The Little Man

The past three weeks I have been enjoying snuggles from our newest family member. He is a dream baby and I can get enough of him. Here are some pictures I took of this sweet little man when he was just over a week old.

He is very alert just like his sister

Baby feet are my favorite!

 PS.
He was a little stressed about the Germs finals

Dearest Peanut #9

Dearest Peanut,

You are now almost 19 months old and full of zest! You are learning at such a fast pace that we can hardly keep up! This is both exciting and scary for Mom and Dad. For example, you have have grown tall enough to easily reach items on the edge of the counter. I learned this when you tried to grab the chefs knife I was using to make cut up vegetables. Lets just say Mom is now very careful about what is set close to the edge of the counter. You can also close doors both by pushing and pulling them closed. Although, this skill has made you a little obsessive - no door shall remain open in your presence! You are trying very hard to open doors but haven't mastered it just yet (thank goodness).

 You are also learning several new sounds and words a week. This week you started making the "wa" sound and started saying words like Water and Walk. You can say about 40 words. Your favorite words are  Mom, Dad, Bike, Bird, Dog, Baby, Shoes, Socks, Hat, Please, and Bottle. You can comprehend a lot of what we say to you and can follow simple instructions.You love it when we read to you. Currently, your favorite books are "I Love You Stinky Face," "When Marcus Moore Moved In," "Lama Lama Red Pajama," and "Hello Biscuit."

You have recently discovered how much fun it is to draw. We spend several hours coloring with crayons and sidewalk chalk each day. Speaking of outside you love playing outside on the neighbors scooters, tricycles, and electric four wheelers (that have dead batteries). When you get tired of riding them you will get of and push them around the sidewalk saying "GOOOOO!" You also enjoy going on walks to see various animals with your favorite being birds and dogs.

You enjoy playing with friends, going places, and saying "Hi" to everyone you meet! Thanks for being such a sweet little girl!

Love,
Mom

My 16 month Valentine

Since I never got around to taking Peanuts 1 year old pictures I decided I really needed to take some. So here are some pictures I snapped of Peanut a few days before valentines.

Goodness gracious it was hard getting Peanut to stay in one spot! I thought it was hard when she was crawling but walking/running was a whole new challenge. I finally bribed her with cheerios! Next time I will probably have to recruit my husbands help!
 
**** I am by no means a professional. I am just a wife trying to stick to a tight budget while documenting her child's growth. Hopefully this summer we will have some family pictures taken.

I'm The Toddler In The Box

Ever since Peanut started crawling she has loved boxes! She would climb on and in any box she found. She would also beg her daddy give her rides around the apartment in them. She even used them to hide her special treasures in like our phones, shoes, Tupperware lids, etc.. We usually would let her play with the boxes we got from Costco and fruit stands and would throw them out after a few day.

The race car and treasure box

Practicing being a mountain goat while unpacking

After our Utah visit Peanuts love of boxes has grown even more! Since returning home we have had at least one extra large box to play with/in. The first two boxes came with her new car seat tucked safely inside. Seeing these boxes I immediately wanted to use them to build forts, castles, and pure childhood joy. I put the Germ in charge of cutting out the windows and doors while Peanut and I decorated them (aka I colored while Peanut ate crayons).  Below are the finished result:

The "Castle Tower" box complete with draw bridge and windows

The "Tunnel" box complete with crazy windows (Peanut usually kept a blanket in this box)

Peanut playing peek-a-boo out the window

Watching a little Sesame Street from the comfort of her box

  These boxes were the center of Peanuts life for a couple of weeks. She would go in them to play peek-a-boo, throw a tantrum, look at books, horse around with dad, and if she had any "serious business" to do (if you know what I mean). The first box to give up the fight after life with a toddler was the "tunnel" box. It just couldn't handle Peanut trying to sit on the top of it. Apparently, it wasn't build to toddler OSHA specifications. A week later the tower box was starting to show the tell tale signs that "retirement" was imminent. I tried to help it limp on a little longer with a duct tape face lift but knew we would soon be parting with a dear friend. I was starting to wonder what we were going to use to fill the void in Peanuts imaginative play when that box finally got recycled. I was also wondering what I was going to do because that box made things like dishes, dinner, and using the bathroom by myself possible.

Thankfully, my new stroller arrived in the mail shortly after the duct tape face lift, complete with a huge and extremely durable box.  I have been to lazy to "Pintrestatize" it but it has been the source of many giggles. I can even fit in it with Peanut.

opening the door

Running out

When this box retires I think it will be time to start building living room forts again. Sadly, those require more clean up then the boxes. Here's to many more boxes that fill our houses with giggles and laughter.

Baking

Over the summer I decided I wanted to learn to make delicious bread. I have since learned to make English muffins, french bread, Baguettes, Pita bread, Italian bread, and various types of rolls. I have really loved making bread and have enjoyed eating hot bread smothered in butter even more! Goodness I sure love my Carbohydrates and saturated fats. 

Baking my own bread has been awesome for reasons other than making my butt size expand. The first being that I have control over the ingredients used. This has been great with Peanut since she has milk and soy allergies. It becomes frustrating when you read the label and find that soy is in almost EVERYTHING! Most store bought items like bread and crackers are out of the question because of soy. Another benefit of making my own bread is that it is a lot cheaper to make bread especially, specialty breads such as English Muffins and Pita Bread. Finally, it is helping me build a skill that can be used to help create memories with my children (hopefully positive ones to boot). I have so many memories of eating warm bread with my Grandma and helping her make cinnamon rolls for Halloween. Some of my most cherished memories are those of time spent in the kitchen cooking and baking together as a family.   

Lately Peanut has been wanting to help as I bake and cook. So I let her help while making bread by giving her some utensils and a big pile of flour to play with. I think the following pictures show how much she enjoys it!

      

I love watching her explore with something new! Goodness, I also love that Peanut is getting older so she can "help" more often. It also means we can do more sensory activities! I love sensory activities! Now I just need to find a way to make a cheep sensory table...

-Dooney

A Winter Hike

When I was younger I used to think winter was really ugly unless the ground was covered in freshly fallen snow. I am sure it wasn't helped by the constant inversions that plague Utah winters. The inversion hovers over the Wasatch front sucking any hope of blue sky's and fresh air with it. I vividly remember flying back to Utah in early January after spending three weeks in Hawaii and seeing the grey smoggy layer floating eerily below the airplane. It reminded me of horror movies when an unsuspecting victim walks in to the fog and then is ferociously attacked by some scary animal. Thankfully, we were only attacked by -10 degree weather that day (which was horrifying enough after the beautiful 75 degree weather in Hawaii). Here in Washington inversions are very uncommon and most people have no idea what an inversion even is. I can honestly say I have not missed them at all. It may be my favorite thing about the state thus far. I am however trying to get used to the humid cold. All I can say is BRRRRRR!!!! Humidity makes everything feel about 10 degrees colder in the winter and 10 degrees warmer in the summer.

On Monday we were able to venture out in the cold and go for a family hike because The Germs classes were cancelled for Martin Luther King day. It was fabulous! Between the humid heat of summer, medical school, and morning sickness not much hiking has happened around here. It was so nice to get out of the house and explore. Since there has only been one light snowfall here we sadly left the snowshoes at home. Here is to hoping we will get a big snowstorm soon.

Mandatory family picture to prove we did this -I refuse to use the "S" word to describe this picture

We decided to do a pretty simple hike since we haven't hiked in a while and Peanut needed to get used to being in a backpack again. The trail had a barren beauty about it. The grass was yellow, gigantic black boulders bulged out of the grass, snow was on the edge of the river, and the trail was lined by leafless bushes with crimson red branches. Something about it made me think of Lord of the Rings but I am nerdy like that.  

 I may have pretended that this was mount doom and we were hobbits

The view from the "top" (we turned back early)

Peanut was a great for most of the hike and loved looking around. She has become very talkative lately and jabbers all day long. She is only quiet when she is really focused on what she is doing (AKA Sneaking) or when looking at something new. When this happens she becomes very quiet and will only whisper. She was quiet for most of the hike and would whisper excitedly when she saw something she liked. For example, she was fascinated by the river we crossed and kept whispering excitedly while pointing at it! It wasn't until she got overly tired and her hands started to get cold  that she became grumpy. She insisted on holding her bottle which meant we had to pull her hands out of the "Gumby suit" she was wearing . This caused her hands to get cold and make her unhappy. Next time we will bring some socks to put over her hands for an extra layer so she can do things like hold her bottle with out sacrificing warmth.

Peanut getting locked and loaded for the hike

I cant put my arms down!

Giving kisses

Peanut not to impressed with the view

Getting ready to head back!

Even though the hike ended with The Germ running back to the car with Peanut, it was still a blast! Here is to hoping that I keep feeling good so I can enjoy a few more hikes before we become a family of FOUR!


 *** The "S" word is the Six letter one used to describe a poorly taken self portrait.

Hello My Friend

Hello! Okay its been a little over FIVE months since I last posted on here. I could fill you full of a million excuses why I haven't but I will only give you two: 1- I am pregnant which means I was throwing up and laying in the fetal position for about three of the last five months. 2- The holidays rolled in once I started feeling good! Need I say more?  Between Thanksgiving, being in charge of the ward Christmas party, packing and traveling to Idaho and Utah to spend Christmas with family, and making the trek back to Washington, and prepping for the new semester there has been little time for anything else. As I am sure you are well aware of a lot can happen in five months so I have butt load of information, stories, and pictures to share with you. By the way "butt load" is my favorite unit of measurement.  I am excited to get back to sharing whats going on in the grand state of Washington with our family and friends.


In the meantime here are some cute pictures of Peanut to entertain you while I work on some posts.

Sienna licking the chocolate covered spatula! She has become a chocolate monters!

Giving kisses! Mwa!

Hanging out in her "race car" in nothing but a diaper on

Bed head

Right after her first hair cut - We tamed the mullet.

Cutest Crest Toothpaste model ever? I think so!

Is it just me or is it rude how much babies change in just a short amount of time? Once sienna started walking she has lost most of what little baby fat she had! The changes happen so gradually I didn't fully realize how much she had changed until I looked at the pictures I have taken. The good news is that with all these changes I get to see more of her funny little personality! Goodness how I love my Peanut!