Another Zoo Day

We love the Amur Leopard at the Oregon Zoo.
We saw a sign outside the exhibit a couple of weeks ago stating there are less than 40 left in the wild. It's so sad their numbers are so few, but we're happy to have the opportunity to see them at the zoo.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We went to the park today with the Churches! Eli is crazy and tries to go headfirst off of everything. He loves going down slide, but the swing may be his favorite.

Mi Casa

It's fun to be 1

Eli is doing so much better with walking. He can make it all the way across the room now, but he still looks like Frankenstein.

He has also really expanded his vocabulary in the last few weeks,
here's a list of the words he can say:
Mama
Dada
UhOh
NumNum
Night Night
Wow
Ball
Kitty
Dog
Bath
This
NoNo
PooPoo

He can also do a few animal noises:
Monkey
Cow
Rabbit
Snake
Lion
Sheep
Kitty
Dog
Bee

Valentine's Day

I woke up on Thursday morning to find hearts hanging from the ceiling, they each listed something different that Ben loves about me. I also got chocolate and a rose, isn't Ben romantic?

Later in the morning, Adrianna and I took the kids to the zoo. We saw the otters and the elephants receive a special Valentine's Day treat. The hippos were also cuddling to celebrate the occasion.

Moving

The sale of the Wheeler's house is pending, so we're on the move. We found a cute, almost brand new, duplex in downtown Hillsboro that we love. We have 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a garage, and a small yard. Ben will be able to walk to work, it's only 5 blocks. We'll be a little further from Target and Winco, but closer to the aquatic center.

We're sad to leave our ward. We've been in the same ward for almost 5 years, and for our ward that's a long time. I'm really sad to leave my calling, I feel like I just got started.

We've had a lot of changes this week, Ben also got a new job. He's still at the City of Hillsboro, just switching to a different department. Of course the pay is better, and he'll have every other Friday off. We're very excited about the 3 day weekends with summer coming.

We had a hard year in 2007, and I kept asking myself what we were doing wrong. Well, I guess we must be doing something right because I feel like everything has just fallen into place all at once. We are truly blessed.

Mess

I helped my brother do some stuff on the computer and this is what the office looked like about half way through. I was too distraught to take a picture afterwards.

If I had a wish

I would wish that Eli could always be this happy!

Unfortunately he's cut two teeth in two days and has looked more like this lately. I really do feel sorry for him and try to help him in any way I can, but I can't help dreading the "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh" that accompanies this gesture.

Eli's First Birthday

Happy Birthday Eli!
We had a nice party for Eli on Saturday,
his friends and family came to help us celebrate.
We played "Pin the tail on the Monkey" and ate good food.
Yesterday was Eli's real birthday.
We weighed and measured him:
26 lbs.
34in.
Big Baby!

Dork

I just couldn't resist posting this picture!

Puzzled

I'm not sure who thought this puzzle was a good idea. We call it the "teach your child how to break through any lock puzzle". It has a variety of real metal locks that kids usually can't open, and it gives them the opportunity to work on them until they get it right. It came in a bag of puzzles from Goodwill and of course it's Eli's favorite. He hasn't figured out how to open any of the locks yet, and I'm contemplating putting it away before he does. If he masters these six locks it will really limit our options for keeping him in a room, or out of cupboards.

Baby Mozart

Eli and Monkey and Hippo Oh My!

Fold your arms

Eli just learned how to fold his arms for prayer. If we start eating (even a snack) and forget to pray, he'll remind us by folding his arms and waiting. He also wants to stop about 10 times during the course of the meal to say more prayers. At first we complied and said another prayer, now we just say "Amen" and that does the trick!

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.