Phrases

From an early age Dave nicknamed Canyon "Squawk".  Because he squawks... a lot.

When he was a baby it was simply an "ehhh ehhh ehhh" noise that he made constantly.

As he got a bit older and started learning a couple of words it turned into, "Mama, Mama, Mama"

And as he approached 16 months it turned into...

"Hod you (hold you), I sick"

and then, "I big nini (mini) puppy" a few months after he hit two.

It seems Canyon has always has a specific sound or phrase that he will repeat over and over and over again. He does it when he's nervous. He does it when he's sad. He does it when he's happy. He does it when he's hot.  He does it when he's tired.  Kind of like a broken record.

His recent phrases have taken a fun turn:

"I neber!! (I never)"

"Yeab me ayone (leave me alone)"

"I don't yike you (I don't like you)"

and his most recent one...

"I running away!"

Two year olds are fabulous, aren't they ;)

It's a good thing I love him.

From the mouth of Canyon

While making pizza last night for dinner Canyon was hovering by my legs and demanding, "CHEESE! CHEESE! CHEEEESE!"

"Canyon!  That's not very nice.  What do you say?"

Long pause...

"You pri-eee (pretty), mommy"

Not exactly what I was looking for but it worked seeing as Canyon got all the cheese his little heart tummy desired.

What a little flatterer.

By the way, fresh pesto and roasted tomato pizza = my new favorite food.  Mmmm.

My favorite part of the day?

Playing couch peek-a-boo of course.

And Counting

We have a little game we like to play here called count the wildlife (creative title, I know). Take a look at tonight's findings...

• 25 deer 
• 5 elk 
• 1 wild cottontail  
• 2 osprey
• 1 Ali (believe you me, she totally counts lately)

 Just an average night. I love it.

By the way, stay tuned, we have been having one adventure after another up here on our little mountain. Some good, some not so much...adventures just the same though. As soon as I get a break from the craziness that is wedding season I will have to post some of them.

On Snakes and Grandmothers

I like to consider myself a mountain woman in the making.

I pride myself on being able to drive on crazy roads that others cry and balk at when they see (none of our ward members and very few of our family members and friends will venture to our mountain in the winter time).  I pat myself on the back every time I have to boil water to make juice or baby food.  I have learned the difference between rabbitbrush and it's close cousin, sagebrush. I've traded in my pretty shoes for muddy hiking boots. Very muddy. And last but not least, when I came across a poor little wild bunny that had been ravished by a mink and then plowed in half by Dave, I didn't scream and only cried a little bit.

Yes, I figured, I am well on my way to becoming a mountain woman

And then...this sweet lady came to spend the weekend.

My grandmother.

We somehow got on the subject of rural living and she started story-telling about her early years.  In her sweet, un-hurried, soft, grandmother-ly way she told of how her and her siblings would be out playing and would often come across a rattlesnake.  They would hurry home and tell "Mother" and she would come out and unceremoniously CHOP OFF THE SNAKE'S HEAD with a SHOVEL. 

What?!

And once, while the "city" cousins were visiting they were up playing at the spring where they got their water.  They of course, came across a snake.  One of her brothers stoned the snake to death and then my dear sweet grandmother picked up the dead snake and chased her poor cousin with it and then proceeded to drop the snake down her cousin's shirt.  Her cousin, to this day, has not recovered from that event.

Oh, and they kept all of the rattles to store in "Father's"  desk.

How Naive I am!  I shall never be a true mountain woman.  Nope, not if it means having to dander with the slithery folk. 

Shudder.

And my Grandmother?  What a lady!

Because everyone else is updating...

*I finally gave the old blog a face lift.  It's been needing it for some time now.

*Christmas this year was awesome!  I absolutely love the age my kids are at.  Everything is SO exciting to them and thus...for me. We made a huge list of activities we wanted to do over the break and it's been fun crossing them off.  Making reindeer puppets and snowflakes, Christmas parties,

 a wagon ride (or as Emma calls it, a one-horse-open-sleigh-ride) to see the lights on the bay, decorating cookies, making a gingerbread house (try not to envy our mad decorating skills),

Christmas movie nights, Ogden's Christmas Village, Temple Square lights,

reading Christmas stories and drinking homemade hot cocoa...you get the idea.  It all made for a fun month topped off with a perfect Christmas day.

*Eight years!  That's right, this month Dave and I have been married for 8 years!

(picture by Melinda Smith Photography)

 I keep trying to figure out where all that time went.  Sheesh.  Thanks to Dave's sister we were able to celebrate sans kids.  Dinner and a scenic drive in the dark.  It was perfect.  I sure love that guy.

*I have a whole new respect for moms who work full-time.  I really only do it for the fall rush each year and man, does it get hard! On that same note, I'm so incredibly happy my little business has made it to where it is today.  I hope it keeps growing!  This year I plan to study up on the business side of my business.  There are some changes I'd like to make.

*Family pictures.  We finally had ours done!  And man, am I in love with them. Worth EVERY penny. We had a good friend we met through photography take them.  Really, she is amazing!  As soon as I got the disk I printed out a gazillion and one.  That's only a slight exaggeration. Stay tuned, I plan on doing a whole post dedicated to family pictures.  And speaking of family pictures, I made up a Christmas card this year, ordered a good handful and never mailed them.  So, family and friends, here you go...

*I'm sad to see 2010 go.  Really sad.  Why?  My baby, baby was born in 2010.  I'm weird like that.

*My focus for 2011 will be on health and spirituality.  Both are areas in my life that have been neglected more than I care to admit. 

*I'm thinking of taking up digital scrapbooking.  My girls LOVE to look at their books and have me read stories about them when they were smaller.  I feel scrapbooks are important but can't seem to find the time to do them.  I'm thinking going digital will help.

*There's more, but this post is getting much too long.

The Little Rascals

I found this video in the $5 bin the other day and just HAD to grab it.

I mean really....

Dear Darla,

I hate your stinkin' guts

you make me vomit

you are scuuum between my toes

Love, Alfa Alfa

Ha! Classic!

oooh oooh or....

I don't miss him at all...except...his voice.  When he sings he makes me melt like a Popsicle of the fourf of July. 

Ahhh-haaa I can't get enough.

I have such fond memories of sitting on my grandma's lap eating raw cabbage and drinking classic coca cola while she tickled my back as we watched the move over and over again together. Oh, how I miss that crazy lady!! The movie is quite close to my heart and I'm absolutely tickled the monkeys love it as much as I do.

What a find!

Just Random

Kindergarten. Oh, how it scares me. Emma starts in less than a week. I'm most nervous about how she will fare on the bus and in the lunchroom. My baby. I'm also nervous about how Ali will survive without her all day. And how I will survive without her. Last night Emma sensed my mood and drew us all a very detailed picture of our little family (down to little Howie) all standing under a rainbow together so we can look at it when she is at school and not miss her as much.

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Dave was holding Canyon on his chest yesterday and made the comment that Canyon is now SO big and there is no way he would be able to fit in his tummy. Haha, I know, I gave Dave a double take after that random comment. Anyway, I had to laugh at Canyon's dr. apt later that day when he weighed in just over 7 lbs and was 19 1/2 inches long. Yup, completely impossible to carry a baby that big in your tummy ;).

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The other night I was snuggling Ali in her bed and was telling her how happy I am that she belongs to our family. She looked up at me and in all seriousness asked, "Where you get me at? You buy me from the Oreo store (aka WalMart)?". Apparently WalMart does sell everything...even children. Who knew? Not to worry, we had a long talk on where she really came from and then Ali ended the conversation by saying, "...and I'll go back and live with Heavenly Father if I don't wear my seatbelt." I should probably stop threatening her with death every time she takes her seatbelt off.


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Thanks to bountiful baskets and some awesome neighbors we have zucchini and carrots coming out of our ears. I experimented a little bit and baked up a whole bunch of Jumbo, whole-grain zucchini carrot muffins. I love them. Plus, they freeze well. Score.

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I am a firm believer in exercise during pregnancy. I didn't exercise regularly when I was pregnant with Emma and Ali. I wish I would have. I was too nervous about miscarrying because it takes us so long to get pregnant. I know that's silly because my doctor always assured me exercise wouldn't cause miscarriage but I just couldn't shake the fear....until this last pregnancy. Exercise during pregnancy has many benefits. One of them...regaining your pre-pregnancy body faster. And wow! Do I ever attest to that. This recovery has been AMAZING. Honestly, some mild post cramping is all I really had to deal with. No soreness. Nothing. The day before I went in to have Canyon I was at the gym working out and only a week later I was running and biking again. I was actually feeling good enough to start back up again when Canyon was only a couple of days old but decided to let my body rest just a bit longer. I'm also losing the baby weight a lot faster than I have before. It's been three weeks and I'm down 30 lbs. A miracle for me. So yes, firm believer and supporter of exercise during pregnancy.

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I have SO many books I'm longing to read. I keep thinking I can get some reading time in while nursing or when I'm up all night with Canyon but for some reason it never happens. Hmmm. I'm starting to wonder if I'll even get this month's pick from my book club read.

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I am so baby hungry. Haha, I know that sounds odd considering I just had one. Every little milestone Canyon has reached in his short three weeks has been bittersweet. I have LOVED watching him grow and become more alert and take on his own little look, but oh, it hurts a bit to realize this is the last time I get to enjoy each phase. Let's just say I've been doing a lot more holding and snuggling knowing he is our last.

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Ali's new role as "big sister!" has brought out a side of her we have never seen before. She has shocked us all by how loving and nurturing she has become. She is always kissing and hugging on Canyon, folding his clothes and blankets, bringing him her special toys and blankets, and really just taking meticulous care of him. In fact, she turned down dessert the other night in order to give Canyon a bottle. WHAT?!?! Yeah, we were all shocked.

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At Costco the other day I was introduced to yogurt creamies. Oh, sweet heaven. I wind down with one nightly and hardly feel guilty about it considering they have the same amount of calories as a banana.

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I'll end with a recent question Emma asked...."Mom, if Canyon is sooooo tiny then why was your tummy SO BIG?!". Haha, that kid.