Happy Birthday Tyler!

Tell me, how is it possible that Tyler is already a whole year old? Ridiculous, I tell you! He was just born like a few weeks ago, I swear.


Here is his birthday party invitation. The first time I read Where the Wild Things Are to Tyler, I just knew it had to be the theme for his first birthday party. He cracked up and wiggled excitedly through the whole book! For about a week afterward, all I had to do was begin saying a few words from the book, and I'd have him giggling. He loves when they RRRROAR their terrible ROARS! And gnash their terrible TEETH! And roll their terrible EYES! And show their terrible CLAWS!!!


I had all these great ideas about how I would decorate for this party and incorporate the theme, but I procrastinated too long and so there were no hanging vines or blown-up pictures of the wild things. There were no "King of all Wild Things" crowns. Oh well, at least the cake got done! It was inspired by an illustration from the book. I surrounded the cake with cupcakes, and each of those had a Wild Thing dancing on it. I just printed them on the computer and taped them onto toothpicks.


Here you can see all the dancing wild things. Tyler was completely clueless about what do do with that candle. I think Elise blew it out for him.


I just love the expression on his face. I've been pretty relaxed about letting him taste sweet things (compared to when I was a first time mom, anyway) but I still think a whole chocolate-frosted cupcake was a bit of a novelty for him.


It didn't take him long to figure out exactly what to do with the cupcake.

Tyler at one year...

• is easygoing. He just "rolls with the punches" when his sisters pick him up, hug and kiss him, bump into him, take his toys, and so on.
• doesn't demand entertainment and attention, but is easily entertained and loves attention. I think his default setting must be "giggle".
• is equal parts cuddly and busy. Sometimes he is content to just sit on my lap and snuggle, and other times there is no containing him. He just wants to be down and crawling, or cruising around furniture. He's been the most mobile of all 3 kids at this age.
• doesn't have any words yet (not even mama and dada). He sometimes does a bye-bye wave, and I caught him on camera once doing a bye bye wave while saying "ga ga", which seemed like "bye bye". But he hasn't done it since.
• has 5 teeth.
• loves to pick up small objects and put them in his mouth. We hope most of the time those small objects are actually food!
• loves the dishwasher, vacuum, toilets, remote controls, phones, cameras, and any kind of tool or gadget he can get his hands on.
• still likes to be swaddled, but with his arms free.
• is a thumbsucker, but only when he's tired. Boy, does he love that thumb!
• still looks like a baldy from afar, but has quite a bit of blonde hair.
• has kept his baby blue eyes.
• is a great addition to our family and we LOVE LOVE LOVE him!

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

Rivalry

A cute family picture from the UofU vs. BYU gameday.


We invited some BYU fans to our house to watch the game. It was more fun that way, even if the wrong team won.


Here is Tyler with his friend Brinley. If someday he decides she's something more than just the "girl next door", it will be a tragic star-crossed romance. Alas, her family is fans of that other school.

Just kidding, we're not that "classless"!

New Moon G.N.O.

I don't know what it is about getting a bunch of grown women together to watch a highly-anticipated film based on a teen vampire novel, but man, what a fun night! I didn't get to see New Moon the day it opened (or a day early like some of my friends), but I had so much fun with my sister, sis-in-laws, and Mom, it was worth waiting a couple of days to go with them.
We went out for sushi beforehand, a first for me. It was very tasty and I'm glad I was willing to try something new.

The movie lived up to my expectations, and was very well done. I even think Mike would like watching it with me when it comes out on DVD.

Trophies

Elise asked to play on a soccer team this year, because she heard somewhere that if you play soccer, you "win" a trophy. She was a good little runner, a bit timid about getting in the middle of the bunch and kicking the ball, but the best thing of all was seeing her divide her treats with Lydia at the end of the games. And sure enough, at the end of the season, she was given a cute soccer trophy. It instantly became a prized possession. I need to take a picture of her holding it, but here's one of her wearing her cute uniform.

She also entered the Reflections art contest because I told her that everyone who enters gets a ribbon. She painted a very nice picture of a rainbow and a flower. It actually moved on to the next level, and instead of just a participation ribbon, she won a trophy!

Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?

If I remember how the story goes, when I was four-almost-five, I decided I was going to be Tinkerbell for Halloween. So I insisted that David be Peter Pan, Shaunda was Wendy, Eric was Mr. Smee, and little baby Chris had to be Captain Hook. Sorry Alan, you're not in this story. You were still a twinkle in Dad's eye. But if I had known about you, I would have declared that twinkle to be pixie dust, to fit the theme of course.

Elise has apparently inherited this from me: deciding everyone else's Halloween costumes for them, and sticking to a theme. She got her inspiration from a pair of hand-me-down ruby slippers, currently Lydia's size.





Elise chose everyone's costume except for Mike's. That was totally my idea and I'm pretty proud of it. It had to fit the theme, but not be hot or uncomfortable. So, no tin man, straw-filled scarecrow, or flying monkey. He thought it would be funny to be a wizard like Gandalf or Merlin, and then just say he was the wizard... of Oz. If we had already had a long wizard robe, I would have considered it, but we didn't. The night before Eric and Mare's party I came up with this Yellow Brick Road Concept. I ran to Walmart planning to buy a yellow t-shirt, but no such thing existed in his size. So I bought some yellow fabric and a scrubs pattern, some duct tape, and some black spray paint. After cutting out the pattern pieces, I masked off the "bricks" with rectangles of duct tape, and then spray painted the "mortar" in between. I don't recommend trying to execute an idea like this the night before a costume party. Unless your costume could benefit from you being in a "bad witch" type of mood.

Howdy Pard!

Our sister-in-law Ashley throws the best theme parties. She thinks of every little detail. They are the kind of parties I would love to throw, if I were not such a procrastinator. This year her Halloween party had a wild west theme, and we had our picture taken with this great backdrop.

Tyler also got to play with his baby cousins Henry, Jasper, and Kimmie. (Kimmie is not pictured here. Maybe she was sleeping or eating.)

Actual Gardening! With actual vegetables to show for it!

A couple of years ago Elise learned that her friend Maddie's family grew Real Carrots from the Ground! She begged me to plant some, and I did, but for whatever reason (me forgetting to water them, planting them in crappy clay soil, not having any idea what I was doing, take your pick!) they failed (miserably) to grow.
This year I decided to try again, and we built a 4'x4' garden box ala Square Foot Gardening. I'm still not completely sold on the whole concept, but we did manage to grow some Actual Vegetables!!!, including about 6 carrots, 2 sweet cherry peppers, a few cucumbers, and enough tomatoes that I actually could have made a batch of salsa or tomato sauce once a week during September, if I had been the industrious-type-person I told myself I would be when I planted them (I wasn't).
Anyway, the girls were thrilled, and here are some cute pictures to prove it.
By the way, you can kinda see the deck that Mike built this summer, isn't it pretty?

Clipping Tyler's Wings

The title of this post is not a metaphor for me wanting Tyler less mobile (but oh my! he is a fast, busy little guy!). No, it's about his first haircut! His hair is so light and thin that he could pass for a baldy, and thank goodness he's a boy with this hair, but some parts of it are quite long. For instance right at the crown of his head he has a nice long tuft, but it lays nicely so I'm not daring to touch that one yet. The hair above his ears was another story though.

The wings:


He didn't so much enjoy his first haircut, but the Cheerios made it bearable:


Handsome boy!

Finding the Humor

I went to a baby shower a couple of weeks ago for my cousin. As the mom-to-be opened gifts, the gift-givers shared advice about motherhood. Her aunt had some very sage advice: find the humor. If your kid gives herself a horrible haircut, take a picture so you can laugh later.

That advice came back to me this morning while I was tending my nieces. Savannah, who's 3, had been playing quietly in the corner. When I walked past, she jumped and started explaining herself cheerfully. She was "just giving this horse a haircut because its hair was too long." Scissors in hand, fur EVERYWHERE, half bald rocking horse (why couldn't it have been a cheap My Little Pony?). I flipped out, took the scissors away (where did she find them anyway?) and plopped her in time out, all the time yelling "Oh my GOSH! I am SO MAD! Why would you DO that!" (Sorry Cindy, I yelled at your daughter, but at least I didn't spank her!)

After I called Mike and calmed down, I decided to take a picture and find the humor. Remorseful little Savannah probably had no idea why I wanted her to go back in the corner with the horse and pose for this. Unfortunately the picture doesn't do justice to the horse's bad haircut.

First Day of School! First Day of School!

I seriously can't believe I have a Kindergartener!

And Lydia started preschool this year!

Funny Elise

"My eyes are closed, but I can still see you!"

Bushels of Utah State Fair Fun!

We love the state fair. Well maybe I shouldn't speak for Mike. And I'm not sure we would love it as much if we had to pay the full admission price, but we have connections. Anyway, I think it's a fun tradition.
Our favorite things at the fair:
The Future Farmers of America's "Little Hands on the Farm" activity
All the cows, pigs, chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep...expecially if the kids notice them doing anything interesting (bodily functions, you know) and announce it loudly.
The giant vegetables
The arts/crafts and fine arts entries
The empty calories. This year we tried funnel cake. Wow, is it the opposite of healthy!
Visiting Grandma and Grandpa who take tickets at the grandstand, slipping in to catch a bit of a concert.

Peaches'n'Cream Cupcakes

I can't resist a nice competitive contest (does this stem from being an attention-seeking middle child?), so when my friend Wendy Paul wrote a cookbook and then held a best cupcake contest at her book release party, I decided to invent a recipe and enter. My cupcakes turned out pretty tasty, although if I had done a test batch I might have tweaked it a little bit. I actually came in second place and won a prize, which I was thrilled about.

Here is my recipe, exactly how I made it for the book release. Next time I make it, I think I will use more diced peaches in the batter and on top, and only 1 koolaid packet. I also think for the topping you could just use sweetened whipped cream, or cool whip.

Peaches'n'Cream Cupcakes

Batter:
1 white cake mix, prepared as directed but with only half of the oil called for
2 packets unsweetened mango kool-aid (yes, mango, but I think it tastes peachy)
2 large fresh peaches, diced

Filling:
8 oz light cream cheese (Neufchâtel)
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a mixing bowl, combine dry cake mix with Kool-aid powder. Add eggs, water, and half the oil directed on the box. Mix well, about 2 minutes with a mixer. Stir in diced peaches.
In another bowl, make the filling. Cream together softened cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and mix well.
Fill paper liners about 1/4 full with batter. Add a spoonful of filling to each cup, then divide the remaining batter among the cups. Bake about 20 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.

Frosting:
1 c. cream
1/2 container storebought vanilla frosting

Whip the cream very stiff. Gently combine with frosting. Spread over cooled cupcakes, or pipe from a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off, and garnish with diced peaches on top.

Look, I even took a pretty picture like one of those food bloggers!

Camping

I just wanted to post a few pictures of the 2-night campout we had in August. Mike's dad Jim reserved a site and invited anyone who wanted to come. I thought it was funny because I had always heard that Jim hates camping. Mike and his brothers tell a story of how they were supposed to go camping for Fathers and Sons, and they ended up at the Red Lion hotel, haha!

We had really great food like tin foil dinners (the first edible one I've ever made), Dutch oven desserts, and Reeses peanut butter cup smores (mmmm!). Elise and Lydia had so much fun getting covered in dirt with McKenna and Savannah. The adults had fun playing "Scum" and "Pandemic". Tyler and his baby cousins Jasper and Henry were great sports.

Edited to add: I don't want to forget this, however unpleasant it was, but Elise also threw up in the middle of the night on this trip. She woke up making gagging sounds in the tent a couple of times, and Mike helped her outside of the tent to throw up (I know, awesome dad skills, right?). The one humorous thing about it was that a little later she started to make a tiny cough sound in her sleep, and Mike immediately shot up and half-threw her out the door of the tent. Well that time was a false alarm, and she came back in with this confused/wounded look on her face as she asked, "Dad? Why did you do that?"

YW Camp

A couple months after Tyler was born, I was released from my Young Women calling. My feelings were split between disappointment and relief. I loved the young women, but I felt like I wasn't able to put forth as much time and effort to them as I would have liked. Before my release, I had wondered what I would do about camp. Some of my favorite memories of serving have come from YW camp the past 2 years. Could I really bring an 8-month old nursing baby? But I knew it would break my heart to miss it!

Fast forward a couple months... I was called to be on the camp committee! Interestingly, our new YW president was in the same situation I was, and she planned to be at camp as much as she could, baby and all. It made the decision much easier, and so... Tyler got to experience girls' camp this summer.

He was such a trooper and, in true Tyler fashion, smiled almost the whole time. He loved all of the extra attention he received from the young women. The only real drawback was the nighttime temperature, brrr!

Happy Birthday Elise!

(catching up from July!)

Elise turned 5 this year, and she had so much fun on her birthday. In the morning, we had a house full of kids over to celebrate her birthday. They wore mermaid tails (the girls), played with glittery salt dough and seashells, had a message-in-a-bottle treasure hunt, played with balloon "bubbles" and passed a seashell like a hot potato (if it stops on you, you lose your voice). If you didn't already know, could you guess I like planning themed parties?



In the evening, we continued the mermaid fun with the extended family. We had an ocean themed dinner including a watermelon whale and a tuna casserole made with shell noodles. Our families are so great to come to these get-togethers.

Elise is great to have in our family. She is so helpful with her sister and brother, and pretty independent when she wants to be. Elise is always having bright ideas. It seems like several times a day I hear, "I know! We could..." I am so glad most of these ideas are positive and constructive instead of sneaky and destructive.
Elise loves playing outside, inviting friends over, making crafts, reading and writing (with help), dress ups, family night, making surprises, playing school/primary/dance class with Lydia, anything girly, and games of all kinds. She is so cute and we love her very much!

Happy Birthday Lydia

(still catching up from July!)


My tiny little Lydia is now a big 3 year old! We celebrated her birthday with a butterfly themed party for the family. My brother's kids came over earlier in the day to be tended, and we made butterflies out of paper towels for decorations. I also made a butterfly cake. Thanks to all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins for coming and spoiling her with all the cute gifts!

We love our Lydia-bug so much. She is so much fun. I love to hear the things that come out of her mouth. She seems to say whatever she is thinking, and give play-by-plays of everything she is doing. She loves singing and dancing, tickles, silliness, Dora and Diego, playing with Elise and sometimes Tyler, books at bedtime, coloring, fruit snacks, her ducky, puzzles, and so many more things. She is still below the 1st percentile on the pediatrician's chart, for both height and weight, but she is healthy and happy, just tiny. We are so glad she is in our family!

St. George Trip

My plan is to catch up my blog, so if you are reading this, you have to endure things that are almost 3 months past!

We went to St. George over the 4th of July weekend with my parents and a couple of my brothers. My uncle Carlton has a condo there that he graciously lets us use. We usually go in February but this year it was July. It was really warm, but it was fun. This was definitely Elise's idea of a vacation because she got to go swimming 3 whole times! A better mom than I would have taken her swimming all summer long to her heart's content, but it's kinda stressful with 3 kids (one of them a baby) and only 1 mom.
Other highlights of the trip:

We stopped in Historic Cove Fort on the way down. It was the perfect stop to stretch our legs, and I was able to feed Tyler while we sat in the dark watching a video about the site.

My parents tended all the kids while we went to the St. George Temple.

We took a tour around town, with tour guides dressed as early residents of St. George.

We saw dinosaur tracks at the Dinosaur Discovery museum. Well, most of us did. Lydia fell asleep during the educational movie.

We drove the route of the St. George Marathon, so Marianne could see the big hill (she is in training).

My mom and I stopped on the side of the road and painted pictures of the landscape with my mom's watercolors. Hers was serious art, in my opinion, even though she says she's out of practice. Mine was just for fun (but I wish I could remember where I put it). Elise and Lydia also made masterpieces with markers.

We celebrated my dad's birthday. My dad is awesome.

We ate at a horrible restaurant (all my fault, I picked it). I wish I could remember what it was called, but it was a hotel restaurant and the menu was overpriced and had so few choices it was almost funny. Lydia fell asleep before her food came out. Apparently she was very tired on this trip!

We sat on the driveway of the condo and lit fireworks. We didn't keep the kids up to see the actual firework show.

Eric caught a frog and tricked Elise into kissing it (he moved the frog just as I took the picture so she was actually kissing it instead of just pretending). Brothers!

My Brother's Wedding

My brother Alan and his wife Dani got married at the end of June. My parents held an open house the night before at their home. My mom did a great job planning everything and the food was awesome. It was supposed to have been outside, but fortunately they moved it inside because there was a major downpour that night. When the rain stopped, there was a nice double rainbow outside.

The wedding and reception the following day were very nice as well. Dani asked Elise to be a flower girl, which Elise was very excited about.

The food was great, but the live band and dancing at the end were the best part. I don't think I've ever had so much fun at a wedding reception. We kept our kids up way too late, but they were surprisingly well behaved.

Bachelorette Party

In June, my brother Alan married his long time girlfriend, Dani. I think she is a great addition to the family. One of the more memorable events surrounding the wedding was Dani's bachelorette party. We had an awesome dinner at Dani's sister's, and Dani opened some blush-inducing gifts (or maybe it was the funny comments from her grandma that made her blush). Then we went to a dance studio in Sugar House to learn some pole dancing. (No, I'm not kidding.) A while back there was a running joke among some women in my ward about doing pole dancing lessons as an Enrichment Night. I would totally support that activity. It was hysterical, and more athletic than you might think!