Halloween n' stuff

I have greatly neglected our blog over the last few weeks. Time is very tight these days and even when I do have a few spare moments, they have to go to other things like cleaning instead of blogging, but I decided it was time to post something new even if it takes me all day to do it. (Note: This actually took me 2 days to finish...)

The weekend before Halloween, we decided to go to Roloff Farms to pick out our pumpkins. We have never watched the show "Small People, Big World," but everyone around here was so excited that you could go visit them at their pumpkin patch - the only time the public is allowed on their property. It was only a few miles away from our house so we went and picked out a pumpkin for each of us. They were quite picked over and only a few good ones were left, so Chase got a green pumpkin - we figured it was appropriate since he was a bit un-ripe too :)

Amelia looking for the perfect pumpkin

Amelia riding with our loot

The star of the show

Our Halloween was celebrated by attending the ward trunk or treat. Amelia and I carved her pumpkin that morning to get in the Halloween spirit (her pumpkin was the only one that got carved - I told you time was tight). I drew some faces on a piece of paper based on some books Aunt Amber gave her that she loves and let her choose the face she wanted on her pumpkin - Happy, Sad, Scared or Angry. I was hoping she would choose Happy or Scared since those were the cutest, but she wanted Angry. I asked her a few more times to give her a chance to reconsider, but she kept saying Angry, so she got her Angry pumpkin.

Amelia making an Angry face like her pumpkin

Amelia was a fairy for the party. I can't believe she let me put curlers in her hair AND keep them in for 2 hours when she won't keep a hairclip in for 30 seconds. But she did thanks to the spray bottle that kept her busy.

I hadn't planned on being anything, but at the last minute decided to be a black cat, original, I know, but it was easy to do with what I had on hand - a black headband, construction paper, tape and eyeliner. Matt was a hippie - the same as last year - and just like last year, Amelia freaked out when she saw him in his wig - he is seriously unrecognizable. She cried so hard and was grumpy and crying for over an hour afterward even though he only wore the wig for a few seconds. Poor Chase didn't get much of a costume, just a pumpkin hat from the $1 bin at Target.

Matt's costume last year

Chase is still a good baby and a great sleeper, but less than he once was. He has a lot more fussy periods and needs to be held more often, but thanks to the DARLING sling my niece Brittany made for me, I can keep him happy and still make dinner or color with Amelia. Thank you, Brittany!!! (You can buy them here).


Amelia still has her moments of jealously and throws fits, but she's learning to play by herself much better. The other day while I was feeding Chase she started throwing a fit by rolling around on the bed grunting. Still grunting, she got down from the bed saying "go in room" then ran into her bedroom and shut the door. A few seconds later, she came running back into my room with a huge smile and said "I frow a fit, lock in room" then trotted off to the play room singing "I love you, you love me..." So it looks like she's understanding the consequences for her actions and can have fun without me.

She is constantly surprising us with the things she knows. Here are a few examples:

• She is speaking in full sentences: she made a request to watch something on YouTube by saying "Lets watch "True Loves Kiss," I like that part."
  
• She is singing songs and it's so cute to watch her sing: She sings Barney songs, princess songs and many more. I tried to get a clip of her singing the alphabet, but she wouldn't cooperate.
• She is playing pretend: Yesterday she dumped water in her bowl of chips and was stirring it with a spoon. She say "I making dinner!" I asked what she was making and she said "I making eggs - cook on stove?" so I put them on the stove, then she said "cook in oven" so I put them in the oven and set the timer. When the timer went off she said "dinners ready!" She also talks to Cinderella on her cell phone, puts diapers on her animals, wraps a white sheet around herself and says "I getting married!", and licks her drumstick and says she's eating a popsicle.
  
• 

Some of her favorite things to do are:

• Be "Sad." She runs from room to room whimpering and throwing herself on the floor, couch, bed, whatever, pretending to cry like she sees Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White doing. She also loves to watch these crying scenes over and over on her DVD
  
• player.
• 
• 

Being Sad

• Break crayons and take the paper off. She'll spend over an hour a day snapping crayons in half saying "I broke it, tape off" then taking the paper off. It's nice that it occupies her so much, but the mess afterward is annoying. I find pieces of paper in every room in the house.
• Play with playdough, watch children's songs on YouTube (the most annoying, yet a favorite is here), watch Disney Princess and Barney DVD's, sing and dance in our dance studio (aka empty dining room), experiment with her food instead of eating it, hug and kiss her brother, and sleep (just kidding, this is her LEAST favorite thing to do, just seeing if you were paying attention).

Being a mom is very hard these days, but when I get enough sleep, our days are pretty good. Amelia makes me laugh (and cry), Chase makes my heart melt, and Matt is a great Daddy. I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!

Week with Daddy

It was so great to have Matt here this week. Amelia had fun with her Daddy, but after dealing with Amelia all day for a week, I think Matt's ready to get back to work. Matt commented that Amelia "owes us" for all we've been put through with her over the last 2 years.

A few events of the week:

"The Costco Incident"

We went to Costco one night and Amelia picked something off of the floor in the cold room where they keep the flower bouquets. I thought it was a leaf and told her to put it down and come out since we were ready to check out. A few seconds later she was pointing to her mouth saying "spicy." I didn't know why she would say that and looked back and saw the thing she had picked up was a cut hot pepper. What it was doing there, I will never know, but she started crying and saying spicy over and over so I ran to get her some water. By the time I got the water, she was in hysterics. She had touched her eyes and was now thrashing her hands on her face in hopes that the pain would go away, but she was only making it worse. Her face was getting redder and redder and even swollen. I tried to get her to drink water, but she was freaking out too much. The only thing we could do was get home quickly and run her face under water. She screamed almost the whole way home, but had calmed down by the time we got there. We got her in the shower to rinse what was left of the pepper and got her to calm down and go to bed. But the poor thing looked miserable. This picture was taken an hour after the event, and she was still red and swollen. Poor thing. I had never heard her scream like that and it broke my heart.


"Family Walk"

It was so nice to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.




"Matt's New Shoes"

OK, these shoes have been a debate in our household. They are lime green and green with a blue Nike "swoosh." I think they are hideous, but Matt thinks they're cool. I must admit they do look better on and i guess since it's Nike, it's cool?

"Fun with Daddy"

Amelia hung out with her dad a lot - going to the park, the zoo, the children's museum, out for walks, and just hanging out at home. It was so nice to have someone else do it for a change.

Of course, Amelia loved the petting zoo at the Zoo

watching princess and alphabet songs on YouTube with daddy

"At Home with Mom"

As usual, Chase just ate and slept and when he was awake, he never made a peep - he just looked around the room. He's gaining over an ounce a day and now weighs 6lbs! Crazy. His looks are changing daily as he piles on the baby fat.

"Loving her Babies"

Amelia had fun loving her babies

Morning Doggy

And so did I.

If only I could have help all day everyday...

These past 2 weeks at home have been wonderful - largely because I have had Matt's mom, my mom, and Matt here to help me 24 hours a day. As I type, Amelia is at the Zoo with her dad, the laundry is all done and folded, and Chase is happily staring at me with his little blue eyes. If only all moms could have someone to help out all day everyday. Wouldn't that be amazing?? Sure, there are still moments of frustration - Amelia isn't sleeping well and wants her mom all the time and nursing a preemie is non-stop and takes FOREVER - but to have help here to make meals, do dishes, take Amelia to the park, etc. - while I get to enjoy my new baby, accomplish things I haven't had time to do in months,...man, it doesn't get much better than this. We'll see how things go next week when life goes back to normal and it's just me and the kids...

Chase is doing so well and again, is such a great baby. He has gained a full pound in 2 weeks and is now 5 lbs 3 oz. I love to see him getting chubby cheeks and a double chin. His legs and arms are still skinny and he's got the teeniest bum, but at the rate he's going, he'll fill out in no time.

Amelia always wants to hold him

And give him a "big hug" - this picture made me laugh because it looks like she's squishing him and he's reaching for help - which is exactly what's happening :)

Big Sister and little brother - this would have been a lot cuter if their eyes were open, but this is the best one I could get.

Grandma Adams with the Bond kiddos - we loved having my mom here! She was such a huge help and Amelia loved playing with her. Amelia still says "grandma go?" then answers herself by saying "home to Utah"

Amelia playing outside in her new hat

Amelia loves to help me make cookies - and we've made a lot of cookies over the past few weeks. So much for losing the pregnancy weight :)

Amelia wears me out and drives me nuts a lot, but how can you get mad at a face like this?

I couldn't resist posting this picture:

This was Amelia's outfit of choice after her bath the other night - as you can see, both the hat and robe are a bit too small.

Life with 2 Babies

Life with 2 babies is actually easier than I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, it isn't easy - I don't do anything but feed them and play with them and I haven't gotten the "kids napping at the same time" thing down, but I had imagined having another "Amelia baby" plus a toddler to keep from squishing that baby. To my happy surprise, Chase actually sleeps and Amelia is so cute with her little brother. She loves to kiss him, hold him, bathe him, give him high-5, and pacify him with his binky. The first thing she says when she sees him is "hi baby Chase" and "so cute."



The only time Amelia gets jealous is when I am feeding/pumping - which takes over an hour 8+ times a day (yuk), but usually she is happy when I let her watch Disney princess sing-along clips on YouTube. Her favorite right now is Beauty and the Beast.

But Chase is SUCH a great baby! I can't even believe a baby can actually fall asleep without you holding them and stay asleep for 3 hours instead of 30 minutes. I constantly think back to what life was like with Amelia and I can't believe I survived and can't believe how good I have it now. We had a rocky but lucky start with Amelia in the NICU but the entire 2 years of her life have been a constant trial of my patience. I love the kid, she is incredibly fun, spirited, social, smart, and sweet, but when she doesn't want to do something she is good letting you know it - we're working on that, but she still likes to run in the street, hates to get dressed, and doesn't sleep well. Let's just say she's had to spend quite a bit of time in her room by herself...

All in all life in the Bond house is good, busy but good. Thank heavens for my mom who cooks and cleans - I don't know what I'm going to do when she leaves this week. PB&J anyone?

daddy reading books to Chase before bed

He is even mellow when he's awake

He liked my Tootsie Pop:)

Little boy with normal-sized swaddling blanket

This is how he looks 90% of the day

amelia and mommy had fun playing in the rain - of course she was naked under that umbrella

My cutie-patootie