Ice Cream Truck

First off, let me say that I got some fancy new photo editing software and I'm still learning how to use it properly. There's a lot to it, and as you can see from the pics in this post, I'm still getting the hang of it. I'm having trouble getting the skin tone to look right, and getting my watermark in the right spot (that's mostly laziness, I must admit). But I'll get there eventually. I love learning about it and that's what matters, right? The problem is that Blogger can't handle my images for some reason that I've never bothered to figure out, so they look pixelated, but when you click on them to make them bigger they look fine. Weird and annoying, but whatever. Here are some photos of things we've been up to lately:

For Family Home Evening the other night we decided to go on a "family walk" ... AKA I was too lazy to prepare a lesson. Before we actually made it on the walk, however, Layla's friends across the street invited her to ride their little 4-wheelers with them. Mitch and I let her because it makes us laugh every time Layla says, "Oh heeeeyyy!" to her friends and acts so grown up around them.

Well, Layla has never ridden a 4-wheeler before, so we figured it would be interesting. I'm surprised she did not get whiplash to say the least, nor did she get injured when she crashed right into the fire hydrant. Mitch and I did get a good laugh out of it though (once we knew she was okay, of course)!

During that whole scenario we heard the ice cream truck go by. The kids didn't seem to notice and I whispered to Mitch not to point it out because I didn't want to go find cash to pay for ice cream right before bed (again, partly out of laziness. Man, I'm starting to sound like a bad mom, huh? I'm not really that bad, promise). Anyways, of course the ice cream man eventually got closer and the kids noticed and taught Layla what that sound meant. So I gave her one dollar and she got the cheapest and crappiest ice cream sandwich that truck sold. I felt bad about handing her that while all the other kids ate their Mickey Mouse shaped, five dollar ice cream on a stick, but Layla didn't even seem to notice. In fact, she thoroughly enjoyed her cheap ice cream while hanging out with half the neighborhood kids. That's all that matters, right?

Layla is loving preschool. Like most kids her age, she wears her backpack around the house all morning before preschool. She has a Sesame Street backpack that she got for Christmas a couple of years ago. She does not yet realize that she could get a new backpack before a new school year; we're saving that for when she actually cares.

Here are a series of images I took while Layla was eating an Oreo. I kept asking her to back up from my camera, but she thought it was hilarious to get closer and closer and shove her face as close to the lens and possible.



We went on a field trip this week. We took the kids to a beautiful trail near our home for a "nature walk" and saw lots of pretty flowers and birds. We ended up overlooking a small reservoir and the kids loved collecting acorns off the ground ... so many their pockets were bulging.

Each mom brought snacks to share to make trail mix and the kiddos loved that too. I pushed Marcus in the stroller and he seemed to really enjoy being outside.
 
It was a nice day. On the way home I asked Layla what her favorite part of the field trip was and she said, "Going home!" I really think she was confused by my question, because I would have guessed her favorite part was collecting acorns.

So I've already started using the Santa Claus thing to my advantage this year. Quite often I remind Layla that he is watching, and when she wants something we write it on her Christmas List. So far she had me write down: play-dough, sparkly crayons, Disney movies (especially Peter Pan), fruit snacks (I keep forgetting to buy more, ha, ha), watermelon (her most favorite food in the whole world), and a Snow White doll. Random, right? Not nearly as easy as last year when all she wanted was stickers.

The other day she told me that Santa has "a big, fat belly!" I was surprised that she knew what the word "fat" meant since I try not to use words like fat or ugly around her. And yes, I realize that she'll learn them eventually, but I'd rather she not use those words for as long as I can avoid it. Anyways, I said, "Santa does have a big, fat belly." And then she said, "Yep, just like Daddy!" Ha, ha, ha! Mitch is the last person I would say has a fat anything, so apparently she doesn't really get what that word means after all.

Marcus smiles and laughs when he wakes up now. I love when he wakes up and I walk in the room and he starts laughing and smiling so big that his chubby, round cheeks get super tight and his eyes smile too. It totally makes my day. He is a very, very happy baby (unless he's hungry or tired) and it is pretty easy to make him laugh now. He seems to have a good sense of humor, if that's possible at this age. He just had his 4 month checkup. He is 15 lbs and 25 inches, which is 50th percentile for both. Super healthy and he really, really likes our pediatrician (as do I). He kept talking and squealing at him the whole time. Marcus also loves to grab anything and everything that is put in front of him; especially my hair and dinner plate. I have to start being careful now. And he grabs his feet all the time. I really do love his personality though. He is the happiest little guy around!

A few night ago we went outside to fly the "birdie" kite. It's a giant parrot and it's actually a really cool kite. Well, since it's a bird, Layla always says that "it died" when it falls down. Marcus loved watching his sister run around and the kite fly in the air. It was a fun time.

Layla had preschool at our neighbor's house the other day. Their last name is Hagberg, but Layla told Mitch that preschool was at Rylee Hamburger's house. We keep laughing about that.

We watched this funny Shopko commercial the other day where they talk about "big gas prices" and everything is a "big gas" this or a "big gas" that. Say it outloud, it's hilarious, you should look it up on Youtube. They also have one about shipping. Anyways, Layla overheard the video as we were watching it and yesterday while we were driving she saw a semi truck and said, "Look, Mom! A big gas truck!" Ha, ha, ha! Made me laugh outloud.

September

So, earlier this summer I promised myself that I would teach Layla to ride her balance bike. We went outside every evening for about one week to practice. That was all it took for Layla to be able to cruise around all by herself! I was so pleased to find that she now loves to ride her bike and has gotten quite good at it. We are planning to buy her a bike (with pedals) for her birthday.


I must say I truly enjoyed our one-on-one time during the summer nights this year. We mostly practiced on her balance bike, but other nights I would take her for rides in the bike trailer. I am so glad we bought that thing! She loves it and so do I. It will be even more fun next summer when Marcus can join us. It seems like the last two weeks we've had a harder time getting outside in the evenings. I don't know why. We need to get out there now that it's finally cooling off ... this was one HOT summer! I'm so glad the heat is ending.

Layla started preschool! We are doing a little preschool with 5 other kids in our neighborhood. Each mom takes a turn teaching every 6 weeks, and we are each in charge of planning one field trip. We will also have a Christmas party and a party at the end of the year. We have topics for each week in addition to covering the alphabet. All of the kids (4 girls, two boys) will be in Layla's grade when they start school, except one, but she is only a few months younger than Layla and they will still be in the same Sunday School class. It's so nice to have so many kids her age who live within walking distance of us. She will have some good friends here.

Here is a pic of her on her first day of preschool. I wish I would have thought to have her wear her backpack, but since the first week was at our house, she didn't use her backpack and I didn't think about it. Oh well, there's always next year!

She was so excited for her first day! I was first on the agenda to teach, and I must say, it went way better than I expected. Maybe because it was the first week and everyone was excited so they were extra good? Anyways, I think this year for preschool will be great! Next year we will most likely do a "real" preschool, but I'm not sure where yet.

Marcus always furrows his brow like this when his sister is being loud and/or crazy.

Marcus is doing so good. He was sleeping through the night, about 9 or 10 hours, for almost three weeks when he caught a little head cold. He's pretty much better now and slept 8 .5 hours last night. He's starting to get better at taking long naps, but he takes most of his naps in his car seat. That drives me nuts because I feel like he should be napping in his bed, but apparently he prefers his car seat and I figure it's better than no nap at all. At night he sleeps in his little Rock 'N Play Sleeper. Some day I will switch him to his crib, but probably not until his acid reflux is better.

We tried to wean him off his acid reflux medicine recently. He made it about 3 hours past his normal medicine time before we caved and gave it to him because he was screaming in pain. Poor guy. But at least he's super happy when he's on the medication, right?  I'm hoping he'll out grow it in a few months when he learns to sit up by himself. At least I hear that's when a lot of babies start to outgrow it ...

Besides the acid reflux, Marcus is a super happy baby. He loves when Mitch, myself, or Layla talk to him and play with him (he is starting to go through the phase where he doesn't want anyone else to hold him, which I hope passes quickly. His poor grandmas can hardly hold him without him crying until they hand him back to me. Mamma's Boy, for now). He is starting to laugh a lot more and it is my most favorite thing ever. He also babbles a lot more the last few days and gets really excited over his little toys he has to play with. His hand/eye coordination sure has improved too. He just has the biggest, happiest, grin and it is very contagious. He also gets kind of shy or something when you talk to him. He smiles really big then tips his head to the side and buries his face like he's embarrassed. Almost like he's so excited he can't stand it so he has to stop looking at you. It's cute.

What else? Mitch started a new semester at school. Kind of? It's an independent study course, so he is working on it, but the school lowered their tuition (YAY!) and unfortunately, they can't seem to charge Mitch the lesser amount, so we haven't technically paid, so he's not technically enrolled at the moment. Poor Mitch has been trying to get it straightened out for a couple of weeks now, but everyone gives him the run around and they seem kind of lazy or clueless or something. Hopefully they'll get it figured out soon so Mitch doesn't have to deal with it anymore. For this independent study course, Mitch could choose between two projects, one of which would require him to learn a new computer code. Personally, I would have chosen the one that did not require me to learn a new computer code, but not Mitch, and that is why I love him—he is always pushing himself to do better, learn more, etc. He's pretty much amazing.

We're not sure what's going on with Mitch's work situation. His company lost the big contract they had with the air force base. We were kind of freaking out initially, but the we realized that Mitch is working on two other contracts, so he has work for another two years no matter what. But after that it all depends on which (if any) new contracts his company wins. We'll see if Mitch switches to the new company or stays with his current one. The new company is starting to hire, so big changes could be happening soon. Things are kind of crazy with the government and budgets, and even though Mitch isn't technically a government employee, his company is a contractor for the government, so that makes it tricky for us sometimes. I just hope we can make the best decision. I want Mitch to have a job that he truly enjoys, but I also want it to be stable! Of course, in his industry contracts are always ending and they're always bidding on new ones, so you never know what could happen. I know it will all work out for the best though, even if we don't know what "the best" is yet.

And my handy man husband added crown molding and finished the top of the entertainment center. I love it.


Me. I feel like I am enjoying my life so much more than I was a few months ago. Probably because I'm no longer sleep deprived. I feel human again. I also feel very blessed to live the life I have. I love being at home with my children. While I will freely admit there are days where I want to scream and pull my hair out, there are also hundreds of moments every day where I silently thank my Heavenly Father that I can be a mother and spend every hour fulfilling that role. I'm nowhere perfect at it, but I can feel myself growing and becoming more of whom God would have me be with each passing day. I feel a huge responsibility to be the best person I can so that I can be the best example possible for my kids. Again, nowhere perfect at that, but I'm trying and that counts for something.

Besides Mommyland there's not too much going on for me. This week I'm going to my first "recipe exchange" with the women on my street. Should be fun, though I'm not going to lie, it makes me feel kind of old. Ha, ha. But I seriously love where we live. Everyone is awesome. Mitch and I are signed up to run Ragnar next year with 5 other couples that live on our street. Should be fun!

A few weeks ago I had my blood tested for low iron, thyroid problems, and diabetes. They all came back negative, but I knew something was wrong because I had been feeling so lightheaded and had blurry vision to the point where I stopped driving anywhere for a few days. Anyone who knows me well knows that I've had these sort of problems ever since I came home from my mission (even passing out a few times my first summer home). Well, after my last tests came back negative, I researched something called Insulin Resistance. It's basically pre-diabetes, but the good news is that it's reversible with diet change and exercise, and a person can prevent themselves from developing diabetes if they reverse their insulin resistance condition. (I know I do not seem like the pre-diabetic type, but I have several family members with diabetes.) I bought a book called The Insulin Resistance Diet that has helped me so much. Obviously I can't really diet since I'm still nursing Marcus and I have almost no will power, but I have changed the way I eat. I was eating WAY too many carbs and not nearly enough protein. I ate very healthy foods, just not balanced food groups. What can I say? Carbs are yummy! Anyways, with a few minor changes and keeping up on my exercise, I lost five pounds in two weeks, and most importantly, I feel 100% better!!! YAY! If I don't balance my carbs and protein good enough for even one day I can tell a difference. Crazy, huh?

What else is going on? I watch the Ellen DeGeneres show most days, in fact, it's on while I'm typing this (multi-tasking). It's nice to have a good laugh every day. I keep meaning to tell Mitch that I really, really want to go to a taping of the Ellen DeGeneres show sometime. That would be so fun!

Welp, Layla didn't nap today, so she had quiet time in her bedroom. She's been in there for almost two hours, so I guess she can come out now. I do so enjoy her naps and quiet time; it's good for both of us. :)