The Adventure of a Lifetime

Eliza is 1

2009-12-22T22:06:00.002-07:00

Here she is, in all of her bald-headed, big brown-eyed glory! She loves to sit on anything that resembles a chair, even a turned-over stool.

Isaac was a great big brother and helped open her gifts (read: he opened every single one himself).

I think Eliza was just thrilled to have a few toys of her own now:

She seemed the most excited about the cupcakes. She has a sixth sense for sugary treats; she can spot them anywhere and won't rest until she gets some.

But when she finally got her cupcake she didn't eat it by the fistfuls like ~~Isaac~~ some children I know. Instead she ate it slowly and deliberately, as if she were thinking "yes, this is exactly the sort of thing I should always be fed. Good job for finally figuring it out."

We love you, our sweet little Li-Li!

Family Pictures

2009-12-22T21:45:00.001-07:00

We've been married for almost 8 years, and have been parents for almost four...but we've never really had "family pictures". For some reason we feel like more of a bona fide family with the addition of Eliza.

However, we found that getting a picture where both children look acceptable is pretty difficult...
I love this one, except Isaac looks like like he's been given too much Benadryl.

This one is great...I'm smiling, Nate is smiling, Eliza is even smiling; but Isaac is demonstrating his classic pouty-lip look.

He smiles when he's posing with his uncle McLean!

And looks like an angel when he poses by himself...

But can't seem to hold still in any group pictures.

Eliza, on the other hand, kept pulling at anything I put on her head (hat or headband) to help her look less like a cue ball.

I do love this picture of me and my girl.

And this one of my sibs and I.

And my cute mom and dad.

In the end, my favorite was this one of my two kiddos. Isaac is smiling...and Eliza left her headband on (for a moment)!

And we did get one of our family where we all look decent.

Thank goodness for our excellent photographer/friend (the incomparable Becky) and her patience!

I turned the big Three Oh!

2009-12-22T21:24:00.001-07:00

So the OTHER really cool thing that happened on October 31st was my birthday. Nate outdid himself and gave me a present for the 30 days prior to my birthday ("The 30 days of 30") and then a party with friends the day before my birthday. No pics, but I will always remember the fun of getting a present every day for a month. Love you babe!

Halloween

2009-12-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Christmas is coming, and the New Year will follow shortly...and I WILL be caught up with the blog by then. Hence for this post we will turn our thoughts back to a time in the recent past, a warmer time, a time when children wear costumes and eat lots of candy (as opposed to the Christmas holiday, where children just eat lots of candy).

Isaac and his cute friend Joy at Red Butte Garden's Halloween festivities:

Trick-or-treating with cousins Brock and Logan:

Tough Batman and happy Butterfly:

More Fun in the Bath

2009-10-20T21:31:00.000-06:00

Why do I love watching my kids take a bath together?

Because they're clean, contained, and content!

They can stay in the bath until the water is cold, just enjoying hangin' out together.

It's a great time...

... until it's time to get out!

Maybe I should just let them in stay in forever?

Siblings

2009-10-19T21:19:00.001-06:00

Although he's a blonde, blue-eyed boy and she's a brunette, brown-eyed girl...

... sometimes they look so much alike it amazes me!

Bear Lake

2009-09-07T22:36:00.002-06:00

We spent the last weekend before school started up at Bear Lake (with the rest of northern Utah). We were hoping for a last taste of summer but instead got an early taste of fall.

On a walk near the cabin:

The little ones, not to be deterred by the temperatures, played down at the beach in their sweatshirts:

While the big people played volleyball:

Isn't the beach fun?

St. George Trip

2009-08-27T22:22:00.000-06:00

Way back before Easter (yes I'm behind...life is busy, okay?) we went down to St George with Nate's family and had a great time!

We did some hiking, and I was lucky to have Brynnley as my super helper with Eliza:

Isaac enjoyed climbing up and leaping off red rocks:
Preparation...

And landing...

We prepped for Easter by coloring about 8 dozen eggs:

And then had a great Easter egg hunt and took pics in our Easter outfits:

Look what I can do

2009-08-25T21:21:00.000-06:00

It was a bittersweet day when I walked in the kids' room and saw Eliza like this:

Eliza, 8 months old

Sweet because, well, she's super cute and is trying so hard to be a big girl. Bitter partly because she's growing up way too fast and I miss my tiny baby--but really because once the baby can stand up in the crib, bedtime has irrevocably changed! How many more months until she's trying to climb out?

Tubing in the Weber River

2009-08-25T13:52:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we were visiting Nate's parents in Riverdale on a VERY hot summer day, and Isaac and Nate joined in on an impromptu tubing trip down a stretch of the Weber River. Too bad girls can't just throw on a pair of shorts and go swimming like boys, or I'd have joined them too!

Isaac was nervous but excited to have a turn:

Blake (sporting the ninja-style headgear) and Camden drifting towards the small rapids:

Grandma Diane watching carefully to make sure no one drowned:

Jeff took it head first:

Lori cheesing for the camera:

And Nate and Isaac starting their ride:

They tipped over right before the rapids, and Isaac got a mouthful of river water. He said it was "too scary" and asked for a "softer" ride next time.

Next time, Eliza and I will get our turn!

Smithson Family Reunion - Ragged Mountain

2009-08-23T06:52:00.000-06:00

In July we joined 50 or 60 of my Smithson family in Ragged Mountain near Gunnison, Colorado for a week of enjoying the peace, quiet and beauty of the Great Outdoors. And we got to do it all from the comfort of rustic log cabins (complete with hot water, toilets, showers, and electricity). I spent my childhood and college summers sleeping on the hard, cold ground while camping...and now that I'm a mom I want the amenities!

Me and my wonderful Dad!

My uncle Mike and aunt Lynne let us borrow their luxurious pop-up trailer (since sleeping arrangements in the cabin was pretty tight) and their Land Rover to pull it!

Sleeping in the tent trailer was perfection...warm and dry but still close enough to the outdoors to wake up with cold ears and noses! Isaac loved it:

But mostly I loved the proximity to the cabins:

Down at the Lodge, Isaac enjoys his first taste of Navajo tacos (a staple in my family!) with cousins:

Eliza with her great-grandmother, who she was named for:

On a hike with my uncle Dan and aunt Liz:

Getting ready to canoe on one of the beautiful, completely clear lakes:

The view from the Lodge:

We're already counting down until the next time we get to go!

7 Month Pictures

2009-08-22T21:51:00.001-06:00

Once again our friend Becky completely outdid herself and took these beautiful pictures of Eliza. I feel so lucky to have such a talented next door neighbor who can capture Eliza so perfectly!

Our happy, sweet little girl:

One of my favorites, captures her big brown eyes:

I just realized on posting this that she doesn't make this darling face anymore:

And my absolute favorite, displaying her typical closed-mouth smile:

Blog Hiatus Over...

2009-08-22T21:35:00.002-06:00

I'm rejoining the blogging world. Apparently I needed a little (long) break. I'm sure nothing has been the same since I stopped blogging several months ago, and life will again restart as we begin to chronicle ours...so stay tuned!

The Wicked Truth

2009-04-21T08:02:00.000-06:00

If you are looking for something to do tonight a friend of ours is doing a book reading and signing at Sam Weller's Bookstore in Downtown Salt Lake City. Here is a link with more details link.

Eliza is 4 months old!

2009-04-07T21:04:00.000-06:00

So who does she look like?

Mommy...

Daddy...

or Brother?

Ready for a bath!

2009-04-06T13:38:00.000-06:00

When I was pregnant with Eliza a friend told me the best part about having more than one kid is watching them love each other. Isaac is an adoring big brother (most of the time). My favorite Isaac quote of the week: "I love having a baby sister, from it makes me happy!"

It makes me happy, too.

Applesauce Whole Wheat Bread

2009-04-05T20:16:00.003-06:00

When I was growing up my mom would make all our bread; this is the recipe she used. I've never made it before, and decided that today was the perfect day to try it out. I remember watching my mom kneading the dough, up to her elbows in flour, and then being amazed as the dough rose higher and higher as it sat on the counter. My sister and I used to steal pinches of yeasty sweet dough and mom would warn us that we would get sick if we ate too much.

I had it much easier today and used my Bosch to do the hard work and still got to enjoy the same delicious results.

We used to gather in the kitchen when the hot bread came out and wait for a slice. There's nothing like a slice of bread fresh from the oven.

And there's nothing like the look on your family's faces when they take a big bite out of the bread you baked.

It smelled like my childhood today at our house, and it was delicious!

Here's the recipe, from Donna Lou's cookbook (she was one of my grandma's best friends). I changed it slightly by substituting honey and molasses for brown sugar.

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar or honey
3 cups applesauce
2 1/2 cups hot water
1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup molasses)
2 tablespoons salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6 cups whole wheat flour
6 cups all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water with tablespoon of sugar or honey. Combine applesauce, hot water, brown sugar (or honey/molasses), salt and oil in large mixing bowl. Add whole wheat flour and mix well. Add yeast mixture and mix thoroughly. Let stand 20 minutes. Add all purpose flour until dough pulls away from sides and is moderately stiff. Knead 8-10 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl, cover and allow to rise until doubled. Punch down and let rest 10 minutes. Shape into 4 loaves and place in greased 9x5x4 loaf pans. Cover and allow to rise until almost doubled. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (may vary depending on your oven). Brush hot loaves with butter.

(If you have a Bosch mixer you can skip the first raise; just put directly in the loaf pans and let it rise until almost doubled, then bake. I've tried it both ways and they taste pretty much the same).

You know your 3 year old is tired when...

2009-04-05T13:36:00.001-06:00

...he falls asleep using the toilet!

Grateful

2009-04-02T07:37:00.001-06:00

I'm grateful that today is April 2nd.

And April Fool's Day is over...

And I'm not really pregnant!

Surprise!

2009-04-01T13:20:00.003-06:00

This is a little sooner than we would have planned, but we are excited nonetheless!

Create

2009-03-08T22:18:00.005-06:00

If you haven't seen this yet, you need to!

Freezer Meal: Chicken caesar casserole

2009-02-20T20:56:00.002-07:00

This recipe was adapted from this website.

Ingredients:

2 lbs cooked chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" to 1" pieces
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/3 cup light creamy caesar dressing
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese, grated
1 12-oz package tubed pasta (such as penne or macaroni), cooked and drained
1/4 cup croutons

Combine all ingredients but croutons, mixing well, in a 2 quart baking dish. (I topped with another 1/3 cup of caesar dressing because it didn't seem creamy enough). Allow to cool and freeze.

From freezer: Thaw casserole. Top with crushed croutons and bake in 350F preheated oven for 30 minutes (I needed to bake it 45 minutes to get it piping hot and bubbly around the edges) or until topping is browned and casserole is bubbly.

This meal was surprisingly good. I used the cheapest brand of caesar dressing I could find and it still turned out OK. I divided it in half and got two 8x8" pans, each of which is enough to feed my small family and have some leftovers for lunch the next day.

Grade: B

One of the hardest things about freezer meals for me is the question of how to store it? Buying disposable foil pans for each meal can get expensive, and I don't have enough dishes to freeze the meal directly in the baking dish. I came up with this trick and it's worked pretty well: line the dish you plan to bake in with aluminum foil. Cut a piece of cardboard to fit in the bottom of the pan. Cover this with another layer of aluminum foil and place on top of the first layer of foil that is in the pan. Put the food in the dish, on top of the cardboard covered with foil. Cover with plastic wrap and then another layer of foil. Freeze, then remove from the dish and squeeze the top and bottom layers of foil together to create a tight seal. You can put this in the freezer and the cardboard creates some stability. When ready to eat, remove from freezer the night before and take off the foil and cardboard, place in the dish you initially freezed it in, and let it sit in your fridge all night.

Freezer Meal: Stuffed Pork Chops

2009-02-20T20:41:00.002-07:00

As many may know, we purchased a deep freezer for Christmas and placed it, yes, in the middle of our kitchen. Maybe a little trailer park-ish, but I love having a place to store things. I spent several days during my maternity leave cooking meals to freeze so that I wouldn't have to spend my precious time at home preparing dinner. I started back to work with enough meals to get us through February and March, and it has so far been a lifesaver.

So to spread the freezer meal love, I'm going to post some of my favorite freezer meals that we have enjoyed.

First up, stuffed pork chops, recipe from this website.

Ingredients:

12 pork chops (mine were about one inch thick)
1 1/2 cups whole kernel corn
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. minced parsley
3/4 tsp. sage
1 Tbsp. grated onion
1 cup diced apple
1 egg
3 Tbsp. milk

Directions for Cooking Day: Cut a pocket on the bone side of each cop. Combine next 10 ingredients and mix well. Stuff each chop with corn mixture. Brown chops in oil. Let pork chops cool and freeze using Freezer bags. I put four chops in a gallon freezer bag, tried to get all the air out, and let it freeze.

Directions for Serving Day: Defrost pork chops. Bake about 1 hour (or until pork is thoroughly cooked) at 350 degrees.

I didn't check the meat with a meat thermometer until 1 hour was up, and it was already to 180 degrees (170 degrees would be ideal), and the meat was not as tender as I would have liked. However, the flavor was great and the chops seemed pretty fancy! You could easily serve these for company or Sunday dinner. They froze well and defrosted great. I served it with a salad and brown and serve rolls from the freezer.

Grade: A-

Eliza's Blessing

2009-02-18T22:09:00.003-07:00

Sweet little Eliza Rose was blessed by her dad on February 8. We were so blessed to have her blessing attended by so many family and friends, including our friends the Sunds who were in town from Montana. Nate gave a beautiful blessing and we enjoyed having some time to celebrate our little girl with people we love!

Eliza wore the same blessing dress that my little sister Ellie wore, 26 years ago! Thanks to my Grandma McLean for saving it!

Here are a few of the obligatory pictures of adoring family and friends with Eliza:

Grandma Diane and Eliza:

Grandma and Grandpa - Great with give her some attention:

Four generations on the McLean side:

My wonderful grandma Shima a.k.a. Sister Smithson

Our little family with the Sunds:

And Isaac was completely wiped out by the end of the day. Having all his cousins and one of his best friends all in one place was a little much for him!

Isaac's 3rd Birthday

2009-02-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

The day started with a very special birthday breakfast...

He loved all the presents, including the viewfinder from grandma-great:

The doctor kit from grandma Merrie:
And the little people farm from grandma Diane:

Here is the super-amazingly decorated cake (it doesn't look that great, but it tasted pretty good. Light and fluffy chocolate cake with whipped cream/cream cheese frosting...mmmm).

Happy birthday Monkey!

Isaac is Three!

2009-02-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure that it was only a month or two ago that he looked like this...

And maybe a week ago that he looked like this...
But now he's all grown up and turned three! I love you monkey!

Eliza's first photo shoot

2009-02-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

Our friend and neighbor Becky once again did a fantastic job! She spent several hours getting the perfect shots of Eliza and Isaac and I am so happy with the way these turned out (she also took the photo I used for my new blog header). Here are a few of my favorites:

New Look!

2009-02-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

It's only been 2 months since we added another member to the family...and I've finally changed our blog to reflect that. It's a little more girly than the previous look (which Nate designed) but I like it!

Made 'em myself!

2009-01-26T17:32:00.001-07:00

Having a girl is more fun than I expected. I'm having a blast making little bows, flower clips, and headbands...maybe I should drop out of residency and do this for a living. Do you think I could make my student loan payments?

In the meantime, anyone up for a bow-making party?

Little Sis with Mom & Dad

2009-01-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

Such lucky parents!

Snowmen at Night

2009-01-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

We read this book nearly every night before bed during the month of December. One day we realized that Isaac had committed it almost entirely to memory; Nate was able to get a recording of him "reading" the book. Enjoy!

Brother and Sister

2009-01-23T08:25:00.001-07:00

One of the best things about having Eliza in our family is to watch Isaac interact with her. He is very sweet and loving with her, asks to hold her multiple times a day, and now says "mom, take a picture!" whenever they are together.

So here are some pics of my two kids hangin' out over the past 7 weeks:

"Look mom, I'm sharing my toys with baby sister!"

First bath together:

"I'm being careful with her head, mom!"

Christmas

2009-01-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year; however, for some reason we didn't end up with many pictures. Could have been due to the 3 week old baby who was requiring near-constant contact with her mommy at that time.

Isaac had a wonderful time seeing what Santa brought him. It was a magical morning!

A brother and sister in Christmas PJs:

Mommy and Eliza
Isaac and cousin Colin:
At grandma Merrie's house:
Isaac posing by our Christmas tree:

Gingerbread Train!

2008-12-25T15:40:00.001-07:00

Our friends the Gwilliams gave us a gingerbread train kit in December; we thought it was sure to be a hit with Isaac since it combined his favorite things--trains, cookies, and candy.

Dad and Isaac building the train:

Isaac ate at least half of the candies before they made it on the train.
Finished product!

Joy & Isaac

2008-12-25T15:37:00.001-07:00

Isaac was the happiest kid in the world when Joy (and her parents Chris and Jana) came to visit in December! They had a great time together, even when they rubbed sunscreen all over their faces (and in their eyes) and then cried for 4 hours. Aren't they cute together?

Eliza's Bath

2008-12-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

Eliza had her first bath...finally. It seemed like the last stumpy bit of her umbilical cord would never fall off! She loved it! It was nice for Nate and I to spend some alone time with her...one of the downsides of being the second child is you don't get your parents' undivided attention, so it was nice to put Isaac to bed and spend some time with our little girl.

I didn't want to post a full body shot, so you can't see her little chicken legs floating in the water. She is actually getting the beginnings of some chubby rolls on her thighs.

Gwilliam Visit

2008-12-22T10:15:00.001-07:00

Isaac was so excited to have his buddies Cade and Connor drop by for a visit this week! He misses them and still talks about them frequently. Within minutes they had run into his room, and we heard loud crashes followed by hysterical laughing...just like old times!

Eliza is home

2008-12-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we brought our little girl home! She is doing great. Everything went well with the delivery and hospital stay and she is happy, healthy, and doing all the things a newborn should do (eat, sleep, and poop!). So here are a few pictures to recap her first few days of life:

Dad's first look at his baby girl:

Mom's second look at her baby girl (the first look wasn't so pretty...)

Nate giving Eliza her first sponge bath:

Meeting Pop-pop:

Meeting aunt Lori and cousin Camden:

Meeting Brookelyn:
And Brynnley:

Grandpa and Grandma Great meet their first great-granddaughter:

Shima meets her twenty-first great-grandchild:

Eliza says hi to uncle Jeff and aunt Becca:

Grandpa Lonnie holds his newest granddaughter:

Eliza with grandma Diane:

Isaac gives his baby sister lots of attention:

At home with Isaac and grandma Merrie:

We are so happy to have this little one in our family!

Eliza Rose Godfrey

2008-12-03T07:06:00.001-07:00

Eliza Rose Godfrey

Born: December 2, 2008 - 3:30 pm

7 pounds, 3 ounces

19 inches

Zoo Lights

2008-12-01T21:17:00.001-07:00

So yes, it is December 1st and our little girl has not arrived yet...although she is over a week past her expected due date. I tried to be patient and let her come when she was ready but for several reasons, I am finished waiting around and tomorrow we are going in to be induced! So to mark our last evening as a family of three we went to the zoo together to see the zoo lights.

We rode the carousel (we were the only ones on it!)

Isaac climbed on top of the lion sculpture:

Isaac and Nate posed in front of a dragon:

And we all smiled for the camera together:

I love our little family and we are so excited to meet the newest member very soon!

An I for Isaac!

2008-11-24T14:32:00.001-07:00

We were just getting ready to make this...

When I heard Isaac say, delightedly "It's an I for Isaac!" and I came back into the room and saw this:
This is the first letter Isaac has ever written! Actually, it's the first thing he's drawn that even resembled what he said it was. The darker one on the left was the first one, then he made several "reeeaaally looooong ones" right after.

Today, the letter I. Tomorrow, he'll start writing novels.

Isaac's New Bed

2008-11-18T15:06:00.001-07:00

As a preparation for the impending arrival of a new baby, we got Isaac a Big Kid bed recently. He was ecstatic to help set it up and sleep in it but has had mixed success in staying in it all night.

One thing that seems to make him feel more secure is to sleep with his "friends" (for the nap pictured below, he requested to sleep with "all of them").

Halloween

2008-11-18T14:57:00.001-07:00

For Halloween Isaac dressed up as a dragon (he ran around yelling "rarr!" but insisted he was a "nice dragon") and enjoyed the magic of getting free candy from strangers. We celebrated with a trunk-or-treat at church (seen below with cousin Colin) and trick-or-treated on Halloween night with cousins Logan and Brock.

Carving pumpkins with Ellie and Colin at Grandma Merrie's house:

Bradeigh's Birthday

2008-11-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

I turned 29 this year on Halloween! I asked my mom to make me a french apple pie instead of a birthday cake, and it was delicious. Thanks mom!

Scotshaven Playground

2008-10-06T14:01:00.001-06:00

Nate has spent several days working up at my grandparent's house in Heber building a playground for the little ones to play on. Here are some pics of Isaac, Bucky, and Colin enjoying the fruits of Nate's labor.

Nate's 30th Birthday

2008-10-06T14:00:00.001-06:00

Nate turned 30 on September 29th! We celebrated with a couple of family parties and a surprise party with family and friends where we ate hot-dogs and played chicago softball. Happy 30th b-day babe!

Sund's you will be missed

2008-10-06T13:58:00.001-06:00

One of the downsides of living in our wonderful Student Housing community is that we often have to say good-bye to friends we have made here. Our good friends Chris, Jana, and Joy Sund recently moved back to Montana. Isaac and Joy have been inseparable for the past several months and Nate and I have cherished our friendship with Chris and Jana.

We took the below picture the night before they moved at Nate's birthday party.

Afterward Joy came over while her parents finished last-minute moving preparations. Isaac and Joy pulled out these bins and sat in their "boats" while watching Finding Nemo together.
When it was time for Joy to go home we found them in Isaac's crib together, reading books.
We will miss you guys!

Joy's Birthday

2008-10-06T13:56:00.001-06:00

Isaac's good friend Joy recently celebrated her 3rd birthday just a few days before she and her family moved back to Montana.
Joy's parents treated Isaac and Joy to a trip to Build a Bear where they each picked out an animal. Isaac picked out a monkey and Joy picked a bunny. They found little strollers and immediately strapped their animals in and pushed them around the store.
Such good friends! We will miss you Joy!

Isaac 2 1/2 year old pictures

2008-09-17T14:32:00.000-06:00

We finally got some new pictures of Isaac...the ones of him at 12 months were looking a little out-dated. Our neighbor and friend Becky took them and did a great job! Here's a look at a few of our favorites:

Baby Signing Time Vol. 4 - Preview

2008-09-17T14:20:00.000-06:00

Here's part of a song from one of the soon-to-be-released Baby Signing Time videos. Isaac is in it for a split second near the beginning.

Red Butte Garden

2008-08-26T07:07:00.000-06:00

Isaac and Joy at Red Butte riding the moose statue. We love you Joy!

Isaac loves to Ride his Bike

2008-08-12T15:03:00.000-06:00

This was one of those days when you realize...my baby is growing up. Being able to ride your first bike must be some sort of rite of passage, even when that bike is a tiny little tricycle. Isaac received it for Christmas and has been scooting around on it all winter and spring. He finally has learned how to pedal it effectively, so we bought him a helmet ("It's a FIRE helmet, mom!") and captured a few moments of him showing off at Grandma's house.

Cade & Conner you will be missed

2008-08-12T13:41:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure when he will realize that Cade and Connor have moved away and won't be joining him on the playground or at nursery. But when he does, I'm sure he will let us know how he feels. We'll miss you too, boys!

Sleep Overs!

2008-08-07T13:25:00.001-06:00

The past two weeks Isaac had his first sleepovers. First, his friends Cade and Connor slept over so their parents could have a night away. I was actually worried about the twins keeping Isaac awake...ha! Cade and Connor settled down quickly after being put to bed, probably because they're used to sharing a room with a friend. Isaac, however, stayed awake laughing and inciting rambunctiousness for a good hour...we finally had to remove him from his bedroom and let him fall asleep on our bed. When I took him out, Cade and Connor looked up at me as if to say "Thank you! We need to get some sleep!"

Isaac and his buddies enjoying some popcorn before going to bed.

This past weekend, Isaac was fortunate enough to have his other best friend Joy sleep over while her parents enjoyed a night away. We were smart this time and put them in separate rooms to sleep. They wanted to wear matching pajamas, so we put them both in North Ogden Cherry Days t-shirts (thanks Becca!) and they fell asleep right away (a consequence of staying up late playing with their friend Owen). Joy woke a couple of times and cried for her mommy, but overall it went fine.

We are so lucky to have good friends!

Playgroup - BBQ

2008-07-22T07:09:00.000-06:00

It is BBQ season so we thought we would join in the fun for playgroup this week. So come join us tonight (July 22) @ 5:00 PM for some good food on the playground. We will provide some hotdogs for everyone and just ask those who can to bring a side to share. Hope to see all you playgroup players but all are welcome.

What not to do on a Saturday Morning

2008-07-21T06:50:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday we woke up and decided we wanted to spend the morning together as a family. We decided to do a hike, conveniently forgetting that Isaac has now decided he doesn't like hiking, won't ride in the backpack and will only walk about 20 yards before he turns to one of us and begs "hold you hold you hold you." Instead of driving up a nearby canyon to a trail that might be shady and cool, and instead of walking right behind our apartments and heading into the foothills that were easily accessible, we decided to drive over to Ensign peak.

We realized we had made a mistake when there were already multiple groups of young men/young women and young single adults already starting out on the hike. Then we realized it was already 95 degrees at 10 am and the hike is through the desert-like foothills with grasshopper-populated grasslands. But we pressed on. It is not a long hike but pretty steep so of course Isaac didn't want to walk so he ended up riding on Nate's shoulders. We finally made it to the top (with the multitude of other hikers) and gazed over a lovely view of a dusty, smoggy city on one side and the train tracks and refineries on the other.

So instead of feeling refreshed by a nice hike up a beautiful canyon with our family, we were all hot, tired, dusty, and annoyed. Ah, nature. We won't be opting for this hike again anytime soon.

Cabin in the Woods

2008-07-14T15:31:00.001-06:00

We spent a fun and restful weekend with the Godfrey family at a cabin in Heber a couple weeks ago.

One of the highlights (aside from all the delicious food, fresh air, great company and long afternoon naps) was playing with the marshmallow shooters.

Jeff shows off his stealth marshmallow commando skills:

Isaac joined in the fun (you had to watch out for his marshmallows, they were soggy by the time he finally blew them all the way out)

JoLynne and her boys Brock and Logan:The Tatton girls pose:
The Watkins kids:
Our little family:
Nate really got into the fun and sent a few marshmallows zinging my way (they sting if they hit you in the ear!)

Another highlight was a family bike ride. Isaac and Brock got a cozy seat in a trailer.
Isaac had his first (very slow) 4-wheeler ride. Yes, he wore a helmet.

Studio 5

2008-07-14T15:08:00.001-06:00

So we had our debut television appearance last Friday. It will also be our finale.

This is what we've learned from this experience:

1. When you ask a 2 year old to be on live TV, don't ask them to arrive at 10:30 when their segment isn't until 11:45.

2. In fact, don't put a 2 year old on at 11:45. 11:45 is almost time for lunch and nap for the vast majority of 2 year olds.

3. Don't expect the 2 year old to sit still on a strange set with strange people on a strange couch.

4. Don't expect the 2 year old to sit still with only his mom on the strange set, when he can see his dad sitting comfortably off to the side with grandma. You will end up having to add a chair for the dad at the last minute...and then the 2 year old won't hold still anyway.

5. Don't try to put a microphone on the 2 year old. Just don't even try.

6. Don't ask the 2 year old to do something repeatedly while he waits from 10:30 to 11:45 ("Sign cookie for us Isaac! Sign sun for us Isaac! Sign day for us Isaac! Sign sign sign sign sign!") and then expect him to do it again in front of the camera on live TV.

And finally...
7. When you reassure his parents "He did great!" they will know you are lying. Yes, they will know he didn't do anything except make faces at the monitor and crawl on the floor. But they will still think that 2 year old is the cutest kid ever.

But you can judge for yourself; here is the segment:

Studio 5 video link - Our gallery video link - if above video doesn't work

And some behind-the-scenes shots of Nate getting hooked up to the mic.

And Isaac starting to squirm...
And after we finished, Nate wanted a picture of us in front of the studio. The look on Isaac's face captures exactly how we were all feeling.

However, the signing time people sent us a thank-you package this week with three new books and a gift card to Dairy Queen, so I guess it was worth it.

Garden - Week 8

2008-07-14T14:19:00.001-06:00

Our little garden plot has been coming along nicely. Well, the tomatoes are a little sad-looking but we have the best peas in the whole garden.

Look at these beautiful peas!

Our beans are doing well, too.
Here are our sad tomatoes. They are actually doing much better after a little gift of fertilizer from our expert gardener friend Bret.

Fabulous 4th

2008-07-05T09:18:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July! We spent the day at Grandma Moo's (Grandma Smithson's house) with the McLeans. Isaac, Bucky and Colin spent several house playing in the baby pool (it's amazing what will entertain a couple of 2 year olds and a 9 month old).

The adoring fans (McLean, Meggan, Grandma McLean, and Uncle Mike and Aunt Lynne) looked on.
What's cuter than a 9 month old boy in a matching swimsuit and swim shirt?
Later we watched our own firework show on the driveway.

Isaac had his first experience with sparklers and fireworks. Nate set up a great display and a good time was had by all.

Isaac on TV

2008-07-04T08:48:00.001-06:00

Remember a couple of months ago when Isaac did a little gig for the Signing Time videos? It was fun, he had a blast, we got a bunch of free videos out of it. Well now they want more from us. Apparently they are doing an interview with a local daytime show and want a kid to be on the interview with Rachel. Isaac's name came up instantly as a good signer so they invited him to be on the show. We asked him if he wanted to go do more signs with the Signing Time people and he said "yes", so that's fine. We told them we couldn't guarrantee that he would sign on cue (but what 2 year old will consistently do anything you ask him anyway?), but we'd be happy to bring him.
But wait...there's more. Apparently they want his parents to join him for the interview. I'm not so sure about this now...we are not the perfect poster family for sign language. We used it, it helped us communicate with Isaac, and I think it helped with his language development. But now he can speak very well...and he really only uses sign language when either his mouth is full (he'll usually sign that he wants "more" of whatever he is eating) or if he is trying to show how sorry he is after being in time-out. And regardless, I really don't want to be on TV. Luckily I've heard that no one watches this show anyway. If anyone is interested in tuning in and you live in Utah you can check it out on Friday at 11 am.

It's a . . .

2008-07-02T22:04:00.001-06:00

We had our ultrasound this week and the verdict is in: we are expecting a baby girl. Isaac already picked out the name several weeks ago (Froot Loops) so we are lucky that it works for a boy or a girl.

Salt Lake Bee's Game

2008-06-24T15:15:00.001-06:00

My mom took us all to the Bee's game on Monday night. We had great seats and Isaac enjoyed being able to watch the "baseball guys".
Isaac and Nate with my sister's little boy Colin.
My sister and brother (who read Catch-22 nearly the whole time).
Isaac had fun with his Pop-pop, who always keeps a stash of chocolate available to share.
Isaac wanted to cross his legs like everyone else...
Enjoying a cold, sugary sno-cone together.

Camping

2008-06-24T15:04:00.001-06:00

This past weekend we spent a night camping with our friends the Lingwalls. We went up to Brett Lingwall's family property up near Solitude. It was beautiful...and a lot of it was covered in snow. After a minor glitch where Brett's SUV got stuck in a snowdrift on the road as we drove in, we ate a delicious dutch oven dinner and set up our tents (on the road, due to all the snow on the campsite).

There is a small creek that runs through the property; apparently much larger this year than usual. And lots more snow than usual.
Isaac and Erica had a great time together exploring, climbing, and playing together.

After a chilly night (not so chilly for Nate since Isaac slept in his sleeping bag all night) we woke up and made breakfast burritos and cooked rolls on sticks over the fire.

Nate and Bradeigh on a cold snowy summer morning.
Brett and Dureece enjoying a delicious breakfast!

The kids hang out by the fire.

We took a hike in the morning as the day began to warm up and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Playgroup - Horton Hears a Who!

2008-06-16T17:22:00.000-06:00

The Shoreline playgroup is getting together to see Dr.Suess' Horton Hears a Who! So come with your entire family to join us for a night at the movies. Meet us at the Cinemark Sugarhouse Movies 10 ( 2227 S. Highland Dr. Salt Lake City, UT 84106) for the 4:45 PM showing of Horton Hears a Who!

All Shoreline Playgroup activities are open to everyone so if you live close enough to come we would love to see you there.

Playgroup - Liberty Park

2008-06-12T15:00:00.000-06:00

Liberty park is a great place to feed the birds, as you can see from the picture above their is no shortage of geese wanting to be fed. The minute we got out of the car they all came running. But for the most part they were under control and didn't get to aggressive. That was a concern since geese aren't the most mild tempered. We also were excited to have two more players join us today. Bucky and Owen joined us and I think everyone had a great time. I have posted many more pictures of our adventures on the Shoreline Playgroup website so make sure and surf over to check them out.

Playgroup - Hike up Red Butte Canyon Road

2008-06-10T21:20:00.000-06:00

Today was our first outing for the newly created shoreline ridge playgroup. Isaac and Joy had a great time on our little hike up Red Butte Canyon Road. There was a lot of shade and a fun stream to throw rocks and sticks into at the end. They even thought it was fun when we found a worm to pet. We are looking forward to many more fun adventures this summer with the playgroup and invite any one to join us. Also you can find more pictures of todays adventures on the announcement page of the playgroup website.

Shoreline Playgroup Website

2008-06-06T14:39:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to share a website (sites.google.com/site/sraplaygroup) I created with the help of a few friends. It is for organizing fun and exciting activities this summer for Isaac and all of his amazing friends that live around us. Please go check it out and give us any feedback on ways to improve it. Also let us know if you are interested in being a part of our adventures. It is mainly focused on players that live in our neighborhood but really anyone that is interested is more than welcome to come tag along. The more people that get involved the more fun it will be. Please spread the word and we hope to see you all at playgroup on Tuesday June 10.

Shoreline Trail - Hike

2008-06-06T06:43:00.001-06:00

Last weekend we went on a family hike up the shoreline trail and surrounding areas. Isaac stayed in the Ergo backpack for only a few minutes and then wanted to walk, which means lots of stopping to pick up rocks, throw the rocks, look at birdies, and touch flowers.

Isaac's favorite thing about hiking is drinking from the camelbak. He has loved doing this since his first hikes at 4 months old!

Isaac tired quickly of the actual walking part of the hike. He needs to get in shape because we plan on lots more hikes in the foothills this summer. Luckily, he has a nice daddy who was willing to let Isaac ride on his shoulders for most of the way back.

Memorial Day

2008-05-27T09:29:00.001-06:00

For Memorial Day weekend we visited the graves of my great-grandparents on my mother's side. They are all buried at the Salt Lake Cemetary not far from each other. Isaac enjoyed seeing the flowers and we tried to keep him from jumping off the headstones.

From L to R: my brother McLean, me, Isaac, Nate, Grandpa McLean, Grandma McLean.

Isaac with his great-grandpa McLean at the gravesite of Grandpa McLean's parents.

Thanks Rylee - Isaac loves his new table

2008-05-23T06:35:00.001-06:00

Isaac's cousin Rylee gave Isaac this awesome little table. Apparently her parents ordered it for her but it was smaller than expected. Luckily they were nice enough to pass it on to Isaac.

He's already spent lots of time at the table, coloring, playing with play-dough, and eating many of his meals.

The perfect place to enjoy a home-made popsicle with cousin Bucky!

Front Page News

2008-05-22T13:28:00.001-06:00

Our niece Kelsi made front page news of the Ogden Standard Examiner today. The article talks about a class she is taking at her Junior High School that is focused on exploring technologies related to transportation and energy. In her class they were making biodiesel. Pretty cool stuff. Here is a link to the article and picture.

Meet Rachel

2008-05-20T20:00:00.000-06:00

We went to a "meet and greet" for the kids who were involved in the filming for Signing Time. Rachel was there and Isaac got to meet her. Well, at first he seemed freaked out by seeing her in real life instead of on the TV. But when we were getting ready to go he said "I wanna give hugs" and went right over and gave her a big squeeze.

In the Garden

2008-05-19T20:00:00.001-06:00

Our student apartments have a community garden; we wanted to do one this year but were reluctant to take all the responsibility on ourselves. Luckily our friends Chris and Jana felt the same way, so we are sharing a garden plot. Chris and Jana did an awesome job planting much of the garden without our help. Then we got together this Monday and finished planting carrots, beans, peas, artichokes, and peppers.

Isaac and Joy helped plant the beans and peas.

They had a lot of fun watering...and watering...and watering our little seedlings.

Our garden: Week One.

Wheeler Farm

2008-05-16T23:00:00.000-06:00

Isaac went to Wheeler Farm this week with Nate. Our neighbor Chris and his little girl Joy (one of Isaac's best friends) went too.

Looking at the animals!

Congratulations Rylee

2008-05-15T08:30:00.000-06:00

Isaac's cousin Rylee just got the best present ever: one of their horses had a baby last week and it's going to be Rylee's!

Rylee and Morgan with the new addition.

Signing Time Superstar!

2008-05-14T21:48:00.000-06:00

Isaac had his filming debut this week. Monday we rearranged his entire daily schedule to get him at the filming site by 1:45 for his 2 pm shoot (not an easy task as he typically naps from 1-4). I arranged things at work so I could step out for a few hours. We arrived at a home in the Daybreak development (so far away from the rest of civilization) and after a few minutes of waiting around, the director came to meet Isaac. He was very cute with him but initially Isaac refused to sign for him. But when they got him in front of the camera he brightened right up and followed directions really well. They filmed him signing "up" and "down" and then going up and down a flight of stairs. Then they gave him some plastic bug toys to play with and sign "bug". They filmed for only about 10 minutes and gave him a break (apparently these guys have worked with two year olds before!). Then they asked Nate to step in as an extra, explaining that they don't get many dads coming to this. So they had him change into a bright green polo shirt and go outside with Isaac. They filmed him throwing Isaac into the air over and over and over...I'm sure he was exhausted after that, Isaac is a big kid. Then we were done.

Tuesday we headed out to the studio. I was nervous for Isaac because he would be filmed in front of a green screen and I was afraid he would be intimidated. But our little guy did awesome! He sat there on the bright green bench in front of the green screen, with all the lights and cameras on him, and followed directions and did all the signs they asked him. Nate was sitting off to the side of Isaac. I was sitting behind the camera by the crew and I could hear them saying to each other "this kid is awesome!" Apparently the morning hadn't gone so well and most of the kids had cried nearly the whole time. They let Isaac take a break and then asked us if he knew any more signs...um, yeah he does! So they bribed him with fruit snacks and brought him back in for some "bonus signs" that weren't on his original list. He did great. Great, that is, until he was completely done and he fell off the bench onto his face, scraping his nose, lip, cheek, and forehead. Fortunately he wasn't seriously injured (he asked for more fruit snacks), and we were glad he hadn't scraped his face before being filmed!

The director told Isaac he was a "superstar," and today Isaac told me he was a "superstar at signing time". Then he told me that he "boomed" and got an "owie". But it was OK because "I got a treat". So we couldn't hope for much more. I'm excited to see the final product and hope Isaac gets in there a few times.

Benson's

2008-05-11T16:00:00.000-06:00

Our friends the Bensons were in town after attending a wedding and we were lucky enough to have them stop by! It was Mother's Day. We went to church together and then Isaac played with Karlie and Nathan for a little while. So fun to see them! We miss you guys!

Future Iron Chef

2008-04-28T18:00:00.000-06:00

When I came home for lunch today Nate showed me what he and Isaac had done that morning. Apparently Isaac did this all himself while Nate was emptying the dishwasher.

Still needs a little something. . .

The best part is that Isaac actually ate and enjoyed his snack.

Posted by Bradeigh

Signing Time

2008-04-16T18:00:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago my mom sent us an email telling us about the auditions for a new Signing Time video and encouraging us to have Isaac audition. We weren't thrilled about adding extra things to our To Do List but the requirements were actually simple: Video Isaac doing 8 signs, most of which he knew already. So we figured we could do it; if nothing else, it would be a reason to finally get some video of our little guy demonstrating his signing ability.

Well imagine our surprise when we were told that Isaac was selected to come to the filming for the video! Of course he may totally freeze up on the filming days and may not actually appear in the video, but we think it will be such a fun experience nevertheless. And the prospect of free Signing Time products to add to our library is also appealing. . .

So watch our little guy's video and look for him on the next Signing Time DVD!

Posted by Bradeigh

Easter

2008-03-25T18:00:00.000-06:00

Easter this year was wonderful. we enjoyed being around family for this holiday, the first time in 5 years. Isaac enjoyed the time with cousins, the egg hunt, and the sugar rush.

We didn't actually put any candy in his easter basket. . . I figured he would get enough from other people. he did get a new toothbrush, however.

And a slinky, sidewalk chalk, and stickers.

Then we went up to Scotshaven in Heber for the real fun. Here is my nephew Colin with my grandmas, Grandma McLean and Shima.

Aunt Lynne had planned an amazing day for us, all focused on "the many names" of our Savior. First we mad "Bread of Life", then painted a "Rock of our Salvation", then had the easter hunt for eggs not only filled with candy, they could also be "Redeemed" for prizes!

Here is most of the crew we celebrated Easter with. My darling Aunt Lynne is the one in the bunny ears, of course.

Isaac and Grandpa McLean found some quite time during the mayhem for some serous game time.

Posted by Bradeigh

Barack Obama likes beans. . .

2008-03-19T18:00:00.000-06:00

The past two weeks have been busy and hectic for our little family, so this is a catch up post.

Last Sunday Nate left for Florida to compete in a student design competition. That morning Isaac woke up with a fever and a cough. . . just what I needed! No husband and a sick kid. And I had to work Monday and Tuesday. . . suddenly I felt a kinship with all the single parents of the world. Luckily my wonderful mother-in-law was coming to watch Isaac Monday and my darling sister was com ing to watch hi Tuesday morning. I was already planning on taking off Wednesday and Thursday to do fun mom-and-son stuff that I don't usually get to do with Isaac. Instead we got to do the not-so-fun mom-and -son stuff like watch Curious George seventeen times, fill the humidifier over and over, and wake up at odd times during the night to cough, cry, and be rocked back to sleep.

But Nate did win 2nd place and came back with a check for $200, which almost made it worth it. . .

This week is Nate's spring break so I also took 2 days off to enjoy time with my family. We spent Sunday and Monday up in Ogden with Nate's family. So fun to watch Isaac run around with his cousins. I am so glad we live close to family so we can be around to enjoy growing together. Plus, my brother-in-law Blake gave me a bag full of dark chocolate, which makes him my new best friend.

Today I was also off, and it was a gorgeous 60 degrees outside, so we went to the Zoo! Isaac was especially fascinated with the turkeys on the lawn. He loved the elephants, giraffes, and the big slide.

After a fun day, we came inside for dinner. It was a simple dinner, of pinto beans and rice. I grew up eating this at least once a month and I still enjoy it; luckily Nate does too. It is cheap, healthy, and good. Isaac has grown up eating beans. Hey, they're an excellent source of lean protein. The not-so-good part is that Nate didn't grow up eating beans. so things can get kind of. . . shall we say aromatic. . . later on.

But anyways, Isaac was eating his beans and Nate and I were chatting Isaac looked up at me and said clearly "Barack Obama likes beans".

He started saying "Barak Obama" a few weeks ago; Nate promised that he didn't teach him, but that he just picked it up from hearing the news podcasts that Nate listens to during the day. And hey, it is a really cool name for a 2 year old to say.

So in case you were wondering, Barack Obama likes bean. No matter what you feelings are on his politics, I'm sure you will rest easy tonight with that matter settled.

Happy Wednesday!

Posted by Bradeigh

Adventures in IsaacLand

2008-02-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

After a weekend spent dealing the the croup that is rampaging through our apartment complex and apparently across the state, Isaac is finally back to himself (except for the hoarse coughing all night long. . . but at least he can breathe easily!). Saturday night was very close to a no-sleep night for Isaac's devoted parents, who brought their croupy child into their bed so that we could monitor his breathing more closely. Around 3 AM the stridor became so loud that I couldn't even pretend to sleep anymore. . . and just listened to him until 4 AM when he awoke with a coughing fit that developed into respiratory distress. We were close to taking him to the ER but sitting outside in the 20 degree weather bundled up with blankets helped his breathing enough that we felt comfortable staying home.

This whole experience made me grateful for my little guy who can have fun even with a 101 degree fever. Isaac, like most two-year-olds I know, really knows hot to enjoy life. He definitely has a flair for the dramatic; he fluctuates between being overjoyed with happiness or overcome with despair. He can take ordinary objects (like underwear) and make them into extremely fun playthings (like a really cool hat!). REally, who has not put underwear on their head at some time in their life?

So in honor of Isaac and two-year-olds everywhere here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks showing off his own unique personality and sense of adventure.

Isaac likes to take the cushions off the couch and "make a fort", then when the fort is knocked down, he uses the cushions as a trampoline and leaps into the air, then lands on his bottom.

Here is a side view showing him catching some air. Sorry Grandma Diane. . . we really do appreciate the couch. . . but what else are you going to do in the middle of winter?

Isaac loves playdough . . . and apparently handlebar mustaches

The other day Isaac grabbed Shrek and Blue Gingy and ran into the living room yelling "Family Time"! Family home evening, to Isaac, mostly means sitting on the floor and singing songs, and that's what he wanted to do with his stuffed friends.

Ah, to be two years old again, and be able to ride your bike indoors, wearing a hat, a detached hood from you winter coat, and no pants. . .

Posted by Bradeigh

Our Favorite TMBG Podcast so far

2008-02-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Every Friday we look forward to the They Might be Giant's family podcast. Some of the songs are fun, some are strange, some are random. But Isaac loves to watch "John and John too" anytime. This one makes me think . . . this must be what a toddler's life is like. . .

A Little Video for Everyone

2008-02-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to remind people to check out the Pictures & Movies link. We recently updated it with some fun videos that Bradeigh put together. She is incredibly creative and knows how to find the perfect soundtrack for the occasion. Sometimes I wonder if she might have missed her calling in life as a movie producer.

Two years old!

2008-02-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

On February 1st we celebrated Isaac's second birthday. Our little monkey is two years old! He surprised us that morning by announcing "I'm two!" when Nate asked him how old he was. Somehow he knew it was a special day.

We started out the day by going swimming in the morning.

Nate and I worked on this train cake for his family party on Sunday. It was fun, but note to future childre: we won't be making a cake like this for any of you. . . it took about five hours from start to finish.

Sunday was presents day at Grandma Smithson's house!

Thanks grandma for the beautiful handmade stocking!

Happy Birthday Isaac!

Posted by Bradeigh

I am so smart . . . S-M-R-T!

2008-01-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

So Isaac is doing well with potty training but there has been one terrible side effect. . . he started waking up in the middle of the night to go potty. At first we thought it was cool . . . wow, he's really getting this whole potty thing! After about two weeks it has become less cool, and we've realized that our precious little almost two-year-old is a manipulative little manipulator who manipulates us! He has figured out that "Potty" is the magic word to get out of what ever situation he doesn't want to be in. It's so much more fun to sit on the potty with dad (mostly) or be rocked by mom afterwards than lie in bed alone, apparently. After 2 1/2 weeks of this I decided ENOUGH. This came in the middle of the night when he was so maddeningly frustrating when I was trying to get him back to sleep after his midnight potty trip that I had to leave the room before things got out of hand and let Nate take over.

So I devised a genius plan, and used his love for Shrek to work against him. For family night we sang some songs and then I told him, "Hey Isaac guess what, we're going to put Shrek to bed!" We then told Shrek,"After you go to bed you can't get out of bed, you can't go to the potty, you can't get a drink, you can't be rocked in the chair. You have to stay in bed until it's light." Then we tucked Shrek in and left the room. Nate stayed behind, Suddenly a little voice came from the bedroom. . . "Shrek" was saying "Potty! Potty!" Isaac and I rushed in and said "No, Shrek, you have to stay in bed all night long". We repeated this three times, with "Shrek" (it was Nate of course) asking for a drink, or to be rocked. Each time: "No, Shrek, you need to go back to sleep, it's dark. We love you!" Isaac got a funny look on his face during the whole proceedings; it was probably dawning on him, "Hey, there is something suspicious about this . . .I can't trust these people one bit!". I had to pause during our little play to stifle my eruptions of laughter because it was so dang funny to come into the room and seek Shrek "standing" by the side of the crib and hear a little voice coming from Nate's mouth, demanding to go to the potty. And eventually Isaac joined in, telling Shrek: "Go to sleep, night-night, it's dark, love you!"

Later that night when I put Isaac to bed, five minutes later I heard a little voice saying " Potty!" He had just gone potty less than ten minutes before. . . So I wasn't falling for it. So I went in and used the same words as we had for Shrek, and laid Isaac down. He tried a couple more times asking for a drink and then to be rocked. Eventually he settled down. Nate and I later went to bed praying that he would do OK during the night and we wouldn't be fighting with him for two hours like the previous severla days. Amazingly, we didn't hear from him all night.

And in the morning, I demanded to be praised for my genius plan. Let's just hope it keeps working . . . we need our rest to keep up with his antics in the daytime!

An extra tow points to whoever can name the TV show referenced in the title of this post. . .

Posted by Bradeigh

Snowshoeing in Liberty

2008-01-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

We went snowshoeing yesterday near Nate's sister Michelle's property in Liberty. We were joined by Nate's brother Jeff and his wife Becca, Michelle's family, Nate's sister JoLynne, and even Grandma Diane came! We all put on our snowshoes, headed out into the beautiful wintry day, and had a great time. They had a bout four feet of snow up there, and most of it was untouched, pristine powder.

Bradeigh, Jolynne, and Grandma Diane starting out.

Kelsi, Morgan, and Rylee say HI to their horses as we head out.

Becca was our fearless leader.

Logan got a nice ride provided by Uncle Rory.

Nate sunk in the snow a little more than the rest of us . . . due to the extra 30lb. he was hauling on his back.

It was easy to forget that we were walking on TOP of four feet of snow . . . until someone walked over a bush or soft spot and fell in up to their hips.

Becca, Morgan, Kelsi, Grandma, Rylee, and Michelle blaze a trail.

Jeff sprints across the powder.

The Tatton Family poses by an old, snow-covered tractor we found.

Our little family enjoyed the warm winter day.

Heading Back, Grandpa joined us.

Then we all came inside and celebrated Isaac and Morgan's birthdays (a little early)

Posted by Bradeigh

Fun in the Snow

2008-01-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

There has been no shortage of snow this winter. . . we were looking forward to a "mild" winter (relatively speaking) since spending the past five winters in Chicago. But it started snowing in December and hasn't really stopped since. We've had a few chances to get outside with Isaac and play together. He refuses to go sledding ( he was scarred for life when Nate jumped on a sled with him earlier this year and sped down the hill at Eaglewood). But he loves playing in it and sliding down the hills on his bottom.

Happy 80th Birthday Grandma Great

2008-01-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my Grandma McLean's 80th birthday this past weekend. I am so grateful that we live closer now and can see her more often. She is such a smart, funny, spunky, loving lady.

I feel so lucky to have wonderful memories of living with my Grandma for the year we spent in Heber. One of my favorite memories is when she would bring her six grandchildren up into her sitting room and teach us Shel Silverstein poems to recite to the rest of the family. She is a great story-teller; no one can make you laugh harder than my Grandma!

This is the cake I made for the party. It is a three layer dark chocolate cake that I filled with a raspberry-flavored french silk frosting and frosted with ganache, cooled and whipped to a spreadable consistency. For those who don't know, ganache is made of two of the most delicious foods on the planet: dark chocolate and cream. So you could pour it on anything and it would be delicious.

The cake was pretty wonderful (if I say so myself . . . ) but the best thing about the evening was that we were all together celebrating a wonderful life and looking forward to more memories!

Grandma with her youngest great grandson Colin.

Posted by Bradeigh

Potty Power!

2008-01-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

This week had one focus and one focus only: potty training. I was inspired by my mom's stories of potty training her kids at 18 months and our neighbor's kids Cade and Conner who were potty trained before 2 years old. So I armed myself with a copy of Toilet training in Less than a Day, and drink-and-wet doll (actually a Potty Pee Wee, promptly named Blue Gingy by Isaac), four different kinds of juice and snacks and treats galore, especially salty ones.

Things started out well, Isaac enjoyed drinking vast quantities of usually-forbidden juices and quickly learned to potty-train Gingy. Gingy had an accident, we practiced running him to the potty again and again just like the book said. In fact, that day I did everything the book said, including running him back and forth to the potty ten times to practice every time he had an accident. He definitely learned about dry pants, wet pants, how to empty the potty and how to pull his pants up and down. . . but not so much how to actually GO in the potty. It happened a few times but nothing to write home about.

The next two days were a similarly frustrating experience. . . lots of accidents, very few successes. I had taken Monday off to focus on potty training and felt like a complete failure by the end of the day. It was Nate's turn to take charge during the week.

So during the week things went similarly bad for Nate, despite trying various reward systems and putting him on the potty regularly and singing songs and reading stories. We were so frustrated by Thursday that we had pretty much decided to give up, just wait until he was more "ready", whenever that mysterious time may be.

Then that evening I decided. . . I'm an educated person; I want some real, evidence-based information about potty training a toddler. So I went to PubMed and discovered the world of the toilet-training research and learned about typical progression of potty-training stages and the results of training at different ages. In a nutshell: if you start training your child earlier, they will be trained earlier (makes sense) but it will take longer (also makes sense). Boys are trained at a later age then girls. Minority families train their kids earlier than caucasians (meaning the age at potty training is mostly culturally-dependent. STarting early potty-training does not have any negative effects on the child. And most boys are not able to sense when they need to use the potty until they are 27 months old.

For some reason, the next day everything clicked. Isaac only had two accidents and multiple successes (instead of a few successes and countless accidents), and today he has not had an

accident yet. Of course, we are putting him on the potty regularly, but he is finally able to HOLD it when he needs to hold it and GO when he needs to GO.

So hooray for Isaac, who kept trying despite multiple failures. Hooray for his mommy and daddy, who didn't give up. Hooray for Grandma Merrie who encourages us to keep at it. Hooray for Cade and Conner who came and peed in our potty and got Isaac excited about it. Hooray for potty trainging research. . . and hooray for being lucky enough to know my child better than any researcher.

Posted by Bradeigh

Fingerpainting

2008-01-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

Isaac had his first experience with finger painting this week. I made some homemade finger paints and stripped him down to his diapers and let him go crazy.

He first started out very carefully dabbing one finger at a time into the paints and delicately spreading it on the paper.

It didn't take him long to start painting himself . . . at first checking my face to make sure it was "OK" . . . then he got more enthusiastic about it.

Then he hopped in the bath and washed it off . . . all clean!

By the way, the Red nose is not from the fingerpaint; it's a rug burn from playing a little too rough with daddy (nose dive off the "horsey").

Posted by Bradeigh

Holidays!

2008-01-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

After a busy December, we ended up having a wonderful Christmas and New Year! We haven't been with our families for the holidays for two years, and it was so great.

Grandma Great always brings crackers for Christmas Eve . . . they have these fabulous hats inside. Very sophisticated.

Cuddling on the Couch with Grandma Merrie, Mclean, baby Colin, Isaac, and Bradeigh.

Bradeigh had to work Christmas morning, so Santa Claus came after Isaac's nap. He was so excited to see his new Geotrax train and Shrek toy . . . he wasn't interested in opening any other presents.

By the way, Shrek is Isaac's new best friend. He eats dinner with us and rides in the stroller with Isaac.

The Best part about Christmas this year was just concentrating on our family and friends . . . no worries about school or work! Isaac had a blast spending so much time with his cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents.

Christmas Card

2007-12-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone we love across the country!

SLC Children's Museum

2007-11-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Nate & Isaac got a chance to get out of the apartment and have some fun at the Children's Museum with Aunt Lori & Cousin Camden. Isaac loves helicopters so he loved getting up close to a real one. We had a blast. We have got to do it again some time soon.

Halloween

2007-10-31T13:00:00.000-06:00

This was Isaac's first Halloween going trick or treating. He sported a distinguished mustache and goatee and loved wearing his pirate hat. He was at first confused, then intrigued, then perfectly comfortable with the concept of taking treats from perfect strangers. He took his time picking out the right candy at each house.

Isaac and Mom carved little pumpkins together. They are shaped remarkably like the head of a little blond boy I know.

Isaac in his pirate costume trick-or-treating in Grandma Merrie's neighborhood.

At our ward Primary's Halloween Party with some of the nursery kids. Everyone dressed up and cousin Bucky came too.

Family Vacation

2007-10-08T13:00:00.000-06:00

We were lucky enough to go on a little family vacation this October with just our family. We drove down to Moab and stayed for a few days. We did LOTS of hiking at Zion’s, Canyonlands, and around Moab.