Christmas Morning

Helping Grandpa open his stocking and cracker in the stocking. Most kids would be afraid of the loud "bang" but apparently, wrapping paper is much more frightening!
Em got some really cute bunny rabbit slippers and books from Grammy. The slippers had grippies on them, which made them squeak on the clean floor and Em loved dancing to make the noise... I'm not sure I'm ready for squeaks every morning though- still trying to decide.
Put a fun hat on Cooper and watch the kid light up like he's the King of the golf course! He may have slept through most of Christmas morning, but he sure was ready for excitement when we all got out of our pajamas :)

Something Old, Something New

Since traditions are obviously important to the Leslie family, we've held on to some, adapted a few, and started a few new ones this year. Todd's folks are here, which is great, and Grandma made South African cinnamon swirl bread (high altitude + yeast equals the Hindenburg of all breads!) and we also started a family puzzle.

We gave Grandma and Grandpa their stockings and the kids opened their PJs before going to bed- lovely tradition from my family.

Then, we started some new traditions. The first being a family swim, which felt great! The second being brownie bites with white chocolate peppermint Kisses in them. We ate the 'mistakes' and will have the pretty ones at Christmas dinner tomorrow. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good (and cool!) night :)

Funny Story

Since Em is still too young to understand this whole "gifts/Christmas" thing, she helped me wrap pressents the other day while Cooper slept. Her job was to throw all the extra paper away. When we were all done, she was thoroughly annoyed with the task being completed, so she decided to throw all the gifts away as well... Sometimes, I wonder about that kid!

Tooting My Own Horn

**If your name is Marilyn (aka Grandma) or Warren (aka Grandpa), you may not read the following post- it'll spoil the surprise!!!**

There are many reasons for Todd to laugh at me. I seem to do crazy things regularly, but lately, he's had a TON of reasons. You see, I'm a tradition kind of girl. Note that I didn't say a "traditional" girl. No, no. I just really like traditions. For example, stockings were always important in my family, especially since my Nana knit a monogramed stocking for each of us. Some of the traditions I really enjoy are ones from my family, or Todd's, but we've also started our own. I love that I don't have to worry about what to buy Todd for Christmas because we do something together, rather than wrap something under the tree. Last year, we left Em for the first time and went out to dinner and a concert. This year, we're leaving the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and going to a luxury resort.

Some traditions are easy to keep. We add an ornament for each kid every year. Last year, we bought Em one, this year, the kids and I will make one. I also had planned to get a new pair of pajamas for the kids for them to open on Christmas Eve and a Christmas outfit. Well, that's where I ran into some problems. Who would think Christmas-y PJs would be hard to find? Well, since it's summer here, none of the flannel/fleece stuff from the States would work (I don't like my kids cooked well-done... maybe a bit rare, but not burnt!). My mom did send the kids some really cute clothes that matched for Christmas, but like a stinker, Cooper fit into his outfit last week, but this week, oh no! After realizing that Cooper was too big overnight, I went hunting... and hunting... and hunting, but all to no avail. I wanted a nice polo or something collared that would match Em's outfit. When nothing (and I mean nothing) could be found, I got creative and turned an old cardigan of mine into a light sweater-vest for Cooper and bought the pants (the hat wasn't outgrown yet).

I also raided Todd's shelves to see what he had that I could use for the pajama situation. I came up with a pair of red plaid boxers that had a small hole, and turned them into some shorts for Em. Then, I needed something for tops and found this adorable idea for a toddler's t-shirt. Cooper's hands were a bit tricky because they were so small, but I still love how they turned out. Everything fits a bit odd (again, I repeat that I sew straight lines well, but these projects were a bit beyond my abilities- you'll see in the Christmas morning pictures, I'm sure) but I'm still really proud of myself for the effort. Cooper's outfit was originally one of those gowns that infants wear, but, in true form, he outgrew it from the time I started until the time I finished. Think of a reindeer-chested mermaid and you'll be in the same ballpark as his first final outfit.

Their hands and a foot forever immortalized in felt... at least until they have to be washed, and then all the effort will most likely come unraveled! Oh well, they look cute for now.

Then, all that was left to fix the stocking issue. I can't knit. Correction, I can knit baby blankets in two colors (but not more and they generally fall apart within the first year of use). Therefore, stockings were WAY out of my league. So, I went to something I could do- felt. (I love the internet and how you can find anything, directions and all, that show you how to make something look great without all the creativity!) I wanted to make sure that Grandma and Grandpa had their own stockings for Christmas, names and all, so they'll open these Christmas Eve when the kids open their PJs. (Those are flowers, but in forrest green, it's rather hard to tell.)

I've been working on all these projects like a crazy person, but I'm happy they're done- yes, happier they're done than how well they turned out. I've been loosing way too much sleep trying to get everything done, but now that it's done (who am I kidding, I still have three more projects sitting on the kitchen table!), I'm patting myself on the back, then going to bed. So, sleep well friends! Hope your Christmas preparations are as... productive as mine!!

Day of Reconciliation

Wednesday was a holiday. I'd love to be able to explain more, but I've got nothing beyond the name, which, for the myriad of holidays here, knowing the name alone is a big feat! Since it was a holiday, Todd was home and we managed to make it down to the pool as a family, another big feat.

I vaguely remember when "going to the pool" simply meant putting on a swim suit, grabbing a towel and going. Now, it's getting two swimming diapers, two bathing suits, two white children slathered in sunscreen, two hats (okay, one because I can't find one for Cooper in his size), myself changed, three towels (Todd can fend for himself!), floaties, pacifier, sippy cup of water, and we're off... oh, and myself changed (I forgot that one Wednesday). Even with all that standing in our way, we made it down and had a ton of fun. Cooper is more of the only-to-my-belly-button kind of kid, but Em was jumping and swimming all over.

Don't mind the razor wire... it's for aesthetic purposes only :)

Bryanston Market

There's this great organic market and artisan/craft place we discovered a few months back. We've only ever gone on Saturdays and haven't gone since Cooper was born. Todd found out, though, that the market is open a few nights during December. Tonight just happened to be the night when they had carols by candlelight. Even though we realized this at 6, the market is a good 30 minutes away and Em normally goes to bed around 6:30, we decided to throw caution to the wind, pretend like we didn't have kids to slow us down and went for it!

Em loved all the people and Cooper got so much attention from grannies that were there. It was great to feel like we could just pick up and go (not to mention the ice creamery there has the world's best mint chocolate chip ice cream. Reminded Todd and I of last year when we went to the carols and Christmas tree lighting in Brookside, MO... just a few, minor changes, eh?!

Genes and Jeans

*For those that are reading this on Todd's Facebook page... this post was authored by Brittany"

There is a point at which you, as a person, realize that you got some unsightly genes from your parents and you wish, with everything in you, that you could change that 'flaw'. I was young when I realized that my lower half was much bigger than my middle or top (thanks dad!). There were fleeting moments of foreshadowing when, at 11, I would try on shorts or pants and some wouldn't fit in the thigh, but would be huge in the midsection. By high school, this annoyance had turned into full-fledged hatred because no matter how many miles I ran, how many hours I played sports, there was no getting rid of those thighs. As soon as I got pregnant with Em, I started praying that my growing child would have Todd's legs and not mine. As soon as Em was born, dimpled toosh and all, I realized that she was doomed.

She, however, is still at that age where "chub" is still cute, and it was so stinking cute when I put her into her new "big girl" undies and there was half a cheek hanging out! Another reminder of the genes she got from me, which has insured her future hatred of jeans. For now, at least, her pants (most of them anyways) fit her and she's as happy in clothes as she is out of them.

** For those of you who would like to remind me that Em is only a year-and-a-half, much too young to be wearing "big girl undies," I'd like to say I've been putting it off for almost three months! She has been sick and tired of her diapers, and wanting to use the potty (I can say that with confidence because she'll climb on it, flush it, yell at it when her diaper was soiled, and even try to wipe with toilet paper and throw it in... she's been ready, Mommy wasn't!).**

Gardens and Such

Back in April, Todd left for a conference in Kenya. While he was gone, I decided to attack the backyard, which was wonderfully without trees (unlike all of our neighbors). I say that it was great to not have trees because we have wanted to have a garden, especially with kids, for a long while now. So with Todd being gone and having time on my hands, I borrowed a shovel and went to work. Em loves helping Daddy pick the veggies and bringing them into me. She's also become quiet adept at taking the pulled weeds and putting them into the garbage. We had our first real harvest a few days ago. Sadly, we didn't imagine that the zucchini would be ready, and therefore didn't check for a few days (and they have thorns!!!). That led to this...

Yes, that is a Blackberry cell phone and a cook book! Thankfully, I was able to get four loaves of zucchini bread from just this one sprout. We're slightly more diligent about picking them smaller now, but are loving the time spent outside, together, getting dirt under our nails.

Thanksgiving

Our first Thanksgiving in South Africa was wonderful! We shared with 30 or so other Americans. It was a bit odd that all the kids were soaking wet and in their bathing suits, but we still had turkey, green beans and all the rest. Our friends from Centurion came down and the kids had a great time. We were even able to snap a quick picture of all FOUR of us (sad that Cooper is 11 weeks old and we haven't found time for it, but better late than never I guess!). Hope your Turkey Day was a lovely as ours!!!

Turkey Hands

Even though the house is decorated for Christmas already, that doesn't mean we've forgotten about Thanksgiving (even though I thought it was this Thursday, not next Thursday- oops!).
While Coop was taking his morning siesta, Em and I thought we'd do a little arts and crafts for Daddy's office- yeah for turkeys made out of traced hands! We had a lot of fun... so much that Em decided she just had to color on Mommy's paper as well!!

Merry Christmas

Decorating for Christmas was an... event (to say the least!) in our house this past weekend. We decided to go ahead and put up Christmas things for a few reasons. First, so that we could remember that it IS almost Christmas. Being that summer is just beginning for us, it's sometimes hard to keep that in mind with the tank tops, flip flops and shorts coming out of the closet. Secondly, we were looking at the next few weekends and realized that we didn't really have a "lazy" weekend with nothing planned for a long while. We didn't want to wait until halfway through December to decorate, so Saturday was it. It made me think back to what we were doing when Em was 9 weeks, since that's how old Coop is these days. We realized we were in Wisconsin with friends saying "goodbye" because we were off to Kansas City right after that. It also made us think back to last Christmas and our frantic time trying to get in all the "final" to-do's in before leaving for South Africa. Just before Thanksgiving, we were finishing papers, driving to Tennessee, and desperately trying to get everything packed to go.

Well, this year, there was slightly more "decorating" and slightly less packing. Em was the first one to put up (and subsequently tear down) her ornament that she got from Mom and Dad last year from Ten Thousand Villages (amazing store- seriously, check it out!).

We put the Christmas tree up that we received from one of my Bible study gals in Illinois two years ago on top of the trunk we salvaged from missions furniture storage and thought we were pretty ingenious- both for the free tree, the free trunk, AND for managing to get the tree out of Em's arm reach... or so we thought. It wasn't more than 25 seconds without one of us in the room that Em got her rocking chair from GGrampy, moved it in front of the trunk, and pulled off half a dozen ornaments and a string of beads. Cooper seemed more than amused by all the activities and really enjoyed hanging out on the clean, but unfolded, clothes on the couch. Hope you all enjoy the pictures and your chilly festivities wherever you are.

This Week

After a long weekend with both Mommy and Daddy all to herself, it sunk in that school is great and all, but she still misses her parents! There were a few tears Monday morning (teacher Cory said I wasn't back to the car before she was bossing some kid around- out of sight, out of mind I guess!) but she's doing great. There were also some visitors from Kansas City to the regional office, and one brought with him a bouncy chair from Nana and GG (God bless you both!). Cooper is just one of those kids, I guess, who loves to be held for the sake of the movement. I would have gotten one here, but the price tag was more than I could stomach- literally. Em has also been moved from her crib into a "big girl" bed. After a solid week of her waking up from her naps screaming because she's somehow managed to lodge her leg in between the slates, and then couldn't get it out (I had a hard time getting it out also), I figured for the sake of her sleep and safety, it was time. Thankfully, she loves her big bed and sleeps beautifully in it. Afternoons are filled with fun times in the garden and we're harvesting our first batch of zucchini for dinner tonight! I'm not sure what we're having (our one zucchini would probably feed two families easily) but it needs to come off the vine before it gets any bigger! Em still loves playing with the dog and teasing her on the slide while Cooper just hangs out and looks at the clouds to see what they look like. He's really good at it these days!

I could totally do this all day! That one looks like Einstein's hair... yep, definately the hair.

Em, sporting her "smiley eyes," just like Mommy's... and Nana's... and Great Nana's...

First Day!!!

Em was ready with her new backpack, new shirt, and new lunch pail. She loves putting on her backpack, so any excuse is a good one to her. Todd went into the office a bit late so that he and I could walk her down to school. It was really precious having Cooper in the stroller, Em holding our hands as she walked between Todd and I. Thankfully, she had a bit of concern in her look when we left (hey, no mom wants to feel THAT replaceable!) before heading into praise and worship with gusto. Teacher Cory said she did beautifully, but passed out on the floor about 20 minutes before it was pick-up time. We'll be working on the new nap time, but for the moment, she's making friends and talking to all the staff (shocker), who have all taken a liking to her (another shocker!). I loved that the school had a sign to welcome her on her first day, AND that her name was spelled correctly!! Woohoo!!!

Happy Hearts

Em will be 1 1/2 years old in a few days. She's grown so much, and she is such a social creature. Everywhere we go, she is saying hello to random dogs or "correcting" people who do things that aren't allowed at home (she has no trouble telling them, with finger wagging, "No, No, NO!" - They say imitation is the best form of flattery, but I'm not so sure I agree right now.) Todd and I have been agonizing for months over how little interaction she gets with kids her own age. Our church doesn't have a "nursery" and while we love that she plays so well with the older girls in the neighborhood, we were still wanting something for our little 'social butterfly'. Some of the missionaries who were here before us sent their son to the Methodist pre-school just behind our complex. It is really cute and I really liked what I saw when we first got here, but I was hoping that Em would be fine here at home until she was 3 or 4. It has become glaringly obvious, however, that my little girl needs friends besides Mommy and Lani. So, I went to check out the school with Em. She not only marched herself straight into the classroom of twelve 18-36 month-old kids and started talking to one little girl, but started bossing around a little boy who tried to kiss her on the cheek! No hesitation, no grabbing onto moms legs, no nervous looks... while I was a bit sad at the whole situation (come on now, every mom wants their kids to have a little hesitation) I was also extremely excited for all the fun I know she'll have.

As soon as the decision to TRY out pre-school for just a few hours a week was made, my immediate thoughts went to the practical. We needed to get a backpack, a lunch pail (for snack) and something cute to wear for the "first day of pre-school" pictures (it's all about the pictures, isn't it?). I also realized that she'll be in school during her normal nap time, so we went to work on that as well. Being the penny-pincher that I am, I started looking around the house for a bag that Em could carry to and from school. When all of ours ended up being too large for her to handle, I took to the mall. Now I am fully resigned to the fact that she will some day really enjoy Dora and Barbie and maybe even Hannah Montana (if she's still around), but if she doesn't know who they are yet, I'm not going to be the one to introduce her to them. So when the only options for bags her size had these people on them, the question turned to price, and after checking out the tag, I figured that since I didn't really care for them anyways, I'd use that same money on a little project to make something that I do like. Here's the finished product.. and the best part: Em LOVES it!

Now on to the cute top for pictures. We went grocery shoping at Pick-N-Pay (think Wal-Mart grocery store), for groceries for the week. I've been needing capri pants since the weather has been warming up. I wandered over to the kids section and found these great little tank tops for about $2. I got a package from Auntie Em with a bunch of ribbon (a girl needs ribbon and Cooper needed a pacifier leash) so I picked out one I thought would work with some of the ribbon colors. I sewed on the ribbon, added a bow and I think it looks pretty stinkin' cute! First day of school pictures will follow because my little girl is now READY!!!

Halloween

Growing up I can't recall ever "trick-or-treating". I have a picture of a cousin and I at about age two in front of my Gram's house with Jack-O-Lantern buckets, but I'm not sure that counts. I do remember bringing home a brown lunch bag of candy from the church's Harvest Festival and taking that to the neighbor's house to count, compare and trade candy with the other kids who did trick-or-treat. I don't know if abstaining from trick-or-treating was a moral decision or not, but regardless of the right or wrong in partaking in this tradition; I loved the Harvest Festival (so I'm not overly disappointed in missing out). There were bales of hay, games, pie eating contests, tickets you could trade in for toys- it was like Chuck-E-Cheese at church! I still remember the Chubby Bunny contests with Pastor Bonner as well as wondering how any of the Norton and Oats girls got any food at the dinner table with their brothers around (making this assumption based on the success rate of the boy's in the pie eating contest). So having never really participated in the festivities associated with Halloween, I don't see anything sad knowing that my kids won't do it either. However, while we never went out begging other people for candy, my Nana was brilliant at making (yes, by hand) costumes for my sister and I (my personal favorite was when we were Cinderella, even though the white popped collar itched like crazy!). We usually had matching costumes, which was nice for me, but I'm sure Hilary was annoyed after a while at her pesky little sister. Well, now it's my kids' turn and their 'nana' (also the same word Em uses for bananas, so I'm not sure it'll stick for my mom or not, so don't get attached just yet) has sent costumes. Last year, Em was a precious little butterfly, and this year, she is a bumble bee (she really knows how to rock the stripes and antennas look). Cooper is going to be an American (hehe, see, he was born in South Africa... okay, really small joke I guess).

My sweet little boy could never scare anyone, could he?!?!

Convention Day

The Baba Indaba Convention started today. Since I wanted to go, but didn't want to fight all of Johannesburg while there, I decided to brave the unknown and go myself with the kids. I got lost, which is apparently my greatest talent (in my defense, only 50% of the streets are labeled with a street name, so it could happen to anyone). It ended up being good that I took the 'long way' though as Em was able to get a decent nap. When we got to the convention center, I put Em in her stroller and Cooper in a cloth wrap that my mom made me last year (I still love the fabric, it's just beautiful). We all had a good time getting free samples, watching the Takalani Sesame (Sesame Street - South Africa) characters (okay, that was more of an 'Em only' enjoyment) and bumping into two ladies that I had met (once). We had to pay an admission fee, but by the time we left, I felt like some of the venders should have paid me because of how helpful I was.

You see, a few gals saw me changing Cooper's diaper and asked about the brand. So I scooted them over to the two booths that import the two types of cloth diapers we use on the kids. The gals then proceeded to check out MY diapers, to see how they'd fared, and ask a ton of questions that I'm sure the vendor could have answered, but these ladies were smart- they wanted the real truth, not just the vendors trying to sell their wares (which made me laugh, literally). There were also four or five different booths with similar fabric baby carriers and yet, I managed to have a dozen or so people come up and ask where I got mine (from my mom's sewing machine) and how much it cost (the fabric, which if I remember correctly, was on sale) and many wanted demonstrations (Cooper and I were more than willing to oblige). None of the booths' fares seemed to have quite as much... versatility, but they were all very happy when I said comments about how much I loved my wrap, or how I couldn't really live without it at this point (Coop wants to be held 24/7 and Em is an exploring toddler- I've gotta have my hands free these days). Overall though, it was a good time and all of us enjoyed getting to pick Daddy up from work. It it wasn't for the spring storm and lightning striking WAY too close to the house this evening, I'd say it was a near perfect day... but I guess that means that God is saving the best for another day- something to look forward to!

The Slide

There is a lack of recreation areas near us (I'm talking within walking distance) and the nice weather (remember, it's spring here for us) has driven all of us into the backyard. We love our backyard, but apparently strawberry, celery, cucumber, tomato and bean plants are all extreme temptations to Emme... who would have thought?! Well, being sick of pointing out things I don't want Em to help "pick" (like Daddy does) and saying "No Em," I decided a distraction would be better served. Enter stage left: small, red and yellow slide.

Em figured out how to do it all on her own and was so proud (this was before the hair cut though).

First Haircut

This is where the picture of Em's first haircut should be....

but as you're going to read, things didn't go according to plan.

It's been almost five months since I last had my hair cut. So, I called the hairdresser who is up the road. She shared that she would be able to squeeze me in today AND Em decided to sleep until 9 am; it was looking like a great day for me. All three of us packed up the stroller and headed up to the hairdresser's. Em only lost her hat twice; which is good, even if she waited to give her signature "uh-oh" a half-block away from where it dropped! (Hey, I'm trying to look on the bright side here) We got to the salon and that was the perfect time for Cooper to start crying (he's been fighting bad gas because of some medication he is on). I tried to calm him, but as many moms will say, there are times when babies just cry. There were two old gals in the salon who seemed to be viewing the situation with a "concerned" look (some would say judging), which didn't help the situation much, but I was just hoping and praying they had kids of their own at some point and would understand.

When it was time for the hairdresser to cut my hair, Coop was still throwing a fit. Before I knew it, one of the old ladies who was waiting for her perm to set scooped Coop up out of my hands, speaking to all the other ladies in Africaans the entire time. Now I'm good at picking up what's going on in Africaans, but this was beyond my understanding. The hairdresser just chuckled and translated for me. The gal was a grandma of 20-some odd kids and had a special 'touch'... which turned out to be right. Cooper was asleep in a matter of minutes and my hair cut was almost done. At this point, I explained about Cooper, the medication, and the gas. The hairdresser immediately traipsed into her house and came out with a teaspoon with sugar and some herb for me to take. I did and let me tell you, it was really bitter! But, I took it, drank some water and went on. Grandma Perm had calmed Coop back down at this point, so we just went back to what we were all doing. As soon as the hairdresser was done with my hair, she instructed me on how I should feed and burp Coop, and also strongly warned me against his "dummie" (pacifier). Now, I understand that people have strong opinions about breast milk or formula, pacifier or none, and a thousand other things when it comes to babies, so I just took it with a grain of salt. I got Coop back and started putting him into his car seat (it attaches into the stroller). Em at this point, got out of the stroller and went to the hairdresser, whom she knows from the gym. The hairdresser asked if she could 'trim' Em's hair (which she asked the last time I got my hair cut) but I told her no because I would need to have a camera for Emme's first hair cut (it's a big deal!). The hairdresser said she understood and then indicated that she'd like to test Em and see if she would be good with receiving hair cut's (you know... for the future). She put Em, standing, on the chair, clipped a towel around and started combing Em's hair, the whole time talking to Em about what was going to happen when Emme came back. I was so happy that Em seemed so comfortable with the whole thing, which was great for when we actually do decide to cut her hair, that when Cooper started crying, I naturally left Em with the hairdresser and went to get him out of his car seat....and by the time he was out, half of Em's beautiful curls were gone.

G O N E ! ! !

Needless to say, I freaked, put Coop back into his car seat, screaming, and went over to Em. There was no point in stopping what was happening because half her head of hair was gone. I tried to catch as many of the curls falling from Em's head. She now has a very "boyish"cut, which in a country that barely recognizes her as a girl when she is dressed in head-to-toe pink, is very tragic. The thing about it is, I realize that "it takes a village," (which many people here take literally) but my village seems to do things differently than other villages! I was totally sad about not being able to get pictures! In fact, I wasn't even wanting for Em to get her hair cut for another year or two (she has very little hair to begin with, seriously), but the day wasn't a total wash. I was upset about Em's hair (I know, it grows back, but not for another 17 months!) and went to the office where I found not one, not two, but three packages from friends and family. We have amazing friends and there is nothing like a package of Lucky Charms or Sesame Street DVDs to cheer this mommy up!!!

Frosted Cupcakes

An amazing thing happened this week.  We were able to acquire a container of Pillsbury Chocolate Frosting.  Now, before any of you start thinking you should go get some (either for yourself or for us) read the rest of the story.  When we were living in the States, I refused to buy frosting of any kind for two reasons:  1) I hate frosting, so why would I waste money on something I couldn't enjoy? and 2) If it is in the house, it will last no longer than 24 hours because my husband will eat the entire container, and then lick it clean.  Armed with this information, I only would buy frosting when I had a specific dessert and there were people coming over to help eat this dessert.  

Well, a few weeks back, I found an amazing looking strawberry "tall" cake recipe, that I had to try.  I fell in love with the butter cake recipe, and knew that there's nothing better than butter cake and chocolate frosting.  So I started looking for a good frosting recipe but I was never able to find all the necessary ingredients (not that they're not in the country somewhere but when you're a baker and all the people around you are cooks, it makes it hard to find certain things).  I was really bummed because I really wanted to make this cake, so when the chance for this $2 thing of frosting came, I jumped up and down all excited. I started thinking of who we could invite over for dessert and coffee and when would be a good time.  Todd, upon seeing the frosting container, immediately grabbed a spoon and was making a bee-line for my blue-topped treasure when I stopped him.  I told him about my 'big plans' for that frosting, and he was off limits, to which I was told (nicely, but firmly) that sharing of the frosting, either in the form of dessert or out of the jar, was NOT going to happen, period.  

So we compromised.  I made my recipe, but made cupcakes instead, so that no 'sharing' of the frosting (or dessert for that matter) would be happening.  

I got to bake, Todd got to enjoy.  It seemed like the perfect arrangement, except the cake recipe apparently didn't translate to cupcakes (why, I have NO idea, but they looked awful and tasted weird... compared to the heaven it is as a cake).  They stuck to the paper (and pan with the few I tried without paper) and were a veritable mess all around.  We did, however, eat them anyways.  We were even 'terrible' parents and let Em, who never gets sweets) have at one of the paper left-overs.  She loved it, of course, but I guess that's to be expected when you have no frame of reference.  Todd didn't have any complaints either except for the work involved having to get the cupcakes out of the paper (he said it was like eating crab legs, which I don't understand, but I'm not a crab kind of girl).  Lani was also thrilled to have so many crumbs to

 clean up.  I was disappointed in the confection, but I like my desserts to be aesthetically pleasing as well as good to the taste, but I guess you can't win them all!  The only one who had no opinion either for or against the cupcake disaster was Coop, who spent the entire dinner and dessert time sleeping!  

One Month!

It's crazy to think that Cooper is a month old today (I started this on Saturday, I promise)... Also crazy to think that Em is almost 17 months old. But this is about Coop. So, I've decided to write about things I've learned in the last month with Cooper and his older sister.

1. If one child leaves most new moms exhausted, two under 18 months leaves you in a state of tiredness that I never thought was possible!

2. Some children want to be changed as soon as they wet/soil their diaper, even if their older sister would never fuss for a diaper change.

3. The amount of diapers two kids goes through is absolutely unbelievable- seriously.

4. If an outfit gets dirty, and needs to be changed, there is a 96.4% chance it will be dirty again within 13 minutes of said change (fact, I did the research).

5. Some children don't like sleep unless being held/rocked/bounced/or otherwise cared for (really glad we got rid of that bouncer/swing thing that Em couldn't have cared less about!).

6. Two kids leave a person tired, did I mention that?

7. Shopping with two kids, when one is sitting in the seat and the other is in the cart in an infant car seat, doesn't leave much room for groceries.

8. Any outing or adventure further than 20 steps from the front door takes at least an hour (generally more) to be ready for.
9. Youth isn't wasted on the young, naps are.

10. They are so worth every second!Sometimes, some men just need their message to be heard. Cooper is no exception!

The 24th

Todd came down stairs this morning and asked what day it was. My heart actually started beating fast because (this was the actual thought in my head) "I know this one! It's Monday, because I had a really bad headache and didn't go to church yesterday so that makes today Monday. AND, Cooper was up an hour early this morning, so I was trying to get things done before the house started to stir and my computer said something about the 24th." So my response to Todd? It's the 24th. With a puzzled look on his face he asked the 24th of October? Which seemed crazy to me so I responded no. Then he looked even more confused and asked if it was the 24th of September. That didn't make sense either, since I had just gotten the gym schedule for the first of October. At this point, I realized that my excitement was all for not and I was totally confused. Sad day. It's like when someone asks you your birthday or your mother's maiden name and you get the answer wrong. Oh well, maybe I'll get it tomorrow...

This picture is from last week when we all went to our favorite local cafe. The waitress knows Em and always has the barista make her a foamed milk in her own expresso cup. Has nothing to do with the rest of the post, but I know how some like pictures!