Trouble is a Friend

I was going to wait to post this on Eli's birthday, but I can't. So happy early birthday, Eli!

Yesterday I was trying to make a video montage of all his cute videos, and I noticed everything I have on video lately is Eli getting into trouble! Then I found a song on my ipod that I think was written with Eli in mind.

I had a lot of fun making this video and laughing at my little troublemaker. He's so precious to us and we are happy he joined our family a year ago! Wow. I can't believe I have a one-year old! Anyway, enjoy:



Here are the lyrics if you're interested. Feel free to insert Eli's name in place of "trouble."

Trouble he will find you no matter where you go, oh oh
No matter if you're fast, no matter if you're slow, oh oh
The eye of the storm or the cry in the mourn, oh oh
You're fine for a while but you start to lose control

He's there in the dark, he's there in my heart
He waits in the wings, he's gotta play a part
Trouble is a friend, yeah trouble is a friend of mine, oh oh!

Trouble is a friend but trouble is a foe, oh oh
And no matter what I feed him he always seems to grow, oh oh
He sees what I see and he knows what I know, oh oh
So don't forget as you ease on down the road

He's there in the dark, he's there in my heart
He waits in the wings, he's gotta play a part
Trouble is a friend, yeah trouble is a friend of mine, oh oh

So don't be alarmed if he takes you by the arm
I won't let him win, but I'm a sucker for his charm
Trouble is a friend, yeah trouble is a friend of mine, oh oh!

Signs of Summer

I don't want to jinx it, but I think the long, rainy days may finally be behind us. The sun has been shining the last couple of days, so I've been itching to get a start on some summer activities.

What better way to kick off summer than to buzz your crazy-haired baby's head? Behold the frizzball: 

 And here's the much more tamed buzz do:

Sunny days = sunny babies. Eli was such a goof today while he was eating lunch. It might have had to do with the fact that he was eating his favorite meal -- lasagna -- but for this post's sake, I'll attribute it to the sun finally sticking around.

There's nothing quite like lounging in the fresh-cut grass with the sun setting on blue skies while listening to the sweet chimes of the ice-cream truck rolling through your neighborhood.

 Well in that setting how could we resist?

Nothing says summer like ice-cream from the ice-cream man for dinner. Tonight we have full, spoiled bellies and smiles on our faces as we welcome warm weather back to Utah. Hallelujah!

Rainy Days

Turns out rainy days are perfect for indoor photo-shoots.

That Tangy Zip

I've started a new thing where I try to menu plan. It's worked out pretty good for me. Especially on the days when I can make a meal ahead of time during one of Eli's naps and then just pop it in the oven before Jeff gets home from work.

Last week I was craving enchiladas and it worked out great because it was a make ahead meal. I started it while Eli was asleep and then realized the recipe called for mayonnaise. I looked and looked through the house but we only had Miracle Whip. Those are interchangeable, right?

Wrong.

Wow. That looks good. But don't be fooled. One taste and I had Jeff saying things like:

"If I was served that on Fear Factor, I wouldn't be able to finish it."

"I have to go out to eat so I can remember what real food tastes like."

"This is the worst meal I've ever eaten. I'm going to throw up."

I think it will be a long time before Jeff and I will be able to eat anything with Miracle Whip in it again.

Eli's Antics

Remember when Eli was a sweet, innocent, precious, perfect little newborn baby?

Yeah. Neither do I.

Eli is more or less crazy these days. His latest obsession? Socks. My mom once called me "one of THOSE moms." You know. The kind of mom that doesn't put a jacket on her baby in the winter. The mom who forgets blankets, burp cloths and an extra set of clothes. The dreaded mother who doesn't put socks on her neglected baby's feet. 

But the truth is, I have a daily battle going on with Eli and his socks. I put them on. He rips them off. I try to outsmart him and put shoes over the socks, but he ends up outsmarting me and rips both off before I've even finished putting them on.

He even tries to rip other babies' socks off if he notices them.

He either loves a bare foot or my theory is he thinks socks are the best toy in the world. His favorite game is to grab a sock and then he heads straight for the stairs to throw the sock down them. I think he's testing to see what would happen to him if he threw himself down the stairs. Luckily he's only experimented with the socks.

And yes, I realize this picture only supports my mother's fears that I am, in fact, one of THOSE mothers because Eli is clothesless, blanketless and sockless. And no, I don't have a good explanation as to why he is clothesless and blanketless. We're dealing with my mothering issues one accessory at a time. Hmm...maybe I could start by viewing clothes and blankets as more than just "accessories?"

Anyway, enough about the socks and my bad mothering, onto more Eli:

We aren't sure exactly what goes on in his room after we say goodnight to him, but we usually have something cute to smile at when we go in to check on him.

He has recently begun an annoying stage -- throwing all his unwanted (and sometimes even wanted) food over the edge. It's not all bad though. If I leave the scraps on the floor long enough, he usually finds his way back to them for an afternoon snack.

I was sad after I tried to get Eli to sit in the grass a few weeks ago and it didn't go over too well. Turns out he likes the grass better when he has pants on. I guess I can't really blame him.

Future Farmer of America.

He's learning something new every day. He's looking more like a mischievous little boy and less like an innocent little baby.

Even with all his antics, I can't imagine spending my days without him.

If You Give a Wife a House

She's going to ask for a ginormous budget to buy new decorations to go with it.

When she gets her decorations, she'll have no choice but to update some of her old furniture.

Before: 

After:

                        

When she's updating her furniture she's going to have to buy a different fabric for each side of the cushions because she'll be indecisive at the fabric store.

Once she paints the chair and covers the cushions, she'll have to stand back and stare in awe at her incredible sewing skills.

After she stares in awe, she'll have to ask all her blog readers which of the two fabrics they like better.

Then she'll show off her new bedroom. Before:

After:

By this point, her ginormous budget has probably run out. So she'll ask you to envision the walls light yellow, the mirror white, the lampshades white and trim on top of the "headboard."

Whew. After all that hard work, your wife will probably ask for a cookie.

Things That Don't Change Stay the Same

The title of this post is a quote from my dad that I always thought was dumb. But as I've been welcoming my friend MacKenzie Inman back to the U.S. after her service in New Zealand on an LDS mission, that dumb quote keeps returning to my mind.

Why? Because even though Kenz now has a thick New Zealand accent, I was happy to see some things didn't change. When Kenz, Leslie and I got together, it felt like we were back at our college apartment being roommates again. We had so much fun laughing, catching up and of course taking pictures.

Leslie came to my house with her husband Saturday night to sleep over so they could make it to Kenz's talk in church Sunday morning. I feel so blessed to have become such good friends with Leslie. She just happened to be assigned to be my roommate Sophomore year of college, and ever since then we've had very similar experiences. We started dating our future husbands around the same time, got married within a couple weeks of each other, our husbands got jobs at the same time and our pregnancies overlapped. It's been fun to have someone who always seems to know exactly what I'm going through.

 Here's Leslie's baby Izzy. Eli couldn't stay away from her. He stepped on her several times. Sorry Izzy!

 Then Kenz came to see us on Saturday and that's when we reverted back to our college antics.

 Kenz brought home a souvenir for Leslie. A doll that, "Looks just like her..."

 Kenz loves flashing the peace sign in pictures. I can't help but get my peace sign going when she's around.

What are the former girls of Stadium Way #49 known for? Being awkward. We have come to embrace it. And come to love pictures that enhance our awkwardness:

Our first few months together we always put our fingers together when we were bonding. It was our favorite thing to do and it's lasted through the years.

It was fun to have a roommate reunion. I hope there are many more to come.