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.)