Happy Canada Day to all of you Canadians out there! In honor of Canada day, my kids are dressed in red and white. And that’s about all we’re doing to celebrate. So happy Canada Day, eh!
*Excuse the Mickey Mouse shirt. That’s the only red and white shirt he has. And in case you’re wondering (which you probably aren’t) I made London’s skirt from an old dress shirt from my brother-in-law.
Last Sunday was father’s day. I don’t feel like a did an extra super job of letting my dad know how great he is, or letting my husband know what a great father he is to our children. I hope they know. I think we did do an okay job of helping Taylor feel special and even though I wasn’t with my dad, I saw him on Wednesday for his birthday, which he said was a great surprise and because of it, ended up being the best day of his ride down the coast. But for father’s day itself, I tried to help the kids remember to treat their daddy extra special. They didn’t do too bad.
After church, Taylor’s parents came over for dinner. They spent the night and brought along their kayak so we could all go kayaking on Monday. London was so excited to go. On Monday morning she got up and dressed herself. The outfit included shoes and socks. I told her that she needed to wear flip-flops since we were going to get a little wet, so she took her running shoes off and added the flip-flops, socks and all. It was the funniest thing. Unfortunately my camera battery was dead and I didn’t get a picture before Taylor made her take the socks off. We had a great time at the bay.
London ran around all morning with her princess life vest and couldn’t wait to get in the boat.
Ashton even took a little jaunt around the bay, but I think his favorite part was chasing the ducks and yelling, “du du, du du!” He was really excited about them. He was also really excited about the water, which meant he was really mad when we wouldn’t let him get in it. Such is the life of a one-year-old.
I hope all you women out there had as great of a mother’s day as I did! I remember last year being overwhelmed by my new life with two kids, dealing with postpartum depression, trying to nurse, trying to keep my 3 year old from killing my baby, and having to speak in church about the joys of motherhood. If I only knew what a difference a year would make. It seems as though my kids get cuter and cuter every day now (except when the brattiness of London surfaces, which is way too often). I still get overwhelmed, but I feel better about my role as a mother. I’m finding more joy in motherhood, which is definitely a good thing. For days previous to mother’s day, London was constantly telling me, “Happy mother’s day, Mom!” and telling me how much she loved me. What a sweet little girl! She constantly wants to give me kisses and get them in return. Taylor also made my day extra special, by getting up early and making me two different kinds of fresh-squeezed juice. He bathed the kids while I slept in. He took care of the kids at church so I could enjoy church, which is no small task. I had a nice relaxing day, thanks to my wonderful husband.
With summer fast approaching, I have decided to take it upon myself to give any of you who may be traveling to the beach, a few tips. As a frequent beach-goer, I have seen some good ideas, and some bad ideas. The purpose of today’s blog is to inform you of the things you should not do while attending the beach.
1. If you are pregnant, don’t wear a bikini. I don’t care how beautiful your baby belly is to you, a bikini on a pregnant woman is just, well, not a good idea.
2. If you are comfortable enough in your own skin to wear a bikini, more power to you, but please don’t be showing cellulite or fat rolls. It’s not flattering.
3. If you are a guy, don’t wear a speedo. And don’t surf in a speedo. I don’t care how many hail Marys you do and how many times you cross yourself, wearing a speedo at the beach is just not a good idea.
4. Don’t wear a thong. I’m not talking about those sandals you wear on your feet, I’m talking about the other kind of thong. And especially if you’re about 60 and have cellulite, a bright yellow thong is not going to detract from your slightly (or more than slightly) flawed body.
Today the primary will be singing in church. I think that it’s a tradition for mother’s day in every ward. I love it when the kids sing! I took the liberty of recording London singing the song they will be singing today. Check it out here and have a very happy mother’s day!
My baby turned uno today. It’s funny. When London turned one, I felt like she was so grown up, but with Ashton, although he’s doing the same things she was, he still feels very much like my baby. Even so, he’s growing learning so much. He weighs a whopping 26 pounds! He’s come a long way in the last 6 or 7 months. He started out so skinny! Now he could be a sumo wrestler! In fact, some days I think that’s what he’s trying to do.
He loves to wrestle. If I’m lying down on the floor, he crawls to me as fast as possible and climbs back and forth over me, all the while screaming with delight. He’s not much of a laugher in the traditional sense. I get giggle sometimes, but usually his laughs come out more like squeals or screams. He’s still not walking yet, but he gets closer every day. He can balance on his own, but he gets nervous when he realizes he’s on his own. He also loves going outside. If a door is open, he’s out. He knows that doorknobs open doors and he tries really hard to reach them. He also really loves the bathroom. He figured out how to flush the toilet and thinks that’s a pretty cool accomplishment. Of course he loves his baths. He gets pretty mad if he sees the water flowing into the tub and he’s not in it to play. He now has 7 teeth (4 on the top and 3 on the bottom) and I think we’re getting close to the time he’ll need his first hair cut. It’s finally growing in!
Ashton also started talking, kind of. He says the obligatory “mama” and “dada” but I’m not sure if it’s just babbling. I’m sure, though, when he says “nana” that he’s talking about bananas. They’re his favorite food and whenever he sees one, he gets really excited and can’t stop saying “NANA! NANA!” I’m pretty sure I also heard him say “ball” today. His first really noticeable and coherent word was “ma” which means more. I taught him the sign for more so when he’s really excited and wanting more of something (mostly food) he claps his hands and yells, “MA! MA!”
To celebrate Ashton’s birthday, we planned on meeting Taylor’s parents and Denver at Peter Piper Pizza (kind of a smaller version of Chuck E. Cheeses) for lunch.
London was so excited about it that she announced it to her pre-school class and invited all of her friends. A couple of them came, which I didn’t mind. She had a great time, and I think Ashton did too. They enjoyed the food and the games together. Usually that place is not crowded at all, but today while we were there, three bus loads of kids showed up, making the experience not as enjoyable as it could have been. After lunch, Taylor’s family came home with us, where we had cupcakes that I made to look like Uno cards. Ashton, of course, enjoyed his grub.
Then he opened presents. We still have one for him to open, since he lost interest in opening more. Why would he want to open more things when he already had so many cool toys to play with? It was a nice little celebration and I’m glad we didn’t plan anything extravagant. Ashton was happy just the way things went.
We’ve been MIA for the last few days because we’ve been on spring break! Miraculously, Taylor and London both had the week off. Taylor took that opportunity to do some research for his dissertation. We drove up to Hemet on Wednesday night. We just got home tonight. Taylor spent all day Thursday in Claremont working on his big project, while I stayed at his parents house with the kids. London and Ashton love it at their house. London loves playing on the treadmill and jumping on the trampoline and all sorts of other fun activities, while Ashton loves chasing around a golf ball.
His newest joy, however, is playing on the trampoline with his big sister. These kids were so funny.
The trampoline happens to be right next to two tangerine trees. Ashton thought that was very cool so he crawled over to the tree and tried to stuff one in his mouth. He was surprised when the “ball” came off the tree and started rolling around on the trampoline. Of course, then London had to go pick one. She bounced Ashton and the fruit around and they both thought the whole process was just hilarious.
Later inside, Ashton decided to get some exercise on the treadmill while London moved the belt. He couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t going anywhere, and she was just laughing hysterically.
We also did fun things like decorating eggs,
planting the garden,
making yummy treats,
and relaxing in the hammock.
This morning we woke up to a large array of treats from the Easter Bunny. There were plenty of eggs to find in the living room. London and Denver each found 34, while Ashton was completely happy with his 1. That is, until he realized there was candy in the others.
He thought they were pretty fun to shake. That bunny left us enough candy to last until next year.
My favorite egg, though, was the empty one; the one to remind us of the empty tomb. I love Easter.
Happy St. Patrick’s day! We didn’t do a whole lot to celebrate because really, what are we celebrating anyway? London, though, thinks holidays are the greatest thing in the world. She was SO excited for St. Patrick’s day. She was all about wearing green. For dinner I made green shamrock pancakes and I discovered the best pancake topping ever: Nutella and bananas. I think I could eat and eat those until I got sick. They were SO good!
Last night I got crafty and threw together an appliqued onesie for Ashton to wear today. I didn’t zigzag around the edge of the tie yet, so I better do that before his next wear. I didn’t feel like pulling out the sewing machine. He looked really cute, if I do say so myself.
After dinner, the kids and I had a fun time playing together. London loves to walk around holding Ashton’s hands and helping him walk. He thinks it’s pretty cool too. She was also grabbing onto his foot when he was crawling around so that he could drag her across the floor. Funny kids. then London was “dressing up” using the tunnel as a princess costume. She told me she was a character and that I needed to take a picture of her and hug her.
The last couple of pictures are Ashton’s “model” pose. When he’s crawling around and wants to change direction or look at something else, he sits like this for a minute, then goes on his way. It’s really tough to get a picture because as soon as he sees the camera, he starts crawling toward me. I think my kids are pretty funny, no matter how much they annoy me sometimes.
I just couldn't resist this one. He looks so funny!
Ashton and London in their Christmas outfits
I love the Christmas season. I love the decorations. I love the baking. I love the shopping. I love the friendliness of people around me. I especially love the traditions I set with my family. Hopefully I’ll remember all of those traditions for next year because they’re not happening this year. Usually at the beginning of the Christmas season, London gets a new nativity to use as part of our Christmas decorations. They don’t do much as far as decorating goes, though, because she’d rather play with them. I haven’t decided yet what Ashton’s yearly decoration will be. I’m open for suggestions. Anyway, she doesn’t have a new nativity this year. And I’m not sure if she’ll get one. A tradition we have always had in my home growing up was counting down with the advent calendar. I was so excited last year to make a lovely advent calendar, but that hasn’t even re-surfaced this year. In fact, the only Christmas decoration in our apartment this year is a tea light holder that’s been on the piano all year because we forgot to put it away with the Christmas decorations last year. Of course, London still has her nativities (or as she calls them, her “baby Jesus”) that she plays with. She would never let us put those away with the rest of the Christmas things.
This year is different from most. We’re moving right before Christmas. In fact, we’re moving this Saturday. We’ve been putting off buying Christmas gifts because we don’t want to pack them. Because our escrow has been pushed back so much, we’re moving our stuff on Saturday, but won’t move it into our new place, since we won’t be finished with the repairs yet. So we’ll move our stuff into the garage and spend Christmas with Taylor’s family. Santa will have to stop at Granny and Papa’s house this year instead of ours. Taylor and I will be back and forth between his parents house and our house, working on painting and floors and ceilings. So much for time spent with family. Next year Christmas is at my house. I’m going to get a tree and put up lights and bake and bake and bake.
We had our ward Christmas party tonight. Last year London went home crying because Santa didn’t show up. When we found out that Santa wasn’t planning an appearance again this year, we weren’t happy about it. Neither were our friends. I have a good friend who did a lot of campaigning in favor of Santa. And he showed up! We were so happy, as were the kids.
The party was a success. I do, however, have a few complaints. First of all, it was too late. It supposedly started at 6, but we didn’t really start eating until closer to 7. By this point, the kids were all running around, chasing each other because they were BORED! Then, of course, they didn’t want to settle down to eat. When Santa finally showed up, it was around 8:30 or so–way past bed time for most kids. I was surprised at how well-behaved Ashton was. He was so tired the whole time, since he is usually in bed no later than 7. I spent the majority of the evening trying to get him to sleep and the rest of the time chasing London around. But the food was good and it was fun, as always, to hear the primary kids sing.
They also had a nice little program, which I missed, because I was trying to get a baby to sleep. I will say that this years party was a definite step in the right direction from last year. Now if it would have just been a couple of hours earlier…