ew. ew. ew.

I would consider myself a lover of bugs- an amateur entomologist of sorts. I think insects are beautiful. I collect them even. This evening, however, I was totally freaked out by this disgusting creature that decided to make itself at home in our apartment. Kent could not believe that it made me screech. I quickly pointed out that by the strictest of definitions this hideous creature was NOT an insect and therefore I did not like it. Even the pictures gross me out. I stumbled upon this thing running down our hallway. It was HUMONGOUS. These pictures do no justice to its magnitude. There had better be NO MORE of them.

Why is it that I love when Zeb talks? He has been talking up a storm lately and I am obsessed. He makes me laugh so hard.

I love when he gets so excited driving to the church for our numerous activities that all he can do is say his friends' names over and over and over again.

I love when I hear him in his bedroom after he wakes up from his nap making up scenarios about trains. "percy, oh no! oh, rosie, I love you. Henry, please stop!"

I love that the first thing he says when he sees me after naps is "mama- where's Ike?" and then responds to himself with shrugged shoulders saying "I don't know".

I love that when I ask him if he wants an apple-he questions "Apple?" and replies with "yes! I do, I do!"

I love that wherever we go he is constantly pointing out and shouting out the letters and numbers he sees!

He is such a little smarty pants and mimics everything we say- which means we've got to be very very careful.

family pictures

After church today we decided to try and take a family picture since everybody looked relatively put together! As you can see- the only one that would cooperate was Ike.

Zeb was napless and therefore extremely uncooperative. The timer on the camera only offered the 2 or 10 second option. Ten seconds was too long for Zeb to sit still and two seconds didn't give us the chance to get everybody situated. The one picture we finally got with everybody in it was blurry. We'll try again next week (maybe).

Ike is pretty stinking cute though.

He's so sick of my picture taking that he's finally started to give me the courtesy smile. I am surprised that I could get him to give me a genuine smile for so long. I do like his squinty little eyes in his fake smile though!Zeb has finally taken to a toy other than his trains lately. He plays with this "toy" (that's what he calls it) daily for at least an hour combined time. He LOVES it and is very meticulous with each colored peg. It has also been helpful in his mastery of colors. The kid has known all of his letters and numbers for months now- but he always got bored when I tried to teach him colors. Don't most kids learn their colors before numbers and letters?

Here's our little monkey- getting happier by the day. Zeb was a lot more interactive and expressive by this age- but I think he probably had a lot more individualized attention! and actually I couldn't be happier about little Ike's demeanor. He's been calm and easy since the day he was born- and I can only hope it's a permanent trait. He's always full of little smiles and peaceful glances.
I don't think that I would ever use the word calm to characterize Zeb! He's a wonderful child- just not calm (and most of his glances are anything but peaceful) :)

don't worry- no hard feelings (towards salty anyway).

Here's the kid dead asleep this evening with salty in hand.

Due to his new bath toys (thanks gma pat!) and the blue water- we couldn't get zeb out of the tub tonight! That is until kent did this:

Why do Kent and I find such humor in these sorts of things?

seven weeks today!

Check out that double chin. He's getting fatter by the day! hip hip hooray!

He still sleeps like a champ- especially whenever we go out in public. The second he gets into his car seat and I put the cover over his head- he's out like a light until we get back home. It makes working out, grocery shopping, playgroup, etc. a breeze!

the weekend birthday

Today is the first day in quite a while that we haven't had any friends or family staying with us and we are finally adjusting back to regular life. I miss everybody tremendously (the babysitting/ entertainment/housekeeping help was wonderful!) but it is also so nice to have everything back to normal.
And here is the long awaited pic of my haircut. Yes, I know that you can't see it very well- but it was the only shot of me that I liked- and we all know that I DON'T post pictures of myself that I find unflattering. You'll have to wait until later to see more. I am more fond of the cut now that I'm used to it and am better at doing it. It forces me to actually do it more often- and it's much easier really. The only downside is that I have to bobby pin it when I go running or wear it up- but hopefully I outgrow that stage pretty quickly.

I've been so busy the past seven weeks (can you believe that Ike is SEVEN weeks old tomorrow!!!) that I haven't been keeping up on my daily posts- but I think things are calmed down to a level at which I can return to my everyday blogging. I was going to post last night but we ended up finishing off my unfinished birthday festivities!! I think that the best part of a weekend birthday is that it sort of becomes a two day celebration!

Kent basically took every baby night shift this weekend (ike seems to have hit a growth spurt and is getting up twice at night instead of once) and I got lots of fabulous sleep! Yesterday after church he made dinner- cleaned it up- got the kids ready and into bed- and we got to watch Twilight. Even though I am not a fan of the books- I still wanted to see the movie adaptation.

Also-my friend (and wonderful visiting teacher) sherri brought me an entire GINORMOUS bowl of my favorite snack EVER. Thank you sooooo much sherri. Chocolate chex caramel crunch. I have to post about it because I think everybody needs to know about it. It really may be my favorite snack of all time. The recipe is here. It's got to be the brown sugar, butter, and chocolate that make this stuff so insanely delectable. In fact- it is so good that I packaged up the rest this morning into zip lock bags and gave them to Al, Roxanne, and Ellen (our wonderful office/maintenance people) so I couldn't eat it all. I really have no self control when it comes to these types of things and I'm still not fitting comfortably into my favorite jeans- so I had to remove the temptation altogether.

Zeb is still soooo good with Ike and seems to be doing pretty well with everything. I'm trying so hard to remember that he isn't even two years old yet- and that I can't expect perfect behavior at all times. He's got some great new nursery leaders that have helped tremendously in getting him to be happy. He still throws his fits- but we are learning lots of ways to prevent and diffuse them. He LOVES to help me clean around the house and is ALWAYS singing the "clean up- clean up! everybody everywhere" song. Let's hope he continues loving to clean and follows in his father's footsteps and NOT mine. Kent is such an efficient speedy cleaner and actually enjoys it to an extent. I still loathe cleaning of every sort.
Here's the little rugrat with his quasimodo eye.
It's the opposite eye- but don't you think they look pretty similar?

I don't want our nanny to leave tomorrow!!!

I think I'm starting to realize that once you've got kiddos- a birthday isn't what it used to be! I am so lucky that metta was here today! We went to the mall this morning to look for something fun and Kent spent the ENTIRE time chasing Zeb. The world is Zeb's playground and he had a blast but I'm so glad that I had someone to actually shop with! Then all I really wanted to do was go running- but Zeb was EXHAUSTED. Luckily Metta stayed home while he napped so Kent and I could go running. It was so nice.
Finally this evening Kent and I got to go out while metta read books and played trains with Zeb. She even got him to sleep :) Newborns are so much easier than toddlers!!!! I'm so sad that our nanny is leaving tomorrow morning!










oh- and zeb did get his trains back today. He threw a fit while we were working out at the church on thursday (and it seems that all tantrums at the church somehow stem from trains) so he lost the privileges. He actually did pretty well without them and seemed to understand what was going on. He also knows that the same consequence stands for subsequent tantrums.

it's been a day or two!

We've been busy busy busy the past two days! luckily the busy included driving up to detroit to pick up auntie met spaghet! Zeb was so excited to see "etta" but was even more excited when he realized that she came bearing gifts. Metta brought "Rosie" - the girliest pinkest train that exists. Very fitting from aunt metta. I would include a picture of the two (zeb and rosie) except that this morning Zeb lost all train privileges for the day. I think he'll get to play with them again before met leaves so that she can see how much he loves rosie- but for now- NO FREAKING TRAINS.

Here's metta with Ike. I love metta's red flower headband.
And here is Ikey with his mum. I am so glad that he can smile.

more visitors!!!

We have been so spoiled with visitors in the past few months! We kind of stretched out Kent's spring break to last a little longer with more visitors this week. Our great friend, Brad, came and visited the past few days from Rochester while on his spring break from med school. We got to show him around toledo- celebrate my birthday early at Red Robin (you get a free meal for your bday if you sign up via email!)- and just eat a lot of junk food and chat! Thank you so much for visiting, brad- we loved it!
and tomorrow my wonderful sister Metta arrives to spoil Zeb and have some fun! I can't wait to have her here- especially since the weather has been improving so much and we can get outside!!!!

my apologies to our dear friend (and houseguest) brad!)

It's 11 am and here are my kiddos. Neither have decided to get up for the day yet. We had a LONG night and unfortunately Kent and Brad (hooray for visitors!!) had to be off early to school!









Zeb is still asleep because he didn't sleep last night. He was up from midnight to five thirty this morning for reasons still unknown. He woke up at midnight and had all sorts of ridiculous crying fits until five thirty. No fever- miraculously no cough- and no other obvious symptoms. He was rolling and writhing a lot- and screaming but nothing more to specify a problem. For awhile I thought his appendix had burst or something. He was pretty inconsolable. He calmed down a few times to eat- to watch thomas or to try and doze off but the breaks were short lived. Poor dang kid. I HATE not knowing what is wrong with kidlets. I HATE when they are miserable and inconsolable. It makes me feel terrible and insanely nervous. I thought for sure his appendix was rupturing or something. Obviously he is not having problems anymore because he is still dead asleep! And what did Ike do through all of the drama of last night? he did what he always does. He slept. He still sleeps. We have the most ridiculously easy baby.

updates

Today we took our run outside and were met by this. I'm kinda devastated. It's going to take quite awhile for the water to subside- and even longer for the bridge to be repaired. We'll just have to change our route. At least the weather is changing and we can run outside.

In other excitement- it's been just over five weeks and Ike has started to come alive! Lots of big smiles- some coos- and great eye contact and focus. His zits are terrible- but I try to love him all the same :) We still can't tell at all who he looks like.

Little zebby is feeling much better- he just doesn't have much of a voice. The kid has been sleeping on his bed lately and the other night we had a bit of an adventure. With zeb's cough we had decided to divide and conquer the nighttime routine. I was in charge of Ike and Kent was in charge of Z. Kent went to check on Zeb in the middle of the night but he wasn't in his bed. He checked the front room couches...no Zeb. He checked our bed in case he'd snuck in... no zeb. Apparently he tried to wake me up to see if I knew where he was but I wouldn't budge. He went back to zeb's room and heard a little whimper but couldn't see anything. Finally after a thorough search he found the little rugrat curled up under the far corner of his bed against the wall. We have NO idea how he got there. The bed is WAY low to the ground and a full size mattress. It was no small feat for zeb to shimmy his way into the corner- and getting him out was equally as difficult. Little kids are so strange! Kent did a lot of sleep walking and talking as a child so it appears Zeb may take after his dad.

Goodbye Millers!

Last night Kent drove his family up to Detroit so they could head home! Zeb was absolutely devastated to say the least. Every time visitors show up and have fun with him- they leave again. Z man loves to be spoiled! He had so much fun with his grandma and grandpa and fell in love with his aunt melynda (as do all children). He had an especially hard time saying goodbye to her (and to her giant chapsticks). He'd even cry for her when he had to ride in a separate car as we drove around town!!! Good thing we've got another aunt (met spaghet!) headed here next week.
It was so nice to have the Millers come and visit! We loved showing off Toledo- although it's a much more pleasant (looking) place in the spring and fall. Thanks for everything!!! Please please please come again!

I thought that we had miraculously escaped the sick causing microbes running amuck here in toledo. Turns out we didn't. Poor little zebby has come down with something. Lots of mucus, coughing, and a constant two day fever. I think he's on the up- but he didn't sleep well last night and we didn't make it to Kirtland yesterday with Kent's parents because of it. It just means they'll have to come back so we can take them next time :)

Here's Z man curled up with tig-tig watching some Mickey mouse clubhouse.

Last week's news!

I should have posted this last week but didn't ever get around to it! I also should have taken some family pictures of us in our summer gear. We had a ward luau last Saturday night and got to wear luau appropriate clothing. Luckily the temps stayed above freezing so we didn't get frostbite or lose any toes.

Ike slept the entire evening. I finally got him out of his carseat to make a debut (people were starting to doubt his existence because he's always asleep and we just leave him covered in his seat) and Luke, one of my seminary students, got him awake for about two minutes. He quickly zonked again while Luke was holding him.

Here's our little zebby in his shorts and summer shoes. He looked so cute and all grown up.

one month well check...

My rugrat finally decided to start growing. Since his last appointment two weeks ago, Ike gained one pound and eight ounces! He now weighs 8'9"- you can almost see his double chin. He also sprouted two inches. Thank heavens.

He is still a sleeping machine. Today we couldn't do ANYthing to keep him awake. Here I am holding him upright. He didn't even flinch.


Oh, and last night I CHOPPED my hair. I'm not ready to post any pictures- and I'm still debating on whether or not I'm super pleased with the cut. It's pretty short and pretty drastic. I really needed a cut and I'm happy that it's different- but it's just still so new. Hopefully I can build up the courage to post a picture soon.

zoo day.

Warning: Leisy has turned the blogging reins over while school is out.

Today we ventured out to the zoo in the nice weather! it was wonderful and buckets of fun. Fish, Penguins, Elephants, Hippos, Orangutans, Monkeys, Grandpa and many other exciting creatures were there to entertain us. Our favorite was when Grandpa Brent spread his wings and smiled!! The weather cooperated and gave us a good amount of blue skies and sunshine. After relentless rain and tornado warnings we considered a beautiful day a blessing. We covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time. We love our zoo!!
Zeb thinks he is far too big for a stroller and insists on pushing it himself. Melynda tried to help him a few times and got screamed at. Grandma got a very loud "MINE" shouted at her. Really the boy is cute but he's exploring his aggressive side. Ike slept. I like Ike.
No trip to Toledo would be complete without dining at the infamous Tony Packo's!! After the meal everyone expressed their feelings about the food... "It was good" "I really liked it" My Dad: "That was different..."













Stay tuned for further Toledo adventures...

blessed baby and tornado tornado tornado!

Grandma Pat, Grandpa Brent, and auntie Melynda arrived yesterday to meet Ike and be here for Ike's baby blessing today.
The blessing was great and Ike was perfect (as usual). I am not a fan of fancy blessing outfits on babies- but kent's mom knit Ike the cutest little sweater to wear and it was adorable. He looked like a little old man.
The best part of the day was when Kent's family took our kiddos home after sacrament meeting and Kent and I got to enjoy our meetings childless for the first time in a long long time!
Ike's baby acne decided to get really bad just in time for his grandparent's arrival and the blessing!












The Millers will be here for the majority of this week so I'm sure we'll have LOTS more pics and adventures to post.

In other exciting news we had three tornadoes touch down this evening not too far from Toledo! The tornado sirens went off while we were sitting chatting. I thought it was just a siren test until I turned on the tv and realized there was a major storm with rotating clouds headed our directions! It was rather fun and adventurous- but made Kent's dad mighty nervous! It was actually pretty intense and we were warned to take cover in small windowless rooms or stairwells. I did neither- hoping to catch a glimpse of something exciting. The storm ended up dissipating just before it reached us. It did leave us with some pretty cool clouds and bright blue skies afterwards though.

Having two really isn't that bad. Getting ready is a little more drawn out- and I have to pay more attention to my timing when we are out- but besides that things already feel totally normal. Really the ease has nothing to do with me - it's all thanks to the fact that I have the perfect little baby- he rarely throws wrenches in my plans (those are all thrown in by zeb). I have, however, noticed that I've been missing days of blogging lately. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning I realize I didn't post anything the day before. I'm not sure if it's me just forgetting- or having less time- or what! I went a really long time without missing any days- and in the past month I've missed quite a few :)


Luckily we have plenty to blog about from yesterday! WE went OUTSIDE! and went running/walking and played at the park! It was HEAVENLY. It was over 60 degrees out. I can't wait for the green to start coming out on the trees and for the grass to pop back up. Zeb was so happy to be be in his stroller and to run around at the park!! I think he forgot how to run on uneven ground though- he tripped and fell at least ten times! Funnily he was never worried about any pain or injuries- he was just always stressed out about the dirt and wood chips on his hands.

here's our little sleeper.

He is such a good baby. Too bad the baby zits are starting to show up! Zeb's stuck around until he was five months old!!

Zebby had a pretty good day today. We went to playgroup but first had a lengthy discussion about appropriate behavior. There was however a rather small turnout and that may have affected his performance (for the good). We've also started to notice that going to bed is harder for him right now. There are no tears or tantrums- he just questions us as to why Ike gets to stay up and be held while he has to go to bed. He's already using the drink trick amongst others to lengthen out the process. I can totally understand his frustration about it- I would be asking those same questions if I were in his place. "Why does the new kid get to stay up while I have to go to bed??!?!"

New Recipe.
I've been in search of a great pizza crust recipe forEVER. This one comes from my cousin Rachael (THANK-YOU thankyou thank-YOU!!!!) and is absolutely wonderful. It makes a great crust and fabulous breadsticks. Zoom in on the pic for the full delicious effect. Yum-o. She has posted the recipe on her blog- but I wanted to post it as well so I could add it to my favorite recipe collection. We've already made it quite a few times!!

1 c hot water
2 Tbs milk
1 Tbs shortening
1 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp quick rise yeast (1 1/2 active dry)
add
3 Cups and 1 Tbsp flour

Knead for 5-10 minutes, til smooth elastic ball. Let rise about 45 minutes. Deflate gently and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Roll into 2 thin pizzas, one thick one or use for calzones. You can refrigerate dough in an oiled plastic bag for up to two days. It also makes yummy breadsticks (cut with a pizza cutter, twisted and rolled in butter, sprinkled with garlic powder and parmesan and placed on a cookie sheet). Bake about 415-420 for 15 minutes.

Zeb has decided to peak in his tantrum throwing phase (this had BETTER be the peak anyway). It's getting to the point where I am actually considering not taking him into public for awhile. I've never actually considered skipping story time or playgroup because I enjoy getting out of the house and talking with friends- but right now I've got to pick my battles. What in heavens name are we doing wrong?! Sometimes he is so bad it's embarrassing. Usually it's over some object or desire- but other times it's just a random heinous act against ME! I realize that his life has just changed and things are harder for him- but I don't see other kids reacting like this. Here is a picture mid tantrum. The ones at home aren't nearly as dramatic or long as those out in public.

Here's our little Ike after his bath this evening.

And here's the rugrat Zeb at the very same age after one of his baths.