WW: It's Snowing!

Case of the Giggles...

While Michael and I are enjoying sunny California, the past few days have been pretty rough on Michael with Jonathan not being around. He loves all the attention from his Auntie Stephanie, Uncle Steven, and Bum, but it's definitely not the same as Daddy time. However, there have been several occasions when he has suddenly caught the case of the giggles. Sometimes I have no idea why he is laughing and I just laugh along which makes him laugh more. Of course I can never get those instances on video, but I thought I'd share some of his giggly moments from the past few days with you.

WW: Incognito

Disneyland!

About a month and a half ago my parents called me and asked if I would be willing to come down to California to stay with Steven and Stephanie while they drove Baba (my grandma) to Arizona to live with my Uncle and Aunt there. I of course could not pass up the opportunity to leave ghetto Ogden to come to sunny Anaheim. Originally just Michael and I were going to come out, but we decided that Jonathan needed a vacation from Autozone. So the three of us drove out together on Wednesday night and were able to go to Stephanie's Cross Country Finals on Thursday.

We had no intention of going to Disneyland because we figured Michael was a little too young to really enjoy anything there, but my dad and mom thought otherwise. I guess Paul loved Disneyland even at that age...so my dad called Bruce and we were signed in on Friday. It's amazing that even after growing up in "Disneyheim" going to Disneyland is still a pretty exciting thing. And much to my surprise, Michael had a blast!



He thought the Monorail was pretty neat and wanted to look out the window the entire time...



He loved the Carousel...



and Buzz Lightyear with all the cool noises...



But the darkness in Peter Pan freaked him out. Because of that we decided it best not to take him on Mr. Toads or Snow White because they are rather dark and scary at parts too.



He was mesmerized on It's a Small World. (They've added quite a bit since the last time I went on it...the music of course is still the same)







We stayed for a few hours and then went home so Michael could take a nap. We went back in the afternoon and met up with Claire and Derek and then around 8 we went home to put Michael to bed. Jonathan and I went back for the last few hours by ourselves and made the mistake of trying to ride Space Mountain...We spent an hour and a half in that ridiculous line and unfortunately only got to ride 2 rides because of that! It was nice to be able to be together just the two of us though. :) Jonathan drove back to Utah yesterday...and I miss him already. Michael and I will fly back on Monday.

Yeah for Disneyland!

Wordless Wednesday

A Pitiful Pie for Pi Day...

As many of you know...Sunday was Pi Day (3.14...). I've been anticipating this day for weeks and have been contemplating what kind of pie I could make for such a special occasion...I thought about making my mom's divine Apple pie--but Jonathan doesn't like apples and consequently doesn't particularly care for Apple pie. Then I thought I'd go simple like Peach pie or Strawberry pie...and then I thought maybe I'd go fancy and do one of Jennie's pies like the French Fruit pie or the Black-bottom Peanut Butter Mousse pie because they look so very yummy... I finally decided to do one I knew Jonathan loves--Lemon Meringue. Assuming you are an observant reader and noticed the title of this post--the pie wasn't as successful as I would have hoped.

I should have called my mom for her recipe, but alas I did not and relied on Cooks.com which I have to admit I am usually quite pleased with. All basically went well until I got to the meringue part. I whipped and whipped and whipped and whipped but it didn't seem to be getting as fluffy as I thought it should. And I was right...After I put it on top of the filling it was not fluffy at all. No pretty peaks...nada. I couldn't very well dump it back in my bowl and mix it more so I just baked it as is.




I searched online to see potential causes of having flat meringue and found a girl who had blogged about a similar incident. She and her husband renamed their pie "Boo Meringue Pie." So we had a Boo Meringue Pie. It was still rather tasty I must admit...just not very pretty.



I talked to my mom later and found out that I did not use nearly as many egg whites as I should have for the meringue. I think she said she uses double what I did...so next time I'll use her recipe...and hopefully I won't get another Boo Meringue out of it.

Wordless Wednesday

9 months :)

Michael had his 9 month appointment yesterday. Every time one of these appointments comes up I can't believe how old Michael is getting!

Stats:
Weight: 16 pounds 12 ounces
Height: 28.5 inches
Head: 44.5 centimeters

So he's dropped from the 10th percentile in weight to the 3rd percentile...but our pediatrician still didn't seem to be concerned so I try not to be. Up until this last month we could hardly get Michael to eat anything and when he did he would only eat a couple bites. He's finally become more open to eating more than just rice cereal and pears. He's in the 50th percentile for height and the 25th percentile for head circumference. As for development Michael's right on track with everything except for the whole stranger anxiety thing--I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

Here's a list of things Michael loves to do now that he's all growed up :) and 9 months old...

-crawl EVERYWHERE (he especially loves to follow me into the kitchen and bathroom)

-pull himself up on EVERYTHING and walk along whatever he's pulled himself up to





- turn the tv on and off






-watch Newsies (he laughs when the boys laugh and loves it when the nuns start singing in "Carrying the Banner")

-let mommy or daddy read books to him (he likes to turn the pages and close the books)



-playing "let's get mommy" with daddy

-look out the window and watch cars go by



-climb on mommy when she's doing yoga or stretching

-taking baths and playing with the water as it comes out of the faucet





-grandma time and talking on the phone (whenever we're on the phone Michael thinks it's for him...)

-brushing his teeth (chewing on his toothbrush) whenever he sees mommy or daddy brushing their teeth



-and my least favorite: rolling over on the changing table while I'm changing his diaper or getting him dressed so he can look at the diaper champ





I say this after every appointment but I can't believe he's 9 months old already!

Pull-up's come with a price...

Jonathan started a new workout program in January in hopes of becoming healthier and to get into better shape for his future career.  Along with this workout regime we've been really good about altering our diet so that we are eating healthier as well.  I'm pretty proud of him because he gets up at 4:30 in the morning on Monday's, Tuesday's, and Wednesday's and at 6:30 on Friday's and Saturday's to exercise at our local athletic club.  He does the program there called Crossfit and is loving it.  He wants me to do it with him but I'm a pansy and I'm pretty sure I can't handle it--it seems INTENSE .  Anyhoo, today he came home and told me that part of the workout was a series of pull-ups, push-ups and squats.  Then he showed me his hands...

And a closer view...

 

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!  I guess it looked a lot worse (or cooler depending on your perspective) when there was blood pouring off of his hands...but ewwww and owy!  He said it didn't even hurt as it was happening.  His hands suddenly started to slip so he came down from the bar and saw all the blood.  The trainer taped up his hands and then he continued with the workout.  Again...I'm a pansy--no blisters and bloody hands for me thanks.