lazy day

Today was a lazy day. We just stayed home and played/lounged. It was kind of nice because it is all rainy and yucky outside but I love running errands (spending money). HA!

Parker can now indentify S H O and E ... I showed him that those letter can spell the word SHOE which is one of his favorite words -- only because it means he can go outside. He is amazing me with how well he knows his letters!!

He also knows his shapes: circle, square, triangle, star, and heart... although he thinks heart and hurt are the same thing.

At this rate-- he'll be ready for kindergarten at age 3 for sure. ;)

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in other news my camera is totally acting up (when you zoom in it turns off) and being crazy so i'm talking brian into letting me order my camera before we close on the house :)

Carter's 6m checkup

In the words of Cheryl, the nurse practioner: "he's growing perfectly. he is actually functioning like a 9mon old". :( proof that my baby is indeed growing up way too fast.

Parker, as many of you have heard what a challenge he is at the doctors. Even when I've had to bring them both, Parker will stand and scream. He's petrified and I'm not sure why. Yesterday was different. Yesterday not one tear was shed. He was a little leary when we had to walk by some exam rooms to get to the np sign in... but after we got there, he played with the toy while I signed in and got insurance info straightened out (woohoo we have Oswego City School Dist. insurance so I can get the shots I WANT!!!! FINALLY). The nurse said to go in room 1 while I was still on hold. Parker didn't have a problem walking with me to the room. Once we got in the room I said "look! a book! maybe you can find an 's' " So, he climbed up in the chair and I gave him the book. He went through the entire boardbook saying "s" "s" and pointing everytime he found an S. In and out the people came and not one tear. He was perfect. I am SO PROUD OF HIM!! :) :)

Carter (you may have forgotten by now that it was his checkup!) is weighing in at 16lbs and 26in. Has 2 teeth. Can sit, stand with support, roll over both ways, crawl, pull himself up, shows interest in eating pieces of food (mommy's not ready!)....

Last night we drove up to Oswego and the whole way there and back he would point out the window and say "s" everytime he saw an S. This can't be possible!!

Today, Brian's grandparents are visiting from Boise! It will be their first time meeting either boy!!! And I have to can green beans. It's only 6:30am and I can tell its going to be a long one!

long time coming

carter has been crawling for a while now, but i just got batteries for my camera and snapped this video today. :)

church bag

i finally got parker's church bag done... it has a couple things to go inside so far, i'm going to put a color wonder pad/markers and hopefully get more felt boards....

hello autumn

Saturday morning we went to pick apples. It was quite the fiasco but ended well. We picked 1/2 bushel. Parker was such a good helper this year. He could actually take the apples off the tree. If he would pull and it wouldn't come off he would say "it's stuck!" He's so cute. Unfortunately the batteries in my camera are dead and so there's no pictures from apple picking. But these are our goods, all laid out- taken with my phone.

I went to a bonfire on Saturday while Brian watched the kiddos. We have a group of women in our church called the Relief Society. It's one of my favorite things about being LDS. Its instant family, no matter where you are. On Saturday we had a bonfire at Wendy's house. We had SO MUCH FUN! We went around guessing facts about eachother and answering random questions about ourselves. I was the designated s'more maker. ;) and had some help to make s'mores for like ~20 ladies there. I love those women with all my heart. These photos are by Cate and Beth.

That's me making s'more (my friend Cate took the picture)

that's Wendy helping me. she's great!!

(the lady in the black is my friend beverly! :) )

some of the women.... beverly, melissa, crystal, daisy, cate, laura, wendy, laura s, shauna...

Today, I've been so busy canning away!! I canned 7quarts of apple slices! :) I can't wait to have a house so I can have a pantry to store my canned goods! ... soon hopefully! :) :)

s.s.s.

Sorry Such-a Slacker

I need to get better at blogging. I was reading through my college blog today, and I love how I wrote everyday (almost) about what I did, how I was feeling, and whatnot. I'm going to try to get better!!

Carter is sick. Fever with no other symptoms... poor kiddo. I hope its just teething or something. Hopefully he'll be better by tomorrow. Parker still continues to trample him. It's some sort of game to him. He walks to the same spot, turns around and says "ready set go" or "one two three" or a mixture of the two "ready set one two GO!" and runs over to (and over) Carter. Carter is such a trooper. He's such a joy.

Parker is sad that our DVD player is broken. We might go "shopping" for datenight to get a new one... although I just want to wait until we get a flatscreen with dvd built in. Less clutter= happy momma.

I made babyfood today... green beans and carrots. Squash is done. I only have sweet potato and peas left before I start trying the fruits- I have apples and blueberries that I'm going to make up. Pears and peaches will soon follow. I think I'm going to try advacado with Carter- I didn't with Parker. The yobaby starts soon! :)

If anyone wants/needs help making baby food- let me know! :) It's SO easy!!

House Update: Everything is going smoothly so far!! Our tenative closing date is Oct 6. I'm super excited and incredibly nervous all at the same time. As if we didn't have enough on our plate- we offered to host Thanksgiving! :) It should be interesting to say the least.

My baby boy turns 2 in exactly one month. Where has the time gone?!?! He's learning more and more everyday. Almost every day I discover a new word he can say. :) So far his favorites are mama, dada, grandpa, papa, baby, tarter (carter), ut oh, circle, star, dog, boat, car, it's stuck, byebye, outside, socks, shoes, hat, hot, ball, bird, rock, it's me, no, mine, i did it, don't cry, gentle, sid, arthur... I'm sure there's more that I can't think of.

He recognizes things and gets excited and points and says the word! =]

He can draw a circle. He can point out "S" on anything. He's getting better at recognizing e, r, and a. He calls the letter O a circle! :)

I have been rediculed for teaching him sign sometimes but I honestly have to admit (aside from making my own babyfood and cloth diapering) its the BEST decision I've made for him. So, maybe he's a "late talker" but at least we could communicate before he started talking. That is the whole point of baby signing.

Since I updated about Parker, I'll give a quick update on Carter... he's eating soilds, so far just squash next is green beans. He insists on holding his own bottle. He crawls. He can go from laying down to sitting up on his own. He pulls himself up to standing. He has 2 teeth. He says "Maaaaa" while crying. He has an appt next week. Not really looking forward to the "shot" talk but i'm interested to see his stats! :) Look for them.

Last but not least, thanks to my friend Lani, and some inspiration of AP (attached parenting) mommas I made my own Moby sling. I had enough fabric to make 3! Carter has already been in it twice and fallen asleep both times. Wish I discovered this earlier!!! :) :)

9/11

it was a sunny, cool, fall day. the leaves were changing and the wind was warm. school was still new. notebooks had only a couple pages written in, and the textbooks were glossy and barely opened.

i had chemistry with mr greenlee and enjoyed his class.. mr greenlee was the coolest teacher in the school. he made learning fun- from dressing up like VectorMan! to dancing to the beachboys 'surfin usa' when we were going to learn about waves. we all looked forward to physics with him so we could witness these phenomenons ourselves.

it was on this day-- the principal came to the door and mr greenlee went out to talk to him. we were all wondering who was in trouble. shortly after he returned and turned on the tv in our room. (mr greenlee never did anything but teach. even a day before vacation we'd... have a normal class) he sat at the front counter hand covering his mouth and saying "oh my". we all sat and stared at the tv as tower 2 was hit.

that day, i wouldn't have wanted to be in any other class.

i personally didn't know anyone that was in those towers but my heart aches for all the people who were in them- for the people who really didn't feel like going to work, for the people who just had to stop in for a minute, for the people who felt work was their life, for the people who had to work to live.... i had hoped there were more that were just a little late for work, had appointments to make, or were sick. i wish they all missed work.

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on a happier note: happy anniversary mom and dad!! :)

Baked Zucchini Fritters with Feta & Herbs

4 medium zucchini
1 c feta cheese, crumbled (large pieces broken up with fork)
5 scallions, finely chopped
3 T finely chopped fresh mint (plus additional for garnish)
2 T finely chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)
1 c all-purpose flour
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 limes, sliced into wedges

Preheat oven to 400F. In a food processor (or with a hand grater), coarsely grate the zucchini. Transfer to an absorbent towel, spread into a thin layer, and let sit for 10 minutes. With another towel, press firmly to remove excess water. Let sit for 10 minutes (transferring to an additional towel, if needed). Again, press firmly with a towel, to remove excess water.

In a large bowl, combine feta, scallions, mint, cilantro, flour, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Add in shredded zucchini, and stir until well combined. With hands, form into 12-15 patties (mixture will be wet), and place on a well-greased baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes, flipping every 15 minutes, until the edges are brown and crunchy (or longer depending on size/texture of patties). Serve with lime wedges and fresh mint leaves.

looks like i'll be going to the store for some mint and cilantro. this sounds delish!

time out!

I wanna yell "TIME OUT" in my life. I'm loving the way Parker and Carter interact and the way they love each other. They grow bigger and bigger everyday. Carter is on the brink of crawling and he has 2 teeth!!!

Parker's newest thing is saying "cheese"... he calls it out everytime we pass a mcdonalds... i guess we're bad parents for getting him hooked on grilled cheese. Since he can say it when we pass I taught him to say "cheese" when I take his picture... This is the outcome:

Today, as I was driving home from our walking around the mall- window shopping- with my boys. I saw a truck that had, inscribed in dirt, "fruit juice rocks" and "hi buddy". Pure innocent kids having pure innocent fun.... Then I got to wondering- what about those kids whose parents go to the car wash on a regular basis and heaven forbid their precious baby (car) get dirty.... will they ever get to have the joy of writing a 'secret message' on their vehicle?? And whenever I think of being a kid- I think of blowing dandelions and how my neighbors, whose parents sprayed annually for weeds, never got the chance to blow their seeds into the wind and, of course, make a wish. I then, as an 8yr old girl, to never use weed killers.