what's up?

ELLIOTS HAIR
remember that fantastic hair cut i gave him a while back
well it's growing out splendidly!

ELLIOT'S TEMPER
i have had to use his middle name a few times
and we now have an appointed time out chair

ELLIOT'S RULES
NO PLAYING IN THE STREET
NO CROSSING THE STREET
NO BALLS IN THE STREET

ELLIOT'S CHORE LIST
SETTING THE TABLE
PICKING UP TOYS- and dumping them out again
EMPTYING SILVERWARE- out of the basket all over the kichen
we hope to have him start on the lawn next month

ELLIOTS VOCABULARY
he is a parrot
he calls jon and i "babe"
and will repeat EVERYTHING
i guess i need to stop swearing

MAKE-UP
he loves it
we are wondering if and when we should worry about this
combined with the bra obcession...

ALL OF US IN THE SKY
we took a little trip to utah
more pics to come...

JONS AGE
he's finally 30!
such a young buck
and elliot got him his own elmo balloon to celebrate

SHAN'S WEIGHTno i am not pregnant
just eating WAY too many treats and
not exercising.

PENNY's STINK
poor pup needs a bath in a serious
serious way
but since i am not that great at getting the humans bathed
around here, she will have to wait even longer.

WHAT's UP with you???

1.5

wahoo!
i can officially go to nursery!
i am 23 pounds & 33 inches
i have 14.5 teeth
blueberries are my favorite
and i sing a rousing rendition of baa baa black sheep
i love to wear my moms socks and bras
and when my dad chases me around the house
i like to eat EVERYTHING with a fork
and be careful what you say, cause i repeat it all
plus i just discovered the "wonder pets" and think they
are the best ever and can even sing their theme song
and i also am working on my temper-tantrums,
i try to do at least 3 a day
my feet still turn in, but i don't trip over them quite as much
someday i might be in the olympics, cause i run so fast
(that's what the dr. tells my mom to help her feel better about the feet thing)
and there is still lots of sand in my diapers.

mr sandman...

 

you brought me a dream

a 10x10 sandbox

best that i've ever seen

filled it with sand and  

toysies and fun

now i can play 

all day in the sun

oh mr sand-dad thanks for this treat! 

and mom is so excited for the 
rest of this dream called
a landscaped back yard!! 

ta-dah!

so e took tumble on the kitchen chair for the 47th time

and wacked his face and got a fat bloody lip

so i gave him a popcicle and let him re-coop in the kitchen sink

and he was sitting so still

and for so long

i decided to cut his hair

and cut i did...

i think i just might change professions

cause i did such a bang up job

usa

dear america,
happy birthday!
thanks for cousins
card games
homeade ice cream
fireworks
and freedom to enjoy them all!
you really are the best.

cozy coupe

stay tuned for the adventures of elliot and na'no

bubba dadda

i
love
you
more
than
candy
dog food
sour cream
playing ball
and even mom
(sometimes)

happy fathers day!

what the world needs

is more one year old winkers with cheezy grins

and less cranky drivers and impatient fathers day shoppers! 

21

last saturday jon had a show-

(which was REALLY long

but he was fantastic, 

and i LOVE to hear my guy sing

makes me feel like a giddy school girl

but thats besides the point)

both of our parents were at the show 

and e was not invited 

so he had his first time with a babysitter

(someone who is not yet a mom)

well two really

but they had matching outfits 

so it was like one girl

plus their collective age is 21

i got nervous and came home 

during intermission to check in--

mr. e could care less to see me

too busy being fawned over by 

two sweeties;

in 4.5 hours

he got 2 baths

and 3 diaper changes

and a photo shoot on

my camera phone
and i tell you what
my house was clean
and my baby was happy
when i returned-
thanks girls!

32 and counting

i
hope
this
coming
year
will
be
as
lovely
and
welcoming
and
colorful
as
my
new
front
porch

EZ's stir fry

ingredients:

whatever veggies you got in the fridge

(mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, frozen corn)

1c. trader joes frozen sliced peppers

1 pkg firm tofu

1 c. brown rice

trader joes stir fry sauce (it's a little spicy)

a chair/stool

apron

a cheezy grin

heat oven 400 degrees
cut tofu into 1 inch cubes
mash a few cubes between your fingers, try some, spit it out
and toss with 2Tbsp sauce
bake for 25 min (until firm and golden)
point to oven and say hot hot hot about 82 times

make rice: 2c. water/1cup rice
help pour and measure ingredients saying "yay! " after each scoop
run fingers through rice and water mixture and say "wa-wa" about 46 times 
boil then simmer about 20 min

cut veggies to bite size
point to knife and say no-no-no every time you see mom pick it up
put cut up veggies in bowl
then go play ball with dad while mom cooks up dinner
heat wok or cast iron skillet to med
add a bit of vegetable oil
once oil is hot add veggies
stir and fry for about 6 min
add cooked tofu
(take out a portion for little people -the sauce is too spicy for E)
and enough sauce to liking -1/4 c for me cause i like my food saucy

serve over rice.
eat it up!
'cept the broccoli and peepers put them in then spit them out

culinary delights

elliot is obsessed with fruit snacks

"thnaxth" as he calls them

we limit him to a pack a day

and try to broaden his culinary pallet

so far his favorites include kettle corn

(most people get healthy organic vegetables from the farmers market

but we get tangelos and kettle corn and lots of free samples)

and his favorite condiment is sour cream

(actually he doesn't even need anything to put it on or dip in it)

and his number one favorite snack of all time...dog food

(he even ditched a popsicle for dog chow)

fixated

this dude loves

"boodties" (books)

"baaaa" (bath)

and "goxs" (rocks)

his momma loves

treats

birth stories (found here)

and planning a trip

his dadda loves

dilbert (the cartoon)

eating out

and sweeny todd

the doddie (dog) loves

any attention

she can get

aloha!

elliot and i went to hawaii for easter

(thanks to the generosity of uncle dave for flying us out)

the trip there was rough

to say the least

we left home at 1pm and arrived at amy's house at 3am

we drove to LAX

flew to maui

waited 3 hours

then to oahu

then 1 hour drive to amy's

but it was WONDERFULLY worth it

e played all day everyday

and amy and i chatted endlessly

had two good target therapy sessions

lots of rain

but still some beach time and sun and

really i did not go for the weather

i went to hang with a buddy

and see my family

(pat and carrie live above amy)

and they treated us to the best donut

EVER

and yummy thai food and

a some singing and guitarin and harmonica too

and rides

e and i had a fabulous time

and can't wait to bring dad back for a visit.

( i forgot my camera and so when i get some from

amy or carrie i will post 'em)

14 months

he feels entitled to use utensils now

and still eats everything...

dog food

board books

rocks and

ice cream

are his favorites

march madness

he's gotta wear his shoes like this cause of his cashew feet

but it makes me laugh cause it looks like his legs are on backwards

the basics

mr. e is really talking lots these days

he seems to be right on track..

mama

dada

doddie (doggie)

baa (ball)

sausage

what more does a boy need to communicate?

a little rough

four

apparently this many kids makes my vision blurry...

we talk about having 4 kids

but after this weekend

we also

talk about how

glad we are that they come

one

at

a

time

first trip around the sun

what a journey your first year has been
you have grown 9.5 inches
gained 13 pounds
grown 8 teeth
and thickened your hair just a touch.

you learned to roll
and sit and
crawl and stand
and melt our hearts every night
when we peek at you
sleeping

you are known for your
exuberence
and
bright eyed look
of enthusiasm
your zest for life is
contagious and heartwarming

thanks for an
amazing first year
you have blessed
our lives
more than you will
ever know

happy bithday bubsey!

buddies squared

(eloise looks vexed and elliot looks like dumbo)

who knew that when i did a semester in nauvoo back in winter of '98
that i would make an amazing lifelong friend?
we went on to room together at BYU that next year
and all our quirky adventures could fill a book
(and we think they probably should-we were in a movie together)
then in '99 i went on a mission and she went to SVU
where she married mr diviney and started her family
(she now has 5 intelligent, lively, adorable kids!)
throughout the years we have been able to meet up across the US
in utah, outer banks VA, williamsburg VA,
washington DC, knoxville tennessee (at kari's house),
new york city (twice), and escondido.
we love to discuss great literature,movies,musicals,
food and recipes, callings, homeschooling, family, travel and whatever
while we continue to have noble adventures wherever we are.
she inspires me to

use my mind more,
serve others,
eat tastier food,
and be more accountable for my time.
i love this lady and feel so blessed to have her friendship in my life.

our adventures this time included:
"prairie home companion" live
a nice hike/walk around the lake
"claires on cedros" and a walk on the beach
a day at balboa park including dinner at the prado (jessica's treat!)
what a fabulous 72 hours we had!

and the babies had a great time too...
a first boy child and a fifth girl child make PERFECT playmates.
miss eloise is just about
the sweetest
mellowest
squishiest
little love around

(she had jon really hankering for a girl baby)

disgustingly thankful

elliot puked
i moved him
he puked again
while cleaning him up
penny cleaned up the puke for me
without even being asked
aren't dogs the best?

birthday bash

 

mr e hosted quite a lovely and tasty birthday bash
valentine style.
we ate
chicken taco salad
sparkling lemonade
fancy 4 layer cakes
monkey cupcakes
and
enough conversation hearts to write a novel.

there were
lots of balloons,
pom-poms
and paper hearts to gaze at.

and all the family
and love
a boy could
ever ever want!

(but i was busy behind the scenes
and so few photos were taken by me.
so i must mooch some
for a more complete photo collage.)

pica: a pattern of eating non-food materials (such as dirt or paper)

he eats dirt and mulch by the handfuls.
he loves to eat paper, sticks,
and anything on the ground.
a fistful of dirt is the first thing he goes for when let outside.
perhaps the iron supplements are not enough...

strong words

i try not to use the word hate
i try not to hate things and
especially people
but
i
hate
getting
my teeth
cleaned

11 months

*wears shoes*says shoes*signs shoes*obsessed with techno gadgets*plays ball with penny*thought he was getting more teeth--really he's just getting an attitude*growing some hair if you look close*gives hugs*waves bye-bye*has all his grandparants wrapped around that busy little pointer finger*favorite place is the bathroom*

hello darkness my old friend

it's nice to sleep during the day again....

mid 2009 project: convert curtains to blackout and hang them on a rod instead of 2 nails

DONE and DONE!

working at night

means sleeping during the day

and even at night we have a street light that

shines right in on through the blinds

but now i am sleeping like a baby...

actually lots better.

perhaps the dark rings under my eyes

may even begin to fade.

perhaps...

hopefully.

happy 2010! perhaps if we record our resolutions we will still remember them in april and hold ourselves accountable in 365 days....
* finish all 2009 projects
** finish all 2008 projects
*** finish all 2007 projects
**** no starting new projects until the others are done
***** start including prayer and a scripture in mr.e's bedtime routine
****** family hike every week (our feeble attempt at exercise)
******* learn more about the old testament then the 6 stories we know (translates to going and listening in sunday school)

******** dial back the amount of treats we eat and jon is trying not to eat 3rds (should be easy cause about 67% of our diet now is sugar)