Scripture time

I give you Caleb, reading a scripture.

Great googly moogly

It has been waaaaaay too long since we posted on our family blog. So here's a rundown!

1. This is Caleb back in October after getting into some chocolate. Note the wild curls. They are now gone, as Scott took some scissors to Caleb's hair one morning. Anyway, Caleb is now 18 months and in nursery at church, and babbling away in a language only he understands. He is good at saying some words, like "light," "Gott" and "Gogogogo!" He is a little sweetheart, and gives hugs and cuddles a lot.

2. I went to my third Pontoon & Deckboat Magazine Shootout, this time held at Lake Shelbyville in Illinois. I had a great time, and it was nice being on the water in the sun while it was snowing back in Utah. Here's a video one of the participating companies made of the event.

3. Here is a Shaun the Sheep cake Mandi made me for my birthday. It came out awesome and it tasted great, too. Shaun the Sheep seasons are on Netflix, and I highly recommend the show.

3. I have been working for Apple as a Genius, which just means I diagnose and fix problems with Apple products, like the MacBook Air pictured above. As far as jobs go, it's a good one that challenges me and makes the days go by quickly.

4. I attended every BYU football home game last fall. The Utah beatdown was epic in how bad it was, and the last two home games were epic in how cold they were. My toes did not enjoy the weather, even though I had three pairs of socks on. In short, BYU won 10 games, won their bowl, and are ranked in the Top 25 to end the season. I feel this 2011 squad was mediocre. Oh well, there's always next year.

5. We bought a house in December! It was a short sale we had put an offer on about 7 weeks before, but with how short sales normally go, we expected to wait a lot longer. See Mandi's Facebook photos for more pictures of the house (before we bought it). We're still unpacking and everything's a mess or I'd post current photos here. Give it some time.

6. We had Christmas with the Johnsons in Idaho. Here is Scott enthused about his Christmas pajamas.

And here is Scott happier, thanks to his cool Angry Birds hat aunt Amy got him for Christmas. I could only be there for a couple of days due to work restrictions, but Mandi and the boys were there for a week or so, and had a great time with "the far away Grandma in the mountains" as Scott calls her.

Mandi's been growing her voice studio, and now has a group of students she teaches in Sandy every Wednesday and more she teaches in a basement room at our new house during the week. She enjoys it and I think she does a great job.

I hope this was an acceptable recap of the last half of 2011. I'll try to do better at blogging cute stuff from the kids and important family events for 2012.

Goings on

So things have been a little crazy lately in the Barrus home.

1. Scott has turned into an escape artist extraordinaire, and will take any opportunity he can to flee down the street. Often we notice he has left and track him down, but a couple times now a neighbor has corralled him for us and brought home with looks of "We're calling CPS if this happens again" in their eyes. We're looking into options for securing the front door.

2. I got a second job working for Unisys, a tech support outsource company, doing Windows support for the City of Minneapolis and Standard Parking (a nationwide parking garage company). It's been pretty good, though being back in the cube farm and having to report on every second of my day has been fairly soul-sucking. But then...

3. I got a job offer at the Apple store in Salt Lake, to do tech support with them (the position title is Genius, but I hate using that term). It pays well (more than I've ever made before) and has amazing benefits. I got the job mostly due to a referral from my friend Jimmy, who works there. Jimmy has also informed me that I should be able to finagle this Genius job into a tech writing position in a couple years, which would be amazing. I feel very blessed at how things are going, career-wise. All that hard work of sending hundreds of resumes out paid off in the end. And even if I don't stick with Apple, my resume will show I've done support for Windows, Netware and Apple operating systems, which is pretty nice.

While I like Apple's products (I've purchased six or seven different portable devices from them over the years), I am far from a fanboy. In fact, all irrational love Apple gets from its rabid supporters has annoyed me greatly, so I hope I don't turn into one of them in the near future. I'll remain vigilant.

That's about it. Mandi's been doing tons of craft projects and started a fashion blog for nursing mothers I think is pretty neat. I've started playing soccer on Saturday mornings, in an attempt to remain somewhat in shape as I near 30, and it's been pretty fun.

Caleb's thiiiis close to walking; I need to post some video of him cruising around on the fire truck Steven got for Scott back in the day. It's pretty cute.

The aquarium

My dad notified me that today is "Dress Like a Penguin Day" at the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. Dress in black and white and get in free! So Mandi and Brooke took their kids this afternoon. Here are the results.

The hits keep coming

Caleb playing with his Grandpa Johnson. Here are some additional photos from that afternoon.

We'll sure miss the Johnsons when we move. We couldn't ask for better grandparents and aunts and uncles for our boys.

Our crazy life

Here's what's coming up for our little family:

I am in White Christmas with Playmill at the Colonial Theatre in Idaho Falls, teaching 12 hours a week at BYU-I, and teaching a growing number of private voice students at home.

Brandon has huge deadlines coming up for both magazines, a brand new mag to write for (Diesel Tech), doing freelance on the side with Demand Media, and watching the boys whenever I'm not home.

Scott is saying funny things every day, running around and screaming a lot, "reading" himself to sleep at night, and is excited to move to a house near Micah and Jonathan and to have a sandbox in the backyard.

Caleb is working on his second tooth, eating bananas, nursing great, sleeping SO wonderfully, rolling/scooting all around, and being an angel baby when he comes with me to work/rehearsal.

I have three callings at Church right now: Beehive advisor (I teach nearly every Sunday), YW music, and Ward Choir Director. Our ward is providing the music for Stake Conference next week, and the YW are singing for New Beginnings and the ward Christmas party.

We are packing to move to North Salt Lake in the middle of December. I am working on building a voice studio down there, and Brandon is looking for a different, higher-paying/additional job.

Brandon's brother, Matt, is marrying Cindy in the Draper UT Temple on Dec. 21. My brother, Daniel, is marrying Adele in the Rexburg ID Temple on Dec. 29.

I might have missed something in there--oh yeah, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Nothing big.

Yeah, it's going to be a busy time. :) What are you all up to?

Random October happenings

Caleb's dorky sticking-his-tongue-out smile.

Caleb loves being bundled up like a burrito. Helps him calm down and go to sleep pretty much every time.
Mandi's cool Halloween decorations. Thanks to my mom for the strung-together Happy Halloween part.
Scott loves Caleb and does everything he can to get in his face. Caleb also loves Scott, but prefers his older brother keep his distance most of the time.

Caleb is weirded out. I love this picture.

Scott is modeling his Thomas the Tank Engine tent for the Sears catalog. He loves that thing, and asked me if I would put it up tonight so he "can hide in it."

A plaintive Scott offering a semi-deflated sailboat toy.

Scott and me tossing the ball around. I think here I'm throwing the basketball on the roof and letting it roll off. Scott thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Big news

Well, it's time to make it official: the Frozen Barrus Family will be slightly less frozen in a few months.

We're moving to the Salt Lake Valley.

The impetus for this change was Mandi's desire to get a master's degree in Opera Performance, to further her career goal of getting paid to perform and teaching on a university level.

The problem with this plan is that there is no opportunity to accomplish this goal in Idaho Falls. So we decided to move.

Mandi made a list of schools she'd like to attend, and gave me a list of the cities these schools are in.

Houston, Phoenix, Knoxville, Oklahoma City, Norman, Kansas City.

So I began the job search. I sent resumes to newspapers, magazines, radio programs and other random places where I felt my talents as a writer would be useful. I combed listings on journalismjobs.com and local job search sites in these cities. I wrote personalized cover letters for countless job openings. I talked with friends who had connections to jobs I was qualified for. This went on for months.

In the end? Bupkiss. Only two places even sent me back a response to my application, and both of those were automated.

I had known the economy was bad before I started my search, but good grief the situation is grim.

Along the way, we decided I should start looking for jobs in Utah, considering I had more connections to jobs there than anywhere else, and the University of Utah has a pretty good music program for graduate studies.

Still nothing.

Realizing we needed to move somewhere to start gaining resident status and avoid paying out-of-state tuition, we discussed the option of working from home for my current company, Harris Publishing. My boss, Brady, had spent two years working from home in Colorado a few months before I was hired, so I knew there was a precedent. In addition, there is very little I do at work that can't be done at home, and what meetings there are can be easily handled over the internet.

With that, I approached Brady and asked him what he thought. He said if it was a choice between losing me and letting me work from home, he'd choose the latter, and told me he'd speak to his boss and boss' boss.

A few days later, Brady and I met and he gave me the green light. I'd technically be classified as a freelance writer, but my pay would be the same, so it worked for me.

While technically this new arrangement meant we could live anywhere on the planet, Brady wanted me to stay within driving distance in case I did need to come back to the office for a big project or similar situation. So Utah it was.

Since then Mandi and I have been looking for housing in the Salt Lake Valley, as Mandi wants to be involved with the Hale Center Theater and eventually, the U of U.

My thoughts on the move are generally positive. Last month I celebrated my five-year anniversary of living in Idaho, which is far longer than the time I spent living on my own in Utah, both before and after my mission. And while southeast Idaho is basically Utah North, it's still different.

The biggest positive of the move is being closer to my family. My siblings are pretty much my best friends, and while Brooke is in Massachusetts and Matt is now in Rexburg, 6 out of 8 ain't bad. And then there are the many, many aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents who live along the I-15 corridor between Ogden and Provo... I'm excited to be able to visit them on a more frequent basis than the "we'reherefortheweekendsohowrethingsgreatwegottagobacknow" arrangement we've had for the past few years.

I'm also excited about getting back to the mountains. While it's not exactly Kansas here in Idaho Falls, there's nothing even close to the majesty of the Wasatch Front. They are home to me, as much as I want to deny I'm a typical Utah Mormon. :)

And then there's the aforementioned "Utah isn't as frozen as Idaho" factor. Sure, it snows in the Salt Lake Valley, a lot, but the roads get plowed and sometimes it's 50 degrees in January. When the snows come here, you don't see concrete until the spring thaw. It never gets warm enough to melt the snow off the lawns and driveways, so if you don't stay on top of your shoveling, you have a 3-inch solid layer of ice to deal with until May. It's bad.

So overall, I think this will be a good change. Moving stinks, and I am really dreading the packing-up-and-cleaning process, but it'll be worth it.

I'll have Mandi post her thoughts later.

Babies are cute

Here's a video I took of Caleb a couple nights ago. Mandi thinks he's extra expressive and smiley for a two-month-old, and I just like it when he's in a good mood.

Meanwhile, Scott is developing into even more of a chatterbox than he already was. Non-stop talking about everything from what he wants for dinner to what he did at Nana's house earlier, from the moment he wakes up until he's almost asleep. Reminds me of a certain younger sister I have at this age...

Anyway, he's cute and we're glad he's ours.

Brothers

He now understands the concept that it's a baby. :)

"He's cwying. But he's still cwying!"

Kisses. "Muff!"

Love. Can't wait for you to be best friends, boys. <3

Caleb James Barrus - A Birth Story

Caleb James is here!
Born 3 July 2010, 12:44 PM
at 38 weeks, 3 days gestation
8 lbs, 8 oz. 20 inches

(if you'd like to compare/contrast with Scott's birth story, you can read it here)

*Also, just a disclaimer. This is really detailed, and might be boring/grossing out to some. Here is a link to a short n' sweet version, if you prefer.

Friday, July 2 started out pretty normally; Fridays are one of my days off from teaching at BYU-I, so I usually catch up on housework and teach a few private lessons here and there with my Idaho Falls students. I was feeling very pregnant, so I cancelled most of my normal lessons and had only one "emergency" coaching to do. Then we had a BBQ with some friends in the ward later that night. All during the dinner, everyone was saying how I finally looked pregnant and asking me how I felt. I felt ready to have a baby! Well, in body, anyway. In mind, half of me was just ready to "get my body back", but the other half of me couldn't let go of all the preparations I still "had" to make (like mopping the floor, cleaning out the fridge and bathrooms, filling up the birth tub, making all the casseroles, buying new nursing bras and sewing nursing pads, etc, etc, etc) before the baby was allowed to come. Well, my body had other ideas. :)

During the BBQ I was having intermittent contractions, but they weren't any more bothersome than the Braxton Hicks I'd had in previous weeks. We left a little early to put Scott to bed and get some sleep ourselves, when Brandon's good friend and former roommate called and said he would be stopping in town in 20 minutes on a roadtrip, and could we meet him at the Greenbelt and walk by the temple? Well, of course we could. Scott was pretty keyed up from running around at the BBQ, and a stroller ride might be just the thing to help him calm down. So we went on a walk.

As we strolled and chatted with James, I noticed the contractions start to strengthen, but I could still pretty much walk through them. I thought, "my body must be preparing for birth in the coming weeks. I'm probably getting to a 2 right now. That's so nice."

When we got home from that excursion, I put Scott down, feeling contractions all through "Clifford the Big Red Dog Goes to the Beach" and "Love You Forever". Then I went downstairs and told Brandon I wanted to set up the birth tub for the coming weeks. You know, just so it was ready. For some time in the future.

He did a great job blowing it up, but when it came to actually filling it with water, we discovered we didn't have the right kind of hose-to-faucet connection, so we left that to the next day. Then we headed downstairs to relax and watch some TV. Oh, and I made Brandon start timing contractions. Just to have as a reference for when *real* labor started. You know. In a few weeks.

At this point, they were a minute and twenty seconds long and about 5 minutes apart. Our midwives told us to call them when contractions were 60 seconds long and 5 minutes apart. I should have called them then, but I didn't think the contractions were strong enough to be actual labor. They were making me moan a *little*, but they weren't bad. Plus, they were all bottom pressure, and online it said that *real* contractions would start at the top of the uterus and move down. That's not what I was feeling, so I was good, right?

Let me pause here and say that I felt vulnerable this time around, not knowing what going into labor naturally really feels like. I'd been induced with Scott, and so I felt like I wouldn't know what *real* labor contractions felt like or when I was really in labor. I think that's another reason why I was in denial for so long. :)

So, I should have called my midwives Friday night, but by the time the contractions were that strong and long and close together, it was midnight and I knew what they would have said: try to get some sleep. If you can't sleep within an hour and they get stronger, call us and we'll come. So I went to sleep. And slept the night. In fact, I slept quite restfully. :) (what a blessing!)

However, when Scott came in at 6:30 AM on July 3rd to tell me he was SO hungry and wanted some "breakstist", contractions started right up again. I remember changing Scott's poopy diaper that morning amidst a contraction that I had to breathe through and thinking "I am in labor! I should NOT have to deal with this!". Then I immediately told myself, that no, I was not in labor, let's get dressed and go to my parent's ward breakfast.

We had a huge yummy breakfast at 9AM and headed to the parade, which started at 10 AM (me contracting the entire time). We met up with my parents and got settled in to watch. I told Brandon he needed to start timing my contractions. He only had his phone which doesn't time seconds, but we figured at about 11AM that the contractions were over a minute long, between 4 and 5 minutes apart, and really strong. We packed up and left Scott with my parents. The people behind us at the parade route were good-naturedly giving us a hard time for leaving early, but I told them we were leaving to have a baby, and they moved out of our way pretty quickly after that. :)

Walking back to the car was really hard for me. I had to stop moving and lean on Brandon for support each time a contraction hit me. But between contractions, I could still move really well. Brandon said, "You're going to call the midwives now, right?" He's so good at not putting pressure on me. :) I think he was starting to get a little nervous at this point. :)

We got to the car and I called Kathy. I told her I had some "pretty good contractions" and how long they'd been lasting. I said I wasn't sure if I was really in labor yet, since I'd never felt a *natural* labor. She told us to go home and time them for another half hour and let her know how it went. I agreed. I had needed to pee for awhile, and thought if I emptied my bladder that would let some of the pressure off and the contractions would calm down (as was my experience with Braxton Hicks in the past).

We got home, me moaning through every contraction. Brandon at this point was thinking "Oh, I've heard these sounds before. She's really in labor. I better speed." But did he say anything to me?! NO. :) I wish he would have told me that I was labor for real, because I was still in denial. :) And trying to deal with the pain and pressure in a bumpy car. :)

We got home and, after shouting instructions to Brandon (put the baby carseat in the car in case we need to transport to the hospital, fill up the birth tub with water as a fast as you can so I can labor in it, put a water proof sheet on our bed), I went to the bathroom. There was bloody show, so I told Brandon to call Kathy and tell her to come right away. Then, I knew it was for real. We were having a baby, and very shortly, because when I was on the toilet, I was afraid to empty my bowels because I also had the urge to push, and I didn't really want to have the baby over the toilet! This was at about 11:30 AM.

With Brandon's help, I made it upstairs to our bed between contractions. I could no longer move or stand up or sit up during contractions, and I definitely had to vocalize to get through them. Brandon had come to the conclusion that the birth tub would not be able to be filled, so that wasn't an option anymore. :( I tried getting into our tub thinking I would labor in there for awhile until the midwives got there, but it was muddy from our garden hose and also felt really hard and uncomfortable to me. I just gave up on the idea of being able to labor in water, let alone giving birth there. But that's OK. Concessions must be made during birth, because you never know what life will throw at you! So I labored leaning on my bed in a kneeling position for a contraction or two, but felt most comfortable laying on my right side on my bed.

So the next minutes are really hazy to me. Brandon tells me that Valerie (the midwife's assistant) arrived at 12:05 PM, and Kathy (the midwife) got there at about 12:15 PM. Kathy, in her haste, actually ran into our neighbor's condo on the other end and asked them whether we were upstairs or downstairs. They kindly told her it was the wrong house and showed her where we were. :) I remember grabbing Valerie's hand when she got there and telling her "I'm *so* glad you're here" because I wanted to push and I was just holding it back until they got there. Then my water broke (in a quite spectacular burst, appropriate for the 4th of July weekend, I might add :) at 12:36PM.

Brandon during that time was running around trying to fill the birth tub, picking up the clutter, getting the baby carseat ready, applying counterpressure to my back during contractions, and whispering encouraging things in my ear when I ordered him to. :) He is so great at dealing with a bossy wife. :) The midwives scurried to get everything ready, but Brandon says that he didn't think it looked like they were able to do everything they wanted to before I asked them when I should push. I was really worried about pushing because midwives do not typically check you to see how far you are dilated (they'd rather that you listen to the cues your body is giving you). But they will check you, if you ask. I was torn. I HATE being checked, but I was worried about not knowing and pushing at the wrong time and the baby getting stuck or something. But Valerie said a very empowering thing to me: "When it's time to push, you'll know because it will feel good. If you push too early, it won't feel right and you'll know to back off. Wait until the feeling to push is so overwhelming that you can't hold it off anymore, and it will be time."

So the next contraction I had, I decided to do a little experiment and push. It didn't feel so great. The next one, though was the one. I told them (more like wailed it out, I think :) I felt like pushing and began doing so. They ran over from across the room where they'd been preparing things and Kathy helped brace my arm and left leg. With that contraction, the head crowned. This was about 12:39PM or so. Valerie told me the baby had lots of hair. At that point, I didn't care. :) But it was a nice peripheral fact, like if you were at the end of running a marathon and someone told you that there was a rainbow over the mountains behind you. Brandon was standing to the back holding the flashlight up to give lots of light to the business end of things.

With the head crowning, I was in the "Ring of Fire" and I knew the "breaking in half" sensation of birthing the entire head was coming. I was scared of it, and so I held back. Kathy encouraged me not to do this, but to push with the next contraction. There was quite a break before the next contraction (probably also a result of my trepidation--isn't it interesting how our thoughts affect how well our bodies work!). But during that time, I made up my mind to "get mad" and push that baby out! So with the next contraction, Caleb's head was fully born.

I remember thinking then that all my work would be over. The body would just slip right out and I'd be done with all this pushing. But no. :) Caleb's head was blue and the cord was wrapped around his neck twice, and he didn't cry right away, so Kathy told me to hurry and birth the shoulders. I said "What if I'm not having a contraction?" (not wanting to be rushed), and she said to hurry and do it anyway. :) So I pushed out the shoulders, and he cried right away after that. That was 12:44PM. Then Valerie got the cord unwrapped, and immediately gave Caleb to us. Brandon came up on the bed with me, and we just got to love our baby for a little while. It was sublime. Kathy asked if it was really a boy, we checked, and it was!

I got him on the breast (even though he was more interested in licking at first than in suckling), and we just got to snuggle. It was so so lovely not to have Caleb rushed away to be cleaned or to have to cord clamped and cut right away or anything like that. We just got to BE, as a little family. Beautiful.

Then, after a little while, we got the rest of the business done, like delivering the placenta and clamping and cutting the cord (which Brandon got to do). I did spill a bit of blood before the placenta was delivered, and Kathy was worried about it, so she asked my permission to give me a shot of Pitocin and I gave my consent. There were no problems after that. I just have "road burns", no real tears. There was a bit bigger one near my urethra, but they felt it didn't affect anything structural and will heal fine without a stitch.

So for the official documentation, Kathy counted that I began active labor at 11AM when we decided to leave the parade. She didn't count the night before because I slept so peacefully and was not awakened by contractions (which I am still so thankful for!). So I was in active labor for about 90 minutes and then pushed for about 15 and there he was!

Caleb is so beautiful, healthy and strong, and calm as can be. His development is perfect, and I'm so happy that we could welcome him into the peaceful atmosphere of our home. Brandon felt he was much more involved this time around, and I felt more confident knowing the environment I'd be laboring in. Even though it wasn't in water, it also wasn't in a hospital room that I've never seen before, and where I don't know the unspoken rules of what's acceptable and what's not. It was in my own cosy home, and I'm so happy.

The Great Cloth-diapering Experiment

As I mentioned in this post, I've been using Gerber pre-folds, Gerber plastic pants, Snappis, and recycled wool soakers for diapering these past couple of months. Here is my report:

The Diapers Themselves

I've learned that getting a tight fit around the leg is key to preventing leaks. It took a little time for Brandon and I to figure the best way, but now we don't have any leaking issues unless we've left the diaper on too long.

You need to change cloth more often than disposables, but not that much more often. We do probably 4-5 dipes a day now, instead of the 2-3 before, but it's not a huge deal.

The Snappis had a bit of a learning curve, but I've been happy with them after I learned how to use them. I also tried pins and prefer the Snappi. It's had the happy side effect of keeping Scott's hands out of his diaper, too, so he's not playing with himself constantly.

I'm really most pleased with the way my recycled wool soakers have performed. When I put Scott in the first pair of longies, they leaked right through and I was quite frustrated. Then I learned about lanolizing wool and how important it is to maintain the wool's waterproof properties. Ever since I washed the wool in a lanolin solution, I haven't had any problems. In fact, I'm constantly amazed to check Scott after I've left him in a wet diaper for longer than I meant to and find that the wool has still kept him dry. I much prefer wool to the vinyl or plastic pants, and I'm glad I've been able to make so many pairs of soakers for Scott with the free XL sweaters I picked up at a swap meet in my parents' ward.

Wearing cloth diapers, especially with a wool soaker over the top, does add bulk to Scott's bum and makes his pants fit more snugly, but he's always been a thin kid and so it's just made them stay up better. :)

Cleaning and Laundering

I'm still dealing with some ammonia stinkies in my diapers (happens when the urine mixes with detergent buildup in the diapers). I've tried adding vinegar, baking soda, and Borax, and switched to Original Tide powder (the highest recommended and most easily available detergent in my area), but can't quite kick the smell. I may have to strip the diapers and see if that helps.

Cloth diapering has not added that much time to my household duties. I actually enjoy hanging them out on the line and getting out in the sunshine and wind for a little while. I wash my diapers twice a week, because we don't do cloth at my mom's house, and she watches Scott 2.5 days a week. If I were cloth diapering full-time, I'd probably need to wash them every other day, or 3-4 times a week. But if I were doing that, I wouldn't be working, so I'd have the time. Now, that's only for one child, not two, so we'll just have to see how it goes when this new baby comes.

Elimination Training

Scott has a much increased knowledge of when he is wet or stinky. This is a huge break-through, because even as an infant, a dirty diaper never fazed him. He just didn't seem to even notice. But now that he's been in cloth, he tells me all the time, and has even become more interested in sitting on his potty and eventually wearing big kid underwear. Hooray!

Scott has also had no diaper rashes since we started cloth. He was prone to them (a combination of him never complaining about being stinky, and the chemicals in disposable diapers), so this has been wonderful for him (and for me--I always feel so bad for him when he has a sore bottom!).

The Last Word

So that about sums it up. I've been pleased with the results we've had. It's not as hard or intimidating or time-consuming as I once feared. Yes, it does take longer than disposables, but I feel the trade-offs are worth it. Plus I feel like doing things this way (breastfeeding, co-sleeping, attachment parenting, cloth diapering) make me take the time with my children that I otherwise would be too busy or preoccupied to do. It helps me to slow the pace of my life and remember that people are more important than things.

Scott funny

About a month ago, we went to Reed's Dairy Farm for 75-cent ice creams for Family Home Evening. They're a local dairy and the cows are right there by the store. We were excited for Scott to see a cow up close. He likes them, but has only seen them from a car window.

When we got up to the cows, he was quite impressed with the size, and said, "Wow! It's an elephant!"

:)

More Scott funnies

Brandon: Are you a boy?

Scott: No, Mommy's a boy!

Mandi: No, I'm a girl. Daddy's a boy. Are you a boy, Scott?

Scott: I'm a big kid! Mommy's a princess!

****************************************************

Brandon: Where are you going, Scott?

Scott: I'm RUNNING!

Scott turned 2!

Pictures from Scott's birthday, courtesy of my mom. Been meaning to post them forever, but just finally getting around to it.

The boys and Sharon did some great decorations.

I made an awesome Pirate Treasure cake.

And, in keeping with the theme, we wore Backyardigans masks and pirate gear.

Some of us wore both. :)

We were so glad for all our family who came to celebrate with us and to see my show.

But sad that Brandon had to miss it due to a business trip.

Scott liked his cake lots and lots.

But he wasn't quite sure what to think of everyone singing to him. Made him a little uncomfortable, I think. :)

Chowin' down.

Then it was time for presents! Scott loves his stickers,

and this Curious George-in-the-box was quite a hit

(everyone had to try it out),

and the Backyardigans wall stickers still give him joy every day. :)

And let's not forget his ties, which he wore even while playing outside.

What a fun birthday! Thanks for all the nice presents and for coming to visit!