July the Fourth 2019

We had a great Independence Day.  Hiking with the fam, fireworks shirts, all the foods and panorama fireworks from the backyard, and kayaking the next day.

Mom's four zones 

Nice big group!

And we shall call it... This Land...

A's side-eye...

Water babies

Happy birthday, America! There are troubles but honestly things have been and could be much worse.

Belated 2.5 for Smoochface

We just had a month milestone, but I realized I never blogged about Smoochface's 2.5!  So here it is.

Our little girl is (morethan) halfway to 3, which is crazy but also lots of fun.  She is articulate and opinionated, has a sense of humor and a sense of style, has high highs and low lows, in thoughtful and sweet.  She loves Little Mister and often pats him when he needs attention, imitating our "there there" voices.  She loooooves Big Brother and can often be found trying to sneak into his room after bedtime to sit in his bed and read together (or, you know, play at very high volumes).  She often resists bedtime, usually vociferously, which has been a struggle, but we try to remember that one day she won't even want to hang out and rock with us in the evenings.  She's reportedly a delight in Nursery, she took right to potty and she has a hearty appetite.  She loves all princesses but especially Rapunzel (especially when we get to watch a Perpunzel Cocoon) and she sings along with whatever we're listening to.  She's started trying to negotiate for things which is often hilarious and her emotions are so strong sometimes even she doesn't know why she feels the way she does.  She's healthy and strong and clever and lovely.

Birthday girl montage!

Trimming Goldilocks

<3 td="">

So happy to be wearing Daddy's old running shorts!

C-O-O-L R-I-D-E-R

Summer Smooch

She loves a good bake.

Middle child!!!

She doesn't seem to mind.

2 kewl.

Eep!

She's finally into the water on the day we didn't bring her swimsuit.

Berrypicking!

Miss A's Salon

Though Mommy has been doing her fair share of creative hairstyling too.

... with adorable results.

We love our Smoochy!!!  Sorry about the delay!  See you in a couple months!

One Month For Little Mister (inc. 4th of July)

(Quick, before it's August!  Oh wait, it totally is...)

Over the weekend we hit one month for our littlest one!  He's a big and strong and healthy and almost always happy little boy, and he delights all around him.  He's tall for his age, starting to fill out (the same height as his couple-months-older cousin but not yet nearly as chubby!), a great eater, and he actually sleeps pretty well (do you hear that?...  I'm knocking on the wood-like substance of my desk), waking up a couple times to eat and then snuggling back down to sleep, in the crib and everything.  When he's awake he's really aware of things and is starting to smile (not gas for heaven's sake, we're pretty sure they're legit smiles).  He's a sweet fellow and we're enjoying all his adventures and misadventures and messy diapers and how he's really fitting in and finding his place in the family.

Independence Day was also a thing that happened so that was fun.

Enjoy some pictures!  I vow not to let the third child be neglected!

The many faces of Mr M.

Rocky Mouth Falls with a slew of family.  It was just the right length and difficulty and a great way to start the holiday.

Lots of fun with family for Floats & Fireworks, just like I dreamed when we were thinking of buying this house.  The panoramic view from the backyard was a bit hit.

Baby, you're a firework.

Do you see what I see?

Checking out the world record-breaking flag in town.  Seeing it from the trailhead was okay for us.

Giving the fox hat a go a month later.

 Oh, and by the way, we joined this club too:

So much space!  And luxury!  And room!  And... space!

He's so quiet sometimes that I sort of forget he's there and then I look over and be like, o hi! and then be like, o wow, and then be like, *kissy kissy kissy*

Lessons Learned From Our First Vacation As a Family of Four*

*or, Four For the Fourth.

We've been thinking that we ought to do more fun things out and about now that Baby is a little older and more on a schedule and such, and we thought a visit to Grandma's condo in Moab and a jaunt to nearby Blanding to see some of The Wife's extended family was just the right distance to try.  We've traveled with our kid/s before, but flying and road trips have their differences and we sometimes are just reluctant.  But we haven't been to the condo in about five years, and the kids have never been, so it was high time.  Here are some of the things we learned as we went along our way.

• It's a good idea to drive not during naptime.  As long as you can keep the kids entertained, it might be better if they're not overtired and unable to get comfortable and cool and horizontal.  The drive down on Friday morning was pretty great, because the kids were happy, but mostly because The Wife had made preparations to keep them that way (thanks, Dollar Store!).

• It also helps if you manage the hyping of the trip.  We didn't tell him until the morning we were leaving, but then The Boy was very excited once he learned we were going to a "Fun Place", even through the long drive there.

• Bring a few more books and/or toys than you thought you might need (which we didn't do), hide them, and then reveal them gradually to maximize excitement and longevity of play.

• It's really nice to go on vacation with just your little family, but it's also really nice to meet up with other family!  We were so glad we could spend another weekend with The Wife's sister and her kids.

• When you're on vacation, you just have to be flexible with your schedule.  Sometimes kids just don't nap or go to sleep as consistently as they will at home, and I guess that's part of the point -- they wear themselves out with all the fun and unusual activity, crash hard at night, and then get up to do it all again (and that's why people have to recover from vacation).

• The pool is always a big hit, but ever since they put an awning over half of it it's even better.

• It's always a fun idea to try the local eateries.  Our first night we went to a homey little grill downtown, where the steak and eggs were the best deal on the menu.

• Vacation isn't the worst time to try to train your toddler to sleep in a big bed (though it's probably not the best time either).

• I'm really glad we don't generally bed-share with our kids.

• If you're going somewhere like southern Utah in the dead of July, dress appropriately and find ways to spend time indoors.

Fun tie-dyed fireworks getups!

• If there's a smalltown parade, your toddler will be thrilled.

• If there's a dinosaur museum, your toddler will be thrilled.

• If there's a free pool day, your toddler will be thrilled (unless he has trouble with the too-big slides).

• If there's a cardboard-and-confetti airplane at the local bazaar, your toddler will be thrilled.

• Really, it doesn't take a lot to thrill your toddler.  You don't have to spend a fortune on fancy vacations every time.  (Not that we're not planning a trip in the near future to Disneyland for said toddler.)

Red, white and Blanding.

This was going to go in the grid, but I could hardly stand its cuteness so it had to be seen all on its own.

• Bring a car charger for your phone, especially if you're going to small towns where roaming/searching for 3G signal will drain its battery in record time.

• Pizza is great anytime, but it's especially good after a long day of sun and fun in obscure southern Utah towns.

• Nutella brownies are a thing that are not at all not worth trying...

• Moab lightning storms are epic already, but adding half a dozen fireworks shows to the mix ups the epicness significantly.

• Board games and card games are always great on vacation, but try an occasional group-crossword puzzle.

• If you are responsible for cleaning up your own lodgings, you can save a lot of time if you bring some of your own linens and wash them when you get home.

• It's a fun idea to do major parts of your itinerary on the way home, but plan accordingly and keep to your schedule so you don't end up feeling like you're dragging on when you ought to be on the road.

• Southern Utah in July is hot.  No surprise there.

That grimace is actually "cheese!"  He found a golf ball on our walk around the course.

• It's also a good idea to plan a drive during naptime.  We planned our homeward travel during nap, and they both slept the entire way home.  We were afraid The Boy wouldn't get comfortable and fall asleep (like on the way home from previous trips...), but he was tired enough after a few days that he would probably sleep through anything.

• If both kids are sleeping soundly, don't stop.  We thought about stopping a few times, including halfway to feed Poopsie, but they were both so calm and peaceful that we didn't think we should break up the tranquility unless absolutely necessary.

• Vacation is fun, but there's no place like home!

And finally:

• Remember what I said about recovering from vacation?  If you can afford to, it's great to take another day off work the day after you get home just to get back into the groove.

So in the end, we overcame our hesitations and just went for it, and it turned out great!  We learned a lot and we all had a great time, so I think we feel like we can do it again someday (like soon) (to Anaheim).

And now, I leave you with this parting image.  I've always wondered at this sign, and now I have the forum to share my puzzlement with the world.  What are you doing in there, you poor displaced end quote?

Five Years / Fifteen Months

So, as promised, here's my follow-up post about the happenings around about a month ago (I still want to do a post more about our house-buying shenanigans, but I won't bother with that just yet).

As it turned out, our anniversary fell squarely on moving weekend (or the weekend after, which is basically the same thing), so we didn't get a chance to go out of town or to a fancy dinner or really anything too special, except of course, you know, buying and moving into a house and everything.  There were still flowers and reminiscing about the blessed day five years ago, as well as anniversaries since then, but there was also a trip to Home Depot and a little frustration at trying to get this or that fixed or functioning.  It was enough to be together and have a nice place to live and be, and then we can celebrate more fully and appropriately sometime down the road.

After that we reached another little milestone in The Boy's lifetime, and at 15 months he's doing great.  His personality is definitely starting to show a little more prominently, and he's starting to assert himself (which is fun but also a bit bewildering at times).  He loves to make a mess at mealtime and is starting to be a little more selective with his preferred foods.  His favorite foods are bananas and Graham Crackers, both of which he will eat at pretty much any time and in almost no time.  He still sleeps like a champ, with the occasional (brief) episode at night or the occasional short nap (the new church schedule we just switched to might do a real number on the nap/lunch setup on Sundays, so we'll have to see how that goes...).  He loves to put things in and out of other things, and he can play with his set of IKEA stacking cups for ages.  He plays with any and every toy he can find, even if it's not a toy, and each night it's amusing to go around and pick up all the debris the li'l tornado has left in his wake throughout the day, just because you never know what you'll find or where.  He is very vocal, and says a handful of words, but definitely does plenty of animal sounds.  He sometimes growls for a good long while, no matter what animal he sees in a book or what animal sound we ask him to say.  He's very good and usually silent in the car.  He just stares out the window with a somewhat bemused expression on his face and watches the world go by (unless of course we're on a two-minute drive home from church, when he might probably fall asleep, and unless of course we're on a late-night roadtrip drive home, when he might fall asleep for a little while and then never fall back asleep again, much to his dismay... and the dismay of everyone else in the car).  But really, 98% of the time he is just an absolute delight, and his funny faces and tub splashes and squirmy diaper changes and elated wanderings around the house are a joy to his parents and all who meet him.  It's the best thing when your little one runs across the room just to be close to you or jumps into your arms with a huge, 7-toothy smile on his face.

Now it's time for an Instagram photo onslaught!

Make it blue!

You can be a champion too if you eat Kanine Krunchies!

The Boy who would be king.

Bath time with Daddy!

So many animals in this one!

Just a little pounce.

Bobo, Robin, Robin, Bobo.

He loved the splash pads this summer!  It took a little bit and he still mostly likes to skirt around the edges and flirt with the little spouts, but he still finds the whole thing pretty delightful.

The wonderful thing about Bobos is he's the only one!

Blurrily getting into things with cousin Nora.

Matching bedhead!

I really didn't mean to give him a scar on his forehead (L), but Elise definitely did (R).

Bleurgh, mushy stuff.  He'll change his tune one day.

Pop Rocks in my shave ice?!?  Oh my yes.  I love how Little Mister caught me taking the picture.

We finally made it to see the balloons!  (Okay, we missed the launch, but at least we saw some this year.)

The best of friends.

Time for a little visit to Prydain.

He's doing a little detective work of his own, I guess.

Just a family of cows at Chick-fil-A.  That tail!!!

Checking out the new Bean Museum (mixed feelings...) but he sure loved all the lions,  of which there was an abundance.

His first Disney crush?!?  He kept toting it around and giving her little kisses.

He just mostly likes to get around during these movie happenings, truth be told.

That's it, enough people have called him "her"...  time for a little trim.  Still so handsome.

Saying hello to Nana and aunties on the neighbors' U-Haul truck.

Pay no attention to the Christmas presents on the cart, young man.  We love a good consignment sale.

The one that started it all for me as a lad.  His first viewing didn't have quite the same effect as mine did.  Ah well.

Happy year-and-a-quarter, son!  You are a beloved child of ours indeed.