Ruthie: From Infant to Toddler

It's amazing how much your perception of your kids can change in a week's time. Almost overnight, Ruthie grew out of her infant stage. Last Saturday morning I discovered a third tooth. Later that day, Rob said to me, "You didn't tell me about her new trick!" I walked in to find Ruthie standing in her crib. I hadn't known she could pull herself up to standing yet!
She is interacting so much more with the two big kids. She absolutely adores them. What is funny is she seems to be the instigator. She tends to egg them on to get them to play with her.
Ruthie is also communicating so much more. She says small words like "Mama" and "Ba" (bottle) and "Dada". She'll raise her arms up when she's done eating. She has also started throwing temper tantrums. Despite her few fits, she is still about the most pleasant and happy kid I know. Granted, she is very much a Mama's girl and really does not like strangers. I've gotten to where I get really irritated if people try to interact with her while we're at resaurants, stores, etc. She'll immediately break down and begin to cry. It's always with the sweet little old ladies too! When she is at home, however, and around her family, she is one happy soul --with the craziest hair you've ever seen!

4th of July Weekend

We were so happy to be able to spend the 4th of July with the Mortensen Clan. Rob's sisters and Grandmother came in to town and we all had a big sleepover at Rob's parents' new house. We went to the Dinosaur Museum in Lehi, saw Wall-E (not worth the time or money, but the kids enjoyed it), spent hours on the slip n slide and riding scooters, watched John Adams in the theater room, enjoyed our own fireworks display brought to you by Rob, and had family pictures taken. These were some of our favorites of the kids:

Which one is which?

We were just noticing today how much our girls look alike. I thought I would post these to see if anyone else can tell them apart.

Summer Beginnings

Our summer began shortly after all of our daily activities ended. In other words, summer to us means lazy days. Anna had been in a dance class at Virginia Tanner. It was so perfect for her! Creative dance was definitely the way to go. Anna learned a lot and really enjoyed her teacher. The five-year-olds do not have a recital, but we were able to go and watch her in her last day of class. The rest of the year they do not allow parents to observe. It was so much fun to see her in action. They have a pianist that accompanies the girls as they dance. Anna did a solo dance for us that was so beautiful.

Anna also graduated from her preschool. They did a fun program and told the story of "Where the Wild Things Are." The kids had all made monster sock puppets to act out the part of the wild things. Anna is so excited to start kindergarten. We have been monitoring the progress on the new elementary school. We will see if she actually starts with the regular school year. We may be enjoying a little longer summer this year.
So as not to be too bored, we got right in to swimming lessons. Seth and Anna did so well this year. We were a little worried about Seth--last year he spent most of his time clinging to Mom and screaming, "I want to get out!" However, Seth really loved his lessons. He loved doing icecream scoops and superman. His teacher worked so well with him! Anna has turned into a little water bug. She spent all of her down time on the stairs dunking her head as many times as she could. That was unheard of last year!Ruthie has figured out she can roll just about anywhere. She can get across a room pretty quickly now. However, watching her roll looks almost painful. She pins one arm under her body and swings the other arm around in a wide arch to get her momentum going. The kids have taught her to verbalize with them, not in a quiet manner either. It is not uncommon to have a loud chorus of "AHHHHHHHH" echoing throughout the house.

I have discovered something about myself: I tend to move from one obsession to the next. It is rather sad, but there is a definite pattern in my life. For example, the past few months I've moved from quilting to High School Musical to obsessing over the closet, and now I am in love with a vampire. For years Rob and I have put off reading the Twilight series. I must say, when Jim and Jennie first introduced the books to us three years ago we mocked them ruthlessly. Jim, of all people, was reading a vampire romance novel! I take it all back. They are completely addicting and extremely entertaining. I now find myself counting down the days until the final book comes out (August 2nd for those who don't know.) I also find myself watching all of the news about the the upcoming movie in December. Lest anyone should think I have no life other than the twisting saga of Bella and Edward, I have recently come to grips with my love/obsession for ribbon. I have found I can blow more money on spools of ribbon than just about anything else. And if I happen to hit a 50% off sale, I tend to get a little crazy in the head. In the past, I've used the excuse of not being able to store all of my spools, but as of last night I have solved that problem, so Robert's and Hobby Lobby, watch out!

Organization is the Key!

During the month of April we decided we had had enough with our closet. Rob and I being the obsessive-compulsive personalities that we are, we decided to design the mecca of organization. In all honesty, Rob just wanted some cubies. But we couldn't just stop there! If we were going to do it, we were going to do it right! Rob came home from work one day and Tawanda had struck. I took a crow-bar to the existing clothes rack/shelf and ripped it all out. We actually enjoy doing this sort of project together. We both cut the wood and install it all, (meaning I hold the boards and hand Rob the tools). Then I take over with all of the caulking and painting. The kids were so excited to help. They strapped on their tool belts and were ready to get to work. We had another idea for them: they watched Dumbo three times, Toy Story, and several other cartoons all in one day. Roopie found contentment in the exersaucer or on the floor playing. Eventually she would just fall asleep. What great parents we are! We are now almost finished with the dream closet. Rob is in heaven with his eighteen cubies and a shoe bench. I absolutely love my twenty-six slots for shoes and will thoroughly love having drawers in my closet if we ever finish them. I got burned out after 40+ hours of painting and I haven't wanted to look at another project since. I'm sure it will only be temporary and I will be nagging on Rob about our next home improvement. Will it be the basement or my dream craft room next?

I Have to Play the Leprechauns Too?

March 17th Anna woke up early. I could hear her wandering around the house, but I simply rolled over until she aroused me with her usual, "Mom, I'm so hungry will you get me my breakfast yet?" Instead, Anna came in and said, "Mom, there is something strange going on here. The leprechauns have not turned anything in our house green!" I guess the previous year when we were living at Grandma Tidwell's "the leprechauns" had turned her milk green. So as not to destroy the imagination and dreams of a five-year-old, I quickly rolled my eyes and responded with some hoopla story about how they hadn't made it to our house yet. Then I sent the St. Patty's Day General off to preschool and wracked my brain over what I could turn green. I had overheard Anna tell her dad the night before she was worried the leprechauns would turn her dog Lady green. (For those of you who don't know: Lady is a stuffed dog that Anna bought at the dollar store when she was three. This dog is treated better than a real dog. She is truly a member of the family.) So as you can see from the picture, "the leprechauns" cleverly turned Lady's house green and gave her a lovely green bow. "The leprechauns" also attempted to dye the milk, but this leprechaun's dye was the gel kind and it took fifteen minutes to turn that milk a pale celery color. Anna was ecstatic to find that "the leprechauns had come!" Once I asked her to drink her milk she said, "Mom, it's green milk! That's so gross! I can't drink that!" At least Seth drank his milk so my efforts were not in complete vain. (If you look closely you can detect a green milk mustache on Seth's face!) We spent the rest of the day making leprechaun puppets and looking for little green men. I'm not Irish! I don't know how the rest of y'all celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but I guess from now on we're playing it like Old St. Nick!

Ruthie is still content rolling back and forth on the floor and playing with her "piggies." She could care less about rolling over or sitting up or moving period. Why would she need to when everyone comes to her! She really is darling and keeps the kids entertained with her giggles and squeals. She most particularly hates her rice cereal right now. She thinks waking up in the middle of the night with Mom is still great--why eat anything that will stick to her ribs! How did I end up with three poor eaters! Rob and I are NOT picky eaters--what's the deal with our kids! I even sampled the rice cereal with pears. It really isn't that bad! Come on Ruthie!

February Activities

We have all found a "latent passion" for new things this month. (It has not included salsa dancing, however.)
Ruthie has discovered her toes and her voice. She spends much of the day rolling around and playing with her piggies. She also babbles and blows raspberries and drools like there is no tomorrow. When she greets someone, she beams up at you and then has to touch your face. It is just a Ruthie thing, a little bizarre.
Seth has discovered a new love. Puzzles are always number one, but Play-Doh is the new fad. Seth played with Play-Doh for five hours straight one day this week. He didn't stop for a snack, a show, a puzzle, or even a potty break--which doesn't really matter since he is clueless on this concept anyway. He only stopped to show you his new creation and then he was right back and the counter making something new. (Anna enjoyed it as well--notice her pink flamingo--but got bored after the first hour.)
Anna and I have shared the same passion this month: High School Musical and High School Musical 2. Yes, we are late comers to the fan-mania, but we have spent all month singing the songs at the top of our lungs and learning all of the dance moves. I'm so glad I have a five-year-old to share my hidden desire with of being the next American Idol/Dancing with the Stars hit singer/dancer. With Anna, I can just let it all go and she thinks I'm wonderful. The second Rob walks in the door, I mute up. (By the way, Hannah Montana is also a huge favorite around here.)
Rob has been into economics and politics. (How exciting!) Actually, we both completely ignored the kids on Super Tuesday and watched the polls come in. We also watched the State of the Union. When Seth came in and saw George W. on the TV he exclaimed, "That's my cowboy!" I guess they share a common background, both being Texans. I won't bore you with the economics details. However, Rob did get accepted to BYU's EMBA program and will be starting this summer. I guess we'll be having more economics discussions around here for the next two years. (Yeah, me.)