Holy Cow ... I'm Having a Baby Tomorrow!!

These two best boys are going to have a girl bossing them around in less than 24 hours!

What's going on??

One night I was getting ready to go to mutual. Ethan was with Steve running an errand and TeeGee was with me. It was pretty quiet ... that means trouble. I went around the corner and this is what I found. TeeGee had colored his mouth, lips and teeth with red marker. It was hilarious. If I had an old picture of myself I would post it too and compare them because I did the same thing when I was his age - only I used black, permanent marker. TeeGee used Crayola washable markers. Thanks bud! I think TeeGee's eyes have officially decided to be green - love them! Speaking of sneaky, the other night Steve left his bowl of ice cream and choc sauce on the ground. I had to come home from church for something and let TeeGee run around. Again, it was quiet. I went around the corner and found him with spoon in hand eating out of the bowl. Chocolate was all over his face, his church clothes and the ground/rug around him.

It snowed a lot at the end of February - well, a lot for our area. Of course the whole city shut down - whatever! The boys made a snowman and it fell down 10 minutes after they finished it. The snow is really wet here.
TeeGee is still not walking ... but that's okay. His crawl is hilarious. We call it the Monkey Crawl and it is pure evolution before our eyes. He crawls this way a lot and literally does not put his knees on the ground. When he is sitting he doesn't turn his head to look at something or when we call his name. He will turn his whole body by scooting his legs around clockwise until he is facing the right directions. Funny little quirks.

After the snow (or before - I can't remember) we had a nice day. We went to the park and enjoyed being outside. Ethan is super fast on his bike now. He also loves his scooter.

TeeGee still loves the swing. Here he is doing "so big." He loves to be outside and would be happy as a clam with rain falling on his bald head and wind drying out his green eyes. He really likes to be in the cold weather, outside. I think this is because he gets all stuffy inside his mother's climate/temp-controlled house.

Ethan Turns 5 ... and some other happenings

I recently went to Utah because my baby sister, Meag, decided to go on a mission! Holy cow! She went into the MTC on Wednesday and we all hope she'll survive. I took TeeGee with me to Utah and he grew up while we were there. I think he loved getting all the attention and not having to share said attention with a certain bigger brother. He started doing tricks - sometimes done at the same time. He was clicking his tongue before but now he'll do it on command. You click at him and he'll click at you. If you go in his room to wake him from a long slumber, he'll sit up in his crib and instantly click his tongue. We sound like we're speaking an african dialect! His second trick is "So big!" You say it and he'll raise his arms hi up in the sky - sometimes clicking at the same time. His last trick is clapping for himself. He'll clap every time after he does his tricks so you'll praise him. Funny boy. He also loves to go up stairs and we're working on getting down on the belly. He doesn't cry during diaper changes, but he wriggles and wriggles to get away and crawls fast. Lastly, he also started to wave and say bye bye - but he whispers the words. The FUNNIEST thing he does is that he crawls on his hands and feet, not his hands and knees. Yes, it is evolution before our eyes! We have yet to get a photo of it, but it is hilarious.

My E-Man turned five right under my nose!!! This year, he wanted a "Star Wars - All-chocolate" cake. Well, New Beginnings was the same day as his birthday and I was in charge of it, so we had to improvise some. I went to the store, bought Yoda, and put him on top with the words, "Jedi Ethan." Works, right?? We decorated the night before at the church for New Beginnings and had his big cake. Then on his actual birthday, he got to blow out the candles on what was left of his cake.
We made our yearly pilgrammage to McDonald's and met daddy for lunch on Ethan's birthday. Yes, we only go there on his birthday. Sorry if any of you like McDonald's!! Ethan loves to play there in the play area.

Swedish pancakes for breakfast. Ethan got a scooter, some Lightning McQueen stuff, some Star Wars legos, a pillow pet, and some other legos. Sounds like a good birthday to me!

Here he is with his sub-par cake at the church with some cuzzies and buddies.

These two looked alike at birth, not alike during the first year, and are now starting to look alike again. Love their faces.

TeeGee can drool with the best of them. He now says, Ball - but he whispers it.

Love this kid ... he is so funny. He recently told his teacher that "Prophet's Day" was coming up. (aka: President's Day)

TeeGee's first time in his forward-facing carseat. He loves it and shines his famous grin when you look at him in the rear view mirror.

Here is TeeGee on his birthday. He took his cupcake in one hand and literally stuffed the whole thing in at once. We thought he would be a mess, but there was no mess left to make because all of it was in his mouth. Miraculously, he didn't choke.

Okay, I guess it was half the cupcake. He stuffed half of it in, then the other half.

He got a little car to sit in. He loves it.

I just like this picture ... the ghetto wrapping job is the best. Well, his legs and hanging onesie might be better.

In front of his present.

Some things I've done lately ...

So we love our house and we're very grateful for it. However, we have wanted to do a few inexpensive things to update it and enjoy it even more. I don't think we'll do much more than this, and I can tell you we really love the kitchen now.

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Before: Not bad, but not our favorite either ...

Another BEFORE:
AFTER: Steve and I picked out the granite ourselves and put up the backsplash ourselves. (We had someone else install the granite.) I would love to do something with the cabinets - like paint - but I'm a wimp. I think we'll at least add some hardware to them.

AFTER: Complete with fresh, homemade cookies. :)

I'd love to get that microwave off the counter, but ... maybe someday.

All the houses around here have this {space} on top of the door. I didn't know what to do with it and it looks so bare when it's empty. So ... I found these cool vases that are made of recycled glass. I love the color they bring into my dark, NW house and they make me happy every time I look at them. Ethan says they "are soooooo coooool!"

I am now the Beehive counselor and I was in charge of New Beginnings. We decided to ask each parent to pick a flower that best described his/her daughter. So we got one flower for each girl and I had the task of trying to put them all in a vase. They are all different -- but I don't think it looks too bad. Not bad at all. My sister wanted to see a pic.

Gotta love this dollar store hurricane. I love to put seasonal things in it. It was super easy to make and it looks pretty good too. I can't get the pic to stay rotated for some reason.

I'M BACK -- In Time For Tegan's Birthday!!!

Hey! Anyone out there? Probably not ... but that's okay. So our computer has been on the fritz for months and blogging is not fun with a SUPER SLOW computer. We FINALLY got a new one - the first computer we've ever purchased in our marriage - and we are all in heaven. It works great and I think I'll get back to blogging about our lives.

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Let's start with TeeGee - Mr. T - The T-Man - The Teegster. It's your birthday!

TeeGee - You have brought pure bliss to our family. We have thoroughly enjoyed this year with you. Seriously, you are pure entertainment.

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Your birth was perfect ... 6 lbs. 12 oz. You slept for weeks after your birth.

We love our family!
Seriously, you slept for weeks!

Your first smile caught on camera. You did not smile until you were almost 10 weeks old! I was beginning to worry!

Your blessing was a special time -- Grammie Great and Grandpa Great came to see you.

My favorite: "Sunglass Tuesday!" You love your binkie still.

You spent plenty of time in this seat. Like everyone else in your family, you like to see what's going on. Many times you sat in this on the counter while mommy prepared dinner.

Your head is huge! You always had a hard time holding it up, but you know how to do it now. That is your favorite blankie.You only sleep well in your crib and you go catatonic without your naps. You will sleep somewhere else if you're REALLY tired.

We love your rolls!

Your body at six months old.

A little rice cereal ... you haven't stopped eating since and you like everything but baby food peas. (I don't blame you.) Seriously, you will eat everything that I put in front of you. Our kitchen looks like World War III after you have eaten and you are VERY messy. You don't mind being messy.

I told you that you love to eat. Just look at you!

Pure bliss ... again, I told you!

YOU like the water and always have. You LOVE baths and you loved your first time swimming.

You LOVE to be outside and you love the swing. You liked your baby swing too.

Again, you would be happy sitting in your highchair all the time if I let you.

The motorcycle men ... they all love bikes and POWER!

You started holding your own bottle around 8 months old. Thank you!!!

You love baths and Ethan loves to take baths with you.

You don't mind being cold and you love to ride in this backpack. We had a great time at this pumpkin patch.

You drool like crazy! Gallons and gallons of drool come out every day!! We still can't get over the size of your teeth. They are really big and beautiful! You got your first tooth right at six months. Then you proceeded to get five more for a total of six teeth --- all in a period of 6 weeks. Um ... that was torture for all involved! You now have 8 teeth and counting. We love seeing you take loud bites out of your snacks ... Trader Joe pretzels or Rice Rusks - your favs.You were a merry elf for Christmas. (You were a skeleton for halloween.) You got your bear, "Wentworth," from Santa. So cute!

You started being able to sit up really well at about 7 months, but you didn't start crawling until about 11 months. It was frustrating! Now you love it. You sometimes crawl like an ape - as in on your hands and feet instead of your hands and knees. You are fast! You still have no interest in walking, but you like to cruise and drool on the couches. You also said your first word around this same time - about 10 1/2 months. Your first word was "Bah!" This means bottle ... and you know exactly what you're saying. "Bah" has now transformed into a word to mean all food or I'm hungry! You also have said dad and nana - for banana. You crawl around all day saying "bah!"

It's so fun to see you wear the same things as Ethan did. This is when we went searching for a Christmas tree.

Happy Birthday to our sweet boy! We love you!!!