EJ can Spell (Sort Of)

EJ recently sat down and began creating invitations "for Baby Brother's Party"- a party she is planning for when baby brother is born. Apparently it will have a luau theme, running through sprinklers and playing in the kiddie pools.

Anyway, these invitations were the first time she spelled words on her own. The one above is the best example- not only because it is to her sister, but because it says "I Luf eo" ("I Love you").

Tulip Festival 2010

Saturday was a beautiful, warm, springy day at the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival. This was probably the best and prettiest of the three years we've gone.

They had musicians playing at the stage near the big waterfall. All the kids were on the stage, dancing to the music. Of course our girls had to join in!

Dancing in the warm spring sun is thirsty work!

Mommy got to chill and eat hot french fries while the girls danced. I had DMP take a picture to prove I was there, too (and to show that I'm still pregnant)

Then it was off to the Children's Garden to jam out and create some serious sculptures.

Isn't he so handsome?!?

Can you spot the owl? He was sleeping on the rocks by the waterfall.

The girls capped off the day by rolling down the big hill. They thought that was lots of fun until they had to hike back up!

Crazy Hair

This morning, I came down and found Birdy standing outside the bathroom.

"Daddy, please do my hair- it's all crazy! I want a ponytail"

I offered to do it and she got two ponytails with sparkly rubber bands. However, this made me think. Birdy's hair is a lot of things- cute, curly, sweet and often crazy and out of control. We (ok, I) comment on it a lot- things like "Come here- we have to do your hair because it is all crazy!" She comments too, "My hair is crazy!" but usually it is said in an "I'm-so-silly" voice.

Perhaps it was the fact that she was begging Daddy to make her hair "not crazy" today but I'm suddenly wondering- am I giving her a complex about her hair? Is it worth paying for therapy (or lots of hair product) later because suddenly she is willing to have it "done" occasionally- something that is a source of many power struggles? What do you think?

Mother's Day Wish List

Here are some things I want for Mother's day. Click on pics for links to items... (DMP? Are you listening?)
Lately I've been going through my back issues of Every Day Food for new dinner ideas. That is my favorite cooking magazine. It really "fits" the way we like to cook and eat.

The universe wants me to make madeleines. I've never even had one but recipes and beautiful pics come up often enough on TasteSpotting that I think I must get a pan and jump on the bandwagon!

I first saw these on Etsy in Dec. I love the new take on the trendy silhouettes. wouldn't it be great to have a necklace with the girls?

I really, really love creme brulee. Getting this cute set would help me fullfill this year's food resolution to get over my fear of custard and cheese sauce. Plus, you get to play with fire!

What do you want for Mother's Day? (No, seriously, Mom- what do you want?)

Random other fun pics

Just a few pictures of things the girls have been up to lately... This is what Birdy did instead of napping. Hey- at least she was quiet!

EJ put together this elaborate picnic with the help of her minion, Birdy. Notice the "shade tree" and outfit-saving aprons.
Nothin' really to say about this except notice the pink sharpie (!) drawn on her cheek.

In other news, Birdy recently hosted a tea party (I know- little girls actually have tea parties!) and insisted on saying a prayer beforehand- so cute! She also had 3 days where she used the potty and wore "big girl panties". Unfortuntatly, that's been followed by a week of diapers/pullups and NOT going in the potty. Whatever- if any kid was going to regress when the new baby comes, it would be this one so why bother?

EJ got to finally feel baby brother kick- her fondest wish since we told her about him. She was suprised it was a "bump"- I don't know what she was expecting. She continues to tell everyone about him- her class, checkout people at the store, everyone!

Birdy's New Friend

Seriously, this is the stuff marketing campaigns are made of!
Documenting the love between a girl and a brand-spanking (and therefore not sticky) bottle of Mrs. Butterworths.

Plus, I'm diggin' the first-thing-in-the-morning hair. Sadly, it also looks like this for most of the rest of the day.

Berries!

We're loving the inexpensive, ginomous strawberries at Costco. I had to take a picture of them!

These were made into strawberry freezer jam. We are such jam snobs we only want to eat the stuff we make. All other store-bought stuff is too darn sweet!

"Special" Mother's Day Song

EJ is learning a Mother's Day song at preschool. DMP and I find it incredibly creepy. I would have made a video, but our Flip seems to be broken (*snif*). Here are the words:

I wish I had a little red box

To put my Mommy in

I'd take her out and go

Kiss Kiss Kiss (kissing noises)

And put her back again

I wish I had a little red box

To put my Daddy in

I'd take him out and go
hug hug hug (action)

And put him back again

It's kinda keeping me awake at nights...

Cute? or Mean? I can't decide

Check out this slide show of newborns. I can't decide if it is cute or mean...

All about EJ

I realized that lately my posts have been very Birdy-centric. DMP and I discussed this last weekend on our date night. I think it is because Birdy is still little and has a tendency to say and do silly things that are easy "snippets" to blog about. So I figured I'd balance things out and write a post about EJ.

EJ is constantly suprising us lately with her maturity and "grown-up ness". From learning to tie her shoes, reading words with more than one vowel and helping with her sister, it has been fun to see her blossom in the last couple of months especially.

She is reading everything in sight these days. She'll sound out signs, random books and magazine headlines, food labels- you name it. She is so proud of her ability to read! We registered her for Kindergarten and she is super-excited to be going to "real school" in the fall.

On the less-fun side, she has recently decided to be a picky (for my kids) eater. At least every other night she'll look at whatever is served for dinner and say "I don't like this" or "My tummy is sick- I can't eat this" before she's even tried it. Fortunately, she usually does OK when we tell her that if she's too sick to eat dinner, she should probably go to bed. It's good that she's also old enough to remember foods that she didn't like at first that have become favorites so we can have a logical conversation about eating/not eating dinner.

The other day, Birdy was having a "bad day" and so was tired, grumpy Mommy. Birdy was pitching a fit about something, I was grumpy, and EJ went to Birdy and grabbed her shoulders and said "Take a deep breath- it's OK. Calm down and we can go play with our princesses". It was so sweet and mature that she was willing and able to step in and help her sister calm down - especially because I wasn't in a place where I could do that!

Her "maternal" and caring side is what I'm noticing most lately. She is so cute and super-concerned about this pregnancy and her "Baby Brother". She is always asking me how I feel, if the baby is kicking, how big he is and etc. She will also importantly tell me I need to eat good food so the baby can be big and strong.

Last night at dinner I was adding some salt to my veggies and I said to DMP that I want salt on everything lately (all food is tasting bland- pregnancy thing?). Later that night I was getting a slushie at Sonic with EJ and as we drove away from the ordering place she said "You didn't ask for salt".

"Huh?"

"You said at dinner that you need salt on everything." She was perfectly serious and it was said with the tone of "If Mommy needs salt, she should get salt!"

I'm sad the Dinosaurs are dead, too.

Hi, all! DMP here, attempting to tell a story, a story that belongs to this picture.
During our February trip to Disneyland, Birdy loved the dinosaurs on the train. She declared them to be her pet dinosaurs, and some of them even followed us home. They seemed to have been long since forgotten, until last week. The girls and I went to the Thanksgiving Point dinosaur museum, and looked at lots of dead dinosaurs. That evening at dinner, the kiddos were telling Mommy all about their day, when Birdy suddenly seemed to remember her "pet dinosaurs." She started to cry real tears. The poor kid was heart-broken about her pet dinosaurs being gone, and cried for a good long time. What do you say to someone in tears over dead dinosaurs?

From the Video Archives- St Patricks Day

Book Stuff

I read a couple of books recently that I would like to reccomend. The first is I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (ironically, the author of 101 Dalmations). This was one of those rare and extremely well-written books that I wished were twice as long! Since I'm not good at writting compelling book summaries, here is one from Amazon:

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain wants to become a writer. Trouble is, she's the daughter of a once-famous author with a severe case of writer's block. Her family--beautiful sister Rose, brooding father James, ethereal stepmother Topaz--is barely scraping by in a crumbling English castle they leased when times were good. Now there's very little furniture, hardly any food, and just a few pages of notebook paper left to write on. Bravely making the best of things, Cassandra gets hold of a journal and begins her literary apprenticeship by refusing to face the facts. She writes, "I have just remarked to Rose that our situation is really rather romantic, two girls in this strange and lonely house. She replied that she saw nothing romantic about being shut up in a crumbling ruin surrounded by a sea of mud."

Rose longs for suitors and new tea dresses while Cassandra scorns romance: "I know all about the facts of life. And I don't think much of them." But romantic isolation comes to an end both for the family and for Cassandra's heart when the wealthy, adventurous Cotton family takes over the nearby estate. Cassandra is a witty, pensive, observant heroine, just the right voice for chronicling the perilous cusp of adulthood. Some people have compared I Capture the Castle to the novels of Jane Austen, and it's just as well-plotted and witty. But the Mortmains are more bohemian--as much like the Addams Family as like any of Austen's characters. Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmations, wrote this novel in 1948. And though the story is set in the 1930s, it still feels fresh, and well deserves its reputation as a modern classic. --Maria Dolan --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

The Universe (PaperbackSwap, Goodreads, Amazon) has wanted me to read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows for a while now. It seems like every "recommended for you" or "must read" list included this book. I don't know why it took me so long to give in. I think some of it had to do with the title (too cutesy like "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood" - I liked that one but don't trust "spin off" titles).

Boy I'm glad I finally gave in and read it. It is written in letter format from the perspective of Juliet and is set in just-barely-post WWII England. Here is the Amazon description/review:

The letters comprising this small charming novel begin in 1946, when single, 30-something author Juliet Ashton (nom de plume Izzy Bickerstaff) writes to her publisher to say she is tired of covering the sunny side of war and its aftermath. When Guernsey farmer Dawsey Adams finds Juliet's name in a used book and invites articulate—and not-so-articulate—neighbors to write Juliet with their stories, the book's epistolary circle widens, putting Juliet back in the path of war stories. The occasionally contrived letters jump from incident to incident—including the formation of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while Guernsey was under German occupation—and person to person in a manner that feels disjointed. But Juliet's quips are so clever, the Guernsey inhabitants so enchanting and the small acts of heroism so vivid and moving that one forgives the authors (Shaffer died earlier this year) for not being able to settle on a single person or plot. Juliet finds in the letters not just inspiration for her next work, but also for her life—as will readers. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

On another not-hardly-at-all-related note: I discovered recently that the man who wrote my all-time-favorite children's book "The Paper Bag Princess" ALSO wrote my all-time-least-favorite (like hate, hate, thinks it's creepy and lame) book- Love You Forever:

I ask you- how can this be? Shouldn't the universe implode or something?

April Fools!

Sorry for my super-happy loud voice in this. I don't know why I do it :) Anyway- we had more April Fools fun planned, but DMP had a busy day and decided not to make meat loaf cupcakes as planned. Oh well, there's always next year!

We Love Uncle That Guy

We were lucky enough to have Uncle Jeff come visit for a bit earlier last week. He can't move to Provo soon enough- maybe the girls will finally figure out who he is! EJ wanted him to get off the phone and come play with her. I said "Go to him and give him puppy dog eyes and say "Uncle Jeff, don't you love me?" she goes up to him with the big eyes and says "Uncle Brad...". We had to correct her a zillion times- it was pretty funny (to me).

This pic is pretty much how the visit went- EJ read her new book to him while Birdy climbed all over him. Then there was much tickling and squishing (as seen above). Brad- you are going to have to step it up a bit when Jeff gets to Provo. It isn't enough just to show up anymore :)

Hoppy Easter!

Boy- it was a cold Easter this year. We decided to give "public" Easter Egg hunts one more try. We went to Thanksgiving Point which cost $$ but offered age-divided hunts, plus the bonus of games, bouncy houses, face painting and all manner of extra fun things.

We just confirmed what we learned last year at the free public hunt... Easter Egg hunts just tick DMP and I off. When parents are shoving three-yr-old kids aside to collect plastic eggs with the cheapest of the cheap candy inside, you know there is something wrong in the world. Saturday's prize winner was a dude in a BYU cap gathering armfuls of eggs to "help" his four-year-old. They filled her basket and his arms were stuffed with as many as he could carry. Nice. Anyone for a neighborhood/family hunt next year?!?
Fortunately, the girls didn't notice the awful adults and had fun running out and gathering the eggs. Here they are with their spoils. As you can tell by how bundled they are, it was stinkin' cold. So cold, in fact, that we decided to call the rest of the Easter-themed activities a bust and head to the dino museum.

Unfortunately, our visit to the Dino museum was cut short. I was having some painful cramping that didn't go away, so after a call to my Dr., our afternoon was spent in L&D at the hospital. Not fun :(. Fortunately (?) they didn't find anything wrong- no pre-term labor (thank goodness) or other causes of the pain. I was sent home after a couple of hours feeling much better and almost pain-free and I feel fine today. I'm glad that everything is all right (or at least not wrong) but you can't help feeling like a dork for having to go in for "no reason".

The Easter bunny was very afraid of leaving out candy overnight at our house. Our dog is lazy and has a tiny brain, but he can be creative and crafty if there is people food involved! Fortunately, he didn't get caught and the girls were pleased with their haul. EJ got the new Barbie movie and Birdy got a new game. She is so into playing games these days! They were also introduced to Peeps. EJ loved 'em, but Birdy didn't even finish one (go figure!).

Grandma, Brad and Jeff joined us between confrence sessions for an Easter lunch. We had ham, twice baked potatoes, strawberry spinach salad and rolls. EJ continued her pork-loving streak and had 2-3 servings of ham and then asked for more. It was fun to hang out and visit with Grandma and the Boys!

What's going on at our house...

EJ can now tie her shoes all by herself. Hurrah for her! Kudos to DMP for teaching her!

Birdy went to her 3 yr. old check up today. She is above the 95th for height (still) and healthy and happy. Dr. B was particularly taken with her verbal skills. Birdy P- impressing doctors since 2007.

EJ has graduated to the "red" reading books at school. This means she can read multiple sentences on a page and handle words that have two vowels.

Birdy now has a magic wand (green unsharpened pencil) and Super Skill shoes. As nearly as I can tell, the wand can only turn people into princesses (but not Mom, apparently) and the Super Skill shoes run really, really fast.

DMP got his application in to the U and rocked his GMAT (esp. because he took it with only 2 weeks of study). Now we wait. He is also considering applying to the Y for the Spring Semester. Gotta at least look into the top 10 Accounting school at our door step :)

I'm still preggo, but feeling fine. I'm occasionally freaked out by the "boy" thing. There is something every day that I realize will be "different" with a boy that I thought I'd get out of. You know- boy scouts, what does he wear for his blessing?, circumcision?, and the fact that 9 out of 10 dumb, dangerous things they show people doing on America's Funniest Video is being done by teenage boys.