She doesn't even know.

When Kate teethes, she shoves everything from her fingers, to her clothes, to her toys, into her mouth. Most recently, she has started pulling on her lips. She doesn't even know she's making a silly face and it kills me. The first time she did it we were eating at a restaurant. Paul and I looked at each other and bust up laughing uncontrollably. These little moments are some of my favorite parts about being a parent.

Here comes Santa Claus

Vincent was not thrilled about meeting Mr. Claus. In fact, when we opened the door he stopped dead in his tracks and ceased to function. Petrified, if you will. Kate, on the other hand, was as good as could be. She seemed pretty happy to be given a candy cane to hold on to. 

Vincent's reaction was a bit shocking to me. He is the friendliest boy I know; he hugs complete strangers. We had talked about seeing Santa multiple times throughout the day and he was genuinely excited to meet him. I guess it was all talk because happy he was not. After he got his candy cane he refused to speak or look at Kris Kringle. He was a good sport and instead of crying he just clamed up when placed on Santa's lap.

Maybe next year?

Always look before you go.

Quirks, Oddities and Random Facts: Part I

Everyone is weird in their own way. I love that we're all unique individuals. Someday, I'll be long gone. I don't want my posterity to only know me as a name. I want them to know about my oddities and random life events. This list is a work in progress... but it's a start.

-- After I have a cough attack, I have one giant sneeze. Then it's over.
-- I talk in my sleep all the time.
-- I don't like drinking "old" water. I'm convinced that it makes me sick. So each morning Paul has to dump out the water from the night before and get me fresh water while I nurse.
-- I love high heels. I don't wear them for very long because they start to hurt, but I love them. I even wore them when I took my drivers license test when I was 16.
-- Planning is a must. I plan out everything.
-- I hate losing. It's not my fault. I'm pretty sure it's genetic because everyone in my family is a sore loser. I've gotten better since marrying Paul... but I'm still really bad at it.
-- At night I always run into the bedroom, jump on the bed and jumble up the sheets until I get beneath them.
-- Cuddling is my favorite. Paul knows that if I lay down and face my back to him that he is expected to snuggle up.
-- I've been hand washing dishes for the past few years (I can't wait to have a dishwasher...) so I have perfected the art of using the minimum number of dishes.
-- My feet are always frozen. For this reason, I LOVE wearing thick, fuzzy socks in the winter.
-- I only like ballpoint pens. Those glidey gel pens are terrible!
-- My clothes are hung in color order and the DVDs are in alphabetical order.
-- Bargain shopping is my forte. I love a good deal.
-- I start listening to Christmas music in September. Don't judge me! I usually only do it when I'm studying or stressed out because he makes me feel so happy.
--  When I get hot I get really grumpy and won't let anyone touch me.
-- My short AND long showers are 20 minutes. It doesn't matter how hard I try. It's always 20 whole minutes.
-- I'll eat anything Pumpkin. It' so yummy!
-- I won't go into the ocean unless I have swim shoes on. Crabs and living things creeping around in the ocean scare me.


And now a few about Paul:

-- Without fail, he takes at least 65 minutes to get ready! We are working on this...
-- Talk about ticklish. I can't even give him a foot rub without reducing him to spasms.
--  He is a morning person. Like, wake up and be to work at 6 am, kind of morning person.
-- Paul is very particular about the way cords are wrapped up.
--  He refuses to sleep with socks on.
-- Paul bought a 54" TV when he was single because "He knew his wife would never let him"
-- Even though he stopped gymnastics 12 years ago, he can still do a back flip. It scares me every time.
-- When Paul is toasting a bunch of bread, he'll go back through and flip over all of the pieces of toast to keep them from condensing on the plate and getting soggy (Weirdo).
-- He is really good at cutting up large amounts of fruit and he can cut REALLY thin pieces of cheese. These talents frequently come in hand.
-- Cell phone belongs in the left pocket, keys in the right. Always.
-- Paul has an uncanny ability to remember numbers. Whether it's an address or a telephone number he can retain it til he's done with it.
-- If he's been somewhere once, he can probably get there again without directions.
-- He has always wanted long hair but knows he never will.
-- Paul is a deep sleeper; I practically have to yell to wake him up. Vince, on the other hand, can wake Paul up with the smallest peep.

Into the Wild.

Remember these guys?

(Margaret, Buddy and Franky)

 Paul got them for me for my birthday.

I enjoyed having them...

until I had a baby.

After that, they just became a burden.

Maybe we're just lazy but it was hard to find time to clean the tank.

Last week we went to Bridal Veil Falls and we noticed that there was a little fish pond.

There were signs all over encouraging people to feed the fish.

Do you know where this is going yet?

Today Paul decided that he wanted to go for another hike.

We decided to go back to Bridal Veil falls because there is a nice path for the stroller.

While getting ready we recalled that lovely little pond.

... So we took the fish with us.

We put them in a pitcher and gave them a HUGE "Last Supper"

We also made the water cold so they wouldn't be shocked to death at the falls.

Within 1 minute of arriving, 3 people commented on the goldfish.

Paul was embarrassed.

He sucked it up and went to accomplish his mission.

There were so many people there!

I couldn't stop laughing.

Paul was a champ and he kept a straight face the entire time.

Two families saw him do it.

We took off for a nice jog and returned about a half hour later.

We were pleased to spot 2 of the 3 goldfish swimming around!

No idea where the third one went though...

Can you see the Orange blurb? That's a goldfish.

Vince doesn't even know what happened.

Sleep.

I love sleep.

With all of my heart.

My husband is well aware of this and does not share those same sentiments.

Since becoming pregnant, I have started sleeping a lot more;

This includes extra hours at night and naps on some of those crazy days.

My husband used to dislike it when I took naps.

Then he got an Xbox 360.

...Now I sorta think he likes it when I take naps.

I wonder why???

A Simple Comparison.

Can you guess which one is mine and which one is Paul's?

Solutions

It 's been rough night at the house.  Libby had to go to clinical today, which means that she is tired tonight. She needed to get her computer to do homework.  After resting on the couch, this is her solution.

Libby: I wish I were a Jedi.
Paul: Why?
Libby: One, I could quit the Nursing program.  Two, I could summon my computer.

Kids are hilarious

Best quote of the weekend from 5 year old Amber to Paul (who was doing the dishes).

"Are you having a party by yourself?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

--Turns around and walks back to her room--

High Score

I don't know whether I should brag...

or be ashamed.

Regardless, I'm going to share something absolutely ridiculous with you.

You know the game Bejeweled 3? 

Well... I needed a break from studying so I started playing on Wednesday night.

I was doing really well but I had to stop so I could hit the hay.

The next evening I resumed my game until I died.

I played for a combined total of 2 hours.

Wanna know my score?

2,600,460.

Disgusting, right?!?!

My previous high score was about 500,000.

I need to use my time more wisely...

My Husband... the Engineer

For the past few months we have been having some lighting issues in the bathroom.

There are two lights by our bathroom mirror but one never turns on.

We decided to put 2 light bulbs on the left to give off more light.

Unfortunately, that resulted in left eye blindness.

There was just WAY too much light coming from one direction.

Alas, we lived in these conditions for a few months.

Then...

Last night, I was sitting at the dinner table when I saw lights turning on and off in the bathroom.

Eventually, I went into the bathroom to see what was going on.

Paul was absolutely beaming as he exclaimed,

"I figured it out!"

Lo and behold, 

Paul made a contraption out of floss and a toothbrush holder to make the light on the right work.

 

 

 

A close up

I love being married to an engineer...

An Early Morning Laugh

As many of you know, I am in the nursing program.

This means many early mornings and long drives to SLC.

I am one of those people that laughs a lot when exhausted.

That's why I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this billboard: 

Haha! Can I get an Amen?

Pumping Gas

I have been pumping gas for quite some time. 

Before I could even drive, I would fill up my mom's car.

The first time I discovered that some people don't know how to pump gas

 was during my sophomore year in college.

My hilarious roommate, Hilary, got a car and admitted that she didn't know how.

I was absolutely STUNNED.

This past weekend, during our Portland trip, I got to witness this first hand.

We pulled up to a gas station and there was an attendant running around filling up the tanks.

Perhaps they were shorthanded. . . but he started asking the drivers for help.

Slowly, people stepped out of their cars and began staring at the pumps.

The attendant was shouting out directions at everyone because they had no clue how to do it.

I couldn't help but laugh and think of Hilly.

Life is so great.