A Date with Mr. and Mrs. Indecisive

Coming up on our 4th anniversary, it seems that Nate and I have hit a big bump in our marriage. We are no longer able to...make decisions.

3 out of the 4 Fridays each month we go on a date for a couple of hours...on the other Friday, we watch 3 other couples' kids while they go out. It's wonderful. Until date night comes and Nate and I realize we have once again neglected to figure out exactly what to do for the evening. I have lists of ideas, the weather has been great, we talk all week about possibilities, but WE ALWAYS DROP THE KIDS OFF AND THEN LOOK AT EACH OTHER...we just can't seem to make decisions. It is incredibly frustrating. It's like we're so afraid of misusing this precious time or so worried we might not choose the "best" date option possible...that we end up not making a choice at all. I want to scream.

This past weekend we eventually made a decision, and it ended up being a good one. It actually wasn't on "date night," but whatever. We had a lot of fun. We explored "German Village" here in Columbus. It's a historic, restored community that was originally built by German immigrants. Many of the streets are paved with brick. These are not very good pictures, and there were houses that were a lot cooler, but here are a few of the homes I snapped pictures of.

Just a random picture of the lovebirds. I, obviously, was not prepared for the picture. But I have included it anyway for your enjoyment. I like how Nate and I have very different eyebrows.The brick-paved roads...
Goodies inside...
A place for me to leave my horse. Actually, I think they sell jewelry and other trinkets. They were closed.

In Natalie's World...

This funny girl has a habit of pulling at her own hair. I think she considers it a permanent toy---a fun little thing to tug at whenever she feels like it. How convenient! Except at dinnertime. Here's how it goes: grab at food, somehow get food into mouth, disgustify hand in the process, use aforementioned hand to grab at hair and create a matted mess. This is the end result:

She is very fond of this position.

I'm telling you, she loves it.

A smile for all you readers...

So Happy to See You Again!

I couldn't be happier that it's looking more and more like this...

And less and less like this...

Money Making Scheme

I was not a bit surprised when the TruGreen salesman stopped by our house yesterday and told me about a comprehensive program tailored to our lawn. He must have seen the dandelions. The plethora of dandelions.



But I am determined to make use of these naughty little things. There's got to be a way to make money off them...there's just so many of them...I could possibly make millions. I already have the labor taken care of:

And the taste tester has committed to at least a year of work:

And the advertising model (who is taking a much needed break from Abercrombie and Fitch) has signed a contract with me:

I think my first attempt will be to use them in a recipe tonight. I'll just slip them right into the chicken pot pie. I'll keep you all updated.

Please Make It Go Away

This is the LAST thing I want to deal with at the end of the day.

Poor Guy

What kind of vicious, terrifying creature would cause Jansen to scurry under the highchair screaming in fear?

What if I told you it was this:

She's such a stinker and is already pushing his buttons. Natalie was simply crawling toward Jansen at her snail pace and I said, "She's going to get you!" You know, trying to create a fun little sibling moment. Well he freaked out and ran under the highchair just crying. I'm not sure what got into him. That look on his face makes me so sad though!

Reflections of Christ

There was a photo exhibit at the LDS Mesa Arizona Temple Visitor's Center that must have been absolutely incredible to see in person. I didn't get to, but I saw a slideshow of the pictures and was so moved by it. It's beautiful. I promise it will be worth your time to watch.

Here is a link to the slideshow.

You can make it full screen by clicking on the little square to the left of the volume.

Neener Neener Natalie

I had to share this video because it captures "Natalie" so well. First of all, she has started doing this thing with her hand. It's a mix of some sort of Indian war chant and her own version of "neener neener neener!" She uses it at various times, but one of my favorites is when she is REALLY upset and crying. She'll just be wailing and then she'll put her hand to her mouth and wave it back and forth. I think she likes the sounds it makes. She also seems to use it in the same instances that we would stick our tongues out, roll our eyes, waggle our hand with our thumb sticking to our forehead...does anybody get what I am saying? Sometimes I even feel like she is saying to me, "Blah, blah, blah mom. Stop talking," or "Booooring, Mom."It's just an all around funny way she has found to express herself.

This video is also "Natalie" because she always wants something. She is reminding me more and more of Jansen at this age. Not very content to just hang out...needs stimulation, movement, entertainment, etc. You can see it in the video as she is reaching, reaching, reaching and then at the end her little grunt of frustration. She is all done with her pacifier, which is totally fine. It was a great help for awhile, and now we won't have to wean her when she is a toddler. Her favorite foods right now are pancakes, bananas, yogurt, rice cereal with apple juice, muffins, and anything she can hold and eat herself.

More of Jansen

"I'm a bridge!"

This is actually a form of a smile...it's some sort of face he came up with while saying, "Cheese!" I got this cute cute apron at a Williams and Sonoma outlet for like $3.50. It's a little big, but he likes to wear it when he helps cook or if he's eating an especially messy meal.
Did anyone else love doing this as a kid? I know I have a picture of me doing the exact same thing...covering myself with as many stuffed animals as possible.

And after weeks of intense training, here is Jansen's somersault.

Swing Kid

Not So Innocent Natalie

Natalie has always loved grabbing Jansen's hair. Which is funny, because there's not much to grab compared to my hair or other long haired friends. So I think she's just being a tease. She also loves it when I chase him while holding her or when I set her on top of him. I think she likes to pick on him. Here are a couple of pictures of Natalie trying to get a fistful of Jansen and a forgiving Jansen (giving her a kiss on the head.) I didn't get any pictures of her actually attacking him.

Eyeing the target...

Closing in on the unsuspecting victim...

There Are Creeping, Crawling Things in This House!

WHO ME???

Here's the proof! (link to a video)

Some Awfully Cute Pictures

The Often Terrible But Also Terrific Twos

• Jansen has a few funny phrases these days. Somewhere he picked up "Come on!" (Honestly, I really don't think it's from me or Nate.) And he uses it to preface a lot of sentences. Such as:

"Come on, I want chocolate milk!"

"Come on, let's go to the park!"

"Come on, give Natalie to daddy!"

"Come on, let's just run!"

• Yesterday he said to Nate, "Wanna find me some chocolate?" And he kind of drags out the word chocolate.
  

• Last night at dinner Jansen was in rare two year old form (being difficult) and Nate said, "Jansen, you have issues." Jansen replied, "No! I have new shoes! And running shoes!"

• Also yesterday evening...we were having breakfast burritos for dinner, and I had put some eggs and potatoes on Jansen's plate. I didn't give him a tortilla because he usually won't eat it. When he saw the eggs, potatoes, etc. inside my burrito he said, "I want my eggs to hide in a burrito too!"
  
  
• Our best weapon against his terrible twos is Natalie. If he won't eat or won't do something, we somehow relate it to how we are going to let Natalie eat it then or let Natalie have it...he usually changes his mind real quick.

I found this yesterday while Jansen was having quiet time:
He must need more sleep...I keep finding him zonked out.

And for our last toddler moment, this afternoon he created a "duck nest" from his macaroni and cheese.

Springalingading

If it's nice out, chances are that Nate and I are taking the kids to a park. More often than not, the "park" means some place where Nate might see some birds...but it always makes for a fun walk at a pretty place.

The birding stance

Working on his birding stance

Daddy and Natalie

Go Team

Well, here we are. The Hilliard Ward basketball team...back-to-back champs. More importantly, this is a group of girls I LOVE being with---on and off the court. They're all on the rec league as well. I feel so lucky to have found some great people to play ball with!

Sleepyhead

Oh My

The other day I was faced with a decision that I imagine many mothers of young boys face: do I paint my little guy's toenails for him if he asks me to? I was painting my toenails (flip flop season is fast approaching!) and he wanted me to paint his, so I decided I would, and every time I saw his toes throughout the day I just cringed and felt queasy inside. It was just wrong.

Then yesterday afternoon I was talking on the phone and I looked down and there was Jansen, beside a little puddle of red polish, painting away. I did as all good bloggers would do and first grabbed my camera. And then I sat there and snapped pictures of him and told him to look at me and smile, etc. all while trying to communicate to him that I was not happy.

"Jansen, this is very naughty." (take a picture)

"Jansen, you know mommy is mad right? Now look at me and smile" (I take another picture)

"Jansen, don't ever do this again. Look at me. Now show me your toes." (snap picture again)

Probably not my most effective teaching moment. The best part of the whole situation...Nate cleaned him all up...and quickly...he did not like seeing his son with bright red nail polish on.

My Shorty is Sporty

I signed Jansen up for a class called Sporties for Shorties. It's once a week, and each week they focus on a new sport. Thank goodness it's also very laid back because most of the time Jansen just wants to run around the gym. He does love balls just like any kid his age, but he loses interest fairly quickly and just wants to run again. I'm afraid I have passed on my bored easily/can't sit still genes.

Now this was cool. If you can't tell, he's on a little coaster thing. I was worried Jansen wouldn't try it, but I think after watching all the other kids do it for awhile he was ready. He loved it. Heck, I wanted to try.

We even tried doing 3 kids after this one. It ended it a fun little crash.