So every night now Caleb wants me to tell him stories. When I'm done he'll say, "one more," and I always give in. The he says, "last one" and I tell him I already did the last one and he says, "that was 'one more' I want the 'last one.'" Too funny. Now he's also taken to wanting to know what's going on after he goes to bed. He stands in his crib and calls out, "What's going on?" "I want to see what's going on out there!" He is so funny. He's also asking people what they want for Christmas. My dad said he wanted a remote control car and Caleb doesn't know exactly what it is but he keeps talking about it and pretending to have one, but from how he pretends I think he thinks it's more like a garage door opener or something. I think we'll watch something on you tube with remote control cars or something.

I got his hair cut and told the guy I wanted it shorter so it would be a good length around Christmas when we take all the pictures. Only then I realized that I really only wanted the hair around the ears and neck short and those get cut short anyway. But it was too late. The clippers had already done their damage. He now has a butch. I really don't like it and it will probably take a couple months before the hair on the top of his head is long enough to not look buzzed. Oh, well. I don't have a camera anyway.

Speaking of camera's if I had a working one there was the cutest picture the other day (actually I see them all the time...). I gave Annika her first toothbrush and she loved it. She and Caleb were sitting on the bed together in their pajamas brushing their teeth. It was so cute.

Annika has learned to wave and to vigorously shake her head back and forth. She thinks it's hilarious. She is so funny. She loves to laugh and make others laugh. I was wearing a hat the other day and she kept putting her head up while I was holding her then swinging her face in towards my face under the brim of the hat. She thought it was such a clever game. It was so cute.

Good Recipe

Spiral pasta with roasted pumpkin and plum tomatoes

6 cups peeled and cubed sugar pumpkin or butternut squash (this took the longest--we just used a pumpkin out of the garden)
2 med yellow onions thinly sliced
2 1/2 T olive oil, divided
1/2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
4 plum tomatoes (we just used what we had--I think it was cherry at the time)
1/3 c fresh sage or 1 T dried sage
12 oz whole grain spiral pasta
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 450 F. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.
On rimmed baking sheet, toss the pumpkin with the onions and 1 1/2 T oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the pumpkin in an even layer and roast until the vegetables are beginning to brown, about 10 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions. Drain and toss with remaining T of oil. Add the roasted vetables and toss gently to combine.
Season with addtitional salt and pepper, if desired, and serve sprinkled with cheese.

This was way good. My mom clipped it out of the Salt Lake Tribune and one of the times Andy came down we made it for dinner.

Grandad's pictures of 2009

Since I don't have a working camera I finally got some of Dad's on my computer and thought I should post them.

Funny Things Caleb Said Today

A fly was buzzing around and my mom made some comment about how it was annoying. Caleb said, "I'm going to kill it. And he says, 'No don't kill me.'" Where did he come up with that one? Grandad probably. Grandad has taught Caleb about how you don't kill spiders but you take them outside and they say thank you. He has learned to kill bugs from me however, and his first impulse is to kill them and secondly to not kill them. :)

It took my a long time to put Caleb to sleep tonight. My mom is sick--both kids are sick too--and Annika woke up and so it dragged putting Caleb to bed. Luckily he had a really long nap so was in a really good mood--just didn't want to go to sleep. I left him in his room around 9 or so (maybe a little before I can't remember) and then about ten minutes later he comes out and says, "I had a good sleep." We walked back in and I sang him another song and Orlee the cat came and jumped up on his bed. Now they're curled up asleep together. Luckily he wasn't super tired. When he's super tired it's really hard because he's so whiney and cries like crazy and won't go to sleep unless I lay there with him till he falls asleep.

This morning my dad was cleaning out the little box and Caleb asked if he could watch. However, when he put his hand in the kitty litter (clean kitty litter fortunately) my dad told him that he wasn't supposed to touch kitty litter. I piped in that cleaning the kitty litter was Grandad's job. Later tonight my dad cleaned out the bathtub before Caleb took a bath. Caleb said that it was Grandad's job.

Caleb just woke up. Now he's asking the cat named Dawson if he wants to come on his bed with him. Perhaps I should go try to help my tired (although he doens't know it) and sick (although he is getting better) son get to sleep.

Good night

Family Trip to Capitol Reef

Last Saturday when Andy came down for the weekend we all went to Capitol Reef for the day. It was incredible weather! High seventies, gorgeous skies, pretty leaves, scenery! We all had a lot of fun.





Andy and I even got to hike me carrying Annika and Andy carrying Caleb. We kept them in the backpacks there and back (it was only 2 miles or so, but steep) until about the last quarter mile where we let Caleb out to play.


Of course he plopped down right where he was and started to dig in the dirt. We had to stay there for a long time.

Finally I went ahead to find a place by the water. I ran back and told him about it and he took off running. I wish I'd gotten a video of him running! It's so cute! He threw sticks, dirt and leaves into the water and also got too close and fell in. Luckily Andy was right there and caught him and I ran back to the car for the change of clothes we'd packed. However, his shoes still stink and I think I'm going to have to buy new ones. Darn. Annika also ate as much dirt and as many leaves as she could get her hands on...

These are pictures Caleb took. Not bad for just shy of 2 1/2. :)



We also went and looked at the old pioneer house and the horses. On the way home we stopped at Mom's Cafe in Salina which has been visited by, surprisingly, a few famous people. The food was good but heavy--old fashioned meat and potatoes kind of place. Caleb and Annika got baths that night. :)

Popcorn packaging

Evie and Daniel came down and brought Caleb after a weekend in Park City. We all forgot about the car seat so Evie had to mail it. The day we got the package was a very long day for my mom and she was very tired and didn't feel good. I thought Caleb would love playing in the popcorn. He did. Only just as my tired mother knew, it made a huge mess and took about half an hour to clean up. Caleb had a blast. My mom was relieved when it was all cleaned up and kids were in bed. :) The problem with the popcorn stuff is that it breaks then gets really staticy and sticks to everything...

Pictures from the last month

Here are some pictures that were on my camera. I'm not sure when I took them--but they're cute. :) And of course, they are not always so nice and happy... :)


Here are some videos as well. Really most of the time Caleb has his pants on... :)

Hiking the S

We did this a few weeks ago but my computer wasn't taking pictures from the camera (thus the lack of picture posts...), but I tried again and it worked. Anyway, every year the science department at Snow hikes to the S (a bunch of white washed rocks in the shape of an S on the hillside) and invites students to join them so faculty and students can meet and mingle in a setting outside the classroom. Then they BBQ hamburgers and chat. We were late because we had classes till 4:30 and it just took us a while to get off so most people were down and back by the time we got there. However we did hike up to the top and if it weren't for the threatening lightening Caleb would've walked the whole way himself! As it was, I got a little impatient and carried him the last two bends or so. Still, it was quite the hike for a little guy who's not even two and a half yet! I was so proud of him!! He is such a good little hiker and he loves it! He loved to be out in the mountains, he loved to be hiking and he liked all the attention from the people coming down.

Hiking to the topSitting on the white washed rocks of the S.


View of Ephraim while sitting on the S.

Tonight's prayer

Tonight when Caleb said his bedtime prayers he said he was thankful for me, thankful for Annika's motorboats [when she does motorboat with her lips], thankful for a few other things and please bless his monkey not to get sick.

He cracks me up.

"When I was little I used to..."

Caleb has been saying variations of this and I wanted to record it so I would remember. It is so funny. He'll say when he was a baby he used to ____ or when he was little he used to ______. Sometimes it's realistic and sometimes it's totally not and it's so funny.

Lunging

Three times today Annika has started out in a sitting position, seen something she's wanted and lunged for it landing on her tummy. She doesn't mind being on her tummy for short periods of time, but after a few minutes begins to cry. Still no rolling over or scooting, but she can sit very well.

Videos

Random Things

I'm writing this at quarter to 11 when I should be going to bed, but I just finished reading Alisa's blog and really enjoyed it and want to see if I can figure out how to get videos from my new camera onto my computer. While the pics are loading here are some funny things:

Caleb recently started saying Holy Cow. It really cracks me up. I say it...if you're wondering where he gets it...

Caleb likes to eat the little beans out of his green beans. We have been eating a lot of beans from the garden and some days he won't eat them, but often when he decides to eat them he'll break them apart and eat the beans in the inside. I think he got that from eating peas in the pod?

When I sit Annika on the lawn on a blanket she will pull the blanket up close to her so it's out of the way and then she'll pull on the grass and eat it. My mom doesn't like it...perhaps I shouldn't like it either, but I think it's so funny. Plus usually I put her on the blanket so I can concentrate on something else, i.e. ignoring her...so well, that's how she gets the grass in her mouth in the first place.

Caleb started gong to the Snow College day care twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays from 2-5 in the afternoons. He went for the first time on Wednesday but we didn't get him down for a nap in time and so he ended up falling asleep and didn't wake up until almost four. My mom took him down and he had a great time for the hour that he was there. They close at 5 so he's there for clean-up time (good thing because I don't enforce that enough at home) and my mom said he was such a good little helper cleaning up (hint, hint... :)). I think he'll really enjoy going to play there for a few hours a week and it will help my mom feel a little less overwhelmed. We went to the open house for the Snow College day care and were impressed. The only concern was Caleb getting sick and bringing it home and us all getting sick, but we're risking it. :) Andy pointed out that he's just as likely to pick up something in nursery.

Annika loves to give kisses by sucking on my chin. She'll grab my face and suck. I love it. I might have mentioned this before. But I really love it. I love her smile. I love how happy she is to see me or Caleb or anything that makes her happy and excited. I love how she grabs at everything and how you can see her examine things by the look in her eyes.

In the back yard (no blanket), enter Caleb with cup. Caleb wanted to help Annika and if you look careully you can see she's actually scowling because she doesn't want help (another one of those things that starts young and goes on forever...) and then at last free to do it her own way.


Cute outfit, cute smile, cute girl. Notice the trucks in either hand. In the thrid picture she's doing her little "motor boat" thing and blowing bubbles. I really want to get that on a video and not just a photo.




The other day I went to the park with my friend Jill and her kids. Annika enjoyed the swing and Caleb who's been scared of them this season got in after he saw Annika being brave. Also a highlight at the park was a big hill of dirt where Caleb and the Cox kids played for...a long time. At one point Caleb came over to Jill and I who were sitting on the bench talking and said,

"Katie said I'm a king. I'm not a king!" She had made a little throne and Caleb still talks about it a week later. He'll say, "Katie told me I was a king." Or talk about the "chair" she made.

Caleb "helping" Grammy unwrap her presents. Since Andy's birthday is right after my mom's Caleb was in the birthday present-opening mindset and when we went to Walmart (not a lot of shopping in Ephraim so not a lot of choices) I asked Caleb what we should buy Daddy for his birthday. Caleb was very decisive and said a birthday drink. So we bought a birthday drink and when Andy came down they drank it together in celebration of his birthday (it was V8 Splash). Unfortunately I forgot to pull out the camera when Andy was here this time.


I really love my kids. I often feel really bad for the situation they're in. Tonight I was trying to get my quiz and test ready and took the kids with me over to the office I share with the other adjunct teachers. It was after 7 when we headed over and it just took me way longer than it should've and Caleb got tired, Annika was tired. I was ignoring both of them and trying to get things done. Finally Caleb crawled down and pushed the power button on the computer. I was really upset because I was stressed and felt like a bad mom and was taking way to long to do fairly unimportant details. I got mad at him and he started to cry. I felt so bad. Annika started to cry too. I just loaded everyone up and headed home. As we were walking away from the Noyes building Caleb was crying "I want my Dad. I want my Daddy home," over and over. I felt so bad. I just told him I was sorry and that he was wonderful. Then I left two crying very, very tired children with my parents and went back and finished. Only to find that since I hadn't scheduled with the testing center there were too many tests this weekend and they were booked. I've told all my students the test would be Fri-Mon in the testing center and made my son cry trying to get it ready in time, only to not have done what I should have done weeks ago in scheduling all my tests. I came home and sent an email to the lady in charge of the testing center with a schedule of my future tests--hopefully the time slots are still open and in the mean time I'm waiting for inspiration on what to do to not get behind and still test the students on chapter 3...But anyway, I reallly love these kids and while I sometimes wish their lives could be perfect, or even just better, I am so grateful for the joy they bring me. I'm a lucky girl to have such amazing and wonderful children. (And helpful grandparents who managed to have both kids asleep by the time I got home.)