Mommyhood

So... it took me forever to get to this - but here it is Jen!

How long have I been a mom?
3 1/2 years

How old was I when I became a mom?
23 years old - I think.

What is my favorite kid show?
Word World! I'm also quite fond of Signing Time

Least favorite?
I loathe Yo Gabba Gabba, we also never ever watch Barney  - BLECK!

Favorite chore
I have pondered this one forever...I really don't know. I like organizing things - putting everything in its place. And everything does have a place in our house.Brian just can't EVER remember where they are!

Favorite meal to cook?
Brian and I go through stages. Sometimes he will cook for weeks and then I'll take over. I think its my turn right now (we are in the process of switching over)(its not a spoken or planned thing, it just happens). This one is hard too. I personally really enjoy pasta with parmesan cheese and some basil. Brian hates it! But its so easy! I also really like making a big ol' homestyle meal - like meatloaf or pot roast.

What is the meal cooked most often?
Definitely pasta of various kinds (we are poor!), we are trying to branch out more and do stir frys because they are so good and pretty easy.

What's my kids' favorite meal?
At the moment Naomi only wants bread and butter. But she usually Loves tortellini soup.

What is my favorite thing Andy does with the kids?
I think smoosh face. He smooshes their faces all up and we laugh! They have chubby cheeks! Also when he just cuddles them. He likes to cuddle them more than they like to cuddle him though - which is sad.

What are 5 things that make me smile about being a mom?
1. How stinkin' cute they are! I have quite a big head about how cute my kids are!
2. When they play with each other - this is new for us, but I love to watch!
3. When Naomi plays with other kids and will do stuff to show me that she listens to what I say and does actually learn things.
4. After Primary when I'm the best most exciting person to see
5. Telling them they are the loves of my life - and Naomi shaking her head yes and agreeing that they are the loves of my life! haha

Where do I want to take my kids someday?

Jen, oh my gosh, go to Disney World! Its the best ever! 

Brian and I want to travel everywhere and expose our kids to all kinds of cultures and lifestyles. We want to do the touristy stuff too, but we really want to get them into the real country of places - even different places and cities within the US!

When was the last time Andy and I went out without the kids?
Oh goodness - I don't remember! Does it count when we left them with our neighbors to clean our apartment for hours on end. Its going to have to.

What's something you said you'd never do as a mom?
Get mad AT them, but alas they are so stubborn!

Favorite pasttime with my kids?
Reading - We are reading Prince Caspian right now in preparation for the movie. 

Advice for new moms?
Let your spouse parent.  - Jen wrote this - I think I agree! I didn't let Brian do much and now that I am trying to put him in charge of things, he has a problem with almost assuming kid work is always my work. He will pick up something I am working on so I can go over and handle the kids. Not good!

What is a scary or heartbreaking moment you have had as a mom?
We have been extremely lucky in this aspect of life. I don't know that I have had any real scary or heartbreaking moments yet. But my anxiety makes it seem like we certainly have!

When was the last time your kids said "I love you?"
Yesterday when I let Naomi build a tent under the computer desk and watch Bug's Life over and over since it was a rainy day!

I love stripes and polka dots!

Packing Fun!

It sure is a lot tougher to pack when you have kids! Two kids makes it even more difficult! Luckily everything went decently smooth. 

Kids on lock down!

"What? We're moving?"

Naomi loves our new apartment. She didn't even want to go visit the old one to pick something up! Its seriously half the size, but it doesn't feel that small. We are quite amazed! The kitchen is where we notice the most difference. We are really lucky with the spot we got. If you sit on our living room couch you can look out the window and see the Angel Moroni on top of the Provo Temple. We've had a little hummingbird flitting outside our window every so often. Directly behind our building is a small playground. Perfect for Naomi! We also have the laundry just next door which also houses the mailboxes. Its very convenient! 

We've gotten out of the boxes already. We just need to hang a few photos and figure out what to do with the cords we have winding all over the place. 

Brian has a new job on campus that he is enjoying. It seems like a really relaxed job! He is doing both Spring and Summer terms. Unfortunately we are still going to have to stay for his practicuum through next Spring Term. I think Brian did it on purpose so he won't have to go to graduation! He did all of the foot work to get a job on campus that he could count as his practicuum for this semester, and the last day of add/drop one of the professors tells him that he can't get paid for an on campus job and use it for credit! So he did not have time to locate another job that could count as credit and get paid - so no practicuum this term! He got a B and a C last semester by the way! Good job Brian!

Naomi has suddenly become very aware of driving in the car. Brian recently taught her about red and green lights. So she yells them out to us all of the time. She also has started saying "Why are you trying to die us?" Translated to Why are you trying to kill us. She says this whenever someone is driving even slightly fast or turning quickly. She doesn't enjoy elevation changes of any sort. Brian says its the true Texan in her. If she walks down a hill she cries out "Whoa! Whoa!" 

Gwen is just a bit too adventurous for me! She is already climbing up on everything. Naomi didn't climb so I always felt safe with her. I'll turn my head and Gwen will be on top of something! Crazy child! She says Mama now, but only when she is crying desperately! She waves and claps which is fun! She figures things out very quickly! We can't hide things behind our back to get them out of her mind - she will just crawl around us to get them. She is going to be a trouble maker, I can tell!

Mother's Day

I don't think that I like Mother's Day... At least not this one. 

I was up almost the entire night with Gwenie - who I found out in the morning was cutting a tooth. Our new ward meets at 8am! So I was up at 7am to "hop" into the shower. I "hopped" a little too well and fell and slipped on the "non-slip" mat that wasn't fully suctioned down. I did not take my beautiful brand new shower curtain with me thank goodness. I did, however, hurt my wrist somehow. Its really hard to pick up the girls right now! My mother's day breakfast was just toast and butter - we were in a rush - Brian did make it for me at least. As we walked out the door Happy Mother's Day was muttered. Naomi couldn't say it properly. Church was mostly good. Our new ward seems nice! However the talks had put me off about Mother's Day. In particular the only one given by a man - who didn't have children and put forth the notion that what you are is what your children become. He posed "What do you want your children to become?" "How do you want them to be when they grow up?" "They will emulate the person that you are and how you raise them." Great! So my poor little girls are going to grow up depressed and anxiety ridden without the ability to cope with normal society? Not the encouraging uplifting talk I was needing on Mother's Day. Thanks a lot! Although the first talk was lovely with many examples from the behavior of the matriarchal society of elephants - unfortunately, I'm not an elephant! However, our ward does seem nice and very welcoming! Naomi made me a tiny hand in the sign language I love you. I briefly saw that it said I love my mommy because she plays with me, but then she confiscated it as her own. I haven't seen it since. Next time they should explain that it is for me! When we got home Brian did make us lunch - black bean tacos, one of our favorites. But then after lunch - he took a nap! Gwen and I tried to call my mom, but we had missed her - she was at work. So then Gwen finally fell asleep for her nap so I took a nap in my actual bed! I woke up with Naomi sitting on the pillow next to my head waiting for me to wake up. That's a startling awakening! Then Brian got to skype with his family. That was nice, unfortunately it was our dinner time. So I was in the kitchen (teeny tiny small) cooking our dinner. It turned out ok - it was an experiment! Gwen loved it, Naomi wouldn't touch it! We went outside to play on the little park and then Naomi peed all over the playground - so after cleaning it up we had to come inside. Little Naomi whined the rest of the night about everything that happened. Finally she went to bed. Brian normally does the bedtime routine but he was talking to his "boyfriend" on the phone about some car he was buying so i did the storytime. I mistakenly read Little Red Riding Hood. Naomi woke up every few minutes crying that she didn't like wolves. I finally fell asleep with my restless Gwen sitting up in the chair in our living room. I was up most of the night again. 

Some good things - 

1)Brian made my breakfast and got the girls dressed for church all by himself without asking 400 questions about what to do.

2)I got chocolate from the ward as our mother's day gift. 

3)Brian made our lunch.

4)Brian made me strawberry cheesecake cream puffs - AND cleaned up after himself! 

5) Today is not Mother's Day anymore!

Baking

I'm baking another cake. Chocolate with creamy frosting this time. I'll post a picture if it turns out any good. Its a new recipe for me!

Crazy times!

So we are moving on Saturday and our time has been spent packing and organizing and canceling things and starting things. I think I have called Qwest 15 times to figure out what I need to do to cancel the service. We are excited and sad and nervous about yet another move. I'm sure it will be fine. Brian is currently looking for a new job that he can use as his internship for his major. He will be graduating most likely in April of '09...unless he needs a little more time for his independent study courses - then it will be August. We spent the day today helping a friend pick a paint color for her baby's room, then we went on campus to talk to Brian's counselor about graduation and see if he needed to buy a book for his Spring course. So far he doesn't have to! Then we went over to Sam's and checked out the window AC units - we are going to need them in Wymount. 

In case anyone doesn't know - I hate BYU! 

Now for some nice moments with the girls...

This is a daily routine for Gwen. She sits under our dining room table and Eats the leftover food that has been dropped - usually by herself! Brian thinks its disgusting. Normally I would think I would think its disgusting, but I find myself laughing at it everytime! I like that in this picture she looks a bit like a prison inmate!

Here we have Gwen again a prisoner - this time in a packing box! 

Naomi's newest bedtime ritual - she now reads herself to sleep sometimes. Like her gigantic bruise? That happened I think two weeks ago. She ran after me and slammed her face into our armless cushioned chair. For some reason the lack of arm was not a good thing in this situation. The bruise formed instantly - this picture is after it had gone down quite a bit. We are just glad she is old enough now to tell people how things like this happen.

This is Cinderella and Naomi. We went to Brick Oven with Uncle Tim, Cousin Natalie, Tim and Tracy, Tim's girlfriend Liz, Cousin Chris and his wife Colleen, and Cousin Krista and her husband Jared and their two kids, Jeffrey and Marci. It was really fun! Very loud! Anyway, this guy was making these awesome balloon figures! Naomi and Jeffrey each wanted one so bad - badly? I can never remember that one. We didn't know if the guy was going to get to us in time! I was all prepared for the meltdown, but he came over and made Naomi this beautiful Cinderella (who slept with Naomi for two whole nights) and Jeffrey a sword! 

Snow in April

It Snowed!! Again!! In April!!! The girls watched...

Just a cute snuggle moment...perhaps she was sad about the snow!

My Little David Cook Baby

Gwen has many nicknames. Gwenie, Gwen Gwen, Penguin, GG, Gwenie Penny, Big Fat, Baby Beluga....but the one that is almost dearest to my heart is My Little David Cook Head. Please note the following pictures...

The eyes throw it off, but they have the same exact HAIR! The man has my child's hair! haha! We laugh every week!