Christmas 2014

Ambrose was trying to get the stuffed dog to open up his candy for him...until he discovered that I had a camera and felt the need to do a photo opp.

Gideon asked for building materials for Christmas, so Peter came up with the idea of making interlocking wood planks for the boys to build things with.  He spent hours on the project, but it turned out really nice.

Before tying the boys up in Christmas lights and putting duct tape over their mouths, I attempted to take a nice "normal" picture for our Christmas card.  I couldn't get them to step out of character for long enough to just sit still and smile fakely at the camera.  Here are the pictures that I got.

Although I still find these pictures adorable, I also think that they reinforce the appropriateness of the card that I actually sent.

I just remembered as I was going to post some Christmas pictures that you wanted a video of Silas riding a bike.  Unfortunately, this was the only such video that I had and it was right at the beginning of his bike-learning adventures.  So, here's a glorious crash.

Silas' Quotes

Silas has been learning how to ride a bike without training wheels today.  He came in the house, face glowing with pride, and said, "I'm impressed with myself.  I'm very impressed with myself!"

Yesterday we were driving home from the park when Gideon told Silas to feel his armpits because they were very sweaty.  Silas--in a that's-so-obvious voice--said, "I know their sweaty.  Armpits are like hamburgers."

Happy Birthday Dad!

I told the boys to sing "Happy Birthday" to you, but Gideon being a mischievous six-year-old boy, sang this version.

Silas said that you were going to like that it said zoo.  Hope you have a fantastic day!

The Dollar Store

I heard Gideon explaining the concept of a Dollar Store to his friend who had apparently never been in one before.  This isn't an exact quote because I can't remember his exact wording, but it went something like this.  "So, if you have three dollars, you can buy three things and if you have one hundred dollars, you can buy one hundred things there.  Then you would have one hundred toys and they would all break because they are cheap and then you can build something really big out of it!"

First Day of First Grade

Gideon started school on Monday.  Here he is in his cute school uniform that just so happens to match what Peter often wears to work.

It has been a really weird week!  It's too long of a story to explain here, but on Friday I switched Gideon back to the same school where he had kindergarten.  I'm quite sad that he doesn't have to wear uniforms anymore.

Sweet Dreams

A few nights ago:

The boys usually go to bed a couple of hours before Peter and I do.  So, Peter and I were downstairs talking when we heard Gideon wake up.  He was moaning.  "I bet he has to go to the bathroom," I said.  Gideon has a long history of not waking up thoroughly when he needs to use the bathroom at night.  He'll stay in bed whining and dancing for a few minutes before he realizes what he needs to do.  As predicted, we finally heard Gideon get up and stumble to the bathroom.  Instead of being quiet after relieving himself, however, he continued to moan and stumble around the upstairs.  So, I went to check on him.  "Gideon, are you alright?"  Completely blank stare.  Then, without responding, he turned abruptly and headed back to his bed.  Since he was still making the most pitiful noises, I thought that he must have been feeling ill.  I followed him to his bed and continued asking him if he was okay.  At last he responded.  In a mournful voice he said, "I can't get these bracelets threaded."

Last night:

I woke up in the middle of the night to the all-too-familiar sounds of Silas screaming, "Mom! Mom!"  When I went into his room to see what was the matter, he was quite shaken by a dream he had just had.  I tried to soothe him and convince him that there was nothing to be afraid of, but to no avail.  Finally I asked him what his nightmare was about.  "I slapped an old lady and she bit me!  She bit my finger off!"

If it weren't for those dang old ladies and bracelets my children would sleep soundly at night!

I was reading a book about reptiles to Gideon and Silas, when Silas stopped me and asked, in all seriousness, "Mom, when will I have to go seek my fortune?"  I'm not sure what his question had to do with reptiles, but I assured him that he wouldn't have to "seek his fortune" until he was an adult.  He seemed satisfied and relieved by this response.

Gideon Quotes and the Silas Ice Cream Incident

Quote #1:
Gideon: "Momma, you should marry a prince."
Me: "I already am married to a prince."
Gideon: "No, you didn't marry a prince, you married a nerd!"

Lest anyone get the wrong impression here, I don't call Peter a nerd (at least not too often) but he regularly calls himself a nerd and holds nerdiness in the highest esteem.

Quote #2:
The boys were all gathered around me as I looked at Our Best Bites blog.  They were oohing and awing and trying to convince me to make each delicious-looking treat.  Unable to take it any longer, Gideon proclaimed, "My mouth is watering in vain!"

The Silas Ice Cream Incident
I gave Silas and Gideon each an ice cream cone on condition that they would only eat it outside.  After a few minutes Silas opened the door with his ice cream cone in hand.  Peter said, "Silas, what are you doing?  Go back outside!"  Silas retreated, but about ten seconds later Gideon popped inside with his ice cream cone.  Peter, feeling frustrated, shouted, "Gideon, go back outside!"  Instead of retreating, Gideon urgently shouted back, "But Silas has his pants pulled down and he's peeing on the lawn!"  Sure enough.  Peter looked out the window and there was Silas--bare bum, ice cream cone in one hand, something else in the other, and a little yellow rainbow in front of him.

Silas and Ambrose both think the dogs' water dish is the best toy in the yard.
Silas gives the dogs "fresh water" about every two seconds.

Puppies!

Here are our new puppies--Birdie and Josie.  They are very sweet--especially with Ambrose.  So far I have seen Ambrose stand on a tail, lay on their feet, stick his fingers in their nose and mouth, take toys from the puppies, and feed them bones.  They have been so wonderfully gentle with Ambrose and he LOVES them!  Silas was scared of the puppies at first, but quickly warmed up to them.  Yesterday when Silas was going upstairs for nap time, he said, "When I wake up, I will be delighted to play with them!"  When I was explaining to Gideon that the puppies were Golden Retriever/English Pointer mixes, he asked, "But how do they regrow their bones?"  I did my best to clarify but it obviously wasn't a good explanation because later on in the day Gideon said, "Wouldn't it be funny if the neighbor's dog came in our yard and then we would just have one dog [instead of two] that was a mix?"

Silas' Disease

I made stir-fry for dinner tonight, which Silas immediately decided (sans trying it) was disgusting.  Unfortunately for him, I also made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  As mothers tend to do, I insisted that he eat his dinner or he would not get a single cookie.  After staring at his plate for a few minutes, Silas returned to me holding his stomach.  In a sickly voice he said, "There's something wrong with me where I can't eat anything."

"Oh good," I replied, "then you won't be able to eat any cookies."

Silas' face took on the look of a desperate animal in a trap. "No.  It's something wrong with me where I can't eat any healthy food...but if it's unhealthy, then I can."

When I started laughing, he said, "No.  Really.  I'm not joking!"

How Peter Lost 15 Pounds in a Week

It's been a rough week around our house--especially for Peter.  Last Saturday (March 1st), Peter weighed 183 pounds and yesterday (March 8th), he weighed 168 pounds.  His diet plan...

I apologize.  I am fully aware of how disgusting this picture is, but I was so shocked when I looked at Peter's throat that I simply had to share.  I've never seen a throat that looked like this before.  I'm not even sure that the picture does it credit.  When you're looking at it in person, you can see that the sores extend down the throat as well.  So, needless to say, Peter has barely eaten anything all week.  We're hoping this week goes a little better!

Update: We went to the doctor this morning and the doctor said something like, "I'm impressed and I see this stuff all of the time.  Don't you have a wife that tells you when to go to the doctor?"  Turned out he had strep...again.

Silas' Drawings

When Gideon was three, I remember being surprised when he very suddenly switched from drawing scribbles one day to drawing little cartoonish fish and people the next day.  About three weeks ago, Silas did the same thing.  He went from drawing scribbles which he often called "lightening" to drawing little people and letters. Here are some of his drawings.

When Silas drew this last drawing, he asked me what h-i-l spelled.  I replied that it wasn't a real word, but if he added one more l on the end, it would be hill.  He responded with, "It's just my brand."  Then he handed me the paper and said, "Just in case you want to be my employee."

Late 2012? Early 2013? Vintage Quotes Part II

This is a conversation Gideon and I had when we were trying to decide what dessert to make.

Gideon: "Do we have any brownie mixes?"

Me: "No."

Gideon: "Well, can't you just make it out of scratch paper?"

Gideon then recommended that I make his favorite dessert--peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.  I gave a few embarrassing reasons why I did not want to make those cookies, to which Gideon responded, "They never give me gas.  They stop my gas.  That's how they became my favorite."

When I gave in and made the cookies, Gideon got very excited.  "It's just like in my prayer.  It must be Heavenly Father making you make those cookies."

Me: "You prayed for cookies?"

Gideon: "No, I prayed that I would sometimes get what I want."

Late 2012? Early 2013? Vintage Quotes Part I

I finally got around to one of the most odious chores on my to-do list: sorting through and filing away papers.  I had been cramming all papers--bills, coupons, junk mail, cards from my children, etc.--into a basket since late 2012.  So, here are some quotes that I found written on scraps of paper when I cleaned out the basket.

Me: "You have nice eyes Silas."
Silas: "Yeah.  They're red, just like yours."

Gideon went through a phase where he wanted to dress in Sunday clothes just about every day.  After marching downstairs in a suit, he declared, "I sure am classy."

Silas was scribbling away on a piece of paper when he said, "I'm drawing a deviled egg.  For Christmas, I want a deviled egg."

Gideon prayed, "Please bless us to become luckier people."

Stay tuned for Vintage Quotes Part II!

It's His Party, He Can Cry If He Wants To

This is what happens when you try to give your baby a lit cupcake with one hand and film it with the other hand.  You end up with a very shaky video and a baby that is now scared of cupcakes.

"Happy" first birthday Ambrose!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of 2013

Since this blog also functions as my journal, I thought I should do a quick review of 2013.

THE GOOD

 

Ambrose was born on January 7th.

Just as Peter began looking for a new job last spring, he received an email from the director of engineering at Sylarus Technologies.  He applied for the job, interviewed, and got it.
In June, we moved from Las Vegas... 

 

...to St. George where we bought our first house.  We signed for the house on August 6th and moved in on August 10th.

Gideon started kindergarten.

 

THE BAD

In the middle of trying to buy our house, I did this to the van.
 

 Peter also traveled to Denver once and to British Columbia twice while we were in the home-buying process.  A couple of months later Peter went to England.

I don't know whether it's the move to a new place or it's the oldest child going to kindergarten or it's having a baby sucking on everything, but our family has been plagued with every disease St. George has to offer this fall and winter.

THE UGLY

On New Year's Eve, I decided to get my long awaited haircut.  I chopped off about twelve inches of hair and gave it to Locks of Love.  Here's the before picture.

There is no after picture because I got the worst haircut of my life--and that includes the time when I tried to cut my own hair and the time in the sixth grade when Riki cut my hair.  I wish now that I had taken an after picture because it's hard to describe exactly how horrible it was.  Plus, you would have all gotten a good laugh over it.  But anyway, no picture.  Peter had to give me a haircut an hour after I got home from the salon in order to prevent me from going to a different salon and getting a pixie cut.

So, despite a little bad and a lot of ugly, 2013 was a very good (and very busy) year.  Peter likes working at Sylarus and we're loving St. George!  We're thankful to have so many blessings.