Ava's:
sprinkables = sprinkles
alligator = elevator/escalator
rubber band aid = rubber band
ba-bum = bottom
Lilly's:
bee-bah = juice box
booger = booster
I lu-lu = I love you
caca = silka (aka blankie)
mi-mou = Mickey Mouse
10 years ago
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Name Game
Lilly is one smart little cookie. People are always shocked to learn how young she is for the type of things she can do. For instance, she basically started talking in sentences as soon as she started saying words. She also learned how to drive the kid's 4 wheeler that my parents bought for the grand kids. Ava can't even do it, but Lilly manages to hang off the side to reach the pedal, and she's pretty good at steering. Now she's asking to use the potty. The ease at which she learns things is the biggest benefit of having two kids so close together. She sees Ava learning things and wants to be just like her. She proudly reminds me everyday that she's a "big girl."
In her attempt to be more like Ava, she has decided to change Ava's name to match her own. We've all adjusted to the fact that when she says "Lilly" she means "Ava" -- to the degree that I'm now having trouble getting the two straight, and most often call them by the wrong name. I'm well aware that this is something that mother's routinely do. My own mom would have to run through the whole list of names, sometimes even the dog's, before finding the right one. The way I know that some of my mis-naming is due to Lilly's master plan is that I'm calling them both Lilly more often. Rarely do I call Lilly by the wrong name.
To make thing easier I should give up and just call them both by the same name. Then I'd never have to run through lists of names to get it right. Besides, we almost gave Ava the name Lilly. I hear that George Foreman named all his kids George, and Michael Jackson's are named Prince. Maybe instead of this being an example of their eccentricity, it's really an example of their practicality.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Vegas Baby!
Tyler and I have been married 5 years today. He and I are spending our anniversary in the typical way, with him at a sales conference and me watching the kids. I'm celebrating in my own special way by hanging out with my parents at Tahoe. Since he's got the free hotel room and we have some free Southwest trips, I was able to meet him for one day in Las Vegas.
I was only there for 24 hours, but managed to fit in a ton of fun. While Ty was in his meetings I treated myself to some time at the spa and the pool. Then we had dinner on the lake at the Belg, where we caught a few of the water shows. Then we saw The Producers, and finished the night with an Aerosmith concert. Those guys put on an awesome show.
Vegas (the strip) is a weird place, and I never like to be there for more than a day. It's on over-the-top attempt to recreate these wonderful places in the world. A grown-up, sin-inspiring amusement park. While most of it is tacky, some of it is pretty spectacular. Regardless, none of it is much like the real thing. I've been to the real Bellagio on Lake Como, I've been on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and as much as they'd like you to feel that you're being transported to these places, it's a far cry from the real thing. The thing I like most about Vegas are the shows. Many of the venues are built for a specific show. The moving stage for Ka alone, makes the show worth seeing.
In any case, we had a blast. I can't believe that Ty and I have been married for 5 years. In some respects it has gone so fast, and 5 years seems like a long time. But mostly it seems like a short time. A ton has happened in those five years - like 2 kids! - and it's odd to think of a time when we weren't a part of each other's lives. I don't think that marriage is easy for anyone, but I feel like we've got it pretty good. Tyler is an amazing husband and father. He's upbeat and fun, adventurous, loving, and works hard for us. He makes me want to be a better person, and I think I do the same for him. Here's to many more years!
I was only there for 24 hours, but managed to fit in a ton of fun. While Ty was in his meetings I treated myself to some time at the spa and the pool. Then we had dinner on the lake at the Belg, where we caught a few of the water shows. Then we saw The Producers, and finished the night with an Aerosmith concert. Those guys put on an awesome show.
Vegas (the strip) is a weird place, and I never like to be there for more than a day. It's on over-the-top attempt to recreate these wonderful places in the world. A grown-up, sin-inspiring amusement park. While most of it is tacky, some of it is pretty spectacular. Regardless, none of it is much like the real thing. I've been to the real Bellagio on Lake Como, I've been on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and as much as they'd like you to feel that you're being transported to these places, it's a far cry from the real thing. The thing I like most about Vegas are the shows. Many of the venues are built for a specific show. The moving stage for Ka alone, makes the show worth seeing.
In any case, we had a blast. I can't believe that Ty and I have been married for 5 years. In some respects it has gone so fast, and 5 years seems like a long time. But mostly it seems like a short time. A ton has happened in those five years - like 2 kids! - and it's odd to think of a time when we weren't a part of each other's lives. I don't think that marriage is easy for anyone, but I feel like we've got it pretty good. Tyler is an amazing husband and father. He's upbeat and fun, adventurous, loving, and works hard for us. He makes me want to be a better person, and I think I do the same for him. Here's to many more years!
Friday, August 3, 2007
100 Things About Me
I had so much fun reading Alyssa's list of 100 things about herself that I was inspired to do the same. So without further ado, here is my list of everything you might not know (or might not want to know) about me.
1. I share the same name as one of my mom’s cows (she grew up on a dairy farm).
2. I think touching car upholstery, especially the fabric on the ceiling, is like nails on a chalkboard. It has the worst texture.
3. If I could pick just 3 foods to eat for the rest of my life (and it wouldn’t kill me) I would pick pizza, bean & cheese burritos, and chocolate peanut butter ice cream.
4. When I’m bored I like to look at dogs for adoption on the internet.
5. I would like to adopt a child someday, and have wanted to long before Brangelina made it popular.
6. There is no feeling I hate more than being pregnant, but I love the labor & delivery part.
7. I just started taking spin classes, which are miserable, yet strangely addicting.
8. The most fun I’ve ever had was doing study abroad in London for 4 months.
9. The hardest thing I’ve ever done was go on a mission to Madrid, Spain.
10. I’m uncomfortable around small children in general (except my own) but I love being around teenagers.
11. I enjoy oil painting, but don’t have the time and space to do it.
12. I learned to play the hand bells in middle school.
13. I was in several choirs growing up.
14. I took piano lessons for several years.
15. I took guitar lessons for 2 years.
16. I cannot sing, read music, or play an instrument, but I love listening to music.
17. I’m in the same church ward I was in growing up.
18. I live in the same town I grew up in.
19. I taught English and Reading at my own high school.
20. I love feeling connected to people and places, but dream of the adventure of starting out new someplace else.
21. I love to travel abroad, and I’ve been to Mexico, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, Ecuador, Belize, and Honduras.
22. I also love going to my parent’s vacation places in Tahoe and Maui over and over again.
23. I believe that Disneyland IS the happiest place on earth.
24. I think the second happiest place on earth is the Rancho la Puerta spa, where I spent a week this winter with my mom and sisters.
25. I can be really shy, especially in large groups, and even around good friends and family.
26. I HATE calling people on the phone, because I’m so shy.
27. People have occasionally interpreted my shyness as snobbery.
28. I can spend hours on end gardening, but I don’t know what I’m doing.
29. My favorite date is dinner and a movie.
30. My favorite restaurant foods are Indian & Thai.
31. I think breakfast food tastes best at dinner time.
32. I love the sound of my girls squealing and laughing.
33. I’m scared of the ocean, except when I’m scuba diving.
34. I dove with sharks in Roatan in January. They swarmed about 3 feet around me and I was only a tiny bit scared.
35. I love getting massages, manicures and pedicures, but I’m too cheap to enjoy those often.
36. I’m not too cheap to have someone clean my house for me.
37. I can be a complete slob when I’m overwhelmed with life.
38. I work best under pressure and after procrastinating.
39. My best grades were for papers that I stayed up writing the night before they were due.
40. I like to cook, but I hate shopping for ingredients. Thus I don’t cook often.
41. My favorite American authors are Willa Cather, Steinbeck, and Toni Morrison.
42. I love to read and write, but I can’t spell.
43. I’d rather write essays than take multiple choice or true-false tests.
44. I have a hard time retaining facts and trivia, especially long-term – I’m much better with analytical information.
45. Math was my second favorite subject in school, but I can barely remember basic algebra now.
46. I only dated my husband for 8 months before getting married, but I had known him for 2 years.
47. I first started getting treated as an “old maid” when I came home from my mission. I was only 22.
48. I held out until I was 25 to get married, and I still think that was young.
49. I’m a registered Republican, but I don’t really consider myself as one. The far right bugs me even more than the far left.
50. My birthday marks the anniversary of when Paul Revere rode his horse to announce the arrival of the “red coats” and the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.
51. I was riding a horse during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. My horse bucked and reared, but I managed to stay on.
52. I’m a night owl and definitely not a morning person.
53. I have a hard time saying no to other people.
54. I’ve been terrified of flying ever since I saw a made-for-TV movie about a flight in Hawaii where the top of the plane ripped off, but I probably fly at least 6 times (round trip) a year.
55. I’ve never been in a car accident while driving.
56. I love to drive fast, especially when it’s a European car.
57. I’ve only been pulled over by a police officer twice in my life. The first time was when I was 24 and I got a speeding ticket. The second time was the very next day, for speeding again. I cried my way out of that ticket.
58. I’ve never seen anyone die.
59. I can brush my hair until it becomes a huge fro.
60. In middle school, the boys would tease me by throwing little balls of paper in my hair, which would get stuck until someone told me they were there. I got in the habit of running my fingers through my hair just to make sure there wasn’t anything embarrassing lodged in there.
61. A tennis ball ricocheted off my racket and got stuck in my pony tail during practice.
62. I spend more time brushing snarls out of my hair after a shower than I spend doing anything else to my hair all day.
63. I have dry skin and go through more lotion than anyone I know.
64. My husband could scratch/rub my back all day and it still wouldn’t be enough.
65. My favorite movie snacks are diet coke, kettle corn, and junior mints.
66. I prefer low budget/independent films over blockbuster movies.
67. Since I became a mom, I can’t watch movies where children are hurt or threatened in any way.
68. I’ve been called to jury duty two times, but never selected to be on a jury.
69. I’m addicted to TV programs on Thursday nights. Except during the summer, I need two Tivo’s with two tuners each to catch all my favorite shows on that night. You’d think I’d space out watching them throughout the week, but I’m usually too excited to wait more than a day.
70. I’ve become a less judgmental person with age.
71. I try to be open minded about other people and the choices they make. It’s too hard to understand everything that happens to a person to make them who they are.
72. If I had to go back, I would make different decisions about my life; but now that I’m here, I wouldn’t change it for anything.
73. I cannot sleep at night unless I read first.
74. I used to suffer from frequent nights of insomnia. Since having kids, I’m too exhausted (mentally and physically) to have that problem.
75. I don’t think there is one right way to parent a child. Each parent and child is going to need something different.
76. I sucked my thumb until I was 10.
77. I had braces two times in middle school.
78. I’ve played soccer since I was 6, but rarely get a chance to play now.
79. I’m a klutz. I’m constantly tripping, bumping into things, and dropping stuff.
80. Tonight at dinner I knocked my glass of water all over myself.
81. I hate wearing wet clothing. Even when it’s a swimming suit. I’ve passed this phobia on to my daughter.
82. I’m always losing my keys, cell phone, wallet, sunglasses…pretty much anything important.
83. I snow ski and wakeboard. Compared to most people I’m pretty good, but compared to my siblings I’m a wimp.
84. I love to ride on the front of a boat, as the sun sets on a really hot day.
85. I’m getting tired of writing this list, and wishing I could be on that boat.
86. One Christmas Eve, I woke up and felt someone push my head back down to my pillow. I swore it was Santa, not wanting me to see him. To this day my family teases me about “Santa pushing my head down.”
87. I was 9 years old before I knew the truth about Santa.
88. I saw the movie “Poltergeist” when I was way too young. From that point on I would leap onto my bed at night, for fear of a scary clown lurking below.
89. I saw “Poltergeist” as an adult and thought the clown scene was pretty stupid.
90. I don’t want to use the word “stupid” around my kids. Or “hate”. I’ve used both words on this list.
91. I didn’t learn to read until about 2nd grade. I just wasn’t interested. Once I started I never stopped.
92. As an English major, with a master’s degree in education, I’m living proof that parents don’t need to freak out if their kids aren’t reading before they start kindergarten.
93. I’ve started worrying about Ava being able to read before she’s in Kindergarten. Really I should be worrying that she’ll be potty trained by then.
94. I’m managing the design and construction of a spec house that my parents are building across the street from my house.
95. Every day I think of things I’d like to change or add to my house if we had the money. Instead I just move furniture and accessories around every few weeks.
96. I could shop at Target and Costco every day.
97. If water conservation and limited hot water weren’t an issue, I could stay in the shower forever.
98. I don’t feel clean after a shower unless I’ve shaved my legs and brushed my teeth.
99. I’m addicted to “So You Think You Can Dance?” and think I want to take dance lessons now, which would be a complete disaster.
100. I feel pressure to make my last thing profound, but mostly I’m just happy to be done with this list!
1. I share the same name as one of my mom’s cows (she grew up on a dairy farm).
2. I think touching car upholstery, especially the fabric on the ceiling, is like nails on a chalkboard. It has the worst texture.
3. If I could pick just 3 foods to eat for the rest of my life (and it wouldn’t kill me) I would pick pizza, bean & cheese burritos, and chocolate peanut butter ice cream.
4. When I’m bored I like to look at dogs for adoption on the internet.
5. I would like to adopt a child someday, and have wanted to long before Brangelina made it popular.
6. There is no feeling I hate more than being pregnant, but I love the labor & delivery part.
7. I just started taking spin classes, which are miserable, yet strangely addicting.
8. The most fun I’ve ever had was doing study abroad in London for 4 months.
9. The hardest thing I’ve ever done was go on a mission to Madrid, Spain.
10. I’m uncomfortable around small children in general (except my own) but I love being around teenagers.
11. I enjoy oil painting, but don’t have the time and space to do it.
12. I learned to play the hand bells in middle school.
13. I was in several choirs growing up.
14. I took piano lessons for several years.
15. I took guitar lessons for 2 years.
16. I cannot sing, read music, or play an instrument, but I love listening to music.
17. I’m in the same church ward I was in growing up.
18. I live in the same town I grew up in.
19. I taught English and Reading at my own high school.
20. I love feeling connected to people and places, but dream of the adventure of starting out new someplace else.
21. I love to travel abroad, and I’ve been to Mexico, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, Ecuador, Belize, and Honduras.
22. I also love going to my parent’s vacation places in Tahoe and Maui over and over again.
23. I believe that Disneyland IS the happiest place on earth.
24. I think the second happiest place on earth is the Rancho la Puerta spa, where I spent a week this winter with my mom and sisters.
25. I can be really shy, especially in large groups, and even around good friends and family.
26. I HATE calling people on the phone, because I’m so shy.
27. People have occasionally interpreted my shyness as snobbery.
28. I can spend hours on end gardening, but I don’t know what I’m doing.
29. My favorite date is dinner and a movie.
30. My favorite restaurant foods are Indian & Thai.
31. I think breakfast food tastes best at dinner time.
32. I love the sound of my girls squealing and laughing.
33. I’m scared of the ocean, except when I’m scuba diving.
34. I dove with sharks in Roatan in January. They swarmed about 3 feet around me and I was only a tiny bit scared.
35. I love getting massages, manicures and pedicures, but I’m too cheap to enjoy those often.
36. I’m not too cheap to have someone clean my house for me.
37. I can be a complete slob when I’m overwhelmed with life.
38. I work best under pressure and after procrastinating.
39. My best grades were for papers that I stayed up writing the night before they were due.
40. I like to cook, but I hate shopping for ingredients. Thus I don’t cook often.
41. My favorite American authors are Willa Cather, Steinbeck, and Toni Morrison.
42. I love to read and write, but I can’t spell.
43. I’d rather write essays than take multiple choice or true-false tests.
44. I have a hard time retaining facts and trivia, especially long-term – I’m much better with analytical information.
45. Math was my second favorite subject in school, but I can barely remember basic algebra now.
46. I only dated my husband for 8 months before getting married, but I had known him for 2 years.
47. I first started getting treated as an “old maid” when I came home from my mission. I was only 22.
48. I held out until I was 25 to get married, and I still think that was young.
49. I’m a registered Republican, but I don’t really consider myself as one. The far right bugs me even more than the far left.
50. My birthday marks the anniversary of when Paul Revere rode his horse to announce the arrival of the “red coats” and the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.
51. I was riding a horse during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. My horse bucked and reared, but I managed to stay on.
52. I’m a night owl and definitely not a morning person.
53. I have a hard time saying no to other people.
54. I’ve been terrified of flying ever since I saw a made-for-TV movie about a flight in Hawaii where the top of the plane ripped off, but I probably fly at least 6 times (round trip) a year.
55. I’ve never been in a car accident while driving.
56. I love to drive fast, especially when it’s a European car.
57. I’ve only been pulled over by a police officer twice in my life. The first time was when I was 24 and I got a speeding ticket. The second time was the very next day, for speeding again. I cried my way out of that ticket.
58. I’ve never seen anyone die.
59. I can brush my hair until it becomes a huge fro.
60. In middle school, the boys would tease me by throwing little balls of paper in my hair, which would get stuck until someone told me they were there. I got in the habit of running my fingers through my hair just to make sure there wasn’t anything embarrassing lodged in there.
61. A tennis ball ricocheted off my racket and got stuck in my pony tail during practice.
62. I spend more time brushing snarls out of my hair after a shower than I spend doing anything else to my hair all day.
63. I have dry skin and go through more lotion than anyone I know.
64. My husband could scratch/rub my back all day and it still wouldn’t be enough.
65. My favorite movie snacks are diet coke, kettle corn, and junior mints.
66. I prefer low budget/independent films over blockbuster movies.
67. Since I became a mom, I can’t watch movies where children are hurt or threatened in any way.
68. I’ve been called to jury duty two times, but never selected to be on a jury.
69. I’m addicted to TV programs on Thursday nights. Except during the summer, I need two Tivo’s with two tuners each to catch all my favorite shows on that night. You’d think I’d space out watching them throughout the week, but I’m usually too excited to wait more than a day.
70. I’ve become a less judgmental person with age.
71. I try to be open minded about other people and the choices they make. It’s too hard to understand everything that happens to a person to make them who they are.
72. If I had to go back, I would make different decisions about my life; but now that I’m here, I wouldn’t change it for anything.
73. I cannot sleep at night unless I read first.
74. I used to suffer from frequent nights of insomnia. Since having kids, I’m too exhausted (mentally and physically) to have that problem.
75. I don’t think there is one right way to parent a child. Each parent and child is going to need something different.
76. I sucked my thumb until I was 10.
77. I had braces two times in middle school.
78. I’ve played soccer since I was 6, but rarely get a chance to play now.
79. I’m a klutz. I’m constantly tripping, bumping into things, and dropping stuff.
80. Tonight at dinner I knocked my glass of water all over myself.
81. I hate wearing wet clothing. Even when it’s a swimming suit. I’ve passed this phobia on to my daughter.
82. I’m always losing my keys, cell phone, wallet, sunglasses…pretty much anything important.
83. I snow ski and wakeboard. Compared to most people I’m pretty good, but compared to my siblings I’m a wimp.
84. I love to ride on the front of a boat, as the sun sets on a really hot day.
85. I’m getting tired of writing this list, and wishing I could be on that boat.
86. One Christmas Eve, I woke up and felt someone push my head back down to my pillow. I swore it was Santa, not wanting me to see him. To this day my family teases me about “Santa pushing my head down.”
87. I was 9 years old before I knew the truth about Santa.
88. I saw the movie “Poltergeist” when I was way too young. From that point on I would leap onto my bed at night, for fear of a scary clown lurking below.
89. I saw “Poltergeist” as an adult and thought the clown scene was pretty stupid.
90. I don’t want to use the word “stupid” around my kids. Or “hate”. I’ve used both words on this list.
91. I didn’t learn to read until about 2nd grade. I just wasn’t interested. Once I started I never stopped.
92. As an English major, with a master’s degree in education, I’m living proof that parents don’t need to freak out if their kids aren’t reading before they start kindergarten.
93. I’ve started worrying about Ava being able to read before she’s in Kindergarten. Really I should be worrying that she’ll be potty trained by then.
94. I’m managing the design and construction of a spec house that my parents are building across the street from my house.
95. Every day I think of things I’d like to change or add to my house if we had the money. Instead I just move furniture and accessories around every few weeks.
96. I could shop at Target and Costco every day.
97. If water conservation and limited hot water weren’t an issue, I could stay in the shower forever.
98. I don’t feel clean after a shower unless I’ve shaved my legs and brushed my teeth.
99. I’m addicted to “So You Think You Can Dance?” and think I want to take dance lessons now, which would be a complete disaster.
100. I feel pressure to make my last thing profound, but mostly I’m just happy to be done with this list!
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Grand Prix
Tyler is a Formula 1 junkie. I have reconciled myself to the fact that I will have to spend many a weekend listening to the vroom-vroom noise in my house for hours on end as he watches not only the actual races, but the practice and qualifying sessions. Horrifyingly, I have managed to pick up enough about the sport to know how the races work and the names some of the drivers. For example, I know that the hottest new racer is a guy from England named Hamilton who managed to be on the podium more times than anyone else in their rookie year. He races for McLaren along with Fernando Alonso, from Spain, who is the reining champion. I also know that one of the worst racers (and the only American) is Scott Speed, and he's from Modesto. So sad that I know this.
Now Tyler is passing his love of racing to his children. We went to the San Jose Grand Prix this weekend to watch the qualifying races. I have to admit, the noise of the cars alone was pretty spectacular. We even got to see a crash. 
Brain Leeches
I think my kids are brain leeches. I used to have a decent vocabulary. I could also remember names of people, streets, locations. Now I try to speak and the words have disappeared - gone. It's especially worse on days like today when they are clinging, whining, and fighting relentlessly. I wonder if the words are erased forever, or if they'll reemerge when my kids grow up and develop more complex vocabulary themselves.
Congratulations Tyler!!!
Today was a big day for Tyler, as he is now a manager! He just got promoted to being Systems Engineering Manager for the Silicon Valley Commercial Sales team at Cisco. He's been on the team for a little under two years as a Systems Engineer, designing networks and selling them to small-medium sized businesses in the valley, which has been exciting. He gets to work with tons of start-up companies that are changing the way the world works and plays (i.e. Netflix!). All-in-all he's been in super-technical roles in the industry for about 8 years. Now he'll be managing his group, and he's excited to move to a role that focuses more on business strategy. He may think that he can hide his inner-geek with this new role, but we'll all know the truth - he'll always have a little bit of "routertyty" in him.
As a side note, I tried to explain the promotion concept to Ava yesterday so she could make a special card for Tyler. I told her that daddy was getting a new job, a new office, etc. She had a really confused look on her face, until I told her that daddy was going to make a little more money. Her face lit up and she asked "For me?" As soon as he walked in the door she said, "Hi daddy! I made a birthday card for you. Do you have money for me?"
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