Have kids, WON'T travel!

I'm not leaving the house again for a long time. At least, not to go any farther than the grocery store.

We went to Cedar City with Bruce this weekend so the kids could enjoy the hotel beds, indoor pool, and free hot breakfast. It's their favorite kind of vacation and it's relatively cheap. But Zeke was just finishing cutting his second tooth (came through Sunday!). The kids were wired, a little rude, and unbelievably pugnacious (they usually travel so well, what happened?).

Oh, and the rental car we drove had brakes that were completely shot! We are wondering how this escaped the notice of the people in charge of maintenance. I took it to a shop in town while Bruce was in his meeting. I expected a quick fix or maybe some minor problem that could be taken care of later. No luck! And they couldn't get the part in until the next day. SO. Three boys and me waiting in Big-O for three hours until Bruce got a car from another company that would fit all the car seats. Luckily, Big-O had satellite TV (cartoons!), candy machines, grubby floors for Zeke to crawl on, and an ice pack in the first-aid kit for Riley's large head wound. (Note: dirty, sticky floors are still too slippery for three-year-olds to run around on.)

Four hours and a few spankings later, we made it home, and home we'll stay!

Not for the faint-hearted (really, beware!)

It's really all my fault. Bruce and I admitted, out loud, that we were planning to attend the temple this afternoon. It's been a long time. In our defense, we had to do so because we needed to get someone to watch the kids.

In case you were wondering, no, we didn't make it there.

Bruce had to do some training in Provo for work today, so we loaded up the whole family and pulled out of here at about 7:45. A few minutes late, but not bad considering Sammy's tantrum (didn't want to miss kindergarten). Eerily, there were no major traffic problems. I just thought we were lucky. But by the time we were in Bountiful, we had to stop for a potty break. Still, we made good time to Provo, and that's where things began to go sour. Bruce stopped at a store, and Riley had to go for potty break #2--his face was pale, which was a sure sign of gastrointestinal distress. Then, we barely made it to Bruce's destination in time to rush white-faced Riley inside for potty break #3. Then on to my friend Emily's house, with a detour for potty break #4, and another dash inside her house for potty break #5. Poor Riley.

He felt better for awhile, so we had a great time visiting Emily and her kids. Then we met my friend Megan for lunch. Our mildly bad day started its crash landing here. Riley filled up on chips and chocolate milk. Meanwhile, Zeke sat happily banging on the floor-to-ceiling window while we ate. Too bad none of us noticed the hornet crawling on the glass, trying to figure out how to get outside. Oh, wait, Zeke noticed it. We think he tried to grab it (none of us saw this happen) and it stung him on the thumb. Thats right, my poor baby boy! He went berserk. I calmly gave him Tylenol and a binky while requesting that Bruce KILL THE EVIL INSECT!!! He finally fell asleep. Poor Megan, between that and our other energetic kids, she may never go out in public with us again. Thanks for putting up with us!

Riley turned pale again on the way home. Luckily, it was right by Ikea, and I had wanted to stop there anyway. (Potty break #6) Yeah, we made it to the (very lovely) family bathroom just in time. Then he got sick all over his pants. The shoes survived. It took us a long time to clean up, but he felt GREAT by the time we were done, and he got to walk out in shirt, shoes, and a too-small diaper borrowed from Zeke. Meanwhile, I finally got to the Christmas section to buy the Scandinavian straw tree ornaments I've been trying to get for the past four years. Wouldn't you know, for some unknown reason, this year they decided to dye the straw ORANGE and RED!! What were they thinking? Seriously, I know they're Swedish, but these are BEYOND UGLY!!! What was wrong with the old traditional ornaments? They sell out every year in just a few days--PEOPLE LIKED THEM. This was the final STRAW for me. I bought them anyway because I was desperate, but now I have to return them because they're even uglier now than in the store.

I'm done complaining. We stopped to visit my midwife's new birth center and it was beautiful--and Riley got to have potty break #7. The rest of the ride home was uneventful, except for Sammy needing a potty break (#8) when we were 5 minutes away from our house. We made him wait. At home, I promptly called the hair salon and scheduled an appointment for an escape, I mean, haircut tomorrow.

By the way, everyone was really cheerful today. At least we received that blessing, so other than being a little tired (and having some laundry to do) we are none the worse for the wear today. Zeke's thumb is still swollen but he's not in pain. Riley feels great. Sammy has gotten some extra attention for putting up with everyone else's craziness so well. Now if only the football game turns out the right way tonight...

The lights are on and someone's home!

More about Zeke. What can I say, I just really love this stage of baby development. (Okay, I love most stages. Except 2-year-olds, sometimes.)

About a month ago I was commenting to Deanne that Tate has crossed that threshold of understanding--the one where he's figured out he's in this great big world and there's stuff to learn and do. It felt like Zeke would never get there (because 2 1/2 months is like being years older in babydom).

And now, Zeke has arrived!

It's not that there's one moment when it clicked and he went from infant to older baby. He's been sitting up, crawling, even cruising for awhile, and gradually understanding more. But today, he was turning pages in a book--he understood that that's just what you do with a book. He was pointing at things (with one pudgy little finger--such a grown-up gesture!) and imitating my sounds. "Tat tat tat" he kept saying; he was fascinated by the cat picture. He gets that there are words, and that they relate to things. Language, yeah, I guess it's no surprise that that's part of the whole understanding thing.

But that's not all. Zeke has never been a cuddly child. He likes to be held, but not hugged. Yet recently, he's started giving hugs. He leans in, and he understands it's a nice thing to do to someone. (He pulls away if I try to hold him too long. There are still limits.) He's showing affection! And instead of just having this general reaction of, "Mom's there, she'd better hold me," he seems to get the nuances of being held. As we were looking at the picture book, we were kind of snuggling. He seemed happy. But then he pulled himself to standing, stepped closer to me, and sat right on my lap. He wanted to be on my lap, not just next to me!

Sorry if that seems very minor to you, but it really warms this mother's heart.

Anyway, I guess what it all boils down to is that Zeke is now consciously exploring his little world. He's no longer just reacting to a bunch of random experiences that happen in his life; now he's putting them all together and starting to assign some order and meaning to things. He's learning, he's taking the initiative to act and find things out. He's communicating what he wants instead of just crying because he's generally unhappy, and he's understanding that we communicate to him as well. I love being his mom and being there for all these little steps he's making in his life's journey; I know there are many more ahead (and that they will be vastly different than these baby steps). What a miracle that we are programmed to figure so much out in such a short time. I feel the hand of God in my life more through my children than any other way, and I am so grateful.

First Tooth, First Word

After the whole crawling/walking thing, I think the biggest baby milestone for me might be cutting those first teeth. It just really changes that sweet little baby face into a mischievous little boy face. Cute, but not quite so innocent.

Yesterday, Zeke's first tooth finally broke through his gums, and his second is following close behind. This is bittersweet for me. He has been bothered by the teething lately, and I'm glad it's getting a little better (until the next tooth comes!). It's good that he'll be able to eat more solid foods eventually (or should I just nurse him forever?). But he's really not going to be a baby much longer, so I'm holding on to every minute I can. All the minutes when he's not crawling or cruising away from me, that is. Good thing he's more willing to snuggle when teething makes him feel crummy.

Yesterday I also realized he's been saying his first word, though you might disagree. He can say "shoe" by putting his lips together and blowing. It sounds more like "bpooh," with a soft "bp" at the beginning, not harsh. But he's definitely imitating what I say and referring to his shoe. Woohoo! I do so love language development. I guess that goes right along with books about punctuation.

Running a race and surviving a marathon

Yesterday I ran my first 5k since becoming a mom (that's three little boys ago). In fact, I haven't really been a runner since I got married, thanks to Bruce's bum knee and my need for external motivation. Anyway, I ran the race with my sister-in-law, Leah, and can proudly say we finished strong. Now I've made a list of future running goals for us (better time, harder races, etc.) which has her running away from me. But I'm excited and for the first time ever I'm not going to use winter as an excuse to stop exercising.

We'll see about that come the first icy December morning I meet.

Then Bruce and I began our relay marathon--the true test of endurance. I got home from running to find the three T's (Tracen, Tyler, and Tate) playing happily/noisily/messily with our kids. Dan and Dee were in Provo for the (yawn) BYU shut-out. The boys were pretty good all afternoon. Then Bruce left to go watch the game on TV just before my friend dropped off her two youngest for me to watch for a few hours. That is eight kids (three under 1 year), and what's more, SEVEN BOYS and one little girl. We had a fun time for awhile. The kids were all pretty well-behaved, but it was still chaotic.

Blessings be on Dan and Dee (and Leo) for leaving the (yawn) game early and arriving just before I started feeding all the kids dinner. (They beat Bruce back home.) Thanks, Deanne, for helping get them all fed and happy. We were sad to say goodbye to your boys, but it was sure quiet when you left! Not too much later, the other two kids left and we all settled down.

I've just figured out why I enjoy running so much more now than when I was single. It is FAR EASIER than taking care of kids!

The peaches...

And the cruisin' toddler...

Latest Exploits, Late Show-Style

I've been too busy (or something) to update regularly. Sorry you've missed all the fabulous posts I have composed in my mind. This will have to do. Here are the top ten most important, time-consuming, and/or tasty events that have occured in our lives lately. As always, we like to offer samples of the tasty things to anyone who dares come around for a visit.





10. Riley started preschool. This happened way back in August. He loves it and is making lots of new friends. He wishes it were every day instead of two days a week.





9. We went to Lagoon. We couldn't afford Disneyland (or the gas to get there), and the kids couldn't tell the difference. We went with Dan and Dee and their three boys. Everyone had a great time, even Sammy, who cried and screamed on his first ride (a scary free-fall type, but for little kids) and loved that same ride by the end of the day. We even wished we could have stayed an hour or two more.





8. Zeke started crawling (all over, not just a few inches). Of course, by now, just a few weeks later, he has moved on to pulling himself up to standing using anything over three inches tall, and he cruises around the house faster than I can keep track of him. We don't think he'll take long to start walking.





7. We went camping at Capitol Reef. Camping is so much fun with people who are good at it. Thanks to Uncle Dave, Aunt Marie, Uncle Doug, and their families. We're so glad Torrey and Heather came with Elaina, who somehow loved playing with our crazy boys. Sammy survived a weekend of stormy skies and thunderstorms (he's a bit scared of them). And of course, next time we go hiking through a river we're bringing water shoes!





6. Sammy started kindergarten. He loves his teacher and classmates, has learned several goofy songs, and usually likes recess (except when it's cloudy and there might be lightning). But his favorite part is the bus ride to school. He and his friend have started taking turns for the window seat. And that's about all he'll tell me.





5. I built the world's most beautiful baby gate. Okay, you might not think so. But it keeps my beautiful baby from falling head over heels down the stairs, and it didn't require drilling large holes in the stair railing. I did it all myself, except for sawing the wood (thanks Bruce!).





4. Bruce successfully ran his second CFC golf tournament. His team didn't win, but they raised lots of money for the campaign and got to eat some dang good cookies at the same time. Next year, I hope he'll be able to get home a little earlier.





3. I made oodles of blackberry jam and Mom's amazing cupcakes. I won't list all my latest culinary exploits, but these are two of my favorites. I now have apricot and blackberry jam stockpiled for the next several years, and tomorrow I'll be making some blueberry jam too. The cheesecake-filled lime cupcakes wowed the Utah crowd (thanks Mom!), and next week it's on to Ginger-Lime Cheesecake with Mango-Lime Salsa (possibly my all-time favorite).





2. We've lost almost 90 pounds!!! When I say "we," I mean the biggest losers, a.k.a. Dan, Dee, Leah, Leo, Tricia, Bruce, and me. Thanks to Bruce's blog (and a whole lot of smack talk), we've lost a lot of weight since last April. We even hope to keep the damage down over the holiday season if we keep up the hard work. All this despite my cooking habits (see #3) and the other amazing cooks in the family (trip to Albuquerque, Deanne's cookies, Leah's pies, etc.).





1. My peach trees are working!!!! This is my current excitement. We've gotten 12 peaches from our two peach trees this year, and they're delicious! (I've eaten one already.) They will soon be a pie or cobbler or something. They're definitely growing well, and I hope to have an even better crop next year--perhaps enough to make a pie for me and one to share! Aren't they beautiful?