Week 5-books

We have several bookshelves in every room of this little condo; 

each stuffed with more than it's fair share of reading material. 

I took a good look at our makeshift nightstands this week as I was cleaning our room (I should take a picture). I found that the weak plastic shelf that makes up the top is concave due to the weight of stacks of books. Some may call it clutter, but I call it refreshing & enlightening. We like having the one book you can't put down (so it's constantly changing), the...2 or 3 books you can read here and there for inspiration or a good laugh, scriptures, a journal or two, one from the library, the one borrowed from a friend, a kid's book or two...seriously, made me smile all that we had going on on our about-to-collapse bookstands nightstands. You can probably tell a lot about a person by what's piled next to their head where they sleep. (You should take inventory, what did you learn about yourself?)

We're so glad that Emelia caught the bug.

It is not uncommon to find Miss Melia sitting in the midst of a pile of books, thumbing through each page and talking/signing to herself.  She's been this way since she was about 7-months; who needs toys?! We absolutely love sharing this part of life with her.

13-months

Some fun things to note this month about our little Em:

*She is still completely obsessed with dogs and signs it well

*She trys to bark like a dog...hilarious

*She most clearly says: "Uh-oh!" "Hi!" "Wow." "Ma-ma-ma."

*She says an airy, "Aahh!" after EVERY time she..or anyone else, takes a drink, how refreshing!

*She has THE BEST belly laugh; every cell in her body is helping to produce that beautiful sound, I'm sure of it.

*She can point to 6 body parts when named, on herself and others-sometimes

(nose, hair, belly-button, ears, knees, toes)

*New signs she has added to her vocab: banana, car, up, bus, cat

*She has often signed 2 or 3 phrases! (cold snow, more banana please, etc)

*She is only nursing mommy's milk two times a day

*She loves mommy so much she has to be hugging her legs constantly :)....even when mommy's going to the bathroom :(

*She loves daddy so much she plays all sorts of fun games with him

*Em is such a good helper! When she signs "all done" with an activity we sign "clean up, please" she signs "clean up" and happily helps us put her toys away. Her chores include putting her diaper in the bin (she started this on her own, signing "help" one day and never looking back) and her clothes in the hamper (I have to note that she cannot have even a string hanging over the side of the hamper, it's very serious work)

*Still too nervous/cautious to walk alone but is a pro with her birthday stroller!

*She loves balls and is getting really good at pass; good thing warm weather is coming

*We actually think she has an obsession with circles of all kinds

*We love when she does "kooks" to show affection

*She's getting really good at blowing kisses

*She hates getting messy diapers changed and will only eat meat when it's disguised

Little WofW

"If you eat a penny and poop it out, will it still be a penny when it comes out?"

--Amber-9

Context: Over dinner at my house, Kionna and Amber were asking me what I thought it would be like if I had triplets. Before I could even really give an answer, they were spouting off what they thought the pros and cons were. (Really wish I could have just recorded this whole conversation.) One question Kionna-13 asked was, "Would you rather have four-girls the same age, or three-boys?"

Amber's-9 reply, completely confident in herself, "Well, the girls, duh! Guys are 20% more likely to do stupid stuff than girls." Oh really? Where did you hear that statistic.

"Myself."

Week 4-Firsts

"First-time" adventures are so much fun!
Although I was very disappointed that Merlin Olsen Park was out of ice-skates to rent, this turned into an enjoyable alternative; and Em's first thrill.

Em was elated. She was clearly cold, but enjoying herself. She would sign "more" at the bottom of the hill; her hands barely able to touch due to her puffy, pink, marshmallow coat. The kids showed off on their new snowboards. It became clear I am a completely inexperienced novice when it comes to snowboarding. It was cute how willingly my 9-year old sister gave me pointers and offered to be by my side the whole way; endearing and possibly embarrassing ;). Bring on the sledding!

The Proposal

The Thesis Proposal that is. Glad you got your proposal turned in on time. Let's keep the ball rollin'!

not so Little W of W

Context: I was telling some people in the family that both sets of Emi's cheeks have been getting chapped due to this freezing, dry weather.

Someone: "Why are they both called 'cheeks' anyway...?"

In all seriousness, "Because they both get chapped."--Anonymous
Sound logic.

"Bet you didn't know that microwaves have 'POWERS'" --Anonymous

Week 3-Final Count Down

It's the 'Final Count Down'

Remember making countdown-chains as a kid? A colorful, fun way to lead up to any event. Although, really there must be some hidden lessons with countdown-chains for children. Such as learning time; how long a day is, so that the adult can stop listening to, "Is it my birthday yet?" (Light bulb! Maybe we should make chains by the hour on long road trips so we can veto the nagging, "Are we there yet?!") Practicing the fine-motor involved with the making of the chain itself. Or, maybe just an overall lesson of patience.

Since I am still learning some of those things (well, mostly just the art of consistent patience) I still like to make the occasional infamous count-down chain.

Em and I made this chain Couper's first day of class. Since once of us has been in school at any point in our nine year of knowing each other, it seems appropriate. We decided to do one link per week to save the Rain Forests. Deep breath...it is Couper's LAST semester of college! He will be receiving his Masters degree in May! We are beside ourselves with an array of emotions. We're in for a grueling semester; ending with a bang that's for sure! Coup has some pretty time-sucking classes, and is working on the heart of his thesis. He is also traveling nearly every week with the Women's basketball team. His constant absence is already weighing on wife and baby but we are SO very proud of him! We are grateful for his work ethic, intelligence, patience, light-heartedness, etc. and love him very much! Way to go Couper-Daddy! We're excited to see you break the links off of this chain!

~     ~     ~

I decided I'm bringing back "Little Words Of Wisdom" to the best of my ability and memory.

Since I'm doing weekly posts anyway, hopefully it will be easier to document. I'm guessing most of the Wisdom's will come from the mouths of family, but I may include some anonymous students still as well if their Words are just too funny to keep to myself.

"Caterpillars"

Little W of W

*Do you know what a catapult is? That's what we're going to make today!

"Yeah! It's like a caterpillar!" --JoJo, 5

I may be slightly mis-quoting, but this is the muffled version I caught at the other end of the phone.
What are you doing out of bed? "I was saying my prayers..." Honey, we already said prayers, go to bed. "No, I was saying my prayers again and Jesus just helped me get to my feet!" --Ryder, 4

*What do you want to name your bunny puppet?

"Uh...RIBBIT! Ya, Ribbit." --Ryland, 2 1/2 in his deep, sure voice.

*"Be careful with Lilly because she is real." -Kalia, 5 

"She is not real!!" Choruses of the other children. It's okay, I used to pretend that my dolls and stuffed animals were real when I was younger too, it makes it more fun.

Hands on hips, foot stomp, enlarged eyes, completely offended and appalled. "Um, what?! I am NOT pretending. My Lilly is really REAL, really." 

I'm not one to compete with a child's imagination. 'She's real guys, be careful with her.'

Week 2-Chariot Racing

Chariot Racing you say?

 Yes, that's no typo. Also known as "Cutter Races" and still a popular sport in a few states including Idaho. Lucky for us we live near the Idaho boarder and they have a pretty organized set up of Chariot Races just outside of Preston. The winter races run on Saturday afternoons. Gregg & Denise came to Cache Valley for the weekend so we met up with Baylee & TC and headed to the races. Almost all spectators watch the horse drawn chariot's fly by from their vehicles. I didn't think Em would get much out of it, and she was a bit antsy, but picked the horses out in the distance and even signed "horse" for the first time! She loved having the dogs' company in the car!

We also cheered on the Women Aggies at the basketball game Couper had to work. Too bad it couldn't have been a win.

Cousin Surprise

Friday morning we were excited to find four cousins on the doorstep ready to play! It was a bit unexpected but turned into a fun morning filled with balloon fights and homemade puppet shows. Puppet show skills are a little rusty, but we've got time to work on that. Made us miss our cuzzies in Australia that's for sure!

Week 1--Leafy

What does baby-girl love almost more than food?

Leafy

 Em has been snuggling with Leafy almost ever since she was sleeping in her own room, around 4-months.  Leafy became a real necessity once we dropped night-time feeds around 9-months.  Now she signs "bed" when she wants Leafy and gives it a big smile, hug, and rub to the face. She has to know exactly where it is before we leave her room. Couper and I also love Leafy and are glad it helps our baby-girl find comfort and get good rest.  And it's just adorable to watch her with it.

2014