parents are boycotting..

I don't know if my parents really are boycotting the blog, but my mom called me yesterday and talked to me for awhile, even though she called and talked to me on Sunday, too. I don't think they will be reading this for the next month or so since there are no pictures or videos that I can post. My mom tried to figure out all sorts of ways to get pictures to her during these next few weeks. Face it. Life without technology is so sad for us. A few years ago, getting pictures more often than 6 weeks would have been unheard of. Now they "can't wait" 6 weeks. Whatever.

Whitney is getting really good at moving around. Between rolling over and crawling a few steps at at time, she can go anywhere she wants in this apartment. So everything is off the floor. Including the dogs. They are learning quickly. Whitney is very fascinated with their paws and Sammy's long hair. They both immediately move when a baby touches them. Good exercise since we are living in an apartment. Of course, Rocky figured out a way to not exercise. He wedges himself between the couch and the end table, too small of a space for rolling over or scooting forward, so he is mostly out of Whitney's reach. Tucker still cries because he can't move much more than rolling.

He is working on teeth. There are four teeth (three on bottom and one on top) that have fully come in. There are three others that have poked through, but haven't finished coming through. Lots of waking up at night, but on the other hand, he went to bed from 6:30 pm to 6:30 am from all that lost sleep. I couldn't believe it. Also, their schedule is as close as I can get it to an 8 o'clock bedtime, but transferring from a carseat to bed still wakes them up a bit after we get home from house hunting and driving in the car. Tucker's teeth are sharp. He no longer chews on his finger. He puts his finger in his bib and then chews on it. Smart. Good thing there are bibs. All of his clothes would have holes in them without those bibs.

I will also challenge any of you to a game of basketball. Last time I played, I didn't do so well. Making a basket is often beyond my skill set, but now I make a basket while fighting off defense no problem. That's how I feel when I feed the babies. I have to avoid their reaching hands while making a basket with the spoonful of rice cereal into their mouths that are moving targets because they are reaching, grabbing and moving their bodies and heads around to look at the dogs, the high chair, the straps, anything but their food. I'm getting better, so I think my hand-eye-basktet coordination has most likely improved.

We rode the "duckies", these bus/boat things that were built in the second world war. There are tours that take you around Seattle, both land and water, in these things. The ride is an hour and half. We took the babies all ready for bed, on a tour Friday night. It was really fun. Tucker cried when the guy started using the microphone and they got hungry for their last bottle on the ride, but other than that, it was really fun. A lady with twins (who had left them at home) sat in front of us with her older son and helped with hands. We saw the house that Sleepless in Seattle was filmed, the Deadliest Catch boats anchored on Lake Washington, and learned the difference between house boats, house barges, and floating houses. We also saw the first carwash in the nation, which is close to our apartment. The rest of this week was househunting, getting the babies in a routine when there is no routine, taking the dogs for a walk, and enjoying the sun while it lasts. Jim is having fun at work and is spending a lot of time looking at all the house options online before we go out to look at them. It helps a ton.

no pics...

This is going to be a boring blog because we don't have our stuff. Meaning the computer that accepts the camera card directly so I can post pictures. I even know exactly where the camera is, but can't upload Seattle pictures, so expect some boring blogs for 6 weeks.

We made it here alive and well. We are living in an apartment while we figure out what to do with our lives. I will probably never live downtown again, let alone downtown Seattle, so I want to take advantage of it as much as able. Today we walked over to look at the Space Needle. There is a lot more there than just a space needle. Lots of stuff going on and things to look at. Other kids around us were really excited about the rollercoaster they had, but Sammy was less than excited about it when we walked by. A few other destinations we want to go to are Pike's market and go out to eat at the Thai restaurant in our building. The other stuff we will probably do when everyone comes to visit. Like actually go up in the Needle and go to the Children's museum. There is so much to do it's hard to pick!! We're trying to pick things we would do because we live downtown, not necessarily something we would do with other people or non-baby friendly activies.

We drove to Seattle for 3 days, driving no more than 6 hours. That was nice, not driving more than 6 hours. The drive here is pretty dry except for parts of Oregon and about 2 hours out of Seattle. Lots of dry desert to look at with different rock formations under it. The babies did pretty well.

We stopped at Aunt Des's house, where Caitlyn took excellent care of our dogs, better petting and attention in general than they have had in 7 months. Their beagle Roxy was very jealous. Sammy could have stayed there and not come with us the rest of the way. This apartment and hotel living with all these noisy cars scares him so much, he really hasn't been able to use the bathroom in private or getting scared half way through. So far there haven't been any accidents, but I don't know how much longer it can last.

Whitney also learned to crawl a few steps/crawls while we were at Aunt Des's. She had so much energy from sitting in the car that I guess she had plenty to learn how to propel herself forward instead of just rocking on her hands and knees so much. Tucker still likes to sit up or be in the exersaucer instead of crawling, but he is working on 3 more teeth. He's got the top front two and one to the right of his bottom 2 that are coming in. He now has a big boy toothbrush and gets his teeth brushed at bathtime for practice. He's not sure what to think. The babies continue to tell each other jokes. That's what I call the splashing and laughing that happens during bathtime. Tucker splashes really hard, which makes Whitney laugh, which makes Tucker pause in his splashing to laugh. Then the cycle starts all over. It's great fun, but there are no videos of it because all of that requires four hands to prevent drownings in the tub instead of video taping the action.

I'll let you know if we go on any adventures this week, besides the adventures of house hunting with two babies.... Maybe we'll "ride the ducks". It drives down our street.

Call my parents for my number here if you want to call and talk to me (I don't want to post it on the web) and I can't call long distance, but I can receive long distance phone numbers. Until next week...

found camera!!

Tucker and Whitney playing together. With the recycle items, not their toys. That would be boring

Tucker loves pie crusts!

Whitney loves playing

Sammy and Rocky in their typical positions. Rocky doesn't seem to care what is going on around him, just as long as he can relax. Sammy protecting his "herd". Making sure his herd doesn't catch the lazy bug from that lounging dog over there.

Whitney was smiling. Until the camera came out for her to investigate intently.

Eat! The babies were playing on the grass one of those (another one of those) work on the shed nights. Whitney especially likes new things, including Daddy's tools.

Tucker was waving around the wrapping paper tube, but I caught him smiling instead of him waving the thing in the air. Still a cute pictures. Man. Sometimes catching cute pictures is like catching a fish. Lots of stories about how big the fish was, but never any actual testimonials of seeing the real thing except by the person who caught it briefly. Don't mind his inmodest shirt line. This is the onsie that he stretched out months ago before I caught him teething on it.

So.... I blamed Jim for loosing the camera. Not directly, just indirectly. And I'm the one that lost the camera. Typical woman. But here are the baby pics of the week. Enjoy. The next pics should be of Seattle.

can't find camera

This is the shed that Jim built

Whitney and I by the tree I planted in a baby naptime


So. No cute baby pictures, like Whitney holding Daddy's tools while he builds the shed, because we can't find the camera. Awesome. Yesterday Jim had a lot of fun getting rid of stuff and taking things to the dump (like left over construction material) and today we can't find the camera. Hopefully it pops up. So you are stuck with boring pictures. Like of the shed. We think it's cool, but you might not. Jim finished the shed yesterday. It looks GREAT!! The garden is doing amazingly well, too. We've already made some salsa. Good thing we're leaving in 10 days. Jim leaves tonight and will start work in Seattle tomorrow. He is very excited!! Yesterday I finally planted that pine tree in that hole I started digging in May. I didn't realize what planting a tree would involve. I dug a 3 foot diameter by 1.5 feet deep hole yesterday during baby nap time. I didn't realize though, that you have to move all that dirt back. I was racing against the the clock of the end of baby nap time, too. I mowed the lawn and edged it that night. I am woman!! (I was whooped last night!!) Don't worry. I was doing all that while Jim did all the household projects we've been meaning to do but haven't had a deadline to finish until now. He finished them all in one day. And packed. An amazing feat since before he was just focused on trying to finish the shed 2 months sooner than he thought he was going to have to finish it. But some day that tree will block the view of our neighbor's kitchen from our bedroom. I hope no one chops it down. I'll check Google maps in ten years to see. We found renters this week, so hopefully it works out. A little scary, though.

It was a sad day on Friday. Everyone's last day of work was on Friday. Jim's, mine and the nanny's. Today in church the nanny was talking to her mom while Tucker was hollering about having to take a nap. "Hey Mom!! Do you hear that? (she hadn't noticed anything). That's Tucker! Do you think Mandy needs help?" I think it was pretty cute that she is attuned to our babies' cries. Sadness we have to leave them here and not move them to Seattle with us. Their parents said they wanted to keep them. Bummer.

Until Seattle......

Tucker's in the lead again

Whitney eating paper while Daddy and Uncle Ryan build the shed

It is WAY too hot out here!! How is it that they can work in this sun! I'm going diaper only style with this monkey Daddy got me.

Tucker in the bucket
Seriously.....
How do you drive this thing? Watch out world. Whitney's at the wheel.

Babies in a bucket. Mom doesn't want to get a kiddie pool before moving. Weird.

Uncle Scotti's ear is really cool. Give me a piece of that!



We've had a lot of craziness and fun this week. Now we are doing the last things we need to do in Utah. The plans for moving and when change daily, so who knows, but there has been a lot of prep work on the house to get it ready for.... whatever. Tucker's second tooth is almost in and his first tooth is razor sharp. And he just so happens to like paper even more, now that he can shred it. They get better and better at sitting up..... and sleeping at night. They've both slept through the night by my definition 5 out of 7 nights. Good. We can get lots done around the house when they go to bed. Except for that one night Tucker wanted to play at midnight. Jim finally gave up and drove him around. Jim discovered the more bouncing, the better, so he was aiming for potholes. The policeman wasn't so amused, but didn't want to hear another Tucker scream, so he let Jim drive "erratically" around the neighborhood (only going about 20 mph) to hit all the potholes. They've tried oatmeal this week and love it. Whitney likes it better than rice cereal by a long shot.

My mom and Scott went home this week after having a s'mores campfire, kayaking (almost in a thunderstorm), babysitting babies while Mommy went to work, and hiking Mt. Timp (we let Scott and Ryan do that one without babies, just to be nice). There's been a lot of shed building since. I haven't talked to Ryan much due to everyone being tired from being out in the hot sun. I think he's doing ok. We did a retry of the kayaking yesterday with a lot more success. I don't recommend pulling three people on a tub behind a kayak. The tube won, but no one flipped.

There should be a video attached somehow. It's a feeding time with rice cereal. Whitney was eating it through her toes, but of course, when the camera came out, she stopped. Stay tuned for next week...

thou shalt not covet thy house nor anything like unto it...

Whitney during tummy time Sunday afternoon. She loves containers and lids right now.

Whitney playing at Sis Perry's pool this week. She is trying to get a plastic bowling pin toy that belongs to Amberlie (Sis Perry's daughter). They loved the pool and loved the company and help with two babies in water.

Whitney figured out how loud banging on her high chair tray can be and how fun it is!!
Gotta love that rice cement! She is also fascinated with the stroller wheels. She leans out of the stroller to watch them turn almost the entire walk.

Tucker in the front yard

Tucker enjoying the plastic bowling pins at Sis Perry's pool. They are sitting pretty well now. I only needed to support him a little bit.

Grandma Kim and Whitney taste testing the corn/dirt on the corn ear.

Tucker impersonating Uncle Ryan. Uncle Scotti's idea. Ryan's hat and ever present Gatorade bottle.

Whitney after a garden harvest with Daddy. One banana, two banana, three banana peppers....

Up close shot of Uncle Ryan impersonation.

Tucker and Whitney laughing at us!!



Video of Uncle Scotti and Tucker. Tucker's first tooth popped through yesterday. He is suddenly happier.



Maybe I should start with explaining the title of this post. We are moving to Washington state due to Jim's job offer. It will be a great thing for Jim and his career and for our family in general, but the news is somewhat sudden. They came back with an offer on Tuesday that we would consider, and by Thursday night, there was no counteroffer from Jim's current employer, so we both gave our two weeks notice. Jim starts work 8/9/10. I have really enjoyed where we are living. The neighbors have been great, helping so much with our family. I've gotten used the weather quite well and there is so much to do so close by (three waterfalls within easy hiking distance for example). The hardest part is that both of us have made great life long friends that we will be leaving behind. Jim commented that the friends he has made through school and work have been some of the best friends he's had. Which is great, because that is what happened when I went to school here and wanted the same thing for Jim in his schooling experience. But I didn't think that I would make more great friends, too.

Other things that are somewhat disappointing is leaving a garden that is how we want it and ready to harvest soon, and this house. It has been so awesome to live in, built to live in with small things that make life so much easier (like outdoor outlets in multiple places and fun things like a fire pit). Hence the title of this blog. As soon as you love where you live, it's time to move. I'm still shocked that we have only been here 10 months. This is a bad time to try to sell a house, so I have a feeling I will be here until 10/9/10, the longest we have to take advantage of the relocation package from Jim's company. As soon as this house sells, I'm out of here, but until then, I will have lots of help.

The baby news for the week is somewhat self explanatory from the pictures. But the other news for this week that will help so much when Jim and I are not together is that the babies both slept through the night, on the same night, per my definition of sleeping through the night. From 10 pm to 6 am. That was definitely heaven sent.

rice cement

Tucker and Whitney playing in the crib while I went to get the stroller ready for the morning walk. They were both talking. I snapped this just after Tucker pulled his hand out of Whitney's mouth. I don't know who was discovering who. Whitney discovering Tucker's hand or Tucker trying to pull Whitney's mouth closer.

Whitney loves to harvest the garden with Daddy. She was helping harvest banana peppers and didn't want Daddy to take that banana pepper away for nothing. She gets really excited when Daddy finds something and reaches out to grab it to investigate.

Tucker trying really hard to clean the spatula while helping Mommy with dishes.

Tucker finally figured out how to roll over on his stomach to sleep and boy did he sleep well. I especially love his foot poking out the crib rail.

Whitney waking up in the morning and just plain cute!



Gerber and Beechnut companies need to be told that they are advertizing baby rice cereal. It is not rice cereal. It is rice cement. Once that stuff gets on a baby's face, it's there for three or four face cleanings and the high chair tray is doomed unless soaked if you miss wiping a spot. If you are looking for testimonials, Whitney prefers Beechnut and Tucker doesn't really care. Whitney cried two meals in a row about the rice cereal and didn't calm down until I fed her pears or squash or whatever else was in that bowl except rice cereal. Poor babies. We had been putting rice cereal in the bottles and hadn't increased the size of the holes because the Beechnut brand dissolved enough, but when I switched to Gerber (it was on sale) it clogged the holes. It happened to be the night Paul and Cathy came into town, so they were ok with the switch because the babies were still up, since they hadn't gotten enough food from their bottles fast enough to go to sleep on their first bed time. Oops.

So pears is where it's at for Whitney. They both really like squash, too. We're going to figure out a way to make zuchinni a baby food so they can start helping eat the plentiful harvest from our garden. It will even be organic! I take it back about Whitney being a clean eater. Once Tucker figured out that food comes from a spoon, there are very few left overs on his hands or bib. He usually slurps that stuff right up.

This week was much calmer, but still fun. Monday was catch up day, Tuesday I went to work, so they played with the nanny and had a blast. Slept really well that night too, because they played so hard and had fun with her. Wednesday we visited Izana. They are old enough to enjoy the fact that her kids like to play with them. Joseph really likes to play with Whitney and Tucker and Whitney and Tucker had a good time laughing at his antics. Izana was glad his craziness was good for something! Thursday Paul and Cathy came into town and Friday was Lindsay's graduation from her nursing program. Saturday we met with Sue and Marshall and Autumn and Emily. It was a roommate reunion from college!! I finally saw the movie The Blind Side. Awesome movie!!

Jim went to Seattle Sunday through Tuesday to visit with Amazon. We find out tomorrow how the interview went. We'll keep you posted.

I finally read some of the other blogs from my friends and got some ideas. Like I can label the pictures below the pictures. That is obvious and much easier. The disadvantage of reading the blog (it was Sue and Marshall's) is that I had caught up with them (kind of) right before they visited. Won't do that again. I won't read blogs of people I visit for about 2-3 months before I visit them so I can enjoy catching up with them verbally, not virtually. Live and learn.