70 degrees and all is well

its sunny and i'm happy...just thought you should know

the joys of nursing and other luke nonsense

note to my male readers or those who just don't want to hear a story about breastfeeding: this is not actually about nursing, its just about what happens when one must nurse even though they have a two year old loose in a large house alone.

i need to begin by making you aware that my dear son is obsessed with giving bones to my dad's beloved dog, rocky. okay...it happened on a tuesday. i was sitting on the couch, giving sustenance to my newborn child. i knew luke was in the kitchen and i was getting more and more nervous as he was getting quieter and quieter. every once in a while i could hear, "doggy, bone...doggy, bone..." and the sound of the lid being taken on and off the container that houses said puppy treats. i'm sure you can all see where this ends, and i was fearful of the same so i detached the child, made the sojourn into the kitchen, called out to my mischevious little son and found him coming toward me bone in hand...well half of the bone:

no harm done, right? just a little fiber. well luckily, none of the doggy treat actually made its way down his esophagous. mom put a kabash to that before he had the chance to even think about swallowing. he spit out the half-consumed bone into the garbage and went about on his way enjoying what boys should spend their doing--playing with toys in the bathtub...which just happens to lead me to the next part of my story.

not only is the bathtub luke's play place of choice (full of water or not), it is also the scene of many a mother's pulling hair out, wondering why she had kids in the first place, moment. as i am still aclimatizing myself to knowing how to care for two individuals instead of just one, luke has a tendency to be left in the bathtub for a few moments at a time while i am running around changing diapers and finding binkies. a couple such moments happened today while i was putting the wee one to sleep. i hear the pitter patter of not so little feet wafting down from the upstairs bathroom and adjacent bedroom. i try not to imagine the worse (little did i know what the worse was) as i couldn't get myself away in order to mend the situation. when i finally make it up the stairs, i find that my oldest has made it back to the tub with the toy keyboard...which has now become one of those awesome toys that when played makes the most annoying sound in the world, close to lloyd christmas' rendition in dumb and dumber. that's not all, however. apparently he was lonely because this had also accompanied him into the tub.

for those of you that know, this is luke's version of a "lovey." i don't even want to know what the consequences of that action. yikes

finally, we are currently in the throes of potty training/big boy bed and oh what joy both of those feats have brought into our peaceful abode. i haven't really taken the potty training by the horns quite yet and don't worry, i'm not going to submit you to a play by play, but the following story does involve a certain bodily fluid so if you want to check out, go right ahead. the other day, as i put luke in the tub, he so politely let me know that he need to use the facilities (not in so many words, but you get the idea). so, i pulled him and he officially "went potty" for the first time. i was so excited because i, of course, thought that meant that my child is a genius and all those horror stories i've heard in the past would not be applying to me. fast forward to the end of bathtime. he finishes up and we walk into his room to acquire his outfit of the day when i turn around just in time for him to say potty and proceed to relieve himself on the floor. wow, is it some kind of record to be potty trained for the amount of time it takes to bathe? thanks for bringing me back to earth, luke. you're so aware of all my needs.

ps

it was so graciously brought to my attention recently that i left a very important couple out of my list of spokanites that made life there bearable and even, yes, fun i suppose.

the payettes...aah the payettes. the reason i didn't add you before you know is because you're not technically in spokane. val, you left me first several months ago AFTER ditching me for school and "work" for a couple months before that. as if those things are more important. it was a low point in my life, i'll admit, but alas, i'm no longer bitter. instead, there is a ginormous black hole in my life where you once resided. we miss you guys a bunch and everytime notre dame or u-dub loses, i mean plays...we think of you and miss you all over again :)

ode to those we left behind...

so its time for another post...especially because, let's be honest, this really has taken the place of my long-neglected journal that i haven't written in since luke was sofi's age...probably shouldn't have admitted that. i'm sure i just tainted the immaculate view you all have of me. sorry about that. the jury will strike the last testimony and continue to believe that tara is practically perfect in every way...or was that mary poppins? anyway, i just wanted take a few minutes and praise all the coolness that are the people of the lovely yet ghetto (being honest, remember) city we all know and love as spokane, wa.

adam and jen-what can i say, i've known you for almost ever and i wouldn't trade you for the world. good luck on your basement. it needs to be done before i come and grace you with my and my screaming childrens' presence. love you guys

camille and brian-okay, so you're technically in pullman, but who's counting? camille, i've known you for even longer than almost forever and you really are one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. i'm so glad we were able to spend time with both of you guys on our little sabaticals to pullman last year. good luck with the baby and make sure we see more of each other...or else! love ya. good luck in kamiah

adam and natalie-we can be grateful for our adorable, sometimes frustrating, toddlers for our friendship. if it wasn't for that fateful day in relief society that we made the decision to use each other to watch said toddlers in order to get a moment of sanity, we might never have gotten to where we are today. thanks to loot and miam (2 year old speak for luke and liam). thanks to adam and naatalie for all the free marriage counseling/late night conversations about certain four-letter words that will remain nameless being that this is a family blog. love you guys. thanks.

the couple, the myth, the legend...the shelby's-there are no words. you guys are pretty darn close to cooler than awesome. the office and guitar hero will never be the same. thanks for the introduction to benedito's and for loving us just for our tv and playstation. we'll take what we can get. hey, love you guys too...why not?ps meredith and ben-you're fun too. don't let anyone tell you different...and for goodness sake, update your blog already!

goodbye spokane. i'd like to say we're gonna miss you, but we're really just going to miss frank's diner, the downtown mall, dick's, and of course, all of our buddies who made the ghetto truly fabulous.

count your many blessings...

or in this case, your one blessing. that's right, sofi became legal as of march 8th, 2009. she's all blessed and beautiful and i had an excuse to have a large percentage of my family and friends here (i was going to try and sound smart by writing an actual percentage, but then i got confused with how many we are and how many weren't here, so i gave up...moving on...)



andy's parents came up and brought dinner and chocolates with them from sandy, utah. thanks richard and rebecca! i was also so happy to be able to be in the same house as my brothers, a handful of nephews, and so many of our good buddies. thanks to everyone who came and participated in this incredible event...and thanks to sofi for being born at a time that made it so convenient for everyone to be here. you go girl! oh sheesh, did i just say that out loud. sorry to all those who had to read that. i guess i'm a smidge on the exhausted side thanks to said precious girl.

ps i know that picture of her is semi-goofy, but its all i've got. lets just say i'm not ansel adams. in fact, i'm not even a distant relative with my photog skills, but i've made it a goal to improve myself in that area. i mean i'm such a fabulous blogger, i should have the photographical (is that a word?) skills to match, right? okay, on to the rest of the photos that were taken so generously not by me, but by my awesome mom who made sure everyone in attendance was documented.

the whole gang at the church post-blessing. we make that side walk look good

i'm coming

so, i got a huge cup of water, gave the baby to andy and sat down at the computer all set to let my creative juices loose on a brand-spanking new post for your literary enjoyment. unfortunately, for both of the posting ideas that are reumenating in my brain, i need pictures which are on my camera, which is at the jump and bounce down the street. its closed right now, so i'm at a loss. sorry, but this will have to hold you over for now. i'll be back soon with two exciting reads. later

corn dog without the corn, please

i was going to title this post "the other white meat...luke's new love affair with bacon and hot dogs." then, i realized that hot dogs aren't pork products after all. i know that i've seen the signs that say all beef franks many times before, but i just haven't been able to shake the notion that hot dogs are sausage and sausage is pork...yeah, not so much i know. anywho, so newborn-affected brain and all--i remembered what i wanted to share with all of you. luke is at that ever-exciting age of wanting to do everything by himself, eating sporaticly at sporatic times, and just today refusing to wear a certain shirt...what's up with that anyway? does he already realize that his mother has no fashion sense? oh, i forgot rotating between finding nemo, aristocats, and cars on a daily (minutely if that's possible) basis. i must admit, though, i am trying to relish this (all be it excruciating) phase because i know within a matter of minutes he's going to be off to school and want nothing to do with his blogging-obsessed mother.

okay, onto the the task at hand...luke loves corn dogs--without the corn. you'd think that at this obnoxious phase, a two-year old would want nothing more than to only injest the absolute worst thing for him aka candy, sugar cereal, and the fried outer crust of a corn dog. not when it comes to this kid. well, the first two options, yes; he would take any form of candy over any form of pork whether it be the bacon or beef variety, but the fried corn goodness, he wants nothing to do with. its actually a pretty funny process he goes through when eating a corn dog. he first waits for it to cool off by blowing on it as only 2 year olds can do...not really blow. then, he takes a tiny bite of the outer shell only to discover that the "meat" as he calls it is waiting patiently on the inside. he stares at the the small hole he's created trying with all his might to rid himself of the fried barrier between him and his anticipated meal without actually having to digest it himself. finally, when i can't take anymore of the staring and frowning, i take the dog from the poor guy and begin tearing off what most people would refer to as the good stuff. could kids be any awesomer? as for the bacon fetish, he'll eat that pretty much any time of day. i like to take credit for that one. that's actually not a good thing, but its just so darn tasty. bacon makes anything better if you ask me...or luke :)

a new title and an old, worthless memory

so i've been working on coming up with a new title for my ramblings and this is the best i can come up with at the moment. its not perfect, but it was driving me crazy that sofi hadn't been added to the sutton ranks. so, here it is, and if you don't get the meaning...its a play on the song "just the two of us." i know, clever, and you wish you would have thought of it first. maybe next time. don't worry too much.
now, there is something that i wanted to write about and it involved something i really wanted to remember about luke, but apparently newborn brain is worse than pregnancy brain (or is it just sleep deprivation) and i can't remember what that something is. i'm really trying to be better at writing things down so i can actually have something for my progenitors to read. i'm sure luke wouldn't mind knowing what he was like as a pesky toddler as well. i was hoping that by writing down the fact that i don't remember would force me to remember, but its not working thus far. i guess i'll take a little sabbatical and try to make my synapses fire where i need them to.
um...in the meantime, here is a video of the little dude at the jump and bounce...which reminds me of yet another post that will be coming soon. good times. enjoy

on not being alone

one of the (many, many) reasons i love babies is the company they seem to attract like bees to flowers...yes, that is the best metaphor i could come up with on my newborn sleep regimen. anywho, dad and mombo were able to be here for sofi's first week of life as shown in the pictures below, and i couldn't have been more grateful. my hormones blessed me with my first breakdown while they were still here as i was sitting in front of the sewing machine, so i appreciated that for sure. there is just something so great about parents...even though you're all grown up and having babies of your own, you can still feel like you're being taken care of and you don't have to have it all together (which i most definilty do not by the way).

after that week of blissfully feeling like i had no responsibilites (except for being the life-blood for my new child, of course), the rents went back to reality and so did i...but i didn't have to linger there for long. my good buddies, richelle and siobhan came to visit with several tiny, homemade beanies in tow. well, in all honesty, they really came for a concert, but i can pretend that it was just for me, i mean sofi...yeah, that's what i meant. anyway again, thanks to some buddies, i was actually able to leave the confines of my home and go with the ladies to see little big town at a little venue in downtown spokane. i almost decided to leave my husband and family for jimi, but i came to my senses and stayed, but man is he a beautiful man...i even felt like a normal person for a couple hours.

so, here's a shout out to all the little people that brought joy to my (and sofi's) last couple of weeks or first couple weeks as the case may be...mom and dad, rochie and shiblon and anthony and krystal (the babysitters). here's to the next couple weeks!

ps um...yeah, sorry jen. it has been great to see you too. thanks for coming to the hospital and helping me cry while watching the biggest loser. good times

AAGGH camille, you're absolutely right. you totally drove your pregnant self up to visit me in my time of need. i'm sorry i forgot you in my meager list of people to thank. you really are right up there i promise. it was awesome to see you and to have an excuse to eat at tomato street as well. thanks to you for the blanket, the visit, and the all-around love. you're pretty darn awesome. can't wait to see you and your little bundle! good luck

one day old...and wiser too?

just a quick note to let you all know that you can check out sofi's first "official" picture by going to holy-family.org and then clicking on "special delivery" and typing in her name. her cheeks are a little red, but i think she's pretty darn pretty :) thanks again to all those that have been so helpful and for all the encouraging comments. they really mean a lot.

enjoy and don't forget to send money...i mean...

totally kidding by the way...i wouldn't mind some sleep though. if you could spare some of course

she's here! who left this little girl with me?

for those of you that know what that little bottle is used for...my apologies :)
it was 5:54 on a dark and stormy night...well, it was dark, but not really stormy i guess. anyway, sofi lyn decided to make her (ever so uncomfortable) way into the world. the petocin was taking its sweet time prodding her along, but by 5:30, she decided it was time. it only took a couple minutes of pushing and she arrived. i obviously don't have the amount of energy to come up with the proper birthing scenario at this particular time, but i will be back with many a detail in tow. in the meantime, enjoy her beautiful first minutes of life via these photos and thanks for all your prayers and well wishes. she's wonderful and, well so am i...i mean, i'm feeling pretty good. thanks a few minutes old...that good ol' sutton nose

all tuckered out

insert interesting, attention-grabbing title here

okay, so i really need to post something...its been awhile, but i have no idea what to write. i did find out today that i will be induced next thursday morning (the day before she's due) so as to ensure my mother being here to watch the other little tike during the whole ordeal. i'm pretty stoked. its crazy to be able to know when the big day is. i just watched the bucket list so i keep thinking that its kinda like knowing the day you're going to die, but not really...yeah, that's a little morbid. sorry, like i said, i don't know what to write.
in other news, i did have a baby shower last week which was pretty fun. i kinda persuaded my good buddy, jen to host it for me....ssh, don't tell. we had fun, ate some food (all bad...including the spinach-artichoke dip from costco-yum), and opened several pink packages with more pink stuff inside. i'll admit that all the rosiness around is a little strange, but i'm sure i'll get used to it eventually. luke has been known to sport the once purely feminine color every once in awhile, so we'll get there slowly but surely. anyway, i don't currenlty have any photos of the festivities because someone else took all the pictures, but i will have them soon and, in turn, will share them all with you with some witty commentary i'm sure.
alright, well that about does it for the crazy rambling. sorry you had to go through it, but i was fulfilling my duty as a blogger to keep you all informed of my oh so interesting daily life.

and the winner is...

sofi lyn. i know it wasn't even one of the options, but it seems to be the right choice (just ask mr. president aka my husband).

la la la lola...or not

well, thanks to everyone to "weighed in" on my issue. it looks like it might've all been in vain, however, because my husband, who apparently thinks he is the president of the united states, has pretty much vetoed the winning name. he seems to think our baby should be hispanic if she were to be called lola. all of my arguments have fallen on deaf ears i'm afraid. so, back to the drawing board as it were. nora is still in the running, but now i'm wondering if there is an even perfecter...more perfect? name out there that i just haven't been introduced to yet. sigh...what to do? anywho, thanks again and we'll see what happens.

ps does anyone happen to know any songs with hand motions besides the itsy bitsy spider and popcorn popping? i'm pretty sure we sing each of them right around a thousand times a day.

life, love, and bubble gum toothpaste

i've been trying to hold off posting for awhile so as to allow you all adequate time to weigh in my newest dillema. i do appreciate those of you that did put in your 2, or in some cases, 50 cents, but i'm left a little confused. the majority of comments that came in seemed to favor the name lola, while the poll has had nora in the lead since the beginning. i'm not sure what to make of that, unless you are all deliberately messing with my already befuddled pregnancy brain. if that's the case...sheesh, how rude. if not, its okay. i know you all have your own life changing decisions to be concerned with. i'll figure it out one of these days i suppose. i do like the name stella...
moving on to the task at hand--bubble gum toothpaste. so, andy left town and apparently took the last tube of "grown-up" toothpaste with him. since every news program on the television has posted yet another storm warning, i didn't leave the house yesterday, thus giving me no option but to use the thomas the train bubble gum flavored toothpaste. i remember it being fun when i was a kid. we felt like we were slipping a fast one past the parentals by doing the mandatory act of tooth brushing with something that tasted like candy. nowadays, however, i must admit that it kind of gives me the creeps. mostly because when i'm done brushing, i don't so much feel that clean, just left the dentist's office with the knowledge that my teeth and breath are the freshest they've been in 6 months, feeling. instead, i'm left with this kind of ew, i just chewed on some really stale bazooka before turning in for the night. its a mind trick. the stuff leaves you with the question of did i just brush my teeth or are they going to rot during the night because my mouth tastes like something resembling strawberries? needless to say, i'm heading out after naptime (yes luke's and mine) to commandeer some plaque fighting, minty fresh toothpaste. disaster averted yet again. wow, this stay at home mom stuff can be pretty intense. i'd better go start on that nap.

christmas, eye infections, and name wars

well, here i am...i told you i would be! i finally got pictures onto my computer and am about to share them all with you. as you all know, and if you don't-you're seriously living under a rock or in iran or something, it was christmas a little more than a week ago. i know its redundant because everyone says it, and if they don't, well you know...anywho, christmas is pretty much the best time of year and my favorite by far. i love the weather, the smell of fires emanating from chimneys, christmas trees, lights, decorations, etc. it was also pretty exciting to have a kid who actually semi knew what was going on. by semi, i mean that he was aware of all the extra family around and the fact that santa looks like grandpa used to. he also didn't mind the fact that he scored several things with wheels and obnoxious sound effects. good times. one factor that made this holiday even more special was the "arctic freeze of 2008." special might not be the word that a lot of people would use to describe this particular weather phenomenon, because it caused some travelling issues, but the fact that western washington was blanketed with cold, white stuff made for a pretty stellar, white christmas. here are some pictorial highlights of the thomas family holiday.


ridin' the tractor with grandpa

mr. scrooge himself directing the decoating efforts on the front porch. what a good sport

luke really enjoyed imitating a marshmallow in his snowsuit get-up as well as sampling the christmas goodies that grandpa so lovingly shared with him. now i'm sure you're all wondering what the eye infection part of the title refers to. well, pictures speak a thousand words, or at least, in this case, explain what i meant. feel free to say it...poor luke--

no, there isn't anything wrong with his mouth...that was just the chocolate that gram gave him because we all felt sorry for him in his cyclops state.

finally, last but not least--the battle of the names has begun, well it actually began when we discovered the bun in the oven was a female, but it has continued. we (or i, i should say) have narrowed it down to two names.

lola or nora

now i know that there are a few of you who have attitude concerning the first option and its ties to a certain hispanic prostitute. let me address your concerns by stating that i was reading people magazine and there were three celebrities with daughters named lola...not one of them being hispanic. one was african-american, but none of them lived a double-life as a "woman of the night." there is also a rather annoying, but nonetheless existing cartoon on the disney channel that is titled "charlie and lola." no, it isn't a show about drug abuse among children. its actually an educational children's show about a pair of curious, blonde, british siblings. just because a band in the 70's decided to use the name in a song about a certain rendevous in a drinking establishment doesn't mean that the name should be contaminated forever. i mean, what about lola the showgirl, who conquered her fears and sang in front of a crowd? alright, off the soapbox. just let me know what you think by commenting here or answering the poll in the right column. the middle name is jean if that helps narrow it down for you.

happy new year and thanks for the help in advance!

sorry, no pictures...soon i swear

okay so...an apology is in order to all of you who actually read this glimpse into my life. i'm sorry its been so long. it all started because i didn't have any pictures and then i had pictures, but not transferred to the computer, and now i've been camas which you all know means dial-up internet, which means i don't come within 10 feet of the computer. that was a serious run-on sentence.
anyway, to make this sob story even sobbier (i know its not a word, but since i already failed on the grammer side of things, i decided to just go with it)...i don't have pictures again. i won't go into why because i'm sure you're already bored, but i wanted to say merry christmas and happy new year and tune in because my false promises will become true promises as soon as i am surrounded by the wonderful aura of wireless internet. i hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that the new year brings everything you are hoping for. how's that for cheesy?
thanks for your friendship, support, and for all the fun i have reading about your lives. i'll be back...i promise :)

merry christmas!

apparently its finally christmas on the sutton blog. i promise i really am chock-full of christmas spirit, i just have been totally blog-retarded and haven't even looked at it in pretty close to a millenia. its going to be awhile again unfortunately because i'm heading to the internet black hole that is my parents' house. i'm definitly going to try and post again before i fall into the great abyss. you all definitly need an update on the business/moving scenario that will be happening in the near or distant future...depending on the child that will be arriving. hasta pronto...hopefully.

ode to the phenomenon that is twilight

so, i have to come clean, i was among the choice few (actually many) who endured the late night bedtime in order to catch the very first showing of twilight: the movie. the experience was fun overall and definilty interesting. among the sporatic mother and person my age...there were about 500 screaming teenagers and the occasional boy. i know what you're thinking. they took their girlfriends because it would be girl heaven, right? well, there was actually a row of about 5 males that were there without a feminine escort. i guess we're not the only ones who love edward...right, ladies?

all in all, the movie was pretty good. i don't have too many complaints about it, some of which could have been avoided if those aforementioned adolescent girls were missing from the experience. the other quite large problem was the actress who played bella. i think i might be mostly alone in this because i haven't heard of too many other people who didn't approve of her, but she drove me nuts nonetheless.

i'll just leave it at that for those of you who have yet to experience the joy of seeing edward lifesize and in color (and in the form of cedric diggory, which i surprisingly wasn't upset about after all. he did pretty well considering the beautiful shoes he had to fill).

ps even though i did see if before all of you, i was in the front row and thus had to rub and refocus my tired eyes every few minutes so don't be too jealous.

happy edward viewing!!

is there a punishment for blog neglect?

yeah, so obviously if there is, i would charged with it. i've been feeling rather badly that i haven't posted a new installment in the day in the lives of the sutton family for quite some time, but i have a good excuse. actually, i really don't. i've just had a severe case of blogger's block. plus, i don't really have any pictures...add those two together and there's your formula for no new post in several days. in fact, i really don't have a lot to say now...i'm just really trying to come up with something so that a new little title will pop up on your lists saying that i posted something like all good bloggers should.

i guess i'll just use this pictureles blog to fill you all in on the drama that is andy's business or lack thereof. so, a while back, i wrote a cryptic entry about something that was happening to andy and his "employment status." well, to make a long, agonizingly annoying story short, his business partner told him he wanted out of their partnership. this was the day before we left for utah mind you. woo hoo! nothing like crappy, crappy news to get you on your way to a fun-filled vacation. so, we left and andy talked with several people that he knows from living in salt lake for 20 plus years of his life and he found someone that was interested in starting up a new company. enter satellite professionals, inc. set to debut any day now. i say set to debut because now he is in the course of jumping through hoop after hoop thrown so mercifully by dish network and brought on by the awesomeness of changing companies when least expecting it. i can see the comments now:

where are you going to live?
when are you leaving spokane?
where is your child going to be born?
are you going to be homeless?

all very valid questions, but not of them have i been able to answer for all the countless people that have asked me up to this point. needless to say, its getting a little frustrating. mostly because i love the holidays and i'm feeling a tad sabotaged. i mean seriously, kick us out of the business two months before christmas??? that's like getting dumped right before prom (which i was by the way. i ended up going with a boy that i had a bargain with at the beginning of year-stating that if neither of us had a date, we would go with each other. tmi? sure, but sad nonetheless, right?) anyway, in short...i think its really funny that people write in short after a horrendously long explanation like i just did. gotta love irony. yadi yadi yada...we've had our very own scrooge/crachett experience this year and i guess it hasn't killed us, so that means it will make us stronger supposedly.

in reality, i really do have a lot to be grateful for. i have a wonderful husband (how's that for cliche? i'm workin on it) who is willing to overcome this hiccup shall we say and seek new and better opportunities. i never have to wonder if he will be willing to put blood, sweat, and tears into his work. preferrably just the middle one, but you know what i mean. i can rely totally on him and for that i will be forever grateful. i also have a healthy child, who even though has learned the fine art of screaming to portray both good and bad emotions, is hilarious and fun and the reason why i get up at 10 to 7 everyday. life is good, christmas is coming and this blog is getting unecessarily long. i guess some stuff to say after all. thank you all for your support and kind words. its been a bit of a trying time, but i'm glad that i have friends like you and all the blessings that come with that.

here's a picture to lift your spirits in case they need lifting. it certainly did the trick for me:
Nothing says happy fall like a good old fashioned lighter sale. gotta love spokane