Goings On Around Here

First off I have to say how proud I am of my big boy Jake. He has finally mastered being potty trained and it has been great. His favorite thing to do these days is dress up like Superman. He always has to wear boots and gloves along with his Superman pj's and cape. Here is my little baby. I can't believe he will be 1 in just a few days. He is pretty close to walking but I think it will still be a few weeks. He has 4 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom. He refuses to eat baby food anymore. It has to be the real deal or nothing. Although he gets into everything he has been so much fun and I have loved watching him turn into this happy little boy.

Lily and Jake have been quite the little buddies lately. They went through a phase where they were fighting all the time so I'm pretty happy about this. Here they are demonstrating a little teamwork.

This is what happens when the weather warms up and you get to play outside and spend the time digging in the dirt and chasing your big sister around trying to dump it on her. It can get really exhausting.
Living out in the middle of nowhere has it's benefits. Since there is nothing to go out and do, we are always trying to be creative at home. Here is Lily experimenting with colors. This fizzing color science kit was $2 and totally worth it. Her favorite color to make is pink.
Ever since we moved here I have been thinking a lot about my grandma Crosby. I think it's because there are so many things about this place that remind me of Kanab.(where she lived) One thing about my grandma is that she always signed her letters with ATRNTF. (Always To Remember Never To Forget) I have always loved this saying because of that. I thought it would be really neat one day to have a licence plate with those letters on it but once we moved here and were needing a new plate I decided that it would be better to not spend so much money on a licence plate. I had Jacob go to the DMV on his day off and take care of getting the new plate. A few weeks later I got a small package in the mail. I was so confused because I could sort of tell it was a licence plate but we had already gotten a new one just a few weeks earlier. I opened it up and literally got all teary eyed at what I saw. My dear sweet husband had heard me mention somewhere along the way about the licence plate I wanted and he got it for me. Now I feel like I can have part of my grandma with me everywhere I go. He had to add an A in the middle because they don't allow only 6 letters on a plate but it still works for me. Thanks Jacob. I LOVE it!

Always To Remember And never To Forget

Speed Dial

I have a wonderful little extension to my Google Chrome web browser called Speed Dial. It's awesome. Every time I open up my web browser, I get my top pages, customized exactly the way I want it. Here's what sites Kat and I like to use:

Putting My Machine To Use.

Jacob got me a sewing machine for Christmas and I LOVE it. It has been so much fun. I racked my brain for all the sewing skills I learned in my younger years and put them to use. Although I'm not as creative as I would like, it is still tons of fun. I was surprised how easily I was able to use the machine and not have to sit and read the manual. It was like this machine and I were destined to be together. Here are the things I have been working on so far....

Jake and Lily were always having me tie a blanket and my apron on them as super hero capes so I thought it would be fun to make them real capes.

(blanket and apron)

The capes. Yes they need to be ironed but you get the idea.
Next I had to do something about my couch pillows. They were awful.

This is what they looked like before.


This is what they look like now. I had no idea what to do(this is where the lack of creativity comes in) so I was pretty much just making it up as I went along but I think they turned out ok.


Also I have been on a role today. I fixed Lily's pillow that has had a huge hole for the last 2 years and keeps losing it's fluff, I shortened two table cloths that were way too long and I made a doll blanket for Lily with the fabric that I cut off. I am loving having this machine.

A Lesson in Motivation

Kat and I are learning as we raise our children that they simply aren't the same and you can't apply a one-size-fits-all manual to rearing them. For example, Lily showed an early interest in potty training, beginning at age 18 months, and mastering it before she turned 2. Jake, on the other hand, has shown an aversion to using any type of "facility" other than his diaper.

We have tried on two other occasions to potty train Jake, but failed, always telling ourselves that Jake "wasn't ready yet." Then, a few days ago, I told Kat that if Jake is potty trained by the end of January, I will give her $300 toward an entertainment center she wants, and that she can add, over time, the money we save on Jake's diapers, probably about 30 bucks a month.

Needless to say, Jake was potty trained two days later.