Just to keep it interesting.

There's always something that Scotty comes up with to keep his parents entertained or life interesting. He's a perfect fit for the Tigger song....

"The wonderful thing about Scotty's, is Scotty's are wonderful things.

Their tops are made out of rubber (conveniently, or we would have made many more trips to the ER by now!)

Their bottoms are made out of springs (well, you can say THAT part again. I've never seen a kid with more energy!)

They're bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun! (four bounces and five funs--yup, about sums it up.)

BUT the most wonderful thing about Scotty's--you're the only one! (I don't think we could handle two. Or even one and a half.)"

Most recent factoids:

1. Scotty no longer has curtains in his room. A few days ago I heard him awake and giggling at 10pm and I got suspicious. I walked into his room and it seemed really light back there. Sure enough, he had got ahold of the curtain, used the leverage to pull down the rod, and was jousting his stuffed animals with it.

Our theory is that the first time something happens, it's an accident. The second time, it's on purpose. Eric put the rod back up but we couldn't move it out of reach--the room is only so big and Scotty has the arms of an oragutan.

When he did the same thing the next day (plus jumping up and down in his thus-far indestructible crib), he lost his curtain privelages. I'm just hoping it doesn't backfire by waking him up really early!

2. We have to ration the jam. We were on our way to church this morning when Scotty let out a distressed scream from the back seat. I noticed he was rubbing at his eye and I thought he'd gotten something in it, so I turned around in my seat to help him. What I discovered was that he had jam on the back of his hand left over from breakfast and by rubbing his eye he had sealed the lid shut. With jam.

I did the only thing a parent can do in a situation like this. Laugh, while I open the lid to his sippy cup and splash water onto his eye to un-jam it.

3. Scotty can now (finally!) drink from a cup! After months of thinking we would have to get a sippy cup specially labeled "Elder Larsen" to accompany him on his mission, Scotty finally figured out the cup. He requires supervision and I haven't let him drink anything staining, but it's definite progress. I look forward to throwing away the much chewed sippy lids, but for now, his one faithful cup still accompanies us on outings.

Goblin Valley

Since we're moving out of state in just over a month, we decided we wanted to hit up our favorite places in Utah while they were still close. Top of the list: Goblin Valley. Eric and I have been camping there for both of our birthdays since getting married--last time I was 7 months pregnant with Scotty. This was our first family camping trip and overall, it was a great success! Minus the torrential downpour and windstorm that almost collapsed the tent.


We headed out early Friday morning with Brent (Eric's older bro), Stephen (his younger bro) and Emily (Stephen's super cute girlfriend). After lunch in Green River we headed out for the valley, set up camp in a slight drizzle, and had gorgeous weather for hiking the goblins.


We call this one "The Eagle" and it's tradition to take a picture on it. Last time we were here I was pretty pregnant and this picture cracks me up. In an ironic twist of fate, I was wearing the same shirt, though it fits me much different this time around...


Scotty loved hiking and climbing and didn't even mind getting dirty too much (though he did stop a few times to brush off his shoes).

Eric and Scotty stayed in the valley throwing rocks while the rest of us climbed up the ledge.

Eric made tremendous tin foil dinners with garlic and herb marinated chicken and we had great weather for exploring and playing games. Scotty loved his camping chair that I picked up at Kid 2 Kid for $2.


It wasn't until we were about to put Scotty to bed that the wind picked up and almost blew away the tent. Don't these clouds look amazingly cool and ominous?


We ended up pulling everything out and looking for a more sheltered spot to stake the tent. That was a great decision because when it started pouring, everything was sitting outside on the ground :o) We waited it out for a little bit but it was obvious it was going to do nothing but dump for hours, maybe days, and we had already done most of what we wanted to do anyway, so we bailed and drove back to Provo. We did get to meet a friendly police man in Helper when we pulled over to doze for 20, and the seal on our windshield is loose and rainwater poured in and soaked the passenger seat floor, but other than that our trip home was uneventful.

We spent Saturday recuperating and cleaning tents, gear, and vacuuming some serious mud out of all three cars. It was great! Let's do it again!

Swimming Scotty

This past month Scotty and I took a parent-tot swimming class at the local rec center. Best $30 I ever spent! He loved it and learned some useful skills that make me feel a little better about my fearless fish around water. Knowing that he can kick his way over to the wall and hold on reduces my anxiety level--especially because he'll jump in on his own!

Eric finally had a night off the last week of class and got to get in the pool with Scotty, so I'm manning the camera.

Too bad I don't have any other pictures because my early bday present was a custom made swimsuit that I absolutely LOVE and was worth every penny! Now I'm set to chase Scotty around the pool all summer without worrying about anything falling out, hanging out, or looking like a teenage mom.

While my little boy "swims." Hey, at least he has fun!

My Little Girl

For those of you who didn't know, I have a little girl who's seven months younger than Scotty. Miraculous, I know--both that I had babies 7 months apart and that I had a girl at all! Obviously she's not really mine but she accepts me as a mom substitute. She lives next door and her and Scotty are great friends so I get to see a lot of her. She's taken to spending church with me as well, walking over to sit on my lap during Sunday School or sitting in the piano bench next to me.

I got to sew this dress for her during one of my recent crafting kicks. Cute, huh?

Thanks, Christine, for letting me borrow the only girl I may ever have!

Dr. Scott

Yesh. E-BYE. Uh-oh-oh.

Sometimes Scotty's new words make us laugh. To the point where we consciously encourage his mispronunciation.

He gets us back with his Doctor routine. Whenever he's close enough to touch my face, he starts poking. "EYYYYYE" he says. Followed by "ose" "douth" "deeth" "arr" and the other "arr"...

I actually caught him on camera giving himself the check up.

Yep. All parts accounted for. Sad we didn't ask for his belly button--that's one of his favorites.