Kelly's #1 Son

He is sweet. He is two. He is a big brother. And he is a big helper. Last night at the family get-together he was "cleaning up" after the grown-ups while the grown-ups watched. Kelly was feeding Caiden, for the umpteenth time, and Travis was talking to Rob in the livingroom and the rest of us were being entertained by a very determined two year-old. It was sweet. It was funny. And it was messy. Michael and I were reminded of our days of making Talatta*. Instead of stopping him, I grabbed my camera and began taking pictures. It is my duty.

*Recipe for Talatta:

1 Sink full of cold, dirty dishwater

1 or more dining table chairs, pushed up to sink

1 or more kids to mix and stir dishwater

Before making Talatta, wash a buttload of dishes, making the water extra greasy and extra chunky. Add chairs and kids and sprinkle with love and fun.

Makes: Minutes and/or hours of fun!

We missed Aaron, Tammie, and the boys last night. Hope you are all feeling better!

Mirror, Mirror...

She doesn't just think she's cute--she KNOWS it.

Another Nature Photo

...from the back yard.

See our pretty weeds? And our dead grass?
See my crying daughter? "Momma! Come baaaack! Don't leave me, come back!"

Berry-licious

Don't these berries look so tastey? I want to pick them and eat them. But I won't, because I think they're poisonous. But they are pretty.

Bathtime Buddies

Emily discovered that she doesn't bathe alone.
"Hi! I'm Emily!"
"Wanna play?"

Fun with Blocks!

Emily loves knocking down stacks of blocks. She doesn't like watching, though.
She looks so proud in this picture. You'd think she stacked that tower of blocks.

Caiden

Here is Sir Caiden. He is so quiet! He squeaks some, but that's it. I think he was in "company mode". He was very still and had his eyes closed pretty much the whole time I was visiting. I did get to see him open his eyes. He's just so cute and tiny!

Cousins

I caught Corgan and Emily playing in the drapes yesterday. They played so well together. It was a treat to see them enjoying each other. This is my favorite picture from yesterday. It kind of says it all.

I will get pictures of Caiden today. I've seen him and he is pretty darn cute.

She's Clapping!

We have been working and working with Emily to get her to clap. Today while she was watching Backyardigans she just started clapping. It was pretty cute. The sound is something I will never forget. I love it!!!
She also puts her arms in the air if you ask her how big she is. I'm melting here.

Nevermind the Booger

In an attempt to get a picture of her top teeth, I got a terrific view of a really crusty, really big booger. Don't you want to just pick it? I don't. But I know Kelly wants to pick it. She's a booger snatcher. Click on it, see how big it is. It's gross!
She has three top teeth and one more on its way, in addition to two bottom teeth. She is very snaggley right now. She got the top right side tooth first, then the left front, then the right front, and now she's working on the left side. Too bad she can't eat corn on the cob and artichokes! That'd be fun to see.

Family Day Out

Yesterday we went to Southlake Town Square and walked around. We had lunch at the Cheescake Factory. It was such a nice day that we ate outside! Emily loved being outside.

I thought it'd be a fun learning experience to take some pictures of the cow sculptures around the square. I took a couple of pictures and then in the distance I saw these two ladies with cameras similar to mine, except they had freakin' huge lenses. I was like, "Wow, look at those freakin' huge lenses!" We began walking towards them and I quickly hid my camera in the stroller. I didn't want them giggling at my tiny camera. We approached them and Rob made mention that I was embarrassed and had hid my camera from them. So, of course I say, "Wow, your lenses are huge!" They laugh and tell me my camera is nice. It turned out that Rob knew one of the ladies and she has invited me along on some of their photography outings. I am very excited. The go to the zoo and parks and places like that. I hope she calls...

D. Appalled at Her Mother

Aww, look at that face! She is so happy! But, she's got soap in her hair.
So, I dump water on her head.

And she doesn't like it.

Hence, the face.

I am so mean.

Congratulations, Mom! You have won a picture of Emily! Hang it on your fridge! Frame it! Send it back to me along with twenty bucks and I'll get it autographed for you!

Thanks for playing. This was fun!

Guess the Expression

Is Emily:
A. Astounded at how funny her mother is?
B. Tired of having her picture taken?
C. Seriously considering finding new parents?
D. Appalled at her mother?
E. Pooping?
F. Ready to get out of the tub?

I'm sure everyone is on the edge of their seats wondering what the expression could be! How 'bout we have a contest? Does that sound like fun? Does it sound like I'm a Pioneer Woman wannabe? Well, I could never compare to her, but I want to have as much fun as she does and as many fans as she has. I don't have a junk drawer full of awesome prizes, but I do have a cluttered desk with lots of crap on it. I could rifle through and find something I don't want anymore and give it to the winners. But don't let that stop you from guessing. Please, delurk you lurkers. I wanna see who checks in on Emily.

The contest ends Monday evening around nine-ish or so. There can be more than one winner.

It's Quiet. Too Quiet...

I've been told this would happen. That when your child gets too quiet, that you should begin to wonder what they're up to. I just didn't think she could get into anything yet.

She emptied that whole container of baby wipes before I even noticed she was doing it. It was a new refill pack, too. That's what I get for not paying attention and watching the boob tube.

Valentine's Day Memories, Vol. III

Valentine's Day was a huge popularity contest in junior high. As a fundraiser, the student council would sell candy-grams. A student would pay two bucks for each candy-gram they wanted delivered to their friends. Then during third period, the student council members would start delivering the candy-grams. Some of the students would end up with two, three, even four of these special deliveries, while I would end up with none. Every time. Nobody loved me. If I had been smart (and rich) I would have bought a couple for myself. Then I wouldn't have looked so pathetic.

BUT, now I am the most popular girl at my house. Well, second most popular. Rob makes me feel like a queen and it makes up for all those stinky years when I didn't have a Valentine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Memories, Vol. II

The first time Valentine's Day meant something other than just giving a little card to a classmate and receiving the obligitory card in return was when I was in the sixth grade. This was just after moving to Alturas. I didn't know anyone, and no one knew me. Or so I thought...

I had just walked home from school (I didn't ride the bus for fear of the teasing) and I remember hearing a knock at our front door. My mom answered the door and then called for me. Someone was at the door for me? I get to the door and standing there was Bill, a classmate of mine, holding a single rose and a giant candy Kiss. Holy freak, I was shocked!

I don't know why I was shocked. Probably because a boy had never made this gesture before. Bill had shown interest in me from the time we moved to Alturas. The first time we played volleyball in PE, I served a perfect set. He ran up to me afterwards and said, "You're a damn good player." Ooh, cussing; how sexy, right? I don't think I'd ever heard someone other than Poppy cuss (except for when Mom was really mad, but that's a whole other post).

I remember eating that giant kiss bit by bit and my family respecting the fact that the huge piece of chocolate was mine and only mine. Well, that's what I thought until one day I came home from school to bite a piece off and for some odd reason there was only a tiny bit of chocolate. I knew how much I had eaten, I took a mental picture each time I put the kiss away.

"MOOOOOooommmm!!! Somebody's been eating my kiss!!!!" I was livid. That was my sweetheart kiss. I wanted to cry. EXCEPT, it wasn't really MY kiss. Mom had replaced the giant kiss with a normal sized kiss and had bitten off parts of it to make it look like mine.

Valentine's Day Memories, Vol. I

Valentine's Day was a big day for me when I was little. It was fun going with Mom to pick out the Valentine's cards I'd give to my classmates. I remember signing each card, trying hard not to make it too obvious that I liked a particular boy. I'd usually end up giving him the ugliest card to throw him off.

The class would exchange cards and have a party with punch and cookies and cupcakes. I don't remember anyone ever not getting the same amount of cards as everyone else. There were many times I wanted to leave someone off my list. There was the girl that stole my flip-flops and that boy that picked his nose with his thumb. But, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I had left someone off the list.

I Have a New Blog!

I have started a new blog. I have added the link under "Check These Out." It's called "My Little Hobby." I will be posting pictures that I will be taking with my new camera. Let me know what you think.

Oh, and here's Emily:

The Big Ten

Emily turned 10 months old on Wednesday.
She started taking more steps on Tuesday night. She is taking more and more each day.
She has four teeth, but the fourth tooth keeps disappearing under her swollen gums.
She got her first haircut on Wednesday.
She'll moo at a cow picture, baa at a sheep picture, and quack at a duck picture.

On a Break

I haven't taken many pictures with the new camera. I've been sick. Plus, I have to upload new software and read the instruction manual and I just don't have the energy right now. Here is a picture of Emily after her haircut taken with the old camera.

I believe the photo speaks for itself...

Somebody needs a haircut

Two guesses who it is.

Cave Woman

Chloe and The Pink Thing

One day, Emily and Chloe were in the same room at the same time. This pisses Chloe off. She doesn't like noisey, wet humans. Chloe likes Emily, from a distance, so the proximity of the baby makes Chloe on edge.

"Oh great. Just great. Here comes that loud pink thing."
"I will ignore it. I will pretend it's not right.next.to.me...."
"Did it just TOUCH me? Eww. Ick."
"Okay, gotta go bathe. Dude! I literally JUST finished bathing like five minutes ago. You annoy me, Pink Thing."

Pictures

Emily woke up with the hair flu yesterday.

She likes to move the chairs in the kitchen.
Awww!

Tickle Tickle

We Were So Poor

Oftentimes at family gatherings we talk about fun times we had when we were kids. We talk about the annual Modoc County Fair, Surpise Valley Elementary School and our favorite teachers and not-so-favorite teachers, the SV Hill, and the Brumbaughs and the Gooches.

But it never fails that we dig up memories about how poor we were. I don't think it was that we were poor (or were we?), I think it had to do with the fact that we didn't have video games or more than three channels on the television. We grew up using our imaginations and learned to be resourceful with our environment and make the most of what we had. Here are some examples of how poor we were:

Disclaimer: this is by no means a dig at how our parents raised us. I think I speak for each of my siblings when I say I am grateful of how I was brought up and I have no regrets.

*We bathed in the same bath water. Usually the last child bathed in cold, gray water.
*Speaking of cold, gray water, when Michael and I would do dishes (did we really do the dishes?) we would play with the leftover chunky dishwater. We called this "Talatta". We pretended it was our secret recipe. Recipe for what, I don't know.
*We didn't have a basketball hoop until we moved to Texas. Before that, when we'd play basketball in the driveway, we'd put a frisbee on the roof and pretend that was the basket. We'd call an official time-out when the frisbee would fall off the roof.
*We played with dirt. There was this dirt pile in our back yard. We played on it daily in the summertime. We sledded down it in the wintertime. We lost lots of tools and utensils in the dirt. We even tried digging our own secret underground tunnel.
*My friend Pascha and I would roller skate in the middle of the street. We only had one pair of skates between the two of us, so she'd wear one skate and I'd wear the other and we 'd roll around skateboarder style.
*Speaking of the middle of the street, we could spend countless hours popping tar bubbles. The heat of the sun in the summertime would cause bubbles to form in the tar that was in the middle of the street. We popped them like pimples.
*This doesn't really fall into the "we were so poor" category, but one time when our septic tank backed up, we had to keep the toilet flushing to a minimum. To help us remember not to flush unless it was necessary(ie poop), Dad came up with a little ditty: If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down. To this day, it's one of my favorite poems.

I'm sure there are more "we were so poor" moments, but I can't think of any. Can you guys think of any more that you want to add?

I'm Dreaming of a White Groundhog Day

It's snowing right now. Big flakes. Emily likes snow, but only from inside the house. We went outside for a couple of minutes. I was showing her the snow and talking about how each flake is different and she was just watching those flakes fall out of the sky. I caught one and I showed it to her and she opened her mouth like she wanted to eat it. So I fed it to her. We did this for a couple of minutes and then she decided she was done.