Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Lost

After a wonderful Easter dinner we set out on our long trip home from Salt Lake. I drove while Taylor did homework. I started to get tired just as he finished so I chose the next exit, we pulled into a gas station and traded. Claire determined this was "Because Mom a bad driver."

Much to our dismay when we went to get on the freeway again we found that there was not an entrance on this specific road. We were in Ogden, and I have long believed that that city just isn't set out correctly. We soon found ourselves extremely lost. The farther we went the darker it got and the more spread out the houses were. We saw no open stores or stations. It was so dark that we couldn't see mountains or any landmarks that would give us an idea as to the direction we were going. After about a half hour we ended up calling my dad who was on the way home from St. George. He just got a couple fancy new GPS units. He pulled over and with a little luck was able to determine that we were in Plain City (and practically swimming in the Great Salt Lake and/or Willard Bay at times). It took us 25 minutes of intense descriptions on both of our parts for us to find our way back to I15. All the while Claire was complaining that it was too dark. "Dad! I can't see my toe jam!" seemed to be her biggest complaint.

We made it back safely and only about 45 minutes behind schedule, but it was quite the experience. Claire learned a great lesson about keeping the Sabbath Day holy too. She was very thirsty and we had plenty of opportunities to explain to her that it was Jesus' day and it makes Him happy when we don't buy things on His day. She seemed okay about being thirsty when she understood it.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Claire's Art Gallery

All of you regular readers out there (ha! All 6 of you) will notice a change in our blog. I've added a gallery on the right sidebar of some of Claire's artwork. She has been anxious to share it with everyone. She's into water painting and especially into tearing construction paper and then gluing it to other papers. You'll notice she's actually quite talented for a 2-year-old (says the beaming mother). I'll update it periodically for you.

Fun at our house

Poor Kyle got his shots Friday. He whined for three days with the most heart-breaking, pathetic whine you have heard come out of a baby boy. My parents spent Monday with us, and we had a really nice respite from ornery babies. He was still a little off-schedule Monday night, and here's how Monday night and Tuesday went:

Claire in bed at 12:30
Kyle needs to eat at 2:00
Claire is in our bed at 3:00
Kyle needs to eat at 5:00
Kyle needs to eat again at 6:00
Kyle cries for at least an hour
Claire gets up before 8:00

Claire has pickles, strawberry milk, chocolate milk, fruit snacks, pickles, and chocolate chips in the hour before her nap. (Somehow I knew this would end badly, and even texted Taylor and Suzy with my concern.)

Claire wakes up from her nap, rolls on the floor complaining about her tummy and starts throwing up. I put her in the tub and brought Kyle up to watch. In the midst of her crying Kyle started crying, and Claire looks up and says, "Kyle say: What wrong with my girl?" I love that she could tell he was worried, probably because she worries about him when he cries. And of course, I'm sure he refers to her as "My Girl" when he thinks of her :)

We had our tax preparation appointment that night, and we'd already cancelled twice, so we had to go. Bless Becky's heart, she was willing to watch Claire who had been fine for 4 hours. Of course I didn't tell her not to give Claire anything to eat, so as soon as she had water it came right back up. The sweet girl couldn't stop saying, "Sorry Mom, Sorry Becky" all night. She says that it was "really bad" and she's never going to throw up again. If only it were that easy.

And so go the best days of our lives.

Monday, March 10, 2008

The Zoo

We've just returned from a trip to Hogle Zoo, and as Claire said, "We had really fun at zoo." Our first stop was the albino alligator. If you haven't seen this you need to. It was so cool, almost a light lime green color. I couldn't stop staring. On our way to see the apes we passed the camels. I asked Claire what the camels were, and without hesitation she responded, "Chipmunks." Just imagine the size difference that has occurred in her little head whenever we see Chip and Dale. After running all around for a while Claire saw a little wooden curb, sat down, and said to me, "I'll just sit right here and wait for you until you come back." She was so tired! I offered her a turn in the stroller which she gladly accepted, but only for a while until she could walk again.

When we saw the cougars they were walking all around. One jumped up on a rock and she proudly sang her song [to the tune of the "Look Down" song from Les Mis], "Get down! Get Down! No standing on the rock!" [We sing that to her when she stands on chairs or in the tub.] She thought she was hilarious, and she was.

My favorite thing we saw was the tiger drinking. They have a new nice exhibit for the tiger, and he came right down to the pool (which you can see into through glass) and drank about 3 feet away from us. It's worth watching my slide show just to see that. We saw a number of sleeping animals, and Claire told us to "Shhhh!" every time we spoke while near a sleeping animal.

We finished our trip with a stop at the big elephant for pictures. I put Claire on the trunk for a couple pictures (which are SO cute), and this time she said, "I just wait here while you go look at birdies." She really would have too! She was asleep before we left the zoo parking lot, and we had to wake her up for dinner. Claire's cute quotes were matched by Taylor's voice cracking as he exclaimed, "Look, Dad! The Cheetah is running across his enclosure!" And Don's excitement over "The Red Pandas are on the move!" It's fun to see exactly where Claire get her love for the zoo and animals.

Another funny thing she said today was when I asked her what the horses across the street were named. I suggested Prince or Bob or Jim. "No Mom! That horse not Jim! Whitney go to GYM and run with her green shoes on!"

Taylor says his favorite thing about Claire is her little touch of insanity. She's a nut!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Conversation I just had with Claire

About thirty seconds ago I had this conversation with Claire:
Me: Do you know what your name is?
Claire: Yes. It Claire.
Me: Good! What is your middle name?
Claire: Fireman [and she said it in her monosyllabic way: Fye-Er-Man]
Me: Nope, it's Elle.
Claire: Oh. Elle.

I'm still laughing. Claire Fireman Herrin. Why didn't we think of that?

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Picture This

I've finally decided that I need to get rid of a little baby flab, so I had Taylor pick up a couple of exercise DVDs from the local library. My favorite is "Yogalates," a mix between yoga and pilates and uses resistance bands.

And here's the part I'm writing about: Yesterday I thought I could do the video while both children were awake (my first mistake). I sat Kyle under his baby gym and gave Claire one of the bands to use herself (she'll usually exercise with me). The DVD begins with a relaxation exercise. As soon as it starts Kyle starts whining. Claire doesn't like this part so she starts playing with my hair. All the while I'm trying to sit up straight and relax. The DVD continues and Claire is now wrapping the resistance bands around my throat and torso alternating by hanging on me in her "I love you/I'm choking you" special way, Kyle is now whining louder and the lady on the DVD is saying, "Relax, just relax. Breathe in, breathe out." Yeah, right! I was giggling too hard imagining what we looked like.

Then we got into the video. And I'm doing my pelvic scrunches or whatever special word she uses to avoid saying "sit ups." Claire decided to do hers directly behind me, so every time I lay down I land on her. She found this to be hilarious. I found it helpful. Every time I leaned back she caught me with her feet and pushed me back up. I'll admit I'm always up for a good way to cheat while exercising!

When it comes to exercise, does "it was the thought that counts" apply?

Monday, March 3, 2008

ABCs of Me


I got this in an email and thought it was a decent one to share:
A: Attached or single: Attached
B: Best Friend: Definitely Taylor--and then Claire, she listens to what I have to say and doesn't offer back unwanted advice :)
C: Cake or Pie: Both please! But nothing beats a good fresh peach pie a la mode.
D: Day of Choice: Any day my mom is coming to visit. If I have to choose a day I like Mondays. The weekend refreshes me, and there is hope for a good week.
E: Essential Item: Disposable Diapers. Two kids are wearing them, enough said.
F: Favorite Color: Green
G: Gummi Bears or Worms: Neither. They give me a headache.
H: Hometown: Always will be Lehi
I: Indulgence(s): Cookie dough---it's got to stop!
J: January or July: July! I love all the celebrating for the 4th and 24th. Plus the holidays are not really tied to a lot of candy that hangs around for days.
K: Kids:2. Claire is 2.5, Kyle is 4 months
L: Life is incomplete without: Family, computer, Disney Channel
M: Marriage Date: December 21, 2002
N: Number of Siblings: One Sister, Two Brothers, Three Sisters-in-law, One new Brother-in-law
O: Oranges or Apples: I have a new love for oranges in the last few years
P: Phobias or Fears: I hate having water on my face. I also fear falling down the stairs every time I'm carrying a child down them.
Q: Quote(s): "You are a Child of God with great strength. You have the ability to choose righteousness and happiness no matter what your circumstances."--For the Strength of Youth
R: Reason To Smile: Kyle smiles at me whenever we make eye contact, you can't help but smile at those gums and dimples.
S: Season: Spring holds my birthday and the promise of all the best parts of the year. It just smells good too.
T: Tag Six: Mom, Dad, Taylor, Kerry Lynn, Don, Suzy
U: Unknown Fact About Me: I really enjoy cooking (just not the mess or paying for the food).
V: Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I like animals---alive and on my plate.
W: Worst Habit: I'm not embarrassed to admit I drool in my sleep when I'm really, really tired (so that's every night lately).
X: X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds! They always have revealed good things for me even when it involves a painfully full bladder.
Y: Your Favorite Food: Dad's barbeque chicken and funeral potatoes
Z: Zodiac: Taurus