Oldies but goodies

One afternoon, when Jared was 18 months old, we went hunting for him in our home. He'd been awfully quiet for a few minutes and we wanted to make sure that he was okay, and staying out of trouble. We found him in Emily's room (back before she had tons of STUFF!):


See him?

I still crack up at this picture! He was pretty proud of himself hiding out under there!!

I dare you not to "awww!" over this picture!

One of the families at Emily's dance studio brought their BRAND NEW puppy, Gwendolyn, with them to dance class a few weeks ago. They'd just gotten her that afternoon and it took longer than they'd expected, so they ran out of time to get her home before dance class started. Connor thought the puppy was just about the neatest thing on the planet and kept patting her head, getting face to face with her, and talking to her. At one point, the puppy's "mama" offered to let Connor hold her (ignore the hideous couch, IT'S NOT MINE, IT'S THE DANCE STUDIO'S!), so Connor climbed up and went for it. Do you think he enjoyed himself?


It took awhile to post pictures of the event, because I didn't have my camera on me at the time and was waiting for copies from someone who DID have their camera.

You said "awwwww!" didn't you? Don't lie!!

Great, now I'm only going to live to 102

Once upon a time, two little boys nearly gave their poor mother heart-attack. The End. (Her heart isn't recovered enough to be able to tell the tale)

ha!

We were at a local biking/jogging/walking "trail" in our area last night (paved path with yellow lines like a real road, but about the total width of one lane of a real road). Dan wanted to jog and thought Jared would enjoy getting his ride his bike with more freedom than just going in circles in the driveway at our house. I grabbed the bike trailer/jog stroller for Connor and Emily (I wanted the exercise of going at a faster pace than Connor could walk, so he was going in there, and Emily has an ear infection and wasn't feeling up to doing too much walking, so I put her in as well) and we set out.

Dan and Jared followed the trail to it's end, but I only walked halfway, then turned back, knowing Dan and Jared were going faster than me and would end up beating us back to the beginning anyway. At the point Dan and Jared were coming back and passing us, Emily and Connor asked to get out to run with them. We were within sight of the beginning, so I agreed. When they'd all reached the point where we'd originally started, Connor turned around and started running back towards me. Jared turned around at about the same time and started biking back towards me. Connor was on the far left (my left, as he was running toward me) and Jared was on the far right. It's a rather wide "trail" and I had no concerns about them both coming down the hill at the same time. But then Jared started going really fast, and Connor started running in a diagonal line towards Jared. With my heart in my throat, I opened up my mouth to yell at Dan (who was within a few paces of Connor, but turned the other way) to grab Connor, but I never got the chance. Connor ended up right in front of Jared, who had no chance in the world of stopping in time, and they went down HARD. The front tire of Jared's bike hit the back of Connor's leg and flung him belly down to the ground, and Jared launched over the handle bars, and would have gone pretty far, I think, but his legs got twisted up in the bike frame and he ended up coming down halfway on top of Connor. I don't even remember letting go of the empty stroller I was pushing (honestly lost all recollection of having been pushing a stroller in the first place, until Emily pushed it up to me a few minutes later...LOL), but suddenly I was peeling Jared up off the ground at the same time Dan was getting Connor. Both boys were in tears, but amazingly okay! Connor doesn't have a scratch or a bruise on him that we could find, and as soon as he was upright again, the tears stopped and he was on his way (I tell people all the time that he's indestructible!). Jared's head (with helmet ON and properly tightened!) hit and then whiplashed to the side where his cheek made contact with the pavement. He's SLIGHTLY bruised on the cheek bone, and the scrape wasn't even deep enough to bleed, just roughed up the skin a bit. His hip got a bit bruised and roughed up, and his legs have several bright red circles, which I suspect will be nice blue bruises when he gets up in the morning. His palms were pretty red where he landed, tried to catch himself, and skidded a bit, but no broken skin and they were normal looking by the time we'd driven home. But basically, they're both fine.

I'd been videotaping Jared riding his bike not two minutes before that crash. Knowing the outcome (they're basically fine!), I almost wish I'd still been videotaping so you could be amazed along with me at how things turned out. When I saw that bike get Connor's leg and tweak his foot funny and fling him forward, I was sure his little ankle was broken, and when I saw Jared's face slam down, I expected to see raw meat and missing teeth. Those boys hit the ground SO HARD.

We were so extremely lucky last night, and it was a good lesson for all of us. Even when they were all having a good time, we shouldn't have had an unpredictable Connor on foot running around anywhere near Jared, who is still rather new to the world of two-wheel bike riding, and Jared should probably have a bike with hand brakes (he was going so fast down the hill, I'm not convinced he had much control of the pedals to have used the pedal brakes even if he'd wanted to or had time to try). In the meantime, we'll be mindful of having him maintain a CONTROLLED speed down hills.

And I'm convinced the stress and fear (and the visual in my head that's stuck on "replay") have shaved a number of years off my life expectancy!!!!

Another completed knitting project

I knit this sweater and hat for my friend Jami's nephew-to-be. I don't know the parents of the baby-to-be all that well, but Jami babysits his sister three days a week, so I spend a lot of time around her! And, I loved the excuse to do another sweater and hat set. *grin*



closer up so you can see the details near the ribbing of the sweater and hat better


It's made out of a very thin yarn, so it's a nice light-weight sweater as we get into spring and summer (here in WA, you can still have some pretty chilly days, especially in the evenings!). I got a very nice email from Jami saying that the parents loved the set and can't wait to put him in it. He was due Saturday and it's looking like it could be any time. Stuff is starting to happen! The mama has an appt later today and will be setting up an induction date if he isn't already on his way by that point. Hopefully I'll have pics of baby IN the sweater set, along with permission to post...

***edited to add: Just got a phone call from Jami and it looks like the mama is officially in labor!!***

Jared tells a story!

My Auntie had a conversation with Jared yesterday at a birthday luncheon we attended (in honor of Emily, myself, and my cousin), and she emailed me last night, reporting the conversation and asking if it could be shared on the blog. OF COURSE!
-----------------------------------
Conversation I had with my great nephew Jared today at a birthday luncheon
our family had:
(age 4.5)

J: Auntie! A leprechaun cleaned my room last night!

Auntie: Really? What did he look like?

J: He had a green top hat on with a buckle.

Auntie: What color were his pants?

J: Brown, the color they usually wear.

(I personally would have suspected green
but what does this old auntie know???)

younger cousin that is listening now asks, "Are you joking or is this for real?"

J: It's for real.

Auntie: Did you have to use a flash light to see him?

J: No, my blinds were open and it was a full moon out.

Auntie: Did he slide in on a rainbow?

J: No.

Connor: Auntie, I see a Lep-er-kon too. He cwean my woom.

Auntie: Okay then, I am going back to the adult table now.

Jared: Auntie, ask me some more questions.

Auntie: No, I need to report all I just heard to the adult table : )
----------------------------------------
Jared is always sharing very elaborate stories with us, and has an answer for every question thrown his way without a moment's thought. I'm constantly amazed at how quick on his feet he is... Maybe someday he'll write a children's book about the leprechaun that cleaned his room that will become a classic! Then he'll go on to write many more stories, while being a lawyer and a comedian in his spare time...

I wonder if the leprechaun will come clean MY room tonight???

Good times

I don't know why this picture speaks to me as much as it does, but I love it!

Quote of the Week

Two of the first grade classes from Emily's school made plans to see Earth yesterday at 5pm. I made arrangements with our friends/neighbors that I would take their daughter, Katie (same grade as Emily, but whose classroom was not planning to attend the movie) if they kept Connor. I knew there was no way in the world Connor would sit nicely for that movie and didn't want to ruin it for everyone else. When it came time to drop off Connor and pick up Katie, Jared announced that he was staying with Connor and Emily (Katie's younger sister is also named Emily). I informed him that would mean missing the movie and not seeing the polar bears (in case you didn't know or didn't remember, his favorite stuffed animal happens to be a polar bear). He said:

"Emily is my best friend, and if she's not going, I'm not going."

It was the sweetest darn thing on the planet, and since I didn't want Jared to miss the movie, we invited Emily to join us as well! I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me in the first place to include her... I was extremely impressed that Jared was willing to give up a movie in order to spend time with his friend!!

FYI: really awesome footage and narration, funny moments, interesting facts... A little slow for kids. Jared, Katie, and my Emily did great, but Emily B wasn't interested AT ALL. Several littler kids (2-3 years old) were fussy and loud by the end. The older crowd stayed pretty tuned in. You could hear the room starting to get a little resless at times, but then something funny or faster paced would happen and it would suck them all back in again. If you've got younger kids, I'd suggest renting it. If you've got older kids (Emily and Katie are both almost 7 and said they really liked it), it could be worth seeing in the theater for the BIGNESS of the picture that helps make the movie seem that much more powerful. There were two or three parts that very sensitive people might call graphic, but there was no blood shown at any point and the four kids I had with me weren't bothered.

Prince vs Princess

Connor's a little confused about his role in life


I'm impressed he figured out how to get that on over his clothes!

I'm being phased out of the routine!

Connor got himself into pajamas with very little help from me, snuck off (while we were distracted by the other two kids) and started brushing his teeth (with only limited amounts of toothpaste squeezed onto the counter...), then found himself a cozy nook by the bookshelf, covered himself up with his "soffy bwanket", read himself a book, and went to sleep!

Tiny Moments

One of the best things about being a parent is getting to see your children bond, enjoy each other, and LOVE each other!


Emily and Connor were all snuggled up on the floor at bedtime, and it was just the sweetest thing. With three kids, someone is bound to be unhappy around here at any given time, so it's nice to have these little moments to be reminded that when push comes to shove, they really do love each other.

Mom's Martini Night

At Jared's preschool auction, they had an event you could buy into called Mom's Martini Night. Myself, and several other people that I know decided to buy into it. The event was held Friday night and it was so much fun! There were about 15-20 people there, and by the end of the night, we'd had a chance to sample 8 different martinis (Notice I said SAMPLE!! I did NOT have 8 martinis). Four were fruity ones and four were dessert ones. There was lots of little appetizers and desserts to go with the drinks, and plenty of great conversation. To top it all off, we got a limo ride to our homes at the end of the night!

This is the Key Lime Martini


We were even given a martini glass to take home, as well as a little recipe books with the recipes for all 8 different martinis we'd gotten to sample. It was a fabulous night!

Cheers! This is me and my friend Liz.

Quote of the Week

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

~Albert Einstein~

Oldies but goodies

*****I realize the blog is called Laughing Leah Loves Lilies and I have TULIPS in the new banner, but the tulips are to go with the spring theme and have nothing to do with the title...LOL!*****

Sorry, couldn't resist a 2nd installment!

I mentioned yesterday that some will be funny, and some will be sweet, so I figured that since yesterday took care of the "funny", today I'd focus on the "sweet".

Some background for this picture: Emily's Uncle Corey (my BIL) had left for Iraq with his National Guard unit when Emily was only 11 months old. She hadn't seen him or talked to him (because of the time difference, his phone calls home would fall in the middle of the night) since that time. Emily had been so young when he left, and Dan and I were very concerned that she wouldn't have any idea who he was once he returned, so we took a picture of him and put it on the fridge at her eye level and told her daily that it was Uncle Corey and had her give the picture kisses, etc. When she was 20 months old, he got to come home for 2 weeks and we made a big deal to Emily about how Uncle Corey was coming home to see us. When the day finally came, I walked into my IL's house extremely excited to see Corey, but apprehensive as to how Emily would react (and worried that a negative reaction would offend and disappoint Corey!). Corey is 6ft 4in or so, and was basically a stranger to her, so I was convinced she was going to shy away from him, but he sat down on the bed, said hello to her and held out his arms, and she reached right over from her daddy's arms and into Uncle Corey's and gave him a good long squeeze. I took this picture through tear-filled eyes (the same way I type this post as I'm remembering the moment!):


Emily's always been the quickest to get excited at the chance to see Uncle Corey, and is the first to question how he's doing if we haven't seen him in awhile. I'm so thankful that even though he was missing from nearly a full year of her life (after his two week visit home, he had to return for another 2.5 months before coming home for good), it didn't affect her ability to bond with him, or his with her.

Oldies but goodies

I didn't have this blog when Jared and Emily were babies, and I thought it would be fun to randomly post some pictures from "back in the day" so that a bit of their babyhood/toddlerhood is included here as well. And I also like the opportunity to step back in time and enjoy those moments all over again. Some will be funny, some will be sweet, and some will fall somewhere in their own category, I'm sure, but I think this will be fun!

This picture, here, would be entirely heart-breaking, if it weren't for the absence of real tears, or the tell-tale red face of a child who is truly crying. There were several more in the series, where he gets more dramatic and ends up hiding his face in his hands, bent over the tray of the highchair... But I am only sharing this one because it's the funniest one!


As much as Jared was (and still is!), quick to cry, he was quick to turn on the fake crying if he thought it would serve his purpose! And the current "trick" is that after the real tears have long since dried up, he holds his little pity parties in his room and WAILS up a storm with the fakest, most obnoxious crying sounds you've ever heard. It didn't work for him back then, and it doesn't work for him now, but he's nothing if not persistant (must be how he learned to ride his bike without training wheels at 4.5 years old!).

But seriously, beyond the obnoxious fake crying in that picture, how ADORABLE, and HILARIOUS is that kid?? That picture makes me laugh every single time!

PS He's 14 months old in that picture...

Who, me?

Connor has taken up the unfortunate practice of nose picking, and when we catch him at it, he immediately throws his hand(s) over his face, as if that suddenly erases the fact that the moment ever occured


He has also been known to sneak out of his bedroom after we've put him to bed. This is something he's been doing since we moved him out of the crib and no amount of threats or consequences have curbed the behavior (annoying!). Lately, he's taken to sneaking out of his bed, with his "soffy bwanket" (soft blanket) in hand, and as soon as we spot him, he throws the blanket over his head, wrongly assuming that we can't see him under there. **sorry, I don't have pictures to share of this one, because I'm pretty positive a photo session will give him the incorrect idea that it's okay to be up and out of bed!**

Connor has also gotten the idea that he can do as he pleases, as long as I'm not looking directly at him. For example, I recently heard him getting into the art cupboard (thanks to an older sibling who neglected to shut it all the way so that the baby lock would clip in to KEEP CONNOR OUT). I rushed into the kitchen, and he gave me that "deer in the headlights" look, then pointed behind me and demanded, "Mama, you go look that way." I cooperated, purely out of curiosity as to what would happen. I looked right back again at Connor, much to HIS dismay, and caught him in the act of hurriedly trying to gather up some markers, while he immediately demanded that I look behind me again. When I didn't follow through with his demands a second time, and he realized he wasn't getting into that art cupboard, it was quite a moment of tears, screams and DRAMA (all him!).

Just when did he learn to be sneaky??? However, I have to appreciate the thought process involved in this behavior... LOL! And the "who, me?" look on his face when he gets caught is PRICELESS!

Visit with the Easter Bunny

2003


2004


2005


2006


2007


2008


2009**


**Now there is forever documented evidence that *someone* (I refuse to claim responsibility!) tied Connor's shoes on the wrong feet in their hurry to get out the door!**

And I'm further convinced that Connor is NEVER going to fully appreciate the opportunity to sit with the Easter Bunny. He's about 2.5 seconds from shoving free and bolting in that picture. The other two were perfectly content to deal with the bunny by their 2nd Easter. This is Connor's 3rd Easter and he didn't want any part of it. I reminded him the bunny not bring him that ever-so-strongly-desired rubbery snake in his basket if he didn't sit still for a picture. So he sat still. For 5 seconds. I forgot to make SMILING part of the deal... LOL!!

Easter Funnies

Not anymore!!

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Emily who wasn't all that fond of getting dirty. One of her very first days of preschool, at not quite 3.5 years old, Emily ended up getting some dirt on her dress. She cried and wanted a change of clothes and it was an ISSUE. The teacher was overly apologetic at the time Emily's mom was picking her up, and it can only be assumed they thought Emily's mom had threatened Emily within an inch of her life if she got dirty or something (based on Emily's over-drama about the incident).

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Emily who wasn't all that fond of getting dirty. NOT ANYMORE!

One of the many reasons I love Jared

He is SO animated when he talks. He uses frequent hand gestures, facial expressions, often his entire body is in motion as he explains something to you. I honestly can't remember exactly what he was telling me in this picture, but I remember it started out with, "Well, Mom, let me tell you something..." as he put his hand on his hip and launched into the story/explanation. It was so funny and cute!!

A mini man with a mission

We took a walk to get to our neighborhood beach so the kids could enjoy some sun and sand. Connor looked so stinkin' cute tromping along with his shovel over his shoulder!!!

"Kaben"

Emily wrote in her journal at school Monday about how we "went to a kaben. It was a long driv. I had fun." Our CABIN adventure really WAS note-worthy, so I thought I'd mention it as well! We were given the opportunity to spend a few days at a friend's cabin about two hours from our house during spring break and the kids had a BLAST! We were just a few minutes walking distance from the lake, and just a short drive away from a neat playground area within the neighborhood the cabin is located. We had a beautiful view from the wall of windows in the cabin. It was such a nice get-away, and I look forward to hopefully having the opportunity to go back again soon!

I took this picture while standing on a dock near the play area, looking out across the lake to some snow-tipped mountains: (I loved the mix of beach and snowy mountains!)


The kids had a ton of fun climbing all over this old tree stump:


There was a TON of driftwood scattered all over the place, and the boys had the BEST time gathering up pieces to throw in the water and haul around:


I think Connor would have happily thrown rocks in the water ALL DAY LONG:


There aren't many pictures of me with the kids, and I thought the pretty sparkling water in the background while on vacation would be a nice opportunity to pose with them!


I LOVE this picture. I know it's completely goofy, but it shows their personalities perfectly (Emily sweetly cooperating, Jared showing off, and Connor totally clueless and carefree, eating...LOL), and captures forever a wonderful afternoon spent as a family:

Olympic Game Farm

Dan and I drove the kids north to Sequim to the Olympic Game Farm. We'd heard good things about it, and it lived up to the hype. We had a BLAST! It takes about an hour to drive around within the farm (you drive SLOW), and you can feed bread to a large variety of animals. We had the most fun feeding the llamas and buffalos. I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time. If any of you live within a decent driving distance (or have something similar near you in your area), I would HIGHLY suggest going!

Here's a baby elk we got to feed:


a buffalo (look at that tongue!!!); and this was one of the smaller buffalo we saw


If you roll down your window far enough, they'll stick their heads right inside to get food (it's discouraged to stick your window down that far, but Dan did it real fast to fold the side mirror in because the buffalo was bumping against it the opposite way and we didn't want it getting ripped off)


The buffalo are HUGE, so I'm not sure I'd feel very safe going through in a car, but plenty of people did. This was a van in front of us along the drive


The bears are behind electric fences, but you still get REALLY close. They will often wave at the cars to encourage people to throw food to them!


It was just windy enough that no matter how hard we threw the bread, the wind would blow it off course and keep most of it from getting to this bear, so we felt bad! We tried to get some good pictures of how LONG those claws are, but I still have some editing to do (resizing and deleting blurry pictures, etc). I just wanted to make sure and get a few up on the sooner side of things!!

Baby sweater

I knit this sweater and hat set for my friend Betsy's baby-to-be, Alivia (who should be here ANY DAY!!). I altered the original pattern to make it much smaller so that it's more appropriately sized for a newborn. Hopefully I didn't make it TOO small. I guess we'll see!

I photographed the sweater from the back so you could see the hearts




I'm sure Betsy will be sharing pics of Alivia wearing her sweater once she's born, so be watching on Betsy's Random Assortment of Thoughts!

MS Walk

I am participating in an MS Walk today with my mom, my friend Jessica, and my mom's friend, Mary. I raised $655 in donations after having set a goal of $500. It's the most I've ever raised!

I do this walk in honor of my parents, who have both been diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis), and in memory of my Aunt Sue, who died from complications with MS when I was a little girl. Please be thinking of us today!

Locks of Love

I sent off a 13" ponytail to Locks of Love


Do you have long hair you plan to cut soon? Why not donate it!?! If you don't plan to cut off 10+ inches to qualify for Locks of Love, you can cut 8+ inches for Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths

A future in the circus?? Not likely.

This is still Kristina from Confusaled. Leah should be home tomorrow, or Friday at the latest, and we'll be back to regular posts. So, bear with me for just a bit longer.


You know how when you meet someone for the first time you get a feeling about them? Sometimes it's a positive feeling, you just know you are going to like that person. Other times, though, you know that you don't like that person. You have no reason, it's all instinct, and you just know.

Animals have this sense, too. Your dog can tell you pretty quickly if a person is good or bad.

I've always thought that kids can do the same. Now, I'm not comparing your child to your dog. That would be silly and insulting. I'm simply saying that both pets and small children rely a LOT on instinct to give them clues about the world around them.

That's why kids love my husband, even though he's so ginormous. (If you didn't read my guest post yesterday, you missed it when I told everyone that my husband is seven feet tall. No exaggeration. He has to duck to get through doorways.)

You'd think that someone so big would scare the bejeebies out of kids, but it's not the case. In fact, it's just the opposite.

One of my friends has a son who is now four years old (I refer to him as Wall-E on my blog). Even before he could walk and talk he has been enamored of J. In fact, I was over hanging out at their house one evening and J came as soon as he got off work. We had been invited to the Family Game Night - how sweet is that?

We were all gathered in the kitchen when J walked in. He had to duck to get through the doorway, and instead of hiding behind his mom like I expected, Wall-E toddled over to J, looked waaaaaay up and said, "WOW!!" Then he reached up and grabbed J's hand and took him on a tour of the house, babbling away in his toddler speak.

And J bent down so he could hold Wall-E's hand and followed him around the house, hunched over and oohing and aahing in all the right places.

This was not an isolated incident, either. A few years ago, before CJ was born, Leah brought Jared and Emily to the Tri-Cities to visit. They came in July so I was not working (I teach high school English), but J still was (he's a geologist).

The first evening they were there, Emily was a little shy, but she warmed up pretty quickly.

The next morning, J went off to work before the rest of us got up. When we were eating breakfast, Emily looked at her mom and asked, "Mommy, where's the big boy today?"

She was totally hooked on J, and didn't care a lick that he was literally three times taller than she was.

Truth be told, J was pretty enamored of Emily, too. When he came home in the evenings, he made a special point of asking Emily how her day was, and what she did. He even did tricks to show off for her a little bit.

One evening, he showed her that he can juggle. She was SO impressed, that he asked her if she wanted to learn how. Of course she said yes, so J found three clean socks (they're softer than tennis balls) and sat down to teach her.

It was SO cute! He explained it to her as if she were twelve, and asked if she understood. She, of course, nodded sagely and put out her hands to catch the sock he was about to toss at her. She caught the first sock, and then J told her he was going to toss her another one, and she needed to throw the first sock back to him at the exact same time.

Again, she nodded sagely, and J counted to three.

On three, he gently tossed a second sock at Emily, and she promptly threw the first one backwards over her head. J patiently explained that in order for them to juggle together, she needed to throw the sock back to him.

More sage nodding, and a do-over.

He counted to three again, and released a sock in Emily's direction again.

And again, she threw her sock backwards over her head.

Leah and I couldn't control our giggles! It was so darn cute to see them so serious about juggling. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, J finally gave up. He told Emily she was a great juggler.

I love that guy.


You can see in this picture how serious they both were. I only wish I had video of the hilarity that ensued!

(You can also see how bare my entertainment center was...Jared was crawling, so I emptied everything that could potentially be in the way and moved it to another room. Jared's safety was more important than making sure my living room was photo ready!)

**When I told J on Monday night that I was going to be guest blogging for Leah, he could hardly contain his excitement. (Read: He rolled his eyes and asked if he was going to be embarrassed on her blog, too.) Then, I told him I was going to use this picture. Interestingly enough, his only reaction was to complain that he was clean-shaven in it...he didn't want people to think he looked like this in real life. When I agreed to let his adoring public know that J typically wears a goatee, he was satisfied. He was only clean-shaven in this picture because he works at the Hanford site and occasionally works in areas where he can potentially be exposed to various radiation and poisons. That week he had to wear an oxygen mask at work, hence the hairless face - you get a better seal on the mask that way.**