Merkley Jiating

Our First Rockets Game

2012-01-30T15:03:00.000-06:00

We went to our very first Rockets game! We will have to go to lots of games this season since next season we will most likely have to buy Alex his own tickets (kids under three feet tall do not need their own ticket. I wish they did ages, but I understand that height is easier to enforce).

We went into Houston early and found an amazing parking spot where we only had to pay 25 cents until the meter ended at 6pm. We walked to a Subway that said it was only .2 miles away. But it wasn't there. So then we walked to the next one. It wasn't there either. We walked to another one that was inside an office building that was closed. Then we called one, and walked to it. A little over a mile. I am pretty sure we burned off whatever food we ate at the Subway once we got there. Downtown Houston really shuts down at night. There are still the bars and restaurants that are busy, but the area of the skyscrapers is a little dead. It was kind of spooky. We have been going to Subway a lot recently. When we signed up for a gym membership, I wrote down the name of a lady in our ward as our referral. They gave her one month membership for free for referring us. But she couldn't just accept that, she had to repay us. With a $50 gift card to Subway. Delicious.

Despite the Subway runaround, we still managed to get to the game early. I am glad we did, too. There was hardly anyone there, so the boys could settle in. We also got to see the helicopter balloon fly around which I can confidently say was Alex's favorite part of the night.

Alex got bored with the game and wanted to climb up and down the stairs, so instead we entertained him with videos on Sam's phone.

The Rockets ended up losing 98-95, but it was still fun. I like Astros games more, but that is probably just because I like baseball way more than basketball.

After the game, we put the boys in their pajamas and drove home. Edison fell asleep and Alex chatted the whole way home. Alex is hysterical; I don't think he would ever sleep unless we told him it was time to sleep. He has so much energy.

Edison's Edition (10 Months)

2012-01-27T21:21:00.004-06:00

Weight: 20 pounds, 1 ounce
Length: 29.5 inches

I remember wanting Alex to grow up faster. I was always waiting for him to sit up, crawl, walk, talk, etc. With Edison, I just want him to slow down. I talk about him like he is a four month old. But then when I am asked how old he is, and I say, "10 months" it is really starting to sink in. He is growing up so quickly. He is going to be grown up and out of the house before I know it. I cannot take Edison out somewhere without getting comments on how cute/handsome/perfect/happy he is. He really has turned into such a good kid. If you tried telling me this would happen when he was a month old, I probably wouldn't have believed you even if I had been able to hear you over his screaming/crying. I love him. I am so grateful to be his mother. I hope I live up to what he deserves.

He had his first blood draw. He cried when the phlebomitist was tying off his arm, because I had to hold down his other arm. He also cried when she pulled the needle out. Strange.

"How did you get under there and how do I join you?"

I couldn't believe he was big enough to sit in here. He pushes himself backwards only.

He wants to play with the big kids at story time.

Keys are still his favorite toy.

He was so aggravated that I blocked this outlet. It was the only one I had to block because it was the only one he cared about. He cried when he first figured out that he couldn't stick his tongue in it anymore.

He was sick for 24 hours.

He was burning hot and so pathetic.

He screamed for about four hours during that day.

He loves snuggling with soft things.

Part of his morning ritual is to clear off the bookshelf.

Then he settles down for some reading. Surprisingly, he does not rip pages.

He has the biggest, most beautiful eyes. I love his face.

"Hey, so... are you going to clean up this mess, or what?"

Boxes are so fun!

He gets to be a big boy and drive the cart with Alex.

Lounging around.

He is such a mess when he eats. I thought Alex was bad. Nope, Edison has a special skill for eating very little, and flailing lots.

Eye gouge.

Huuuuug!

He loves to stand with this toy but does not walk.

He can stand up freely now.

He still loves going on walks.

Sometimes he looks like a grown up.

He shoves food into his mouth with both hands. Most of the time, he gets more hand in his mouth than food.

Adorable. He is just too cute.

He has got some awesome chins.

Filthy mess. He went right into the bath after this rice cake.

"I'm gonna get ya!"

Late night snuggle with Daddy.

He tries to keep up with the crawling choo-choo train.

He is very quick at crawling, but sometimes not fast enough.

The boys got kazoos for Christmas and Edison thinks they are hilarious.

He is always making this noise. We love it.

This is showing Alex's face, but it is Edison cracking up.

Eating baby food, and hating it.

One of my favorite things is watching these boys play together. I just sit back and try to not interrupt.

How did he grow up so fast?

Edison going back and forth between Alex and Daddy.

Here are a few more things Edison does for which I do not have a matching picture:

He...

...is always getting pulled down or sat on by Alex. He cries, but then he quickly recovers once Alex is sent to time out. It's highly suspicious.

...never wore socks or shoes but then I noticed the tops of his feet were covered in slivers from crawling around our back deck.

...will sit up while nursing. Then he looks at me and whines like, "How did I get here?!"

...sticks his index finger in my mouth while nursing.

...is extremely clingy. Just in the last few weeks he has become a total Momma's boy. He will cry and cry until he gets into my arms.

...loves swinging doors open and (almost) closed.

...no longer gets swaddled during naps.

...takes 3-4 naps a day, but doesn't sleep through the night. He wakes up 2-3 times each night. I don't really mind it though.
...loves cats and tries to pull all of their hair out.
...is growing up so fast that Sam thought he was only nine months old today!
...has a huge crush on the vacuum. He follows me around and then sits exactly where I am about to vacuum. Once I stop to move him out of the way, he climbs up on the vacuum like he is going to ride it.

See You in Two, Jared!

2012-01-18T22:42:00.000-06:00

I feel like Jared got his mission call so long ago, and I kind of put it out of my mind. Then when he was about to head back up to BYU after Thanksgiving, I realized it would be my last time seeing him for more than two years. We hugged and said goodbye but it still wasn't time for him to actually leave. But now the time has come; Jared entered the MTC today.

We were able to talk for about 15 minutes earlier today. He said he didn't know what to expect so he didn't know what to be nervous about. I am really excited for these next two years in his life. Jared and I are four years apart, which now seems like so little. But while we were growing up, it seemed like so much. Despite the geographical distance, I am sure we will grow closer over the next two years. I will miss my resident computer guy. He was always fixing our computers for us. I am sure he will make a great impact with the people in the Taiwan Taichung Mission.

Little Thief

2012-01-06T21:55:00.000-06:00

Warning: There is a picture of throw up in this post. Yep, I am that mom.

Last Friday, I went to the grocery store with Alex. I was letting him walk around instead of making him ride in the cart. We were checking out, and I was finishing placing the contents of the cart onto the conveyer belt. I turned around, and Alex was huddled in the corner. He was unwrapping a pack of gum! I did not think this lesson would be coming at such a young age. I quickly handed the pack of gum to the cashier, and once it was scanned, I placed it in my purse before Alex could see. There was no way he was going to get the gum he had tried to steal. Alex doesn't know how to chew gum. He swallows it almost immediately so we don't let him have it.

On Monday night, I was showing Sam the pack of gum and Alex's attempt to open it, and then Sam put it in the drawer of his nightstand. (Mistake #1.)

On Tuesday morning, Alex was playing and I fell asleep during Edison's first nap. (Mistake #2.) I woke up when Alex came up to me with two hands full of wrappers and said, "Wrappers, Mommy! More?" I realized he had eaten all ten pieces of gum. I had not been asleep for very long. Alex had only eaten an apple for breakfast that morning so he must have still been hungry.

An hour later, we were headed out to go feed some ducks with a friend. As I got bread out of the fridge, Alex grabbed a Capri-Sun. We pulled out of our neighborhood and Alex started coughing. He just kept coughing like he was choking on something. Suddenly it all started coming back up.

A few days earlier, a little girl threw up on our couch while I was babysitting her. I knew she was sick, but her mom really needed a babysitter. (Mistake #3 since I think Edison now has what she had).

I wasn't sure if Alex was sick because he had caught his friend's illness or if it had been because of the gum. The throw up did not smell at all. It was just apple, gum, and juice. I could see each little red piece of gum. I am so glad he didn't have cereal that morning.

I did a quick U-turn, called to cancel the play date, and put Alex in the bath. Edison was jealous that he couldn't get in, too. I asked Alex where it hurt because I wanted to know if he was sick. He gave me a quizzical look while shaking his head and said, "No hurt, Mommy."

He wasn't phased by this at all. He did have red marks on his chest from where the throw up sat while I was trying to get home and get paper towels. None of it got on the car. It was almost all on his clothes. Lucky duck!

Although the events of stealing the gum, eating it, and throwing it up were too far separated for Alex to make the connection, I am going to use this as a lifelong lesson for him; bad choices on his part lead to not-so-pleasant consequences for everyone around him.

Accessorizing

2012-01-03T22:44:00.001-06:00

I was flipping through channels today during nap time. I ended up on America's Next Top Model reruns. I haven't seen this show for years; I had a roommate in college who was obsessed with it. During a photoshoot, the models were replicating childhood photos. One model had a picture of her holding her baby sister. For the replication, they asked her to model while holding a baby doll. She said, "I don't know how to hold a baby." They told her that doesn't matter; "hold it like an accessory." They went on to describe the baby as a purse.

This is the picture from that photoshoot (source).

I laughed when I saw the result of holding a baby as an accessory. I remember a time when I only had one child: I could look cute, dress up Alex, and then go out like we were super awesome. He kind of was an accessory; a high-maintenance accessory, but still a compliment (alternate spelling and definition of complement also applies) to me.

Babies are the accessory that you can never change out. You cannot get bored with it and go buy a new one. They are not a novelty or a fad. One baby gives you something to talk about or something to distract you if there is nothing to talk about. Two kids don't even give you the chance to talk to other people, so it is a moot point. Now that I have two kids, I spend most of my time looking frazzled. There are many days when I cannot squeeze in a shower between the boys' destruction of the house and nap time. I feel like I am always late to activities. Edison has worn shoes three times in his entire life; I have a white trash baby. I have the frumpy mom look down so well, it is starting to feel normal. I don't even know how to dress up anymore. I feel like I have become the boys' accessory. They use me when and as they please. I am there to provide snacks and entertainment, and to open their doors.

Alex and Edison are my sidekicks. If I am without my kids, I usually just sit staring off into space kind of confused on what I should be doing with myself. I guess they are the purses I will never be replacing. I have found my style. I think they are pretty darn cute accessories.

The one child accessory, and the two children chaos.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-02T23:14:00.000-06:00

I wanted to make New Year's Eve special so I decided to make fondue. I think this is going to become a tradition. We did it pretty simply with just one cheese and one chocolate, but it was more than enough for the four of us. The cheese recipe was delicious and I found myself thinking about it later, so I am going to share that recipe at the bottom of this post.

Edison mushed the bread. Alex didn't try the cheese at all. These boys love their carbs.

Alex has a small obsession with party hats now. He insisted that all of us kept our hats on the entire night. If we switched colors, he would get upset and say, "No! Daddy's hat!" It was adorable. He wore his almost the whole night. Edison ended up ingesting part of his hat so we took it away.

We had a lot of different fruits to dip in the chocolate, but by the time we got to the second course, we were all so full so I only used bananas and strawberries. I made the cheese first, then after we were done eating, I made the chocolate while the boys played in the backyard.. I knew that if I put them both on the table at the same time, Alex would not eat anything besides chocolate and fruit. But once the chocolate was on the table, Alex didn't even want to try it. He only wanted fruit. I had to tell him that it was candy in order to convince him to try it. Then, of course, he drenched himself in it.

We went to the Sugar Land Town Square NYE party. It was pretty insane. It was family-friendly 7-9pm. There were a lot of little street acts and there were a ton of people. Alex decided to be Mr. Independent and sprint through the crowds. Sam said he had never seen Alex run so fast. We almost lost him a few times. Sam and I got separated because he chased after Alex and I stayed with the stroller.

We were showing Alex the motorcycles and then one of the officers said that Alex could sit on it. Alex looks really concerned, but I think he enjoyed it.

Alex loves dogs. This doggy was really nice and we tried to get Alex to pet it but he decided to instead stand a few feet away and point his head toward the ground and then look out of the corner of his eye at the dog. So the dog wouldn't know he was being watched? No idea. Alex is crazy.

You may notice that we are dressed very lightly. It was 72 degrees. It was beautiful.

They did a firework show at 9pm for the kids. It was pretty weak. It lasted for about three minutes. We saw better fireworks on the drive home. People in Texas take their fireworks very seriously. I could not believe how loud it was in our neighborhood. And not just for a few minutes, but for more than an hour! Before and after midnight, people all around were setting off large fireworks.

We got home around 9:30 and transferred Edison into his bed. Alex was not tired at all. I actually considered letting him stay up until midnight. He was bouncing around and was being so cute. We decided it would be best to put him in bed though, since midnight is meaningless to him.

No pictures from midnight. Kind of lame, but we didn't really want to be screaming with the boys asleep. We had sparkling cider, and headed to bed a little while after that.

Ultimate Cheese Fondue

Source: The Sister's Cafe

2 c. grated Swiss cheese

2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tb cornstarch
Dash of pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
French bread, cubed
1. Melt Swiss cheese and Monterey Jack cheese in 1 3/4 cups chicken broth with garlic added. Keep broth barely under a boil, stirring until cheese is completely melted (it will be stringy).
2. Combine cornstarch, pepper, salt, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce in 1/4 cup chicken broth. Add to cheese mixture, stirring until smooth. Put fondue mixture into a preheated fondue pot and keep at temperature hot enough to maintain desired texture without scorching.
3. Cut French bread into chunks. Sourdough rolls are great too. Cut so each bite size piece has a bit of crust on it. It is a good idea to cut the bread and leave it out in the open for awhile before dipping into the fondue.

Growing Up

2012-01-01T23:03:00.000-06:00

Alex is now 2 years and 5 months old. That is one month short of being two and a half. His vocabulary has quadrupled over the last week. He is singing songs, requesting songs, and repeating everything he hears or thinks about. He is telling stories and pretending. He is also making Edison pretend with him, or making up stories about what Edison is doing. His favorite is for them to both pretend they are horses while they are crawling around. He is such a smart kid.

He is really into somersaults. Headstands are tied with somersaults in awesomeness. Headstands that turn into somersaults off the bed are the best.

He watched Finding Nemo at my parents' house over Thanksgiving. Then his Merkley grandparents bought it for him for Christmas. He is always asking to watch the Nemo Show, the Dory Show, or the Shark Show. He constantly talks about Nemo and the boat or Nemo dying. I think he needs to pay attention more carefully. I tried telling him that Nemo isn't dead.

Alex loves the gym. Usually we go during the day but one day we went after Sam got home from work. When we were leaving, we couldn't find Sam so I went out to the car, buckled in the boys, and then drove around the parking lot while I called Sam. Every time his voicemail came on, it would say, "Hey, this is Sam..." Alex started whimpering and repeating, "Miss Sam." It was so sad. The gym has some pretty cool toys though. He loves this horse.

He likes to pretend his a gangster in the car.

For some reason, Alex loves resting his foot on Edison's carseat. Edison sometimes likes chewing on toes, but does not really like being kicked in the head.

People are always commenting on Alex's flyaway hair. It is unrestrainable. This mohawk only lasted until the hair dried.

I didn't think Alex would like the grapefruit. I gave him one bite, and he didn't seem to love it or hate it, but then he kept asking for more. I could hardly get a bite myself because he wanted all of it.

Alex loves playing outside. Always has, and I hope he always will.

Alex is kind of strange with his food. He doesn't eat very well, but he loves yogurt. One day, he wouldn't eat his yogurt because he wanted it to be blue. So blue it was. The next day, I made it green. Since then, he seems to be fine with regular-colored yogurt.

Many of the songs Alex has learned have been from the library's Toddler Time. He loves the crafts, stories, and friends at the library.

Alex would happily read books or be read to all day, every day. In this picture, he is reading Sam's Chinese-English dictionary. He carried this book around for days and was so interested in it.

He surprises me every day with his abilities to do things. I think I have been doing too many things for him. He can buckle the top buckle on his carseat, put on his own shirt, and blow his own bubbles. I am sure he can do much more, I just need to breathe and let him do it himself, even though it sometimes takes longer than I want it to.

Alex has always been so creative when playing with his toys. One day he pulled out the tupperware, filled them with his toys, stacked the tupperware, and then knocked the tower over. And repeat. It was very cute.

Alex is kind of dramatic. He has got an attitude and lots of personality but he can also be so kind and loving. He often shares his toys or food with everyone around and he makes sure everyone in the family gets a kiss before bed. He says, "Sowwy, Mom" to me when he accidentally runs into me.

Alex loves sitting in this "Kitty cat." His dimples are adorable. Some girl is going to fall in love with his dimples one day.

A few more things about Alex:
-He thinks "Awake" is synonymous with "Happy." So if we tell him it is time for a nap, he will say, "No! Happy!" He also tries to make this claim for Edison if we are putting him down for a nap.
-He will find out keys and set off the panic alarm on our car.
-If I can't understand what he is saying, he thinks of another way to say something. Example: Alex said, "Cows eat grass." I said, "Cars?" He said, "No! Moooo!"
-He doesn't always make the right decision the first time, but if I give him the choice between being obedient or time out, he usually mends his way.
-He notices the smallest incline/decline of roads. He will say, "Up, up, up!" as we drive up a hill and then exclaim, "Top!" Then "All done top. Down, down, down!"
-There are some horses and cows a few miles away from our house. He always knows when we get close to them and gets excited to see the horseys.

The End. And Beginning.

2011-12-31T23:08:00.000-06:00

It is hard to believe that the end of the year is here. I have so many things on my mind so I am just going to have a brain dump.

For my birthday, my friend Jami gave me a lunch date. We finally found a time where our husbands could watch the kids so we went out a few days before Christmas. We went to a place called Bullritos. I had never been there before but I loved it. They have free ice cream, too. It was pretty awesome. We were supposed to be home after an hour so our husbands could go play racquetball together. We stayed for almost two hours. It was so fun to visit with her. She is going to have a baby boy at the beginning of March.

The day after Christmas we went out for ice cream. Alex was stealing everyone's ice cream. That was fine with me though, because his tasted better than mine.

Edison really liked eating the mini spoon. I gave him a small bite of sherbet and he hated it. He doesn't like cold things.

100 days ago I started reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning. Today, I finished it. It was a great experience and I am glad I was able to finish it so quickly. It definitely was not easy for me. I have noticed a change in myself though. I love the Gospel.

I wanted to recap my favorite 2011 moments with links to the posts about them. But as I started thinking of my favorite moments, I realized most of them are undocumented because they are my feelings. So many moments that bring tears to my eyes.

Holding Edison for the first time.

The feeling I have toward the people I met in Ithaca, and realizing that they taught me how to be a mom and friend. I will never forget them.

That moment when we were in Arizona for Thanksgiving and Flannel got home, gave me a hug, and I cried. I had really missed him.

Phone calls with my mom and sister.

Holding Alex and realizing that his legs are hitting my legs. He has gotten so long.

Every time I see our almost empty dirty clothes hamper and realize how blessed I am to have my own washer and dryer so I can do laundry whenever I want.

Instead of listing specific resolutions, I wanted to come up with one word that could rule my thoughts and actions over the next year. I hope to come up with a Word of the Year each year that will set the standard for my new year. If I am running, or cleaning, or snuggling, or reading, or driving, I want to do each of those things with a specific goal, an overarching theme. My word for 2012 is breathe. Sometimes I feel like I am suffocating under my to-do lists or my kids needs. I am completely missing the point of being a mother. Next year, I plan to stop and breathe. I will breathe to leave a gap between my gut reaction and the reaction my kids and husband deserve, I will reprioritize so only the important things take a place in my life, I will simplify so I have room to breathe, and I will act with a purpose. I am looking forward to the new year. Breathing keeps me alive. I look forward to living a little more.

Christmas Day

2011-12-30T22:45:00.011-06:00

Christmas Day was better than I could have imagined. It was amazing. I am so happy. I love my family. Sam was so supportive of my lunacy and Alex and Edison were adorable. I loved every minute of it.

I woke up early to make cinnamon rolls. Alex wakes up around 7:30 every day so I wanted to have breakfast ready right when he woke up. He decided to sleep in on Christmas. We finally went into his room and woke him up at 8:15am.

We carried him into the kitchen without letting him see the balloons in the living room. He was perplexed by the pillow and blanket barrier we set up in the walkway that he could see from his high chair.

He was so interested in the fish. It was awesome. Edison was just confused by the whole situation. Fish are totally against our rental agreement. I bought seven fish on Christmas Eve. Today, six days later, all the fish have died. So sad. Tonight, Alex asked to feed the fish. I had to tell him that the fish were all gone.

Edison actually took bites out of the orange. He also got his first jar of baby food. We have just been feeding him pieces of whatever we were eating but I wanted to see what he thought of baby food.

Santa brought Edison some little puff cereal things. He hates them. Alex also hates them. Sad day. I was able to find some Mini Eggs for Sam. I am pretty proud of myself for that one.

Remember this Cozy Coupe we found for free by our neighbor's garbage can? A few days before Christmas, Alex's car mysteriously went missing... I was able to give it a complete makeover in one nap time. I took the pieces apart. Cleaned it. Wrapped grocery bags around wheels and steering wheel, and started the painting. My wedding ring has become such a part of my hand, I held the door of the car in my hand and spray painted. I had paint on my hands for a week and I had to get my wedding rings cleaned. Luckily jewelers do this for free. They look so fancy and sparkly now!

I was really hoping that Alex would still like his car. He loved it! He ran straight past all of the balloons and into his car. He spent the rest of the day playing in the car. Every time he would unwrap a gift, he would go back to his car to play with it while sitting in there.

They were also big fans of the balloons and they have brought days of fun.

A few weeks ago, someone left a bag full of gifts on our doorstep. They were all wrapped and labeled for the boys. The nice Secret Santa gave the boys so many awesome toys! A few months ago I took away a lot of Alex's toys and hid them in a closet. He just had too many and wasn't cleaning up after himself. I wrapped those toys for Christmas and gave them back to him. He seemed a little suspicious of some of them, but he was excited and has been playing with them all week.

Edison decided he needed to eat his new monkey.

We got Alex some sunglasses. Every time we drive somewhere, he complains about it being so bright outside. He is actually complaining about his right eye hurting a lot. I think I need to take him to the doctor.

SAMta got me a picnic basket. I am so excited to use it!

Alex has not left his Mater and McQueen toys once. He takes them to the gym, to bed, and to church. He loves them. Every time Alex would unwrap a present, he would be holding one or more toys he had already unwrapped in one hand and use the other hand to unwrap the new gift. Once he saw what was in it, he would bring the "old" toys over to me and say, "All done" and then go back to Sam and get his new toys. It was hilarious.

I made these fabric roads out of some old jeans my thunder thighs wore out. I just cut the jeans into strips, painted dotted lines down the center using yellow fabric paint, and then put small pieces of velcro on the bottom so the roads will stick to the carpet better. Alex loved driving his cars on the roads and I like how little room they take up and how easy they are to put away. Win-win!

I got Sam a bidet for Christmas. It was a huge surprise. He didn't ask for it, I just thought he might like it. He does.

I have long suspected that I am my parents' favorite. I could probably write a book about this topic. My parents do so much for me. We wouldn't have been able to get through graduate school without their loans. We had planned to pay them back starting in January. This gift is unbelievable. We owed them a lot of money. A lot. Like, half Sam's age times a thousand.

Our church was at 11am on Christmas (usually it is at 9am) and only lasted an hour. Christmas on a Sunday was the best idea ever. I really enjoyed going to church and spending an hour focusing on our Savior. After we got home from church, I made the family take another picture. The kids were not really feeling it.

That night, we went to the Thomson's for dinner. I made ham, garlic-herb scalloped potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Jami provided rolls, salad, and drinks. It was so fun to visit and play with them for a few hours. Alex is obsessed with Addi. Sam and Jason have started playing racquetball all the time. And I think Jami is pretty cool. So we all get along.

Addi also got a goldfish for Christmas. Jami helped Alex to feed it.

I have felt so blessed throughout this whole Christmas season. I cannot believe how much good I have in my life. Our home teacher asked us this month about our blessings and I can't stop thinking about it. Every blessing I have is because of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful that I was able to spend Christmas with Sam, Alex, and Edison and reflect on my love and our Savior's love for them and all of us. It was a beautiful day. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T23:05:00.000-06:00

We went over to the Cannon's for dinner on Christmas Eve for a traditional New Mexican dinner. Terri and I serve in the Young Women's presidency together. I was very unsure of what to expect out of a New Mexican dinner but it ended up being delicious. Terri made carne adovada, beans, potatoes, tamales, and red chili sauce. I brought the pumpkin pie. This was kind of a last minute thing. We had planned to have Christmas Eve alone and I had already bought everything to make our own meal. So instead I made it all on Christmas Day.

Edison managed to grab his bowl of Kix and dump it onto the ground. Alex was very hungry but didn't really like his "burrito" so he and Edison were on the ground together shoving Kix into their mouths. It was entertaining. But I felt bad because their house is spotless and we were totally destroying it.

Matt played a few Christmas songs on the guitar. I had forgotten to bring my violin which is too bad. I think that would have been fun. Alex enjoyed playing with Jason and Ian, although they kept running out of the play room to tell us that he was playing too rough with their toys.

In New Mexico, they light luminarias on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, in Texas it was raining. The bags were soggy messes and on fire simultaneously. It was pretty impressive. Once all of the candles were lit, we walked around and put them out, then gathered the bags and tossed them in the garbage.

I am so glad we did it though. Alex was in heaven. He loves being outside so much. We let him run around outside, at night, in the rain. It was like Christmas or something. Oh wait...

I think it looked awesome and feel we should adopt this tradition. I remember some people doing it in Arizona, too.

We headed home around 8pm to get the boys ready for bed. We had to take pictures first though. Sam's sister Emily bought these pajamas for Alex two years ago (so Alex was four months old). We squeezed almost-nine-month-old Edison into them. He looked ridiculously adorable.

Have I mentioned that keys are his favorite toy?

It is a tradition in my family to act out the Nativity. Our Baby Jesus was not a fan of his swaddling clothes and our Joseph just wanted to wear his cape in peace. So to save The Bible from "Jesus'" destructive hands, Sam finished the reading for me.

Once the kids were in bed, it was time for Santa! I cannot describe how giddy I was. It was like I was being sneaky and awesome all at the same time. Sam was surprised by most of it so it was fun to finally have the secrets in the open. I think I am still a kid at heart. I was having a hard time not peeking at what Sam put in my stocking.

I wanted to get Edison a cheap toy that would be fun to play with. Kids love balloons; Edison is no exception. We blew up 135 balloons. It took us two hours and a small piece of skin came off of one of my fingers from tying them. My thumb ached for a few days and was basically nonfunctional.

Then we were off to be nestled in bed for a not-so-long winter's nap while visions of sugar plums danced in our heads.

The Countdown to Christmas

2011-12-28T23:41:00.002-06:00

Since the time we decided we would be staying in Texas for Christmas, I have been worried about not being able to make it compare to Christmases growing up, for both of us. Traditions are a serious business. People get very upset if traditions are broken. Luckily, Sam and I were not too caught up in the details of the holiday, and we were more into the spirit of it. We had a very busy month though. Looking back through all of these pictures, it was a great month. It was rare that we were just sitting around bored. Sam got home from work one day and asked me if I was trying to do a craft a day or something. I wasn't, but I was just much more creative this month. I loved being able to do whatever I wanted without worrying about breaking other peoples' traditions. I just got to make my own!

First, we bought our Christmas tree. It was kind of a crazy night where we went to three different places in a rush before I had to get to a YW Presidency meeting. We finally found a good tree, brought it home, I helped Sam carry it in, and then I left. The lights didn't get finished until two days later.

I could see us having two trees one day. Sam really wants real trees; I don't mind either way. However, I love decorating a pretty tree. But one day the boys will want to put their own ornaments on. For that day, Mommy will need her own tree.

It was kind of my pride and joy for the whole month.

Two years ago my mom made this advent calendar for me. It looks just like the one we had growing up (which she also made). We haven't been home for the whole month of December before but this year we got to hang up all of the ornaments! It was fun!

Alex got to decorate his own little tree.

Edison does not like being Santa.

The youth in our ward went on an awesome hayride to look at Christmas lights. It was a cold night, which I was glad about because it added to the feeling of it!

We had some friends over for dinner and a craft. We ended up going to the Thomson's for Christmas dinner.

Other friends came over a few nights later. For dinner and a craft again... We went to the Cannon's for Christmas Eve dinner.

Lily and her mom Kristi came over for lunch one day.

I was pretty hands-off with the gingerbread house this year. It ended up very Alex-ed.

I made little trees with our names on them so we could tell each person's stocking apart from the others.

We went to the gym on a Saturday and Santa was there! At this point, we had not told Alex a single thing about Santa so he had no idea what was going on.

More pictures from the Festival of Lights. We left our parking spot quickly so someone else could pull in. The boys loved driving around not buckled in.

We made a snowman and played Pin the Carrot Nose of the Snowman.

Rudolph came to Chick-Fil-A. Alex got his face painted to match and he loved it.

We drove around to see Christmas lights. Some people go all out!

Alex learned how to sing Jingle Bell Rock. Sometimes he loved it...

...Sometimes he hated it.

The boys have been very into the Christmas tree. Alex is pretty good about not touching it, but Edison swats at it every chance he gets.

It sure is fun to hang out under the tree though.

I was mostly worried about being forgotten. I wanted our families to at least be a little sad that we weren't there, since we were sad. We were not forgotten at all! We got so many Christmas cards! I felt very loved throughout the whole month and there was not a tear or any pang of loneliness from me!

Edison's Edition (9 Months)

2011-12-27T21:12:00.000-06:00

Weight: 19 pounds, 13 ounces
Length: 29.25 inches

Nine months on, nine months off. Mommy is back to pre-pregnancy weight! Edison has done a lot of growing up this month. He is so adorable. He loves babbling and gets more active every day. He is really into everything. If he could pull himself up onto the couch, he would be the happiest boy in the world. One day, Edison. Thanks to being so active, there are a ton of pictures this month!

He hates applesauce. Or any cold food.

He plays alongside his brother.

Sometimes we have to put him in the ExerSaucer so he'll stop moving.

Most adorable little bum.

He thinks he is old enough to participate at the library story time.

"I know something you don't know."

Edison is not a fan of Alex's shenanigans.

Squuuuish!

This is kind of fun! (Texas has Fall in December!)

I cannot believe he is old enough to sit like this.

He is always getting stuck under the table.

Stretch!

He is curious about cameras.

The dinosaur is terrified of his booty.

He always chooses the noisiest toys.

He gets excited about the idea of eating, but not so much about the actual eating of rice cereal.

What is that camera doing not in my mouth?!

He loves being smashed by big balls.

He finds any crinkly thing he can and it becomes a favorite toy.

He acts as a road for his brother.

He is so good at the grocery store.

Cars are a delicious afternoon snack.

Poop head!

Hello down there!

Eating some leftovers.

Is he trying to punch Mommy?

Something suspicious is happening...

He loves to sweep.

He makes airplanes take-off.

He is a good horsey.

Elephant tails are perfect chew toys.

He gets bored staring at the back seat in the car.

He opens drawers and empties bookshelves.

This armrest is at the perfect height to eat (and fall into).

He wishes he could attack Alex on the couch.

Crackers taste better when they're crumbled and soggy.

Attempting to break Mommy's bracelet (Mission: Accomplished)

What's a baby got to do to get some food around here?!

I love when he sleeps in my arms.

Tongue out. Like a dog.

This face makes me laugh so hard. He loves being under the table.

Sweet potatoes are a new favorite.

He doesn't get quiet play time very often.

Here are a few more things Edison does for which I do not have a matching picture:

He...

...puts up his arms to be picked up.

...uses his mouth as a third hand.

...uses pincer fingers to pick up small pieces of food.

...rocks back and forth on his hands and knees before he goes after something he really wants.

...can stand for a second without resting on anything.

...has six teeth now (two front teeth came in on 12/12).

...gets a little beat up by Alex each day.

...stuck his tongue in an outlet and got electrocuted.

...thinks that my boob is finger food.

...cries with his mouth closed when he is really tired.

...gets in really funny positions while nursing lying down. He starts flipping onto his belly and then kneels up. All while trying to continue nursing.

...is always putting things in his mouth.

...likes emptying shelves and baskets.

Sam's Half Birthday

2011-12-26T23:00:00.000-06:00

Sam had to go to Tulsa for a few days last week (Sunday night - Wednesday night) for work. He was doing a driver training. He got to drive on a skidpan, learn how to avoid obstacles (head on collisions as well as an obstacle in the road where he would have to swerve into a ditch), and practice controlling a truck during fish-tailing caused by snow.

He got home late at night on his half birthday. That didn't stop me from celebrating. I had to explain that the cans are smaller than the bottles. Not by half, but that was the idea: a half present. Thirty and a half years old. Whoa.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T11:00:00.000-06:00

Festival of Lights

2011-12-23T21:19:00.000-06:00

We went to the Moody Gardens Festival of Lights in Galveston. It was Sam's first time to Galveston. We picked him up after work and went straight there. It takes about an hour and a half but we had to stop to eat dinner as well. We got to Moody Gardens and walked around to see the lights. It was a chilly night and, because Galveston is an island, it was windy and cold coming off the water.

Alex was bouncing off the walls. He was running around like a mad man; weaving in and out of the people that were getting in his way like they thought they had a right to be there or something. Eventually Alex got tired of walking and wanted to be held. That was my favorite part. I loved being able to see his face and hear him exclaim excitedly with each new thing.

Edison seemed a little cold but he was happy to look around at all of the people and lights.

Alex saw the dinosaur lights. The obvious thing to do is to act like a dinosaur. Obvious, people.

It was a really fun night and I hope that it will become a tradition if we stay in Houston for a while. Once we got the boys back to the car, we changed their diapers and put them in their pajamas. While we were doing this, Edison pulled a drink out of the cup holder and dumped it on our brand new car's console. Sticky, wet mess. Party! We cleaned up and then started the drive home. Sleepy boys and a quiet drive. I love the Christmas feeling!

Three Christmas Parties

2011-12-22T22:52:00.000-06:00

Splitting each Christmas party into a separate post was getting kind of ridiculous so I am combining three into one post.

We met the Rojas back in July. They came to Alex's birthday party and we had seen them at Stake functions a few times since then. They invited us to their house for an early Christmas dinner.

LeighAnn and I were visiting teaching companions. I am so sad that they just moved back to Seattle.

Even though I am not doing preschool anymore, we were still invited to the party. It was awesome! Fake snow which Alex loved playing in and Edison loved eating. It was crazy with all of the kids running around. Alex loved it.

I was busy taking a picture of all of the kids and then I couldn't find Alex in the picture. That's because he was hiding under a table. So he came into the picture once everyone else was done.

We had our own picture. Alex's tummy is always showing in pictures.

Some new people moved into our ward and I became friends with the wife. Her name is Kristy and she is hilarious. I also visit teach her so I get to see her a lot. They invited us to their Ugly Sweater Party. I thought my sweater was a little cute, until I put it on. It doesn't fit and it is so short! But no one thought it was ugly. It is tiny! Sam's was gigantic and the sleeves didn't match. Yikes.

Crystal and Kristy were the only ones who danced. It was so entertaining because they were really into it.

I made a cheese ball that tasted delicious but looked a little strange. It didn't help that I forgot to take a picture until after people had started eating it.
We played a White Elephant game. Somehow we ended up with a gag gift when everyone else brought real, nice gifts. Sam thinks it's hilarious and has been wanting a nutcracker. Umm, cool. I'll just put that in our kitchen drawer.

We had babysitters (two sisters) for the boys. I checked my phone and noticed that I had missed two calls. I called them back and their phone was off. I called them 16 times and drove home. They had accidentally turned off their phone. They called because they couldn't remember which blanket was Edison's swaddle blanket.

SLB Christmas Party

2011-12-21T20:46:00.000-06:00

Sam and I were very excited for the SLB Christmas party. It was our first time going to a work Christmas party. A Laurel from our ward babysat for us that night so she came home with us from the ward Christmas party. We changed into fancier clothes, I quickly nursed Edison, we gave the babysitter instructions, and then we were off. This was our first time having someone else put down Edison for bed. It went really well and he didn't wake up for her at all.

We were giddy on the drive to the party. Okay, so maybe just I was giddy. Sam looks bored. I got my dress from my cousin. Trying to make it modest was a little ridiculous. I was wearing two undershirts. One for the cleavage and one for the sleeves. It ended up totally ruining the dress, but the only black bolero I have ties in the front and would have ruined the look even more.

Dinner was amazing. We ate once, and then once we moved tables to sit by people Sam knew, we ate again. I didn't have my camera or phone (left it with the babysitter) so I didn't take any pictures once we got to the party. Luckily other people were camera happy that night.

Alcohol was free. People were definitely taking advantage of it. You may notice some peoples' (especially the guy in the front) eyes are glazed over. In this picture, I only know one person. Her name is Saranya (directly behind the guy in the middle) and she was in Cornell's ILR program with Sam. She works in Houston.

They did door prizes every hour. They gave out tons of gifts cards to various places ($50, $100, and $150). The final prizes were two round-trip tickets anywhere in the US and then two round-trip tickets anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, we did not win anything.

We got our picture taken. It is awful and so awesome. It makes me laugh every time I see it. I look pregnant and Sam is trying to be taller than me. Amazing.

I finally got over being shy and decided to dance with Saranya and the other girls. Then they dragged Sam onto the dance floor. Wow. I don't think I had ever seen Sam dance like that. I was cracking up. He was so awkward. I loved it.

The party ended at midnight (5.5 hours long?!). It was such a fun night. I am looking forward to next year already!

Ward Christmas Party

2011-12-20T22:19:00.000-06:00

We were at the ward Christmas party for less than an hour. I went to show my support for the young women. We were having a silent dessert auction to earn money for Girls Camp. I made the most delicious chocolate cake ever. I made the same recipe for Sam's 29th birthday. It costs about $20 for ingredients. It sold for $35 and I don't get any of it (that's the idea, and I knew it). I thought the desserts would go for more, but there were so many there, and they all started at $5, so they didn't have to sell for very much.

The white cake was a Color Me cake. It came with edible markers so you could draw on the fondant and then eat the cake. Such a great idea!

The chocolate cake with almonds on top is the one I made. Amazing. I still remember it from a year and a half ago. A lady I visit teach bought it and she said it was delicious. She wouldn't share it with her kids because they wouldn't have appreciated it and she wanted to keep it all to herself. That means it's good. I am glad someone appreciated it.

Fathers & Sons Campout

2011-12-19T22:40:00.000-06:00

I think Alex grew up overnight. I sent my baby on a campout, and he came home a big boy.

It seems unusual to have this campout in December. The weather was perfect though. The only problem is that it gets dark around 5:30 so by the time everyone got there, it was pitch black. This was Alex's second Fathers and Sons Campout but last time they didn't sleep there.

Sam was on the planning committee. It sounded like they did a great job and everyone had a lot of fun.

Sam didn't like that the campout was just in a field. There aren't really mountains around here. However, Alex isn't picky. He just loves everyhting about being outside so he and Daddy had a blast wandering around and sleeping outside.

Sam didn't think Alex was hyper enough, so he took him to Dairy Queen on the way home. That is one lucky boy. I am sure there will be many more father and son campouts for my boys.

Edison stayed home with me this year. As hard as I wish, Sam just can't seem to lactate. Also, Edison in a tent sleeping right next to (snoring) Daddy would be a bad idea.

The Car Gods Hate Us

2011-12-18T22:17:00.001-06:00

I think we win the award for having the worst luck with cars. Ever. Let's start from the beginning.

Remember on July 29th when we bought a brand new 2012 Hyundai Sonata?

Well, 26 days and 535 miles later, we met Sam for lunch. On our way home, I noticed that the car was slightly waving. It was losing power and then picking back up but I thought I was imagining it. I was almost home, but the street I was about to turn on was under construction. It had one lane going each way and absolutely no shoulder. I pushed down the accelerator and nothing happened. I decided to coast into the gas station on the corner and make sure the car was okay. As I pulled in, almost all of the dashboard indicators started coming on: battery, EPS, oil, and check engine. Once I parked, the car turned off.

I couldn't believe it. I started wondering if we had forgotten to change the oil or something. But remember, this car only had 535 miles! It had plenty of gasoline. I called roadside assistance and they sent a tow truck and a car to pick up the little boys and me. The car they picked us up in had no air conditioner. July in Texas. It was fabulous.

Hyundai wasn't sure what the problem was, but they called the next day to say that we had "internal engine failure" and it would take nearly three weeks to replace the engine. It had nothing to do with us; the vehicle was "set to fail."

They got us a rental car, an HHR, which is in no way comparable to a Sonata. It also had a flat tire. The rental car company told us to take the car to a mechanic and get the tire fixed. Umm, no. I returned it to them.

Eventually Hyundai gave us a Sante Fe to drive. I really liked it. Although despite all of my requests for gas reimbursement for the difference in MPG, Hyundai refused.

Hyundai was really interesting to work with. I would have given up without my dad's help. He wrote a letter to the CEO, he made phone calls, and most importantly, he bugged me almost every day so I wouldn't let it go. It was such an aggravating situation, that I really wanted to give up.

The stories I was told by Hyundai got kind of absurd. I was told that "This car could have been built on a Monday and they were still hungover." I had salesmen call me to try to sell me another car. One lady became frustrated when I couldn't understand the Texas Lemon Law and she said that she "does this same thing every day." So they have a lot of cars failing?

Twenty-one days later, Hyundai offered to pay two car payments for us. I was livid. We had been pushing for three weeks to get a new car. Meanwhile, they were putting us off as they replaced the engine. I threatened to stand outside of the dealership and tell people not to buy their cars. Childish? Maybe. The lady I was working with said she would call me back after she talked to her manager. She called and offered to repurchase or replace our car.

Finally! After a ton of paperwork (including getting the wrong paperwork sent to us and notarized), the problem was that Sonata inventory is really low right now. They sell them so fast. It took almost three months to find us a new car. The appointment was set to pick up the new car and sign over the old car.

I was so excited to have the Hyundai ordeal resolved. Two days before that was to happen, Sam rear-ended someone on his drive home from work. The Jetta is a total loss. Now I get to learn more about insurance. The Jetta has over 173,000 miles. We bought it a few months before we got married and it has seen us through 27 states (from my best estimate).

Sam was totally fine. He had to climb out of his window though. The front driver's side panel smashed back into his door. The other driver was in an Explorer. Her car had zero damage and a police report was not filed. Thus, no fault!

After we got home, Sam was grabbing something out of his car by rolling down the window with the key in the door. While rolling up the window, Edison's fingers got closed in the window. It was so sad. Edison has since had a full recovery.

We did pick up our new Sonata though. A full 99 days after the original one broke down. They added in free tinted windows for our time. The new car has made it past 535 miles. For that, I feel Hyundai deserves a congratulations.

As annoying as this has all been, I am grateful for this experience. I have learned so much through the whole thing. I guess that is true with all trials. I should add that it's a good thing I waited until this was all resolved before writing about it. It would have been much more scathing otherwise.

*Sam had to sign a confidentiality agreement. I signed nothing. This blog is all from me (Emily) and Sam has nothing to do with the writing of it.

Thanksgiving Break: Monday

2011-12-17T23:27:00.007-06:00

The end of our Thanksgiving Break has come. We were the very last ones to leave my parents' house. I was sad to leave, too.

As we were checking into the airport, I got an email saying that our flight had been delayed. Due to being delayed, we would have missed our connecting flight in El Paso so they didn't even want us to board the first flight. They put us on standby for a later flight but when the time came, they only had two tickets. We considered sending Alex and Sam ahead but then they would have been waiting around in Houston for us to get there so we gave up the tickets.

We had a few hours in the airport to fill. It was a party. The boys did great. I was done though. I was ready to be sleeping.

While waiting in the airport, a lady asked me if I was expecting. You many remember that this has happened before. It isn't easier to handle the second time.

Our flight ended up leaving Phoenix around 9pm instead of 2:30. At least we got on a non-stop flight. It wasn't a full flight either so we were able to bring on Edison's carseat for him to sleep in. Alex wouldn't fall asleep in the seat. Eventually he fell asleep on the ground and then I brought him back up onto the seat. We got to Houston after midnight and got home around 1am.

Thanksgiving Break: Sunday

2011-12-16T19:50:00.000-06:00

We had brunch before church. All extended family members were invited but not everyone came which resulted in a lot of leftover muffins. All the better for me to undo everything the 5K training did.

Everyone came to the church to hear Flannel speak. He didn't talk very much about his mission because we had heard so much the night before, but he gave a really good talk about teaching the gospel in the home (I don't think that was the actual topic, but that is what applied to me). He said something like, "Duty and responsibility makes you do something. Love makes you do it well." I need to ask him for the exact quote.

After church, Everett took a nap. This is an adorable baby. He is so cuddly. Most people left town right after Sacrament Meeting so the house was very quiet.

After dinner, Holly came over to see us. I am glad she was willing to load up her kids and come over, because I was not about to head out again. I was being really lazy. I had fun visiting with her and meeting her three kids.

Camille stopped by to pick up something for her little sister. We only got to talk for a few minutes but I was glad to see her.

Alex has never needed so many baths. He was a disaster from playing so hard all day long. Daddy made his towel do a magic trick and Alex was so impressed.

Thanksgiving Break: Saturday

2011-12-15T23:08:00.000-06:00

Saturday was full of a bunch of exciting things. First, I had a reunion with the CeLJ girls. We had not all been together since my bridal shower. We met for breakfast. Janelle was only able to come at the end but it was still great to visit with the girls and catch up on their current lives and future plans.

Crazy that we are all married now!

Sam was so nice and watched the boys all morning while I was at breakfast and Michelle was car shopping.

I really wanted to see Whitni, and I really wanted to go to Del Taco. So we combined the two. I have no words for how much I love Whitni. She is the best.

We didn't get to visit very long because I had to get home to go to Marshall's wedding reception with my brothers. I hadn't seen Whitni enough so she came with us! We both knew Marshall from the high school swim team. It was a little awkward seeing people that I haven't seen or talked to for years. But it was also interesting and I am glad I went.

That afternoon, most people went golfing. I stayed home with the kids. Thankfully, Laura went and took pictures and then let me steal them.

My Papa on the ground stretching makes me smile. I sure love him.

That night was Flannel's Well Done dinner. We got to see pictures and hear stories about his mission. He and Jacob (our cousin who recently returned from his mission to Moscow) spoke a little Russian for us, too.

Aunt Alexis let Edison play with her keys and he was in heaven. He loves keys so much.

Alex was being such a punk and was running up on the stage. He always has to be the center of attention.

Gramma, Granddaughter, and Great-Grandson. I love this picture.

I tried picking up my fatty brother and almost broke my back.

Neil Family Pictures

2011-12-14T23:34:00.000-06:00

Family pictures were exciting. Lots of people with no real idea for what to do. So we wandered around for a while as the kids got more and more restless. It was pretty awesome.

The photographer was very willing to take pictures with all combinations of people. It was really nice. We got some good ones, and some terrible ones. All in all, I think I have a pretty good looking family.

Sheldon wasn't able to come to Mesa for Thanksgiving so he missed the pictures. Michelle did a great job wrangling two kids alone.

It took us a while to get warmed up.

Edison missing a shoe. Alex could not look any more bored.

My boys!

Laura's shoes were amazing.

All of the boys!

The girls!

These pictures make me laugh. I love my dad jumping in the background.

Grandma and Grandpa Hilton

Alex looks cute, but he was being a pain in the butt.

Wandering around.

We struggled with this one a little.

Everett was so awake for his photoshoot!

Edison was on the move. So many twigs to eat!

Look at those cute bums!

We tried the jumping pictures. We were awful. Some of us got kicked out and the boys took care of it.

Trying to get hit by a car.

These last two are my favorites.

Thanksgiving Break: Friday

2011-12-13T22:22:00.000-06:00

My cousin Tori is getting married at the end of December. We had a family bridal shower for her which was a teensy bit awkward and also hilarious. We heard the story of some of the lingerie. Tori's younger sister was lingerie shopping for Tori and texted her mom to say how cute one piece was. Her mom asked for a picture. Instead of just sending a picture, AnnMarie put on the lingerie and then sent a picture to Tori accidentally. So amazing. I almost peed myself because I was laughing so hard.

We had family pictures taken. I will post those tomorrow.

We went to the temple lights. It was such a beautiful night and because concerts hadn't started yet, hardly anyone was there.

We went to Bahama Bucks. It was delicious. Edison acted like he really wanted a bite so we gave him one. He quickly regretted his decision. Too cold.

Alex was being so cute and was putting the umbrella over his head and saying, "Bwella."

Flannel and Jacob act like they are dating. They wanted to go up to a missionary at the temple and say, "Can my partner and I get a tour of that [the temple] building?"

Thanksgiving Day

2011-12-07T23:26:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, I thought it would be fun to run a 5K on Thanksgiving. I started looking into them and they are expensive! So I decided to plan one for our family. Laura was my planning buddy. It was so fun to make invitations, race bibs, and awards. I was really glad that most family members participated, and they were all excited about it, too!

Alex didn't know what was going on and he was chasing after me. It was so sad. My goal was to run the entire 5K so I picked him up and ran with him for half a lap. That was rough.

Crossing the finish line!

Keaton showed off his awesome race bib for us.
Holly and her family were on a walk to the track. It was so fun to see her, even though I was tired and smelly.

The boys were really competitive. Stuart killed everyone, but Sam lead a group of boys behind Stuart. With 1/4 of a lap left, Jacob and Flannel started sprinting and beat him.
Sydney and Laura ran together for a long time. Syd ended up winning, Laura took second, and Tori took third. I was fourth. I was also the last girl (in my defense, all of the other girls quit). I was two laps behind everyone else. I did run the entire time. It took me 35 minutes. I am really proud of myself since I am pretty sure I had shin splints.

Hanging out and waiting for dinner!

Before dinner, we gave out some awards. Sam won Most Intimidating. Seriously, everyone was so worried about Sam. Jacob and Flannel teamed up against him. I won Most Determined. It was embarrassing to run the last two laps alone. But I really wanted to finish. Alex won the award for taking the Most Steps. Edison won the award for being the Most Sleepy.

Finally time to eat!

We ate at 1pm which is the time Alex usually goes down for a nap. He was eating his roll and was kind of zoning out. Then we looked over, and he was asleep. But he was still dipping his fingers in his mashed potatoes and moving them to his mouth.

My parents' driveway was a parking lot.

Some people played outside after dinner. I was trying to fight off a nap. Many people lost that battle though.

Phase 10 with six people takes way too long!

Thanksgiving Break: Wednesday

2011-12-06T13:47:00.003-06:00

When we first got to Mesa, my little brother *Flannel was out on a date. I stayed up and waited for him to get home because I hadn't seen him for more than two years. But the kiddos couldn't stay up that late so they saw each other the next morning. Flannel had not seen Alex since he was three weeks old and he had never met Edison.

My cousin Kayla lives in Scottsdale but she was going home to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. A few hours before she left, we met for lunch at a delicious sandwich shop. I love her and wish we lived closer.

The trampoline hole was getting filled in with dirt so the boys re-dug the hole and then put the trampoline mat back on. My aunt and uncle moved out of their house and gave my parents their trampoline so now we have two trampolines! Awesome!

Keaton got on and started jumping around immediately. Alex was not into it at all. I tried holding him but he just wanted to get off of it.

My mom was always on baby duty. She is so good at calming cute babies (and ugly babies, but we only have cute babies in our family). Alex loved that tiny mug ("bee-bee tup").

Jared tested out the depth of the trampoline hole and the strength of the trampoline. All seemed well until Matthew got on it and bottomed out. Ouch!

My mom made fancy dinners every night. It was so fun to squeeze around the table with everyone!

Alex warmed up to the trampoline. It was hard to keep him off of it! He loved running around with his cousin Keaton. Alex's feet got really nasty though.

It didn't take the boys very long to escalate the trampoline tricks. They were jumping off the roof, onto the first trampoline, onto the second trampoline, and then off. Then they started doing it in a train. Then they started jumping back up! Insanity. I am proud to say that I jumped off the roof twice though.

I wanted to help my mom make the pie crusts because I am horrible at it and I wanted to learn. Instead, we ruined the pie crust together! I think I need to swear off making pie crusts forever.

Katie came over to visit and introduce us to her husband! It was so fun to see her. I am really happy that she met such a great guy. They are so newlywedded. It's awesome.

*His real name is Nathanael. My parents aren't that crazy.

Toward the Light

2011-12-04T22:29:00.000-06:00

I am sure this is an elementary concept to most: as you walk toward a light, your shadow shifts. Tonight, as I paced the back of the chapel with Edison during the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, I noticed the shift of my shadow. Shadows are interesting. I am going to make a cheesy comparison now.

I am far from being a perfect person. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by my imperfections. I think back to the person I used to be, how I used to act or treat others, and it makes me so disappointed in myself. I want to keep improving but I notice that I am trudging through my mistakes again.

I realized that as long as I am trying to be better, and walking toward the light, I can leave all of my mistakes behind me. I wish I never got upset with my kids, but I do. Tomorrow I will be better. Each day I want to be better than the day before. I don't want to see my shadow anymore. But I am glad it is still there. Just to remind me when I do turn around, that I should stop because I don't want to go that way again. I am so grateful for the Atonement that allows me to move away from my shadow and closer to the Light.

Thanksgiving Break: Tuesday

2011-12-03T21:24:00.000-06:00

I have over 2,000 pictures from our six day Thanksgiving Break. Thanks to that, I decided to divide up the Thanksgiving posts by day.

On Tuesday, we flew from Houston to Phoenix. Sam came home from work a little early. It was a direct flight. We haven't had one of those for a while so it was nice. The flight was less than 3 hours long. This was the first time we all got to sit on the same row! Each row only has four oxygen masks. On sold out flights, that means that two lap riders cannot be seated on the same row. But this was Alex's first flight with his own seat! It was great to be together.

Alex was really into reading the magazines and safety information pamphlets. He read them during the entire flight. We were sitting over the wing. It gave Alex something to look at during the flight. He was so excited to see an airplane out the window. I tried to explain to him that we were on an airplane. Crazy kid.

Alex got to order his very own drink. He got a straw. I was kind of jealous.

Alex wanted to hold hands while we were landing. It was adorable.

Edison started out really happy. But then he would not take a nap. We were excited to get to my parents' house and put the boys to bed! After they got to play with their cousins for a little bit, of course. Let the fun begin!

Today Would Be...?

2011-12-02T00:31:00.002-06:00

I know I am not the only stay-at-home mom with this condition. It is a serious and very real condition though.

I chronically have no idea what day of the week it is.

You would think that I don't have a schedule if I don't know what day it is, but you would be wrong. I know that we have playgroup and mutual on Wednesdays, library on Thursdays, church on Sundays, etc. I think what gets me is that I don't know the order of the days or something. Two sleeps after church should be Tuesday, right? Then why does it always feel like it is Wednesday? I cannot figure this out.

Somehow Friday just sneaks right up on me every week. Sam kisses me goodbye in the morning and I jolt awake wondering why he is wearing jeans to work. Because there is no way on God's green earth that it is Friday already.

Cousin-ly Love

2011-11-30T19:14:00.001-06:00

Sam and I were laughing so hard while watching this video that we were crying. Keaton's face at the end kills me.

Today marks the last day of posting every day for a month. I have been behind on blogging since we moved to Texas. It feels great to be all caught up. Hallelujah!

Ice Blocking

2011-11-29T21:52:00.000-06:00

For FHE last week, we went ice blocking. We went in the retention basin behind our house. The hill is not very steep at all and the grass kept stopping us. Sam was the only one who got a good ride down the hill. But it was still fun. Alex enjoyed running around and I think I saw Edison looking at us like he thought we were crazy. That's what makes a good Family Home Evening, right?

A Part of Something

2011-11-28T14:10:00.002-06:00

Every time I see any type of performance, I always leave with a feeling like my heart is full. I remember how those people feel. I remember what it is like to be a part of something spectacular. No one would sound very good all alone. The performance was made because each instrument/voice/actor worked together. It usually takes a lot of time and talent to put on a great performance.

I remember sitting in symphonies and listening to our performances. The sound gave me the chills. I knew I was not very good at the violin, but the combination of all of the instruments being played by talented people brought an amazing result. I was proud to be a part of that.

I went to a BYU music camp after my 9th grade year. It still get the chills when I listen to the recording of our concert. Those same feelings come back of great accomplishment. I was part of something that had an amazing result.

It has been a while since I have performed in anything. But I realized I still get that feeling of being a part of something special; something bigger than me alone. Every time I go to church, read my scriptures, pray, talk to someone about the church, or go to the temple, I am overwhelmed by the feeling of being a part of something special. The church has millions of members. I am such a miniscule part of it. But I don't feel insignificant. I am contributing to this beautiful thing. It gives me the chills to be a part of it. A part of something spectacular. The Gospel is perfect. An amazing gift to everyone that has changed my life and makes me try to be better every day. I may be small, but I am a part of something with the church, a part of something really special.

Edison's Edition (8 Months)

2011-11-27T18:48:00.098-06:00

Weight: 19 pounds, 8 ounces
Length: 29 inches

I cannot get enough of this kid. I am obsessed with him. He stopped sleeping through the night for a few weeks, and as frustrating as it was, I had missed seeing him. After I nurse him, I always take a few minutes to cuddle him. He is only cuddly when he is about to fall asleep. When we go into his room, he is always sitting up in his crib waiting for us. He would also sit up when he was supposed to be going to sleep. So we started swaddling him again. He hadn't been swaddled since he was only a few weeks old. We had to take the bassinet attachment out of his Pack N Play because I thought he was going to topple out.

Shredding any paper he can find.

Crawling for the camera.

Hanging out in big brother's bed.

Out for a night of rollerblading. He loves being outside.

He gets himself into interesting places.

Hanging out and watching football with Daddy.

He likes emptying all of the baskets.

Fascinated by something (anything) at church.

Confining him on the porch: an empty pool.

So high up on the couch!

Door stoppers are very entertaining toys.

Stuck under the table.

Shade on a sunny day.

Handsome boy waiting for lunch after church.

Reading while on the toilet.

He does not like wearing shoes.

He loves this punch balloon. He loves all balls but this punch balloon has a strap and so it is easier to hold on to.

"Must have toy in mouth!"

Rawr! A bear!

The flash is too bright!

We gave him a bottle (of breastmilk) and he hated it. He just chewed instead of sucking. I ended up having to nurse him and the milk went down the drain.

Here are a few more things Edison does for which I do not have a matching picture:

He...

...used to cry when I left the room but has recently turned into a very happy child.
...babbles and squeals non stop. It is an easy way to make sure he hasn't choked to death. If he is being good, he is babbling.
...doesn't care who holds him. He loves all attention.
...is happy as long as something is in his mouth.

...is very flexible on when he eats.

...doesn't want the pacifier right after he eats.

...can put in his own pacifier, if he can find it.

...spits up just so he'll have something to play with. He will spit up and then look at it on the ground like, "How did that get there?" Then immediately digs in.

...loves keys.

...pulled himself into standing position (11/14).

...pulls himself up on anything he can, including our legs, and loves climbing over Alex (they both do it to each other and they both love it).

...has four teeth now! They are coming in as pairs (second pair came in 11/10).

...started crawling (10/28).

His Very Own Coupe

2011-11-26T18:29:00.000-06:00

Outside our Ithaca apartment, there were a ton of toys that no current residents owned. They had become community property. Alex would run out our door and sit in a Cozy Coupe and we couldn't get him to move. Sometimes it was hard to get him to the real car because he would be sitting in the little car. The Cozy Coupes would get dragged around the complex and I would track them down and bring them right back outside our door. I loved seeing Alex in them. The sad thing was that older kids would stand on top of them so all of the axles were broken and the wheels were cracked.

We were driving home from one of Sam's softball games a few weeks ago and noticed that someone had an exceptionally large pile of garbage on the curb. We saw that they had a Cozy Coupe sitting out there, too! Sam threw the car in reverse and we loaded it up. They also had a stack of chairs that will be perfect for our deck, and a small dump truck which Alex loves. Besides being a little faded with stickers peeling, this coupe is in perfect condition!

Alex loves it. He brings it inside and loads it up with his toys in the back compartment. I love watching him hop in and close the door. Or jump out and close the door. He is so careful to not drive over Edison. If he wants to take his cup in the car, Sam tells him, "No drinking and driving!" It is his very own coupe. I love seeing him so happy.

Horsemaning

2011-11-25T23:22:00.003-06:00

A few months ago, I started seeing pictures of people doing something really strange. They called it planking. It was bizarre in and of itself, but I was mostly interested in how fast it had spread and how well-known it was. It seemed that it was extremely popular before I had even heard of it. I am used to feeling out of the loop in family-related things because we live so far away, but this was a widespread phenomenon and I had completely missed the boat. I started asking people if they had heard of it, how long ago they heard of it, and what they thought about it.

One night during a combined activity for mutual, the youth started playing some strange game where they held hands and tried poking each other. I asked them what it was called and they said it was called the Finger Game. I called two of my younger brothers that night and they both said they knew what it was, but called the game by different names. David (16-years-old) played it, and Jared (18-years-old, no longer in high school) was familiar with it but didn't play. They actually started recommending different games to me, including the Ninja Game.

Then I learned that planking was kind of "out of style." In the time since I had learned about planking, it had already been replaced by Owling, Leisure Diving, and Stocking. But those were already old news, too. If you weren't Horsemaning, you weren't cool. Horsemaning was short-lived. Batmanning replaced it, and that's when I decided I am way too lazy to be cool.

Edison and Sam horsemaning.

This stuff is fascinating to me. Is it actually fun to these people or do they just play it because everyone else is playing it? After spending hours (no joke) thinking about these games, I've realized that I am just old. I don't get it. And now begins the Great Divide between me and the "cool" kids. Pray for my children.

Thankfully, Edison doesn't really seem to be into planking either.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-24T20:47:00.000-06:00

Our lives are so full of blessings. Narrowing it down to just three things is so hard. I feel like my prayers last a really long time because I have a million things for which I am grateful. We each narrowed it down to three things.

Sam is thankful for:

1. A job that pays the bills.

2. A wife who is willing to stay home and rear the kids.

3. A car that can get me to work every day.

Emily is thankful for:

1. A healthy body. Bodies are amazing and I love that my body can adapt to the strain I place upon it.

2. Sunshine. I love being able to take the boys outside every day.

3. Family. It is hard to live so far away from family but I am grateful we are able to see family members and talk anytime we want.

Alex is thankful for:

1. Water and dirt. As long as the water is for playing in and not drinking, and the dirt is for eating and playing in.

2. Candy. And a Dad who is willing to bribe with suckers.

3. Things that move. Cars, trucks, airplanes, all animals, etc.

Edison is thankful for:

1. A mouth. Where would all of the wonderful things in the world (such as pens) go if mouths didn't exist?

2. Carpet. Much comfier to crawl on carpet than the tile.

3. Crinkly things. They are a fantastic toy and taste delicious.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Softball

2011-11-23T19:40:00.000-06:00

Some guys in our ward organized a softball team through the city. Sam subbed on it a few times last season but this season he signed up. He played second base and was really good at it! Some of the games don't start until 9:30pm on week nights, so we just went to a few games that started earlier.

It has been good for him to get to know some guys in the ward better. Their team is terrible, but they all have fun together.

Library Party

2011-11-22T19:35:00.005-06:00

While at Toddler Time one week, we heard them announce that the library's anniversary party was coming up. I was very excited and took the boys there that weekend. Sam met us later when he got home from softball practice. It was a bigger deal than I was expecting but it was not very well attended. There was a juggler, a bounce house, free lunch, and a puppet show.

Alex was very confused at first. I don't think he knew what was going on. I am not sure why he looks like he just woke up, because it was noon. Edison found himself in the garbage can reflection and was happy.

Alex was not as interested in the lunch as he was by the dessert. He was very intrigued by the juggling, unicycle riding, and magic tricks. This guy was good with the kids.

Edison was willing to go to great lengths to get to our food. I gave him small amounts, but he was acting like we starve him!

I went into the bounce house with Alex. They kicked all of the big kids out and let him go in alone. He was not loving it at all. We were in there for less than a minute.

Work

2011-11-21T14:27:00.000-06:00

Since this is a common question we are asked, I figured I would just blog about it. Sam is doing really well at SLB and loves his job! He works in the corporate headquarters for the United States and Canada. He works with high level headcount, attrition, and recruiting issues. He is a Personnel Representative. He supports almost 9,000 employees. He has a boss who places a lot of demand on him, which is good because he can show her his skills. Whenever he tells someone in the company what he does, they are always so impressed/jealous that he has so many responsibilities.

He rarely has to work at home. He has stayed late a few nights, but not many. I have only heard him on the phone with his boss once. This is such a difference from security system installation and graduate school that I can hardly believe he is all mine (I do share him with two little people though) when he gets home.

Sam worked for a few security companies during grad school. At one point, he was working for three at the same time. One never paid us though which is totally lame. When he got a ~~job~~ career, I was so excited that he would no longer have ridiculous hours. I thought we were done with security systems. But somehow Sam keeps getting tricked back into doing more work. Icon Security needed a service technician to go on a couple of trips to send signals. That's easy money, so Sam said he would go. He went to West Texas, and then a few weeks later, he went to the Midwest.

While he was gone, we just went about our normal business at home. We definitely missed him though.

On my birthday, Sam left to Midland, Texas, for a site visit with SLB. He has to do a certain number of site visits during the first few years. They want him to learn about different positions so he can get a sense of the company as a whole. A lot of people in the office came from an oilfield service workers. Because he didn't, it is really important for him to get a sense of what happens on rigs. It helps him understand the business so he can better support the people in the field.

I love seeing what Sam thinks it picture-worthy. I need to give him the camera more often. He makes me laugh.

Alex the Toddler

2011-11-20T22:15:00.020-06:00

Alex is growing so fast. He skipped over size 4 shoes entirely. Everything he does is adorable. It is hard for me to discipline him because I am too busy trying to hide my laughing. He is such a joy in my life. I love when I pick him up for bed/nap time and he rests his head on my shoulder. I love his kisses. I love hearing him say prayers. He is always reminding us to pray. Sometimes we pray twice for breakfast and twice for lunch. Is it possible to tell a child that we can't pray again?

Alex and Edison make each other crack up. I love watching them play together. Edison is really good about letting Alex climb all over him, which is good because it is one of Alex's favorite things to do.

If Edison is sad, Alex will say, "Nuh-Nuh [Nugget - Edison's nickname] happy!"
His favorite letter is W. Or as he says, "Dubba-dee." His favorite color is yellow.
When Alex is in trouble and I count to five, he starts counting with me.

Anything small is "Baby [name of thing]." Then the big one is "Momma [name of thing]."

If Edison does something Alex doesn't think he should be doing then Alex will say to Edison, "No more monkeys!" This is how we tell Alex to stop jumping on the bed, so Alex has redirected it to telling Edison to stop doing something.

He has a sweet tooth and is always asking for cookies. We almost never have cookies.

Alex threw a poopy diaper in the Diaper Champ and then closed the lid while saying, "Oh sick."

If a TV show goes to commercials, he says, "Uh oh. 'Mote (remote)." He has been spoiled by DVR.

Sam and I had a good laugh about these pictures. I am not sure why he makes this face. Crazy kid.

Alex really likes bundling up with blankets. Every time we get in the car, he asks for a blanket. I will give him my nursing cover and he drapes it over his legs so content. Sometimes he wants to play in his bed in the middle of the day. He still takes a nap every day (at least two hours long). He actually gets excited about nap time. If I tell him it is almost nap time, he will gather up toys and go into his room and wait for me to lift him into bed. He still has not attempted to climb out of his crib, although he tries climbing into it.

This kid loves playing outside. If the weather is really nice, we let him eat outside, too. He loves it. If I come inside before he is ready, he will stand outside the door pointing to the ground and saying, "Outside!"

Alex is always reading letters to us. When he sees a stop sign during our walks, he stops, points to the sign, and says, "S. T. O. P." Then continues on his walk like his mission there is complete and onto the next thing.
He still loves fire hydrants. He kisses them every time we pass one on our walks. Sometimes we will go on a walk right before Sam gets home from work. We will meet him by our mailbox, and then Alex will climb in the front seat and drive home with Daddy while Edison and I walk home. Alex is delighted by being in the front seat.

Alex loves his cars, trucks, trains, and animals. We have a lot of those toys though so it works. He wants to watch Cars all day, every day. He pushes me out of the room so he can play with his cars in peace.

I have done a few crafts with Alex by tracing his hands recently. One day, I noticed he had pen all over his fingers and then I saw him doing this. He is such a smart kid. Right handed?

We went out to dinner a few weeks ago. Alex had his own little seat while we were waiting for a table. He loved being in there. Everyone who walked by was commenting on it. I admit it was really cute.

Alex is my sidekick. I can't make a decision without him. I have realized that everything is easier if we are on the same side. Every time we are going to do something, I ask him if he wants to go. He helps motivate me to go to the gym. I ask, "Alex, do you want to go to the gym?" He says, "Yim! Horsey!" (They have a plastic horse that he runs in and plays with immediately.) If he sees someone is sad he will say, "[Their name] sad."

Alex is very opinionated these days. It is really difficult to get him to sit in his high chair. He wants to sit at the table with us. Most of the time, he is pretty good so we let him.

He has started calling me "Mom." I miss Mommy, but he still says Mommy if he is sad and needs comfort. He is turning into a kid. A real, live kid, who calls his mother Mom.

Alex's speech makes me laugh. He is putting so many words together but some words don't sound at all like what he is trying to say. For example, "police car" sounds like, "Do daw daw." Every time. I just know that if he says that, then he saw a police car. "Potty" sounds exactly like "Party."

If something leaves, he thinks it is taking a nap. If I bus drives by and goes out of sight, he says, "Bus nap, too." If we ask him where something is, he will say, "Umm, the room."

This is a small example of Alex's talking:

Alex wanted to play with Edison's toy:

Alex telling us he's poopy. And walking funny.

Last, but not least, some brotherly love:

Day of Eleven

2011-11-19T20:06:00.004-06:00

We kept our tradition alive of celebrating 11/11 11:11. It was extra special this year because it was 11/11/11. A whole day full of elevens. Awesome.

Ignore the water spots on our glasses. I am proud of myself for even finding them.

Ignore the atrocity that is my hair. I have no excuse.

Neither of these pictures were taken at 11:11 though. It's a one minute party. You have to spend that time celebrating!

Brandon's Birthday Party

2011-11-18T14:14:00.000-06:00

Catherine asked me weeks ago about Alex's second birthday party theme and wondered if I would mind her copying me. I didn't mind at all because I had copied someone else! Holy smokes though, Catherine's party blew mine out of the water (get it? I am so punny). She is so creative and the party was awesome. I knew it would be once I received this adorable party invitation telling Alex that he had been "O-Fish-ally" invited.

The decorations and food were fantastic. She definitely put a lot of effort into every little detail. People were going crazy about her sushi (Twinkies wrapped with Fruit by the Foot)! It really surprised me because I don't think anyone had any of our "sushi."

We don't spend very much time with other babies. I guess I am always trying to find kids Alex's age and I forget that Edison might want a baby to play with. There were twins at the party who were a few months older than Edison and had just learned to walk, but they were still interacting. It was very fun to see them watching each other play with toys. The floor was covered with balloons. Edison loved it.

The food was very kid friendly. Alex is never the last one eating. But he loved lunch at Brandon's party and he was sitting at the table alone!

Catherine borrowed our fish bowls and put real fish in them! After I washed the bowls, they sat on our counter for a few days. Every time Alex saw them, he would beg for a fish and want to carry around the bowls. According to our rental agreement, we are not allowed to have any pets, including a fish. Bummer.

Alex wanted to keep all of the presents Brandon was getting. Maybe next year I should let people bring presents to his birthday party. I just feel guilty about asking people to bring my kid a gift. It is easier to just tell them to not bring one. Sigh...

There were a lot of cute games. Alex loved the fishing and asks to go fishing all the time now. I don't know if he would be pleased with the result of real fishing. It is not always fruit snacks you catch on the hook.

Zoo Free Day

2011-11-17T21:58:00.000-06:00

We went to November's free day at the zoo. I wanted Sam to be able to come but didn't want him to have to drive separately. So we stopped at SLB on the way to Houston and picked up Sam. Alex was so excited to see Daddy early. Just a few minutes early.

Alex was staring at the elephants. As usual. Although I was surprised that he seems to have gotten over elephants a little bit. A new animal stole his heart...

The monkey was sitting right by the window. It was so close and it just stayed there the whole time. Alex was completely enthralled by it.

Edison was looking all over the place. So many fun things to see! It could only be better if I would have let him crawl around and taste a few things.

The giraffes were my favorite this time. They seemed so natural. They were just walking around like they were home. Alex wanted to go for a ride, but this giraffe wasn't feeling up to it.

Edison looking at the fishies. He was holding onto the fence so tight. And I was standing right behind him with my hands up, because it would have been a long drop. We were counting the fish and after we said, "Eight," Alex said, "Nine." We didn't know he knew numbers that high.

We stayed until the zoo was closing. As we were walking out, we walked past some (very loud) birds. Alex was trying to drag us back to them and was saying, "Birds, birds!"

Since our zoo day, Alex asks to go see the animals at the zoo. Every day. For over a week, he carried around a zoo pamphlet that included the map and pictures of a few animals, including one of a monkey. When I put on his shoes, he says, "Mun-tees!" He thinks we are going to the zoo every time we leave the house. If only.

Halloween

2011-11-16T23:41:00.001-06:00

Holidays with kids are so much better. Each holiday is even better than the last. I love watching Alex and Edison grow and learn. They are both super inquisitive and quick learners.

At the trunk or treat, Alex figured it out after watching one person. Pretty soon, he was walking around and opening up his bag for the people. He would say "Trih teet." It was adorable. We wanted him to say, "Thank you" so we asked him, "What do you say?" He roared! It was adorable and we encouraged that response from then on.

The costume is a hand-me-down from Sam's sister Ellie. Alex is obsessed with it. He asks to put it on every time he sees it. I was glad he enjoyed being in his costume. That definitely made things easier.

Sam and I were dressed as equipment operators.

On Halloween, we continued our tradition of decorating a pizza. Alex was totally into it this year. If only he would be totally into eating it. I was going to throw away the dead roses from my birthday, but they were very macabre so I kept them around for another day as part of our Halloween decorations. Recycle!

When it got dark, we went out trick or treating. Alex knew immediately what to do. He walked up to our neighbor's house and knocked on the door all by himself.

Edison was being so nice and good like a little pumpkin should.

After a while, Alex started getting tired. We tried to carry him, and he refused. He wanted to do it all by himself. He started dragging his bag on the ground, so we tried to help him. Nope. He was not letting that gold mine out of his sight. After the last house, he finally let Sam put him on his shoulders.

Alex did not even try to get into his candy until we were walking back to our house. I thought that showed a lot of restraint! Edison couldn't control himself though. He was in crinkly paper/wrapper heaven!

Ignore the naked child in the background. Enjoy Alex's demonstration.

After we got the boys in bed, we carved a pumpkin. The pumpkin already had a face on it though, so it didn't really need to be carved.

Alex is still asking for treats. He especially loves suckers. He says, "Peas?" It kills me.

Preschool Party, no. 2

2011-11-15T20:58:00.000-06:00

We had our own preschool Halloween party. A lady in our ward organized three different preschool groups based on age. We had the party in the church building and it was crazy! There were so many kids. People brought family members and grandparents. There were people I had never even met before!

It was really fun though. There were a lot of cute games for the kids and Alex and Edison both loved it!

Edison had just learned to crawl and he was one happy camper. He was crawling all over the room and shoving candy wrappers and leftovers into his mouth.

I was so surprised that Alex was actually frosting the cookie. I expected him to stuff it right in his mouth. Eventually he did lick the knife, but he lasted for a few minutes, and that is a lot more than I expected!

All the cute kiddos in their costumes.

Preschool Party, no. 1

2011-11-14T23:27:00.000-06:00

Catherine was throwing her preschool's Halloween party and invited me and the boys to join in the fun. It was awesome. Catherine is very creative. Too bad Alex just wanted to play with their Mater toys. He was also mildly interested in the candy.

The kids played a fun game where they put Band-Aids on Frankenstein's monster's owwies. It was very cute.
Alex had mosquito bites all over his face. It looked like he had run into a corner because his forehead was so swollen. He was kind enough to point out the bites for us.

Catherine sent home Alex with an adorable party favor bag which he enjoyed for days. I had to hide it because he just kept asking for candy. I am so glad we were able to go.

This firetruck shirt was a birthday gift to Alex from Sam's parents. Alex asks to wear it every single day. I love that kid. I promise Edison was here, too. He took a nap and missed all the fun though!

My 23rd Birthday

2011-11-13T23:08:00.002-06:00

I had a great birthday this year. Maybe it was because my expectations were, quite frankly, low. Sam had not asked me what I wanted to do so I didn't think there was anything planned. Also, I knew he was flying out on my birthday and would be gone for five days, which isn't very fun. But it ended up being a fabulous day and Sam was a sweetheart.

On the Saturday before my birthday, we went to dinner at BJs Brewhouse. We were still full from lunch but we had already set up babysitters for the boys so we went out anyway. We shared appetizers and got drinks. They make their own sodas there and they were delicious. I would go back just for that. We also got a free pizookie for my birthday but we didn't eat very much of it. Like I said, we were stuffed.

We came home and Sam put the boys to bed while I took the babysitters home. Then we went on a short walk to the mailbox and I opened my presents. I was very surprised by all of the gifts.

My friend Kristina had heard that Sam was going out of town on my birthday so she invited me over for lunch. I got there, and there were a lot of people! They had planned a Mexican food potluck lunch. It was really fun to visit with friends and they were all so thoughtful. You know you're getting old when people stop putting the right number of candles on your cake and instead do clusters of candles; in my case, two and three.

Sam came home from work early so he could prepare for his trip. He brought me roses. We played with the boys for a little while and then loaded up and drove Sam to the airport. Alex was so sad when we left Sam. The whole drive home, he was whimpering and saying, "Alex airport, too." It broke my heart. He said it multiple times during the week, and also tried packing himself in a suitcase Sam had left out from when he was trying to decide which luggage to take with him.

I spent the night talking to family on the phone. I went to bed at 10pm, only to be woken up by a few late birthday calls. It was very nice and made me happy.

Sam got me a facial and massage for my birthday. It was weird to be without the kids for a few hours, but it was very nice. I actually fell asleep. Next birthday, all I need is a quiet nap. The lady who gave me the facial thought that I was 18-years-old. And that was her rounding up because I told her I have two kids. Sheesh, I've got good skin.

I don't really feel older. I already can't remember how old I am. In my head, I am 20 years old. Sam tried to tell me that 23 means I am in my mid-20s. I don't think so, sweetheart.

Youth Temple Trip

2011-11-12T20:56:00.000-06:00

Our ward had a youth temple trip a few weeks ago. Sam planned to sit outside the temple with the boys so I could go in with my young women but then we learned that they needed more Priesthood holders to help out as well. We called Catherine the night before the temple trip and asked if she would be willing to watch the boys. She was so sweet and said she would! We drove straight to Catherine's house, dropped off the little boys, and then drove to the temple (about 15 minutes). We missed going in with the youth by about five minutes and we also missed the picture outside the temple. I was bummed; we took our own.

After we were done in the temple, we drove back to Catherine's to pick up the boys. Alex didn't want to leave. He had so much fun. Catherine said Alex was the best kid she has ever babysat. I was glad Edison didn't have a breakdown! That was a long time to leave a nursing baby who doesn't take a bottle!

We went to Cici's Pizza to meet the young women, but by the time we got there, they were almost done eating and also their table was full. So we sat alone and ate alone because they left just a few minutes after we got there. Basically it was a stressful day when we should have just stayed home. But it was nice to have a few hours in the temple, as always.

Dewberry Farm

2011-11-11T23:50:00.000-06:00

We had been looking for a place to go to celebrate the Fall. We heard about Dewberry Farm and I was excited. It was so hot. I think it was in the 90s. Happy late October, Texas!

Of course, Alex loved the animals. We bought a bottle of soda and Alex thought it belonged to him, and him only. He carried it around like he owned the place.

We walked up to the pig race area but we didn't know what was going on because the worker was just wandering around (microphone was broken). He asked for three volunteers and I told Sam to volunteer but Sam said, "No way." When the overall-man walked by, I stood behind Sam pointing to him and jumping up and down. Overall Man chose Sam! I was happy; Sam was not. Sam was a good sport though. He learned he had to put on a fake pig nose and make his best "Heeee-uhhh piggy piggy" pig call. He didn't win. He claims it is because he is not capable of making a high voice.

He got to keep the pig nose though. Alex didn't really want to wear it but Edison loved eating it.

Animals, tractors, and slides. Can this day get any better?

The corn maze was hilarious. I thought we were walking on concrete. The ground was so hard. It was insane. I don't know how the corn even grew. But it wasn't growing well, so I guess that explains it.

On the hayride. It was nice to have air moving by us. Do you see my red face? It was hot, hot, hot!

We took a break in the shade for a little while.

Alex was fearless when it came to the playground. He ran into the fort alone, found his way to the slide (he had to go the long way to avoid a wobbly bridge he didn't want to walk on), and went down the slides. Then repeated, as many times as we let him.

Alex decided to make sand angels.

Bee-bee whore-shh (baby horseys).

Learning and Serving

2011-11-10T21:58:00.000-06:00

Sam and I are going to our Stake Strengthening Marriage class. It is on Friday nights. It was designed as a sort of date night. Four or five couples in our ward signed up and we planned to have a babysitting rotation each week. I watched the kids the first week (Sam was out of town) but only one couple showed up. The next week, we went to the class while that couple watched our kids. Then that other couple quit completely so we started taking our kids into the class with us. I have really enjoyed the class so far.

Our stake day of service was a few weeks ago.We went to the project where they were cleaning up an old cemetery because our ward's was postponed. The cemetery was in extreme disrepair. There are hundred of bodies buried there but only about 25 headstones remain. We showed up completely unprepared. I was wearing shorts and then we learned there was poison oak. Luckily, we managed to avoid it. We also forgot gloves. We did what we could, which involved a lot of carrying branches to the dumpster. Sam got to help break up a concrete tube form. He loved it and felt very manly.

Houston Zoo

2011-11-09T22:02:00.000-06:00

On the first Tuesday of the month, entry into the zoo is free! Once a month is good enough for me to not buy a membership. Alex loves animals though. I should probably take him there more. The only problem is that Alex wants to sleep there. He wants to climb in the cages with the animals. He is obsessed.

We went with a few families from our ward but we were separated from them for most of the time because Alex just wanted to stay with the elephants. The time we were with them, Alex and this little boy walked around holding hands. Alex (who refuses to hold my hand unless we are crossing a road) was totally into it. It was adorable.

Edison actually started getting into it, too. I was surprised to see him reaching out for animals or leaning toward windows like he wanted a closer look.

We didn't get to stay very long this time but luckily there are lots of visits in our future. Alex will never turn down a trip to the zoo.

Haircuts

2011-11-08T18:15:00.023-06:00

Edison was getting a serious combover and we knew it was time for his first haircut. Alex didn't have his first haircut until he was 17 months old! Edison had his very first haircut on his half birthday (9.27.11). But before it was Edison's turn, Keaton, Sam and Alex had to teach him how it is done.

He started out interested in the cord. That didn't last long.

He was terrified and super wiggly! I think he just didn't want a haircut. Sam reacts about the same when I tell him he needs a haircut. I had not heard Edison cry that hard since he was a newborn. He was so sad. I think it was too close to bedtime.

Sam told me to cut it shorter (what?!) but I was already so sad to see Edison's hair go. I admit that he looks better, but I miss combing through his long hair. He also lost all curl when I cut it. He is now straight and blond; nothing like his Momma.

First Solids

2011-11-07T20:51:00.000-06:00

Edison had his first experience with rice cereal. Not a fan. More than a month later, he still reacts about the same to each bite.

He surprised me by letting me continue to put bites in his mouth. But he would just push it back out again.

The classic gagging video. I love that he is still happy even though he hates it. I love this boy.

Sisters and Cousins

2011-11-06T22:30:00.004-06:00

When I called my sister Michelle for her birthday, we had a nice talk and I told her how lonely I am feeling these days. She called me back the next day and said, "Guess what Sheldon got me for my birthday... Tickets to Houston!" I was so happy! She planned to come a few weeks later. Sam left town the day she and Keaton flew in so I got to go to the airport twice that day. And then the fun began! Twelve days of hanging out with my sister and nephew. It was awesome.

The first full day, we wandered the Galleria. It is much too big of a mall to stroll around with three kids. We were quite a sight.

Because we hadn't learned our lesson the day before, we went shopping again. The boys were restless and they were sprinting all around the store. It was hilarious.

Alex and Keaton playing at the department store. They broke the arm off of the mannequin.

Right before I left to the airport, we discovered that we had broken the garbage disposal. When I got back with Sam, Michelle and I fixed it. Luckily, the garbage disposal wasn't really broken, we had just clogged a pipe with egg shells. What is with having guests over turning into a broken garbage disposal though? This happened in Pennsylvania when the Warnicks came to visit us and then it happened when we went to visit the Warnicks in Columbus for Thanksgiving. Please note that only one of these times was my fault.

We went to the Astros game. The Astros are awful, but the game was awesome. It was Star Wars night. They came to our section to do a giveaway but there weren't enough people in the winning row so they had people in the surrounding area gather together. I told Sam to climb over the seats and go get some free Star Wars Pez. They came to film the group. They started out showing the whole group and then zoomed in on Sam and Alex and just stayed there the whole time. Long enough for my slow camera to take multiple pictures! Alex was being adorable.

Alex and Keaton love water. They spent two hours in the pool in the backyard. Even after all that time, it was hard to get them to come inside.

This video of Keaton and Alex playing in the pool is adorable. I love Alex's laugh.

Alex and Keaton playing Peek-A-Boo.

We all went to playgroup together. It was fun to introduce Michelle to some women I work with in Young Womens (they are the only ones who come to playgroup).

We went to Toddler Time at the library. Alex is starting to learn the songs and it makes it even better to go each week.

That night, we went to Bob's Taco Station. Alex and Keaton decided that the salsa was so delicious that they should just drink it; chips are superfluous, you know? While eating, a waiter came up to us and asked us if we drove a green car. Michelle thought he asked if we had a green card. I laughed so hard that it almost made it okay that we had a flat tire. Lucky day, it was also pouring rain and had been for a few hours. Sam and Michelle were soaked from changing the tire, and the boys were very bored.

We made multiple trips to Sonic, played lots of games, and spent lots of time killing ants. The boys also took lots of baths together. The floor was soggy by the end of each bath.

We got to watch Conference together in our bed because our TV is in our room. That was kind of crazy. Surprisingly, I got a lot out of Conference. Michelle... not so much. Oopsies.

We went to Galveston Island. There is an awesome ferry that you can ride for free. Most people were on it for their commute, but we were just sightseeing. The boys loved it. Alex talked about boats for days afterward. He would bite his sandwich, and suddenly it was a boat. He was really into the cars/trucks on the ferry, boats, and birds we saw.

We were sitting on a park bench eating our sandwiches when a homeless man asked me if I had a cigarette. I said, "No, I don't smoke." Later, he came by again and said, "You hate people who smoke, don't you?" Nope. But even if I did, why is he pressuring me for not having a cigarette. He never asked for money or food. He just asked for a cigarette and then freaked out when I didn't have one.

We went to a Oil Rig Museum. My knowledge of the industry has gone up about 95%. It was very informative and it was great to have a little peek into the type of company where Sam works.

That night for FHE, Sam, Michelle, and I were all doing the Hokey Pokey while the little boys just stared at us. They never did join in.

The day they were flying out, we packed in the fun. First we went to a Indian temple. It was stunning. I want to go there again. They invite all visitors and advertise their worship times so people can come watch. The temple was brought to Texas from India in thousands of pieces. Each pillar was brought in nine pieces. It was incredible. They also had a visitor's center so we could learn more about their religion. While in the temple, we had to take off our shoes and Michelle was asked to wear a sarong (we still aren't sure why she had to wear one and I didn't). While the guy was showing us around, he acted surprised that we had never been to India to see the biggest temple there. Umm, yeah, we have never been to India. I almost felt guilty for never having been there.

We went to the Houston Fire Museum after that. Alex was all about turning on the siren in the little fire truck. It happened to be the Museum's play group day. We joined in on the fun craft and Alex and Keaton got to make a trick or treating bag.

We went to Costco where Keaton proceeded to have a full meltdown. We bought four boxes of diapers and three boxes of wipes. It was a tight fit because Michelle's luggage and stroller were in the car, too. The boys were so tired, they were all asleep before we even left the parking lot.

I am so glad I have such a great sister who was willing to drop everything and come be my friend when I needed her. I loved Alex and Keaton spending so much time together and hope to have many more opportunities to watch them play together. I love my family!

Dressed Up

2011-11-05T21:32:00.000-05:00

What is up with little boys at church these days?! Is it really appropriate to wear shorts and polos? No no no! I know this isn't unique to Texas because we had the same problem in New York.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “When entering the house of the Lord... our clothing or footwear need never be expensive, indeed should not be expensive, but neither should it appear that we are on our way to the beach.”

I understand dress clothes are expensive and kids grow so quickly. However, I feel like some people who are able to dress their kids well but they just don't care.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, “It is an affront to God to come into His house, especially on His holy day, not groomed and dressed in the most careful and modest manner that our circumstances permit... Some say dress and hair don’t matter—it’s what’s inside that counts. I believe that truly it is what’s inside a person that counts, but that’s what worries me. Casual dress at holy places and events is a message about what is inside a person. It may be pride or rebellion or something else, but at a minimum it says, ‘I don’t get it. I don’t understand the difference between the sacred and the profane.’”

Allowing your kids to wear the same clothes for school, play, and church teaches them that they can act the same in all of those places. Church is a special place. How we dress influences how we feel and act. If we dress appropriately for church, we are showing respect for ourselves, our Savior, and those around us. I hope Alex and Edison realize the importance of looking their best for church. I will do my best to always foster the importance of this standard in my children.

Mobile

2011-11-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

That's right. Edison is mobile. He scooted around for a month and then at the ripe, old age of 7 months and 1 day (10.28.11), Edison found the motivation to get up on his hands and knees. Alex was eating goldfish and spilled them all over the carpet. Within a few seconds, Edison had crawled across the room and was stuffing them in his mouth. That's a true man: motivated by food.

He went back to scooting maybe three times. But he is a solid crawler now. It is surprising to me to find him in a different room than I left him in. Or to be in one room and have him peek his head around the corner. He is into everything already! Pulling books off shelves, eating any paper he can get in his hands, and chewing up Alex's toys. We really have to keep our eyes on this little Nugget now!

Unions and Reunions

2011-11-03T23:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was eventful for my family. Two siblings had very exciting things happen.

First, my sister Michelle had her second child. I am so excited to meet him at Thanksgiving. I miss having a small baby and I will be stealing him for lots of cuddle time. I told Michelle to watch out, because I am lactating, so I could steal the baby and rear him as my own.

Born 11.2.11, 4:09pm. 8 pounds, 5 ounces. 20.5 inches.

Just a few hours later, my brother Nathanael returned from his two year mission to Ukraine. I haven't seen him since August 2009. Flannel and I have grown very close through letters during the last two years and I look forward to catching up with him in person. He is all grown up now. Thanksgiving is going to be awesome!

Torture

2011-11-02T17:50:00.000-05:00

The fact the Sam did this, and I let him continue long enough for me to take a picture, officially makes us the worst parents of all time. In our defense, Alex loved it at first. He only hated it for the last three seconds, which included this picture.

Mission Week

2011-11-01T17:45:00.001-05:00

I was in charge of planning an activity for the Young Women a few weeks ago. The idea was that each of the girls would be called on missions. I hoped it would be a great experience for the Young Women. Many of them had a great experience, but I was shocked by the how great the week was for me. We followed missionary rules as closely as we could. We all abstained from TV, social media, and radio. Each girl was given a companion and it ended up being a great bonding experience for the companionship. We went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 6:30am. I took notes during each day to record my feelings.

Day 1 (Thursday)
Did you know it's still dark at 6:30am? I am not a morning person.
Today, we played outside at a time we usually would have stayed in (right after lunch).

It was 30 minutes before naptime and I didn't realize it. I was still happy and didn't want Alex to "go away" for two hours.
Sam got home from work, I left 50 minutes later. I took Edison with me. Sam took Alex to his meeting. We both got home at 9:45. Fed Edison, changed Alex. Goodnight to the boys, goodnight to each other.

Sam scratched my back until I fell asleep at 11:30. That's a good man.

Day 2 (Friday)
It was a good morning with Edison. Visiting teaching lesson prepared, bed made, dressed, laundry started all before Alex woke up.
Groceries, library, visiting teaching, car filled with gas, bank, shopping for new shoes for Alex. Do missionaries take naps?
Went out rollerblading with the boys in the stroller.
Fell asleep on the couch so Sam could watch TV.

Day 3 (Saturday)
We went to the temple. It was nice to be there together.

Went out to dinner for my birthday. How do you avoid music and TV in restaurants?
Up at 6am, ready for bed at 9:30.

Day 4 (Sunday)
Up at 7:30. Edison had a bad night.
I feel so alone. I thought that a week without blogging would make me feel whole, but instead I feel like no one understands me or cares about me. Sam walks in the door and says, "Where's Alex?!" He doesn't even come see me. He doesn't care.
Trying to stay off Facebook and blogs. It is almost paralyzing on the computer. It is so hard to avoid.

Today was such a hard day. It was a day of down-time without being able to do my regular down-time activities.

Day 5 (Monday)
Birthday. Who planned this mission week?! (Me) So inconvenient.

Also, the week of the World Series. Crazy.

Sam left town. Now what am I supposed to do?

Day 6 (Tuesday)
It felt like a really long day. Glad I had an excuse to make myself get in bed early instead of saying I had to do other things before the boys woke up.

Day 7 (Wednesday)
I read the scriptures first thing in the morning, and then wished I hadn’t because I wanted to read them again later. We are reading the Book of Mormon in 100 days (about five pages a day) but I wanted to read more.

Many Young Women mentioned that they were so bored this week that they started doing Personal Progress. I love that when they eliminated the clutter, it made space for what they previously couldn't fit in. They have also expressed interest in making this a yearly tradition.

During this week I felt so much closer to the Spirit and my Heavenly Father. I was kinder to Sam, Alex, and Edison. I wanted to play with my kids instead of finding something to distract them so I could do something else. I also found that I was able to do more things on my to-do list and felt more fulfilled at the end of the day. When I turned off the noise, I could hear the whisperings of the Spirit.

For mutual, we had mission reports and we each wrote a family member a letter. Then we tried some food from each other the missions. There were five missions total.

Russia Novosibirsk Mission - borsch.

Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission - Mongolian pastry.

Mexico Guadalajara Mission - jalapenos.

Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission - soft pretzels.

Tokyo Japan Mission - sushi.

At the end of the activity, we had all the girls go into the hallway and close their eyes. When they came back into the room, all the lights were off. One person was standing still while holding up a light and whispering nice things. All the other leaders were walking around the room yelling things like, "Come over here! There are boys/cool clothes/dancing/drugs." It was really awesome to see the girls jump away from the bad things. If only everything were so easy to discern the good from the bad. But the Spirit can help them discern. I am looking forward to next year already!

The Biter

2011-10-31T19:20:00.001-05:00

Edison has always enjoyed chewing on our fingers. He grabs our hands and stuffs our fingers in his mouth. On September 22nd, he did that, as usual. But the biting hurt! I looked in his mouth and he had two teeth peeking through! Both bottom center teeth came in on the same day. He has now taken to chewing on anything he can get in his mouth and drooling nonstop. This little Nugget is crazy and getting cuter every day.

Callings

2011-10-30T22:18:00.000-05:00

This ward has been probably the hardest adjustment I have ever had to a ward. Maybe it's because we know we'll be here for so long, but I am really trying to find a place to fit. We joined a preschool that women in the ward were organizing, and then the other moms quit after one day. The kids in the group were around Alex's age, which is a little young to focus for long. But one other mom and I have persevered and it has been great! Now that we have a second car, I am able to go to playgroup each week as well. It is really nice to go out and have a relaxing environment to visit without having to run around or pay attention to the next lesson.

We have both received callings in the ward and we have both spoken in Sacrament Meeting, although not together. Sam spoke a few months ago (on obedience) and I spoke today (on missionary work). It was the best talk I have ever given. I was actually able to speak for the full 15 minutes, which if you know how fast I talk when I get nervous, you know that is a miracle. I wasn't even reading my talk the whole time! That is also out of the ordinary for me. I am growing up!

Sam is the Secretary in the Elder's Quorum. When I first heard his calling, I laughed. I am pretty sure Sam made it through grad school without once writing down a due date. So now he is charge of taking notes and doing other organizational things. So awesome. He is doing a great job though and is learning all of the mens' names since he has to take roll.

I am the Second Counselor in the Young Women's organization. This is my first time serving in Young Women's and I love it! It was tricky at first to schedule Edison so he didn't need me from 6:45pm on, because he is asleep when I get home; but everything has been working out. I really enjoy getting to know all of the girls and the Spirit that is in those meetings. I was in Young Women's for myself not long ago. I am hoping to give the girls in my ward here as great of an experience as I had while growing up.

There are not very many girls in the ward, so although we divide into classes on Sundays, all Wednesday activities are combined. I like it that way. I feel like the Young Women are friends with everyone, instead of just the people in their class.

We have had a lot of fantastic mutual activities. Our last two combined activities have been really fun. First we went ice blocking, and then we had a pinewood derby. The youth are awesome!

Edison's Edition (7 Months)

2011-10-27T23:53:00.001-05:00

Weight: 19 pounds, 2 ounces
Length: 28.5 inches

Edison is scooting (10.7.11). I am pretty sure I have seen him crawl a few times but since Sam is out of town, we aren't counting it (need two or three witnesses). He is definitely mobile though. He can get to anything he wants. He climbs, scoots, or wiggles; it doesn't matter what it takes, he's getting there. He can also go from crawling position to sitting up. It blew my mind the first time I saw it. Recently, I was trying to decide if Edison likes his momma or daddy more. I couldn't decide because he really just likes attention. This kid lives for eye contact. If I stand in front of him and look right in his eyes, he starts cracking up. My face is just that funny. He is so easy to make laugh. He is always giggling. If he isn't giggling, that probably means he is stuck on his stomach. Again. I have spent much of my time during the last month going into his bedroom and turning him onto his back again because he can't seem to roll over from tummy to back in his crib.When I go into his room to get him after he wakes up, he reaches up to me with one arm (he can't reach with both arms because he is on his stomach, and one has to hold him up). I love it. When I put the boys in their high chairs for a meal, if dinner is still cooking and they get restless, I stomp around and say, "Roar, I'm a big hungry lion." Edison and Alex are both in fits over it. I am not sure why they think it is so funny but I keep doing it for their little laughs. (Sam has never seen me do this.)

Almost crawling!

Six year old boy: The baby's eating the paper! Eating it! Like... Chewing!

That's not food! (He loves anything that crinkles or if seems like he shouldn't have it.)

That's a nice pile of pillows.

Peek-a-Boo (or as Alex says, "Attaboo!"

He loves sleeping with something on his head. It scares me!

This video summarizes their relationship perfectly.

He finally decided this month that he is going to like bath time!

I love my clean boys!

So smiley!

Getting ready to move!

Alex brings out their blankets so they can have pretend nap times.

One night we decided to put Edison in Alex's pajamas. They fit.

He is getting so big!

"Would you like a pacifier?"

Such yummy cheeks you have!

Sitting like a big boy!

Bouncing all over the place (including into the door frame).

I couldn't believe that he actually liked this thing. I almost gave it away because Alex hated it so much.

He climbs into everything. I love that he is a climber, too.

I love his rocking.

Rice cereal flavor saver?

He refuses to open his eyes for pictures. Just like his daddy.

Alex loves ~~smashing~~ hugging him.

Playing in the front yard with Daddy.

They needed some alone time.

He is the happiest outside.

Out for a walk.

Caught in the act!

Climbing over toys to get a "better" toy!

Whenever he drops something, he leans over the edge of his high chair like, "How'd that get down there? Is someone going to get it for me?"

Alex is very generous when I ask him to get his brother a toy.

Baby wedgie.

Alex always wants to sit with Edison/on Edison's lap. Edison loves it because it means he has plenty of hair to pull.

I finally finished and hung the letters for his bedroom.

Here are a few more things Edison does for which I do not have a matching picture:

He...

...is a funny kid. We could give Alex a rattle or a teething ring and he was entertained for house. Edison isn't tricked by such things. He wants a whisk or an empty Capri-Sun. Got some paper? You're his new favorite person.

...sleeps almost on his stomach. Legs are fully flipped over but his upper body is on the side. Always on his left side.
...is so squirmy. Nursing is difficult. Once he's satisfied with nursing, he rolls off, puts his hands up in the air, and starts cooing and dancing.

...nurses super fast. He always has to burp after nursing or he will spit up. If he burps while sitting up, it knocks him over.
...loves blowing raspberries. The amount of drool has increased exponentially.
...can get out of the Bumbo.
...always have to have something in his hands.
...has a third nipple (according the the pediatrician, but it looks like a dimple to me).
...brings things right up to his face to inspect them. Then promptly inserts them in his mouth.
...loves Mommy. When I am holding him with one arm, on my hip, he uses his back arm to wrap around my arm.
...becomes very startled by loud noises.