This morning has been a bit of a trial with Vanessa. It started out with her chucking her sippy cup lid at my face hard, and at close range (which means she hit her target). The rest of the morning has been full of little "battles." I think part of it has to do with it being Monday (first day without Daddy after a fun weekend) and that I just am not patient or creative today...I think I'm just grumpy!
So, as "blog therapy," I thought I'd share a funny Vanessa story to gear me up for the afternoon. (I apologize for those who've already heard it):
A couple days ago, Vanessa had a really long nap (bless her for that...it was 4 hours!). That night we still put her down at her regular time, so she wasn't really tired yet. Fortunately, she was a perfect angel and didn't fight it, but "entertained" herself until she passed out. We had no clue what she was doing but could hear the occasional jabber (I think I even heard "Peekaboo").
Before I went to bed, I went to check in on her and to make sure she wasn't too cold. When I looked down at her, it took a second to register why things didn't look right. Not only was she not covered up, but in her boredom, she had taken off her diaper and folded it up, passing out with her bare bum sticking up in the air. I was trying so hard not to laugh out loud.
Well, I decided there was no use waking her up to put the diaper back on (I could always wash everything in the morning), so I went to cover her with the blanket. Just then, she flips over, wide awake and completely coherent, and excitedly explains, "I took the diaper off!"
Monday, April 30, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
My little SugarBug
Don't ask me why that's one of her silly little nicknames, but it somehow fits Vanessa. After reading some of the other cute blog entries you guys have written about your little ones, I felt it was time (again, I think) to write about the social, active life of our Vanessa Marie (brace yourself for maternal rambling).
This morning, as I tried to squeeze in a couple more minutes of rest before rolling my big belly out of bed, Vanessa came in, bright-eyed and full of things to say. After accepting the fact that Daddy really did have to go to work, she began to sing to herself (as she often does these days). I remember something about "baby...with a bottle...drink milk" and then it turned into the alphabet song (which she actually got most of the first 10 letters correct), all set to her own tune.
The other day (much to my dismay) Vanessa noticed I "tooted" (we're trying very hard not to say "fart" around her, as she liked the word too much) and made reference to it. She then started to list "Mommy toots, Daddy toots, Massa (how she refers to herself) toots, Nemo (her fish) toots." I couldn't help laughing!
We've discovered that Vanessa gets frustrated when she's not the center of the attention (I know we're in trouble, especially once Nicole is born). Often she tries to interrupt or use other tactics to get us to pay attention to her when Matt and I are trying to tell each other something. Often she tries to be silly, but our least favorite (and her preference) is when she throws her spoon or food (any tips would be appreciated). I guess the good thing is that she doesn't seem to resent when we are greeting each other affectionately (so long as she gets a hug and kiss too).
Vanessa is so excited to be a big sister (at least as far as her understanding goes). She talks a lot about "Baby Micole" and loves to help the doctor check the heartbeat. She is always wrapping up her babies in blankets (or rather, my clean dish towels) and pushing them around in her stroller. She also always feeds the babies a bottle, and I've even caught her rocking and singing to them. When she sees other (real) babies, she goes up to them and in a high(er) voice coos "Hi Baby" and gives them a hug. One time she was sitting next to a friend's baby in the car, and was talking to the baby until she got hungry. Not thinking, I passed back a box of raisins and quickly realized she was trying to share (fortunately I caught her in time). I can't wait to see her interact with Nicole, but I know she will be only too help. And I can just imagine her explaining to the world how Mommy feeds the baby!
The last thing I wanted to share (besides pictures) was how much she loves "watching Jesus." We just got The Testaments recently and Vanessa loves watching Jesus come down to teach and heal the people. She regularly demonstrates how He "heals owies". In a recent effort to keep her quiet during the sacrament (one of the times she is most talkative) I tried to explain to her how we have to be quiet so that everyone can think about Jesus. I then reminded her of the movie, an immediately she turned to the person next to her and jabbered quite loudly, and with motions, "Jesus come down...heal owies" along with a few other things I couldn't make out, then repeated all again to someone on the other side. My shushing was to no avail. Besides it was hard to be too firm with her since she was so excited about the Savior! What a kid!
This morning, as I tried to squeeze in a couple more minutes of rest before rolling my big belly out of bed, Vanessa came in, bright-eyed and full of things to say. After accepting the fact that Daddy really did have to go to work, she began to sing to herself (as she often does these days). I remember something about "baby...with a bottle...drink milk" and then it turned into the alphabet song (which she actually got most of the first 10 letters correct), all set to her own tune.
The other day (much to my dismay) Vanessa noticed I "tooted" (we're trying very hard not to say "fart" around her, as she liked the word too much) and made reference to it. She then started to list "Mommy toots, Daddy toots, Massa (how she refers to herself) toots, Nemo (her fish) toots." I couldn't help laughing!
We've discovered that Vanessa gets frustrated when she's not the center of the attention (I know we're in trouble, especially once Nicole is born). Often she tries to interrupt or use other tactics to get us to pay attention to her when Matt and I are trying to tell each other something. Often she tries to be silly, but our least favorite (and her preference) is when she throws her spoon or food (any tips would be appreciated). I guess the good thing is that she doesn't seem to resent when we are greeting each other affectionately (so long as she gets a hug and kiss too).
Vanessa is so excited to be a big sister (at least as far as her understanding goes). She talks a lot about "Baby Micole" and loves to help the doctor check the heartbeat. She is always wrapping up her babies in blankets (or rather, my clean dish towels) and pushing them around in her stroller. She also always feeds the babies a bottle, and I've even caught her rocking and singing to them. When she sees other (real) babies, she goes up to them and in a high(er) voice coos "Hi Baby" and gives them a hug. One time she was sitting next to a friend's baby in the car, and was talking to the baby until she got hungry. Not thinking, I passed back a box of raisins and quickly realized she was trying to share (fortunately I caught her in time). I can't wait to see her interact with Nicole, but I know she will be only too help. And I can just imagine her explaining to the world how Mommy feeds the baby!
The last thing I wanted to share (besides pictures) was how much she loves "watching Jesus." We just got The Testaments recently and Vanessa loves watching Jesus come down to teach and heal the people. She regularly demonstrates how He "heals owies". In a recent effort to keep her quiet during the sacrament (one of the times she is most talkative) I tried to explain to her how we have to be quiet so that everyone can think about Jesus. I then reminded her of the movie, an immediately she turned to the person next to her and jabbered quite loudly, and with motions, "Jesus come down...heal owies" along with a few other things I couldn't make out, then repeated all again to someone on the other side. My shushing was to no avail. Besides it was hard to be too firm with her since she was so excited about the Savior! What a kid!
Cuddling with her "Add-oh Bear" (little bear) and picture of Jesus (tucked under her arm). Sometimes she picks some weird things to "nuggle" with.
She LOVES to color...the trick is to keep her on the paper.
She looks very "chill" in this position, don't you think?
Hanging out at the park. It was such a beautiful day!
I think she was trying to smell the flowers...It's very hard to get her to look at the camera and smile now.
Vanessa's request every day: "Go outside...throw pinecones...go sweem (swing)!"
And lest we forget Vanessa's other great love...driving!
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Mother Bear
Friday Vanessa and I went to the University Mall to have lunch with friends. It was nice to hang out and chat, and those of us who didn't have to head back to work went to the play area in the mall afterward.
Since the play area is set up like a big treehouse, there are areas where you can't see what's going on inside very well unless you have a direct view or are also inside. Still, I could see Vanessa pretty well, and she seemed to be having fun going up and down the stairs and playing peek-a-boo with me. Shortly after she went back in one time, this little girl (who probably was not a whole lot older than her) came in and pushed her, then started to yank on Vanessa's hair...HARD. As soon as I could, I was up and running (okay, waddling) in there, fuming mad. I yelled at the girl, "No! Stop that!" wondering where on earth her mother was at a moment like this. Fortunately for the girl, she ran off after that and I scooped up my crying child and did my best to comfort her. I was so ready to pull that little girl's hair to teach her a lesson (She had longer hair than Vanessa), but luckily I still somewhat had my senses about me and realized that it probably would not have been the appropriate thing to do. It took me an hour or two to fully let it go.
Poor Vanessa had a hard time calming down after that. She had that cry that would break anyone's heart and she had this confused look on her face like What did I do to deserve that? She did try to get down and play again, but right as she did so, another, bigger girl ran by her and accidently clipped her, making her fall down. For Vanessa, that was the last straw, and we left the area so she could feel safe and hopefully forget the incident. Although she had fun the rest of the day, occasionally she would say, "she pull hair," and tug at her hair with a sad face. I think if that little girl had been much older, she would have come to understand the meaning of "mother bear." No one messes with my sweet, little Vanessa!
Since the play area is set up like a big treehouse, there are areas where you can't see what's going on inside very well unless you have a direct view or are also inside. Still, I could see Vanessa pretty well, and she seemed to be having fun going up and down the stairs and playing peek-a-boo with me. Shortly after she went back in one time, this little girl (who probably was not a whole lot older than her) came in and pushed her, then started to yank on Vanessa's hair...HARD. As soon as I could, I was up and running (okay, waddling) in there, fuming mad. I yelled at the girl, "No! Stop that!" wondering where on earth her mother was at a moment like this. Fortunately for the girl, she ran off after that and I scooped up my crying child and did my best to comfort her. I was so ready to pull that little girl's hair to teach her a lesson (She had longer hair than Vanessa), but luckily I still somewhat had my senses about me and realized that it probably would not have been the appropriate thing to do. It took me an hour or two to fully let it go.
Poor Vanessa had a hard time calming down after that. She had that cry that would break anyone's heart and she had this confused look on her face like What did I do to deserve that? She did try to get down and play again, but right as she did so, another, bigger girl ran by her and accidently clipped her, making her fall down. For Vanessa, that was the last straw, and we left the area so she could feel safe and hopefully forget the incident. Although she had fun the rest of the day, occasionally she would say, "she pull hair," and tug at her hair with a sad face. I think if that little girl had been much older, she would have come to understand the meaning of "mother bear." No one messes with my sweet, little Vanessa!
Monday, April 09, 2007
Easter!
We had quite the Easter this year. We started it off with an egg hunt by the duck pond at BYU campus. Vanessa got to join the other excited, impatient kids in the "2 & under" group, wit her "purse" in hand.
Five minutes before they started, the adults dumped out a ton of eggs on the grass, and the kids picked them up just about as fast! Here's Vanessa on a mission:
She did a pretty darn good job picking up eggs and fortunately didn't really notice until afterward that all eggs had candy inside. The rest of the day that was all she asked for (except when we took her to the park to swing--I think that's the only time I've heard her turn down chocolate).
Five minutes before they started, the adults dumped out a ton of eggs on the grass, and the kids picked them up just about as fast! Here's Vanessa on a mission:
She did a pretty darn good job picking up eggs and fortunately didn't really notice until afterward that all eggs had candy inside. The rest of the day that was all she asked for (except when we took her to the park to swing--I think that's the only time I've heard her turn down chocolate).The next morning Vanessa got her Easter basket. She got several books, toys, and, of course, candy! Fortunately, she was just as excited for the books about Jesus as the other stuff.
After that, I attempted the impossible (and crazy): curling a toddler's hair and getting everyone ready for 8:30am church (This was after painting her nails the night before). I'm sorry to say that my "project" made us late for church. Ah well, lesson learned! Here is Vanessa's hair in progress:
Since it rained, we didn't get to take any outside pictures. And after the ordeal of trying to do her hair, she wasn't really ready to hold still for pictures. This is about as good as it gets:
Once we got to church, the rest of the day was great and a bit more Christ-centered than the stressful morning. We had a fun, laid-back dinner after church with Megan and Jason and let Vanessa "hunt" for more candy-filled eggs.
After that, I attempted the impossible (and crazy): curling a toddler's hair and getting everyone ready for 8:30am church (This was after painting her nails the night before). I'm sorry to say that my "project" made us late for church. Ah well, lesson learned! Here is Vanessa's hair in progress:
Since it rained, we didn't get to take any outside pictures. And after the ordeal of trying to do her hair, she wasn't really ready to hold still for pictures. This is about as good as it gets:
Once we got to church, the rest of the day was great and a bit more Christ-centered than the stressful morning. We had a fun, laid-back dinner after church with Megan and Jason and let Vanessa "hunt" for more candy-filled eggs.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Moving
So, since we've known that we'll be staying at BYU, we have been working on getting things "set up" for grad school and a new baby. We applied to Provo City housing (truly a blessing when you're living the student life with kids). We got approved and are just waiting for the people to move out of the town home we'll be living in (pictures will come once we've actually toured the place). The great thing is, I think we'll actually get settled in before Nicole is born, and we'll have more room when people come visit us!
In the meantime, I am getting closer and closer to the end of my calling and to my due date. Time seems to be slowing down! I'm just glad it's springtime and we can get out to play.
Matt (and his department) has made a different move...to a UCCU branch by the BYU Stadium. The set-up is a little goofy, but he gets to work a lot closer to home while he's still at this job. He also has been enjoying his freedom to read whatever he darn well pleases each evening instead of textbooks (I think this is the first time since I met him that he's been able to do that). It's been fun as he's shared some of he's been reading.
Last, but not least, Vanessa continues to add to her list of phrases. Matt was teaching her to shake hands and say "Nice to meet you." Then she took both of his hands and said "two to-meet-you's." She is also developing her own music repertoire, and now "sings" I Am a Child of God and Goony Sweethot (Goodnight Sweetheart) on a regular basis, which means that she sings the first line over and over to her own tune. Every truck has become "Grandpa's truck" and she "calls" Grandma T (her great-grandma Tschudy) on her phone all the time. She loves looking at pictures of family and I think she remembers and misses all of you guys every bit as much as we do (She even remembers Baby Jozen and Baby Evan). We can't wait for this summer!
In the meantime, I am getting closer and closer to the end of my calling and to my due date. Time seems to be slowing down! I'm just glad it's springtime and we can get out to play.
Matt (and his department) has made a different move...to a UCCU branch by the BYU Stadium. The set-up is a little goofy, but he gets to work a lot closer to home while he's still at this job. He also has been enjoying his freedom to read whatever he darn well pleases each evening instead of textbooks (I think this is the first time since I met him that he's been able to do that). It's been fun as he's shared some of he's been reading.
Last, but not least, Vanessa continues to add to her list of phrases. Matt was teaching her to shake hands and say "Nice to meet you." Then she took both of his hands and said "two to-meet-you's." She is also developing her own music repertoire, and now "sings" I Am a Child of God and Goony Sweethot (Goodnight Sweetheart) on a regular basis, which means that she sings the first line over and over to her own tune. Every truck has become "Grandpa's truck" and she "calls" Grandma T (her great-grandma Tschudy) on her phone all the time. She loves looking at pictures of family and I think she remembers and misses all of you guys every bit as much as we do (She even remembers Baby Jozen and Baby Evan). We can't wait for this summer!
Vanessa loves taking her shirts off and putting things on her head (this time it was sunglasses, but usually it's one of our shirts)
Megan and Jason came over to watch Conference with us on Sunday. I think Vanessa was training her Uncle Jason on baby care. (By the way, we're so excited for you guys to have your little girl!)
As I happened upon this scene, I was thinking Michelle's "Destructo Boy" story. Apparently Vanessa was making a bed for herself...(sigh) five minutes after I had put all that stuff away. (Oh, and if you see that bump in the very bottom of the picture, that's my belly getting in the way. Notice how there's no sign of my feet below).
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