Out of the mouths of babes--April

4/6--In the midst of our lazy conference-watching day today, Drew was lying on the floor and W. plopped herself down on his tummy, reclining onto his legs. In a mystical voice, she said, "I'm sitting in the chair of wonder." Hilarious. Then a few minutes later she had this interaction with herself, "I'm a teeter totter....NO, I'm not. I can talk. I'm a person."

Teeter totter or person?
You decide.

4/9--We try hard to teach our kids the gospel at home, but it's funny to hear their versions coming out in public. Today was a GORGEOUS day and we went to the park to soak up some sun. Whit brought some sand toys that she shared with some of the other kids. One of their moms said to Whit, "Thanks for being so nice and sharing your toys." Whit said, "Yea. God wants us to be nice. And so does Jesus!" No hesitancy with this little girl sharing her beliefs.

Another reason why we're supposed to be like little children.

4/11--Tonight Whit was preaching to ME, "Jesus loves EVERYONE....even adults."

4/16--My kids are GREAT sleepers and we very rarely have incidents in the middle of the night. Well, last night was one of those rare exceptions. Whit woke up sometime between 4:30 and 5 in the morning yelling at the top of her lungs, "I had a bad, scary dream!" We let her come into bed with us and were asking her what her dream was about.
W: It was about an ant.
Drew: Did you squish it?
W: No, it squished me.
(Andrew and I couldn't help giggle a little at that, which I think encouraged the next part of the comment.)
W: And then I stabbed it with my shooter....and then it farted.
(more giggling)
She is SO into body humor and potty humor right now. Wonder where she gets THAT.

4/18--Whitney is convinced that her 4th birthday led to a burst of intelligence. She was playing with an older friend, Savannah, today, and ever since then I've heard this, "Four-year-olds are really smart. Savannah told me that." It has continued to go on throughout the month. And ya know what? She is pretty smart.

4/19--Sometimes it's the things that come out of the parents mouths that surprise me. Like these two whoppers today. Who has to say this to their SEVEN-YEAR-OLD??
Drew: Brandon, stop licking your seat belt.
And later that evening, Me: B, stop licking the guitar.

Guh?

B, take off the princess roller skates.
And stop grabbing there.
We're so demanding.

4/20--Another one of Whit's quirks this month: she has decided to go by different names. I guess Whitney isn't good enough for her. She started off demanding to be called, "Bumble Umble" for a few days. Then she changed her mind and told me her name was "Lila." That one only lasted a few hours.

Maybe "Azalea" will be a future name.

4/24--Here was the way Whit described her dream from last night: I had the most beautiful dream of my whole life. There was a castle and a princess. The princess was Anna and the mom was Rosia. The dad was named Bill. They had a royal ball, but Anna's clothes disappeared. She was naked. She couldn't go to the ball naked so she looked for clothes. First she found a dress on the ground all torn. Then she saw a beautiful woman walking toward her. She had a beautiful name--more beautiful than any other name in town, Anna Rosia. She made princess Anna a more beautiful dress than anyone in town.

Wow, quite a storyteller here.

4/24--We were driving around in an unfamiliar part of town today and I mentioned something about getting lost. Brandon piped up from the back seat, "It doesn't matter if we get lost in the van because we can just stow-n-go the seats and sleep in the back. And then in the morning we could drive around and find somewhere to eat breakfast." Way to find solutions, babe.

4/24--In the same meandering van drive B. told us, "Sometimes at school we call my friend Brock, 'Brock O-Bomber' because he has such a good arm in football." I didn't realize the political ads had gotten to my son, but apparently they have.

4/25--We have been having some MAJOR behavioral problems with Brandon. I could write several long-winded posts just on that topic, but have decided that's not the nicest thing to do, so I'm trying to focus on the positive. Anyway, today he made a bad choice and lost ANOTHER day of video time as a result. When we told him his consequence, he lost it. Totally crying and throwing a fit in the car. One of the things he said totally cracked us up, "Did you guys go somewhere to learn how to torture kids?" Oh...my...gosh...if he only realized how good he has it.

4/27--We checked out a book from the library called, "First Kids." It's about former presidents' children and all their adventures in the White House. Tonight when Andrew was putting B to bed, Brandon said, "Being the Bishop's son is kind of like being a First Kid, huh?" Interesting observation, honey, but there are some crucial differences, which Andrew was quick to explain.

4/28--We were having a discussion at the dinner table about how one of our neighbors got his vintage car scratched up. Brandon knows how much this car means to our neighbor and said, "Bless his heart." What? Is he seven or sixty-seven? It sounds like such a grown-up thing to say.

4/29--W. is still taking naps about half of the time. This afternoon I asked her how her nap was and she said, "I held really still...like an ice cube." Great simile, Whit.

AND, great smile.

Updates

Here's what we've been up to this week.

Enjoying the weather

Spring has officially supplanted summer as my favorite season. I LOVE it. The weather has been so gorgeous. It is so fun to watch the flowers bloom and the trees burst back into life with their lively light green leaves. It's invigorating. What a great time of year to have a baby!

This year, I have been so grateful for our backyard.
It is the best! We have a lot of shade, can hear
birds chirping, and the kids love playing back there.
Whitney got some princess roller skates for her
birthday and is learning to use them and is also
getting better on her bike, though I'm afraid she needs
a bigger one. Brandon loves to shoot hoops and ride
scooters. And both Whitney and I are into
sidewalk chalk drawings right now. Who knew
a concrete backyard could be so much fun?

We eat out on the patio every chance we get.
Last week when Andrew was gone for church
stuff, the kids and I had a lovely backyard dinner.

Then on Friday, W and I packed a lunch and had
a picnic and some local gardens. Gorgeous.

Nesting...bargain hunter style

I'm surprised at how laid-back I feel about preparations for Caroline's arrival. I feel like we have most everything we need and figure we can always run out last-minute for the things we've forgotten...right? I've made sure we have diapers, wipes, and a car seat. Those are the absolute essentials, if I remember correctly.

Anyway, one of the big things that we need to get is a new bed for Whitney. Our crib converts to a toddler bed, where W is still sleeping. I'm planning to get bunk beds that W and Caroline will be able to share later on. I've looked at several places, but have not made a decision yet. While I was furniture shopping, though, I came across these finds that I couldn't pass up:

I found this baker's rack at a tent sale
for $18. Are you kidding me? It fits
perfectly in this little nook outside of
the bonus room. It was screaming for
me to take it home. I listened.


Ever since we moved in, I've been looking
for a black chest for our entryway. But it
wasn't a top priority and I never found one
less than $100. This one was at the same tent
sale for $40. Hook me up!

This metal sign was on clearance at Target
for $4. Doesn't it look like something you'd buy
at a Mormon bookstore?

Baseball fever

I am so glad we live in a city with a Minor League Baseball team. We love going to games. We went to our first of the season on Friday night. It was a PERFECT baseball night and that place was packed. Last year we would just get lawn seats, but I didn't figure my big body would be up to sitting on the grass for 3 hours, so we splurged for reserved seats. Oooh la la. (They were only $2 more a seat and I found myself wondering why we didn't do this sooner!)

Go Grasshoppers!
The kids both enjoy the atmosphere of the
ballpark and the between-inning entertainment.
We let them play at the in-park playground
for a little while and B stayed focused the
rest of the game. Woo hoo!

Whit did pretty well, too, but at the
top of the 8th, she was getting a little
restless, so Andrew broke out his
secret weapon--PBS kids on the iPod. Yes.

On Friday nights they have fireworks
after the game.

Whit got freaked out a few times,
but enjoyed most of the show.

Brandon liked it, but had to keep his
ears plugged the whole time.

One month to go!

Caroline is due a month from today. Woo hoo! I have definitely reached the uncomfortable part of pregnancy. The worst part for me is that the muscles at the top of my belly just ache and burn almost all of the time. It's like they have reached their stretching capacity and don't have anywhere else to go. I had the same problem with B-train. Not fun, but could be worse.

I'm going through an anti-maternity-clothes phase.
For the last 4 days I have only worn NON-maternity
clothes. I think I was supposed to try this earlier
in the pregnancy instead of now, but I still
liked my maternity clothes then.

Here's a new outfit I bought.
Some of the cuts that are in style
now just seem to work with a pregnant
belly. Or at least that's what I'm telling
myself. Now I just have to hope
that I'm not stretching out all my clothes
and they won't fit the post-baby body.
(Oh darn, honey. I need a whole new wardrobe!)

Boisterous boys and a princess party

My head is still spinning. I feel like I went through some sort of warp-speed travel. I had two of the most opposite days you could imagine this past week.

Boisterous boys
First up: A field trip to the zoo with Brandon's class.

I signed up to go along as a chaperone. I was in charge of a total of ONE child--my own. Wow, tough job. I paired up with a few other parents and we lugged five boys all over the zoo. Or maybe we just followed them around in the hopes of keeping them out of any major trouble...I can't quite remember.

Six- and seven-year-old boys are hilarious! It is always comforting to find that there are lots of other little boys like Brandon out there. One of the little boys was pretty mellow and hung out near his dad most of the time, but the other four were just as active and crazy as B.

This was the best group photo I could get.
They don't hold still.

The black bears held their attention for a few minutes, though.

The funniest part was when they decided to form a
conga line in between exhibits--complete with
singing and leg kicks. Cracked us up.

We had a really fun time at the zoo, but it was hot. Really hot.
I think the high that day was 85. I was grateful I didn't have Whitney
to push around her stroller, but even lugging Caroline around in
utero was getting exhausting by the end. (I'm still wondering
if I made the right decision about trying to do the Race for
the Cure in a week and a half!)

I felt like such a broken record all day.
"Brandon, stay on the walkway."
"Stay where I can see you."
"Stop pushing him, please."
And the one I feel like I shouldn't even have to say once,
"Don't spit on that!"
Another shoulder shrug... boys!

Princess party
Then we had about the most anti-boy experience you could imagine on Saturday when we celebrated Whitney's FOURTH birthday with a princess party here at the house. Whitney invited a few of her friends over and they all dressed in their finest princess gowns.

There was a surprise appearance
by Prince Eric. Ooh la la. I think
I have a new crush.

We painted fingernails, decorated magic
wands and took pictures.

We also made tiaras, necklaces and bracelets.
The girls enjoyed it, but I needed to have a more
active princess activity like a treasure hunt.

The girls improvised and took a break to
shoot hoops in the back yard. It was too cute
to see them all dressed up and scoring baskets.

We had a princess pinata. It was a
pull-string one where a bunch of ribbons
hang from the bottom and only one of them
opens up the secret compartment. The girls
all took turns pulling ribbons and we got down
to THE LAST one. I figured it was a dud
and we were going to have to break out
the bat, but I was wrong. The very last string
opened the compartment and all the goodies
came tumbling out.

The girls were very
lady-like in gathering up the prizes.
Very different from Brandon's party last summer.

It was so cute watching Whitney's face as
her friends sung Happy Birthday.
This was the first time we had an actual
party for her birthday and she LOVED it.

She was a very enthusiastic gift-opener, too.
This princess sing-along book is a big hit.
Both her and Brandon have gotten LOTS
of use out of that little microphone over
the past two days.

Phew, I'm tired just recapping those events. I think I'll go snuggle up with Prince Eric and some left over birthday cake.

Tagged

My cousin (in-law?) Destinee tagged me to fill this out, so here goes.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? Living the poor-married-student-but-happy-as-could-be life in Provo with Andrew. I was in school studying Microbiology and applying to dental hygiene programs.

2. 5 things on my to do list
1. Take Whitney to ballet
2. Decide on an A/C servicer to do seasonal maintenance
3. Take a shower
4. Finishing prepping for Whit's b'day party on Saturday.
5. Finish the bead board in Whitney and Caroline's bedroom

3. What snacks do I enjoy?

Oooooh.... there are a lot of those. I am totally on a

Smarties kick right now.

I think it's my current pregnancy craving. I ate a whole bag in five days....and it wasn't a little bag. (I'm probably not supposed to admit that.) If I have cavities after this pregnancy, I won't be able to blame them on Caroline in any way. I love ice cream and chocolate. Cheesecake is a favorite, but I rarely eat it.

4. What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire?

I'm terrible at answering this question. I guess I would pay off the van, put a bunch in savings, and Andrew could fulfill his dream of early retirement.

Maybe he could blog for a living
and we could move to the beach.
I could get used to that.

5. 3 bad habits:
1. Letting dishes pile up for a few days before I finally decide that no magic fairy is going to do them for me, so I better do them myself.
2. Overdoing channel-surfing on the radio. I rarely hear a whole song when I'm in the car because I'm constantly hopping around. It works for me, but probably bugs other passengers.
3. Getting mad at Brandon for dumb things like getting muddy or not putting his dishes in the dishwasher. Come on, he's SIX. What do I expect?

6. Six places I have lived:
1. Logan, UT
2. Shiprock, NM
3. Rocky Boy, Montana
4. Winslow, AZ
5. Las Vegas, NV

7. 5 Jobs I've had
1. Carhop at the Root Beer Stand in Winslow
2. Dental Assistant at Winslow Dental. Loved that!
3. Answering incoming calls at NuSkin in Provo.
4. Dental hygienist through a temp agency in Tucson. Got paid great money to do something I loved. Score!
5. Stay-at-home Mom. Quite the misnomer since we are rarely home. But another really fun job. (Ask me if it's still fun in about 2 months.)

8. 5 things people don't know about me: I've done enough of these that I don't think I can come up with five, but I'll see what I can do.
1. I was a cheerleader in Junior high. Oh..my..gosh. When I see pictures of myself, I crack up. I was so lanky with my long, skinny legs sticking out of those little skirts.
2. I can sing "O Christmas Tree" in the Cree Indian. (Or at least the chorus--yea, those three words.)
3. I have gained 25 pounds in the last 8 months. Now there's something a lot of women wouldn't publish.
4. I broke my right ring finger playing softball back in the day. I self-diagnosed it by taking a dental x-ray of my finger the following morning.
This is taking me too long to think of #5. I give up.

I tag: Daneen, Erika (both of you could use a new post right about now, right?), Megan, Kiersten, and Amy. And anyone else who wants to share.

Caroline Update

I had my follow-up appt with my midwife today for my ultrasound and check-up. It went great. In the words of our ultrasonographer, Caroline is PERFECT. She is measuring in the 75th percentile for her gestational age. According to their measurements, she already weighs 5 lbs 6 oz. I have a feeling she's going to surpass Whit's 6 lbs 6 oz since she still has SIX WEEKS TO GROW. I'm just hoping she doesn't pass up Brandon's 8 1/2 lbs. Please!

Here's the 33 wk photo

Thanks for all of your kind words about my preggo body. I figure you guys are the ones I'm going to trust and not the strangers/mild acquaintances who are making the unintentionally disparaging comments. If they keep coming, I'll just print out your comments from the last couple of posts in 90 point font, tape them to my bathroom mirror, and read them over and over again. :)

It was such a relief to hear that everything looks OK with Caroline. With Brandon and Whit, I didn't have a lot of fear or anxiety about them being born healthy. But for some reason I have had a lot more of that this time around. I go through phases of being really worried that she'll be born with complications. Hopefully it will all turn out to be for no reason. My "mother's intuition" is usually a little off.

Some family firsts

We had some fun "firsts" in the family this week.

Whitney's first time flying a kite

With some of her fun money this month, W purchased a kite. We have been anxiously awaiting a windy day to use it and we got a little wind on Saturday, so we took it out. Oh...my...gosh. Whit was SO excited. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. I wish you could've heard her little voice when she said,

"Mom, I'm flying a kite!"
Too darn cute.

I remember the first time Brandon flew a kite,
it kind of freaked him out. I think the power of the
wind was a little overwhelming for him.
No fear in this little girl. I think she was
a little frustrated that it wasn't MORE windy.

Brandon even took a turn borrowing her kite.
(He spent all his fun money on football cards,
his new obsession. SO over Pokemon cards.)

When he was done he requested that I take his
picture with the kite, post it on my blog, and ask
the question, "Does this look right?"


First trip to the park to feed the ducks
(Ok, it's the first time this year.)

Ever since we got back from our chilly trip
to the zoo, the weather here has been GORGEOUS.
I have absolutely loved being able to play
outside with the kids--sans jackets!

With Whitney's eye dilated all the time, I
try to keep sunglasses on her. I'm sure
everyone just thinks I'm raising a little
diva, but I really do have her eye health
in mind. I thought the sun could actually
damage your eyes when they're dilated, but
the paperwork we got from Duke said to wear
sunglasses "for comfort" when outside.
Anyway, she does sure look cute in them.

First camping trip
Our ward at church held a camp out
this weekend. I was surely not going
to sleep on the ground with my big ol' body,
but the boys got in on the action.

Here they are in front of our cute little tent.
Luckily, the campground was only about half
an hour away, so Whit and I went out for
a couple of hours in the evening to socialize...
and then I came home to the sleep number bed.
Oh, yea.

The kids were fascinated and
Whit was a little scared of the big campfire.

Is it just me or do I kind of look like a
rhino in this picture? I think my belly
looks so funny.

Totally reminds me of the way rhinos have
those flaps on their bodies. Maybe I should
stop wearing that shirt.


Oh, phew. From the side it looks more normal.

Whit and I didn't want to miss out on the s'mores.
Yum!

The boys had a GREAT time camping. They played Capture the Flag until around midnight. Brandon was in little boy heaven! I don't think Andrew realized how hard camping would be on his old man back. He had a very stiff, painful day on Saturday when they got home. But he seems to be hanging in there now.

Learning, Growing, Exploring

Learning

Three cheers for me--I finished my Physical Science 100 class today! Woo hoo! After getting off to a good start last year, I really trudged through this class. I put off everything until the last minute. Tomorrow is the very last day I could've taken the final and since Whit's in school today, I decided to take it this morning. I'm pretty sure I passed, but maybe I should put off the real celebration until I get my grade back. hee hee.

Next class: Advanced writing. With all the writers in my life, I should have plenty of help here. And I think I'll need it. I'm going to wait to the fall to enroll. I'm giving myself a "get-out-of-class-free" card for the next five months.

Growing

I'm not sure exactly what happened over Spring Break. I didn't put on a ton of weight, but apparently I crossed some threshold in pregnancy because now I hear things like, "Wow, it looks like you're going to have a BIG baby." And "How much longer do you have?" And "Bless your heart." And these aren't isolated comments. I hear them regularly. Even with my abnormally high self esteem, you can only hear things like this so many times before you start feeling like a whale.

Come on, I don't look THAT huge, do I?
I mean, you're supposed to look pregnant
when you're 30 WEEKS ALONG, right?
(This pic was taken in FL. I'm 33 weeks today!)

To top it all off, at my midwife appt last week, I actually ended up losing 3 pounds instead of gaining 2 which would've been ideal. (I never got as sick as Andrew and B, but did get some sort of lingering stomach bug...yuck.) And my belly also measured 2 cm too small. So I need to have an ultrasound next week just to see how Caroline is measuring and make sure everything's ok. I am not in panic mode yet. I had a similar experience with Whit. She just ended up being on the smaller side(6 lbs 6 oz), which I was perfectly happy with. I personally felt like Caroline was going to be a big girl so was surprised to hear that I'm measuring small. It just adds to the confusion, though. Wait, I'm supposed to be BIGGER than this??? What kind of comments would I hear then? Anyway, I'll keep you posted.

Exploring

The kids had a Teacher Workday yesterday, so we went down to the zoo with some friends. When I planned this trip, it was SUPPOSED to be a beautiful, sunny 65 degree day. Darn weathermen got it wrong and instead it was a cloudy, chilly 58 degrees. We bundled up and managed to have a good time. Between my friend Michelle and me, we brought two teenage girls, three school-age boys, two preschool girls, and an adorable baby boy. The differences between the boys and girls were stark.

The girls held hands while going down the slide.

The boys tried to stuff wood chips down each others pants.

The boys would race each other trying to climb
every possible edifice throughout the zoo.

The girls climbed a few things, too, and then
they'd pose at the top for cute pics.

The boys would glance at the animals
on exhibit and then hurriedly start
climbing the next possible obstacle.

The girls would stare in wonder
until we told them it was time to
move on to the next exhibit.

My friend and I would just look at each other with smiles and our faces, shrug our shoulders, and say, "Boys." They kept things exciting.

Out of the mouths of babes--March

A couple of days late, here is this month's installment of OOMB with a smattering of Easter pics I took of the kids. Enjoy!

3/2--As previously mentioned, I am in a clothing FUNK right now. I don't love my clothes, but I refuse to buy things that I can only wear for the next two months, so I'm just making do with what I have. I found a maternity dress in my closet that I had forgotten about and was all excited to wear it to church today. Here's what I heard when I came walking out of my bedroom:

W: That's a funny dress.
Me: Why?
W: It looks like a barrel.

Yea, that gives me a whole lot of confidence to go to church in it. Thanks, honey.

What do you think of my barrel dress?

3/2--After one of the speakers in church told a story about a blind man, B leaned over and asked me, "What if I had a blind bus driver?" Um, you'd immediately stop riding the bus, babe.

3/2--Tonight during scripture study, we were talking about trials and how the Savior can help us through them. Brandon was so cute. He said, "I'm having some pretty big trials at school. Emotional trials. Because when we play football on the playground, Jonah is always calling us off sides when we're not even off sides. And when we play soccer, he calls fouls when we're fifteen feet away from them!" Oh, to have the trials of a six-year-old again.

Life can be rough, even when you're
this good looking.

3/6--Deep thoughts from Whitney over breakfast this morning: "Mom, what if I was you and you were me?"

Oooh, good one, Whit.

My reply: "Well, I'd have so much fun going to preschool and dressing up like a princess and playing up in my playhouse if I were you. What would you do if you were me?"

Whit: "I'd do lots of nice things."

Girl, you know how to win my heart. "Like what?"

W: "I'd make sandwiches for Brandon. And cook ravioli for dinner."

Such a little charmer

3/8--In the most helpful voice possible, Whit just announced, "I tuned your guitar for you, Daddy!" I doubt it's in a key anyone would enjoy listening to.

3/8--Heard from the backseat
W: Hey, look at me. I'm asleep!
B: No, you're faking.
W: No I'm not!

I'm SO not faking this smile!

3/13--This is what W learned at school today, "Anna says that gas ice cream is good. I told her it's nasty."

3/15--After hearing Nicolle sing an absolutely BEAUTIFUL song at a funeral today, here was B's six-year-old commentary on her vibrato, "It's like there's a whammy bar on her body somewhere." I think that means he liked it.

3/16--During scripture study tonight, this is the conversation B and Andrew had:

Drew: Do you know what it means to turn the other cheek?
B: No.
D: It means if somebody hits us, we shouldn't hit them back.
B: REALLY?
D: Yep.
B: (completely disappointed) Awwww......dang it!

Hmmm...Did he have an impending fight planned that he had to cancel? We may never know.

We hope the fight had nothing to
do with his sister.

3/17--Brandon's school work from last week included

"Brandon's Story of his Life," an autobiography.

It was so cute. Here are a couple of my favorite lines:

"I had lots of emotions till I was one and a half."

"When I was 5 and a half I was rideing a ride named the three sixty. It is a ride at wet 'n' wild. It is a fun ride but back then it freaked me out! Plus I did a three sixty inside! (I guess that's why it called the three sixty!) Now my family found out that I have not broke an arm. And I know times." [I think he's talking about his times tables at the end.]

3/18--After our visit to see her favorite eye doctor today, W said, "I smell like Dr. Buckley's office!" Hmmmm...interesting.

3/19--I volunteer in B's classroom once a week and this was the conversation I had with one of his classmates. Keep in mind that he's in FIRST grade.

D: Do you have a man?
Me: What do you mean? Like a husband?
D: Yea.
Me: Yes, I have a husband.
D: (kind of embarrassed) Oh, because I just wanted to ask you if we could be friends.

Are you kidding me? Do I have "a man"? Cracked me up.

3/21--On our road trip today, Whit was really proud of herself, "I know how to spell tee-pee. It's just a T and then a P!"

Can't trick this little girl.

3/26--After W had her picture taken with Goofy yesterday, we ran into him again at the park today. She was super excited, "Hey, Goofy! It's me, Whitney!"

Once you've hugged Whit, you better recognize
her the next day at the park! I don't care if
you have seen THOUSANDS of other cute girls.

3/30--While giving us our goodnight hugs and kisses tonight, Whit randomly said, "I wish I could fly!"

3/31--I've mentioned before that one of W's chores around the house is to unload the silverware when I run the dishwasher. She just finished unloading this morning and declared, "I'm the silverware queen!" Way to take pride in your jobs, honey.