Next Up on Comedy Central... MATTHEW

The other day, Matthew walked into my room announcing, "Heeeerrrrrre's Matthew." He's always been the comedian of the family. He's just got that comedic timing thing down. He loves to tell jokes, especially knock, knock jokes. He used to just say, "knock, knock. Who's there?" and then laugh and laugh at himself. I don't get the new knock, knock jokes he tells, but he, Sarah and Nathan think they are hilarious.

When I look back, he's always been such a funny guy! Here are some pictures showing that personality, even from the time he was two months old.

Here he is at three-months-old with Grandma Z.

Costume look familiar?  Yes, he was a cute lil' punkin once too.

Matthew makes me laugh til I cry, but then he can make me want to pull my hair out and cry, or yell, or both. Here are some things that he does:

• If someone tries to talk to him when he doesn't want them to, he growls really loud at them. It's always so sudden and unexpected that he takes a lot of people off guard. It makes me laugh, but put my hand over my face at the same time. He says that is his lion growl.
• Not long ago, I foolishly thought I could take the younger 3 kids shopping at Kohl's. Silly, silly me! Abby was in the stroller, so Matt was walking, unrestrained. He ran off, and Sarah and I took off looking for him. He was long gone. An employee immediately called a "CODE YELLOW " as I continued my frantic search. He was found near the front of the store! Little stinker. Having a lost child is the worst feeling!
• He is so enthusiatic for life, and it's contagious. It's so fun to try to see the world through his eyes.  Little things like the toast popping up from the toaster gets a shout, "Horray, toast!"
• Today at church I was sitting in Primary, when the Nursery leader came in to tell me that she had found Matthew wandering the halls, and took him to class. I asked if he had opened the door and gotten out or something, and she said that he hadn't been in class yet. WHAT?!? He had gone with Sarah after Sacrament meeting, and she was going to drop him off in the Nursery. What a good parent I am, not knowing that he didn't make it there. Though the time to panic was over, I panicked. Here it was at least 10 minutes into Primary, and my two-year-old Matthew had been wandering the halls that whole time. I questioned Sarah about it later and she said, "I tried to get him to go into Nursery, but he cried and ran out. I tried to get him to go again, but he wouldn't, so I told him to go back to you." If you know how packed that halls are as everyone is getting to Sunday School and Primary, you know that the likelihood of him finding me was not good. I asked Sarah why she hadn't stayed with him to find me or Dad, and she said, "Mom, I was just so tired, and wanted to get to Primary." Ok, so note to Jill and Rob: don't let Sarah take Matthew to class- EVER! (SIGH)
• Matthew gives great hugs and kisses! He's always telling me, "nice job Mommy" or, "love you Mommy," or "You silly Mommy." I love it!
• The most common phrase out of his mouth is, "I hungry Mommy (or Daddy)." He wakes up earliest in the morning, and comes in my room asking for food and a show. He out-eats all his siblings.
• He's so loud! He talks loud, laughs loud, and walks loud! I remember the first time he ever whispered. Rob and I looked at each other and Rob said, "Did he really just whisper?!" He tries to whisper sometimes now, but then the volume automatically turns to loud again. We've decided that each child gets progressively louder. Oh Abby, you'll be the exception, right?
• He can throw tantrums like this family has never seen before. He is so strong-willed, that his tantrums can last a long time too. He hates putting on new clothes and throws a fit when I try to put them on him.
• One morning and this is what I found.
  

Abby had just woken up, and Matthew was reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? to her. It was so cute and sweet. He loves that little sister. He loves to hold her, kiss her, and is always looking out for her. He always makes sure she has toys to play with.

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  He tries so hard to keep up with Nathan and Sarah. One day he was so upset that he didn't get to take them to karate with his dad. To distract him, I got the scooters out, and we rode them in the driveway for close to an hour. He is amazing on a scooter- a two wheeled one! I have to admit, I had a lot of fun too.
  
  
  
• At church last week while I was on the stand with the Primary program, Matthew was hanging upside down off the bench by Rob in the front row of the chapel. Suddenly, he flipped off, landing on his back on the floor. Rob braced for a big cry, but instead got an enthusiastic, "You see dat Dad, you see dat?!"  The people behind him almost fell on the floor laughing.
• I've had to call Poison Control twice on him.  He sprayed Windex into his mouth, and all over himself and the room.  Another time, he sprayed Clorox bathroom cleaner with bleach in his mouth.  Luckily, he was fine, and just needed to drink some milk.  Needless to say, we are super careful to keep cleaner away from him, especially if it's in a spray bottle.  Oh, that kid! 
• If he ever does something to hurt Sarah, he runs up to her and gives her a huge hug.  They are so cute together.  When Sarah is done with karate, he yells her name and runs up for a big hug.
• If I tell him something is a "no, no" he loves to go through the list:

                                   "Ride scooters in da street?  No, no." 

                                   "Frow toof brush in da toilet?  No, no, no."

                                   "Give Mommy hugs?  Yes!"

                                   "Pway wif cleaner?  No, no."

A while back I was lamenting to Rob that I never seem to get things done anymore.  As we looked back, I discovered that the point that I become less helpful with our business, worse as a house-keeper, stopped sewing and doing other projects, was about the time a feisty little Matthew was born.  I've never been the same since.  I love that kid to pieces.  He frustrates me to no end, but brightens my day immeasurably.

Whether laugh or cry, scream or smile, I know with Matthew around, there will never be a dull moment.

First Tea Party

A few weeks ago, our cousin Ashley came to play.  She and Sarah had planned to have a big tea party.  I thought maybe Abby would like to join in.  She loved it, especially chewing on the cups.  Can you believe she is big enough to set on a chair for a little bit?

Aren't they sooo cute?!  They had a great time.

Remembering Veteran's Day

I woke up yesterday morning, happy to see an American Flag in my yard, knowing it was Veteran's Day. Thanks to the scouts (and their leaders and parents, no doubt) for putting it there- even though I paid $45 for a fund- raiser to have them put it up every holiday. I love Veteran's Day! It's not like I do anything fun or exciting, I just love that we get to pay tribute to our military, those out risking their lives, and those that gave their lives for our freedom. I am so thankful for them and their service. I love this great country! I also love teaching my children what a holiday like this means. They are proud that their grandpa was an Air Force pilot, and that their cousin Josh is in the Army at West Point.  Last year, Nathan's teacher said that he was the only one in the class that knew the words to the Star-Spangled Banner (I think that really resulted from attending a lot of Jazz games with his dad, rather than anything I had done.  Reguardless, I was proud of him).

Never does a Veteran's Day pass that I'm not reminded of a most memorable Veteran's Day spent in Belgium many years ago. You know how in life you have great memories, but then there are some experiences that much more than that. They are epic, life-changing experiences that are seared in your memory. This day was like that. I was a missionary in Belgium, in Vlaanderen (Flanders), the Flemish side of Belgium. The senior missionary couple serving with us, Barry and Carol A., became friends with Hank, the Superintendent of Flanders Field. He invited us all to attend a Veterans Day ceremony at the American Cemetery. Just being in this beautiful, peaceful place was amazing. We watched as Hank ceremoniously put flowers in front of the memorial, followed by the National Anthem and Taps. I could just feel the patriotism and pride in the USA swell, as tears rolled down my cheeks. Hank read the Veteran's message from the President, and then had Barry speak about serving our country. He was a WWII vet, and to him, being able to express his feelings about our country in a ceremony like this was a dream come true. Again, more tears from all of us fell. It was such a moving experience. I had been away from the US for almost a year, and was missing home terribly. Then to find myself standing on American soil in the middle of a foreign country, participating in a ceremony honoring our Veterans was indescribable. This picture is of Hank at the memorial.
A famous poem was written about Flanders Field:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high,

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

                                         --Lt Col. John McCrae

My parent's generation all had to learn that poem in school. I wish they still taught it today. At the cemetery, we were given a copy of the poem with a silk poppy.

We also had the opportunity to visit the WWI trenches near Ieper. Being the wily youth we were, we thought it would be fun to run and play in the trenches. However, we had to go through a museum before entering the trenches, and that completely changed our perspective. It was sobering to realize how many men lived, fought, and died in those trenches. What horrible conditions they endured! War is ugly. I am so grateful for all those who fought and endured so valiantly to protect not just our freedoms, but the freedoms of those of other nations. What a somber feeling we felt as we walked through the trenches. It truly felt as though we walked on hallowed ground.

She's On the Move

Abby just loves that she can sit up and play with toys. She is content to sit for an hour playing and trying to reach toys. The other day, I found her a good 4 feet away from where I set her down. She kind of scoots on her bum as she reaches for toys. Here she is blowing raspberries (another favorite past time). She started out sitting in the Boppy behind her.The next morning, I set her in her Boppy to play, and this is where I found her. She had scooted all that way backwards on her tummy! You can see she's pretty pleased with herself.

She's just 6 months old! This is way too early to become mobile.

Do you like my rug?! We really need an area rug for our living room, but I don't know what I want yet, and they cost a lot of money... So I put down Matthew's Cars play rug for Abby to sit on. It also becomes our "prayer rug," (ha, ha, ha) as we all like to kneel on it when we say our family prayer. The wood is just too hard on the knees

I think this is a most impressive spit bubble. It comes with lots of practice blowing raspberries.

We just can't get enough of this cute girl. She is so happy and fun.
At her 6 month well care appointment, she weighed 15 lbs. 15 oz. and was 26 1/4" long. She's growing just right, is healthy, and progressing just like she should. All things I like to hear!

Our Hectic Halloween

We truly love Halloween at our house. Nathan and Sarah were looking forward to carving pumpkins all week. I gave them full reign of pumpkin carving, and they did a great job with very little help. I love that Nathan wore his glove to clean out the pumpkin. He can't handle getting his hands messy.

Sarah doesn't mind getting messy at all.
For truly amazing pumpkins, check out my sister's site here. This year they carved 64 pumpkins!

Our neighborhood had a trunk-or-treat at the park. Rob manned the trunk, passing out candy, while I walked with the kids. We have never been big fans of trunk-or-treating, but now we're pretty opposed to the whole thing- since most of the people at the trunk-or-treat were out trick-or-treating later. What's the point?! The kids get ridiculous amounts of candy, while putting in minimal effort. At least when you have to walk from door to door you get a little exercise along with the candy. We ran out of candy at the park, and I had to go buy more for those coming to our house. My brother had a brilliant idea: neighborhoods should plan together to all pass out cans of pop to the trick-or-treaters after 8 p.m. It wouldn't take very many houses for their bags to get so heavy that they couldn't go on. Nathan had a great time with his friend Spencer (the Jedi). He came to the trunk-or-treat with us, then Nathan went trick-or-treating with Spencer and his mom.

Sarah was plenty happy with what she got at the park, though I did take her to our close neighbors. Oops we didn't have time to get her "princess do" done.Matthew, Matthew, Matthew... He didn't want to dress up- again. But me being the mean mom that I am, forced him into a Bob the Builder shirt and overalls. He screamed for half an hour, and claimed that he didn't want candy At the park someone put a candy bar in his bucket, and he screamed and dumped it out. Arrrgh!!! I tell myself that his strong will and determination will serve him well sometime down the road- I hope. So... he played at the park the whole time, and came home without a single piece of candy (not that I mind that). He did go with me to a few neighbor's houses, and really liked getting candy there.
We had the Headless Horseman at the trunk-or treat, and then roaming our neighborhood. How cool is that?! He looked awesome!

Some of our neighbors really get into Halloween. At this house they had a real Ghost Buster car, and a car with suicide doors (from some horror flick) and a skeleton sticking out the window. It was awesome.

Our Bishop is a dentist, so he doesn't pass out candy. Instead they pass out "Halloweenies." They have a little hot dog stand set up at their house. I guess word gets around that you can get dinner at their house, so they pass out 200 hot dogs each year! The other dentist in our ward passes out cans of pop. So between the two, you can have a full meal.

I've never, ever seen this much candy before! A lot of it is full-sized candy bars. This doesn't even include the candy from the trunk-or-treat. Nathan and Spencer must have covered a lot of houses.
This is Nathan's loot from the trunk-or-treat. I think it's all fair game, don't you? I am a candy Nazi. I keep their candy on the fridge, and they have to earn pieces by eating dinner well, cleaning etc. The candy lasts forever, and they eventually forget about it and I throw it out.
How can I make for a Crazier Halloween?!

I often times, ok, all the time, make things more complicated for myself. I think I can get more done than is physically possible, especially with a baby in the house. I really needed to get my grapes done. I'd stayed up the night before until 1:30 in the morning washing grapes and picking out all the bad ones. I wasn't about to let more go to waste. So, on Halloween, as soon as we get back from karate, I start making grape jelly, and grape juice. While the jars are still cooling, I throw in a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for the ladies I visit teach. Yep, I'm that kind of Visiting Teacher that takes a treat on the last day of the month. In my defense, I called many times and they never answer nor call me back. So, I have to resort to popping in with a treat. I did get to visit with one of the ladies that I'd never even met before. So here is a picture of my cookies on top of the 14 pints of jelly I just made, since there's no counter space left. That's what happens when you try to cram too many things in.

At the same time, I am trying to get my dinner-in-a-pumpkin made too. So that sits on top of the 10 quarts of grape juice, and next to more cookies on my cluttered counter. While I'm doing this, the kids are on the back deck carving pumpkins. I of course have to take pictures of all this. My memory card gets full, so I have to unload my pictures on the computer and recharge my camera batteries before the trunk-or-treat. I throw the pumpkin in the oven just in time to get costumes on and get to the park. Luckily Rob arrives home from taking his dad to the hospital just in time to go. Whew!

As a side note: his dad isn't doing very well. He was released from the hospital, but has to go back every day for an antiviral infusion. Rob's been going to SLC every day to help his mom get his dad to the hospital. He's so weak and unstable. Plus he's pretty down -hearted because they just found out that the transplant didn't work, and the leukemia cells are back. We're all pretty down-hearted ourselves!

Here's my yummy dinner-in-a-pumpkin that I make every year. You just clean out a pumpkin, fill it with a rice and hamburger mixture, and cook it in the pumpkin. When you dish up the rice, you scrape out some of the pumpkin with it. I love it (unfortunately I'm the only one in my family that does, but that won't stop me from making it). Another thing I always make during the week of Halloween, is soup in a pumpkin bread bowl. Maceys and Winegars make these awesome pumpkin looking bread bowls. This year I filled them with a yummy cheese and veggie soup.
Next year I need to remind myself to take it easy, and just enjoy the time with my family. All this craziness leads to frustration and stress. It really would be ok to just have Halloweenies for dinner...

Another side note: Those great glow sticks that you kids may have gotten while trick-or-treating are not for eating- tell your kids! Tonight Sarah started crying and spitting. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, "I just wanted to see what would happen if I bit a glow stick." Well, she found out. Though non-toxic, glow sticks do stain, and apparently leave an awful taste in your mouth. Leave it to Sarah to discover this for us. She spent the evening crying, spitting, and drinking lots of water and milk. Rob and I did our best not to laugh. It would have been even funnier if the stuff was still glowing!

Halloween Parties

I love Halloween! I love pumpkins, I love costumes, I love candy, and Halloween food... and I love Halloween parties. Sarah was so excited to have a Halloween party at clogging. She wanted to be Princess Ariel, but without the red hair. That was easy! She just wanted to wear one of her dress-up dresses.Check out her intense concentration. I think she may be about as coordinated as her mommy- poor thing!

We had a ward carnival at the church. It was a lot of fun. Sarah was a pro at bowling.

It's so hard to pick the prize!
Aarg, Nathan was a pirate.

Matthew... well, he refused to dress up. I had dressed him in a baseball outfit that day, just in case he wouldn't don a costume. He wouldn't take his coat off at the party anyway. I don't know if I am going to survive this ornery phase he is going through. I remember when Nathan was this age, he earned the nickname of "Contrary." Well... Contrary definitely has a little brother!

Handsome Rob and our cute lil' punkin.

I borrowed one of my mom's costumes. I got a lot of stares from people trying to figure out who I was. Other people knew right away. Aren't I a dead ringer for Amelia Bedelia?!!! I guess a significant portion of our population are not familiar with the Amelia Bedelia books.

Who doesn't love the donut game? Ok, Me! I'm not a fan of the donut, nor do I like cleaning donut glaze off of everything.

It was a really fun carnival. They really get into Halloween around here. Just wait for what's coming in my next post!

Cretaceous Halloween

Halloween season is an awesome time to visit the Ogden Dinosaur Park. Everything is decked out in pumpkins, skeletons and all kinds of creepy things. It's right at the mouth of Ogden Canyon, so being there as the leaves are turning is amazing too. We went a few weeks ago, when the weather was still nice, and it was so much fun.Matthew had just woken up from a nap, and wasn't in the mood. He kept saying, "I scared, I scared." Rob ended up carrying him most of the time.

If you've never been to the dinosaur park, you should! It's got a great museum...

and a ton of trails with dinosaurs. I think I have a picture of us in front of this triceratops every time we've been here.

Creepy!

I'm not sure about this knife-toting psyco clown guy. I think the dinosaur is going to get the better of him.

Though I've been to the dinosaur park a bunch of times, it was a first for Rob. I forgot to warn him that the dinosaurs come alive, looking for dinner.

Matthew was perfectly happy to stick with his Daddy. He loved the dinosaurs, but was extra cautious too.

The kids would be happy just to go there and play at the playground. We have done that before!

I discovered that if you buy a year pass to the Ogden Union Station (for $40), it also gets you into the Dinosaur Park, and the Ogden Nature Center. It's a lot cheaper than buying a pass from the Dinosaur Park. I think it's a pretty good deal.

I guess they open the park back up at night during Halloween. I hear it's really cool, yet scary. I didn't want to pay extra, nor would Matthew handle the scariness.