I blame Instagram....

I can not even believe that it has been over six months since I last posted!...time sure does fly!!! Every time I think about catching up it just seems so overwhelming that I don't do it, but I have decided to go for it.  So much has happened in the past six months and I have not documented it here.  I have sort of documented it on Instagram, but it's not quite the same.  So, in an attempt to catch up I will be "back-blogging" as well as posting current stuff.   Be patient with me, this is a HUGE job, and I will no doubt go slowly, but the good news is I'm baaaack!!!

When we go to Adam and Julia's house I'm not sure who Cole is more excited to see, Adam, Julia, or Frank, the backhoe.  No offense to Adam and Julia, but I think Frank wins!  Cole loves him/it, but it's no surprise since he is obsessed with all heavy machinery, and as you can see, Kate likes to support that obsession :0)  She makes sure to point out all machines to Cole, and has him very excited for a ride in Frank this spring...she may even tag along...

Seven year itch



Marc and I recently celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary, and our "7 year itch" took us to a new home.  We have been "itching" to get out of our house for a while, but the more we talked about it, we realized that we wanted to get out of Salt Lake too.  SO, sort of on a whim, and because somehow the stars aligned to make it so, we moved to Park City.  Honestly, BEST DECISION EVER!!!  I love that we live on a dirt road!  I love that there are about three cars that pass the house all day (if that).  And most of all I love that the kids can open the door and go outside, and I don't have to worry about running after them...I know they'll be ok if it takes me a few minutes to get out there with them.

 

 

It really doesn't get much better than that!  We have such amazing views here!  (I do miss Mt. Olympus though!)  I feel like I'm on vacation every time I'm on the back porch.  Don't worry, I don't let them climb the railing...this was the first weekend we were here, since then Marc and I have cracked down on that!!!

 

 

Kate has PLENTY of room to ride her Skuut now!!  And I don't have to worry about the traffic!

 

 

Cole likes to say "hi" instead of cheese when getting his picture taken.  I love that he adds the wave!

 

 

What's not to love?!



How?

How is it that in 23 short days my little girl will be 4 years old?!  I won't go into any sort of update now, you'll have to wait for that, but just know that this little one is busy!!



 

She will slow down for Indy though, these two still meet on the kitchen floor to sun bathe daily :0) 

Where's my food?!





 

Is that a great picture or what?!  We went out to eat last weekend and when I took Cole's hat off his hair stood straight up and he was actually in the mood to look at the camera (although you can see that he was trying to grab my phone to see the picture...he learned that from Kate).  He had actually had dinner before we left the house, but he was ready to try whatever we gave him :0)

Pre-dinner chaos

Pre-dinner seems to be the silliest/most chaotic time of the day around here.  While I try to fix something healthy and delicious for my family to eat, Kate and Cole take advantage of the situation by unloading all of the spatulas, wooden spoons, and other utensils and spreading them throughout the kitchen and living room.  Some times they have a dance party or on occasion they pull out all the hats and gloves.  Here are some  pictures from one such crazy pre-dinner session...

 

 

Cole likes to reach for the camera while I try to take pictures of him.

 

 

Did I mention that they also like to spread the baking pans all over the kitchen?!  That's why the bottom oven drawer is open!

 

 

Kate really thinks she's hot stuff in this hat!

 

 

So does Cole :0)

Dazed and boob tubed

Before I had kids I swore that my kids would NEVER (EVER) watch TV! EVER!  Well, as any parent knows, you say a lot of those kinds of things before you have kids because you just don't know how it is actually going to go.  Then you have kids and you realize that  maybe some TV isn't as bad as you thought it would be, that some of these shows are cute and good (in moderation of course :0)).  So yes, my kids (mostly Kate) watch TV and I don't feel like a bad parent for it...anymore...

 

 

SO, this is how it looks when you try to take a picture and (insert show name here) is on.  Check out Cole with the remote acting like he knows what he's doing with it.

 



 

Still pretty focused on the show, but saying cheese to please me. 

Happy Birthday Cole!!!

One year ago we dropped Kate off at Ann's house and headed to the hospital to have a baby (that planned c-section is still blowing my mind!...anyway...).  I was sure that we were going to have a girl, and I think Marc did too (although with both kids he would NEVER say either way what he thought).  He did however let out quite a squeal of delight as he announced that our new baby was a boy!  We just couldn't believe it!  How lucky were we?  SO LUCKY!!  Then for about two months afterward we would look at Cole and then each other and say "Can you believe we had  boy?!"  We finally believe it...even if it took a year :0)

   

 

Sweet baby boy!

 

 

Birthday boy!  We love you bug!

 

Update: Month Twelve to come...

Happy boy

I have been SO bad at posting lately...and part of the reason is that I rarely get my camera out and take pictures....how lame am I?!  (Not lame, busy!  But still!)  This picture is from almost a month ago(!), at least Cole still looks the same...maybe his cheeks are a little chubbier now :0)  I recently put some pillows in the window seat in the living room and it has become a "fort" mostly for Kate, but Cole occasionally gets in on the action too!  He was soaking up the sun this particular day, and loving every minute of it! 

My kids

Even as I write kids I can not believe it. I know that I had 9 months to come to terms with it, but it is just so surreal looking at the two of them!! I took this picture the day that Cole and I came home from the hospital. Kate was so excited, and all she could keep telling me was how much she loved her brother, and how cute she (yes, she) was...she'll have a sister yet! Since coming home I have been overwhelmed at times, and I have also felt very in control of everything at times. I am dreading my first trip out with the two of them, but I also know that in no time it will all be "old hat". I don't know how a lot of things will go in the next few months, but one thing I know for sure is that I am one lucky mom to have these two cuties as my kids :0)

Excuses, excuses...

I know, I know, it's been a while...but I do have some great excuses :0) Last week I was a full-time working mom...actually I was in class, but it was basically the same thing. Class was from 8-5 with a 45 minute commute each way. How do people do that?! WOW!! Then there's this new camera situation...I haven't actually had time to figure it out yet, so I don't love the pictures that I've taken (so I don't want to post them). Yes, I have the old camera, but I can't use that anymore... Let's see, what else?...oh, of course I got sick after running like crazy last week...icing on the cake I guess. And does being pregnant count for anything?!? :0)

Kate LOVES Indy! She had just seen someone petting their dog on the TV, and said "I have to pet my dog!" He, of course got to reap the benefits of the impromptu pet :0)

Not the face of a baby

She definitely looks like a little girl here and no longer a baby! I am dealing with it...mostly because I know that in a few short months there will be an actual baby around here :0)

Because I needed something to write about...

I knew it was coming. We're always telling Kate to keep her fingers out of her nose, so I figured it was just a matter of time until she stuck something else up there! Well, on Sunday night that something just happened to be a dried blueberry. Luckily (if there is a luckily to this story), I saw her do it...if I hadn't, I guess it would still be up there... I tried not to, but of course I freaked out immediately (as did Marc), which of course was VERY counterproductive, because we freaked Kate out as well. So, picture the three of us freaking out...are you laughing?!...it's OK, I can laugh about it now too! Anyway, LONG story short, I ended up flushing the blueberry out the same way I flush Kate's nose when she's sick...thank goodness! Afterward, we talked to Kate about sticking things up her nose..."Do you put things in our nose?", we asked. "NO!", she replied, shaking her head. Hopefully the lesson sticks! I'll keep you posted :0)

Inversion

Kate and I ventured up to Park City today to escape the inversion down here in SLC. I hadn't even noticed how nasty the air was down here until we drove up the canyon and got out of it.

You've got to love that bluebird sky!

Kate enjoyed running around on the nicely groomed trails! She also discovered her shadow today :0) She kept turning around to make sure it was still there...it was super cute!

This is what we drove down into!!! (Made me want to turn the car around and head back up to PC!) That's the sun setting behind the Oquirrh mountains...what mountains you say?! Oh they're there, the smog is just hiding them from us...how gross is that?!

Christmas in Montana

After an unexpected change in plans, Kate and I headed up to Montana without Marc to spend the week before Christmas with my family (he met us later in the week and we all drove home together). Unfortunately, Kate was sick most of the trip so it put a damper on all the fun activities we had planned like playing in the snow and Christmas shopping, but after a trip to the doctor and a round of antibiotics she was at least ready for Christmas morning. As usual, I was lacking in the picture department...something I continue to beat myself up over every time we see family...you think I'd learn! So there are no pictures with grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles, or even mom and dad! Maybe this is something I should add to my resolution list...

A rare moment...Kate smiling on command...I think she did it for grandma!

She listens...

What I asked..."Kate please get your shoes so we can go outside."

What she heard..."Shoes"...

What I got...moms dansko and dads slipper...

She constantly makes us laugh!

Alice in Wonderland

Have you watched the old Disney version of Alice in Wonderland where the flowers in the garden are alive and animal-like? This tulip reminds me of that...I think this one would be a dog... Movies aside, these are the most beautiful tulips I have ever seen...I actually don't remember them from years past although I'm sure they've always been here. Now I will look forward to seeing them next year.

Brusha, brusha, brusha...

...New Ipana toothpaste...(anyone with me on this?...Maybe Grease rings a bell?)

Anyway, Kate LOVES to brush her teeth! It's not so much about the brushing as it is about the berry flavored tooth paste. She loves this part of getting ready for bed so much that she has a little hissy every time we're done brushing, but if I distract her quickly we're good :0) Hopefully her love of tooth brushing continues as she actually gets more teeth!

$51.51

Our dishwasher hasn't been rinsing quite right lately. So, after a few google searches to diagnose possible problems, Marc took the front panel off the dishwasher to get to work. I was in the living room at the time and Marc was talking about all the stuff under there...so much stuff...he couldn't believe it...stuff. Not being able to see what he was talking about, and doubting that it could be as impressive as he was making it out to be, I had to check it out for myself....and there you have it folks, the PILE of change hidden under the dishwasher! Too bad it hadn't broke sooner :0)

Oh what fun

What an amazing year it has been for us! There was the first ten weeks of 2009 that Marc and I spent anticipating the birth of what I was convinced would be our son..and then the next ten weeks (or so) that we spent adjusting to life with our daughter! Everyday since March 13th has been amazing..not without some ups and downs, but amazing nonetheless. I can't even tell you how blessed I feel to have such a beautiful and HEALTHY baby girl and an amazing husband who is just as amazing of a father...there seriously aren't words!

I am looking forward to 2010. I am excited to continue to watch Kate grow and to pass all of it on to you through this blog. We hope you'll continue to keep checking up on us :0) Here's to a wonderful new year...Love, The Joders.

Post-Christmas crash

Don't you just wish we could all crash like this the day after Christmas?!

On a totally unrelated subject, I just realized that I never updated with Kate's nine month measurements. So here they are...weight: 16 pounds 6 ounces, dropping her into the 10th percentile, but we're not worried since she actually burns calories while eating since she moves NON-STOP! Height: 27 inches, which puts her in the 30th percentile.