New Mexican Scottish

Life is chaotic around here as we just got back from a fabulous week long vacation to Colorado. Being a family of four makes it expensive to fly, not to mention crazy with luggage and baby accessories, so we split our 14 hour drive into two days each way. Our first family roadtrip! The minivan makes all the difference :o)

Driving across New Mexico is boring. It's flat, straight, and filled with cows. I was having flashbacks of Nebraska, only with dirt instead of a grass. (Apologies to anyone from NM, I'm sure there are lovely areas!). Scotty was getting a little bored in his carseat, so Eric told him to direct his toy gun out the window and catch us some cows for dinner. For the next 20 minutes he was occupied "booming cows" out the window. Wanting to broaden his life experience a little bit, I started a discussion about milk.

Meg: "Alyssa drinks milk from mama, but your milk comes from cows."
Scotty: "You're so weird, mama. My milk comes from the fridge!"

Clearly, the boy did NOT grow up on a farm.

Another obvious bit of Scottish: he's a bossy kid. It stated with "STOP SINGING!" and progressed to "I'm not talking to you, daddy, I'm talking to mama!" We've been working on this without much effect. I did notice some specific progress during the long drive however. Common phrases from the backseat included: "Excuse me, I'm talking to daddy" and "no thank you singing, mama." Ha! Progress indeed. Politely worded bossiness? I'll take it!

There's a boy talking at our house

AKA: your most recent update of Scottish.

Scotty has started giving me descriptive sentences. "There's a boy in this room playing with a race track." "There's a daddy in the front room playing a football game." "Mom, watch out! There's a boy sitting behind this door getting squished!"

Also, I think he watches too many movies. Some of his recent comments:
"A cereal bowl? He's supposed to be dead!" followed closely by, "A spoon? He's supposed to be dead! Yeah, weird." (can anyone name the movie and the actual quote?)

Yesterday at Michael's he was excited to show me something on the next aisle.
S: "Mama, come look! A kangaroo family!"
Meg: "Kangaroos?" (it is decorating season, after all, and Kangaroos don't really hit the list for Thanksgiving or Christmas)
S: "Yeah, Kangaroos! Like Bambi!"
Ah. Turns out it was a family of mechanical reindeer.

After watching Alice in Wonderland, he sat me down to tell me a story.
S: "In my world, there would be trains. And trucks. And cars. And Lightning McQueen. And Alyssa."
Meg: "sounds like a cool world. Would anyone else be there? Like mama or daddy?"
S: "Nope, just Scotty and Alyssa. And Christopher Robin Hood. The end."

And of course, his latest "mom" line. I was making him stir fry rice and talking while I cooked. "You're not a girl, mama," he said, "you're a mom." Fishing for compliments, I asked: "An awesome mom?" His response? "No, you're just a mom. You'll be awesome after you finish cooking me lunch."

At least he's a man who knows what he wants.

Singing Baby

Some of you may wonder why I'm posting so many videos of Alyssa making noises. 1) I know you all think my baby is completely adorable and riveting. 2) Eric gets to see her for all of 10 minutes before she heads to bed and she's usually cranky, so I'm trying to prove to him that she's really not insane. 3) Even those of you who see her often (like my mom) haven't heard any of these noises because unless it's the right time of day (morning) and the right person (mama), she's either mute or screaming hysterically.

So, those of you who live far away, you're not missing out in this department! Mom has only seen this side of her on video as well :o)

Hippie Mama

I'm officially evolving into a full-blown Hippie Mama. It started with med-free childbirth. I still love a good pair of high heels and some jazzy earrings, and I definitely don't spend extra money for "organic" groceries (isn't all fruit organic in the chemical sense of the word? what is a traditional orange composed of--silicon? lead?) but I'm becoming a huge advocate for baby wearing. It really does make her much happier and my life easier. Not to mention it's helping with the tendonitis I've developed in my shoulder from trying to juggle two kids.

Scotty was anti-snuggling. He nursed like a squid and couldn't fall asleep if anyone was touching him. The only time he was happy as a baby was when I plunked him in the stroller and took him for a ride. We spent hours walking the streets of Provo and discovering all sorts of wonderful, interesting, and bizarre things. Alyssa? HATES her car seat and the stroller. Screams bloody murder whenever someone attempts to set her in it. A recent phone conversation with my mom: "Mom--is that my baby crying in the background? did she just wake up?" "Me--nope, we're just in the car." Like that explains the hysterics! Doesn't she know that babies are supposed to be lulled to sleep by the movement and sound of the road passing beneath the tires? Eric and I are both gearing up for a LONG road trip to Colorado next week on account of her nearly constant screaming. Scotty and I love to get out of the house, and although he sometimes asks, we can't just leave Alyssa at home napping. For the sake of my sanity and our collective eardrums we needed a better solution.

Hence, the early Christmas present (for her. I'm getting an awesome necklace).

A lifesaver. Worth every penny of the 20 bucks it cost me at Kid to Kid. Thinking about getting a few so I can coordinate with my outfits have a spare if one gets attacked by bodily fluids. I decided on a pouch style because it's much quicker and easier for me to get set than my current ring sling and more comfortable. It also is reversible (in case I'm feeling boring) and has a pocket for me to slip her pacifier or my keys into. Unfortunately the pouch is Meg sized so Eric will have to find his own solution. Yes, I still have to strap her in her car seat to get to the store, but once we arrive I can plop her in her sling and wander at my leisure without having to deal with screaming. She contentedly looks around, sucks on her easily accessible hands, and often falls asleep. I'm only alerted to the change in consciousness because of the slight baby snores :o) So sweet!

awake one day

asleep the next

Makes it so much easier to take a nice stroll down to the park to let Scotty play. I have my hands free and can actually enjoy the outing! Besides, it's a beautiful 72 degrees outside. Anyone want to come visit?

P.S. Yep, I'm still getting crafty. I honestly feel better at the end of the day and every time I see my handiwork. Here are a few flowers I made for me from an old shirt and hot glue. I think i'll attach them to a headband eventually but that's a project for another day.

Siblings

 I love seeing how sweet this big brother is with his baby sister. So I couldn't resist these matching outfits :o)

 Ignore the blurry faces, my kids are squirmy...

This is a great shot of her "bozo the clown" hair. Cracks me up!

I also have to post this adorable video (who can resist a freshly bathed baby? you can practically SMELL the sweetness through the computer screen.) to prove that she does actually make noises that aren't completely hysterical sounding.

(please ignore the whining toddler sounds in the background....ah the soundtrack of my life.)

Scottish

Life with two kids is always unpredictable. There are a few things I can always count on, however.

1. Eric will happily eat whatever I have thrown together for dinner. Even if this is frozen pizza for the third day in a row. Or leftovers that have been in the fridge for a week already. Or nothing.

2. Alyssa will drool all over her clothes and mine, have crazy hair, and make adorable faces.

3. I will be tired.

4. Scotty will say something that makes me laugh out loud. Recently these have appeared as facebook statuses, but I also keep a few priceless gems in the sidebar.

Some recent highlights:

"You're not my mommy right now. Soon. Maybe later. I think after Christmas."

S: "Nephi and I were fighting. With swords."
Meg: "Why were you fighting Nephi? He's a good guy!"
S: "Nephi was hitting me with a sword because he thought I was a monster. I was hitting him with a sword because I'm awesome."

"I think you're tired, mama. You better go lay down and get more sleep--you're acting cranky."

Maybe I'll make "Scottish" a regular feature, a la the man-child version of  cute outfit Friday...what do you think?

Personality

 How's THAT for cute outfit Friday? I never was into leggings until I had a baby girl...they just look so cute on her slightly chubby legs. Also, that flower was my spark of creative work a few days ago and I think it turned out super cute! Especially considering it's the hem of an old shirt and hot glue...

As much as I love snuggling my newborn, it's fun to see her begin to develop a personality of her own. This morning she was full of baby sounds and songs and I spent an hour just cooing with her (until I realized we only had 30 minutes to get the 3 of us ready for church!).

My favorite moment of the day: when she catches my eye and sees me smile, because her face lights up and makes a really excited sounding squawk. Adorable! I must be the best mom in the world to make her suddenly so happy ;o)

Comparisons

Alyssa's two month appointment was a few weeks ago and she handled her shots like a pro. Unfortunately the doctor's appointment itself was complete chaos. After watching her flail on the scale for literally three minutes, and seeing the numbers jump erratically from 10 lb 9 oz to 11 lb 2 oz the nurse finally shrugged and wrote down 10 lb 11.5 oz. Yet another reason not to stress about what my baby weighs, first because she's getting chubby legs and loves to eat, and second because we don't even really know what she weighs... Overall she's about 50% in weight, 60% in height and 75% in noggin. And the hair on the right side of her head is about 2.5 inches long and still sticking straight out. At two months, Scotty was 11 pounds so they are fairly comparable in size but he had essentially no hair left.

I'm relearned every day that you can't compare your kids. My pregnancies had some things in common but a lot of differences. My two kids already have different personalities! Scotty is my social bug, always talking and bouncing and running. He is happier out and about and gets cabin fever after about three hours indoors. Alyssa, on the other hand, is either very mellow or completely hysterical. She has absolutely no in between. At night I hear her squeak once over the monitor and by the time I have made the 10 step journey to her room she has tears running down her cheeks and her eyes wide open with a look of sheer terror. I pick her up and calmly carry her back to my room to feed her. And by calmly I mean that I remain calm. Alyssa continues to scream louder and louder. I can tell she's trying to communicate: "Mom! I'm hungry! You're not feeding me! It's been 3 seconds and there's still no milk! FOUR seconds! The milk must be gone! I will never get fed ever again! Abandoned! Forsaken! WASTING AWAY! How can I possibly continue to alert you to this obvious problem when there is something in my mouth getting in my...oh, ok. Hmm. Thanks for the milk, mom." Both my mom and Eric have commented on how sad it is when she gets crazy, because her eyes turn red and her lids swell almost shut and she looks completely panicked and desperate. Her cry sounds hoarse and it breaks my heart! But once she calms down she will be completely placid and the redness and swelling disappear almost immediately.

With Scotty we struggled to get him sleeping, especially in the middle of the night. We tried EVERYTHING and it was always a battle. Alyssa has a hard time with naps because she sleeps MUCH better at home and with Scotty getting crazy we are often out and about when she decides it's nap time. Cue the aforementioned hysterics, and it's harder to wind down and fall asleep by the time we get home, though a few minutes in her swing and she's fine. At night, however, she's a dream. She may be crazy before being fed but she smiles sweetly at me on the way back to her crib and will casually gaze around her room before falling back asleep on her own. I rarely need to put her in the swing, or even give her a pacifier or go back to check on her.

Scotty starting smiling earlier and was always babbling, cooing, and giggling. Alyssa prefers to watch the world around her and was much faster at discovering her hands. She also has better control of them and can hold them in to her chest or bring them to her mouth like she's doing it on purpose, whereas with Scotty it was always a miraculous discovery.

Tummy time is also very different. Scotty really used his arms to push his chest up and look around, while Alyssa is a leg girl. She gets those feet kicking and is already a mover and a shaker! I'll put her down while I get Scotty out from his high chair and when I turn around she's already rotated 90 degrees. I've noticed this even while swaddled in her crib. I'll come in to find her all the way at the bottom when I KNOW I put her down in the middle....she must do the full body worm to wriggle herself around but I've never seen it in action. Maybe I could rig something up with a motion sensor video camera....

The Purple Room

I realized that I never posted pictures of the purple room after we finished painting because we hadn't hung the chair rail yet. And then the chair rail had to be touched up and nail holes puttied. And then the crib set up. And then the changing table recovered. And then pictures hung.

And I still haven't really posted anything, because I've been waiting for it to be "done." This is an analogy for life, I think. We wait to share something until it's a finished product, only to realize that nothing is ever really done, especially ourselves or our lives or our abilities. So if we wait to be perfect we'll never have anything to offer.

Hopefully I get some really nice looking pictures someday, but for now, take this as my public declaration that I am a mom, with all the good and bad that entails. Have you ever felt like everyone else had it together and you just didn't? I've been inspired by this article and the true confessions of some of my mom friends who also recently had babies. Here is my true mom confession: My house isn't perfectly clean or fashionably decorated. I don't own nice furniture. My kids wear pre-owned clothes and right now we're eating frozen pizza at least once a week. But I love my kids, I love doing things for them, and I love spending time with them. I love those moments at the end of the day where Scotty is finally tired of running and wants to curl up on my lap. I love the sweet baby smiles and the way Alyssa's hysterical screaming stops when she realizes she's back with her mom. I make up songs for Scotty on request (they will never be heard outside of his room!) I'm not afraid to let my kids help. [Well, at least Scotty, Alyssa has a hard enough time keeping her head under control.] Doing dishes or cleaning with Scotty sometimes makes more of a mess than getting anything clean, and it definitely takes longer, but I love teaching him the small things and seeing how much he is capable of. I can answer Scotty's continual "why's" without getting frustrated and take even the worse accident/mess/destruction in stride. I'm definitely not perfect, but what I have to offer is still worth sharing, especially with my family. It's time to stop waiting for the finished product, because we will always be a work in progress.

So here it is. Much more finished than it started, but still not completely done and definitely not clean.

 I recovered the lampshade (this is SUCH an easy project I highly recommend it!), and my mother in law helped make the cover for the changing table. The curtains were made by my amazing friend Kira, who I miss terribly since she moved to San Diego. I did all the painting and Eric cut and hung the chair rail. That picture is a new one of some of her best expressions (taken at six weeks). Click on the picture to see it larger, it's really adorable! We just hung it on Monday and she noticed it right away and loves to look at it while I change her diaper.

I've been brainstorming this project for months but just made it this past weekend. I had a tough week and something brought to mind the talk Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave at a general Relief Society meeting in 2008 called Happiness, Your Heritage. Basically, our heritage is happiness--God's happiness. God is a God of creation, and we should emulate that. He says, "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.
Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.
Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.
You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”
If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.
But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.
If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next."

This whole talk is beautiful and inspiring, please read it! I have found that to be amazing advice, as I feel genuinely satisfied and much happier when I am creating something. It especially touched me as some of my most creative friends are currently single or dealing with infertility struggles that I can't imagine and I've been at a loss for what to say or how to help. So girlies, you know who you are, and I know that your creative talents aren't just nice hobbies but the best kind of preparation--one of those ways of demonstrating faith that your time will come and you'll be more prepared than all the rest of us.

Go ahead, create something! It definitely helped me feel better :o) I even picked up a few handy tricks that I can put to good use.

Halloween

I love Halloween. As a kid it was my favorite holiday--I got to dress up as whatever I wanted and everyone gave you candy just for asking. What's not to like? I admit that as a mom it's even more fun, as I have more people to dress up and I love seeing Scotty so excited about things. Also, my adorable baby girl is too young to have her own opinions about costuming so I got to pick :o) I think we make beautiful butterflies. Or fairies. Or something else with wings and antennae.

I was inspired by her "bug eye" look :o)

I added elastic straps to a wall hanging decoration and pipe cleaners to head bands...that's "making our costumes" right?

yay for getting to be girly!

proof that she actually LIKED her costume.

Scotty, of course, had strong opinions about picking his costume. We were originally looking for Dash (from The Incredibles, which is an apt description of him) and I even considered making it for him, but then he found this:

this is his "super hero bad guy" face

Totally worth $10. I love kid to kid. Eric didn't have a costume and rejected my offers to construct one for him. He tried this look, but I needed the wings back.

He ended up settling for a t-shirt and shorts, and I teased him that it worked because a Halloween costume is something you're not, and his shirt said "blood donor." He's tried before but never made it through--and therefore doesn't even know his blood type.

Saturday night was truck or treat at the church combined with another ward, so there were TONS of cars. Alyssa screamed all during dinner but promptly fell asleep in my arms in the back of the van. What a perfect angel! I handed out candy while Eric and Scotty made the rounds. After about five cars he told Eric he thought he had enough candy, but after he realized he could collect as much as people were willing to give him he was eager for more!

Sunday night there was a neighborhood carnival across the street so we ventured out to meet some neighbors and find out where the kids lived. We found at least one house with a potential playmate!

Of course, being the math nerds we are, we created not only our traditional Halloween bar graph charting the goods, but we compared last years loot to this year's. I find it interesting to see which candy got more popular and which virtually disappeared.

In case you were wondering, M&M's and snickers were on the rise this year, while Milky Way, KitKat, Whoppers, and Tootsie Rolls were down. Scotty's not too big on actually eating it, and he prefers the chewy and hard candies as opposed to chocolate, so Eric and I are having a good time with the bucket currently sitting in our pantry. We're excited for next year!

P.S. Eric, if you don't dress up, you don't get any candy. I'm not exempting you from THE RULE next year...