Sister Rose...It's Cool to Love Your Family

I posted this here because I know some of Shaunie's cousins like Feist's music (dig it guys!). I do too, she's got a cool sound. My friend told me about this song. It's off Feist's first album, which is is long out of print, and unfortunately the song isn't available for purchase anywhere. It's not her greatest song musically but it's got some good lyrics that I think you'll all enjoy. I guess stuff like this has been on our minds a lot lately since a certain someone close to us has lost it and doesn't seem to care about her family anymore. Maybe she just needs to listen to some Feist...

I might also add, Feist sings a duet with Jeff Tweedy on Wilco's new album, released last week. The song is called "You and I". My good friends Jack and Elaine introduced me to Wilco in 2000 and I am forever grateful to them for doing so. Have a happy day and enjoy some good music.

Life is good

Here is picture overload if you've been craving it. I've been busy with projects, namely the bedspreads to deck out the brand new bunk beds we got the girls a few weeks ago. We purchased them mostly in the interest of space we'll have in our CA apartment (aka, less space than we have now, 250 sq. ft. to be exact). So we did as buildings in large cities do: build up. The kids love them, they play house, pirate ship, and more games that are completely lost on me in these beds. Jilly has only fallen out once so far.

Evelyn has greatly improved her writing/drawing skills over tha last few weeks, and drew this likeness of Ben. Wouldn't you say it's exact? :) The big circles around his eyes are his glasses, she proudly informed him.

And here is the cute baby and his Daddy. He reached his 2 month mark earlier this week, and weighs in at a whopping 12 1/2 pounds (well, it is for my kids at this age), and 24.5", putting him in the 90th percentile. Don't think we'll end up with growth issues like Jilly.

He is just so darned cute! He only cries when he needs something, talks and smiles a ton, and is increasing his patience for two slightly over-bearing sisters. What more could I ask for?

This is his karate-chop move.

The full body shot. And those little shoes were ones Ben wore as a baby. Unfortunately, this was the first and last time he'll wear them, because they're already too small.

One of my favorite outfits for him, freshly spit-up on.

What Daddy and daughter are doing right now.

Seriously. I have no reason to complain about my life.

The Diaper Solution

Ben here, since we've had Gordon I've been reminded about the amount of waste that we put into the landfills in the form of diapers. When we lived in good old Wymount is was disconcerting to think about how many dirty diapers our complex produced in a day, let alone the whole of Provo. I wonder if the local landfill has a diapers only section...

If you're like me and you've been troubled by this, there's a solution. I'll let the video do the talking. Feel free to comment. Remember, communities can improve the world faster than individuals.

What did you get for your birthday?

Well, mine was yesterday. And it was fun. Or a better word would be funny. It may have been not so fun, but because I was in a good mood it was fine. 

The girls said happy birthday at breakfast and Evelyn asked, "It's my birthday too Mommy!"

"Um, no, your birthday is a little ways away still." 

"Oh." (note disappointed little girl voice). 

I then ventured to made my dessert of choice, a new recipe for a no-bake strawberry cheesecake because chocolate is still black-listed. And I did not go insane while doing it. One of my biggest flaws at this point is my impatience with the girls when I'm cooking. (Really Evelyn, dumping in one tablespoon of cloves into my scalloped potatoes is not appropriate). The cheesecake tasted pretty good, but failed in the presentation section because when you put it on the plate, it looked like the plate was being eaten by a giant pink blob. 

Then I got to make an unplanned trip to the doctor, again. The receptionists and I are on a first name basis. It's a good thing I can usually get in and out of the doctor's office in 45 minutes.  

After this, I went and got my hair cut, and it looks better now than it has for a few months. This was fun. And coming home to see my excited girls was fun. I haven't mentioned that Ben was home all day yesterday, no working on publications or his thesis. Very nice.

Dinner time rolled around, and we headed for a little Chilean restaurant that Ben said had a yummy steak sandwich. After waiting for our food for a few minutes, I hear some grunting in the car seat below me.      

         Gordo has decided it's his norm to poop every 5 days. So when he does there is a lot of it. And the carseat is the one place he has repeatedly blown out in.

Back to the restaurant. Gordon starts fussing for me to change him,  so I pry Evelyn off my lap to pick him up. (She's having miniature panic attacks because there is a fly buzzing around the seating area). I get the baby on my lap, and miss seeing the oozing mass of the yellow persuasion coming out the side of his diaper. So this is what I get for my birthday. I get pooped on! It was no small yellow stain I have on my shorts and in his carseat. Ben has a face of disbelief that this is happening in the restauarant. I clean myself and the fussing baby as much as I can at the table, head out to the van, where I discover I have 3 wipes to clean this up. Incredible! Luckily, a grocery store is a 40 foot walk away, so the dinner, the baby, and I were salvaged (and the steak sandwich very good).  

What a memorable 27th birthday. 

Kiddies

We blessed this darn cute kid last weekend, and had both sets of grandparents here and a great-grandma, but didn't get a whole lot of pictures because, once again, we were lame in the picture taking department. We need someone in our family like my brother-in-law, who always takes pictures of what his family is up to. It's in his genes or something. Or Ben and I just forget that cameras exist. 
Gordo's social side has really come out over the last two weeks, he smiles quite a bit, and doesn't mind lots of people around, as long as they aren't too loud. He initiated a cry this week that begins as soon as I start to put him down when he's wide awake. It's a super-whiny, "I need to be with the action!" cry. And if he's in a room all by himself, he'll start saying, "AH!" to get my attention before he starts whining. It's funny to me to hear this little voice register all over the appartment. I thought only the girls could do that. 
When did this kid grow up? She's looking so much older lately, and I can't quite get over it. I realized yesterday she is 6 months from being 3. Nuts. Love her outfit? All her idea, and Mom can't say much about it. I carefully pick my battles with Jilly, and this is not one of them. 
Dad, Grandpa, and the miniature professor. Any words of wisdom Gordo? "Sleep....sleep is good." 'Gordo' has become his official nickname. I wasn't fond of 'gordy' at all, and I hadn't heard much else. The girls started this one, and because I hear it 80 times a day, I say it too. And calling him this is not offensive (in Spanish 'gordo' means fat), but is actually a term of endearment in some Latin American cultures. Ben remembers on his mission that at dinners, some husbands would call for thier wives, "Gorda!" Ben thought that was mean when he first heard it, but companions told him there was nothing mean intended at all. So I will keep calling him Gordo. 

Here the girls offer moral support to the Grandmas making dinners. They didn't want the grandmas to leave, and almost every day since then Evelyn will ask if we can go to thier houses that day. Like it's just a drive across town. I wish they were all closer!

list addition

Corn is now added to the list, in the "not quite as evil" category. We've gone through 3 burp cloths today. A new record!

I'm still in early April.......

I cannot believe it is May. The Gordo is almost 1 month old. Life is slooowwwly returning to normal, provided I eat the way I'm supposed to. Gordon has a word, or actually a grunt and fuss to say about my diet. Chocolate and broccoli are EVIL. Citrus juices are not quite as evil. Onions, garlic, spices, beans, acidic foods (strawberries and citric acid, what you find in candy and in Fruit Loops) and sun-dried tomatoes are suspected evils. We'll see if that list gets any longer over the next few weeks. I hope not. This list eliminates about 15% of my diet and makes cooking more interesting.

The little guy is really quite sweet most of the time. As long as I get him the sleep he needs and avoid the evil foods, he does fine. He's even flashed me some good smiles, none of which I've gotten pictures of yet. He does have personal space issues with his sisters, who are guilty only of loving him a little too much and driving their parens crazy sometimes. Evelyn likes to come in close and give him 5 kisses, and by the end of this Gordon is waving his arms around, grunting, and trying to get away from her.

About 3 weeks

I have 3 kids. 3 kids. Crazy. Gordo is approaching 10 pounds. Maybe he'll be my first chubby baby.
My hair is getting chopped off. It's driving me nuts. I've finally realized you do a lot of looking down with a little baby, and I can't stand it in my face. How much will go is still being decided. This position is the dude's favorite.
The girls have been really good at entertaining each other the last month, for which I am so grateful. Now I'm glad they are close in age. It's sometimes bad for Jilly though, who I expect much more of because she is so mature for her 2 1/2 years. She's had potty-training trouble on and off all month, and while it drives me nuts I have to remember that she's not as old as Evelyn.

Evelyn had her first experience with motion sickness today. I was at a friend's house for a primary meeting, and my friend has a swing anchored to the ceiling in the basement. If any of you have seen the pouch swing at IKEA, it's the same thing. At the end of the meeting, Evelyn comes running up the stairs, kind of staggering all over the place, and plops on the couch. I ask her what's the matter because she's whining, pale, and sweaty all over, and then acts like she's going to hurl. I get her to the bathroom and only a little comes up. So I make her sit there for a while, and then we go home. Then this comes out: "Mommy, I was swinging around and around at Bella's house. And then I didn't feel good so I came to find you." I laughed and told her it was motion sickness. I don't think she quite got it. Thank heavens it was just that and not the stomach flu.

Hopefully in the next month I can accomplish getting ready for the day 5 days out of the week, instead of 2 or 3 and staying in my pajamas the other days. And get out of bed by 9 am on a regular basis. We'll see about that one. I'm awful about returing phone calls right now, so don't feel bad if you're one of those I don't get back to.

Normalcy. I crave it. I'll get it back soon though, and then I'll miss the little baby days. You can never have your cake and eat it too. That's why you take pictures and movies I guess.