Happy Girls!

We have been happy and keeping ourselves somewhat busy with the following:

Learning to climb and play as sisters

Searching for what the Easter Bunny brought (don't mind the garbage and pizza boxes in the background)

Hunting for eggs

Disc golfing with Daddy, Papa Tommy and Uncle Kelby (not pictured)

Lining up our toys in perfect arrangement

Staring at each others' beauty

And just plain looking cute.

Janie has also learned to clap

and crawl (and get into everything, especially big sister's stuff)

We're still here...

We may have relocated, we may be wet, and we may always be on the move, but we are still here and we're still happy! Plenty has changed over the months since I posted last, but in reality, as far as the day-to-day stuff, not much is different. Our move brought on a strange mix of feelings, which we are still working through. It felt weird to be excited to be coming but so sad to be leaving. We so miss all our friends, and it hurts my heart everyday when Carli asks about them. Modern technology certainly is great at helping keep us in touch with everyone. We are liking our new home, especially being close to family and reunited with old friends. (Who knew you could move across the country, somewhere you've never lived and find your ward filled with friends you already knew at BYU.) It is definitely beautiful, but we can't wait to discover just how pretty when it stops raining, if it stops raining. Carli has made lots of new friends, and the generosity and helpfulness of others (especially other moms) never ceases to amaze me. Carli loves sleep-overs at Grammie and Papa Tommy's house and is so happy to be so close. I'm sure the update should be longer, but here are a couple of pictures and a video (which won't suffice either.) Hopefully when the sun comes out I'll have more to say/show.

Carli's Thoughts on Animals

A conversation from a few weeks ago:
Carli: Mom, did you put my hair in a ponytail?
Me: (Thinking fast because Carli has chosen to make ponytails a power struggle. If she doesn't know it's in a ponytail, it's no big deal, but if she knows it can be a major tantrum.) No, I put it in a unicorn tail.
C: NOOOO! I don't want a unicorn tail. . . . I want a yak tail.
M: A yak tail?!
C: Yes, because Yaks have braids.

The last few days we've been having an ongoing discussion about Carli wanting a pet.
Sunday:
C: I think we should get a pet.
M: Do you think we should get a cat or a dog?
C: A teeny tiny Shamu! (With a silly smile on her face.)

Monday:
Same conversation, only this time:
C: Cats scratch, so I think I want a dog.
M: Well, some dogs bite. So, if we got a cat we'd make sure it didn't scratch and if we got a dog we'd make sure it didn't bite.
C: How 'bout a goat? (This time she was serious.)
M: A goat?!
C: Yeah, they don't bite or scratch!

Tuesday in the car:
C: Cats scratch and dogs bite. . . . Babies scratch and pinch.
M: Well, babies don't mean to do that. They just like to grab anything they can reach. (Can you tell what stage Janie's in?)
C: (After thinking for a little while) We need another baby. A new baby.
M: (Laughing almost uncontrollably) You mean we should give Janie back?
C: Smiled like, "No. Now that you mention it, that does sound ridiculous, but it made sense at the time."

Carli adores her little sister and is so good to her, but I guess it doesn't make sense to her that we wouldn't get a pet that scratches, yet we already have a pet that scratches.

Janie

I haven't talked much about Janie Lou. Probably because she is such an easy-going happy baby. And beautiful to boot! A few things about Janie at 5 months:

*She is a very social, chatty girl. She smiles, laughs, and babbles all day long.

* She loves getting her diaper changed and getting undressed. I think partially because she loves having the close attention and partially because she thinks she's getting a bath.

*She loves baths.

*She's rolled over once, but doesn't see much need for it as long as someone is looking at her and talking to her.

* Her face brightens everytime a face comes into view.

* She gets very excited at the sound of Daddy's voice and Carli's voice.

* She's constantly chewing on her hands and loves to grab at everything that comes into range, just so she can put it into her mouth too.

* She has the cutest high-pitched screech when she's excited.

* Red hair!!!

* She is a WONDERFUL sleeper and so easy to get to sleep. I just have to swaddle her and lay her down, no crying or fussing. She usually sleeps 13 hours at night (except over Christmas, of course).

We absolutely love and adore the ground she drools on! (And she's been doing plenty of that too. Bring on the teeth. . . )

Santa's Wonderland

Carli LOVES Bass Pro Shop. We went there one night not knowing they had turned it into "Santa's Wonderland". She went on the reindeer carousel, sat on Santa's lap and colored Christmas pictures. Unfortunately Janie was sleeping in the stroller, so we didn't get her in the picture like I would have liked. We kept meaning to take the girls back, but we never got a chance. Like I said, Carli has some strange fears (the vacuum being the worst, being left behind, anything being too loud. . .) but lifesize characters who are actually alive (the Easter bunny, the beluga whale and Shamu at Sea World) are so exciting to her. When she had to leave she cried pretty pathetically "I wanna go back and snuggle Santa!" What are we going to do with that girl?

Sea World, the Alamo, and Riverwalk

After spending a quiet Thanksgiving at home (we helped host Thanksgiving dinner at our church building with several other families), we ventured out on our first official family vacation. It was a blast!

Our friends gave us one free ticket to Sea World and Carli was only $5, so we were able to go for a great deal. I wish I'd taken more pictures, but I figured we can probably Youtube a lot of the animal shows, which were awesome, by the way.

They had just put up their Christmas displays, so there were a bunch of snowmen to look at (and climb on). Here's Carli on the Longhorn snowman.
There were Sesame Street characters along all the fences. Carli insisted that I take her picture by every single one. I chose to post her with the Count.
Blurry, but still funny. Somehow Carli has never been afraid of giant moving stuffed animals that give hugs. She wasn't even afraid of Santa Clause! Here she is with a beluga whale. Carli loved the animal shows. She was nervous about getting wet at first, but got over that when she figured out that wouldn't happen. She especially loved watching the trainers do the arm movements to get the whales to do tricks. She has added those movements to her dance repertoire now.

My cute family at the hotel before our second day in San Antonio. The girls did great at the hotel, probably because we wore them right out at Sea World the day before. Yes, Janie is real, she is not a doll. Everywhere we go at least 2 separate people get a look like something just dawned on them and say to me, "I thought you were carrying a doll!" I think she's so beautiful people think she just can't be real.

What a happy, content baby! She was so sweet the whole trip and loved sitting forward in the stroller instead of being in the carseat.

Carli in a log bench at the Alamo. It wasn't exactly an exciting place for the girls, so Logan and I took turns looking at the historical stuff and walking the kids around.

It was a pretty cool place.

After the Alamo we walked over the Riverwalk. We ate some Mexican food and watched the tour boats float by, then we pocketed some tortilla chips and went to feed the ducks. They were definitely not shy. Logan had this one literally eating out of his hand. Carli loved it!

Birthdays!

November we celebrated Logan's birthday and then Carli's birthday.

I actually pulled off surprising Logan this year, something I've never attempted before. It was really fun.

Carli was really excited about her Super Why party, but unfortunately was not feeling very well. Here she is (running away) as Princess Pea.

B. with C. as Super Why.

Her friend H. as Super Why.

J. borrowing a cape and mask to be Super Why.

M. as Super Why.

L. as Princess Pea.

It was a beautiful day, minus the extreme wind which made our craft of Super Why paper bag puppets a little difficult. Here are the kids about to enjoy their storybook cupcakes.

J. looks like he thoroughly enjoyed the cupcake!

The Workings of Carli's Mind

I know I'm due for A LOT of pictures, and I promise I'll get there. I just have to write this stuff down while I'm thinking about it.

* Carli LOVES the American Girl store. As in, she begs to go there daily, if you bring up anything that's "fun" she automatically compares it to the store. For example, going to the park is "just a little bit fun", but going to this store is "sooo much fun". Well, when we asked her what she wanted for Christmas she said she wanted the "princess girl". So, rather than pay the American Girl price, we got the Target knock-off and I made a dress as close to the "princess" dress as I could. Santa was definitely able to pull one over on her at least this once. Her reaction on Christmas morning could be described as awe and reverence when she saw the doll next to its tea party all set out on the footstool. In her mind, the store had been recreated in Grandma's house, and the display should not be touched or messed with. Daddy asked her, "What did Santa bring you?" and she answered in a hushed tone, "It's an American". It took a little while, but she started calling it "My American" and decided it would be okay to play with her. She sleeps with her, makes sure she's wearing her glasses and has tea parties with her. She is mini-Carli. A few days after Christmas from the back seat in Grandpa's truck (out of nowhere), she started to think.

C - "Mom, the other Americans are crying."
M - "Why?"
C - "They miss my American. We have to take her back to the store so they won't miss her."
M - "I think they are so happy for her because she found such a great home with you."
C - Pause "They want to be happy too. We need to go to the store and bring them home so they will be happy too. We'll go to the store and I'll get the bath one next and then the birthday one."
M - "You already have YOUR girl, the other ones like living at the store. Maybe we can make a bath outfit and birthday outfit for your girl."
C - "No, she's the princess girl. I want the bath girl and then the birthday girl."

Not sure what we've started, but she may take some convincing that she only gets ONE girl.

*She is so sweet with Janie. She loves getting her to talk. Janie has started to babble the last few days and is really good with "babababa". So, I repeat it back to her, and I often add in mamamama and dadadada, etc. Carli starts in on those, but always ends up trying to get her to say "Carlicarlicarli" or "sisisisisisis". Good luck with that one!

* She thinks that any social phone call of mine should be hers as well. She begs to talk to my friends and family on the phone, and when I hang up without letting her talk, she says forlornly, "I wanted to talk to (friend's name) because I like her so much!"

* After I explained to her that my sister is her aunt, she exclaimed, "I have an idea! I want her to be my sister too! How about she's both our sisters!"

* I used Carli's Fisher Price nativity to explain the Christmas story to her. She listened intently to everything that happened, but got really concerned when I came to the part about no room in the inn. I could tell it really bothered her. I tried to explain that no one was being mean, it just happened there were a lot of people and that the stable may have been the best place for Mary to have a baby. It still made her visibly concerned. At the end I tried to tie in Santa and how gifts at Christmas time are to remind us of the gifts given to Jesus and the gift He gave us of returning to heaven. She thought for a little while and said, "Is there room there?" I couldn't help but start crying and assured her there was room for EVERYONE there.

* Along the same lines, Carli loves the story and movie "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas". But, it greatly concerns her when the story seems to make the Grinch out to be bad. She always reminds me, "He took the Christmas tree home to fix it, but he's going to bring it right back to Cindy Lou Who." It seems that she doesn't want anyone to be viewed as bad or naughty, everyone is trying to do the right thing and has good motives. I hope she can keep that perception of people throughout her life.

Hard to believe she's a Sunbeam already. She was so excited today and so good! What a beautiful, good, smart little girl!

Logan and His "Calendar Girls"

Can you guess what our theme is this year? Carli really wanted to be a butterfly, so we tried to work the rest of our costumes into that. (Just in case you can't tell, we're the four seasons.)

For past Halloween themes click here: 2007, 2008, 2009.

September and October

Another full couple of months have whizzed by. In September my family came to visit and we did some fun things, mostly Carli's favorite activities. Some highlights were:
* visiting the American Girl doll store
* picking out the girliest big girl bike imaginable
* shopping with my sister
* visiting Bass Pro Shop aka "The Animal Store"

We were able to bless Janie with family here, which made us really happy.

Our first family of four picture.

So grateful for our family who traveled a long way to be part of the special day.

Janie (like Carli) wore a dress I made from the job I had while I was pregnant with Carli.

Logan's parents came the week after the blessing. Some highlights were similar, but here are some others:
* a ride on the trolley downtown
* a visit to the trains
After they left, my brother and his family came to visit. Our highlights with them included:
* Cousins!
* Trip to the museum
* The state fair
* Six Flags (in which I did not partake, but enjoyed time with the kids much more.)
Wish I'd gotten pictures, hopefully I can get some from my sister in-law.
Last week we went to the pumpkin patch with playgroup. Carli so thoroughly enjoyed it that she begged daily to go back with Daddy. I mean, who wouldn't love finding The Little Einsteins and Strawberry Shortcake just your size?!

 Carli was afraid of the bounce houses when I went with her, but her Daddy brings out the fearlessness in her, so here she is going down the slide

 Daddy and Carli on the hayride.

 Carli so thrilled to have all of us on the hayride together. (That's her new thing, we have to do EVERYTHING together.

Me and my girls. Do you know how fun it is to say that?!

Even though life is busy, we love it!

In the mind of an almost-3-year-old

A few things Carli has said lately. I love that I'm getting such fun glimpses into her thoughts and personality.

* I was talking to my brother on the phone when he was visiting, trying to make plans to get together. I had given Carli a chocolate chip cookie before I called. I guess I wasn't saying the things she wanted me to say, because she shoved the last bite of cookie in front of my eyes and said, "Here, you have the cookie, I'll talk to Uncle Jason."

* At dinner we were telling Carli that Janie will make sounds before she can talk. For example, babababa, mamamama, dadadada, etc. I was teasing with Logan and asked Carli, "Do you think Janie will say mamamama or dadadada first?" Without skipping a beat she said, "I think she'll say Carli Carli Carli."

* Today I was changing Janie's diaper on my bed, and as always, Carli was helping. Carli was looking at a pencil drawing of Logan and me from a picture that was taken when we'd been married about a year. In this distant, matter-of-fact voice she said, "That picture was when Mommy and Daddy were vivacious." (I always tell her that she's vivacious, but I can only imagine how she put that thought together.)

Do they look alike?

We're Back

Wow, where do I even begin?! It's been quite a month. I'm finally feeling like things are becoming "normal" for us again. So, I decided it was time for everyone to see some more pictures.

We were so sad to see Auntie Aubrey go. :( We miss her and Carli asks "Is Auntie Aubrey coming back?" on most days. I found Carli like this a couple of days after everyone left. Let me just point out that this was the first time I can remember (since she was a tiny baby) that she fell asleep somewhere other than her bed. She hardly even falls asleep in the car! I guess she was just as exhausted as the rest of us from all our adjustments.
Apparently Janie's seat was not quite comfortable enough, so in true Goldilocks fashion, she practically sleep-walked and opted for a more comfy position.
We went kite-flying for FHE on a night that was quite pleasant, surprisingly enough. Daddy and Carli enjoyed it. . .

and I think Janie did too.

And, of course I had to include some bath pictures.

This one is my favorite. Maybe her nickname should be Betty Boop?

I love the amusement in her eyes. I can't wait to get to know her personality!

Speaking of personality, if it is possible, this little girl has it flowing out of every pore. Lately I'm not really sure if I want to hug her or throw my hands up in frustration. She is so fun, spunky, bright, and vivacious. But a personality like that calls for plenty of tantrums (during one of which, this picture was taken), fights with friends and attitude. She is a force to be reckoned with, and I'm willing to do it, not only because I love her so stinkin' much, but also because she's so darn cute!

And one thing I am incredibly grateful for is her love for her sister. Carli is more than willing to help with any task involving Janie, and is constantly saying things like, "I love my baby sister SO MUCH!" Amazingly enough, she shows no aggression towards her, and I am so relieved by that. I love looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing her staring at Janie with a grin, then giggling with delight at her every movement, sneeze and smile. She could stare at her for hours and loves to get her to coo. What a joy to have these girls!