Stoker Family

Scarlett went to the MD for a flu shot yesterday

2011-01-05T22:33:00.000-08:00

Baby #4

2011-01-04T22:38:00.000-08:00

Is a boy!! Had the "big ultrasound" today. So fun to see that little baby. So fun to find out it's a boy. We are all excited, but Nathan is by far the most excited. He's been wanting a little brother for a long time.

Had this ultrasound originally scheduled for 3 weeks ago (at 18 weeks prego), but moved it until after the 1st of the year because I hadn't met my deductible yet in 2010 and I will meet it in 2011 (saved me $400). Poor, poor baby #4. Has to wait for us to find out these things....because, well, it's baby #4 and we'd be happy either way.

Catching up

2010-12-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

OK, so it's been almost 9 months since I posted last. Since I use this blog as a journal of sorts, you'll have to deal with the chaos of this long post. Here's the "catch-up"

March - NC house on the market (half our stuff packed up and in storage)

April - Graduation for Brig! A real dentist now.

May - Move to UT. Live with the in-laws.

June - Shannon working, Brig setting up his brand-spankin' new practice (see: http://www.slcdentalcenter.com).

July - NC house SOLD

October - move in to new UT house! We love it!

Someone asked me the other day if I had just recently cut Mia's bangs. No, no. Rest assured I did not give my 2 year old side-sweepy bangs. The mullet is all natural....
These two girls love books. So sweet when they read together. Scarlett loves to "read" -- she has a few books memorized and she'll recite them. It's the best.

Mia Jane turned 2 at the end of November! As always I was decorating the cake as my family was (literally) piling into the car to go to Grandma's house for dinner. I thought it turned out pretty cute anyway, thanks to Brig's birthday present to me: a cake decorating kit!
This picture was taken at a Halloween Party BEFORE Halloween, because the night we were going to go out trick-or-treating 1)We had just moved into our new house THAT DAY 2) Couldn't find the costumes (threw together some make-shift ones) 3) It started pouring rain 4) the kids fell asleep in the car on the way to meet our friends. That was the last straw. We called it quits before we even got there.

This picture of the fam was taken during a really ghetto-fabulous haunted boat ride. Our "pirate" tour guide pulled our "ship" down a "river" with a rope that was strung overhead. There really was water. And lit jack-o-lanterns along the riverbanks. Very homemade-y. Very hilarious. The kids still had fun.
No words.
Nathan's soccer team.
Then it was back to NC for our good friends' wedding in October! Mia was a fantastic dancer whenever there was music.

Nathan was the ring-bearer and Scarlett escorted him down the aisle. I wish I could steal some of the professional shots of them walking down the aisle. They were so adorable! They did a great job -- a relief since Nathan REFUSED to walk down the aisle at another wedding when he was 2 1/2. And Scarlett loved all the attention and was instantly best friends with anyone wearing a red dress (bridesmaid).
And to Jackson Hole with my family. I actually went with the kids myself (without Brig), because Brig and his mom went to NC to pack up our house there. I'm still trying to sort out how it is fair for me to go on vacation while my husband and his mother move us from NC to UT....all I can say is they are the BEST!

The Birthday Boy

2010-03-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, he is now 5 years old. Yes, he is wearing 2 ties.

Thanks for coming to celebrate, guys!

Nathan overheard Brig and I talking about the cake as I was decorating it. Then he asked, "what does ghetto mean"?
So this year Nathan requested a "green turtle" cake. Remember the "green Q" cake last year? It wasn't until after I started to decorate it that he told me, "I mean I want a Ninja Turtle cake." Oh, great. Like I know what that looks like. Brig helped me with the logistics. If only I'd had a few more minutes maybe the eyes wouldn't be so lopsided and the rest wouldn't be so ghetto. In my own defense, that afternoon we had someone coming to see the house, Mia had to go to the doctor, then that someone who was coming to see the house while we left it vacant for an hour (with the beginnings of the un-decorated turtle cake stashed in the oven) decided to come late. While we were all home. While the baby was in the bath. While we were making dinner. If only they'd offered on the house it would have been worth it.

Happy Birthday big 5 year old. We love you!

Haircut

2010-03-25T17:29:00.001-07:00

Scarlett has needed a haircut for a LONG time, but every time I mentioned it she would burst into tears. Then one morning I asked her if she wanted a haircut and she said, "and I will turn into Cinderella?" "Oh, yes" I agreed, "and you will be a beautiful princess." Then I didn't waste any time. I cut it immediately. Couldn't give her time to change her mind, which changes as fast as her moods.

Now she has a haircut. Now she thinks she is Cinderella.

Praying for dreams

2010-02-26T17:23:00.000-08:00

Tonight Nathan said prayers before bed, "......and please bless me to have cool dreams and Scarlett to have pretty dreams."

"Dress-Ups" (for boys)

2010-01-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

(Stoker family riding in the car, on the way home from Chick-Fil-A)

Nathan and Scarlett are jabbering about going on another play-date at Lilly's house. Scarlett wants to bring her dress-ups (Lilly has lots of dress-ups at her house) and Nathan says he wants to bring his only dress-up, his doctor hat: "I only have one dress-up to bring--I mean I only have one 'pants-up' (I'm a boy) to bring." Glad we got that straightened out. "Dress-ups" for girls. "Pants-ups" for boys.

In November...

2010-01-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

Happy 1st Birthday Mia!

Thanks again to Sarah for the great birthday photos!

Sweet Mia--we just can't get enough of your: kisses and hugs, walking and running, talking and singing, and you tolerating pushes and pulls from two older siblings

We could do without: you getting out of your crib (falling or otherwise).

Still, we love you to pieces.

Do NOT break the rules

2009-11-21T20:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight we were at a friend's birthday party. You know the game where you roll the dice and if you get doubles you get to try to unwrap a huge candy bar while wearing oven mittens and two knives for utensils? Well, Nathan rolled doubles, but then he flat-out refused, "I'm not supposed to play with knives."

Preschool Dropout

2009-11-21T20:19:00.000-08:00

So in the car tonight, Nathan is rocking some fantastic air-guitar when he loudly (and excitedly) announces, "Hey guys! Guess what?!?! I'm not going to go to school OR work! I'm going to play the guitar in a band!"

The things Nathan says

2009-11-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

Nathan: We don't eat stars because they are burning gas, but these (pointing to the starburst candy from his halloween bag that he is eating) are good burning gas.

Walking and Hair

2009-11-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

TA-DA! Here's the rundown, for her baby book someday:

-1st steps just before 10 months

-Taking 8 or 9 steps at 11 months

-Never even crawls anymore at 11 months 3 weeks (and always so proud of herself when she walks across the room to you!)

Words: moma, dada, bear, boo, bye-bye (waves), meow, that (points), poo-poo, quack

This is what she does when you ask to see her funny face

Just can't get enough of her stink face

This is a little random, but Nathan has been insisting on a mohawk lately...

Scarlett has started keeping her hair in for a good, maybe 20 minutes or so before she pulls it out -- we are making progress!

Halloween

2009-11-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

The kitten, spiderman, and turtle before we went out door to door.

Scarlett saw Amelia's dress and instantly fell in love. Weirdly, Amelia wanted to be a cat, so the trade worked out nicely.
Our kids were burning up. The back of their necks were getting all sweaty. It was almost 80 degrees while we were out. And so humid. Yuck.

Of course we had to have boney-finger breadsticks for dinner. I forgot to take a picture of the plate full of fingers, so here is a pic of the last one. I just painted slivered almonds with red food coloring mixed with water for the fingernails. In the past I've taken the time to make them more realistic (ie: actually sculpt knuckles into them). This year I was in a hurry.

The Fair

2009-11-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

This is Nathan and Scarlett before the little roller coaster started to go. By the end Scarlett was crying, "I want to get off, I'm all done....WAAAHHH." and Nathan was holding onto Scarlett and screaming. Then when I asked if they wanted to go again Nathan said, "No way!" and Scarlett said, "Yeah! Woo-hoo! That was fun!"

Food, food, food. Can't believe what people eat there. Including my husband. This meat stick makes me a little nauseated just looking at it.

Asheville

2009-10-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

So last weekend we went to the mountains. It was SO BEAUTIFUL. All North Carolina friends: if you haven't done this yet, it is a MUST! A few days after we got back home Nathan told me he wanted to pack up his Nintendo Wii and move to the hotel. He loved that he got to watch movies in bed, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he has been dreaming of playing Mario Kart while lying in bed. Can't get much lazier than that.

On another note, I think Brigham looks like a thief of some sort with this hat on. It made me laugh.

Of course, I don't look much different in mine! (It was C-O-L-D while we were there....we had to buy these cheapie hats to keep our heads from freezing off!)
Nathan insisted on reading every sign that we passed on our little hike. Thanks to him, I am a virtual fount of knowledge when it comes to NC trees and shrubbery and I can spot sassafras in a split second.

Nathan in love

2009-10-19T20:10:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of my white board right now. Nathan told me, "Write, 'I love Adriana. With a heart. Because the heart is for pumping blood, but it is also for love."

This is Nathan and Adri at a farm on a recent preschool field trip. Luckily, Adriana's mom had her camera, because I forgot to bring mine with me.

Adri is the one in the orange hat. I think Nathan has good taste. She's not only cute (and adorably shy), but she's bilingual, too.
I think we'll have to keep an eye on these two!

My little scar-scar

2009-09-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today Scarlett wiped her runny nose on her arm. Then she licked it. Then she held out her arm to me and asked, "Want some?"

1st Day of Preschool

2009-09-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Nathan and Scarlett were playing in the living room this morning while I was getting ready. I overheard Nathan say, "Scarlett, I'm going to be leaving soon. I'm going to miss you."

Brush and Floss

2009-09-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

Phew! I sure am glad I don't have to worry about Dolly's teeth getting cavities....and for those of you who haven't met her yet, this is Scarlett's *favorite* doll, whom we lovingly call, "Dreadlock Dolly" for obvious reasons.

Big week at the Stoker home

2009-07-31T11:01:00.001-07:00

Two MAJOR events took place at our house this last week:

1) Mia started sleeping through the night

2) Scarlett is potty trained.

We had to let Mia SCREAM for 1 1/2 hours a couple nights this week. Which is like torture. I sat on the couch and attempted to read as I listened to her agony. But last night, for the first time ever, she slept from about 9 PM until 7:30 AM (OK, she woke up once or twice but only cried for a few minutes). It's bliss. I feel like a new person. AND, can I just say that potty training girls is SOOOOO much easier than boys?

HOORRAY!

Not sleeping

2009-07-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

Brig got a call from my amused neighbors at 8:30 the other night (Scarlett's bedtime is 7:00), just making sure he knew that Scarlett was standing in her second story bedroom window calling out and waving to anyone who walked by

If you don't have one, get one

2009-07-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

For 3 good reasons to go out and buy one right this second, please refer to the July 4th post re: Scarlett's white shirts

The main reason we should all wear clothes

2009-07-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

In Nathan's illustrated scriptures we read about Adam and Eve before bed the other night. After we were done, he of course wanted to know why they were naked. Brigham and Nathan had a lengthy discussion which lead to him wanting to know why they eventually put clothes on. Brigham did a pretty good job explaining that one too, but after he was done with the explanation, Nathan suggested another feasible alternative: "No, I think they thought the bushes were too tickle-y."

Happy July 4th!

2009-07-05T07:46:00.001-07:00

Nathan was so excited to decorate his bike for the little parade we had after breakfast at church.

Scarlett sporting the 1st of 3 white shirts she wore yesterday....

This is the 1st year we've done fireworks with the kids. They thought pop-its were the best! You can see Scarlett in shirt #3. Her 2nd shirt (sorry, no pics) got black ALL OVER it when she crawled underneath the car to try to chase the cat...
Scarlett wasn't too sure about sparklers, but Nathan dug them. This was right before Nathan almost caught Scarlett's hair on fire. YIKES!!!
We sat on a big quilt in our front yard to watch fireworks.
Brigham was saying the prayer before bed last night. As he was praying, Nathan prompted him in a whisper, "and please bless us to do fireworks again because they were so much fun."

Happy Birthday Brigham and Scarlett!

2009-07-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 27th: Scarlett's Birthday!

We let Scarlett open her presents first thing in the morning because we didn't have a good way to wrap her new kitchen, and we didn't want to try to hide it all day....I think my kids thought it was just like Christmas!

After breakfast, we took the kids to the pool (an activity we do 3 or 4 times a week right now, due to the heat and humidity). We had a great time! Usually I'm juggling all 3, but it was so nice to have Brig there to help and so fun to spend time with the entire fam.

Nathan has been so afraid to go under the water. He has told me numerous times that he would go under when he was "an adult." Finally, I told Nathan that he could earn his Nintendo Wii Lego Star Wars game if he went under the water....and TA DA! That was all it took! Now he'll dunk himself like a pro (sort of).

Mia absolutely loves the water. She tries to put her face in and drink it, though. So I have to watch out!
Because Brig's birthday was on Monday (31!! the old man...) we had some friends come over to our house for Brigham's favorite dinner: ribs, potatoes, asparagus. salad, strawberries...YUM! And of course, we had Texas sheet cake for dessert. I'm sure this won't be the last time Brigham and Scarlett will share blowing out the birthday candles!

I had the kids get Brigham a body pillow for his birthday. They were so excited to give him this very large present all wrapped up!

Happy Birthday Scarlett and Brig --- we LOVE you!

Happy Birthdays!

2009-07-03T11:22:00.001-07:00

Wednesday June 24:

At playgroup last week, we had a mini party for Scarlett (who turned 2 on Saturday!) and our good friend Benson (who turned 3 that day!). The kids had so much with the pinata....until we realized they had to walk through a little patch of poison ivy before they could take a swing! We quickly moved the pinata out of the tree and onto the grass.....(and brought all the kids into my bathtub to scrub all their feet and legs!).

Sarah (Benson's mom) made these adorable frog cupcakes! I'm sad I didn't get a picture before half of them were gone.

We attempted to play Pin the Bug on the Flower.....the girls got a lady bug and the boys got a beetle.

Dreaming

2009-05-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Nathan: I was thinking about something last night when I was sleeping

Shannon: What were you thinking about?

Nathan: I was thinking about that I was a transformer, and you were a transformer, and I had a pew-er, and I pew-ed you, and you said, "Ow!"

*Editor's note: Nathan doesn't know the word for "gun". He just made up "Pew-er" because apparently that is the sound a gun makes.

Another Nathan conversation

2009-04-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

Nathan (looking at a mole on Brig's arm): What's that?

Brigham: It's a mole

Nathan: Why do you get moles?

Brigham: When you are older you just get moles sometimes

Nathan: I don't have any moles. That is because little blond boys don't get moles. But Mommy, she's getting moldy, and Daddy, you are getting moldy too.

Cow

2009-04-26T18:08:00.001-07:00

So our good friend, Brett, was at our house tonight. This is my favorite conversation from the evening -

Nathan (rocking on Scarlett's rocking horse): Brett! Brett! Look at me!

Brett: Holy cow Nathan! That is really great!

Nathan: It's a horse.

4 1/2 months old and rolling over (finally)

2009-04-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

The other day when Mia was lying on the floor and Scarlett was playing near her, I asked Scarlett what she was doing. She replied, "Sharing". Mia then spit a fruit snack out of her mouth. SO, in an effort to spare her life, I RARELY put Mia on the floor. But, here she is, rolling over for the 1st time.

2009-04-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

I had to work on Easter Sunday, so we didn't ever get a "whole family standing outside in the bright sun with our new clothes on" picture. This is the best I've got.

Brig told me I was probably the most boring mom in the world for putting pretzels (and raisins and craisins) in some of the eggs....but guess what Scarlett ate very FIRST?!

And since I don't have a pic of my two girls in matching outfits (sad, I know), here are the outfits, without the girls.

Mischeif

2009-04-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

When I asked Nathan why he smeared our pack-N-play with hydrocortisone cream he answered "because I wanted it to heal"

Happy Birthday (2 weeks ago), Nathan!

2009-04-14T05:58:00.000-07:00

Seems like every year I still go back to these photos and remember his rough start. We are so grateful to have our little guy!!!

Weighing in at just 2 lbs 1/4 oz....here is Nathan 4 years ago
Our first little family photo - a lot changes 4 years and 2 more kiddos later...
And finally, weighing in at 29 1/2 lbs....our BIG 4 YEAR OLD! Thanks again, for the pics, Heather. Love them!!!
Here are the beginning of the festivities. Since the girls were sick around Nathan's b-day, we just had a family party this year. Frosting beaters are probably better than the cake.
As much as I offered a rocket ship cake, a dinosaur cake, or sprinkles, Nathan was INSISTENT that his cake be "A Green Q" this year. SO.......

My kids love to take a bath

2009-04-10T17:11:00.000-07:00

As you can see, letters with holes in them clearly should be worn on the ears. You might be able to tell that the letter on Nathan's ear is a green Q. This will be an important fact to remember when I finally blog about his birthday.

Scarlett almost always wants to wash Nathan's hair. An aspiring hair stylist?

Trip #3

2009-02-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

OK, so I skipped January trip #2: Asheville. We went to check it out as a possible place to live...the verdict? Love the town, but more of a vacation spot.

So, Trip #3: Utah to bless Mia. Yes, I flew by myself with 3 kids to Utah. No half as bad as I thought it would be. Anyway, here she is on her big day. My sister did the smocking and my mom made the dress. How lucky I am to be related to such talented ladies!!!

This is a 4 generation of sorts: Brig's mom, grandmother Ruby, Brig and baby Mia
Grandma Ruby and Mia
Brig was able to fly in Friday night so we got to spend Saturday together. We took the kids to the Clark planetarium and watched a 3D movie about Dinosaurs. Nathan wore his glasses until the end of the first trailor when a fish snapped at us. Then he only put them on for scenery parts if the music wasn't ominous....
The kids loved to snuggle with Grandpa Steve (my dad) before going to bed. I think Grandpa Steve liked it too.

Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells

2009-02-05T19:12:00.001-08:00

I made this for dinner tonight, and it was a hit! Easy to make, too, which is always a bonus in my book.

Here is the recipe (from "Favorites" cookbook):

32 jumbo pasta shells

2 (10 ounce) packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese

1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2 tablespoons fennel seeds

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped or 2 teaspoons dried

3 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

3 cups bottled marinara sauce

Cook pasta shells, drain well and set aside. Squeeze spinach dry and put in large bowl. Add ricotta, 1/3 cup Parmesan, fennel, basil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and stir to blend. Spoon 1/2 cup marinara suace evenly over bottom of 9" x 13" glass baking dish. Place shells, filling side up, in the dish. Spoon remaining sauce over the shells. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and cover loosely with foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

*I left out the fennel (YUCK) and only used 1 package of spinach. Next time I make it, I might only use 1 or 2 cloves of garlic -- I thought 3 made it a little too strong.

While I made dinner, I had the kids play with homemade play dough (this batch has lasted for MONTHS) -- I'm sure you can see Scarlett eating some.....
Since their attention span is about 30 seconds and dinner took longer than that to assemble, I also had the kids decorate some paper that we will use to make Valentine's tomorrow. After those 30 seconds were up, I turned on the TV. (And I remembered why I usually make dinner in the middle of the day while Scarlett is napping.)

Quotes

2009-02-04T21:45:00.001-08:00

Nathan (sees Aunt Kimberly with a set of magnetic letters on her lap): I know, I'm the mail man and I'll bring you some letters.

Way overdue

2009-02-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

January ended up being the month of travel for us. Here are the highlights. I'll start with the 1st trip (actually the end of December)

Trip #1 Mexico: where we learned that you get all the way into the right lane to make a left turn, that Scarlett loves shrimp and coke. Where Brigham made a super cool sand monster (look glump-like to anyone else?), and where I wish I was right now. A balmy 85 degrees sounds much more preferable than the single digits we are supposed to see tonight.

Sleeping like a baby

2008-12-18T20:31:00.000-08:00

"Whoever said 'sleeping like a baby' obviously never had one"

This is the little culprit herself. I haven't been able to coerce a confession out of her yet, but I'm highly suspicious that the reason she is smirking here in her sleep is because it is THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. Surely she's chuckling to herself at the irony of being up all night and sleeping "like a baby" during the day.

Family of 5

2008-12-14T19:08:00.000-08:00

Scarlett (pokes Mia in the eye): Eyes!

Shannon: Scarlett - don't poke her in the eye! Touch the top of her head instead.

Scarlett (pokes Mia in the eye): Eyes!

Shannon: Ahh! Don't poke her eyes! (Decides not to put Mia on the floor if the kids are awake.)

2008-12-14T18:57:00.000-08:00

So we have a budding photographer in our house. As I'm sure you can all see, even though most pics are of himself, he's pretty much on his way to fame for the photography. We just need to get him to work on his vantage point a little....

Ode to Nathan

2008-12-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

The only time Nathan takes a nap anymore is when he falls asleep somewhere random. My favorite, though, is when he crawls up onto my lap and falls asleep (reason #1 I love my 3 year old).

Reason #2 I love my 3 year old: Pillows make a great blanket
No, we didn't take our 3 year old to glamour shots. He's actually sliding down a big blue tube slide at the park.

3 car seats in the back seat

2008-11-22T17:53:00.001-08:00

Meet Mia Jane Stoker

Born 11/21/08 at 1:37 PM

5 pounds exactly

19 1/4 inches long

R is for...

2008-11-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

Nathan (hands me my contact case): What is 'R' for?

Shan: It's for Right eye

Nathan: No, I think it's for "Arrrgh matey"

F is for...

2008-11-13T14:48:00.000-08:00

Shan: I think over the last week or so my face has started looking fat

Brig: You aren't retaining water are you?

Shan: No, and my blood pressure is still low

Brig: So you are just retaining fat?

34 weeks and counting

2008-11-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

A belly shot...this is so you can imagine the following pictures inside my rapidly growing belly.

To get the full effect, imagine this as an action shot with her kicking and wiggling like crazy. At my last ultrasound (on Friday) I told the ultrasonographer that she didn't didn't have to tell me where everything was, because I could tell: feet in my right hip, bottom wiggling around the left side of my belly, head down, with an occasional hand sweeping around. I was right. The ultrasonographer told me she seemed feisty. I agree.
I guess she has some hair already, too.

Current stats: weight 4 lbs 10 oz (17 percentile). They are guessing she'll be about 6 1/2 pounds or so at birth. I still outweigh Brig.

On the 3rd day of Halloween....October 31st

2008-10-31T19:03:00.001-07:00

This morning when I asked Nathan if he knew what day it was, he said, "what?" I told him it was Halloween and he laughed and excitedly asked, "Again?" Yes, we've done a lot of Halloween activities in the last little while, but today is OFFICIALLY the last day of Halloween at the Stoker house.

Ready
Set

Go!!!

Nathan held Scarlett's hand almost the whole time......

......until we got to a house. Then Nathan wanted to stay back by Mom and Dad and Scarlett wanted to run up to the door and knock, and knock, and knock until someone answered
We ran into our good friends Makayla and Declan while we were out
Then it was off to a Halloween Party for all of us!

On the 2nd Day of Halloween...October 30th

2008-10-31T12:25:00.000-07:00

Carving pumpkins

....eating pumpkins

....posing punkins. If you look closely you might be able to tell that Nathan's is a "pumpkin pumpkin" and Scarlett's is a "kitty pumpkin"
....and the astronaut and "tat tat meow" trunk-or-treating at the ward carnival

Just the beginning of Halloween

2008-10-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

The skeletons in their PJs. You might be able to tell that I had to wake Scarlett for this photo
Halloween isn't complete without baking and decorating sugar cookies...
Scarlett was definitely into the cookie making
After I made the frosting I divided it into three bowls: one for orange, one for green, and one for yellow colored icing. Nathan said, "OK. I want the blue bowl." Not meaning that he wanted some blue frosting, meaning that he thought I was dividing the frosting to eat out of bowls like a bowl of cereal....
My sister drove down from Philadelphia with her 3 girls (the youngest only 5 weeks old!)...we had lots of fun at the pumpkin patch
Scarlett giggled the whole time she fed the goats. Nathan refused to even try. I'm pretty sure I saw Scarlett pick up some corn from the mud-trampled ground and eat it herself. It probably fell out of the goat's mouth.

Prayers

2008-10-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

As anyone with kids probably knows, prayers are always a work in progress. Nathan usually does a fairly good job, with a few reminders every once in a while. But tonight as he was saying family prayers before bed, right in the middle of the prayer, he started talking gibberish. Not just mumbling (which he sometimes does), but intelligible gibberish like "oh da la be fo ga ro me." He kept at it for quite a while. Brig and I looked at each other and we both had a look on our faces like, "Great. Now he's being silly during prayers." He finished, and we both looked at him. Brig asked, "Was that a real prayer, Nathan?" Nathan replied, "Yeah. It was in Spanish."

Side note: We have a Spanish group that meets with us at church and sometimes Brigham takes Nathan to the spanish baptisms. He always has to explain why they are talking funny.

A mind of its own

2008-10-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

Lately Nathan's tummy has been telling him lots of things. At first he would just tell me that his tummy was telling him that he was hungry. That seemed to make sense. Now, however, it seems his stomach has developed a mind of its own since at least once a day he tells me that his tummy told him that he does/does not want to do something. For example, "My tummy is telling me that I want to go to the mall!" or "My tummy is telling me that I need you to read me a story right now!" or "My tummy is not telling me that I want dinner." Now I know I've asked him if his tummy is feeling hungry, but I have never asked him if his tummy feels like going shopping.

Names for the Martian Baby

2008-10-05T18:28:00.001-07:00

OK, so it is probably about time to be thinking for new names for baby #3. It looks like she'll be either Mia (Brig likes) or Claire (I like). Any votes?

Funny side note: Brig and I both like the names Violet and Ruby, but since we already have a Scarlett, they are about as likely a choice as Martian.

Big Difference

2008-09-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

Nathan (in the bathroom, going potty): "Dad! Dad! Come here! I need help! I have a booger on my finger! Get if off!"

Brigham: "OK." Goes into the bathroom, wipes the booger off Nathan's finger (with his bare hands?!!)

Nathan: "Oh, wait. I mean it's poo."

The Martian baby at 27 weeks

2008-09-20T20:31:00.001-07:00

Maybe we should stop referring to our unborn child as "the Martian baby", but since we don't really have another name picked out yet, and Nathan is pretty insistent that this baby IS the Martian baby, it will have to do for now.

(Side note: Other names Nathan has suggested include: "Two", "Einstein", "Balooga", and "2S45" but by far the most common name he suggests is "Martian". He always refers to this baby as "the Martian baby." For example if I tell him something is for the new baby in my tummy he'll say, "Oh, it's for the Martian baby?")

Anyway, I had an MD appointment about a week ago and here are the stats: The little Martian weighs approximately 2 lbs 5 oz (51 percentile) and appears very healthy. We were especially excited to hear how much she weighs because Nathan, born at 29 weeks, weighed 2 lbs 1/2 oz (he was a little growth-restricted from the pre-eclampsia). Another weight measurement that is not so exciting: Shannon now officially weighs more than Brigham. Hummmm . . . .maybe I should think twice before opening a bag of chocolate chips without the intention of making cookies.....

By the way, this picture of a "martian baby" freaks me out, but Brigham thinks it's hilarious. Sure hope my little Martian baby doesn't come out looking like this.

More Camping

2008-09-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's been a while since we went camping, but it's been a while since I've posted! About a month ago we went camping with some friends from dental school. 2 kids and 2 adults in a 3 man tent -- we had a great time anyway (sleep is over-rated while camping?). The best part was the hike. We hiked to a double waterfall....You can see Brigham sliding down the 2nd waterfall into a big pool. I opted out of the sliding mostly because the water was FREEZING! Nathan and Scarlett didn't seem to mind, though.

Camping

2008-09-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Scarlett at 1 year

2008-07-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

Scarlett at 1 year

Weight: 18 lbs 2 oz (10 percentile)

Height: 50 percentile (forgot to ask what it was exactly)

Head: 50 percentile

She is almost walking on her own. She's taken 1 step by herself and will stand for a few seconds. She is always climbing up the stairs, and thinks it is hilarious if you chase her and pull her down off the stairs.

Words: Uh-oh, Momma, Dadda, All done!, yes, more (baby-signs that one), milk (baby-sign), shakes her head "no". She can show you on one finger how old she is if you ask her. She says "Hello"to the telephone, "Hi" to people and waves when they say "hi." She says, "Bye-bye" and waves when someone leaves. Then she also repeats all kinds of things....in fact, she'll repeat almost anything you say. She'll also answer, "what does a fish say?" "What does a pig say?" The other day I told Nathan to tell his daddy happy birthday, and Scarlett chimed in, "Happy Birthday!" She tries to sing along to music in the car and chatters/babbles constantly. Brig and I are both pretty certain that once she really figures out how to talk, she won't stop. The doctor tried to convince me that having a chatter-box is a good thing.....I guess we'll see.

Happy Birthday Brig and Scarlett

2008-07-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Brig's 30th and Scarlett's 1st Birthday party....we had a great time with lots of friends, 2 cakes, and 4 different kinds of homemade ice cream.

Scarlett loved her presents. She was so sweet with the doll, immediately giving it a hug and a kiss. She also loves to ride her new horse.

Brig liked his gifts too (Nintendo Wii). (Pictures still to come)

Oh, and I took Scarlett to get her 1 year old pictures the other day. We got some cute pics of the kids together.

The Garden of Eatin'

2008-06-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

Before putting Nathan to bed I always read him a scripture story. Tonight was the story of Adam and Eve. We read that they were in the garden of Eden. Nathan said, "Yeah. The garden of Eden." Then he stopped and said, "No. They aren't Eatin'. They are not eating grass and leaves." Then he pointed to the picture with lots of trees and grass and informed me that they are people and so they eat food. A few weeks ago we spent an entire family home evening trying to explain the difference between Thomas S. Monson and Thomas the Train and got nowhere, so this time I just agreed with him and didn't even bother talking about EDEN vs. EATING.

Scarlett at 10 months

2008-05-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

Finally crawling! Although now I often find her stuck in a box or bin or corner somewhere. She crawls in and just can't quite get back out.

Not sure where she is? Check behind the front door. She is usually sitting there playing with the doorstop...she makes it twang over and over and over and over....

She loves to repeat sounds, and will try to say almost anything you say to her. The other day Nathan told her that the Lion says, ROAR! And she growled right back.

Her first word: Uh-oh. She says it constantly: when she drops a toy, when she's done eating, when Nathan drops something, when someone else says it.....Also says Mommamamama and Daddadadadada, and I think she knows what she's talking about.

Also loves to put both her hands in the air above her head when we tell her she's "Soooooo big!"

Surprise

2008-05-09T07:08:00.000-07:00

Our latest news. Baby #3 is due December 11th.

Some of Nathan's friends

2008-04-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Nathan and Jillian "reading" on the floor. If you look closely, you'll see Jillian is reading a coloring book. Nathan loves playing with Jillian when Jennifer comes to baby-sit twice a week.

This is Nathan with his cousin Simon (well, second cousin, technically) at the park. We will miss the Stokers when they move!

2008-04-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Nathan insisted on getting out his lawnmower while Brigham was mowing the lawn the other day. Nathan mirrored Brigham exactly - turning every time Brig did. Just wish he'd still want to wash dishes and mow the lawn when he's big enough to actually help!

Maytag Man?

2008-04-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

So my dishwasher broke the other day. I had it completely loaded and tried to start it...the timer clicked, but the dishwasher itself was doing nothing.

Hoping that it would magically start the next day, I kept doing a few dishes by hand and trying to start the dishwasher again each morning. Turns out it was no use. I finally unloaded the dishwasher and washed all the dishes. Lucky for me I had such a great little helper. Nathan loves doing dishes!!!

Can't wait for bed

2008-04-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

When I left the kitchen to put Nathan in time-out for coloring on the desk, Scarlett was happily in her swing eating Cheerios. I guess I took too long, though, because when I got back this is how I found her.

Crayon all over the house

2008-04-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

If you happen to come by to visit, you'll see lots of new artwork on the walls and you may notice that my house smells especially fresh like a baby's bottom....Nathan dumped baby powder all over the carpet yesterday and he has been pretty diligent about coloring on at least one wall or desk or other piece of furniture per week. AHHHHH!!! I thought by 3 they were supposed to be growing out of this kind of thing!

Binki swap

2008-04-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

Thought this was a funny series of pictures. Nathan has become quite the negotiator....at least Scarlett got a monkey out of it.

Doctor's Office - April 2, 2008

2008-04-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

Same size? This pic is Scarlett with her cousin, Isaac, who is 4 months younger than she is.

I took Nathan for his 3-year-old check-up and Scarlett in for her 9-month-old check-up today. Both kids were great for the doctor. Nathan was especially funny. When the MD asked how old Nathan was, without hesitation he replied, "Twenty-four." No idea where he got that.

Then when the MD asked what Nathan liked to eat, he replied, "Food."

The good news? Nathan passed the eye exam (the RN said most 3 year olds couldn't/wouldn't look at the chart & participate). It's good news because the other day I found him sitting at the computer, wearing Brigham's glasses, and typing away. He told me he was 'working at his desk.' Glad to confirm with the eye exam he doesn't really need to wear glasses to 'work at his desk.'

Anyway, here are the numbers:

Nathan: Height 36 inches (25th percentile)

Weight 26 1/2 lbs (10th percentile)

.....Hey, we are just happy to be on the charts!

Scarlett: Length 26 1/2 inches (30th percentile)

Weight 16 1/2 lbs (10th percentile)

Head 42 1/2 cm (25th percentile)

Disney World

2008-04-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

We went to Florida at the end of March! We had a great time. Nathan fell asleep on Grandpa or someone else almost every night - I guess we stayed out a little too late! Nathan is eating popsicles with his cousins, right after going on a roller coaster. During the ride his face was terrified, but afterwards he said, "do it one more time?" We went swimming the first day there....an amazing pool at the resort!

Scarlett B&W

2008-04-01T20:52:00.002-07:00

We took Scarlett to get 9 month pictures today. I can't believe how big she is getting! She isn't crawling yet (I'm not complaining), but sometimes she'll sit and play for 1 1/2 hours! It's the best! She is still happy almost all of the time, and is always smiling.

Scarlett 9 months

2008-04-01T20:52:00.001-07:00

Philadelphia

2008-04-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

We drove 8 hours to visit my sister in Philadelphia during the second week of March. It was well worth the drive -- we had a great time! It was so fun to spend time with them, and Nathan always has fun with his cousins. This is a picture of Audrey, Scarlett, and Nathan.

Nathan's 3rd Birthday

2008-04-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

When I asked Nathan what kind of cake he wanted for his Birthday he said, "a blue one!" So....here is a picture of his blue cake, one of him opening presents, and one of his tools from Grandma Lorna. The drill really works! I found myself having to say, "Nathan, stop drilling Scarlett!"

Home for the Holidays

2008-01-10T00:41:00.000-08:00

Nathan was big enough to understand Christmas a little more this year. Well, maybe he didn't actually understand "Christmas", but he definitely understood "presents." We had a great time with family and friends, and Nathan can't stop talking about Grandmas and flying to grandmas on an airplane. Every time we see an airplane outside he asks, "grandmas house?" as if all airplanes are flying to grandmas house. Scarlett was as sweet as she could be - always smiley and happy. We came home from traveling sick, though, and are Nathan is recovering from Bronchitis and I'm recovering from a sinus infection. Scarlett had the sniffles, but didn't need any antibiotics. We are glad to finally be feeling a little better!

Scarlett 6 months old

2008-01-09T21:46:00.000-08:00

As content and happy as ever - this is Scarlett on Christmas. She rolls all over the place right now and looks like she wants to crawl. She loves to play peek-a-boo, and patty-cake, and loves to have songs sung to her. She giggles and laughs all time time, especially at Nathan. Nathan loves Scarlett and is always so sweet with her. He always talks to her in this high-pitched, sweet voice, "hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii baby girl. hiiiiiiiiiiiii." It's funny to hear a 2 year old talk like that. He also brings her mountains of toys to play with - in fact, it is not uncommon for me to find her practically buried under all the toys he is bringing to her. She loves him, too, though, and always tries to watch whatever he is doing. She smiles better for him than anyone else.

Playing in the snow

2008-01-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

Nathan loved playing in the snow with Daddy. He still talks about building a snowman. We were lucky to have lots of new snow when we were visiting SLC for Christmas! I think the only reason Brig finally got Nathan to come back inside was because he was freezing!

Scarlett

2007-10-23T21:07:00.001-07:00

Scarlett at 3 months old. She is almost always happy and smiling. Often when I check on her I find her smiling in her sleep. Her new tricks include blowing spit bubbles and babbling all the time.

Nathan, Scarlett, and Daddy

2007-10-23T21:02:00.001-07:00

2 years old

2007-10-23T20:55:00.001-07:00

This morning I turned my back for one second to put some plastic wrap over some cupcakes I made, and when I turned around this is what I saw. What fun to pull a big strip of aluminum foil out. Nathan had a really fun toy for the rest of the day...