PNW

Dear Daddy,

We have been having a blast hiking, picking strawberries, playing at the beach, going for walks, riding tractors, and eating FRESH halibut. Grandpa made delicious strawberry jam and makes a fresh strawberry pie everyday. We loved riding the airplane and the big ferry to get to great-grandma's house. We were very good, but Ian cried a little on the plane so mommy sang him the "popcorn" song. Then the lady sitting next to us made mommy sing it 15 more times so she could learn it. We miss you and hope you are having fun riding your bike and watching the Tour de France.

Love,

Max and Ian

p.s. more pics on flickr

enrichment photos

These photos (of an enrichment activity for church) are for Molly, who didn't get to see the final product of our planning. It turned out great and your chicken salad croissant sandwiches were delicious.

p.s. This was such an easy event to clean up...we did box dinners and didn't have dishes to wash or food tables to set up. Most people took their boxes home so there was minimal garbage. Such a great idea and tied in with our "out of the box" theme.

big news

I should be posting about the latest haps at chez scoville, but I am so EXHAUSTED after a week and a half of flying solo while J-P was in Belgium. He made it home safely and brought back the most amazing chocolate I've ever tasted. I was patient and waited to do our ultrasound until he got back. Here is the first picture of our baby girl. I still don't believe it.

delta trip

We spent the week before Memorial day in Delta with J-P's mom. The boys had loads of fun, despite having really high fevers the entire week. I was pretty miserable with morning sickness , but I did my best to appear somewhat congenial. We spent Memorial weekend in Richfield with J-P's siblings. I was thrilled to get a girls' day out with the sister-in-laws and the boys loved hanging out with their cousins. We still can't believe a whole year has passed since J-P's dad's passing.

more pics on flickr...

FLOUR

Who needs toys when mom forgets to lock the pantry?

18 & 16

Ian is officially 18 months old. He did great in nursery, zero tears. He did even better at his appointment today, holding VERY still so the doctor could examine him and not making a peep the whole visit except to tell the doctor "bye-bye" as he walked out. He is a chatterbox...much like his namesakes (his great-grandpa and great-uncle McDonald). He is a fantastic eater. He eats everything I make and always wants seconds. He is ALWAYS happy and never cries unless he gets hurt. When injured, he cries out "BONK, MOMMY, BONK! Kiss it (as he extends the injured body part)." And then the tears subside. He loves to dialogue everything he sees, and usually throws in a random color as well. "White truck...pink flower...black car...etc." The funny part is that he never actually uses the correct color. When we color, he holds up the orange crayon and says "white", then holds the green one and says "blue". I'm not sure if he is colorblind or if he just hasn't figured out the concept of color yet. Here are his stats:

height: 34 1/2 inches (95th percentile)
weight: 23 lbs 8 oz (20th percentile)
head: 18 3/4 inches (50th percentile)

I'm not sure that he is quite that tall, I am a little skeptical of their measuring techniques after seeing Max measured the correct way at the endocrinologist. Max is growing well, by-the-way (75th percentile for height and weight), and we are no longer taking him to any specialists. Huge relief.
I am 16 weeks now. I wish I could say that I'm feeling great, but the morning sickness seems to be lingering and I have zero appetite, not to mention an extremely sensitive gag reflex. J-P is tired of dealing with pregnancy drama and constantly remarks "I sure hope this is a girl, because we are DONE!" I figured I would be sentimental and start documenting my pregnancy with photos in case he is serious. I'm not showing a ton, but at 102 pounds my stomach would be half that thick if it didn't have a baby in it. My doctor doesn't seem worried about my weight loss at all (I have been worried sick), he just says "you will have to gain a lot of weight later on to make up for it." I don't think that will be a problem. Assuming that my appetite returns, that is.

update

It's been awhile. Sorry. I've been sick. Here is an overdue update on our fam:

J-P: Has been traveling. A lot. He went to India in March with his Duke class, and got really sick. He is on a plane home from CA right now, and leaves for Belgium in a few weeks. He is more than thrilled to be able to go back to France while he is there, and has been facebooking his old acquaintances there. He has also joined a cycling group which rides every morning at the crack of dawn.

M-A: Has been SICK. So sick. I finally got to the point where I had to wean Ian cold-turkey in one day so I could take zofran, only to find out that it doesn't work. At least not that well. Between zofran, unisom, acupressure bands, and sips of gatorade, I was able to stay alive. I have thrown up at every eatery within reasonable driving distance, and I will probably never be able to eat mexican food again. I am feeling a little bit better, and my dehydration headache is starting to ease. I can finally drink water again, which is a huge blessing considering how hot it is right now in AZ.

Max: Has taken his vehicle obsession to a whole new level. He is no longer satisfied to announce the color and type of each vehicle that passes us, he is intent on knowing the make as well. He is a little shaky when it comes to identifying shapes, but he can accurately identify a Chevy, Ford, Nissan, Honda, Acura, etc...just by looking at the symbol. "That blue pick-up truck has horns on it mommy, that means it's a dodge ram...Oh look!, that white car has a blue circle on it...that means it's a ford." The other day we were in the parking lot at Lowe's when a teenager in a beat-up nissan drove past us. Max yelled and pointed "LOOK! that car is a NISSAN mommy!" The teenager (who heard everything thanks to an open window) parked his car and angrily strutted over to us with his gangsta limp. He looked at me like he wanted to start a fight. "Excuse me, did he just try to tell me what kind of car I have?", he said with a major attitude. "I'm so sorry, he is a little bit obsessed with cars brands right now..." He cut me off and said "Dude! that is SO cool," and chuckled as he walked into the store.

Ian: Has been talking. A lot. He is a little parrot, and repeats just about everything he hears. He is putting 3 words together--"no, my drink!...outside dig shovel...drink cold water..." and is very good with possessives, "momma's shoe"..." max's crib"..."my blanket"...etc. He loves to read and brings me books all day long. Some of the first words he learned were "book" and "lap" because he loves to sit on my lap and read. He is super sweet and snugly. I am definitely not ready for him to grow up. I am, however, more than ready for him to go to nursery next week! These last 18 months have flown by.

mud and boys

When I found out Max was going to be a boy, I cried for three days. Boys have never liked me. My brothers HATED me. My bossy, know-it-all personality fostered nothing but sibling rivalry and dissension. Luckily I have a very bold mother who told me many years ago that "boys don't like bossy girls" and that if I ever wanted to get married I would have to change. I worked hard and was finally able to convince a boy to marry me at the ripe age of 26.


Now boys are old hat for me. Little boys, that is. They like trucks, mud, playing outside, breaking things, and adventure. Seeing a mud covered head doesn't phase me anymore. I can totally handle mud. No big deal. Mud is easy. Boys are easy. Plus, little boys LOVE their mothers.


On my mind: Will baby number three be a boy? I'm assuming it will be. Which is fine. I have all the clothes, skills, and toys (the ones that survive) necessary to parent another boy. But what if it's not? I don't have any idea what to do with a girl. For now, we are assuming it's a boy. We can find out for sure in 7 more weeks, or go the surprise route and find out on Oct. 31. What would you do? Oh, and do you know of any cute 3 letter boy names? We've run out of ideas. Not that we're stuck on that trend.

more pics on flickr

for the record

Today when I called J-P to tell him something funny Max said, he responded with "how come you never write these things down on the blog?" I informed him that my current hiatus from habitual blogging is the direct result of a full hard drive. I can't download any pics to my computer. Blogging is not fun without pictures. The end.

I did agree that I need to be better about documenting our humorous moments. Here is the aforementioned funny episode:

Preface: Ian learned how to open child locks before he could walk. He's smart like that. After a month of careful observation, Max caught on. Now they are always opening cupboards and making huge messes. If I let them. And sometimes I do. It's easier than fighting them and lifting all 30-something pounds of Max into his crib for timeout.

Today they got into the cupboard under the sink. The one with the garbage and all the dangerous chemicals. Ian was pulling out different industrial cleaners and Max was searching through the garbage. "GET OUT OF HERE! You know you aren't supposed to play in here!", I yelled. Max gave me a half-eye roll, pushed me away and said "mom, just go look at your computer".

be careful what you say

Max picks up on everything. Everything. The other day when we were watching the bachelor (so embarrassing to admit), Max woke up crying. He was sick, so I brought him into the kitchen to give him some tylenol. I didn't think he would notice the t.v. so I didn't pause it. On his way back to bed he stopped, gave his daddy a very passionate kiss on the cheek, and gazed into his eyes with a big smile before continuing on to his room. Both of our jaws dropped. We couldn't believe what he picked up from watching 30 seconds of a not-for-children show.

Today Ian was playing behind the couch. The boys KNOW they are not supposed to play behind the couch. When Max saw Ian back there, he hollered "Get out of there baby! You hear me baby?, I said get out of there! Oh my goodness baby. I so mad at you. I going to count. One, two, three, four, five...OK, go a time out baby!!!" I almost busted a gut laughing. I'm starting to learn how careful I have to be. Max is so observant and he remembers everything. Sometimes I don't realize my faults until he mirrors them.