a gratitude attitude

I am grateful for (in a purposefully random order). . . ready, take a deep breath . . .  here we go:

books    guitar   Devan    piano   my son   Sandra Boynton   indoor plants   my husband   balls   sports   good artists   carpet   toothbrushes   white lights   Christmas lights   my dehydrator    my husband    digital camera   socks   sandals   temple   measuring spoons   snow   summer    sandals   summer   thermometer   floss   pillow   my husband    fresh drinking water   heated shower    disposable diapers   my son    the Book of Mormon    stars    a sunrise    a sunrise hike    mountains    my mom and dad    cars    heated cars   bike    Brycen    good movies     chocolate    spinach    Brette    clothes     my sunbeams    long hair    the Doctrine and Covenants   laptop   email    shelves    bed    microwave    doctors   infant pain reliever/fever reducer    sidewalks    strollers    libraries    bananas    Kelsey    ear warmers    the New Testament    the American Flag    interviews    nice people     basketball     my husband   pockets    google maps     aluminum foil    my son    blueberries   a living prophet    waterfalls    literacy   Ghana    Alma and Blake   vanilla    Broadway music    visiting teachers    Disneyland    rivers    horses    Old Testament stories    green smoothies    clementines    Jordan and Rachel    high school friends     Excel    Darla    California    our Grandmas and Grandpas    trees    back massages    my husband    snacks    cellos     my eyes    Bolivia      missionary work     Sesame Street     a working can opener     yogurt     porch lights    big windows     crayons and markers     public servants in government      mint     drums     Dani and JR     Florida     friends     cell phones    YOU

Bouncing

Turning over couch cushions and bouncing up and down must be one of those innate abilities that surfaces once a kid is capable of bouncing. While this little boy imitates nearly everything we do, I promise he has never seen us turn over couch cushions and bounce on them (we wait 'till he's asleep - j.k.).

Something we have tried to teach him that he does very well is kneeling down and folding his arms when someone mentions the word "prayer". And, his proud parents are awed when he actually stays kneeling with his arms folded for the entire prayer.

He is getting better at the game "Where's your nose [eyes,ears, mouth]. But, he sometimes confuses the action for "Touch your nose" with "touchdown", which is more fun to do anyway.

"It's always fun for everyone when Grandpa comes"

test

This is a test to see how it works. I really should go to sleep soon. My eyes are tired. I should also clean my house. Hmmmmmm.

wiggle bum slide, Tia Brette and apple sauce

A few weeks ago my sister, Brette, came to visit. It was so fun to share our little Rocket Man with an aunt who loves and appreciates him as much as we do. We all got a kick out of his method of getting down the slide. Do all kids do the wiggle bum dance at the top of a slide?

A rather long side note on "Rocket Man": I started calling Lil' Pedro "Rocket Man" when he was first born due to the shape of his head. Now that he can walk/run, the nickname fits for his style of escape. He has learned how to do the limp noodle to more easily slide out of my arms and jet to explore whatever caught his interest. Inside our apartment, he likes to keep watch on me to make sure I'm not more than 10 feet away, but once outside our apartment, he lacks that inclination completely. Rocket Man is an explorer, not afraid to wander to the other side of the park or all over Walmart without really caring if I am following or not.

In a previous post, I mentioned my latest nickname "Rocky" which fits since Pedro means "Rock", but it's actually just short for "Rocket Man".

Who needs a spoon? How is it that this usually obnoxious slurping sound is so endearing coming from a 15-month-old?

Glorious green beans

Little Pedro (Rocky, nickname this week) LOVES green beans straight out of a can. It's awesome because it's an easy way to get green veggies down his throat. I remember loving canned green beans when I was a kid, too. My mom called them green worms, and we pretended to be little birds as we ate.

Do your kids like canned green beans? I can just imagine the Jolly Green Giant marketing campaign if this is a commonality among toddlers.

Oh, and Rocky loves grapefruit, too. Who'da thought?