C.J.-isms

A couple favorites I'd like to submit to Webster's for their next dictionary:

Primarried: a description of those who attend Primary at church. C.J.'s first day of Primary was last week, and on the way home, we had an unrelated discussion about how Mom and Dad are married. Since then, C.J. has been eager to tell everyone he is "primarried."

Yestertime: a time before today. It's a great word that we use a lot at our house.

Sleeping In

What a wonderful treat. We went to bed early and got to change our clocks and sleep in today! (Not a totally restful night thanks to Eli.) And the best part? C.J. didn't come right into our room when he woke up. He made a trip to the bathroom, and then back to his room with his door closed. He came out about 30 minutes later so proud of himself because he was dressed! All by himself. If you look closely, you may notice his pants are on backwards and his shirt is on inside-out. I'm still not sure how he managed to button it. One of his socks was on inside-out as well, and his shoes were on the wrong feet. And in case you're wondering (because I am), I haven't checked his underwear yet. I'm going to try to change his clothes for church without deflating his pride, but if I'm unsuccessful, I sure hope the nursery leaders understand!

Halloween 2010

C.J. made this amazing glitter pumpkin at pre-school a few days ago. I'm glad that project wasn't done at my house! I can only imagine the glitter mess.

C.J. was a dragon! (Yeah, I know it's a dinosaur costume--he picked it out a month or so ago, but since then has determined it is a fire breathing dragon.)
And Eli made a cute frog.

It was a windy, drizzly night for trick-or-treating, so we didn't stay out long. But the kids didn't mind, and the fewer peanut M&Ms we collect the better. (No matter how hard we keep them from Eli, he manages to stuff one or two in his mouth when we aren't looking, resulting in a chewed up peanut mess a few minutes later.) Plus, we had a birthday pumpkin pie waiting! Mmm...I think I may go finish it off right now.

It's a Jungle Out There

Last Sunday Barry and I spoke in Sacrament Meeting. Barry did an excellent job, speaking on Elder Uchtdorf's talk from conference (yup, the one with the Vince Lombardi reference.) And I spoke on President Monson's talk on charity from the general Relief Society meeting.

Once church was over, we went for a drive to see the fall leaves and give C.J. a chance to nap. We took our favorite drive--up Big Cottonwood Canyon and over Guardsman's Pass and down to Wasatch Mountain State Park in Midway. It was beautiful. I'll never tire of vibrant yellow aspen groves surrounded by deep green pines.

As we drove through the trees, C.J. asked if we could see a tiger. "A tiger?" we asked. "Yeah, we're in the jungle." We looked, but we didn't see any tigers. Bummer. But we did play at the park before we headed home.

Goodbye, Ben

We are mourning the death of our friend, Ben Jacobsen. He passed away yesterday after a fight with cancer. Although we knew this was coming, the news has been hard to take--he was just so young and good and athletic and wonderful, and now leaving behind such a beautiful family.

The last time we saw Allison and Ben, we sat with them at a wedding reception a few summers ago. We had a lovely visit, and when we left I remember commenting on what great people they are. We had no idea what the coming months would bring.

But I am deeply comforted to know that Ben is just in a different place, free from the ailments of his physical body. And that one day, his spirit will reunite with his perfect body, and he will live in happiness with his family forever. That I know to be true. In the meantime, he will be one of many angels watching over his family. And I bet he has a good view.

Summer Days at the Cabin

We haven't been to the cabin much this summer--but when we were there, it was heaven. Except from 11:00 pm - 7:00 am when Eli wouldn't sleep... Here are some long overdue photos.

Weight Loss Update

Barry and I weighed in last night. He's lost 21.4 lbs since we started Weight Watchers in June. Isn't that awesome! He's looking good and people are noticing. I'm sure proud of him!

Goodbye, Christine!

A little over two years ago, I dropped my then one-year-old C.J. off at Christine's home day-care. I could barely see through the tears as I drove away. A comforting phone call came a little later and she told me he was doing just fine.

And for two years, "Christine's house" has been C.J. and now Eli's second home. That's why I choose it--it felt like a home. A little chaotic at times, but that's to be expected when you get lots of kids having fun (and learning to get along).

Christine has been wonderful, kind, and patient. Her home has been full castles and forts, birthday cakes and balloons, singing and dancing.

Christine's two boys, Kylan and Jace, are definitely like big brothers. C.J. has emulated their every move--he started wearing a backpack to Christine's house so he could be like Jace as he went to school. Some days he took his own "homework", along with a menagerie of treasures: a wooden spoon, a flashlight from grandma, his McDonald's puppy, a bicycle pump that he broke long ago...

C.J. would often shoe me out the door after a hug and a kiss and another hug. Sometimes he would give me a grocery list. (Is that what he thinks I do at work?) Other times he would remind me not to get lost and not to go to Daddy's work, but to my work. And my favorite is when he would yell out, "Make bacon!" (Barry taught him that.) Once in a while he would get his meats mixed up and yell out "Make turkey!" instead.

And Eli's favorite thing at Christine's house? Fiero, the cat. Eli squeals when I come in the door every evening. But if the cat's around, he wants nothing to do with me. He squeals even MORE and toddles as fast as possible to tackle the poor thing.

Well, Christine's life is changing and she's moving on from day care. Last Friday was our last day. I dropped the kids off, drove to work, and cried.

Thank you, Christine!

I want to linger... a little longer

The Brighton Camp reunion was this weekend. I didn't take one photo, but believe me, it was pure heaven. Amazing--after 10 years, it's still the same, wonderful place. Even the costume closet still smells the same! I had SO much fun. The memories kept flooding back. We laughed and laughed and talked and talked and we even raided the walk-in. Do we really have to wait FIVE more years until the next reunion? I'm planning on it already.

And then today was our Israel reunion. Wow--it's been 16 years. I honestly didn't even recognize some people, though others look exactly the same. What a great afternoon.

I certainly am grateful for the amazing experiences I've had and especially for all the extraordinary individuals who have impacted my life in one way or another. I love them all!

July Highlights

Oh, it's been a busy month! Sorry, no photos--they won't load for some reason.

I spent a week kid-free in D.C. for work--Barry is still recovering. But they had great fun at This is the Place State Park (or "That is the Place State Park" as C.J. calls it), on the Gibby's trampoline, up the canyon, in my parents' pool, planting flowers in our front yard, and cleaning our windows--inside and out! C.J. greeted me at the airport with the biggest grin ever and bouquet of flowers. I got all teared up, I had missed my family so much, but then couldn't stop laughing when C.J. went on and on about how fun escalators are!

Other adventures include a visit to the aquarium, lots of swimming (at Grammy and Pop's house or in our own little pool), walks around Silver Lake, dinner in Park City (fyi--there is NO A/C at the Pizza and Noodle place on Main Street), BBQ with the neighbors and the missionaries, and lots of popsicles.

As for Eli, he's finally to the point where he wants to get off his knees and walk. (I would too if I was crawling on all the sand that gets brought in every time we come inside from our Little Sahara backyard.) He took 6 steps this evening. He is starting to throw temper tantrums. Isn't he too young for that? And he is finally eating fruit and veggies. Well, some.

C.J. is using the potty! It's been a week, and he's only had a handful of accidents. Hurray!

Eli hits 40%

Eli had his 1 year check-up today. For the record, here are his measurements:

• Height (I guess they call it "length" when you're under 3): 29.8" (40%)
• Weight: 19.5 lbs (5%)

Eli Turns One

Eli's first birthday was on June 30th. It's amazing how much babies change in their first year!

Eli isn't saying anything we can understand yet, but does lots of pointing and squealing when he wants something. And he goes crazy when his mom or dad comes home. He loves to crawl, climb, and explore--C.J.'s firetruck bed is one of his favorite hangouts. Church is a weekly nightmare. He adores riding or pushing his walk 'n ride toys and is even starting to take a few steps on his own. He loves chicken nuggets, lunch meat, cheese, and anything with noodles. At least half of his meals end up on the floor and/or in his hair. He doesn't care for any fruit or veggie (except cauliflower) unless it's pureed. He's got beautiful olive skin, dark brown eyes, and six (whoops--EIGHT!--just checked) sharp teeth.

Happy birthday, Eli. We sure love you!

Week 1

Barry and I made it through our first week of Weight Watchers. We weighed in last night--Barry lost 7 lbs! I’m so proud of him! And I’m proud of my 2 lbs, too.

Southpaw

Meet the newest addition to our family, Southpaw! Stuffed animals love living at our house because they come to life. This one came especially for Eli from my co-worker, Maria. Thanks Maria! Eli loves him!
By the way, Eli's shoulder is healing quickly. He's been crawling for a few days now and it doesn't seem to bother him at all.

Kids Care Visit

Eli is really good at stairs. So good, I don't even worry about him. I was finally getting C.J. to eat his dinner last night when I saw Eli head down the stairs to the family room with a toy in hand. A few seconds later I heard a crash at the bottom of the stairs. I don't think he fell far, but it didn't help that his ride-n-walk car was in his way at the bottom.

He certainly wasn't himself after the fall -- he had a sad cry and wouldn't crawl, so Barry left work early and took him in to Kids Care just before they closed. He got home after midnight with an x-ray showing Eli's broken clavicle on his right shoulder. Good thing he's a lefty! (Well, I'm pretty sure he is.) So now he's got an ace bandage around him to keep him from moving his arm. It only takes 7-10 days to heal -- amazing! Apparently a clavicle break is the most common bone to break, and even more common among infants.

He's been a trooper today, just crying when we dressed him. He desperately wants to crawl, but his shoulder won't allow it. Hopefully the week will go by quickly!

Sunday Bubbles

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful spring day. We played outside with Aubrey and our new bubble wand.

Happy 3rd Birthday, C.J.!

Today C.J. turned three! We sure can't imagine life without him--he certainly has changed our lives.

Thanks to him, we have 55 episodes of Curious George saved in our TiVo. We watch it first thing in the morning, and sometimes before bed at night. And lest you think that's all we watch, we know Toy Story and Toy Story II by heart. We get in trouble by C.J. when we say the word "stupid," and he melts our hearts when he spontaneously tells us, "I love you SO much." He totally knows how to manipulate us (well, me more than Barry) into giving him a treat or buying him something he sees at the store. ("It would make me SO happy.") Whenever we leave for work he insists on a little hug, a big hug, and a kiss. And then all of those things all over again. He even hugs and kisses the phone before hanging up. He adores playing outside so we're grateful he loves hats so much.

And he sure had a great birthday. He's already taken a bath with his new goggles.

He's starting to figure out his new bike.
Some kids have pony rides at their parties. We had digger rides tonight! Aubrey was pretty scared, but Andy ate it up! (More on the backyard project later.)
Happy birthday, C.J.! We love you!

The Month of March--Come and Gone

The past month and a half have whizzed by. And I totally missed documenting the highlights (and low-lights):

• Saying good-bye to Chris, Carol, Harry, and Ella as they packed up and moved to Southern California
• Grandma Pat and Grandpa Tony in town, bringing Grandpa-made beds for the boys and some fun days of visiting
• Ski days at Solitude
• Expensive car repairs
• Barry's cross-country road trips to deliver my newly repaired, too-small-for-our-family car to its new home in California and to bring my new one home from Wisconsin
• The Five-Alls for Grammy Gretchen's birthday dinner
• Easter egg hunts at the park, the grocery store, and our living room
• Barry's job hunt: resume writing and re-writing
• Eli's never-ending colds and that snot-sucking bulb that he would rather chew on
• Margaret's new book club and her devouring The Help
• Bribes for potty training: M&Ms, Reece's peanut butter cups, and now a soccer ball
• Margaret and Marianne's exercise deal
• and of course, lots of weekend pancakes!

But here is some spring snow, dying Easter eggs, and 9 month old Eli.

Wiggle Monkey

That's what we call Eli. He turned 9 months old this last week and is into everything! It's about impossible to get anything done while he's awake. The toy drawers were great barricades from the family room stairs for a week or two. But now he either climbs into the drawer (above), or detours under the train table to get to the stairs. Last night Barry caught him on top of the train table! But we sure do love him. And the other night he slept through the entire night for the first time!

At his 9 month checkup, of course he was as wiggly as ever. Our pediatrician called him "co-ordinated." Here are his stats:

• Weight: 17 lbs 11 ounces (10 percentile)
• Height: 27 1/2" (22 percentile)

Why are our kids short? No idea.

"Not Yummy!"

I made some apple cinnamon muffins the other night. As C.J. was devouring his second, I asked him if they were yummy. "NOT YUMMY!" he replied in his angry voice, "Delicious." I can't believe I dared use such a childish word with my grown-up two year old.

Patent # D610,833

Yup! My first patent. It's only a design patent, which isn't nearly as cool as a utility patent, but I'll take it anyway. It's for the design of Close To My Heart's ink organization unit. Of course I assigned it to Close To My Heart as the owner and I share the inventor status with Ron Lunt, our former VP of Operations. It's been on the market for a year and a half, but the patent was just issued last week.

It can store 60 CTMH stamp pads, even more markers, and has a tray for re-inkers that sits on top. It can spin around and be disassembled. Some people want to see all of their inks at once, so these towers can stand alone on a desk or be mounted on the wall. You can buy it piece by piece (if you just have 12 stamp pads you just need to buy one stamp pad tower) or get the whole thing outright.

This was one of the many fun products I got to work on in New Product Development. I miss that job, but my new job is cool, too. For those of you who don't know, last November I moved out of NPD and into the Finance/Business Development dept. I spend about 1/2 of my time creating financial models and the other 1/2 brainstorming and implementing ways to generate incremental revenue for the company. My brain definitely gets a daily workout!

Stairs...

Two short weeks after Eli started crawling I found him climbing up the stairs. He only made it up two stairs before I rescued him. While he may think he's ready for it, we are not! I love having a split-level home (we're never more than 7 stairs from the kitchen), but it's a nightmare trying to come up with 4 barricades. Today it was laundry baskets. So instead of climbing stairs, Eli pulled out clean laundry to chew on. Lovely.

And here is Eli enjoying his Valentine's Day card. Thanks Gramma and Grandpa!