Thanksgiving Leftovers

Steve's brother Matt and I were the only ones at our Thanksgiving dinner who have sophisticated tastes when it comes to fine Americana desserts (read: store-bought pumpkin pie with avalanches of whipped cream). I had gotten greedy and succumbed to the peer pressure of those crazies around me at Costco buying 4,5,10 pies and decided I should buy two myself, just to be safe. Those things are delicious and gigantic, and it's been a wonderful thing to open the fridge everyday for a week and see that waning orange moon just waiting for me to partake. I'm glad I got two. I have one savory slice left. 

We had other food at our feast too. Good good food. Beautiful turkey (go team Mannie, it was fabulous), citrus-y green beans, maple sweet potatoes, loads of Steve's staple stuffing, delish gravy, made from scratch rolls, Black Forest ham, homemade apple pie (again, points to team Mannie), and upscale sparkling drinks accompanied our conversation which covered everything from where all the macaroons had gone to a debate on the sexiest man alive (between Eli's Robert DeNiro and Parker's Paul Walker, from what I understand). The lucky guests included our family, Mannie, Parker (Steve's cousin, whose home we stayed at over the break. Thanks Mitch and Michelle!), and my two local sisters, Eli (and her lovely family) and Sadie (and her awesome smile). We were grateful to share the table with such fine bounty and people! 

Pics are probably forthcoming, but to keep you entertained in the meantime, here are some funny videos off my phone from the past week. Creedence has gotten into both Winnie the Pooh and Spiderman simultaneously (Yo Gabba Gabba, Elmo, and Despicable Me complete the top five). Creedo also likes putting things in lines, making towers of things and knocking them down, helping me bake even more pumpkin goods, making JibJab videos and giving hugs, kisses, and affectionate headbonks to anything that catches his interest. He also likes to anthropomorph-ize things, based on their relative sizes or looks, into Mommy, Daddy, Creedo ("deedo"), Baby, Uncle Matt, Aunt Annie, Grandma or Grandpa categories. He also likes talking about colors, playing I Spy, and pretend playing with his stuffed bears. 

Who needs lions and tigers?

Creedo was a panda for Halloween. Excuse me, a "panda!!!" rather, because Creedo only says the word with intense, kung-fu enthusiasm. The costume I made was a bit snug (ok, way snug) Turns out Creedo has plenty of his own stuffing and needed none of the additional fluff I added to make it look more cub-like. Steve, toting around the camera, claimed at one point to have dressed up like a photojournalist. Baby sister decided to wear her mom for Halloween, and I went along with it.

We kicked off the festivities with a Lil' Boo Bash for the littles and their respective bigs to come out and show off their adorableness. Thanks to Rebecca and Sadie for the help!

 

It was hard for me to appreciate how awesome this Superman costume was because I get stuck just loving the hair! This little guy's mom and sister were lovely fairies too. 

 

Not the best of pics, but these two fun neighbor fairies were having way too much fun to pose for the camera. 

This little one is five weeks old and the cuddliest guy ever. 

 C loved this girl's pumpkin outfit. The first couple minutes after she arrived he kept pulling me over to look at her with him. 

 

 This little friend was Glenda the Good Witch and her mom was Dorothy (she made her dress without a pattern!)

 Too cute to eat- a Candy Corn. 

 Sadie and Miriam. They make eating candy look good. 

 Apples+marshmallows+PB= a really gruesome-looking mouth. Be sure to floss, kids. 

A cupcake. She couldn't really move in the costume, but who needs to move when everyone wants to fawn over you?

Later, after a sugar crash and a good nap, we went over to a neighbor's Halloween party. En masse, the party began trick-or-treating the neighborhood. Steve was the master trick-or-treater, ensuring that he would get a good haul out of Creedo's candy bag. 

Creedo was more interested in knocking and leaving, but once he did get the hang of letting people give him candy, he wanted to eat each piece right then instead of putting it away for us to eat later (smart boy). 

This skeleton was the only guy Creedo was afraid of. This house also had strobe lights and thumping creepy music, so it was a little intimidating, but he made it!

Pretzel, Animal, and Bear

Those are three words off our list of favorite things that Creedence says right now. Over the past six weeks or so, his vocab has expanded immensely. I'm not going to try to describe how he pronunciates those words, but it's really adorable. He also says funny things that I know just come from listening to us throughout the day, like "alrighty then!" as a sort of transition word from one activity to another.

He's becoming more complex and its fascinating to watch. He is proving to be very tender-hearted towards babies, which is a promising sign. I make an effort to have him around little ones regularly, and he loves to help feed them, change diapers, hold them, and keep them happy by providing binkies and even his own toys. He is terribly concerned when a baby is crying, and will look at me concernedly, as if to ask what we should be doing about this, how do we get the baby to be happy again. The concept of happy vs. sad is something he's grasped and been able to express over the past weeks. He responds better to seeing me or Steve make a sad face when he has hit or bitten out of anger with us, as opposed to going to "time-out."

This softness only goes for babies though. If the kid can walk, bets are off. Creedence LOVES football (yeah, I know...) and likes to tackle.

He plays pretend with certain toys, like cars or stuffed animals, and is getting better at playing by himself. I tried to institute a quiet time in the mornings, because he is up at 7:30am and doesn't nap until 2, and I thought maybe a rest period in the middle there would help everyone keep it together through the morning. So I would get him situated with a bunch of toys, tell him it was quiet time where he plays alone and mommy goes to rest, and then I would go lie down or do something he considers boring (another word I unintentionally taught him while flipping through trying to find something good to watch).

Oh how he suffered! He would come up to me on the bed moaning and whining, saying "Up! Up!" repeatedly, bringing in all his toys, nuzzling up to me trying to push me off and out. I gave up after just a few mornings, but have since found out that it was more of a goodbye/separation problem then him being needy for my constant attention. If I don't say the words quiet time, or otherwise distinguish the act of my leaving the room to go lie down as anything special, he tends to last a lot longer playing on his own.

I feel like we're in a special place overall with Creedence right now. He is communicative and fun to have around (like really fun, not just "Oh, look, cute" fun. He can make me laugh and we converse and he's actually really helpful at picking stuff up for me most of the time), and he is still pretty easy to distract, so tantrums and meltdowns aren't really a problem yet. His sleeping is grad-u-a-l-l-y improving, for completely mysterious reasons that he is keeping to himself. I can now count on two hands the total number of nights he has slept through completely in the past 19 months. He can successfully use a fork, spoon and normal cup. Potty training phase one is progressing well, which means he'll tell me now when he has gone in his diaper, he'll sit on his potty for more than a couple seconds, and I'm able to pretty clearly tell his patterns. That may not sound like potty training, but this is progress for us. I'm also really aware of how these days of just me and him are counting down, so it makes me welcome the days where we are both in pajamas through lunch without feeling as much of an urge to be busy with other things.

As for the baby, she is super-active on a regular schedule throughout the day and night. She is as active if not more than Creedo was, but I don't remember being able to know what time it was by the amount of movement I feel. The most dramatic and consistent kickboxing seems to be around 10pm, no matter if I'm up or going to sleep. I've also got crazy heartburn, so I'm hoping for hair, and there's this ridiculous back pain some days that I can only describe as obnoxious. Its really obnoxious. We're just about in the third trimester though. I feel like if I can just make it through Christmas, then it will be easy from there. Right? Because being nine months pregnant is easy? It just makes sense to me though, to do all the baby prep and worrying and cleaning before then, and then plan on being calm the last month. I'm really looking forward to it actually! That's the best part of being pregnant I think: so much to look forward to.

Caption Contest!

Who's the baby now?

The baby is SUPER active. I've been feeling it for a couple weeks, and its easily felt from the outside now as well. My hopes of a laidback second kiddo are dimming. We find out the gender on Sep. 13th. The poll is open...
Creedence will "give the baby a hug" now and give my tummy a squnch (spell checker has obviously never watched Hook). In addition to being adorable when he does that, he can also get shoes for me and put things in the garbage, and occasionally even put a toy away. He has also learned the words "no!" and "mine!" which were pretty cute for about three days.
Here are some pics from the last couple weeks of summer:

 Serious face. He does this, where he lowers his eyes and looks at you from under his non-existant eyebrows while making his cheeks big, on command (when he feels like performing, of course).

 He uses the drawers as personal cafeterias, food storage, toy storage, and stairs to get to the stuff he shouldn't be getting to.

 First rodeo! He was excited about the horses when they all came out for a warm up, but was over it by the time the events started. 

 Trying to stay interested...

 He looks like a big boy, no?

 Our complex had an end-of-summer bash. They went all out with BBQ, an outdoor movie, and a popcorn machine! Creedo can not get enough of hanging out with the big kids.

Did I mention my sister Jazzy had a fabulous wedding in San Antonio and snagged a great guy? Well, she did. We are so happy for the new couple! 

 He only takes kisses, never gives.

Script for Groundhog's Day 2012 Conversation in the Haynie House

D.J. #1 (aka Steve): Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today. 
D.J. #2 (aka Maria): It's coooold out there every day. What is this, Miami Beach? 
D.J. #1: Not hardly. And you know, you can expect hazardous travel later today with that, you know, that, uh, that blizzard thing. 
D.J. #2: [mockingly] That blizzard - thing. That blizzard - thing. Oh, well, here's the report! The National Weather Service is calling for a "big blizzard thing!" 
D.J. #1: Yessss, they are. But you know, there's another reason why today is especially exciting. 
D.J. #2: Especially cold! 
D.J. #1: Especially cold, okay, but the big question on everybody's lips... 
D.J. #2: - On their chapped lips... 
D.J. #1: - On their chapped lips, right: Do ya think the baby is gonna come out and see his/her shadow? 
D.J. #2: Punxsutawney Phil or Punxsutawney Phyllis! 

D.J. #1: That's right, woodchuck-chuckers - it's... 
D.J. #1, D.J. #2: [in unison] OUR DUE DAY! 

Turns out my Easter egg was pretty fertile, and according to the fuzzy black and white picture hanging on my fridge, it has since developed arm and leg buds. Baby number 2 is well on its way.

When people ask how I'm feeling, I usually say great, although the real answer would probably more honestly be "it's complicated." But for the most part, I really do feel pretty good. Steve is home a lot this summer, which is awesome, and so I'm sure getting to rest with my feet up while Steve plays Mr. Mom & Dad is helping my condition. None of what I remember from Creedence has shown up: no throwing up, no blinding headaches, no need for my infamous "I'm so tired if I don't lay down in a completely dark room right now I'll bite your head off" naps. Instead, I'm tired but its manageable, I'm able to eat most anything (I heart fried rice), and most interestingly, I have turned sentimental. I've cried at commercials, gotten teary watching sports, weepy eating french fries... its been a little ridiculous. The worst is the sob I turn into when I think about how excited I am for Creedence, who never seemed to want to be little himself, always getting bigger and faster and stronger so early, will get use all his personality as the big brother. I don't know how many kids we'll have, the spacing, et al, but its a big relief and blessing to know that at least these two will have one another to grow up with. Sibs are important, and we are so looking forward to the fun these kiddos will have down the road. So much to look forward to...


In the meantime, I'm stocking up on Panda Express, tissues (with lotion, that's the only kind worth buying), and one-on-one time with the firstborn. 

Zombie Croquet

Zombie croquet is neither morbid or a past time for remixed Jane Austen characters. It happens to be a fun way to make croquet intense for really great players and really terrible players alike. We had fun sharing our version of the game recently with Mannie and TJat. We also were privileged with Grandma Sarah visit, and had a lovely time at Provo Beach, Los Hermanos, and just sitting and visiting with family while she was here. We learned that Creedo is terrified of carousels, can make zombie noises on command, and can hiss when asked what noise a snake makes. Thanks for making the effort to say hello to all of our recent visitors! We love seeing everyone as they stop through the area.

In Creedence news, he is a whopping 14 months, which means he gets to go nursery in our ward. Day one didn't go over too well, and he woke up the next day with a cold he's had for two weeks now, so I don't think I'll be rushing into that one again soon. He is parroting noises like crazy. The other day he said " Light-bulb!" like Gru from Despicable Me. He understands more and more words each day, and loves to play the "Where is the....(fridge, light, plant, window, etc)?" game. We have fun with it too- Steve taught him to point to the London Calling poster hanging in the studio room when asked "Where is The Clash?" He loves to play with the other kids outside, and is still fascinated with dogs and birds and OK GO music videos.  His climbing is awesome, so the chairs stay on top of the table unless we're sitting in them. He's grown up in a hundred little ways. His crib is taken down and put away, which might of been sentimental if he had used it much. He eats in a booster at the table now, so the high chair is out of service. We are in full toddler mode now!

Just Ducky

Ducks were practically made for little kids to find, chase, and throw bread at. We spent this weekend tracking down lots of ducks. The first step in a successful duck hunt (the plump them up , not the shoot 'em down kind) is to fill your own tummy.

Shoveling in the pre-hike meal

Playing that amazingly tedious pick-up-drop-it-pick-up game. Usually when he drops something, he throws out his out his hands, palms up, as if to say, "What? Where'd it go?"

Starting our walk: These two look so much alike; I see the resemblance grow stronger as Steve continues to grow more handsome

 At Provo River Walkway- first duck sighting!

 Steve makes this exact face when he sees ducks too!

 Throwing in sticks

 His adorable fishing/woodsy attire was not planned but looks great in these pics, I think. The "Daddy is My Homeboy" onesie, our go-to outing outfit is way too small now.

 Focus= Tongue out & to the side (something I remember my Grandpa Forsyth always doing too)

We did see lots of ducks on our little hike that turned into a way too long walk. Provo River Walkway is great, but lasts forever. Best part, besides the four snakes Steve spotted en route (joking! Indiana Jones likes snakes more than I do), was when an adorably chubby little boy rode his bike past us with his family (think Disney's The Kid), huffing and puffing holding up the rear, and then took a look at my currently pink hair and exclaimed, "Your hair isth thso niiiisthe!!" It made my day. Note about having pink hair: huge hit with the under 12 crowd.

The second adventure was when we went to the Ducky Derby on BYU campus. They've just built this nice canal and re-landscaped the south side of campus (you know, the part riddled with the creepy Do Not Walk Here After Dark signs), and to celebrate, BYU hosted a rubber ducky race down the canal. Hundreds showed up! And not just families with little guys, there was a line down the block of groups of singles who wanted in on the action. Or maybe it was for the $1 J-Dawgs they were also selling.... because thats the real reason we showed up. But the ridiculously long line did not bode well for our little one. He soon decided that he would forge his own path forward...

 Re-organizing the landscaping crew's materials

 Blazing his own trail! See that line? That's the end, about a block away from the front registration tables. 

 So buff. (Speaking of buff, Steve just told me that Netflix just delivered a 4.8 stars "Best Guess for Steve" rating (the number of stars they think Steve would rate something based on his ratings of other movies), which is the highest they've ever predicted, for *pause for effect*... Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

How did Netflix know about Steve's embarrassing Buffy-crazed teen years?)

Since the Ducky Derby turned out to be a bust, we headed up the hill onto campus for Astro-something something Day, where the Science Center and SWKT quad were hosting build your own rocket launches, planetarium shows, light shows, physics demonstrations, etc. We actually didn't do any of that- we spent our whole time enjoying the bounce house. 

 He hasn't figured out how to jump yet- he just bends and squats and pops up and thinks thats a jump. We applaud it anyways.

You can tell how much he likes something by how big he opens his mouth...

 ...or by how far he sticks out his tongue!

 Cooling off in the canal on the way home...

 I'm so excited to spend more days outside like this, esp. once the waterparks open for the season. 

 Crashed in the stroller on the way home! He hasn't done this in ages!

 Maybe some drool there

Finish off the afternoon with a nap in his new big kid bed. This is his classic naptime pose (only for naps though, not at night for some reason). Who doesn't love how sweet sleeping children look?