Her reaction

While she wasn't as giddy as when Dave brought back the apricot jam, Mabes was still very excited. Suddenly aware of the baby boom in our ward, in the last month, Mabes decided that she really, really wanted a baby in our family. That quickly changed--as Mabes doesn't do anything halfway--and she decided that I should have 6 girl babies and 4 boy babies. Upon noticing my rounder belly a couple weeks ago (though I think that was more due to Dove bars), she excitedly yelled "Yay! You have my 6 girl babies and 4 boy babies in your tummy!" This isn't the first time this has happened, though--a few months ago, I was talking to Laura on the phone and Mabes ran over and saw what Christmas did to my abdomen and yelled "Hey! There's a baby in your tummy!" Laura laughed nervously and said "Uhhhh...did Mabes just spill the beans?" I assured Laura that the only thing she should have kept quiet was the fact that I needed to lose a few pounds--but that incident solidified my resolve to not tell Mabes until we were ready for the world, including the checker at Trader Joe's, to know.

So she knows, she's thrilled, and is telling everyone. And talking about nonstop. It's going to be a long 6 months!

Father's Day, part 2

I put together some pictures of Mabes and her Daddy for Father's Day, but I'm just getting around to posting this now. But hey--as far as Mabes is concerned, Father's Day lasts all week!

The Dutch are brilliant.

It only makes sense: if your country has really good chocolate, why not make it a breakfast food?


Dave brought these back from the Netherlands--they were among the toast topping selection, along with the apricot jam. It's hot and humid here, so I decided to make brinner tonight. And as if breakfast-for-dinner isn't enough of a guilty pleasure, I topped my waffle with DeRuijter and whipped cream. It was fantastic, and it's okay since it's Dutch, right? Somehow I don't think shaving a Hershey bar over a waffle would be the same.

Dads

I love my dad. Pretty much everyone who knows me knows this. Friends in my ward here, who haven't even met him, know how cool my dad is because apparently I talk about him a lot. He is the perfect mix of funny, smart, nerdy, and silly. Because that is the kind of person I like being around, I knew that was the kind of man I wanted to marry. I probably should have given more thought to how Dave would be as a father; I just assumed that since he shared so many qualities with my dad, he would be a similar father. Thankfully, I was right.

On Friday, Dave returned from a just over a week in Amsterdam. He wanted to get something for Mabes but, due to a busy work schedule, knew he probably wouldn't be able to get out much and go shopping. I assured him that he could bring back whatever trade show trinkets he could find and Mabes would be thrilled. I distinctly remember my dad being gone for days on business trips, and when he came home, he'd have something for us. The toys were fun, but those days he was gone felt like ages, and knowing that he had thought of us and maybe even missed us made a huge impact.

So when Dave got home, Mabes immediately asked what her present was. Dave, showing his sneaky side, grabbed a dress he bought for Mabes in Singapore years ago and gave it to her. (It hasn't fit until now, and when I asked her if she wanted to wear it a few weeks ago, she said no since it wasn't pink and didn't have flowers on it.) Since Daddy brought it home, she loved it and wore it to church today. But he had actually picked up things in Amsterdam. He gave her a toy UPS truck, which she thought was fantastic. And a ball globe, which she was thrilled with since she loves to look at "where we live." He pulled out some candy for both of us (he knew I wouldn't share my Dutch chocolate!), and then gave Mabes a tiny jar of apricot jam he had picked up at breakfast that morning. You'd think he gave her a diamond crusted tiara. Her eyes got huge and she looked at him with a huge smile and just said, "Oh! I love it! I love apricots and I love jam! I love apricot jam!" And then she threw her arms up and ran circles around Dave and his suitcase yelling "Yay! I'm so excited about apricot jam!" Dave just laughed, shook his head, and said "If I'd known she'd have such a reaction, I would have grabbed a dozen of those jars!"

Perhaps the greatest thing about my dad is that he spent time with us. And it was always a blast. Even though he was extremely busy with work, he'd try to have time with each of us to do whatever we wanted. And though I'm not sure how thrilled he was at the idea of seeing Adventures in Babysitting or going ice skating, he acted like he was. In later years, we realized that if we just let dad do the planning, vacations/Christmas lights/dinners/car trips will be much more fun that we could imagine. Car trips with my dad are generally a good time, but when he gets that glint in his eye and says he has an idea, you just go with it. He ended up pulling out a movie from Netflix and stopping at the first movie theater along Highway 101, running in and getting 2 buckets of popcorn and a few giant sodas and we were on the road. I felt like a giddy kid--I was 26.

As I mentioned in his birthday post, Dave loves to spend time with us. Even when we think he should take some time for himself. So while I wasn't able to talk Dave into going golfing the Saturday after his birthday, I convinced him to do something he wanted--take Mabes back to the go-carts.

Mabes is waving, Dave is focused on lapping the little girl ahead of them.

And while we were there, we decided to stop in the Bass Pro Shops so Mabes could see the giant catfish they have in the tanks there. For the non-Southerners, Bass Pro Shops are basically huge fishing and hunting supply stores. And they have a giant fish tank. And on the day we went, kids could color their own fishing line bob (she colored it to look like her) and have their pictures taken. She was a little hesitant about this, though, and this was the best picture they got:


On the way out, we discovered a laser rifle range, and it was free that day so Mabes and Dave took advantage:


So Happy Father's Day to my dad, to Dave, and to all the fathers out there. Thank you for being our examples, for spending time with us, and for just being fun.

Sneaky

During Mabes' quiet time today, I had to make some phone calls. For the first one, Mabes was rather crazy, as she often is when I'm on the phone. I told her to please stay in her room, I need to make another call. I fixed a makeshift sling for Ricecake (evidently, Mabes had noticed another mom using a sling at the park and decided she needs one) and sent her on her way. I made the other call, and when it ended, I realized that Mabes was playing quietly in her room, as I had asked her.

So I went to the kitchen and washed some cherries, went over my to-do list, ate said cherries (by the way, I know it's not a pressing scientific need, and things like a cure for cancer or a teleporter certainly take precedence, but when are they going to make cherries without pits? They made seedless watermelons. I'm just sayin'...), folded some laundry, ate some more cherries, and then realized that Mabes had been in her room--quiet--for some time. Door closed. Locked. Never a good sign. I put my ear to the door and heard some plastic rustling, and weighed the options. I mean, could she possibly be doing anything bad enough to warrant disturbing the quiet? Curiosity got the best of me, and after some hesitation and more rustling plastic, Mabes agreed to open the door.

I walked in, looked around, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. A mess of toys, but no crayon or makeup or paint. She told me she was just playing, and I as I tried to figure out what plastic she was playing with, I saw this mat she has and asked if she had been playing with that. She said yes, I said okay and turned to close the door. And then I noticed 2 Rice Krispies stuck to Ricecake's sling.

I stepped back into the room and scanned it again--Mabes looking guilty--and this time noticed the well-hidden box of Rice Krispies peeking out from behind her book box. Don't laugh, Allison, don't laugh. But I couldn't help it. Mabes asked why I was laughing, and I had to tell her it was because I thought of something funny. I shouldn't encourage this, right? So picked up the box of cereal, and Mabes explained that Ricecake was hungry so she was feeding her. Though I don't usually let her have food for quiet time, I gave her a little cup of Rice Krispies to feed Ricecake. (It's been a rough few days, so a quiet hour was well worth compromising my rules!)

As I put the cereal away, I just giggled to myself. I mean, I know kids sneak food. I did it, though it was much easier and better to do at the Rawlings than at our house. Sometimes we lucked out with marshmallows or chocolate chips, but usually it was just handfuls of food storage wheat kernels. But should I be worried that not only is my 3-year-old sneaking food, but really good at hiding it?

And in case anyone is looking for birthday suggestions, Mabes informed me today that for her 4th birthday, she'd like a cookie machine. And by that, she means a Kitchenaid stand mixer. I told her that since mommy didn't get one until she got married, Mabes would have to wait a while. I do use my Kitchenaid for things other than cookies...

Today was a good day

And not only because I didn't even have to use my AK (for the younger generation, look it up).

I sewed! Started and finished a dress for Mabes. Granted, it's not the most complicated dress, and it kind of looks like a pillowcase with a bow on it. My mom could have made this dress in 45 minutes, and baked cookies at the same time. But this is me. If you look closely, there are gathered layers. And sleeves. And beautiful, straight seams. I didn't have my mom looking over my shoulder via Skype, as I had initially planned. I didn't even call her to ask what a basting stitch was or which edges were the selvages. (This is especially huge, as I still call her to ask how much salt to put in lasagna and what temperature to set the oven. Though now it's become more of an inside joke and a good excuse to call my mom and tell her what I'm making for dinner. Yeah, I'm 30.) I did call my mom to tell her about the dress, and she was very excited for me. I realized her tone of voice was pretty much the same one I get when Mabes shows me her latest drawing of our family, including Ricecake and Rocket. It's not a fake tone; I love Mabes' drawings and each time she finishes one I just want to--and usually do--squeeze her. It's nice to know my mom still feels that way about my minor accomplishments.

The downside of an all-day sewfest is that Mabes gets a little stir crazy, so we decided to go out for a walk around lunchtime. Just as we were about to head out, my friend Jen called to say she was dropping "something" by for me. I was trying to remember if I'd left a pan or Mabes' cup at her house. When she came to my door, she said, "I don't know if you already have some, but I saw these and thought of you."

My first thought was that she had somehow smuggled these in from a faraway Costco, since we had been lamenting the fact that Costcos here don't carry these tortillas. I must have eaten a whole package when I was visiting Sarah. But no, OUR Costco has them now. She said they were in a different spot than at other Costcos, so I'm wondering how long these gems have been hiding out there. No matter, I'm just thrilled to have these now. I thanked Jen profusely and told her these made my day. Tortillas. If you don't get why these are worthy of a blog post, then you clearly haven't tried them. I could--and have been known to--eat these by themselves fresh out of the pan. In fact, I may go have one or two now...

Oh--and I got my camera back! In researching this camera, I had read that sometimes there's a "lens error" that causes the camera to just stop working, and that if this happens, you're screwed and Canon won't fix it (according to bitter reviewers on Amazon). But given the sweet deal and the fact that my old Canon is still chugging along after 5 years, I took my chances and got it anyway. Then I got the lens error. So I sent it to Canon's repair center, hoping that they'd stick with the "7 business day" online estimate. Again, Amazon reviewers would have you believe that Canon will assume you're just giving your camera to them to play with and never return. So I was thrilled that it was fixed in less than a day and sent back via 2 day express mail. I'm very happy to have it back in excellent working order--the old camera was really starting to hurt my wrist.

9

In thinking about what I could write to commemorate our anniversary, I reread my post from last year. Yep, pretty much said everything I'm thinking. The last 9 years--well, they haven't felt like 9 years. I still feel 21. I still feel like we're pretending at this whole "married grown-ups" thing. And I still feel incredibly lucky that I get to wake up every morning next to my best friend. Happy anniversary, Dave.

BLAAAAA!

Why, you ask? Because that's what Aunt Becca says, and it's her birthday today. In honor of this, Mabes has been saying "BLAAAA!" all day. I'm not sure exactly how it started, but I think it has to do with the Christmas when Mabes was 16 months old and Becca was making Mabes laugh so hard she threw up.

We were once teasing Becca for asking stupid questions. Someone suggested that she think before asking, and maybe she'd be able to come up with the answer on her own. Later, she started to say something, caught herself, and then her eyes got wide and she said "Hey! I thought about the question before asking it, and I figured out the answer!" Brilliant. The next day, she asked another silly question, and when my dad asked why she didn't try the "think it out" trick, she just shook her head and said "that takes too much time."

But that's why we love Becca. She's impulsive, energetic, enthusiastic, a bit crazy, and just a lot of fun to be around. She will talk until she "gets all her words out" for the day. She's got a big heart and is incredibly caring and loving, and it's been fun to see her grow in school/her career and see her interact with her nieces and nephew. Mabes thinks she's the greatest, perhaps because they're so similar. She's a fantastic aunt and we hope she has a great birthday!

Memorial Day Weekend!

Yeah, I'm a little behind...

Laura came to visit for Memorial Day and we had a fabulous weekend and ate way too much. When you start the weekend off with a stop at Bojangles for fried chicken on the way home for the airport, you're in for good times.

(Note Mabes' necklace: she usually only wears jewelry for dress ups, but when she saw that Aunt Laura was wearing a heart necklace out, she decided she needed to wear one, too.)

We went strawberry picking, and had to cram in barbeque for lunch so we could go to the church for a cookout/priesthood bake-off. Proud of his recent accomplishments, Dave decided to enter Chocolate Delight--it's a crowd pleaser (as long as said crowd is my family). As they were about to announce the winner, they asked the men to come up and stand behind their desserts. Dave was already by the dessert table, talking to a friend, and when Mabes heard this, she looked at me and said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "Dey said we need to stand by our 'serts, so I'm going to go up dere now." She was very excited (see below, she's on the far right).

And then they announced the winner: Carrot Cake. Seriously? I mean, I'm sure it was a great carrot cake--if you're into that kind of thing. If given a choice between desserts, chocolate always wins over non-chocolate. Isn't carrot cake more of a breakfast food? Then I looked over at Mabes. Her previously excited face had fallen, she turned to Dave, shoulders hunched over, and just cried. I know it's probably not a good thing to giggle when your child cries, but honestly, hearing her wail "My daddy didn't win" between sobs was both hilarious and heart wrenching. Me, Dave, and Laura were disappointed, but looked on the brightside: since it didn't win, people weren't racing to try some, so we each grabbed a plate to enjoy. Mabes, however, was pretty bummed all evening.

Mabes tries to console Dave

Sunday, we went to church, hung out, ate tri tip, watched Sleeping Beauty ("it's Aunt Laura's favorite?!?! It's MY favorite!"), and enjoyed popcorn. And then on Monday, since it was raining, we decided to go to Plaza Fiesta for some indoor playland fun and Mexican food.

Laura, being ladylike, and Mabes, not caring

At home, watching a downpour

We had a great weekend, and as soon as we dropped Laura off at the airport, Mabes announced that she really missed Aunt Laura and was quite sad that she had to go back to "the York." I reminded her of when we'd see her again--at Disneyworld--and Mabes decided it would be worth the wait. It will be a happy reunion.