Lucky Number 8

Family Night

2012-01-30T20:04:00.001-07:00

We were never good at doing Family Night as a childless married couple. But now that Eli's joined our family and is getting older, we've been a little better about it.

The first Monday in December we got in the Christmas spirit by drawing festive pictures.

Last week we made Eli's family tree. It's hard to find activities that don't go over a toddler's head. I didn't have high hopes for him understanding genealogy, but he actually loved pointing to whoever we told him to point to and always loves to scribble with a crayon.

Tonight's family home evening went over all of our heads as our activity evolved to throwing Beanie Babies onto the fan. It was deemed the most fun Family Home Evening yet. Appropriate for all ages.

So Mom, when Eli starts chucking things at your fan, just remember he learned it at Family Home Evening.

The Disney Temple

2012-01-29T16:31:00.001-07:00

Guess who has now been to nursery two successful times in a row...

Several months ago I went through our house and showed Eli the pictures of temples we have on display. Since then Eli has grown to love temples. Anything resembling a temple gets him screaming and jumping for joy. I love hearing him screeching "Temple! Temple!" at the top of his lungs. Especially when I'm not expecting it. Like when I put on a movie for him the other day and this "temple" was on the big screen.

When Eli's not shrieking about temples he's usually shrieking about Jeff. Whenever Jeff is home he has a little shadow following him around. Whenever Jeff isn't home Eli wanders around mournfully mumbling, "Dada work."

Eli and Jeff are so adorable together. I just read a book (yes. I read now.) called "Raising Boys" (yes. I've accepted my fate.) and it talks about how important dads are in a boy's life. I'm grateful my boys have such a great example to look up to and I'm amazed to already see the difference it makes when Jeff spends time with Eli.

Eli's other favorite thing to say lately is, "Oh my!" It cracks me up. "Oh my!" is his reaction to everything and he varies his tone to the situation. He uses it when he first sees us in the morning, when he drops something on the ground or when he's excited. I love it.

We love our little Eli and all his quirks. He's always up to something and he always keeps us laughing.

Birthday Bonanza

2012-01-27T13:17:00.001-07:00

My birthday was a day of highlights and unfortunately lowlights. Here's the story:

I woke up to the smell of Jeff making me homemade chocolate-chip pancakes. Did you know homemade pancakes are 100% better than boxed mix? It's true. And Jeff found a winning recipe on Allrecipes.com.

We sent Jeff off to work and Eli was super good while I got ready for the day. And then our day took a turn for the worse when I attempted to buckle him into his carseat to go to the library. It was the wrestling match of the century. Luckily I eventually won the battle and we set out on our errands for the day.

Eli loves the library and I had a book on hold that had just become available. I was so giddy to find a little peace and solitude in the walls of the library to start my birthday morning. I got Eli out of his carseat and he ran to the front door. I tried to open the door to enter my haven only to find we had arrived 20 minutes before they opened.

I had planned to stop at the fabric store as well, so I just decided to reroute and go to the fabric store first, but I wasn't excited for the extra battles of strapping Eli to his carseat. Never had I been more jealous of my mom who often tells me frivolous safety precautions like carseats didn't exist in her child rearing years.

After once again removing Eli from his restraint, we got to the door of the fabric store and saw a "Closed" sign there to greet us. I almost cried. I started to turn around but decided to try the door just in case they forgot to flip the sign that day. Yes. Sweet victory was mine as I entered my latest favorite shopping facility.

But my victory was a short celebration as Eli, seemingly unprovoked, had a screaming hissy fit as soon as we walked through the door. I ignored him and all the people who were staring. He eventually pulled himself together and we successfully got exactly what I wanted (and at 40% off!).

After yet another carseat battle, we made our way back to the library. Right after we walked in, I heard a group of people singing "Happy Birthday." We happened to go during the story time just as they were singing to all the kids who were having a birthday that week. I felt honored.

Eli ran around like a crazy person, and since story time was going on we couldn't look through the kid books. We made it a quick trip.

When we got home I let Eli play in the car for a few minutes while I read a few pages of my book. At one point I looked up at him and noticed he had a bloody nose? It was hardly bleeding but it's still never a good feeling to see blood coming from your kid. I decided it was time for lunch and a nap after the day's...excitement.

Eli slept perfectly long enough for me to sew a new cover for one of his window seat cushions. Then he woke up and in no time Jeff was home to take us out to dinner to celebrate.

Winger's was my restaurant choice. Partly because I thought the popcorn would help keep Eli entertained...

But I mostly chose it for the Asphalt Pie. Yummmm.

Happy Birthday to me.

Eli continued being a wild child.

So we ate fast and enjoyed our pie at home.

After we scarfed down my birthday pie, two of my friends from high school came by to wish me a happy birthday. So cute of them.

It was also cute of them to bring me a dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme along with a few other goodies.

Jeff and I ended the night by watching "Moneyball" together.

My birthday celebrations continued into Thursday as my Mom and sister wanted to treat me to lunch. I only ate four donuts for breakfast since I wanted to make sure I was hungry by lunch time...

I gave Eli a donut and a green smoothie for breakfast and I was completely shocked to see he slurped down the smoothie before he even touched the donut. He really does love those things!

We had a nice lunch at Olive Garden. That salad is always extra delicious when I'm pregnant.

Becky, "Princess Brooke," Caroline and Spencer joined in on the fun.

It was another good birthday despite the tantrums. Thanks to everyone who made it special for me!

The Great Escape

2012-01-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

I wasn't planning on even trying to put Eli in a toddler bed until a few months after #2 gets here.

Who knows what Eli'd do if he was given free range of an entire room after the lights went out at night?

Well. Turns out we know what he'd do.

Because we just so happened to buy a toddler bed on a whim today. And we just so happened to be so excited about it that we cleaned it and put a certain cute chevron quilt on it -- just to see what it would look like. Then Eli started freaking out in his new room because he was so excited. He was running in circles, pretending to snore on his new bed, screaming in delight, kissing the walls. He loved it. What kind of parents would we be if we didn't take advantage of our little one's utter excitement to grow up and enter the world of cageless sleeping?

Jeff read Eli his bedtime stories while Eli ran laps around the room. Then Jeff turned the lights off and before he was even out the door, Eli was out of his bed clicking buttons on his space heater. We heard beeping for fifteen minutes.

At least he can't open doors. I thought. There's only so much a toddler can do in a room without any toys.

Then I heard the door knob rattle. Sucker. I thought. It's a good thing we're training him to sleep in his room before he learns how to open doors.

Then I saw it. Well, I saw him. Running towards me with a book screaming excited nonsense. Probably baby talk for, "Hey Mom! Look at me! I just made your worst nightmare come true!" He was so proud.

(That picture was taken after his nap (in a crib) today. I always know he's slept good when he greets me with this hairstyle.)

Let's just say we won't be trying the toddler bed again until a few months have passed and a few door knob covers have been purchased.

Nesting

2012-01-19T00:11:00.001-07:00

Every Tuesday morning when I enter a new week of my pregnancy, I faithfully watch two pregnant ladies' vlogs. Why this brings me so much joy I don't know. Maybe it's because they tell me things like, "27 weeks pregnant! That's officially the third trimester!" When all other internet sources tell me I still have a week or two left before I can go celebrating my entrance into third trimester uncomfortableness.

For the two hours I thought I was already in my third trimester, I thought I had better do another pregnancy update. I've already given up on the weekly pictures I so diligently took with my first pregnancy. But I did muster up the energy to straighten my hair today for my "third trimester" shot:

I have had almost no cravings with this pregnancy. Kind of sad because I love hearing funny pregnancy cravings.

I was just thinking how not paranoid I am with this pregnancy compared to my first. I still sleep on my stomach. I am not nearly as diligent at taking my prenatals, I've painted walls, gotten an x-ray, eaten lunch meat and plenty of cookie dough. Hopefully, despite my neglect, we still get another smart, healthy baby...

I didn't document my weight gain with Eli, so I want to document it with this one. I didn't gain any weight for the first...16 weeks. Then in two weeks I gained 15 pounds! But I haven't gained any since? What?? Does anyone else pack on their pregnancy weight all at once?

Besides heartburn, my biggest pregnancy symptom has been nesting! This week I've felt like there is so much that needs to be done. Suddenly all the walls and doors look filthy, closets look cluttered and don't even get me started on all the rearranging that needs to be done to get all the rooms in order before April.

Working on Eli's new room has been a fun but daunting project. After weeks worth of nights and many nap times spent hunched over my sewing machine, I finally finished the quilt for Eli's bed.

I love it! (And it was surprisingly easy to make.)

Eli loves it, too. Ever since Jeff painted the wall, whenever I tell Eli to go to his room, this is the room he goes to.

Sometimes he even feels the need to show the room his love with kisses.

Finished. Yay. I might get some sleep again.

This is the back. I kind of hate the back and the evolution of it is a long, boring story that basically came down to a shortage of fabric and my indecisiveness.

Happy (almost) third trimester to me! Now who wants to come scrub some baseboards?

Going Green

2012-01-13T14:07:00.002-07:00

Once I got off the treadmill mid-workout to eat a Starburst. Yeah. That was two days ago. And after that low point in my exercising career which I am going to blame purely on pregnancy, I decided to turn over a new leaf. A green leaf. Called spinach.

It all started over the summer when my mom introduced me and Eli to the Green Smoothie. She ever so methodically made these spinach smoothies disguised with fruit each week just before I arrived to mow the lawn. "Here Sarah," she'd tempt, "have a smoothie before you go out." Gah! I'd smell it and quickly tell her I'd already eaten breakfast.

When I'd come back inside from mowing the lawn she'd tell me tales of Eli scarfing down the green slush, begging for more. Yeah right. I'd think. Eli doesn't eat vegetables to save his life.

Once my lawn mowing days ended, I was spared the weekly persuasion from my mother to down the green slime. Until Jeff came home from work last week telling me all about this awesome idea someone told him at work to put vegetables in a smoothie. Not again.

I decided to humble myself and support my husband in his ambition to be a healthier eater. I bought frozen fruit and extra spinach during my last (tantrum free) trip to Wal-Mart. Then I came home and cringed as I made one of those dreaded smoothies for me and Eli for lunch.

Much to my surprise, the smoothie was delicious! I put in blueberries, strawberries, bananas, apple juice and just enough spinach to not even be able to taste it but to turn Eli's clothes green wherever he spills. I seriously couldn't even sleep last night because I was so excited to have another smoothie for breakfast this morning.

I really do think some of it goes in his mouth.

So there you have it. Our conversion to vegetables in a blender. Of course, we've only done this twice so far, but it gets Eli (and me) to eat vegetables, so I think the green smoothie will be around our house for the long haul. Here's to a healthier, greener 2012!

Return of the Happy Baby

2012-01-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

Eli has significantly redeemed himself since this post. Although, I haven't tried to take him back to Wal-Mart since then.

We woke up on Saturday to a ton of snow! I love these pictures of Eli looking at all the snow.

Bundled and adorable to play in the snow.

When Eli has something he knows he's not supposed to have (a pen in this case), he always runs to his favorite hiding spot between the couch and the wall and thinks we won't know what he's up to over there.

Yesterday Eli and I spent the whole day cooking. He loves to help me cook and taste my creations along the way. We made blueberry muffins in the morning and chicken pot pie in the evening. He also did my workout video with me and helped me fold laundry! We had a productive day with NO tantrums!!

Eli's favorite toy is the bottom part of my mixer. He loves to spin it around and around. Yesterday I walked in the living room and saw him sitting like this and saying, "Car! Car!" Look at his imagination go.

Something doesn't quite belong...

I love a happy baby! Here's to hoping the rest of the week is just as pleasant.

Jabber Mouth

2012-01-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

My brother Abe loved the video I made of Eli's first words and has requested another. Luckily Eli was very cooperative yesterday during lunch and I was able to get him to perform. Enjoy!

Terrible Twos Make an Unwelcome Visit

2012-01-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

I just finished a Google search on dealing with temper tantrums while I ate ice-cream straight out of the carton. That's a good glimpse into my day so far. I guess I was under the wrong impression that I had five more months of a sweet toddler before terrible twos set in.

Yesterday Eli and I went to Wal-Mart for what turned out to be the most stressful shopping experience of my life. Eli screamed as if he was in excruciating pain the whole time we were there. People actually stopped just to stare at the two of us. I smiled the whole time to give the impression I had the situation under control. I tried to hold Eli to calm him down, to which he stiffened his whole body -- making it impossible to hold him any way other than horizontally. That wouldn't work. So I put him back in the cart to which he kicked me and flailed his arms at everything within reach. That wouldn't work either. I resorted to plopping him in the basket portion of our cart which did work. Until he found all his favorite foods down there with him and began tearing into cracker boxes and biting through yogurt lids. Never have I hated Wal-Mart more than yesterday.

Today he's followed suit, but I've kept us confined from the judging eyes of Wal-Mart shoppers. And besides, all is well now that Eli's down for his nap and I'm able to think of all the cute things he's been doing in between his tantrums.

When we ask Eli what his name is, he says, "Name." When we say, "Say Eli." He still says, "Name."

His "No"s have evolved to "No way!"s.

He got quite attached to Jeff over the Christmas break. We went to Chuck-A-Rama a few nights ago and every time Jeff got up to get food Eli called out, "Dada! Daddy! Dad!" until he got back. Perhaps Eli's temper is flared up this week because he's suffering from separation anxiety.

When he called out for me yesterday, I'm pretty sure he yelled Sarah.

Sometimes he will come hug or kiss us unprovoked. There's nothing sweeter.

He can't say Grandma or Grandpa to save his life, but he's really good at saying Carson (our tentative name for #2). It's adorable.

As for #2, here's a belly shot:

I'm so relieved Jeff finished the painting during his time off. I didn't want to deal with assembling the new room after #2 arrives, and painting was the most overwhelming part of the new room process.

Next time I'm trying to be inspired for room decor, remind me not to be inspired by an obscure colored rug and that I should instead choose a bedspread to inspire me. That would have made my life a lot easier. True, I wouldn't have been able to get so much use out of my new sewing machine, but I also wouldn't have had to make thousands of trips to the fabric store to try to create a quilt.

Mind you, I really don't even know how to make a quilt. Mind you again, I'm making a quilt with designs on each side because I can't figure out what kind of quilt would look good with striped walls. Gah.

Here's the truly quilted side so far. I fell victim to the trendy chevron pattern. Which I'm regretting now because it looks like Charlie Brown's shirt.

Eli seemed to like it.

For a minute. And then he scowled at it.

Here's the other side. I think I want to put cars on this side and write on it, "Beep Beep" and other carish phrases. But until I figure out how one would go about writing on fabric with fabric, I'll stick to the patchwork on the flip side.

Here's to hoping I didn't waste Eli's whole nap blogging so I can get some more sewing done (and maybe even get dressed for the day)!

Eli's Earned His Stripes

2011-12-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

Not many people realize the extra benefit of being married to an accountant -- when you need to paint stripes on a wall, they are very good at calculating the measurements and making sure the lines are oh so straight. Welcome to Eli's new stripey room:

We're going to have his toddler bed against this wall and probably pick up an old dresser and paint it a fun color. Then the rest of the walls are going to be the grey below with pictures and shelves and curtains in the green and orange.

Now someone reassure me this is going to be cute once it's all put together.

Christmas: Everything in Between

2011-12-27T20:01:00.007-07:00

Here are all the rest of the pictures that didn't fall into the stereotypical boy/girl categories. Poker night. Laura won.

One day I tried to take a nap three times but things kept interfering. Turns out it's hard to get some shut eye in a house full of people. Later in the week, Mary found the house quiet and took advantage of the peace to slip upstairs for a nap. Jeff devised the perfect child deterrent to keep Mary and Eli asleep that afternoon.

The deterrent worked even better than expected. As soon as the kids saw the tape, they forgot why they were looking for Grandma and got to work trying to deter their parents from the basement.

Bryan (aka Lieutenant Commander) and Celeste looking at Christmas lights.

David (aka Commander and Chief) and Mary guiding us through the Cedar City Christmas light hot spots.

Jeff and I snuck away one night for a Dairy Queen run. The great part about having so many people in one house is there's always someone to babysit!

Snow day. Eli loved watching the 4-wheeler pull the kids around the playground.

Jeff seemed to be sporting some new accessory every time I saw him.

Santa Claus came to town.

Mary had the kids sing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" for her talent at the Christmas Tea and Recital. She put all the grandkids' names into the beginning of the song and it turned out really cute.

Here's video of Eli dancing to Mary's talent. I'm not quite sure where he learned his signature dance move.

The program. Courtesy of Laura.

The tea. Courtesy of Jeff.

Ben's signature Wassel pose.

David and Mary in their festive shirts.

Sibling gift exchange. This year we had a yard sale/D.I. Christmas. Bryan and Celeste gave Ben and Tana an art board and an air compressor.

We gave Laura and Ben an ice-cream machine. And yes. We did use it before we gave it to them. We had to make sure it worked...

Laura and Ben gave us two lamps, two puzzles and a funny book about being a good mom. Score.

Bryan and Celeste got a book, a dutch oven pan and a little burner.

Eli gave Kaelynn a glow-in-the-dark paint kit.

Kaelynn gave Eli a road rug with cars.

Cookies laid out for Santa.

Dirk got to one before Santa could. I love this picture. I want Dirk to have a word bubble that says, "What's the big idea?"

After replacing the missing cookie, Santa left his mark!

Eli's stocking.

Pretty tree.

Here are the boys eating breakfast Christmas morning in their matching pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa. So cute. They hadn't seen their stockings yet. Austen was dying.

The mad dash.

Santa made Dirk and Austen's wishes come true as they saw Santa brought them each a bike.

Eli mostly liked the bikes, too. But he did look at what he got for half of a second.

This picture makes me happy. They are cute. And Christmas is fun.

Eli's presents.

All of our presents.

Christmas dinner. I believe in crock potting ham from now on.

As soon as we got home we put our new flannel sheets on the bed. It's a good thing, too, because we didn't set our thermostat to the right temperature when we got home so the house got down to 50 degrees while we were asleep. Eli has a space heater in his room, so he didn't know the difference. I woke up with a freezing nose and super warm toes and didn't even realize it got so cold until morning. So thanks for the sheets, David and Mary! I'm sure it will save us money on our gas bill and they are so soft and comfy.

Eli was happy to be home to a place where he didn't have to fight over toys and hit babies anymore.

Whew. That's the last of it. We had such a fun week and we hope everyone had a merry Christmas!

Christmas: Girls Will Be Girls

2011-12-27T10:06:00.001-07:00

Mary was so brilliant to create a schedule for the week. We were each assigned days to cook, clean and think of an activity. It was a great way to get everyone involved in keeping the week running smoothly.

First activity was decorating gingerbread houses. Here's Tana making the frosting.

Here I am posing weirdly with my gingerbread house.

Mary could decorate gingerbread houses for a living she's so good.

Celeste made a darling red and white house.

Laura coordinated the sticker activity and a movie one afternoon. Unfortunately for Eli our activities usually started at 12:00...right during his nap time...so he missed out on most of the organized playing.

Laura also had the kids make these fun art projects to hang on the window. Kaelynn was punching designs through papers all week.

One night after the kids went to bed, we found ourselves huddled around our computers scrolling through the Pinterest home page. Curse you and your luring ways, Pinterest.

Making sugar cookies for Santa:

We put our Pinterest research to good use as we attempted the waterfall braid on each other.

Our finished hair creations:

Photo shoot.

Here we are pretending to be interested in what our husbands spent the week doing.

This is my favorite thing that happened all week. My Christmas presents were: a cookbook, sheets, a can opener, tupperware, maternity clothes and a sewing machine. It was a domestic Christmas.

This was our Christmas dinner table setting. So pretty.

Thanks to the girls, we had an organized, tasty and beautified Christmas.

Christmas: Boys Will Be Boys

2011-12-26T22:34:00.001-07:00

We spent the week of Christmas with Jeff's family and we had a hoot hollerin' time. I took over 300 pictures while we were down there, so I felt the need to separate my pictures into activities the boys did versus activities the girls did. We'll start with a cute boy happy to be on his way to grandma and grandpa's house:

Followed by three boys happy to be smushed on a couch ooing and aahhing over electronic devices.

The younger boys also enjoyed their electronics. Dirk and Caleb played the electric piano while Eli watched Tyler and Austen play the Wii.

We did activities every day and this activity was making a holiday sticker scene.

One day the boys went down to help Ben C.'s dad move everything out of his garage. They were all able to dig through the old tools and knick knacks to see if anything struck their fancy. Meanwhile, the wives were home worrying about what sort of machinery we'd have to find a place for in our houses. Jeff proudly walked in holding an Eli-sized chair up in the air as his prize. I was impressed with his find.

David and Mary received some meat to turn into jerky from one of their neighbors. Bryan and Jeff made sure the jerky was made immediately so they could munch on it all week.

Poker night is pretty serious in the Excell home.

Grandpa Excell has a way with his grandkids. Eli chose him over me every time.

One night we went around to look at Christmas lights. That was the night after we had to go buy an emergency binky at 2:30 in the morning. Eli does not acclimate well to sleeping in new places we have recently discovered.

Here's a riddle for you: How do you look at Christmas lights with 18 people in three different cars and still make it feel like you're all together? Walkie talkies. You know, I expected the boys to be pretty good at the walkie talkie lingo seeing as their Dad is a retired police officer who taught them a thing or two about the coded language. But those boys were cracking me up as they updated each other on our "missions" and "targets" throughout our tour of the town.

Another fun activity: Snow day!

Um. Hello cute baby bundled up in snow gear for the first time this year. I will take many pictures of you.

Well did you really expect us to just play in the snow when the boys had the means to make a sleigh roller coaster ride for the kids?

Another one of Eli with Grandpa Excell. They're just too cute together.

Dirk fell asleep at 6:00 one night. Too bad for him it was the night Santa made a visit. After several nights of Eli waking up at the mere sound of a doorknob turning, I was jealous to see Dirk couldn't be woken. Tana tried with all her might to get him to open his eyes for his sit on Santa's lap, but instead Dirk just snuggled up to Santa and fell into a deeper sleep.

Eli. Not so much. He was shaking in terror for a good 10 minutes after his Santa encounter.

On Christmas Eve the cousins did their gift exchange. The boys went crazy for this tool set Grandma and Grandpa gave Dirk.

The Excell boys continued their Christmas Eve tradition of playing a video game all (day and) night. This year was Diablo.

Jeff found Bubble Tape in his stocking Christmas morning and took a big bite out of it. I have always kind of wanted to do that, but I instead lived vicariously through him and enjoyed my Bubble Tape in smaller portions.

Jeff and Bryan both got new headphones from their sweet wives for Christmas. You know you're a nerd when...

I spent the morning after Christmas with four little boys at a bounce house in St. George. This is what Eli looks like right after he hits a small child. Eli had to go to bed suddenly Christmas Eve after several timeouts for hitting Axton every time he passed him. Every time Eli was in timeout he said, "Hit baby. Ha ha ha."

We were hoping a little sleep would help him lose his urge to smack babies and he'd be back to his sweet self Christmas morning. No. He had three timeouts in the time it took us to unwrap presents. And he should have had a few more at the bounce house.

The boys were in heaven with their electronics, secret language, four-wheeled toys, sleep, tools and fists. Stay tuned for how the girls kept busy...

Fashionista

2011-12-13T21:50:00.003-07:00

Do you know I hate fashion blogs? This probably has something to do with my inability to buy clothing items that aren't a necessity. It also probably has something to do with me not understanding any of the vintage trends that are corroding modern day life. Then when you add in my detest for myspace-esque photos, it's easy to see that the fashion blogging world was not made for me.

Then regular bloggers started impersonating fashion blogs every now and then by posting pictures they took of themselves wearing trendy outfits in full-length mirrors. And I kept finding myself accidentally stumbling across girls in mostly weird outfits trying to show the internet how awesome their clothes are. But every once in a while I'd see something cute and wish I never saw it because it made me think maybe I could pull it off too. When really. I probably couldn't.

For example, I purchased my first scarf today. I had to buy it fast so I didn't have time to talk myself out of it. Then I told my sister about my purchase and she demanded I post about it because she happens to have the same mother I do who never taught us about scarves and jewelry and the like. Only my sister knew just how awkward I would feel attempting to garnish my body with a scarf. And only she would understand the sincerity in my buyer's remorse as I confessed I didn't even know how to tie my new accessory.

It must be the scarf that made me pose in front of a mirror with my camera just like all those shirtless boys on myspace. I hate and I love so much that I did this.

Hello. I'm 22 weeks pregnant. And I can't take a picture of myself without my eyebrows up. Oh. And don't you just love my scarf? Would you believe me if I told you I'd never worn one before tonight? I didn't think so.

Eli can sense photo-shoots happening these days. America's Next Top Baby Male Model.

This is my favorite scarf tying variation. Especially in a tight shirt with a round belly.

Jeff came in shortly after this to which I giggled uncontrollably, kicked off my high heels, ripped the scarf off my neck and hid the camera behind my back. He still knew just what I was up to.

If anyone has name suggestions for my fashion blog, I'd love to hear them. I think I'm a natural.

Eli is Cute: Photo Evidence

2011-12-12T22:18:00.001-07:00

Sometimes Eli sleeps in until 9:15 in the morning. And then he takes a four and a half hour nap. And then we put him to bed at his normal bedtime (7:30) and he chats to himself in his room for two hours. I've appreciated the early Christmas present of extra free time today. I even explored the world of Pinterest that I swore I'd never become a part of.

Anyway, back to the boy. He's so cute. Whenever Jeff and I talk about Eli, we can't help but smile and giggle at all of his cuteness. Even though sometimes he climbs in the sink while I'm trying to get ready in the morning just to slobber all over my toothbrush. But it still ends up being too cute to be mad about.

So I let him have Jeff's toothbrush too as I hope he doesn't figure out how to turn the water on while he's brushing.

Eli also has a fascination with makeup. Which he calls "pretty." Maybe I gave him his own makeup sponge so he would stop stealing mine.

If you ask me, he's just as beautiful without makeup.

Every night we read three books as a part of our bedtime routine. Last Friday Eli wouldn't let me put his pajamas on him because he was too eager to jump on his chair and read. He looked too adorable in his long-sleeved onesie, flipping through books, to not make a mini-photo-shoot out of it. It wasn't until an hour after Eli's bedtime that Jeff came wandering in wondering what kind of mischief we were getting into.

I loved the book resting on his legs with just his little feet poking out.

He has to point and name everything he knows. His favorite finds are bugs, bubbles, mouse, cat and whatever else his unrecognizable jabber means.

For some reason I'm a sucker for babies on their tiptoes? Especially when they have chubby little thighs to hoist up.

This was when Jeff came in. Eli always has to show off for Jeff. So he bravely sat on the armrest for his Dad's approval.

And then he did this?

Which prompted Jeff to tickle attack Eli. And then send him straight to bed.

We love our Eli and all of his cuteness makes me even more excited for another cute boy to join our family.

Popcorn Practicing

2011-12-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

After seeing my child was the only one in nursery who didn't know the motions to "The Popcorn Song," I knew I was failing as a mother. We've spent the last week singing about popcorn. Eli finally has the motions down...just not quite in the right order. (My favorite part of the video is him wiggling his finger for the line "it isn't really so, but it seems to be." Second favorite -- his attempt to form his fingers into binoculars at the very beginning.)

It was perfect for Eli to see Grandpa Thomas perform the song, complete with motions, as he popped popcorn for the kiddos last night.

I'm proud to say Eli joined the rest of the kids in singing "The Popcorn Song" today at nursery. I should know. I was there singing along, too.

Some Days Are Productive

2011-12-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

Wow guys. Some days I really can do it all. Perhaps nesting has kicked in already? There has to be some outside force that has motivated me today.

Because I normally don't wake up and make pancakes for the family. And then start laundry. And then clean the car. And then vacuum the whole house -- including under the couch cushions. And then read Eli a few extra books before his nap. And then organize the pantry after six months of telling myself I'd do it. And then finish laundry. And then cook a cheesecake with the extra minutes in between. And then finish wrapping Christmas presents. And then finish up the ornament wreath I started yesterday. And then sit down to blog about it all?!?

Nesting I tell ya. Only nothing I did today has prepared me for #2. Other than I plan to fatten him up with cheesecake this evening.

Eli's clearly been cooperative today. He likes to help me with my cooking and cleaning so that helps. Crock pot dinners and Christmas music help too.

Here are pictures of the things worth documenting:

(Eli taking after his mother plus our clean pantry in the back. And yeah, that's clean in comparison to its previous state.)

Wreath hung with a blue hanger that you should ignore. I can't figure out how to mask it yet.

In my ambitious state, I thought I could get Eli to sit perfectly still and smile at the camera for a picture with the presents. Turns out I really can't do it all.

Also note: we're glad Eli doesn't fully understand Christmas yet so we don't have to go through the trouble of trying to wrap that road rug.

After a first trimester of daily naps and barely being able to peel myself off the couch, I'm hoping this "nesting" keeps up for the next 5 months.

Journeys In Motherhood

2011-12-04T14:30:00.003-07:00

Being pregnant has me reminiscent of Eli's younger life. I try to tell myself I'll be able to deal with a newborn again because I've successfully raised one newborn into a toddler. Despite the reassurances to myself, I am still a bit nervous to have such a tiny, fragile, neck muscleless baby in our house again.

I've been remembering a few of my embarrassing motherhood moments, hoping I've learned not to make those same mistakes twice. Like for instance:

The time I was at Eli's 2-day old check-up. Eli had lived his whole born life naked inside a billibed up to this point. So when the nurse came in and told me to undress Eli, I hopelessly looked at my Mom and told her I didn't know how to take Eli's shirt off. I could feel her worry for Eli's upbringing as she showed me the proper way to squeeze a baby's ginormous head out of a tiny neck hole.

Or maybe the time it was Eli's first night home and I spent the entire night staring at him while googling every imaginable problem I convinced myself he was suffering from.

And how it took me a week to realize I didn't have to be completely shirtless to nurse a baby.

What would really bother me is when I'd do something that seemed normal to me and then someone would say, "You must be a first-time mom." I'd be annoyed the world could so clearly see I was one of the stereotypical, overprotective, confused, helpless, paranoid postpartum.

One way or another Eli and I managed to figure each other out. Days of being a first-time mom became buried in experience and understanding of the inner workings of a child. I soon became so confident in my child rearing that I found myself giving advice to fresher batches of new moms.

Just at the height of my confidence, my baby turned 18 months old and I was once again reminded that I'm still a first-time mom as I watched in confusion while Eli cried uncontrollably at the sight of toys, laughing children, marshmallows and friendly teachers.

Yes. Eli hates nursery.

I could see through the smiles of my fellow ward members as they watched me bang my head on the wall outside the nursery door waiting for Eli's screaming to stop. They were labeling me a first-time mom and feeling sorry for my cluelessness. I'm sure of it. Then I banged my head even harder at my mothering relapse.

Heaven help me if we're still in relapse when #2 makes his debut.

Felt Like A Tree

2011-12-02T21:31:00.002-07:00

After discovering the Excell home was going to be treeless this December, my friend Leslie became outraged. Apparently Christmas can't exist without a Christmas tree. Just ask the Grinch.

I wasn't too worried about not having a tree this year. We'll be spending most of the Christmas season elsewhere and I can't bring myself to pay full price for one of those suckers.

My feelings changed today after I wrapped all of Eli's presents and wandered around the house trying to find a place for them. It was then that I decided we probably needed some type of Christmas greenery in our home.

To my delight, I got a text from Leslie with a website address that had a fun tree idea. I got to work chopping our Christmas tree.

And Eli had fun decorating. And redecorating. (I didn't notice his pants were falling off at the time. So sorry if I've left you, too, with the urge to pull up his oversized pants in all these pictures.)

This idea is brilliant. Completely. Brilliant. First, Eli can't knock over the tree. Second, he can't break the ornaments. Third, after we get a real tree, we can still put this bad boy up as a play toy to maybe help the kiddos keep their hands off the real tree...or maybe it will backfire and teach them that Christmas trees are toys? I'll let the Grandmas deal with Eli's confusion this year.

Eli giggled and screamed and jumped and did a lap around the house every time he successfully placed an ornament on the tree. Adorable.

It's hard to take a decent picture of him these days. Pretend he was smiling and looking at the camera here.

There you have it. A real Christmas in the Excell home.

More Pregnant Awkwardness

2011-11-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

With Eli I wrote about feeling awkward during pregnancy. Here's the trouble this go round:

I feel weird because I don't really know who knows I'm pregnant, and I can't really tell if people can tell I'm pregnant by looking at me yet. My biggest issues with this are at church.

I want to announce over the pulpit that I'm pregnant because I hate being the victim of critical eyes wondering if the holidays got the best of me. Which they did. But not as bad as it appears they have.

At every ward gathering, I find myself fighting the urge to proclaim to every person within earshot that I'm with child. Which I hate doing anyway. It's challenging to casually slip my pregnancy status into a conversation with someone I barely know but I see all the time so I want to explain myself to them. It's a terrible pickle to be in. Speaking of pickles....I'm pregnant!...

That's about as smooth as all my announcements have gone.

Until today at pack meeting. I finally got the chance to talk casually about my pregnancy with one of the den leaders when she asked my due date. I was a little surprised because I hadn't told any of the cub scout people that I'm pregnant. I've told a few people in the ward, but I couldn't decide if she heard it through neighborhood chit chat or if I have just finally gotten round enough to give people the courage to approach me about it.

It must have been the curse of me not being able to gracefully announce I'm pregnant that left me replying, "Um. I'm not pregnant."

I don't know what came over me. I swore I'd never do that to someone. I told myself even if someone asked me when I was due and I wasn't pregnant I'd lie and pretend I was pregnant. That is one of the absolute worst conversations to be a part of, yet there I was. Needlessly inflicting the most horrific conversation on me and a sweet unsuspecting den leader.

For one half of a second there was sheer terror on her face.

But luckily she had enough confidence in her grapevine source or pregnant belly detection skills. Her terror turned to amusement as she nudged me on the shoulder and said, "Oh stop it."

Then we talked of pregnancy and the like. It was the least awkward pregnancy announcement of my life. Maybe I judged the "I'm Not Pregnant" stunt too quickly.

Despite my awkwardness, I have survived half a pregnancy. Unless baby decides to be born after 40 weeks. Which we're kind of hoping is the case. For now anyway.

I've been feeling baby quite a bit lately. I mostly only feel him at night though. During the day Eli's kicks and punches interfere.

I haven't had any cravings recently. I've actually had a tough time with food this whole pregnancy. Food I used to love doesn't sound great anymore. And when something does sound good I find myself having a hard time finishing it. This has been the biggest difference in my pregnancies.

Something I must have forgotten about is being out of breath all the time! I was talking to my brother on the phone the other day. After I walked up five stairs he asked me why I was running. It's bad.

Heartburn has already hit. I never ever have heartburn without a baby growing in my belly. If it's true that heartburn equals babies with a lot of hair (which I read a study saying it is true), then all this esophagus pain might be worth it.

That's all I can think of regarding pregnancy. It's been pleasantly uneventful. Here's a belly comparison between Eli and this baby. I had to flip the picture on the left so that I'm facing the same way. Please excuse the backwards numbers.

Made With Love

2011-11-28T22:35:00.002-07:00

I made a new friend this week. Only she doesn't know that we're friends. Or how much I adore her. Or that she's completely changed my life.

Mel. I'm talking to you. And if you ever actually read this blog post...I might die of embarrassment.

This thing happened to me a few Sundays ago. I had the urge to make brownies but was discouraged to find I didn't have a box of brownie mix. Shucks. You can't make brownies without brownie mix.

Or can you?

I doubtfully looked to Allrecipes.com for a boxless version of brownies. I was stunned to find that brownies can exist without the packaging. And I was even more stunned to find all the ingredients for yummy, gooey brownies were right there at my fingertips. In fact, they were even more delish than any other brownie I'd ever tasted before which resulted in my instant conversion to all things homemade.

I laid awake in bed at night envisioning new food creations. Pizza. Does it exist outside of Little Caesars? Chicken Cordon Bleu. Is that when a chicken eats a pig who's eaten swiss cheese? French Bread. Maybe it doesn't have to be imported?

This is where Mel and I first met. We were introduced through my sister who told me she has yet to be let down by Mel and her scrumptious recipes. I used her blog to menu plan like I've never menu planned before. I was drawn to all the recipes I once thought were impossible to completely home make.

For instance, french bread. I have a habit of making Jeff run to the store solely for french bread in my last minutes of pulling a meal together. It's stressful and inconvenient. But I love my french bread. And I recently found I especially love it homemade. (Imagine I took all these pictures with a nice camera and "plated" them nicely. They would look much tastier.)

To accompany my French Bread: the mysterious Chicken Cordon Bleu plus a vegetable actually seasoned with something.

Not pictured was pizza -- homemade down to the dough, and our new favorite soup now that I've made Taco Soup one too many times.

Tonight's meal was an enchilada pasta. Who's even ever heard of that?!? It was a fun, different meal.

I finished dinner off with lots of cookie dough as I tested out her giant cookie recipe to see if it would be a good neighbor Christmas gift. I'd say that's enough cookie to bring me Christmas cheer.

So Mel, you've changed my life and my outlook on food. Turns out cooking is fun when you're making delicious things. I'm smitten by the concept of creating beautiful meals out of minimally processed items. I love having a fridge full of vegetables and a basket full of fruit. And most of all, I love your easy to follow, gourmet tasting recipes. I'm glad we became friends. Even if this relationship is completely one-sided.

Now if you'd just post a Schlotzky's sandwich recipe we'd really be in business.

Gobble Gobble

2011-11-26T22:20:00.006-07:00

Jeff had Wednesday off work so after Eli's nap we took advantage of the bearable weather for an afternoon at the park.

Eli loves slides. Especially the big ones. He goes down feet first on his belly and I'm fairly certain his face scrapes the whole way down. But he doesn't seem to mind.

First time on a swing. He only fell off once.

Our Thanksgiving was spent at my Grandparents' house with my extended family. Everyone drools over my Grandma's delicious gravy and stuffing.

Excuse my face in all these pictures. I've had a sore throat for the past three weeks and of course it flared up the worst on Thanksgiving. I was super tired all day long and didn't have much of an appetite. It was an annoying day to not want food. Also excuse Eli's rosy cheeks. Maybe he's teething again? Or maybe he is Santa in disguise?

Despite my lack of appetite, my stomach still grew and grew. My Grandma's stuffing is so good it even tastes good when you don't feel like eating.

Our company.

And the other side.

My cousins adore anyone they can tote around and dress up. Sorry #2, but I fear you'll be facing the same dolled-up fate.

The Ward women.

Jeff burned off his Thanksgiving meal by chasing Eli around.

Full and happy.

Now onto dessert. I love me some pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving.

Eli plopped right on my Grandpa's lap in an attempt to get closer to the fire. See. When you take off the hair bow and necklace he really is a boy.

Celebrating November birthdays.

Here's the thing -- we never light candles or sing to the family members who aren't at the party. Sure, we'll mention their birthday, but that's the extent of our efforts for people who don't make their birthday celebration.

Unless of course you're the favorite grandson I guess. Jacob has this long-running joke with my Grandma that he's the favorite grandson. And when she brought out a pie with candles on it just for him, I started to wonder if this special treatment meant he really was the favorite grandson after all!

My Grandma tried to explain that we were singing and candle-lighting for him because his birthday was that day. But I'm still left wondering, and I'm not the only one.

After we sang to the absent Jacob, Ben went up to my Grandma with one arm tightly around her and said, "Now, he's not really your favorite grandson...is he?" It was cute.

After our Thanksgiving meal we went to my parents' house and happened to run into the Golden family! Eli kept trying to talk to Spencer which was the most darling thing ever. When Spencer didn't respond, Eli hopped on a chair for closer communication and found some tasty bananas on his tray to steal.

And lookie here. After a horrible night of Eli being up from 12:00-2:30, we were forced to pull out our emergency binky. Worked like a charm.

Jeff was a doll and took Eli on Friday afternoon so I could go see "The Help" with my Mom. And you better believe we conveniently picked the theater closest to Schlotzky's so we had an excuse to stop by for dinner afterwards.

Today I met up with my dearest Kenzer for some frozen yogurt. Don't judge her because she puts kiwi on her ice-cream. She served her mission in New Zealand and kiwis take her back to her days of skirts and a name tag.

You can however judge her for having an embarrassing stain on her shirt.

After ice-cream I got the urge to decorate for Christmas. I got out the tinsel and lights, put on some Christmas music and gathered the boys to spread Christmas cheer on our house.

Due to budgeting, it's pretty likely we will not have a Christmas tree this year because we're hoping to get one for cheap after Christmas. So we were forced to get creative in our decorating.

Eli loved the lights so much. He especially loved unplugging them and plugging them back in. We quickly realized we couldn't put the lights anywhere out of Eli's reach so we threw those back in the Christmas bag.

After an hour of decorating, this was the extent of our work:

Then Eli spent the next hour doing this...

We're not sure what made him pull this face, but we thought it was hilarious.

Especially when he did it while smiling.

Such a goofball.

Winter Survival Plan

2011-11-20T22:00:00.001-07:00

I've done a lot of regrouping since my last post. I've accepted the fact that winter happens. And lots of moms survive being crammed in their house with kids. Here is my survival plan:

Step 1: Make a lot of baked goods. Let baby "help" and provide him endless samples.

Step 2: Put your bookworm baby's rocking chair close enough to the books so he can climb up and spend hours pulling books off the shelf to "read." Cherish down time.

Step 3: Open blinds to give the illusion you're outside. Hope that baby continues to use the lock on the window as a handle and never figures out how to actually open it. Supervision required.

Step 4: When all else fails, say, "Car!" and watch your child scurry down the stairs and pound on the door to the garage until you let him escape to his favorite winter playground. (Then watch him make this face when he honks the horn.)

Step 5: Self portraits are always a must when boredom strikes. Even babies can be vain sometimes.

Step 6: The endless bath. Perfect for the hour between dinner and bedtime.

Step 7: Swat baby away from dishwasher. Eli's favorite game. He has learned that if the dishwasher is locked, he can turn the dial to turn it on...to which we come running and he finds that hilarious. If the dishwasher isn't locked, he can open it...allowing him to play with all the knives and grimy dishes. He knows if he turns the dial and it doesn't turn on, he can open it. Any advice? This activity keeps us busy all day long.

Step 8: Visit friends, families and Grandmas.

Step 9: TV. It happens. And it happens a lot more in the winter. Picture not included.
Step 10: End every night with a prayer that the winter season won't last long. Even if it really hasn't even officially begun yet.

Sarb Weekend

2011-11-16T12:01:00.003-07:00

Some days I wonder why on Earth we turned down the job offer in Arizona. Like, for instance, every day it's cold here in Utah and I'm stuck at home with a baby whose molars are growing in. He acts like that hurts or something.

You can't blame me for having a tiny bit of a breakdown after three weeks of constant screaming which left me overwhelmed at the thought of being cooped up with a crabby, whiny baby through the upcoming winter months.

And don't even remind me that as my body continues to grow at an incredible rate I won't even be able to get my sanity walks every day that make me feel like I have some control over my weight gain.

And then that incredible growing belly reminds me I'll soon have TWO kids and that gets me all sorts of freaked out on the days when Eli's a handful.

I felt doomed.

So doomed that I resorted to giving Eli his binky back, desperate for a few moments to think about just how doomed I was.

Then Jeff got home and the emotions went flying. I blame pregnancy.

It didn't take him long to figure out I needed some time away to regroup. He dubbed the upcoming weekend "Sarb Weekend" and told me he would take care of all things Eli.

Then I cried because that was the most perfect thing he could do for me. And then I started laughing amid my crying which just sounded like I was sobbing uncontrollably so then I had to tell Jeff I was really just laughing and he could laugh, too. But he didn't laugh and I think he understandably became really concerned for a minute that he was married to such a lunatic. Stupid hormones.

He took Monday off work and I got to spend the day doing all of my most favorite things. I slept in. I walked on the treadmill while watching Grey's Anatomy. And then I spent the rest of the day with my Mom.

First stop: Schlotzky's. It's my cure-all. Not to mention, they've added a nice slice of pickle with every sandwich. They must know Schlotzky's is every pregnant woman's biggest craving.

I guess my mom's not pregnant because she wasn't so excited about the pickle portion of her meal. But she was pleased to find they've also added a cookie portion. Mmmmm.

I watched my stomach grow before my eyes. Seriously. I was huge this day.

Then we went to see a movie. A movie with my most favorite actor by the way. Although Owen wasn't quite as quirky as he usually is which was slightly disappointing. Still a good enough movie though.

Luckily my Mom knew about this "weird liberal theater" in the middle of Salt Lake because all the regular theaters were showing less than interesting movies, and even worse, they were Owen Wilsonless.

By 5:00 I felt relaxed and refreshed and I was already anxious to be home again with my boys. Although, it didn't seem like they missed me all that much.

Thanks Jeff for giving me a little time to myself. Thanks Mom for sponsoring my day away. Now let's all pray I make it through all the snow and freezing weather without another breakdown.

Sports Fans

2011-11-12T20:45:00.001-07:00

Something tells me I'm going to need to change my opinion on the boring game of football.

A Pink and Blue Party

2011-11-07T23:18:00.002-07:00

Thank heavens I stumbled across the idea to do a "Gender Reveal Party" mere weeks before baby's gender revealing ultrasound.

Here's how it works: Ultrasound tech doesn't tell you the gender but rather writes it on a card and seals the envelope. Sealed envelope is given to a noble cake-maker trustworthy enough to conceal a tiny secret for a few hours. Cake-maker ices the middle of the cake with pink or blue frosting, frosts the outside in a neutral color and then removes all evidence. Cake is brought to pregnant girl's house and a party is to be had!

Our cake-maker with the results:

As soon as she teased about opening the envelope in front of me, I got outta there and got my mind on other things -- the over-the-top decorations for the party! So what if I was super anxious all week waiting for the news which caused me to use my nervous energy to get a little elaborate with my party? I think you'll agree my nervous planning was worth it.

I mean, it just would be a gender reveal party without lollipop lips!

And staches for team blue.

I started setting up on Sunday and I kept asking Jeff if it looked cute. By Sunday night every time Eli passed the table he would point and say, "Cu!...Cu!..." I enjoyed the reassurance from my one-year old that my cuteness efforts were appreciated.

Pink and blue balloons? You betcha!

And what do ya know? Before long we had some guests arrive. Here's the Cox crew with pink shirts casting their girl votes.

Bryan and Celeste. Two more girl votes.

Brooke with her special decoration she made for me. Plus a pink shirt.

Golden Fam provided our first blue votes. Dallas wore tan to predict our baby will be a human. I hope he's right.

Jeff was team pink. I wanted to be, but my gut made me put on a blue shirt.

The cake-maker and her sidekick with the big brother. My mom made sure to clarify she had the pink shirt on before she saw what the gender is. One pink. One blue.

My sister-in-law Laura makes chicken salad to die for. It was tasting so good as I was chowing down I didn't even notice chunks of chicken were flying everywhere. I had a chicken piece sitting on my shirt for a good 5 minutes before Laura so kindly informed me I was spewing food. In the wake of all that, my camera got some of the dressing on the lens. I am so sad Melissa and Kyle are blurry! But they still look cute. One pink and one blue.

Here's the beauty that taunted me all through dinner:

Papa John's pizza buffet. Yes please. And, by the way, I'm eating for two.

Here's the reason I couldn't help but wear a blue shirt...the Excells are notorious for their boys! Seven grandsons and one granddaughter on Jeff's side.

At 7:00 we gathered round the kitchen table for a reenactment of our wedding day as we sliced another cake together.

Okay. So I just watched Jeff slice it while I squeeled and squirmed.

After seeing the results, I pretended I was going to mash all that BLUE frosting in his face -- wedding day style.

Always trust a mother's intuition.

My fears of being in Cub Scouts for the rest of my life were confirmed. Which was a hard pill to swallow. But nonetheless, we're excited for our future scout to arrive.

This was Eli all night -- picking up scraps from the floor, stealing other peoples' cakes and smacking babies in the head with toy baseball bats. He's going to be such a good brother.

My theory holds strong that the Excells cannot produce girls. Oh well. The world could use a few more mustaches.

We can't wait to meet you #2! And I hope you like dinosaurs.

I Lost My Camera

2011-11-05T08:57:00.004-06:00

My lack of blogging can be chalked up to our upcoming gender reveal party:

And my camera being forgotten at a family Halloween party:

Where Eli was scared out of his mind by a friendly, bearded leprechaun.

And where ladybugs and zoologists have baby pumpkins.

But luckily I got my camera back when my Mom took me out for her birthday lunch. Don't worry. I generously let her take home the leftover breadsticks as a birthday present.

...the few breadsticks that didn't end up mashed in Eli's mouth.

Eli must have missed the camera, too because he now puts on a show whenever I get it out.

Eli was even happy to see the camera in his face first thing this morning while he was eating his "YOGI" (yogurt).

After he was done eating, he looked out the window at the three inches of snow we got last night and called it bubbles.

Now I just have to keep myself busy until Monday when we find out if more blue or a little pink is in our future. Eek.

Folded Arms and Fire Safety

2011-10-30T14:26:00.002-06:00

We have been trying to teach Eli how to fold his arms for prayers for the past two months. One day I handed him his lunch and he did this before he would eat:

Now he "folds his arms" on demand!

At Pack Meeting Eli was walking around and getting into trouble. He had his back to the front of the room as one of the scouts started the opening prayer. As soon as Eli heard the prayer start, he whipped around to face the front and immediately folded his tiny arms.

And yes. I had my eyes open during the prayer.

I guess I'll do a Pack Meeting update because it went so well!

The theme of the month was Responsibility. Several websites recommended talking about being responsible around fires and discussing fire safety. That seemed like a good enough idea so I went with it.

After much planning and replanning, I finally decided to have them do a fire safety relay. The first race was to find a safe exit. I had four leaders standing behind the boxes marked "Exit." The leaders would alternate which one of them had a fire behind the box so there would be one safe exit and one exit with a fire behind it. The boys had to crawl through the safe exit.

The second race was to stop, drop and roll in a designated area. One boy misunderstood the directions and rolled all the way back to his team which was very amusing to watch...but might have cost his team the win.

The third race was to go to the family meeting area. I had hula hoops there and they had to hula hoop three times and then run back.

The fourth race was to call 911 at your neighbor's house.

And the fifth race was to put out the fire with water from the fire extinguisher. I didn't really want to deal with the mess of actual water so Jeff had the brilliant idea to fill balloons up with flour and call that water. Those balloons are sitting on the chair with the fire extinguisher and then there were fires in the middle that they had to hit with two balloons.

I bought firemen hats at the dollar store for them to wear when it was their turn.

It was so much fun I'm tempted to do a relay every month. You don't think they'd mind, do you?

Let's Talk Baby #2

2011-10-27T16:31:00.003-06:00

Welcome to a pregnancy update of my first trimester. Let's start at the beginning.

Maybe it was August 10th when I took the pregnancy test that showed up positive. Eli had been up for about an hour and he had been happily playing all morning. Jeff and I saw the result and shared the good news with Eli.

"Eli," we said, "you're going to have a baby brother or sister!"

Eli started crying hysterically. Hopefully it's not a foreshadow of things to come.

At four weeks, I was remembering how much I hate the first trimester nausea and food aversions to everything and Jeff was remembering how much he hates to take my picture every week.

I'd say morning sickness was worse with this one than with Eli, but I still never threw up (due to pregnancy) so I guess it wasn't that bad.

As soon as I hit second trimester the morning sickness ended and was replaced with a raging appetite. My stomach can go from being stuffed to growling all in an hour's time.

I have had food aversions to hamburger meat, eggs, and chocolate (sometimes). But most food tastes different to me now and I don't remember that happening with Eli.

My cravings have been almost identical to my first pregnancy. They're very specific and weird so don't laugh: peanut butter toast, cabbage salad, grapefruit, orange jello with mandarin oranges in it, Arby's roast beef sandwiches, Subway sandwiches (Doctor said it's okay), sour gummy worms, cheesy potatoes and that's all I can think of right now.

As one might imagine, we're very anxious to find out the gender of the baby. Specifically because I'm convinced the Excells can't produce girls. I can't help but get the feeling a life of all boys is in my future.

With all this gender anxiety, I may have done a little bit of experimenting with every gender prediction old wives' tale in the book. Shall we look at the results?

Cabbage Test - I will not tell you exactly what I did for this test. My curiosity got the best of me and I'll just say maybe you don't want to drink out of any of our cups until they've all made several cycles through the dishwasher... But the result -- GIRL.

Baking Soda Test - This test has a lot in common with the cabbage test including the result -- GIRL.

Wedding Ring Test - Thread a string through wedding ring or a needle and hold it over pregnant belly. If it waves in circles, girl. Pendulum-like, boy. Results were slightly inconclusive because Jeff has a very steady hand, but we'll say -- GIRL.

Chinese Gender Predictor - An old chart found in some guy's tomb that claims to have a 95% accuracy rating -- GIRL.

Heart Rate - Over 140, girl. At my 14-week check-up baby's heart was beating at 150 -- GIRL.

Acne - More acne during pregnancy is said to be a girl. Lately I feel like I've got my blotchy high school face back, so the result is -- GIRL.

Mother's Intuition - BOY.

We find out in 10 days what we're having. We'll see who's right -- the old wives or the pregnant mom.

PMS

2011-10-25T15:24:00.003-06:00

Well. It's that time of the month again.

I'm crabby, stressed, and my face is breaking out.

I've got a major case of Pack Meeting Syndrome.

Oh. Did you think I meant the other PMS? I'm pregnant you sicko.

This month -- Fire safety. We're doing a relay. This might just be my most boy related activity yet. I hope it goes over well. And I hope I can apply the classroom management skills my sister tried to teach me last night. Heaven help me.

A Spooktacular Weekend

2011-10-24T10:34:00.003-06:00

We went down to Cedar over the weekend and I learned that when Eli has his cousins, a slide and a fun basement, he really doesn't care to see much of his parents.

This picture was taken right after David said, "This is what being a Grandpa is all about." I thought that was cute.

We had to take the new boat out before the weather got too cold. Again, Eli didn't think he needed us around much when he was at the lake.

The water was only a little chilly... But the weather was perfect!

Eli refueled as fast as possible so he could get right back out to the water.

And maybe a little sand made it in his mouth too.

I love these three pictures together:

I was a little nervous to have Eli on the boat, but as long as we were moving he was happy as can be.

Jeff did a little wakeboarding. I love that he and Eli made the same facial expression after getting into the cold water.

It took all my energy to refrain from trying my hand at wakeboarding. It seems like all my boating, roller coaster and hot tubbing opportunities always happen when I'm pregnant. Curses.

The next day was the world famous Excell Spooktacular! Nurse Mary sure can throw a mean party!

The newlywed lumberjacks.

Eli is a traffic cone if you couldn't tell.

Skeleton family.

We had dinner-in-a-pumpkin and hot dog mummies/severed fingers for dinner.

Ben could probably pick up a second job as a face painter.

And then came the attempt to make homemade root beer.

The fog provided good ambience, but it did not provide good root beer.

It wouldn't be the Spooktacular without a little Bingo.

Prizes for the cake walk.

We had a bind with Jeff's costume and I ended up making that vest the hour before the party. Not bad if I do say so myself.

Fish pond. I'm showing off my bump for you here.

Eli got a truck from the fish pond and wouldn't let go of it all night.

And then Eli went unsupervised for a few minutes and he decided he wanted a few cupcakes. So he crawled all over them to find the perfect one.

The next day was church and maybe we slipped Eli into nursery even though he's not quite 18 months yet. I heard him crying in the middle of Relief Society. The nursery leader said he was so tired he kept trying to fall asleep but he just couldn't fall asleep so then he would start screaming. Ha. I held him in Relief Society and he was asleep within five minutes. I guess all that playing with his cousins finally got the best of him.

When we got home, Mary and David cooked a delicious Sunday dinner for us. Last time I made gravy, Jeff told me I'm not very good at making gravy. So I made sure to get in a lesson from his mom on how to perfect my gravy making skills.

And I learned how to make crescent rolls from Celeste.

And then right before we were going to leave, we irritated our husbands just a little bit by requesting a quick photo shoot.

Thanks for the fun weekend Excells!

Rhyme and Reason

2011-10-15T07:59:00.003-06:00

Man, that kid of mine can keep me busy.

His messes are big, his fits are hissy.

He has four teeth and he uses them well.

His diapers greet me with a rancid smell.

Most of his meals end up launched on the floor.

But don't judge him yet without reading more.

Cause his kisses are sweet and genuine.

He can melt your heart with one dimply grin.

We make fools of ourselves to hear him laugh.

He's a splish-splashing show off in the bath.

Often he's babbling while "reading" his books.

He sleeps so sweetly, we sneak many looks.

So on the crazy days when things get rough,

And I'm ready to say, "One is enough!"

I notice my belly -- how much it grew.

To accommodate baby number two.

I guess I'll deal with the fits and messes,

Cause it means more smiles, hugs and kisses.

April 17th is baby's due day.

(Barely after tax season by the way.)

We've been to the doctor and all is well,

We can't wait to meet the newest Excell!

Milk's Favorite Cookie

2011-10-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

I am all for clever advertising. I mean, I'm a marketing major for Pete's sake. I enjoy a fresh way to promote a product, but this is just cruel:

Please tell me our Wal-Mart isn't the only one torturing its milk drinkers.

Mind you, I don't even like Oreos that much. But if I do eat them, I eat them dipped in milk.

When I first saw Oreo's new strategic marketing partner, I smiled and commended them for their cleverness. And then I proudly passed by the Oreos, withstanding temptation.

A weird part of me feels that if my marketing education has taught me nothing more, it has at least taught me to recognize a marketing booby trap when I see one. Thank heavens I am educated enough to recognize my sudden Oreo craving was nothing more than the skilled game of advertisers pulling at my stomach strings. Otherwise they may have gotten me.

I told myself all the way home that I was smarter than those pesky Oreo people infesting my milk. I'd simply tear the bottom part of the label off and all thoughts of that heavenly sandwich cookie would be forgotten. Surely they would at least leave a serrated edge to save America from weeks of cookie craving torment.

The advertising world is a crueler place than I thought it was.

And of course when your husband comes home to the tauntingly realistic picture of a beautiful Oreo splashing into ice cold milk he has to go to the store to indulge his cravings. And of course you can't stop him. Because even though you withstood the temptation at the store, you're not going to stand in the way of someone handing the temptation to you.

And that's how we bought Oreos for the first time in our whole marriage. And that's why we're cursing Great Value for allowing such a ploy to taunt their customers. And that's what caused this chocolate bearded baby to visit our house this afternoon.

He's Lucky He's Cute

2011-10-09T14:46:00.000-06:00

I have this fear my computer is going to crash and take all my cute pictures down with it. That's why whenever I notice I have a bunch of unposted cute pictures, I find some excuse to post them to the internet -- my backup hard drive.

This is how I usually find Eli sitting as he waits for me to come get him out of his crib.

He loves glasses. It's clear why. He's a major stud in them.

New shoes. Don't ask me how much I spent on them. Cuteness overruled reason.

I'm mad this is blurry. But I still love it.

I love when the sun shines on his eyes and they turn super blue.

He is most proud of himself after climbing into his beanie baby bucket.

This was the first time I saw him fake laugh while covering his mouth.

Real laugh.

Now I'll just have to look back at all these pictures when people at church remind me, "You've got your hands full with him don't you?" and, "I have four boys and none of them have had as much energy as yours." and, "He's going to be a track star. You really need to find a way to utilize those legs."

And especially when after expending all that energy he only takes a one-hour nap. Eli, it's a good thing you're cute.

Spikes

2011-10-07T10:20:00.002-06:00

After realizing I still had a ton of scrap fabric that perfectly matches Eli's room, I couldn't bear to let it go to waste. I got busy to see just how skilled of a seamstress I've become...

Eli seems to like him alright. And did you know Eli sometimes says "dinosaur" now? I need to get that on video.

Not too bad of a creation without a pattern to follow. I do plan to add some buttons or something for eyes because it's a little difficult to decipher the front from the rear.

Now, if anyone knows how I can apply for Project Runway: Dinosaur Creations, let me know.

Stories of Jeff Excell - Cherry Pie

2011-10-04T22:54:00.004-06:00

(That picture is post wedding, and also not a cherry pie, but I still found it applicable seeing as these posts rarely get pictures and this picture was close enough.)

When I met Jeff's Dad on our first date, there was mention of Jeff being an excellent cherry pie baker. A 9 out of 10 on the delicious scale cherry pie maker to be exact. I had to get my hands on some of that pie. I don't particularly like pie, especially the ones filled with cherries, but I do enjoy seeing a man try to navigate a kitchen.

My request for the notorious Jeff Excell cherry pie was what got us on our date the day after feelings day.

We started in the aisles of Wal-Mart in hot pursuit of some cherries and shortening. I had my first glimpse of marriage as I dazed in and out of feeling like an old couple doing our weekly grocery shopping.

I might be alone in feeling that grocery shopping is a revealing activity. I'll admit that I often glance in people's carts and take a guess at what they're like. Your trusted brands, your weekly necessities, your guilty pleasure treats -- it's all there for the world to see. This is why grocery shopping was one of my biggest fears of getting married. I didn't want my husband to see the inner depths of my shopping cart I guess. Lucky for Jeff, he presented my first experience with my biggest marriage fear to me minus the shopping cart and ending in the "10 items and under" lane. It was a good ease into my future with that cherry pie maker.

And believe me, I had been thinking about our future. It hit me as I was getting ready for this date that I would probably kiss Jeff Excell. I also knew Jeff Excell was the only boy I cared about dating, and I was pretty certain I was the only girl he was pursuing. I felt like we were acting like boyfriend and girlfriend without the title or kisses of the status. And I felt like that was all about to change so I made myself look extra cute for the evening.

We survived the grocery store and made our way to Jeff's parents' house to take full advantage of their pie making supplies.

Jeff's mom was doing a puzzle. I thought that was absolutely adorable and tried to impress her by helping her with a few matches. Jeff got busy on the pie.

I tried to help, but my help was similar to the aid of a toddler in the kitchen. I had to ask where everything was and I wasn't familiar with the art of cherry pie making. I quickly realized I was better suited as a benchwarmer and/or cheerleader.

It was quiet as the pie was gently molded. I watched Jeff with intrigue as I learned he insists on scientifically measuring every ingredient and obediently followed every recipe direction. He sliced the excess crust with a knife just as his grandfather had taught him. I learned his grandfather was near celebrity status down in Springdale, Utah and owned a restaurant where he was also known to make a mean cherry pie.

I'm glad Jeff got that gene. The gene of cherry pies and methodical cooking and crust slicing. It's very endearing.

Before long the pie was in the oven and we found ourselves in need of something to do for 45 minutes.

Jeff had tried to get me to watch the TV show "Lost" for ages. It didn't seem my type, so I politely rejected his recommendation. Time after time. He had me trapped on cherry pie night as he pleaded, "Sarah, we should watch 'Lost.' I bet I can get you hooked in 3 episodes or less."

I wasn't convinced I'd be hooked, but I did like the sounds of sitting next to Jeff on the couch for 3 episodes worth of a TV show, especially since we hadn't watched a movie or TV show together yet, and we were on the verge of finally holding hands. I couldn't turn down that setting.

I sat down on the couch first with my hand strategically reachable and open.

Jeff fidgeted with the CDs, wires, blankets, remotes, and got everything in perfect order. He sat down and his hand slid perfectly into mine.

It felt like we had held hands a million times before. It was heavenly and natural and comfortable and just absolutely perfect. I mean, my hands didn't even sweat. That's how good it was.

I had never been so angry to hear a buzzer notifying that a baked good was ready to come out of the oven. We made our way upstairs to inspect our (Jeff's) creation.

I pretended I loved cherry pie as he scooped me up a big piece. I drowned it in ice-cream to make it more appealing.

Jeff's dad meandered downstairs after hearing the timer. I asked him to tell me some stories he had from his work as a police officer. He kept me thoroughly entertained as I scarfed down my ice-cream and cherry pie, realizing I might just like cherry pie more than I ever knew. Or maybe Jeff is just that good at making a cherry pie.

Jeff's dad went back upstairs leaving me and Jeff to relish in our new relationship development. Jeff said, "So...do you want to play a game, watch a movie or play Sudoku or something?"
"Yeah, sure, we could play a game." I said.
"Let's watch a movie." He overruled.

Because you can't really hold hands playing a game. And holding hands was still way too much fun to stop just yet. We settled on Legally Blonde. He's a sucker for Reese Witherspoon. Lucky for him, so am I.

We slid back into perfect hand-holding position once we were back on the couch. About halfway through the movie I fell asleep on his shoulder. He woke me up as the credits were rolling.

We talked for a bit. I was groggy. Yeah, I'll go ahead and blame this on the grogginess. Because I am sure I wouldn't have said, "Knock, knock." If my whole brain was functioning.
"Who's there?" Asked Jeff, seeming to enjoy my sudden playfulness.
"Kiss." I said.
"Kiss who?" said Jeff as he laughed a little bit.
"Me." I said. And so we did.

The kiss was also perfect. Not too long. Not too short. I'm going to spare you any more details. It was worth the wait.

We talked for a little bit longer and then Jeff walked me to my car where I must have still been groggy as these words escaped my mouth, "So...am I your girlfriend?"

What on earth? Who was this girl? I am not that girl. I swear I'm not. The boy chases me. The boy does the work. That was the Sarah Thomas motto. And there I was throwing myself at Jeff Excell like he's the Bachelor at the first cocktail party and I was fighting with 24 other girls to win him over.

As those words escaped my mouth, I suddenly snapped out of my 'grogginess.' I was expecting a kiss from the night, but I really wasn't expecting to find myself pressuring him into becoming my boyfriend. And then it suddenly hit me that he probably thought I used that knock-knock joke on every guy I kissed. He was the first! I would never convince him of that though. This is why girls don't make the moves. Or at least why I don't make the moves. My relationship with Jeff Excell was doomed for sure.

"Yeah, I guess you are." He answered without even having to think about it.

He kissed me goodnight. I let out a sigh of relief. He followed me in his car as we both left to our apartments. I accidentally took a very obviously wrong turn into a church parking lot on the way home which I thought I disguised well enough to look like I did it on purpose.

Jeff called me a few minutes after we left. He could do that now. Call me in the wee hours of the morning just to tell me he was thinking of me or he missed me.

Or to make fun of me for making a wrong turn -- it's all in the contract.

The excitement from our date made it difficult for me to fall asleep. I began anticipating the upcoming semester with a boyfriend and how that would all work out. I began dreading our relationship being the one whispered through the ward grapevine. I began second-guessing my forwardness and fearing Jeff would dump me as soon as the buzz from our first hand hold wore off. But I mostly began realizing if I didn't scare Jeff Excell away for good, he'd probably be around for a while.

My New Tan

2011-09-28T20:41:00.000-06:00

I always wanted to have a cute couples calling with Jeff. So I guess you can say being called as joint cub masters is kind of my dream come true.

Except that I don't know the first thing about the scouting program, 8-year old boys or tan shirts.

My only memorable encounter with cub scouts is the one time my mom made me go to a pack meeting where they held my little brother upside down. And the only reason I remember that is because there's a picture of it.

Oh well, take away the awards, ceremonies and cheesy cheers and you're just left with a bunch of enthusiastic 8-year olds, right? That doesn't seem so bad. Until I realize my comfort range with children is limited to the ones that are 16-months old and younger. If Eli hasn't been there, I don't know how to deal with it. And whenever I try to think back on what I was like at that age, I'm reminded I have spent the majority of the last 15 years trying to recover from and forget that time of my life. Plus I've never been a boy.

And as far as the tan shirts go...

I just don't have a lot going for me with this calling. To say I'm overwhelmed by my once-a-month-thirty-minute calling would be an understatement.

Because I spend the week before pack meeting lying awake at night second guessing all my plans. I spend the night before pack meeting counting and recounting handouts, treats and napkins. I spend the hour before pack meeting pacing the whole house telling Eli to cooperate if he knows what's good for him. Then I spend pack meeting realizing it's not really that bad.

(Chocolate covered pretzels I made to look like crayons for our back to school pack meeting. Big hit.)

The boys are cute and energetic. They are happy to be doing whatever girly activity I planned for them. Like, for instance, tonight's activity of making cookies. It would be a lot easier for me if cub scouts were girls. If only.

Jeff did a great job conducting the awards portion for the first time, and the boys managed to stay somewhat interested in my activity for them. It's nice to have another pack meeting under our beltloops, and I'm already stressing about the next one. This calling might just be the death of me.

The Best Imaginary Food Never Tasted

2011-09-27T22:01:00.002-06:00

So I gave Eli a cinnamon roll for breakfast one morning. And several mornings after that. But anyway, on this particular morning, he must have really liked that cinnamon roll.

Because he kept going back for more. And more. And more. Even though the cinnamon roll was long gone.

A little bit later, I gave him a spoon for the first time and he had the time of his life. He spent another thirty minutes "eating" yogurt out of a bowl - without successfully getting a single drop of yogurt in his mouth.

His day of imaginary food sparked an interest in imaginary things. Now when we go on our walk in the morning he pretends to move something (I think an imaginary rock) from one compartment of the stroller tray to another.

So either he's either schizophrenic or he's adorable? I'll choose adorable.

And what kind of mom would I be if I didn't video tape his first "taste" of playing imagination and put it to music to share with the world?

Cabinet Reveal

2011-09-24T08:17:00.006-06:00

The kitchen cabinets are done. If we're using the term "done" loosely. Because maybe we happened to miss one cabinet's last coat of paint and maybe the tape pulled up a lot of the paint on the edges and maybe we'll be spending the next three months scraping paint chips off everything in our house.

But if you look past all that, I think it turned out alright.

This was the first step to creating our dream kitchen. Step two is to paint the walls light blue. Step three is to install a gray/black counter. Step four is to get new floors.

I get the feeling we'll never make it past step one, but we'll see what we can muster up.

And here are a few of our mistakes because those pictures gave us a little too much credit.

Summer in a Week

2011-09-23T16:04:00.000-06:00

My goal this week was to cram all the fun summer activities we missed out on into Jeff's one week off. Here we go...

We started off with a nice, summer walk. Jeff wanted to walk on this trail I hadn't been on before. I was surprised to find the trail took us by a pond. As soon as Eli saw the water, he started saying, "Du, Du!" (Duck.) I had to crush his tiny hopes and dreams by saying, "Oh, yeah Eli, when we went on a walk with Leslie and Izzy there were ducks in the pond, but this pond doesn't have ducks."

Heartbreak.

Little did I know there WERE ducks just around the corner! I think it's so cute to take kids to go feed ducks and I was practically shaking in joy at the realization that Eli and I discovered our very own duck herd to feed.

If they can't see the food, they don't bother waiting around for it.

But as soon as you pull out those graham crackers again, they turn right back around. They were so friendly.

We let Eli roam the trail with us. Complete with a hiking stick.

And when we got home, we had our cabinets there to haunt us.

After a day or so of painting, we spent a day cleaning up the house and getting caught up on our yard work.

Okay, this might just be the cutest thing Eli does right now. Any time I say, "Eli, where is ..." he puts his hands up like this and starts looking around for whatever I mentioned. Melts my heart.

And this is what he does when he finds a bug. He is very interested in bugs.

This is when he helped us pull weeds. Meaning he would pull the buds off that plant and put them in the weed bucket. Such a good helper.

Eli was such a show off for Jeff this week. He was so happy Jeff was home to play with him all day. One day Eli tried for about fifteen minutes to put Jeff's flip flop on. He would inch his little toes up into the shoe, but managed to get his feet all twisted in the shoe every time. Then he would grunt in frustration. Such a goof.

We spent an evening in Logan that you can read about here.

Then on Thursday we went to the Hogle Zoo.

I have a bunch of old beanie babies that are now Eli's favorite toys. He is getting good at fetching out whatever animal we ask him to fetch. He even knows a lot of the sounds the animals make. So I figured with all his beanie baby love, he'd be sure to eat up seeing these animals life-size.

Sadly, this was probably the most exciting thing to Eli at the zoo:

Although, he did enjoy his first glimpse of a monkey.

You can't go to the zoo without comparing your wingspan with a gorilla's.

Jeff was impressed and/or shocked at my measurements.

Eli's got my gorilla genes.

See.

I thought he was the cutest little monkey at the zoo.

And then we returned to our never-ending project once again.

Stories of Jeff Excell - Feelings Day

2011-09-21T21:49:00.003-06:00

It was as we were cruising the streets of Cedar City looking for the perfect sledding hill where Jeff proclaimed I didn't like to express my feelings.

"What?!?" I said, shocked he already knew me so well.
"Yeah. I never know what you're thinking. Tell my your feelings." He continued.
"Umm...well what do you want to know my feelings about?" I countered, scrambling to figure out exactly what he was looking for.

Because if he was simply wondering my feelings on sledding, I could really screw things up by babbling about how much I already loved him and how he had the best head of hair I'd ever seen and how I thought he was such a gentleman.

My dating world was suddenly turned upside down. I had always thought my ability to conceal my true feelings was one of my assets. I was never the blubbering girl crying at the movies. Or ever. I didn't cry. I didn't express myself. I was the bottle-everything-up-and-give-the-silent-treatment-until-I-forgot-why-I-was-upset type. My taboo topics were love and anger. If I felt the need to speak on either topic, I just went running and ran until I no longer felt the need to speak. It was my no-fail regimen. Until Jeff Excell came along and dared to try to get a glimpse of what goes on inside my brain.

As I was gathering my thoughts, Jeff had noticed the song that was playing on the radio - Don't Wait by Dashboard Confessional.

"Sarah, this song is perfect for what I'm trying to tell you! It says, 'lay your armor down.' Sometimes it seems like you have a wall up, but I just want to know what you're thinking. Listen to the song and lay your armor down. How about we make today 'feelings day.' We can ask each other anything today and we have to be totally honest."

That sounded like a good enough idea that would at least prevent me from having to guess at which feelings he wanted me to be spewing off.

We pulled up to the perfect hill. We joined the elementary school aged kids in New Year's sledding fun. We only went down a couple of times before we toppled off our sleds and rested at the bottom of the hill. Talking about our feelings.

Our feelings started light. Just like a game of truth or dare that evolves to only talking about your truths. Our truths were mostly about why past relationships failed and generic attributes we looked for in our future spouses. The peaceful, snowy hillside was the perfect setting to allow the depths of our souls to be spilled.

After an hour of quizzing each other in the snowy setting, I had to get back home because one of my friends was meeting up with me that evening. We made our way back to my apartment.

Just as I was getting out of Jeff's truck, he gently grabbed my arm to pull me back in.

"Wait," he said, "I want to know what your feelings are about me."

We had made it through our sledding adventure carefully discussing every feeling we had except our feelings about each other. But here it was. And I had to talk first.

"...I...like you?" I made it sound like a question in case I ended up needing to backtrack. I continued, "I have a lot of fun with you. You're one of the greatest guys I've ever met. And...you have really great hair." There. It was all on the table. I took a deep, nervous breath as I asked him his feelings on me.

"I like you, too. There's something different about you. [Insert cute things he liked about me here.]"

We sat and soaked up that our feelings were mutual. Then Jeff piped up, "So, I want to like, hold your hand, or kiss you, but I feel like it would be weird."

I was not about to have my first handhold/kiss with Mr. Feelings with the preface that he thought it would be weird. And I was not about to give him the satisfaction of being the one to make the first move. No way. I'm an old-fashioned girl. The boy does the chasing. And the first kissing.

I reached for the car door as I said, "It would be weird today. But another day it wouldn't be weird." He walked me to my door and we hugged. Another perfect, kissless date with Jeff Excell.

White Fright

2011-09-17T17:51:00.001-06:00

Oh crud. Do you notice anything excruciatingly white in the picture below?

I'll continue to tell myself the reason that white drawer is just, oh so white, is because it's still surrounded by all the other not white cabinets. Because we're still going full swing with our white cabinet plans. And with each stroke of paint the pit in my stomach sinks deeper and deeper.

And when I get to the point of almost passing out, I turn to the internet to remind me of the potential my kitchen could have if this whole thing turns out:

source

Fresh, clean, modern, pretty. Okay, back on track. So we'll continue in our taping.

And ripping off of the cabinets.

And destroying our house. Sigh.

All for the hope that our kitchen and our bright white paint will mirror the fresh, clean, modern, pretty painted cabinets of fellow internet cabinet risk takers.

And so what if I am adding up all the money it would cost us if this whole thing becomes a kitchen nightmare? That's just me being paranoid, right? This is sure to work.

The primer is officially on all the doors and drawers. No turning back now.

Cue reassurance.

Dear Sarah,

2011-09-16T00:03:00.003-06:00

Wow, where to begin? How about this: I love you.

I admit, being married to an accountant probably isn't the most exciting thing in the world and can, at times, be very frustrating during busy season(s). I wanted to write you a short letter to tell you how much I appreciate you and your unconditional love for me and Eli.

The past two months have been long and stressful, but you always had a positive attitude and never complained once about anything. You would never complain about my late nights or the fact that you would hardly see me during the week. Instead of complaining about the garden not being watered, you would water it (even though I secretly wanted it to die so we wouldn't have to worry about it). Instead of complaining the lawn wasn't being mowed, you mowed it. Instead of complaining that you had to get up with Eli every morning because I was too tired, you just did it. Simply put: You are amazing!

I am extremely blessed to have such a wonderful wife. You made these past two months a lot better than they otherwise would have been. Thank you for waiting up for me some nights even though it meant less sleep for you . Thank you for texting me pictures of Eli during the day because I wasn't able to see him much. Thank you for making me breakfast in the mornings so I could get that extra five minutes of sleep. Thank you for keeping the house clean; I liked coming home to a clean house. Thank you for the many other things you did (listing them all would take too long) that made my days better. Most importantly thank you for loving me. Yes, it was hard working to/past midnight for several weeks in a row, but knowing that I had a wife at home who loved me made it easier.

I'll end where I began: I love you, Sarah. Thanks for everything you do!

Love,

Jeff

P.S. To the general audience: I don't want to take away from Sarah's thunder, so please don't forget to read her post.

Staycation Renovation

2011-09-15T20:31:00.000-06:00

I've already forgotten about the long nights Jeff worked over the past month. Or two. Because today he got home in time for lunch. And we get him all to ourselves for a whole week!

We've made big plans to visit a few of Utah's hot spots in a desperate effort to simulate a vacation.

How did we start our staycation? By going on a quest for a Krispy Kreme doughnut. I mean, can you think of a better way to celebrate busy season being over? I didn't think so.

This is Eli's new camera face. Like when we say smile, or when we mention Krispy Kremes, this happens. Cheese ball.

Happy. Free. Together at last and eager to get our hands on all the calories stuffed in one tiny doughnut.

AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com?

This is not Krispy Kreme. Because mid-doughnut search we stumbled across Crown Burger. Which is really the next best thing to Krispy Kreme. So we settled. Again, Eli's really learning to perform for the camera.

When we're not staycationing, we'll be renovating our house. After being home for an hour today, Jeff proclaimed he "had to have a project to work on otherwise he'd go crazy." I guess curling my hair isn't as entertaining for him as it is for me.

He's going to tackle a project we've talked about doing since we moved in -- painting our kitchen cabinets white. Scary? Yes. I realize we're flirting with the possibility of completely ruining our kitchen. But I'm hoping it turns out as cute as I'm envisioning it.

Even Eli is skeptical.

And when Jeff's not staycationing or painting the kitchen, he'll be fixing all the things Eli's torn apart in the last two months. Starting with his favorite toy, the clothes dryer vent.

Eli and I are glad to have Jeff back in our lives. I'll keep you posted on the kitchen ~~massacre~~ improvements.

Buzz Kill

2011-09-10T09:24:00.000-06:00

This is the kind of story that if any of my ex-boyfriends happened to stumble across, they'd be happy things didn't work out between us. Because I've become a stranger person than I ever used to hint to be in my dating years. There's a confidence that comes with being married, causing you to care a little less about what other people think of you. Which I guess is why married people start acting weird -- because they can. And, let's face it, your true colors can only stay muffled for so long.

My quirk? Paranoia. Almost to the point of drastically interfering with everyday life. But luckily I have irrational ways to cope with my irrational paranoia.

Like, for example, my paranoia of a burglar/murderer/homeless man living in the crawl space under the stairs. Harry Potter style. Eek. I feel vulnerable telling the possible burglars, murderers and homeless men of this great hiding spot in my house. But I'll assume that's just my paranoia acting up again.

So how do I prevent myself from hyperventilating every time I have to walk by the closet door? I created a really cheap security system. Jeff hates it, but if it keeps me sane during my time home alone, it's staying.

A couple days ago, I became aware of the hornet infestation that was occurring on the side of our house. Hundreds of hornets were all clustering together in an attempt to break through our wall and turn our home into their royal nest. Okay, so they were just building a nest on the side of our house, but there were a lot of them.

They had to die. I wasn't going to be the next victim of a killer wasp attack. I've seen it in the movies. It happens.

As soon as Jeff got home from work I handed him the wasp spray. I begged him to put a bee net on and have a kiddie pool filled up in case he needed to jump in for safety once the wasps took revenge. He rolled his eyes and sprayed the intruders dead in one swift shot.

My hero.

We both kept going outside to survey the damage and count the casualties. Twenty-something. Tragic day in the wasp world.

We went out to eat and then when we came back, Jeff played with Eli while I went out to water the garden.

I felt so free to have a safe backyard again. Eli and I love the backyard. It's what gets us through the 6 o'clock hour every evening. As I was putting the hose away, I thought I should spray the hornets down the cracks of the cement since Eli has recently developed a fascination with bugs, and wasps -- dead or alive -- weren't the kind of bugs I wanted him experimenting with.

The cement was hornet free and victory was mine.

I went inside to hear Jeff and Eli playing so happily together. I took advantage of the few extra minutes I had to empty the dishwasher and clean up the havoc Eli had wreaked upon the house that day.

I put my hair behind my ear as I bent down to pick up a sock in Eli's room. I felt something weird.

In the time it took me to realize there was something weird buried in my hair to dig it out and throw it on the ground, my paranoid brain assumed the worst, "WASP!"

Without even looking in my hand to see what I had fished out, I threw it on the ground and ran away hyperventilating and screaming, "Oh my gosh!!! WASP!! Ew! Ew! Wasp!!!! Oh my gosh!"

Now, half of me didn't REALLY think there would be a wasp tangled up in the middle of my hair. But half of me REALLY did think it felt like a wasp. But I often mistake lint for spiders, shadows for ghosts and loud noises for gunshots, so I'm not even one to trust my first paranoid impression.

I hesitantly inched towards the thing on the floor that was once peacefully nestled in my hair. As I got closer, I saw it wiggling around. Victory for the wasp.

It was Jeff's worst nightmare. One of my paranoid panic attacks was not in vain. My worst case scenario had actually come true. There was, in fact, a hornet in my hair for an undetermined amount of time. I screamed for a half hour and then ran to the shower.

Now that I'm clean and likely hornet free, I'm looking at this whole experience as a blessing in disguise. Now Jeff can't be mad when he trips over suitcase security systems. My paranoia has been justified. Sometimes the worst case scenario does happen. So I'll continue living as though all my biggest fears are about to come true.

A Sick Baby at a Well-Child Exam

2011-09-08T15:09:00.001-06:00

Well. Eli and I were a little under the weather yesterday. Like puking under the weather. There's nothing worse than seeing your baby puke. Or seeing your baby imitating you as you puke. Which actually did make puking kind of funny.

(That picture is not us being under the weather. But it is us.)

Luckily my mom was able to come up and tend to Eli's needs so I could rest. What a relief. I also made her do my dishes because I gagged at the sight of the dirty, smelly dishes in the sink.

And I also made her be my back-up at Eli's doctor appointment in case I needed to make a run for the bathroom mid check-up. I didn't. But I was still glad she did the wrestling of Eli.

We're recovering today. Drinking lots of Gatorade. I'm mostly lying on the couch while Eli throws all his toys down the stairs. But...if he's not crying...today's the kind of day where I'm going to let him do whatever he wants.

Anyway, here's the real reason for this post. I lost Eli's stats from his one-year check-up, so I figured I better document his 15-month progress.

Weight - 23 lbs. 38%
Height - 31.5 in. 62%
Head - 18.75 in. 63%

Eli's had a recurring cough for the last 6 months or so. The doctor thought it was some kind of allergy. So now I'll have to evaluate our surroundings to figure out what he could be allergic to.

Eli also sweats a lot. Which the doctor assured isn't a problem. He is just unfortunate enough to get the sweaty Thomas gene.

And Eli also has eczema. Sad. No soft baby skin over here.

As far as milestones, I always think I'll remember exactly what Eli was doing at certain ages. But I already don't remember a lot of the things he could or couldn't do two months ago. So here's some of his documented cuteness to help me remember what 15-month old Eli was like:

He mimics a lot of the words we say and he is always imitating our actions.
He just started stacking blocks and lining things up on the floor.
He has started collecting. He'll get a basket or container to put his treasures in and carry them around the house.
He waves his finger when he says "no" now. I swear I don't do that. I don't know where he got that.
He is starting to love TV.
He doesn't like cookies. Weird.
He is starting to climb all over everything.
He doesn't like going on walks as much anymore. So I bribe him with graham crackers.
He throws temper tantrums. Often.
He's a lot better at stopping whatever he's doing when we say "no."
He's starting to hit, pinch and pull hair. Dang it.
He's down to one nap a day unless he wakes up super early.
He's off his binky...except at church.
He loves all my old beanie babies and is quickly learning which animal is which.
He's wild at church, but he's a lot better than a few months ago.
He can point to his nose, hair, mouth, tongue and toes.
He weirdly knows the letter "R." And only the letter "R."
He is very independent.

And here's a milestone for me -- something actually sounds good to eat! Now I just need to figure out a way to get my hands on a corn dog.

Karma

2011-09-04T20:22:00.002-06:00

Note to husbands: Don't make fun of your wife if a chair happens to crumble the moment her bottom touches it.

Because if you make fun of her, you're unknowingly forcing the universe to send your bum plummeting straight down to the concrete. While holding a baby. With your wife watching. With a camera. I've never laughed so hard in our whole marriage.

Now I'm left wondering if we really are in good hands with Allstate.

Grateful for Cinnamon Rolls

2011-09-02T20:05:00.002-06:00

On days when Eli remembers his love for screaming.

When a spider and a stinky diaper are the first things to greet me in the morning.

When it's Rice-A-Roni for dinner.

When Eli forgets to eat his food instead of splatter it across the kitchen.

When I have a sick baby with rosy cheeks and a runny nose.

And when said runny nose gets repeatedly wiped on my pants, shirt, socks, and hair.

When Eli's little fingers are finally fast enough to squish a potato bug.

When the house is a mess. And I'm not going to clean it.

When Eli so proudly discovers how to climb onto a chair, and onto the kitchen table.

And then when he laughs hysterically at my disciplining techniques.

When I'm wondering how young is too young to begin implementing "time out."

When all my TV shows are in a lull between summer and fall seasons.

When Eli thinks he only needs an hour nap.

When I have another pack meeting quickly approaching.

When Eli...claims his territory...all over the bathroom floor. For the second time this week.

So yes, Jeff. I do NEED those cinnamon rolls I make so often. And yes, sometimes it's eight in one day if need be. And no, I can't explain why our lawn chair broke tonight after I sat in it...

(P.S. I did a "Stories of Jeff Excell" today, too. Make sure you don't miss it!)

Stories of Jeff Excell - A New Year's Kiss?

2011-09-02T14:53:00.015-06:00

The big debate. Whether or not to go down to Cedar City for my first New Year's Eve of knowing Jeff Excell. My big kiss break with the crush of my life. What to do? What to do?

The decision became even harder after Jeff sent me his completed homework assignment from me of writing up a life list. It was good. And as I read it, I couldn't help but imagine myself walking down Hollywood Boulevard with him, or being beside him as he caught that grand slam hit, or keeping him company in that hammock tied up by two palm trees.

There I had it. My life with Jeff Excell all planned out in the form of a list. I knew exactly what my future held. And I could no longer bear to imagine Jeff making any of his dreams come true without me. I smiled the whole time I read through the list. It was so perfect. It was so Jeff Excell.

Then I noticed he had added an extra goal. He was clearly the above-and-beyond type. My eyes glued to my computer screen as I read, "101. Spend New Year's 2008 with Sarah Thomas."

That little stinker. Using his life list against me. How could I stop him from accomplishing a freshly hatched goal?

I teased him in my email back that he could definitely spend New Year's with me by coming up to Salt Lake. The 8-hour round trip drive was his defense. He figured I needed to make it down to Cedar City either way, might as well be sooner rather than later.

I surveyed my family to see what their plans were for the holiday. Nothing. And besides, I wasn't interested in a New Year's kiss from any of them.

Jeff Excell had a hook on me. Which is why it only took about one day of debating before I announced to my family I was suddenly leaving a week early. And all for a boy. A boy with a very persuasive life list. And a very persuasive set of lips.

I got down to Jeff's new apartment the afternoon of New Year's Eve. I hadn't seen it yet, so Jeff gave me the grand tour.

One of the first things I noticed were the glamour pictures Jeff and his roommates had not only taken, but also hung on their wall.

You see, my roommates and I loved taking pictures. And we loved America's Next Top Model. Put the two together, and we ended up with milk mustaches smeared on our faces in an attempt to imitate a high fashion photo shoot. And what good would all those pictures be if we didn't pick our favorites to display in our living room?

I appreciated seeing our idea was such an inspiration. After the tour, Jeff and I played video games until the other party guests arrived.

I felt vulnerable being there. In a house full of Cedar City locals who all knew each other very well. Being the mystery girl who had come down from Salt Lake to spend the evening with Jeff. Having our first kiss in front of a bunch of strangers. The anticipation made me nervous. As we counted down the minutes until the new year, I attempted to play out all the possible ways the night could go, and the kiss could happen. They were all awkward.

I couldn't help but feel like maybe I was too bold to chase Jeff Excell in this way. It really was not my style. It was all too much. But it was all too late. The clock was quickly approaching midnight.

One way or another, I ended up sitting on the floor while Jeff sat next to one of his old mission companions on a tiny chair when the clock struck twelve. I looked at Jeff. Who looked at his companion. Who looked at the rest of the room and saw that no one brought in the new year with a kiss.

As the guests filed out of the house, Jeff took me up to his room to look at some old pictures he had. I loved looking through Jeff's old pictures. Discovering his past. Hearing all the stories the pictures would provoke. His arm around my shoulder as we flipped through his history.

I was really tired and the night ended up being a bit of a disappointment. So when my blurred brain came to realize the possibility of a new year's kiss was still lurking, I told Jeff I needed to go. Because our first kiss had a lot of pressure now. It needed to have the fireworks of happiness and perfection. Not the gloomy sense of obligation.

Jeff walked me to my car and reminded me he had work off the next day. He told me he wanted to take me sledding. I had nothing better to do -- being stuck in Cedar and all -- so I agreed.

He Speaks

2011-08-29T21:58:00.000-06:00

I swear Eli talks. Even though sometimes it's his own language that only half sounds like English. But luckily I'm learning his language with him. So I thought I'd document his cute first words. For the past three days I've been chasing Eli around the house with a camera waiting for anything resembling a word to escape his mouth. Luckily I got most of his vocabulary documented. Except of course mama. Which he only uses in extreme circumstances. So I guess I'll count my blessings that we had no extreme circumstances occur in the last three days.

Anyway, enjoy the video. I wrote the words in the lower right-hand corner of the screen since I'm assuming you're not fluent in Elish.

Clean the House Day

2011-08-26T21:10:00.002-06:00

Before I had Eli I heard several people say it takes twice as long to do anything with a kid. I quickly found this to be true. And I have recently found that the older the kid gets, the less they sleep, and the more they want to help. Making minor chores an all day event.

Because when I was cleaning the bathroom, Eli was unrolling the toilet paper.

When I was vacuuming, Eli was inconveniently always standing right in front of me, unplugging the vacuum, or stealing parts in a darling but time consuming effort to imitate me.

I cleaned up toys and Eli distracted me with his smiles.

I cooked cinnamon rolls and Eli ran off with my oven mitt.

I put the laundry in the dryer only slightly faster than Eli could pull it back out.

I got the settings ready, Eli changed them.

I tried to shut the washer, but someone was in my way. These laundry pictures are a little deceiving as it truly looks like I put him to work. But let me assure you -- his work was counterproductive.

I tried to fold laundry. A little mister couldn't stand to let a pile of clothes peacefully sit without being knocked over.

Whew. It's been a long day.

Stories of Jeff Excell - Our First Christmas

2011-08-25T22:36:00.005-06:00

The Christmas season split our budding love for a few weeks as I went up to my parents' house and Jeff stayed in Cedar. We texted during our time apart except for one day. Christmas.

Because on Christmas, Jeff chose to call instead of text. And then I knew we were getting serious. Because he called knowing we were in opposite parts of the state. He called with nothing more on his agenda than to talk. To wish me a merry Christmas. To be my boyfriend figure.

He probably didn't look at it that way, but of course that's how I analyzed the situation.

I saw the incoming call and I ran up to my room to soak up my potential boyfriend's Christmas wishes in peace. We talked briefly about how our day had been. Then he asked me what I was doing the rest of the night.

In all my girl-about-to-be-in-love stupidity, I responded I was going to watch the latest Batman movie.

Jeff seemed mildly impressed.

I had this weird thing when I was single where I thought guys would love me if they knew I enjoyed a good guy movie every once in a while. So I all too often made a scene of the few times I would watch these movies. In fact, I purposely brought action movies I don't really care about to college for the sole reason of peaking a guy's interest.

In hindsight it's really quite embarrassing, but at the time it made perfect sense.

I strategically told Jeff I was going to watch the Batman movie because I knew it was one of his favorites. What he didn't know is that I had tried to watch the movie several times before this Christmas and I had fallen asleep early into each attempt. Like previews early.

But I was determined to finish it this time because in my naive single girl mind, this was a critical part of my future with Jeff. He would never like me if I didn't like the same movies as him. How could he?

As I was patting myself on the back for slipping my movie choice of the night into our conversation, Jeff had already moved onto talking about our upcoming New Year's celebrations.

Jeff had just moved into his first apartment. He and his roommates were throwing the party of the night. He invited me down.

Wow. New Year's together? Was this my kiss moment? A New Year's kiss? Do I want that? This is probably because I told him I like watching Batman in my free time. I can't go to Cedar. I'll be down there for a whole extra week doing nothing. I don't get to see my family very much and I'll have to leave early. But my much anticipated kiss could be waiting for me in that house on New Year's...

I told him I'd have to think about it.

We somehow ended our conversation by talking about my life list. Which is a list I was forced to write my senior year of high school consisting of 100 things I want to accomplish in my life. Sadly, my highest aspirations were to pet a lion and paint my son's fingernails (watch out Eli). But it has been fun to see some of the unexpected ones -- like be in a movie -- actually happen.

As much as I hated writing my life list, I do love looking back at it. Which is why I encouraged Jeff to make one that Christmas break. He accepted my homework assignment.

We eventually hung up the phone.

Then I went to my computer to start watching the dreaded Batman. And I fell asleep 15 minutes into it.

Slumber Party

2011-08-19T17:21:00.000-06:00

Who says you can't have a sleepover when you're old, married and have a baby? Not me. So Leslie trekked up to my house for the evening. And oh what an evening it was.

Kenz joined us for dinner and late night girl talk. She didn't sleep over. And I think by the end of this post she'll see what a smart decision she made.

One of the first things I learned while being Leslie's roommate is to never leave my camera unsupervised around her. Because this happens.

Of course we had to get a photo shoot of Eli and Izzy being darling together. They'll thank us later when they're putting together their wedding video and we have these adorable pictures of their love blossoming. Yes there are a million of these posted. I couldn't stop. And yes I only posted a small portion of the pictures we took of them.

At one point we tried to stage a kiss but they were a little camera shy.

We love pictures. And we love sleepovers. And we love Stadium Way 49.

And we love Kenz's deformed thumb.

And we love when Jeff comes home from work so he can take even more pictures of us.

Here's the part where I'll embarrass myself by posting these pictures. Face masks + Bachelor Pad + Sleeping Babies = Best Slumber Party Ever.

That face mask gave me a close encounter with hives.

When morning came Izzy watched an Eli tantrum unfold. I hope it didn't give her cold feet for the wedding.

I love when husbands work late at the same time so wives can sneak off together. It was fun to have some late night company!

Oh, The Irony

2011-08-15T21:28:00.006-06:00

Someone should have told Jeff back when he was willing out garden death wishes that the best way to kill a garden is to throw it in the middle of a wild wind, thunder, rain and lighting storm. A successful death wish earlier in the season would have helped along our garden's inevitable fate.

Our corn died a violent death last night and our tomatoes are barely hanging on. Mother nature couldn't let me get away with my last post.

We were laying in bed when our garden was slashed. Obliviously enjoying the excitement of the thunderstorm as we listened to the rain pound against the window. Until Jeff blurted out, "Oh no! The garden!" We both ran down to the kitchen to stare out our rain-smeared window only to see the faint outline of our fallen cornstalks revealed with each flash of lightning.

We were finally getting attached to our darn veggies and they had to go and pull a stunt like this.

*Moment of silence*

On a happier note, here's the requested picture of the star from my last "Stories of Jeff Excell" post.

Miraculous Moments

2011-08-14T18:36:00.004-06:00

A miracle happened in our house on Friday. Something even more miraculous than my ability to save Eli's life from a piece of Wheat Thin caught in his throat earlier in the day. His face turned blue and everything. I'm going to chalk that save up to the baby class we took at the hospital while I was pregnant. I felt silly at the time holding a doll upside down and smacking its back with everyone yelling at me to smack it harder and harder. But man. It turns out the tactic really is effective. That Wheat Thin didn't stand a chance.

Perhaps it was the trauma from his near-death experience, but for basically the first time in Eli's life...

he fell asleep in my arms. I don't even know how it happened. His eyes were just suddenly closed. Then I sat and stared at him in disbelief. Then I didn't dare move for fear of waking him up. So I sat. Silent and perfectly still. Just soaking up the rare moment as I waited for Jeff to walk by so I could motion to him to get the camera.

Then we had another miracle happen in the form of a garden.

It grew.

Jeff half-heartedly planted this garden. And after about two weeks of watering it every night and busy season lurking in his future, Jeff decided he'd had it with his garden.

On our way down to Cedar one weekend Jeff said, "I hope it's really hot and dry the whole time we're gone." Confused, I asked why on earth he cared what the weather would be like in a city we were driving away from. He answered, "Because then my garden will die."

Despite Jeff's death wishes, his garden survived.

Eli and my new after dinner ritual is to go outside so I can water the neglected garden and Eli can run free.

His clothes usually don't make it through dinner. Hence the bare-skinned baby.

After I told Jeff I had been secretly saving his garden from its death, Jeff went out to give his garden a second chance. As we were looking around, to our amazement and shock...

We found a few green tomatoes there, encouraging us to stick with this whole garden scene.

Now who says there aren't modern day miracles?

Stories of Jeff Excell - A Date to Remember

2011-08-12T16:39:00.001-06:00

It would take me years of being married (three to be exact) to discover how rarely men recognize an awkward situation and to fully understand the undeniable persuasiveness of my batting eyelashes. Thank goodness I had at least that going for me at our cringing ward prayer interaction.

Because I believe I owe it to my fluttering lashes for the phone call I received later that week. It was my first real phone call from the suave Jeff Excell, and, as he put it, he was calling to ask me out on our fifth date.

Oh that Jeff Excell. Such a jokester. Wait, he was joking, wasn't he? Is he just trying the old TV line of pretending we've been on more dates than we really had so he could kiss me on our first date? Oh my gosh. Was I going to kiss Jeff Excell? Or was he just trying to rid us of the nervousness associated with a first date by labeling it a fifth date? Either way, his wording left me wondering if he would be expecting a kiss, and I geared up for the big moment as I got ready for our date.

He picked me up right on time. I love when a guy gets you right on time. Even a little early is cute. Like they're not ashamed to let you know how anxious they are to see you.

We drove over to campus and walked around. Okay. So we may or may not have found a way into the secret underground tunnels of campus, but I don't want the cops showing up at our door, so I'll just call it walking around (and under) campus.

We talked about our families' Christmas traditions. When I found out our families both did a Christmas talent show, I knew we were meant to be. I love asking people what they do for Christmas because I strangely think it tells a lot about a person. And I was liking what Jeff told me about him.

We then went over to Jeff's parents' house to play Sudoku. We sat on the floor on opposite sides of a coffee table and raced to complete the puzzles. It was nerdily romantic.

Before long, Jeff's family came walking in the door and they all casually huddled around to view our "fifth date" Sudoku spectacle. I remember thinking they were really funny as they joked about riding around town singing Christmas carols on the back of a trailer filled with hay. I think at one point I was invited on the hypothetical hay trailer Christmas caroling ride to which Jeff ushered me out of the house and apologized, worried I may have been embarrassed. I wasn't. And I thought his family was hilarious, perfectly matching the image I had of them based on what Jeff had shared with me earlier about their Christmases together.

We made our way to my apartment. Just before we got out of the car, Jeff told me he had something for me. He leaned into the back of his truck, rustled around a little bit until his hand reappeared with a neatly wrapped gift. I am sure I looked confused. And happy. And excited. And shocked. A little hesitant, I tore through the paper to find my dream Christmas present just beneath the wrapping -- a My Little Pony.

I melted. His gift reassured me our awkward interaction from the Sunday before wasn't quite as catastrophic as I had led myself to believe. It was just what I needed. It was nice to know he could mend my awkwardness by transforming it into a cute sentiment. It was sweet to see he didn't judge me for what I said, but valued my opinion no matter how nonsensical and immature. Pony and all. My dream man. And it was only our first date. Or was it our fifth date? I didn't care. I was in heaven.

As my giddiness quickly escalated with the gift of my brand new pony, I had to contain myself by shifting our attention to an inevitable round of Super Smash Brothers on the Nintendo64. Our knees touched mid-game, causing a tornado of butterflies to spiral in a wild fury in my stomach. The game ended. It was late. But Jeff Excell was not leaving. Which didn't bother me one bit.

One way or another, we both ended up chatting on the floor under the same blanket. I didn't know this then, but Jeff has this weird thing about loving to talk in the wee hours of the morning. It's a little bit of an adjustment being married to a nocturnal animal who will sit in the same room with you for three hours without saying a word until the clock strikes twelve. Because only when my body is utterly tired and ready to succumb to sleep does Jeff decide he wants to pour his heart out to me.

He was the same then as he is now. Not that we weren't talking our whole date, but the later it got, the more he was willing to share. We talked about hopes and dreams, our childhoods, and even his fear of women's issues. It was so much fun.

All the while I kept my lips puckered, waiting for that fifth date kiss that was bound to hit me at any moment.

I was sure the moment had arrived when conversation shifted to first kisses. That was my tell-tale sign a guy was going to kiss you. If they start talking about kissing, it's because kissing is on their brain. I prepared myself for the best first kiss of my life.

Eyes closed, lips glossed, perfectly puckered, breath held in excited suspense and anticipation -- only to hear Jeff shuffling around, standing up and telling me it was probably time for him to go.

I put my kiss-face away and felt surprised by the outcome of the night. Not necessarily a bad surprise though. It was kind of a relief to not kiss Jeff on our first and/or fifth date. Kind of gentlemanly of him. I knew we both had a good time, and I was sure the date was a success. I mean, the guy bought me a pony for Pete's sake. It was refreshing to have a boy interested in more than a kiss. We hugged and Jeff walked out the door. I closed the door and squealed. What a perfect first date.

Stories of Jeff Excell - Ward Prayer

2011-08-11T21:09:00.001-06:00

There was an awkward time in our relationship as we rested on the verge of being flirty friends and dating. So there we were. Stuck on the verge.

Despite our many run-ins, we still hadn't been on a real date. And sure, Jeff had frequently joked that we'd already had several dates, but the reality left us stuck without a single date together under our belts.

I found myself one Sunday at the ever familiar singles ward mixer -- ward prayer -- on a mission to assure Jeff I was ready to overcome the verge and go on an official date with him. I walked in and meandered over to Jeff, beaming at the sight of an available seat next to him. I stole the seat -- a bold move for timid me -- and tried to strike up a conversation.

The verge of dating was especially awkward for me because once I realized how much I liked Jeff, I could no longer act normal around him. My brain would freeze. My eyes would widen. My body became tense. My eyebrows furrowed. I would sweat. Profusely. It's not pretty. And it really tests a man on the verge.

In my awkward state, I attempted to flirt by asking him with my widened eyes batting what he wanted for Christmas. He said he didn't know. Then we sat in silence and soaked up the awkwardness of the verge. Strike one. I should have come prepared with more material.

But it seems like the harder you try to come up with something to say, the harder it is to come up with something to say. So anything that does come out is obviously forced and painful for every member of the conversation. And that's exactly what happened. I cringed at the conversation I was forcing upon us.

After trudging through far too much uninteresting small talk, Jeff took the reigns and asked me what I wanted for Christmas. In all my awkward glory, I said a pony. Strike two.

A pony. What? It was my sad attempt to be funny as I imitated every 5-year old girl's Christmas wish. Jeff didn't seem amused. I needed to get out of there. And fast. I couldn't bear to give myself the opportunity for a third strike.

I excused myself from our misery and made my way to the refreshments table. I shoved a brownie in my mouth, signaled to my roommates we needed to jet and I left the church that night confident my relationship with Jeff Excell was over.

A Chick-Fil-A Anniversary

2011-08-08T11:40:00.003-06:00

There are certain realities the wife of an accountant must face. Like spending your anniversary alone. For every foreseeable year. As long as your husband is still an accountant. So here is my first lonely anniversary. Which actually ended up being quite nice. But still quite husbandless.

Jeff managed to slip away from work for a quick lunch at the romantic Chick-Fil-A.

See. I told you it was romantic.

The familiar crunch of a freshly greased waffle fry sent me back to my Georgian childhood. We loved going to Chick-Fil-A in Georgia. It was actually one of the things I missed most after moving to Utah.

I was in heaven.

Eli enjoyed his first waffle fry experience. He was such a good boy at lunch!

I kissed Jeff goodbye and he was back to the grindstone.

I went home and read a book while Eli took his afternoon nap. Then I decided to try a recipe my sister had shared with me. She has been our dinner source for the last few meals. She has even got me cooking with onions, garlic and cranberries, oh my!

Eli woke up mid-cooking. So he had his way with the bottom kitchen drawer filled with towels.

The kitchen was a disaster. And it was about this time I was feeling really sorry for my mom because her whole house looked about like this the last time I saw it with the entire family in town.

I thought it would be fun to let Eli roam around in our backyard while I did some much needed weed pulling. Eli kept himself busy by shoving handfuls of dirt into his mouth as soon as I'd look away. And just after my Grandma warned me about worms.

I probably could have wiped the dirt off his face after I got that first picture, but I kind of got used to it there. After our yard grooming and eating we paced the sidewalk, enjoying the fresh air.

It was a relaxing day for me. Happy Anniversary to us!

Eli's First Tux

2011-08-07T17:03:00.000-06:00

Here's a slew of pictures from our quick trip down to Cedar for Bryan and Celeste's wedding. Congrats again, you two!

I Once Had Six Kids

2011-08-05T11:24:00.002-06:00

After a week of babysitting several nieces and nephews, I've made it back to our home to enjoy the silence. Or whatever silence a one-year old will allow in a home. Which is a lot more than six kids will allow in a home.

During the quiet moments of this morning, I kept finding myself almost getting up to go get a screaming baby. Then I realized there was no screaming baby and that my brain was just going through babysitting withdrawals. The funny thing is, I didn't even know there was such a thing as babysitting withdrawals. But let me assure you, there is. It involves:

Unnecessary bursts of baby talk.
Hiding in your best hiding spot only to realize no one is seeking you.
Disney songs hummed where Britney Spears once was.
Feeling the urge to walk around the house in oversized high heels while going by a fake name.
Unintentional rocking, swaying and bouncing.
Explaining why you're doing things even though no one's asking "Why?" anymore.
Cravings of corn dogs, cheese and Go-Gurt.
Being on the lookout for bedtime story inspiration all day.
Cringing whenever a pan drops, the doorbell sounds or a phone rings.
Feeling as though maybe having an only child isn't a bad idea.

Now, if you don't mind, I've got some sleep to catch up on.

Siblings Reunited

2011-07-28T15:52:00.001-06:00

After two years and several extra weeks, my little brother was finally on his way home from Malyasia. The flight was right on time.

What time, you ask? Eli's nap time. Shucks.

As we were all waiting for Ben to arrive, a different brother surprised us as he made a grand entrance down the escalator. That Abe.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

Waiting. Waiting.

At this point, you might be wondering, what is up with those monkeys? Ben was expecting a big ordeal full of color-coordinated shirts, signs, banners and applause. We took it one step further in the form of monkeys. Monkeys roam the streets of Malaysia. So we thought it would make Ben feel a little more at home if we had something familiar to his new Malaysian self greet him at the airport. The kids were fully equipped with monkey stuffed animals and a monkey joke on the front of their shirts to share with the RM.

Waiting. Wrestling Eli. Waiting. Waiting.

My Aunt, Mom and Grandma.

My Uncle and his family.

Jacob. To say he's obsessed with BYU would be an understatement.

This is about the time I was longing for the days when I could set Eli in his carseat for a little catnap.

Happy parents.

Benj wasn't the only missionary coming home. The airport was packed!

The monkey has landed.

As soon as he saw my dad he ran for him and gave him a huge hug. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen.

The next three pictures are the "those signs don't make sense" series. Thanks a lot google translate.

Ben. Meet Eli.

He came bearing gifts and souvenirs.

Welcome home Ben!

The Circus is in Town

2011-07-24T23:03:00.000-06:00

My, that chain is mighty short. Don't you know? That's the chain my dad made six months ago to count down every last day until my little brother comes home from his mission. The end is finally in sight as Elder Thomas makes his grand entrance back to America this Wednesday! Yahoo!

My brother's family from Nebraska came into town, and today we all gathered together for our traditional Sunday dinner. Even Caroline's doll had a place at the table.

These two are best buds. You think I mean Eli and Emma? Or maybe you think I mean Natalie and Spencer in the background? No, no. Emma has taken a special liking to Jeff and they are darling together!

After Sunday dinner we all caravanned to our house for the grand tour. Eli's room was a big hit.

My dad got busy making the homemade ice-cream. It just wouldn't be a Thomas Family get-together without a heaping batch of homemade ice-cream.

I had also made some apple pies that complemented our delicious ice-cream tradition quite wonderfully. Mmmm. And I'd like to note that just before the picture below was taken, my brother said, "You know, I'm really becoming more and more photogenic." Coulda fooled me.

Almost all the grandkids. Being so cute.

We ended the night with a little croquet.

We're all looking forward to the rest of what's sure to be an exciting week.

The World According to Eli

2011-07-21T15:47:00.005-06:00

Okay. So don't judge me because my title came from Paris Hilton's new TV show. And also don't judge me because I have somehow managed to see every episode so far. Dang. Just when I thought watching Desperate Housewives was the low in my TV viewing.

Anyway. Eli's been doing funny things lately so I thought I should take a minute to document.

Eli has learned to sign "all done" and "more." Great, right? Nope. Bath time was my no-fail-calm-Eli-down-for-a-half-hour-before-bed strategy. Now he sits in the tub for two minutes and signs all done. Ugh. Mealtime is the same way. I used to keep him locked in a high chair for hours lobbing bits of food at him when needed. Now I see those tiny hands waving "all done" and I'm forced to acknowledge his wishes of escaping the high chair or bath.

He started testing the stairs again by throwing objects down them. I fear his tests are signs of an upcoming attempt to walk down the stairs. And we just took the baby gate down.

When Eli so happily signs "all done" from his high chair and I go to take the tray of food away from him, he, without fail, will grab one last handful of food just before it's out of reach. He's been doing that for about 4 months now and I still laugh every time it happens.

Last month when Eli would get into mischief, he would say to himself, "No, no." At first I thought it was cute he knew he was doing something he shouldn't be doing. Then I thought maybe we were saying "no" too much so I tried to cut back on my "no" usage. Today when he was running for the trash can and would usually be repeating, "No, no, no, no," he growled instead. This happened several times after that which has given me a new worry -- that I've somehow replaced my "no"s with growls. And now I can't decide which is worse.

He has started jabbering nonstop. I love that he thinks he's saying things we can understand. And I love the way his pudgy little head bobbles up and down as he's constructing his nonsense sentences.

He loves to watch people. When we go to the grocery store he lays his head on the side of the cart so he can see around me.

He's a little cutie and we love all his quirks.

Wedding Season

2011-07-18T16:37:00.002-06:00

Our journey down to Cedar City began early Friday morning with a baby who was not too excited to be confined to a car seat.

After several hours of kicking and screaming, we finally made it. Jeff took the opportunity to have a skilled professional give him his now traditional summer buzz.

While Jeff was losing his hair, Mary, Laura and I were preparing a bridal shower for Bryan's soon-to-be wife, Celeste. I made the invitations and then we had a good time getting creative with the French theme.

Here's Celeste with her mom.

Some of the food. It was a windy day so we had a hard time keeping everything in its place.

The presents.

Mary, Grandma Edwards and Aunt Shirley.

Laura, Cassie, Becky and Celeste. (Don't you love those brightly colored chairs in the pictures?)

We played a few bridal games. These two were some stiff competition.

Then I quizzed Celeste to see if she could guess how Bryan answered a few questions. We were all in shock as she correctly answered basically every question when some of us who have been married for several years couldn't even have completed the challenge.

Then we ate Laura's delicious chicken salad that I have been craving every day since the shower. We also had a fruit salad, rolls and lots of little desserts -- including some peanut butter bars I made that barely survived the drive across Utah. They were ugly, but they were good!

Here's Celeste ready to open presents and eager to hear all of our marriage advice.

Here's Aunt Louise and Laura.

What's a bridal shower without bows knotted up in the bride's hair?

It was a perfect bridal shower. It was nice to sit around and chat with a bunch of girls, but before long we were surrounded by kids and men again. After the guests left, we got out the questions we had asked Celeste at the shower and we quizzed the husbands and wives. We were so caught up in the game that we didn't realize Eli was grabbing a little snack from one of David's plants:

That kid!

The next day we woke up and went straight to the temple to see Jeff's friend Will get married. Best day of my life! Will and I have a long-running joke that Jeff loves Will more than Jeff loves me. I knew the only way I could get between them was to get Will married off.

So you can imagine how I kind of felt like it was my wedding day, too, because my Jeffy was finally all mine! Yay for Will and Diana! It was a beautiful wedding.

When we got home from the day's festivities, we found all the grandkids huddled around Grandma and Grandpa Excell's fun new popcorn machine. I warned them that Grandpa Thomas is notorious for being the popcorn grandpa. Sorry dad, it looks like you might have to up your game if you want to hold your title.

The drive home was significantly more pleasant than the drive there. Whew.

Jeff's Shadow

2011-07-11T10:13:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we were all sitting on the floor. I was watching Eli play in the diaper bag and Jeff was doing a crossword puzzle. In no time, Eli had found a pen and made his way over to help Jeff with his crossword puzzle. It was the cutest thing ever.

And after I watched him do this, I realized those little baby eyes are watching everything we do, eager to mimic our actions. We better be on our best behavior.