BIIIIIIIIG Basin

We headed down to see the redwoods at Big Basin State Park. It was only an hour and a half drive, but it was super windy (like curvy, not blowing wind). We had to pull over for THIS car-sick girl, but mostly I felt horrible for poor little Wyatt. It turns out he got the Hart/Sonners (which side can claim credit for this?) car-sick gene. I passed all my best genes on to him. It was pretty pathetic. He had no idea what was wrong, he just kept whimpering quietly, "No! I don't like it Mama! No...!" I felt horrible. I had so many flashbacks of driving in our Volkswagen Vanagon in the mountains, feeling the puke rising up in my throat, knowing the end was nowhere near. I also have memories of getting puked on by my brother, because he didn't stick his head out the window far enough, but that's another post, another day. But actually, I do have one thing to say: Mom and Dad, would it have killed you to pull over so your kid could puke?? It seems a little insensitive that your response to "Mom, I'm gonna throw up!!" was, "OK, just stick your head out the window..." I also remember being embarrassed whenever we would get out of the car, because the sides were always covered in barf. That's how we would ride. Anyway, I vow here and now to PULL OVER when my kids tell me they are sick, and not tell them to barf out the window. But moving on....

So we all got sick, but we made it. We ate our "picnic," and then got to walk around and see the tall trees. Wyatt was in heaven. He jumped out of the stroller, ran around, climbing in and out of trees looking for monsters, hitting things with sticks, throwing pinecones...it was little boy heaven.

But all good things must come to an end. We drugged the boy with some dramamine, put Erin in the driver's seat, and drove home.

I love that the "Mother of the Forest" is the biggest tree in the park. Not the Father.

Wyatt was excited to climb on this "big stick."

Inside a tree, a little house for Wyatt.

Wyatt looked everywhere for monsters. He didn't find any, just a lot of spiders and cobwebs. Yuck.

On a mossy log...

Wyatt has had these sunglasses for over a year and never showed any interest in them. But he put them on that morning before we left, and didn't take them off for hours. He was "cool." Yes, along with the car-sick gene, I also gave him my "cool" gene. Anyway, he liked standing on this post because it made him tall.

We had a great trip!

9 Months

Micah is 9 months! I can't believe he has been out of my belly now longer than he was in my belly.
Micah cracks me up. And he drives me insane. He is the most dramatic little thing I have ever met. When Micah is happy, the world is happy, but when he's not...watch out! Micah loves people. He smiles at everyone and won't stop until they smile back. He even makes grumpy people in line at Target smile at him. Who can resist? But...Micah is also extremely temperamental. If something is amiss in his world, he throws fits and screams and cries and weeps and wails and gnashes his (two) teeth. He makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes. He is so lucky he is cute! :)
Micah is sweaty. His internal thermostat is set 15 degrees higher than everyone else. He is usually naked, because he is hot, and because he is almost always covered in barf. He's a puker. Barf is apparently my destiny.
Micah started crawling a while ago. Bad mom....I think at 7 or 8 months? Its hard to tell, because he doesn't actually crawl, its more of a slither. An army crawl. I kept thinking he would transition to a normal crawl, but I don't think its going to happen. We have wood floors and its hard to get up on his knees without them slipping out from underneath him. So he slithers instead. Which adds to his general filthiness. Sweat, barf, dirt from the floors. And dog spit. Lucy can't resist licking him. The aforementioned combo is doggy dessert.
He likes to pull up and stand. All the time. He talks all day long. He doesn't want to be fed, he only wants to feed himself.
And he is just all cute, fat, round babyness. Wyatt was (is) a stringbean, and Micah is just chubby. Everything on him is round and soft and pudgy. Which is why I overlook his constant filthiness and kiss him so much. He adds much needed spice to our lives. Life is never dull or quiet with Micah around. We love this baby!

Stats at the 9 month check-up:

Height: 20 pounds, 5 ounces (48th percentile) This is how much Wyatt weighed at his 15 month check-up.

Weight: 28 3/4 inches (70th percentile)

Head: I can't remember the number, but it was the 95% percentile. We can thank Jake for that.

Quotes from the doctor and nurse at the check-up:

"Wow! He sure keeps you on your toes, right?"
"Well, I'm not worried about his language development. He certainly knows how to use his voice!"
"I'll bet your house is never quiet with him around!"
"Does he ever hold still?"
"You must really have your hands full with this one!"
"He's a strong little guy, isn't he?" (asked as Micah kept grabbing every examination instrument and shoving it in his mouth, rendering the doctor unable to to actually examine him)

Pictures from the last few months:






I love you Micah Bean!

Easter

Decorating Easter eggs the night before. Some kind of chocolate smeared on his cheeks. Why doesn't his mother at least wipe his cheeks before taking a picture?? Also pictured is Wyatt's snake, "Nakey." It's one of those soft, kind of sticky and stretchy ones, that collect dirt and hair and anything that comes within 5 feet of it. Totally grosses me out, but Wyatt loves his new friend. The worst part is Wyatt likes to pretend Nakey is lunging at me ready to bite my face off, so I have to get up close and personal with all the dust and dog hair.

Cute Easter outfits? Not for my kids. Pajama-jama-jams all day long at this house. We didn't have church because of conference, so I really saw no point in getting dressed. Judge not.

These lilies grow here like, well, I was going to say weeds, but I don't want to call them weeds, because they are so beautiful. I guess I could say they grow like wildflowers. I love seeing them everywhere I go!

Sausalito

We took the ferry from San Francisco across the bay to Sausalito. Did you know it is the 2nd most beautiful ferry ride in the world? Well, it is. Not by my ranking. I have only been on maybe two ferry rides in my life total, and I am pretty sure I threw up on the other ride, so that would make this ferry #1 in my book. Some travel person/writer gave it that designation. And it is spectacularly beautiful. We went on a sunny day and the views were so amazing. It was also a little windy.


You can't tell from this picture, but Wyatt LOVED the ferry.I mean he really, really LOVED IT. That's the Golden Gate Bridge in background.
The Rock. I desperately want to tour Alcatraz, but I have been warned by a lot of people to not attempt it with kids, so maybe I will just have to do it by myself some day. And boatloads of European tourists.
These pictures are from Sausalito. Isn't it such a cute town?

We only feed him ice cream.

Beach Bums

Low tide + sunshine =

Rainy Day Wedding

Congratulations to my sister-in-law Rachele and her new husband Scott, who were married on March 20! We went out to Houston for the big day. The day before, my father-in-law had a luncheon to honor his THIRTY YEARS working with Exxon Mobil. Very impressive. It was such a nice event, held at the Taste of Texas, best steak ever! And being married to Jake, that's saying a lot (he likes steak). It was really nice to hear about Randy's career, and hear all the wonderful things said about him. He is a hard worker, a true family man, and a wonderful example to his children, those of us lucky enough to be married to his children, and to his grandchildren.

We had perfect Houston spring weather when we arrived in Texas, but by the day of the wedding, it was pouring rain! We kept hoping it would clear up for the pictures after the ceremony, but no such luck. It was a wonderful ceremony. Rachele looked so beautiful. As you can see from the pictures, we all had to stand under umbrellas for the shots! Well, they say rain on your wedding day is good luck, so Rachele and Scott had a very auspicious start! :)

The luncheon:

Pictures outside the Houston Temple:


Mr. and Mrs. Kunz, at the wedding luncheon:

Rachele (doesn't she look so pretty?) and Scott with their children. Just kidding. The blondies are Blake (Jake's brother) and Ashley's kids, Taylor and Riley.
Okay, how cute is this kid?
The best part about getting together with the Beamans is that there is always someone who wants to hold my kids! I get a free pass for the duration of my visit! :) Micah with Uncle Tyson:
Wyatt has a staring problem:
The Beaman's are basketball fans. Micah and I waiting for the reception to start. I forgot to bring him black socks to wear. Its okay though, because he's cute.

Congratulations Rachele and Scott!!

I'm just trying to find the bridge...

A couple of weeks ago, we went out to the Golden Gate Bridge. We had a lovely time walking across, and enjoying the beautiful views from the bridge. San Francisco can be so gorgeous when its sunny! I spent the next few weeks having nightmares that I accidentally dropped one of my children over the bridge. I'm totally serious. Its only been a few days that I haven't woke up in terror from this image. Of course, now that I am thinking about it again, I'm sure the nightmares will return. Super. Aside from that, it really was fun.