First Haircut

We took Edmond to get his hair cut professionally for the first time. He squirmed and dodged the scissors the whole time saying "No, that's mean!". She gave him a sucker, which distracted him for a little while, but he still complained.

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. But let's just say that it's shorter than I wanted it (thank goodness hair grows back) and his head looks somehow bigger than ever. Oh well. He's still my handsome little cutie pie.

My Babies

The other day while we were at Jenn's house she busted out her camera and took some pictures of our children.


Charlie is now five months old.



People are constantly telling me that he is "the smile-iest baby" they've ever seen. He laughs a lot. I love to hear him laugh.

He goes to bed at 7pm and wakes up for the day around 7am. He still wakes up to eat at least two times during the night. He is a loud eater. If ever we're watching TV while I'm feeding him, we have to turn up the volume so that we can hear over his gulping and breathing.

We call him Charlie, Charles, Char-Char-, Charlie-bug, and Charlie Warlie Was a Bear. I love his name. I love to say it.

He has googlie-eyes. He opens them as wide as they will possibly go.

He has great boy hair. It's short everywhere except at the very top, where it's nice and long and makes the perfect faux hawk. He can sit up but is not proficient yet. He can roll over. He is an easy-going baby and easy to please. Even when he cries it's not super loud. I really appreciate it.

Edmond is a very energetic two-year-old. Lately he is into riding his bike and his 4-wheeler and wagon.



He's also a very good talker. Some funny things he has said lately:

• I gave him a strawberry and he held it up to his nose and said, "Hmell good. So sweet."
• He took a bite of his lunch and said, "My favorite."
• One day he informed me, "Daddy a dude. Edmond a dude. Char-ie a dude."
• After his bath he hates it when I put lotion on him. He'll say, "No, that's mean!"
• When he really wants our attention, he'll call us by our first names. It goes something like this: "Mama....Mom....Jedida!" That's when we know he means business.

We love our two little guys.

Games We Play

If your kid is a fan of Disney's "Cars", then you already know where this is going.




That's right. Tractor tipping. It never gets old. Edmond requests that we "do tractor tipping" at least twice a day.


We also play with "tato heads":

And we play with "Char-Char". He's such a cute little bugger.

Edmond loves his "Char-Char". He gives him hugs and kisses all day long. Yesterday I caught Edmond dragging him by the feet across the hard wood floor. After I intervened I inspected Charlie to see if there was any damage. There was none, except his eyebrows were raised a little higher than usual.

The Middle of No Where

We went to Utah a few weeks ago. I am just now getting around to blogging about it. This was our first venture back to the motherland since Charlie was born, and I was dreading the nine hour drive with two small children. Turns out it was more horrible than I imagined it would be. We ended up having car troubles somewhere between Wendover and Tooele. Just writing about it and re-living it in my head makes me want to vomit, so I'll keep this brief.

We'd already driven 8 hours that day, and there we were, a speck on the side of the long road that is I-80. B was under the hood of the car, me in the back seat nursing an over-tired baby and listening to my 2-year-old scream about how he wanted apple juice. My window was down. I gazed out at the never-ending salt flats as the incessant dry wind slowly blew dust all over me and my babies.

"I don't know exactly where we are," I said again to the AAA worker on my cell phone. "Somewhere between Wendover and Tooele. In the middle of no where."

Really, if the Salt Flats aren't the middle of no where, then I don't know what is.

Two hours. That's how long we sat there. Not moving. Babies crying. Wind blowing. B working. Me praying.

"Heavenly Father, I am thankful I am not a pioneer."

"Heavenly Father, I think this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Please don't let it ever happen again."

"Heavenly Father, please help me stay sane. I am losing it...losing it...losing it..."

We all have our limits. We, each of us, had reached our limit. By the time we were on the road again Charlie had finally cried himself into a fitful sleep. Edmond stared out the window like a vegetable and said, "So many cars. So many trucks. So many fire trucks. So many ambulances. So many diesels." B gripped the wheel with his filthy hands and stared straight ahead, his mouth a thin line. I rocked back and forth in my seat mumbling things like, "Twelve hours...I can't believe it...How did this happen?...I hate this jeep...my head is POUNDING...this is the worst...I'm never coming back to Utah..."

And so, in this condition, we arrived at my parent's house to greet all of my siblings and their families. I'm sure we looked like we had aged ten years since they had seen us last. Actually, I really think I did.

Despite this horrific experience, we still managed to salvage the vacation and enjoy ourselves quite a bit.

It hailed one day. (Of course it did! This is Utah. Crazy weather.)

My mom and I went shopping for fabric for some new drapes in her kitchen.

Charlene and Halle came over almost every day to play with us. We even went swimming one day.

We went to visit Grandma Great. She thought little Edmond looked less anorexic and that Baby Charlie was adorable.

One day I went with Calli and Kim to get a pedicure.

And so our short vacation passed much too quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to come home again. The drive home was long but not memorable, except when Edmond put on these glasses and woo'd me.

I think I swooned.

And then I looked at this little charmer:

and swooned again.

My life is so great.

Red Headed

There comes a time in every woman's life where she feels the need to dye her hair red.



My inspiration came from Isla Fisher's luscious red locks in Confessions of a Shopaholic.


I had hoped that my hair would be a little less maroon and a little more orange...but there's always next time.

Charlie seems to dig my new look.



He likes me no matter what.

Eating Out

We went to Chevy's for lunch with Denise. Edmond had fun with his cousins, but I was reminded why I don't go out to eat anymore.

After a while I decided I had had enough of these little hooligans and their shinanigans. So I took them outside.

Their rough-housing continued. I watched, until Iwas distracted by my cute new shoes.

Afterwards we went to Jenn's and she gave us each a cupcake. Boy did we feel special.

Girl's Night

Once a month I go out for dessert with these ladies:




I love girl's night. It is one of life's simple pleasures. Our topics of conversation could be any of the following:

• When and how to move one's toddler to a big-kid bed
• Where can one find a modest formal dress?
• How one's children found out one was pregnant again before one had even had a chance to tell one's husband.
• Whether or not one's latest offer on a house had been accepted.
• Why don't they make little boy church ties longer?

It's so nice to sneak away after the children have gone to bed and have uninterrupted, grown-up, feminine conversation.

I'm Coveting

This bench:

And so I asked Nie where she got it.

This is the email I sent.

Nie,

I know you're busy. But I must know. Where oh where did you get that fabulous bench that is in the entrance to your home? Is is a make-over or did you find it new? I just love it. I keep coming back to the picture of your son laying on it and wondering how I can get myself one of those. (Not the son...I have one already. The bench.)

Much love,

Jessica

Snack Time

When I was a kid, treats like these seemed so appealing.

Edmond agrees. I guess any treat that is as big as your face can be mouth-watering.

He sat in his high chair for half an hour working on this bad boy. I had a few licks myself. It was quite delicious.