my favorite time of year

When I saw this street today, Mom, I thought of you. We love you.

surfer girl

One day a few weeks ago, Abby and Carter were both on my lap as I was working on the computer. This happens a lot, and it usually ends with them fighting over the mouse and scrolling to look at pictures of family and such. So that day I gave up, and decided to teach Abby how to use the computer. I found a toddler website and with Brian's help, she was surfing the site in no time.

And now I'm fighting my three-year-old for computer time......I just can't believe how fast she's growing up!

Question though, does anyone know of a site with toddler appropriate material that shuts out the rest of the computer so they can't access anything else while they're on that site? And maybe something that disables the right click would be nice too.

poop

After almost a YEAR of potty training, Abby has FINALLY pooped in the potty. She had the #1 part down for a while (although I admit she was pretty off and on about it) but for some reason she has had a strange aversion to pooping on the potty. We've been very patient with her, taking advice from our pediatrician and family and friends that have been there, and with the help of her angelic teachers at school, I think she finally got the guts to do it.

I have to admit, when Mrs. Adams called me during school to tell me that Abby did it, I got a little teary. It's just SUCH a relief.

So we cheered, and hugged, and danced, and cheered some more. I took her to the store and she picked out some Fancy Nancy shoes. We called the Grandmas, the family, and they cheered with us, and the whole time Abby was beaming with pride. She thrives on praise, and I want Abby to be proud of this accomplishment so that she'll want to continue to do it, and if it means making complete fools of ourselves, I'll do it. She has since pooped in our potty as well, and she hasn't asked for a pull up in a few days. This is the turning point I have been waiting all year for, and I hope its smooth sailing from here.

Now it's Carter's turn.

world peace

I think that the way to create world peace is to give all the bad people in the world a pacifier.

As babies, my kids would calm right down when I gave them one, and even now, I know the best way to get Carter to chill out is to stick a pacifier in his mouth. I could even plug him in the middle of a tantrum, and everything he was complaining about would be immediately forgotten.

So I propose that we stock the prisons of the world with adult sized pacifiers, create anger management programs using oral fixation techniques, and create an "Operation Binky Drop" to drop down pacifiers in war-torn areas of the world. And while we're at it, maybe they should have madatory pacifier breaks during all government sessions and every major world-wide conference. I'm convinced it would make the world a better place.

Sure, the majority of the world would have gappy buck teeth and we'd have some serious speech issues, but at weasht we would all wove eachothew.

oh baby

I am so grateful for my friends that are trusting me to practice on their families. Sofia was born last week and her mom called me up and asked me to do a newborn shoot. I was like, uh, yeah! This is my first ever newborn shoot and I loved it. Although it has its share of difficulties, its much more calm and peaceful compared to every other shoot I've done. Here's one of the shots I did. You can see more here.

found

We found one of Carter's hearing aids! After we searched every possible nook and cranny in the house for a week, I opened up the clothes dryer and there it was. Well, at least part of it. And believe it or not, it still works. Kinda. Turns out that Brian put it in his shorts (you know the kind with like ten huge pockets) when he was putting Carter down for a nap, and he forgot about it. He even wore the same shorts again that week and it never crossed his mind. I called him and said, Guess where I found the hearing aid? And suddenly he remembered and he said, "In my pocket." I was like, um, why didn't you remember this a week ago? BEFORE I washed and dried it?

But I really can't be mad, because I lost the other hearing aid and we never found that one.

Good thing is, because we found the hearing aid, we can get it repaired for free under warranty. We've learned our lesson and will be much more cautious from now on.

sassafras

I'm worried. Admittedly, the hip shaking is pretty cute, but she's only three! Maybe we need to stop watching "So You Think You Can Dance."

one of THOSE nights

Abby and Carter were in the tub. I left the room for a minute. I come back in. Abby points down at the tub and said, "Carter went poopoo." I looked down and gasped. It wasn't just a couple of floaters. It was EVERYWHERE. So I stick them both in the shower to disinfect and go into the kitchen for cleaning supplies. I reached for something and knocked over a cup of yogurt, which drops to the floor and EXPLODES all over the floor and cabinets. I sigh and race into the bathroom to clean up the grosser of the two messes first. After a few minutes I stop the water and hear the beeper going off in the kitchen. Afraid of how long the timer was going off I ran back into the kitchen to grab the brownies out of the oven, praying that they weren't burned. Because I can handle soggy poop and yogurt explosions, but burning the brownies would be tragic.

i got a new lens

and I like it.

how is it

that we can find Abby's lost hearing aid in the OCEAN, but have managed to lose BOTH of Carter's hearing aids within a month?

We lost one earlier this month, and after tracing my steps, we think it got lost at Sprouts. So I called them and they said they were pretty sure they saw one, and that they would go look for it and call me back. They called back and said that the manager searched high and low and it is nowhere to be found. So either they really didn't see one, or THEY lost it after we lost it, and the thought of that drives me crazy. So we ordered a new one. Luckily there is a one-time free replacement of $100. BUT THEN the other one disappeared on Saturday and we can't find it anywhere. I'm so afraid that Carter flushed it down the toilet. So that's another $100. I don't even want to think about how much it costs to replace a replacement, so I'm going to guard these puppies with my life!

have you ever...

...counted the number of times your toddler has cried in one day? I think I need to do that. Then I'm gonna write it down. Then I'm gonna put it in their memory boxes. Then when they're older and they come complaining about their own children, and I'll get it out and show them. Then I'll tell them what goes around comes around, and they probably deserve it.

...and Mom, I know I deserve it.



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one-pose-pictures

Our family went to the Dallas Temple a couple of weekends ago and while we were there we did a really quick photo shoot. Here's the best shot of each family. Man, it was sunny!

how to woo the mamma

by special guest blogger Carter McMurdie

Hey toddlers of the world, you wanna know how to get your mom in the palm of your hand? Well you've come to the right place, cuz I've got it down to an art.

1. Tilt your head down and peer up at your mom through your hooded big eyes while giving her a flirty half-smile. And don't forget to show the dimple.
2. Take multiple breaks from your busy day to crawl into your mom's lap and give her big hugs.
3. NEVER turn down a request from your mom to give her kisses.
4. Talk with a deep husky voice.
5. After getting into trouble, repeat options 1, 2, 3 or 4 or all of the above.
6. Charm the strangers when out running errands.
7. Perfect your free throw.
8. Sneak into your parents bed in the early morning and cram your little body into your mommy's side. She says she doesn't like it, but she secretly loves it.
9. Let your mom rub her face in your stubby, soft, peach fuzz hair.
10. Three simple words: " I luh loo."

cousin keira

Cheeky. Cuddly. Soulful.

cousin mikayla

smart. beautiful. feisty.