IS IT OCD?

When you walk into your two-year-old's room after he's awoken from a nap and find this:

you know it can't be good.

But instead of being startled by exploding Pop-Its with my next step, which is what I expected, I found this:

Did you notice how most of the tails are pointing up? The best is the lone Pop-It in the hay loft :)

So CJ's either the next Einstein...or he's the next Rain Man. Should we be concerned? :)

MATTIE - 6 MONTHS OLD

Go, M's!

On September 9, Mattie turned 6 months old! Here's where she's at:

Height: 27 3/4 in (98th percentile)

Weight: 17 lbs 15 oz (86th percentile)

Head: 17 1/2 in (94th percentile)

- Loves crinkly toys - the wipes container, plastic bags, etc.
- Hates having things taken away from her
- Loves just about anything CJ does - thinks it's hilarious
- Very ticklish - laughs when getting her bummed wiped, lotion rubbed on, and even when getting her gums brushed
- Takes long naps
- Has no brown hair left...it's all white now
- Loves to rock to music, literally
- Loves to take baths with her brother
- Reaches for everything and gets upset when doesn't get it
- Puts everything in her mouth

- STARES at us when we eat...we can tell she wants some SO badly
- Started solid food about a month ago. Has eaten rice cereal, carrots, peas, squash, pieces of raw banana (through a mesh container), and anything else CJ has given her that we're unaware of. The only thing she hasn't liked is smashed raw bananas in rice cereal
- Almost out of the spitting-up stage
- Sits up without any assistance (it's her favorite position), and rolls both ways - belly to back, and back to belly

- Close to crawling
- Still a little confused about sleeping at night - wakes up every few hours and needs her binkie and then wakes up between 5 and 6 AM for a feeding
- Still smiley as ever - smiles at everyone everywhere
- Has just started giving kisses (leans toward you with an open mouth), but is very stingy with them :)
- Just started wearing her 6-12 mo clothes and looks like she's gonna be out of them long before she's 12 months
- Still has skinny feet...has outgrown her size 0 and 1 shoes, but only in length (never even wore most of them because her feet weren't fat enough)
- Has a little purplish birthmark on the nape of her neck
- Not as drooly as she was
- Loves stories, songs, and watching tv with CJ
- Loves to look at herself in the mirror

- Loves to exercise her voice...especially when she starts to get fussy and when she first wakes up - she is a chatty-cathy, but only if she's by herself :)

- CJ is her best friend

CJ's FIRST FHE

Ok, so no pics, but we HAD to record CJ's first Family Home Evening. Now that he's in Nursery, and is picking up words left and right, and really gets a lot of concepts, we thought it was time to really have FHE - not just go get a treat and call it Family Home Evening :). Here was the rundown:

Song: "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam"
Opening Prayer: Mommy
Lesson: I Can Pray to Heavenly Father (from the Nursery manual), by Mommy
Scripture: 3 Nephi 18:19, by Daddy
Closing Song: "I Pray in Faith" (second verse)
Closing Prayer: CJ

That's right - CJ said his first prayer! Sometimes he mumbles when we're saying CJ's prayers, and about half the time he says, "Amen," but this was his first prayer with actual words (we assisted him, of course). It went like this:

"Heavenly Father"
"Thank you"
"Bless treats"
"Amen"

We LOVED it!! And of course, we headed out to Coldstone and all shared an ice cream for our FHE treats. It was a wonderful night and a great start to a regular Monday night thing!

IT'S ABOUT TIME...

...Paige had some time with the girls! Since her good friend, Heather, is about to have her second baby - another boy - and she REFUSED to allow anyone to give her a shower or to even get her a gift, Becca, Misty, and Paige decided to pamper her a bit with some relaxing pedicures and yummy treats afterward. Even though it was for Heather, Paige totally felt pampered too and can't wait for another excuse to get out of the house and get together...just the girls!

Love you gals!!

LIL' BUDDIES

CJ had a play-date with his friend, Brody Dobbs, so that Brody's parents could go on a date-date for their anniversary. As you can see, Brody and CJ had loads of fun! We were practically one pillow fight and two sleeping bags away from having a sleepover. But based on the craziness that ensued last night, hopefully sleepovers are still a few years away :)

First we played in the play tent. Look at Brody's eyelashes!

CJ was obviously having a blast!

Mattie had a good time too

After the play tent, we played some basketball and then went crazy on the jumper

Then we headed outside to swing and eat marshmallows. Apparently, Brody is a more refined eater than our CJ :)


Then we wrapped up the night with a classic movie, Follow That Bird

P.S. Heather and Tyson, sorry that CJ taught Brody how to say, "Mine." Now if we could just figure out where CJ learned to say it... :)

HE SMILES, WE PROMISE

Lately, our pictures of CJ seem to not really reflect the fun-loving little boy we know. It just seems impossible to really catch those great moments, and we end up with a stone-faced toddler in all our shots. Anyway, CJ loves encouragement - who doesn't - so as we were cheering him on today as he ate ONE-FOURTH of a grilled cheese sandwich (don't get us started on our eating woes with our picky eater), we grabbed the camera so we could actually document his adorable and infectious smile!

Love it!

Multi-tasking: eating and smiling at the same time

Hammin' it up for Mom and Dad...that's CJ's fake smile

LABOR DAY 2009

We woke up to this smiling face

The kids watched tv and ate breakfast with Daddy

Then we headed downtown to

PIG OUT IN THE PARK

(yes, that's what we did, but that is actually the name of the event too)

where we all got FRIED:

First, wok-FRIED soba noodles - yum!

Then a block of FRIES and a deep FRIED corn dog

CJ liked the FRIES


For dessert, Bryce's FRIED elephant ear



and Paige's deep FRIED Snickers candy bar (shoulda gone with the Twinkie)


After eating that stuff, we all kinda felt like this...


But Mattie was the only one who actually got to do some of this :)

We got a little perked up when CJ and his friend, Brody Dobbs, took off for the fountain (Bryce definitely got his second wind when the fountain suddenly rained down on him :)




Though we left feeling gross, we had fun with our friends and enjoyed pigging out. But if you can't tell by the pics, CJ wasn't feeling too well...


The only smile we got out of him all day was when Daddy touched his head to the ceiling while we waited for the elevator at the mall (that's where we had parked)


By the time we got home, both boys were feeling sick...like cold sick (though all the fried food sure didn't help)

So we ended our Labor Day with an Elmo movie and some popcorn

LOOK, MOM...

...Here's the cute dress you gave Mattie! By the smile on her face, she seems to like it :)

Oh, and I cut bangs...whatcha think, Mom?

GO, COUGS!!

BYU played in their first football game this season, and just because we're no longer students and aren't living in Utah anymore, doesn't mean we don't support our team (in fact, we even ordered a special sports package for the next few months so that Bryce can see all the BYU games :).

Yes, CJ is holding someones hand. It's his future girlfriend, Audrey Adams :). Everyone needs a date for a good football game, right?

Cheesy smile

Sportin' his BYU gear to support the team. Based on the upset - #3 ranked OU losing to BYU, 14-13 - his tee must be good luck!

And Mattie takes after her mom when watching sports :)
But not this time...we were all into this game! Thanks to the Adams for having the Dobbs and us over - it was a blast!

CHRISTMAS IN SEPTEMBER

Paige got her Christmas present from her in-laws early...

a new LAPTOP!!

Wow! Can you believe their generosity?! Paige is still trying to take it in!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Greg and Sheila!

And a quick shout-out to Paige's bro, Nathan, for all his patience in helping his most indecisive and computer-illiterate sister choose the perfect laptop. You're the best, Nathan! Thank you!

IT'S OFFICIAL

At 8:05 AM this morning, Bryce received a phone call from Jim Danielson, the managing partner at Jeffers Danielson Sonn & Aylward, the firm that Bryce did his internship at this past summer. And...

THEY OFFERED HIM A JOB!!

Bryce loved working at JDSA - the people there were fantastic and he learned so much - and we feel very blessed that Bryce has been offered a full-time position after he graduates in May, especially with the economy. However, we wish things were that easy...

Bryce is actually in the process of interviewing for judicial clerkships for next year. If a clerkship position is extended, we will then have a big decision to make. We'll keep you posted.

MORE FIRSTS FOR THE KIDDOS

MATTIE SITTING UP

Mattie started sitting up about a month ago, and now she's a pro

MATTIE EATING SOLID FOOD...sort of

We've started her on veggies, starting with carrots. She was a little timid this first time, but now she scarfs down the carrots, just like the cereal. We don't think she'll be a problem eater :)

CJ AT THE GIANT RADIO FLYER WAGON

It's kind of sad that we've been in Spokane for two years and this the first time we've ventured over to the ginormous wagon in downtown's Riverfront Park. With how steep the slide is, it might take another two years before CJ will feel comfortable going down by himself

CJ ON A CARNIVAL RIDE

The Riverfront Park has a few carnival rides during the summer and this was CJ's first time riding any such thing. We weren't sure how he was going to like it, and these photos aren't that great, but they still capture the pure joy on CJ's face. It cost $3.50 to ride this thing, but the expression on CJ's face was priceless!

MATTIE WEARING THIS BIB

Ok, she's not a big fan, but they keep her clean - all of her - which makes it worth it. CJ doesn't really love wearing them either...oh well

CJ EATING AN ICE CREAM BAR

The first time that we can remember, anyway...who could forget something like this? :)

click on the grids to enlarge the pics

IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW...

... CJ has a thing for cars

As soon as we leave the house, he runs straight for the car. He knows where the keys go to unlock the car, he knows how to push the button to lock and set the car alarm, he knows how to open the doors all by himself. Once he's in the car, he knows where the seat belt is and how to pull it across himself, though he can't buckle it by himself yet. He knows how to honk the horn, and he even knows where to find the gear shift (scary!). And if we don't let him play in the car before we go, we have a very sad boy for the first few minutes of our outing.

Gotta watch him carefully...he's going for the gear shift!

Honk! Honk!

Pretending to drive in the rent-a-stroller at the downtown mall

Besides climbing all over the inside of the car, and playing cars with all sorts of toys (the other day he was pretending his rubber ducky was a car), CJ's favorite thing to do is jump in the car with Daddy when he gets home. If we catch Daddy in time, he'll actually let CJ sit on his lap and "help" him drive around the parking lot before parking. It's the highlight of CJ's day (and Daddy likes it too :)!

LIL' OLD MCDONALD

The associate attorneys at Jeffers Danielson wanted to get together before Bryce left and headed back to school. So Kristin, one of the associates, and her fiance, Mark, we gracious enough to host a BBQ at their house. Little did CJ know that he'd be walking into so much fun. There were other kids, cats, a puppy, lots of hills and grass, a sand pit (well, to the kids it was a sand pit, but really, it was some landscaping under construction), some outdoor games, and what CJ seemed to enjoy the most...chickens!

And this is how Mattie enjoyed the evening:

It was a great night and we're so grateful for how warm and welcoming all the attorneys were this summer. They'll be missed!

MAD HATTER

CJ has a thing for hats

He likes to take the cap off the hairspray bottle and put it on any of his small stuffed animals whose heads will fit in it

He likes to take the kitchen sink plunger and put it on his head, Mattie's head, my head, your head

He likes to put on his Mariners baseball helmet as we read stories at night

He likes to put Mattie's burp cloth on her car seat and boldly exclaim, "Mattie hat"

Pretty much anything that will stay on your head for more than half a second, in CJ's eyes, is a hat

love it!

BRYCE WOULD NEVER WANT ME TO POST THIS, BUT...

...since I use this blog for family history purposes and not necessarily for anyone else, I wanted to note that Bryce made the Dean's List last semester (Spring 2009)! Way to go, baby! Congratulations! Thank you for working so hard for us!

Love you!