too precious

I am just loving watching Nyah's personality unfold... it is like I'm getting a clearer view every day of who this little darling is. She is so playful and sweet - I love how these pictures capture her cute little personality!

Even though it's a little blurry (taken by my phone) I couldn't help but add this last picture... oh my gosh, she is so funny!

Happy Valentine's weekend!

Like my LOVE banner?! I got the idea from my creative sister Melanie. I love it! But then I love everything about this holiday! I know there are haters out there but I'll never understand that. Even if you don't have a "valentine", it's still fun to have a day set aside to celebrate your loved ones. Growing up we would all make valentines for each other and then on Valentine's Day, one by one, we would leave them on the porch and run! I don't know where the door-bell-ditching part came from but it was always a ton of fun... even though you knew your sibling was over behind that bush giggling! Or later, when we were older, coming nonchalantly in the back door while we were oohing and aahing over the gifts on the front doorstep! :) Oh I love those memories. Silly but precious moments. I can't wait to start them with Gabe and Nyah. Aren't my two little love bugs so cute in these pictures?! (I couldn't decide which was better so I put them both up!)and Nyah with her first pony tail! :)

Watch out!

About a week ago Nyah finally discovered she can use her body to propel herself forward! It was very exciting... especially for Eric and I! :) She is taking after her brother in that she doesn't crawl the "right" way. (Remember Gabe's funny scoot? Click here for the funniest home video ever!) Anyway, Nyah doesn't army crawl - it's more of an inch-worm style. So cute!

I know it's dark, sorry. It's light outside and I have all the lights on too! That's Seattle for you. I love how it goes completely black at the end too.... Gabe was playing with his truck that has real headlights and loves to play in the dark!

ever heard of a food co-op?

I hadn't. Just this week my friend introduced me to Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op and I got my first basket (or should I say truckload!) of fresh produce this morning. It is awesome! This picture is from Eric's phone - not the best - but you can see that I got bananas, oranges, apples, mangoes, lettuce, onions, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, and sweet potatoes... I don't know if you can tell but I got a huge pile of each thing and all for only $15!! I am so excited about this I had to blog about it! We are going to be eating fresh this week... and next! :) You should check out the website to see if there is a pickup near you. Seriously cool. Gabe helped me arrange the produce and then was so excited, joined the picture! :)

bedtime

The hour or so before bedtime is always a little crazy (ok, a lot)... what with hungry and tired kids whining at your feet while you're trying to make dinner! I know it's the same in almost all households with children all across the world no doubt. That makes me feel a little better actually! :) Anyway, tonight Gabe was being particularly naughty. First he was throwing toys carelessly against the floorboards and walls. When I asked him to stop he made his way into the kitchen where I was attempting dinner and started bashing his little train in his hand against one of the kitchen chairs. Again, I asked him to stop. This time he bashes it one more time HARD into the table and just looks at me. Oh boy. Anyway, to make a long story short we have time out, I have a few talks with him about being nice, and even give him ideas of things to do, etc. Nothing works. He resorts in the end to yelling at me that he wants to go to time out! I say "ok, go ahead, buddy." He runs away and when he sees I'm not coming, he yells he wants me to put him in time out! Well, at this point I'm struggling to stay patient but at the same moment it hits me that he is obviously needing, and I mean NEEDING, some attention. Not in 5 minutes. Not after dinner. NOW! So I stop what I'm doing and go get him... but instead of time out I take him to the couch and sit down with him in my lap. We hug and talk and giggle a little... until after about 3 minutes he wiggles off my lap and runs off to play. I'm left wondering what on earth took me so long to figure out that all he needed was 3 minutes of my undivided attention! Dinner can wait 3 minutes. Especially when it means peace and happiness in our lives... for the moment anyway! :)

I just wanted to record that "aha" moment for myself. I feel bad about so many things I mess up as a parent, that it feels really good to acknowledge when I get something right. Haha! And I wanted to remember it... for other evenings in the future!

I had another sweet moment tonight, with Nyah this time. I have to say that one of my favorite times of the day with her is when I nurse her before tucking her into bed. It is dark and peaceful in her room. We just cuddle and relax and when she's done, she puts her little chin on my shoulder, one arm up by her face and the other tucked down against me while I burp her. Same position every night. Then we rock in the chair or walk around while that inevitably stubborn bubble makes its way up. At this point she is usually very sleepy and tonight she started rubbing her face against mine - all over my face. (It was hard not to laugh as I got my nose and eyes mashed by her roving little face.) She made her little snuffles and snorts... and tonight gave a spontaneous little grunt/laugh followed by a big sigh and little "pbbfffttt" with her lips. It was so sweet. It really pulled at my heartstrings. I just love how uninhibited babies are, especially with their mamas. When I lowered her into her crib she gave me her obligatory little whimper before settling down quietly with her binki and quilt. It's almost hard to leave at night - I just want to give her one more kiss, one more cuddle, one more stroke on the cheek. Oh how I love that little girl.

Happy Bday Eric!

Big Eric had another birthday - wahoo! :) I made him a fabulous (if I do say so myself) chocolate swirl cheesecake that we enjoyed at our family party after a yummy dinner. Then the bday boy opened his present... a Kinect! Which was super exciting because he has been pining after one ever since they came out (which is really weird because he hates videogames) but I said NO WAY - I have been waiting a long time for some furniture for the house! But it was his birthday and our friends did give us an xbox for free (yes, we have cool friends!) and our parents did want to go in on it and I knew it would be a killer surprise... so I got it! I loved his reaction when he first opened it; is was soooo Eric. It went something like this: I have my camera ready and poised to capture the first glimpse... Eric rips aside the paper and... not a change in expression at all, just a bland "no way" with no emphasis at all. Ya, I'm serious. Hahaha!! I don't know why I was expecting him to yell and shout and jump out of his seat! That is totally me, not him! :) But despite his reaction (or should I say, lack of) he was thrilled with the Kinect and has been loving it so much he went out and bought another game today! In all fairness, he did give me a big grin a minute later - see pic below. :)there it is... gotta love that smile :)our little jewel happily chewing on (and pulling apart) my pastry brush during the partyI have a feeling my boys are going to have a lot of fun with this thing!!To further the celebrations, Eric's parents flew into town today and took us all out to eat for a birthday dinner at BJ's. It was so fun!While we were distracted talking, Nyah took the opportunity to taste everything within her reach on my lap... some scraps of lettuce and a chocolate covered spoon. She was NOT happy to have those tasty treats taken away! :)
Happy birthday babe!! You are the best daddy to our little cuties and the best husband I could ask for. You bless our lives and we are so thankful for you. Love you so much... xoxoxo!

a pat on the back

Every time Eric or I pick up Nyah she gives us a pat on the back! Seriously - it is so cute! She just softly pats our back or shoulder over and over as if to say "yes, that was the right thing to do, good job." :) She is such a little darling lately. Now that I have recorded some of Gabe's funny moments, I want to remember a few of his little sister's...

For the most part, Nyah is a cautious little girl. For instance, when I offer her something new to play with she enthusiastically reaches for it but pulls her hand back at the last second, looks up at me and wiggles with excitement, then reaches again. This time her fingers will barely brush the object and she will pull back and grin at me, wiggle some more, then try again. She reaches over and over - touching just a bit more each time until she finally picks it up and has a taste! :) It is just so funny! When she was a little younger (while we were in Utah over Christmas), there were several times when I was holding her on my lap at the table and out of the corner of my eye I would see her twist her head all the way up to look at me. When I would look down at her I would see that she was holding a piece of food from my plate and solemnly looking at me as if to say "uh mom, I've got something here that I'm not supposed to have..." :) I think most babies would just immediately start trying to eat whatever it was. She cracks me up!

She absolutely loves the bath and goes nuts when she hears the water running into the tub, wiggling and yelling (or shall I say, screeching) with excitement! Then once she gets in she splashes so fast and hard that it is truly spastic!! :) Luckily Gabe just turns his head and grins and bears it. What a sweet big brother he is to her and she adores him. Truly adores him. Eric and I can jump around hooting like monkeys or stand on our heads singing Old McDonald and she will smile... but the only one that can make her belly laugh is Gabe. And all he has to do is say something (anything it seems) and she will crack up giggling. One time all he said was "it's time for bed, Nyah!" and she laughed and laughed - it was crazy!! Anyway, I love this picture - Nyah looks half-drowned while Gabe is dumping water over her head with a little grin at the corner of his mouth! That is about the extent of tormenting-little-sister that goes on around here (thank goodness) and she doesn't even mind!

too funny

It's great having a live-in comedian. That's Gabe at our house - and I'm sure anyone else with a 3 or 4 year old knows what I'm talking about! Every night Eric and I have fun recalling all the things he has said during that day that had us laughing out loud (or more often than not, trying to hide a chuckle!) I never want to forget these moments. They are too precious! Tonight's report included:

Gabe noticed some flour on the counter and immediately became a little policeman...
G: "who made this mess?!"
me: "I did - I just made some breadsticks."
G: "you need to clean this up. We don't like messes. It's not nice to make a big mess. I'm going upstairs now and when I come down you need to clean it up...." and on and on and on!!

Am I really such a nag?! It's uncomfortable how much I hear what I tell him coming back to me! It's like he internalizes the things I say and then later tries to fit them in to his own experiences.

Here is another example:
me: "Lunch is ready, Gabe!"
G: (coming down the stairs) "I'm busy right now. It's not nice to say it's time for lunch to me when I'm busy. It's not nice."

I'm a little taken aback at this point and explain to him that when someone does something for you, like make you a yummy lunch, you stop what you're doing and say Thank you!! But this has me reviewing what I've said to him in the last few days... have I really told him I'm busy that much?! I know I tell him it's not nice to interrupt me on the phone...maybe I said I was busy. Oh dear. Well, it's a good thing to have this echo in my life - he's like a little red pen that goes back over my day and highlights a lot of things for me to review! :)

Eric's story was when he was tucking Gabe into bed, Gabe noticed a train that was still out - all lined up along the floor. He very seriously told Daddy that he better put it in the box or he was going to get out of bed and play with it! Thanks for the warning bud! :)

Lately Gabes loves hearing stories about when he was a "little boy". He also likes coming up with his own "memories" and tells us all kinds of stories from when he was a little boy - it is so cute. Especially because he tells his stories like they are the funniest things ever and that he was the silliest "little boy"! We love hearing about all the naughty things he supposedly did when he was a little boy. Haha! Tonight at dinner that is what he wanted to talk about. He told us he would take a turn, then we would take a turn ,telling stories about when he was a little boy. He listened delighted to my story...then his...then mine again... then when it came to Daddy, he listened indulgently to Eric's and at the end said matter-of-factly: "no, I didn't" and moved right on!! It was hilarious! Gabe hit it right on though because Eric was really teasing him with his story about how Gabe used to share his bb with Daddy and let Daddy suck on the tail - which of course rarely happened, if ever! (I know that sounds weird...click here if you're lost!) Anyway, we sure love talking with our big boy. :)

New Year's Eve

This New Year's Eve Eric and I went out, just the two of us, and it was so much fun! We went to Thaifoon for dinner - the Gateway is beautiful at Christmas time! - then took the train down to temple square. Having been living out of state for the past 18 months, we were struck anew by how lovely and majestic the Salt Lake temple is. With the lights up for Christmas, temple square and the park next door are enchanting! It was so much fun to just linger and enjoy the atmosphere with my sweet hubby.

our little buddy

I had to add these two pictures of Eric and I hanging out with our little buddy Gabe. He is truly so fun to be with! His imagination is amazing and his commentary about day-to-day events hilarious!

Here is Daddy and Gabe dangling their legs off the balcony at Grammy and Papa's. It's not quite the same for Eric (since only his feet would fit through) but he was a good sport and Gabe loved sharing one of his favorite spots with Daddy!Gabe and I made a foam gingerbread house that Aunt Erin and her family sent for him to do. (Yes, we are still in our pjs...it was a laid back morning!) We had so much fun fitting all the pieces together then decorating it with stickers and glitter! I forgot to take a picture of our finished masterpiece but it was pretty amazing! It graced the shelf in Gabe's room for the rest of the trip.