Brady--8 months

Brady is now 8 months old, and has developed so much in the past month!  A month ago, he was not sleeping through the night, eating any food at all, or moving (other than rolling over).   But look at him now!

A couple weeks ago, he started scooting all over the place, and learned how to sit back up by himself.  Then he started pulling up on things, and just yesterday, he finally figured out crawling.  This morning, he is crawling all over the place, getting into everything.  The kids better keep their stuff off the floor now!

Although he still has a ways to go, Brady has finally starting thinking something other than Mom's milk might be okay.  He will gnaw on crackers, eat some baby food (he prefers blends with bananas in them, and he's much better at sucking it out of those little packets than taking it from a spoon), and just this week is starting to drink formula from a soft-topped sippy cup.  There is beginning to be a faint light at the end of this breast-feeding tunnel. Although I do like nursing, I will be ready to be done by the time summer starts, so hopefully Brady will be, too.

But probably the best part of all is his sleeping through the night accomplishment.  About a month ago, I decided I was done feeding him at night, and within 3 nights, he quit crying for it.  Now he rarely wakes up and cries at all.  If he does, it's just for a few minutes, then back to sleep.  And he's usually down for about 11 hours.  I'm loving it!  And wondering why I didn't do it sooner.

Another of Brady's firsts this past month was getting to spend a little time out and about on the ranch.  What a big boy!

We sure love this little chubby-cheeked cutie!

St. Patrick's Day

This year, that naughty leprechaun struck again!  When we woke up on St. Patrick's day, we found his dirty green footprints all over our kitchen, where he had made quite a mess and even turned our milk green!

At least he left some yummy cupcakes!

Me and Playdough

I hate playdough.

I always have. Well, at least in my nine years of mothering, I have hated it. (And I know hate is a strong word. In fact, the "h word" isn't allowed at this house, so basically my feelings toward the squishy stuff are strong enough to bring out near-vulgarity in me!)

Through the years, my kids will come home from places (primary, preschool, grandma's house) with a little baggie of it, so excited about all the possibilities.  I promply tell them that we will play with it later, then put in in a high cupboard to "keep it safe."  Really, I hope that out of sight equals out of mind.  And out of mind means out of hands, out of hair, out of every kitchen utinsil I own, out of carpet, out of clothing, and out of furniture.  And every time I open that high cupboard and realize that the kids haven't even asked for the playdough in months, I pat myself on the back and feel like some kind of a genius.

A few years ago, Mylie asked for playdough ice cream shop for Christmas.  She didn't ask for much else.  In a moment of weakness, I remembered how much I wanted something similar as a child, and how my parents never got me one (they were geniuses, too, I suppose), and I decided that Mylie should have it.  Christmas night, after cleaning up dried up little bits of playdough from every corner of the house, I asked Tony how I could have ever let my guard down like that and done something so stupid!  (There I go again with the vulgarity.)

And you would think that experience would have cured me of any further dabbling with playdough.  I thought it had.  And then something crazy happened this morning.

That's right, they're playing with playdough.  Playdough that I made.  I actually looked up the recipe, used ingredients that I paid for, and whipped up a batch for the first time in my life.  "What kind of mother has never made playdough?" one might ask.  One that values her sanity.

I'd like to say that I decided to make playdough out of love for these cute little kiddos. I'd like to say that maybe I'm finally a cool mom, or a cool aunt, or some kind of cool person that doesn't calculate the size of the mess when it comes to giving children opportunities to explore and learn.  But the truth is, it was just the fear.  Yep, the fear.  It was only 9am, and my house already resembled the wreckage you see on the news just following some devastating natural disaster.  And in that moment, the fear of what could become of my house by lunch time overcame the fear of tiny colorful, dried bits of salt dough stuck to everything I own.  Before I knew it, the recipe was out, ingredients were being mixed, and I was envisioning hours of fun rolling and cutting, rolling and cutting, all while sitting in one place. 

By the time the kids were seated and I was handing out the three different colors of dough--ya, I went all out--I was starting to have doubts.  Things like, "No cutting it into tiny pieces," "No mixing colors," "This has to go into the ziplocs when we're done so it doesn't dry out,"  and "Anybody leaving this table with playdough in hand will be sentenced with a 5-year time out!" started coming out of my mouth.  And try as they may, I have already bagged up the playdough twice, and I just flicked a small piece of dried blue stuff off my computer desk. Argh.

But they did have fun.  So much fun.  So much fun, in fact, that they were all gone and doing something else by the time I had my own playdough-making mess cleaned up.  But I'm trying to give playdough another chance.  It is still sitting out on the counter (in bags, of course) along with my rolling pin, cookie cutters, and several playroom toys that got involved in the action.  I'm still holding out hope that this time will be different, that possibly by the end of the day I will have found a place in my heart for the squishy, messy stuff.  But if not, there's always that place far in the back of the highest kitchen cabinet.

A Recent Conversation with Mariah

Mariah:  Mom, when does nastics (gymnastics) start?

Me:  In a couple more weeks.

Mar: I'm in number 1.  Number 4 does that dance in front of all the people, but not number 1, huh?

Me: No, level 1 does a performance too.  You'll get to do it.

Mar: Oh.  I'm going to wear the nastics suit Grannie gave me, cuz it's my favorite.  (Pause)  grannie doesn't know it's my favorite.

Me:  Well, why don't we invite her to your performance? Then she can see you wear it.

Mar: Okay.  Well, she might be late because she has to drive far.

Me: I'll tell her what time it is and she'll leave early enough to get here.

Mar: I wish she lived here so she didn't have to drive far.  Then she won't be late.  I know! She could buy on of these houses here!

Me:  Well, she already has a house she likes.  And Grandpa has a job in Cokeville.

Mar: Well, Grandpa could just get a job here and they could get a new house.

Me: I don't think Grannie wants a new house.

((Long pause for thinking...))

Mar: I hope they have a fire at their house. Then they will want a new house here!!

Gotta love 4-year-old logic. :)

Basketball: All in the Family

This post is about a week overdue, and my sister, Olivia, already did a fabulous post about state basketball (you can read it at http://www.lifeaslivi.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-end-of-our-era.html), but I thought I would post a few pics here as well.  Livi had a super fun time at state basketball this year, but me . . . well, not as much.  I LOVED watching Tessa play, I LOVED that her team won the championship, and I LOVED spending time with all of my siblings, but I gotta say it was pretty stressful and miserable at times as well.  Why?

Well, this picture pretty much sums it up.  Mariah was sick the entire time.  And not just a runny nose.  She seriously felt horrible and was miserable the entire three days.  Ugh.  Poor girl.

The nights were also pretty rough.  The first night there, between Brady and Mariah waking up numerous time, I think I got about 3 hours of sleep, with the longest stretch being about 1 1/2 hours.  Not so fun.  The next two nights were a little better, thank heavens.

(I figure these two troopers went to about 45 basketball games this winter, and somehow were still smiling at the end.)

Thankfully, Mylie and Brady were really good during the day and Mylie really liked the games this year.      

She loved cheering for the Panthers!

Although the first person you notice in this picture is Livi, if you look a little to the left and down you can see that Mylie was pretty pumped about the Panthers taking state as well.

Although it wasn't the easiest weekend, I would have done it again in a heartbeat to be there with everyone, doing this state tournament thing for the last time.  Being the oldest, I have really enjoyed going back to watch my siblings compete at state events through the years.  As far as I can remember, I have only missed state track once, and I missed Sulli's state wrestling one year.  Other than that, I have been there for all of them.  And I loved every minute of cheering them on.

This was also a really neat moment for my dad, as he finished coaching his last daughter in basketball.  He has coached all of us, and this was the 4th state championship trophy he won with daughters on his team.  He is a great coach, but more importantly, a wonderful father.  

 Now, what am I going to do next winter? 

 Oh ya, my husband is a coach, so probably go to over 40 basketball games again.

I can hardly wait.

Long Winter

Winters in Wyoming are long. Sometimes it feels like it will never end (and by now, I am more than ready for some warmer weather).  The first part of winter isn't bad, with Thanksgiving followed by Christmas and all the fun that comes with those celebrations.  But then it's January, and February, and March (and sometimes even April), and it's still winter.  If it wasn't for basketball, I might go crazy.  But as I sit and think about these past two months, I am grateful for all that I have and the things we have been able to do.  Here's a quick run-down:

I spent most of January going through my entire house, room by room, sorting through every single item deciding whether it was a keeper or not.  If so, where should it go?  If not, should I sell it, give it to DI, or just throw it in the trash?  A lot of decisions.  Although this task became discouraging at times, by the end of January, I had gotten rid of loads of trash, sent an entire van-load of stuff to the DI, and made $300 cash selling items I didn't want anymore.  And I have spaces that look like this now:

(I don't know about all of you, but I get some major satisfaction out of this kind of organization!) 

To help beat the winter blues, we hit the pool a couple of times.  The kids love swimming!

One good thing about winter: SKIING!  Although I didn't go this year (the whole nursing baby thing), Tony, Connor, and Mylie were able to hit the slopes one Saturday, and then Tony and Connor got another chance to go skiing on a school trip.  Connor loves it!

 We've also been able to spend quite a bit of time with extended family.  Besides our trip to Laramie, we spent two days in Cokeville, two days in Star Valley, an evening in Cokeville with all my family except Olivia, and plenty of time with our Micheli family here on the ranch.  We also had Sullivan and Michelle over one Sunday afternoon and evening.  And in all that fun family time, I managed to take two pictures. That's right. Two. This cute one of Owen loving on Brady,

and a picture of the chocolate roll we ate when Sulli and Michelle were here. YUM!

We've had fun this winter watching Brady grow, learn, and change so much.  He met Molly one morning through the sliding door, and also learned about windows as he repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to touch her.

He also learned that it's rough having big sisters.

We all love these chubby cheeks! As Mylie often says, "He's just so kissable!"

Valentine's Day was really fun here.  The kids all had their school Valentine's parties as well as one with cousins hosted by Grandma Patty.  At home, we had a Valentine's breakfast with heart-shaped french toast with strawberries and whipped cream.  Mariah dressed up so cute for her preschool party.

 And finally, Mylie lost her two front teeth.  "Now I look like all the other first graders!"

(Technically, the dentist pulled her two front teeth.  To make a long story short, she had an infection in her upper gums that made her sick for days, with a fever going up over 106 degrees. Yikes! After a visit to the local clinic--couldn't figure out what was wrong since she tested negative to strep, influenza, urinary tract infection, and had no signs of meningitis--we ended up in the ER.  They couldn't find the problem either and sent us home, telling us to just control the fever.  The following night, I finally took a look at this tooth she kept crying about, and found the root of the whole problem.  The next morning, the teeth were pulled, we got her on an antibiotic, and she is now feeling much better, thank heavens. Whew!)

Go Pokes!

A couple weekends ago, we headed to Laramie to watch the Cowboys play. We sure picked the right weekend to go, as they played amazing and beat #19 San Diego State.  We had a great time cheering for the Pokes. (I wish Brady would have looked at the camera. He looked adorable in his little Cowboys hat.)

We also got to see both of Tony's brothers, Frank and Matt, and their families, my brother, Tyson, and stayed a night at Tony's sister, Haley's new house in Cheyenne.  It was a great weekend!