A little more detail

So Brady got this Parents Goody Goody Gumdrops toy for Christmas. I was convinced it was those foam blocks I had blogged about a while ago. So when he started saying "ball, ball" I was very confused. I started to correct him, saying there weren't balls in there. I still couldn't see what it was, I was still thinking blocks. By golly, he was right. That thing is full of balls (12 to be exact)!

I love the way he plays with it. He's so precise in his hand movements. He gently opens the little door to get the dropped balls. He first learned to open and close that door and would do it over and over again. I had to show him how to work the button in front to get the balls to drop. He was very careful with it at first. Using just one tiny finger to push. That didn't work very well. He now just slams his flat hand down on it to get those suckers to drop. He'll also take the balls out of the hole (on the bottom half), and put them back in, then close the door. He's now getting the lever on the side that pulls forward to drop the balls. There is a turning key that he's not too interested in yet.

Oh how he loves to chase those balls around the house! I found him one day just dropping them on the kitchen floor to watch them bounce and hear the sound they make when hitting the tile. I don't think I would have picked that toy out for him at the store. No lights, no music, no batteries needed. It's brilliance, pure brilliance. Thanks Anj and Seth (although I'm sure Anj picked it out) for giving that to him. Even 7 year olds like this thing...

p.s. Golf balls fit too for added fun!

Christmas, Part Deux

So, after we opened gifts at our house, we hauled a selected few presents over to The LaVets. We had a pretty good time over there.

I was told I couldn't buy any more frames until I've filled the ones I have. That doesn't meant that Carl can't buy me any! Thanks dear!

Santa brought Brady this fun toy to make lots of noise with and to practice walking.This is Carl's "What the crap?!" face. I got him a mini Guitar Hero game as a joke. It's been returned already. Brady got this fun fun gumball gift from Seth and Anj. I was SURE it was something else before it was unwrapped. I was confused when he started saying "ball, ball" when he first got a peak at it.

This is one of those frames around that house that hadn't been filled. Carl received the frame and pictures as a gift for his graduation from the U. My gift to him was getting the pictures in there.

Brady got this reindeer bib from Santa. I think Grandma 'Tilla told him what he wanted for Christmas. The ears are a washcloth tucked inside the head. So cute!!

Here Brady is practicing that noise making and walking while Lissa tests her slinky.
The LaVets got to come over to our house to have dinner. I think the girls had more fun playing with Brady's toys than he did!

Look at these three beautiful girls!! Aren't they gorgeous in their Christmas dresses? I think so.

Spuds, anyone?

You know it's time to buy new potatoes when....

they have 7 inch long tentacles growing out of them.

Anyone know of a better way to store potatoes than in a paper bag in the pantry?

I'm going to enter Brady into a Baby Derby. What will be his motivation at the end of the course? An open dishwasher.

The Cow Gives Us Milk to Drink

Brady finally signed milk for me. He's been signing it to Carl in the mornings for a few weeks now. Carl once reported that he went into Brady's room one morning and Brady held both arms out and open and closed his fists (the sign for milk) without a "good morning, dad" smile. Just a solemn "you better take me to the momma, cuz I want milk" face. He told me that Brady probably wouldn't do it for me, but that he had just signed milk. I have been encouraging Brady to use the sign for a long time now. All I got was a greedy smile at the mention of the word, followed by pick-me-up grunts.

How sweet it was. Carl put Brady down and told him to go get me, instead of just bringing him over. Brady crawled right over, pulled up on the couch, held both hands out to me and signed. The smile on his face was precious. He knew it had made me so happy.

Here are the signs he does use (most of them aren't perfect, but we know what they mean):

Ball
Dog
Cat
Train
More
Hat
Dad
Play
Diaper
Bath
Signing
Eat
Water
Cereal
O's (a home-sign for Cheerios)
Please
Sleep
Water
Thank You
He understands more than he signs. I hope he signs Mom soon. He's probably just waiting until I'm at my wits end with him then he'll pull it out of his bag of tricks and make my heart melt. He's lucky I love him. I'm luckier to have him.

So little time...

What to do, what to do?

Well, I should:

• Update the checkbook
• clean the kitchen
• read twilight
• read scriptures
• read my baby book
• write in my personal journal
• write in brady's journal
• organize and back up photos on the computer
• get dressed
• tidy up the living room
• research food storage shelves (the kind that rotate the canned goods. but not the super huge ones, we need one that will fit on our pantry shelf)
• Make a phone call regarding a baby shower for someone who is about to pop
• Think about what baby shower gift I'd like to give the ladies I know that have or are about to have new children
• Trim the cats nails
• Blog in more detail about our lives instead of just putting pictures up and calling it good

Okay, I think that's it on my list of things to do. Now what is going to get done?? Oh, I don't know......

How does one find the time to accomplish things on their list? I could spend all day writing in journals, or cleaning, or cooking, or blogging, or playing with the baby, or creating handmade baby gifts, or scrapbooking. Too bad there are other things that get in the way. How does one find time to do a little bit of that, and a little bit of this, and maybe some of that over there and still have time to meet the needs of the family? I'm realizing I can't do them all, all the time. Isn't realization the first step towards healing? Something like that...

Christmas morning at our house