Art Studio

There is this really neat Art Studio out here that is just for kids - Creative Days Art Studio. One day last week they opened up to the community for free, so I took the boys. It was a BLAST! My camera is still broken, but they took some pictures for me and emailed them.

They were able to do shaving cream painting - a cake pan is filled with shaving cream, then they squirt paint into it, stir it around, press a paper into it, pull the paper out and scrape the shaving cream off, and it leaves a marbled looking painting.

They did marble painting - a piece of paper is put into a large tin can, some marbles are rolled in a tray of paint then placed in the can, put the can's lid on and shake it up! Out comes a really cool picture!

And their favorite - bean bag sock painting! Old socks filled with beans and tied off so they are like a round bean bag with a "tail" are dipped in trays of paint, then the kids throw them at a paper pinned to the wall! They got really messy doing this, and had a blast! Owen had paint in his hair even, and when he finally looked down and saw that there was paint all over his hands, the surprised and puzzled look on his face was priceless. When my camera gets fixed I'll have to post pics of their actual art work.

Critter

It all started a few weeks before Christmas... I was using the bathroom in our basement when I heard an odd scratching noise from INSIDE the wall. I immediately thought of mice... apparently there was a small mouse infestation in this house just before we moved in. I'd kept an eye out for any signs of their return and hadn't seen anything up to this point.

Over the next couple of weeks, I stayed up late quite often to work on my internet Christmas shopping. Our computer is also down in one of the basement rooms, and I continued hearing the scratching/scampering/gnawing noises migrating through the wall down there. As far as I can tell though, this is no mouse. It sounds like one larger animal! Eh.... the thought makes me shudder. I realize it has been very cold out, and some creature probably found a little hole in the outside wall and decided to make itself cozy for the winter. I don't like the idea of sharing my North wall with some rodent, but I figured that as long as it stayed down in the basement wall and wasn't coming into the house, I guess I shouldn't worry about it.

Then two weeks ago I was getting breakfast for the boys when I heard it scampering through our kitchen wall! It was so loud, that I thought for sure it had come through the wall and was loose in the cabinets! I freaked out, and Eli's eyes about popped out of his head. Ever since, he has been listening for the "animal," and every noise he hears he says "oh, maybe it's the animal!" He has fun guessing what it might be - "maybe it's a dog... maybe it's a rabbit....maybe it's a raccoon." I'm hoping it's just a squirrel, but there are these really ugly things out here called opossums that I loathe and fear....


Anyway, I've had it with this creature. Thankfully it seems to only be in the North wall and not all through the walls of the house, but my bedroom shares the North wall! I can hear it all night and it's keeping me awake! It's like having a giant pet gerbil or something in there - you know those annoying skittering and chewing sounds that rodents make? And they are nocturnal... plus there's the freakout factor... What IF whatever it is figures out how to get INSIDE? Seriously! What do I DO about this THING?! Any thoughts?

'Cuz Catching up is Hard to Do

"They say that [catching] up is hard to do;
Now I know,
I know that it's true..."

We really did celebrate Christmas and the New Year, and we really did have an AWESOME time! I LOVE the holidays with these two little squirts of ours. We ended up taking a last minute trip to Utah the week after Christmas, and in spite of the ETERNAL DRIVE, we had a blast with the fam. It was great especially to see our new nephew Trevan, and to see Kenadee all grown up, to have our boys totally thrilled with their cousins and their aunts and uncles and grandma and grandpa, and to see my cute little sis with a baby growing in her belly! I WISH I had pictures to upload, but my camera BROKE while on vacation and so I can't upload the pictures I took until it gets fixed. So I might as well MOVE ON because the further behind I get, the less motivated I feel to blog. I'll have a nice belated Christmas post probably in February when things are up and running again. In the meantime, I might as well try to stay updated, even without *gasp* pictures. I think my camera is one of those things that's hard for me to live without....

Ok, so the weather has been horrid here the last few weeks (where hasn't it been?). Finally we jumped from below zero temps up to the 40's. I have never been so thrilled to see snow melting. I am a convert to seasonal change - having grown up in AZ we thought winter was when it went below 60 degrees. Having lived in UT, and MA and now here, I can tell you I am in LOVE with the Fall. I feel the most excited and happy at that time of year. I don't even mind the descent into Winter... but I only like it until January. That's right people - February in AZ is pretty much the end of the *cold* season, and that time table is still in my bones. By mid to late January I am going OUT of my mind for a change! Thankfully out here in MO, I think Winter is fickle and that we'll continue getting surprise warmups like this until Spring. I'm also planning an AZ trip for next month to help get me through =).

Things have been pretty even keel around here since the holidays. We've just been holed up enjoying the new toys, the library, and of course our playgroups and friends. The boys both had well checks - Eli for his 3 year and Owen for his 1 year (though he was already 14 months!). Eli is in the 61st percentile for weight at 33 pounds and 71st percentile in height at 38.5 inches (3feet 2.5 inches). Owen is in the 88th percentile for weight at 26 pounds 10 ounes, and 99.7th percentile for height at 33.75 inches (2 feet 9.75 inches). Both boys have big heads in the 95th percentile. Owen most remarkably is advanced in his gross motor and verbal skills. At 14 months he climbs chairs, stairs, goes down the slide by himself, and runs. Eli did not even walk on his own until 15 months!!! Owen also has over 30 words in his vocabulary, with new ones every day - average for his age is around 5. I thought it would be fun to make a list of the ones he says the most frequently:

Mom
Daddy
Eli (Yi-Yi)
Owen (Oh-wee)
Yep
Nonononono
All Done (ah duh)
More (mo)
Mine (mah)
Water (wa-er)
Hungry (hungy)
Sippy (bid-ty)
Binky (bee-ky)
Car (caw)
Whale (wee-o)
Bath (ba)
Read It (ree-uh)
Uh Oh
Shoe (s'oo)
Nurse (sus or sssss)
Up
Cracker (ca-cuh)
Cheese (teese)
Bye Bye
Meow (mow mow)
Doggie (goggie)
Baby
Hi
Diaper (dah-peh)
Fish (fis)
Whee!
Splash (spas')
Turtle (tuh-to)
Pizza (pee-tah)
Shark (ssssock)
Here you go (he go)
Thank You (cake oo)
Breakfast (brek beh)
Did it! (did i')
Dinner (ninna)
Banana (nana)
Apple (appo)
Car (gar)
Truck (guck)
Mine (my)
Roar! (rar!)
Tree (gree)
Basketball (bah bo)
Get up (ee up)
Potty (paw ee)

As for Eli, we have both lost interest in potty training, so maybe we'll give it another whirl when the weather turns warmer and he can run around in just his drawers. He's a very opinionated three year old, and though he is still a warm little lovey boy, every day can be a constant battle over the most basic things. Eating, or even trying anything that is not on his approved list is just not going to happen - no matter the threats or bribery, lol. We recently started an "Eli and Daddy (or Mommy) special day, to take place once a month. This month he and Daddy went to the mall to ride the carousel, had pizza and ice cream, and then went to the sports store. Eli had a BALL and when I asked him what they did, all he remembered was "it was just me and daddy." I'm hoping the special attention cuts down on some of the negative behavior patterns we've seen lately, and if it helps, we might start instituting the day out as something to earn - for now it's just a given. Eli also still keeps me laughing with his three year old wisdom. Here are some recent ones:

Me: Eli, are you my pumpkin?
Eli: No, I'm not a pumpkin! I'm not orange!


Eli was getting impatient while Brad was getting ready. I tried to explain to his understanding...
Me: Daddy needs to shower before we go because he's stinky.
Eli: No Daddy's not stinky... he pooped in the potty!

A couple of "cloth diaper models" pictures from just before Christmas: