Grandma and Grandpa Berrett's Visit

Two weeks ago my parents came out to visit. They were so sweet and had suggested that while they were here Nate and I make plans for some time away. (If it were just my dad making that offer, I would think it was because he didn't want to see me, just the grandkids. Since it was coming from my mom, I think she was worried about my sanity!) Sadly, Nate and I had 24 kid-free hours, and all we did was: drive, shop for Kiersten and Tanner, drive some more, eat (a really good lunch at Maggiano's; well, at least my lunch was really good), drive, go to the temple, eat (we decided Cafe Rio isn't all that if you're still full when you begin eating, but since it was in the plan . . .!), shop for Kiersten (her birthday is coming up and it was the only chance we'd have to shop together without her!), read/watch TV, sleep (well, Nate did, but I never sleep well somewhere other than my own bed!), eat, and drive home. We really know how to paint the town red, don't we? :)

When we got home we discovered that my parents must be our church good luck charm. First of all, we have church from 2-5 , so I'm not exaggerating when I say that I dread church. I do not think a mother with young kids would ever inflict that on anyone. We had a nice surprise though - our bishop decided that you can't have church with no working bathrooms and so ended church an hour early! (One set of restrooms were closed for remodeling, and the other was having major sewer problems.)

Kiersten and Tanner with Grandma and Grandpa after Church. Notice the big smiles. Although, I don't think their smiles compare with Mom's!


Later that evening we had Family Home Evening with Grandma and Grandpa. Kiersten insisted on playing the opening song, but instructed us not to sing until she finished playing the "instructions." Thankfully she told us what song we were singing so we didn't have to figure it out from her playing!

The next morning we headed out to the Desert Museum. Before my parents arrived, Nate and I had been talking about fun things we could do with them. One of the things we talked about was the Desert Museum. I think the word "museum" caught Kiersten's attention since she loves the Children's Museum so much, and so she figured that this one would be just as fun. So she was very insistent that we go to the Desert Museum. Unfortunately for her, I don't think it turned out to be quite what she had in mind, but we all managed to enjoy ourselves at some point!

I should be sure to point out that Kiersten dressed and accessorized herself for our outing! I can't take any credit for what she's got on, other than not wanting a fight as we went out the door. My personal favorite is the ring on her finger with the HUGE hot pink stone!

Kiersten didn't want to wear sunscreen that day. So Nate gave her 2 options: she could let me put some on her, or he'd hold her upside down while I put some on her. You can tell what she choose. And, while she still didn't want any on, she was laughing too hard to put up much of a fight.

Tanner had a rough morning (this was the day his first tooth finally made its appearance), and was really happiest when he was asleep!

The whole gang. (Tanner is asleep in the green stroller - if you look close, you might see him!)

Some thngs I've learned recently . . .

The past couple of weeks have been full of "learning experiences" for me, so I thought I'd share some of the more interesting ones!

• Part of President Obama's stimulus package includes money to remove all of the kilometer signs along the highway by us. Yes, we do live along the only Interstate in the country that has kilometer markers - it was part of some experiment a while ago to see if it would work better than using miles like the rest of the country. For some reason it didn't take off - go figure! Not too long ago they went through and added mile marker signs that were turned at a funny angle, so that they would be there but not too distracting and interfere with the kilometer signs. So now Arizona has received federal money to take out the kilometer signs and rotate the mile marker signs. I'm so pleased to see our tax dollars being put to good use! (The other sad part of the story is that this article made the front page of our local paper 2 weeks ago! It must have been a slow news day!)
  
  
• I must be a bad mom because I think I've been starving my poor child! Tanner had his 9 month check up two weeks ago, and in the 3 months since his last check-up he's only grown 1 inch and he lost a pound. Nate and I are so worried about over feeding him (he'd eat himself sick at every meal if we'd let him), which tends to aggravate his spitting, that we cut him off before he acts full. Apparently we've been underfeeding him. So now I've got 3 weeks (we're down to one week!) to put weight on him or the doctor is going to start him on acid-reflux medication. But now I'm worried I'm over feeding him - in just 2 days he's starting to put on quite a belly! I just don't think I'm ever going to win this one!
  
  
• On a somewhat related note, I've discovered that blueberry yogurt comes back up a kind of a turquoise color, as my carpet, tile and clothes can attest to. Everything else seems to come back up the same color it went down.
  
  
• A whole bottle of mouthwash will not stain your carpet, even if you let it soak in for 5 hours while you take your kids to the zoo. Nate knew the day was off to a good start for us when I I called him at work at 8:30 am to ask him what he thought about me not cleaning the carpet right away since we were already late leaving to meet some friends at the zoo. He just laughed. All I know is, thank heavens for steam cleaners! Oh, and by the way, in case you are wondering - that was Tanner, not Kiersten, who got in the mouthwash and spilled a brand new bottle!
  
  
• I think my least favorite word in the English language (as other Mom's of 3-year-olds have said!) is the word, "why." "Why mom?" "Why is that a dog?" "Why is her name Michelle?" "Why do I have to have to have quiet time every day?" I especially want to scream when I'm on my 10th "why" question in a row, and we're going no where but in circles!
  

I think there was more, but I can't remember what else I was going to share. It must be real important, right? :)

A Big Day for Tanner

Today was quite a big day for Tanner - he cut his first tooth and he got his first haircut, and he's probably sick too! Here's a we-just-discovered-his-first-tooth-before-his-haircut picture. I'll have to publish an after haircut picture once I remember to take them. (Thanks Mom for your help! I'm sure I couldn't have done it on my own!) And, as soon as we can get a picture of the tooth (right now he's too busy rubbing his tongue on it to let us even see it!) we'll post that too!

Classic Kiersten

We have loved having Grandpa and Grandma Berrett out to visit this past weekend! They took Kiersten and Tanner to the park Saturday morning. After they had played on the swings (a favorite for both Kiersten and Tanner), played with Kiersten's new game (Sticky Ball, I think it's called) and had a snack Kiersten asked Grandpa if he wanted to play football. When he said he would like to, she answered, "Ok, let me put on my makeup first." She then sat down, and pulled out her "make-up" (some new lip gloss and chapstick from Grandma and some of Mom's empty eye shadow containers) and put it on, while holding the football in her lap so that no one could get to it until she was ready. Yep, that's my girl!

Play Date at the Zoo

Last week our ward playgroup had a play date at the zoo. It was a little (ok, VERY) crazy and crowded (apparently Wednesdays, the day we went, are field trip day at the zoo, and several schools were out for Spring Break), but we managed to have fun anyway. I don't have that much to tell about the trip - just some cute pictures of the kids to share.
In case you're wondering, Kiersten dressed herself that day and even though the high was close to 90 insisted on wearing her long sleeve shirt. When I tried to warn her that she'd be too hot she said, "That's ok, I can just take my jacket." Sometimes she gets a little confused!



We ended the trip with a short train ride around the lake in the park next to the zoo. I had to keep a tight hold on Tanner because he kept trying to climb out the window to play at the park!

Botanical Gardens

Way back in December (or maybe November - I can't remember that far back!) a friend gave us some free passes to go to the Tucson Botanical Gardens. They expired on February 28, so guess when we finally got around to using them? Yep! That's right, February 28th!

I'd talked about going to the Botanical Gardens with Kiersten several days before, and then not too long after that, she asked me if she could take her doll to Kindergarten with her. I was a little confused because I wasn't sure where Kindergarten came from, but explained to her that when she goes to Kindergarten she'll need to leave all of her dolls at home so that she will be able to listen to her teacher without getting distracted. Not too long after that she made some other reference to going to Kindergarten soon and I reminded her she still had over a year to go before she got to go to Kindergarten. She got really upset and yelled at me that I'd told her we could go to Kindergarten on Saturday (she's a child who doesn't do well with plan changes!). All of a sudden I realized that she was confusing "Botanical Garden" with "Kindergarten!" Once we got that little misunderstanding straightened out, we were able to make plans for going to the Botanical Gardens!

This was the first time we'd been to the Botanical Gardens, and I was really impressed. They had a butterfly exhibit with the most beautiful butterflies from Central and South America. We couldn't get Kiersten in to see the butterflies, though, because it was in a greenhouse, and the butterflies were flying around free and she didn't like the idea of them landing on her! So she settled for just looking through the window!

Kiersten said that her favorite part was a model train that was set up. I really liked the iris garden - unfortunately it wasn't in bloom! I'll bet it is gorgeous later this spring. I'm not sure what Nate enjoyed the most. And I think Tanner liked it all - riding in the backpack, feeling like he's king of the world!

Who'd have known that in February it would be 85 degrees, and I'd be worried about my children getting sunburned? That's winter in Tucson for you, I guess.

Speed Demon!

Tanner is getting to be quite the speed crawler. He seems to go the fastest whenever he sees something open that he's not supposed to be in, namely the fridge! Here's a sample of how fast he's getting. (Poor kid had no idea he was being set up!)

Earlier Today I looked up from doing the dishes and saw him walking and pushing a chair across the living room. It took a minute to register that it was the first time he'd actually taken steps like that by himself.