Kimba

Mountains and mountains of it

And just like that, I was struggling through security again.

This last week went by ridiculously fast. It seemed like one minute I was creating posters for my sister's arrival, and the next I was boarding a plane home again. It was so fun to be at the airport and to see Kathy come down the escalator. It'd been a year and a half since we'd seen her, which felt like ages and seconds at the same time. She's settling in nicely I think, and isn't too *weird*.

(just kidding Kathy....you know i love you)

Pictures are coming soon, it's taken a bit to settle back in. We arrived to find that our guest bathroom toilet was leaking, had been leaking, and had warped the baseboards behind it, creating a wonderful mildew smell to permeate the house.

Nice. Welcome home!

So we spent all Saturday taking care of that, and cleaning up the dog mess (ohmigosh the dog mess...) and unpacking and such. And all Sunday preparing for, attending church, and then getting together with friends to ignore the mess.

And now? Now it's Monday and I get to deal with it all. The laundry, oh the laundry! The cleaning, oh the cleaning!

All in preparation for my next two week trip home, which is, if you can believe it, starting this Friday. 

As in 4 days from now.

Yes, we are insane. More later! If I can get to the bottom of the laundry pile!

Preparations

The camera is charged and ready to go.

There is a ridiculously cheesy poster ready to be hung.

A large "Welcome home" basket is sitting on her freshly made bed.
(Full of flip flops, new toiletries, and short(er) skirts)

Her favorite banana muffins are waiting to be baked.

I think we're ready!

Wiggly carry-on

I am once again packing for another trip home. This time I will be flying solo, with Wy I mean, and for the first time I am slightly nervous about it.

He no longer sits content on my lap. If you know what I mean.

This trip is special though, because my sister Kathy is coming home from her mission for our church. It's the first time we'll have seen her in a year and a half, and it will be the first time she's met Wyatt. We are all, understandably, more than a bit excited.

Wyatt is too, he just doesn't know it yet.

 

(awww....his first bedhead)

Wish me luck. I have new books, a plastic slinky, and plenty of bendy straws. And enough Cheerios to last a lifetime.

It's not over yet

Last night I almost passed out three separate times while blowing up our new kiddie pool. 

(Yes, it's almost September. I know. I'm a bit late. But it's California, right? Right?)

I lay there on the floor, the mostly blown up pool on top of me, catching my breath. Willing away the ocean noise, and picturing Wy and I sitting inside. 

This will be worth it. We'll be splashing and sunning ourselves and maybe I'll get a bit of real color on my legs. 

I continued blowing life into the brightly colored plastic.

 

He loved it. As soon as he got comfortable he spent the entire time standing up by the side and squealing at the mutt. Bear spent the entire time pacing the backyard, partly waiting for Caleb to get home and partly anxious about Wyatt's ball I'd put inside the pool. He wanted it somethin' fierce.

 

 

Man, I love this kid.

After a little while Caleb came home from work and joined us. The entire family, hangin' in the kiddie pool. It's one of the few moments I'd always looked forward to when I thought about having kids.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! I think ours will include more dips in the pool. It was, as these things usually are, definitely worth it.

My new mantra

“A good idea today is better than a perfect idea tomorrow.“

“Don’t let best get in the way of better.“

“Done is better than perfect.“

Neurosis

I cannot watch the movie "Willow". I first saw it when I was little and as soon as I found out that someone stole the baby, I was out. That was it. My sister Liz was just a baby at the time and I couldn't handle the thought of someone taking her.

I was also wary of "Labyrinth" for this very reason. I had to continually tell myself that it was okay, it was just a movie, someone was taking care of Toby. He goes back home in the end. It's okay. It's just a movie.

This neurosis has only intensified after having a baby myself. I was completely distracted, almost beyond return, during the first portion of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Though I knew the baby eventually grew up (and then...down?) and was totally fine, I could not mentally get over the fact that she took the tiny baby and put him in a drawer in the basement and LEFT HIM THERE while she "finished up" whatever she had to do upstairs. My mind was blown. But he's probably hungry! I don't think he has a diaper on! What if he cries? She won't be able to hear him!

Honestly, this is what I was thinking. My heart started beating faster and faster, and I swear I would have had a full blown anxiety attack had I not closed my eyes and reigned myself in. IT'S OKAY. IT'S JUST A MOVIE.

I wanted to jump in that movie, pick up that baby and feed him myself.

**********

I sometimes have ridiculous scenarios run through my head, like nightmares during the day time. What if I somehow locked Wyatt in the car? What if I locked myself out of the house with Wyatt in it? (I woke Caleb up one night and told him we needed to get extra house keys made for this very reason) What if someone came in our house while I was in the shower and Wy was taking a nap? I wouldn't hear them! (I'm working on getting extra locks for our doors because of this one) What if something happened to me during the day? Wyatt would be left to fend for himself, and who knows how long before someone noticed? Not until Caleb came home from work, and he'd be hungry and his diaper would be wet and he'd be crying....

I'm getting a knot in my stomach just typing it.

I was recently remembering a horrific story that happened to someone we know, their little baby died after accidentally being left in the car. When it first happened, besides feeling devastated, I was almost outraged. How could that happen? How could someone simply "forget" about their child? How would I possibly be able to live with myself if that happened to me? I read an article concerning this topic and how it's becoming an alarming trend. I cannot imagine forgetting my baby, but then again, I doubt these people could have either.

Why all this heavy handedness? I don't know, I'm neurotic. I feel like if I talk about it I'll be able to sleep at night. I won't bother Caleb with my millions of what ifs. I'll be more aware. I won't forget.

Please don't let me forget.

Please tell me I'm not the only neurotic one.

Wyatt: 9 months

Well, it's finally happened. 9 months in, 9 months out. Well, sort of. More like, 10ish months in, plus an entire 9 EXTRA DAYS, and we all know even one day to a pregnant woman is an eternity.

That's 9 eternities, right there.

Anyway. 9 months. I can't believe it. Those 9 months of pregnancy went by soooooo slowly, and these last 9 have flown. Literally flown. A few of my friends have had babies in the last few days and it's been amazing to see their pictures and think back to when Wyatt was that tiny. I can't believe he was, and how big he is now. He crawls! He babbles! He eats anything and everything in reach! Whether it's food or not! He went from just laying there and squawking to banging on the sliding glass door.

 

picture via Caleb

I thought Wy was active last month. Now he's all over the place! He's completely given up scooting and crawls everywhere, or at least until he can find something to pull himself up on. I talked to my parents this last month and was told that my dad walked at 9 months. I cannot IMAGINE him walking this young, but I think he'll be there soon. (My, that's a scary thought.) He has stuff to do. Things to get into. Work.

 

 

 

These are his new favorite play things, the large bin I purchased on sale recently, perfect for holding ice and drinks during a barbecue, and the little box that holds, currently, my label machine and the extra plug covers. Pretty much all he could ever want.

Want to know his other favorites? The wire(ish) tube that connects the toilet to the wall, and the cap that covers the screws on the bottom of the toilet that is, of course, loose. He also really enjoys trying to open the cabinet doors, but we've put those latches on them, so he stands there forever banging the door open and closed. It never gets old. He loves trying to eat the stainless steel garbage can, pulling everything out of my diaper bag, and opening the dvd player. 

 

picture via Caleb

We have a long road ahead.

He's also started babbling with consonants and it's "ba ba ba" and "ah-ba" all day long. It's pretty adorable, I won't lie. Especially the shrieky, high pitched ones. I'm sure it will get old, the shrieking I mean, but for now we're enjoying it. Speaking of "talking", I just bought the Baby Signing Time DVD and we've watched it a couple of times and have started using some of the signs. It's only been a couple of days but he's already starting to understand what some of them mean. Mostly the sign for food. The boy loves his yogurt melts, that's for sure. I think it's going to be a great tool, and will hopefully help cut down on some of the meltdowns. 

In other mouth related news, the kid has a total of 8 teeth now. He went from 4 to 8 in just a couple of days. We found them on Friday and though I had thought he might be starting to teethe again, I had no idea he'd already cut 3 and had one more to go. I was shocked, actually, 4 new teeth! And they're sharp little guys! And sort of adorable, too. A little elusive, you either have to get him to laugh really hard, or hold him upside down. He's not a fan of showing off his pearly whites by hand. We try, we do, but he doesn't like it. 

 

Also? Wyatt is sleeping THROUGH THE NIGHT. 7 or 7:30 pm until 7 or 7:30 am. I am absolutely loving it, and trying not to be distracted by the fact that many people's brand new babies are already almost doing that. (You know who you are, you lucky ducks!) He'll occasionally wake up, but I've only had to go in there once in the past month. It's amazing. A full night's sleep!The first night he did it I panicked. The second and third and fourth night I was ecstatic. Sleep! Uninterrupted sleep! Hours and hours and hours of it! All at once!

Now if only I could just stop waking up. Apparently it's become a habit.

 

Did I say that 6 months was my favorite so far? I lied. 9 months is my favorite. In fact, it's just getting better and better. Harder in some ways, sure. He doesn't stay in the same spot I left him. He doesn't lay there calmly while I change his diaper. I am constantly pulling him away from the fireplace, the toilet, and outlets, but he's also so funny to watch. He is fascinated by the smallest things like receipts and whisks. He is determined to get what he wants, and will crawl up and over anything in his path. He has a funny little goofy sense of humor, right up his Dad's alley. He makes soft whistle noises through the gaps in his teeth, and I just love the sound. He is happiest when he's exploring, and is learning so much about the world around him. He gets excited about string cheese, blueberries, and the sound of the keys in the lock when Caleb gets home. He's my little buddy, and I absolutely love him.

 

Classic, banana chunk in the hair, I have no idea how it got there...

We love you, big guy.

All work and no play...

Well, we had ourselves QUITE a full weekend. We're sore (who knew painting was a workout?) and sunburned (okay, maybe only one of us is...dang spray on sunscreen...) and perfectly content.

First we spent a day painting. A full day. It was a process, one that took longer than we expected, though doesn't it always? Our plan was to use the paint that our landlord had already used for the rest of the house since he had cans in the garage, (the ultimate renters conundrum - how much do we spend on something that isn't ours?) and cover up the ridiculous mess that the previous renters left behind. They were MAD with accent walls, chose ridiculous colors, and then didn't use more than one coat. It all had to go.

Caleb threw me for a loop though, and the night before we were to paint he mentioned that he rather liked having an accent wall in the kitchen, maybe we could just choose a different color?

If you know me, you know this is enough to send me rocking in the corner. I need WEEKS of back-and-forth before I can commit to such huge decisions. WEEKS! YEARS! EONS! I am proud to say however, that in about 3 minutes I'd decided on and found the color I wanted.

Honestly. Ask Caleb! It's true!

He was unsure. I was going bold. REALLY bold. Sherwin Williams Direct Green bold. And while I couldn't quite capture the EXACT color (my photo skills aren't fabulous, you know) I came close. It's just a bit brighter...

I know, I know, most people just did a double take. I know my father is going to ask me what in the world made me choose that color.

I like it. And - get this - Caleb likes it. Despite worrying all day, giving me grief, he admitted he likes it. And I can't wait to throw a few things up on the wall. Make it really pop.

We also painted the third bedroom and our bedroom, THANK HEAVENS, because our bedroom had been a sickly sweet sky blue. Really sickly. And now it's calm. Grown up. Inviting. Warm. And again, NOW I can finally decorate! Let the searching begin!

**********

Our second day was spent at the beach. Sadly, this was only our second trip this year, and we live 30 minutes away. I vow that next summer will be better. It will be 100 times easier with Wy, he'll be able to really enjoy it, and I won't be pulling sand out of his mouth.

Hopefully.

The first part of the day was hazy with morning fog and smoke. Slightly cold, but we made the best of it.

 

It took all of three seconds before the first fistful went into his mouth.

 

He was enjoying it though!

 

 

 

 

We decided to try bringing the pack-n-play to see if that might help corral him. It didn't work too well.

 

He spent most of the time begging off string cheese bits.

Sadly, by the time the haze wore off it was his naptime so Caleb took him to the car and read while Wy slept. I lounged on the beach flipping through a magazine and unknowingly burning myself. I used Aveeno Spray! 30 spf! Twice!

Apparently the spray takes a little getting used to? That's what I'm going with at least.

It was a great day, and it completely wore Wy out.

We came home, rinsed the sand off in the shower, and then settled down with home-grilled burgers with muenster cheese and avocado slices. Does it get any better than that? 

I don't think so.

Bane of my existence

For the record, that is all on the OUTSIDE. And? I just cleaned that door, yesterday.

 

Sliding glass doors and dogs (and babies) don't mix. 

Have a lovely weekend, folks! We'll be painting and *hopefully* lounging on the beach. Or more realistically, scooping sand out of diapers and mouths...

Crusades

When one is mobile, one discovers that the world exists beyond one's carpet square and thus embarks on a crusade to explore new territory.

 

In no time at all, Sir CrawlsaLot has encountered The Diaper Bag, also known as Baby Mecca.

 

He is so busy in his studies that he drops his binki, and not wanting to let go of the bag and therefore not be in Standing Mode, he attempts to recapture the binki WITH HIS MOUTH, and ONLY his mouth.

 

Such determination! Such talent! He shall return to The Motherland with honor and dignity! 

Or, something like that.

If you were on a deserted island...

If I had to choose one type of food to eat for the rest of my life, it would be cereal. Hands down.

It's easy, it's quick to pull together, and there are about a million varieties. Right? I mean seriously, have you walked down the cereal isle lately? It's ridiculous. Wall to wall choices to satisfy even the pickiest eater. Craving waffles? Have some Wafflecrisp. Peanut butter hankering? Here, try some Peanut Butter Captain Crunch. Cookies? Well! Here's some Cookie Crisp! Chocolate? There's Coco Puffs, Cocoa Pebbles, and Count Chocula to name a few.

My favorite, you ask? If I had to give up all others and only have one?!

Hmm. Wow. That's tough.

Maaaaaaaaybe Apple Caramel Pecan Crunch, from Post. But I'd really miss Raisin Bran Extra.

And Crunchy Corn Bran. And Frosted Mini Wheats. And Blueberry Morning.

Super Wy

This last weekend we attended a birthday party for our friend's boy. Despite having a 5 week old, the party was perfect and adorable and creative. I shouldn't be surprised, these guys are insanely creative, but I could barely manage to get showered when Wy was that old, let alone host such an amazing birthday bash. She's amazing, that's all there is to it.

The party was super hero themed, and despite the fact that Wy spent most of the time crawling on the floor looking for anything to put in his mouth

 

(and there was much to be found)

or CRAWLING UP THE FREAKIN' STAIRCASE, HOLY CRAP

 

(and happy about it)

he was still presented with a cape. A handmade cape, no less.

 

 

He's not quite ready to fly yet, but he'll grow into it. Thanks Bridge and Mark! It was a lovely day!

Not quite Anne Geddes

After a stressful day today, I needed a break. I was grateful Caleb made it home a bit early (thank you, Bay Area traffic!) so that I could finish putting the final touches on the chicken curry without an eight month old (almost 9!) trying to crawl up my legs. Or grunt in his high chair because all of his banana chunks were gone.

So while I was working Caleb played with Wy on the floor, and then, well. This.

 

Baby in a bowl.

 

I needed that.

Independence

Recently Wy has started to protest meals. Well, lunch and dinner if we want to get specific. I thought at first it was because he wasn't lovin' the veggies. Then he started fussing regardless of what he ate, and so, deciding I was done fighting through meals, I plopped a bunch of steamed veggies and fruit on his tray tonight and let him have at it.

You should have seen his face, it was like, finally you get it, woman! 

I'm new at this you know, I sometimes need things in light-up neon letters.

 

One thing I quickly learned was that when you let your baby self feed, naked is best. Bananas and blueberries are hard suckers to get out of clothes.

 

 

picture via Caleb

He's perfecting the pincher, even knocking down (most) banana chunks. Most, because quite often the chunks get squeezed out of his little fists. It's quite amusing to watch him try and figure out where it went.

And where does it go?

 

Yup. You guessed it. And Caleb's method of cleaning the carnage? Bringing in Bear, which means I get to clean the floor after the mutt does, since Wy is now crawling all over the place and my germaphobia is in full swing.

picture via Caleb

It's worth it, though. Mealtime is virtually silent (pinching requires concentration) and I finally have someone who will eat the bananas once they aren't green.

gushing

there are no words to describe how much i love "so you think you can dance".

it's just so amazing!

and emotional!

and fantastic!

and i haven't even found out who won yet. it doesn't matter. i just love this show. 

that's all. the end. goodnight.

i have no more words.

Help a girl out, eh?

I am using our upcoming annual Lake Powell trip as motivation to "be good" and loose these stubborn last couple pounds, and to tone up a bit. It's one thing to be in your pre-pregnancy jeans, it's quite another to look good in them.

It hasn't really happened thus far, due to a bum foot, but now that it's starting to feel better I have a renewed fire. Caleb is supposed to be dragging in the treadmill from the garage (he can't wait to have it sitting in our living room again...) leaving me no excuse not to work out while Wy is asleep.

I am, for the most part, pretty good at eating healthy. My downfall is in the late evening after dinner, when I'm on my laptop. I get snacky, I want something small that I can grab with one hand while I work. I want chocolate. I want something sweet. 

So tonight I'm sitting here with a bowl full of fresh peaches and raspberries...and maaaaaybe a small handful of chocolate chips thrown in. It's divine, I just love summertime!

I know however, that variety is key. So I'm wondering, what are your favorite *healthy* treats?

Home, Sweet Home

Ahhh, I can finally discuss details of my recent super quick trip home. For the past few months several of my family members have been planning a little party for my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary.

It was a surprise. And so much fun to plan, except for that whole trying to get 80 people together at the same time thing.

You know?

We decided to get a family picture done, since the last semi-professional picture we took was when I was like, I don't know, 9? 10? I have no idea. We usually do more impromptu pictures, like everyone on the beach in Oceanside. In our bikinis. And the best part is that they actually get the picture blown up, real huge like, so that everyone can see our boobies.

We thought they deserved something extra special this time. Our covered tummies.

So! We hired a photographer, a really great photographer, the one who took our wedding photos actually, and it was a great success. Here are a few candid shots that we took:

 

Kelly, attempting to wrangle our crazy bunch.

 

Wy and I, braving the heat.

Here's some of my cute cousins.

 

And here's Wy. Poor little guy, his eczema was getting worse in Utah with the SUPER hot, dry weather, and so we took his shirt off and my sister sat with him by a little stream in the shade where it was cool. I just love his grandpa pants.

 

After the pictures (Kelly, our photographer, deserves a medal!) the family went to a park for a picnic dinner, while my immediate family skedaddled up to another reunion on my mother's side.

Yes, we double-booked ourselves, and yes it was crazy. But it worked. We stuffed our faces with delicious catered barbecue, talked to our relations, and then sped back home to get ready for the pool party for my grandparents.

Phew.

At the pool was another surprise. My grandparents never had a proper wedding reception, never had a wedding cake. So that's what we gave them.

 

 

 

 

 

(Caleb took nine million pictures of me talking at this party, and I am thoroughly repulsed. I talk with my hands, and like,  my entire face. It's hideous.)

 

Wy was so good the entire trip. We completely screwed up his entire schedule, but he was so accommodating.

 

He was so tired.

 

So sweet. My favorite part of the evening!

 

And of course, the proud grandpa.

 

*************

On Sunday we had a get together with Caleb's brothers and sisters, and had ourselves a lovely time.

 

 

 

***********

And a few random shots of us chilling at home.

 

 

 

He had no idea what to do with this, but he liked it anyway.

**********

It was a quick trip, but it was a great trip. And I'm going back in just a few weeks. I could get used to summer!