Sunday, June 29, 2008

Xandri at 18 Months

Busy. Feisty. Snuggly. Shy. Mama's girl. Baby. Big girl. Silly. Dramatic. Emotional. Jabber-y. Sassy.

Words: No. 'Es. Nice. Not nice. Buppies. Stories. This. Wha's 'is? Cookie. Cracker. Juice. Daddy. Mommy. A' done. Down. Back (to the puppies). Pease? Bi'es (bites).

Mannerisms:
Hand over the mouth- whenever she's excited, happy or sad-- any extreme emotion, she places her hands over her mouth. Her eyes react accordingly- either her eyebrows go up and her eyes shine or her face crumples as she turns away to stand in a corner.

Hands up in the air- whenever she's excited.

Shoulder shrug, hands extended, adorable beggar look- whenever she wants something and is saying, "pease?"

Growling- at puppies, at Mommy and Daddy, at anyone or anything she feels like. Also, pigs growl.

Arms flailing, running away, shouting "nonononono!"- naptime, diaper change, face & hands washed or anything else she doesn't want done.

Runs to me and buries face in my leg- whenever she's nervous about losing her place with me, uncertain about new developments or people, or hears a loud noise (i.e. thunder). The last is also accompanied with the hands over the mouth on her way to me.

Closes her eyes- reason unknown. But she does this a lot at the dinner table, I think just because she knows it gets a laugh. It always does, so she keeps doing it. Refer to Exhibit A (she was just finished crying over some unknown disappointment).

Exhibit A

Wrapping things around her neck- Now I know why they put those warning labels on cords. I don't remember Avril doing this, but it seems that Xandri will put whatever she can around her neck given half a chance. Note the scarf and belt in Exhibit B.

Exhibit B

Putting things on her head- anything that might fit on her head belongs there. This includes baskets, hats, bowls, towels, blankets, shirts, other clothes, plastic bags (happened once, hopefully never again!), etc.

Child's Pose- aptly named, what can I say. For those unfamiliar with yoga poses, to come into Child's Pose, kneel down, bend forward and extend your arms out on the floor in front of you, forehead to the floor. This she does in any moment of agitation when other responses just aren't enough.

Xandri's Echo

So Xandri's doctor noticed a faint heart murmur at her last checkup. It's routine to get it checked out on an echo, so we got an appointment. Xandri was so good and so cute. It was raining when we got there, so when I got out of the car, I bundled her in her blanket and threw it over her head so she wouldn't get rained on. She didn't move from her position the whole time we were waiting. She just sat so patiently and quietly and snuggled on my lap. That's one thing I LOVE about this little girl... she is SUCH a snuggler!

Anyway, we went back to have the echo done and they stuck all those sticker heart monitor things on her chest and her back. She very solemnly sat very still, watching the whole process and being very calm the entire time. I was so proud of her. It probably took at least 20 minutes or so, and she was perfect throughout.

Finally, they finished up and started pulling the stickers off. That's when she started to cry--- not because it hurt, but because she liked the stickers and wanted to wear them! So they sent some home...

Oh, and the echo was completely normal- just an innocent heart murmur.


Saturday, June 28, 2008

What IS that?


THAT, my friends, is enough hair to keep a whole other dog warm for the winter. In fact, it might be enough hair to provide for the warmth of a small country of dogs. THAT is what Derek brushed off of Corporal over the course of forty minutes a couple days ago. There were two diapers in this can before we started. After Kitty was done, I would estimate that it was up to about 18 inches in there. (Kitty wasn't quite as bad, but she gave a sizable donation.)

Snuggling



Lately Avril is always wanting someone to snuggle with her when she goes to bed. And now Xandri wants to lay in Avril's bed. So, we did what we could: they loved it! It only lasted a couple of days. Xandri fell out of bed once and then they kept getting out of bed one night, but there was one night, this night, that it actually lasted. I loved it.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Little Miss Potato Head


What can I say? She has style.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Day After...


... the peanut butter movie...
We went outside to play, and the kid I was babysitting, Justin, found the peanut butter plate. At first it was funny and I cleaned him up and put the plate away. Unfortunately, I didn't know there was a second plate! At least the dogs helped...

The Moment Before


Oh, Kitty...

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Now we know... Do you?

Yep, we had the magical ultrasound. So, since I like to keep things suspenseful, instead of making it easy on you and telling you what we're having, I'm going to let you do a little scavenger hunt. If you can find my new baby blog (I've mentioned and linked it), you win!

The prize?

You get to know, too!

Yeah. Kind of a lame prize. Sorry. We're on a med student budget.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Peeking in on My Girls


This was just one of those times that warmed my heart--- maybe I can pass this off as the usual "what my kids are doing when my back is turned".... Right, guys? Right?

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Stupid Radar

Now, it should be known that I don't have a lot of funny embarrassing stories to share. First of all, I don't get embarrassed easily. Second of all, if I do something embarrassing, it's usually utterly humiliating to the point of not being funny at all, just painful.

I mean, I do have a couple of weird little stories. Like the time I said "hi" to a horse as I walked by. In complete and total sincerity.

Or the time I waved at the people in sacrament meeting because in that split second before it registered that they were sustaining something I thought they were waving at me.

Or even the time I was at JB's when I was a senior in high school and tried to order something of the "seniors" menu. The waitress told me it was for people over 60 and I misheard her, "I am 16", I protested.

Or of course the time I fell asleep in my yoga class. While teaching.

But these aren't really extensive gut-busters-- they're the kind of stories you kind of chuckle to yourself over and shake your head and move onto funnier material.

Well, lucky for all of you, I have recently acquired a "most embarrassing moment" that really just tops the charts. The worst part is, it's not anything to do with my body's ability to function properly or bad digestion. It's nothing to do with a dare gone bad. It's just plain, good old-fashioned stupidity.

To preface this story (as if I haven't done enough prefacing already), you have to know that I've always prided myself on my sense of direction and my ability to figure out where I am and know where I'm going and how to get there. I've never thought of myself as the stereotypical "blonde" or the "woman driver". However... well, I'll let the following events speak for themselves.

On Tuesday, I dropped Derek off at the train station in La Plata to head up to Chicago to take the boards on Wednesday. As luck would have it, the tracks had been flooded and Derek wound up on a bus that left 4 hours late, traveled 35 miles/hour and stopped in every podunk little town between here and Chicago. What should have been a 5 hour trip wound up taking 13.

Thursday I was supposed to pick Derek up in Quincy at 10:18 pm. I teach a fitness class from 8-9, so no matter what, I was going to be about 20 minutes late. I left the kids with the sitter for the night and went to my class as usual. We finished and I was out of there and on my way by 9. My mind was elsewhere as I drove over to highway 6 to head out to Quincy. Driving along, jamming to my music (which, by the way, Avril doesn't like because she says it's "gross". When asked what was gross, she responded in all sincerity, "Because it has poop in it! A huge tower of poop!" I still can't figure that one out.) I felt I was making pretty good time. I was checking the signs, watching solely for one that would give me the mileage remaining to Quincy. At about 9:45, I passed a couple of cars. I sped up quite a bit and took a little longer than necessary to slow down. As a result, the cop that passed on the other side of the road pulled me over. Frustrated at both the delay and the potential ticket, I resignedly found my ID and my registration for the officer. While waiting for me to produce said items, our conversation went something like this:

"You were going a little fast back there."
"Yeah, I was just passing those cars."
"Yeah, I saw. Where you headed?"
"Oh, I'm going to Quincy to pick up my husband from the train station."
"...Quincy, Utah? ...Quincy, Idaho?"
"Ummm... no. Quincy, Illinois..."
"Isn't Quincy back that way?" (pointing in the direction I'd come)
"...uh... I don't think so..."
"Yeah, it is, you're heading toward Kansas City right now. You're on west 6."

......

Me, in complete and utter disbelief, "45 minutes in the wrong direction?! $^&#!"

I don't know if it was more the "dumb" or the "luck" in this case of dumb luck, but I didn't get a ticket. And it was definitely lucky that the officer pulled me over-- who knew how far I would've gotten on my own before realizing my mistake? Derek asserts, despite my protests to the contrary, that I would've made it to the Missouri/Nebraska border. I think I would've gone about 15-20 more minutes before starting to get concerned. In any case, I probably made that officer's night. I can just picture him heading back to his car, laughing to himself, just waiting to tell all his buddies about the serious case of the stupids this dumb blonde woman driver had.

I mean, really, our conversation may as well have gone something like this:

"Ma'am, do you know why I pulled you over?"
Looking up with wide and very confused eyes, "No, officer, why?"
"Well, my Stupid Radar clocked you at way over the legal limit. You want to explain what you're doing unsupervised on the road this time of night?"
"I'm heading to Quincy to pick up my husband, officer."
Nodding his head knowingly, "That explains it..."

--------

Seriously, though, I'm still completely floored at the level of dumb I exhibited there... and for so long! Forty-five minutes?!! Who does that? Who is that stupid?

I'm hoping that by sharing this story, I can lighten your day and give a few of you people a good laugh. Maybe in some small way that can -ironically- reduce the shame of never being able to live this down.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Car Wash

Around the same time as the previous post, we went to get our car washed.

A: Mom, how come we have to get our car washed? Did it just poop all over?
T: uh...yep...
A: Did it poop all over itself?
T: It sure did...
A: Well, it doesn't really have a bum or a crotch.

At least she knows about functional anatomy.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

"Daddy, You're Losing Your Mind..."

NOTE: I originally began this post back in February, but I misplaced some vital info and didn't want to post without it. I recently found it, so enjoy!

We went to Columbia on Tuesday and met up with Andrew and Ruth for some delicious Mongolian grill at HuHots. It was amazingly delightful. My favorite feature of this grill is the fact that you don't have to fill your bowl to overflowing to get what you want... You get to go back as many times as you want and design as many delightful little dishes as you can imagine. Worth. It.

Anyway, after that we had a great time playing at Going Bonkers. Crap, that place was fun for Derek and I, not to mention the kids! You can check out pictures here, Gough's online album. I took a few, but I'm not using the compy they're on, so you get these. They have a better camera anyway... I'm seriously coveting it.

So on the ride home, we had an amazing conversation with Avril. It went something like this:


A: Mom, how will we ever go to HyVee?
T to D: I told her we were going shopping and she thought I meant HyVee."
A: Mom! We don't say 'shut up'!
T (surprised): I didn't, I said, 'shopping'.
A: No, you said 'shut up'!
D (enjoying the situation): Yeah, Mom, we don't say 'shut up'.
A (turning on D): Hey Daddy, Mom said shopping!!
D: Holy crap, Avril...
A (in tears): We don't say 'crap' Daddy.
D: I know Avril, there's not much we can say, is there? You're losing it, aren't you? You're hanging by a thread...
A (shouting): No, I'm NOT, DADDY! You're losing your mind!
D: Avril, you're going deaf. You're losing your hearing.
A: No, I'm not, it's stuck to my head!

Friday, June 6, 2008

Derek's puppy fun

"Bites?"

We got home from the grocery store the other day and for some reason Xandri latched onto a bag of flour and carried it around asking for "bites" repeatedly for at least 20 minutes. Finally, we caved...