Bubbles

the past two weeks

They have figured out the joy of hanging.

Tucker and Whitney trading places on the tree to get a closer look at the ducks

I knew boxes were cool, but not this cool!

I'm so funny!  Sooo funny!

And I'm really cute.  Cuter than this baby wipes baby by a long shot

No more measuring cup!  Only blankie!

Look how happy I am with this blanket.  It's really funny!

And Mommy cringes some more at the filth of this blanket.

I love playing in the dirt, too!

Working, working, working

A close up of this dirty face and how much fun it is.

This week has been pretty fun and productive.  It has been sunny and dry for most days except Sunday and Monday, which are church and cleaning days anyway.  Since I was inside ALL DAY LONG on Monday I cleaned the whole house, made bread and made a delicious dinner.  The babies were pretty good, all things considered, but we did need to rough house for family home evening, that's for sure.  I have a really cute video of playing "box" that we made that night.  The babies also figured out that they really like to jump.  They do a lot of practicing of their new skill while walking around.  Or just having fun in the living room.  Another cute video I can't figure out how to upload.

The rest of the week was spent with lots of Daddy time.  Tuesday and Wednesday we traded babysitting with another couple.  I went to their house one night while Jim stayed home and put them to bed (see choco chip and fish crackers video) and she came here while we went out one night.  Thursday Daddy put them to bed while I went and played volleyball.  That night they skipped bath and clean up for playing with a new toy computer and playing wild.  Jim bought the toy computer in hopes Tucker would like it more than his.  Not a chance.  In fact, Tucker figured out how to unplug the computer.  That caused a lot of excitement and annimation on Dad's part that night.  And after all that careful planning and cutting up of the desk to conceal so many wires and buttons.  Bummer.

During the day and evening I have been doing a lot of yardwork in preparation for winter as well as this project of mine I decided to start up.  I thought it would be easier.  I went to Costco and saw these daffodil bulbs.  50 of them.  Costco size, bought at "the Costco".  Then I went home and decided I wanted to plant them among the rocks and hillside that I constantly look at in the winter (outside the playroom window).  But the plants in that section don't usually do well.  We decided to help it by tierring the landscape to minimize the water rushing off the plants.  So.  Since the daffodils in that areas didn't bloom (grew but no blooms), I decided I needed to tier the area before planting.  It doesn't look like that much dirt.  And then I discovered where the people that have lived here got all the rocks to line walkways and such.  And then the tierring I imagined in my head doesn't look beautiful, it looks stupid.  So Jim has this better idea of shifting the whole hillside back a few feet and moving the rocks we have to support it.  No problem.  Except that he hasn't spent the week digging only half of the area out.  And all because I didn't want to plant bulbs if we were just going to dig them up again.  I also have this aster plant......  but I think I'm going to leave it in the pot by the front door.

Tucker and Whitney have had a blast playing in the dirt with me.  Tucker grabs great handfuls and throws it on top of his head, just like the bubble video (another fun one to come one blog and one night at a time).  Whitney thinks he needs to have double the pleasure and throws fistfuls on his head also.  Of course they slide down his shirt and into his diaper.  And then she gets some in her eyes and cries out the dirt.  Crazy fun.  You should see the tub.

Tucker finally learned that rain boots are good.  He hated them at first.  Kicked them off in a fit.  But then I put them on whitney and she walked (very carefully) around the yard splashing in puddles while he watched inside.  All of a sudden he loves them!  Success.

Whitney is learning to hold hands.  Today she asked to hold Tucker's hand.  I was holding Tucker's hand and he was clutching his blanket with the other.  She went to Tucker's other side and looked for his hand under the blanket, not finding it.  So she asked me for help.  We went a good pace, walking back to the car, Whitney, Tucker and me, all holding hands, in that order.  So cute!

We went to a beach park today.  It was sunny and fun.  There were ducks in the water, babies with diapers only, and Whitney found a beautiful white cat that let her pet it three times.  Then wanted nothing to do with her.  So she threw some rocks down a grate.

We decided to go downtown and explore a new restaraunt.  One with a kids menu, of course.  Holy cow.  Whitney had so much fun.  She loved trying all the new foods and juice, sitting at the table in a booster, eating off of a real plate with a real fork and jumping in the booth.  And the kids play area.... Oh!  Life can't get better.  Unless you can shout really loud in the parking garage and have your brother copy you.

Hopefully I figure out these dumb videos.

the fish hatchery and other explanations

Check out the amount of fish in one pool

Whitney and Tucker looking down on the above pool

Tucker demos the size of these fish.  Tucker weighs about 26 pounds and looks to be about their same size, just a little thicker.  The lady taking a pic of Tucker is the mom of the twins below also looking in with Whitney and Tucker

All the twins looking for some fish

 

The fish are trying to jump over the dam.  Tucker and Whitney had a great time watching them

I haven't been good at blogging lately for several reasons.  Three of which are due to techy people trying to improve things.  I'm one of those that hate progress at times.  Jim set up his computer completely different while I was gone to Utah and I couldn't find any of my files until this week.  Annoying.  Then, the computer plug ins work different.  And Jim decided to get a new camera since he broke ours in the desert with Eric.  It's very high tech. In fact, it's so high tech, I don't think our computer likes it much.  It doesn't have an insert for the photo card.  Annoying.  And last but not least, Blogger decided to "improve" it's site and tonight is the first time I've been able to figure out how to upload any pictures.  Apparently it only allows for one video upload per night as I can't figure out how to upload any more videos than this one at the fish hatchery.  Bummer.  Because there are lots of cute videos to upload that are waaaaayyy cuter than those dumb jumping fish.  Oh yeah.  that's another thing.  Our new and "improved" camera has a 10 second delay for starting and ending a recording.  Which means I miss a bunch of stuff I want to record in the beginning and get a lot of boring garbage at the end.  So if the end of our videos seem boring, it's because it is.

This week has been gorgeous.  I guess the good weather only comes in the fall.  We've had the most sunny days in a row during September.  But, as you can see, it is still really cold for a lot of it because our kids are bundled up in the sun to see the fish.  Whatever. 

I think I'll finish the rest of the week on the previous blog. See if I can get any cute video going. For anyone wondering, the trip to Utah worked.........and then it didn't.  Bummer.  Better luck next time.

the last three weeks

I'm a big girl now!

I ONLY like big boy swings.  No baby swings

Happy in my house

I'm ready to go out on open water now

These are the coolest chairs ever!

It's stuck!  The tongue depressor is stuck in my front teeth!  Help!

Finally.  Back home in my own turf.  Why are we watering again??!!  It's been beautiful and sunny the whole time??!!

I've got to take good care of these strawberries, Mom.

Dad SAID to wash off!

Tucker serious pose

Tucker smily pose.  (Note the measuring cup in hand)

Another serious pose

Crab apples are no good for eating

Mostly what we saw driving around Mt. St. Helen's

A five second clearing of the clouds

Some destruction.....

The real destruction.  Still looks like an erie war zone 31 years later.

Not time for church!  Time for climbing!

Maybe I should explain why I didn't blog for three weeks.  I was in Utah for two of those weeks and then Jim was gone for the next week.  He had re-configured his computer while I was gone.  Bored, I guess.  But then I couldn't do anything on it because everything was all hidden and worked weird and I just didn't have the patience to figure it all out.  So here I am.

We loved the sun and the heat.  Well, I did more than the babies.  There were many times in the afternoons where I wanted to be outside and Tucker just sat really still in the shade with his water bottle(s) in hand.  Jim drove us out there and back and flew back and forth so he could be here to work.  Crazy, huh.  He decided night driving was better than entertaining them for 14 hours all day.  It's a toss up.  Whitney hates being in her carseat in the day and Tucker hates being in it at night and didn't sleep for more than 30-60 minutes at a time.  

We stayed in Willard (Kristy, I know you're jealous!  Wishing you were there, too!) for a good portion of it with some amazing friends that put up with us and fed us for two weeks.  Then we went to St. George for Labor Day weekend.  One of my old roommates drove us down there and back so all of us adults in the house could hang out with Sue and her boot.  We had a blast!  One of the videos we watched on You Tube had something of the effect of Talking Twins in the title.  I think if you search it in You Tube it will be the first to pop up.  It is two boy twins that look like they are a little over a year old, talking to each other.  It was just great to be together.

Some other trip highlights was getting invited to go swim in a pool, going to the play place in the mall (with AC, much to Tucker's delight.  It was the most he played the whole time we were there), playing with all the other kids toys and playsets, and for me, going to lunch and dessert with some friends at different times during the trip.  I had this great idea to can peaches while I was there, but the canning peaches weren't ripe until the day before I left.  The nerve.  I brought them home and canned them here just fine, though.

Some of the favorite things that Jim has enjoyed since they've been home is their word vocabulary.  He loves to hear them talk.  Whitney is pretty good at imitating now, so she can copy a bunch of stuff.  You can hear her say "stuck" pretty clearly in the video.  

They reacted quite different to Jim coming to pick us up after not seeing them for two weeks.  He stood outside the room they were playing in when he got there.  Tucker noticed right away.  He walked over to an arm distance away from Jim, stopped short, pointed at him like "I've seen this guy somewhere before", then slowly edged his way toward me, always with his face toward Jim and had me pick him up until he was ready for a hug.  Then after that he remembered and didn't let Jim put him down.  He still is having a hard time when Daddy leaves.

Whitney was really involved in a toy while all of this was going on.  She finally looked up and saw Jim, then immediately threw her toy down and ran into her Daddy's arms with a look of "where've you been all this time!  I've missed you so!"  She hugged and snuggled him until Tucker started demanding his attention.

While we were gone, we had 9-12 church both weeks.  Tucker did amazing during nursery both times, so I thought he'd be good this time, too.  Hah!  I was in there the whole time.  And Tucker finally fell asleep in my arms the last five minutes.  It was really interesting to see how Whitney is in nursery.  At home, Tucker is somewhat of a top dog.  He hits and takes things and she just screams about it.  But in nursery, she is the first to volunteer, loves the attention of the other adults, takes all the toys she wants and loves the singing.  Tucker likes snack.

As the video demo's, Whitney is really liking this climbing skill.  She definitely has some guarding angel at her constant attendance because I have NO IDEA how she has been able to walk away from things like she does.  She fell off the playground when she slipped once, fell down our wooden stairs and fell onto cement while playing.  Each time she is really scared, but then soon stops crying and can move all her extremities as well as have pupils that appropriately dilate.  I have no idea, like I say, but I'm glad she is happy and healthy.

Well,it's good to be back.

cayoneering with Erik

Tucker loved opening and closing the door on this thing, too!

The great Hunt petroglyphs

Tucker double fisted

"I LOVE this thing"

Erik in a tight squeeze in Blue John Canyon

Erik and another hiker in the background for perspective

Scenery. Doesn't it look warm and sunny? Even though there are clouds in the sky....

Jim and Erik found the lost kiva site from the screen saver picture. and maybe the GPS coordinates, too, not sure.

Erik adds his rock to the pile

Jim has been back from his trip with Erik for two weeks, but I'm just now uploading the pictures. They went to Dead Horse Point, Canyonlands, Blue John Canyon and 9 Mile Canyon. Above are some of the really cool pictures from their trip. They came back with really stinky red mud clothes.

I didn't have a camera last week because the one Jim used on the trip didn't work so well after the trip. Bummer. The baby pics I have on here are from yesterday only. I only remember a few things that the babies did last week because I didn't have the pics to remind me!

I do remember Tucker making us laugh last week because he said "E.T." so very clearly. It is the most clear word I've heard out of him yet, and it has to be E.T. He's getting much better at asking for cheese and milk by word, though not clear. He is improving his helping and climbing skills at the same time, so I guess they cancel each other out? Not sure.

I started taking them on evening walks at the park. They love to run up and down the grassy hills. Whitney took Bear with her on several of those walks.

Tuesday last week was a big day for me. The babies have been really good at playing together, so I got ambitious. I went to a friend's house Tuesday morning and they played with her kids while she taught me the finer points of wheat bread making. And I think I've mastered wheat bread!! 10 months later. It's all about hydrating the wheat before mixing it with the yeast!! Tastes waaayyy better and the texture is awesome. Even Jim agrees.

Monday we went berry picking for FHE. I think I posted some pics of that. Tucker is pro at it and even fed Whitney some of the berries he picked. Whitney doesn't like the thorns so much as she liked petting the dog of the property owner that let us pick. The berries started molding the next day, so I decided to make blackberry jam. The recipe made it sound so easy. I don't know. If I didn't have a bunch of really ripe, free blackberries, I don't think I would have done it. Talk about a mess!! It's definitely worth the $3 dollars in the store to buy it, or even cheaper if you wait for the sale. But very satisfying to have learned how to do it and to fill all those jam jars. It's also awesome that it's usually cold. I had all four burners going for 4 hours. Probably expensive in energy bill. But not something I'd want to do in a hot place. maybe that's why they only grow wild here.

I'll try to get the video of Tucker feeding Whitney blackberries up in a few weeks.

the computers were acting up

My dad complains about how the computers go back to misbehaving the instant Jim walks out his door to go home, as if the computers know that the cat is gone and the mice can play. It happened here while Jim was gone. The internet connection got slower and slower until it broke yesterday. Which is why this post is really late, but it works out because I had no pictures until today. Jim had the cameras with him and they both broke on the trip (I guess the landscape was ugly or something). So no pics except the videos below. We went blackberry picking for family home evening tonight. It was really fun. The babies had a blast.

This blog is mostly text because I'm going to have to describe in words instead of pics. Sorry. Probably for grandmas' eyes only. They both have been playing together more and taking care of each other, mostly Whitney taking care of Tucker, but he notices her distress too, and hits her to make her stop crying. Whitney likes to wash Tucker's hair and this week started trying to rinse his hair. I had to put a stop to that one after Tucker sat up rapidly, sputtering, on the first try. She also pats his head or his belly to comfort him. Their nursery leader said Whitney came and patted him on the tummy during his screaming fest to comfort him.

They both know how to say cheese and bubbles. They also are getting really proficient on putting the 3-D shape blocks in their holes and love to do that together.

Whitney is the queen of keeping track. She knows who's sippy cup is whose and which bed Piglet or Bear should be in. She is really taking off in words. She says dog and truck and points to them as well as milk, oh no, bubbles and papa. She loves to repetitively point to the cat or teddy bear in books and have me say them over and over. Since the air show, she has started looking for the planes when she hears them and points to them when she finds them in the sky.

I babysat a couple of kids, one of which is 5 months old. Whitney took good care of that baby. She pushed him gently in the swing, gave him her favorite bucket and ball when he was crying and patted his head gently. She loves deep water, mostly swishing her legs and lower body through it. She did try to run in the deep water without holding my hand and fell back. I caught her as her mouth went under a little. It scared her enough to hold on to me any time she got deeper than knee depth. She also likes to have Bear with her. Some days she puts Bear back in bed for the day, but other days he goes everywhere with her. She figured out how to give Bear a ride on her car handlebars. Her new game she invented is to get her baby animal farm music box, push the buttons to get to her favorite songs , and carry it while she runs in a circle in the dinning room, dancing to her boom box.

Tucker has gotten really good at staying in time out (for hitting his sister or the dog) and sharing his toys with Whitney. He is also getting better and better at climbing. He loves to put the bubble stick in the bubbles while we play. He wanted to play bubbles, but my hands were full, so he climbed up on a bunch of stuff my husband has stacked up to reach them. Very ingenious, Tucker. Bummer. The skill I've been dreading is getting more and more developed! He is really good at cleaning up. He even laid on the ground to look under the car so I would know to get a ball out from under the car. He consistently matches lids to their containers when he unloads the dishwasher and knows to how to put the key in the car door. he also put my garden glove on and tried to pull a weed with it on, but gave it back to me. He doesn't understand why I would use that.

He locked himself in his room. It was very traumatic for him. Daddy had to break in through the window to open the door. Good thing the window was open. He cried a long time after that and gets upset now when he shuts himself in a room.

I accidently put Whitney's sized diaper on him after bath. He slept through the night, but in the morning he was soaking wet, the bed was soaking wet and so was his blanket. But the diaper was completely dry. I guess the diaper tabs popped of in the night. The diaper was in his pj's but not attached to the diaper. What a huge mess.

This week was sunny from Tuesday until yesterday. We had a ton of fun going to beach side parks while daddy was out wandering in the desert with his brother.

Having fun together! I'm going to try to learn how to make blackbery jam.

and my mom thought peeing on the doctor was bad....

The lounge chairs in their fort
Tucky at naptime after church. "I don't want to!" Daddy rescued him with Piglet and milk

Jim toured this ship
I love naptime! Whitney at the same naptime after church
Playing in the fort
Tucker saying "Hay esta" when I ask where Whitney is. Whitney is hiding.
Whitney petting Sammy so nicely and Tucker playing ball hog.
Tucker giving Daddy rocks. He doesn't collect them in his hands like Whitney does, but grabs big chunks and puts them in our hands so we can dump them out at a higher level. This was our family home evening activity.
I love my Daddy!
I love my Daddy, too!



So when someone asks me what my most embarrassing moment is, I think I can respond to the question with this stunt. Tucker peed on his nursery leader today. I'm mortified. I guess his diaper was on crooked and it all leaked out. I feel so bad. This nursery leader has been through the wringer with Tucker. May I never be called to nursery leader because I'd have kids like Tucker or worse. Last week he cried for 45 minutes until he finally threw up for being so upset. Today he decided he liked her enough to fall asleep in her arms, which, for any parent with a kid over 20 pounds knows how uncomfortable that is, and then did the deed. I think she is definitely up for a gold star award. No pun intended. I'm thinking of making her some sort of yellow treat as a joke, maybe something lemon flavored, then give her some good chocolate to soothe her nerves. That's what always soothes my nerves. Some good ice cream or M&M's. Anyway. I'm really embarrassed. Hopefully he's allowed in next week.

Tucker has learned some new feats this week. He can climb into his high chair.... with the tray on. He was so hungry after church today that he achieved that new skill no problem. But then he cried a bit because he couldn't sit down to eat until I removed the tray because his legs won't fit in otherwise. He also learned to climb into our bed on his own on Monday. It probably prepped him for this last skill. His toy of choice for bed is his measuring cup. Whitney's is her bear. Today, while Tucker was crying in nursery, his leaders asked for his comfort object, expecting a blanket or stuffed animal. I said he didn't have one because I didn't think they would believe the measuring cup. But I think he would take his blanket or Piglet instead. Whitney has recently been interested in taking care of the dogs and stuffed animals lately. She really likes her bear at night. Tucker has been mimicking her behavior. For Tucker this week I picked out several smaller sized animals for him to choose from. Jim is significantly concerned that he picked Piglet. He is concerned about the pinkness of Piglet. Piglet is just the softest. If Tucker really had a choice, he would pick his nighttime blanket. But I won't let him have it out of the crib due to the amount of dog hair that sticks to fleece and doesn't wash off. Poor Tucker. I think I've found a smaller blanket that won't go in the crib for him to have instead. So we'll see how Tucker does. Tucker has also been starting to say "Hay esta" more often and clearly. That is why there are so many pictures of them playing in their fort.

Whitney has been adding more words to her repetoire, but the problem is that I can't remember which ones are new. She also has started babbling in tones that sound more like conversation and words, even though I don't know what they are. She has had a rough week this week though. She's had an on/off fever for four days, needing medicine to keep it down about 2x/day. but that is her only symptom. No snot, coughing, pulling at ears, new teeth or change in poops. I have no idea what is making that happen. Today she pulled at her ears once in pain, but not before or since. Who knows. If I have to consider giving her medicine, maybe I'll call the doctor, but I'm not sure what they would do about it. She hasn't slept real well and so has been fussy more than normal. Lots more screaming, which means lots more chocolate eating for me at night. Probably gained 5 pounds this week. Most of the time she is pretty happy and playing, so I have no guesses. She is on a berry ban for the next three days, in case that is what's bothering her. Too many berries. Don't know. But the one benefit of her not feeling so well is the amount of snuggling I get in with these babies on the move. Earlier in the week she discovered how fun it is to push the stroller.

We've had some fun this week too. The friday visit to the beach bundled up to wait for Daddy to look for crab. He caught five, so we had our neighbor over for dinner last minute. She brough new toys for Tucker and Whitney that they love and some ice cream on a stick. It was great. Some clamming with friends and a bit of blackberry picking to go with it. I might be able to learn to make some good jam yet. Tucker and Whitney definitely love clam chowder

One of the videos near the log is a sample of Tucker's talking. This is what I hear for most of the day. The other video is Tucker giving a hug gently enough that it didn't end in a take down for Whitney. She didn't mind this one, which is truely a rare event. And the last video is a play time in the fort.