lunch with friends...

for you girls that aren't 'facebookers,' i just wanted to thank you all for a great lunch!

just a few things we did over the holidays...

sledding, laynie learning to use a camera, cole starting to stand, and opening presents...lights at temple square, re-enacting the birth of Jesus, and zoolights at hogle zoo. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

early christmas present...

even though she doesn't have the bike to go with it yet, and it's still in it's 'packaging,' mclayne loves wearing her new helmet. It looks like a bmx helmet with the cardboard on it, and she usually wears the strap over her chin, instead of under, like an english guard. this day she chose to pair the helmet with an inside-out backwards shirt and pajama pants. nice. i can't wait for christmas morning when she can actually use it with her bike!

cole {eleven months}

cole now loves to climb. on anything. our circular stairs, boxes, master bathtub, and dishwasher are just a few of his favorites. this week he had his first trip to the er. he got a nasty cut on his cheek, not from one of his dangerous climbing adventures, but from "nicely" playing with mclayne. the roomful of nurses ready to hold cole down for stitches were in love with him. cole was tough through it all, and in the end the doctor decided to just glue it to reduce scarring. it think santa just needs to bring me a bottle of medical superglue for christmas!

mclayne's first snowman

kung fu grandma

i wasn't kidding about the birds at wheeler farm. grandma had to bust out some moves to scare them away. thanks to kung fu panda, mclayne seems to have picked up some moves of her own. Skadoosh...you vicious geese!!

the birds were a little aggressive for me, so i just sat back and picked my nose {not literally, even though it looks like it!} other highlights include the little piglets, the selfish sheep that head-butted mclayne when she tried to take some of his food, and the chicken that pecked her finger.


kung fu panda isn't the only movie mclayne has been watching. apparently she saw one about a drunk, homeless, skanky princess...

i learned three things...

from these pictures





















one. mclayne learned how to open starbursts + she was pretty excited about that.
two. somewhere deep-down she has the ability to share with cole + it's usually when she shouldn't.{you don't see cole complaining}
three. i need to remember not to ask mclayne to smile for the camera...picture one pre-"smile", picture two post-"smile"!

maya's baptism

we were lucky to be in town for my niece maya's baptism. mclayne thought we were just going to church and wondered why we didn't go to nursery after it was over. instead we went to my sister's house for lunch. it was healthy and delicious...even without meat in the chili.{ryan wasn't too sure about that} and if i could move maya's room {with maya in it} to denver i would, because it kept mclayne busy the whole afternoon. i'm glad we could be part of the day!

thanks to cara for the pictures!

quick tip

problem one: i have a lot of these baby sized hangers above that i thought served no purpose. i mean who hangs up their kids' pants?!
problem two: i air dry most of my pants {and a lot of my shirts}. i have never found a great, compact way of doing this.
i think you can see where i'm going with this...
SOLUTION: fold your pants in half as you would for folding. shake and smooth them a little. then hang them from the cuff {upside down} with one of the baby hangers. the weight of the top helps lengthen and unwrinkle the pants. and you can just hang them in the closet, so they don't take up any space. genius!

hummus

at the playdate i had two weeks ago i served hummus and flatbread for the adults. then i came across this at stuff white people like and had to laugh...

{for those of you that aren't willing to follow the link, i copied it below!}

When it comes to food, all white people are either allergic to/or have stopped eating everything you consider delicious. It’s a good idea to come to grips with the concept, because it will save you a lot of headaches.

But when white people come to your house, you are forced to deal with the problem in a very real, very immediate sense. You will be trapped with their dietary restrictions and they will be trapped with the contents of your kitchen. You can mediate this situation by stocking your pantry with dozens of complicated and expensive snacks. Or you could take the easy way out and just buy a tub of hummus.

All white people like hummus. In fact, if you find a white person who does not like hummus then they probably just haven’t tasted it or they are the wrong kind of white person. In either case, they are probably not someone that you want to know.

Putting out a plate of hummus and pita makes white people very comfortable. It reminds them of home since at any given time a white person has hummus in their fridge. Even the most barren white refrigerator will have a package of the stuff next to an empty Brita filter.

White people are also relieved when they see hummus because they recognize the contents immediately.

Though you would never be able to guess it by their actions, white people are very concerned with perceived as “annoying” or “that guy” who has to ask about the ingredients of everything they eat. However great their concern over this, they are still more afraid of being “that guy” that eats High Fructose Corn Syrup or pork.

Familiarize yourself with this information as it will play itself out every time you try to pick a restaurant with a white person.

You: “Let’s get Chinese food”
White Person #1: “Um, yeah, last time I was there I tried to ask the waitress if she prepared the pork dumplings in the same pot as the vegetable dumplings and I didn’t really get an answer that was concrete enough for me to feel comfortable eating there again.”

By providing your guests with a plate of hummus, you can guarantee that you won’t have to have this infuriating conversation in your own home. But that doesn’t mean you are safe. To cover all your bases, it is always a good idea keep some Gluten free crackers in your pantry.

That way if you bring out a plate of hummus and pita and discover that one of the white people cannot eat gluten, then you are ready to pull off a truly incredible move.

First, pretend not to understand why the person cannot eat wheat. Then go back to the kitchen and return with the gluten-free crackers. Everyone will be impressed by your ability to psych out people with food allergies.

Wait one week and relive the story with different white people, it will make them laugh and secretly wish to be invited to your next hummus eating party.

halloween...in colorado...and late

i forgot to pack my camera, so i have no pictures of our halloween and trick.or.treating in utah yet. between my mom, aunt laura, great-grandma laura, and the degooyers, hopefully i'll get enough. but we did celebrate halloween in colorado a little. before we left for utah, we had a halloween playdate with about 6 moms and 11 kids. we had a halloween egg haunt with black and orange eggs. the kids didn't wear costumes, but next year i think i'll have them dress up and turn it into more of a party. our next door neighbors weren't able to come, so yesterday we dressed the kids up and had another egg haunt. it was fun to see the kids in their cute costumes. mclayne kept hugging "yoda" and laughed at "darth maul's" scary mask. now that halloween is over, i'm having a hard time resisting christmas {i already have the tree up and will probably listen to christmas music today}. so happy halloween and merry christmas?!

quotes of the day

if my current life could be summed up in quotes i think these would be near the top...

"Sometimes the pattern of life seems a little monotonous -- and discouraging. It is like climbing a mountain and, after reaching the top, getting knocked back down to the bottom to climb it again; but I guess the fun is in climbing and not in arriving. I hope so!"

"I couldn't possibly have understood this when I was young like I do now. When we look back on decades of life we see that the seemingly insignificant things we do over and over actually weave the pattern of our lives. And if those small and simple things are good, we will end up having lived a fulfilling life -- and that is a great thing!"

"We each do the best we can. My best may not be as good as your best, but it's my best. The fact is that we know when we are doing our best and when we are not. If we are not doing our best, it leaves us with a gnawing hunger and frustration. But when we do our level best, we experience a peace."

all of these came from sister hinckley. i think they are so wise and dead-on, especially for young mothers. i hope you think so too...

denver zoo

Yesterday we went to the Denver zoo. Since we have been to the National Zoo {part of the Smithsonian group} in DC a few times, I wasn’t expecting to be wowed. But I was! It could have been the great weather and happy kids that made it so enjoyable, but the zoo is also very nice. The first thing we did was a beeline straight to the sea lion show. We got there just as started, and mclayne {and ryan} were pretty into it.
after the show




then the polar bears. i like that the enclosures seem to put you closer to the animals than other zoos we have been to.











about half way, we stopped and had lunch. next time we will either bring our own or go to the "restaurant" on the other end.
after lunch we headed to the primates. we were watching the gorillas with a few other people. eventually they left, and then something amazing happened. the gorilla walked from the far side of his area right up to the window! they just stared at each other and had a long bonding moment...it was awesome. maybe that's what's wrong her...she's part gorilla!











this was what mclayne looked like for most of the day. she would climb up to see the animals, talk to them, and if she really liked them name them. while we were at the hippos she told ryan, "this is baubis and beabis. do you know them?" what a riot...we'll definitely going back next october.

{eight and a half months}

more like 80 and a half years...he looks like a little old man with a walker!

i was going to do a big nine month check-up post in october, but just couldn't wait. cole has changed too much! he went from a semi-newborn to an almost-toddler overnight! two weeks ago he started crawling. that quickly turned into pulling himself up to kneeling, then standing. and now he is climbing and cruising.

trying to give his knees a break





and now that he has six teeth, he is eating like a big boy too. we went on a walk on wednesday night and told mclayne she could only come if she ate a chicken nugget she hadn't eaten at dinner. cole kept trying to reach over and grab it with his mouth wide open. it's nice to have one good eater!

they came

i think this says it all...but in case it doesn't she jumped for joy


more pictures trying on boots . on the way to costco . and smiling{?} in the back yard

one hundred and one things...part one

i accepted amy's 101 things challenge. i gave up after 22...her dedication, some might call it addiction, to blogging is unparalleled. here is my best attempt. nothing too insightful, just random trivia.

1. I hold face cards upside down when I play games.
2. I am blind in one eye.
3. I dated six guys named Ryan before I found my husband…named Ryan.
4. I am a grazer.
5. On the average day I eat more than Ryan…he is 6’4” and weighs 200++++
6. I don’t know what I would do without paper plates. I must go through a Costco 250 pack every month.
7. I never read the manuals to anything I own or buy.
8. I wear a bra to bed. I was recently told that this causes breast cancer{?}…so I might stop.
9. I brush my teeth in the shower.
10. I have been told I make really good oatmeal.
11. I believe that a single guy and a single girl can be just friends.
12. I have watched this old house every Saturday since I was about 12…long before the flipping and trading-spaces trend hit. Norm Abram is my hero.
13. In the past three years, ryan + I have seen about three movies per year in the theater…or nine for those of you who are bad at math.
14. I have my master’s degree in accounting/tax.
15. I never wear my wedding ring because it gives me a rash. Hopefully this will change when I get a platinum upgrade in 2010…
16. I hate public speaking and I dread teaching in R.S. every month.
17. For me, doing laundry w/o fabric softener just doesn’t cut it.
18. I often get tongue-tied, forget, or jumble words. Mclayne truthfully speaks better than I do.
19. I am a perfectionist…at one time I even used a folding board like they have in stores. I have retired in until my kids can do it or they move out.
20. I usually clean our shower while I take a shower.
21. I have really light eyelashes and eyebrows and every so often, usually for special occasions, I have them dyed. Ryan calls me groucho for the next three days.
22. At least once a week i walk to the park, library, and sonic with mclayne. {cole comes too}

going {green}

reusable grocery totes.i love these totes. they are the same size as a regular paper bag, very sturdy, and washable. i'm thinking about adding a simple iron-on graphic. maybe then i'll like grocery shopping a little more. sounds like a good bear lake craft...what do you stewarts think?




{if you're wondering, i picked this picture because i get broccoli, gourmet bread, and fresh flowers every time i go to the store...right;)}






baby food grinder. great for babies i'd say 4 to 12 months. i buy so much less baby food from the store and cole pounds everything that comes from it.






croc boots. don't know if these really qualify as {green}, except for the fact that every tree-huggin' hippie in colorado, and everywhere else, wears them. mclayne's favorite {early} christmas present last year were her pink fur boots. last week i had to retire them because {a} it was over 90 degrees and {b} they were way too small. then i happened upon these gems...croc boots with fur?! when these come in the mail next week mclayne may have a seizure.

the pregnancy bug is going around...

i caught it a few weeks ago. it started with no energy. i chalked up to ryan being out of town for work, but my neighbors were suspicious. next was the nausea after eating...but what do you expect with my cooking, really?! then nesting. we cleaned out and organized the garage and basement, bought window casing and crown molding, and got out paint chips...the list keeps growing. and finally the cravings. i usually try to avoid tuna because of the mercury, but i can't stop eating tuna with {lots of}mayo and celery seeds on potato chips. mclayne calls it chips with tuna butter...mmmm! however i don't have a developing fetus in my stomach so i'm pretty sure it's not the real thing. from what i hear that is an important symptom.

unfortunately mclayne came down with it today...














{she calls it baby avery}

when in rome...i mean colorado

i don't think we realized it at the time we bought our house what a great location it is for us. we like getting out to the "outdoors," but only if it is easy and convenient. so lucky for us, we have state parks , fishing streams, duck ponds, and a boating reservoir within literally 5 minutes of our house. this morning we revisited roxborough state park. it was surprisingly beautiful the first time we went and it offers 6 trails at varying levels of difficulty. nothing makes you feel more like a true coloradoan than strapping on a couple packs and hitting the trails.

so the no diaper, no underwear potty-training has turned mclayne into a stripper. her outfits of nothing but a hat, a snake around her neck, mardi gras beads, or a pair of fur-trimmed boots have me worrying about her future employment.






snowman in august?! but at least she's wearing clothes



cole learned how to get on all fours and rock. i hope it's a while until he learns to crawl, because this is just too cute.