Grandparenthood

I've decided that having puppies is a lot like being a grandparent. I'm not responsible for teaching them how to eat or use the bathroom, and I can give them back when I'm finished playing with them. Of course, I still need to feed them and supervise them when they're outside. And once we decide which puppy we're keeping, Jared will spend a few months training him/her to hunt birds. Actually, that looked fun- when he worked Cali he used a bird wing tied to a fishing pole. :)It's a lot of time and work, though.

The puppies' other "grandparents" came by tonight to choose out which of the pups they would be taking. That's their payment for letting us use Gage to get Cali pregnant. Hmmmm, maybe I should try that with my in-laws: ship off a child [the problem-making one, whichever that one is at the moment] as their "fee" for Jared getting me pregnant LOLOL! Okay, so they probably wouldn't go for it. Still...

Tall, taller, tallest

We went to the Utah State Fair recently, with a friend of ours. Checked out the children's farm thing, drove the "tractor" [really a tricycle], milked a pretend cow, and traded the 'produce' we collected for a treat. Here's Ben and Walker:
Morgen and Hyrum, who was too busy opening his treat to look up at the camera.
In other news, while Myles was screaming at me today, he let go of my pants and stood on his own. Oh, the screaming was because I torture him for fun. :)His two top teeth are coming in, poor thing!

random names

mostly because I was avoiding housework, and stumbled across this "naming game"

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car),
Cali Durango
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie),
Chocolate Pumpkin
3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name),
J-Gai
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Green Tiger
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Lee Pasadena
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first),
Gai-Ja
7. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The" + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Blue Wassail
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers),
Sherm' Ellis
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy),
Sunflower Tootsie Roll
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names ),
Ellis Giles
11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Ashton Anaheim
12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
September Calla Lily
13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearing right now + "ie" or "y")
Apple Sockie
14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Orange Juice Willow
15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: ("The" + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + "Tour"),
The Scrapping Rain Tour

Boo!

Okay, actually this face was because I put him down to take a photo of his decorations.

According to Hyrum, Myles got the markers out of the desk drawer, took them all [6 colors, I think] downstairs, and colored his face, neck, arms, and hands. Oh, and there was one red dot where his cowlick is at the back of his head. What? You don't believe Myles did that? Well, then, buster, explain who *you* think would have done it. [now might be a good time to mention the similar marker-colored patterns on Hyrum's face and hands...] Anyway, this whole experience did not meet with Myles' approval, and he crawled up the stairs to me, screaming the whole way, to register his complaints. Whereupon his picture was taken, adding to his unhappiness, before he finally got the comfort he was seeking.

Baby toys

A week or so ago, we put Myles with the other boys to sleep at night. When I moved him into his new bed, I also moved all the toys from his old bed into the new one. His siblings had donated some items to keep him busy, and I managed to identify who went with which gift.

Walker gave this to Myles:

And this is what Morgen let Myles play with:

This is Hyrum's idea of a good toy for Myles:

Now, which toy do *you* think Myles was playing with? As a hint, it wasn't soft or furry. My darling child suffers from an iron deficit- thank goodness Hyrum was on-the-spot with a quick and effective treatment :).

Puppies

There was a gale-force wind that came through Tuesday, and blew some smaller branches and twigs off the tree in the front yard. Luckily, Jared sawed off the big diseased branches last week, or we would have lost one or more of our cars in the storm :). Anyway, I took the puppies outside in the front yard today, while I picked up the debris from the storm. Myles and Hyrum "helped" me pick up twigs and leaves, the puppies wandered about and squealed a lot, and Cali had a slightly frantic look in her eyes because she couldn't keep all her puppies in one spot! They're three weeks old now, and every day they change a bit more.

Growing

Myles
was recently shorn by his mother, after she got tired of explaining that yes, he had a beautiful head of curly hair, and no, he wasn't a girl. He didn't hold still very well, so he may have a few chunks of hair to re-grow.

The puppies are acting like puppies now- crawling over each other, biting each other, trying to escape from their kennel. Actually, they quite remind me of my own children :)

Today was a perfect fall day. A breeze, temps in the high 60's, and kids in school! Oh, and my dh planning a hunt for next week.

You know, I have a pretty good life: plenty of food [good food, too], clean and sanitary water to drink that is piped into my home, lots of warm clothes, a sturdy house to shelter me, healthy kids, free education for those kids, a washer and dryer in my own home; I take it all for granted. So I'm just saying that I am grateful for all of these blessings :)

The new Justice League!

Yep, coming to a home near you [depending on how near you live to us :)], Hyrum will be appearing as *ta-da!* ESPer Boy! Yes, dear reader, he has developed some amazing new skills.

Hyrum: Guess what, Mom?!
Me: Yes?
Hyrum: *humming* I'm reading my mind!
Me: [trying hard not to giggle] Really? Wow. That's pretty ...ummm... Wow.

this conversation was followed by random humming episodes for the rest of that day.

Puppies are beautiful, growing, trying to escape the kennel [nicer name than "cage" don't you think?] and when Cali is feeding them, they totally remind me of Myles. Because they're so intently feeding, and their little paws are just pumping and waving madly either in the air or scrabbling on the floor, depending on whether they are belly up or belly down. Myles, when we're holding him, will wave his legs and arms, and he has clawed his way up my arm and out of my lap, while I'm holding his bottle. Somehow, the taste of the milk improves every time he pinches me :).