Letter: Monthy Twenty-Four

Dear E,

Last week you turned two years old. In the past few weeks you've started talking a lot more. One of your favorite things to say is "thank you." Manners are pretty important to me (growing up with a father from the south and a mother from Korea will do that to you) and so I've been reminding you to say thank-you when you're given something for several months now.


But last week the light finally clicked on. You started saying "thank-you" after everything: when I hand you a drink, when I help you with your jacket or shoes, when the sample lady at Costco gives you some chips, etc... Last night you were eating dinner and got some ketchup on your fork. I took from you and wiped it clean and handed it back and you said, "Thank you, Mama." It melted my heart. And last week when I took you to the hospital to get some blood drawn for your food allergy tests you charmed the techs by busting out several unprompted thank-yous when they handed you a lollipop.

It's a good thing you've started being so adorably polite because it (usually) balances out the bad habits you've picked up lately. When you get excited or frustrated you like to slap us in the face or pull our classes off and wrench them around. Needless to say, both actions are pretty frustrating. You also throw things on the ground when you're mad which is also pretty annoying. But we're working on it together: you're working on controlling your actions and I'm working on improving my patience. But most of the time you try really hard to be good and I appreciate it.

You've picked up on the rhythms of a working week. I usually go run errands on Saturday mornings and if you and your dad don't come along you flip out. You're very adamant that on Saturday we all somewhere together. You love going to Costco and after we returned home from it last Saturday it was all you wanted to talk about," blah, blah, blah, COS-co, COS-co!"

It's very sweet how much you like going places together with us. I like it when we're together as a family too.


Love,

Mama

E's Birthday Celebration

E had a great birthday yesterday. My sister-in-law Miranda and I took the kids up to Discovery Gateway, a children's museum in Salt Lake. They loved it. There was lots for them to do and explore.

L and E in a fire engine conveniently built with two steering wheels.

E and L at a construction play site.
(Lately E has been really into hats. If there's one around, he'll put it on. Last week he was wearing some other kid's hat when I picked him up from daycare at the gym.)

Clambering around in a defunct Life Flight helicopter than was donated to the museum.

A, Miranda's daughter, was a trooper while we were there.

After we got home I baked E some dairy-free, egg-free cupcakes from a mix by Cherrybrook Kitchen and then E and I went to the store to buy him some balloons (still one of his very favorite things). When N got home from work we had dinner and then cupcakes and presents.

The cupcake (and frosting) was well-received.

We gave E a Yo Gabba Gabba themed toy guitar. (He keeps unwinding the strings on his ukulele so we thought he'd do better with a string-less toy.)

And this toy car. Both were big hits.

E had a great day. He learned the word "birthday" and kept shouting it in excitement. It was a lot of fun.

Two Years Ago

It's hard to believe how quickly these last two years have passed.
It's been wonderful.
Happy birthday, E!

Band Nerds Unite!

I don't know if it's nostalgia for my high school marching band days (I was drum major one year--nerd!) but I am loving this band jacket by Stella McCartney for Gap kids. Apparently everyone is too. I saw it online yesterday but now it isn't listed. It's image is still plastered all over the website but I think it sold out.

Oh well. Even if it was still available I wouldn't be buying it because it's crazy expensive (over $120) AND dry clean only.

But it sure is cute.

Wicked Graphics

N showed me this free online game, "Small Worlds" by David Shute last night. The graphics are rudimentary to say the least but the game play is pleasantly engrossing. In just a few seconds I became surprisingly attached to the plucky little red jumping bean as I guided him around the maze. If you have some time to kill it takes about 15-20 minutes to solve.

Halloween Pics

E loved the Halloween festivities this weekend. On Friday afternoon I took him to N's office for their party. E was a little apprehensive at first but very quickly got the gist of the holiday (i.e. candy) and would scoot up to people and mumble "icko-reet!"

E as a dog and me in my cop-out black cat costume.

N and his team at work rockin' it out as an 80s hair band.
(Note: this is the only photo of N wearing jeans you will probably ever see. He hasn't owned a pair since he was 14. I had to go to a thrift store and buy these especially for his costume.)

Before this weekend E had only had candy on a few occasions. But he very quickly learned how to say "candy" and has been running around the house trying to wheedle pieces from us all weekend. On Saturday evening I had planned on just taking him to a few houses but he insisted on going all the way around the block but then lost steam and I had to tow him back home.

All things considered, it was the best Halloween I've had in a long time.

Amy Ruppel Art Sale!

One of my favorite artists, Amy Ruppel, is having an online art sale. I've been coveting an original piece of hers for a loooong time and N graciously agreed to getting one of the smaller ones as an early Christmas present. *Squeeee!*

There are a wide range of sizes and the smallest (3"x3") is only $40. If you're interested, move quickly. These tend to go quickly.

Woodworking Fall 09: Week 6

Woodworking was fun this week. I spent a lot of time gluing stuff together. I just realized that I never explained my plan for the new jewelry box lids: the lids are going to have center panels made up of diamond shapes banded by walnut.

I'm turning these panels 45 degrees so the lids will have a diamond pattern instead of a checkerboard. But if I turn them on a angle there isn't enough surface area to cut out a large enough rectangle.

So I cut off the corners.

And then I glued them onto the edges so I can cut a bigger rectangle out of the middle.

I couldn't use clamps because of the angles involved, so I tightly stretched masking tape over the joints while the glue dried. I was kind of dubious this would work but my instructor said it's what they do in situations like this.

While I waited for the glue on the lids to dry I started another cutting board. (I'm kinda addicted to making them lately, in case you haven't noticed.)

But this cutting board is special--after it's finished I'm going to have a giveaway and one of you lovely readers will win it! I wanted to say thanks for visiting my little corner of the internets and following my woodworking adventures. And I conveniently had a bunch of wood leftover from the other cutting boards. I wish I could make more than one for the giveaway but class time is already short as it is. It'll be a couple of weeks before it's finished, but be sure to check back for it then.

Later this afternoon I'm dressing E in his dog costume and taking him by N's office for their Halloween party. Pictures on Monday. Have a happy Halloween!