Monday, February 1, 2010

1 post per month?!


Not a very good track record so far for 2010. Sorry about that. Maybe I can do better (?) This is the time of year when it seems like we really don't do much that's very interesting. But nonetheless we manage to keep our days quite busy. Here are a few little moments when we had a camera handy...

It's STILL winter here. June and I built this great snowman while the boys did some sledding at Kiwanis park. I haven't built a snowman this good since before Oliver was born. This day (night?!) I was so determined I got a babysitter for Huck so I could really focus. June was quite pleased.

Oliver had his first snowboarding lesson on Friday at Sundance while Brenden was there with a group from school. He did great. He was very nervous ahead of time about going on the lift and falling and crashing into trees, etc. But we talked about it a lot and I insisted that once he decided to go, he could not chicken out. After much careful consideration, he finally decided to go, and he did great! He mastered heel-side turns and managed the lift 3 times and didn't crash into any trees and is dying to go back again -- all around success. And the best part (for him) is now he gets to dream about the gear he can get to go along with this new hobby. He sure loves to get new stuff!

In spite of all the snowy fun, we are getting a little tired of winter, and sometimes try to pretend like it's spring already. Grandma took June to feed the ducks.

meet Underwear Man
another evidence that we've been cooped up too long.

Huck is 6 months old!!










What a funny kid. He weighed in at a whopping 17+ lbs at his 6-month appointment today (I am sure Brenden wasn't that big until after 1 year) and is happy to show off his new trick of sitting up. He likes this sensory-overload rainforest bouncy chair as long as someone is standing right by him and watching and smiling. He drools a ton and chews on anything. We started solid foods a couple months ago hoping it might help him sleep better at night, but alas, tonight we start the crying-it-out regimen (since Scott is out of town). He is a joy and I really love the effect he has had on the other kids -- teaching June to be soft, and Oliver and Brenden to be great helpers.

June talks a lot these days about whether she is a big girl or a baby. She is constantly comparing herself to everyone we see - "I'm not as big as you, Mom" or "I'm bigger than Huck". Today her line was "I'm a little girl named June." That was her response to everything -- "I'm not a baby I'm a little girl named June." "I'm not a big girl I'm a little girl named June." I am anxious for her to be a "big girl" and give up her crib and her diapers. But I guess she needs to sort it all out in her head before she'll be ready for that.

Unrelated, but kind of funny - Today I put a pair of jeans on her (she doesn't wear jeans very often since she complains she can't climb in them) and she got very excited and said, "Mom, these are jeans like Madi's dad!" (Madi is a little friend of hers, and Madi's dad was one of the guys who was working in our basement a couple months ago). Every other member of her family wears jeans every day, but for some reason, it was Madi's dad who had caught her attention on this one. Funny girl.

What else? We're entering our busy birthday/holiday season. Oliver's a pretty popular guy and I'm not sure limiting the guest list to 7 friends is going to cut it this year. That's too bad. Oh man this crying thing isn't going very well. 20 minutes so far... breaks my heart. There are some exciting things on the horizon for the Hymns project Scott and friends worked on a while back - looks like it'll get released late summer. There's a great show coming up at Velour on Friday -- the two bands Scott plays with (The Madison Arm and Atherton) are playing back to back at Velour in Provo. You should totally come. 8pm. $6.

30 minutes so far and still going strong :(

Oh I almost forgot -- I made a fantastic batch of cookies the other night - all fluffy and NOT flat and I totally figured out the secret to overcoming our altitude issues. At the point when the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla are all mixed up, but before you put in the flour (at our house this is known as "dad's favorite part"), turn your back for a moment and come back to find 4 people crowded around the bowl, each with their own spoon, eating an undisclosed amount of the batter. Shew them away, and then proceed to add the flour (of which you had already added an extra 1/2 cup to attempt to fluff them up a bit). Turns out this is the perfect proportion for perfectly fluffy cookies. Unfortunately I have no idea what those proportions are, but lucky for me the kids have graciously offered to help me again next time.

Oh - there's silence upstairs -- 40 minutes, not too bad.

OK I'd better sign off. I need to get some work done tonight. Adieu.

p.s. He just started up again. Ugh.

4 comments:

Lisa and Mike Marion said...

June still not in a crib is not such a bad thing. I wish Ariel was still in her crib. She slept so much better. Ariel was my oldest child to potty train at a couple months before her 3rd birthday. It ended up not being so bad. It took a couple of days and she is even dry through the night. Being a little older must have some payoffs. So stop stressing about June;).

Ie Li said...

I truly detest winter. I'm dream of sun and warmth and skirts all day long.

Crying it out is so brutal, but so necessary. There is only so long a mother can go without sleep.

By the way, you are one of the most patient and sweet mothers I know.

Jim said...

Awww, I hope tonight goes better for Huck. Since Jan. 1st, Joseph was introduced to that method, and was pretty use to it (I would cave and give him his binki or rub his back, HE insisted on holding my finger:) but these past two nights he has had major fevers. I can't let a sick boy cry all alone. -I was in bed with him at 2:30.
Love the June-isms. Too cute:)

Rachel F. said...

Getting a baby sitter to build a proper snow man is one of the reasons I love you to pieces.