Oh, and since my parents complained during my last visit that I forgot to tell them...

http://www.amazon.com/Hello-Village-Maile-Urbancic/dp/1449595022/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259692377&sr=8-1

and

http://hellovillagebook.com

There. Sorry for forgetting.

Want to know?

Want to know what happens when you add a toddler, a jar of Vaseline, and five unsupervised minutes?

No, you don't.

Why We're Getting A Baby Gate

Dear Son,

I'm really glad you're learning so much and growing up to be a curious, adventurous boy. I'm sure the world is a fantastically interesting place to you, with new experiences to be had every single day. You have no sense of fear...which, I imagine, you will use to your advantage as an adult.

However, Sweetheart, I must admit that this climbing on the kitchen table thing is getting a teensy bit wearing. Catching you fishing in the cookie jar a while ago was pretty darn cute. Catching you fishing in the peanut butter jar last week was, I have to say, slightly less endearing. And that thing on Sunday where you individually mashed into the floor a whole bag's worth of grapes while we weren't paying attention? Left a big, sticky mess, Honey. Yesterday when you dumped a bag of cereal all over the floor in the seconds it took me to get your sister a clean pair of socks...you know, that was kind of a hassle to clean up. And let's not even talk about Friday when you helped yourself to fist-fulls of freshly-baked pumpkin chocolate bundt cake right before my friend's baby shower. Yes, I cut out the part you mangled and took it anyway, and yes, the chocolate stains you made in the living room will probably come out, but that's not the point.

The point is, enjoy your freedom tomorrow...because party's over, bud.

-Mom

Your Quiz of the Day

1. Find the DVD player remote.
2. Identify which helpful toddler tried to put it away for us.
3. Guess how many hours of searching it took to find it.

Hand in the cookie jar

B. is a climber. If he sees an opportunity for a higher vertical vantage point, he never lets it pass. I've seen him standing on the topmost edge of the little slide climber toy on our porch, with one foot on top of the other...because, you know, that extra inch might just make a difference.

Naturally, this is bad news for Mom and Dad:

And good news for B:

E: "a hundred million snails!" & B: "ROAR!"

One of the problems with blogging is that it is subject to what M. and I call the "home teaching effect". Say you're a well-intentioned home teacher (or visiting teacher), but you get busy and miss a month or two. Naturally you feel guilty about it and mean to really do a good job next month. But then, you want to do such a good job that it'll take more time than you typically have, so you put it off. Pretty soon you're pushing it out of your mind because it makes you feel bad...and then even avoiding your teachees in the halls at church. The only real cure for this self-perpetuating problem is to face up to the fact that you're never going to get around to doing a really great job, kick yourself into at least a phone call, and try to regain some semblance of self-respect.

I have this issue with blogging. (And thank-you cards, but that's another post altogether.) I keep meaning to post birthday photos, back-to-school photos, this awesome video compilation of our Disneyland trip from last December...etc. And I think, "I can't post something new if I haven't posted X yet!" But...alas, obviously this strategy isn't working for me. And so, I humbly offer a few recent photos and videos. If I get to it, I'll post that other stuff. And if I don't, at least there will be these.

This video is of E. presenting her poster in her kindergarten class when she was Friend of the Week. Notice her request at the end. When she asked, her teacher looked at me to see what I thought, and I shook my head because E. and I hadn't prepared for it. I wanted us to have another day or so to practice so everything could go smoothly. But...

Use the password: "keepsafe"

...but E. was so crushed at the prospect of not getting her single Friend of the Week request of reading the book at storytime that we went for it. (We have a great teacher who was very patient and let us do it after E. was so visibly disappointed and I agreed to it.) And just so you know, this is long and pretty boring for non-grandparents, so I forgive you if you skip most of it.

Use the password: "keepsafe"

One more. B. went as a lion to the ward Halloween party, so we taught him to roar. He just decided last week that walking was the way to go (he's been able to walk for over a month, but until last week, preferred to crawl), and he's been upright ever since.

Use the password: "keepsafe"

GOAL: Catch a Bird

Yes, they came up with this themselves.

No, they haven't caught one yet. Maybe tomorrow.