Angel Babies

The other night, MB and I were reading a book and I asked him to point to the "Angel." Instead of pointing at the figure with shiny sparkly wings, he pointed to the little boy on the opposite page. How could I dispute this? These kids truly are my angels from heaven. I have an "angel boy" and an "angel girl" as I call them. Do you ever love your kids and husband so much that it almost hurts. Strange I know, but it's the good kind of hurt, kind of like sore muscles after an intense work out.

Can I just say that play dates are awesome?! It's good for the kids and good for the moms. MB has become quite the social little guy. If you remember his personality from his infant days, you may think I'm fibbing but I'm not. He loves being around other kids and he also likes playing with their toys. I'm glad I didn't stop going when he was hitting other kids (soon after ZoZo was born). I was mortified until I read an article that said it was normal and his way of trying to get attention since he can't verbalize it. The article also said that's it's important to be around parents that are understanding and accepting. Check. Check. I love the other moms in the neighborhood and have learned so much about parenting from them.

MB also goes to our church Nursery on Sunday. His Nursery Leaders are so good with the kids and they can feel the genuine love the leaders have for them. When MB gets stinky pants, which is at least once every Sunday during nursery (and it's not even 2 hours long), he is so anxious to get back to be around his friends. I love that my baby boy is happy. I guess he's not really a baby anymore- he'll be two in a couple weeks.

ZoZo continues to tickle me to the core. She is so sweet and good natured. She constantly smiles and seems so happy about life. Her curiosity and babbling is endless. The other really GREAT thing about Zo- she sleeps through the night now! When I came back from my weekend trip to San Diego, she was sleeping through the night. Her daddy "forgot" to turn on the baby monitor at night. Thanks to his forgetfulness, she learned to self sooth and I didn't have to hear her cry it out.

I am so grateful that I am a mom and wife.

Pennies

HeRoos' co-worker gave MB a big bag of pennies. He was so excited and it entertained him for hours. He figured out that he could fit more pennies in through the bottom than through the slit on top.



ZoZo wanted in on the action.



MB didn't want anyone stealing his treasure while he slept.

PVC Bangles

I have a very talented friend, Nicole, who always has great ideas. I decided to give the bangles a try with the Young Women at my church and we had a great time. If you want a fun, inexpensive project for a lot of girls, this is a good one.

I bought 2 inch and 3 inch PVC pipe. My friend let me use her table saw to cut varying widths and it worked awesome. I felt so independent using a power tool without the help of a man. ;) .



The 2 inch pipe was too small and the 3 inch was too big so we hot glued cardboard on the inside of the 3 inch pipe to custom fit the bangles. Then the girls chose material. They ripped it into strips and wrapped it around the PVC pipe. Hot glue worked well on the ends of the fabric.



They got super creative and made bows and combined different patterns. They had a fun time. I didn't get a picture of all the girls because they finished at different times. There were plenty of supplies so some of the girls went home with multiple bracelets.

SaN dIEgO

This was in August of 2008 when I was in San Diego to visit Katie, my friend & roommate from SLC, with Mr. Boy & HeRoos.




This time it was just the girls. Katie and I had a great time! It was fun catching up and having good conversation. I ate my way through San Diego- sushi, In-N-Out, Thai, fish tacos and Godiva Chocolate. Hanging out on the beach, watching chick flicks, eating good food, reading, relaxing, and shopping are good for the soul.







HeRoos is AMAZING and completely encouraged me to have a good time while he took care of the kiddos. They love hanging with their daddy and as you can tell from the picture below, he even dressed them well. It looks like the three of them are ready for a photo shoot with their matching outfits. This picture was my candy- I couldn't get enough while I was away. I love my gang-they're pure trouble and so irresistible!



Beware: Deep thoughts by SheRoos.

I've found that finding balance with motherhood and the person I was before children is more challenging than I imagined. There are parts of the old me "on hold" while I try to do my best as a mom. I do miss hanging out with my good friends, traveling, having a career, and having time to read & relax. I was single for 30 years. Then came marriage (which is much easier and more fun than I imagined) and 2 kids within 3 years. There was not an adjustment period so now I'm trying to figure out how to balance it all without losing who I am (or was). I'm not sure if any of this makes sense to anyone else. Basically, being a mom is hard work yet I wouldn't trade it for anything. I absolutely adore and love my kids. I just really want to enjoy it more and have more energy. I'm also thinking that it may be time for me to take a class- photography, sewing, aerobics or something to force me to get out of the house and work on SheRoos. I think that it's important for me to figure out how to take care of myself so I can be the best mom and wife possible. HeRoos and I also agree that it's super important for us to put God first then each other, then our kids. If we put our kids before our relationship than our marriage could suffer and then inevitably our kids suffer. I think to have a happy & fulfilling life it takes effort and a lot of trial and error. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. So, on that note, I think I better end my deep thoughts and give my hunk-of-burning-love husband some attention instead of staring at the computer. Sweet dreams to my friends in cyber space!

Thespians in Training

Can we say drama?

I took ZoZo in today for her 6 month appointment. The tears started flowing before the needles were even out. She wailed and cried until the nurses left the room. When I was making her next appointment, I handed her a sticker to play with. Bad idea. She put it in her mouth so I took it away. The water show started all over again. Tears and screaming all through the lobby until we hit the front door. Come on, she is way too young for all this drama!

Two hours later it was MB's turn to show off his skills. I took him in to have the stitches removed. The nurse said, "Oh, this will be easy." WRONG. She had to call in another nurse & warned her that he is much stronger than he looks. It took all three of us to hold him down. As soon as we left the room, his act ended and he was ready to be his sweet self again.

Don't be fooled, these two kiddos know how to use their crocodile tears. I love my drama King & Queen. They make my life interesting.



By the way, ZoZo's 6 month measurements:

Weight: 14 lbs. 3 oz. 20%
Height: 25 inches 30%
Head Circumference: 41.5 cm. 25%

She's small but healthy!

Pancake Fun

I thought we would try a new way to present pancakes since MB hasn't been a fan of them in the past. MB had more fun making the pancakes than actually eating them. The smell of syrup is one of my least favorite scents, especially on people so we experimented with some alternative toppings. Applesauce was a no go. Then yogurt- still no luck. Finally avocados did the trick. Strange, I know.

Time For A Helmet

This kid is a climber. Nothing gets in his way. He pushes bar stools up to the kitchen counter so he can walk on the counter. He pushes his train up to our bed to give himself an extra foot of leverage so he can climb & play on the bed. He tips garbage cans on their sides to reach things. He jumps off the couch. He climbs out of his crib.

At times he overestimates his ability.


This is when he tried to jump from one couch to the other and hit the end table instead.


5 stitches later.



The day after a visit to the E.R. and he still hasn't learned.



It's a good thing he is so darn cute, even with a black eye and stitches.