Remember when I told you one of the only songs the kids would listen to was "Don't Stop Believing?" Well, it's not the Journey one, it is this one from the TV show I can't wait for Glee.
Evidently we have listened to it a few times in the car. Please note the following moments:
1. Jonah using different voices to sing as the boy and the girl.
2. Instrumental segments.
3. The Guitar solo.
Sorry about the sound quality...this was recorded on Amy's phone.
7.29.2009
7.19.2009
Summer Has Begun!
* This post is picture-heavy. Consider yourself properly forewarned.
Here at the Bingham home, we kicked off the summer with preschool graduation. We got Pomp and Circumstance. We got diplomas. We got Josh and I snickering as they played a cheezy country song about the tenderness of children. It's preschool, folks. While we were aiming for this:
We got a lot of this:
Once we got through this tremendous milestone, another celebration followed right behind. It was Josh's birthday. I can't say it was our best birthday effort ever. We did get to go to The Cheesecake Factory thanks to the kindness of our friend Chanel, who promised to not hate us if our children were terrors. He got some cupcakes and some priceless gifts from the children. From Noel, a polar bear bookmark. From Jonah, some zombies.
But let's be honest. I could've fed Josh grass clippings for his birthday dinner and he still would've loved me because I got him this:
That's his Amazon Kindle and he loves it more than the children.
The next week, the Binghams boarded a plane for Salt Lake City. The baby was the big concern. We shouldn't have worried. I enjoyed the plane ride seated next to a stranger, my sleeping baby in my arms. Josh got to watch over the boys, who wanted to fight over the window seat. . .and then the ipod. Kids these days!
We started the week at a classy indoor amusement park called Jungle Jims. The excursion came to a close shortly after Jonah walked off his third turn on the spinning bugs ride, pale-faced and sweating. We knew when to call it a day.
Lila was skeptical of the "amusement" part of Jungle Jims:
We then attended the family dinner for the wedding of Josh's brother, Joel. Here's a great photo of all of his brothers and sisters. That's Josh kneeling on the right, in order to avoid having his head cut off by the tree.
Lila spent some quality time with her lovely great-grandmas. And by quality time, I mean she laid there like a lump.
We attempted to take some professional-like photos of the boys. These were among the best. I wish I was kidding.
And finally, the wedding. It was a beautiful event all around.
These Bingham boy cousins don't at all look like they're in cahoots.
More lump-like business by Lila.
I'd become increasingly frustrated with the photos that we were taking at the wedding. Noel had a bit of a cold and his photos were coming across as a bit "dead in the eyes." So here's his response to my request to "Look fierce!" I think Tyra would be proud.
We then took advantage of the family weekend to bless our baby with all of our family in attendance. Here's a pirate-baby Lila in her blessing dress. This is my "I welcome any opportunity to have my picture taken 5 weeks after I have a baby" face.
My parents threw a fabulous after-blessing bash. Such good food.
And good company. Some more grandparent time.
We stopped to pose for a photo of all the Bingham women. I request that, next time, all of the rest of the ladies try not to be so skinny.
A very strangely posed photo of Lila with her cousins.
We spent the rest of our vacation spoiling our kids into thinking that fabulous activities should be routine. Like fishing with their Aunt and Uncle:
And spending quality time with grandma and grandpa:
And becoming obssessed with your female cousin's leotard, insisting you put it on, and then refusing to take it off.
And here's Lila looking cute.
We capped off the trip with a 4th of July celebration to remember. We started the night before watching the fireworks from Granite High School. They were all bravado to start:
Not so much once the fireworks began:
We finished with a 4th fireworks display not to be forgotten. Until next year, when we refresh our memory with the exact same fireworks from the same Costco pack. And it will be just as fun.
Thanks to the Bingham family and the Peterson family for making this trip such a great memory. We love you all!
Here at the Bingham home, we kicked off the summer with preschool graduation. We got Pomp and Circumstance. We got diplomas. We got Josh and I snickering as they played a cheezy country song about the tenderness of children. It's preschool, folks. While we were aiming for this:
We got a lot of this:
Once we got through this tremendous milestone, another celebration followed right behind. It was Josh's birthday. I can't say it was our best birthday effort ever. We did get to go to The Cheesecake Factory thanks to the kindness of our friend Chanel, who promised to not hate us if our children were terrors. He got some cupcakes and some priceless gifts from the children. From Noel, a polar bear bookmark. From Jonah, some zombies.
But let's be honest. I could've fed Josh grass clippings for his birthday dinner and he still would've loved me because I got him this:
That's his Amazon Kindle and he loves it more than the children.The next week, the Binghams boarded a plane for Salt Lake City. The baby was the big concern. We shouldn't have worried. I enjoyed the plane ride seated next to a stranger, my sleeping baby in my arms. Josh got to watch over the boys, who wanted to fight over the window seat. . .and then the ipod. Kids these days!
We started the week at a classy indoor amusement park called Jungle Jims. The excursion came to a close shortly after Jonah walked off his third turn on the spinning bugs ride, pale-faced and sweating. We knew when to call it a day.
Lila was skeptical of the "amusement" part of Jungle Jims:
We then attended the family dinner for the wedding of Josh's brother, Joel. Here's a great photo of all of his brothers and sisters. That's Josh kneeling on the right, in order to avoid having his head cut off by the tree.
Lila spent some quality time with her lovely great-grandmas. And by quality time, I mean she laid there like a lump.
We attempted to take some professional-like photos of the boys. These were among the best. I wish I was kidding.
And finally, the wedding. It was a beautiful event all around.
These Bingham boy cousins don't at all look like they're in cahoots.
More lump-like business by Lila.
I'd become increasingly frustrated with the photos that we were taking at the wedding. Noel had a bit of a cold and his photos were coming across as a bit "dead in the eyes." So here's his response to my request to "Look fierce!" I think Tyra would be proud.
We then took advantage of the family weekend to bless our baby with all of our family in attendance. Here's a pirate-baby Lila in her blessing dress. This is my "I welcome any opportunity to have my picture taken 5 weeks after I have a baby" face.
My parents threw a fabulous after-blessing bash. Such good food.
And good company. Some more grandparent time.
We stopped to pose for a photo of all the Bingham women. I request that, next time, all of the rest of the ladies try not to be so skinny.
A very strangely posed photo of Lila with her cousins. 
We spent the rest of our vacation spoiling our kids into thinking that fabulous activities should be routine. Like fishing with their Aunt and Uncle:
And spending quality time with grandma and grandpa:
And becoming obssessed with your female cousin's leotard, insisting you put it on, and then refusing to take it off.
And here's Lila looking cute.
We capped off the trip with a 4th of July celebration to remember. We started the night before watching the fireworks from Granite High School. They were all bravado to start:
Not so much once the fireworks began:
We finished with a 4th fireworks display not to be forgotten. Until next year, when we refresh our memory with the exact same fireworks from the same Costco pack. And it will be just as fun.
Thanks to the Bingham family and the Peterson family for making this trip such a great memory. We love you all!
A Query, or two
I wanted to axe a question. You, gentle reader, have been so helpful in determining what to name our baby and what color to paint her room. I need some more help.And just in case you are wondering: there will be a lovely post coming soon (perhaps tonight!) with more pictures of our beautiful baby for our relatives to ohh and ahh over and for the rest of you to skip past.
QUERY #1:
I am trying to listen to more music with the kids. Instead of me turning on NPR when we are in the car and ignoring them, I have had a lot of fun turning on music that we all like and interacting and singing. The play list is pretty limited, because I don't want to listen to Barney and Friends, but Jonah and Noel aren't really jiving on Rufus Wainwright and Bjork. But we have found some common ground. Here is the playlist, so far (fittingly titled "The Boys" on my iPod.)
1. Don't Stop Believing - not the Journey version. The one from Glee. And Jonah sings all the words (in the voice of the character who is singing, too! "Livin' in old Detroit!"
2. Stayin' Alive - the funniest song every written.
3. Old Joe's Place from A Mighty Wind. The second funniest song ever.
4. Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade.
5. So What by Pink. Don't judge me. I turn it down when she swears. This is Noel's personal fave.
6. Tiki Room. A classic.
7. Blitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones.
And that is it. In constant rotation. It isn't bad, because that many songs is enough to get you to Target and back. But I want to mix it up a bit. So...any thoughts? What songs are kid friendly, but not annoying (I know some of you would argue that the tiki room is annoying, but I love that place. I can taste the Dole Whip now....)
QUERY #2:
Lately we have discovered the awesome power of parental guilt. If you are trying to get Noel to do something and you say, "Noel, it would make me SO HAPPY if you...." he'll stop all fits and do it. And then when he is done, he looks to you eagerly for approval. "Look, Dad! I put my pajamas on by myself! Did it, indeed, make you SO HAPPY?! Validate me!" his subtext seems to say. It is amazing, because if you know Noel, you know he is stubborn - but that power of withholding love to get what we want is wonderful.
But is it wrong?
It isn't really a lie. It does make me so happy if Noel puts on his on pjs or shares a toy or eats his dinner. But in his little three year old brain, does he think that I only love him when he does what I want him to? And what is the fun of wielding parental guilt if it makes me feel guilty? Help me out here - is it OK to guilt my child into doing what I want him to do? (I have included the evil looking picture of Noel to sway you to my side..wait, is that champagne he is drinking?)
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