Missing you, Grandpa

My Grandpa Scott passed away on Saturday. When he was diagnosed with cancer a year and a half ago, I was devastated. I just couldn't imagine life without Grandpa. But over the past several months, I have had time to accept the fact that he would move on soon. In this time, I've also thought about how much I admire, respect, and love Grandpa. And I'm not the only one. He was loved by so many. And now he is missed by so many. I'm thankful for the hundreds of memories I have of happy times with Grandpa Scott. I wish I could write them all here, or that they were all captured in pictures. But this will have to do, and that's okay, because I'll never forget Grandpa and his obvious love for life. And I'll never forget all the times I heard him laugh, or as my mom says, "roar."

I love you, Grandpa

I don't want to take my Grandpa's blog off my blog roll. I plan on revisiting his intelligent, witty, and inspired posts often. I always looked forward to his posts, and I'm so glad I can now always look back on them and remember Grandpa through his carefully written words and "humble opinion."

Julia TWOlia

June 1st marked the completion of Julia's second year of life. We are pretty sure she had a great time at her party with the fam - thanks for coming and bringing such great gifts! She is loving all of her new toys, the tricycle being the highlight. While she can't quite pedal yet, she is content just sitting on the trike in the house. Once in a while she'll scoot around a little, or yell, "Mom, PUSH!" But otherwise she will sit on the seat for an hour or more, often playing with other toys while she's there. Lovely! We were worried about her wanting to take the trike to bed, but she actually has no problem saying "Ni-night" to it as we put it away in the garage. I can only imagine how much fun she'll have when she can actually ride it.

Below is a video of Julia and her "bike." Notice that there is a dolly in the trunk. There is ALWAYS something in the trunk, including Gabe, as pictured above. She hasn't tried that one on her own, luckily!

(Oops, or "Boops!" as Julia says. Sorry, the video just wouldn't cooperate. We'll see if we can get it up later.)


Oh, and thanks for taking pictures, Cami. It's always tricky to get some good shots while you're hosting a party.

oh my ganache

I have a serious weakness. There is some leftover ganache that I made to drizzle over Julia's birthday cake. There are also some leftover ruffle potato chips from her birthday picnic. So naturally I have been dipping the salty chips in the rich chocolate sauce several times a day. This certainly isn't helping me to lose those extra baby pounds. But it is SO delicious that I find myself not caring!

I have to thank my friend Erika, who introduced me to such an indulgence years ago. (I believe we dipped the chips in that Magic Shell topping and let them harden. I might just like the creamy ganache version better.) I loved the salty-sweetness so much she called the treat "Chocolate-Covered Melodies." The sooner that little tupperware of ganache is gone, the better. I guess.

Gabe's First Two Weeks

As promised (mostly to my distant twin sister), here is a slide show of life since Gabe. We all adore "our little dude," as Jonny calls him. Julia is really getting into the baby stuff. Last week she discovered that she too has the necessary equipment for nursing a baby, as far as she knows! As I was nursing Gabe, she came up to me with her shirt lifted up and a 3-inch dollhouse babydoll at her chest. She was signing and saying, "Milk!" After "nursing" her tiny plastic doll, she proceeded to "burp" her. She's been doing this for days now.

I think it's sweet to see Gabe become a part of Julia's world. I nearly cried when I went in to see her in the morning only three days after Gabe was born and she asked for the "Beebee!" first thing. Another time while reading a book she was pointing out different sized animals as our family members, a common practice for her. She called the big duck "Mama" and two of the little ducks "Ju Ju" and "Beebee!"

Anyway, here is the slide show of way too many pictures. As you can see, Gabe has grown quite a bit since his birth - a whole pound, actually! Man, that kid loves his mommy's milk.

Wading through the hundreds of pictures of the first week of Gabe's life, I came upon this one. Don't get me wrong, Julia adores her little brother so far. And we are completely in love all over again. But I think this picture is worth a thousand words.I will get around the posting a slide show of far too many pictures soon! But for now, both of my darlings are sleeping. So if I've learned anything at all, I know it's nap time for me too.

Welcome Gabriel!

Does it get any better? I absolutely love the miracle I got to see today. Melody rocked it and little Gabriel Jonathan is a healthy boy.

We were planning on inducing today and were expecting a call between 6 and 9 this morning. Needless to say, we were waking up often in the night in anticipation. Right around 3am Melody jumped out of bed and said, "Jonny, my water broke." This was great news as we were hoping he'd want to come on his own.

I called our next-door neighbor, Shane, and he came over until Amber could come get Julia. Thanks, dude! Melody wasn't contracting yet, but I loved the excuse to speed anyway and got to the hospital in no time.

Melody was in labor until about 7:30 when it was time to push. Gabe was posterior which extended the pushing time a bit, but the Dr. was great and with some convincing Gabe was delivered. Melody was absolutely great.

Julia played a little with Gabe, and we're excited to see how they interact when we get him home.

Melody and Gabe will likely be in the hospital until tomorrow afternoon/evening and would LOVE to have any visitors. Just be sure to call her or me to get the room # and code.

And now, finally, some pictures...
Oh yeah... stats: 8lbs 12oz & 19.5in

"Needles, Pins, TRIPLETS, Twins..."

"...What goes up the chimney? Smoke! Now our wish will never be broke." So goes the little superstitious rhyme my Mom taught me, to be chanted while holding pinkies after you and another have been walking together and had to separate for whatever reason. (And yes, we all know it should be "broken," but we can't say "smokin'" now can we!) Well, this silly poem is taking on a new meaning for this post. And because it's silly, it really doesn't do the amazing news justice. (But I thought Em would like the title - and I had to give a background.) Now, to the point:

Most of you who read my blog also read my twin sister Emily's and have been following her infertility/adoption search story. Well, just in case you didn't get the miraculous news straight from her blog, I'll share it here as well. After years of infertility treatments, heartache, and uncertainty, Emily and KC have found success with their 4th IVF procedure. I won't possibly be able to express my joy upon receiving this news from my darling twin sister - suffice it to say I can't help but smile every time I think about her pregnancy. (Okay, for the first few weeks I cried whenever I thought about it.) And what's more, a lot more, Emily and KC are expecting triplets. Three of their own "little friends!" It's hard to believe petite Emily has three babies growing inside of her, but I know she anc KC are more than capable for this blessing in triplicate.

We are all thrilled about the miracle Em, KC, and all who love them are experiencing. And on a more selfish note, this has made the last few months of my own pregnancy more joyful than I could've imagined. With every kick from my little boy, I am reminded of how Em will feel the same incredible thing - something I thought we'd never share. We love you, Emily and KC. We three, almost four, couldn't be happier for you and your little ones on the way.

May Fooling

I wrote earlier about how April Fools' Day around here was a bust. Well, maybe Jonny and Julia were just saving up their tricks for the first weekend in May. (Or maybe they're trying to induce my labor by making me laugh so hard. If that is the case, keep trying, you two!) I will document three events:

1. After being on my feet most of Saturday, I was aching for a foot massage. Jonny was happy to oblige. He retrieved the lotion and told me to close my eyes, then rambled on with some silly imagery thing. I opened my eyes after a few seconds to find he was rubbing peanut butter on my foot! It was already in between my toes and everything. Cleanup was quite the process (I was not going to move from my comfortable position on the couch) but I think it was worth it to Jonny. Ha.

2. This morning I was leisurely taking my Sunday shower. I noticed two shadows through the shower curtain and figured Jonny and Julia were just coming to poke the curtian and say hi. The next thing I knew, 50 colorful plastic balls from Julia's mini ball pit came pouring down on me. It did make for kind of a fun shower. A few minutes later, the other 50 balls joined me. Jonny figured we might as well clean them all!

3. This one is not as calculated as the other two, but tricky nonetheless. With my makeup applied and hair dry, I came in to visit Julia as she bathed. To my surprise, she and Jonny squirted me with a bath toy, getting me right in my freshly-applied-mascara eye. "Isn't it waterproof!?" Jonny asked innocently. Nice try.

Here are the culprits. Wish I could think of some way to get them back...

He's almost here

So little Gabe dude is almost here.  Melody says it could be any day and I think the sooner the better.  The pregnancy with #2 has been quite different than it was with #1.  When I really think about it I get the same excitement and nervousness as before, but it doesn’t monopolize my thoughts as it did with Julia.  This has everything to do with Julia being the center of everything right now and the fact that we have done this before.

 So I’m a little interested in what to expect.  For you parents of 2+, how did your life change?  Try to think back to when #2 was born and your life with #1.  What advice do you have?  What would you have done differently?

I’m not so much nervous as I am excited, but I figure this is a good way to get some advice—so bring it on, and thank you!

Hope the next post contains pics of the little guy.

"Means" and more toddler fun

I knew we'd be a little bored this week with no preschool to break things up and winter weather pending. Reading books and playing with the same old toys just wasn't going to cut it. After racking my brain and searching online, I had some promising toddler activities for us to try out. I know some of you have restless toddlers as well, so here are a few of the favorites:

Shadow Puppets/Flashlight Show (from babycenter.com)
-Julia loved being in the dark bathroom with flashlights. The shadow puppets were fascinating to her, and wearing a headlamp flashlight was a bit hit.

Hide the Teddy (also from babycenter.com)
-Simply hiding the teddy bear in funny places around the house kept us busy for a little while. Her favorite spot to find him was her high chair. Now she's been wanting to feed him at every meal!

Playdough
-An obvious one for most, I am sure! But before this week I had never even thought to introduce the stuff to Julia. Today she played with it for an entire hour. Now I need to get some plastic cookie cutters and other tools to make it even more fun.

Finger Paint
-The Easter Bunny left finger paint in Julia's basket this year. Thanks to him, she had a blast getting messy and making masterpieces.

Pretend Paint
-My sister Cami told me about this favorite activity for her kids. You just get some paintbrushes, fill a bucket with water, and let the kids "paint" the sidewalk, house, deck, whatever! We didn't actually try this one outside yet, but Julia loved "painting" the table and walls with simply the cheap brushes I picked up at the store.

Beans
-I thought to buy a rubbermaid, a bag of beans, and some jungle animals after I remembered playing with such a thing the summers I spent with the Mitton triplets. Julia can't get enough of her beans. Today she found a straggler on the carpet and was begging for "Means! Means!" I finally saw the bean in her hand and figured out what she wanted. This week the beans have been Julia's favorite activity by far. She buries the animals, shovels the beans, and today she realized she can even sit inside the container. (Maybe I'll get a larger container and store it some place where I don't have to lift it. That would be more like sandbox, I guess. Fun!) Personally, I love the beans because I don't have to constantly supervise or participate. She knows the beans are not for eating, and she's content playing by herself for quite a while. Lovely.


These simple activities were lifesavers this week. I'd love to know any of your ideas so we can keep the fun happening around here, especially when the new baby comes and we'll have a lot of time at home. And although Julia wouldn't mind watching WonderPets, The Backyardigans, Blue's Clues, or nearly any cartoon for hours on end, I think we can do better than that. (Don't get me wrong, though. I am by no means anti-TV. Julia typically enjoys a few daily shows. And I enjoy resting on the couch, showering, reading, or actually getting some cleaning done while she is totally captivated. If it weren't for Curious George at 5:00, I might never get dinner on the table!)

Easter Sunday

The only big excitement for Julia last Easter was the fake grass in her basket. But this year she was thrilled with the Easter festivities. It was so fun to see her get into the egg dying and hunting. She even enjoyed a deviled egg at dinner.

I have always loved this Spring holiday. We really want to start some Christ-centered traditions to go along with all the egg and basket fun. Anyone have any good ones? We were going to watch The Testaments but were in the middle of the classic Ten Commandments. (It was my first time watching it in full. Quite a masterpiece for its time. Had to laugh a little at the "special effects" though!)

By the way, I hesitated but then decided to include a few pictures of my pregnant self. (Jill, are you happy now?) Yes, my Easter egg of a tummy is quite large. Never mind I still have a month to go! Yikes.

ready to run

These past few weeks I have had the strongest desire to get outside and run. I have loved running since junior high. (Yes, I actually enjoyed and looked forward to the one-mile "Fun Run" we did every Wednesday in P.E.) I don't know - maybe it's the sunshine, the recent buzz about spring and summer races, or the fact that my 35-week-pregnant body just won't go for it - but I just have the unquenchable urge to put on my dusty shoes and take off. Julia and I go out walking on nice mornings, which is refreshing. But what is walking when you want to run? Oh well, I guess I'll just have to sit tight for another few months.

P.S. This is what my fortune cookie read Tuesday night:

"Big things coming in future. Only matter of time."

Interpret it as you will, I'm just hoping we're not talking about a ten pound baby next month.

no joke

I felt somewhat like a failure on Wednesday. It was April 1st and I didn't play one joke on a single person. Almost equally sad, not one was played on me! In years past I have planned and plotted several jokes that have been quite successful. (I don't believe in doing anything harmful or hurtful, although setting Em's clock three hours early so she was showered and nearly ready for school by 4 am may have upset her a bit...) I have always enjoyed April fooling friends and family, and taken pride in my reputation as someone to watch out for on that day. That's why I just don't know what went wrong this year. I guess I didn't take the time to plan ahead. And then when it came to Tuesday, I wasn't even in the mood! (The uncharacteristic party-pooper in me watied until the preschoolers were lined up to go home to even tell them about the fun day. I must admit though, it was nice not to have 4-year-olds yelling "There's a spider on your head!" all day, as they do if I introduce the festivities of April 1st at the beginning of class.)

Oh well, so an April Fools' Day has come and gone nearly unnoticed. But if I start thinking now, I bet I can make next year's April 1st one to remember. We'll just have to wait and see...

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!"

While listening to a Beatles mix in the car a few days ago, we discovered Julia loves the song "She Loves You." (I guess it's because she knows most of the words in the song!) She goes a little crazy when we sing and dance to it, as you can see:

Note: Jonny and Julia are dancing in the new nursery-in-progress. Jonny painted the room last weekend. It's so fun to have blue around here! Thanks again for all the lovely recent paint jobs, Jonny. One more room, and you've tackled every one in the house!

putting her to work

Julia's Friday afternoon just became so much more eventful. Jonny is home early from work and these two are already out there getting their weekend jobs done. He says she'll be washing the car on her own by the end of this summer. That's more like it.

Sunday Morning

Like most Sundays, Julia was not happy with me this morning. She often prefers her dad on the weekends anyway, but especially after I've done her hair. Check out the way she looked at me when I came over to take some pictures:
Jonny had a little more luck getting some Sunday morning shots.
P.S. Notice how Julia's toys are strewn about in the first picture. It's getting trickier for me to pick up after her as my tummy grows. But I am feeling great and getting really excited to meet this active little boy in less than two months. I keep wondering just how Julia will feel about the new addition...

Score of Love

Jonny and I both love to win. So when the points are tallied and we have a tie, I consider it the best of both worlds. And when this happens, there is never tie breaker. We call it the "Score of Love."

We have recently experienced several Scores of Love. One of the most exciting happened a few weeks ago at Trafalga. (Has anyone else been there lately? They have remodeled the indoor course with an ocean theme in neon paint and black lights. Slightly ghetto? Yes. But really fun and nostalgic nonetheless!) Jonny must have been having an off-day with his putting skills, and it looked like I was uncharacteristicly going to win at minigolf. As much as I do love to win, I was overjoyed when he tallied our points only to find a Score of Love! (I won't say what the score was, since it is really nothing to brag about.) This seemed very appropriate since we were out for Valentine's Weekend.

Two more Scores of Love happened just yesterday. My sister Lili and husband Jeff were over for dinner and fun. We played their awesome game Who? What? Where? and ended up with two ties. Lili and Jeff had a Score of Love just two points above Jonny's and mine! As if this wasn't coincidental enough, the final tally of our Taboo game was yet another Score of Love. Incredible. Just had to document it.

"Tuck"

Julia is often heard frustratedly saying, "Tuck, tuck!" when anything is stuck. This post actually isn't about her though. I was the one who was stuck this morning. I happened like this...

I grabbed a tube of superglue to make a quick, minor home repair. Last time I used the glue I had a really hard time squeezing it out. So I opened the cap and gave it a good squeeze. Yes, of course, the glue came gushing out all over my fingertips and hands. One finger on my right hand and two on my left were stuck to the tube. I acted quickly and ripped my right hand finger away before it was permenantly attached to the tube. Phew! But I was still left with two fingers stuck to the silly tube and hardened glue on every fingertip. At this point, Julia was scared and crying. She had heard me exclaim when the tube erupted, and she was more emotionally invested than me. She calmed down in front of the TV while I sought out the nail polish remover. I always buy the kind with acetone because it was so many purposes - I was hoping removing superglue was one of them. Calling Jonny and requesting a google search on the subject confirmed the nail polish remover remedy. So for the next 45 minutes I rubbed and soaked and scrubbed until my fingers were finally released from the tube. It took a little more time to get the rest of the stuff off my fingers and hands. But, as is obvious by my typing abilites, all is well once more. I think I'll pick up some latex gloves next time I feel brave enough to employ the super powers of super glue. Any other superglue stories out there?

"Shishy"

Julia loves fishes. My sister Cami made a small photo book of cousins for all the kids in the family. Julia loves each page, but her favorite part is the Snapfish logo on the back cover. "Shishy!"

On Saturday afternoon we decided to check out the ocean life at the aquarium in Sandy. (Julia and I went in the summer, but she'd appreciate it much more now.) We headed up there only to find a packed parking lot and a line filing out the door. Turns out there was a new exhibit or something that was attracting the crowds to the small aquarium. I insisted we come back another day, and get on with the rest of our errands. Jonny, however, was determined to keep his promise to Julia. (We'd been talking about seeing the fishes all afternoon.) Waiting in a long line with an antsy toddler was not an option so Jonny drove us to the next best place: Petsmart. They had a whole wall of fishes there and Julia was thrilled. Thanks for delivering, Daddy. Maybe next week we'll show this girl some real "shishies." Or maybe we'll just see how long she's happy with 10 cent goldfish.

pitiful

Julia has a terrible cough that's worst at night and when she wakes up. Here's how I found her this morning. She's sporting a warrior-esque style that I find her in occasionally. She was actually pretty happy at the time, but I thought she did a good job of making a pitiful face, especially in the second shot.

Sunk Costs

I remember a time in college when Economics-major-Jonny taught me about sunk costs. Since then I have really tried not to let sunk costs get me down. Simplified, sunk costs are money, time, or resources that are spent, unintentionally wasted, and there is no logical going back. Thus, the cost is sunk.

For example, you plan to paint your laundry room only to find the tan paint kept in your garage over the winter is frozen. So you decide to have fun with color- since you need new paint anyway- and buy a gallon of orange paint, realizing upon application that is is much brighter than the paint sample appeared in the store. Paint is non-returnable. And so is the time you spent pouring over paint samples, finally picking a color, immediately regretting the color, buying the paint, being insulted by the cashier about your color choice, and taking the time to try it out on a wall anyway. These are all sunk costs. (No, these aren't major costs by any means, but wasted nonetheless.) For some reason I was letting all these sunk costs get to me yesterday. (And I wasn't even the one painting!) But what's the point? By dwelling on sunk costs, I am only putting more time and energy into something that is past and can't be changed. This small but significant experience has strengthened my resolve to be better about shaking off sunk costs. That doesn't mean I can't learn from them though. Hey, maybe then I am actually gaining from the sunk cost after all?? I think I will look at it that way. In the meantime, we will purchase another gallon of paint. A sunk cost? Maybe, but I can't wait to say farewell that hideous orange wall.

Missing Mimi

We miss you already, Aunt Mimi! Thanks for spending the last week and a half with us - it was everything we hoped it'd be and more. We loved seeing Aunt Cami and Baby Jane too. Come play with us again sometime!? (For those interested, check Em's blog soon, where she will surely post an excellent summary of the trip to Utah.)

P.S. Em, Julia was looking for you in the spare room, crying. Come back soon! Until then, we will drown our sorrows in some leftover key lime pie. We love you.

P.P.S. I just heard about the 5-year plan you and Jonny discussed this morning. I am totally in.

The Topsy Tail: Revisited

At an activity with the young women in my church ward, I was reminded the "Topsy Tail." It's been a while since I employed the simple pony tail enhancement on my own hair. (I still remember the infomercial and how excited I was to learn I could do it without the fancy tool.) So I was playing around with simple, keep my hair out of my face, hairstyles at home when I realized it may just be the answer to my hair-woes with Julia. She hates to get her hair done, and I think, "What's the point? She'll scream bloody-murder while I wet it and pull it up, only for it to be disheveled when she wakes up from her nap." Here's where the topsy tail is a lifesaver. Yes, she fusses while I put it up (I think she'll get used to the routine in time), but after less than a minute of agony, we have a hairstyle that will last through the nap and even overnight! This is really a breakthrough because I am trying to avoid bangs with her so we have to pull those shorter hairs out of her eyes somehow. Voila! Thank you, topsy tail.

Julia thought this was a pretty great idea:

wanted: double stroller advice

So I guess we are in the market for a double stroller. I have been researching online quite a bit (I am a big reader of customer reviews) and can't seem to find one that I love. The double strollers of my dreams, I am afraid, doesn't exist. It would be: single wide, jogging, two seats, and infant-seat compatible while still allowing room for the toddler in the second seat. Too good to be true? I think so. Unless you people have seen something that I haven't!? (The closest thing to it is the pricey Phil and Ted's Sport Buggy. Can't fit a car seat while using double seat on bottom. Well, I read one review that said she jimmy-rigged it to work. Hmmmm. Anyway, very pricey, like I said. But quite an ingenious design.)

If any one you love a double stroller you have, even if it doesn't match my dream-stroller description, please tell me about it. Thanks!

P.S. Running stroller aside, I am kind of considering a sit and stand double stroller. The Joovy one I am looking at doesn't have a second seat, just the bench or stand option. I'm not sure if this would fulfill all our strolling needs. What if Julia just hops off all the time? And what if she wants to rest her back and head on longer outings? (she's never been a big stroller-napper, though.)

a little brother

According to an ultrasound performed yesterday, Julia can expect a brother in May. Jonny and I are thrilled, and a little nervous, since all we know is little girls! (One little girl, to be more accurate.) Now, to figure out the right name. Boys are tough. I had a girl one all ready to go (Lucy) but we haven't pinned down a boy name and probably won't for some time. In the meantime, we'll see if we can't get a little blue going on around here. Julia's pink and green nursey probably won't cut it for this little guy.

Oh yeah, Christmas happened...

I was so enjoying the relaxing holiday that I never took the time to post. So, for those interested, here are a few slide shows with captions to recap our fun Christmas festivities. Happy 2009!