This is My Life

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This was supposed to be a throw-away photo, one that Russell took while trying out his new umbrellas and 85mm lens (we opened Christmas early). But it turned out to be such a perfect portrait of my life right now.

Dexter has just finished eating and is happy as can be (click on the photo twice to see the bubble on his tongue). I think this is his first smile we have captured in a photo.

Dorian is insistent about sitting in my lap ("I wanna be two boys"). His hair is crazy, he's not wearing pants, and he's a little awed by the new camera equipment his dad is playing with (bee-lellas!).

I'm a little mad, a little tired, a little fat, and a little depressed, but I really do love cuddling with my two boys.

This is my life, and its...good.

Leaving the House

I know, moms with 3 or more kids do this every day. They get themselves ready, get everyone else ready, pack everyone (and everything) into the car, and leave the house. They get things done, like grocery shopping and dentist appointments. Sweetest baby ever? I haven't graduated to that level yet. All I had to do was take baby Dexter to the hospital for a little blood test. I didn't even have to take Dorian with me; he was going to play at Grandma's house (yay for grandmas). Grandpa John and Dexter But it went something like this: Wake up at 8 a.m. (wow, this baby is a good sleeper! and Russell kept Dorian occupied even though he was up at 6:45 (yay for husbands)). Feed the sweetest baby ever. Put him down for a nap. Pick him back up again because he is starting to want to be rocked to sleep, instead of sort of being in a constant state of sleep. Put him back down once he is really asleep. Pick him up and rock him one more time, this time getting the bubble out of his tummy. Put him back down. Evan and Dexter Notice that it is 9:30 a.m. and think, I can still get in the shower and be ready by 10 (ha). Call Grandma and tell her to come get Dorian at 10. Take a quick shower. Get out of the shower and remember that Dorian doesn't feed or dress himself. And he needs some train tracks built. Play with Dorian. Meet Grandma at the door and hand her the baby so you can actually get Dorian dressed. See them out the door. Realize that the baby is hungry. Ashley and Dexter Feed the baby. Change his diaper. Decide to take him outside for a few minutes of sunshine before getting him dressed. Remember that you haven't packed a diaper bag for this little one, and you sent your other diaper bag with the big one. Spend a moment in thought over the logistics of carrying two diaper bags. And a purse. Pack a diaper bag. Pack the baby in the carseat (these straps don't pull tight enough? help!). Realize that you're still not wearing any makeup, and now your hair has dried without being styled. Forget the hair, do the makeup. Get in the car and pull out of the driveway. At 11:15. Really? Mom and Dexter I had gotten into a routine with Dorian where I always gave myself 15 extra minutes just to get into the car after I had everything else ready, because somehow between brushing teeth and spiking hair and convincing a toddler to move, it usually took about that much extra time. So now what, I have to give myself an extra hour and 15 minutes? And people do this with more kids? I think I'll stay home for a while. :)

Christmas Wish List

I'm putting this on my blog so my family can see it, but if any of the rest of you want to buy us stuff, go right ahead!

Bonnie

• clothes (jeans that fit...why is this on my list every year?, sweaters, hoodies, long shirts, socks)
• lotions (coconut lime verbena, midnight pomegranate, white citrus)
• candles (yummy fall/christmas flavors, or light fruity summer scents)
• books
• iTunes gift card
• rice bag

Russell

• 85mm 1.2L
• 35mm 1.4L
• 70-200mm 2.8L IS II
• Westcott white satin 43" umbrella (wants 2...)
• flowbee or a #12 Wahl Clipper Guide Comb (he really wants the flowbee...)
• iTunes gift card
• Apple products...maybe an iPod Shuffle or an Apple mousepad (yeah, I haven't been able to find one)

Dorian

• shoes (toddler size 7)
• books
• DVDs (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Meet the Robinsons, Up, Lilo and Stitch, Emperor's New Groove, Kung Fu Panda, Over the Hedge, Chicken Run...ok, I'm getting carried away)
• cars, buses, trucks, trains, airplanes

Dexter

• clothes?
• books?

Family

• body fat scale
• bath towels
• salad plates...something like this or this but we don't need the whole set...just some salad plates...

Maternity Photo Shoot

We decided to go ahead and take some maternity pictures, since I'm having a baby in two and a half days and today was pretty much our last chance. Plus Russell is excited about his new photography equipment. Russell took all the other pictures, but I took this one. Handsome little guy, no?

What I Did This Summer

To make up for not blogging all summer, I have been inspired by my sister-in-law Cindy to write my summer essay. But since I'm not being graded on my essay form, I'm gonna do it in a list. So, here is what I did this summer:

• Pulled all the weeds in the backyard
• Tilled the backyard (okay, I picked up rocks while Russell and some others did the tilling)
• Put a dump truck in the lawn
• Got a new camera--I'm gonna go ahead and use this as my excuse for not blogging, since Russell has been uploading all the pictures to his computer, and I no longer have easy access to them...
• Planted some trees (yeah, had to dig out this old concrete canal first)
• Planted some strawberries
• Went to Ginelle's high school graduation
• Went to St. George with some good friends
• Welcomed Lorinda's new baby Lyndee
• Went to Hawaii for my parents' 50th anniversary
• Celebrated Dorian's 2nd birthday (hmmm....pics on Russell's computer)
• Pulled the backyard weeds again
• Neglected the front yard
• Taught some piano lessons
• Played at the park
• Blogged on my piano teaching blog
• Played at the swimming pool
• Went to the petting zoo
• Got huge (I don't even think we have any pictures of this)
• Sat and watched while Russell dug some trenches in our rock-hard dirt
• Tried to help finish digging trenches with a trowel
• Tried to keep Dorian from filling the trenches back in as fast as I could scoop the dirt out
• Killed the AC in my car
• Pulled about a zillion rocks out of my backyard (this picture was taken early in the process...)
• Got the AC in my car fixed! (oh my gosh I love Jim's Auto)
• Went to Russell's 10-year high school reunion (I stole a pic from a friend's blog, but I am trying to upload 113 photos to Walgreens right now, so it isn't uploading...besides the fact that I should probably ask permission before using it...Ashley?)
• Let the strawberries die
• Kept the trees alive
• Let my father-in-law engineer and build our whole sprinkler system
• Bought a mattress for Dorian

So, that about covers it. There seems to be an end in sight to the backyard project, and we are hoping to get the sod in within the next...month...or so. We're also excited about Dorian's new bed, which is out of stock. And we need to decide where that new baby is going to sleep. Oh, and also what to name him.

Things We Should Have Known

Sometimes when you look back on lessons you've learned, it's hard to understand how you didn't already know better. Like, when you think about whether or not it is a good idea to drive a really small dump truck on your lawn. I mean, the truck only weighs about 13 tons, and is only carrying about 5 tons of dirt...it'll be fine, right? Oh, well. Sometimes it's hard to laugh at yourself, when you realize that the free dirt you thought you were getting from your neighbors just cost you a whole lot of extra time and money. At least we got to know the neighbors...

P.S. if you live in the Spanish Fork area and ever need a really good tow truck, we had a great experience with Bang Up Towing. They showed up after hours, super quick, and the price was very reasonable.

Hogle Zoo

We went to the zoo on my birthday with several of my sisters and some of their kids. Not so much because it was my birthday, but because it was spring break and a nice day. It was just a bonus for me to be able to spend the day with my sisters and their cute kids. First, we stopped to see the elephants. It was fun to see Dorian grasp the concept of a mom and a baby animal. This is my sister Marilee with her granddaughter, Stella. I love those chubby cheeks! Out of all the things at the zoo, Dorian was most interested in the snow that was still on the ground. He had to stop and kick just about every clump we came to. He also liked the giraffes with their long necks. There's that cute baby Stella again. My silly nieces took a break in the stroller while the babies weren't using it. I really did have a stroller with me, but it was sort of hard to keep Dorian in it. More snow... My very pregnant sister, Lorinda. Ooh, puddles are almost as good as snow. Maybe even better, since they get my pants and shoes wet and muddy and that drives my mom a bit crazy. See that look of delight after he has completely soaked his bottom half? My sister-in-law Cindy with her two cute boys, and another who belongs to Lorinda. The boys were a little bored by the animals, but kind of fascinated by the people. You get some weird ones at the zoo. (Not excluding us...) Me and Dorian. :) As we were leaving, I sat him up on the wall in front of the waterfall. And then, of course, he didn't want to get down... ...and had a tantrum when I told him it was really time to go. Exhausted kiddo, he was asleep minutes after we got in the car. Spilled goldfish crackers everywhere before we got home. :)

Parking Lot

So, the space between the groups of 2 and 3 black keys on the piano turns out to be the perfect size for parking cars! This is a common sight at our house: He loves cars and he loves to crash (currently pronounced "prash") them. He was pretty upset, though, when he discovered that his Lightning McQueen was too big to fit between the keys. :)

P.S. I guess I'm kind of weird about announcements. That, and I wanted to see if anyone was really reading my blog anymore. :) But yeah, I'm due October 19th. I think it's a girl, because this pregnancy has so far been really nice. I've been a little sick, but nothing like last time. I could maybe even do this again!

Easter Egg Hunt

We braved the rain and the cold to go to the Spanish Fork Easter Egg Hunt on April 3rd. So did about 1000 other people, but I was really impressed at how well organized it was. They had a separate field just for kids 2 and under, so Dorian didn't get trampled by any bigger kids. This is right when we got there, before he really knew what was going on. We successfully explained to him that he was going to go pick up eggs on the field, but he didn't understand why he couldn't do it right NOW. Poor kiddo. He was in tears before they could finish counting down. (On another note, when I look at pictures of myself lately, I think I understand why people always guess that I'm pregnant before I tell them...my face gets so soft and round...)

And he's finally off! Examining his egg (notice the Anakin tattoo on his hand...) I wish this picture weren't blurry. I was trying to capture the way he kept trying to give his eggs to the other kids. (Which the other parents always made them give back....isn't the etiquette between parents regarding their kids' behavior a little weird and stressful? It's like we tell our kids to share, but no, don't take that little boy's egg...everyone's so worried about doing it wrong...) Okay, so this turned out to be kind of fun... Yes! Candy!

um...have you seen my camera cord?

Next time we need someone to get the TV working at my parents' house, I'll just put Dorian on the job.