Easter

We had a great Easter weekend this year. Our Bishop counselled us to celebrate the commercial side of Easter on Saturday, so this year the Easter Bunny brought baskets of goodies Saturday morning. Missing from this year's festivities was the drama we experienced last year when Brandt found out his basket would not be sitting on the couch waiting for him (I call it "The Great Easter Basket Fiasco of 2011"). This year was much more pleasant. Having been forewarned that his basket would be hidden again this year, he happily commenced his search. And with just five minutes of diligently searching, he found his basket behind the bookshelf! Way to go Babe! I knew you could do it!! Jack was not exempt from having to look for his basket. The Easter Bunny is no respector of persons. Kind of like God. But with obvious differences. Yes, Jack must search for his basket as well.

Granted, The Easter Bunny realizes Jack is just 5 1/2 months old - so hiding the basket in plain site just four feet away from him seems fair.

But even then, Jack still needed some enticing to roll his way over there. Dad set out some eggs to help Jack get excited about his basket.

"Look Mom! I found it!!"

 Brandt got tickets to go see the dinosaur exhibit at the museum and Jack got new binkies, swimming trunks, and a movie. I wanted to find good, quality baskets like what I had as a kid, but every store we went to only carried those cheap, flimsy baskets. I guess you could say I'm an Easter basket snob. We traipsed all over town before we finally found these at Michaels (which is, ironically, within walking distance of our apartment).

Just enjoying the spoils. He started sucking on his new binkies before they were even out of the package.

Ready for church!

On Sunday we went to church. It was Fast Sunday, and not only did we not have any Easter talks, but we also did not have any Easter lessons, which was kind of different. But the church has made some great Mormon Messages videos about Easter so Brandt and I spent some time watching those that afternoon. It was a great reminder of the true reason we celebrate this holiday. Watching those videos gave me an opportunity to contemplate the sacrifices that Christ has made for me and how grateful I am for Him in my life. It encouraged me to try harder to remember and strive to be more like Him.

I should have put on a roast or something fancy for Easter dinner, but I didn't think about it until it was too late. Whoops. We had corn dogs and fries. Pretty slick right? Oh well, better luck next year! The weather was absolutely perfect, so after our Easter feast we went on a long walk. It's always nice to get out and enjoy the good weather. We had a great Easter weekend. It's so fun experiencing these holidays with Jack.

Splish Splash

Jack loves bath time. Even if he's fussing like crazy, just plop him in the water and he's perfectly content. We usually do Jack's bath as part of his nighttime routine and it's one of my favorite things to do with him.  His newest trick is splashing, which makes a great mess, but is a lot of fun!

After bath time, it's diaper, lotion, and pj's. There's nothing better than cuddling with my fresh, clean, sweet-smelling baby doll after his bath. 

9x9 April

1. I finished {this book} last night. I really enjoyed it. Some day I may get around to doing a post about the books I've read recently. Maybe. Maybe not.

2. Monday mornings I usually go over what I call our "expense reports". It's our way of keeping track of our money in vs. money out and takes about 20 minutes when I do it every week.

3. We skyped Grandma Bev this morning so she could see Jack opening his Easter package we received in the mail this morning. Jack's spring wardrobe is all set thanks to Grandma!

4. Daddy making Jack giggle.

5. Eating lunch before mom heads off to work. On the menu: Peas. Mushy peas.

6. Jack: "me no likie peas!" (I don't blame him, they smelled awful.)

7. Dinner was much better. Jack had rice cereal which he likes and mom and dad had Cheesy Spaghetti Bake with breadsticks. Cake for dessert. Yum!

8.  Jack sporting his new fishing hat from Grandma. Adorable right? Love it!

9. I love my boys!

A Day in the Life of Mr. Mom

For some time Dani has been asking me to update the blog with my musings about being a stay at home dad. Here is a rundown of a typical day for Mr. Mom. We'll make today a Friday. My...er...Jack's favorite shows come on on Friday's. 

The day starts about 6:44 AM. Dani leaves a bottle for Jack on the nightstand and goes to work while Jack and I sleep. On her way out Dani will open the garage door. It is loud and the metal creeks like a car being squished in a compactor. Jack and I will continue to sleep and dream about  being in a junk yard with a car compactor. A strange man threatens to squish my brother if I can't steal 50 cars by the weekend and Nicholas Cage comes bursting onto the scene screaming he must find the Declaration of Independence. 

About 8:30ish Jack will wake up and make noises and talk to himself in his crib. I listen to him; this is one of the fun moments about being Mr. Mom. Soon, however, I am asleep again and dreaming about a drunken parrot. It must be drunk. Its words are slurred and make no audible sense, but it’s a happy parrot. Jack is still contently awake and babbling to himself. About 9:00 I wake up and take Jack downstairs for breakfast. About 9:01 I go back upstairs to get the bottle I left on the nightstand. The rest of the day goes as follows:

We eat breakfast. Jack first of course. He always gets to eat first. It just spoils the fun of feeling like a pirate while eating Marshmallow Mateys when your own little matey is upset. Jack proudly uses the big-boy bottles these days:

We may tie some flies for fishing. This is how Jack reacts. Seriously, I looked over one day and this is what I saw. Fear not, he will grow to like it. I promise:

We watch a few of our favorite shows including: "Dinosaur Train." This show is like crack for little boys (and big ones)...dinosaurs AND trains. That's right, BOTH, don't think about it too much or your head might explode. Just know that Dr. Scott, the paleontologist, is a genius.  "Tracks Ahead"  is another good one and Jack sits on dad's lap while bonding over a glorious half hour of uninterrupted commercial-free railroading Utopia. From Z-scale to full size, this show is all about trains:

Jack will spit up. He has a problem with that. I guess his mom was the same way. So we blame her when she's not around. This was a particularly bad time. He was rolling around the floor..and...well...have a look:

We may go for a walk. This is particularly fun for Jack and I. We both have a yearning need to get out on a regular basis. Being born in October, Jack hasn't had much time outside and walks were usually confined to the mall but we are enjoying the nicer weather. He lights up when it is time for a walk. As do the elderly ladies we pass by making their rounds in the mall. (I let Jack think it is because of him):

We may take a bath. Jack likes his baths. There was a time that we would bathe at the same time. However, after Jack decided to have a doosie in the twosie one day while dad was in the tub with him, (and I mean DOOSIE, enough to instantly turn the water yellow-brown, if there had been fish in this tub they would have been floating belly up) that has changed. He has been "promoted" to the kitchen sink these days:

And last of all we may watch the occasional episode of "Nature" and learn all about the creatures of the world. I really think this show should be found on Comedy Central more often than on PBS. Below is a clip Dani and I found quite humorous. Enjoy:

 There are so many proper and, more likely, less than proper jokes that could be made about this video. But, I will leave those to your own creative minds. This blog is G-rated. Unless, of course, Dani is posting. She can get risque :{

And...if free time allows, Jack and I will create videos such as the one below. Jack thought the first clip needed a little pep. Observe:

 I guess the group LMFAO's secret is out. Unlike bands of old, inspiration these days comes from the "Nature" show and not from drugs.

Although I am looking forward to starting work again. I must admit, I will miss spending so much time with Jackers. He is the greatest joy in our lives. Being a dad (and Mr. mom)...I wouldn't have it any other way.

Look What I Can Do!

Cracker Jack rolled over from back to tummy for the first time this afternoon while I was at work. I was sad to have missed it, but he did a replay for me tonight.

I love how he has to grab his pants and throw his legs to the side to help him get over. And I love how excited he gets afterwards. He knows he's just done something cool! Either that, or he just likes how we clap and cheer for him. This little guy is growing up way too fast! Before we know it, he'll be crawling around this joint.

If You Teach a Man to Fish...

Yesterday morning as we were eating breakfast, Brandt asked me what was on my list of things to get done for the day. I told him I wanted to update the blog and clean our bedroom. That was it. (I'm not much for overachieving on Saturdays). After updating the blog, I went upstairs to find that Brandt has just finished cleaning our room. 

Me: "Wow, thanks Babe, it looks great."

Brandt: "You're welcome. I figured I could help you out."

Me: "So...what's the catch?"

Brandt: "Well....I was thinkin' we could go fishing!"

And there it is. I guess he figured if he helped get everything on my list accomplished, I would go fishing with him. Sneaky Brandt. So we packed our supplies and headed out to an area of the South Fork by Cress Creek Trail. It was a gorgeous day, but I had forgotten how much Brandt loves to hike through the brush and yuck to find the "best" fishing spot. I think his mindset is "the fish only bite in the areas of the river that are difficult to access." I don't know how I always seem to forget this about him until we're out in the thick of it and there's no turning back. Needless to say we did a lot of hiking through mud and a bit of snow (and not to mention a shallow part of the river that Brandt had to carry me across) to make it to the "best" fishing spot.  But we eventually made it and Jack and I enjoyed the sun and fresh air while Brandt did his thing. The wind kicked up a bit which made it slightly chilly, so we put Brandt's buff on Jackers to keep his head and ears warm. He looked like a little pirate. :)

Although technically he didn't cast the line or reel anything in, Jack still enjoyed being outside and learning from the master. He took notes while watching dad do his thing so that as soon as he's big enough, he'll know exactly what to do. 

We finished the day by getting some Papa John's pizza and watching "Kung Fu Panda 2". It was a great ending to a great day. I loved spending the day with my boys!

9x9 March

Have you heard about the '12of12 Challenge'? Basically it boils down to taking twelve photos on the twelfth day of the month as a way to document your everyday life. It encourages you to capture everyday moments that you normally wouldn't and then blog about them the next day. It's an idea I've seen floating around blogland for the last year or so and I wanted to give it a try. The idea of finding twelve things to take pictures of was always overwhelming to me, so I changed it up and created 9x9! Nine pictures on the ninth day of the month. Much less intimidating for me. So here we go:

1. Arriving to work at 6:50 this morning (and yes, I took this pic while driving; shhh, don't tell anyone.) I love that it's so bright outside now when I leave for work early on Friday mornings. Is Daylight Savings this weekend going to screw that up?

2. It was warm today! I know, 51 degrees doesn't seem like anything to get excited about, but compared to the cold we've had, 51 degrees is something to celebrate!

3. We decided to celebrate by going for a walk. Here's Jackers excited to get out of the house.

4. We stopped first to pick up lunch at Subway, then found a picnic table by the river to eat on. 

5. Jack being a good boy in his stroller while mom and dad ate lunch. He looks sleepy!

6. Walking around Snake River Landing. Jack took a good nap in his stroller while we walked.

7. Brandt went to Walmart to pick up a Redbox and decided to get a new thermometer while he was there, so of course he had to try it out as soon as he got home (No, Jack isn't sick, Brandt just likes new toys.) Taking his temperature behind the ear is so much easier than the under-arm thermometer we got from the hospital - we should have bought this months ago. 

8. Watching Steven Colbert video clips on the internet. Does anyone else think he's as hilarious as we do?

9. Ok, I cheated on this one - this is just a picture from the internet. This is the movie we got from Redbox tonight. Have you seen it? I liked it. It was very thought-provoking and Brandt and I had a good discussion afterwards about it.

You can find out more about the '12of12 Challenge' {here}.