Today's Projects

Yesterday Dave and I were able to drop the kids off with my mom and dad and head into St. George to hang out, and I convinced him to drop me off at Ben Franklin while he got his hair cut.

"But I could be gone for a while - maybe even an hour."

"So?"

"So you don't care if you are stuck there for an hour?"

"Psh!"

Yeah, pretty much how it went. In fact, when I looked up and saw he was back after I had only gone down each of the fabric aisles twice I was a little bummed. I looked up at him and said "I'm having FUN" in a kind of Disney villain voice and after hearing that he turned on his heel and told me he would go look at the sporting goods for a while.

So today I got to work and while I didn't get the costume satin I wanted for Logan's superhero cape (he's been slumming with towels and blankets until now), I did make manage to make a cape that he approves of. In fact, he's barely taken it off today. Nothing makes a momma smile like a kid wanting to wear his cape in the bath.

I told him to run so I could get the full "flowy" effect on camera - the tongue is his own doing.

I've had a dress pattern I got for Tess for about a month now and just haven't been able to commit to any fabric that they had at the teeny tiny fabric department here at our Ace. I finally decided on these 2 (I wanted it kind of bold) but there are probably a dozen other combinations still waiting for me on our next trip to SG - Dave just doesn't know it yet.


It isn't perfect - I wish I had used the trim fabric instead of the bias tape for the armholes and I actually am not loving the main blue fabric now but overall I'm pretty impressed that I managed to make an actual garment that 1)fits someone and b) I didn't have to rip out 1 seam. Both are quite an accomplishment as ripping out seams tends to be a big part of the process for me (I think I have about 6 seam rippers), and in middle school I made a sweatshirt that was suposed to fit me but probably wouldn't have fit a kitten (anyone from HMS actually wear the sweatshirt they made in Ms. Chamberlain's class?).

I think Dave now knows if he wants to keep me busy for a couple days he just has to send me to a fabric store for an hour or 2. Needless to say I am back on a sewing kick and if anyone has any patterns or fabric I should know about, let me know!

32 Months - Cheese Please

Probably the #1 thing said in our house every single day is "Logan! Don't!" You are getting taller, smarter, faster, and more mischevious than ever which creates many more opportunities for you to get into trouble, which then causes me and your dad to be almost constantly saying that phrase. Maybe you don't do it on purpose, but I think you may have figured out that the more times we get mad at you for doing various things, the nicer we are when you do something good. Parents really aren't that hard to figure out.

About a week after your last letter you were giving me some grief over me changing your diaper in the morning. This was nothing new - you'd been fighting me on this issue for a while now. This time though I bribed you by saying if you let me take your soggy diaper off I'd let you wear underwear, and the rest is history. Seriously! That easy. You were rewarded with various candy and a ridiculous dance by your mom every time you went, but now (lucky for me) you don't need any incentive. You still wear a diaper at night because you just have to have your milk with your cuddles, but other than that you have been wearing your big boy underwear like a pro. We haven't seen how you will do on long-ish shopping trips to St. George or trips to Cedar but so far we have been to Panguitch and Hurricane a couple times with no problems. I was impressed the other day when your dad told me that you avoided an accident while out running errands with him. You were in line at the bank when you told him you had to go so he backed up out of line, drove to a secluded area and you avoided disaster. We are both pretty dang proud of you!

Tess still invades your bath most nights but you don't seem to mind. In fact, by the time I get you in Tess has usually made her way to the bathroom and you always ask me if she's getting in. I think you like putting bubbles on her and spitting water at her more than anything though - this beard is all your doing...

You like playing basketball with your dad and have learned to yell YAY when one of you makes it and NOOO when someone misses. THe other day you climbed up on your dresser and pulled down your Kyle Korver jersey and insisted we put it on you so could be a basketball player. It took me forever to get this picture because you wouldn't stop shooting long enough to pose.

A couple days ago it was such a nice day and you have both been cooped up in this house for so long that your dad decided that you both needed to go on a 4-wheeler ride. He loaded you up and headed up on top of the mountains behind our house. You called me from the top and told me you could see the house. You hung out up there for a while before heading back down and your dad said that about 5 minutes after starting for home you said, "Dad, I think I've had enough of this." When he asked you what you'd had enough of you said "Riding the 4-wheeler." Unfortunately for you you still had a bit of a ride back home but you did okay and were happy to tell me and Tess all about it when you made it home.

Once you got home we played in the yard for a bit and I tried again to get you to pedal your bike that Grandma and Grandpa Veater gave you for your 1st birthday. I've been trying for quite some time but you just like to push it with your feet. To my surprise though you did it and even managed to pedal it backwards. It is funny when you grow up and have kids you start to realize things that you forget you need to be taught - like how to actually get a bike to move forward by pushing on the pedals the right way. Needless to say the neighbors probably thought I was a dork because I was jumping up and down and clapping at this new accomplishment.

Last year on Valentine's day I remember being so surprised that you even knew the word Valentine (even if you did pronounce it balentine), now I'm more surprised if there is a word that you don't know or say correctly. You have definitely grown up so much and I don't know when it will ever slow down. I had to take a picture of you and Tess this morning because not only did you look cute in your Sunday clothes, but I started getting everyone ready early enough that we weren't frantically running out the door.

I want you to notice that your face in all these pictures (except for the one we can't really see your face) looks pretty much the same. When someone takes your picture you say "Cheese please!" and flash that face. While we may spend most of our day telling you things you shouldn't do, you do make us smile quite a bit too.

Love you chubs,

Mom

Church Monsters

Logan is AWFUL in sacrament meeting. AWFUL. I always thought having a baby at church was hard until Logan was about 18 months and then I realized that a toddler is much, much worse. Every week we brave it Dave and I look at each other as we walk out the doors (usually early) and think well, at least we survived. It doesn't help AT ALL that they do things backwards in our meetinghouse and sacrament meeting is after he spends 2 hours in nursery playing, singing, and eating snacks. Yeah, not exactly a mother's dream.

So I have been thinking about what I can do to make it better and to help him last through the meeting somewhat quietly. He gets tired of reading books, drawing, playing with dad's tie and being bribed with goldfish really fast. So I found quite a few examples of this floating around the internet....

originally found here.

And you know what? It wasn't that hard to make (obviously - mine does NOT look nearly as cute as hers!). But then, THEN I found these little babies at this Etsy shop and I was in love. I know they probably aren't exactly super appropriate for church but until I learn how to make figures of Book of Mormon or Bible characters Church Monsters are going to have to do...




I'm pretty proud of them due to the fact I have very little patience for craftiness, and Logan thinks they are pretty cool so I'm going to hide them away in my church bag so he won't get sick of them during the week. Next on my list is either the above-mentioned, more appropriate "churchy" figures or a felt quiet book!

Dave totally thinks I am weird but just wait until Logan sits nicely through sacrament meeting this week! (Crossing my fingers anyway...)

8 Months - Busy, busy.

Well about 3 days after your last letter you proved me right and started crawling. It's been a whole new ball game ever since. The gate went up by the stairs, the bathroom door is now usually closed, and the floor is vacuumed more often than I'd care to talk about. It is fun though. You've definitely got it down, and we are to the stage now where you disappear pretty quick when we turn our backs. Me and your dad especially like watching you chase Logan around as he tries to keep whatever toy he has away from you. You remind me of a prairie dog because it seems like every time I turn around you are sitting up in a different spot than you were.

You've since discovered that standing up is the way to go, and you spend most of the day trying to stand up without diving face first into the carpet. The other day I was cleaning up dinner and didn't know where you were until you started laughing. You had managed to get under the table and stand up on one of the chairs and you were SO proud of yourself.


Earlier in the month you were being kind of a brat - not sleeping at all, not napping well, whining a lot and you just kept digging at your ear with your fist. I finally broke down and made you an appointment for one of the doctors here in Kanab. The doctor said you didn't have an ear infection but that your eardrum was "bulging" and that meant it was either going to go away on its own or get worse. Luckily, he wrote a prescription for an antibiotic saying that you might not need it but just in case. I got it filled and waited about a week before I finally gave it to you. After 1 dose of that magical stuff you slept wonderfully and have done pretty well ever since - now I don't know why I waited that long to give it to you.

So you are sleeping much better than you were last month but you have gone from sleeping at the top of your crib like a normal person to sleeping every other way possible. I think this picture is from the first time I caught you doing a 180 but you've done it pretty much every night and nap since.

I almost forgot but you also got your first 2 teeth this month - that's another reason you were so cranky earlier in the month. The first one popped out around the 15th and the other one was only a day or two behind. I forgot how bad teething is and I'm not looking forward to the next 18.
A couple of days before dad's birthday we went to Page, AZ and Lake Powell. I'm not sure why it is always windy when we try to take these tourist-y pictures but it seems like I am always trying to hold my hair from blowing in my face which results in a fabulous picture. You look cute (albeit a little grumpy) though and I guess that's all that matters.

"Take the dam picture, dad."

Your dad claims that life got a lot harder when you started to crawl but we both know that is only the beginning. I'm not going to put a date on when I think you are going to start walking but I know that, like everything else, it is going to be here before I am ready. You are a such a good natured baby and I am thankful for that - and if you have any little brothers and sisters they will have you to thank for their lives. With as busy as this last month was with new skills, new teeth, new adventures, maybe you ought to just slow down and take it easy for February -for mom.

Love you Lindy-Lou,

Mom

Ha! I almost forgot the picture of you 2 nerds in the tub. You crawled in the bathroom when you heard Logan in there having a good time and had nearly gotten yourself up to stand on the side of the tub when I caught up with you so I just threw you in with him. It's pretty much a nightly occurrence now.