet.  Everything checked out normal again.  The vet was stumped.  When the urinalysis came back normal she said without more data, all we can assume is that she had a UTI that she cleared up, assisted by our diet changes.  She gave me a plan for if we wanted to search further, but I didn't feel like it was worth the expense (I just spent $101 for a check-up and UA that was all within normal limits, felt like a waste of money).

The blood stopped after that.  I hoped she was better.  I suspected it was a nosebleed, after talking with Andy, because that fit the pattern and explained the lack of wound.  Then last week I heard Molly yowl up on my bed.  She ran downstairs and licked her tail furiously on the stairs.  Then she flopped in front of Jem, showing off her belly, then casually settled on the couch under the window.  When I got up I found these and many other spots:

I called Ben over and we examined her.  The tip of her tail was totally bloody!  I called the vet and she was relieved to know we discovered the source of bleeding.  She recommended some bitter apple spray and agreed after our discussion that it's probably due to stress.

After further research online, here's what I deduced:  Molly has feline hyperesthesia syndrome, or FHS.  It's a somewhat rare illness, sometimes called skin rolling disease.  The cat has extra-sensative skin that twitches.  It can be worsened by stress.  The cats react by licking, running away, biting, and scratching the skin.  Here's a video of another cat with it.

Molly has always had twitchiness like shown in these videos.  She licks herself when it happens and sometimes scratches.  The last 6 months she has been chasing her tail more often, and sometimes getting angry at it.   She definitely does the running away suddenly thing too.  I always thought it was general cat weirdness.  I mean, come on, cats do really weird things.  But Amanda said her cat never does anything twitchy like that, and I don't remember Scruffy being that way. 

FHS often manifests in older cats (check), cats fed exclusively dry food (check), and in response to stress (check).  For that last one, the first blood appeared after I hosted a big party and we did some furniture rearranging.  Things calmed down.  This last bloody episode happened right after we had some more visitors, and we had a stair railing installed. 

It sounds like they don't know a lot about FHS, but they think it's either an OCD type behavior in response to "neural-dermatitis" or it's a form of epilepsy.  The treatment ranges from playing with your cat, keeping a regular schedule, and adding wet food, to medicating with phenobarbital, gabapentin, and SSRIs.  Uhhhh, we are starting with the easy treatment.  She doesn't seem as bad as some videos online.  We are adding wet food, and if we anticipate visitors or house changes we can spray her with bitter apple to prevent biting.  Like when we paint the house in a couple weeks.

Poor kitty.  I hope she gets better.  She's had this behavior for years as far as I can remember.  In fact, for several years when we first got her she had bloody scabs on her head from scratching her ears.  I wonder if it was the same issue.

Here's a few photos from the week so far.

Jack is helping me with chores.  Besides clearing his dishes, he can load laundry and dust furniture.



Yarrrrrrgh


We met up with story-time friends at a park today


Who then came over for lunch.  Hazel and Jack had animated conversations about butts and pee.


After dinner we went to Sweet Action (mmmmm, lemon basil).  This is the face I endured while eating my waffle cone:


Who can resist sharing with that??

Wow, did this month go really fast?  Sam is already seven months old.

He loves baths, loves jumping, loves Jack, loves tickling, loves swings, and LOVES food. 

I don't think I can express how much Sam loves food.  If he sees one of us eating he groans and growls and lunges for our food.  I can't feed him by spoon fast enough for his liking.  He can slurp a whole squeezie in under a minute.  He likes it when I give him solids to gnaw on (celery, arrowroot cookies, apple, french fry, bread crust, etc).  But I have to be right there because he will keep shoveling it in even if his mouth is full.  He can't really chew (still only two teeth), but he will mush it with his jaws as much as possible.


Not much has changed in his movement.  He shows no interest in the crawl position, but can flail around the ground to reach what he wants.  Tummy time is worthless now because he flips as soon as I put him down. 




He prefers sitting up and will hold a crunch position forever until you assist him.


This week he has starting babbling with proto-words.  I adore those garbled simple syllables.  I also adore this derpy picture.


His fine motor control is coming along though.  He's getting better at manipulating objects, orienting them the way he wants them.  He's between raking and pincher grasp, but he can pick up little puffs and get them in his mouth.

He regularly goes to bed around 7.  He will sleep until 4 or 5 in the morning without needing to eat.  If he is teething or having other problems I have to get up to give him the pacifier again, sometimes hourly (last week was bad).  But it seems like most of the time he can go all night with just the one waking.




Naps are tough.  Because he is the second child, I don't plan my day around his sleep schedule like we did with Jack.  Sadly he has to be carted off to errands and classes, so his naps are a mess.  Generally he goes down 1-2 hours after waking, cat naps during car trips mid day, and depending on how that went he will do either one or two afternoon naps. 

He's a trooper about it though.  I love you, Sammy!

I'm in GJ for a quick getaway! Ben stayed home to work and enjoy a quiet house, except for the painters. Yes, I used the contractors as an excuse to get the kids out for a few days. It's good for everyone.

The main reason I came to GJ: a little family hack-a-mole party.

I'm home in person, if not in spirit. 

Easter was lovely.  Jack had oodles of fun and ate way too much sugar. 

The house painting was estimated as a two day job, when in my heart I knew it would take three.  Then it was pushed from Thursday to Friday.  Saturday night Ben confirmed that they would be back Monday to finish up.  Not wanting to come home with a posse of kids to an unkempt, paint-not-yet-dried home, I decided to keep the kids in GJ for one more day.  Good thing, because Monday night I came down with a fever.  A wretched, bone-chilling fever like I haven't seen in years.  By Tuesday morning it was gone but I was still a little dizzy with cold sweats all day long.  So another day was spent in GJ.  Good thing I had my parents there to corral the kiddos and give me extra nap-time in the morning and evening. 

This morning I loaded up the car with kids and bags, and myself with Tylenol and Sudafed, and we successfully made it home.  I feel like I'm underwater with head pressure and fuzziness.  My throat burns when I swallow and I keep coughing up gunk.  But at least we made it home safely and I have most of our stuff unpacked. 

The new paint in the house looks good.  I'm not in the best mind to receive it, but I'm happy overall.  I wish I had my strength back to start putting art back on the walls.  It felt like moving into an empty house when we got home. 

But at least we are home.

April has passed and now it's May and still sick.  Sorry no good posts.  This cold is unending.  I'm blowing blood out of my nose day and night.  I have red hot poker pain in my left ribs from coughing so much.  Sam still hasn't slept more than 2 hours in a row, so I'm extremely sleep deprived.  That's all.

I'm finally feeling better.  I don't have to keep sundry medicines on my nightstand to take as soon as I reach consciousness.  I'm at that recovery stage I call "functional sickness" where you still cough and sneeze and have a sore throat, but the fog in your brain is gone and you could reasonably go back to work without much problem.  I think I finally made it here because Sam's sleep is better.  I made a lot of changes to sleep routines and made it a priority to focus on his sleep health above everything else.  I'm not generally superstitious, but even I will knock on wood after admitting to you that Sam has slept 11+ hours the last three nights in a row.  Absolutely no wakings in between.  Incredible.  Knock knock knock.

So of COURSE Jack wakes up with a cough, sneezing, and a green crusty mustache of boogers.  Sigh.

When I've missed blogging for a while, I feel like I need to catch up on everything since the last post.  But I'll save that for another time and just talk about Mother's Day!

I freakin' love Mother's Day.  It's like a bonus birthday.  I get to foist all the ins and outs (meals and potty needs) to the father.  I get breakfast made for me, a treat at church, lovely flowers, and presents.  What's not to like?

Last night we got a babysitter and went to see the Amazing Spider-Man 2 at the Alamo.  Great movie, great food, and fun to see Amanda and Brian.  It was also good to hear that the kids were "easy" according to the sitter.  Sam woke briefly screaming (teething I think) right before I went to bed, then slept until 6 AM.

Later Ben followed up with his diaper change and I got to spend another 30 minutes waking up before coming downstairs to bacon, eggs, and fruit.  Jack gave me a fan with hand prints that he made in Wee School.  I also got gardening gloves, cute shoes, and flowers (earlier in the week). 

At church Jack went up with the primary kids to sing for the first time.  He didn't know the song, but I was proud that he fearlessly went up in front of a crowd and didn't embarrass himself with fingers in inappropriate places.

At the end of church I got a slice of pie, the tradition at this ward.  Before changing into comfy jammies we took pictures.  I love my boys!







I might as well document the reality too.  It takes many photos to get some halfway decent shots.  Here's the best outtakes:

So yeah, before this sickness took over my life (shortly after the back injury stopped taking over my life) we took a fun trip to GJ.  The goals: 1) Suspicious mole removal 2) Extra sleep for me 3) Easter stuff.

Spaghetti was a big hit with both boys.



As was playing outdoors.



Easter eggs were dyed. 



An attempt at a group picture.



Jack and Sam took baths together for the first of many times.  It became a nightly request.



The gory stuff happened after kids went to bed.



The Easter bunny also operates at night. (Ha!)  Jack took a while to catch onto the egg hunt, but then took to it heartily.



And cleaned. up.   The Easter bunny must have thought we had eight kids here based on the amount of chocolate we found.



The blossoms were beautiful.  This tree was practically vibrating from all the bees buzzing.  Denver's trees were all bitten by frost, giving a lackluster display.  So this was a nice change.



Sam even got a present from the bunny.



More outdoor play.







Jack learned important lessons about gak.



And practiced writing.



And sharing.



Sam, as we know, was a bouncing addict.



Spiderman worn out on our last day.



Later bounced back to life by tired grands.



I spent my gathered strength driving us home after a 2 day extension.  Stopped in Vail, everyone loves "Mickle Donulls."

The road had a police block. I turned into the grocery store entrance early, wondering what accident or crime caused the problem.

But it was a police escort for goslings! These geese have been nesting in front of king soopers, and I guess today they decided to migrate to the pond across ward road. I'm pretty sure I read a storybook where this happened. Super cute.

Really?  Another month has passed?

Seriously, this guy is blazing through infanthood.  Or it seems that way because I'm only half conscious with sickness most of the time.  Either way, Sam is bigger and better than ever.


No real milestones to report this month.  He has a great raking and pincher grip.  He blows raspberries at me when I talk to him, most likely a glimpse into his teenage years far in the future.

He refuses to get in the crawl position.  In fact, his flipping from tummy down is so fast, I can't even get a picture any more.


He rolls well enough to get into trouble, so I have to keep an eye on him.  The other day, while I was in the bathroom, he had rolled off his play mat, into the media center, and was about to gum on some cables. 


I wish I could say sleep is better.  As you know, we had a solid 3-4 weeks of hourly wakings.  I did some modifications and got him to sleep through the night again.  But now, after about a week of that, he's back to waking up a lot.  Maybe its the drippy nose?  I can always come up with an excuse for the sleep, but once one problem passes another one starts.  I want a permanent solution.  Grrrr.  I tell him this, and he blows me a raspberry, punctuated by his signature "ah-tscha" babble.


Still no more teeth.  Isn't that weird?  He got those two at an early 4 months, and nothing new for the next 4 months.


He makes those teeth work for him, though.  He's as crazy about food as I said last time.  He loves everything I give him.  I usually do raspberries or bananas with oatmeal for breakfast.  Then he nibbles on whatever he can handle of our dinner.  Loves tortellini.  If I'm lucky, he spends lunchtime napping so I can actually enjoy a meal to myself.

He's trying to grab the camera here.  This is also what it looks like when he pulls your hair / grabs your glasses / grabs your earrings / scrapes your nose / or pulls your lips.  I see this image a lot.


I love you, Sam.  Now go to sleep and stay that way!

Some adorable things Jack said today:

• "I am freaking about this." I can't even remember what this was in response to.  His manner was very non-freaked. 

• "I did good in sacrament singing, right Mom?  You can see all the mommies from up there.  I singed when I saw the pictures.  But sometimes I couldn't see the pictures.  So I smiled at you instead.  That was good, right?"

• Driving to the pediatrician, Jack says "I think Sam's not sleeping because he has bad dreams, right Mom?"  When we were waiting for the PA to see Sam about his sleep troubles "I think he not sleeping good because his heart is broken." Sob!  (Sam is fine, btw.  Ear infections ruled out.  More teething meds approved.)

• Sam sneezed.  Jack hollers "Mom, Sam blessyoued all over my arm!"  

I really appreciate this.  I'm not sharing it to complain about my husband (although everyone I ask agrees that this phenomenon is true).  But I truly relate to her question "But what about me?"

Being sick when your a parent just sucks.

Glad I threw on a cardigan. Sam pooped all over his clothes right before story time.

I tried to get jack to help in the bathroom by throwing out the diaper, all wrapped up in clean papers. "Um, no. Jesus doesn't want me to carry diapers and get my hands dirty."

I think that's a fib. But he came home from Sunbeams where they talked about hearing and he said "Jesus says not to put small toys in my ears." Savior, and safety expert.

Here's some videos and photos from the past couple weeks. I figured I'd better post them before the big birthday tomorrow.  Did you know tomorrow is Jack's birthday?  I've only been reminded seventy gajillion times today.  (psst, it's not really his birthday.  That's the 28th.  But we are having the party on the Saturday before, and I don't want to tax his little brain with the concept of celebrating earlier than the actual day.  Kid can't tell a Thursday from a Saturday anyway.  So if you wish to call to tell him Happy Birthday, the 24th is it this year.)

You might see glimpses of my beautiful new walls.  No poopy brown anymore! I love them!  The art is a work in progress still.  Bit by bit.   

Some other things I meant to write about and haven't gotten around to:

• For the moment, everyone is healthy.  Sure, Sam is teething, and my cough and rib pain are still there.  But there are no runny noses and I'm off all drugs.  
• Sam finally cut a third tooth.  It was the tiny lower left incisor.  That means the biggies in the front top are still pushing out.  They look so painful.
• Sleep is better, but not great.  We are doing the cry-it-out method for night and naps (like right now, when he woke after barely an hour).  It sucks.  I hate not being able to go fix and soothe him.  We also give him benedryl for tooth pain on some nights, and of course he sleeps awesome after that. NYC next week will mess him up again.  Maybe in June we can finally settle his sleep issue?
• Ben is totally Hank Hill about our yard.  It's beautiful.  We planted a tree and some bushes and I transplanted some flowers from my mom's garden.  Some of the irises even bloomed!  
• Molly's FHS is pretty bad.  We've tried all the simple fixes, with the exception of regular play time (I'm too busy, but I'm trying to get Jack on it).  The only other thing we can try are serious drugs.  Not only do I want to avoid the cost and side effects, but the effectiveness isn't really known.  Wish I could do something for her though.  
• I'm really excited for NYC next week!  I haven't really mentioned it.  I'm taking Sam with Amanda, my folks and their friends, to chaperone a group of kids.  It should be a blast.  
• Amanda and I went to see the musical Once last week. First, it was great fun just to go out with my sister in dressy clothes.  Second, it was a great show.  Not one I would want to see again.  But funny, well done, good music, creative story-telling, etc etc.  It was a really nice evening out.

Oh, what a day it was!  We had donuts and presents for breakfast, a party at lunch, and pizza and movie for dinner.  There were a few meltdowns, as expected, but I think he couldn't have asked for anything more.  Well, more presents.  He can't get enough.  But besides that. 

Tons of photos on my flickr page, but here are some favorites.

Presents in pajamas.  That's Ben's old wagon that his folks restored for Jack.  I had one just like it!




At the party, Pin the Spider on the Web



Oh no!  There's a robber!



Got him with our spiderwebs!



Undead Robber!



Got him good.



Every last drop of silly string was used.



Thanks to Amanda for these great shots.

Sam was thoroughly confused when he woke from his nap.  Poor guy kind of got the short shrift during the party.  Luckily I had lots of helpers to hold him.  Ben protecting his lawn. 

Sam and Henry playing "together" as 8 months olds do.



As requested, a chocolate cake with cherry ice cream inside. 










Patience was running low by 1 1/2 hours, but they stuck it out through the present opening. 



It was a really fun party. I enjoyed having so many of MY friends there too.  Almost none of the moms or dads knew each other.  For the record, Jack's friends at the party were Nora, Parker, Ellis, Adam, Ella, Hazel, and Olin. 

After a short quiet time, we relaxed in the cool and empty backyard.



Pizza, more cake, and "Everything is awesooooome!" 





Happy (early) Birthday, Jack!

A couple videos, courtesy of Ben.  First, Jack opening his big present from us: his own Nintendo DS (with a Pokemon game, opened later).

This is apparently what happens when you are the son of a gamer who shares all his stuff with you.  In his defense, he was super excited about the game when he opened it.  Neither gift was asked for or expected by him.  So I think his response was caused by bafflement. We had a good laugh though.

Here is the new (old) wagon being put to work immediately.

Last week I came back from the New York trip and I'm FINALLY getting around to blogging about it.  It was so much fun.  Tiring, anxiety-inducing at times, and very trying for Sam, but totally worth it.  Amanda arranged a fabulous package of the city for the students and us chaperones, and I my parents were wonderful in accommodating and assisting with my eight month old.  Sam was a trooper, really.  Considering how strange and off-routine we were, he was generally happy.

The best way to share is with pictures!  I decided to break tradition.  Instead of sharing chronological photos, I'm grouping them by type.  All my photos are in this flickr set.  You can click on any below to see the bigger version. 

Sam's first flight



Dad holding Sam up to things
First, the departure sign, then the welcome lady at the hotel, then an Egyptian sculpture:

Kids being forced to pose as a group
Their enthusiasm waxes and wanes.

Times Square


Central Park






Battery Park


Rockefeller Center


The Rad Hotel Atrium and Elevators


Your ears pop as it zooms up.



Chaperones trailing the kids







Various Tours

The Met, brief tour given by Mom


St. Patrick's by Amanda


Radio City Music Hall - This was awesome, I recommend it!


Extra cool because they were setting up for the Tony Awards!


Our guide, showing us the "Men Without Women" mural.  My favorite part was seeing the bathrooms, hilarious as that is. 


The Lincoln center tour, here in the lobby of the Opera house.  Sadly, we couldn't take photos in some of the best parts.  But I got to see a ballet rehearsal on stage and the symphony tech rehearsal.


Grand Central Station (briefly) by Amanda



Getting Around the City
















Lunches and Dinners

Hearty Italian at Tony DiNapoli



Food Trucks outside the Met


 

Turkish Restaurant (not sure the name)  


Pizza after seeing A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (which rightly won Best Musical!  Yay!)


Lunch at Union Square Farmer's Market


Dinner at Ben's Kosher Deli



Snacks, Snacks, Snacks

Featuring Sam: the Bottomless Pit

Pinkberry's and bagels






Falafel and cupcakes



Black and white cookie and rugalach
Celebrity Sightings


The Genie from Aladdin (who won his Tony and deserved it!)


From across the street, the green jacket is James Franco and his mob of fans.


Chris O'Dowd seemed friendly.  Dad wanted a picture for his father, who is a fan.  Which makes this even funnier. 


Star of Gentleman's Guide



Me and my baby

Yay!  Asleep (in a stroller!) in Central Park


On the roof garden of the Met


In Rockefellar Center


In Union Square



We had to come home a day early, so I didn't get to do Dim Sum or Blue Man Group, but that's ok.  I think Sam was done done done.  It was a super fun trip.

The best way to shop for shoes with kids.

I'm a day late in posting here, but the pictures are from yesterday's Friday the 13th when Sammy turned 9 months old!  Sam's personality has bloomed this month.



He pulls a lot of funny faces.  He smiles at the camera.  He hides himself to play peek-a-boo.  He roared at Jack today while they were play-wrestling.



He grew three new teeth over the past month.



This is not a great picture below, but it captures a bit of his full-face grin.  He squints and bares his teeth and it's so cute!



He still loves being in his bouncer.  He jumps with his hands in the air, like a roller coaster thrill-seeker.  He dances with his arms in time to music.  He likes books.  We read Goodnight Moon every night and he always stops on "Goodnight kittens" to pet them.  He turns the pages too. 



He shares his food and pacifier.  His eating skills are a lot better after New York.  We can let him sit and eat on his own at meals, instead of constantly managing his food for him.  We've been doing signs and he might be starting to do them.  It's hard to tell, but I think he has a proto-sign for "more" and "all done."



This photo session was super brief.  He flailed, rolled, and lunged all over the bed.  I can't leave him on the bed anymore.  I used to put a pillow barricade and let him play up there while I exercised in the same room.  When Jack was with him, I would take a quick shower.  Now I can hardly have him on the bed while I hover over him.  He fell off the sofa-bed in NYC and didn't learn his lesson.  He will gladly plunge headfirst into the rock pile off our patio if I wasn't there holding him by the waist.  



He's so close to crawling.  He leans forward to get up on one foot and one knee.  Sometimes he gets on all for and rocks.  Andy day now he will figure it out. 

My phone is the holy grail for him.  I pulled it out to check a message, and the smiles were over.  I had to hand him my phone to get more pics. 



THE GLORY IS MINE!



I rarely let him touch it, because it goes in his mouth.  Look at my flickr set for evidence.




Nine months and ready to take on the world.

Start with a little sleep.  If Sam sleeps until at least 6:15, that's a good morning.  If he lets me go back to bed for twenty minutes after I fill his tummy, that's even better.

Exercise first thing to get it out of the way.  Sam plays on the floor and dances to Ke$ha with me.  Meanwhile Jack gets himself up and is watching Digimon in the kitchen. 

Breakfast next.  Leftover crumpets (yay for Trader Joe's!) with fruit and smoothie.  A fried egg for me.

BWAA HAHA HA HA!  They had zucchini in their smoothies!  I win at mothering!

Shower and style my new do, that I dyed last night.  Summer always makes me want to do something new with my hair.  This might be the most fetching self photo I've taken in years, despite the broken dresser and unmade bed.



Sam took a nap and we cleaned Jacks' room.  It was remarkable because we did it together without tears shed by either party.

Then off to the usual story time.  


 
Oh wow.  There they are.  Beautiful.

Stopped at MickleDonnull's for cold drinks and a bag of ice before having lunch at home.  Sam is starting with some leftover hamburger, and Jem thinks Sam is A-OK. 



Quiet time for both boys - the best part of the day.  Sam woke up shortly though.  I have him play while I finished up some work. 


Not pictured: Me having an anxiety attack over Sam coughing and sneezing this morning.  I can't break this healthy streak yet!

Last week.

I've been meaning to take the kids to Utah for ages.  I still hadn't met my new adopted cousins, who have been here for years.  Plus visiting the rest of my mom'a side of the family, and my brother and his wife, so we really needed to visit.

We didn't rush the return journeys.  On Sunday morning the kids got out all their wiggles while I searched high and low to gather all our stuff back into the car. 

At the height of Jack's Frozen obsession, he bemoaned my lack of grandfather clock so he could recreate a moment.  Wish fulfilled:












We tried to get a nice picture of Grandma with her two great-grandsons.  We succeeded in taking the pictures, but I'm not sure if any of them are nice.  There's a lot of silly to wrangle.







We bid our good-byes to Layton and stopped in SLC to see Andy and Jenn.  The dogs were thrilled. 








Then it was time to origami Dad into the backseat for a long drive.  He kept the boys happy by plying them with french fries, blueberries, and cookies.



Ah, such a beautiful sight!






 
 
(He tattooed his name on his fist.  What a thug.)




This was taken as we pulled out on the road.  Both boys were asleep by Palisade.  It was the easiest of the four drives, for both traffic and kids' moods. 



Today?  Happy to be home, playing with new toys, taking extra naps, and exploring the crawling skills honed in Utah.  Boy, do I have some baby-proofing to do.

Days on trip: 5

Miles driven: 1,158

Roadside potty stops: 1

Restroom potty stops: 4

Chicken Run viewings: 3

Hours of iPad gaming: too many to count

Sam naps skipped: 0

Jack naps skipped: 3

Fatboy sandwiches consumed by me: 3

Peanut M&Ms consumed by me: ~ 270

Mornings slept in by me: 1

Diaper blowouts: 3

Loads of laundry: 2

Cousins visited: 7

Photos uploaded to Flickr: 62

Toys received by Jack: 10

Toys received by Sam: 3

Falls out of bed: 1

Total head bonks to boys: ~8

Alpha-bots recovered from long ago lost: 1

Replacement Alpha-bots imported from Japan just in case: 26

Requests for McDonald's by Jack: 5

Requests for McDonald's granted: 3

Weird Utah billboards observed: 14

Items missing upon arrival in Arvada: 2

Ounces of Diet Coke consumed by me: 376

Swimming dips: 3

Swimsuits packed by me: 2 per boy

New swimsuits waiting at Mom's house: 2 per boy

Sunburns: 0

This place is just a couple minutes drive away and free! We will definitely be back this summer.

Three injuries before 8:30 AM.  Two head bumps and one pinched fingers.  Ahh, the early mobility phase.

Scene: ext. Target

I still haven't captured one of Sam's fantastic roars, but this one is decent.  

Earlier this week Ben commented that my blog makes Sam seem like the happiest, bestest baby.  For the sake of honesty, this is what some days are full of:

We were debating how to spend this precious Saturday morning.  Park?  Backyard wading pool?  Movie?  Then we noticed that the Arvada Sand in the City Festival was this weekend.  Sounded fun, but when we discovered it was only a few blocks from our house, that sold us.  So we walked through the neighborhood to a pretty fun little fair.  We met out friends Mike, Trish, and Ellis (aka Wolfie) to play.

Enjoyed the sand art.  This one, a tribute to the Lego movie, was very popular.  We are indulging in an enormous Froot Loops marshmallow square.






They had one being built so you could watch. 

Jack and Ellis admiring a ladybug.  This is incredible for Jack, considering his bug phobia lately.  It crawled on his hat and he did not freak out.  Yay!



There are more pics on my flickr site.  Lots of good food: a plate of Hawaiian pulled pork and grilled chicken with rice and mac salad, freshly fried mini donuts, a wild boar sandwich, funnel cake, and a fried Oreo.  When the kids were cranky and the water bottles empty, we tucked them into the chariot stroller and simply walked home.  A nice way to spend the morning.

This

This week was water play at Creekside
Cubs.  Jack also told me they learned about water, such as "you shouldn't drink water from rivers. But you can eat the fish in rivers."  So wise.

There are strangers in my house today!

I noticed the blogger app failed to post a couple things. The last two posts are actually from 6/30 and 6/26.

Sam has a fever!  Poor guy was burning up when we got home from lunch.  After nap I gave him some chilled, watered down juice.

There's a gap in the treeline perfectly placed so we can see the city fireworks from our backyard.



The glow stick was more fun than the fireworks for Jack.  I don't think they have the same impact at this distance.  But for kids this young, you can't beat the convenience of watching in your pjs, waiting with toys and TV instead of a crowded lawn, and going straight to bed when they are done.



I call this one "Firework and a Crescent Moon."

Look at this amazing picture Jack drew of our family!


He says we are in a picture frame. Dad is holding all of us, and I am holding Sam in my arms.

Sam had a rough day today.  He has a cold, as evidenced by copious boogers and puffy eyes and sleepiness.  He got a big head bonk yielding a purply bump (though a daily occurrence, head bonks are sad).  In a poopy diaper change I found an alphabet bead like this (the letter "V") that he must have found in my craft room while I was printing Red Rocks concert tickets.  Yuck and ow.

Sleep was better.  He was going several nights in a row from 7pm to 5:30am.  The fever last week and the cold this week and the teething in between have messed us up again.  I hope he can get back on schedule soon.  He also takes regular naps, one around 8:30 and another at 1:30.

He LOVES cats and dogs.  Squeals with excitement when he catches Jem's attention.  Also still crazy for his brother, obviously. 


The latest craze is putting one thing inside of another thing.  All toys and bowl like objects are experimented with.


Growing like crazy and capturing my heart!

Last weekend was an oasis of friendship.  I realized I don't talk to many adults.  Sure, there are librarians and retail workers, teachers and church members.  But I don't have many friends and I rarely see them anyway.

First I went to Amanda's book club on Thursday.  Amanda hosted, and played the part perfectly.  Her food was delicious, plentiful, and interesting.  The room was packed with lovely ladies and the conversation flowed.

Then the starring event: Miranda came to visit!!!  Holy crap, I miss that girl.

We did the Baker neighborhood by having brunch at Atomic Cowboy, then lusting over colors and textures at Fancy Tiger.





Some quiet visiting.




Then I went to my first concert at Red Rocks - The Avett Brothers.  Miranda is a HUGE fan of them.  I definitely see their appeal.  They were fabulous performers.  I liked a lot of the songs they did.  Their variety in sound is impressive and fun; some bluegrass, some hard rock, some folksy, some punk.



I'm not into music.  It's fine and all, necessary to make dancing happen, and that's all good.  But I'm not the type to study to it, clean to it, cling to it, or attend concerts.  My first show was at the end of high school (Collective Soul at CU Coors Stadium).  My last one was maybe 2007 (Neko Case at Boulder Theater). Probably fewer than 10 concerts in total.  I find them too loud, too stinky, too long, too crowded, too expensive, and the sound is always worse than the albums.

While Red Rocks was crowded and stinky (SO much pot), it was such a beautiful, bizarre place to see a show that the novelty made it fun.  Plus like I said, the Avett Brothers were really good.  Most every concert I've seen they just play their music.  These guys were dancing and shredding cellos and banjos all over the stage, with a well put together lighting design.

Before we got to the amphitheater it started pouring rain.  It continued on and off from 6:30 to 10pm, before finally stopping for the last hour.  Between the rain and the hike into the theater, I declared this the most camping I have done in the past decade, so I should be good to avoid nature for another ten years.




The next day was not nearly so exciting, with a pleasant lunch and a trip to Ikea.  Miranda packed up her kids for the long drive home yesterday.  It makes me blush that I whine about driving my guys to SLC.  She recently finished a trip to Seattle too.  That's a lot of car time for anyone, even without two kids in tow.

I miss her already, but it's nice to have friendships you can pick up again as if you never left.  Hopefully next time we can see Nate too, and meet in between our home states.

While looking for some old photos to frame I came across this beauty



It had to be shared, right?  This was Amanda's gift to me on my twelfth birthday.  Wow. So glamour. Much denim.

Just odds and ends here.  I had to reorganize my room to make it more baby friendly.  Geez, this kid gets into EVERYTHING.

We bought an all-access pass to the Arvada Apex center and I love it.  I can exercise any time I want, dump the kids in their daycare (fee included), and take any classes.  I've done pilates and zumba so far, and spent some time just running and doing calisthenics on my own.  I love the free daycare thing.  Not only do I want to exercise and get healthier, but if I ever need a mental break, I can drop them off and then sit in their hot tub, or read or whatever.

This weekend we are going to GJ for my dad's birthday and some more pool time.  Jack is SO excited.  I forgot to give him short notice.  He mentions it several times a day.

Sometimes I feel so "mom."  This was one of those times.

It's almost 10 am and I'm in my jammies still, feet up, browsing the internet.  Sam is napping, Jack is shopping with Grandma.  It's  . . . quiet.  So very quiet.  For some time now.

Ahh.  Lovely.

I reviewed my first word post on Jack, and again I'm not sure whether to say Sam has his.



As I said on his 10 month post, he's been saying "mom" at me for a while.  But he also says it for other reasons, so I'm not sure what to make of it today.

Today he said "Ba!" when I pulled out a favorite ball.  My mom says he was saying "ba" in the pool this morning when we played with balls too.  So maybe?  Who knows?

Sam goes gaga over animals.  Natasha tolerated him well. 



Dinner on the patio Sunday night.  Jack served himself proudly: bread for every compartment.










Bells bells bells!


Before leaving the valley I stopped at the Palisade Insectary to buy bindweed mites for Ben.  Jack complained of the smell the whole time we were there.  (Rotting potatoes and bleach, according to the scientist who said hello.)

A new record?  Center green bruise, right forehead lump, and the left sided triplet of red marks (individually acquired) at hairline, brow, and cheek. 



Poor guy!

We had a lovely time out together sans children.  First was dinner at the hot new Sushi Den location in Denver, Izakaya Den.  The food was great, the restaurant pretty (loved the live bamboo encircling the staircase, growing two stories tall).  But it was crazy noisy, rushed, and the table next to us was full of loud, drunk fifty year olds behaving rudely.  Ugh.  Still, Ben enjoyed his miso soup, tempura, and ramen bowl.  I had a delicious melon and Serrano ham salad with basil and watercress, and wagyu beef sashimi. Sorry, no pics.

Sam has started to do Peekaboo himself by putting his arm over his eyes.  It's totes adorable.  Too bad I couldn't get him to do it on camera.  Here's the outtakes.

It's not even August, and yet every day Jack tells me he has decided what he wants to be for Halloween.  Sometimes several times a day.  So far from this week:

• Spiderman
• Batman
• a Knight
• a Dragon
• a Dinosaur
• Construction Worker
• a King

There are many more I can't remember from earlier this year.  I tell him "Oh?  Sounds good! Good idea!" and remind him that in October he will make the final decision.  Each idea is always "Definitely" for him.

I left Sam downstairs for a minute to change clothes and bring down laundry. He cried shortly, then quieted.  I assumed he was playing.  After a minute I heard a baby grunt, closer than I expected.  I ran to the hall.

This past weekend we joined the whole family in visiting my Dad's side, who all live in San Diego.  Jack was just about Sam's age the last time we all went.  The weather didn't cooperate, but we still had loads of fun.

Here's a smattering of photos.  We even used our nice camera at Legoland for the morning, but I haven't gotten those up yet.  More from the trip are on my flickr.  

(I think you can follow it to the flickr site and view it there)

https://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf


Lyrics for the Grandmere's song.

He's too quick for video, but I finally caught a photo of him standing.

After he did four squat to stands, I finally got my camera out without him noticing.  Sorry for the portrait framing.  Best I could do in a hurry.

Look at my little Samwise sprout!



He's turned into a wild bean.  Always on the move, always ecstatic or tearful, curious, jealous, enthusiastic, rambunctious, and every changing.



Cruising is a breeze.  He's working on standing balances.  He's better at being hand-walked.  I can't wait for the day I don't have to carry him everywhere!

More teeth are in.  Four on top, four on bottom, and I saw both lower incisors creeping up this morning.







Toys and objects of every kind.  I have to keep a constant rotation of toys around the house to keep him interested.  He's really good at finding Jack's too small toys and trying to eat them.





His appetite is still strong, although he's starting to show preferences.  Vegetables are already getting the boot.  Sweets and salty things are his favorite, like all of us.  He also likes cheese, fruits of all kinds, yogurt, and goldfish.

Gasp!



Where's Sam?



AAAH! Peekaboo!



Almost one year, baby.



Gotta go-- off to explore more corners unknown.

Let's see.  This week my oven broke when I was supposed to feed the missionaries dinner.  I was able to make a stove top meal instead.  Remember it broke last year?  Then magically fixed itself?  I went ahead and ordered a replacement circuit.  Today the part arrived and it's working perfectly again now.  Maybe better.  The old electric panel was always wacky (clock ran fast, button menu skipped steps). 

I've been enjoying going to the gym.  I go 4-5 times a week, doing either Zumba or elliptical+stretching+calisthenics.  I really want to start lifting barbells.  I looked into the Lift Strong 5x5 program, then started reading Starting Strength.  Unfortunately my back pain has returned lately.  I went to the chiropractor Monday and today.  I'm hesitant to start lifting until the pain is gone.  On the other hand, getting stronger will make my core stronger and prevent it returning.  Grrr. 

We tried to go to the gym tonight, but Sam had an amazing blowout in the car ride there.  Down the pants, all over the car seat, and soiling Ben when he took him out of the car.  Of course I didn't have any diapers or wipes or spare outfits with me, so we turned around and went home.  Just as well.  After a bath and laundry, we had family movie night in the basement with popcorn and the projector.  Sam was extra fussy.  I put him to bed at 7 despite him napping late this afternoon.  The poor guy was 99.6F.  A little while ago he woke up cry at 103.6!  The little dude has had so many fevers his first year!  It breaks my heart.  I hope he feels better in the morning. 

That reminds me - Jack has been having weird urinary symptoms.  He's at the age where I probably shouldn't detail his bathroom habits on a public forum, so I'll just say that he's doing better now.  But if anyone else has experience with bladder spasms in little boys I'd like to discuss him with you.  Preschool starts Tuesday.  Fingers crossed that things continue to improve so he's back to normal by then. 

Oh, we went to Lakeside last weekend.  Dang, I haven't put those photos up yet.  I hope I remember to do it later.  It's getting a bit late to edit and upload now.

Amanda and I are planning to take tap classes!  We looked at different offerings across the western suburbs and metro area and found a couple to try that will fit our schedules.  I ordered some shoes but they don't fit great.  I might have to take a trip down to Penny-Robin to try more shoes on and get them before class next week. 

Can I brag about Jack a little?  He's totally teaching himself math.  While we were driving one day:

Mom!  Two twos make four!

That's right dude!

And three threes make six.

Well, no.  Let's count them out.  (We do so, he agrees that two threes make six).  So what do three threes make? (We start to count them out.  Before I can finish)

Nine!  Three threes are nine!  

Then on another day we passed a family walking by.  Jack said:

There are two girls and one boy . . .  two and one make three!  

That's advanced, right?  I'm pretty sure pre-preschoolers aren't doing math yet.  But then, I'm biased :-)

Last week they asked Jack to give a talk in Primary today.  We wrote it together and put it into book form.  We read it together every nap and nightly story time so he could give the talk himself. 

See, traditionally a parent goes up and feeds the kid their lines one by one.  But I knew Jack was up for the challenge of speaking on his own.  He loves to be picked to do things in Primary, so that was a big motivator (the fact that he was "chosen" to give a talk and got to stand on the step stool and talk into the microphone when no one else gets a turn).

I took little sick Sam in just to watch and film.  I couldn't resist!  The teachers were all gushing too and asked if he would repeat it for the Primary Program later this year in front of the whole congregation.  I'll bet he will!

Update: I posted this quickly, then watched the video.  Thought I would add a couple things
--Sorry for the swaying.  I was holding Sam too.
--He messed up a line on the hard page.  We practiced it a lot the last couple days.  He repeats a line instead, stops, shrugs, then says the correct line perfectly.  I was so proud!
--I can understand him well since I know the talk, but I realized if might be helpful to print it here.

Heavenly Father gave us a family.
My family has Dad, Mom, Jack, and Sam.
Heavenly Father and Jesus want us to show our family love by doing things together.
With Dad I like to play legos.
With Mom I like to bake desserts.
With Sam I like to wrestle and play.
All of us like to go on family walks.
I love my family.

Uh oh, there's a simple GIF maker out there.  I already make one. 

https://www.gifyoutube.com/gif/gJVp6

Now I just need to figure out if I can embed them.

This pretty much sums it up.



Yes, today was the first day of preschool.  It was great to have a couple hours to myself.  I look forward to having this most days of the week.

Jack protested all morning about going to school.  Then he slipped wordlessly into the class, lured by a sticker.  I could hardly coax him back for a hug.  He was said he had a good time when I picked him up.  He said he is excited to go back.

But he also complained of hunger, complained and threw his biggest public tantrum ever at Jimmy Johns.  Because I bought him a cookie for his first day and as thanks for running errands on the way home.  So of course you scream and retch and pound your feet on the ground, right?  Because you picked the wrong flavor, or you didn't want a piece, or you wanted to eat it at the table but spent the whole time crying.  All perfectly legitimate reasons for freaking out at high decibels.

Meanwhile, Sam is still sick.  I've called the doctor a few times and we agree he can wait longer (sick visits cost me about $120 out of pocket with my insurance).

Every little scrape for the rest of the day unleashed Jack's full fury and outrage with tears, and it always caused Sam to break down too. There's been a lot of tears in the house today, and not enough laughs.  But I think that will change eventually.



 

(There are a few more staged first day of preschool photos on my flickr that you are welcome to enjoy.)

He stopped having a fever last night.  Now he has tiny red bumps on him.  It doesn't look like the classic rash, but I think it might be roseola.  

That's good news if it's true, it means the illness is over.

School again for Jack.  He loves it, and I love it.  He comes home so tired and hungry every day though.  Maybe he needs a bigger breakfast.  The only downside so far is all the car seat action I have to do for two quick trips every day.  When the weather cools off I might start walking it.  It's 3 min drive versus 22 min walk according to Google.  Not a big deal until you consider that it's a round trip - so about an hour to walk, sign in, and walk back. That's an hour that I need to ensure Sam can be awake for.  After his illness I'm anxious to get him back on a regular sleep schedule.

Speaking of Sam, the rash is bigger this morning so I'm pretty sure of my diagnosis.  He's getting happier every day too.  I think you'll agree his belly is still cute with red pinpricks.



My big project was cleaning out and organizing Jack's room aka the Toy Explosion.  Success!  Jack discovered he could pair his mask with his cape.



And the boys took to the spinning chair.  You can enjoy it in video, and see Sam's googly eyes at the end, or click the link to see an endlessly spinning gif.

https://www.gifyoutube.com/gif/jR7lB

At school they decorated drawings of shirts.  I saw everyone else with paints, swirly rainbows of color, and even glued on bits of colored paper.  Jack's shirt?  Well:

I have things to write about - school, date night, tap class, but my computer has been out for repairs. You'll have to make due with this picture post.

My computer is back!  I thought it would be tomorrow, but it came early.  I went up to Flatirons as soon as the boys woke from naps. 

My trackpad was acting wonky for about a week, then it stopped functioning all together.  I took it in Friday and they shipped it out to the warehouse.  Since I have Applecare on it they also replaced the battery, the logic board (?), two memory cards, as well as the trackpad.  Hooray! I'm in tip-top shape again. 

The previous post was re-edited after it failed to post correctly from my phone.

Ben is great about helping me get out away from the kids for some fun.  This week Amanda and I ventured to a tap class.  I've wanted to learn to tap since college.  Now seemed like the perfect time to try.  We did some research and decided to try TAPS professional studio in the Baker neighborhood of Denver.

Sam's birthday is coming up.  I wanted to do a photo shoot and make nice cards for him, like I did for Jack's party invites.  After mulling over a party theme I decided to go simple - gardens.  Flowers, plants, sort of a Beatrix Potter / Sam Gamgee theme.  Then I decided I had to re-knit a sweater for Sam.  I made him this one last year but he outgrew it before the weather turned cold.  I unraveled it, bought a second skein, and spent the last week hurrying to knit it up.  He had all those fevers in the meantime, so it's just as well I waited.  Then I had to visit two garden stores to find some decent flowers to stage the photo.

Finally today, with a beautifully overcast sky, I was ready to take some pictures.

Sam was not in the mood.

I was going to hide these.  I shared them with Ben who was laughing so hard he had to share them with his office mate too.  After reflection, I see how gloriously doofy they are.  They need to be seen.

Oh, my beautiful child!

Today was our second tap class and it was so much fun!  We both felt immense progress in one week, even without practicing at home.  It was just a relief to know where the studio is, what the room and teacher look like, what the vocabulary is, and what the class structure will be.  With all those stressors gone we could loosen up and enjoy tapping.



My falaps were rough the first week.  My left side felt immobile - I couldn't get it to do what I wanted!  It's like my brain and foot weren't on speaking terms.  This week my left foot was in a better mood and I could get the rhythm going.

We worked on the same combination at the end of class from the week before.  I took a video so I could practice at home.  You might enjoy it too, even if it isn't a video about the boys being cute.  ;-)

Darn Amanda hid behind me the whole time, but you can watch her a little too.  I totally biffed the shuffle ball change on the second run.  But still, can you believe this was just our second class?  Tap is so fun!

My grandma, Lois Cook, passed away Friday night.  She had been in hospice care, so we were expecting it.  But that doesn't make it any less sad.

Lois was a quintessential grandmother.  She was everything warm and happy and cozy to me.  As I became an adult the visits to Layton became a lot less frequent.  But I'm happy that my boys have both met her, even if they won't remember her well.  I love her and I look forward to celebrating her life with all my maternal family this weekend.

Sam is not showing signs of walking like I expected by now.  He cruises like a champ.  He goes from sitting to squatting to a stand, and back down, without using his hands.  But he still flops to the floor when I try to lead him around by the hand.  Call it independence, I guess.

However, one thing he can do is CLIMB.  Observe:

His favorite place to hang out in the kitchen.  He has figured out how to get in and out all by himself. I think of it as a hobbit hole.

Below, I tucked this chair back in the table.  He immediately pulled it out and mounted up.




Walking into the kitchen and seeing this below, I pulled out my camera, baffled that he managed to climb up on the step stool.  Did I even leave the stool at the counter?  Hmmm, maybe should move that knife. . .




CRAP! YES!  GRAB THE KNIFE AND GRAB HIM BEFORE HE FALLS OFF! WHY ARE SO MANY GLASS OBJECTS NEARBY??

For the record, I snapped this then lunged forward, catching him just as he stepped his left foot off the stool and into the air.  (Note the previously removed burner knobs.  That happened when we came back from preschool drop-off to the smell of burning rubber.  SOMEONE had turned on the burner when a hot pad was on top.  Jack denies it and I believe him.  That leaves one suspect.)

In summary, thank you Grandma Betty for the new baby gate.  Thank you very much indeed.

Nothing special.  Just a glimpse of typical lunches as Maison Mason.

As mentioned, Sam loves to push his little car around.  He can sort of fix bumps, but still cries in anger when he hits a blockade.

After a couple weeks of this he has started to walk!  Just before he turned 1, I caught him taking little half-steps without assistance.  Then I thought I saw full steps.  On his birthday we had a couple two step sitings.  This video is the day after his birthday.


And today, a day later, He took about 4-5 steps right in front of us!

I can't help recording all this early walking.  He's improving so fast!  I love the early, awkward stage so I'm trying to capture it.

This is a long clip of him fussing around (he's sick, it's late afternoon).  Skip to 1:25 to see his mini-marathon.  What a streak!

Then a little later with a snack in hand.  How American!



Can you believe how fast he's picking it up?  Like riding a bike I guess.  Unrelated topic: a video of the two boys enjoying Baby Groot.



Spoilers if you haven't seen Guardians yet.  This is from the very end during credits. 

Weeks ago the preschool sent out a play dough recipe in a newsletter saying that a sign-up sheet would follow, but it never came.  Yesterday I saw a sign on the door "We need playdough!"  Yesterday I was also sick.* I was crushed that I couldn't fulfill the request immediately.  Today when I brought in three batches (enough for 12 kids) they were thrilled, which made me happy.  Seriously guys, I'm so mad that they won't let me send in homemade treats for parties.  I get it, I know why they must require all food items to have a label.  But stillllll I wish I could baaaaaaake.  Homemade play dough?  You betcha!  I will make all the play dough you want.  Closest I can get to homemade cookies and cupcakes.  (I wish I had an excuse to make these.  The ingredients are patiently sitting in my pantry for when I cave.)

The recipe they provided was so easy.  The result was soft, pliable, and smelled good.  Much better than the usual "salt dough" recipe.  This is my new favorite.  I might have to make more for home use.  Here are their instructions.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 Kool-Aid package
1⁄2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon oil
2 Teaspoons cream of tartar
I added a couple drops of food coloring to the yellow and blue to boost the color

Process:
1. Mix dry ingredients into a saucepan
2. Add water and oil
3. Cook until mixture forms a ball (about 1-2 minutes on medium heat)
4. Pour out on wax paper or board and knead (dumped on counter, kneaded until smooth, just a minute or so)
5. Store in air tight container

*For real sick: sore throat, stuffy nose and sinuses, tender skin, achy joints, throbbing head, and zero patience.  It was not a good day.  I slept during both Sam naps and worked very hard at resting instead of cleaning.  I think it paid off because I feel much more functional today, even had a dance party with the boys. 

Since school started we have had continual sickness in the house, just like last year.  The pediatrician assures me that 1-3 viruses PER MONTH is totally normal for two kids with at least one of them in a school/day care environment.  Each illness takes at least a week to run it's course, multiply by 4 people, and you can understand how we are constantly sick.  On the bright side, Jack can take better care of his nose this year, Sam sleeps much better than he did as a newborn infant, and I have resigned myself to constant sickness.  Can't crush your hopes if you never get them up in the first place!

I've been working on this project off and on for two years now.  This year I was determined to finish well before December.  

Today Jack and I made those delicious, delicious cookies.  Jack has become such a helper in the kitchen.  He did almost every step himself!

October is the best!!!

Even the baby brother is stoked for Halloween!

Pictures with titles don't really keep a good record of the Mason home.  Let me take a few minutes to give a real update on the last few weeks.  

Last weekend I schlepped the boys off to Grand Junction for a short visit.  No reason really.  Just wanted to say hi.  Jack had been asking about visiting and the weather couldn't get any better for traveling.  We played, ate lots of pizza, and endured a blackout.  It was "special rules" galore, to use Jack's phrase. 

Below is how you track a toddler in a black out.

Saturday I had the pleasure of being a speech judge for Amanda's home meet.  This was my second time and it's still a little nerve wracking.  There's a lot to keep track of: the times, the codes, the comments, and rules you only learned 10 minutes prior to starting.  But I have a really fun time at it.  I like to leave thorough and precise compliments and critiques, leaving my hand quite cramped at the end of each round from all the lightening speed writing.  My nurse-note-taking skills have faded.  Days go by without me hand-writing anything as a stay at home mom.  Kind of strange to realize that. Anyway, Mavi kindly joined me as a judge, so I had pleasant company on the drive.  My folks also came up to help Amanda, and we all shared an early birthday cake when the meet was over. 

Sunday I had a relatively mild case of food poisoning (I think the source was from something at home).  We had to abandon our Primary class so Ben could take care of the boys while I convalesced.  Bathroom trips aside, it was a relaxing day for me.  I spent a lot of time lying down and reading.  I've been re-reading The Name of the Wind and got through nearly half of it in one day.  Such a good book.  Another positive note, this illness marks a week without anyone being sick.  Woohoo!

By Monday I felt completely better and took Jack to the dentist.  Sadly, his teeth two front teeth have decided they are done with this world and are slowly dying.  Dr. Strange (yes, his dentist is named Dr. Strange) said this is common, that after trauma to a tooth it will seem fine for years, then suddenly the nerve decides to die.   There's inflammation now and a little bit of abscess forming.  We get to watch and take him back in for removal when it gets worse.  The dentist said they would "just wiggle it out."  I thought maybe that was a special thing they can do with baby teeth, but internet searching only results in that phrase as a euphemism for yanking the sucker out the good old-fashioned way.  It's actually both front teeth that are bad on x-ray, though the chipped one is worse.  However, last night Jack fell out of bed while trying to get down to go to the bathroom.  Big crash, lots of tears, no major injuries.  Then this morning at breakfast he complained his tooth (the non-chipped one) hurt from falling.  Uh oh.

Sam continues to climb whatever he can.  I'm extra worried about chipping teeth with him now.  It's inevitable and unavoidable, right?  I mean, I spend about a third of his waking hours feeding/changing/dressing him, a third playing, and a third chasing him down from high places.  HA! I just took this photo while typing that sentence:



Here's a sample of other times he was caught in the act.










The gym has become a regular part of our life.  I exercise there 3-4 times a week.  The kids love playing there, in fact Jack often asks if we can go!  Since buying the membership I've lost 12 pounds, bringing me below my pre-Sam pregnancy weight.  I love having strength and energy again.  My back aches are less frequent too.  My goal is to get to my pre-Jack pregnancy weight, but honestly, if I can keep steady through the holiday indulgences that would be good enough. 

Today our backyard is beginning it's transformation.  After installing a stair railing, then painting the house, we decided our next big improvement would be the backyard.  We have a wonderful side yard with lush grass under an ash tree - perfect for climbing.  But it's all outside of the fence.  After getting several estimates we settled on Highlands Landscaping to do the job.  Not only are we going to amend the fence, we will remove all the useless rock and replace it with mulch.  That way we can plant it on our own time/budget down the road. Here's some hastily taken "before" pictures. 







I didn't realize Marko, the owner, was Russian.  I think that's what he was speaking to his team.  He also introduced me to the team leader for fencing, named Dragon.  Ben was very happy with that :-)

I didn't mean to leave you in suspense about our yard makeover.  Life got really good and fun and blogging slipped by the wayside.  It's super fallicious out here.  Crispy leaves and cooler days, pumpkin and apples everywhere, Halloween costuming, and lots of other fun things for me.

Anyway, here's our stupendous new yard!!!!

Expanded back yard, rocks removed from this large tree and replaced with sod. 





Rocks removed from two front sections surrounding porch, replaced with mulch.


Front tree area rocks removed, replaced with mulch, and front view of our new expanded backyard.


We are in love.  I play out here with the boys every day, even though we have to stay off the sod.  I was worried about the lack of privacy with our city code mandated style fence.  Instead I enjoy waving to neighbors and seeing a wider view.




Lastly, here is a proud man.



Do you see the grass?  On the right is the sod.  On the left is the grass Ben has nurtured.  He thinks his looks better, and he was beaming.  Then I asked him to do a Hank Hill impression for the picture.  Contextually appropriate, but doesn't convey his giddiness.

Once again, I can't wait to share the costumes with you!  Our church Halloween party was last night.  They had carnival games, trunk or treating, and some prizing winning pumpkins on display.

Sam was, of course, Samwise.  I think he's ADORABLE!!!








Jack has been cycling through many costumes.  Michelangelo was rejected when the store-bought costume didn't fit perfectly.  Then he got a cheap plastic disguise set at the dentist office.  With the eyebrows, glasses, nose, and mustache, he declared that he would be "Gwampa" for Halloween.  I didn't think the set would last that long, and he didn't like any of my other ideas for clothing for that costume.  Then he found his old pirate set and decided he wanted to be a pirate.  Sensing a theme, I decided to trick Jack.  I secretly made him some chain mail and a knight helmet.  Sure enough, once I showed it to him he declared that he wanted to be a knight for Halloween.



Ha!  Perfect!  He already had accessories and cut quite a dashing figure.




Ben and I got crowns and made capes to go as king and queen (or "Princess Mom" as Jack calls me).  Amanda attended too, in a thrown together but still stunning fairy godmother costume.







Ben took a little video of the boys.  So stinking cute. 

Oh boy!  What a fun-filled, busy, exciting day.  The boys did phenomenal, particularly when you consider that Jack started a sore throat yesterday and got a froggy voice today, and Sam sprouted a molar yesterday and is still pushing it up.

They had SO much fun.  Let me just share photos to recount the day.

Driving Jack home from preschool (taken in a parked position, Betty).  His lap loaded with goodies from their party.  The most common costume I saw at his school was Elsa by a landslide. 



Sam after lunch with a lollipop dessert.



Luminary crafts (thank you Target!) I had squirreled away to help pass the afternoon.  Glad I had done that when he started chanting "I'm bored, what should we doooo?"





Trying to keep them up until proper nap time, we took a ride around the block and looked at Jack-o-lanterns.



Apparently it's tradition now for me to make hot dog mummies.  I didn't bother with faces, they were too quickly devoured.  The quesadillas were special request from Jack, after I made them this way last week. 





Costume pictures!  At first Ben and I took them of each other.  Then we tried to get Jack to take one of us together.  This was the best:


The rest look like this:


Ben with the boys:




First, don't our pumpkins look great?  Sam couldn't really contribute this year.  Unless you count dramatically flinging goop onto the floor.  He did that twice before we removed him from the arena.  Jack couldn't work the knives yet and refused to help scoop.  So I had him draw all the faces and I traced them.  If you comment to him, please remember that they are SCARY, not silly or cute. He will get mad.

Second, note him eating the hot dog.  We couldn't get the boys to stop eating for photos.  After reviewing my camera, I found that Jack left a hilarious series in my portrait with him.  I provided zoom to guide the narrative.





 








 
  

I took the boys together to a few houses.  Sam still has no idea what's going on.  Jack was easily spooked by the decorations at our neighbors.  I worried how the night would go later, since he has declared that he will do the whole neighborhood. 

Mike and Ellis showed up and we finally got a picture of the four of us. 



The dads and older sons took off and I put Sam down after more wandering and snacking - true hobbit behavior. 








He dropped to sleep instantly.  I set up the dog guard so I could answer the door without her butting in or escaping and sat back.  We had a decent amount of trick or treaters.  I bought much more candy than we needed, but I'm sure I'll find a place to put it ;-) 



Over an hour later, the boys came back exhausted.  Ben said Jack was very brave and even went in the haunted garage that a family does every year.  He said they used flashlights and made it very friendly for him, but that's still a big deal considering the hanging ghosts scared him earlier.  They both got buckets of candy and Ben met many more neighbors of ours.

Ellis and Jack were hungry and thirsty and chilled, so we indulged them in youtube Halloween videos while they rested.



 

Ellis is Felix and Mike was Wreck it Ralph - a really great set of costumes, they looked perfect!

Exhausted, we insisted on bedtime at 9pm for both.  Ben just shut off our porch lights.  I took a tally out of curiosity so we can plan for next year.  32 kids came.  Not a lot, not too few.  Mostly princesses, ninjas, and vampires.  One teenage girl with a lightsaber and a grocery sack.  Her mom was with her though, so I'm not sure what to make of that.  My favorite costume was a gypsy.  Most of the parents I spied on the sidewalk were dressed up too - so fun!

What a great year!

A knight, a dragon, and I got relegated to squire.

I love going to Zumba. This week I've gone three days in a row. I feel great. I get to dance! I'm losing weight! And it's a great stress relief after being with whining, crying boys all day. I'll say it. It makes me feel sexy.

Finally we got our first snow of the season.  

Jack has a lot of aspirations. In order to help him when he is 20 and facing his future, I'm cataloging his ideas now.  

• Teacher (like Aunt Amanda!)
• Farmer
• Computer Programmer (like Dad!)
• Doctor (like Grandpa!)
• Nurse (like Mom!)
• Baker
• Paperboy (like in Curious George!)
• Ikea Worker

He didn't tell me where the last one came from.  During breakfast this morning he announced that he wanted to work in that place where they wear blue and yellow and you get stuff for your house.  Ikea, I offered?  Yes, Ikea.  I want to be an Ikea worker. 

Hmm.

Sam has learned to blow his nose!  This is the best thing for a parent with a sick kid.  Unfortunately, he doesn't do it anymore when I wipe his nose.  No, he takes a tissue of his own, puts it on his cheek, and walks around huffing his nose, getting snot down his chin.  It looks a lot like when he pretends to talk on toy phones, but he's pretending to blow his nose instead.  Hilarious AND gross.  That sums up toddlers, doesn't it?

The snowfall hasn't stopped.  We have about four inches now and it's absolutely cold outside.  Sam loves wearing boots and gloves because he could explore the snow more.  Letting him walk to and from the building was impossible because he was so distracted.  Jack immediately tried to throw a snowball at me.  I deflected and scolded him.  He pelted Sam with four before I got him to stop.  Sam was having too much fun to care.

Frozen hopped, skipped, and jumped across the year.  From release through the winter, DVD sales in the summer, Elsas galore at Halloween, and now Christmas tie-ins.  Like Ben said, "Disney has ALL the money."  Probably true.  Jack sang this non-stop for an hour, and started to add dance moves.  I asked him to do it on tape.

Sam makes the weirdest noises.  He's grunter, happy or sad.  He does this gruff, staccato laugh sometimes, usually in response to cute animals.  Here we are browsing cute internet dog pictures. 

When we were reading a book on kittens last week, his laugh sounded like we were reading dirty jokes.  My baby is a coarse old man ;-)

JACK DAJR MASON
(Self taught spelling of his middle name)

For marshmallows!  This years they are dark chocolate and cherry vanilla.  

Today is a classically bad day. Not quite awake yet, I reached above my head for a tissue to blow my congested nose. Instead, I knocked my iPad off the shelf and it landed square on the bridge of my nose.  I cried out in pain and Ben leapt up to give me a bandage for the bleeding.  

(I'm behind big time on posting on this blog. I haven't uploaded Thanksgiving photos yet, so I've been holding off on posting. But sometimes you just have to skip ahead and write what's on your mind NOW instead of waiting to do it in the proper order).

 Last night was the Live Peter Pan broadcast and I'm sort of sad I missed the beginning. I started late, only setting it to record when Ben started getting tweets about a pirate with a Star Wars tattoo.  (Christian Borle playing Smee, and Ben confirmed his left bicep.  We think it's either a huge fan who included it, or a hint that he will be in the new movie.)    I stopped watching after 45 minutes so I can watch it later and fast forward the many many commercial breaks. 

This was so much much better than Sound of Music.  Although Allison Williams didn't have the power and professionalism of her lost (and cast way too old) boys, she had the character nailed.  Christopher Walken was terrible.  Actually, I pretty much agree with this blogger's take on it.  

But what really sold it for me was when Jack crept downstairs in his jammies, 30 minutes after we put him to bed.  He was cradling his puppy toy and peering around the Christmas tree, tentatively asking what we were watching.  I'm usually pretty strict about bedtimes, but the sight of him melted me.  I opened my arms to fold him in my lap and together we watched Peter Pan.  He LOVED the Disney show when he was 3.  He remembered a lot of it and asked lots of questions about new parts.  He was keen to see the pirates.  He honestly thought Pan could fly.  "I guess she can leap really really far" he explained when I asked him about her jumps.  When she stayed up and flipped upside down he was truly baffled.  Ben and I shared laughing eyes - the wires and harnesses so obvious to us.  But to Jack this was something magical.  When I finally insisted he go to bed I turned off the show so it wouldn't be temptation for him, promising that he can finish it later.  I miss magic things.

Just a quick jaunt over the mountains and back for the holiday this year.  Sadly, there were lots of sniffling noses and later some more serious viral illnesses.  But we made the most of it anyway. 

Got stuck on Vail pass for about 10 minutes.


But we made it!  (I drove Sam and Ben drove Jack.  The boys were very good on both trips over and back.)


We snuck out for a fancy dinner Wednesday sans kids.  I love doing that! 



Jack snuggled up in elf jammies and a new dinosaur.  Sam discovered the fluffiest, most patient cat in the world.



Thursday morning, getting dinner done!



While the gentleman wage war.



Carving the bird



and rooting for scraps.



Jack graduated this year to rolls and jelly and a touch of turkey.  A big improvement over last year's pizza Thanksgiving dinner.  Do you see those deviled eggs?  I ate about a third of them over the week.  Mmmm.



A trip to the "movie few-ter" with all the accoutrements to see Big Hero 6.



Then a demonstration of his ninja moves in the parking lot.

https://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf

Mustaches with Grandpa



Again, the world's most patient cat.



I was surprised how much Jack watched and enjoyed the Pirates of Penzance.  Here is he standing on a footstool, fighting along with his sword.



So tired. 



Time to drive home, with the obligatory stop in Vail at Mickel Donnulls.

This is day three of Jack's flu.  It seems it will be another day of Jaleel White (Urkel) spouting catchphrases as Sonic, Jack comatose on the couch, and Sam toddling around like a bored orangutan.  

Sam's favorite game, Christmas style.

Sam discovered there are packages under the tree.  He breached one before I could distract him. We're going to have to move them somewhere else! 

Sam's babbling is starting to take form.  I keep meaning to report on his talking, but then I delay and he adds more and more skills!



As you know, he's been saying "Mom" since I can remember him making any noise.  Over the summer he clearly said Mamama and Dadadada for each of us. 



Next, early this fall, he started using consistent sounds like Da for dog and Ba for sheep (baa baa they say) and ball, mum for nursing, that sort of thing.



This December he started saying "Day-doo" whenever it would be appropriate to say thank you.  So cute!  This week I asked if he was all done and did the usual sign.  He signed back along with "Al-da!"  That same day he signed his "please" and said "eez." 

What a champ!

Friday was the last day of school before Christmas.  Can you believe it?  Jack's preschool had a party and pajama day to celebrate.  So. Much. Fun.


So much sugar, so much goofing around.

Jason's post about a faux German Christmas town gave me the craving too.  I researched but only found Denver's Christkindl market.  It's a little sad.  But it's all we have, so I convinced the family to come.  To make it more exciting, we took the light rail into town and rode the 16th St shuttle to get to the market.  Denver has been expanding their light rail service over the last couple years but we had yet to try it out.

The train was definitely the highlight of the trip for the kids. 








The market was pretty and had the right kind of products for sale (beeswax ornaments, roasted nuts, giant pretzels, cuckoo clocks).  Jack was quickly fed up with the place when we refused to buy him an over-priced book "For Sam for Christmas." 


We tucked into the covered pavilion to hear the brass band play, but Jack's whining drove us out before we heard much. 


They had more fun playing out on the steps and listening to the violinist play, which eating giant pretzel. 


After a surprisingly calm lunch at the Corner Bakery across the street we reversed the train ride home.  We all had fun and we learned that Denver has changed a lot more than we thought it had.  We didn't even recognize Union Station when we reached the end of the line.  I look forward to the Arvada Gold line opening so we can do this kind of trip more often from a closer station.

Today was our last lesson with the 8-year-olds we teach in church Primary class.  We almost never bring treats so today's cupcakes were extra special.  I brought in a sample Rudolph that they could copy . . . "or whatever."  They went with "whatever."  :-)

"This is the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!"
-Jack, repeatedly

Christmas Eve.  Pizza dinner, Brian joined us.  We watched the Muppet Christmas Carol while I did some last minute embroidery to label our $1.00 felt stockings. 




The stockings are hung, milk and cookies in place.


Jack made this Santa over Thanksgiving break and told the Mall Santa that he was going to give it as a gift.  I helped him write a note so Santa would know to take it with him.  It reads "SANTA THIS CRAFT SANTA." Of course the jolly elf left a thank you note with his empty plate in the morning.  


Christmas morning!  Sam woke at 6:30 per usual.  Jack was snoozing but quickly woke when we all went in his room.  The boys took a few seconds to figure out there piles, then dove in. 





Ben and Jack both received bows and arrows for Christmas. 










Sam tuckered out around 9 AM.  We put him down for a nap and finished opening all the presents.  Everyone was exceedingly generous this year.  Jack started to get frustrated with opening because he wanted to play each thing right away!

Ben and I cleaned and we all noshed on sweets and breads and fruit.  Snow started falling midday.  By the time Amanda, Mom, and Dad made it over the mountains we had heavy snowfall.  I'm glad they made it safely and had time to visit!  Of course they had gorgeous handmade projects to share. 

A nativity puzzle made by Mom.


A personalized family peek-a-boo book for Sam from Amanda.






I made a shawl for Amanda, she made me a lovely tote. 


Sam and Jack both chugged their egg nog.




We got to see them again this morning for brunch before they scooted off to their flight to NYC.  Jack FINALLY got to make snow angels in the yard. 



What a wonderful Christmas!