Matchy Matchy

In my single years I made myself a silent promise that I would never put my children in matching clothes. It was too reminiscent of the matching T-shirt syndrome plaguing high school dances, and the matching outfits plaguing family pictures. I always thought wearing matching clothes on a date or in a family picture was absurd, but I bit my tongue and played along. I thought putting children in matching clothing was equally ridiculous.

I've changed my mind.

Now for the slightly embarrassing confession. I love putting Max and Ian in matching outfits. It makes me deliriously happy. Taking pictures of them in matching outfits makes me even happier. Finding matching outfits at Old Navy for $3.98 per outfit makes me the happiest of all.

Shout Out

I have been meaning to say THANK YOU to my friend Alicia for a while now. I won her blog give away back in December. I took lots of pictures of the loot, but I can't find them anywhere! It's driving me crazy. You will have to settle for a picture of the two of us on our first day of high school. Please excuse the outfits. Anyway, the giveaway corresponded to the 12 days of Christmas and included gifts that represented her. Things she loves. Curious? Here a list of the loot:

1. Pop (fresca, to be specific). Yes we say pop in WA.
2. Gum (Extra)
3. A sleep Mask
4. Scrapbook paper
5. Handmade cards (my favorite part)
6. Lindt Chocolate (lasted about 5 seconds, I have a weakness)
7. A movie (My Girl)
8. McDonalds gift certificates
9. People magazine
10. Chapstick
11. A Twilight series bookmark (we have both read the series twice)
12. An Enya favorite hits CD

Regresamos

We're back. We had a great time with family and friends in Utah and California. Check out our pics on flickr. My cousin's wedding was beautiful, there are more pictures here. Five things I learned on our trip...

1. I'm so fat, I no longer need to wear a coat (unfortunately my added insulation won't prove beneficial in AZ).
2. The DVD player in our minivan is worth it's weight in gold.
3. Ian is a great traveler. Max, well, not so much.
4. Taking both boys to the grocery store by myself yields disaster. Just ask the innocent by-standers that couldn't help but stare as I single-handedly replaced every single box of Jello to it's proper place after Max's rampage down the dessert isle. My other hand (and arm) was constraining a (horizontal) kicking and screaming toddler. The baby was a few feet away screaming in the cart.
5. There is no place like home...even if you live in a crazy house like we do.

Today my Phil and Ted's was a huge sanity saver. It worked it's magic and lulled both boys to sleep so this momma could indulge in some much needed alone time. Even if the alone time was used to do laundry and dishes.


I have been in denial about Ian's size. I have been squeezing him into his six month clothes for a few weeks now. I couldn't figure out why he was crying every time I dressed him, and tonight it hit me. My negligence was subconscious, not deliberate. I am not ready for my little baby to get bigger. Please don't report me to CPS.

Blessing Day

We blessed Ian today. He was a perfect angel all day long, but screamed his lungs out during the entire blessing. The combination of a screaming baby and an emotional dad made for a short, but sweet, blessing. We have had a week of free flowing emotions here at chez scoville. There have been frequent outbursts of every type of emotion...and let me tell you, we are emotionally exhausted. Appropriately, Ian learned to laugh this week.

Please help me...

I'll admit it, I have a problem. The first thing I do when I wake up is run to the computer to check the latest polls and headlines. Then I quickly peruse all of my favorite political blogs to catch up on anything that might have happened while I was sleeping. Don't worry...I do tear myself away from the computer to clean my house, play with my children, and cook dinner. It is, however, a painful separation. J-P took this picture last night to document my insanity. I was watching the debate and (at the same time) reading the reaction to it on all the blogs. Please ignore the messy house...the debate was priority number one. Cleaning up the family room was priority number two.


Perhaps one of the reasons this race is so intriguing to me is because Mitt Romney is a serious contender. As a result, there many people out there who are devoting their lives to spewing egregious, slanderous, anit-mormon rhetoric on all the political blogs. I find it thoroughly entertaining. I laugh out loud everyday. I don't know where people come up with this stuff. My favorite blog comment of the week: "Mormons believe things that are so crazy they should be arrested for what they believe!" Pure comedy. It will be interesting to see how the primaries play out.

Rub Dub...

Just relaxing in the tub. Today Max refused to get out of the bathtub, even after I drained the water. He basically does the opposite of whatever I ask him to do. And then he laughs. The good news: he has grown two inches since October...which means that we get to hold off on the growth hormones for now. Phew. I'm pretty sure his growth spurt has been sponsored in part by fried potatoes and Costco tamales. I am so hoping he grows out of these food allergies. Enjoy our post bath photo shoot...

Two Month Stats

Here are the results from Ian's two month appointment:

height: 23 1/2 inches
Weight: 12lbs 11 oz

He has almost doubled his birth weight, yet seems so small compared to Max at this age. Max was over 15 lbs and over 25 inches long. I thought Ian was small for his age, but it turns out he's in the 75th percentile. Max was off the charts.


Ian is very friendly and loves to talk. He inherited chubby cheeks from his mom. He inherited the balding pattern from his dad.

Same shirt

The only good thing about having a child who grows slowly is that clothes last a long time. Max is wearing the same clothes that he wore last Christmas. Here he is at 6 months old.


Here he is in the exact same shirt at 19 months. I can't believe it still fits. We go back to the endocrinologist on Saturday to see if he has grown and to discuss growth hormones.

Here he is trying to whack the camera out of my hands. Good thing he was the size of an average 18-month-old at 6 months.

Two Months Old

Ian is two months old today. How did we celebrate? We took him to his first political rally. I think he liked it. He got to hear famous Sheriff Joe Arpaio give a speech about why he is endorsing Romney for president. Max got very bored so we kept him quiet with an unlimited supply of (all natural) fruit snacks.

I got a brand new diaper bag. It's not exactly new, but the sticker turned it into a piece of political propaganda. It feels like a whole new bag. It now serves two purposes instead of one. I think all moms should put a Mitt sticker on their diaper bag.


The rally was fun, and the trip home was pleasant thanks to a quick stop at In-N-Out. It was also the first trip in our new Minivan. I can't tell you how great it is to finally be a part of the minivan club.

Don't forget to call everyone you know in Michigan and remind them to vote for Mitt on Tuesday!!!

Addiction

I can't pull myself away from political blogs. They are like a drug; I can't get enough. I hate that the media has so much control over the political future of our nation. The news is filled with so much bias. I hate that my fabulous comments never make it past the "awaiting moderation" stage on blogs. I have been sitting on the edge of my couch waiting for today's results...only to be disappointed again. There are way to many incompetent voters out there.


To deal with my frustration, I have started my "fit back into my clothes" exercise plan. Speed-walking and spinning provided much needed stress relief today. I'll pull out the pilates mat as soon as I'm done with this post. Ian is sleeping on the couch keeping me company as I write this. He loves to hold onto his pacifier while he sleeps. Pretty cute.