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.
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...
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...
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!
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.
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...
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!
"...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!
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
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?"
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.
some fun little windows up in the tower
