Cartoon Boy

I have been told on a number of occasions that James looks like a little cartoon boy. Some say he looks like Dennis the Menace,

some say Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes.

Personally I definitely think he has a disposition similar to both of them.
At the beginning of this week I cut my hair again.

I think I will forever have a mom haircut. The mom haircut is neither too long nor too short. It always hits at about the shoulders. It can be with or without bangs. Short hair on me looks like I'm trying to be trendy and long hair on me makes me look like a kid. I think I have had a mommy haircut since I was like 12 or 13. I hate hair, in fact if I had the face for it, I would chop off all my hair. But That's the reason I have a mommy haircut, because I don't have the face for anything else.

(Hey I made this shirt. Me likes it, do you likes it?)
We had a lot of thunderstorms this last week, and as a result lots of dogs were out and about. They had somehow managed to get out of their backyard, or off their leash. In fact one dog chased us down the block and finally gave up, the second the came after me I just pepper sprayed. I know I'm heartless. The next day this dog came up to us, and at first I freaked out because I didn't even see him, and suddenly he was right there. But then I realized he was nice, and was kind of shaking. I don't know if he was hungry or what but I saw a sign for a lost dog, so I thought what the heck I'll take it to the address and see if it's theirs. It wasn't and eventually the dog ran off but during the time it was following us James was shrieking with laughter and excitement. Which made me start to wish we had a dog. And for those of you that know me I am not a dog person. I don't hate them, but most of them tend to get on my nerves. So me wanting a dog is huge. But I don't want it for me, it's just them James loves them, animals in general but especially dogs. When we are at the park and we see a dog he could care less about playing, he just wants to follow the dog around. Plus, guess what his favorite movie is? Babe. Seriously!

I tried putting a Winnie the Pooh cartoon on and he watched it for like 5 minutes. But the first time he watched Babe the whole time he was shrieking with laughter. And during Christmas time Stephen and I checked out Marley and Me from the library, and he watched practically the whole thing with us. If Marley wasn't in a scene he'd play with his toys but the minute he would come back on, he was glued to the T.V. That's why I've been flirting with the idea of having a dog lately. Something small but older, so we wouldn't have to potty train it. Like these


But every time I start thinking about it Stephen talks me out of it. Oh well it's probably a good thing. James has just learned two new words this week. Happy and shoe. At first he pronounced shoe as sooj. hahaha. Yesterday James went on an amazing Easter egg hunt with his cousins Camryn and Tamsin. Here are some pictures.





But if you want to see more professionally done pictures of the event, check out my sister-in-law's blog here
Yesterday I had a day out with an old mission companion which was fun. I miss hanging out with other girls sans bebe. I forgot to take pix, maybe next time. Last night my father-in-law took us out to dinner to Ruby River Steakhouse for Stephen's birthday which is this upcoming week.
BTW, I made this cute dress just in time for Easter. I think it turned out rather well considering I totally ruined it originally and then had to do a massive reconstruction on it. Sewing linings on things is not easy for me to do.

Christ Lives!!!

Happy Easter Everyone!!! This is an amazing time of the year to think about our Savior and everything he has done for us. Stephen and I teach a Primary class at church (basically Sunday School for children) to the 5-6 year olds. As I was preparing my lesson I realized that I haven't thought a whole lot about the resurrection this month. This guy during church gave a talk and during the talk he retold a story by President Thomas S. Monson. President Monson told this story about 2 years ago during General Conference about this boy who struggled with cancer (I believe) and had undergone several different treatments. Well the last treatment he underwent he was laying in the hospital bed exhausted, and his dad thought he was sleeping. So, he says to him basically how bad he feels that he has had such a rough life, but that he hoped despite all his hardships that he hadn't lost his faith in Jesus Christ. At that instant the boy bolted up in his bed with a very stern look on his face and said "NEVER!" Not so long after that the boy passed away. I hope I can be like that. No matter what hardships come in my life and/or trials that I will always remain strong and firm in my testimony of Jesus Christ. I know he lives and I love him.

Look How Big He Is

James finally had his 18 month check up at 20.5 months. I waited to take him to get his shots because this last winter he kept getting sick on and off. It all started when started going to nursery. (Come on people, it's okay if you stay home with your sick kids. No one is going to freak out and think you're going inactive.) Tons of kids playing in one room with the same toys, putting things in their mouths. It's bound to happen. Sorry...tangent...anyway he had his check-up. Latest news is he is allergic to strawberries. Nothing too serious, but he does develop a slight rash around the yahoos when he eats them. He also has allergies in general, and has been wheezing a tiny bit lately. Unfortunately that started after his check up, but if he keeps on doing it we'll have to take him back. At 20.5 months James weighs 28.4 pounds (76% percentile) is 35 inches tall (95% percentile) and his head is 49 cm. (85% percentile). The doctor told me by now he should be saying 20-30 words. Now that freaked me out because I only recall like 5 words he says on a regular basis. I had to sit down and write a list of all the words I've heard him say. Here they are: NO, STOP-IT, DON'T, THAT, YES/YEAH, THANK-YOU, HELLO/HI, BYE-BYE, MOM, DAD/DADDY, UP, CUP, WOW, UH-OH, LOVE-YOU (one rare ocassion I heard him say it, but that was the only time). He also makes some sound effects that the doctor said is more common for boys to say first instead of words. They are: POW-POW, KNOCK-KNOCK, MOO, and LA. Then there are a lot of other things he understands but just can't say yet. We're still working on it though. Oh, and by the way...James loves his Daddy!!





Not a whole lot going on. We had a Relief Society Church Activity making Fun Bags for little kids at the Children's Hospital in SLC on Thursday. While we were making it some gals in our ward brought pizza and so here I was trying to be good and eating one piece of pizza and one breadstick. Well at my table there were these two gals, (about my age, my height) who looked like they were both about a size 0. One of them had gobbled up 4 pieces and two breadsticks and the other had eaten 3 pieces and 2 breadsticks. Where do they put it, seriously?!?! So then I thought, these girls must be runners. But then we got on the topic of running because there's this gal in our church that has cancer and another gal at my table was going to do a cancer run to support her. Then they (all the ladies at my table) started taking about how out of shape they were and how they need to work out BLAH BLAH BLAH. I was the biggest person at my table. I'm a size 10. How do these people stay so skinny if they don't work out. I'm not saying I want to be a size 0, which I think actually looks kind of scary, but I'm pretty happy between size 6-8. JEEZ! Anyway, enough of me ranting about how unfair it is that some people just have naturally fast metabolisms. I should be happy because...drumroll please. I have lost 20 pounds in the last year starting from the time I started working out everyday (except Sundays and some Saturdays) and eating healthier to now. Everyday for one year I've worked out, even through the crappy winter weather and when I've been sick I've still walked slowly on the treadmill. Anywhere from 2-4 miles a day, plus 45 minutes of crunches, push-ups (girl style), lifting weights, etc. I'm hoping I can reach my goal by October. I have about 15 pounds left. I'm sure a couple of you have also been wondering what I've sewn lately. Here are just a few things. I haven't sewn as much in the past 3 months, but here's what I have made. (Heads up, I look silly in these pix because Stephen got tired of me wanting to look at every single pix after he took it, so he took a bunch of candid shots of me goofing off and I had to pick from amoung them, and let me tell you they were slim pickings. Admittedly I'm not very photogenic.)

P.P.P.S.

Ha! One more thing. James loves to DANCE. Which mainly consists of him spinning around and around and around in circles. I'm seriously thinking of enrolling him in toddler ballroom dance classes when he's 3 or 4. Assuming he still loves dancing by that time.

Good News

Guess what? After 2 years of not being able to wear my wedding ring, starting around my 5th month of pregnancy, I've finally lost enough weight to wear it again. Okay so it's not a huge deal for you all, but it's a big deal to me. I really like the wedding ring Stephen got me, and admittedly I've been kind of sick of wearing the expandable one I got for like $3. TA DA! Here it is.


Other news? Well you might have guessed we have internet again. Woohoo!!! 9 long months, and believe me we have felt it. Well, at least I have. Stephen had the internet at work so for him it wasn't as much of a deal not to have it as it was for me. We're splitting internet with our neighbor and paying half the cost. So, it's a two-way benefit. But I'm sure you guys don't care about that stuff, you're probably all wondering how James is. He's good, and difficult as ever. I've finally come up with a solution to his picky eating problem. Let me introduce you to "the time-out corner." (Okay so I'm too lazy to take a picture, but imagine a short hallway with a gate that has two doors behind it. The doors are childproofed, so...when he's put intime out, he's pretty much stuck there. No worries, it's only for about 2 minutes.)When he refuses to eat his food, he gets put in time out. Sound harsh? Well it's working! He's almost two, and I'm not going to have a kid that only eats PB&J sandwiches and string cheese, which is what his diet has mainly consisted of for the last few months. Now he eats at least half of the new foods we put in front of him. He might cry while he's eating it, but he still eats it. We're still working on vegetables. Next James news is that he has become a very kissy boy. He kisses all his stuffed animals, and kids in his books. Even if it's just a drawing of a kid and not a real picture of one. Here he is kissing his beloved doggy.


Lately is into shooting everything. He picks up this black tube that is part of the vacuum cleaner and runs around the house shouting "POW POW POW!" That's when I told Stephen we need to start being really careful about what we watch around him.



That's all the latest news I can think of. (Just an FYI, I'll only be updating my blog, as well as checking other peoples once a week on Sundays. I'm trying not to get back into the bad habit of wasting hours on the internet everyday.) Have a good week!

(p.s. I love this hat on James. It makes him look like a WWI pilot. teehee)
(p.p.s For any of you wondering about Stephen and the CHP application process, he finished everything up in March, FINALLY, and now we're waiting. So...who knows, but hopefully something will work out.)

Madder Than Heck...

Anyone else out their as upset as me about what's going on in the government right now?!?! It's ridiculous!!! I know this is very political and sensitive topic, and I will probably get a lot of angry comments from the left...but I really don't care. What I don't get is why democrats would rather continue funding woman out their that want to get an abortion (aka: kill an innocent unborn child) rather than fund people in the military that are risking their lives, despite the fact that they have thier own families at home to support. Wives, husbands, children, etc. praying for them every day so that they can get home soemday safely. These men and women risk their lives for us, and in return they are just getting slapped in the face and told "Hey, sorry, but we'd rather give money to irresponsible woman (who couldn't use protection for heaven sake, or practice some self-restraint/abstinence) who don't want to take any responsibility for their actions, (and can only think of themselves and use the easy way out) rather than woman and men who are dying for this country." It's sick. Why don't people who want abortions for once in their selfish lives think about someone other than themselves, save an unborn child, and find the child a nice home to go to, a home where a couple has been waiting years and years for that child to be a part of their family. You know what, being pregnant isn't easy, or fun, but when you look at your life and think how short 9 months is, is it really that long to sacrifice for that child. If you say "yes" than you are a selfish person and a contributor to why this country is falling apart. (One of the reasons this country is falling apart is because people can only think about themselves, and what they want.) It seems to me that the democrats pushing for funding abortions in "Planned Parenthood" would rather see unborn children aborted, and children of parents in the military go hungry than do what's best for everyone all around. It's sick, it's upsetting. Does anyone else find this as ridiculous as me? (Note: I don't think all democrats are bad, just the ones that are pushing for "Planned Parenthood" funding abortions rather than those people that are in the military.)