More June pics

Little miss 9 months old.

I used to hate pictures like this, with the baby smothered in pureed food. But.... she does look pretty cute to her mommy.

On the weekends P is lucky enough to snuggle in Daddy's arms when it's nap time.

Penelope likes to crawl under the chairs, then gets mad when she can't find her way out.

Being a big stuff sitting at the counter with Dad.

Being cool at the pool

 A wild ride with her friend Jace driving.

What I've learned about boys

Recently I decided to babysit two boys occasionally. And even though I grew up in between two boys, I am learning and re-learning a lot of things about boys.

For starters, boys aren't afraid of getting dirty. This is pretty much a no-brainer, but I am discovering all of the things around the boys that also get dirty. Carpet and toilets now need cleaned twice as much as they used to.

Boys love bugs. They were occupied most of yesterday with catching grasshoppers and other things that move. For some reason, last night I dreamed of lizards, skunks and chickens in my house.

Some things you just pretend you didn't hear. "Hey guess what's on my tongue? A Booger!" and "Hey, I wonder what's going to happen when I spray this grasshopper with sunscreen!"

One favorite toy has been the baby nose bulb. You know those blue ones that I haven't been able to bring myself to use because of my aversion to nose excrement. One of the boys found one and started playing with them. When brother found out, it was war until I told them I had another one. They even played with them for quite a while before they figured out that the bulbs could indeed be stuck up inside of the nose and other unique uses. Let me just say, even if I ever get used to the idea of sucking snot out of Penelope's nose, I will not be using the same bulbs that the boys played with.

These boys also think I'm Domestic Debbie, which I guess maybe I am. I do make a lot of things 'from scratch' like syrup and bread. However, I don't think my skills are THAT impressive. After making un-microwave popcorn, eating applesauce not from individual cups, and boiling water for Jello, I was a hero. One of the boys wanted ice, and I told him the ice cube maker on the front of the refrigerator didn't work, but that he could have some from the ice cube tray I had gotten out. "Whoaaaa..." he said softly in awe, "You even make your own ice cubes!" Now whenever I tell them we are out of something, they ask if I can just make it. It must have been a disappointment when they realized that I can't actually make milk and dynamite.

So the next time an eight-year-old boy asks you if you want to know what he just ate or what he did with the cat, just find something to make from scratch and see if he wants to help.

Top 5 reasons I like the city

1. Out of state plates that say "Yes I can't drive, but hey, I'm not from here."
2. Selection. For instance, baby food that contains something other than carrots, peas, beans, apples and bananas. (they make baby food with mango!)
3. People do stuff. And when they do stuff they aren't still in their pajamas. They even wear things that were purchased in the last 3 years!
4. Fast food that is actually fast.
5. Produce that is red. You know... like strawberries and tomatoes.

June Pictures

Penelope and I made it to Salt Lake four times in the last few weeks. Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

 Leah Brooks

 Eating baby food from a tube

 P and Leah chilling in the truck.

 P and her friend Brae

The guy with the striped shirt and other stories

The guy with the striped shirt
Every week or so, I have the daunting task of ironing Wayne's shirts. You know, those long-sleeve button-up....oh, wait, the only shirts he ever wears. Occasionally, I suggest that he wears a short sleeve shirt, and Wayne looks at me, shaking his head, and says, "Sheena..." as if it were a monumental sin to bare his forearms. But there was this one time when Wayne didn't always wear button-up shirts. He wore a long sleeve striped polo shirt. And he wore in a lot during college. Years after his striped polo shirt phase, he ran into someone he knew from school. It happened to be one of those semi-awkward moments when Wayne remembered the person, but the person didn't remember him. This other student finally had a lightbulb turn on inside his head and said, "Oh, you were the guy that used to always wear the blue and orange striped shirt!" Apparently the guy didn't recognize Wayne in any other apparel. At least Wayne wears several DIFFERENT long sleeve button-up shirts now.

Mom's loud voice
One of the times mom came to visit, Penelope and I picked her up at the airport in Salt Lake. Upon getting in the car with us, mom exclaimed, "OH PENELOPE!! HI!!! THERE'S GRANDMA'S GIRL!" Or something to that affect. And she said it in her normal voice, which I always tease her, is usually LOUD.   Penelope immediately burst into tears, and Grandma was sad that she had scared her.

Speaking of mom's loud voice (or as my uncles would say 'big mouth'), her voice is usually even louder on the phone. For some reason, she must think that since the person isn't in the same room as her, she has to talk loudly so they can hear her. You might be at a restaurant when mom's phone rings, and you hear, "HELLO? OH HI. YES, THAT'S RIGHT..."

Well, another thing mom is good at, is having her phone dial people when she isn't trying to call them. One time, we were in an office building, and walked up to the quiet reception desk. Since it was quiet, you could hear this coming from her purse: "Anne, Anne, you called us again...." It was my grandma, who was used to such frequent calls. Mom grabs the phone and starts yelling into it, "HI MOTHER, SORRY. YEP WE ARE HERE AT THE APPOINTMENT. I'LL CALL YOU LATER. OK BYE!" For reasons unknown I normally cringe when mom's phone rings.

Anyway, the last time we saw mom, when she met us at the airport, she tiptoed up, and quietly whispered, "Hi sweet baby, there's Grandma's girl!"

Maddie's talent show
A little while back, I got to go to my little cousin Maddie's talent show at school. Maddie just completed the first grade. Before the show, when we arrived at the classroom, the kids were playing I Spy. One boy kept calling on people to guess what he had spied. Soon another little boy raised his hand, and, without being called on by the teacher, whined, "Mrs. Teacher, he's only calling on his friends to guess." His teacher, quickly said, "Shhh, we're all friends." Aww, what a nice little world. Soon, another little boy was complaining about something that I thought was funny, and chuckled quietly. The first grade girl in front of me turned around, rolled her eyes, and said, "He always does that. Then he always starts crying." Sure enough, the boy was soon sniffling.

Maddie's little 'friends' put on quite the array of 'talents'. There were several gymnasts and cheer leaders, some that shared an art project, and some that sang or played the piano. When it was some students turn, they decided they didn't want to do their talent, or just didn't want to do it right now. One boy's talent was dancing, and he walked around the room moving only is hands for several long minutes until the teacher told him he was done.

The most entertaining thing at the first grade talent show was the mothers that came to watch. I have been becoming more away that a certain demograph of mothers strive to show the world their perfect lives. They have perfect hair, perfect children, and perfect houses. They are never tired, ugly, or upset. They probably have perfect plaque and ear wax, if they have any at all. Anyway, one of the mothers came in dressed as though she were hitting up a nightclub in Vegas after the talent show. She had on platform heels, designer jeans, a sequined sleeveless shirt, and her hair was long and curled to perfection. If I'm ever going to compete with these ladies I'm going to need to get busy, I'll need the next five years to perfect my life in time for P's first grade talent show.

Penelope Pig 2

Music with dad

Penelope is about 8 1/2 months now...

 Penelope plays the piano sometimes, she thinks she's pretty cool when her and dad play piano together. The other night, Wayne got out the clarinet and started playing. Penelope was just playing on the floor and a few minutes later, she went over and stood up by the piano and started playing! She apparently wanted to be the accompaniment for dad. Awww.....

Twins!

Playing at the pool at Marsha's...

 Here are Marsha's new adorable tiny twins! Joelle and Jenna. They were more adorable and tiny in real life.

Video of Reann and Penelope

Penelope was eating lots of peaches. She was pretty happy before this... but she got a bit offended at our laughing by the end. 

If you didn't hear/understand, Reann says, "Hey Penelope, is it peachy over there in your high chair?"