There's no way to sum up all this in a title.

We have definitely moved into the stage of child-rearing where Sarah embarasses me in public with what she says.  Last week I took her to Macey's past her bedtime and we were having a great time.  At the checkout line, she was sitting very well in one of those carts disguised as a car which drives like a semi-truck when a lady came up next to her to get a Pepsi out of the little fridge.  She chatted briefly with Sarah as strangers do with cute little kids and turned away.  Right then Sarah said in a voice that gets louder in my memory every time I think about this, "That lady has silly hair." The lady was still right there.  And yes, her hair style was a little odd, all blond and spiky. But do you know how hard it is to shush while laughing?  If you have a nearly 3-year-old, you do.

On the ride home Sarah saw something on the floor of the car that she wanted. "Mom, can you hand me this?"

I have no idea what she's talking about.  "What's this?"

"That."

"What does it look like?"

"I don't know."

We continue on our drive.  It's really dark outside at this point and Sarah has noticed.  She doesn't go out much after dark so she intrigued and makes this observation.

"It's too dark out here......I can't see the wind.....I need glasses."

Sarah loves her dad which also means she loves anything that is her dad's. Unfortunately these things are usually expensive and not kid friendly.  Sorry Justin, I let her play with your binoculars (or noculars as Sarah calls them).

Heaven help us she's pretty.

Last Saturday we went to the zoo. My favorite part of the whole trip was the drive up there.  Sarah said she wanted to see a pink zebra and a teeny, tiny elephant.  She then put her hands to her face and said "I'm so c-cited!" (excited)

The obligatory picture with you head in the gopher holes. There were no gophers out there. I think there was a cat. Like a housecat.

 The duckpond. Notice how Sarah is covering her ears.  She's really afraid of loud noises and she was extra cautious around those swans.

 Every kid has to drink out of the lion's mouth. It's a rite of passage I believe.

 Does anyone else thinks they make those animal habitats too big? There's too much space for them to hide from the zoo patrons.  I jest. Well I'm mostly serious but I'm not advocating anything.

 Henry was a good sport.  He didn't really know what was going on but he was super cute.

Cute picture of cousins.

Is it annoying or endearing that the kids liked the playground and fake animals more than the real animals?

 One of Sarah's favorites, the giraffes.

 The comparing your arm span concept was lost on Sarah.

 Close enough.

Riding the train.

 We went camping Friday night near Strawberry.  I was taking a nap in the trailer at this time.

 How 'bout them leaves?

So that's about it.  Now that it's October we've started counting-down with Sarah until her birthday. This is very hard to do with someone that has no concept of time. Any good birthday activity ideas to do with a 3-year-old, a 5-month-old and their mother on a most-likely cold, blustery day?  We've gone to Macey's previous years which is a big hit (balloon, cookie, icecream cone, Laffy Taffy). I actually don't know how to top that....

Cute baby in the jumper for the first time.

Smiles, Birthdays, Binkys, and Timone

Is it me, or is Henry's smile just getting better?  We made it to 4 months! In my opinion, this is when babies start to become lots of fun. Well he's always been fun but there is something about 4 months... they just seem more interested and engaged in the world. He is changing so fast.  He likes to grab stuff and pull it into his mouth.  He still hates tummy time but likes to play airplane. And if you take off his diaper, he'll do a giddy giggle. He's such a fun kid.

Quick question: Has anyone had a baby that was an awesome sleeper but then reverted to newborn-like habits of waking up to eat every 3 hours? Henry has been killing me for the last 10 days. Advice anyone?

Now to back up a couple of weeks. Sarah wanted to watch a scary show.  Funny thing is, she doesn't really know what that means and I'm not sure where she picked up that idea.  So I put in Phantom of the Opera because it's kind of scary (or at least dark) and she loves music and dancing. I just skipped to the musical numbers.  It held her attention longer than it has ever held Justin's.

Father and son chat.  Henry talks almost as much as Sarah and that's a lot.  And as a sidenote, Henry has Syme ears! They are as big as Sarah's.

This picture doesn't do it justice but Henry is quite the thumb-sucker.  Usually when he's sleepy or bored he'll suck away at his hands. It's super cute but when I pull out the camera, out goes his thumb.

Last Saturday was my birthday.  Justin got me a dozen cinnamon rolls (which I ate all day long) and these flowers which are still beautiful on my kitchen table. Is 28 old? I haven't decided.

He also got me a waffle cone maker. Did you know these existed? You can make your own waffle cones. At home. Any time you want. We've been having fun molding them into different shapes. This is my double-decker creation.

Cute baby with binky in his mouth.

Cute baby that just spit out his binky.

Either my baby has a big head or Carter's doesn't know how to make hats.

I promise Sarah's hair does get done and her face gets cleaned, just not when I'm taking pictures apparently.

Me: Sarah, we're going outside. Do you want your shoes on?
Sarah: No, just toes.

She loves to have conversations.  "Mom, come in here and talk to me about your birthday." She also likes to review her day with me. "Remember when (something something)  and you were really mad?" Or "Remember yesterday and blah blah blah and I was crying?" (Sounds like there's lots of drama around here.) She still talks about when I was in the hospital with Henry and she came to get me. She goes crazy for Henry.  She calls him Baby Boy and kisses his nose and says "You don't need to cry about it" in a soothing tone.

Here's a video from June 9. (Notice sleeping Henry...he never does that anymore.) I meant to post it then but didn't so enjoy it now. I like how her mind works. But I don't like how much she's already changed since this.

Little Brothers, Big Sisters

1987:

This is a picture of my little brother Thomas and I. I think this was just after my awesome self-given haircut. It better be. I don't know how else to explain my short bangs.

2011:

I tried to recreate the photo using my own kids.  But Sarah wasn't torturing Henry like I must have been torturing Thomas.

******

Sarah isn't a violent kid.  She never acts out physically and she rarely hits or throws things when she's mad.  So you can imagine how it surprises us to hear her violent vendetta against Rapunzel.

Sarah on Wednesday: Rapunzel is in her car and she's gonna come over and I will hit her on the head with my blue pan and hide her in this closet.

And again on Friday: Later I will eat my goldfish crackers and hit Rapunzel and hide her in the closet.  Mom you need to move your vacuum.

Me: Why?

Sarah: So I can fit Rapunzel in the closet.

Now I konw that's a strikingly similar recreation of the movie but she hasn't watched the movie in months and she has quite the delightful look in her eye when she describes her plan.

When her feet are sweaty, she says they are soggy.  And when they get wrinkly in the bathtub, she says they are sprinkly. I could write down everything she says becuase it's all a little ridiculous in one way or another.

Dancy Pants

This post is mostly about Sarah but I just had to throw in this picture of Handsome Henry. I kiss his face a lot.

At some point every day, Sarah declares, "I need to dance." Then she goes upstairs and puts on whatever dress strikes her at the moment.  In this outfit she says she's a ballerina wearing a crown. I need to get a video of her "dancing".  It's really her prancing from the kitchen to the living room while singing "Just a spoon full of sugar" at the top of her lungs. She then bows and tells us to clap. She told me she danced and sang in her nursery class yesterday "but my teacher didn't clap."

This morning at 7:30, I awoke to Sarah at the side of my bed wearing only her diaper, a dress in hand.  She needed help getting it on. This was taken later today and is the third of 4 dresses she has worn today.  She wanted to wear her blessing dress and cried when I wouldn't help her put it on.  She compromised by wearing the bonnet. She looks like a milkmaid or a Dutch girl.

 Picking vegetables with dad. Anyone need any tomatoes?

She watches the neighborhood kids get on the bus every morning so we've been talking about school a lot.  She'll tell anyone who will listen that she's going to school when she's 5 with her friends and mom will stay at home.

 This is my favorite part of summer because all the kids are back in school so we can go to the park and the store without all the crazy kids. She wouldn't go near this splash pad last summer. Today she cried when we left and didn't care that she was shivering.

My favorite Sarah quote of the day: "I'm going to drive in the silver truck when I'm big and you're going to be little and I will buckle you in your carseat. And we'll go to the park and I'll get you out of your buckles."

She will also tell anyone who will listen that her birthday is "Tober tebby-seven" and ask them when their birthday is and what kind of cake they want. We love birthdays around here.

If I didn't already love him like crazy....

this picture would seal the deal.  Happy 3 months, Henry.

20 Questions

As soon as Sarah heard the shower turn off, she was at my bathroom door.
Sarah: Are you all done in the bathroom?
Me: Almost, just drying off.
Sarah: Are you all done?
Me: Almost.
Sarah: Are you all done in the bathroom?
Me: I am just drying off.
Sarah: Are you all done?
Me: Sarah, I already answered you!
Sarah: You did?

Sarah asks non-stop questions all day long. Her favorite is "What are you doing?" It drives me the most crazy when I'm doing things she's seen me do a thousand times like putting dishes in the dishwasher or picking up around the house. No, I take that back, it drives me the most crazy when I'm driving.  "What are we doing?" I hear that anytime I stop at a stop sign or red light, slow down because someone is turning or waiting for cars to pass. At least she's learning the traffic rules.

It's a good thing she's cute.

 Speaking of cute.....here are some more.

 This is up American Fork Canyon last weekend.  I don't feel like camping with a newborn but I needed my campfire and smore fix so we went up for the evening.

 Sarah eating goldfish crackers sitting in her doll stroller while inside her cardboard house. Childhood is precious.

 Henry likes tummy time for about 5 seconds.

 I don't think I'll ever have a chubby baby like I've always dreamed.  But I love what I can get.

This pretty much captures how they play together.  Silliness meets tolerance.

It's getting super easy to get Henry to smile.  Just talk to him and his face lights up. It's a real self-esteem booster.

You know, I really believe God made babies cute so we'd want to take care of them.  And then He made their cries the most grating sound in the world so we actually would.

Henry's latest, greatest accomplishment

Henry slept a record-breaking 10 1/2 hours last night!
Don't ask me what I'm doing, what books I'm reading or what schedule he's on.  I'm doing none of that.  The accomplishment is all his. He is just a kick-butt sleeper (at night).

The Great Outdoors and Such

Do you feel that panic at the end of July/beginning of August like I do?  That summer is almost over?  Retailers don't help with their "back to school" ads coming out right after Independence Day.  Justin has been feeling it more than me and is making the most of every last weekend until he has to go back to school.  And by "making the most of it", I mean trying his hardest to live in the mountains.

But first, what I wanted to do all summer, Mapleton's Pioneer Day celebration.  Pancake breakfast, parade, games, fireworks.  Feels like summer.

 The first 10 minutes of the parade are every automobile that Mapleton owns that has a siren.  It gets a little old, especially if you have kids with sensitive ears.

We took Sarah to play a few games at the park.  It feels like a big ward party.  Keeping with the pioneer spirit, all the games are cheap and simple like this classic fishing pole game.

 Sarah's favorite was giving the lady a ticket and picking a sucker. Everyone's a winner.

The fireworks that night were a-mazing. Better than Stadium of Fire for 2 reasons. 1. You don't have to go 5 hours early to get a spot and spend 2 hours getting home. And 2. You sit so close, ash lands on you.  And you get to play with glo-sticks.

Justin took Sarah camping with his parents Sunday night. I don't know who was more excited to go, Sarah or Justin.  She was so excited to go camping and sleep in a tent. He was excited to be in the mountains and fish. Sarah went fishing and even ate some fish. I missed her but it was kind of nice only to have Henry to take care of for 24 hours.

Wednesday my friend Tiana, brought over her twin boys.  They were born a week before Henry but check out the size difference. They were so quiet and calm the whole time they were here.  I thought Henry was a calm baby but he seemed like a spaz compared to them.

 Friday we went to Scofield to go to the cabin and so Justin could fish again (and again and again).  Sarah talks about the cabin all the time.  The last time we went was in March and it was snowy and we went sledding and snowmobiling.  Right before we headed out the door, Sarah ran to her room to get her hat and scarf.  Then half-way there, she asked where her snowboots were.  She had it in her mind that it was still snowy up there, it was so cute. 

 Eating pancakes with Papa Saturday morning. It was a long night.  I started out trying to sleep in the bat room but the sounds of the bats creeped me out and there was no way I was staying, nevermind sleeping.  So I made Justin and Henry move out to the loft.  Henry grunts in his sleep a lot, like every 10 minutes so when Sarah woke up in her room, I went in to reassure her and ended up staying since it was so quiet. But then she woke up every hour or so to accuse me of things like eating her Starbursts or to whine about being thirsty or that her stomach needed a wipe (still figuring out that one). I lost track of time since there was no clock around but I'm pretty sure I got a solid hour of sleep at some point.

 Sarah swung for like 20 minutes and would have kept going for who knows how long.

 Henry was sad he couldn't swing.

Justin's massive splinter he pulled this out of his shin. That's what you get for fishing, I told him. I don't know why he's smiling since it was in there pretty deep and it hurt.

 Sarah's new dress.  Gotta love Target clearance.  She's looking up at her dad which makes me love her smile that much more.

With only 4 weekends left, I've got to make sure I check off everything on my Summer To-Do list.  All I can think of is see Cowboys and Aliens and eat corn on the cob and smores.