December 20

Hi everyone!

First, i would like to say that my shift key isn't working very well, so there might be a few missing capital letters. I am not being a poor grammarian on purpose, I am just being lazy in not going back to correct my work.

It has been an exciting week at our house. Top things that have happened:

1. Jens poured Tilex on his pants and then trailed it around the house, so we have terrible looking bleach spots all over our carpet.

2. my gingerbread house collapsed. I think the humidity did it in.

3. I got a flu shot and now my arm really hurts!

4. Jens got a new bike from his great Gram. He loves it, and we take him on frequent rides up and down the hall.

5. we got family pictures done (at last). Jens was pretty terrible--there was a prop train on our "set" and he just wanted to climb on it. Trying to keep him in the pose was pretty hard work. BUT we did get one to work out, and it is on our Christmas card, coming soon to a mailbox near you.

6. Mike and i went on a jens-free date. Wendie watched him for us while we went for Chinese food. When we came to pick him up, Wendie was very distressed as Jens had just, at the moment we rang the doorbell, wedged himself into their health rider, one of those old excercise bikes. His legs were stuck pretty good and we had to use a crowbar to get him out. he has a
little bruise on his leg, but is otherwise fine.

7. We went to the zoo. it was cold and grey so no one else was there (and I mean that literally) but all of the animals were out! We saw the tigers, all four foxes, tons of peacocks, etc.

8. I had my follow up doctor's appt. and my blood work looks okay, BUT I have to go back in three months and have ANOTHER blood draw! i am starting to feel like a pincushion.

9. we had good news and are excited that betty's doctors appointments have also gone well and that she will be able to get radiation treatments over with quickly!

10. I am trying really hard to think of something to put here because ten seems like a nice, round number. Ahh! The new safeway across the street opened. it is very nice, although much more expensive then the very far away winco.


i hope you are all enjoying the festive season. i do love the holidays! see most of you very soon--i am excited, although not for the traveling or the inevitable illness that jens will get . . .

loren--are you still alive somewhere? you should write to us all after you are done with exams tomorrow. and making all your books. because i hear that you are very behind with that.

Summer, Alissa, and matt--travel safely to Brazil!

Merry Christmas, everyone1

Love,

Alison

December 6

Hi Everyone!

I can't believe it is December already. Time seems to go so quickly sometimes!

We had an uneventful drive home from Utah on Thursday. We are so glad that we waited--it was safe and boring Thursday whereas it would have been stressful and long on Sunday. Jens was so great, although we did have a thirty minute crying jag. Friday was spent unpacking and getting out Christmas things. i unbent our Christmas tree and decorated it. For a cheapo fake it looks as cute as possible. We have used that fakey tree for four years now! Someday we will have a real tree again . . . Jens has been loving our big Christmas snow globe and the little manger scene I have. He likes to play with the people, although we have had a few problems with throwing the baby Jesus.

Saturday we watched the football games--Yay Florida! We are happy they made it to the championship, but fearful that they will get pounded. I also made a gingerbread house on Saturday. I freestyled it this year, which was challanging but fun. I'll send a picture. Sunday was church--as I drove into the parking lot I was surprised to see the whole relief society room
ripped open and exposed to the elements! They are renovating our building while we continue meeting in it. There is caution tape all over the relief society room doors! I also gave Jens a haircut. It turned out really well except that the front is a little short. I will send a picture of that, too.

Monday Jens and I went to see the respiratory specialist. I saw the pediatric doctor for the first time and she was so great. I really felt like she listened and explained things clearly. We are going to switch Jens to an inhalor once we get through all of his VERY expensive nebulizer
medication. She also helped us come up with a holiday plan for while we are in Florida (because UNDOUBTEDLY Jens will get sick while we are there, as he does EVERY time we travel!). I also got new shoes on Monday. I wonder if I will ever get over the thrill that gives me? I got some fancy heels for the fancy Intel shindig we are going to on Thursday night in San Fransisco. We are even having a baby sitter!

Yesterday was the foot doctor. It was also a good appointment. We have to keep going with the big old clown shoe, but we don't have to go back in for 6 months. Jens and I stopped and checked out a few houses that are for rent in Folsom. We are thinking about moving, although the idea makes me feel lazy. It would be so nice to have a yard and a two car garage, though.
Plus, these houses would be closer to Intel. We'll wee what happens.

That's all the news from us! I'll let you know how the fancy Intel thing is next week. :)

Love,

Alison

November 29

HI everyone!

We are STILL in Utah! We were going to head home on Sunday, but a big storm was predicted to hit the Sierras just a little before we were going to be driving over them. We decided to stay here and let the storm pass over us, which turned out to be a good decision. Sunday we checked the Truckee webcam and saw lines of traffic, lots of snow, and read about spin outs etc.
Th snow got here Monday and stayed yesterday. We were glad we decided to wait! We are heading home tomorrow. I have enjoyed the slight taste of snow and winter, but I will be happy to go home where we don't have to scrape the car.

It has been an exciting week. We had a nice Thanksgiving, which started with floor hockey at the church gym. Our brother in law Eric is very in to games and sports, so he brought his goals and sticks so we could place (yes, he has his own floor hockey goals . . .) The kids really enjoyed it and it was fun to get out. I made scalloped corn, which was a little salty but pretty good, and I made cranberries. It was really fun to have Loren here. I did miss having Brenda's sweet potatoes, but maybe we can have those at Christmas?

The one bad thing was that Jens was sick. We thought it was just a cold, but it seemed to get progressively worse throughout the day. Thursday night he was in full distress mode--his breathing was so awful! He spent the night in bed with me with a temperature and a bad cough. Also, he threw up on my bed. We finally got him to sleep and the next morning we took him
right to the doctor who diagnosed him with strep which had induced an asthma attack. He cried the WHOLE time we were at the doctor's office. He got a shot for strep and the dr. gave Mike and me prescriptions assuming that we too had strep. The rest of the day Friday was just so sad. Jens, who loves to run and play, just wanted to be held and lay down. His breathing was so
labored I was afraid the medicine wasn't working, but by evening it had kicked in. He is now feeling MUCH better, but I am sure he will be happy to get home to his own bed.

We had a pretty quiet weekend--watched the games on Saturday, church on Sunday. Monday we left the kids with Grandma and went out to Los Hermanos for lunch, and yesterday we met the Johnsons for lunch. Today we went to storytime at the library and I think I am meeting Kristin at the mall to wander this afternoon. Tomorrow, we drive, which won't be fun at all. Mike has been trying to get work done. It is so fortunate that his job is so
flexible and he has been able to work here without getting into trouble.

Hope you all have a happy week!

Love,

Alison

November 22

Hello from Utah, everyone!

We are happy to be here with Mike's family to enjoy Thanksgiving. We have had a very nice week. Wednesday we had the missionaries for dinner. We have a set of really nice sisters right now, and they gave us a nice message. Also, it gave me an excuse to make pumpkin pie. Thursday we packed for our trip and I FINALLY got Jens's new corrective shoe. It looks
like a huge white clown shoe because it is a little on the big side. I have not been very faithful about putting it on him, I must admit. I resolve to do better sometime! We had Natalie for dinner on Thursday, then at 10:30 at night, after we were all packed, we went up to the Nielsens for Krispy Kremes and to watch The Office. It was delightful, although I ate way too
many donuts.

We drove out on Friday, which you can imagine was a delightful day. It was actually so much better than we ever could have imagined. We got a good early start and Made great time. Jens was a champ, and although he complained a little in the afternoon, he was mostly very happy and cheerful. We made it to Utah in record time--left at 9, got in by 7:30 (all CA
time). Jens was so excited to be here--he was very cute and warmed up to Grandma and Grandpa Helquist quickly, unlike last time.

Saturday we enjoyed breakfast with the Johnsons before they departed for CA. Their little Mati is such a doll--smiley and cute, but she was a little afraid of Mike when we first got there! You should have seen some of the whithering looks she gave him. Then Mike went shooting with some friends (yes, I said shooting--apparently Mike is a littlehill billy at heart). They shot shotguns at clay things or something while I primed the Helquist's front room for paint. They are in the middle of redoing their front room and I volunteered to help out. Julie and I finished the painting on Monday and it looks so nice. While Julie and I were painting, Joel, Mike, Grandma and Grandpa wrastled all the kids. I thoroughly enjoyed the painting and
the break from my normal routine!

Last night we got together with friends. It is always fun to get together and Jens enjoyed seeing all the kids. Today we went to story time at the Provo Library, which is so gorgeous. We have a nice library at home, but the children's section is nothing compared to the one here!

We are hoping to see Loren today and we are looking forward to feasting tomorrow. I made real cranberries and I am making scalloped corn for tomorrow, so it should feel just like Thanksgiving ought to!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday tomorrow--I am thankful for my family and friends!

Love,

Alison

November 15

Today Jens is 15 months old. It is funny to remember what he was like a year ago. Not only does he look totally different, he can do so much more. He is getting so big and so fun! His latest funny has been the word stuck. For some reason, he loves the word and wants to use it as often as possible, so he tries to find ways to get stuck. A few nights ago the vacuum was out and Jens kept trying to slide his feet under the cord so he could be stuck. Today at the doctor's office, he kept sticking his finger into the trash can so his finger would get stuck between the flap and the can so he could be stuck. Sometimes he doesn't even need anything to be stuck. He'll just freeze mid-step while he is walking down the hall and say he is stuck. It is quite humorous.

He had his fifteen month checkup today. He is 32.5 inches tall (90%) and 27.3 lbs (80%). He had three shots including a flu shot and was pretty tough about it. He was actually much tougher than I was when I had to have blood taken last week for routine blood work. Of course, my phlebotomist made a big mess of things, which made things worse. I didn't look while she was taking blood, but as soon as she started to pull the needle out I heard her say "You're bruising already!" So I looked over and there was a HUGE lump the size of half a ping pong ball an my arm. She didn't seem to feel bad about it at all, but my arm hurt for two days and I still have a huge and disgusting bruise, although it sounds like Brenda's is worse.

We are having the missionaries over tonight. I made pumpkin pie. Yum.

We are leaving for Utah on Friday. I am excited for the trip, although I am really hoping that Jens does better with sleeping than he did last time we traveled. Loren, we would love to see you a whole bunch while we are in town!

My big project of the week has been my little table that I wrote about last week. I stripped it (using nail polish remover--I am ever the cheap resourceful type), painted the legs, and refinished the top.

I have to say that I thought of Mom quite a bit. Remember how she used to make us pet Jessie's bed and comment on how smooth the wood was? I am pretty proud of how smooth the table is, although Jens has already dented it several times with the vacuum tube. It looks really cute.

I think that is all from here. Have a happy week and I'll see some of you very soon!

November 8

Hi Everyone!

We had a really nice week. Last week we had a little friend named Harrison over so his mom could go be a classroom volunteer. They had a good time following each other around. It is funny how a toy suddenly becomes so much more interesting when someone else wants to play with it! Natalie and I also made caramel/white chocolate apples. They were so good!

Also momentous this week, Jens got to try ice cream. It was very popular and he really liked it.

Mike took Friday off and we went to Ikea, one of our favorite outings. We got very important stuff (curtain rod, silverware caddy) and some things for Jessie and Abbie. We ate a delicious and cheap lunch and enjoyed walking around and looking at things.

Saturday was the daddy-daughter date for our achievement day girls. We did a Hawaiian luau theme and everyone had a great time. It was fun for me to see the girls with their dads--they were obviously so thrilled to have time to spend together. A couple of the girls without dads brought an older brother and a Sunday School teacher. It was so nice to see those men making such an effort to help the girls have a good time, and they did.

Monday Jens was sick all day. It was very sad and messy. I won't say any more.

Yesterday was a fun day because Jens was feeling much better. He woke up and called "bottle! bottle!" because he was so hungry after not having anything stay put on Monday. I voted and one of the poll workers told me I should be a poll worker, too. I am thinking about it. It might be kind of fun. We went to the zoo, which was great because all of the animals were out for once. All of the bears, both tigers, and the monkeys were being really crazy.

Also exciting yesterday was that I spent a good bit of time scraping stickers, scotch tape, and various goo off of a well known little art table. I think Jens will be ready to start coloring soon, so I decided to bring the table in and clean it up. I thought of Jessie, Loren, and myself as I: 1. carried it into the house by myself--I remember that table weighing a ton! We had to work together to move it anywhere! 2. scraped off the 101 Dalmatian stickers 3. Admired how the cubbyholes are labeled in brown crayon "Alison" and "Loren". I actually remember doing that myself because after I wrote it the first time, we decided to switch cubbyholes, so I had to scribble out our names and re-write them. Anyway, after much scrubbing and goo gone and nail polish remover, the desk is now just old and battered looking instead of being old, battered, and really dirty. Jens was pretty excited about it. He likes to pat it and try to climb onto it.

Lastly, last night was the first non-screaming nebulizer treatment we have ever had. Since Jens was sick on Monday, we did the 15 minute treatment, which is normally quite painful and horrible for us all. Not so last night! We put in Baby Einstein, which Jens NEVER gets to watch because he doesn't watch tv, and he was so transfixed that he tolerated the treatment without a peep! He didn't even try to move his head too much because then he couldn't see the tv. It was great.

AND today I woke up and saw that a few of the things I voted for actually won, although several big things like governor and house rep did not win :(

Okay, that's it. Have a happy week everyone!

November 1

Hi Everyone!

Happy Birthday, Kristin!

I hope everyone enjoyed a more successful Halloween than we did! We were supposed to do family pictures yesterday at the mall, then we were going to costume Jens and walk around. Unfortunately, on Monday Jens did a face plant onto a flower pot and got a huge cut on his forehead. It looks terrible, and I am really worried that it is going to leave a scar, but everyone says it looks pretty shallow and not to worry about it. Anyway, we nixed the idea of family pictures, but since we had a picture coupon we decided to go in and do a casual picture of Mike and Jens. Well, I left to pick Mike up at 4:30 for our 5:30 appointment. At 5:30, after a half hour of very loud and ear piercing squealing from Jens, we were sitting in traffic about a mile away from Mike's work. We canceled our appointment and went home, where we had not ONE single trick or treater! We put Jens in his costume and enjoyed watching him walk around in it, although he continued to whine. Big face owie: Lion attack! Something about the tail is just so cute!

We did have some other fun Halloween festivities, though. On Friday we went to Apple Hill with the Nielsens. Even Mike got to go because he had Friday off! We went to a pumpkin patch, where the pumpkins were very picked over, then stopped and bought pumpkins at another ranch. On Friday night we carved pumpkins, which was very fun. They turned out really cute, and Natalie made pumpkin pie, which is always good.

Saturday, after two football games where the right team won, was our ward Halloween activity, which was very fun and successful. There were two wards and tons of people. They had booths, a chili cook off, trunk or treat, and line dancing. Jens got to run around in his costume and even got some candy, none of which he was allowed to eat. It was fun to play with, though! The line dancing was fun, and although Mike refused to join in, Jens and I enjoyed it. We went home and watched "American Dreamz" which is a movie that makes fun of American Idol and the president. I was expecting it to be really horrible and it wasn't as bad as I expected, so I enjoyed it.

October 25

Hi Everyone!

This old body had a very nice week and a lovely birthday. It was just a little tiring.

The flight to Ohio went just fine. I was really happy to see Loren in Salt Lake--it was so nice to have someone to help with Jens. It was also nice to know that Jens wasn't totally bothering the person we were sitting next to because it was Loren, and Loren isn't allowed to be bugged by his very cute nephew. I enjoyed visiting Krohn Conservatory and going for walks in the Hermitage--it feels like I never left sometimes.
It was so nice to be in Ohio for the fall. There is no place like the Hermitage for enjoying the leaves! It was beautiful. The company was good, as was the food. I ate so much over the weekend! I am glad I got to be there to celebrate 80 years with Gramp. I too enjoyed the slide show, especially thanks to Mom's self-sacrifice.


The only real sorrow over the weekend was Jens and his refusal to sleep unless he could touch me. We have NEVER done the co-sleeping thing, but this weekend I had to set that aside. The first night in Ohio Jens screamed himself into hysterics when I put him in the portacrib. I finally let him lie in bed with me until he'd calmed down. Then I tried to put him back in the portacrib. He started screaming, so I put my pillow right next to it. He stood up in his crib and leaned way over so he could put his head on my pillow! I gave up and let him fall asleep in bed with me before transferring him to the crib. He caught on to that by Saturday, though, so Saturday and Sunday he just stayed in the big bed all night. I was real happy to get home to his crib! He has, thankfully, gone right back to his normal sleeping habits.

Of course, with all the sleep trouble, Jens barely napped while we were away. He is making up for it now that he is home! This morning I had an early doctor's appointment, so I got up and got ready, gave Jens his bottle, and plunked him in bed to play with Mike. I came home two hours later to a silent house. Back in our room, Jens was fast asleep where I'd put him!

I really enjoyed my birthday yesterday. 28 is a real comfortable number, I think. Jens slept in and took great naps, Mike worked from home, I got everything unpacked, lots of people called, Mike and I went out to dinner--we even had a babysitter! And Mike surprised me with a cake. He made it before I came home and hid it at the neighbor's house. He is so sneaky!

In sad news, the VW is in the shop; it seems like when it rains it pours! At least the Camry is running great now.

In happy news, Mike's work schedule seems to be slowing down dramatically. He is done working Saturdays and has been able to come home at a decent hour. Yay!

October 18

Hi Everyone!

Happy Birthday, Doug!

I am glad to announce we finally bought tickets to come to Florida for Christmas. Sadly, we don't get in until 9 pm on the 24th. Happily, we didn't spend over $1000 to fly at midnight and arrive the next day . . . The flight options were so terrible and everything was so expensive! I have never had such a hard time finding flights before. When I saw a flight that wasn't overnight or leaving at 6 am, we had to grab it. I will be sad to miss all of the Christmas Eve festivities, but at least we will be there for Christmas Day. We fly out on the 31st at 10 am or something. So, at least we are coming. It is a relief.

I am looking forward to being in Ohio for the weekend. I hope we make it in one piece! I am very grateful that Loren will be joining us in Salt Lake. I have a feeling that after flying with us, Loren will not feel the same way. Jens has started screaming in the last week. He doesn't even have to be mad, he just screeches. It is very loud and ear piercing. Betty mentioned to Mike that he did the same thing as a baby, and I am sure that I did plenty of screaming, so I guess this is payback. I think Jens is understanding so much of what we say that he is starting to feel very frustrated by his inability to communicate. He has been learning so much so fast, but still, he's only got ten or eleven "words," which can't be adequate. I mean, saying "hat" is all well and good, but it doesn't express much.

In other Jens news, I gave him a hair cut and used clippers for the first time. I sat him in the kitchen sink (with no water, obviously) and gave it my best shot. It looks like, well, the first haircut I've ever done with clippers. I only clipped the back and sides, then used scissors on the top. The sides especially are very short, and the top is a little long. It sort of reminds me of the dad's haircut in Back to the Future, but not all greasy. Oh well. It will grow, and hopefully by the time he cares about how it looks I will be really good at cutting hair. This is not a picture to showcase the haircut--it is just funny hair.

We were very sad to watch the Gator game and feel like they had a very bad call and some very bad luck. Hopefully this won't send them into a tailspin and ruin the rest of their season. Mike is boycotting all Gator paraphernalia for the week, and he is grouchy that there is no game on this weekend to keep him busy while I am gone. Last Saturday ended up being the LAST Saturday they had to go in to work, so he will be home while I am gone. If only we had known before. :(

Also this week we went to Apple Hill (again)
and had a play date with Harrison, Jens's little buddy. They are pretty funny together.

One more Jens story. Most of you know the struggle we've had with getting him to eat finger vegetables. Last night we were having peas and I put some on his tray. He said "ball!" and started stuffing them in his mouth. He was determined that they were balls and ate a ton of them! We tried to tell him they were peas, but he was pretty definite. He apparently thinks all things that are round are balls, just like anything with wheels (lawn mower, trucks, bikes, strollers, grocery carts) is a car.

He is fun.

See some of you soon!

October 11

Hi everyone.

I am realizing that California is very nice in the fall. I complain about the hot and the rain a lot, but boy, it is beautiful here right now. It gets down into the 50s at night and the 70s during the day. We are loving it!

I am starting with a picture of our drooly boy:sucking furiously on Mati's old pacifier. It became Jens's when he stole it from her and sucked on it and chewed on it so hard that he filled it up with his own spit. Kristin decided they didn't need it back after that. Every once in awhile he finds it and decided to try it out.

Our gross news of the week (nothing to do with puke, for once): there is a skunk that lives in our complex, and it particularly likes walking around OUR apartment building! 5 nights out of the last week we have had to run around slamming the windows shut. 2 of those nights we were way too late and our whole apartment reeked of skunk. It was really really disgusting. I went and talked to the people in the office about it and they said they would try to figure out something, but really, what can you do? How do you go about trapping a skunk? It seems like a bad idea all around.

Sad Jens news of the week: he does indeed have asthma, but on the up side, it is illness induced and he is very likely to grow out of it. On the down side, we have to do nebulizer treatments, which are 15 minutes of pure misery. We have to pin him down to do the breathing treatments and he just cries and cries. By the end his face is bright red and he is all sweaty. It is helping, though. We are going to see the doctor again and hopefully we won't have to do the nebulizer treatments until Jens gets sick again.

In funny Jens news--he is so cute. He has learned to ask "Where is it?" Obviously, he doesn't say the words clearly, but he puts his hands up and sort of shakes his head and chatters in a questioning voice. We have realized that he knows a lot more words than we thought because when we ask him where things are, he can go find them even if they are words he doesn't say.

Also funny--we went to the signing story time yesterday. Jens was quite the crack up. He was dancing during the song and ended up wrestling the big bear, Bebo the signing bear, in the middle of the floor. He also roared whenever the bear was mentioned (we have been practicing for Halloween). It was pretty fun.

Also this week, Natalie and I went to Apple Hill last Friday. I had the best apple pie of my life. It was delicious! Jens enjoyed playing in the hay bales and Halloween displays at a few of the farms.


We enjoyed cheering for the Gators on Saturday--it is fun to cheer for such a winning team! Sunday we went to the park and had two families over for dessert, which Jens loved. He loves seeing other kids! Mike "served" jury duty yesterday morning, meaning he went in and sat there, then came home. It was nice to have him around so much. Also, I made Patty's casserole last night. It was delicious.

That's all the news from us this week. Have a happy week everyone!

PS--Kristin, were you subbing last week or this week? How did it go?
PS--Jessie, we might have a computer you guys can have if you are still
looking to upgrade. Mike has been building a new one this week and might have enough stuff left over to build for you guys.
PS--Dad, I really enjoyed your e-mail. It sounds like your job is so neat.

October 4

It is hard to believe it is October already! We have suddenly gone from summery warm to gloomy cold here. It is kind of nice to have a break from the heat. I am especially glad to be able to cook in the house without turning it into a sauna!

We had a really nice weekend. I really enjoyed the parts of General Conference that I heard (you know, in between playing with trucks and telling Jens not to jump on the couch . . .) It seems like this one was especially good. Mike was actually home on Saturday--he didn't need to go in to work for once, which was so nice. We went up to Apple Hill with the Nielsens and enjoyed fritters and pie. Yum! The leaves are changing now, so it was really beautiful.


Sunday we watched both sessions, enjoyed a family walk, and had dinner with the Nielsens. Unfortunately, Jens was starting to have a cold by Sunday and he threw up that evening. Then he fell off our big chair and landed on his head. It was very traumatic for all of us. Monday he was really miserable--having trouble breathing, stuffy nose, and he threw up again all over me. It was very disgusting. Somehow when I pictured motherhood, I didn't picture so much throw up. We are going to the allergist/respiratory specialist to have Jens checked for asthma. Hopefully he won't have it and we can stop worrying about it.

Mike worked from home yesterday, which was really nice.
I tried to stay out of his way, but I don't think he got much done. They are back to working in "the dungeon"--everyone packed into one room. He was fairly happy to not go in. Intel had a bunch of layoffs yesterday. Our friends, the Nielsens, were affected, but luckily JP was one of the top two people in his group which meant he was given previous notice and his manager helped him find a new job. Unfortunately, his new job is going to be in Portland half-time, which means he will be commuting up there every week. We are crossing our fingers that they won't move away--we would really miss them!

I guess that is all the news from us this week. We aren't very exciting.
Enjoy the fall colors, everyone!

September 27

We are doing well. Most notably because Mike has been home at decent hours all week! He did work on Saturday, but he has been here for dinner several nights, which is so nice. Jens actually gets to play with him in the evening, which is also nice. Mike is still busy with work. The deadline for his project is the end of October. We are looking forward to a slow down in the work requirements.

Jens has been busy this week. One of the funny things he has been doing is the sign language sign for more. The reason this is funny is because I haven't been practicing it with him at all. I tried really hard when he was 6 months to do the signing thing, but by the time he was 9-10 months and showing no interest, I gave up. A few weeks ago we went to the library for story/signing time, and one of the signs they were practicing was more. So last week he was sitting in his high chair and he looked at me and did the sign for more. And now he does it all the time. I think he thinks it means "give me crackers," but we are practicing. Monday night we had brownies and I gave Jens a tiny bite, and he stood there next to me with his mouth open signing "MORE! MORE!" He didn't like cake at his birthday, but I bet he would like it now.

He has also been climbing on to the table whenever we leave the chairs out. We have to be careful to push them in all of the time. He also likes to stand on the black bench and flick the lights on and off and he enjoys jumping on the couch. He doesn't usually follow my directions to sit down, but we keep trying.

We also picked out his Halloween costume. He is going to be a lion, and he looks adorable. Here is a little preview, even though Halloween is far away.

One more cute Jens thing--he is knocking on doors now. Mike just left and so Jens is knocking on the front door because he wants to go, too. He knocks on all closed doors--the bathroom is no longer a safe escape! Sorry. One more thing. He is saying "car" now. He was real excited when the garbage truck came by this morning. He stood by the window and watched, saying "car" the whole time.

We went to the zoo last week and I think we will go back this week. It is a really nice little zoo. They have a wolf pack, two tigers, five bears, monkeys, and lots of non-zoo type animals, like raccoons and a fox. It is shady and just the right size, plus you can get pretty close to see the animals. Jens especially enjoyed the raccoons, who were being fed while we were watching. It made me think of Jessie and Doug. I bet the raccoons would have been their favorites, too.

We spent Sunday (after church) at the park. It is becoming a nice Sunday schedule. It is so nice now that it isn't getting so hot.

I had a dentist appt. yesterday--I love my cleaning person because she gives me topical anesthetic when she cleans my teeth. We swam yesterday, which Jens loved. He walked all the way to the pool and wanted to step right in as soon as I opened the gate. We stayed for an hour, which is a record for us. He walked home naked, which I think he greatly enjoyed.

September 20

First: We just disconnected our home phone number. We are going all cell phones all the time to save a little cash, so my cell is the "new" home phone. As of Friday our other number (the 358 one) will no longer work.

We have had a nice week. I took Jens in for his one year pictures last Thursday. It was a real treat, let me tell you. I pretty much spent the whole time chasing him and trying to keep him on the back drop. Luckily, we did get some cute ones for all of our trouble. He is pretty handsome! This was after we got home--it might give you some idea of his mood!

We had a quiet weekend. Here is our goofy boy up to his silly tricks. Mike worked on Saturday, so it was just like any other day. We were glad to see the Gators hold on for the win, especially after BYU lost so sadly in double OT.

Sunday I made delicious quiche and we went to the park. Casey knows the right place to hang out. Since Sunday is the only day Mike really has a chance to go outside, we try to take advantage, and luckily the weather cooperated. Monday I went to a relief society lunch, which was nice, and then Jens and I stopped by the library. There is a big pond with a gazebo and there were lots of geese, so we walked around and checked them out. Jens was transfixed. He just stared and stared at them. I was afraid to put him down, though, because there was goose poop everywhere and I was afraid he would try to sample it or step in it, plus geese are kind of scary sometimes and one of them hissed at me.

I read two interesting books this week: Rise and Shine by Anna Quindelan, which I haven't decided if I loved it or not, but it was an enjoyable quick read, and The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss, which Jess recommended. I have been thinking about that one a lot and I really liked it, but I don't know if I know which parts were real and which parts were the character's imagination.

Last night Mike and I went to the Sacramento Temple, which was SO nice. I have been looking forward to going for a while, and the nice lady I visit teach volunteered to keep Jens for us so we could go. The building is lovely and it was a nice peaceful evening.

In Jens news: he woke up at 6 this morning! BOO! He dances almost all of the time, to the dishwasher, the food processor, the radio, nothing at all. He has all sorts of arm moves that the hottest pop stars would be jealous of. He certainly keeps us smiling. Today he and I are going to check out the Folsom zoo--I hear it is small, which should be just right for us.

September 13

Bradfords, I just have to say I marvel at your e-mails. It seems like you do a months worth of stuff in a week, and all of it is amazing and noteworthy.

We have had an ok week. We had a good time swimming with a friend. Jens loves the water! He just splashes like crazy. Thursday we picked up the Camry with it's newly built transmission. Mike is pretty sure we got ripped off on parts, which is never a pleasant feeling. He is hoping to follow up on that, but he's been so busy with work, I don't know when he'll have time. On the plus side, Jens and I went up to Apple Hill afterwords and got fruit and apple turnovers. They are starting to spruce things up for the busy season, and they are starting to have lots of apples. Friday I had activity girls, and my friend Natalie watched Jens for me, so I was really able to pay attention to the girls, which made it a lot more fun.

Saturday Mike worked all day, which was a shame because first, it was Saturday, and second, it was a gorgeous day! Unfortunately, Jens enjoyed a couple throwing up spells on Saturday, with no other symptoms. We gave him his inhaler a few times a day for a few days and it has stopped. We actually watched a movie Saturday night with the Nielsens--"The Sentinel." I don't recommend it. Michael Douglas is a little too old to do action movies now. It is like watching a grandpa run for his life.

Sunday was BEAUTIFUL!! After church and a marathon 4 hour nap by Jens, we went to the park for a few hours to play Frisbee and lay on a blanket. It was so nice.I like this one because he looks so cool, walking and drinking at the same time.



And there is nothing more fun than playing in the dog drinking fountain.

Yesterday Jens and I went to the library for infant story time. You can imagine how that was. Lots of squirming, crawling, running. Jens actually stood next to the lady and watched for a while, before deciding that everyone's diaper bags were more interesting. Jens did enjoy seeing the other kids and wandering around, and I got the new Anna Quindlen book, Rise and Shine, which I am excited about.

Here are a few pictures of Jens up to his normal tricks--trying out other people's things--specifically Casey's bed and Dad's computer.


That's it from here. We are hoping to return to nice weather at the end of this week, and hoping the smoke from wild fires abates. I am also hoping the flat tire on Jens's stroller gets fixed soon--we didn't get a walk today or yesterday. :( We are also hoping that Mike MIGHT be home for dinner tonight! That would be a first in several weeks!

September 6

It is hard to believe how fast Wednesdays seem to roll around. We have had a busy week!

Wednesday we did NOT go to the prison. Mike preferred to do something outside, which is understandable since he spends an awful lot of time in a little cube. We went to Apple Hill and got treats, some divine blackberries, and let Jens play in the dirt, which he greatly enjoyed. We also dropped the Camry off to have the transmission rebuilt. This is the second time since we got the car, and we have decided this is the last big fix. If we'd known how much it was going to cost, we probably wouldn't have fixed it at all. Oh well. Hopefully it will last us another year or two. We greatly enjoyed having Mike at home. Jens finds him extremely entertaining and funny, so there is a lot of laughing at our house when Mike is home.

Thursday Jens and I went to Modesto to visit Kristin Johnson, who is here with her family for a few weeks. We stayed overnight and had a really good time, although Jens ran me ragged! He found too many interesting things at the house that he wasn't supposed to be touching, and there were stairs, which he loves a little too much. He almost fell down them once, which just about gave me a heart attack. We went to Micke's Grove on Friday, which had a pretty park and a nice little zoo. We ate lunch and looked at the animals. The big hit were the sea lions, which we saw doing tricks and eating fish. Jens was entranced.

He also enjoyed pulling Mati's pacifier out of her mouth, which fortunately made her laugh, not cry. She thought he was pretty funny. Kristin and I had a nice visit. I am always happy when we get to see each other!

Saturday we went to Ikea and had lunch. Jens actually ATE MEATBALLS! A squishy food, and yet he ate several bites. He also ate a grape and tried a few bites of my cereal in milk, also squishy. Anyway--we bought table legs at Ikea and I made a big work table for our back room yesterday. I bought a wood door, put the legs on, and polyurethaned it. I am hoping it will give us a little more usable desk space back there, and that it won't be taken over by computer parts.

Sunday we went to the Sacramento Temple dedication. It was neat to be a part of it, and I am looking forward to going. We managed to get an appointment on the 19th.

Sunday night we went camping with JP and Natalie and our HUGE tent (10 feet by 17 feet) We laughed at it a lot, but it was really nice to have a place for Jens to run around in. He slept really well and we had a good time. He found that JP and Natalie were way more fun than us--they let him poke the fire with a stick!

Jens got very dirty and enjoyed every minute of it. We went for a little hike on Monday, then came home and spent a long time doing laundry.

Yesterday Jens had a really rough day. He woke up so happy and cheerful, but things went downhill from there. The dog bit him on the cheek (I had to cancel his one year picture appointment that was supposed to be tomorrow), he fell down at the doctor's office and hit his face on my knee, and he got immunizations. He woke up from his afternoon nap VERY grumpy! This morning we are having a battle of wills over breakfast--he keeps spitting out his applesauce, so he hasn't had any breakfast yet. But we are having a little friend over to play, so hopefully things will improve!

August 30

Good Morning everyone!

I write to you with shocking news. As I type, at 9 in the morning, Mike is SITTING ON THE COUCH!!! He is not at work on a Wednesday! I know, it is crazy, but after the killer hours and working all day Saturday, his boss decided they all needed a day off. Not only that, but he is going to have Saturday AND Labor Day off, too. We are pretty happy about that. We are going to go to the Folsom Prison gift shop and historic museum today. I'll let you know how that is.

It has been a nice week. Jens and I are feeling settled back in, although Jens still isn't back to his regular schedule. I am afraid that the days of two naps is coming to a close. Yesterday he took one marathon nap and that was that. In other Jens news, he can now climb up on our couch. He takes great delight in climbing up and sitting down, lounging. He usually has to stand up and move every ten seconds, but we are working on not walking on the couch. He is also enjoying playing with laundry hampers. He got inside of the big cloth one that Peter gave us for Christmas and greatly enjoyed rolling around on the floor.

He thought he was so funny. It is amazing to watch him--he is learning language so fast right now. He is understanding
more and more and is trying to imitate more and more. Yesterday he spent the whole day saying "uh oh" about EVERYTHING.

He and I went to Activity Day on Friday. He was very helpful to the girls as they worked on making blankets for an orphanage in Russia. We had the sister missionaries over for dinner Monday, and they are both really nice. Yesterday we went to the library and Sutter St. Jens and I shared a milk shake, which he greatly enjoyed. (By shared, I mean I drank almost all of it and dribbled a few mouthfuls into Jens's mouth).

Jens also got to open his birthday presents from Grandma and Grandpa. Tapes and music for his new tape player! Yay!



We are excited about this week--Jens and I are going to Modesto tomorrow to see Kristin Johnson and on Sunday we are going to the Sacramento temple dedication. Sunday night we are going to go camping, we hope. We are sort of dreading that, what with our huge new tent and our kid who has never been camping. Hopefully it will be fun.