Oh his is why people live here!

HikingWhitney snuggled with Kristy
Our lunch and rock throwing spot
Sunday snuggles
The second waterfall that we drove to, instead of hiking to, that day
Look Ma! No shoes!
Happy Birthday Dad
Nothing like potstickers for dinner.


This week we went hiking. We meaning me, the babies and a friend. Not Jim. Apparently this kind of hiking is not high adventure enough for him. Whitney hiked 0.5 miles, while Tucker (obviously my child) "couldn't walk" and wanted to be carried only. He did finally figure out the beauty of rock throwing on the trip, though.

Whitney's first molar cut through early last week/the beginning of this week. Jim noticed first because he was playing wild with her and she threw her head back and laughed a ton. She also learned how to pull her socks and shoes off. She was talking away and being so good during a 40 min car ride and now I know why. She was gleefully learning this new skill.

Jim was in New York for two days doing a job interview this week and I was at a continuing education course in order to keep my license active and myself ready for work. That means we both had two days full days of just Mommy or just Daddy time. Except mine wasn't overnight, but then again, I didn't take the babies to church alone, so all and all it was interesting.

We ended the week celebrating Jim's birthday by going on a "cruise" I made Jim a fake passport and put a "travel itenary " inside that included a dinner buffet, a dessert buffet, one shore excursion (for example wakeboarding, done on Wii of course) and evening entertainment. I'm pretty impressed with myself of thinking it up, but then again, I expanding on an idea that a friend of mine told me they did for a wedding anniversary. I think Jim liked it, but I'm never really sure how he likes things like that. The babies liked the candles.

lots of video of Tucker with his new dance moves

Tucker and Daddy snuggling together while they suffer through their colds

After a week break of letting Whitney try to use utensils, I let her have them back. It is so cute to me that she tips the bowl, as long as she doesn't fling it, that is.


This week Daddy was showing Tucker how to dance. I have the videos posted in order so you can see Tucker's dance move progression. He's almost got the hands and feet going at the same time.

I thought I would have photos of Whitney's adventures with Daddy in Utah this week, but Daddy was too busy taking care of Whitney to take cute pics of her. I think I mentioned that she made friends with the lady next to her on the way there, sleeping on her lap the whole way. So not fair. On the way back, they happened to have the two seats next to them open, so she spent a whole lot of time crawling around. She was nice and tired when we picked them up at 10 pm that night. But of course, no sleeping in the next day. That is against baby rules. All in all she loved eating all sorts of different foods, getting lots of one on one attention, snuggling with Daddy at night instead of being in a crib, and visiting cousins and friends. But as with all trips so far, she came home with something. I think it's from being in airports. My hands always feel dirty after being in the airport and since she licks those often, guess what. Sickness.

I've decided that having sick babies is THE WORST. It makes me grumpy because they aren't sleeping at night really well, they are grumpy during the day, Tucker does his gag/snot thing all day and night, Whitney gets her close to too high fevers and I get sick because with all that added crying I feel I definitely deserve to make and eat the WHOLE batch of choco chip cookies (originally intended for Jim) for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Definitely lots of wholesome, vitamin C goodness.

There is this commercial I saw once (I think it is for Dayquil) that shows this guy on his side on the couch with lots of used Kleenexes on the table in front of him. He is saying to his wife "I can't reach the remote!" She hands him a package of Dayquil instead and the voice says "tough enough for even the man-cold". At first I thought it was yet another way the media demeans men, but now I have to laugh at it, because, to a point, the commercial is true.

Here's how colds go around here. The babies both get sick within 2 days of each other. Never at the same time because that would make the sleepless night thing too short for parents. Then Mom starts feeling rotten, but never enough to be on bedrest, just enough to be really grumpy. Then, just as the babies start getting better, Jim gets sick and whiny for a good week, often getting sinus infections and such. (by the way, we had a discussion once about how we would have died if we lived in the old days. His was that he would have died from a sinus infection or the cold. I would have died from an ear infection). Whitney and I feel miserable and just sit around a bunch due to lack of energy. If we are really in pain, we cry. Tucker and Daddy whine a lot more and Tucker always does this gag/throw up thing that forces me to do more laundry than I have energy for. Blah. But being an "experienced" Whitney and Tucker parent at this point, at least I know what is coming and going and it is much less of an issue than the first time it happened and do stuff anyway.

Like finish the bathroom. I go to the bathroom in the kids bathroom all the time now because looking at those freshly painted walls makes me so happy for some reason. All I did was paint and I love it.

Jim has some promising face to face interviews after having phone interviews this coming week. He's looking forward to working for some of these companies and I'm looking forward to him working again! If not, I'm ready to start looking for work. Jim will have had the babies for three Saturdays in a row after next saturday for almost all the day or most the day. He does a great job with them, knowing their needs and playing with them and a good, energizing break for Mom to get stuff done. I'm not sure if it is motivating Jim to look for work more (even though he is already very motivated) or less motivating because he doesn't get to be with them off and on during the day when he goes back to work

Even with all this sickness, Jim watched the babies while I did yard work today. While I was harvesting my dandelion crop, I had lots of time to think about how relatively happy the babies stay through all this. Even when they don't feel well they snuggle during the day. Today Whitney and I had a growling contest. Pretty fun to be a family, even in the crazy, grumpy times.

The last two videos are of Whitney with her new ball the neighbor gave her and the babies dancing on the step stool. Look at the size difference!

more excitement around here than usual

In big kid carseats. Even though this picture makes them look like they're not so sure about this, trust me, they love it. They were both just tired when I took this picture. Neither one of them can resist how riding in the car just makes them so groggy.

Whitney bringing in the mail



Whew! This week was a whirlwind, mostly in the head. Jim was laid off work officially Tuesday, so with it comes the mind-spinning of what to do next. Neither one of us have been through the process for ourselves and it is very different and humbling to not be the one that determines when work ends. Sometimes the writing is on the wall, so you can get out or see it coming, but this was a big surprise. However, this week I have also been able to see lots and lots of blessings.

First of all Jim spoke with two recruiters this past week, and has a phone interview this Tuesday, so the outlook on getting work soon is very positive for him. It is also very comforting and reassuring to know that I can get a job and be able to pay all the bills, just in case Jim can't. The other great thing is that we own our cars and have no credit card debt, so lowering expenses is in our control. We have some savings and food storage that will give us multiple weeks backup during the job search. If neither one of us finds work in our field, we both have several skills that we can put to use to be "underemployed" if need be. So at this point we feel we have lots of options to work with, We've fasted and prayed about it all, and both of us feel peace that can only come from God. But I'm still anxious about the details of how it will all work out. Oh me of little faith. We both know plenty of skilled people that don't have work still or it took them 6-12 months to find work, if not longer, so it's hard for me not to worry and wonder, but we've "tried Him in times that are past" and have been blessed with work up until now.

So that will all explain the post a bit better. Jim had a work conference scheduled in Las Vegas this weekend that got canceled for obvious reasons. Of course, changing the date or name on an airline ticket costs even more money than just paying for the original ticket, so Jim went to Utah anyway. He had chosen to fly to Salt Lake then carpool down to Las Vegas as it was significantly less to do it that way. Which worked out better because he could visit family. As we were discussing what to do about this plane flight, I suggested he "take a baby". And he said " I think I will!" Then it was hard to decide which baby to take. We decided Whitney should go because she is better at eating different foods, is not in such a mommy phase (again) as Tucker is, and is better at sleeping wherever, whenever. She can also go for a little bit longer between meals. All optimal traveling traits. So Whitney, being older, has traveled more than Tucker.

So far she has experienced new foods such as italian breadsticks and potato chips. Jim said her cousins "started giving Whitney potato chips and after that she wanted nothing to do with eating chicken". I have to admit, I'm pretty impressed with Jim. First of all he took a baby traveling with him by himself when he could have wandered in the desert instead, a favorite past time of his. Then, the night he was packing, he asked for her nap and eating schedule so he would know better what Whitney needs. Then he packed Whitney breakfast for after the plane flight and went to the grocery store to get fruit and her kind of milk in case others didn't have whole milk available. He has visited with his sister and a few friends in these past couple of days without mishap. Whitney seems to be very happy socializing with the cousins and friends. She also makes great friends on planes. A lady about the age of Grandma sat next to Jim. She leaned over to say hi, so the lady reached out to hold her. She played with Whitney a little before Whitney snuggled up to her and fell fast asleep for the whole 2 hour plane flight. When we flew to Illinois, she had made a plane friend then with the lady next to us who didn't speak a lick of English, but played and played with Whitney, to Whitney's delight.

Mommy is loving spending time with just Tucker, probably how Jim is loving the time with just Whitney. I've said to myself at times that "this would be so much easier if I had one baby",not that I would want to give up either one of them just for less craziness, but I've never really been sure if it really is easier with one baby. Sometimes I think that moms of one have a little disadvantage in that there isn't an automatic playmate. Or I wonder how moms with kids with different ages ever get naps at the same time so they can nap. I asked a friend about this today and she said, it doesn't really happen. I'm pretty sure she must be so tired that she will never remember the conversation she had today with me.

This weekend, though, I have learned that there are some advantages of having one baby. For example, hiking. Only one baby to carry. I was much more adventurous about even considering going on a hike. I called a friend up and we went hiking in the rain 2 miles AND Tucker got to get out and hike 3 different times. The getting out would have never happened with two babies. He really loves mud. You know. The way it makes that splooshing sound when you step in it. Very funny. You can replay some of his laughing videos if you want to know how he responded to that huge mud puddle experience. He also loves watching the water pass under the bridge and running up and down the bridge several times (holding mommy's hand, just in case). My friend gave him a rock to throw in the water, but he just threw it down on the bridge. No worries. I'm sure he'll figure out how to throw rocks in the water repeated for several hours later in life without any problems. Tucker never whined during that trip because he was cold or wet (which he was very of both by the end), only when he got hungry. This wasn't a problem because my friend could hand him snacks as we hiked down the trail with him on my back. It's also easier to follow one baby around the yard instead of two, or go to the mailbox, or feed breakfast.

Other than the hike, Tucker and I have mostly been home watching General Conference online this weekend. All those messages of hope for the future (even though the family structure is under attack in many ways through various means, and the world events/economy are stressful) were great to hear. Tucker loved every musical piece. He would stop playing with his toys to look at the screen during the whole song. Every time. He also listened to the prophet with rapt attention.

For some reason I thought Jim had the camera with him, so I haven't taken many pictures this weekend, even though I have more hands available. My hiking buddy has pics of our hike on her phone and Jim probably has pics on his, so I'll have to post those next week. Until then.

uploading pics on Saturday night doesn't work... here's the real blog for the week.

Tucker a couple of days after Christmas. We had family photos taken and here are a few of my favorites.
Grandpa and Whitney



Daddy snuggle nap. He's definitely not a baby any more. Look at the size of that kid! He is as big as Daddy's torso! He was having a hard time sleeping so Jim walked him in the patapum on the treadmill. Two wonderfully great buys.

"I laugh in the face of danger!" Tucker stumbled off the ledge looking into the house onto the cement bench. It looked scarier in person (new mom).

Whitney collecting rocks. The rocks at the top of the driveway are small, so she can put a ton of them in her hands. She loves to play in those rocks.

Whitney enjoying the sun. The real reason she stayed there long enough for a picture is because her shoe fell off. She waited patiently for me to find her and put the shoe back on. Only a girl would do that.
Doggies supervising.
Tucker thinks this is the most fun when Whitney is pushing.

Tucky solved the rubix cube!

Whitney loves her new carseat and her new carseat box even more.

The videos are of Tucker talking about his flowers and Whitney being strong enough to push Tucker, instead of the other way around. And then there is Whitney eating applesauce. I swear they learn from the dogs at times.

getting stuff done

This was a while back. It was the day that they went for their first hike when they did some of the hiking. Never mind they had soft soled shoes on and the ground was frozen that day. I don't know. Better than mud, like the usual. It made me laugh to see Tucker in this hat.

Whitney really likes applesauce. Don't want to leave any leftovers.

I have no idea why she loves to do this.

It seems like every day they figure something else out.

Tucker learned how to pull a toy behind him. Then, once he figured it out, he ran around the house laughing hysterically that something is following him. He also may be a storyteller. Too soon to tell, but every time we go outside to play, the first thing he does is have this running dialog about the flowers. I don't know about what, but I tried to get it on video. The dialog was cut short of course as soon as he saw mommy was in the perfect position to hug. He likes to splash his hand in the puddles in the driveway and then lick his hand. So gross. But at least he is not licking the puddles directly like the dogs.

Tucker has a typical boy forehead. Covered in bruises. He has a lot more than his big sis. I'm not sure if it is because he is so top heavy with that big noggin of his, or if it is because he is a boy. I remember hearing stories about Scout camp and also wondering how it is that boys seem to have all this knowledge about stuff way sooner than they should. For example, why was it that my 16 old friend, who was the same age as I was, knew so much about building, painting, mowing lawns, burning fires, guns, or fixing bikes/cars? I think I have finally figured out the connection between the knowledge/experience that these high school friends of mine had, and scout camp. They just tried stuff out. That is why they knew how important the safety lock is on a gun, how to get a roaring blaze so quickly, or fix a broken bike/car. And I think they had a lot of these trying things out experiences with their leaders' supervision. Hence the hair raising stories from scout camp that I never really heard until I was around 22 or so, once they had moved out of said mom's house for real and couldn't get grounded. Tucker already does it. "Hmmmmm... What would happen if I tried to climb over this rock that is taller than I am? Or what if I try to go off the steps just like Mom and Dad do? Or throw this rock really hard?" Forget reading the manual or let Mom show you what to do. Just try it out. Owner's manuals are completely overrated (except for my brother Ryan).

In contrast, Whitney figures things out after watching her brother, finding a safe, sometimes easier way of doing things. For example, we went to the park this week. The playground had two ways to climb to the slide. The more gradual slope, and safer way for try-it-out boys, and a more direct, steeper route. Mom was not about to demonstrate for Tucker that the faster way was even an option. But Whitney figured it out and tested her limits before putting all her weight on that foot. She also figured out how to navigate into the flower beds. Much easier to go between the rocks, instead of over them directly. No pain and she didn't even need my help.

Another thing she does that is really cute is say hi to Papa! I don't know if she is actually saying the words, but it sounds like she is saying hi whenever someone comes into the room. It can be any one of us. She gets a big smile and says hi. I love it when she does it when Jim's truck starts pulling into the driveway or when Tucker comes over to her crib in the morning. She also gives me hugs when I'm down low. I've been doing a lot of weeding while the babies play outside. She is constantly collecting rocks then coming over to give me a hug. She even helped me weed a bit today by picking stuff out between the rocks (pine needles) and putting it in the bucket. She also throws pine cones she collects around the yard in the bucket. Tonight for bath I asked for her foot and she smiled, laughed and lifted her foot out of the water so I could wash it. She loves the Foot Book by Dr. Seuss. We've been reading that one a lot this week, so maybe that's why she knows that word. So cute to first time Mommy.

My favorite embarrassing moment for Whitney this week was that she figured out how to pick her nose. It was at breakfast one morning. Tucker has had this skill down pat for months now, but for some reason that day, Whitney figured it out. So then Tucker saw her and thought, "oh yeah! Good idea! I know how to do that too!" And joined the fun. Whatever. I just ask him repeatedly to take his finger out of his nose. In Spanish, so only half the population around me understands me. One of the benefits of knowing a second language.

So that's what they've been up to, allowing me to get stuff done, like paint and weed. I'll probably still be doing that next week, too. Sorry if you read stuff that I've put on the blog before. The weeks run together for some reason......

baby news/pics for the week

If this isn't a great blackmail picture I don't know what is. If his wife ever complains of how he won't go down "that isle" because he doesn't want to be seen "holding those things!", I'll pull out this picture.
Whitney helping me paint.
Tucker helping me paint.
Whitney playing while I was painting.
Isn't this an awesome picture of spring. My mom gave it to me, so it's definitely cheating, but check out the sun and shadows on this pic. I'm so excited.


So as far as baby happenings, this is it. The babies helped me paint. Well, more like Whitney checked out and played with all the unopened paint supplies while Tucker pulled up all the news paper I had put on the floor and ran through it, ripped it up, danced on it until his hands and feet were covered in newsprint. I mean covered. Even on the tops of his feet and backs of his hands. He was entertained for 45 minutes. It made up for the fact that I had to wipe news print off the of the newly painted (dried) walls. Tucker has also figured out how to turn in circles. He likes to push the button on the farmer tadd magnet and spin around while he dances to the music. He is also very amused at rocks and pinecones rolling down the driveway. It gets him laughing "like a bowl full of jelly". Don't worry. His mommy had him pick them all up again and that was fun to listen to the loud noise as they went into the bucket. Every time we go outside, Tucker goes over to the flower grandma planted and talks about them to me. I wish I knew what he was saying. I'm not sure if he likes to talk about the flowers themselves and how they are growing, or if he likes to tell me about how Grandma got to use a big shovel and put them in the ground and that's how you plant flowers. Hmmmm.

Whitney is learning to wave goodbye. I know. A little late, but honestly, I haven't spent time to teach her that. She picked up on it when the lady that helped us out of the grocery store waved bye to her. Tucker is really taken to smashing her or pushing her into the ground if he can't get up to stand when he falls outside and there are no walls to help him. Very annoying to supervise that one. Whitney also learned to pick flowers and smell them. Whitney was also very cute sitting on the paint can after bath one night. Now we know. No buying a special potty, just her own paint can. Some of the pics and videos are on Jim's phone, so you'll probably see them next week.

On a twin note, some cute twin things they are doing is laughing at each other throw toys. I know. Only cute now because they can't really throw. They also share food back and forth the high chair trays and sometimes play with each other's hands, almost like they are trying to give each other high fives or play patty cake together.

I think I might believe the lady that spring is here.

Look! Spring!
Jim in canyon
Isn't this a cool shot looking up the slot canyon?

So there was this lady in church about a month ago that said spring comes early here. She happened to say it on the day there was about 4 inches of snow on the ground. But she was making the point that there are buds on the tree. I had a good laugh about that. Today another lady said this winter was long because there was so much rain during the summer last year that "everyone here is in a bad mood". I had a good laugh about that, too. But this week I think spring really is coming to stay for the most part due to the following signs.

Number one. There are birds chirping. Lots of them. I don't really remember birds chirping, even in October. They knew to skedaddle out of here. That started up this week.

Number two. It is light until 7:30. And I know this because most nights the sky has been clear. I've even seen the moon three times this week. (must be a natural disaster). That is the one great thing about daylight savings on this end. It just makes me feel happier when it is light so late.

Number three. Boy smell. I used to think boys didn't start stinking until they were 11 or so. No that's wrong. That's when the smell hits you in the face when you walk in the door. Tucker has been significantly stinker than Whitney since he was 6 months old. His head stinks by the end of the day, and they take baths at the same time. So, now that he has learned to climb over small boulders (watch out flowers) and other such obstacles, he comes inside with this dirt/boy/sweat smell. So sad. I always thought babies were babies. Whatever.

Overall I'm very excited for the amount of sun I've seen this week. I'm much more cheery. And the babies love to go outside. Every morning after breakfast, they go get their shoes.

This week Jim came back from wandering in the desert. Good thing he brings buddies. He went to the same canyon that guy went that got his arm caught.

Anyway, computer problems, so look for two posts again.