Sunday, October 6, 2013

M at Eighteen Months

003
I know it’s cliché, I really do, but I can’t help it. I can’t help but marvel at how big M is getting. I seriously can’t believe he’s a year and a half. Head explodes. At his well-check a few days ago he weighted twenty-five pounds and was thirty-two inches tall.

I’m sad I missed an update last month (it will probably kind of forever bug me that there’s a gap), so I wanted to hurry and write this one so I don’t fall any more behind.

Lately this kiddo will surprise me with the things that he knows and does. For example, we were watching a video of him at Disneyland meeting Pooh Bear and when the video ended, M hopped off the couch, ran into his room, and grabbed his stuffed Pooh Bear to show me. It was so cute! M will also imitate things he sees in books, making faces like the babies in his story or shaking his finger “no no no” at a particular page in his Curious George book. M is very into the word, “no” these days. He especially likes scolding Lizzy with a shaking finger and “no no no” if he hears her barking at the fence. He is also very into shaking and nodding his head when we ask him questions. So cute. 

M also really likes the word, “amen.” He will often use it repeatedly when he wants something to be over (prayer, scriptures, mealtime preparation, storytime…). It was kind of funny to hear him say “amen” several times during General Conference. It’s also kind of funny because he says AH-men. Not AY-men. 

M’s still a good little eater and will eat most things. He just loves his food. He has taken to blowing on each bite of food because he has seen us do it so often. It’s funny to watch him carefully “cool down” bites of pear or berry or other foods that certainly don’t need it.
004
M has started going to nursery! So far he’s just been a few times with one of us to kind of get him used to the idea. We were able to slip out a few times without him getting upset, so hopefully he’ll continue to love it. I was amazed the last time I was in there with him how well M seemed to fit in with the “big kids” in nursery. When he lined up along the wall with his peers to get ready for singing time, he knew just what to do and where to go. He seemed so big to me as he did some of the hand signals along with the songs. It had always felt like he was still too little for nursery, but in the space of week I could finally see him fitting in there.

M is very interested in doing what the big people are doing. He ADORES wearing his daddy’s shoes. He is obsessed with putting on our glasses. He also always wants a hair-tie around his wrist because mommy always has one around hers. He loves helping me with chores because it makes him feel big. He has to have his own little rag when I do dusting, so he can follow along behind, carefully wiping his cloth along the (already clean) furniture. He absolutely has to help unload the dishwasher. For some reason, this is one of his favorite activities. He knows that he is allowed to hand me the plastic plates and silverware, and he takes his job of handing each item over, one by one, very seriously. And he’s actually very good at cleaning up after himself. He likes putting all his toys away while we sing the “Clean Up” song. I hope he’s always so eager to help! I’m enjoying this stage of his development where he WANTS to clean, even though his “help” certainly makes each task take twice as long.
A
A
M loves Mickey Mouse. I think he started to especially love him after our trip to Disneyland. He gets very excited when we pull his Mickey Mouse jammies out at bedtime. And that kid… he is just too cute for words when he is sleeping. Sometimes I just HAVE to take a picture, even though I know I risk waking him up with the flash. But I just never want to forget his sweet little sleeping face. 

I thought about making this a post all of its own, but decided to just throw it in here. M is absolutely obsessed with getting into things. Literally. He loves perching in or on any box, basket, or bookshelf that can fit his little diaper bum. I am constantly finding him inside cupboards. He will empty the entire thing and then climb right inside and close the door. It scared me a little bit one time because he climbed in the pot and pan cupboard, closed the door, and then was so quiet I didn’t know where he had gone! 

More Places He Perches:
002008013001
012
pot1
For the most part, M climbed into each of the above little perches all on his own. It wasn’t until I was ordering pictures the other day that I really even realized just HOW often M parks it in odd spots. He loves finding his own little nook to hide out in.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Sunday Best

051a
Recently we took some pictures after church. No reason other than the sky was amazing and the flowers were so lovely. I wanted to capture it all before winter takes the colors away. I love how M is pointing at the camera (as per usual) in the top one. I was waiting to share them until after I got all caught up on vacation posts, but I’m not sure if I’ll EVER be all caught up… so here they are.
001002
007a025b
I especially love this little sequence:
044045046047048049
So happy to be frolicking through the flowers! These were taken pre-haircut. My little wild man with his wonky hair and un-tucked shirt, romping around in his Sunday clothes without a care in the world. Gosh I love him so. 
058a067a
Self timer. Woot.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

The Mentalist

004a
Since tonight is the season premier of the (last season :( of the) Mentalist, I thought it was an appropriate time to write a post about my near brush with Simon Baker.

Okay, that probably makes it sound more exciting than it really was, but it makes for a good memory at very least. So, when I was visiting my sister in LA we were driving around Glendale when we saw the signs that are posted when filming is going on. I should have taken a picture of one, but here’s what they look like, just so you have an idea:
mentalist
I guess they use them to direct film crews where to go… or something. I’m not entirely sure, but we saw a bunch of yellow signs like that one with “CBI” written on them and we just knew in our hearts they were filming the Mentalist somewhere nearby. Shari did some searching online and confirmed that they were indeed filming in Glendale that day. Well, we decided that we would do some detective work of our own and find where they were filming. We were going to find Patrick Jane by golly.

I guess I should interrupt the story to explain that we’re really not creepers or anything. And I’m not really a star-struck kind of person. But I do really like the Mentalist. It’s pretty much the only show Spencer and I watch right now (We don’t have TV, ironically. Well we have A TV, but we only have bunny ears so I can watch Spencer.). We are kind of in love with the Mentalist and have had many a conversation about who we think Red John is. So we kind of thought it would be fun to see them in action.

So, Shari and I set off on our adventure. We followed the signs to a Hilton and were so bold as to poke around the hotel lobby and even interrogated a security guard (who wouldn’t tell us where they were filming, of course). We also questioned some poor cameraman who was so unfortunate to get stuck in an elevator with us, but he didn’t shed any light on the situation either.

Eventually we decided we’d just drive around a bit and see what we could find. We found the star’s trailers. And then a few blocks away, I spotted a camera crew and their film truck. Well, actually, what I spotted was Red John:  001
So we excitedly started asking these guys when they would be filming, and they told us later that night. We geekily got our picture taken with Red John:
005
And we vowed to return later that night to finally see Patrick Jane in action. But though we did return later, they still hadn’t begun filming and so we never did get to meet Simon Baker. Ah well. You win some you lose some.

We still had fun though. And though it was an anticlimactic ending to our day, I was fairly proud of our detective work. It will be fun to see if the set we were on shows up in any upcoming episodes.

And speaking of film sets. Does anyone remember good ole’ Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman? Well, while we were in LA, we went to Paramount Ranch (the place where that show was filmed). It’s pretty much just been turned into a kind of public park, but the set is still up so we got to take some pictures. We were in swimsuits since we had just come from the beach. Too bad Spencer hadn’t worn his wranglers and spurs. 022025027029030It was a super fun place. I saw a couple taking engagement pictures there and I was thinking about how fun it would be to do a shoot there. Or maybe film a little movie starring Cowboy M Bug. So many fun possibilities.

Resemblance

MandD
A while ago Nat sent me a picture of her dad, and I thought it looked a lot like M at the time I received it, but I pulled it up the other day and was amazed. They both make the same little mischievous smile! The same exact one!  I love it ever so much. Open adoption is simply the best. I love that Mason will get to see pictures like this (and ones of his Natty as a baby) and know where he gets his eyes, curls, and little smile.

UPDATE: Pictures of M post-haircut below. 

Thursday, September 26, 2013

M’s First Haircut

006
The time had finally come. I had been dreading dreading dreading getting M’s hair cut, because I knew he would look less baby-ish. And I was ever so in love with his beautiful curls. But, his hair kept falling in his eyes and was driving him crazy. And even though when M’s hair was freshly styled it looked really cute, M is such an active little guy that his hair looked kind of wonky within minutes of getting all ready for the day. Not to mention, he more and more frequently was being mistaken for a little girl. So I took some “before” pictures...
A
…And very reluctantly made him an appointment to get a trim.

He was very, very well-behaved when the time came to don the cape and sit in the chair like a big boy.
003004012018
He sat quietly and amused himself by making faces at himself in the mirror.

And he emerged looking much more toddler-ish than ever before. WAAAAHHH! I like his haircut, I really do, but I am still kind of mourning how grown-up it makes him look. He is cute as a button no matter how long or short his hair, but I feel like he aged several months in two minutes! What the heck!

So here’s the before and after, but in the after his hair isn’t really fixed:B
Here’s how we’ve been fixing lately:
005
What a cutie patootie.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Other California Goodness

011013a015017018
022023
005
M was mad because he was desperate to play with the BBQ (which we would not let him do). Still, he looks so cute clutching his little sunglasses!

We spent A LOT of the time swimming in my parents pool. I was surprised that for how much M loves the water, he didn’t seem thrilled with the pool. I think it was because since he obviously couldn’t reach the bottom, he just had to bob along. He likes to be in control, that kiddo of mine.

Still, we got in and out of the pool about twenty times a day and had a grand old time.

Good Luck Sister White!

037a
Today my baby sister reported to the MTC. I seriously can’t believe it. I miss her already. But I know she’s going to be a great missionary.
079b083a011021
These kiddos could not ask for a better aunt. Aunt Chelsey spends hours tickling, spinning, and playing with her niece and nephew and they absolutely adore her.
A
So do I.
033a109b4
We love you Chels!