missing my sister

Just wanted to share this great video of my cute sister. She's a missionary for the LDS church in Seattle and I'm sure the people there just love her and her fun personality - I mean, how could you not? Her cute companion is from Mongolia. I think my sister is pretty awesome and watching this video made me miss her! Check out her mission blog that my Mom updates for her. Love you, Liz!

Mama Bird

Our buddy loves the Polar Express. It is so cute (except that after watching it so much this week since we've both been sick, now he wants to watch it all. the. time. It gets just a little old). He loves the book, the movie - he's really into trains lately.

As I mentioned before, my Dad made James some Polar Express tickets. Oh how he loves those tickets. His favorite part of the movie is when the boy loses the ticket and it flies out the train and through the air, then lands on the ground where there is a pack of wolves, then flies into the air again and gets caught in a bird's mouth. The bird part is his most favorite. He'll say, "Mama Bird? Mama Bird?" and we watch that part over and over.

Here is James watching the "Mama Bird" part.

This kind of weather...

...makes me want to go hooky-bobbing!

Hooky-bobbing is simple: grab a rope and some sleds/inner tubes, tie them to the back of a truck, hop on, have someone drive the truck around in the snow.

Thinking of this makes me so happy because:

1) SNOW is involved, and who else loved the snow today??!
2) Reminds me of Christmas (less than two months, folks!)
3) I get to hear my grown-up brothers-in-law screaming like girls
4) Seeing Benjamin riding on an inner tube looking like a powdered donut
5) It's always fun when you see sleds flipping upside-down and flying through the air
6) It makes me miss my in-laws, and I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving! Hope we have snow then!

And, if you just need a visual....here it is :) Hope you enjoy!

First Snow!

James has been standing at the window all morning saying, "Play? Snow?" I keep telling him that we can play in it after we get better (yes, I have the flu, too).

He just keeps on saying it. "Play? Snow? Dada? Bames? Mama?" (Bames means James.)

We can't wait until we are all better and can play in the snow! Of course, by that time, the snow may be gone...

Don't you just love the first snow of the year?? :)

Mores.

A couple more plurals our buddy uses...

He was looking for more cars and said, "Mores cars?"
"Oh, nos!!" (Two of his toys fell down)

Our Little Sickie, and the Joy of Grandparents

Poor little James started coughing last night and woke up this morning with a fever. After his nap (yes, he did indeed take a nap today!) he wasn't doing any better so I called and got him an appointment to see the doctor. My sweet Mama and sister rushed over to pick up James and I (since Jonathan was at work with the car) to go to the doctor.

It turns out that he has the flu, and I was so grateful we got him in there within 24 hours of getting sick, and also that he is still under two years old, because then the doctor was able to prescribe him some medicine. (Apparently they don't have a ton of this medication, so they are limiting it to certain groups of people, like children under two and high-risk people, etc.)

So, he is a little sickie but has been so sweet and pleasant the whole day. In fact the whole time we were at the doctor and in the car he kept saying, "Giki?? Pegs??" (He has really wanted to go back to Jukie's house and play with a peg-board toy they have.) He was so excited to go to his grandparents' house after the doctor.

I am so grateful for my wonderful parents who are so sweet to my little boy. My Dad loves to play with James, and boy does he make things fun! Tonight they were pulling a train all around the house, marching around to the Polar Express soundtrack, then watching the Polar Express while holding their homemade Polar Express tickets that my Dad made. They even got out a hole puncher and punched the tickets like they do in the movie. (Notice in the picture at the top the ticket in James' hand - the front of it has a picture of a train on it and there are holes punched. James took his ticket - or "Gick" - to bed with him tonight!)

When my Mom drove us home, James was so sleepy, he laid in my Mom's lap while she rocked him and sang to him. It was the sweetest thing, he sang right along with her, and is even getting to the point where he knows a lot of the words. I pretty much have sung I Love to See the Temple to him every single night, so he knows that one the best. This video is so sweet, I hope my Mom won't mind that I posted it.

may I take your order?

Earlier today I turned to Jonathan and asked, "What do you want for lunch?"

James immediately chimed in with his order:

"Juice, Milk, Crackers, Oatmeal, Spoon!"

Well then - yes sir! At least the kid knows what he wants, right? This is what he asks for for every meal, by the way. Can you tell we like breakfast food around here?

I was lucky and he said almost the same thing when I whipped out the camera...

a little jealousy...

"There is no other closeness in human life like the
closeness between a mother and her baby...
they are just a few heartbeats away from
being the same person." - Susan Cheever

As my Dad likes to say, James and I are pretty much the same person. As he is getting older, though, he is realizing more and more that we actually are, in fact, not. I suppose this can cause for some feelings of possessiveness toward his mommy.

Lately James cannot stand it when Jonathan and I show affection for each other.

We hold hands, and his little brow starts to furrow. This means business. Ever since the day he was born (when someone had the gall to straighten the little man's hat), whenever James furrows his brow it means he is bugged. He pushes his Daddy's hand away and says, "Mom!!"

We kiss, and he just can't stand it. He yells "Mom!!" and pushes Jonathan's face away.

Apparently we have some jealousy issues here.

(discovering his love for rolling in the dirt - now he's a real Boster boy!)

Apparently...

...my son really didn't miss us much at all. This is when I was taking him up to his bed tonight...guess he wanted to sleep at my parents' house again!



*"Jukie" is what he calls my mom, in case anyone was wondering

the big TWO-SIX

Yesterday I turned 26, and can't believe that I am now closer to 30 than to 20! I had such a wonderful birthday. Jonathan was able to get the day off work, and we decided to roll our anniversary (which is coming up in December) and my birthday all into one, and get away for a couple of days. My parents were so kind and watched James for us (he had a blast, I don't think he even missed us...). We got a sweet deal at this wonderful bed and breakfast near downtown Salt Lake City that we just love - we have stayed there a couple of times, including our honeymoon. We basically got to pick any room in the inn for a really good price. We picked our favorite, which has a spiral staircase going up to the turret (the highest part of the mansion), where there is a jacuzzi. This place is great, if you ever need a fun place to stay in Salt Lake, I would definitely recommend it! They often have wonderful deals.

It was great to get away, get a little break from being a mommy, and just relax.

some fun little windows up in the tower

Four Hundred.

Are you kidding me? This is my 400th post? I can't believe it. You can't just do any old post for the 400th one. It's gotta be at least kind of exciting, don't you think? So, in celebration of my blog's 400th post, I present:

Four hundred (ok well not 400, that would take way too long to write AND read...but a LOT of) things that fill my soul with joy...

(seriously, it's nowhere near 400, but we can pretend, right?)

Ready, go...

being married to my hot husband
being mommy to my adorable son
my amazing family! (including my in-laws of course)
amazing friends
the Gospel

ok, now that we've got the obvious ones out of the way...

Lindt Lindor truffles
my camera
kettle corn
Steinways
my fuzzy sweatpants
going to the temple
this song (track #2)
Teen Girl Squad





Christmas music!!
snow
remembering inside jokes with friends
this video




learning a new piece on the piano
hearing this song and driving in Janina's car while hearing this song!



Marie Callender's sour cream lemon pie
crunchy leaves
graham crackers and milk
this awesome cartoon





smoothies
sleeping in
going to the symphony
watching Lost with my hubby
Gilmore Girls!!



doing random weird things with my siblings
when I take a really cute photo
talking to old friends
painted toenails
reading to my boy
old family videos
visiting my old piano teacher, Bonnie
girls nights
cheesy romantic chick flicks
when my husband will watch a cheesy romantic chick flick with me
playing old school nintendo games like Exodus
my absolute favorite movie ever





running through sprinklers
chocolate cake
circus animal cookies
my mom's tacos
the color red
the smell of homemade bread, or cookies
buying a real Christmas tree and setting it up and decorating it
hooky-bobbing
this



listening to oldies - Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, etc.
watermelon
when I find money in pockets of coats
mittens
my slipper shoes
Mystery Science Theater 3000
laughing until you cry
staying up all night working on a project then being so tired that you laugh at everything until you are bawling
cheesecake
Burt's Bees chapstick
when people comment on my blog!
reading a good book
looking at old pictures
this show - yes it's cheesy but I just love it!



old musicals!



brand new babies
family traditions
weddings
my birthday
mashed potatoes
when my house is clean!
reading in the bathtub
going to museums
dressing up
reading this
reading the scriptures
reading my old journals
my son's cute little face
when my son is cuddly
when my son kisses me
experiencing childhood all over again with my son!
one of my favorite books
great books that I read growing up
children's books
Christmas lights
this picture from James' blessing day

Chinese food
Macaroni Grill
making new friends
going on walks
the ocean
having a fire in the fireplace
playing board games
stars
the moon!
Thanksgiving dinner
learning new things
sparkling cider
when my piano students practice
shopping at Babies R Us
fortune cookies
wearing cute heels
Superman
comfy blankets
playing in the snow
pumpkin pie with lots of whipping cream
when Jonathan calls me from work
Doris Day movies - especially this one - my favorite part starts at 2:00
Italian sodas in tall, clear glasses
And the list goes on and on and on...

Thanks for reading my blog!

Oh my goodness...

Tonight I turned around after only a few seconds, and this is what I found!!


How in the world did he get up there?

Sleepy-time Struggles

Help! I am just about going crazy here. Lately James has decided that he doesn't like to nap! He has always been a great sleeper, and still sleeps very well at night (no crying, just goes right to sleep). For awhile now he has been on kind of a late napping schedule (but it has worked) - where he'll go down for a nap in the afternoon around 2 or so, and sleep for 2 or 3 hours. Then, he just stopped. I realized that he was probably tired earlier, so I started putting him down around 12:30 or 1, which sometimes does work. But for the most part - I'll lay him down (doesn't matter what time) and he will just happily play and talk in his crib for about an hour, until I've had it and I go get him up. Then he gets so grumpy and obviously still needs a nap, so I try again an hour later and he sleeps great (but then he naps too late, and it throws off the whole schedule - or lack thereof).

Any suggestions? Is anyone else going through this same thing? He will be two in December, so he is really little to give up naps. And I am definitely not ready for that yet!

Walks

My little buddy and I went for a fun walk today around our neighborhood, then we had to go slide down the slide, then James held my hand and ran home. He is very into running lately. And holding hands, and going on walks.

I once read a great quote about motherhood - "The walks and talks we have with our two-year-olds in red boots have a great deal to do with the values they will cherish as adults." (Edith F. Hunter)

Being a mom can be hard sometimes! There are so many things demanding your attention, particularly your child, and it can be so hard to do everything you want to get done. It's easy to let your patience wear thin.

But lately, I have realized how good it is to just slow down, sit on the floor for awhile and pull out all the stuffed animals in your house and play with them (who cares about that load of laundry when you have this cute little face looking up at you?).


Or to lay on a blanket and read favorite books over and over and over (The Little Red Caboose, Goodnight Moon, The Polar Express...). (It can actually be quite relaxing, and make you feel like a kid again!)

Or to go on the slowest walk ever (those little legs can only go so fast, even at running speed) but to notice everything around you through the eyes of a toddler - apples on the ground, speed "bums" to walk over (those are speed bumps if you were wondering), orange pumpkins, bugs, pine cones.

I am so glad to be a mommy, and to be able to do these fun things with my boy every day. I am grateful for the slow walks we take and the sweet little talks we have. And I do think they are important - I hope every little kid gets to go on long walks with their mommy, too.

Taco Seasoning Recipe

Don't you hate it when a recipe calls for a taco seasoning packet, and you don't have one? When faced with this dilemma awhile ago I finally decided to just find my own recipe and make it myself. I think it tastes a lot better, it's probably cheaper, and you have the great sense of satisfaction that your meal is that much more homemade. I am not sure where I found this recipe, but it was online somewhere...

Taco Seasoning Mix

6 teaspoons chili powder
5 teaspoons paprika
4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons onion powder
2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

This recipe makes more than one regular packet, so you just have to figure out how much to add. I like to make a bunch and keep it in my spice cabinet for whenever I need it. Enjoy!

"Tyrannosaurus Rex, the mighty dinosaur..."

"...he was king in the age of dinosaurs. He was more fierce....than........(a whole bunch of dinosaurs' names)................to name a few."

Oh man, I learned this dinosaur song in elementary school and for the life of me I just cannot remember all the dinosaurs who were less fierce than the T. Rex! If anyone (particularly those who went to Oakwood with me and sang this exact song) knows how this goes, I would greatly appreciate it because it is driving me crazy!

In fact, as I recall, we sang a whole bunch of dinosaur songs for some program - one of them went like this "Listen to the chorus of the stegosaurus, and the something saurus down by the swamp.......what a noise...it's the boys (and the girls!) of the prehistoric animal brigade," and the other one that I can remember is "Elasmosaurus, elasmosaurus, the giant of the sea." Ah good times, isn't it fun to reminisce about elementary school?

Well, there really is a point to all this....today my boys and I went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point! It was so much fun, and James really enjoyed it! In fact his favorite part of the whole thing was this little room you walk through that is completely dark with millions of "stars" shining all around you. He was scared at first, but after we walked through it once we had to go back about five times. He also really liked the live fish that were in the little streams, and the model of the giant prehistoric shark.



My boys ventured dangerously close to this gigantic shark! James was actually mesmerized and sat in front of it forever, just staring at it.


There were lots of fun exhibits to look at. Imagine my disappointment, though, when I found out that the Elasmosaurus (you know, from the aforementioned elementary school song) isn't really classified as a dinosaur! Oh well, I'll get over it.


We saw lots of cool dinosaur bones, like this T-Rex! Makes me want to watch Jurassic Park or Night at the Museum...


MY favorite part was the humongous turtle. Apparently it was pretty much all intact when they found it, and is something like sixteen feet across. So cool!

Plurals

As I have mentioned before, James is really learning how to use plural forms of words. It has got to be the cutest thing ever. Here are some of his creative usages...


"Hellos?" - pretending to talk on two different phones at once
"Woofs" - he said as he walked into my room holding a stuffed doggie in each arm
"Hugs" - what he wanted me to give his many stuffed animals that he kept adding to the bunch in my arms
"Reds" - many red things, of course
"Beep-beeps!" - what many cars say
This next one is just pure genius - we have some huge wooden dice that James likes to stack up, and he will say, "dice!" when he wants to play with them. Well the other day he was holding one of them, and said, "die!" Don't ask me where he learned that but I was oh so proud...many adults don't even get that one right :)
"Uh-ohs!" - what he said when he dropped two toys

a visit with family

This weekend Jonathan's family came into town and we all went down to Provo for Benjamin's graduate vocal recital. He did an amazing job and we are all so proud of him! We enjoyed being with the family after the recital, I took tons of cute pictures, I got to visit with Janina at the HFAC for awhile, and then the fam went out to eat and then stayed up late at our place playing Rock Band. We just love being with the Bosters and only wish they could have stayed in town longer :) James loved having his grandparents stay with us, and today he said, "Nana? Back?"

Slides

Our apartment complex has a tiny little playground, and James just LOVES to walk over there and slide down the slide. The playground really is for older kids, so one of us has to carry him to the top and slide down with him - and he just insists on doing it over and over and over again!


One of my very earliest memories (I was probably around James' age, maybe a little older) is at a park in Oregon, where we lived. I am sitting on top of a really big slide...of course I was very little, so it's all relative...and my Dad is at the bottom with his arms outstretched, ready to catch me. It really is a sweet memory, and I remember just feeling happy and safe. I hope James feels the same way.

My cute boys are waving and saying "Hi!!!!!"

What do you think?

Here's my adorable boy again in a photo I took yesterday. I am just playing around with it, and I can't decide which one of these I like best! What do you think?

family trip photos

In August we went on a fun trip with my family to St. George, and somehow I missed putting all the photos up here! Enjoy :)