So Far......

so far today I have written 3 new posts....Ken felt like we had been neglecting our loyal fan base. There may be more...... just keep scrolling, it is worth it, I promise

Maestro

A few months ago I showed you some video of Baby J playing the piano and now I want to show you his more recent talent.....Conducting! I think one of the cutest parts of the whole thing is that he likes to hold a book when he conducts music and just like with the piano, every few seconds he will change pages and start a new song.

He started doing this just this week. I had no idea that they taught the nursery kids how to lead music, but they must. Baby J has always loved music, singing songs calmed him down as an infant, on our first major car trip we discovered that he didn't want to hear us talking, preferring to hear what was on the radio. He does the little bouncy dance that most kids his age seem to know. Our Neighbor is the Ward Nursery Leader and she also leads singing time for the 3 or 4 nursery classes we have. On Sunday she told us that not only did Baby J participate in singing time but he clapped after every song!

Wendy's Wedding

This last Saturday my my little Sister got married. She has never really been one to make what I would call "Adult Choices", she has preferred to live life Her way, whether society or her family liked it or not. A decade ago no one would have ever thought this day would come, well maybe no one but my Mother. My Mom has A LOT of faith!

Here she is, I made her get her hair done- I think it was a good move. Abby made her sit still long enough to give her a pretty good manicure and pedicure (I could use one of those too Abby, if you ever feel like practicing) Her Mother in Law made her dress....oh, and did I mention that they got engaged only 2 or 3 weeks before the wedding? yeah. It was quick, but it was great. So here she is, all ready, and waiting for the big moment- we brought Mom in to see her, there were tears.

The Happy Couple, Wendy and Ben.

Al and Bill's big happy family. (see my purple dress....I love it!)

We had originally planned to go up to Idaho this weekend, for a baby blessing, and so Ken had a few extra days off. I thought that Monday would be a great day to have Family Pictures taken, but Ken told me that he thought it would be more fun to go to Big O and get some new tires for his Honda...... Luckily Abby was willing to take some pictures of us after the wedding, she is so talented.

I like this one of my sweetie a lot! Man, he is Good Looking!

So, Back to Wendy. I am proud of her. She goes about life in a different way than I do, but over the past few months she has really grown up- (good thing too, after all she will be 28 soon)- I hope that she finds as much joy, happiness and love in her marriage and family as I have been blessed to find in mine.

18 Months of Bliss

My Boy is growing up! He is 18 months old. He has been to nursery at church, and LOVED it. He has been to the doctor for his 18 month check up and was pronounced, "Smart, Curious and Healthy".

Here are his stats-

Height- 34 inches 90% (Average height for his age is 32.3 inches)

Weight- 26.5 Pounds 60 % (Average weight for his age is 25.9 pounds)

Head- 18.9 inches 57% (he is getting a big head- at 2 weeks old his head was only 20%)

I found out that he is a normal 18 month old.

He uses 8-10 words regularly, though some of those words are not full words like Ba for Ball and Bu for Book, he knows what they mean and that is what counts. I am also counting "Ta Daaaa" which his dad taught him how to say and I hear several times a day- when do I hear "Ta Daaaa"? 1-when changing a diaper- it is always nice to hear "Ta Daaaa" right after you pull back a diaper and discover a stinky mess. 2- when Baby J has climbed onto something high like the back of the couch, the kitchen table or the piano, at least he announces it so that if I am in the other room I can go get him down. 3. Whenever he feel like it, "Ta Daaaa" is usually accompanied by his winning smile. It is pretty cute.

He is also become a picky little eater on occasion, which I have been assured is perfectly normal for a kid his age.

Baby J's doctor encouraged us to start using Time Outs on a regular basis. He said that we should pick two or three "Behaviors" that we would like to change, like Throwing food, Biting or

digging in the Trash, and enforce a time out when these behaviors occur. Time out should last 1 minute for every year of life, the child's life not the parents and he recommended using the child's bedroom as the time out location. I saw a flaw in this, mainly the loft. Yes I could take the ladder to the loft down, but where would I put it? There really wasn't a good place, so I decided to buy a Super Yard, basically a free standing pen, it comes with 6 panels, I removed one and Voila! A perfect Gate to keep a very monkey like boy off the ladder to the loft when he is alone.

It wasn't too much later that we heard some rustling in the kitchen and found this.

Yes, he had gotten into the flour, apparently flour is yummy..............and fun to spread all over the floor. I have said before, his cuteness is only equaled by his naughtiness, this picture is proof.

So to his room for 90 seconds of time out he went! We quickly discovered that his room is not quite baby proof.

Yes, that is Vaseline, he would grab a hand full of Vaseline and then try to get it off his hand, the only thing that worked was throwing it. Yeah, Vaseline on the Carpet.......... we decided that we were not quite ready for more time outs. I knew he could open cabinet doors, but he had never opened that one before- it was totally off my radar. Baby J has better Radar than me.

The next day I heard him playing with the silverware, pretty common, I don't have issues with it, but this day he added to his routine- apparently the silverware (or plastic spoons in this case) needed a little Salt. You can't really see it, but about 1/4 of the shaker is now on the spoons.

He is my Boy, and I love him. In the week since the first Time Out I have moved the Vaseline from the cabinet beneath his changing table. I am now in the process of completing the baby proofing for the kitchen/bathrooms/and his bedroom. How we made it this long without having child locks on everything, I don't know.

New Crib

It was just by chance that I saw the Notices pinned to the Announcement Board at the Local Wal-Mart. By Chance because the Announcement board is in the very back of the store- in a place that I am sure not to many people ever see. We happened to be back there picking up something from "Site to Store" and it was taking FOREVER because after they had checked it in and emailed me to let me know I could pick it up, they lost it.....that is right they told us they couldn't remember where they put it. So for 20 minutes we let Baby J run around in a very boring room, after about 10 minutes I started to read everything that was pinned to the Board on the wall. And to my Horror, there was our Crib. Recalled. Not just a part that you could have replaced but the entire crib. After doing an Internet search I discovered that all of the companies cribs had been recalled and it looked as if the company itself "Simplicity" had gone out of business.

We had never had a problem with the crib, but I worry, I worry all the time and I knew that if I ignored the recall I would have plenty of sleepless nights, wondering if the drop side was going to come loose, and if it ever did, and if the worse happened, I would never be able to forgive myself. So Ken took the crib apart and I returned it to the store. I decided that since most of the crib recalls I had seen had been related to the Drop Side, and since we had used the drop side only 3 or 4 times in the past 18 months, I would buy a crib that didn't have a drop side. For some reason those cribs cost more, but that really wasn't too much of a problem since I am working a little more these days. Baby J could sleep in his pack n'play for a week or two until I saved up enough money and found him a new crib.

Well, on Friday I found a crib that I liked the look of and amazingly enough I also liked the price, just $20 more than the crib we returned. The store had 2 on hand. I went home and looked up reviews, they were all quite good and so I went back later that evening and bought a new crib.

Ken had a stake meeting on Saturday Afternoon and Baby J and I took that opportunity to put he new crib together. It only took about an hour and a half (I think it would have only taken an hour if Baby J hadn't been helping). These are the Results.

He looks pretty happy doesn't he. He was begging to get in the crib and when I put him in he started to jump up and down. I was a little scared that he wouldn't think it was a bed, but rather a place to play, but he slept great last night, 12+ hours!

This next picture is of him checking out the baby that lives on the other side of the room. There are some mirrored closet doors directly across form the crib and I often find him talking to the baby that lives over there. I think if we could see Baby J's thoughts in Bubble captions this pictures would have a bubble that said something like this- " Wow, That baby CUTE, and he has a pretty nice bed too!"

And, on a side note, this is a 4 in 1 crib, in a year or so (or whenever he starts climbing out) it will turn into a toddler bed, then a day bed and finally a beautiful full size Sleigh Bed.

Little things mean a lot....

And hopefully they don't cost a lot either.

A few weeks ago my Sister and Brother in Law gave me this cute little sign as a gift.

They know me pretty well. It was that same Sister in Law who was with me yesterday as I shopped for a dress for my little sisters wedding. We found the perfect dress. I love it. I was talking about it with some friends today and told them that if I was on "What Not To Wear" that dress would be the one I modeled for Stacey and Clinton at the end, and they would point out how it highlighted my thin waist and flared at just the right spot to hide my not so tiny parts. It is PERFECT- but what makes it even more perfect(...even more perfect than the fact that it was 50% off...) is that I thought "Oh, lets go see what clearance shoes look like".

And THIS is what they looked like....

They are at my house right now- $50 shoes- 75% off- that is right they came home with me for just over $13! They are a perfect fit for the perfect dress!

Is my life changed? Yes, Really, Because these shoes make me feel Pretty! With their cute little bows, peep toes and the cut out on the side that highlights my STUNNING arches (that is right- I think my feet are one of the cutest parts of my body) they make me feel girly (girlie? I have never tried to spell that word, if it is a word, oh well), and they make me feel wonderful. With them on I am near 6 feet tall which makes me feel Powerful!

I'll post some pictures of the whole wonderful outfit after the wedding. But now I must go break in the shoes!

Rear View Mirror

On my way to drop Baby J off at my Parents house yesterday before work I looked in my rear view mirror and checked on my Boy. He had been quiet for a few minutes. This is what I saw.

The sweet kid had reached down and grabed his Blanket and Hippo out of his bag and was cuddleing.

This is why I love my Rear View Mirror. (don't worry I waited until we were at a stop light to take these pictures)

The Next Steps

Last Saturday I talked Ken into going furniture shopping. I had a sofa set that I really liked and it just happened to be on sale at Ashley Furniture for $225 less than RC Willey was selling it for. (So glad I decided not to buy it two weeks earlier). We went to Furniture Warehouse (on Road Redwood) where we found this Chair. Baby J said it was TOO BIG.

Then we went to Granite Furniture where we found this chair, Baby J said it was TOO HARD

When we went inside Granite furniture we found the same sofa set, the one I like. We sat down and were quickly noticed by a sales man. We told him we were looking for furniture for our basement, and unfortunately we had been told by previous Furniture Delivery People that our stairs would be horribly hard to fit a couch down, and after finding info on the Internet that confirmed the Delivery Man's statements we had decided we wanted to get two Love Seats.

He told us very quickly that the Delivery Man was wrong and he found us another salesman and former Delivery Person who listened to our woes, heard the measurements of our stairs and all about the landing/turn at the bottom. He agreed with the First Salesman. They PROMISED that a couch would fit down our stairs, and back up again someday. Their price was $50 cheaper than RC Willey, still not as good as Ashley's Price. We thanked them for their help and headed over to RC Willey to see if they had reduced their prices any farther for their Big Labor Day Sale.

They had not put that set on sale. Bummer, now we would have to drive all the way into Salt Lake and go to Ashley. I told the Salesman at RC Willey that Ashley Furniture had these couches on sale for $555 instead of $780, he told me that if it could be confirmed that they were the same couch RC Willey would price match. Well the Model numbers didn't match. And after Baby J ate some Styrofoam fruit off of a Centerpiece we left the store.

We didn't have time to go up to Ashley Furniture that night, BUT, I wondered if Granite Furniture would price matched. When we were there they had pointed out that the couches were made for them by Ashley, so I had a really good chance that they were the same Model. And as Granite and RC Willey are only 1 block apart, Ken agreed to drive back over (the BYU Game was on and so he and Baby J stayed in the car).

The answer was yes. They would Price Match, in fact they had the Ashley add right on their desk and sure enough they were the exact same Sofa's. What's better- Delivery was only $30 (not really sure but we suspect Ashley's delivery fee is higher) and the Scotch Gard was $40 cheaper than RC Willey and their "Fabric Protection Program" covers not only stains but also Rips, Tears and Punctures for 5 Years! Baby J said it was "Just Right!"

I bought them, on the spot. I had enough money (because it was $200-250 less than my expectations from two weeks before). They were delivered on Wednesday and sure enough, the Sofa easily fit down the stairs. (I watched so I know how to get it back up when we move, whenever that is)

Here are the new additions.

The Treadmill fits nicely next to the love seat, though it is facing away from the TV, so my dreams of being able to run while watching chick flicks is kind of squashed- for now.

I haven't found a spot to store the Ping Pong Table. I have been telling Ken that we can move the couches aside and play Ping Pong. I hope I haven't lied. I have a feeling that once we clean the clutter out of the unfinished bedroom and bathroom down in the basement, the ping pong table will spend most of its time in there.

But this next picture is one I am very proud of. A place has been found for TOYS!!! Some of the shelves that used to hold DVD's will now hold books and toys and they fit perfectly in the 4 x4 foot area next to the Sofa and Love Seat. I know that the toys will not always stay neatly in this area, but I am happy that they have an out of the way place. When they were in the front room they were stored right in the middle of the room......Oh, I love my Family Room.

This Little Piggy

This little Piggy ate Black beans, String Cheese and Whale Crackers. This Little Piggy LOVED them. Who knows why he preferred not to use his hands, but I thought what he did use was pretty cute.

I don't know if the camera picked it up, but he was actually snorting.

Best! Meal! Ever!

Yummy!

We had a bad food day yesterday, I could not please Baby J with anything that I offered him. He eventually went to bed hungry.

Today I had breakfast ready before he even woke up. A fried egg and some cantaloupe. He didn't want it, so we went in search of food again, and finally found some fruit roll ups that he wanted. I held him on my lap while greedily ate, then I slyly put the plate of egg and melon on his lap, he ate all of that too, then he asked for his milk!!!!! YEAH!!!!! Every hour or so he asks for more food. I remembered that I made some black beans yesterday and so I offered him some.

What do you think, did this kid enjoy his black beans?

"Are they good? Do you want some more? " the hand clapping was the YES answer I was looking for.

I love this last picture because his eyes are staring at the bowl of black beans I was holding in my other hand. He almost looks like he has been hypnotized by the beans.

First Bits of a Family Room

A few months ago I told you about my desire to create a Family Room downstairs. I had planned to build-in an Entertainment Center, because we needed storage for 400+ DVD. I designed the entertainment center, and had even gone so far as to draw out each tiny piece of it to see how many pieces of plywood we would need to buy. My Father was going to help me build it, and he had some questions about my design- basically he thought is was a little too deep- it was 26 inches deep- and he asked me to go look at Entertainment Centers one more time and decide if I wanted to make it a little less deep.

So the next day we went to RC Willey, just too look, and measure, and well, we saw something we liked. They had a deal going on that if you bought a specific type of TV Console, you got a free matching media cabinet. I liked a couple of the styles, and with the use of a few DVD's and a measuring tape we figured out that, if we bought a second cabinet, we would have room for all our DVD's with room to spare. So here it is. What do you think? It is has Mission Style details, I really like Mission Styling.

The space in the family room that I was going to build the entertainment center is 10 feet wide. The console is 5 feet wide and it and the two cabinets fit perfectly in the space. I was really glad we found it, because I didn't think I was ever going to get started, let alone finished with building one. So now, the next thing to do is buy some Furniture! I had originally picked out a European Style Futon Couch ( much nicer looking than the College Style) but I saw the one I picked out on line and sat on it, and it was not comfortable at all. And so I decided that we would go a different direction with the furniture. When I was finalizing the purchase of the TV Console I found a couch set that I LOVE! Then I was at Christy's house and realized that she has the same Couches, she said they wouldn't be offended if we had them too. But now I think we may need to look around some more. I asked the Men who delivered these items how easy or hard it would be to get a couch down into our basement. "Pretty Hard" was the answer, they gave me several ideas of what kinds of couches/sectionals would be easiest and so I will google those items and see if there is anything I like. Be sure that I will post about it when we do finally have our Family Room Finished- Oh, I can't wait!