The Shoulder Shimmy?

We're not sure what to call this: the worm? an army crawl? or my personal favorite, the shoulder shimmy.

Looks like there are now 4 of us in the house vying for control of the t.v.

Worth It

Lately Isaac has been struggling with screaming--as in, he screams all the time.

When he's happy, when he's sad, when he wants the toy you're playing with...all the time.

While I have been reassured by friends and family alike that this is a phase many children go through--and that he will, in fact, grow out of it---it can still be frustrating.

The other day (after a full morning of screaming) I wanted to scream back at him "STOP SCREAMING!" but the logical part of my brain told me that it wouldn't be very effective.

I had a moment a couple of days ago that made all my trials of motherhood thus far (including the screaming) totally worth it, and I wanted to document it before I forget.

Maddie and Isaac had been sleeping for just over an hour when I heard Maddie crying. I thought I would sneak in and get her before she woke up her older brother.

I opened the door as quietly as possible and peaked inside.

I was too late.

Isaac, who hadn't noticed me, was standing up in his crib right next to Maddie's (the cribs are set up end to end).

He kept saying to her, over and over, "What's wrong Maddie, huh? What's wrong?"

She stopped crying and started smiling and cooing at him. He then proceeded to play peek-a-boo with her. They were both smiling and giggling and still had no idea that I was there.

I rushed to find the camera in hopes of getting a little video clip of the situation. Instead of pushing the record button, I accidentally hit the "snap a picture" button.

The flash went off and I was caught.

Isaac looked up at me and smiled and said "CHEESE!"

Nap time ended then and there, but it was totally worth it.

Tag You're It

I was tagged by my sister...Question and Answer: Answer the following questions with ONE word answers and one word only!Then pass it on..

Sorry I just couldn't do some of them in only one word. I did the best I could...

1. Where is your cell phone? unknown

2. Where is your significant other? school

3. Your hair color? brown

4. Your mother? charitable

5. Your father? Mr.Lucky

6. Your favorite thing? Family

7. Your dream last night? none

8. Your dream/goal? doctorate

9. The room you’re in? bedroom

10. Your hobby? sewing

11. Your fear? Losing

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? casita

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. What you’re not? sweating

15. One of your wish-list items? boots

16. Where you grew up? Kaysville/SanDiego

17. The last thing you did? phone

18. What are you wearing? jeans

19. Your TV? off

20. Your pet? Ryan :)

21. Your computer? Dinosaur

22. Your mood? Feliz

23. Missing someone? many

24. Your car? minivan

25. Something you’re not wearing? earrings

26. Favorite store? Costco

27. Your summer? tooshort

28. Love someone? muchisimo

29. Your favorite color? pink/brown/green

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Utah

I tag YOU.

Surviving Subzero Temperatures

It is currently -10 degrees outside with a windchill factor of -35.

Last night it got as cold as -17 degrees with a windchill of who-knows-how-low.

According to the news, it's the coldest it's been in Iowa since 1999.

Anyone want to come for a visit?

Needless to say, I decided to keep the kids inside today, afraid to even venture out to the library. It's not even noon yet and I am already out of ideas to keep us sane! We've already:

• made pancakes
• played beauty salon
• ran around the apartment playing tag
• and crawled all over the floor playing "horsey."

We even attempted to break out the puppet show we received for Christmas (note to self--Wait for Ryan before breaking out the puppet show by yourself again).

Thank goodness for Baby Einstein.

Maddie wasn't as thrilled as I was to play "Beauty Salon." But Isaac was. He wanted this clip... and this one... The finished product that lasted all of 5 minutes before he took them out. A less-than-decent picture of the doorway puppet show stage. Maddie, much happier to be playing with her monkey puppet than getting her hair done.

Our Christmas in Pictures

This post is well overdue for a couple of reasons: First, I have felt super-busy this week, just trying to catch up and get back into the swing of things (can anyone relate?); second, I had to wait for all of my sisters to post their pictures about Christmas so I could swipe as many of them as possible from their blogs(I never seemed to have my camera out during any Kodak moments). So here you have it, in no particular order (since I'm too lazy to organize the photos):

Olivia, Maggie, and Madelyn--the 3 granddaughters on the Mike and Mad side of the family (soon to be 4--my sister is preggers with her first girl!)

Ellie and Isaac learning to make Jello salad (a staple in any Mormon home) with Grandma.

Me with my favorite 10 year-old girl, Natalee.

Isaac and Ellie entertaining themselves at the annual Christmas party.

Isaac and Ryan at Temple Square.

Isaac and I at Temple Square.

Beck and Isaac sledding in Grandpa Mike's backyard. You know your Grandma loves you when she willingly pulls you in a sled around her yard like a horse.

Maddie enjoying the swing, despite the winter chill.

Jer and Maddie quickly became bffs---word has it that no one has melted his heart like this since he first met his pet turtle, Homer.

Maddie and I on Christmas Eve--she's definitely my little angel.

Fischer loading up on the endless sugar available at Grandma's house.

The Great Grandparents with Maddie.

Maddie and Brooke met for the first time--a Christmas miracle for sure.

My bro and his fam at the bowling alley.

Isaac enjoyed bowling with Ryan.

While Maddie had a ball sitting in her carseat (she's easily entertained).

He also liked bowling with me...

and especially liked bowling all by himself (with some help from the ramp and a little adult supervision, of course).

Livy and a crazy-haired Maddie.

Isaac at the bi-annual Grandkids' sleepover. Here he is participating in the money grab. Any guesses as to how much loot he snagged from Grandpa? A penny. My boy dropped all the coins he had in his hand except one lone penny. We'll definitely be practicing before next year's money grab. Luckily Gramps took pity on him and lobbed him (me) $12. Not bad.

Playing games at the sleepover.

Addie thought she was the Belle of the Ball parading around on her new toy car--it was pretty cute.

Maddie had to give it a spin as well.

I love this picture--isn't she adorable?

These two are 6 weeks apart--it will be crazy to see what they are like a year from now.

Christmas dinner, South African style.

We took a trip up to the Hill Air Force Base Museum. Isaac was in heaven with all the "helicocters."

It was a great trip. It's nice to have two places where we feel at home--Utah and Iowa. Happy New Year everybody!