Curious George takes a fall

So yesterday we went to the library to return and pick out some new books. I decided that Arlo is about at the age where he'd probably start digging the Curious George books. So we loaded up on them & headed home. Arlo was eager to get reading, so we pulled one out about George and his new bike. We were happily reading along when the plot took a sudden twist. George was not paying attention to where he was going and needless to say took a little fall.. He bent the front wheel of his bike all up and was upsett & crying. The next thing I know Arlo burst into tears and is sobbing. I am wondering what is going on when he exclaims "George is sad and his bike is all broke up!" I quickly try to reassure Arlo that everything is going to be ok and that if we just turn the page things will start looking up for George. So we do and lo and behold he is still looking pretty bummed out. Arlo, at this point begins crying more and says, "No he's not mamma, he is still sad look" Thinking quick I skip a few pages ahead and everything is rosey again. Wow! I should have known he would have a special bond with George because he has a little "Georgie" that he got from his cousin Will and he sleeps with it every night. I guess I will have to screen the George books from this point.

Arlo's new word for the week

Yesterday we got Arlo a little "Grabber" which is a long poll with a claw at one end that he can maneuver and pick things up with. Anyway he was having a great time with it and trying to pick up all kinds of things. I suggested he try and pick up a ball that was on the floor and he looked at me like I was some kind of idiot and replied "Mom, I'm Serious, I cant pick up that ball" Well...We got a laugh. It is so funny hearing him use new words.

Owie Song

Arlo and his Rock N Roll

So, Arlo has decided that he is a rock n roll baby. This I am sure is from Daddy's influence. If there is free time, Arlo will often see Clint pick up his guitar and fiddle. This has become one of Arlo's favorite things to do as well. We have bought him a little drum and some other instruments and Grandma & Grandpa got him a little guitar for Christmas. I will often find him downstairs wrapped up in various cords from Daddy's mixer and guitar pedals. He has started having regular rock & roll sessions where he plugs in the mixer to a guitar pedal and says something like "Mama lets play songs" He then gets everything plugged in just right and say "OK, we can go" Then he makes up a song. There have been various hits -The Owie song, which we captured on video, the Darth Vador, song and one of his regulars, the Gingie song. Here is a picture of him singing that very song with his stethoscope (AKA Microphone)

Crazy Ging

Gingie Gingie we love you

but your crazy

You take toilet paper and run around

but we love you

You are kinda bitey and you poop a lot

but its ok , its ok Gingie cuz we love you

yes we do.

You are kinda bitey Gingie yes you are

and your crazey, your a crazey girl but we

love you Gingie, yes we do.

Could he be any cuter? I think he's got a future!

Heber Here We Came

So for Christmas this year my dear Mom had a great idea. Instead of presents she got us all a room at the Homestead so we could have a little getaway. We left Saturday about noon and headed up to Soldier Hollow, which is right outside of Midway to go sledding. It was absolutely beautiful up there and we had a blast. It was nice because they provide huge comfy tubes and you get pulled up the hill on a tow rope. Now thats the way to sled! Arlo seemed a bit tentative at first but he had a great time. I think the hills scared him a bit. His faces were priceles while we were sliding down. I could never tell just quite how he was feeling. He went from huge grins and some giggles to his jaw clenched with his eyes wider than they should be. When we got down one of the particularly fast hills he looked at me and said "See that wasn't so bad!" It just cracked me up because I could tell he was trying to convince himself. Heres some pics of the sledding below

After sledding we headed back to the lodge to warm up by the fire and got some cute Pics of the kids. Arlo was just so excited about the idea of sleeping in a hotel with Hay and ET that he could hardly contain himself, as you can see here

The kids gettin cozy by the fire

When we got to the homestead it was freezing, and I mean freezing cold so we all thought we needed to head over to the pool and hot tubs to get warmed up. We had so much fun. The pool was somewhere around 85 degrees and the hot tube was even warmer. Arlo and the kids loved playing and splashing around and we all took turns baking ourselves in the Sauna. (The adults that is!) That night we got a bunch of junk food from the local gas station and hung out in the room while the kids ran around like maniacs and we caught the last bit of star wars. Arlo was absolutely mesmerized by Darth Vador and cried when the show abruptly ended. He kept saying "I want more Darb Bador" it was sad but really funny at the same time. Sharing a room is a challenge! Lets just say between the cell phone call at midnight, and Heather and Eric's whispering & giggling we had some sleeping challenges. Clint ended up on the bathroom floor and I was wishing I was in there with him because I was sharing with Arlo who is the most insane sleeper ever to live. He must dream about gymnastics or acrobatic endeavors all night because that kid moves like crazy! The next morning we did all get a good laugh about the whispers they had no idea we were hearing and we all went to a very yummy breakfast in Heber. Except for Heather who had doughy pie. I think that about sums the trip up heres one more adorable pic of Arlo and Ethan listening to his ipod.

Is Daddy a person?

So Arlo's new thing is trying to classify Animals, People, etc. This is our conversation in the car the other day

Arlo: Momma, is a horse an animal?

Momma: Yes

Arlo: And a duck to?

Yes they are both animals

Arlo: What about a lizard?

Mom: That is a reptile

Arlo: Oh, are beetles insects?

Mom:Yep!

Arlo: Am I a person?

Mom: Yes

Arlo: And you? And Aunt Heather and ET and Hay?

Mom: Yes were all people

Arlo: Daddy's a person?

Mom: Yes Daddy too.

Arlo: (Silence)

Arlo: No, Dad isn't a person Momma

Mom: Yes he is baby, just like you and me

Arlo: No Daddy isn't!

Mom: Then what is he?

Arlo: He's and Enineer

Mom: OOOOOOOOh! you are right Arlo, Daddy is an Engineer

Sometimes little ones have amazing insight! I love my hubby but Engineers should be classified as their own species!

Happy 2009

Well, here it is 2009 and time yet again to make resolutions! I think this year I am going to just get a plaque made since they seem to be the same ones. (Should this be telling me something about myself, or do resolutions just not work????) I am always optimistic about the whole resolution thing, but I just seem to fall short of actually reaching any of the goals I set. The good news is we did have a great New Years. We celebrated with my Aunt Keri & Toni and my Sis of course (all our families were there to!) We played lots of games and tried out rock band which was actually a blast. Arlo made it until 11:30 which was a shocker since he has never stayed up anywhere near that late in his life. I felt kind of like it was child abuse or something but the kid was having a blast with his guitar playing so we all just lost track of time. Clint and I made it home just in time to put the baby to bed and watch Dick Clark and the ball drop and give each other a New Years kiss. Then we were both out like lights! OK, so here is the inevitable resolution list.

Be Nice...Well what I mean is, like Amber's cousin so eloquently put it, everyone has a story. The older I get the more this resonates. I can remember so many times making judgements about people only to find later when I was actually going through similar things that it was A lot harder than I thought and yes, I was doing the same or even worse things! so what is the lesson here? BE NICE

Be Quiet...This is a resolution I am sure to fail at but I figure maybe if I do this one in increments I have a shot at least at improving. I am always quick to say what is on my mind at any given moment. Am I honest, yes! Do people want my honesty? NO. Why would they? I sure as heck don't want peoples honest opinion, sometimes you just don't want an opinion ya know what I'm sayin?

Be Patient...Well, I think when I was created the patient god was out to lunch or something. It seems that I really lack in this department and this is a big problem with a two year old and a puppy. I feel so good about myself when I am able to overcome my natural impatient tendencies and just let Arlo take his time, let us both. It is a better way to be. I will continue to work on this

Be loving...So here's the deal. I think this one is just for me. I don't have a problem being loving to my family or friends..In fact I think I could lay off a little. I know Arlo gets sick of hearing I love you and me squishing his cute little body so much, but I need to work on being loving to myself. It sounds pretty easy. I mean how can it be that hard??? Well, it seems to be for me. I think learning this is essential to living a good life and getting the most out of my relationships. When momma ain't happy, no one is happy you know what I'm saying?

Be Positive...Ya, if things are going my way this one is not a problem. I am the happiest most energetic girl in the world. I need to learn how to roll with the punches. Because I find that with age and children, you seem to get punched a lot. What really tells you about a person is how they handle things when the going gets ruff. Clint is very good with this one, and I respect him so much for it. He has grown up a lot since we had Arlo and I am still a bit behind. He is so good at making the best with the given circumstances, no matter what they are. I know that our children will see that in him and learn a great deal from it. I want my children to be able to say the same about me.

Live on a budget... this is the one that we should just get a plaque for and mount the damn thing to the wall. We aren't big spenders. We always pay bills on time -thanks to my super efficient hubby, but I just cant seem to make the crossover to budget living. I know this is ultimately the only way to really take control of your money and let it work for you!-can you tell I am a Dave Ramsey fan?

Lose 15 pounds....Another one for the plaque. All I can say is... I love food a lot! hmmm. How to overcome this?

Well that about wraps things up. Maybe the act of writing this pretty little list will get the wheels in motion.

Sledding

Well, We took Arlo sledding for the first time this year and he absolutely loved it! I wasn't sure how it would go down since he tends to be a bit on the cautious side when trying new things. At first I thought he wasn't liking it. After about sledding down the hill twice he said "OK, lets go back in the van." But Aunt Heather and the kids persuaded him to go down again on their tube and he had a blast. He kept saying lets do it again. Everyone had a good time. Jazzy the dog even ran down the hill when Heather went. I think the funniest thing was he preferred sliding down the hill face first with his body and no sled what so ever! He got the great idea from Dad. Here's some pics of the event

Christmas...A bit late

Well We had a great Christmas this year. here's some highlights of the blessed day...

*Christmas morning*

Arlo really got into it this year and when he woke up and saw all of the presents under the tree his reaction was priceless. His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and he exclaimed "Whoa! Santa brought lots of Presents!" before opening each present he would look up at mom and dad and say "what is this?" and then rip into everything. After all the presents were opened Ginger had a great time eating all of the wrapping paper, and Arlo and dad played and played with his new train set.

*Grandma & Grandpa Dilley's *

We usually have a tradition of sleeping over on Christmas Eve and waking up with Erin & Will, Dar and Grandma & Grandpa Dilley to open presents. This was our first year not to do it since we have been married. As we get more family members, it makes it harder to transport everything. We missed it. But we did try to get over as early as we could christmas day and see what everyone got and then Arlo was thrilled to get a new guitar and Dump truck!

*Great Grandma Richards house*

She is the Grandma everyone wants to have. She is cute,rosy, thoughtful and funny! She just has this way of making everyone around her feel special. I love her cooking-especially her twice baked potatoes; which are the best thing I have ever eaten. As she gets older it is harder for her to put on the Christmas extravaganza but she still keeps doing it. One of my favorite things is every year she decorates her Christmas tree with candy, all different types and then she puts envelopes on the tree for each grand kid and great grand kid. You get to hunt for your envelope that has money in it and also pick out something yummy. I just love this tradition. Grandma Richards Rocks!

* The Hanson's*

Had some fun with Heather and the fam and Grandma Georgette. Arlo had a blast playing with the kids and all of their new toys, actually Mom did to. We did some dance revolution and ate some more food. We attempted to watch a Christmas movie which was not going to well. Clint got Ginger out of our hair to make the movie viewing experience more enjoyable since she is quite possibly the most hyper dog in existence. He decided to take her on a walk, but half way in it started snowing, actually it was more like a blizzard. So... he ended up walking backwards while carrying her on the way back.

Well that is pretty much our Christmas day The End!!!!