Monday, March 29, 2010

I SAAAAID

Tennyson vocabulary grows every day. He really amazes me at the words he uses and the way he describes things.

Unfortunately he has trouble with certain sounds.

An F makes a P sound in Tennyson-land (Por instead of For)

S is a T or D (Danderd instead of Sanders)

C or K is a T (Betum instead of Beckham)

And occasionally R is a W, but not very often.

While this is not unusual for children Tennyson's age, it is new territory for Kevin and I. We have now added interpreter to our list of talents.

Most of the time, I understand what Tennyson is telling me, but every once in awhile he adds a new vocab word and stumps me the first few times he uses it.

Recently, he has realized that just repeating what he said doesn't help.

SO, my little smarty pants two year old has learned the art of describing things in detail.

For example:

Last night I walked into Tennyson's room after we had put him to bed for the night to find he had shed his pajamas and was rummaging in his drawers for some day time clothes. He insisted it was morning time and he need his clothes not his jamas.

As I was putting his pajamas back on he kept insisting he wanted to get.......something. I couldn't figure it out. The word he said sounded like checked or test and I couldn't place the context with the meaning. A few weeks ago he would have said, "I SAAAAID (insert hard to understand word)" and just repeat that phrase over and over until he would finally conclude we were not going to understand each other and sadly walk away. *cue heart breaking music* It was gut wrenching, but he was so sweet about it. Sad, but not mad.

But last night, after about four wrong guesses on my part as to what he wanted he sighed and said, "I want to get new clothes and put them on."

OH! *ding ding ding ding ding We have a winner* You want to get DRESSED!

What an awesome kid! He is such a problem solver.

While he didn't get to get dressed for the morning, at 9:00 at night, he SO was not winning that one, we both were just so thrilled to be on the same page that I don't think he minded all that much.

Or maybe he did.

You'll have to ask him and see what he says :)

Friday, March 26, 2010

Boo

I sent a message to my friend, who happens to be the owner of the fabric manufacturer where my designs are being reviewed, just to see if she had heard anything.

I just heard back from her.

She said that the design manager, Jina, told her she had already email me her decision.

They only email I have received from Jina is the one she sent to let me know she had received my designs and she would let me know about her decision.

Of course I know what her decision is. She is obviously giving my friend, her boss, the run around.

Boo.

You may remember that, Jina is the same lady who had an extreme dislike for my first line.

Strike three.

Hear that?

That's me picking my heart off the floor.

I know what you're saying. Three tries isn't many at all.

And you are right. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have an impact on me each time.

Sigh.

Alright.

My heart is back in place and I'm ready to go again. It's helpful to get it all out in black and white so I don't have to carry it with me.

Someday, Emilie, someday!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Sleep

I went to make my bed this morning.

But the pillows were in just the right places, hours after first leaving them.

The littlest boy was down for a nap, the older two boys watching a show so mom could get ready for the day before taking Beckham to preschool, so I crawled in.

Heaven.

I had to be careful not to immediately fall asleep....that NEVER happens to me.

Why can't it feel like that when I go to sleep at night?

If that's what I had to look forward to I would go to sleep much, much earlier. Instead I go to bed because it's time, not because I am tired. Consequently I toss and turn to find just the right spot, constantly remind myself to stop.thinking.already, and then become frustrated, pick up a book, or sudoku and stay up even later.

I'm sure my lack of sleep contributes to the 15 lbs I STILL have left to lose. That's right people, FIFTEEN. And my baby is a year old. Yes, yes, I did have a slight buffalo wings addiction during Sanders' pregnancy so I had a bit more to lose, but 15? It nearly devastating.

It's not from lack of trying. I've been consistently exercising for well over a month, making healthy choices for food--for the most part-- and nothing. Nada. Zilch. Not 1 lb, not one inch. If anything I weigh even more, although I am not in a state of mind to even come close to admitting that.

Now if my clothes were fitting looser I would just chalk it up to adding muscle to the mix, but nope, not even that glimmer of hope for me.

I also assume it's because I am 30 now. I truly thought all the "rumors" of women having a tougher time losing the weigh 30 years and beyond were wife tales, but I must be a testimony of it because the 2o -something year old me would have seen some results by now.

I really don't care what the scale says as long as the love handles are gone, ya know?

Good bye Love Handles. Your services, whatever they are, are no longer needed.

Do you think that will work?






Monday, March 15, 2010

Mulligan

I need a do over.

It's 8:50 am.

Karaia doesn't get to go to school. Yup, her choices this morning were that amazing.

Beckham has already been in time-out.

Tennyson is currently in time-out.

I definitely NEED a time-out.

I'm sure my children would agree. And probably any rational parent.

Why are there no mulligans in real life? I'm sure I could behave in a different way despite the behavior my children chose to wear this morning. I'm the adult, right?

It's too early to wish it was tomorrow.

Sigh.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Belly Man

Tennyson has his own style...that is for sure. He and Karaia have the strongest opinions about what they will be wearing that day.

Most of the time I give them free reign. However, with school and church and certain other public outings I reserve the right to veto their choice. Karaia will fight the veto often resorting to whining and gnashing of teeth. Tennyson is a compromiser and we usually end up with something like this:


Appropriate winter clothing on the first layer; surfer ninja on the top.


It makes me laugh....as well as all others we pass in the store.

Tennyson is also our only child with an outie belly button. He is very slender as well and often wears glasses on his belly.....because......well, I don't really know why, probably because he is two.

It was only a matter of time before his mom got the fantastic idea of Belly Man.



Come on! You can't see a pair of awesome glasses like this


right above an outie belly button and NOT want to draw some eyes and a mouth.


That's just the way the world works.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Sanders is ONE!


Sanders turned one Tuesday, March 2!

He was his happy, stubborn self....you wouldn't think those two qualities would be able to exist together, but somehow he makes it work.

In the morning I had my photographer take some one year pictures. We definitely captured his stubborn side. That kid will not do anything unless it is his idea....including smile.

(What color do YOU think his eyes are? We still don't know)

Good thing his face is cute no matter what expression it has.

Thankfully, he chose to cooperate on a few frames


I finished sewing the last of his present and then while he took the best. nap. ever. I cleaned the house, with the much appreciated help of my mom.

Most of the family was able to come. We were missing Grandpa Great Frank, Amy and Landon, Grandma Emma, Jaymes, Robbie, Jenny, The Johnsons, The WY Dalys, and the Lawsons.

We kept it simple with Pizza, salad, and Pop. Sorry that we almost ran out of pizza! Luckily, there was plenty of cake and ice cream to go around.

Sanders was the poster child of 1st birthday cakes.


He lasted about a second before his whole hand and face were COVERED in chocolate frosting!


(Starting out small)


(Using his serious cake devouring skills)

(Finding the silver lining that the cake is sitting on---he talked about it for a few minutes before eating more cake!)


It was so funny! He did not want to miss one little bit of frosting and would nearly lick his hand clean before diving in again.


He managed to get frosting up his nose and then he tried to breath through his nose! Let's just say that despite my best efforts he still has chocolate boogers.

He also enjoyed ripping open the first few presents. I don't think I've ever had a child who knew what to do with a present on their first birthday. After the first few, he was done with being the center of attention and just wanted to cruse around. Thank you to everyone for their generosity! We are LOVING all the new stuff to play with around here.

Speaking of new stuff this is what I made and we gave him for his birthday.



(Those blobs at the bottom are peanut butter and jelly)

At one, Sanders CAN sign More, Please, and All Done. But only on rare occasions will he actually chose to communicate with you in that manner. What usually happens is I will ask him for one of those signs and he will throw his head back and whine like I just asked him to clean the toilet. Then of course I can't let THAT be the behavior that gets me to give him more or let him down so I "help" him with the sign I asked for. He loves that too.

Sanders can also say, Bye Bye by waving and saying, "Ba ba". He can say Beckham (Buh) and Woof (wf, wf). Very few words indeed. But he "talks" to us all the time and is constantly asking what things are. Parents of one year old will know exactly what I mean by that.

The day after his birthday we were talking about eyes and he pointed right to his! I was able to ask him where his eyes were a few more times and he got it right! Of course, in true Sanders fashion, I can rarely get him to perform that trick again. Occasionally, if he is feeling super generous, he will do it for me, but very begrudgingly.

That's just who he is. He can do A LOT of things, but he will do them when he wants to do them. In the same breath, he is a happy kid. Yes, he's stubborn, but in a happy way. Makes no sense, I know, but that's the reality of it.

He loves to wrestle with Dad and the big kids.

He loves to splash in the bath.

He loves asking about the quilt hanging in his room.

He loves to dance to music.

He loves learning about new things he sees.

He LOVES to eat.

He loves to open cupboards and drawers and empty the contents.

He loves to color.

He loves to eat with a fork and is getting pretty good at it.

His eyes light up when he sees his sister or brothers. We are so blessed he is ours!

Happy Birthday Sanders!!!