Current Favorites

Jonah
Foods: dips (BBQ sauce, mustard, ketchup, syrup...), crack (I mean crackers, he often leaves off syllables), warm milk, fruit, cheese, juice, (not into bread or bread-like things right now)
Words: color, butt, plane, poo poo, Pooh, more, fly (bly), stuck
Books: Yes, Yes, No, No; Goodnight Moon (he calls it Hush), and Where is Baby's Belly Button
Shows: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Aristocats, Beauty & The Beast
Activities: coloring, climbing into his highchair himself, bouncing or swinging Elora, dancing, playing blocks with someone, and of course reading

Elora
Foods: breastmilk
Words: ghee
Books: Good Night Mr. Night
Shows: the occassional Baby Einstein video but acts very absorbed in anything she happens to see in passing
Activities: giggling, kicking, talking, blowing spit bubbles

Brandon (I'm guessing here)
Foods: tomato soup and anything his talented wife makes
Words: delish
Books: I think he's been re-reading some of his old fantasy books in the tub lately
Shows: Westerns
Activities: baths, wrestling with Jonah, played W.o.W. online the past few days for the first time in weeks

Me
Foods: the two new recipes I got from Adina (I posted the wrap recipe on here last month and the other is for a tandoori-style chicken that is pure heaven)
Words: anything my kids say in their cute voices
Books: just started The Golden Compass
Shows: currently watching Gilmore Girls season 7!, CSI Miami season 2, Law & Order Criminal Intent season 4, My Name is Earl season 2
(Also watched a very silly movie called What a Way to Go from 1964 with an incredible all-star cast that we found highly amusing)
Activities: dancing with Jonah, cooking, watching dvds all evening, marathon phone call with Victoria, interacting with my kids, snuggling my husband

Zoo-time?

I bought a zoo pass this year and we have only used it twice since April. It's time to go again soon.

Does anyone else think the Hogle Zoo seems smaller than it did 10 years ago??

I tried to find stuff about this online and although reading the history of the zoo was rather facinating, I didn't find any specifics about the east side disappearing or the whole thing shrinking. I do know that it has undergone major changes.

This year's issues concerning the zoo as listed in the Salt Lake Tribune:

Public funding deal
* What Democrats wanted: Allow Hogle Zoo to ask voters for a $65 million bond with no strings attached.
* What Republicans wanted: Allow the zoo's bond on the November ballot, but prohibit Hogle from tapping any tax dollars until it has raised $20 million in private donations.
* The compromise: Hogle can ask voters for a $33 million bond, but it won't get any of the money until it raises $11 million on its own.



Liger

Male Pattern Baldness

No, I'm not talking about my husband, but my baby, my baby girl. Not only did she already have Brandon's widow's peak-ish hairline and then developed a minor bald spot on the back of her head (where babies rub a lot against the mattress, etc.), but I've been seeing a lot of her hair on her sheets and in her brush and comb this week. Today I noticed that she definitely has a receeding hairline. The short underneath hairs still appear to be dark, so we'll see how this whole style turns out in a few weeks or months. Fortunately, even if she has a bad 'do, she can pull it off because she's so gorgeous!

First Playdough

1 1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. vegetable oil (approximately)
1/3ish c. water
a few drops food coloring
knead together



In other news, my camera appears to be dead. The battery is pretty new and it won't turn on at all. These were taken on my new iphone, new to me that is, it is a hand-me-down from Brandon because he has upgraded:)

Katie, Katie, Bo Batie, Banana Fana, Fo Fatie, Me My Mo Matie KATIE

My sister-in-law, Katie, left for college on Thursday. We had her and her boyfriend Jason over for dinner and games on Wednesday evening. It's weird that she really doesn't live here anymore. She is now living in the Vanderbuilt dorms in Nashville, Tennessee. She is taking hard science and math classes and violin. She was the best teenage violinist in the state of Utah. We are very proud of her. Go Katie!

Family Ties

I don't see my extended family much. For almost eight years I lived in states without family from either side around. I've been back in Utah for a year now and felt it was time to see my dad's three brothers and their families who live here.

So last weekend Uncle Bart, his wife Ginny, and four of their kids (plus two friends and a grandkid) came up to hang out with us at the cabin. Uncle Matt and his wife Susan and three of their kids came too. We had a great time. I didn't take many pictures but here's what I did get.

My uncle Matt and his two youngest kids, Ella and Aiden enjoying a little swim in the hot tub.



My cousin Amy and her boyfriend Scott.



Aiden, Jonah, and Matt.

This past Friday I had some quality time with the B. family again. My uncle Steve's oldest child, Nicole, got married in the Timpanogas temple. There was a luncheon afterwards at The Chef's Table in Provo. My poor dad, now all of his siblings have seen his youngest grandchild and he has not! My dad's mom, his brother Kent and his sister Susan and her husband Steve all came down from Arizona for the events. We had a really nice time. The wedding ceremony was beautiful, as was the bride, and the food at the luncheon was great. Kent played my date since his wife and my husband couldn't come.

My cousin Nicole and her husband Garrett.



Elora, windblown me, and Grandma Donna.



My gorgeous cousin Anna holding Elora.

Comparisons

Jonah didn't roll from his tummy to his back until he was 4 months old. Elora will be 3 months old next Friday. As my mom would say, "she's very advanced" or as my Grandpa Jay would say, "we don't have any dumb grand kids."

Update on the Kiddos

Last Monday Elora rolled over for the first time from her tummy to her back. She didn't do it again until yesterday when she did it two or three times in a row for all three of us to watch and cheer for. After we clapped and cheered for her and put her back on her tummy, Jonah went over and helped her do it again. Pretty cute:)
She has been able to roll from her back to her side for awhile but it is a mystery whether she can go all the way from her back to her tummy.






I finally washed the used crib and mattress that we bought for Elora. I also bought and washed a mattress pad, washed her sheets, ironed the crib skirt, bought & assembled and put up the mobile. So our baby is in her darling crib now instead of in the pack n' play bassinet. She likes to lay on her back and push herself across the crib using her strong little legs.



Jonah likes water in any form. He loves to be wet!




I laid Elora down on her back on a blanket on the floor for a minute, went into the kitchen to do something for a second and when I came back found her like this. She either rolled over from her back to her tummy on her own when I wasn't looking or Jonah helped her. It has happened twice when I wasn't looking that she's gotten from her back to her tummy but Jonah was close by both times...

At-Home Date Ideas

Card Games

Rook (we both love this one)
Uno (a classic)
Quiddler
Phase 10
Ziggity
Set (we love this alone or with groups)
Five Crowns (we don't own this one yet)
SkipBo
Face Card games (my favorite is Texas Hold 'Em poker - watch the new Casino Royale for inspiration first)

Box Games / Board Games / Party Games

Scene It
Spy Alley
Trivial Pursuit (B hates this one)
Rummikub (our favorite date game)
Scrabble
Clue
Monopoly

Strategy Boxed Games (Brandon loves these and I do not partly because they last too long and mostly because I suck at them BUT if I'm to let him choose the game every other time we play, inevitably these will be the chosen ones. Those of you with math/strategy brains will love these).

Axis & Allies
Risk
Blokus
Chess

And finally, only my geeky husband would suggest a two-player game of Dungeons & Dragons.

Non-Game Dates

Bake cookies (or cook anything, cooking together is fun, even doing the dishes afterwards together can be fun).

Read out loud to each other (Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus; Five Love Languages, a novel, etc.).

Guys- let your wife help you shave your face (Brandon loves it when I give him a facial - just wash & moisturize his face while he lays down, use as many products as possible. All it takes is a few warm washcloths). Gals- let your hubby help you shave your legs.

Give each other massages.

Take a bath or shower together.

Check out sex books from the library! I was recommended 365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy, which I look forward to reading.

Play with your sex toys (naughty dice, silky scarves, handcuffs, lingerie, food items - whipped cream, chocolate syrup, ice cubes, etc...)


I've discovered that feeling disconnected with your spouse is a common malady in marraige. Dating is the cure. Use what you've got at home, these dates are all free. Don't own any games? Card games are cheap or borrow a game from a friend. For those of you with young children: put your kids to bed at an early hour (for other reasons why and tips on how read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child) so you have alone time every night with your spouse or really alone time to read or take a bath or unwind with a show. Look for a future post on away-from-home dates (email me your suggestions).

Thank you Megan who suggested that I turn my plea for help into a blog post to help others. Thank you to the friends who gave me suggestions.

Please post your favorite at-home dates and two-person games in the comments. Thanks!

More Flaming Gorge Pics

Not to be outdone by Sophie, Jonah eats a tomato whole.




My boys napping.




Nursing together with Alisha on the boat.

Elora at 11 weeks

Here is Elora grabbing at her toys. She is doing this much younger than Jonah did and enjoying it immensely.

On Elora's two month birthday she weighed 9 lbs. 11 oz. That was two weeks before her check up on Thursday at which she weighed 10 lbs. 4 oz. Her weight, height, and length have skyrocketed on the charts and she is a tall gal at 23 1/2 inches now.

Jonah had his 18 month appointment last week as well. He is just under 25 lbs. (though he seems like more because he is so compact). Our pediatrician just loves him. Everybody loves him actually, you can't help but be mesmerized by the way his eyes light up with excitement and delight at every little thing. He says "wow" and "cool" a lot right now.
Jo went to nursery at church for the first time yesterday and had a blast. He was exhausted and starving when we got home though since it was past noon.

Flaming Gorge

This is where I spent the past three days.
Flaming Gorge is a reservoir on the border of Utah and Wyoming. I have been there nearly every summer for a trip for the past 10 years, either for a M. family reunion (B's mom's family) or a J. Family Reunion (B's dad's family). The M. family has gotten so big we don't really do family reunions anymore so I was there with a bunch of Brandon's dad's family. Alan's brother Verl was there with two of his daughters and their families and Alan's sister R'Lene was there with her two sons and two daughters and their families. Alan just had Brandon as his two daughters were unable to attend this year.
To tell the truth I spent a lot more time at Camper World than on the actual lake. The two days I spent at the lake were fun but I didn't actually get to do any watersports this year. Saturday it got so windy that only a few people got to surf, but we all got to swim and the water was great. Sunday was great weather for wakeboarding, but I don't do watersports on the sabbath so I just rode around in the boat with my kids.

"Talking" to Elora