Bowling For Cute

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Vacationy Days

When you go on a trip that includes a family wedding it is generally less of an actual vacation. It was nice that we were there for the whole week before the wedding though because we spent the first half of the week playing.

Monday was beach day. We met up with Brad and Mel in Newport. We got a late start, but it worked out well because the sun didn't burn off the marine layer until about 45 minutes after we got there. My main goal that day was to not get anyone sunburned. Peeling in professional wedding pictures just isn't pretty. We had a good time despite our permanently grumpy Talia baby. She didn't like the sand or water AT ALL. She wouldn't even sit on the sheet on top of the sand. It was my lap or nothing. Her daddy took her for a walk for a bit and forced her feet to touch the sand while I got a little break to lay in the sun with Mel. The boys loved the sand and water and had a blast.

If we didn't have a fussy Talia with us we probably would have stayed until dinner time. As it was we lasted about 3 hours. After we packed up our stuff and stashed it in the car we walked to a nearby Subway for a very late lunch. There was a donut shop right there too so we got a donut for a treat. Mmm . . . donuts.

When we got home everyone got bathed and showered. While Ian was giving the boys a bath Weston was showing him his wiggly tooth. It had been wiggly for several weeks, but by now it was hanging by a thread. Ian told Weston to just pull it out, so he did! And Weston officially lost his first tooth while in California. He was so excited and felt so grown up. He was definitely excited about the tooth fairy too. Ian's tradition growing up was that you put the tooth in a cup with a little water in it and left it out in the kitchen for the tooth fairy instead of putting it under your pillow. Convenient, right? Weston also left the tooth fairy a note, which she thoroughly answered. The teeth are used for building the city where all the tooth fairies live of course! Anyway it was an exciting night. I can't believe my baby's baby teeth are falling out. Kinda sad.

On Tuesday my mom took us to the Santa Ana Zoo for our outing. We ate a picnic before we went in and then wandered around checking out the animals. It was a gorgeous day and the animals were very active. Unfortunately I was not feeling well at all and spent most of the outing sitting on benches trying not to throw up or pass out. The kids enjoyed it though and even Talia had some happy moments. Luckily it's not a humongous zoo, so we saw it all in a couple of hours and then headed back home to rest.

Next post . . . pre-wedding preparation days. Decorating, bachelorette party, and cousins!

Friday, June 29, 2012

California Trip-The First Weekend

We got up early, packed up the car and the kids, and headed out for California two weeks ago. It was a long driving day, but we made good time and the kids were really well behaved, even Talia. A close family friend had passed away earlier in the week, so on Saturday I went with my parents and Jules to the funeral. My mom sang and I accompanied her. It was a really beautiful funeral. I felt so inspired by the strength and testimonies of the Geiss family. I am so grateful I was able to be there.

After the funeral Jules and I picked up In N Out and took it home to Ian and Brad and Mel, who had just arrived. We pretty much just chilled the rest of Saturday. Ian and I took the kids over to Toys R Us for their free Lego event in the afternoon. The boys both made these Batman symbols out of Legos. I wandered about the store following Talia as she played with toys in the aisles. That night Ian and Brad went to Rick's basketball bachelor party. They played basketball the Singles v. the Marrieds. Surprisingly the marrieds won! I think they all had a great time.

Sunday was a busy, crazy day. We got up early and had breakfast and let Dad and Ian open their Father's Day gifts. Then we got all ready for church and drove the 2 hours out to Ventura for my niece, Liz's, baptism! We went to church with Joy and Jim and then headed to their house after the block for some sandwiches before the actual baptism. Church was rough. Talia was so grumpy. I spent most of Sacrament meeting in an empty classroom with her while she screamed, then she screamed in nursery until they brought her to me. Sigh. The boys loved going to Primary with their cousins though.

That evening was the baptism. It was very nice, and Liz looked beautiful in her white baptism dress. I played the piano, so we all took turns hanging out with Talia in the hall since she was no less grumpy by the evening. The cousins all sang "I Like to Look for Rainbows." They are so cute. I cannot believe it, but I was so busy dealing with Talia that I didn't get any pictures the whole day! Sad. Joy put together a really fun meal after the baptism. Complete with a "Chews the Right" candy bar. The kids loved that and had a blast playing at their cousins' house. Talia's mood improved after the baptism when I changed her out of her dress, thank goodness. We left at bedtime. It was a late night after a long day. If only the kids had gotten the memo and slept in Monday morning. Oh well.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Talia 1.5

Talia officially turned 18 months this Tuesday. I am excited that she is learning so many new things, but I can already tell she's not really a baby anymore. Good thing there's another baby on the way, right? :) Talia is a beautiful, special girl and we love her so much.

Here are some things about Talia at 18 months that I want to remember. She is finally starting to talk. She says nana (banana), ba (bye), wha da heda (what the heck, gotta love having big brothers), wow, uh-oh, help, up, down, hot dog, and signs more and please. She probably has a few other words I'm forgetting, but those are the most common ones.

She loves the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse hot dog dance and will sing the song and do her bouncing dance. She does it in the car, in church, in her high chair, and any other time she thinks about it. She also loves books and inevitably will pull every single book off her shelf every single day. We read most of them throughout the day too. Favorites are Duck and Goose, I Spy Ocean, That's Not My Fairy, and Baby Einstein See and Spy Counting.

Talia is a good eater and sleeper. Her favorite foods are hot dogs, Trix, anything sweet (cookies, ice cream, etc), chocolate milk, french fries, yogurt, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, and most fruit (bananas, strawberries, frozen blueberries, pears, grapes, etc.). She sleeps through the night and takes one afternoon nap.

She is a little bit of drama in our house. Mainly because she is a screamer. She screams every 3-5 seconds at dinner every time she thinks she needs more food in her mouth. She screams when you take something away, when I leave the house, or when she needs your attention. She is notoriously grumpy at dinnertime every day. Poor daddy probably thinks she's never happy, but in reality she is a happy girl most of the time. I love getting to be her mom and I look forward to seeing her little personality develop as she learns to talk and explores more of the world.

Yesterday was her 18 month check up. Probably her last well visit with our beloved pediatrician, Dr. Sally. It's just too far to drive from Lehi, but she gave me some good recommendations for doctors closer to us. Talia does NOT like the doctor's office. She flailed and screamed when we tried to get her weight. She clung to me and tried to bat away the stethoscope during her exam and pretty much wasn't happy until it was over and she got a sticker. She is a healthy girl though.

Here are her 18 month stats:
Height: 30 inches, 10th%ile
Weight: 20(ish) lbs. (you may recall the flailing on the scale, so we gave it our best guess), 5th%ile
Head: 50th%ile

On Monday we went to the dinosaur museum for FHE. They were doing a fun fishing activity. The kids made Father's Day cards, fished in the little "pond" and won a mini plastic sea creature prize, then did a scavenger hunt in the museum for the best fishing hole. :) Ian met us there about halfway through. We went to dinner at JCW's afterwards. It was a very fun family outing.

Talia figured out how to climb on the exhibits

On Tuesday, Talia's 18 month birthday, we were supposed to have friends come over to play, but they were sick and couldn't come, so we had an afternoon to fill. We ended up going over to the play in the fountains at the Children's Garden for a couple of hours. The kids all loved it. Talia played in the water for a little bit then just hung out with me in the shade and watched the birds and played with toys. Love my sweet girl!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Fun in the Garden

No we don't have a garden. We don't even have flowers in our front planter. Plants intimidate me, but I sure like to look at them and I'm very impressed with people who can grow them. We went to the Thanksgiving Point Children's Garden on Friday as our outing. It was such a blast! We hadn't been there in a long time (over a year). They had changed a few of the exhibits so there were fun, new things to see and do. I also didn't bring the stroller, which was a gamble that ended up paying off. Talia wandered and was a pretty good trooper about walking where I needed her to go.

When we got there the fountains were off. Not only were they off, but there were orange cones and caution tape blocking the Noah's ark fountain off. I asked the girl at the front when she thought they might be turned on. She said possibly later that day. We had brought our bathing suits and towels and left them in the car.

So we headed on through the gardens. Everyone loved the bear cave, even though they took out the bear. It's still dark and echoey and has tunnels to climb in. Talia loved the fountain and playing in the water erosion display. She found a favorite rock to hang onto and wouldn't let go. She was also pretty fascinated by the metal animal sculptures, especially the ducks.

The boys fed the fish and floated lots of plastic "boats" down the mini river. They also loved the new play web! The display is supposed to show how all living and non-living things are interconnected and how a change in one aspect affects the whole. I read the display to them, but I'm not sure if it sunk in since they were already climbing by then. :)

By the time we made our way back to the front of the garden the fountains were on! The boys were so excited. We went to the car and changed then came back to play and all of them were off again. What the heck?!? It took about 10 minutes before they started to slowly, intermittently shoot water again, but it was enough and everyone had a ton of fun playing in the water until it was time to go.

When we got home we were starving. Everyone ate a big lunch, then it was nap time for me and Talia and screen time for the boys. It was a good day. Friday night I got to spend time hanging out with Mel. We went out to dinner at Rubio's then did a little shopping for our upcoming trip to CA for Jules' wedding. As soon as I got home Ian had his turn and headed out to see Prometheus with some guys from work.

This morning I got my hair cut. I debated with myself about whether or not I should attempt getting it cut by a new stylist so soon before the wedding. It could have been tragic, but it's not. I LOVE it! The girl who did it even knew how to round brush! I couldn't have been happier. Now I have cute hair for the wedding and I have a stylist and salon that are close enough to be a return customer!

We have spent the rest of today getting more boxes unpacked and sorting through the garage enough to park the van in there. It's been a busy weekend so far and I think I'm going to soak in the bath after the kiddos are all in bed. Yes, I think I will.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

In Between

Besides unpacking and settling into the new house, here's what else we've been up to:
-The one picture I got of the moving day. Weston wanted to help unload the truck when we got here. He actually was a pretty good helper.

-We met the neighbors and have been playing with them regularly. The boys like to play water in the backyard together, play toys in the basement or Wii.

-We have been running errands including buying a pass to Thanksgiving Point. We are all pretty excited to have a pass again. And I bought it just in time to get a free day camp registration with it. Weston is all signed up for a day of marine science fun in August. After we finished getting the pass and signing up for the camp we wandered into the atrium. We had never been in there before. It's a beautiful enclosed garden space. Perfect for taking pics in the winter. I will have to remember it. Talia loved the little waterfall and Davin and Weston were having fun running over the bridges.

-We were sick. All of us. It was the worst. A week and a half later and we are still getting over it. Ian is battling strep. I am better except for the most annoying lingering cough. Davin is still coughing a little and has a horrible rash on his legs that is still healing. We think his skin is just so sensitive that the new soft water, carpet, etc. caused the rash. Talia seemed fine, but then was SUPER grouchy one day and finally threw up after dinner and was a sad little panda the rest of the evening.

-We had to use our Thanksgiving Point pass! The first request was the dino museum. There was a fun science of motion display in the front room. Talia had a blast trying to grab this pendulum ball. She was so proud of herself for being able to reach.

She also LOVED the dark star room. She threw quite the screaming tantrum when we left it after walking through a few times. We played at the erosion table for a little while. Talia didn't really like the sand on her fingers this time but ran around the room in her apron and necklace. She's such a silly girl.

The boys wanted to spend forever at the magnetic dino skeleton building room, but Talia wasn't as into it. Those magnet bone pieces are heavy!

-We took a walk in our new neighborhood and played at the little common area playground. It's a mini park in the middle of the housing tract. It mainly just has lots of open grass and this one playground structure, but it's close enough that I could let Weston walk here with a friend on his own now that he knows the way. For some reason I had whiny kids during this outing and we didn't last long at the playground. Maybe another day. We still have the big park that is right next to our church building to explore too.

-We finally went to the whole block at our new ward. Everyone except Ian. He was down and out with strep on Sunday, but the boys weren't missing Primary this week for anything. They both have large classes. I hope they don't get lost in the shuffle and are able to make friends. I went to Relief Society and it was nice. I mean, they were talking about reporting Visiting Teaching via email! That is unheard of in our old ward. :) I met a few ladies, but I forgot how lame and childlike I feel when I am in a new situation like that where I don't know anyone. Hopefully I will be able to be myself and reach out and make new friends. Oh and I already got roped into subbing for Davin's Sunbeam class next week.

The New House

The new house is great. Favorite features include the extra space, central air, ginormous upstairs pantry, master bathroom/closet, and the backyard. I know I already posted a ton of empty house pics, but here are pics of the house again with our stuff in it. We aren't all the way settled, but we're getting there. And there are no pics of the basement because it's already a toy mess or the backyard because it is CRAZY windy today.