Dinosaur Songs

This must be a record for me. Three posts in one day! I guess that's what happens when my kids have colds and I can't go anywhere. Here's Dottie's croaky renditions of some of her favorite tunes from her "Wee Sing and Pretend" CD. The second one, the Pteranadon song, she tried to sing really fast because my memory card was full. So sorry if you can't understand her words.

A Challenge: Media Consumption

First, sorry there's no pictures. But this is something I feel strongly about, and I want to open it up for discussion. Joe and I have frequent discussions about the media we choose to allow into our lives, especially since we've had children. With so many alluring media options (internet, books, movies, TV, magazines, etc.), sometimes it is hard to make good decisions, especially when we see something that has many redeeming qualities but a few not-so-savory aspects. How do you choose? Where do you draw the line in what you view or read?

For us, the line has frequently been this: no R-rated movies, no dirty magazines, websites, or TV shows, no gratuitous violence. But frequently, I find this line is just not good enough.

I have been trying instead to follow what it is says in my church's 13th article of faith, which is also found in Philippians 4:8: "if there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." So anything that doesn't fall into this category for the media, I don't watch it. Now the way I would like to follow this is pretty strict. If sex comes up in the script of a show, I change the channel. If there is violence, I change the channel. If there is a dirty joke, I change the channel. A few laughs is really not worth the desensitization that occurs from the smut.

So this is my goal and my challenge to you: see if you (and I) can follow for a week deleting all of the smutty substance that we knowingly subject ourselves to in order to amuse ourselves. Try to follow the 13th article of faith, regardless of your own religion. I know that when I have done it, my own soul has felt lighter and better. I no longer feel so "desensitized." I truly believe that what we subject ourselves to affects our souls for good or bad. Instead, replace our favorite shows that are amusing but often not clean (like Friends, CSI, or the Simpsons, to name a few) with other worthwhile activities. Read a good book (and books sometimes get me into trouble as well), go for a walk with your family, call a friend.

Are you up to the challenge? I just really feel it necessary in my own life if I am to be a good example to my children. If you find yourself being shocked at the thought of your child watching some of the shows you watch when they are asleep, maybe it's time for a change. I know this was my wake up call.

I Spy

Dottie has a new love: I Spy books. I initially discovered how gifted Dottie is at finding hidden items in pictures with a Disney Princess Look and Find book (very watered-down version of I Spy). When we were in Utah in August, I bought her this (above) I Spy book. She now has it memorized. She has since requested that I purchase for her the I Spy Spooky Night book for Halloween (I got it on amazon). She also has two other I Spy books from the library, as well as an I Spy video (I guess there used to be a children's show on HBO?).
When we look at the book, if she or I can't find an item on the page, Dottie will say to me, "Don't turn the page! You have to find it!" She's very persistent. So sometimes we'll be looking at the same page for 10 minutes before I find the item. It's sad when your 3-year-old is better at solving a puzzle and more patient than you are.

Dottie Syntax

This is going to be another "ode to Dottie" entry. I really do love Elliot too, but he just doesn't say the funny things Dottie does yet. Since Dottie's been at school, I've been thinking about the funny little phrases she says. Here's a list of some of my favorites and the translations:

I don't know; is it in the dryer? When something is missing or misplaced and I ask Dottie where it is, this is her response. I don't know why she thinks everything is in the dryer, but she does.
I not! Dottie's defiant phrase that roughly translates into "I don't want to," "I won't" or "I am not."
My eyes are going to turn green like yours. Emily thinks Dottie's eyes are going to turn green like mine. She tells this to Dottie all the time, and Dottie takes what Emily says very seriously. So she really does think someday her eyes are going to magically turn green.
Oh, I don't have to. There are a couple of variations here: "I don't have to," "I don't want to," "I don't need to." I don't know where she got these from, but she says them all the time. Especially when it comes to finishing her dinner.
Mommy, I need a snack. I hear this phrase probably every hour Dottie is awake. She doesn't want meals; she wants snacks. At lunch time, I say, "Let's eat some lunch. I'll make you a sandwich." Dottie replies, "I don't want a sandwich. I want a snack. You HAVE TO give me a snack." Puh-lease, Dottie. Cut me some slack sometime.
What color is it? Dottie asks me what color EVERYTHING is, whether it be food, her shampoo, her clothes, the sky, etc. For example, I just gave her a fruit leather. She said, "What color is it mommy?" And if I don't reply right away, she'll keep on asking me.
It's a . . . (raised voice at the end). When we're reading a book, Dottie will point to something she obviously recognizes, say, a flower. She'll pretend she doesn't know what it is, and say to me, "Mommy, what is that? It's a . . . " And I have to tell her what it is, or like everything, she'll keep on asking. I guess I got myself into this mess by quizzing her too much to improve her vocab. She's just doing the same thing to me, to make sure I know what the things are around me.
Where are we? or Where are we going? Dottie is very concerned about where we're going whenever we get in the car. I'll answer her: "Safeway, the grocery store." And she'll keep on asking and asking and asking, no matter how many times I answer. When we get home, she'll talk about the trip and the store. She doesn't call the grocery store the grocery store, she calls it Safeway. And she also loves Target and Walmart, too.
Don't leave me! or I have to come! If you open the door to go outside for a second, say to get the mail, Dottie goes ballistic. She seriously thinks I'm abandoning her. She starts wailing and throws herself on the ground. You can ask my mom. In PA, she did this every time my mom opened the door.

Okay, that's all for now. You get the picture. I have an inquisitive, emotional child on my hands. Here are more pictures from the first week of Joy School. I'm really loving the second week. I'm not teaching, and my baby takes a nap when she's gone! It's like I'm single again!

Dottie did her own eye makeup the other day. You can't see it very well in these pictures, but there are spiky brown eye shadow streaks on her lids.

The Elliot update: My baby is getting his top four teeth all at once. Quelle horror. I tried to get a picture, but alas, he's too wiggly.

Joy School!

Today was Dottie's first day of school (Joy School, that is)! She was SO excited. All week long, she's been telling me who's going to school with her, what's in her book bag, and singing all of the songs she'll be learning in preparation.

It's a mother's cooperative school, so we each take turns teaching. Since I'm the spearheader of the project, I taught the first week. It was a lot of fun. My mom raised us Weed children on Joy School, so I'm somewhat familiar with the program, and very familiar with the music. I think it's great and it's really good for Dottie's social skills. Here are pictures of my baby's first day at school:
Dottie's school chums plus their bookbags: Beau, Ella, Dottie, Brielle, and Amelia. Aren't they adorable?

Close-up of Dottie. I took a close-up of each kid to put in the "Joy School House."

My parents came Sunday night on their way back from dropping the kids off at BYU. We woke up early Monday morning to watch the "Balloon Classic" at Memorial Park. Remember that was my first post from last year? The first post that made me an official blogger? It was only a year ago that I was prego with Elliot at the Ballon Classic. And here he is, the cute boy. It was good to see my parents again. I won't see them again until Christmas :(

Here We Come A-Weeding

My family, the Weed family, came for the week. They were on their way to BYU, dropping off Bryan, Jared, and Carolyn. This is the first time that the whole family has been together since . . . probably Dottie's baby blessing.

It's been a crazy fun time. Carolyn got her wisdom teeth out from Craig, and she was recovering this whole week.

But we still had time for fun. We've been going to several parks, a festival in Manitou Springs, restaurants, and the Denver Botanical Gardens. Here are the pictures chronicling the Weed visit.

Carrie and I were experimenting with the new fancy features on my computer . . .

These ones are just of family fun. And fun we had.

Doesn't Carrie look insane in this picture?

Previews of what will probably be all of our family pictures. This is the famous "kissing camels" of Garden of the Gods in the background.

The Denver Botanical Gardens. This place is BEAUTIFUL. Come to see us, we'll take you there. Do you notice sometimes I use my blog to advertise so people will come to see me?

One of the many parks we went to play at with Dottie. She made many friends at the park, although we need to work on her social skills. She calls to people across the park, "Hey Girl! Wanna go down the slide?"

Trip to Utah

Traveled with two kids in the car for 11.5 hours each way. Need I say more? This is Dottie, expressing her joy on my bed.

It was really a good trip. I'm just still feeling the side effects of traveling, and being sick while traveling, with two sick kids.
We made this little trip (we were there 3.5 days) to visit Mark, Yoshiko, and Chris, Joe's uncle, aunt, and cousin. They live in Japan, so it's not very often we get to see them. It's always a special trip when they come. So it was well worth the trip.

Again, I'm lousy at taking pictures when I actually go places. I'm only good at taking pictures when I have nothing else to do. So here's the family: Yoshiko by the banister, followed by Chris, Mary, Joe and Elliot, me and Dottie, Mark, Grandma, and Grandpa Hollstein. It was really fun talking with Mark and Yoshiko -- I can count the times I've met them on one hand. They are really lovely people and we enjoyed being with them.

Dottie and Chris. Chris is eight, therefore, Dottie idolized him. She thought everything he did was very funny. She's wearing a Hello Kitty shirt over her dress from Mark and Yoshiko. Yes, she loves Hello Kitty that much.
We stayed with Mary and Jesse while we were there. And sadly enough, I took no pictures of them. I'm terrible. Mary and Jesse have a Wii, so we enjoyed playing with the Wii. We also went to Raging Waters with them, a fun waterpark. Joe was the most adventurous, going down slides that were physically damaging. But hey, Joe loved it.



We also got to see Amanda and Jonathan briefly while we were there, as well as Aunty Eleanor, Travis and Michelle, and Morgan. It was one of those quick trips that didn't allow us to really spend enough time with anyone. But this is when we could get it in, between Joe's band camp and school starting (yes, he's already in teachers' meetings. How terrible). But it was still fun to see everyone. Amanda and Jonathan leave for Boston on Tuesday, so this was really the last Utah hurrah with them. Now we'll just have to go to Boston to see them . . .

In other news, Elliot is a ravenous eater of baby food. He loves it. I especially like it when he eats carrots, because he gets an orange beard that strongly resembles his dad with a goatee (compare this picture to the first one in the last post -- you'll see what I mean).

So my summer is mostly over :( I have one more party: mom, dad, Bryan, Jared, and Carrie are coming on Monday and will be here 10 days. So that will be exciting.

Thanks again to all of our Utah friends and family for making it a fun trip. We enjoyed seeing you and we miss you!