Apparently

"Oh no!" Annie cried out from the back seat of the car this morning.
"What is it?" I asked, turning to see her staring down at her hand.
"Apparently I forgot to put on my watch this morning!"
Um, apparently. :-) (And no, my two year old doesn't normally wear a watch whenever we leave the house, she'd just gotten a little plastic one the other day that she is randomly interested in putting on for a few minutes here and there. Apparently, she'd meant to put it on before leaving the house today, but it must've slipped her mind . . .

Valentine's Pictures

Here's some pictures of Annie on her first Valentines (a day older than Ellie on her first Valentines) to compare and contrast with Ellie's pictures from this Saturday. They look more and more different every day, I think! (Annie sported more attitude too.)

Annie got a kite from Grandpa K.C. and Grandma Ruth for Valentine's Day. She nearly strangled several people with the kite string in her enthusiasm!

Annie eating breakfast.

Ellie after losing a battle with squash at breakfast.

Love is a Verb

There's lots of definitions for love. A couple of them might be:

Love (noun)

1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person

2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

But this Valentine's weekend, I've been thinking about love a little different. Love as a verb.

In this sense, I love (v.) my children far more than my husband. I show them daily (nay, hourly or better), consistent love. Acts of service, sacrifice, and all those things us mothers do so naturally. I nurture, hold, caress, comfort, play, hug, and love (v.). Do little things just because I know it will make them smile. All day, every day. I love (v.) my children far better, more regularly and more consistently than I do their father. Which, I realize, is a shame. Because there is nobody in this world I love (n.) like Greg.

My children are like my whole world sometimes. But they won't always be. They will move out and move on one day. And I will be happy about it (heck, we may take a two week long cruise in celebration when the last one moves out.) It may not be easy to see them go, but it is my goal and my purpose to get them to that point and beyond. I will have joy with them long after they've left my home, but I will eventually want them out. But if it were Greg to leave, my world would be shattered. My plans, my goals, my future, would crumble. I love Greg in a way that you can only love the person you picked to be with every day for the rest of your life and then some.

So, why is it I'm so much better at loving (v.) my girls?

They're a lot needier, that's part of it. They need me in a different way Greg does. They're more demanding, while Greg is the complete opposite. Then there's just the time spent together; I see a heck of a lot more and Annie and Ellie than I do of Greg. There's the mother's role, with all it's different tasks that keep me busy. But a big part I'm realizing is just priorities. And there's something wrong if my greatest love (n.) isn't getting top billing.

So honey, I love (n.) you. More than anything. I'll try better to show you. Feel free to whisper in my ear from time to time, "Love is a verb," and I'll stop what I'm doing and take stock. I'll try a little harder to have a favorite dinner ready after a long day at work or occasionally have a babysitter lined up so we can go to "Laughing Stock" or something. The kids will, in fact, survive just fine without me for a few hours from time to time. I can take a moment to remember that you're the one who's gonna be holding my hand when I'm eighty, and there's no more important relationship to nurture. 'Cause really, there's enough love (v.) to go around.

Annie's Take on Things

Just a few quick stories of stuff Annie said yesterday and today:

The other day Aunt Star came on a little shopping excursion with us down to Provo. On the drive home (while Star was sitting next to me in the passenger seat) Annie called out from the back, "Mom, do you think we could say 'thank you' to Aunt Star for coming shopping with us in Provo?" Yes, that would be fine. :-)

We had movie night last night, with Aunt Talina and Uncle David bringing David's favorite Disney movie of all time, Lion King and pizza. Annie isn't much of a TV person, losing interest even during episodes of Curious George, so it was surprising she made it through as much of the movie as she did. But about half way through though, she was pretty much done and she brought a book to her Aunt and Uncle to have them read it to her. Uncle David was paraphrasing each page and kind of half watching the movie. At one point, Annie turned towards Talina and whispered, "David doesn't know how to read the words!"

This morning Annie came into our room about 7:00AM, and fell back asleep next to her Daddy. Later when Ellie came in, she was fascinated by her sleeping sister, 'calling' out to her and squealing, and reaching for her and pulling on her pajamas and doing all she could to get her sister's attention. I was surprised how much Annie was able to sleep through. Everyone has their limit though, 'cause after several minutes of this without so much as a reaction from her older sister, Ellie giggled when Annie (with her eyes still fully closed) said, "Ellie, stop doing that. I trying to sleep," and rolled over towards Dad and was out again. Ellie and I just had to play by ourselves while the tired-Two slept in. I'm not sure a major earthquake would've woken them up!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Night Time at Our House

Nighttime isn't a very calm time at our house. It hit me especially tonight as Greg and I were each carrying a child down the hall; we split at their bedroom doors, Greg going and laying down a screaming Annie in her room as I tucked in a shrieking Ellie. Good times. It's this chaotic time of night, that makes me appreciate my husband more and more every day. I'm usually feeding Ellie as Greg changes, dresses, administers asthma medicine to, reads to and prays with, Annie. I watch him wrestle through tooth brushing, debate book choices (number and topic) and negotiate terms of surrender. All the while I'm chill-laxin' in bed with the baby. Often while watching TV. Seems like I'm getting the better end of the deal. I have it pretty good (thank goodness Greg can't lactate, or I'd have to pick up more of the slack!)

Annie is currently shrieking the following things from her room:

"Mommy! Daddy! Where are you guys!? Mommy OR Daddy? Mommy OR Daddy!"

"I always want you! Mommy, Daddy, I always want you!"

"I want you Anyone!"

All Hail Dizzlenyland!

We have a big family vacation planned for May. It'll be the girls' first trip to Disneyland (and my entire family, sisters, brother and parents, will be coming along too), and Annie couldn't be more excited! I'm starting to think that maybe we jumped the gun and started talking about it too soon, 'cause all I hear all day is "Dizzlenyland this," and "Dizzlenyland that." (Which, actually works out well, since nothing makes me crack a smile quicker right now than my daughter's mispronunciation of the word Disneyland.) Annie's even started doing extra little chores around the house to earn money in her piggy bank so she can buy another "Minnie Mouse doll" when we get to Disneyland (although chances are her frugal mother will have purchased said toy elsewhere ahead of time, then present it while in So Cal).

Annie loves to talk about the princesses that live in Dizzlenyland. Pooh Bear lives there too. And Dumbo. And Minnie and Mickey, and Donald, and Goofy and Pluto . . . the list goes on and on. I think we've gotten carried away with it now, as I'm having a hard time convincing her that Dora, Elmo, Arthur and Curious George don't all like there too. (Although Elmo does live in Sea World, which we'll be visiting. And Curious George has set up shop at another of our stops, Universal Studios, so we're really gonna be going to see all her bestest friends.)

But it's not until May! I don't think I can make it that long, and now I have an excited two year old going on about it all day too. How far in advance do you tell your kids about a vacation or big plans?

Hallelujah!

Ellie slept a SEVEN hour stretch last night! She woke up and nursed sometime after 11:00PM, then went back down and I didn't see her again 'til almost 6:30 this morning! (Well, I did hear her wake up in the middle of the night, but I let her cry for a few minutes and she actually fell back asleep . . . usually I let her cry and she cries and cries and cries until I think, 'Dang, if I'd just gone and got her initially, we'd both be asleep again already!' Then I usually end up going to get her after more crying and end up being awake forever.) Ellie was sleeping a seven hour stretch back at like 3 months or younger . . . but it's been months and months since we've had her sleep that long. It was awesome. I'm voting for a repeat performance for tonight. We'll see how that goes.

I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but poor Ellie is really pretty sick. She's oozing and dripping clear liquids constantly from her nose, mouth and eyes. The night before she was up almost every hour because she felt so crappy (and could barely breathe through her poor little nose). She oddly enough just wanted a binkie most of the night. This is really odd to us, since until she got sick this week, she has never wanted a binkie, and never used one as a baby. Yesterday afternoon it was like 'sick' finally hit for her like it does for her Dad (who basically hibernates while ill) and not her Mom (who sleeps worse than ever when she feels crappy), and she napped for an hour and a half (that may not seem so remarkable for an almost-9-month-old baby, but she usually naps for 20 minutes, so it was like something we've never seen around these parts before!) Then last night she slept better than I've seen her sleep in almost six months. Is it bad that I'm kinda enjoying this illness while it lasts?!

Little Miss Annie is also a snot dripping kid right now, but other than the grossness I have to wipe from her face every five minutes, she's pretty much acting normal. Which means she's cracking me up and keeping me busy. Yesterday she painted Valentine's pictures for her grandparents and other family members, not once, but twice (double the clean up!), then played with play doh, then at some point got into the pantry and somehow ate FIVE packages of cheese and crackers (the Handi-Snacks kind . . . which have been horribly repackaged and renamed "Dunk 'Ems" . . . but they will always be "Cheese and Crackers" to me! I have fond childhood (and high school) memories of these things. Nabisco shouldn't mess with 'em.) Nearly the entire package though, and right after I'd talked about her good eating habits. :-)

Annie's latest:

• Can I just tell you how much I love a kid who says, "Ellie is little. Annie and Mommy are medium. And Dad is large." Not only can she catergorize like a master, but she sweetly put her Mom in the group with the 30 lb. member of the family, and not the Daddy. Good kid.

• Annie has ended up on the floor of her bedroom at least 4 out of the last 8 nights. This is weird. She slept for over a month in her little toddler bed without once falling out, and now Greg and I have woke up to a couple 'THUMPS' as we hear our two year old hit the floor (oddly enough, she usually sleeps through it), and even when we don't hear her, she's on the floor in the morning half the time.

• Annie came into my room earlier than usual this morning. She blurrily smiled at me, held up her baby doll Sophia, and mused, "This one wakes up ALL night long!" I feel for you kid. She then kinda half smiled, kind of embarassed, and said, "I fell out of bed. I was on the floor. Again." She's since fallen back asleep in my bed, cuddled up with multiple dolls.

• Annie wore fairy wings ALL day yesterday. Including in Wal-Mart. She runs around and cries out, "Look at me Mom, I flying!" She's so freakishly cute.

• While at Wal-Mart last night (I was buying hand weights, since I can't find mine from the move), Annie had the time in her life in the shoe department. She must've tried on dozens of pairs. Most were ones she just went and grabbed (two and three at a time) that were no where near her size, and would try them all on and shoe her Daddy how cute she was. She is such a girl.

• We learned last night that while not as difficult as trying to play with it with Ellie, playing "I Spy with my Little Eye," at night whiel in the car is just hard. At one point Annie said, "I spy with my little eye . . . an airplane!" I found a little moving light in the sky and pointed out my answer. Annie was all, "No, I see one over there with windows." "Um, I think that's a house." "Oh."

• Annie has to have her teeth brushed each and every time she takes her inhaler due to risk of thrush if her mouth hasn't been cleaned and rinsed after each dose. Last night I was on the phone with the Relief Society President, who had earlier that day been at our house and just gushed about how sweet and well-behaved my two year old was. Annie was in the background screaming and wrestling Greg while he was trying to get her teeth brushed. Like banshee-level screaming. The poor woman was in a little bit of shock, and was all, "Should I call back later." I answered, "Oh no, it's bedtime, it doesn't get any better in our house 'til they're both actually asleep!"

Thump!

That sound you heard? That was me. Falling off the wagon.

Weird how you can go several weeks of eating well, feeling great and losing weight and then all the sudden eating a Snickers with Almonds seems like a good idea for lunch. There's some protein and omega 3's there though, right? Right?

I am blaming it on all this talk of exercise. :-)

I appreciate everyone's input. Bobbi, I've been really interested in P90X, being that I'm a sucker for all things infomercial. Upon reading up on it a little further though, I think I'm making it a goal to work up to being in shape enough to even attempt it. I think it would leave me a weak, sniveling pile of fetal-positioned-gelatinized-Hilary on my front room floor, and that would just be embarrassing, and possibly dangerous. :-) I'd really like to see myself get in shape enough to make a decent stab at this program though. Maybe I can ask for it for my birthday! (May 30th, mark your calendars now!) I don't want to necessarily go out and spend money on new equipment, but I have to admit I was intrigued by Jackie's suggestion of the portable pilates studio pictured below. Plus, according to her facebook status today, she's apparently back into her size 4 Lucky's, and if that's not a testimonial, I don't know what is! And at $30, we could swing the expense (given our awesome tax return which should be arriving any day).



So the plan for now is to try out this thingamajig when it arrives from Amazon. That and the Latin Cardio moves video I just picked up from the library. And I'm gonna make sure I do an ever increasing number of crunches and pushups each day. Turns out my ward does a resistance/strengthening workout three times a week at the Church. I could make that more of a priority. And my favorite exercise of all, laying down with Annie flying like Superman up on my feet . . . I really feel the burn after awhile, and there's no exercise I enjoy more. I'll continue to lug around my 15 lbs of Ellie wherever I go too, so that should help. And the carseat . . . if that's not weight training, I don't know what is! I'll keep walking the girls to all the local parks and chasing Annie around the grass. And we're in a tri-level house now, I'm doing more stairs than I ever have before (maybe that's why I've lost weight since we've moved in!) In a nutshell, I'm going to be more active. I'm going to try and do some form of 'formal' exercise for a decent period of time, 4-5 times a week. I haven't decided if I'm giving up sleep in the morning for this venture, or alone time with my husband in the evenings once the girls are asleep. And don't take it personal if I chose the latter honey, I just really miss sleep. All this is me working towards the goal of being able to get into the smallest jeans I own (unfortunately not size 4 Lucky's, I think I got them at ShopKo or something, but I feel just as hot in them) and to be ready to tackle P90X by my birthday in May. Wish me luck. Anyone who wants to stop by and work out with me, feel free!

More Like Daddy Every Day . . .

I'm a notoriously picky eater. Bland, really. There's a whole list of foods I don't touch, many that get me mocked . . . I hate salad dressing, mayo, ketchup, sour cream, mustard . . . basically anything you put on other stuff that may be considered boring or dry. My Mom got a lot of crap from people when I was growing up, something along the lines of she should force me to eat these things, so I was more normal. My Mom was always, "I don't know about you, but the first things they ask me to give up when I go on a diet is salad dressing, sour cream and mayo . . . don't see why I'd push those on my 8 year old." Of course, all of my food dislikes aren't as conveniently healthy for me . . . until I married Greg (and my tastes broadened pretty significantly), I would pick out any noticeable onions or peppers from any food I was eating. Now fajitas are a family favorite, and I saute onions and throw them into just about anything we make (turns out they actually add flavor to food, and flavor can be good!) I still hate all beans, all sea food, almost all pork and beef. And while broadening rapidly, my tastes are still pretty limited.

When I had kids, I didn't want my dislikes to influence the food they tried and enjoyed. With Greg around, my girls would have the opportunity to try many things I wouldn't have tried to feed them (salmon for instance, Annie loves it now). The results have been awesome, and feel me with immense pride (as I watch my two year old chow down on raw onions and peppers, something I can't do still.)

Last night we went to Chili's, and while there, my eight-month-old was eating several foods I won't eat: raw tomatoes, avocados and black beans. Annie was eating her salsa by the forkful, sharing some of her Dad's steak (something else I won't touch), and picking the onions out of the pico de gallo to eat. Love it. Just one more reason I'm glad Greg's around to help me raise these kids (think what freaks they'd be if it all came down to me!)

Unrelated to my children having vastly better eating habits that I do, I had a quick story about Annie the other day:
I overheard this going on in the backseat on the drive to Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Annie had been sitting there quietly for a bit, obviously bored, when she suddenly turned excitedly towards her sister's carseat, "Hey Ellie," she enthusiastically cried, "I spy with my little eye . . ."
Made me laugh. Truthfully, Ellie sucks at this game. :-)
Probably has something to do with being non-verbal, and reclined in a rear facing carseat.

Results . . .

So, my sister Lacy may not be allowed to ever officiate such a family contest again. She still hasn't let us know the final results. I think it's 'cause she wasn't in the running, and therefore lost interest. :-)

Here's what I've pieced together though. My Mom won. I came in second. The difference between us is .12% . . . see, I wasn't even exagerating, it was ridiculously close. Possibly even came down to the fact that my Mom cheated and had her colonoscopy just a few days before the final results were due. :-) We're pretty sure that Talina's come in third with Cody coming in fourth, but that not's final. We decided Cody may not be allowed to compete in weight loss competitions with us girls again. The kid completely ignored most of the contest until he had a few days off school and didn't eat pizza and fries for lunch four days in a row and was hit with the realization of, "Wow, I lost four pounds just by not eating complete crap for lunch." Then proceeded to drop like 5 more pounds in the next week or so with barely trying. Boys.

On the phone with Lacy and my Mom now . . . Mom, Hilary, Talina, Cody . . . we're all within a half a percentage point. Dad refuses to give his results, even though he did in fact lose weight. Star and Lacy both lost good, but were at a pretty steep disadvantage, as they'd both been consistently losing weight for months and had no big 'drop off' at the beginning. But actually, it was pretty much a perfect family weight loss competition, since every single person who did it lost weight. And we've decided that most of us want to keep going with this until our family vacation in May. We're planning on getting together on Saturday to go to Leatherby's to plan the next phase of our weight loss plan. Kinda ironic (or stupid, whatever.)

Workout Tips, Suggestions, Advice?

So, as far as working out . . . what works for you?

Your input is greatly needed . . .
Are you a gym person, or work out from home?

Mornings, afternoon, evenings?

What's your biggest obstacle?
(For me, it's time (which is just a matter of priorities really) . . . and not wanting to get my hair sweaty . . . is that lame or what?!)

Weights, cardio, core, strength training? What do you like best? What gets you the best results?

Can you recommend a favorite workout tape/DVD? I've been thinkin' of maybe some cardio/core latin dance video or something, but there's SO many out there. I've been checking them out from the library, but except for one or two that actually made it into the DVD player for a few minutes before Ellie puked on something or Annie pooped on something, most sit on my counter until I suddenly realize, "Crap!!! These were due yesterday!! I'm gonna spend $4 in fines for videos I never even tried!"

So, what works for you . . .

Still Waiting for Results . . .

So, I'm personally down 10.8 lbs in the last four weeks. But because my stinky 17-year old brother forget to weigh in before going to school, we're all stuck in limbo whilst waiting less-than-patiently for the final results. I wanna know if I won money! First, second, third and fourth place are going to be so ridiculously close it's seriously going to come down to whomever emptied their bladder the most this morning.

What really amazes me that is on top of the nearly 11 pounds I lost in the last month, I'm realizing that since Thanksgiving I am down a whopping 23 lbs. It was like the nursing finally kicked in and the weight started coming off, combine that with some actual real effort on my part and I am now 12 lbs less than where I started pregnancy with Ellie at. This means I've lost ALL my baby weight and then some. I'm actually 4 lbs. less than when I married Greg. I'm within 5 lbs. of the lowest weight I've ever been as an adult. And yet. I feel fat. I feel no thinner, despite the constant assurances of my mother and sisters (who are like contractually obligated to mention me looking thinner, as they know I've been losing weight.) I don't really notice it. I'm not really wearing different clothes yet (although I think if I got some of my smaller pants and shirts out I may actually find I can wear them). I did look at some family pictures from this summer and did notice my face is thinner (it darn well should be, I weighed like 30+ more pounds in those pictures, Ellie was only a few months old), but overall, I'm not noticing it. I think unless someone knows I'm losing weight, they probably wouldn't notice it either. Like I said, only my sisters and Mom seem to see it at all, and they're looking for it. Of course, I'm looking for it, and I'm not really seeing it. I don't think my husband's really noticed (probably too much of that 'love you no matter what' makes him more blind to the ups and downs). Shouldn't 20+ lbs be more noticeable?! Seems for every couple pounds I put on I have to pull out a box of bigger clothing . . . but 25 lbs down and nothing seems different.

A lot of this has to do with tone. Despite weighing less than when I got married, I don't think there's a snowball's chance of me fitting into my wedding dress (at least not without the help of some super amazing infomercial girdle I'm too cheap to buy). I don't think I can even wear most of the shirts or pants I could wear in 2004. I may be weighing less, but I'm not smaller. Just flabbier. I was fitter before, more toned, more muscle mass to count towards those pounds. I think part of the lack-of-joy in this weight loss is that as the weight has finally been coming off, my poor stomach seems to just be getting flabbier . . . it's like with the loss of the firmer, filling fat I'm left with more skin than I know what to do with. Stupid genetics leaving me with very un-elastic skin!

Of course, the answer to this is more exercise and strength training. I'm workin' on that . . .

Pregnancies, weight gains and losses . . . these things really do a number on your body. And mind.

Biggest Loser -- Family Edition

So, tonight is the last night of our family's biggest loser competition. You may have noticed I haven't mentioned it much . . . the reason for that is two-fold . . . on one hand, I am kinda unexcited about my progress. Which is rather silly of me, as I've lost 10 lbs or better in the past four weeks. Which actually rocks, but for some reason is disappointing to me. But shouldn't be. Weight and my emotional well being have a rocky, unhealthy relationship; but the intellectual part of me is all, that's better than 2 lbs a week, which is a great, healthy, exciting weight loss if you weren't a nut who'd done stuff like an all chicken, spinach and all orange fruits diet that dropped you 7 lbs in as many days, and made you kinda lightheaded, you dork. The other reason has been to not say anything on my blog that might motivate my sisters to try harder. :-) I thought about posting lots of tasty looking pictures of their favorite foods instead, but felt that would backfire and I'd be walking around going, "those were some really good looking brownies."

So, anyway, tomorrow morning we weigh in and declare the Biggest Loser family winner. First, second, third and fourth at last look were so close it was ridiculous (and I'm among that bunch.) All of us have been just trying to make it through the weekend without blowing it (and deciding that if we EVER do this again, we're making the cut off date a Friday instead of Monday morning, since weekends suck for weigh ins). So, one day left . . . meaning of course, our very sweet neighbors invited us over to dinner tonight. Upon leaving I sent out a batch of accusatory text messages to all of my siblings, so convinced was I that one of them had to have bribed our dear neighbors to have us over, possible even providing them with a list of foods Hilary will love. :-) Chicken cordon bleu (with some really tasty raspberry sauce), corn, baked potatoes, fresh homemade rolls, and even pistachio jello salad. THEN, there was coconut cake with Maggie Moo's cake batter ice cream! That was a really good dinner. Although, I do have to say, after laying off sugar lately, eating the cake and ice cream made me kinda nauseous and dizzy. You think a food making me feel positively ill would tell me something about what it's doing to my body and how I should really lay off of it . . . but for some reason I won't even think of that the next time someone hands me a bowl of really tasty ice cream. Hmmm. (French fries and I go through this same silly battle . . . I eat them, they make me feel like vomiting, I don't have any for six months or so, then all the sudden one day I'm all, "You know what sounds good . . . " Some people never learn. Really dumb people. Who'll struggle with their weight 'til the day they die. Mmmm, Chick-Fil-A's waffle fries are sounding kinda tasty . . . )

We should know the winner tomorrow morning (if all these slackers actually remember to weigh in and text their number to my sister Lacy in the morning . . . if not I'm saying they should be disqualified from any prizes, but I have no real authority in this . . . so I'm bugging Lacy to make such a rule.) I'll let you know how it goes (assuming I finish somewhat respectably!)

Oh, and as a side note, Greg and I now have callings in our new ward . . . he's Elders Quorum Secretary, and I'm the Compassionate Service Leader [gulp]. I actually had people come up and hug me and congratulate me on my new calling. I've never been so nervous about one before . . .

Ellie Video Clips

Not wanting to leave out our adorable youngest daughter, here's a couple clips of Ellie videos from the last month or so . . .

In Annie's Words

I was reading my friend Jackie's blog and she had a list of questions her little girl had answered about her . . . so, I stole the idea and did it with Annie today. Annie answered, "I don't know" to over half the questions, but I kept anything she answered (no matter how randomly -- seriously, a hedgehog!?) for your reading pleasure.

How old is your mom?
Four years old. Because you are bigger, you are four years old.

How tall is your mom?
This big! Tall, tall, tall, tall, tall . . . this tall. Tall as me.

What is your mom's favorite thing to do?
Hug Annie and play with Annie and I don't know.

What does your mom do when you're not around?
Clean up. You clean up Mommy.

If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
I don't know. What she do?

What is your mom really good at?
Playing toys with me

What is your mom not so good at?
Not playing with me!

What does your mom do for her job?
Email!! (In my defense, I do freelance graphic design from home.)

What is your mom's favorite food?
Hot dogs. And noodles and sauce. And lettuce. (Um, I would like to clarify, I HATE hot dogs. Haven't eaten one for more than a decade before this child was born. I am a fan of spaghetti though. And I did eat a really good chicken and fruit salad at Chick-Fil-A last night . . . so tasty and lettuce-y.)

What do you and your mom do together?
Mop and go to the bathroom. And clean all the spaghetti sauce off.

How are you and your mom the same?
I have this face, and you have that face. It's like a hedgehog.

How are you and your mom different?
I don't know that one, do another one.

How do you know your mom loves you?
Because you sing Barney's favorite song.


Then I started asking some other questions, just for fun:

What can you tell me about your Daddy?
That he is good and grumpy and my Dad is actually a big guy, and Ellie really likes him. I talk about how Ellie loves Daddy. I don't know. He works and he buys the money, gets the money from a lady at work. He is nice.
(I should point out Greg is like the least grumpy person I know . . . but considering the source is notoriously unreliable . . . hedgehog!? Hot dogs?!)

What is Ellie like?
Ellie cries to Mommy because she is tired.


Questions I couldn't get an answer to:

What is something mom always says to you?

What makes mom happy?

What makes mom sad?

What does your mom do to make you laugh?

What was your mom like as a child?

What makes you proud of your mom?

If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

New Years Eve Video

This is a VERY tired two year old on New Years Eve . . . stealing and retrieving people's noses, and tumbling around like a teeny tiny drunkard.

More New Years Eve Video

Annie and her Uncles playing the Wii on New Years Eve . . . Annie's figured out more and more when she is and is not actually controlling the game. Good ol' days was when we could hand her a TI-85 calculator while the boys were playing the Wii and she happily 'played' along for a half hour. She's gettin' wise to it now though . . .

You Know What Sucks . . .

OK, for those of you who know my children, you know that the first several months (like 5 or 6 or so) are at times pretty horrendous, what with the non-stop screaming and all. Colic, hitting with back to back babies for us, has been a challenge. One of the things that exacerbated this was the fact that both of my babies refused to be soothed . . . especially by pacifiers (I think they found the mere offer of a binkie as a personal attack by a mother who obviously didn't love them enough to just nurse them 24/7.) Annie would kinda take a binkie, if we held it in her mouth the entire time, up 'til about 5 months old or so. Ellie's never had anything to do with one, despite me spending a small fortune on every single brand/style/make/model/etc. of binkie that one can find in the Salt Lake Valley.

So imagine my surprise this last two days to find that my child will happily suck on an infant's tylenol cap like it's a pacifier for minutes at a time! Hadn't thought to try that before . . .





Back on Friday, Annie picked out her own outfit for the day. It rocked.



Nothing is more heart warming than a sleeping baby . . . especially when it's been a long day, that involved several terrible two tantrums, a couple messy accidents, an 8 month old throwing herself off the bed onto the floor (head first), with no naps from the two year old, and hit and miss crappy naps from the infant, and a couple of us had not slept much the night before because Ellie had decided it would be cool to wake up every single hour. Then sleeping babies are especially heart warming!


I was addicted to sleeping baby pictures at this point, so here were some from the next night . . .



They look so sweet and harmless!

Annie Spelling & Dancing Video

Here's Annie from last Friday goofing off for the camera . . . we had like 3 minutes of video to use before we could download a completed tape to the computer, so we let Annie do her thing for awhile . . . here's a clip from it . . .

Christmas Eve Kisses Video

Here's Annie with one of the dinosaurs Uncle Cody gave her on Christmas Eve . . .




We made a huge mistake this last Christmas Eve . . . we tried to buck tradition and open all of our gifts with my family on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning (the thought process from my Mom was that then my two little girls would be less overwhelmed on Christmas morning).

It was crazy, chaotic and felt totally wrong . . . I think if she mentions such an idea next year my siblings will mutiny. We actually stopped about half way through and said we'd wait 'til Christmas morning to open the rest. Don't mess with traditions . . .