Christmas with Ben's Family

Too Good to Eat?

Getting Even Bigger

"DoDaDo....I'm not doing anything!"

He's already tall enough to see on top of the table, and reach stuff near the edge.

He goes up the stairs really good, he just needs help remembering to turn around to go down.

He loves to watch the trash truck, recycle truck and mail truck go by.

Fun in the tub

Happy with Hippo

I've been tagged!

The rules:

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.



Fact: I can't spell
I think spelling is a gift and you're either born with it, or you're not. My brother Chris and I can't spell to save our lives, but my brother Tony could spell anything. Without spell check I have to change all the words I can't spell to simpler ones that I can spell, I would sound like I have the vocabulary of a 1st grader. I get mixed up with vowels, is that an "I" or and "E", or is there one "T" or two. This area has always perplexed me because I love to read, but apparently reading big words and spelling them are two different things. In my defense I took 3 years of French in High School and could spell just fine in French. I blame the inconsistent English language!

Habit: Shut-up!
Ben and I both say this in place of "No way!" or "Get out!". We have been trying to break the habit and are getting a little better. After Ben told 3 year old Anna to shut-up, we've been making extra effort.

Fact: I hate socks
I purposely select shoes that will look cute without socks, they make my feet feel claustrophobic. I prefer bare feet, but wear flip-flops whenever possible. I only wear "real shoes" when necessary and it pretty much has to snow to get me to wear socks. The only downfall to this is that I'm constantly in need of a pedicure.

Habit: I cover my ears when I'm sleeping
I started putting the blanket over my ear when I was around 10. My Brother's friend from Costa Rica told me a story about a boy he knew who had a spider living in his ear. We always had a lot of spiders in our house and I was petrified one would move into my ear. I guess the habit stuck, I'm not really so scared a spider will find a home in my ear anymore, but after 18 years it feels weird not to have my ear covered.

Fact: I never loose my appetite
There could be a major disaster: earthquake, flood, death, hurricane, tornado.....pass the burritos. Maybe there isn't anything I like.....pass the pigs feet. Depressed....bring on the ice cream. Talk about: blood, throw up, amputation.....pass the nachos. I could even look at something disgusting and still be hungry: cadaver......mac and cheese anyone? I wasn't always like this, but then again I used to weigh 30 lbs less.

Habit: I type with my fingers when I listen to someone attentively
This is probably a product of over 10 years of secretarial work, but it annoys me. I happens at church, or when a teacher would explain a complicated theory. It doesn't happy so much anymore, maybe having a year off from the computer is helping. Then again Eli doesn't let me concentrate on much, so maybe I'm just not listening.

It seems like everyone I know has already been tagged, so enjoy.

Deck the Halls

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

It snowed for about 20 min on Saturday morning. This is just the kind of snow I like, short and sweet. I took Eli out in it and he was in awe. He's used to rain, but this really got him excited. Maybe we'll have some more snow in January.

Family Pictures

We took our Christmas card pictures today!
Here's one Ben caught on the sly.

Zoo

Fun at Home

In our kitchen we have a cupboard that opens both sides and Eli likes to get in and crawl through. Last night Ben and I thought we'd see if we could fit (we watched a magic show on TV where the assistants fit in incredibly small places) Ben didn't fit, but I did!

The other pictures are of Eli's death defying tricks. He's an adrenalin junkie already, the more dangerous the better.

Bathtime Fun

Daddy's Little Helper

The door on the fridge was a little loose, so Ben tightened up the blots. Eli hadn't seen tools before and thought they were the best thing ever. We also love Ben's creativity in trying to hold up the door and tighten bolts at the same time, I ended up having to put the camera down and hold the door for him. Good job Ben!

Toys!

Don't Bug Me!

We saw this grasshopper out in the yard today. He's one of the more friendly looking insects we have in our yard.

I didn't know my fear of spiders was as out of control as it is until I tried to weed the other day. I generally don't like spiders, but if I see them in the house I'll squish them myself if Ben's not home. In the yard there are literally hundreds of spiders of all different varieties, and I felt physically ill. I had to come in the house and sit down, it took me several hours before I didn't feel like I had one crawling on me. Well I was going to call the pest control people, but when I went to their website there were spider pictures (of course). I had to close the browser and try to find something to do to distract my mind. I haven't seen any in the house, and am glad about that (hopefully they're just outdoor spiders). I can't take any pictures of them, and am trying not to visualize them, so I don't know what kind they are exactly. I guess I'm going to have to leave this one to Ben.

Big Boy

Eli loves to get up on the stool, we tell him to "conquer the stool". He's pulling himself up on everything, he recently discovered he can get the toys out of his basket himself. Oh what fun!

Jane Austin

Take the Quiz here!

I saw that Adrianna and Jamie both took this quiz, so of course I had to see who I was. I'm not too surprised that Adrianna and I are both Elizabeth. A couple of weeks ago we wore the exact same outfit to church, we also own the same sunglasses and bathing suit. I also added a little bit about our family to our blog sidebar the other week, only to find that Adrianna already had the same thing. I can never decide if I should change what I'm doing just to be different, or just admit defeat and match!

The Wheeler's House

After the Party

Our Ward had a Halloween Party last night. Eli dressed up as a Green Monster and looked really cute (well of course I think so). After we got back from the party he played with his loot. I think the bubbles were his favorite, but he enjoyed the Butterfinger wrapper too! The bottom picture is Eli giving me Eskimo Kisses.

Halloween

Getting into Trouble

Presents

I have the hardest time keeping presents a secret. I want to know what other people got me, but mostly I want to tell other people what I got them. I get so excited thinking I've found the perfect gift and I just can't wait. My whole family has this problem, we've actually developed a sort of tradition associated with it. We give each other hints about the presents we've purchased, sometimes we give hard hints so the other person really can't guess (this is usually if the present isn't that good). In my Brother's case I remember getting some false hints just to throw me off the scent if I got too close. Sometimes the present is too good, we just can't stand the suspense and we end up just telling the other person what we bought them.

One year for Christmas Ben and I planned a surprise visit to my Mom. My Brother was in on the secret and we pulled if off famously. We still tell this story all the time (repeating good stories again and again is also a tradition) because it is the only time any of us can remember not ruining the surprise.

The point of this story is that on Saturday I was checking Ben's email for the Ward Bullitin. I saw an unopened email from Amazon comfirming a purchase. I thought "Wow, Ben's really on top of things this year. My Birthday is a month away and he's already bought me something". The suspense was almost unbareable, I might have clicked on the email, but since it was unread I thought Ben would know that I had sneaked (I might add that Ben isn't as into this tradition as the rest of my family). So I excercised great self restraint and closed the browser. Later I told Ben what happend, hoping to get some hints as to what he had bought me. He said "Oh, you have a Birthday coming up?" He had this look like he had no idea, so I thought maybe he was playing along. Well my fantacy didn't last long because then he said "Do you know what that was?", and instantly I knew, it was the Superman Cartoon he had downloaded to Tivo.

Well this is what happens when you play the game. I then had to write out a list of things I might want for my Birthday, to give Ben some ideas. Even though this didn't turn out to be the surprise of a lifetime, I'm looking forward to Holidays filled with present hints and ruined surprises.

More Packing

3 days left! We're picking up the keys tomorrow, it's starting to feel real now. Our house is a big pile of boxes, and Eli and I are getting restless. I remember Wendy telling me that she didn't have anything to do all day without all their stuff when they were in a similar situation. Now I know what she means, I guess all my junk keeps me busy.

All Hands on Deck

I was packing up the storage closet today when Eli followed me out on the deck. Even though I could tell there was no way he could fit through the bars it still made me nervous. I was feeling a little like Michael Jackson, dangling my baby from the third floor.

Bad Mommy

Yes, that's a french fry. Eli was crying in the car because we were stuck in construction so I gave him a french fry. I couldn't get it away from him, so he had to hold it while he at his lunch. So, I only feed Eli organic baby food and french fries!

I felt guilty after this so I cut up some slices of bread in about the same shape as fries and gave him that with some peas. He was happy, but I'm sure once he gets a little older this won't work so well. What will Mommy do about her Wendy's addiction?

Let me out!

I think Eli is getting a little too big for this toy. He's had so much fun in it that I hate to part with it, but I think it's time to put it away. When he sits in it the chair it "bottoms out" and his bum rests on the floor. We'll have to start looking for a big boy chair.

Shark Story

My Brother called the other day and told me about some shark sightings near Cambria, California. A Great White, in the 16 foot range, has been sighted all up and down the coast. A girl surfing in Morro Bay was attacked, but escaped unharmed. The shark bit her long board and the fin of the board lodged itself in the sharks mouth. He thrashed around trying to dislodge the board and the girl was flung onto his back. After "riding" him for a second she was thrown clear, kicked the shark in the head, and swam to shore. The shark dislodged the surfboard and has been patrolling the coastline since.

My Brother assumed the shark had learned his lesson and wouldn't be messing with anymore surfers. He also claimed the danger wasn't any greater than usual "They're always out there, we just don't see them". He and his friend Jim went out surfing later that day, click here to see what happened.

Big Boy

Eli was pulling out all the stops today at lunch. He did his closed mouth smile, piggy face (I didn't catch a picture of this one today), Big Boy arms, and his newest trick DaDaDaDaDa......

The Best Toys

Eli has learned how to open all the cupboards now. I don't want to childproof as we're moving in less than 2 weeks, so we've moved everything breakable/dangerous off of the bottom shelves. My theory is I'd rather move everything once, than chase Eli around all day and get him out of trouble. His favorite "bottom shelf" toys are: Tupperware, pie tins and cutting boards. What fun!

Orchard Park

Rainy Days

Two weeks left and counting. Our house looks like a disaster, so I've stopped trying to clean up. There's no way to make things look neat with boxes stacked all over the place. I started by packing all of the stuff we don't use on a daily basis, and I'm amazed at how much stuff we have that we don't use. I thought I thinned everything out, but maybe I could trim a little more.