Home Again, Home Again

We made it back home to Provo very early this morning after leaving ahead of schedule due to Jenny's extra-speedy-awesome packing. We rolled up to our place about 1:30 in the morning and discovered than Nicole (with, we suspect, a little help from her Mom and Dad) had left the place looking pretty much awesome.

It only took a few moments to realize that it felt different than the place we had left. My epiphany this early morning is that though we really had become comfortable at our place in Las Vegas, that is not the same as feeling a sense of belonging which (I hypothesize) only comes from being a long-term member of a community. We loved our time in Las Vegas, and I am certainly not saying that we will never "belong" anywhere else, but for right now it is very clear to both of us that we are, in fact, home.

The Weird Things That Happen While Potty Training

So, just a quick update- Jenny ended up, um, going potty (er, peeing) on Ian's Froot Loops this evening. Ian was a little weirded out. Just thought you should all know.

Hello (and goodbye) Friend!

It was hard to get a good pic of two toddlers being nice and still for very long (does that ever happen?) but I had to post something about a fun, though short, Las Vegas visit from our good friends, the Fraziers. Mike, Elizabeth (Boo) and Max are from our ward in Provo and unfortunately won't be there when we move back this Friday! Mike is started medical school at UCLA (which is way impressive!) so they were on their way through Las Vegas a few weeks ago, moving to their new house in Anaheim. I was so glad to see Boo and Max, even just for a few minutes. I've missed seeing them while we've been gone this summer; it's sad that the timing of our moves overlapped! But hopefully sooner than later we'll plan a trip to Disneyland and get to visit them in their new house.
I am grateful for Boo, her friendship and example, and think she is such an incredible person (and really funny too!). Max is one of my favorite little boys in the whole world (third, of course, to my two boys; sorry to any other little boys I know and love, but the competition is pretty steep!). There is just something about that kid that melts your heart and makes you grin from ear to ear. (And talk about some of the coolest hair ever! I've never known a 1 year old who could brag about a head of hair like he has!). We'll miss having them in Provo, but are excited for their new start and adventures awaiting them in California. Plus, we've still got gmail chat and text, so really, I can't ever feel that far away from Boo! :) We love ya, guys!

P.S. Boo, no rush, but when you are more settled in, email me the pics you took. I'd love to see those, too! Hope things are going well!!

Part of a Nutritonally Balanced Diet?

Chris doesn't like when I diagnose myself or him, for that matter (Just please, for my sake, don't ask Chris the one criteria he doesn't fit for pyromania; and if he does tell you he thinks it is--don't listen to him, that is not the one he's missing!). But I have to admit I am beginning to wonder a little bit about Ian's eating habits. Since we've gotten to Las Vegas, he's had this strange fascination with licking (yes, licking) the metal bars on the stairwell next to our front door (I know. Gross.). The more we tell him not to, the more he does it, I'm sure. Oh, and now that I'm thinking about it, he's been eating paper lately too! Not that I'm really concerned about Ian being diagnosable, but being the therapist that I am, I figured I should at least be able to gratuitously throw out my hard-earned knowledge every once in awhile...So there is this condition known as pica, but thankfully Wikipedia did point out one criteria from the DSM-IV that Ian is missing: "In order for these actions to be considered pica, they must persist for more than one month, at an age where eating such objects is considered developmentally inappropriate." Pretty sure occasionally eating dirt as a 3 year old little boy is more than developmentally appropriate; in fact, I think it probably means he's alive and well.So two Saturday mornings ago, we decided to go on a walk. We walked down to a McDonald's near our condo then over to the Bird Park (as Ian likes to call it). We ate our breakfast, had a nice chat with a friendly elderly women named Barbara (we've met so many nice people here!) and Ian and Chris chased birds and played on the playground and ate sand. Well, just Ian did that last part. What's that saying? Oh yes. Boys will be...boys. Sand, anyone? What a little nut bucket!