Halloween

I hope everyone had a happy halloween. I was thinking Joshua would go as superman, but Joshua would not have it. While Nate and I were thinking of another costumn idea for him, Josh was doing his favorite move from an exercise video he watches me do. Then Nate thought we wouldn't have any trouble getting him to dress like an exercise intructure. Nate was right, and after watching a Rocky clip on youtube, he didn't mind wearing a head band either. The jacket is one Nate wore. Vintage 80's. Caleb had a cough and a runny nose, so he stayed home with Nate while I took Josh to our ward's trunk or treat. Josh didn't exactly understand why people were giving him candy every time he held out his hand, but he sure loved it.

This is our first pumpkin since Josh was born. Josh loved the entire carving process. I loved it, too, and look future pumpkin masterpieces.

Happy Halloween Pancakes

This is the first time that I've done anything like this with food, and Josh loved it. My mother-in-law sent us this magazine with a whole bunch of fun Halloween recipes, and making ghost pancakes was the easiest. You just add a bit of cocoa powder to a small bit of pancake batter, make little circles and a smile for the face, flip the face over when one side is done cooking (my spatula didn’t get under the little eyes so well, so I flipped ‘em with a fork), and then you plop some regular batter on top of the face for the ghost’s body.

Oh, I’m going to try food dye next time—a green face with orange body or whatever!

Growing Caleb

A little over two years ago, video was taken of Josh crawling toward this same dinosaur book. Nate tries to get Caleb to do the same, but Caleb has no interest in the book. He wants the camera.

With over a month's practice since this video was taken, Caleb now crawls like a champ. Josh loves it.

Mom, the Spider Slayer

Eight-legged creatures beware.
I am Mom, the spider slayer.
Go ahead, vermin! Play dead and take care,
But be warned, I don't play fair.
Death comes quickly if ye dare
To wander and abide in my lair.
Oh, ye eight-legged fools beware.
I am Mom, the spider slayer!

by M. G. Wright

He he he

Can two brothers look more different?

We all do look related, but I thought my children would look more like each other.

Caleb, almost 8 months

Joshua, three in Dec



Here they are side by side. Do you see any resemblance?
The only resemblance I see is their head shape, but then again, Josh's checks have never been as chubby as Caleb's, making Caleb's face more square.

Now compare Caleb to Josh at 6.5 months. You can tell Caleb's older. Both have thin eyebrows (Definitely my side of the family). Both loved and kissed too many times. Well, I think as they get older I'll see more similarities between them, but I do enjoy having two totally different, crazy boys.

Fire station visit

One of Josh's nursery friends had his birthday party at a fire station. The fire fighters did a tour of one of their trucks, showed them the gear they wear, and allowed them to walk through the cab. Josh didn't exactly know what to think of it all, but he enjoyed it.

Caleb has sure grown from the last time we posted. He's now eating solids, sitting himself up, crawling, and has two bottom teeth coming in. Eight months have sure gone by fast...too fast.

Professor Wright

Professor Wright at Harvard prepares and gives his lecture with his trusty assistant, Dog.

Professor Wright pauses to take a question.

Professor Wright in the lab with one of his students (and his trusty assistant, Dog).

Happy Easter!!!!!!

A local church put on a community Easter egg hunt. Josh was more interested in the park than getting Easter eggs, but as soon as his dad showed him what to do, he enjoyed it.

Joshua and I tried and succeeded in this video to get Caleb to laugh...only once though and a small snicker. You'll hear Joshua coughing as well.

"Ashes, Ashes. We all fall down." Josh sings this song when he's on the bed or some place bouncy.

Meet Dub

Well, when I finally figure out how to switch the order of these pictures, I will. I confess, though, that I'm too lazy to upload the pictures separately. Anyway, the above picture goes with the video I uploaded. Josh found where I put the baby formula. I'm glad to say it was a free sample I got from the mail that he dumped over the counter and on the floor. I officially agree with Elder Wirthlin's last talk he gave. The best reaction in "interesting" situations is to laugh. I just wish Enfimal didn't dissolve so easily. It makes it rather difficult to clean up.

Josh calls Caleb "Dub," but when I say Dub, he has no idea who or what I'm talking about.

I have to include another picture of another interesting position we found Josh sleeping in. His head is in between the mattress and the bumper pad. Nate moved him of course because he figured it wasn't good to have the head below the rest of the body for an extended period of time.

Dub's smile: Caleb smiles more than I ever remember Joshua doing, for which I am grateful. Joshua smiled once in his early months and then didn't smile again for at least another week or two. Caleb has smiled so much since he was born that I have a hard time knowing when his burp smiles became real.

And finally here is the video! The first one I've successfully uploaded (with patience)!

Bugs...My Least Favorite Animals

I hate bugs. Oh man I hate them. Especially if they are in my house. If I walked into my home, had two bullets in a gun, and saw a bug sitting next to my worst enemy, I'd shoot the bug twice.

That's partially why I love this time of year. It's hard to keep from blatantly laughing out loud as I walk down the street. That's because I know that for every step I take, a thousand bugs have just frozen to death.

Tonight, I noticed some of this vermin trying to infiltrate our food storage. My wrath was kindled. I hunted them down and slew them. Every last one of them.

I left some of the corpses behind as a deterrent for those who may follow. Those insects need to be put in their place. This is my house, MY HOUSE and I will fight for it. Don't mess with me bugs, cuz you're going down.

- Nate

One month old! Yeah!

Caleb, Josh, Nate and I survived the first month with the help of Nana and Grandma Wright. We enjoyed all the drama of having a newborn and more, but I definitely enjoyed kissing a pair of tiny, chubby cheeks again.

It appears that Caleb's growing and gaining weight everywhere except for in his legs. Well, it won't be my first child with along torso.

One moment Josh is reading a book. Then, I go wash my hands, turn my back, blink or whatever, and Joshua's up to something. Nothing too bad (besides trying to pick up Caleb), but cute, fun, and crazy.

One thing Nate and I enjoy is checking on Josh at night and finding what new position Josh chose to sleep in. He's partially under the bed in this one.

Josh and Caleb (three weeks)

They are both a hand full. I don't expect that to change any time soon, but...they are dang cute. Between Josh's laughter and Caleb's burp-smiles, it is all worth it.

Welcome, Caleb!!!!!!!

Surprise! Surprise! Caleb is here. He came 16 days early. We came home from our Dallas Christmas vacation on Friday night (January 2), and the baby came Sun, January 4. Crazy!

In a sense, everything all started that Saturday night.

Freaking out about my contractions, I had Nate take me to the hospital after dropping Joshua off at a friend's place. By the time I got to the hospital, the contractions had died down, and I was beginning to feel stupid for being there. However, because I was 4 cm dilated, the doctor didn't want me to leave the hospital. In fact, he wanted to break my water that night. Because I had no desire break my water (basically forcing the baby to come then and there), the doctor and I compromised. I agreed to stay the night and see if anything changed in the morning.

My aching back, hungry belly, and thinking "why the heck did I trust that silly doctor" left me restless and twiddling my thumbs by 5 am Sunday morning. The doctor said that he'd come between 5 and 6 am. By 7:45, he hadn't shown up. I was ticked. It didn't help that I had to use the restroom, but was afraid I'd miss the doctor (irrational...I know), and Nate was stressed wondering how our insurance was going to handle an over night stay at the hospital (we don't have the best insurance). I felt the only way to end this plight happily was to not to leave the hospital without a baby...which (ironically) at the time seemed unlikely.

The doctor came at 8:15 while I was in the restroom. He came back 15 minute later and said that I was now between 4 and 5 with a bulging cervix.

I was surprise. I hadn't felt any contractions (just the same hunger and back pain I said before), and I confess I doubted anything would come out of his next "silly" request. He had me go for an hour walk.

During my 15th loop in the hallway, the contractions started up again. This time when the contractions started, I had a feeling they weren't going to stop.

A nurse found me and had the doctor check me again. I was 6 cm dilated.

The baby was coming. I called Nate and had to spend several minutes convincing him (as patiently as a 6 cm dilated woman can) that it was no longer a false alarm.

Nate arrived at 10:47. The doctor said I was 7 cm at 11:00. Caleb came at 11:46.

It hurt.

An understatement, but I don't feel like going into detail about the pain. Yeah, I chose not do get an epidural again, and yes, the thought, "And I wanted to do this?" came into my head several times. Yet, I knew it'd all end when the baby came (at least the most painful parts), and I'm glad that I only needed to push once. Thanks, Caleb, for having a small head and weighing only 6 lb 9 oz.

Well, thanks for reading. It's fun to share and hear experiences. Caleb is now two weeks old and doing well. Josh is doing well, too, and is a very loving brother. The pictures aren't the greatest of Caleb, but I'll hopefully get more out.