He's Still Builder Bob

Last weekend we had a birthday party for Dan. It was construction themed. We even got the Babe to wear a birthday hat for a couple minutes...and then she realized she had a hat on.

We had a dump truck shaped pinata. It was dark by the time we started, but you're not supposed to be able to see anyway, right?

I made a bulldozer shaped cake (don't worry, I made another pudding cake first in case this one didn't turn out).

I even found candles shaped like orange construction cones, but they only come in packages of six. Evidently, you're only supposed to have construction-themed birthdays until you're six. Well, not much about our relationship has ever been conventional.

How to Host a Murder

Last night Dan and I went to a Murder Mystery Party. I've always wanted to do one, so I was excited. All the costumes were pretty amazing, and we all stayed in character...most of the time.

I even got some extra use out of an old prom dress by adding a boa and a couple other alterations. We couldn't find any chocolate cigars in time though, so I had to make one out of scrapbook paper for Dan.

Life With Juliet

My mom came to visit me (really Juliet, but we'll keep up the masquerade) last week. Now that she has gone home again, I know how much she is missing life with me (again, really Juliet). So I thought I would post some pictures to remind her of the joy I (Juliet) bring to everyday life.

Sometimes, Juliet looks like she's straight out of Where the Wild Things Are with her crazy hair and squash all over her face (and hands, and hair, and stomach, and legs, etc., etc., etc.)...

She gnaws on anything she can get her two little teeth on - fingers and feet (not necessarily her own), toys, books, furniture...

And as long as she has someone or something to play with (better yet, both: Daddy and a swing) she couldn't be happier!

The Worm and Other Favorites

I though we should post some videos of Juliet - especially for the absent grandparents.

This is the first day Juliet really started babbling. Our friends Chad and Christy were there to see it.

This is the worm. It's her main mode of transportation at the moment. My mom is on the phone urging her on. And you can see the beautiful toy box Dan made in the background.

This is Dan tickling Juliet, and she is loving it!

We Went Swimming

On Saturday, we took Juliet swimming for the first time. Of course we took pictures, and of course we had to put them up here. She thought it was all fine and dandy until we took her into the pool with a bunch of people she didn't know. She was completely stone-faced the entire time - she didn't scream, but she also refused to smile. Towards the end we got her to splash in the water a little bit, but she really doesn't like new situation...we'll try again sometime soon.

See the two teeth?

Loving the sunglasses

See how she's concerned?

I made him squint into the sun...sorry, Dan.

I Think We Figured It Out!

It is possible (just possible) that we have curbed the rate of losing in this family. Let me clarify - I'm talking about misplacing objects of importance, not coming in last in a game or competition. For Father's Day, Dan got some pictures of Juliet, some A&W Root Beer, and.....LABELS! Last month, as I was perusing my parenting magazine (oddly enough entitled Parenting), I came across an ad for ID labels to stick on kids' things: cups, shoes, clothes, bags, so that when they are lost they can again be found. Does it sound like our family might need something of this sort? In a rare stroke of genius, I decided to check out the website. I promptly decided these labels were exactly what we needed. Dan now has labels designed to go on clothing tags, shoes, dishes and things of that sort, and dog-tag-like labels to go on bags. Most of Dan's belongings can now have his name and phone number on them! So far, I have only tagged his lunch box, keys, and wallet (the winter coat and gloves will come in due time), but I'm feeling pretty good about the situation. If it is lost, it can be returned! Thank you Mabel's Labels!

The Cute Contest

So we're looking for votes on the cutest pictures for a contest. They're looking for personality and cuteness. The background doesn't so much matter. Opinions?

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Supermodel Cakes

I have come to a conclusion: decorative cakes are like supermodels.

I decided I should start practicing birthday cakes. (Dan doesn't like it when I try new recipes on other people because I get frustrated when they don't turn out perfectly.) So I looked up instructions on-line and picked a simple-looking monkey cake.

I got all the decorative do-dads and was really excited about it. I followed the directions and tried not to be too disheartened with the outcome. It was ugly. I mean UGLY. The sides crumbled, the colored frosting mixed, it was disastrous.

That's when I came to my conclusion: decorative cakes (at least those with "simple" instructions) are as airbrushed as supermodels. They are made up of unnatural things (paint and styrofoam, I'm sure), and are airbrushed into perfection just like supermodels.

I am disgusted at this new societal low. But it is what it is. And I'm certain it has nothing to do with my ability (or lack thereof) as a cake decorator.

How the Mighty Have Fallen

I used to think of myself as an intelligent person. I could participate in conversations about any number of things: politics, art, books, travel, history.

And then I had a child, and all that changed...

The most frequent concern in my life is now poo. Thoughts about The Babe's poo now run through my head like good music used to. I make exclamations such as "Poo!" and "Toots!" which effectively lower my maturity level each time. I find it amazing (and appalling) how many things I can worry about that concern poo. Here are some of the most frequent:

1) Is she pooing right now?

2) When was the last time she pooed?

3) She's pooing too much.

4) She's not pooing enough.

5) Her poo is a weird color...I know I did not feed her that color.

6) Her poo is the wrong consistency...deer poo? clay?

7) Is she going to poo during church while they're passing the Sacrament?

8) Has she pooed on this outfit? Or can she wear it?

9) Will she poo if I give her a bath right now?

10) Is she done pooing?

11) Is poo the reason she's crying?

12) Was what I just heard regular poo or a poo-splosion?

13) Is what I'm eating making her gassy?

14) Is what she's eating making her gassy?

The list goes on and on. I feel that this is a little on the side of ridiculous. I'm an educated person. But my life and thoughts revolve around poo.

Festival of Colors!

I have now lived in Provo for four years. Every spring I have wanted to go to the Festival of Colors at the Hare Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork and, for one reason or another haven't been able to. Well, this year we went! And it was awesome!

The Festival of Colors (or Holi Festival to be correct) basically consists of welcoming in spring by forgiving past grievances by throwing organic colored chalk at each other. There were about 20 - 30,000 people all throwing chalk at the same time:

And that's only some of the people. So everyone has bags of different colored chalk, and they count down from twenty over the loudspeaker. Then there's supposed to be a huge cloud of chalk:

We took the Babe because she loves colors. She was under her blanket for the worst of it, but she got to look around for a while. And she couldn't help but get a little colorful:

The only bad thing was that the website said there would be shuttles going from a high school in the next town over to help with parking...so we parked there. After getting out of the car, we noticed there was no shuttle - only a long line of people walking. Walking where? you may ask. We didn't know, but like any good lemmings we followed. Two miles later, we got to the Temple. It wouldn't have been had if we had prepared for that, but walking two miles in flip flops while carrying the Babe (okay, so Dan carried her most of the way because I was lagging behind) is no fun (maybe it was a little fun). And then we were outside in the sun for a couple hours and had to walk back (all right, 3/4 the way there Dan went to get the car for me because my feet hurt). So we were pretty tired by the end of the day:

But we had a whole lot of family fun! And Dan still has a pink eyebrow to remind him of the good times we had.

The Cuteness of Our Family Keeps Multiplying Thanks to a Certain Someone (it's not Dan, in case you wondered)

Baby Feet

Punk Babe

Skeptical Babe

Alarmed Babe

Concerned Babe

Concerned Babe being kissed

Perfect Babe