New Glasses!

As promised, here are pictures of me in my new glasses. I went to Eye Masters and got one pair for free. I don't really need two pairs, but it will be nice to have a back-up pair for when Gwen (aka Destroyer-of-Glasses) gets her hands on them.Jonathan calls them geek glasses and he loves them. They seem pretty sturdy so maybe they'll survive my toddler's curiosity.
My other pair is less sturdy and far less obvious then the Geek frames. It was fun to try on all the different frames but after a while I ended up going back to the first couple pairs I tried on. Isn't it always like that?

Easter Weekend

I finally have a second to post about our super fun Easter weekend. It was Jonathan's spring break and I took an extra day off as well. The week began with Gwen getting the Adenovirus which caused her to have high fevers and a bad sore throat and sores in her mouth that made it so she didn't want to eat or drink or five days. It was hard for us to watch her drink and then grab her mouth and go "ouch" and fold over in pain. There were some long nights, too, so it was really good that Jonathan was off from school and didn't have to wake up early. As a nurse, I wanted to be able to give her something, anything really, to help her feel better, but as with most viruses it just took motrin and time until she got better. Thankfully, she was feeling much better for our zoo trip with her cousins and grandma on Friday. Here's Gwen watching the kitty in the exhibit at the zoo. It was some kind of wild cat, but looked like a regular house cat. Gwen gave it lots of kisses and hugs through the glass. We won't be surprised if she ends up sick again this week since she spent much of her time kissing all the animals' cages.She also liked the big animals that were easy to see - like these giraffes. We were worried that she wasn't going to have a fun time, but she loved it. We can't wait to go back. Maybe later this year when it's a little warmer.

On Saturday, our ward had an activity for the kids where they got to paint on fabric for a quilt and have an Easter egg hunt.Gwen refused to take off the big shirt she got to wear to protect her clothes. We finally had to bribe her out of it later before the egg hunt. She was the littlest kid there but she had fun playing games with everyone.She had a hard time keeping up with the big kids on the egg hunt. She found three eggs before all the others were all found. The big kids would share their eggs with Gwen and I had them "hide" the eggs on the grass or sidewalk so she could find them. Then we showed her that there was candy inside the eggs and that was her favorite part. We still have the eggs out at our house and she'll come up to us with one and say "mar" which is her "more" asking us to put more candy in them. We didn't dye eggs or have baskets this year. I'm lazy and she's little and messy. We did get her a pretty Easter dress to wear. It's a 3T - remember that she just turned 18 months old - and it fit her perfectly.

Isn't she so pretty in her Easter dress? You almost can't see the cheetos on her cheeks that we used to bribe her to stay outside for the picture. It was lunch time and she was hungry after playing in nursery all morning.Boot also liked the Easter weather which was just perfect for long walks. We couldn't go to the gym as much with Gwen being sick so we took a long walk one day along the Jordan River Parkway. It nearly wore all of us out. I don't remember it being that long. I guess it's a lot different when you're walking instead of wearing roller blades. It took us two hours to walk from 4100 South to 6400 South and back. I sure have a lot of memories about that walkway. I spent many evenings there with my friends Joel and Adam trying not to break our necks or get eaten alive by mosquitoes as we roller bladed through our teenage years.

Speaking of breaking necks, our little daredevil has figured out that if she gets the footstool out of the kitchen she can use it to get up on the coffee table and dance to her favorite TV show music like Elmo's World or Punky Brewster. Or the music to Guitar Hero, which we HAD to buy after playing it at Heidi and Glen's house one evening last week.
Gwen is one tough little rocker girl. It's a fun game and it's cute to watch Gwen dance to it. It is not nearly as addictive for me as it could be since my contacts start bugging me after a couple songs and I can't see the notes when I'm constantly blinking my eyes to fix my contacts. Oh well. I'm getting a new pair of glasses in April since Gwen destroyed my old pair. I'll post pictures on here when I get them.

Washable?

When your 18 month-old is quiet for just a little too long, you know that you'll probably have to do some cleaning up when you find her. Thank goodness she found the washable crayola markers instead of the permanent sharpies that were in the same drawer.
Gwen loves to draw and although I know it's probably too soon to tell for sure it seems like she's right-handed. This new talent means that she wants to help Daddy out with his homework all the time. Teachers are just not understanding when your homework has toddler scribble all over it.

Feeling Content

I tried to type this up yesterday while Gwen was eating lunch and watching Elmo's World, but then the dog needed to be fed and the laundry needed to be folded. You know how things go. Well, I'm trying it again today. Gwen has a bit of a cold today - runny nose and cough. I'm hoping it doesn't turn into the horrible stuff we've been seeing at the KidsCare. Lots of influenza, RSV, and adenovirus going around right now. Those are some miserable kids and because they're all viruses there's nothing you can really do for them. Just tylenol, motrin, fluids and rest. Cold medicine doesn't work in the under 6 age group and is dangerous in the under 2 group. So, here's hoping.

I know that she picks up these bugs at the daycare at the gym but that doesn't stop me from going. She loves it. I'm still good about going too. Gwen and I go six days a week when I don't have an early Saturday shift at work. I do 45 min to an hour of cardio and lift weights for 30 minutes. I'm feeing so much better these days. I have more energy when playing with Gwen or when I'm at work. I've only lost 10 pounds but my clothes fit a lot looser and I have more stamina during my workouts. I know I'm adding muscle and that makes me happy. Jonathan's still doing workouts after class 3-4 days a week. We've made some small changes in what we eat but the biggest thing is that we don't eat as much.

See. Here's Gwen eating an apple. Luckily, we have a kid that loves fruit. That makes it so much easier to eat a little healthier.On Saturday mornings, Jonathan hosts a D&D group at our house. Gwen likes to get involved. She even has a baseball sized 20-sided die that she likes to roll around and cheer no matter what number comes up. Jonathan's good at keeping her busy and letting her be part of the group.

I know this post is rather scattered. I'm trying to throw all my random thoughts together, but my lunch is waiting for me and I'm hungry. Just wanted to let everyone know that we're still alive and doing very well. School is keeping Jonathan busy and the flu season is keeping me busy. Gwen is just busy. She turns 18 months-old tomorrow. She's getting so big.

Naked Girl Pictures

Gwen loves water. She always has. She gets two baths a day. One in the afternoon before her nap and one in the evening before bed. She's nearly fearless in the water. She loves to lean under the faucet and let the water run on her head. She doesn't even freak out if some gets in her eyes. She likes to lay down in the water on her belly or on her back and "swim". She'll kick her feet and get water everywhere. We can't wait for warm weather and the opening of our condo's pool. I think we'll be spending a lot of time there again this summer.

At night, Gwen brushes her teeth in the bath. We kept losing toothbrushes because she likes to brush on the go and then hides them when she's done. It's a lot easier this way.

Even though the water is above her ears, she likes to lay on her back in the water. Especially when the water is draining out for some reason. I think she likes the way it sounds with her head under the water.

Nothing fixes our grumpy toddler like a good warm soak. As our saying goes: soak a crab in water. It's a good thing she doesn't have sensitive skin like some of her cousins. She'd go crazy without her baths and we would too.

New Year's Resolutions

I can't believe how hard it is to find time to write on this thing these days. Gwen absolutely will not let me be on the computer at all. The moment I turn it on she begins to scream for my attention. I only have a minute now while Jonathan gives her a bath.

So, there's a couple new things our family is trying out for 2008. We're all trying to be a little healthier over all. I joined a 24 Hour Fitness club that's only a few minutes away from where we live. I got a great deal through my work and the best part is the free daycare. Gwen wasn't so sure about it at first but now she almost pushes me out the door when I drop her off there. She loves to play with the other kids and help with the babies. The employees all think it's so cute how she likes to feed the babies and brings them toys. It's been almost 2 weeks since I joined and I'm down 7 pounds already. I do an hour of cardio and a half hour of weights and abs each day. I go while Jonathan's at school before lunch. Jonathan also is trying to be more active and he goes to his school gym (free membership - YAY) after class. He's lost about 8 pounds already. We also got pedometers and try to get in 10,000 steps each day. That can be difficult some days, but when I'm working I usually do about 13,000. I walk a lot at work most nights. I'm excited about this change we've made and I hope it lasts. I really want to have more energy and be able to keep up with my active little girl. She's only going to get faster too.

Of course, this wouldn't be complete without a couple pictures of Gwen. My little baby is not so little or baby-ish anymore. She's picking up words and sounds every day and it amazes me at how much she understands. She's almost 17 months old now.Topless Gwen has fun with our karaoke machine while Daddy's babysitting. He comes up with the best ideas to keep her busy so he can get a few minutes of studying done while I'm at work.

Aunt Megan was puppysitting this baby bulldog a few weeks ago and Gwen loved him. He was just the right size for her to torment. She does really well with dogs and we're glad that she's not afraid of them.

I took this one just tonight while she was running around the living room playing with me. She looks a little dazed.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Wow, I have a day off with the hubby around to give me a spare moment to finally make a new post in my blog. You wouldn't believe how impossible it is for me to try to get on the computer with Gwen around. As soon as I sit in the computer chair she comes over and wants to "type" on the computer. I used to let her, but she destroyed one of our shift keys and pulls off the caps lock key and trys to eat it. If I don't let her she screams and pulls herself up on the desk causing more problems. Needless to say, that's why this blog has been so neglected lately. That, and nothing new has been going on.

For once, we're all healthy. Gwen's 2-year-old molar on the bottom right has been coming in this week and it's been making her grumpy. At least it's not strep or croup this time. I can deal with a bit of teething even though I know it'll last a few weeks and we still have to do it three more times until her 5-year-old molars come in.

Jonathan is enjoying his school break. He did well in his classes and got all A's and a B in history (oh no!). He's going to bite the bullet and take five classes next semester in a big push to be done with his associates degree by next Christmas. He'll be taking History, English 2010, Biology, World Religions, and a conversational Japanese class so he can stay up on what he's learned. It's going to be a tougher semester, but he's so smart he can do it. He also sold some old Dungeon and Dragon books and saved his Christmas money and pre-purchased a Nintendo Wii. He only gets one chance with it and if his grades suffer then I get to sell it on E-Bay and keep the money. I hope he's learned some good self control because I've heard how addicting the Wii games can be.

Nothing new's going on with me. I spend each morning with my little girl. I'm happy that she's finally saying Mama as more than a swear word, though she still reverts to a whiney version of it when she's tired or angry. She's been saying Dad for a long time now and I've been trying to get her to say my name. She also started saying Baby (she's getting a toy baby for Christmas tomorrow). She'll repeat words sometimes, but they don't seem to stick. At least that's a step forward in her language development.

I have a ton of piled up pictures to post, so, uh, there.Here's me, Boot, and Gwen first thing in the morning. Ugh, morning hair for us all. We like to snuggle on the couch as Jonathan makes us breakfast. Gwen eats real cereal out of a bowl with a spoon now. She even drinks the milk out of the bowl after.

At the beginning of the month we went to the Festival of Trees. Here's Gwen drooling over the Elmo tree. We had to drag her away from it. Needless to say, most of her Christmas gifts are Elmo related this year.

They were holding hands right before this. Gwen's cousin Noah is 9 months older than her and it's neat to see what she'll be like in such a short time. He seems like such a big kid to us and boy, is he fast.

Gwen's "chair" is really our metal collander. It's in one of our non-baby-proofed cupboards and she recently found out that it's the perfect fit for her little bum. Don't worry, we wash it out before making spaghetti. The trouble is finding where she's put it.

A couple weeks ago on my day off we went up to Ogden to the Treehouse Museum. They have a Japanese exhibit there until the end of December and we wanted Jonathan to see it. Gwen loved wearing her kimono and pouring the tea. And eating the plastic sushi. She's had the real stuff once before (California rolls with all cooked stuff, no raw stuff for a few more years). She was pretty good at using the kiddie chopsticks so we're going to see if we can find a pair around somewhere to buy for her.

That's President Gwen in the Oval Office. What do you think, by 2060 will the world be ready for a Mormon woman as President? I don't know how I'd like being the First Mommy though. I think I'd worry about her all the time.

Out of all the different toys and exhibits they have there, here's Gwen's favorite thing: a kid-sized rocking chair. I wonder if she'll remember it the next time we go back there.

We'll take more pictures over the next few days and I'll try to post them before too long. Merry Christmas to everyone! May everyone be safe and healthy over the next few days so they can enjoy being with friends and family.