for the in-laws.

So I pretty much have the best in-laws ever. They are so wonderful and we really miss them so much! It was so great that we got to live with them for four months last year, and now we miss them even more! James is no exception - tonight he was really missing his Nana and Grandy:

(this is a bit long but I know Nana & Grandy will love it!)

my Dad, the world-traveler

I think my Dad may be one of the coolest guys ever, and I think you should go read his blog. As a judge, he has had the opportunity twice now to travel to Ukraine to teach law students there about the American jury trial. He just left yesterday and will be gone for almost a month, including a week-long trip to Jerusalem (on his way home) to visit my cousin & his wife. He is a wonderful writer and I am sure will be updating his blog very regularly. Check it out!

I chopped my hair.

The other day I got my hair cut. I love it. It was getting much too long to do anything with it (plus it is so darn thick that it takes like an hour to blow dry it...maybe that's an exaggeration but that's what it felt like!), so up it went in a ponytail every day (story of a mommy's life, right?). I also got some bangs for the first time in a long time. I am liking it.

Wow amazing, I'm actually in a picture! Can you believe it? Jonathan got me a tripod and a remote for my camera for Christmas. Now I have no excuse. Here's the [awkward and contemplative] side view. Does anyone else hate taking "serious" pictures like I do? I always look ridiculous.

James decided to get in on the action, and even took some of the pictures by pushing the button all by himself. Me and my little buddy:

rice-challenged

Lately, whenever I make rice it just doesn't work. Seriously, ANY kind of rice I try to make - white rice, brown rice, minute rice, rice-a-roni - turns out all nasty and the water never cooks away completely. I used to make rice a lot, and it used to turn out great. What is my problem? I feel very rice-challenged as of late. I think we'll steer clear of it in our house for awhile.

Last Sunday I cooked some rice for some chicken teriyaki bowls, and again it didn't turn out (and this was rice-a-roni, folks, not rocket science!) So frustrating. So I quickly came up with a plan B for my hungry boys and we had chicken caesar salad (well, chicken nuggets for James), and I decided to make a fruit smoothie to go with it. Unfortunately I soon realized that the bottom of my blender wasn't screwed in all the way, and this happened:

Sad day. Do you ever have nights where you think dinner will never ever make it on the table? This was definitely that type of night. I got the smoothie cleaned up and started over.

Ahhh, much better. Who doesn't love smoothies - man they are the best. It's almost like eating ice cream for dinner. So our dinner actually turned out alright. Also, thankfully, I had made some yummy funfetti cupcakes for dessert...which got eaten right along with our late dinner. We were so hungry that I didn't even frost them. Great dinner, eh?

I am really thankful for my Mom who always made such amazing dinners. Being a mom who cooks dinner every single day can be hard sometimes! It is so...DAILY :). Agreed?

us in 55 years:

Now this is the cutest ever. My sister found this video on YouTube, and it was so great that I just had to share it. She said it's how she pictures Jonathan and I when we're old. And I can so totally see that! We even have a duet we play where we switch places. It's not this cute though. I don't think you can be this cute of a couple until you're at least in your 80's.

goodnight, fweetsie

James says the most hilarious things lately. It's pretty cute that he now talks in full sentences. Here are some funny ones he said today:

"In a little bit go a Giki's house?" (he uses "a" instead of "to" - what is this, Spanish??)
"I clipped a little cracker." (he broke a little piece of cracker off of a big cracker)
"Mommy, my toys bug me!!" (he was frustrated because he wanted his cars, but his trains, books and dinosaurs were all crammed in the same box)

Other funny lines of late:

me: "goodnight, sweetie!"
James: "goodnight, fweetsie!" (he repeats everything I say to him while tucking him in...it's adorable)

"Wash down da hiccups!"

And, for the sake of posterity and because a mommy usually forgets these things if not written down, here are some more adorable/funny things he has said lately.

mine see-o's!! mine see-io-ios!! ("my cheerios!")
gankyou, mommy! gankyou, mommy! ("thank you, mommy")
no mine balls!! no mine balls! (rhymes with "pals")
uh, mommy's.....................eat dose!!
sumping else!
I dizzy!
sowwy!! sawyee! ("sorry!")
*he uses "sowwy" when he wants us to say we're sorry! if we do something he doesn't like, he'll frantically start crying, "sowwy!! sowwy!"
mommy, fix it! mommy, fix it!
mine hat
mine chair
i suck ("i stuck")

my first engagement photo shoot!

I had the opportunity to shoot my very first engagement photos on Saturday! My friend Yannie (who was one of my Young Women in our ward in Provo - how time flies!) found herself a great guy and wanted me to take their engagement pictures. We went to the amphitheater behind the mental hospital in Provo (very cool place) and got some awesome shots - especially once the snow started falling!

Aren't they a beautiful couple? Check out some more pictures on my photography blog!

My James.

Today my sanity slowly slipped away as James held up M&M after M&M, saying, "What's dat?? He asked with each one.

He wonders "what's dat" all the time. Constantly. And he loves to do things by himself. "Self!" he says.

In fact he climbed into his high chair by himself, while I was on the phone, and when I heard little yelps I ran into the kitchen, and there he was, feet barely touching the ground, his little white t-shirt stuck way up high on the high chair. As sad as it was I couldn't help but laugh out loud, it was pretty funny. I asked him afterwards "where does it hurt?" to which he responded by poking out his round little belly as far as it would go. I kissed his tummy and all was well.

Seriously though, this kid is a keeper. He's all about being happy lately. He constantly says "I happy!" or "Daddy happy!" The past two days, though, if I exhibit any sign of any emotion other than happiness (be it frustration, exhaustion, determination or just plain being bugged), he gets a major pouty face and says, "Mommy? Happy?!?" I have been working on keeping a happy face, despite my inner feelings. If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy....am I right?

Here's a fun conversation:
me: "James, do you feel sick?"
James: "No. I happy."

Today James was a hyper little doggie who wouldn't take a nap, crawling all around the house licking things. "Dog food!" he said. Of course.

He wanted to go somewhere really badly today..."Go sumpin'! a-Go sumpin', Mama!"

It was quite the day and I am quite the exhausted Mama...but I wouldn't trade it for anything :)

day-after-Valentines Cookies

Nothing says Valentines Day like sugar cookies, agreed? Well we at least got ours made the day after Valentines Day - good enough, right? What a fun thing for James though - he helped so much and loved it! I think that holidays are such great times for family traditions, and this is such a fun one :) Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day with lots of LOVE.

"I made cookies, Mommy!!"

a picture post.

fun visit with my family...


mama'a yummy Valentines cookies...


James has got his Bapa wrapped around his little finger...


James loves playing with all the little "peepoo" sets that his Mommy used to play with...


yes, I realize this picture is blurry but it is too cute...


the new "young couple"...


cute Aunt Annie with her cute haircut...


James with his Aunt Abby and soon-to-be Uncle Ryan.

wafflelibraryfriday.

wafflelibraryfriday: noun. A day (usually a Friday) in which our family eats a yummy waffle breakfast together, then goes on a trip to the library. It's also kind of a fun word to say. Try it.

We actually haven't been able to do this as much lately with Daddy's work schedule, but we still love going to the library together (even if it's not on a Friday)! This has become a fun family tradition. James especially loves it. He not only loves reading books there (his current favorite is the Clifford the Big Red Dog series) but loves to play on the toys there in the children's section.

Mommy and Daddy also love checking out books, but have found that with a toddler who just wants to play in one section of the library, it is much easier to reserve the books online and then pick them all up in the same place.

And we love waffles! I didn't used to make them so often because they always seemed like too much work for a sleepy mama who really isn't a morning person. But then I came up with a great solution. I make multiple recipes of the dry ingredients and then dump them all in a canister to make my own waffle mix! Then all I have to do is measure out how much I need, then add the milk, oil, and eggs...it is so much faster!

Here's my recipe:

Favorite Waffle Mix

1 and 3/4 cup flour (I use a combination of white & wheat)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Make as many recipes of this as you need to fill your canister or container. Make sure all the ingredients are mixed together well.

And when you're ready to whip up some quick, yummy waffles:

Favorite Waffles

Separate yolks/whites of 2 eggs.
Put yolks in a large bowl.
Beat the whites in a separate bowl with a hand mixer until fluffy; set aside.

To egg yolks add:

1 and 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil
1 and 3/4 cup Favorite Waffle Mix

Beat with hand mixer until smooth. Fold in egg whites.

This recipe makes quite a bit and feeds our little family of 3 for a couple of meals. I either make half a recipe or I save the remaining batter in the fridge for the next morning.

Enjoy!

we don't usually eat on the floor...but sometimes it's fun :)

not hard at all.

Recently while singing to James at bedtime, I got thinking about all the wonderful Primary songs I sing to him, and that he now knows by heart. What a wonderful way to teach our children about the Savior and the gospel - the simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ are stated so simply and beautifully in these songs for even the smallest of children to learn.


A few weeks ago I started singing to him the song "To Think About Jesus." I have always loved this song, and I have a very distinct memory of singing this song in Primary as a very little girl. I remember sitting in the Primary room on a hot Sunday afternoon, with the bright sun shining through the white curtains, and singing this song and thinking about Jesus and how He died for me. I think this may have been one of the first times I had really thought about and received a testimony of the Atonement.

How sweet it is now to sing this song to James, and have him sing right along with me (because he knows every word!). I hope that he will always remember this song and remember that Jesus Christ loves him and died for him.

It shouldn't be hard to sit very still,
And think about Jesus, His cross on the hill,
And all that He suffered and did for me.
It shouldn't be hard to sit quietly.
It shouldn't be hard, even though I am small,
To think about Jesus.
Not hard at all.

I love and am grateful for good music, and really believe it is a powerful tool for teaching our children. It really is "not hard at all" to instill in our children a love for the Savior and a great foundation for their own testimony.

Happy Sunday!

I'd love to know what songs you sing to your kids!

"i happy."

...those are the sweetest little words that come out of our little buddy's mouth almost every single day. James - I happy, too! How could I not be happy with such wonderful, happy guys in my life?

should be sleeping...

...but instead James is up in his bed happily yelling words that he knows. Kind of cute, really.

LELLO!!
GREEN!!
DOOR!!
BANKEEK!!
YEAH!!
CARS!!
HOUSES!!
BOOK!!
MAMA!!
DOGGIE!!
BOOK!!
BANKEEK!!
BED!!
FOOT!!
MINE FOOT!!
ouchies!
mmmmmmmmmMUAH! (apparently he kissed his foot)
TRAIN!!
BALL!!
BOOKS!!
TRAIN!!
TRAIN TRACKS!!
BED!!
RED CAR!
RED BOOK!
BROWN!!
WHITE!!
BED! BED!
BOOK!
DOGGIE! MINE DOGGIE!!

a lazy day

I woke up this morning not feeling well at all (sore throat, headache). Any mommy knows how hard it is to be a mommy when you are sick! Luckily my little buddy is the best son ever -

I asked him if he wanted to lay on the couch with me and watch a movie - he said yeah! So I got out some choices, and here was our conversation:

me: "Do you want to watch Pongo?" (who else loves 101 Dalmatians?? great movie...)

James: "No."

me: "Do you want to watch Cars?"

James: "No."

me: "Do you want to watch Gilmore Girls?"

James: "Yeah!!"

:) What a little champ, eh?

We had a lazy, comfy day and stayed in our pj's until the afternoon - I think everyone needs a day like that every once in awhile!

the things we mommies do....

I just kissed my son's toy car goodnight.

stick it on the fridge

Is it weird that I just can't bring myself to throw away any of James' little pictures he colors in nursery every Sunday?

We've got 'em on the fridge and in his closet and they just keep on popping up in various places throughout the house. Why is it that I just can't get rid of a picture of a little boy (with yarn attached for wearing it, mind you) that says, "Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ Love Me" that James so beautifully colored (er...scribbled) all by himself? (Even though he used red and black, like for the face and eyes...)
I still just find it so dear (and so crazy!) that my boy is old enough to color pictures and bring them home to mommy. Maybe if I hold onto all his cute little drawings I can hold onto him at this age for just a little bit longer.......or maybe not. But I can try, right?

Can you just see me when he's in grade school, bringing home artwork and worksheets and the like? I'd better get me a filing cabinet...

hiding

Yesterday evening I was doing the dishes. James played with cars on the floor while his Daddy played some Bach preludes & fugues on the piano (I love my husband!). After a few minutes I looked up and realized James was gone. Where was he?

I started looking around the house and couldn't find him anywhere. I knew he had to be in the house somewhere, but since I couldn't find him I started to get worried. (Have any other mommies noticed that it is so hard not to worry about your kid? It's like you become a mommy and your worry switch immediately turns on. I often still go into James' room while he's sleeping at night to check if he's breathing, like I used to do when he was a little baby - anyone else do that?)

Jonathan helped me and we started searching, and we searched pretty much everywhere, and no James! We were calling to him, saying, "James! Where are you?" No answer.

Suddenly we heard a faint little voice, so we again said, "Where are you?"

Daddy opened the door to our walk-in closet, and there was our little guy, grinning ear to ear and holding a giant red ball. It was actually hilarious, I wish I had had my camera with me to take his picture, standing there with a huge red ball, waiting for us to find him.

He said, "In da door! Holding da ball!!"

Phew. I told James that he scared me, and he smiled and said, "Yeah......I happy."

What a silly billy.

overheard

I just told James he had 5 minutes to play before nap time...and as he played with his cars on his Radiator Springs rug and narrated everything that went on, I couldn't help but write it down because it was so entertaining. My family will especially get a kick out of this:


Go down a-Bapa's car...down a-Bapa's car...go down a-Bapa's car....

A-go down a-Annie's car...down a-Annie's car...down a-Annie's car...

Hounk hounk! Hounk hounk!

Go down a-Annie's car....and dis way....and dis way....

Go backwards! a-Carrrrs

Red light....red light! Red light a-Annie's car.

Go down a-Annie's car. A-park. A-park-a right there. I home!! I home a-Annie's car a-Giki's car!

Oh, harder......aaaaahhh, oohhhhh (apparently a car was trying to get over a bump)

A bump! A bump! Annie's car a-bump! a-wheels too! 3......4......5.....Go!! Bapa's car right there. Home! Home, Bapa's car! Bapa? A-go-a-Giki's car. I home too! Yay! Sump sump sump! (which means "jump")

Bapa's car! Bapa's car red! Oh, a-Bapa's car red! Ahhh!! A-on top a-Bapa's car! Uh-oh....inside! Inside....look inside!

Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep Bapa's car!
Beep beep beep Annie's car! Beep beep Annie's car!

Go down, cars! Go down, cars! Go down cars!
Go up, car!

Bump!
A-bump! A-bump! Down a-bump!

A-stop-a red light.


Ahh, I love it. Life with a little boy is great. Now to get him to bed so I can finally take a shower and get dressed for the day!

outings

My little buddy and I had a fun morning.

First we went to the dollar store and walmart (I SO miss Honk's dollar store in Provo!) - we were looking for stickers for a "potty chart" for James - he was so into it. He kept saying "stickers! stickers!" so we searched the aisles saying, "hmmmm....hmmmmm" together until we found some! He was so excited!

Then we went and got a Jamba Juice - and they have the CUTEST tiny little cups and straws there, so James got his very own and he was so proud. He took many sips but hardly made a dent in it.

James then insisted on going to the library, even though he was just there last night with his daddy. We read about 4 or 5 Clifford books and then came home.

What a fun morning :)

we've got ourselves a BIG boy!

It has been a BIG couple of days for our James. He got a toddler bed and a potty! (and a haircut - but that was AFTER these pictures!) Wow, what a big boy!


Jonathan put the bed together and James loved it so much, and we ended up taking the crib right down. So far so good - James loves his new bed! He loves climbing in and out all by himself. Although he didn't nap today, he went right to sleep in his new bed last night and stayed in there all night, and he went right to bed tonight.




He also has tried to go potty twice today (and kinda sorta did go potty - and was SO pleased with himself, saying, "I did it!! I did it!!") and is so excited about it! We are basically just taking our time and letting him get used to it, but hey, if he wants to try, I am all for it!

Wow, my baby is a big boy, I'm not quite sure how I feel about that! What makes me so happy though is that several times a day he'll say, "Mommy? I happy." And that makes me the happiest!