Ernie Obsession

I let Layla watch one episode of Sesame Street most mornings while I get ready.

Watching Sesame Street

We finally learned who her favorite character is; last Saturday, for three hours, we heard nothing but, "Ernie!" (in a whiny voice) from our almost-18-month-old. Seriously, for three hours straight, it was nothing but "Ernie, Ernie, Ernie!" and it started to drive us nuts.

We couldn't figure out what she wanted, we only knew that she wanted "Ernie!" We tried having her watch Sesame Street and then Ernie videos on YouTube, but it wasn't enough.

So we did what any good parent would do ... we put her in the car, drove to ToysRUs, and let her pick out her very own Ernie doll. I know, I know, that's spoiling her, but it was the only thing we could think of to make her stop whining. And it worked!

When we got to the store, Layla wanted not only the Ernie doll, but the Elmo doll too. The spoiled little girl has her daddy wrapped around her finger, so when I asked her to pick between the two, Mitch said he couldn't make her pick and that he wanted to buy her both. He won. Actually, Layla won.

It was the ToysRUs giraffe's birthday,

so she even got a birthday crown.

Layla was SO happy. Now she sleeps with Ernie, carries him everywhere, and freaks out if she thinks we're going to forget him when we go somewhere. It's pretty hilarious, actually. She loves her Elmo too, but Ernie is definitely the favorite.

With her new buddies.

Sorry, about her lack of shirt.

This is just after a lunch of

yummy, but messy, peaches.

Of all the Sesame Street characters, she loves Ernie most. At least she picked one who speaks proper English. Does it drive anyone else nuts that Elmo speaks in third person??? I seriously can't stand it.Anyways, I guess we better figure out a better solution for the next time she becomes obsessed with something, besides spoiling her rotten. But for now it's okay because she won't remember and we're so smitten by her adorableness we can't help it.

Too Funny

We watched the BYU vs UofU game the other night with some friends. I honestly don't care who wins, I just think the whole rivalry thing is hilarious. Mitch is a Ute fan and this year, not only did the U win, they totally laid the smackdown! And not to mention the fact that BYU kept practically giving the ball away.

So when I saw this on KSL today, it made me giggle.

Happenings

We've been so busy lately and due to work, Mitch's school, and life in general, I don't have much time to blog about it. But it's good to be busy and we're enjoying life. Here's a quick run down, in no particular order, for memory's sake:

• We took Layla to the fair yesterday. She loved the animals and wanted so badly to touch them all. We tried to watch the sea lion show, but she wasn't interested, which completely surprised us. Who doesn't love sea lions?
  
  
  
• Layla and I went to California with my mom. The purpose of the trip was to attend the wedding reception of a close family friend, but we managed to spend time with my uncle and his wife as well. Layla loved dancing at the reception and playing with all the other kids all weekend long (the little boys all fought over who got to hold/feed/carry her). We went to a HUGE flea market in Pasadena with my uncle; I bought a sun hat and Kent bought all sorts of stuff. The only downer to the trip, besides not having Mitch/Daddy with us, was that we all had head colds, so some nights it was hard to get Layla to bed. But overall she did great and we had a fun time! While we were there, Layla learned to call my mom, "Grammie," only she says, "Mammie" and it's ridiculously cute! I really wanted to go to the beach while we were there, but it rained and even hailed the days we could go. Strange, huh?
  
  
• Layla got some new shoes. She absolutely loves them! She'll bring them to us and ask us to put them on, or try to put them on herself, which she can't manage to do yet, but we get a laugh out of watching her try! Oh, and I get a kick out of these jeggings (stretchy pants) she has, they're hilarious on her! So cute she has two pairs.
  
• Today I ran four miles with no knee pain. That's the farthest I've been able to run, pain-free, since my half-marathon two months ago. Wahoo!
• Mitch has his first test for school next week. I already know he'll ace it.
• On a side note, my mom recently told me something I never knew about my dad; he would trade all the horses, hunting, fishing, camping, etc. to live by the ocean. Well I must be more like my dad than I thought because that is my dream too! I think I was supposed to be a beach bum/surfer chic and live on the island of Maui or somewhere like that. But since I can't do that right now, boating at Jordanelle is the next best thing. We went with my parents and Katie over Labor Day and it was a blast ... until the boat broke! Ahhh! Mitch learned how to get up on the wakeboard, and was going for another spin when the boat stopped working. We had to be towed in. Total bummer. I was able to wakeboard before it broke and I learned how to move back and forth across the water. Katie got out of us making her try to wakeboard, at least. We still managed to have fun for the rest of the day though, eating lunch, and playing in the water. Layla LOVES the lake as do I. Can't wait for next year!
  
  
• Last but not least, Layla is adding to her vocabulary daily. My favorite word to hear her say is "waffle" because she says it so darn cute. She also yells, "Daddeeee!" when she is scared or wants to know where Mitch is. She said "apple" for the first time yesterday. I can't believe how fast she learns. She can recognize and/or say a dozen letters of the alphabet. She loves to read and learn and it makes me one proud mama!

Education

I love what the teachers did at this school to teach kids the importance of earning a college degree. I think this should be required in every elementary school, every year.

ksl.com - Teachers helping kindergarteners get ready for college

SANDY -- Some Kindergarten teachers took a step back in time Friday and donned attire from their college graduation day.

But this wasn't just a day to dress up; It's an important first step to get their very young and impressionable students excited about college.

They may be more than a decade away from picking a school, but these kids are learning young that the choice will be an important one in their lives.

"It's such an interesting and novel idea when they first realize that it's not Halloween, that we are really proud of our education," said Debbie Shumard, principal of Crescent Elementary School in Sandy. "They go home and they talk to their parents, talk to people around them."

That talk led to everyone in the future class of 2024 at Crescent Elementary school making a pledge to be college-ready.

They'll have plenty of help to get there.

We want them to think about what they are going to be when they graduate," Shumard said. "We are initially putting that in their mind that the picture of them, themselves, is what they want to be and picture themselves in that role later."

But the ultimate goal requires baby steps -- starting in kindergarten.

After finding little progress in test scores from the beginning to the end of the year, the Canyons School District launched an intensive teacher training program to bring those scores up.

The nearly 2,000 hours of coaching paid off: 86 percent of Canyons kindergartners knew what they needed to know before moving on to first grade -- a significant jump from the 65 percent who met the benchmark the year before.

Educators hope the year-to-year progress can carry kids through to college, and eventually their careers.

"Most kids don't realize that learning math, learning writing skills and reading skills really affect the quality of their life when they graduate," Shumard said. "We want them to know that they've got choices out there."