Toddler Torture and Other Fun

I think he wanted to go somewhere.

Vacuuming again.

No, Jim does not normally work in the kitchen. He was fixing our internet router which just so happens to be on the counter above him. This kids thought they needed to be with him and I thought it was cute.

Toddler Torture

She tries to put every article of clothing on her head. (Although she may have had a little help here because someone may have been curious what she would do.)

Proof that Annie really does have hair!

A Brilliant Idea

This picture has a story.

The other day it was lunchtime and I wasn't feeling hungry. So I thought, "Maybe I'll open a can of mac n' beef for the kids instead of cooking. That'll save me time and work!" I don't even know how it came to be in my cupboard because it's not something I buy. But there it was and it sure seemed convenient.

So I opened it and divided it into two bowls for the kids. I put Annie's most effective bib on and gave her a very small amount of noodles after I'd drained much of the sauce off. I left the room for a minute and this is what I found when I came back.
You might wonder why I would leave my baby alone in a carpeted dining room with that on her tray. The answer is that I didn't leave all that on her tray! Logan decided she needed her whole bowl while I was gone and she dumped it. Did I mention that my dining room is carpeted? Safe to say that after her bib swam in all that sauce her clothes were no longer protected.

It gets better.

Logan hasn't worn a bib in well over a year, so you can bet he didn't want one that day. I was concerned because he frequently drips on his shirt, and he was wearing a brand new shirt. It was mostly white. I am so brilliant that it didn't occur to me to remove his shirt until it was hopelessly stained in several places. I just so happened to be wearing a white shirt, too, and I managed to get sauce on me as well.

After much scrubbing I was left to ponder on my earlier wisdom of saving myself "time and work".

Easter

Our Easter holiday was great. We went to church, had dinner at my mom's house, and afterward went to the cantata that I sang in. This is the third time that I've sang in the cantata, and I've really enjoyed it.

General Conference

We were able to watch General Conference at home for the first time ever this time around. Woohoo! So I created a few things for Logan to use during the sessions. The first one is the page with the general authorities on it. I glued it to cardboard (mostly so the kids wouldn't rip it), and every time Logan found the picture of the speaker, he put a sticker on their picture. He really liked that, and we were surprised how quickly he found some of their pictures! He was so excited when the prophet spoke, and ended up with several stickers on his picture. The other thing I did was to glue several pictures to cardboard (i.e. Jesus, temple, scriptures, etc.). When Logan heard someone say one of those words, or if he saw a picture of that thing, he could pick a piece of candy. I also put Logan's little table and chairs in the living room, and we had special snacks that we don't eat normally. He was really excited about all of it. Annie was even enthused about the pictures I had for them.

I was really happy with how most of our sessions went. The morning sessions were a bit chaotic, but that's to be expected with small children. The afternoon sessions were right on time for naps, so both kids slept through both of those. It was SO nice not to have distractions.

Reading With Papa

Vacuum

Annie has a fascination with the vacuum cord; she likes to wrap it around her neck while I'm working. I have to be VERY careful when I pull that cord behind me.

Bearded Lady

Watch This

Jim was randomly watching LDS commercials tonight, and I thought this one was so awesome I had to share it.

Swashbuckler

Birthday Baby

Annie officially turned one last Friday while we were in Utah. I can't believe it! This year has been unbelievably fast! We celebrated her birthday in Utah with Jim's relatives (see below) and also had a party for her on Monday with our immediate families. Most of our parents and siblings were there, although that isn't obvious from the pictures.

I was really happy with how my cake turned out. It was sort of a shame to eat it.

She really enjoyed unloading her presents...and Logan enjoyed taking them away to play with as soon as we gave her another one!




This little girl does not know how to make a mess when you want her to. This is what she looked like after she'd finished her cake and ice cream.


For anyone who doesn't know our families, this is Ben. I'll give you one chance to guess whose brother he is.

Jim's dad. We have no idea what Grandpa was doing to Logan.

Uncle Ben

Just For Fun

I just like these pictures.
This was right after the LAST time he puked back when he was so sick. We were discussing the finer details of what to do when he felt it coming on. He dipped his head in so far that he almost got wet! I guess I'll have to wait until the next illness to see if he understood.

Night Time Conversations

Logan really likes saying his own prayers right now. I had to write last night's down. It went something like this:
"Heavenly dear. Thank you this day. Momma and Daddy. Thank you for Momma. Momma, Logan, and Annie. (he starts looking around the room) Thank you bed. Thank you crib. Thank you plane. Thank you Momma and Daddy and Annie. Help us sleep good. Amen!"
Then he wanted to say another prayer, and he repeated almost the same thing except he was grateful for his family about four extra times. After that he wanted me to help him say a prayer. So he said a third one. I thought he did a pretty good job himself the first two times! Such a sweet moment.

In the middle of the night last night he woke up and wanted a drink. So I got up with him and got him some water. I put him back in bed, and he sat up saying something over and over. He likes to be understood, and when he repeats something, he expects us to repeat it back to confirm we understood him. What I heard was this:
"wuh-er! Just wuh-er!"
"Water?"
"Just wuh-er!"
"Okay buddy."
"Just wuh-er! I just wuh-er!"
"You want water?" At this point I knew it wasn't water, but I couldn't figure out what he was saying. After several more attempts I started hearing it a little differently.
"I just fuh-er! I just fuh-er!"
"You farted?"
(in a relieved tone) "Yeah." And he laid down.
He is SO funny.

U"n"TAH

That's how Logan says it anyway. We had a great trip last week. We didn't get to see everyone that we wanted, but we saw a lot of family and friends, and had some awesome visits. The kids handled the trip really well, and had a lot of fun. We drove at night to get there, and at night to get back so the drive really didn't bother them either. Logan keeps asking about the different people we saw; I'm not sure he realizes the effort it took to get out to Utah.

We went to the Hogle Zoo with my friend Caleb and his family on the only warm day of our trip.
Annie didn't last for the playground at the zoo. We had driven the night before and arrived at 3:00am...

We took the kids to the planetarium and watched an IMAX film about spaceships. After it was over Logan exclaimed, "Let's do it again!" He loved it even though he wouldn't wear the glasses.
In the gift shop.

We had a little birthday party at Jim's grandma's house for Annie. His sister, and some aunts, uncles, and cousins came.
Annie with Jim's Aunt Karen. Annie really liked her.
Birthday baby
She was very dainty with her cake. All she ate were the sprinkles.
This is as messy as she got.

We took the kids to Temple Square. Logan was SO excited to see the temple!
At the Conference Center, but Logan wouldn't let us go in; he wanted to see the temple.
As we came up the ramp, there was a group listening to a presentation at the Christus. Logan shouted, "Jesus!" He was really excited.



We FINALLY walked over to the temple; Logan wouldn't give us any peace until we did. He very readily agreed to climb the steps for a picture.
On the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.


Jim's grandma with Annie.

We went to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point with Jim's old mission companion, Micah and his family.
It was actually Annie's birthday that day, and she was sick. She sat in the stroller and snuggled with her blanket most of the time.
The dinosaur is eating Logan!
Learning about erosion.
I thought I'd let Annie play in the sand and water, but she ate the sand instead.
Peeking through the dinosaur bones.
Logan and Kasen are the same age, and had a fun time together.

Digging for fossils.