Like a Rolling Stone

Remember how I love Yo Gabba Gabba because of the magical powers it holds over Bug? He loves that show. The past two days I have found sanity while Monkey is off playing with friends because of Yo Gabba Gabba. Bug asks sweetly for me to turn it on, he grabs a drink and the Magna Doodle and sits down on the couch to enjoy. He talks to the characters. He says hello and goodbye. He points and says "booh!" whenever a fish comes on the screen and "nana!" whenever a banana is shown. He makes silly faces and is totally amazed at all the cool tricks. He dances....this is my favorite part. Sometimes he gets down off the couch so he can learn the steps of the dancey dance - his favorite from the episodes we've been watching is the Peanut Butter Stomp. Other times, he stays on the couch, walking back and forth, shaking his head with one hand on his hip. It looks like a Mick Jagger imitation and it makes me laugh to no end. So. Stinking. Cute.

Disappeared!

As I expected, I had an early morning. Wil is working in DC and had to take the train so he's gone today from 5AM to 7PM and Lauren is working down in MD so I have the boys all day. Of course Bug decided to wake up at 5:45. He drank his "boo" (bottle of milk) while I tried to get a couple more minutes of sleep. He was good and snuggled until 6:15, but no more sleep for either of us.

I was terrified any noise we made would wake up Monkey - he doesn't like being woken up, he has to do it himself if you want a truly happy kid. Monkey was sleeping in his parent's bed without a noise maker, so I couldn't close any doors to block sound. Bug and I moved down to the couch and watched some Yo Gabba Gabba (Halloween and Scary, very festive) while he finished his boo and ate "booboo" crackers (Goldfish - he can't say fish, and boo is pretty much his back up word for everything he can't say). And maybe that is where you might start judging me, but I feel no guilt. I will happily sit a kid in front of the TV with some fish crackers at 6AM in the hopes of catching a few more precious moments of sleep.

That all turned out nicely and Monkey came down at 7AM. He was still half asleep and complaining about not being able to find his blankie, but he (thankfully) was appeased with his Zizi blankie (the quilt I made him). He snuggled up to me and said, "Zizi, Daddy was sleeping in the bed with me, but then he disappeared!" That's when I decided we would probably be having a very nice morning. I turned on The Great Pumpkin (again, judge away, I don't care) and gave him a bowl of dry Apple Jacks while Bug ate some "you-you" (yogurt) and proceeded to be overwhelmingly cute. He modeled the new cape I made for him. Monkey lounged on the couch.

At one point, Monkey....um...passed some gas and I asked him about it. "Do you need to go potty?" "No, but some steam just came out of my Pull-Up when my butt burped!" Yeah. Awesome. Thanks for that.

Then I tried to take a shower. Both boys were happy and distracted so I went upstairs to shower as quick as possible, but Bug was not fooled. He followed me up there and started to undress himself and joined me. That made my shower twice as long as it should have been. Then I had to find clothes for the boys (Monkey has like 3 pairs of pants, all of which were hidden) while Monkey helped himself to another bowl of Apple Jacks. Did I care? Nope. Were we running late? Of course. Monkey picked out a red shirt and asked to wear it ("I love red!") and as I was putting it on, he gave me a hug and said, "Now am I the cutest ever!?" Of course he was!

So, basically, I'm hoping this morning was a good sign for the rest of the day. Monkey is off playing with friends and Bug is taking a morning nap. My strategy is to pretty much let them do whatever they want so as to avoid any and all tantrums. You want more Apple Jacks? Sure. Go for it. You want to walk around without pants even though it's 50 degrees? Sure. I'll just pull your socks up higher.

It should be a great day.

The Hoho brings presents

Indeed.

Monkey calls Santa "The Hoho." I told Lauren that it sounds slightly inappropriate. Megan says it makes her think of a snack cake delivering presents. Both provide lovely mental images.

Yesterday we got to talk on Skype (best invention ever) so I got to stare at how beautiful Bug is (and how much he's changed in just twoish weeks - the difference is amazing when you don't see them everyday!) and I got to sit and talk to Monkey. Talking to Monkey basically means I just watch him do his thing and listen to whatever he feels like sharing. Sometimes that means nonsense words, sometimes I get a song. Yesterday I got both of those and I got to watch him writing. He wrote my name and said "This is your name, Zizi and you're a famous mom and you're a mom." I have no idea what that really means, but I loved it. I think he also told me at one point he was pretending to be a doctor. I'm guessing he was thinking in terms of writing notes in a folder or on a prescription pad as I'm sure he's seen the doctor do both. He started asking me questions at one point too which was, of course, adorable.

It's amazing how much they've both changed. This is for Lauren's sake that I'm writing this as she sees the boys everyday, but they are different. There were words Monkey was pronouncing much clearer and I even heard a distinct "S" during the alphabet song. Bug's face just looked different. He really is a handsome boy. They both are.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of that. I miss those boys and my sissie and Wil. Not to mention my mom. Mom and I also had a good talk on the phone Saturday morning that made me stop and appreciate the fact that Mom, Lauren and I truly are more than just family, we're friends. It's an amazing blessing and makes all of this easier and more difficult all at the same time.

Brothers

Look at these boys.

I figure that eventually we will forget that while these photos were being taken we had to remind Monkey to share his blocks with Bug, to let Bug have one block, to get Bug a new toy of his own if he didn't want to share the blocks, to be gentle with Bug, to not open the cabinet while Bug is in front of it, to not climb in the cabinet, to not taunt Bug.


That's right. Someday we'll look at these pictures and think "oh, look how nice they were to each other" and "they were so happy playing together." Of course Bug thinks Monkey walks on water so he truly was happy spending some quality time. Monkey was happy as long as Bug didn't mess up the "bus" he was building. Haha. Brothers are fun.

It makes me wonder (and try to remember) what was going on while my mom took pictures of my siblings and me when we were younger. I'm sure there are some awesome stories in there somewhere.

For those of you without Facebook

Which I'm pretty sure is none of you, but still. Here's a little more backstory.

He just woke up. The position of his fingers is accidental. He refused to cuddle with me and then voluntarily got up, walked over to my friend John and cuddled with him for like 5 minutes.
This boy has a habit of not being able to decide which sister he would like to cuddle with. I almost always lose out in the end, but that's the way it should be. It's fun to watch him go back and forth giggling and smiling at whoever isn't holding him.
This is just such a great face he's making. That would be mid-screech. It was a happy screech at least.
A bathtub in the sink! Mostly because I wasn't paying attention while feeding him and he kicked squash all over himself. Oh well. He loves baths. Isn't he just so pinchable?!
Modeling the legwarmers and getting ready for a nap.
We rolled around for a while with Monkey's towel. He loved being wrapped up in that.
Playing peek a boo and trying to cuteness his way out of a nap. Don't worry, I was strong and he slept for a long time.
This was when we were standing in line for the giant yard sale we went to on Saturday. That hat was too small and it made me laugh. Still, he's so freaking cute!!
Monkey was showing me his hat. He had a good time with Grandma and Papa on Saturday.
And he got a Lightening costume! This is him "riding" the car. haha. He's happier than he looks.
Lauren's awesome yard sale purchase. We took a bunch of photos with it.
The only one i got of him looking at the camera and smiling. It probably would have worked better if i had tried to take the photo before the cookie eating.

We had a nice Sunday as well with a delicious dinner prepared by Lauren and Wil for Christy (she left for Texas, then she's home to Australia). Our friends John and Jacob came and we mostly just sat and enjoyed each other's company. It was a very nice and relaxing (and fun!) day thanks to Lauren and Wil and their adorable boys.

More about Saturday with the kids

We went to my brothers house to celebrate K and Hailey's birthdays. Caleb turned 8 recently and the princess will be 3 on Friday. The princess was wearing an adorable dress that matches a dress for her American Girl doll (Lindsey Jr.). I think my sister-in-law found it at Ross.

I gave the kids their gifts I picked up for them from Cape Cod as soon as we got there. The younger ones got Webkins and Noah got a shirt. The shirt is a Men's Medium. He put it on and said, "See? It fits perfect!" It was down to his knees. This is the fashion sense of an 11-year-old boy.

A little later K and Hails opened their birthday gifts. K got more Webkins and Hailey got new stuff for her bunnies (Calico Corners animal doll house stuff). I made her doll a tutu and gave her an Amelia Bedelia book (Amy - get Boo an Amelia Bedelia book - she will love it).

We ate some yummy dinner then played for a little while and had some cake. I love playing with these kids. They are all so different and they love spending time together. Everyone wanted to help feed jBug or play with him or hold him. Monkey is always happy playing there because he loves his older cousins who are always happy to stop what they are doing and play with him. Plus, Hailey and I get to do silly girlie stuff like play dress ups or dolls or just lay around laughing and giggling at silly things.

So then there was cake. Ice cream cake and regular cake. The kids "dug" right in. With their mouths. It was fun and they are old enough not to make a huge mess. Monkey didn't know what to think of it and was very neat while eating with no utensils. They thought it was funny that they had icing all over their faces and noses.

So it was a fun afternoon with the kiddos.

Oh...and that photo of all of them was pure luck. Noah, Caleb and Josh are all old enough now to behave and smile for just long enough to get a photo. Or I should say if you give Bug to Caleb then K will smile willingly. Once we got Monkey on Noah's lap then Noah was making Monkey smile. The first photo with just the boys had Hailey over to the side pouting to hold Bug. Then I just put her in front of the boys and clicked real quick. The luck came in when I realized no one had blinked or turned their head or made a face. Really I just click and click and click and hope that at least one of the photos will be a good one. And there's a lot of "look over here!" "smile!" "Monkey come sit here!" "look at the camera!" along with various other noises.

Just because.

dee-yish-ous.

overheard at dinner while babysitting for the boys. this would be Monkey's first experience with tuna nuna casserole (tuna noodle)

Monkey: mmmm. this is yummy, yummy, yummy!
Me: i'm glad you like it, now eat it all up.
Monkey: (turns and looks me in the eye) this is dee-yish-ous!

he also says "gank you" instead of thank you and it's pretty cute.

so then we watched some old school toons (mickey and the giant and bongo the circus bear).
there's a part where a big bear comes and takes bongo's girlfriend because bongo doesn't understand how wilderness bears operate and bongo walks off into the woods by himself and cries a little. Monkey, who was very into this cartoon, says "he is going to go find someone new to play." that made me laugh.

we had some tummy time while we watched toons.

of course, for Monkey, tummy time usually means climbing on Zizi time.

then Bug made this face. look at that eyebrow!

Bug also "sat" by himself for like five seconds. not quite, but he's getting closer. and look at those chubs.

Bug went and played with grandma for an hour so I could spend some time alone with Monkey and then get him to bed. they were both really happy boys tonight. i love it when they are happy boys.

Lauren just got home and I was telling her about the night and I can't believe I forgot - Monkey asked me to sing him a song about Toby (the train) and Thomas and his friends. Here was the Thomas one.

Thomas and his friends like to ride on the tracks.
Choo Choo Choo Choo
Thomas and his friends like to eat fruit snacks.
Choo Choo Choo Choo
Thomas and his friends like to go sleep tight.
*insert snoring noise and rhyme with "choo"*
Thomas and his friends like to say good night.

So I'm a giant nerd. There's more evidence.

jBug

So Monkey and Bug had matching outfits this past Sunday. Tres cute. I took some pictures of Bug in his and here's what we got...






Does anyone else see "drunken frat boy" here?

Catching up

So. What haven't I told you about? I think I'll start with our trip to the DC Temple.



My dearest, darlingest Jennie Bunny was visiting the coast of the east recently and was going to be at the DC Visitor's Center one Sunday afternoon. Aaron and I talked at church and I told him I couldn't get up there because I would be watching the kiddos (Monkey and Bug). He said, "Bring 'em with." Now you know it's a special kind of guy who suggests I bring along a very active two year old and a four month old baby with reflux to any activity. What was even specialer was John. We told him we were going (Me, Christy and Aaron) and invited him to come along. He looked like he was going to say no. Christy said, "We're taking Lindsey's nephews with us" and he said, "Okay, I'll go." That was his decision maker! See how ADORABLE my nephews are?!

So, off we went for an adventure. It was highly possible that both boys would cry all the way there and all the way back. Monkey was without nap and Bug just gets really tired of his car seat. But I had medicinal instructions for both boys (Monkey was getting over a virus at the time) to maintain optimal cuteness. About 20 minutes before we were going to be leaving, Bug could no longer keep his eyes open - he fell asleep while John was holding him.

Let me just say here that John is a bigger baby hog than me. That's saying a lot. He hardly shared Bug with me the entire time.

So, Bug slept half way there and woke just in time for Aaron to feed him. John and Monkey hung out in the back seat and read some books. Everyone was happy!

When we got to where we could see the Temple, Monkey loved it. He occasionally called it a castle and was happiest when he could get a good view of it. We met our friends (Jennie and Co.) and went to the Visitors Center. Christy and John took the boys inside while the rest of us took a couple of photos. I went in to check on Monkey and found this...

He was patiently waiting to hear Jesus talk to him. He couldn't get enough of that statue. A sister missionary talked to him and told him he would hear the words of Jesus and he just soaked it in. While we were listening to the recording, John was talking and Monkey turned around and said, "Jesus talking!" as in, "shhh. This is important!" He just kept telling us all how Jesus talked.

Later there was an announcement made by an Elder telling us the Joseph Smith movie was going to be playing in the large theater and Monkey looked around at us and said, "Jesus talking!" Now we are waiting for the day when an announcement is made over a loud speaker at the airport or store and he thinks it's Jesus.

We went and looked at a lego version of the Nauvoo Temple which was cool then we headed back to see and listen to Jesus again.

This wasn't posed at all. I asked him to go sit in front of Jesus and say cheese, but he couldn't stop looking up at him. This is one of my new all-time favorite pictures.

Then we went to see the photo exhibit of President Hinckley. These were my two favorite groups of photos. I am so happy we got to see this exhibit. I hadn't realized it was up, but it was so beautiful and touching. What a great man he was.

Finally, we headed out to take photos of the boys in front of the temple. This was a feat in and of itself. In the end I got a few good ones considering how tired they both were at this point.

Picture this. Two tired boys, overdue for a nap. One toddler who has just been told that if he sits and holds his baby brother for one photo and says cheese he will be given a piggy back ride. This sounds like a fair trade. So he sits. He "holds" the baby (who is half his size) which consists of grabbing his foot. He looks at the camera, says cheese while making his forced smile, blinks half way and considers his side of the bargain fulfilled. At this point, he gets up. The baby is still in his lap. Bug has not perfected the art of sitting by himself and ever so slowly (yet in the blink of an eye) falls over and does a face plant in the grass. He doesn't cry, but lays there, confused, bewildered, wondering what is on his face and how he will escape. Auntie picks him up, Monkey gets his piggy back ride and we call it a day.

All in all it was a nice afternoon. They both slept on the way home and Monkey still talks about hearing Jesus talk to him. The other day we asked him who he called on the telephone and in the list of names he gave us that weren't right he said, "Jesus." I just can't get enough of this kid.

Doesn't this face just make you love America?

Now Featuring....snippets

There were a lot of little things that made me happy this week. Here's a list:

1. A friend of mine has a popcorn machine and the popcorn to pop with butter. She volunteered to bring it to the Movie Night I am planning for the YSAs this Saturday. I am so much more excited about this than I probably should be. It means, however, that I do not have to pop enough individual bags of popcorn to feed 40 or 50 people, acquire several air poppers and ask people to man them OR (this is the best part) use the money from our meager budget to pay for enough popcorn to feed 40 or 50 people!

2. Last night I went out with my sissie, who is amazing. We visited my grandmother and took Bug with us. He was so happy and giggly while we were there and Grandmother loved it. Grandad even held jBug for a couple of minutes (Grandad always waits for the kids to be older before holding them).

3. This morning, Monkey was telling me about their trip to the pet store. Here was our conversation (which he began without any prompting from me):
M: I saw a catfish at the meow-meow store. (note, I only knew he meant the pet store because Lauren told me last night that they were looking at a really cute kitten at PetCo)
Me: You did?! That's great! What else did you see at the meow-meow store?
M: I saw a bird!
Me: Really? What else?
M: A lizard. He was walking in the lizard park.
Me: Wow! What color was the lizard?
M: Blue.
Me: Okay.

4. I got a letter from Maya which she wrote on her way back to Fiji. We had a fun time catching up for the few hours we could see each other. I'm glad we made it work and found that time. I miss her!

5. My sister and brother-in-law, Lauren and Wil. They completely support me in everything I do. If I were to go to them and say, "I'm going to quit my job and move to Iceland to become a glass blower," they would totally go with it. Luckily, I'm not going to do any of the above things, but I have said things to them like unto that and they just support me. Lauren encourages me and reassures me and listens to my troubles and Wil lets us have our sister time and helps me out whenever I need it. He says, "We're family. That's what you do." I love how he just instantly accepted all of us as his new family. I think he started calling Mom and Dad "Mom" and "Dad" the day he proposed to Lauren. So, anyway, the things they do for me just generally make me happy all the time.

Alright. There's my list of things that made me happy this week. Of course it still involved some nephew stories, but my blog wouldn't be my blog without a post (or 50) telling you all how adorable my nephews and niece are.

love

i think it's kind of amazing how traits are passed along in families. not just looks, but mannerisms, personality quirks, personal likes and dislikes, all of that. so here are a couple things i love about my nephews and niece:

i love: that she has my eyes (which are also my dad's eyes - rings of brown, gold and green), her sweetness, her penchant for all things pink and princessy, when she asks me to stay and play with her, when she poses for the camera.

i love: that he is so serious, his chubby cheeks, kissing his belly and toes, making him laugh, cuddling late at night, having magic arms to provide instant comfort, the way he smells, his little baby personality.

i love how much they look like each other.
i love: his sense of humor, his infectious smile, his sweet heart, his love of locks and keys, his laugh, his eyelashes, when he lets me kiss his head.i love: his free spirit, his long curls, his love of super heroes, his gorgeous eyes, his confidence.
i love: how he takes care of the little ones, his independent nature, how he knows what he likes, his intelligence, that he isn't too cool to be goofy (yet).i love: our instant connection, his love of music and dancing, his sense of humor, his caring and thoughtful disposition, how he watches out for jBug, his imagination.i love how much they love each other.
i can't wait to have my own kids and find these things in them. i know they'll be in good company and surrounded by cousins (and aunts and uncles and grandparents and friends) who will teach them all sorts of fun things and who will take care of them and love them. it's an exciting thing to look forward to, but right now, it's exciting for me to have this time with them. i have the luxury of not having to miss this time with them because i'm far away or raising my own family. i can form these bonds and spoil them all i want because i'm the aunt and that's my job. i just love these kids - my life would be pretty boring without them.

Giggle Bug

I babysat Monkey and JBug on Saturday night while Lauren and Wil went to Stake Conference. Bug was good and played happily in his swing most of the night and took a long enough nap for me to get Monkey in bed and asleep.

Monkey was also very good. He eventually ate some dinner so he could have some chips and we played and watched a show. At one point I told him not to do something and he threw a "tantrum" (his tantrums usually consist of him laying quietly on the floor - although he can throw some nasty ones if he's really tired). I ignored him for a little bit then he started sniffling. He was totally composed otherwise - just sniffling his nose every now and then. Then he looked at me and said, "I'm just crying." I tried not to laugh at how incredibly cute he was and asked why. He said, "I miss my mommy."

I thought this was sweet...I texted Lauren so she knew her boy missed her. Turns out he did and said the same thing while he was taking a bath the next day - while Lauren was in the other room. He's getting it from "Land Before Time" because Little Foot cries when his mom dies and misses her because he can't find her. Still. Adorable.

After Monkey fell asleep, JBug woke up and was not happy. He literally screamed - with red face and arched back for 45 minutes. I gave him meds and tried to get his bottle made which meant sitting him down which made him even madder which made me even more flustered. I finally got the bottle made and he was so angry he wouldn't eat. I called Lauren and asked them to come home just in case I couldn't get the crying to stop - I knew they would be another 45 minutes and the thought of 2 hours of screaming made me want to cry. But he calmed down and started eating...very very slowly. At least the screaming stopped.

It was the first time I had to deal with him screaming by myself. That's what got to me. Usually I'm the one calming him down while his food is being "prepared" or getting him to fall asleep. Now I'll be prepared next time. I also haven't been feeling well, so my emotional level wasn't really up to what it normally is. Anyway. Lauren and Wil got home and Bug was happy. By then he'd probably had about 3 ounces of food so he wasn't starving. I handed him to Lauren but then she needed her hands free so I took him back, laid him on the foot stool and started playing with him. We did our usual bicycle legs and kissy tummy only this time....he laughed!! I totally got his first giggle!! And boy howdy it was ADORABLE. Adorable doesn't even describe the level of cuteness.

So, the 45 minutes of screaming - totally worth it. I've never gotten the first giggle - I've never been able to stay around long enough to spend the time. It totally made my day/week/month, etc. So, I went out and I made him some cute onesies...which will have to be modeled soon before he grows out of them.

J-Bug

Um....Adorable? I think so.

Now Featuring...Cuddles and Bugs

This weeks Now Featuring... is brought to you by my nephew (surprise, surprise).

Monkey has been speaking so much better as of late. He's saying more things and putting together sentences and pronouncing letters he previously had trouble with.

For example, "Cuggles" and "goog" are now "cuddles" and "good." The kid is a genius. Although I kind of liked it when he asked for cuggles, it was heart-meltingly adorable and irresistible. I could spend all day telling you the cute things he says, but that would make me boring so I will resist the urge.

So, this week, Monkey has been especially funny. He has such a personality...I love it. I can relate to the things he does, I think we are very much alike in a lot of aspects. If I start singing a song, chances are he'll keep it going and sing his own little version of it. This week it's the Please and Thank You song from Backyardigans. He's also been better about manners lately.

Okay. I just can't help myself. Really, this week my nephews were my bright spot...they made my week. I got cuddles and loves from Monkey and LB (who is now going to be referred to as "Bug" on this blog for reasons that may be explained at a future time). Monkey was funny and made me laugh a lot this week just by being himself. Bug is growing and growing and he smiles and coos and plays much more now.

Most of all, I was happy that I could spend time with them this week and that it is helpful to my sister. There is no place I would rather be. I love being able to just go home and enjoy my family and I love that my sister and bro-in-law allow me to be such a big part of their lives and the lives of their children.