Sharing her bed

Since we switched Lily to her toddler bed in January, she has requested that most (if not all) of her stuffed animals and dolls be in bed with her at night. It hasn't been a big deal...they usually just get stacked at the end of the bed, out of the way. After, of course, they all get a hug and a kiss along with her.

A couple months ago, she decided she also needed a million blankets to sleep with. As the weather has warmed up, she hasn't relinquished any of the blankets. She must be Erik's child because when it gets hot, I rarely even use the sheet but he's curling up in our down comforter and would probably grab another blanket if I let him. But she has us pile on at least 6, yes SIX, blankets every night. There are some things it's just not worth fighting over, and I figure if she gets too hot during the night, she'll just kick them off.

These two odd behaviors I could accept without two much trouble. To each their own, right? But last week, she decided to add her GINORMOUS teddy bear into the mix. This bear is bigger than she is and usually lives on the floor by her dresser. One night, she decided she wanted to sleep with him, and since I'd already been trying to get her to sleep for quite a while, I went with it. He hasn't moved since. This morning when I went to wake her up, this was the scene that greeted me:


It looks like I was right and the blankets get kicked off, but what do you do when the teddy bear gets more mattress space than Lily?

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Our hog for a day

Before we head out on our fun-filled weekend to Island Park, I thought I better catch up on some blogging from the last little bit. Almost two weeks ago, we rented a Harley and spent the day riding with Chattertons; Ashley's brother, Landon, and his girlfriend; Buzzy; and Brent.

Why, you ask, did we rent a motorcycle for a day of riding after Erik finally convinced me he should buy one last year (see this post). Mainly because there was no way I was going to spend the day afraid of being blown off the back and having to cling to Erik's waist. Plus, when else will we have the chance to ride a Harley Davidson given the fact they cost more than my car?

Erik went down with the guys the night before our big adventure to pick up our bike. When Lillian saw it, she was very concerned about where our car had gone (it got left in Salt Lake so we'd have a way home). And she didn't want anything to do with the big, loud motorcycle that had taken its place.

Now, keep in mind that this was no around-town motorcycle. It was so plush, so luxurious, so...teal. Really: it looked like something right out of the 80s even though it was a brand new model. But at least it came complete with a full backrest for me, including arm rests. This backrest also had built-in speakers for the radio that I could control from my position on the back. Although when I actually tried to use that feature, it didn't work...typical. Not to mention the fact that the iPods (yes, both of them) were left in the car in Salt Lake so we had to deal with what radio reception we were able to find.

Color and lack of iPod aside, we had a great trip (although I'll admit it was a lot of driving and my butt was pretty sore by the time we got home). We started by heading up to Tony Grove and then continuing around Bear Lake. We came back through Ogden Canyon and headed to Salt Lake to return the bikes. Of course we stopped at Texas Roadhouse on the way. No trip to Ogden with Buzzy would be complete without that detour... :)

What I think is funny about trips like these is when you run into someone else doing the same thing, you are way more friendly than you would have been otherwise. This was the case here when we stoped at some podunk gas station to fill up and ended up chatting with some other bikers who were out that day. Had we all pulled up in our cars, there probably wouldn't have even been hellos exchanged. But because we were all out on motorcycles, a connection was made. I've noticed this is also the case with snowmobiling and probably most other similar activities. The repressed folklorist in me tends to notice these things more now, I guess, than I used to, and I always wonder if anyone's done a paper on it yet. Does that show how nerdy I really am?

Yeah?

Oh well.

In any event, I think this is an activity we'll have to make into a tradition. I was a little skepical at first, but it was a completely different experience driving through Logan Canyon and up to Tony Grove without the constraint of, well...a ROOF. Plus, it was great weather: it wasn't too hot (until we reached Ogden), but it was still nice enough to enjoy being outside. I wonder if they'd a rent side car for Lillian?

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Talking with Daddy

While I wasn't actually present for the following conversation, this is what I was told went down. As background, Erik starts every morning with a pick-me-up of Diet Pepsi: the breakfast of champions...

Lily: Daddy, I want some Pepsi.

Erik: No, Lily. You don't need any Pepsi.

Lily: I want it in my mouth, and I like it.

Where does she come up with this stuff?

Later, when I saw them while playing musical cars to get the Sonata serviced, I asked if she likes Pepsi. Her response? "No. I like chocolate milk." She sure knows who will give her what and what to say to get it. (Since I don't like Pepsi, she'll never get some from me.)

I have a feeling they will be secretly conspiring against me for the rest of our lives.

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Independence Day Weekend

Because our babysitter decided to take a trip to Florida, I decided to take the same week off and enjoy a chance to be a SAHM. Lily and I were able to spend a lot of time outside playing at the park in front of our house and just having fun together. We took a trip to the Willow Park Zoo one day, and even though we'd played at the park already that morning, she was more interested in the slides she could see at Willow Park. So we headed over there after checking out the monkeys and birds.

My week of vacation was capped off with our Independence Day festivities, and we sure kept busy for those couple of days. July 2 was the performance day for Lillian's swimming lessons, so Erik and I actually got to see what she'd been learning. Unlike the lessons we took her too a few months ago, parents weren't allowed to even been seen by the kids let alone get in the pool with them. They learned how to float and kick and blow bubbles, and even go off the diving board (video below)! If they cried when doing the diving board, they had to do it again. At first, I thought that was a little harsh, but after seeing how great she did, I've decided the teacher knows what she's doing.

It was so fun to watch her follow all the directions and actually enjoy being in the water. After our first round of lessons, she was still clinging to me for dear life and would scream bloody murder if her face went under water; what a different experience we had when I took her to the aquatic center last night. It took a little while for her to decide she'd be ok actually playing in the pool and not just sitting on me, but once she got going, she didn't want to leave and even went down the twisty slide. She starts a second session today; she'll be ready for the Olympics in no time, I'm sure.


After Lily's swimming performance, we headed to the park for some good grub and great company before heading to Hyrum City's fireworks. Unfortunately, my camera battery lasted just long enough to get the diving board video, so no pictures from that event . :-(

But I made up for it by taking a ton of fireworks pictures the next night during the display at USU stadium.


During both displays, Lily decided they were too loud and spent most of the show cowering under a blanket with hands over her ears. During the stadium event, she actually fell asleep in the middle, so I guess they couldn't have been that loud. And for the Hyrum ones, she did end up watching the end very sneakily, peeking out over the blanket periodically - until she realized we knew she was watching; then right back under she went.

For the actual 4th holiday, Lily and I headed down to West Jordan to see my Dad, step-Mom, and sister who were in town staying with my Grandma. Even though she's the closest great-grandma for Lillian, they've never actually met, so it was a lot of fun letting her meet some cousins and play with her Aunt Cassandra. We had a BBQ, watched the celebration at the National Mall on TV (wha-hoo, Barry!), and created our own display of sparklers and fountains outside. All in all, a very fun evening.


I have to say, I love the 4th of July. I probably don't ruminate on it nearly as much as I should, but going to events like the one at the stadium always remind me of how grateful I am to live in this country and for the sacrifices that were made so I can have the freedoms I do. I don't even know anyone in military service, and the medley of service songs and seeing those who've served stand up when their song is played always chokes me up. Not to mention the National Anthem, God Bless America, and I'm Proud to Be an American...just my little patriotic self coming out, I guess.

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Her OTHER mommy

I promise I'll post about our super fun Independence Day activities, but Lily and I had a conversation last night I felt I needed to share. As I've mentioned before, bedtime has been AWFUL lately. We keep hoping it's a phase, but it's now dragging into a length of months rather than weeks with seemingly no end in sight. Last night, after dealing with her whining, crying, yelling, etc. for an hour, she was dragging her blanket around with her. She came and stood right in front of me:

Lily: I WANT MY MOMMY! (Who she thought I was I have no idea.)

Me: I am your mommy. What? You want your other mommy?

Lily: Yeah!!!

*Suddenly, the tears stopped. She was sooooo excited at the prospect of another mommy.*

Me: Well, that's fine with me. Where is she?

*She ran into the hallway, looked around for a second, and then...

Lily: Where is she? She's not here, yet...

Had I not been so frustrated by the marathon bedtime (which went on for another hour and resulted in many, many tears), I would have found it sort of cute, especially after looking past the fact that she wanted a mommy other than me.

And while I know it won't mean anything to you, it really was the hand gesture that made it. There she was, standing in the hall with her hands in the air, wondering where her nice mommy could be and why she wasn't there yet. Why did she have to continue dealing with this mean mommy who insisted she go to bed even though she WASN'T THE LEAST BIT TIRED (*yawn*).

There were several times in that second hour of the battle when I was able to make out, "I want my other mommy" between the sobs. I won't take it too personally, I suppose, but if anyone would like to come over tonight and play the role of "other mommy," please let me know. We can work out a rotation...but just know that as the first mommy, I get dibs on the times when she's happy.

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