Bumpersticker of the Day

No Tea For Me Please
I Prefer Progress

Naomi: 11 Months

We love bright colors in this house... okay... I love them and since I buy the majority of clothes in this household...

Naomi is becoming a girl, not just a baby, and even sometimes it feels like she isn't even much of a toddler. She runs, not walks. She LOVES her stuffed animals, gives them hugs and kisses and talks to them constantly. But she likes balls and cars and sticks and dirt too (the latter more than her older brother). She has also learned the very important skill of annoying her brother... a parenting curve I was not quite ready for... :)

She KNOWS what she wants, she is always pointing and grunting and babbling to get her point across and usually does it successfully. "Please" is her favorite sign because she almost always whats whatever you have. And because she is just too darn cute we give it to her more often than not. :)

Her hair is growing longer every day, as you can see in the pictures it is now in her eyes but I can't bring myself to cut it, and she pulls barrets out as soon as you put them in. I still have a hard time believing that I really have a blonde/very light brown haired child. :)

Sadly, her allergies are still in full swing (dairy, wheat, rice and berries) but we have discovered almond milk, coconut yogurt, spelt bread, barley pancakes and oat animal cracker/cookies so she doesn't seem to notice too much. And maybe someday she will get some teeth and we can just feed her steak. :)

Ben

There is never a dull moment with the 3-year-old around. He is constantly finding new things to do and try. He LOVES to play games... just like his mama (to the terror of his father), he loves reading, asking questions (constantly), and recently asked for a "dog that costs money" ( to the terror of his mother - and one that costs money as opposed to the kind that is plastic and doesn't shed and cost us $3). He LOVES playing soccer, going on walks, going to the park and well anything that involves being outside. And now that the weather is finally warming we can actually be outside!

Here are a few pictures from the last month of two...

Ben, sporting his Auntie Mer's birthday present. :)

When I told him he had a purse he replied... "No mom! Boys don't have purses! It is a Boy Bag!!"

I couldn't find Ben for a few minutes one day...

Then I opened my cupboard!

He spent a day measuring everything. Most everything was 9 inches.

Measuring the air. :) It was also 9 inches.

Ben has recently discovered the joy that is cooking. And like his mother, cooking CANNOT be done without an apron.

And since he doesn't have one, I got to share. :)

And finally, the playmates. :) These two have such a good time together. They were quiet for a few minutes and then I found them on the back deck. He was just racing his cars around her head and she just laid there like this was perfectly normal. :) I am so glad they have each other!

Sickness

We have been sick. Awful, wish-you-could-just-hide-under-a-rock, don't-want-to-do-a-thing sick.

Naomi got a stomach bug last Friday, then Ben got it Friday night. Then the fevers started and the cough and the congestion. Then Sunday Andrew and I woke up with sore throats and couldn't breathe and didn't want to move.

Being sick is miserable.

Being sick while the kids are sick is more miserable.

You being sick while the spouse and the kids are sick is very very miserable.

You being sick while the kids are sick and then watching your spouse get on a plane for 2 days is the most miserable of all.

Thankfully we are finally on the upswing, but man it has been such a long time since I have been able to breathe through my nose I have forgotten what it is like. :)

But the weather here is perfect, high of 78 and Sunny! So, you just can't be miserable on a day like today!

Off to enjoy the sunshine!

THEY are talking...

That's right folks... Here is Naomi's first contribution:

Ben started walking away with something she wanted, so she grabbed his shirt and (clear as day) said:

N: NO!

Yikes. I think we are going to be in for it. :)

---

B: Mommy, let's play a game! I want to play Bubble Gum!!!

L: You mean Candy Land?

B: YEAH!

---

After stopping at the farmer's market we were pulling out...

B: Mom, where are we going?

L: Home

B: YAY! Mommy, sing Home, Home on the Range. ALL THE WAY HOME, don't stop, ever... til we get to the garage!

And he meant it, I still have a cold and any time I stopped to breathe he would say "don't stop mommy, mommy, you can't stop!!!"

2 Wifes

L: Ben, do you want to get married some day?

B: Umm, I don't know.

L: Do you want to have a wife? Like Abbie or McKenna?

B: Umm.... I want Miss Tonia! (McKenna's mommy, maker of his birthday cupcakes :)

L: Oh, wow.

- 30 minutes later in the car...

B: Mommy, can I have TWO wifes?

A (under his breath): Only if you live in Utah!

L (bypassing the teaching moment): Um,well, who do you want to be your wives?

B: Well.... still Miss Tonia...

L: Okay...

B: And Ezra! (his "best friend" at church).

A (still under his breath thankfully): Well, in that case I guess you will have to stay in Asheville.

And there you have it folks. :)

Bumperstickers of the Day

CAUTION
BLONDE THINKING

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- seen on the back of a big black suburban

SHUT UP HIPPIES

(this could be my favorite of late :)

Naomi: 10 Months Old

Naomi is now 10 months old! She is getting more and more fun by the day! She has learned to sign "all done" "more" and "down." Which have been very helpful!

She is walking everywhere, going up and down the stairs, climbing and more! And she does NOT want your help either! She won't hold your hand while walking, she wants to feed herself, and she KNOWS what she wants. :)

She loves stuffed animals, carries them around with her and snuggles them and gives them hugs. For that matter, she just loves carrying things from room to room. I am constantly finding things in the wrong places.

Sadly, she has yet to grow out of any of her food allergies, so we are still avoiding dairy, wheat, rice and berries... however, we have found that she can have spelt! And the local bakery makes an amazing vegan, spelt, sugar-free (they use maple syrup to sweet it) muffin... so we go there at least once a week. :)

Her here are a few of the many faces of Naomi:

The sweet smile.

The cheeks.

The I-am-not-happy-about-this-nose-scrunch.
I love this one. Especially with no teeth!

The poochy lip.

Just a sweet face.

I love to clap!!!

I am so tired of your picture taking mom!!!

The Biltmore

We were given some free passes to the Biltmore Estate that had to be used by the end of February, and Saturday was perfect so we spent 5+ hours just wondering walking trails and picnicing in a field, playing soccer, visiting the farm animal petting zoo and just having a wonderful time in the 60+ degree sunshine! I forgot my camera, but thanks to Andrew's new swanky work phone we did get one. :) So here you go! Ben is trying to get Naomi to smell the flowers. :)

Dinner

Well, as of Day 21 we are doing fine. There have been a few bumps, but nothing major. We did take Friday night off and Drew, Ben & I all had a chocolate from the chocolate fetish. Oh so yummy. :) More than avoiding sugar and processed foods, my problem has been more finding things to cook that don't involve wheat, spelt, rice, dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream) and strawberries and blueberries. :) Tonight we had a good night though. :)

Afternoon Snack: Guacamole

2 avocados
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch of jalapeno (I took the seeds out)
1 tomatilla (optional, I just love the flavor)
2 T purple onion
juice from one lime
1 roma tomato (I look the seeds out to make it less watery)
salt

Chop it all up, mix it together and break out the corn chips. Naomi couldn't get enough. I don't know if there is anything better than fresh guacamole.

For dinner we had pan fried Pork Chops with olive oil, salt, pepper and sage.

And then THIS spaghetti squash recipe. We obviously omitted the feta, and I didn't have basil, we used tomatoes, spinach and olives. But you could really use anything. Ben like it, and Naomi loved it. (I think this is pretty standard when it comes to food for these two).

And for dessert we whipped some peanut-butter-banana smoothies. Yummy!

2 Bananas
8 ice cubes
1 big scoop of peanut (or almond) butter
unsweetened almond milk
a tsp ish of agave nectar.