PS

As a PS to my latest blog I have to say that my opener about being organized is probably slightly misleading and possibly offensive. By rethinking, and potentially over analyzing the way that statement might be received by all of my friends that read this and also blog, I would like to rephrase and state that the way I like to blog one topic at a time might be another one of my "endearing" idiosyncrasies. TFR!

Travel Town, Doctors Appointment & Meal Time Stories

In my attempt to keep my life and everything around me organized, I usually try to keep my blog topics to one thing, but it is simply impossible sometimes so we get three topics today.

The first--our Travel Town outing that got postponed last week because of rain was rescheduled for this week and yea! on Wednesday we woke up to the sunniest, warmest day we'd seen for a few days. When we take outings, we sometimes move all the car seats to my friend's SUV and go together, but Anderson's 6 month checkup was immediately afterwards so we drove ourselves. It wasn't exactly as exciting for Carter as watching a show en route with friends, but we made it a quick trip, about 20 minutes--from the 118 to the 170 to the 134--and we were there! For those of you who have roots here or in any large city with lots of highways you might appreciate that. Travel Town wasn't a very large park, but it was large enough to keep the 2 year olds entertained for over 2 hours, climbing in and out of the trains with parental help of course since they are pretty dangerous, running around the little museum with the other old fashioned vehicles (which proved a perfect stopping point for all of us to feed our younger children) and crashing the Thomas store to play with the train sets they have out. We topped it all off with a train ride around the park. Carter was in train heaven! One of the trains used to travel around the Santa Maria area where Marc is from so of course we had to get a picture of that (I forgot to have the flash on so it's a little blurry!)

After the train ride, which we waited and waited for because the park had closed the ride due to tree trimming and branch clearing, we high tailed it to the doctor (again, a decent freeway ride from the 134 to the 101, this time through traffic caused mostly by people not knowing how to move their vehicles like they were made to move). There, we found out that Anderson is a hefty 21 pounds and 27 inches long and Carter is barely over 30 pounds and barely over 3 feet tall. The bad news--Anderson has an ear infection and we didn't even know it--he's been a little fussy but not a fever to speak of so how was I supposed to know? Don't our bodies usually tell us (or our mother in this case) that we are sick? He is now medicated, but not being any less fussy so we'll see how time smooths that bump in the road. The doctor did confirm that he does have 4 teeth just dying to cut through the gums, just as we suspected so I guess we're just biding our time for that, too.

As for the meal time stories, I have one for each boy. Because this is my first successful go around with nursing, (fyi, we only lasted 2 days with Carter, so this time around has definitely worked out better for all of us) this is my first time dealing with the fun times of biting. Most everyone I know has nursed and in listening to my friends, I have heard you just have to train your baby not to bite by giving them a little flick and stern 'no biting' and discontinue the feeding session, all of which I have done. Well, the gnawing began a few months ago when Anderson didn't have teeth yet, and Anderson thought it was hysterical when I'd flick his mouth. He'd just look at me and grin and clearly not get the point! He quit the gnawing/biting after his teeth came in but last Friday he started again. This time, his sense of humor wasn't as in tact as before because this picture is the aftermath of the flick. I've never seen him so sad ever so I had to take a picture before shushing and rocking him. I just think it's the wettest picture I've ever seen--even his hair looks wet he's so sad!

This morning, bright and early after a morning run, I had to hit the grocery store because we are out of Carter food--fruit snacks, cheese, fruit, chicken nuggets, etc. When I was picking up his chicken nuggets I found the box of mini corn dogs that our grocer hasn't carried since who knows when, but Carter loved them ages ago when I could find them so of course I picked them up. I was again, out running errands at lunch time so Carter ate with his dad. When I got home Marc told me to ask Carter what he had for lunch. Since he hasn't eaten corn dogs since he began speaking he didn't really know what to call them so he named them a combination of two foods he does know. He had 'opcorn dogs' for lunch. Popcorn dogs! Love it!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. . .

I've had a bout of insomnia lately. A lot of nights I just can't fall asleep no matter how fatigued I am after caring for the three boys in my life. Sometimes I get up and read, sometimes I flip on the tube, but the other night I put myself to sleep by thinking--

. . .these are a few of my favorite things (about my kids).

The way Carter says certain things like it is too comes out 'eee too' and Incredibles is 'Increbables.' I love you and thank you sound the same "Inoee" and grandma and grandpa come out like "bawk."

I love the rare occasion when Carter will let me snuggle him and when we nuzzle faces his smells a little like drool after a nap.

Carter has been "reading" the new book he got for Valentine's Day from my mom called I Love You Through and Through and it is so simple he can look at the pages and tell me the words on the page because I've made him listen to it so much. He giggles when I giggle at his phrasing.

The way Carter points is really cute. He uses his whole hand with his fingers closed together and his thumb tucked underneath the palm of his hand but still pointing the same direction as his fingers.

When Carter names off all of his Cars cars he goes like this: a Doc, a Siwy, a Mers, a Been, a Chicks. . .(can you guess which ones were named?) and his voice rises on the 'a' part and falls on the name part and he does it pretty fast. Sometimes I make him do it just so I can hear it.

I love love love that Anderson is a thumb sucker. He's been snuggling up some nights before we go to bed and he'll lay against me with his thumb in his mouth and his blanket over us. Hmm, peace. And then sometimes he'll go a little nutso and brush his face back and forth into my sternum and then go back to snuggling and sucking his thumb. It's pretty funny to watch.

Anderson does this thing with his tongue--he'll stick it out a tiny bit and curl it up with a point on his upper lip and just hang out like that.

This sometimes gets obnoxious and probably will prove to be a life threatening habit, but Anderson is a diver. By that I mean if he sees something he wants he'll dive forward or sideways for it, even if that means he'll fall off your lap, so you always have to be aware of what he's up to.

Anderson's eyes are his best feature. His eyelashes are so long already and his eyes are big and round and blue. And they really don't even squint when he smiles, they just light up.

I'm sure I could have thought of things all night but I must have dozed off eventually!

Anderson is 6 months!

We were supposed to make a trip to Travel Town today, which is a park with nothing but trains, but our plans were foiled by rain. Boo! I guess we get what we deserve since last week we were ready to hit the pool in 90 degree weather! It may be all for the better so I can catch up on this post and not get too behind with the pictures. Last Wednesday Anderson turned 6 months old! I've been told to enjoy the baby time as it goes by all too quickly and I'm trying, I'm really trying because time really is slipping away from me. I have to look at pictures to try to remember what Anderson was like when he was first born and brand new and sweet smelling. Not that he's not any of those now, but he's just so different because he's so big and can do so many more things than just eat, sleep, and poop. He is a great sitter and only occasionally topples over now, but we still surround him with pillows just to be sure. Yesterday he was doing some tummy time and Carter surrounded him with pillows because he's so used to that look now. It's amazing what 2 year olds pick up on. He's great at smiling and laughing. His giggles still have to be forced out of him, but we're all getting pretty good at getting them out. I like to tickle his thighs while Carter just tries to terrorize him while he's in his excersaucer, but most of the time Anderson just thinks his brother is terribly funny. You should see the way Anderson's eyes light up when he sees his brother and especially when Carter pays attention to him. It's adorable to see the roles of big brother and little brother already setting in. (Here's a picture for you Wes, the sibling kiss! Sometimes you can't plan the picture, you have to wait for the candid moments so the background and clothing isn't just right, but the affection and surprised sibling look is just as priceless!) Anderson is also eating 3 meals of solids a day now. He gets quite the variety and it's no secret that he's not that picky--just look at those thighs and the fat roll on top of his knee! He likes bananas, applesauce, peaches, pears, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes and squash always combined with some sort of cereal. He'll start carrots sometime this week. I just love it when after a few months of eating yellow veggies babies get the glow on their cheeks and nose. I'm waiting for Anderson to get it, too. Anderson can now roll with ease, though he's not using this ability as a mode of transportation yet, he simply does it to annoy us at night when he disturbs himself by rolling from his tummy to his back and wakes himself up. Typically, I'm up rolling him back over at least twice in a night. It's only when he's playing during the day that he knows how to roll from his back to his tummy. Well, I can hear my little guy making noises in his bed so I'd better go get him before he wakes up his brother, who by the way woke up this morning at 5:30 and didn't really go back to sleep. The only thing that kept me from being angry (because Marc was leaving for a peds clinic in south LA at 5:45, so at 5:30 I couldn't go back to sleep and make Marc take Daddy duty) was that apparently, Carter walked out of his bedroom without his diaper on which was shocking to Marc since he wasn't paying attention and went to check to see if he needed an emergency diaper change. Surprise! No diaper. You just never know what to expect next with children!

The Beach

There are certain things about living in LA that I am going to miss terribly in about 2 months when we make our move to Colorado. One of those is THE BEACH. Carter, Anderson and I made a trip to our favorite beach, pretty much the only one we ever go to, Zuma in Malibu, on Tuesday with some friends. These friends have a boy, Derek, who is three weeks older than Carter and another boy, Gracin, who is two days older than Anderson so it is quite a shame that we won't live near enough for the boys to grow up together. The boys are fast friends! We had so much fun sitting with the babies and watching the kiddos play and dig in the sand and splash in the surf. Okay, so Derek, Carissa (Derek's older sister), and Paige (his two year old cousin) were splashing and Carter wasn't so much. "I cared" is what he says about the ocean which translates into "I'm scared." Apparently we are raising a non-adventurous type. He does love the sand, though. Anderson and Gracin are getting to an age where they will sit next to each other and smile with each other and grab one another which is really fun to watch. Half the time they end up knocking one another out. Of course we didn't escape the throwing sand episodes so there were a few time out periods, but a little sand in the eyes never killed anyone! Besides the fog that rolled in from both sides of us and then socked us in (which was kind of creepy to watch, something I'd never seen before) it was a perfect day at the beach--the waves were pretty big and the air was warm and humid. When the boys and I got home, Marc mentioned that sadly, Anderson won't remember anything about our fun beach trips but we certainly hope Carter will have glimpses of memories of these fun times.

vent

no pics this time, just a story. we just got back from a park date with Carter's friends, Logan and Noah and we had a little incident i need to share with all you moms out there. we got to the park a bit before our friends did so i sat on a bench with Anderson while Carter began to play with his sand toys in the sand. he had parked himself near another little guy's toys but that little guy was off playing in a different area with one of his care givers and his grandma was sitting on a bench close by. (i was on a different bench) i, as Carter's mom, know that of course Carter is eyeing the other boy's sand toys as one of them was a ride-on car. i don't think the grandma was completely aware of that, though she may have been. anyway, this woman began speaking to Carter and even approached him and her tone was a little more aggressive than i liked so i didn't respond like i usually do to strangers who are appreciating my child. i gave her a few nods and smiles when she would make comments, which by the way were typical "i know children because i've had two" responses. those totally bug me because every child is a tiny bit different and she clearly didn't know mine at all, though she thought she did. she was saying things to Carter like 'why don't you dig with your shovel there,' and 'how about going to play on the slide,' and 'do you want to swing?' he was being a little shy and pouty which he usually is with strangers, though this time he was more so than usual. the woman looked at me and told me he wasn't happy and that it was probably because he didn't like sharing with his brother. hello? did she notice that 1) Anderson was not in the sand with him and 2) she was a stranger talking to a 2 year old? the irony of her sharing comment will be clear in a few minutes as you read. anyway, I put Anderson in the stroller and went and sat with Carter because I felt a little protective and a little annoyed that this woman was paying a little too much attention to him without being interested in his little 2 year old feelings if that makes any sense. after a few minutes of me sitting with him and talking with him and a few other grandmas and their kids wandering over, Carter was brave enough to sit on the car, the little owner of it was no where near still, so I figured no harm done. most people like to share their toys at the park, in my experience. Carter didn't even move the toy from its position and wasn't abusing it in any way, he was just sitting on it while the grandmas made conversation about their similarily aged grandchildren. probably no more than 3 minutes later the same grandma said to me in her same aggressive tone "are you going to move him or am i?" nodding in Carter's direction. i was stunned and probably looked it, too and asked 'why?' she said 'because he likes to put sand in it,' speaking of her grandchild who still wasn't even close to the toy. i just picked Carter up from the car and told him we had to get off and go to the other side of the park. i didn't have the guts to make a response about how we teach our children how to share by actually sharing, though i wanted to so so so bad. luckily, Logan and his mom were strolling over just at that moment and we walked to the other side of the play area, but wow i was so upset i was shaking. i'm still really really bugged? am i out of my mind to be so bugged?

He was slimed!

Carter loves gogurt. If we would let him
eat it breakfast lunch and dinner he certainly would. We keep it in the freezer--I like the texture better that way for the rare time I'm in the mood for one, not to mention it isn't quite as messy for a two year old to eat. We buy them in the huge 36 pack and they come in pink or blue. He calls them 'boo one ogurt' or 'red one ogurt.' And of course, while eating he periodically needs help pushing more up to the top of the tube. Well, the other day, he was just about finished, so I was carefully squeezing the tube from the bottom up to get all of the good stuff to the top and by that time the consistency wasn't frozen, it was typical yogurt. Since the plastic had time to warm up, it was a little slippery with the condensation and my fingers slipped. And look what happened--a picture speaks a thousand words! I had to shoot a few pictures before cleaning up my clearly upset little guy! (he just walked in my room where I'm typing and looked at the pictures and started laughing saying 'boo one in Carter's hair, ha funny!')

Celebrating 5 years

Last Thursday was our 5th anniversary! Marc made a great attempt to surprise me with an overnight get-away to San Diego, (sadly, we've been in So Cal for 2 1/2 years without venturing south at all) but about a week before he decided he didn't want to make all of the decisions by himself. Of course, we couldn't leave the kids to fend for themselves, so we made it a very kid friendly get away by going to Sea World. We stayed in La Jolla--these pics are the view from there. Can you get any better than that?
He kept only one secret and that turned out to be a small cave adventure! I carried Anderson and Marc carried Carter down 145 steps to a little cove area. It was a tiny bit anti-climatic because once down there, there was only a tiny board walk to look out of the cave to the ocean. Marc wanted to hop down onto the rocks and get a closer look, but being sensible and border line afraid he'd slip and hurt himself, I said it probably wasn't a great idea. It was beautiful. After we hiked back up the stairs, we walked down to an open beach cove and Marc took Carter out into the tide pools to look for cool marine life. By that time, Anderson was asleep in the sling so I thought it best to stay and sit on a rock--no slipping and falling in the water for us!

We ate our anniversary dinner at a Thai resteraunt that might actually give the Thai Ruby (in Provo) a run for their money. It was so so so good. The next morning, before we hit Sea World, we made a quick stop so I could see the San Diego temple. I have never seen it before and it is beautiful. What you never see in pictures is how beautifully designed all of the windows are. Anyway, that was just a quick stop before heading to Sea World which turned out to be super super fun. Carter loved seeing all the fishies, but didn't get as adventurous as Marc and I. Marc touched everything, batrays, starfish, dolphins. I only touched the dolphins, which didn't take any courage, I've always thought that might be cool. Though the fish we fed them were a little nasty looking. But everything else would have taken courage I just don't have. (Speaking of this, if you saw Amazing Race last night, Marc would have totally had to do that road block with all that fish, yuk!) We saw huge sea turtles that seemed to be shedding their shells--does that happen? And of course the Shamu show was unbelieveable. Carter really liked the sharks--they had a huge fossil shark jaw that he is still talking about! The boys were certainly troopers--napping in the sling for Anderson and no nap for Carter made for a pretty quiet trip home! The only sad thing is that we didn't use sunscreen on the boys so Saturday and yesterday they were looking a bit pink, but seem to be looking a bit better today. Not a great mom moment for me to see them sunburned. But Marc keeps trying to make me feel better by taking part of the blame, I just think it's a mom's responsibility to do such things. On a funny note, doesn't Carter look hilarious in my sunglasses upside down. No, I didn't make him wear them. He wanted to for a while and insisted on putting them on himself. We got a few funny glances!