Once there was a snowman...

The other day in hot, sunny St. George, we woke up to snow on the ground. Eli, of course wanted to play in it, so Cameron and Eli built a snowman.

Trying to help put on his nose.

Here is Eli giving hugs and kisses to his new friend.

 

The splits?

Being St. George, his snowman was completely melted by the end of the day. He still will occasionally look out the window and say "Snowman fall!" and have a sad look on his face. Poor little guy!

Look what I made!

So, over the Thanksgiving break, my wonderfully creative sister-in-law had the idea to make headbands. This is the one that I made. I've never really worn headbands before, but I'm kind of proud of it. I've been finding excuses to wear red just so I can wear my headband. Hmmm... maybe I should start an etsy shop...

Eli-ese

Recently Eli has been putting words together that don't really go and laughing hysterically like he just made the funniest joke in the world! His most recent one is "Echo-bus." Translation: Motorcycle bus. This one he kept saying over and over again for hours laughing uproariously every time. I have to wonder what exactly it is that makes him laugh? Is it the sounds of the two words together? Does he have a funny picture in his head of what a motorcycle bus would be? Maybe a bus with two wheels, or a bus that instead of carrying passengers carries motorcycles?

He also surprises me with words that he knows. Just the other day, he went into my room and said, "Timber!" and fell, backwards, onto a stack of pillows on the bed. I'm assuming that Cameron taught him that one.

Sometimes what he says sounds like something different than what he is actually saying, having a funny result. One of his favorite games is to throw Teddy into a place that he can't reach, and then he says, "Teddy, get it!" But the way he says it sounds exactly like, "Teddy did it!" Already, at such a young age, he has found a scapegoat!

I have been trying to teach him about his little sister so that he isn't too surprised and jealous when she gets here. I told him that I have a baby in my stomach so sometimes he points to my stomach and says, "Baby!" and I'll say, "That's right, Eli! There is a baby in there." I think to myself, "Yes! He get's it!" Then he'll point to other lumps on my body and say, "Baby too!" Ok, so maybe he doesn't get it.

What are some funny things your kids say?

Slacker-Mom

I was a bit of a slacker for Halloween this year. Between moving across the country, looking for a temporary apartment, and looking for houses, I didn't have a lot of time to come up with a Halloween costume for Eli. I suggested to Cameron that Eli could be a puppet and Cameron could be a ventriloquist. We just had to draw lines on Eli's face with eyeliner! Cameron didn't want to hold him the whole time, though.

So, we looked through Eli's closet and found a little jacket with a monkey face on the hood. It is actually one of those towels that can be worn. It came with a swimsuit. Then we rolled up a towel and attached it to his pants as a tail. Costume finished!

To prove that I'm not always a slacker, here are pictures of last year's Halloween costumes. The little boy in the picture used to be our neighbor. We took him to the church Halloween party with us.

The New OBGYN

I went to my new OBGYN here in St. George for the first time yesterday. I felt like it was a very good visit overall and was quite impressed with my doctor. I had heard that some doctors in Utah practically force you to get an epidural (which I don't want) and are very apt to decide a C-section is necessary (which I also don't want). Neither of these things seem to be true of Dr. Chalmers. Apparently he used to work in a practice in Alaska that had 2 doctors and 3 midwives, so he is quite used to delivering babies naturally. Thanks Rachel for the recommendation!

Normally, I wouldn't have taken Eli with me for a doctor's appointment, but since I have been in St. George such a short time, I didn't know a babysitter. Eli was pretty good for the appointment, but the highlight of the visit came when Eli handed Dr. Chalmers a treasure. At first as I was looking at it, I was trying to figure out what it was. When it dawned on me, I was simply hoping I was mistaken. Then, Eli said, very clearly and matter of factly, "Booger!" I was mortified! Dr. Chalmers took it in stride. His reply to this wondrous present was, "Why thank you Eli! That's the best gift I've gotten all day!" I'm sure I was blushing profusely, but at the same time, I couldn't stop laughing.

House Hunting

Going house hunting can be very frustrating. In the first two days of being in St. George, we looked at over forty houses! That's enough to drive anyone crazy! Cameron and I discovered that we didn't really agree on what makes a good house. For me, it's all about the kitchen. For Cameron, it all depends on the lot. He wants a house that doesn't have anyone else behind it, and a few of his favorites have had cliffs with no fence to keep Eli from tumbling to his death! *Gasp!*

Rather than focus on the bad, here are the top three things about looking for a house.

3. Our Realtor is very fond of a particular phrase and Eli now has it down pat! "Alwighty Den!" is now one of the most common things he says.

2. Eli has been marking his territory at most of the houses we have gone to. Don't worry, it's not what you're thinking. He picks up a rock outside and drops it somewhere inside in just about every house we have gone in.

1. One of the houses we came to (which was still occupied) had puppies in the backyard. When we got there, they ran out to see us. They especially liked Eli. Cameron was lamenting not having our video camera with us, but our Realtor used his camera phone to take this video. The music and credits are courtesy of our Realtor, and you can hear his comments in the background.

We haven't found our house yet, but I think we're getting close. We might actually build one, but the contractor we have found to be the cheapest wants us to get our own construction loan. Does anyone know if that is normal? All of the other builders we have talked to said that we didn't have to do that. They would get the construction loan themselves, and the house wouldn't be ours until it was finished and we closed on it. Several said that we needed to put money down before they would start building, but I don't think the risk is as great. Maybe we shouldn't be going with the "cheapest" anyway. *Sigh*

P.S. Happy Halloween!

This is a little belated but...

It's a girl!

We found out just before we left Ithaca!

My sister is also pregnant, due at almost the same time. She told me a few weeks ago that she was having a boy. As the story goes, she had gone in at about 16 weeks and had an ultrasound. They told her then she would be having a boy. She went in again for her 20 week check and they said, "Oops! Just kidding! It's a girl!" Well, maybe not with those exact words....

In any case our new little one will have a cousin the same age to play with. Now if only we lived closer together!

Yummm!!

I volunteered to host book club for October here in Ithaca. Being the slightly over-excitable person that I am, I got a little carried away in the planning of it. First of all, I called my mom and asked her to send me her copy of Dracula, which is a very beautifully illustrated, if slightly used copy of said novel.

Then I started brainstorming on what I could make food-wise to satisfy the sweet-tooth of all of the guests. I immediately decided on Pumpkin Cheesecake. After all, who doesn't love Pumpkin Cheesecake? I was also considering a party mix that usually has melted white chocolate chips covering it and holding it together. But I was planning on dying the chips orange, and serving it in a black bowl.

Next, I thought that I would need something on the healthy side, in case someone didn't want all of those sweets. I started looking for some ideas on the internet, and I saw this and thought it would be perfect. But then, I saw these and thought they might be better. Then I saw this gem and, thinking I could make them into vampire mouths, thought they might be the most perfect of all! Hmmm.... could I make them all?

What about decorations? How would I seat everyone? Would I need to start the conversation on the book? Maybe I should read it twice? What to drink?......

Don't worry, I would have calmed down before the actual date. I wouldn't have made all of the food. Cheesecake definitely, and probably one other dish. Maybe the apples with some sort of dip. I would probably have also forgone the decorations (except what I usually put up for Halloween, which isn't much).

Since book club is at the end of the month, I obviously won't be hosting it. I decided to make the cheesecake anyway, since I had leftover pumpkin in the freezer that needed using. Just looking at that yummy cheesecake (and it is VERY good. believe me), don't all you Ithacans wish I was still hosting it?

Ok here goes...

Since we are moving, I have had several people tell me that I need to start a blog. So here it is! I guess I should start with an amusing anecdote. That way, no one gets bored and never looks at my blog again. Sad!

Eli is learning to pretend!

Today he took a bottle of Tylenol and pretended to pour it into a cup. He drank it and said, "Wadehr! Mmmm!"
So I said, "Eli, can I have some Orange Juice?"
He then "poured" some more into the cup and said, "Ohhrn ju!"
And handed it to me.
Then he took the cup to dad and said, "Appa dew!" (Apple juice)

We played this game for about half an hour.