The Naked Chef

I have never really let Scarlett help me in the kitchen.  It kind of grosses me out when parents tell me their kids helped them make something.  But, Scarlett loves.loves.loves to help me do things, so I figured she was old enough to start being my little sous-chef.

We made a delicious chocolate chip cake for a little family/friend function a few nights ago.  Scarlett was excellent with the hand mixer.

 She took her job of adding the sugar very seriously...

 Oops!  Got some batter on the measuring cup...

 Not to worry, she cleaned it right up!

 That was some good batter!

 After beating everything together, she figured she would continue to help by licking the beaters clean.

 Mom, you really should try this.

We added a mixture of cinnamon and sugar to the cake and I let Scarlett mix that up- I turned my back for one second and heard "mmm!  This is nummy!"  She was spoon-feeding herself the concoction.  Don't fret friends, I mixed up a new batch for the cake.

It was so fun having Scarlett help me in the kitchen.  She is quite the little chef.  And before we started baking, she had to take her shirt off.  Pants were OK to keep on, but the shirt had to go.

In honor of Scarlett's 22nd month of life (I canNOT believe she will be TWO in two months), here are a few fun things this little jitter-bug is doing these days:

*At the grocery store, she always wants Rolos when we are in line at the check-out.  Last week I told her no treats and she responded, "I'll pay!"

* I call Scarlett a million different things, but I use Boo-boo a lot, or just Boo.  The other day my Mom asked her what her name was, she thought about it, and then replied "Boo!"

* She always says "thank you, Mommy" to which I usually reply "you're welcome, baby".  Last night she did something I had asked her to do so I said, "thank you, baby" to which she replied ever so enthusiastically, "thank YOU, BABY!"  She says you're welcome and it is so adorable- "yer welfome".

* Her most favorite thing right now is gum.  She asks for it a million times a day.  She is fabulous with it, she knows she can't swallow it so she chews for a few minutes and then spits it out.  Whenever she chews it, she shakes her head no and says "wa-wo" over, and over again.

* Whenever it is time to leave Grandma and Granddad's house she holds her pointer finger up and says "just one minute!"  She really does this whenever she doesn't want to stop what she is currently doing.

* She strips herself down, diaper and all, and runs around the house yelling "look at me!  I nay-nay!"

* She smells her baby doll's bum from time to time and says "ew!  She needs a change!"  She then finds a diaper and wipes and cleans her bum.

* She doesn't really understand that we are having a baby, but when I talk to her about it she knows the new baby is going to get her "mines" (that is what she named her pacifiers when she was like 11 months old).

* She has gone number one and two on the toilet a few times, but is definitely not consistent.  She has had two number one accidents- no number two, thankfully. 

* Whenever we talk about going swimming she says "call Al!"  She has been calling my Dad by his first name for about a month now.  He is her most favorite person to swim with.

* Scarlett will not touch vegetables, they are disgusting to her, but last night, she ate a whole bowl of salad!  And asked for more.  Happy mommy.  She also loved the mahi-mahi I made.

* She sings the alphabet- even though she doesn't know it.  She says letters, just not in the right order.  And some mornings when she wakes up, she sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".  She doesn't know all the words, but she definitely knows some, and the tune.

* When it is time to put toys away she sings "clean up, clean up..."

Scarlett Ann, you are THE MOST energetic little person I have ever known.  You are full of spunk and charisma, and I absolutely adore that about you.  I love you, oh so much, and am so excited for you to share your love and energy with your baby sister in a few months.

Scarlett's Baby Sister

We went to the new 4D Ultrasound of Napa Valley on Monday, their first day in business, to find out if we were having a boy, or a girl.  I was actually a little surprised when the girl said, "There it is, any guesses?"  and I immediately knew it was another little girl.  Deep down I really thought this one was a boy.  I didn't care either way, but there was just a part of me that really thought boy.  I am thrilled Scarlett will have a little sister so close to her in age.  I hope and pray they will be the best of friends.  This little lady was awake, but so calm and still during the ultrasound, which was surprising because in my 9 week ultrasound she was dancing and shaking around like crazy- my doctor actually laughed and said she had never seen a baby so active that early.  But, if this ultrasound is any indication of her personality, I am sure looking forward to it.  Scarlett has the energy of three!  I could use a nice calm, easy going child.

We got a nice little recording of the baby's heart beat and Whitney (the owner) let Scarlett choose a bunny or a puppy (she loves puppies, it was an easy choice) to put the heart beat in.  Now she carries around a little dog that when she squeezes it she can hear her sister's heart beat.

We had a few people join us for the ultrasound- I think stuff like this is fun to share.  And no, no baby bump yet (nor weight gain, woohoo!), but I am certainly thicker in the middle! This counts as my 16 week + 1 day shot.

 And Aunt Deb, my cousin Sasha, and Lisa came, as well.

It is always so fun when you know the sex of the baby- it makes talking about "it" a little more real.  And now that it is a she, the shopping and planning can begin!  A few people told Rob that having another girl will make having another baby so much cheaper- his response- "seriously?  Ha!  Do you know my wife?!"  Scarlett does have buckets full of clothes that she really only wore once... so those will come in handy.  I think Rob is excited because he knows it means I will have at least one more baby to see if we can get a boy.  He was afraid if this was a boy I wouldn't have any more...
Here's to TWO girls!  Sisters.  Nothing beats it.

We love you, baby girl!  Can't wait for you to join our family.

Lake Tahoe, July 2011

We spent a fun few days up in Tahoe a few weeks ago.  Ashley and Kyle drove out from Salt Lake and it was so fun to see them.  I have been incredibly awful with my camera lately.  I didn't take any pictures of Scarlett swimming at the pool.  This little lady loves the water.  She takes a "noo" (noodle) in with her and off she goes.  She swims by herself and doesn't want anyone's help.

The first night, after dinner, Scarlett saw these kids hooked in to harnesses and jumping really high on trampolines.  She decided she wanted to do it, and thanks to the encouragement of Aunt Ashees, I went and bought her a ticket.

Waiting, ever so patiently, for her turn.

This face really says it all.

  Still waiting....

 And finally, after waiting an hour, it was Scarlett's turn.  She chickened out.  I knew she would.

 We enjoyed some popcorn and chips and salsa in the afternoons at the hotel.

 Outside there was a band playing and as soon as that music started, her booty started shaking.

 We met Jackson the horse and loved petting him and saying "neigh!".

 On our last day in Tahoe we headed down to the Hippie Show (that's what we grew up calling it, which is completely politically incorrect, it is an Art Festival- but will forever be called the Hippie Show in my family).  Scarlett was exhausted.  Too much swimming- not enough naps!

Scarlett did sleep in a big girl bed for the first time on this trip- Rob and I got a two room suite so we could have a bedroom, and Scarlett could have her own room, she definitely needs her wind down time away from everyone else.  I think she liked it.  Maybe we'll transition soon...?

Utah in June

Back in June, Scarlett and I flew to Utah on a Sunday to hang out with my brother and sister, and my mom also happened to be visiting that week.  Rob joined us on Wednesday night and we stayed with his parents through Monday, and after spending Monday with Ashley and Kyle, we flew home.  It was a fun trip, but a little long.  Scarlett is such a homebody at night- we have always known this, and I was really nervous about how she would do at bed time, and sure enough, it was a nightmare.  Sunday night she was sleeping with me in Kyle's room and she didn't go to sleep until after midnight, then was awake for about an hour in the middle of the night, and then was awake for the day just before 7am.  Being 8 weeks pregnant, I was sick and puking, so I called my inlaws and asked if Scar and I could sleep at their place so Scarlett could have her own room and space.  Scarlett does not sleep well in a pack'n'play, and therefore slept in bed with me Monday night- not great for me- and then my sweet father-in-law went out and bought a crib Tuesday so Scarlett could have her own place, and I could actually get some sleep.  Thank you, Doug!  Tuesday was like a dream- she went to bed without a peep, and slept until 8am.  It was fabulous.  Things had been so bad at night that I actually changed Rob's flight from Thursday morning to Wednesday evening so he could deal with her at night.  Once she had her own bed, things were a million times better, and there are plenty of grandkids who will benefit from Scarlett being so high maintenance.

I didn't pull my camera out once the entire 9 days we were there!  Sunday-Wednesday with my family was full of shopping, Park City, eating out... it was a lot of fun.  And Scarlett loves Ashees and Ky Ky and had a blast hanging out with them.  When I picked Rob up from the airport Wednesday evening we went down to Riverton to visit my college roommate Annie and her husband Dan.  I miss those two!  Annie is due in just about a month with her first and it was so fun to see her cute belly, and their new house.  Thursday morning we went down to Provo (sad to say, but I actually really miss Provo!) and had breakfast at Maglby's with Cameron and Shea (I really can't believe I didn't take any pictures).  Then Rob dropped Scarlett and me off at the mall with Kyle and my Mom while he met with some investors, and then we headed out to West Jordan to hang out with Brooke and Chris, and their three adorable girls, Hallie, Lucy and Claire.  Scarlett had so much fun with them- it almost convinced me to move to Utah  ;)  After the busyness of the day, we went back to Rob's parents' and had dinner with all of his siblings and their kids.  It had been over a year since we had all been together, it was a lot of fun.  Friday we headed up to Park City with Rob's family to do the Alpine Slide and Coaster- thanks to Kat for the photos!

I didn't realize you had to ride the chair lift for about 20 minutes up the mountain for the slide, and we took Scarlett with us, she loved it, but I was so freaked out she was going to fall the whole time, it was the longest 20 minutes of my life.  She thought the slide was awesome! 

 All the Fuller cousins; JT, Luke, Harrison, Zach and Scarlett.

 Friday night was a big Farnsworth (Rob's mom's side) family reunion BBQ at Jon and Kat's.  It was really fun to see everyone.  Saturday was Meri's baby shower- I was glad to be in town to help with the food.  After the shower, everyone hung out at Rob's parents' and we ordered Chinese for dinner.  We put Scarlett's cute "I'm going to be a big sister" shirt on and waited for people to notice.  Troy was poking her in the tummy and making her giggle for a few minutes before he noticed. 

Scarlett was loving wrestling with Luke.

 "Hi, I'm Scarlett.  And I'm really too cute for my own good."

 "Really, really, too cute."

Sunday was more Fuller family time, and on Monday we met Ashley and Kyle at the Gateway, shopped a little, had lunch, then hung out at their place before heading to the airport.  It felt so good to get back home.  It was a great trip, but I have come to realize, vacations are NOT vacations when you travel with toddlers.  What am I going to do with two?!

Twenty-One Months

... and excited to announce...

01.22.2012

July 4, 2011

I taught Relief Society on the 3rd and showed an amazing DVD about a woman from Sierra Leone who has lived through unbelievable adversity in her life.  Through her trials, she found God and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and has a beautiful testimony and story to share.  I never show videos when I teach but thought this was perfect for the 4th of July- to remind us of the freedoms we enjoy due to living in this wonderful country.

We loved our 4th this year.  Not only did we get to celebrate our freedom as a Nation, but we also got to spend the whole day together as a family.  We started the morning at Emmy Lou's for breakfast with my parents and my two great-aunts.  We then headed to the outlets for a little shopping (great sales!), and then home so Scarlett could nap since we kept her out so late the night before. 

We joined a private pool this summer and spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening swimming, and enjoying a catered barbecue.

Scarlett is such a little fish.  She loves swimming, and I think Granddad loves swimming with her even more.

 She hates the little life vest.  She wore it for about 3 minutes before throwing a fit saying "get off!"  She hasn't worn it again since.  But she is amazing with a noodle.  She holds on and kicks herself around, lies on her back... I might have her swimming by the end of the summer!  ;)

 "Just one more..." as she holds her pointer finger up.  She says this every time you do something she likes, just one more turns in to 10 or 20 more.  But she loves to "go high!"

Poor Rob and his lily-whiteness.  Don't worry, I am taking him to Tahoe this weekend to remedy that!

We didn't go out for fireworks on the 4th, Scarlett was pretty exhausted, but we can watch them from almost any one of the windows at our house.  What a fun day. 

Much love to all our troops- and their families- THANK YOU for protecting my family.

Our Little Firecracker

After church on Sunday, the 3rd, I went to Sacramento to visit my Grandpa with my parents, and left Rob in charge of snapping a few cute pictures of our little girl in her 4th of July attire.

 

 Sweet and innocent?  Or is she scheming...?

 Jump for freedom!

 She met up with Pearl and picked blackberries in one of our neighbors yards.

A little lovin'.

When I got back from Sacramento we headed straight out to Silverado for their annual 3rd of July fireworks show.  We met up with the Hisermans.  Scarlett loved running around on the golf course until the "big booms!" started.  She wasn't loving the noise.  Granddad saved her and walked back to our car so she could still watch, but the fireworks wouldn't be quite so loud.  Thanks a million, Granddad!

Scarlett will tell you that they went "big boom!  big boom!" but she will also tell you they were "really loud.  Too loud" and that Granddad "took me away".  What a doll face.

Happy Independence Day.