Uninvited Guest

I came upstairs Saturday morning after eating breakfast... and saw a silhouette of a bird. I first wondered to myself, 'how is that bird perched on our window outside, there's no ledge?' and then I noticed the 2 little feet showing underneath the blinds... on the inside of the window.

so I called Eric upstairs and a lil chase ensued. (Video forthcoming)

Turns out, this particular starling completed the work of boring a hole in the wall from the outside, pushed his nest into the girl's bedroom, and then realized he was inside and didn't like it so well after all.

Later that night, Eric was poking around in his hole and got startled by a bushy tail in his face! That squirrel didn't waste any time moving in to a vacant place of warmth! Currently the hole is corked with newspapers. The last thing we need is a rabid critter scampering around in our girls' beds.

between the termite damage, the 'oops'es from having little ones, and now the 2 inch hole connecting interior with exterior---I wonder if our management will hate us/our apartment when we move?

The Nativity Line Up

Gwen lined up the Nativity participants for a little procession on the desk. With an unusual guest...

Anybody else find this unexpected guest at the birth of our Savior a little... amusing? :)

All living things worship him, so why not extinct things too, eh? LOL.

Eric and the Apples

Eric helped out his folks by harvesting their apples... I suspect we'll see these apples turned into sauce while we're here.

Eric is such a ham... I just like these pics because he can't resist performing and making some goofy faces at the camera.

Caroline's Personality

I love how Caroline is beginning to assert herself. What I mean is, she is expressing preferences, likes and dislikes.

She loves jumping.

She loves clapping her feet if she is wearing shoes.

and she loves 'singing'...and actually, she really loves smacking things with one arm.

and I love to see how happy she is when she is doing something she loves. I can't help but smile!

Cumple anos y butterflies

Our neighbors have a daughter only 2 weeks older than Gwen. These girls are great friends... a love-hate relationship, actually, because they really like each other's favorite toys. :) Well, lil "A" had a birthday party early, and Gwen was invited. I think we were almost the only ones there NOT Spanish speakers. Didn't seem to phase Gwen, though. She jumped right in and got her face painted with a butterfly, then had a balloon made into a butterfly.

funny story: Gwen got to try her hand at a pinata. She was timid and didn't break anything, in fact she hardly managed to hit it. But afterwards, she was talking with her daddy:

Gwen: lightly hitting Eric's shoulder

Eric: "Gwen, what are you doing? Why are you hitting daddy?"

Gwen: "Daddy, I beat the candy out of you!"

LOL, gotta love it!

my family makes me smile

no further explanation required. Just watch and smile.

video taken mid october, 2011

The questions she asks at the end is "What happened to my castle?" LOL, I don't know why that is so funny to me, but it is!

Allans Visit #3 Appliances Nightmare

Wouldn't you know, when one appliance breaks, they all follow suit. When it rains it pours, I guess.

Our fridge had been on the fritz for a while, leaking and stuff. Maintenance had been out to look at it and said they'd get back to us on what might be the problem. Well, Saturday morning we woke up and opened the door... and discovered the fridge must have finally bit the dust completely because it was no longer cool inside. We emailed maintenance, pulled out an ice chest and some ice, and deposited all extremely perishable items inside, leaving the condiments in the fridge.

No big deal. Under control.

That afternoon, during lunch preparations (remember I was hosting 3 extra adults and of course wanted to put on something delectable and special for the occasion), I began an oven preheat for our Sweet Potato fries. And suddenly, sparks started to shoot out from under the oven door accompanied with fire cracker sound effects. My mom and I were the only ones in the kitchen at the time and we both squealed. Turns out the filament burnt out. Can't use the oven for fries or pineapple. Luckily, our neighbors were kind enough to lend us the use of their oven for the fries and the broiled pineapple. Also, luckily, our stove still worked so we could pan fry our Teriyaki steaks. For a moment there was a scare because the burner wasn't getting warm, but then Eric thought to check the breaker, and sure enough the oven burn out had kicked it off. Reset, no problem. And suddenly we were extremely grateful for the functioning stove. Plan B without an oven would have been to fire up the charcoal grill. So, I began the somewhat ridiculous process of walking between our house and our neighbors to stir, flip, adjust temperatures, rotate, season, etc, etc, with Eric spearheading the cooking at our place.

No big deal. Under control.

During the final 20 minutes of lunch prep, when some things are at the ready to eat stage and we were trying not to let anything burn or get cold while the rest finished up, maintenance showed up at our back door with a temporary replacement fridge to hold us over until Monday when our new one would arrive. So, while trying not to let things burn, shuttling back and forth between our kitchen and the Harris's kitchen to check on the sweet potato fries, trying to make the Pineapple ice cream shakes before the ice cream melted completely, etc... we had to empty the rest of our fridge and freezer, deposit everything on the non-existent counter space, quickly spot-clean the nastiness that was revealed to have been hiding under the fridge, and keep out of the way of the crew moving things around. It was pure craziness.

No big deal. Under control.

Thankfully:

• when the fridge went out, we hadn't gone grocery shopping yet. If we had, we wouldn't have been able to fit all the perishables in the ice chest.
• since we were eating in the living room anyway, there was no rush to try to clear EVERYTHING off the table right away. Since it was piled high with all the contents of our broken fridge--and the temp one was significantly smaller--trying to put everything away was kind of time-consuming. We could eat and then get to it.
• our neighbors let us use their oven. repeatedly. even when they had to run to the store, they trusted me to go on in.
• we got a temp fridge. and then we got a new fridge!
• the stove still worked.
• and perhaps the biggest one of all: Caroline slept til right after all the craziness was over. Can you imagine if I'd had to stop right in the middle to nurse a hungry, crying baby? Oh man, I shiver just to think of it!

Appliance Nightmare? No big deal. Under control. :)

Fighting Dragons and Motherhood

What does this look like to you?

A whisk, you say? HAH! (egh--the buzzer sounds) Wrong!

Gwen was helping me in the kitchen and found this treasure in "her" drawer... pulled it out and shouted: "I fight da dragons!"

and thus began our over an hour long adventure

--a fun activity that we have done several times since that first day--

of fighting dragons.

Sometimes she wants me to wield the sword,

sometimes I'm only there to open the doors behind which the dragons are hiding.

Sometimes she is also a princess wearing a dress to fight those dragons,

other times she says she is looking for Philip.

Always there is sneaking involved

(usually Gwen quotes a song from library story time and whispers,

"I sneaking as slooowlyyyyy as I caaaaaan.")

And when the dragons are all defeated, there is usually some kind of celebration.

I love that I had and took the time to create this memory with her. She will forget, I'm sure, but I will always remember what a simple pleasure it was to encourage her imagination and fight those dragons together! It struck me that this sort of thing is exactly what makes motherhood worthwhile in the day to day ordinariness of routine:

taking those fleeting opportunities to love.

Gwen-ism

We watched the lil boy of some friends of ours last week while they went out. He's not quite old enough for Gwen to think of him as a peer, he is not young enough for her to think he is a cute baby, and he is old enough to want to play with her toys. I think she doesn't know quite what to think of him. And that translates into not wanting to share with him most of the time and resorting to bossing him around. I know oldest children in general are plagued with the "bossy" gene, but I try my hardest to stop the habit before it gets worse. So this day that he was over, they were sitting at the kitchen table together eating lunch.

Gwen proceeds to scold him in her bossy voice with furrowed brows and pouty mouth: "no-no, Josiah, no-no".

Me: "Gwen, he's not hurting you. He's not going to take your food. He's not even touching you."

Gwen (meeting my gaze without hesitation): "He looking me."

LOL, what could I say to that? I just had to laugh! So it begins! (Mom, she's touching me, she's reading my book over my shoulder, she's breathing my air!) Seriously, where do kids learn these things?

Oh, and thanks for all the suggestions on the undressing thing. Right now we're having success with a safety pin. Hopefully it will take her at least a month to figure out how to open one. :)

When you ask Gwen to say "Cheese"...

THIS is what you get!

a lil humor for you

Gwen is learning a lot of new words. This often leads to some confusion. When I tell her the rain is "wet" she repeats it back but signs "white". When I tell her the crayon is "blue" she repeats it back but signs "balloon". Can't say that I blame her. They do sound awfully alike.

In sacrament last week, I whispered in Gwen's ear that this is a special time we think about Jesus. She stopped squirming and seemed really happy about that, so I was pretty pleased. I thought maybe she actually understood what I was trying to teach her. I thought she was thinking about Jesus. Then she sat forward in my lap, squished her hands back and forth (that was the correct sign) with the accompanying excited declaration of:

"CHEESE!"

Eric and I tried really hard not to laugh about that during the sacrament. so funny. Well, I guess we'll have to clarify that one. :)

Kissing is Entertaining

Kissing is entertaining.

and not just for big people! Gwen has discovered the fun of it

(hopefully she'll forget before she hits puberty)

and loves to kiss things.

She'll kiss Mommy and Daddy,

any of her friends that lets her get close enough,

her stuffed animals,

photos of family,

pictures of babies in books,

paintings of Jesus Christ,

and even strangers if we solicit kisses from her.

the funniest times are when she kisses UNSOLICITED!

the sidewalk chalk (gross, Gwen! Don't kiss that!)

the pavement in the driveway (gross, Gwen! Don't kiss that!)

and the gutter (gross, Gwen! Don't kiss THAT!),

have each earned random kisses from her.

and the best yet,

this mummy face from one of Eric's magazines:

she took one look,

sucked in her breath in a pleasantly surprised "uuuuuh!" like she'd just found a special treat,

and planted a giant smackeroo right on her shriveled lips!

(gross, gross, GROSS, Gwen! Don't kiss that!)

atleast she didn't say "Mama"!

tub hat and frog love

for those of you who don't recognize it, Gwen is signing "frog"... I didn't even realize she knew that one! But she sure got excited about this stand up frog at the zoo. I couldn't keep her distracted. She kept sneaking over there to see him (he wasn't IN the play area). Gotta love her determination! and, I ADORE her "coy" face bottom left of the collage--she thought she was so sneaky!

Gwen Finger Painting and COSI Fun with Friends!

Gwen and I have really enjoyed trying to keep ourselves entertained because of this:

I think I might officially be THE last person in Columbus to document the HUGE snowstorms we've had. Anyway, it has been cold. We try to keep ourselves safe and entertained. Let's just say Gwen and I both have had our stir-crazy moments! A couple weeks ago we got together with some good friends and neighbors to fingerpaint. Gwen wasn't super excited, but her painting is so pretty, I think. Her favorite part was playing with the balls and books. No surprise there. Thanks, Anita, for inviting us over and sharing your pictures! If you look in the bottom left picture, you can see Gwen wasn't content to merely paint. She had to try some too...Then I read stories to the gals, it was fun! Gwen had the much coveted seat of honor.

Last week we headed to COSI, a fun science museum, to play.

I ought to call these pictures the "For the Love of Purple Spheres". Seriously, we were there for almost 3 hours. Even ate lunch while there. The ENTIRE time, Gwen only relinquished her hold on the balls a few times. She carried them everywhere. Going down the slide? Purple balls go too. Climbing up the stairs? Purple balls go too. Spinning things? Purple balls. Pushing buttons? Better use the purple balls. She's not one of those kids that you can distract and hide the desired object and she'll just forget about it. Definitely a little obsessive and possessive about things, but it sure is quirky and funny!

and here are some friends! Sure did have fun!

I love these videos because you can see 2 things: 1) you can imagine her uncertain thought processes when she is debating whether or not to put her balls down somewhere. I think it is hilarious the way she'll look around to check out any aspiring toddlers who might snatch up her prized possessions...and then changes her mind about relinquishing her control! and 2) you can see how she walks on her knees. Thought I ought to document that for posterity.

and this one is for Eric's family. Thought ya'll would be gratified to know that Gwen was fascinated by the noise of a certain bodily function.
Pretty funny that even then she has those purple balls... and again, thanks goes to Anita for inviting us!

Almost Every Hair Do-Dad She Owns...

She did it. Not me. Well, at least it wasn't my idea. She found her drawer of ribbons, flowers, and bows. Then proceeded to try to put them in her hair. When she couldn't figure it out (I was kind of sitting there laughing and just watching), she "knee-d" over (remember how she doesn't like to crawl anymore) and handed each one to me and leaned forward expectantly to receive her special 'coronation'. It was hilarious. I obliged her. She was pretty pleased with herself and wore them for quite a while. Later that day I found a trail of pulled out/fallen out/ discarded do-dads throughout the house...

Tails, Trumpets, and Tantrums

Tails

We took Gwen to the pet store for our family activity this past Friday night. I had no idea it was such a popular Friday night destination! So crowded. But Gwen shoved her way right up to the glass and walked along all the windows saying hi, slapping on glass, and generally trying to get the attention of every puppy in the store. So cute! We even got one puppy out for her to pet... she was super excited and went in for the hug with a big squeal... until the puppy started to lick her hands. Then she was DONE with the experience.

Trumpets

Eric was asked to sub for the organist in Sacrament meeting on Sunday. During the reverent sacrament hymn, all of the sudden the organ volume became about 10 times louder and French Horns and trumpets joined in the music! Startled everyone and made a few people jump out of their seats! Turns out Eric had accidentally bumped one of those lil white buttons, didn't know which one, and didn't know how to turn it off. So we sang along with the brass until the conclusion of the hymn. Then he turned the whole thing off and reset the organ. It was pretty funny, though!

Tantrums

Gwen is too grown up for her own good. She signs Mommy, Daddy, baby, drink, milk, water, eat, cracker, cereal, banana, more, all finished, shoes, ball, dog, bath, sleep, bed, elephant, and sometimes friend, please, and Grandpa. We're proud of her for her improved communication in signing and words.

We're not proud of her digressed communication in the form of tantrums. She has learned how to throw an actual, body-flailing-on-the-ground-with-kicking-legs-and-wailing-crying tantrum. I must admit, I was shocked to see her do it. She's not quite 15 months old. I don't know where she learned it because none of her friends throw tantrums. I thought we still had a good 6 months before she started throwing full fledged toddler fits. Every time we say 'no', there she goes. We're handling it at home by ignoring her until she finds other ways to communicate so we don't reinforce it. In public, it is just embarassing and frustrating.

So I Thought I Could Dance

Sometimes I think I can dance like this: Until the weather turns so nasty I am forced to switch to indoor workouts (and I don't have a gym membership) so I check out a new hip hop dance workout DVD from the library...

and then I realize...

I really dance like this:

Or Heaven forbid... like THIS:

Obviously, I've got some

delusions of coordination

to get over....

Or perhaps I'll just get a new workout video.

Gwen Demolishing a Cake

Actually not really demolishing it, per se. She was far too prissy and fastidious. Doesn't she look rather serious in the above photo? She wasn't too interested in getting messy. But enjoy the pics anyway. These are courtesy of Amy, a gal in Med School that has a great photography business on the side. She was very professional, very fun, and skilled at capturing those quickly passing moments with little ones. I highly recommend her and have some discount referral cards if anyone in Columbus thinks they might be interested in family, maternity, or kid pics from her!

Gwen wasn't too thrilled to get started. I made that cake just for her photo shoot. She was more interested in playing with drops of icing on the floor and staring out the window than digging in to her cake.She was bored at first, then uncertain and fastidious about the cake. I love the variety of expressions she makes: everything from startled to smug to polite etiquette. I like the top right photo because it looks like she is saying 'scuse me' and covering a burp. and the pic where she is flapping her arms cracks me up.
As soon as she realized that it tasted good, she shoved in a fistful. That's my girl. Can't stand to take a small, manageable bite!
After she realized she could have fun making a mess, she really was all smiles. I appreciate the top left photo in the following collage because it captures how Gwen walks on her knees (since she isn't really walking yet-- this is her preference to crawling), which we haven't been able to successfully catch on film besides this one. I also love that she shoved her foot into the cake.
The beads were extra fun on a suger high. Doesn't she look pleased with herself?Cleaned up
and ready to go home...still very hyper, I think. :)

Thanks Amy for a great photo shoot and adorable pictures! We love them!


Which set and/or which individual pics were your favorites?

Gwen Meets Scary Santa

Ward Christmas Party...
Gwen's first meeting with Santa...
the obligatory terror that resulted...
This collage says it all: she bawled.
until I saved her from the scary Santa, held her the whole time, and she realized he was going to reach in that big sack and give her something. She got a Belle flute recorder and was happy to chew on it. If you want to see her crying reaction in more detail, click on the picture and it gets bigger.

I Love This Time, Right Now.

Gwen is at a wonderfully fun stage right now. I know you aren't supposed to have favorites, that you should just love each stage for its joys and struggles, but seriously-- I am truly enjoying where we are right now!

Gwen is excited to explore and play on her own without my constant stimulation, as long as we are in the same room. I think she is adorable when she pulls out all the washrags and dishtowels from the kitchen drawer all while babbling to herself. I love how happy she is about everything, how intent upon discovering things with her fingers, and perhaps
my favorite recent development:
Gwen has suddenly become quite cuddly and gives lots of hugs! I absolutely LOVE it!!! She'll be playing, see me, crawl over, climb up, throw her arms around me (they don't quite reach around, but I get the idea), and rest her head on my chest. Absolutely adorable!
The other day, she was crying because one of her toys got away from her... and so she crawled over and threw herself at the closest part of me:
my feet.
She flopped down onto my shins, throwing her arms on my legs, and laid her head down on my ankles to cry. When I started laughing at her spectacle, she transitioned from crying to laughing with me too. It was one of the cutest memories I've ever had!

This is a time when I am really grateful to be a mother.