Bare Bottomed Duck Hunt

So at the time this video was taken, I was so excited about how much Annabeth loved the water. I thought she was brave to prefer her tummy and splash so violently. Now, two weeks later, I realize that this video is a rather tentative attempt at flooding the bathroom every morning. She is MUCH more into splashing now than she ever was before. She is also much more into bath time. She loves to crawl into the bathroom and bang on the tub, and today she attempted to climb into it. And all it took to stop her screaming about the giant goose egg she gave herself was to turn the water on. She immediately began kicking her legs and flailing her arms ready to splash. One day I'll quit being lazy and take another video, but for now, here is this one.

For the record, my husband would like to wash his hands of this video. He does not approve of posting our child's bath time nakedness, but I say, every baby had a butt, so here is Annabeths!(She can hate me when she's older.)

Brain Freeze...yuck...

I bet you thought this post would be about something happy, like ice cream. WRONG! It's about a brain freeze.

You can't force creativity, which really sucks. Because sometimes I get in the mood to write and I get out a brand new notebook and....stare at it. It is one of the most frustrating things in my life. It's almost like meeting new people, when i know I should be friendly and nice and say "Hello!" and then.........i short out... I have a saying I like, "I'm just socially aware enough to know that I am socially awkward." Having recently moved to a new ward I am more aware than ever. The fact that my husband is so amazing at meeting new people makes it easier for me, and also more frustrating, because it leaves me with more time standing by him with brain freeze....

And since my brain is currently frozen....i can't think of anything else to write...so that's all....

Wonder....

So it has been a while since I found the time to update my blog. The reason for this is in short...we moved, "Ta da!" What you had no idea we were moving? Well neither did we. But it all worked out for the best at least on our end. My Aunt and uncle came home from their mission early for medical reasons and we are praying hard for my Aunt Louise who has cancer. (please feel free to join with us in that)...

But the subject of my update today is my musings....My little sister Tory has a favorite movie which she has been begging me to watch for a long time, which i finally did. Rise of the Guardians, for those of you who haven't seen it it is all about all those childhood heroes and how they protect the world, not just spread joy. Santa, the Easter bunny ect. ect.  The reason each of the guardians are chosen is because of some element of childhood they posses.  Santa at his very core represents "Wonder".

Since we watched the movie I've been thinking a lot about this idea of "wonder". It's true, it is a quality children posses. Everything is so much ....more when you are a kid. The grand canyon is endless, not just deep. A new toy is magical not just new. But I think true wonder is not something I really experienced until I became a mother. 

I find endless wonder in watching Annabeth. I vividly remember the moment months ago when she discovered she could command her hand to pick things up and drop them again. I could watch her fascination with the pattern on a blanket all morning and never get tired of it. The wonder she experiences as a child I experience ten fold as her mother. Which is why being a mother is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. (Pun intended because I am married to Joseph, that's why."

-the end. 

On the Move! - And other videos for your viewing pleasure.

I've been promising a few videos to Grammie and Auntie Twee for a few days, so here they are. Also there are a few pictures of Melissa's kids, taken by themselves. I wish I had time to write more but I'm off to work here in a moment.

Baby Fight!

In a previous post I mentioned my husbands love for baby fights, and how the babies themselves tend to prefer chewing on fists to fighting. So without further ado I introduce to you the light weight champion of the world, Queen of the Ring Miss. Elsieeeeeee (you have to read it with a boxing announcer voice) who clearly knows how a baby fight is meant to go down.

no babies where harmed in the making of this photo

Yes not only is the extremely advanced little missy punching Annabeth, she managed to get herself as well. I am so glad that Annabeth has a little cousin just her age to play with, and so many other cousins close to her age. She is one lucky little girl. 

Woe is me....and other whinny things

There is the cutest little girl who comes in to the bank once, sometimes twice, a week. She has blond curly hair and big green eyes and she is always dancing about. She loves to chat with the tellers and is full of giggles and funny things to say. She is in short, very much like I would like to imagine Annabeth will be in two or three years. She comes with her grandma, and when offered a treat she always asks for one to take to her mother. "My mommy is at work," she will tell us every single visit. "My mommy is at work, and I get to see her when she gets off at X time, and we will play after dinner." Or "I will get to visit my mommy at her work tonight because she will not get off until after I am asleep." And even sometimes, "My mommy is at work, so I am sleeping at grandma's tonight."

She is such a happy little girl, and she also tells us about adventures she has with her grandma and all the things she does with her. It's not as if she is depressed or seems mistreated in anyway and yet every time I here her tiny little voice tell my, "My mommy is at work," I feel like crying. Joseph still has two years of school for sure, and possibly as many as four. So it very well could be little Annabeth in a few years, mentioning to every stranger she meets, "My mommy is at work." It is very depressing to me, even though I know that she is with her dad or one of her aunts. But I'm just feeling whiny today is all. I don't want to be at work catching who knows what off other peoples nasty money that they pull out of bras and other equally disturbing hidey-holes on their person.  I don't want to listen to the snide comments old people make about the technology we use to help us count and say, "oh is that money counter cheaper than hearing someone who knows how to count?" or "So this is what your doing with your college degree? Counting to twenty?"- and YES, people have actually said those exact things to me. Which is particularly depressing when I accidentally count wrong. 

I also don't want to think about the fact Joseph's car broke down this morning, or that my car needs knew tiers and has a serious alignment problem. All of which indicate that I will have to keep my job, or that we need to start thinking about moving, which will mean packing and cleaning and a thousand thinks which will make it harder for me to spend time with Annabeth, and mean rent, which will again mean, no staying at home with the baby anytime soon. And oh that nasty little requirement of 'insurance' which REALLY means I have to keep working. Not that I dislike my job really, counting to twenty five hundreds of times a day really is quite a cushy set up really, even if it does seem like a waist of a college education sometimes. And I love the girls I work with.  I just hate dropping of a baby who know knows to cry when I leave her. I hate waking her up from a nap (because she already hates naps and doesn't always take one, let alone a long one) to shove her in her car seat. I hate counting every minute of the morning so that I can get what i need to done and still have time for her. I hate that I never get whet I need to done. I hate that in order to see family every weekend we have to leave late and leave messes behind that I am eternally trying to clean. I hate that I never get to sleep, and I pity my poor husband because I am a grouchy tired person. I hate that i never get to see my husband because we are almost never home at the same time.....

But since this has been a particularly depressing message, here is a picture to brighten your day!

This is Annabeth and her little buddy Juniper, having a baby fight. Their dads insist on baby fights every time they get together, so far, they just chew on their fists, and occasionally the other baby's fist. But they are sure cute!

A Parade in Cuteness!!

I have been meaning to post pictures for a long time, and to write about the joys of motherhood and all our family adventures...but the fact is I'm too lazy at the moment so instead I will present you with a parade of cutness, from oldest to youngest. My nieces and nephews on the Mills side of the family, and of course my own darling baby.