Parties, Pumpkins and Grandma K

Rocky wanted a "bad robot" so creative Rich came up with this!



That about sums up the last few weeks.. the good parts at least. We all suffered from a nasty bout of the fall flu filled with snot, coughs and infections from facial orifices... that was a mouthful. Fortunately, by the time it hit me, Grandma K was here to the rescue. And she thought she would get a vacation!

Grandma came prepared for fun... with a giant punching bag for Rocky and an exersaucer for Jack (early Christmas). Of course, Grandma had just as much fun with the bag... I caught her tumbling over it like a ninja then bouncing it off Rocky's head, which he found hilarious. They are best pals. Grandma K is also magic... somehow she gets Jack to sleep at night, got Rocky to participate in T-ball (not his favorite thing) and the exersaucer cured Jack's daily fusses. The kid has to be standing to be satisfied. I see perhaps a career as a security guard in his future... or one of those British guards with the giant fuzzy hats.
On Saturday, we attended Rocky's last day of T-ball. Instead of grabbing my leg and begging me to take him to Badonald's instead (see Davidonics post for translation) he actually joined the other boys. Everything seemed pointless (when he ran the bases, he left 1st and skipped straight for home... literally) except batting. That kid loved to hit. If only that was all baseball entailed. Oh well.... we will continue to search for Rocky's talent.

Yes.. he's sporting a Nacional jersey... Uruguay's BEST soccer team.. gracias a la flia. Jara

That night, we headed to the gym for a kiddie Halloween party. Mom is lazy with costumes and relieved that Rocky agreed to be a cow again. He was the highlight of the petting zoo, getting pet as much as the dozen roaming goats and sheep. He then bowled for ghosts, did his one legged hop in the bounce house and enjoyed a popcorn-filled severed hand. He was accompanied by Jack the Pumpkin King.

Also, a couple weeks ago, we joined many Sorensons to celebrate Grandpa Loran's 80th birthday! You would never guess it. He is healthy, well and full of that Sorenson wit and charm. Here are 4 generations of So-So's. Aren't they handsome?

To ease the pain of missing his Grandma K (he cried for her 3 times the night she left), we invited cousin Eli to come play. I told Rocky to put all his toys away in his red box when he was done... I guess he thought I meant Eli too!

Rocky's Community Classes

Yes, that's how he throws the ball...

In the on-going effort to discover what your child likes to do, parents often sign their kids up for short classes through the community. This has proven to be very helpful in determining Rocky's talents and interests but mostly has been a source of great entertainment for us. In doing so, we've learned some things about our son. To expose our child to both extremes of masculine expression, we signed him up for a sports class and a dance class. The dancing started first, and Rocky ended up entertaining not just me, but all the parents present, as we huddled together, peering at our children through a thick glass window. I wish I would have brought the video camera to all of his classes. Though he loved it, Rocky is not skilled at dancing in any way. While the other 3 year olds were walking the balance beam, hopping and pirouetting, Rocky sported his signature move, a one-legged lumber skip with his tongue sticking out. No matter what the teacher told the class to do, this is how he worked the space in the room. Everything else required assistance or else he ended up on the ground. No matter what he was doing, he was giggling though, so it was a parental success. The sports class began with soccer. He preferred to punch things... a true Rocky, and clutched his soccer ball, for fear that if he set in on the ground, someone would kick it. While the group was stretching, Rocky was off to the side organizing the pile of soccer balls. He finally gave up and joined the group as the neat little pyramid he was constructing kept toppling. We also discovered that he is not the fastest runner. He is, by far, the slowest. Maybe the tongue is interfering with his aerodynamics. As the swarm of kids, chased the ball, he bounced along several feet behind, his tongue lagging in the breeze. The pinny was huge, and hung off his shoulders until finally, he threw it to the ground and stormed off the field. The next week, the kids played flag football. Throwing the ball with Dad was fun.. but mostly funny. Then they brought out the flags. Something about kids pulling his flags didn't jive and he was off the field crying, "I don't like this." This week, he tries tee ball. I'll let you know how it goes.

Singing Jack

He does this often, and finally, we caught a little bit of it on camera. He is singing silly songs with a very silly family. We are training them vocally as the family band we are growing will need back-up singers, Rich being the lead of course.

Davidonics

Though he has a extensive vocab and is good at expressing himself, and does so often, there are some words that he still doesn't pronounce quite right and others that he's created. In case you have a conversation with him in the near future (he's been known to inadvertently call people from my phone and then carry on conversations with them without my awareness), I have provided some translations:

newskick - music
mishmash - moustache (usually one made of juice)
hosipal - hospital (where Jack came from)
trockipal - tropical (as in tropical breeze..a line from "going on a treasure hunt" - a game he plays with Jack)
blankley - blanket (the remaining shreds of the bunny blankey I had when I was little)
beecle - vehicle
working man - construction worker (apparently the only job that looks like real work to him)
too fit - it doesn't fit (much easier than explaining HOW it fits...such as too big, too small, tight, etc)
batar - guitar
tickle brush - electric toothbrush (he was so fascinated with ours that I bought him a Superman one... he brushed 7 times yesterday)
Goompa - Uncle Mort
Badonald's - McDonald's (to him - a place that gives you toys and sometimes you go there for food)
Yertle - his stuffed turtle (the Dr. Seuss one who accompanies him during all naps and sometimes gets stuffed in his shirt... he does this often as he thinks it's hilarious)

Grandmas and Grandpas, these are some of the most important things in his life right now, so study up.

We Finally Took Family Pictures!

It wasn't easy. This morning, to my horror, I realized that none of our clothes match well enough for a family picture. An hour before our appt. at Sears, I raced to Mervyns and hit up the sales, dashing from one corner of the store to the other trying to match up shirts. Then, all sweaty after my shopping sprint, I jumped in the shower while Rich dressed a whiny Rocky and screaming Jack. Somehow we made it to Sears only 10 minutes late. Then the fun really began. Rocky, who normally smiles with ease was convinced that every shot should include his tongue. It took me physically pushing it back in his mouth for him to get it. Fortunately, we were able to get a few decent shots in after that. Jack was another story. As usual, he was grumpy. Then after every shot he would spit up. We wiped and continued. By the last shot, his shirt was soaked. Just as we finished he started smiling. Go figure. But the staff (it took 6 of them to take our pictures) was patient and we are pleased with our results. Thanks family for humoring me. This was way important to me.... and grandparents... this is what you are getting for Christmas, so pick your pose and size, and we will hook you up.


See what I mean...

More Pictures

Julie Tagged Me!

Julie got double tagged, so she's letting me pick which one I want to do.... how about I mix it up and do half of each set of tag questions, eh?

1st Tag:
10 Years ago I...
1. Was gaining the "Freshman 15" by eating mounds of cheese fries daily at USU's Junction "the junk" Cafeteria... which I lost the next semester when I had to cook my own food and lived off my cousins'/ roommates' date leftovers instead.
2. Learned how to survive chilly Utah winters and that slamming the brakes when you hit black ice is NOT the best way to stop.
3. Felt so old and mature living on my own but still went home every weekend, so my mom would feed me and wash my clothes.

5 Things on today's "to do" list...
1. Feed my kids and wash their clothes :)
2. Continue going through my mom's old videotapes and burning them onto DVD's
3. Pick up all the toys I don't want to trip over when I get up to feed Jack tonight
(I'm doing half of each answer)

5 Things I Would Do If I Was a Millionaire...
1. Hire a maid, a nanny, a cook, a masseuse, a personal trainer and a therapist
2. Turn that million into more millions by patenting and selling Rich's inventions... then we would use our hired help and snuggle all day.
3. Go on a vacation alone with Rich (which we haven't done since our honeymoon).
Oh... and buy a home... complete with a pool and room for a pony.

5 Places I Have Lived...
1. Northern AND Southern California
2. Uruguay
3. Utah
4. Every city I've ever lived in has started with a "P" (for Petersen?) or an "S" (for Sorenson?) I counted 15, except for Logan (though my home address was still Providence) and Chico (where I live now and will probably spend the rest of my life)... go figure.

5 Jobs I Have Had...
1. Ride Operator at Lagoon
2. Camp counselor at Jewish summer camp in Pennsylvania
3. Broadcaster for the 2002 Winter Olympics
4. High School lacrosse coach

2nd Tag:
7 Weird/Random Facts about Myself...
1. I used to perform magic shows at elementary schools.
2. Jaime and I once put on snowboard boots, donned quillows on our heads and went door-to-door asking for water so we could make lime-aid. As a side note... nobody gave us any.
I should also add (Jaime just reminded me of it) that we once swam in a shark cage made of PVC pipe and chicken wire.... and actually didn't die! (much to our surprise).
3. I used to be a messy kid but am now obsessed with having a clean house. I'm proud to say that I like a clean house just like my mom...I just wish I had her energy to be able to keep it that way!
4. I'm addicted to the gym... and not just because I'm trying to lose the baby weight. It's my favorite place. I go there every single day... and not just because I get a little break from the kids. I love exercising, going to classes, lifting weights, running on a treadmill... I love it all. It makes me feel good physically and emotionally. I'm always in a better mood afterwards. Not being able to exercise while I'm pregnant is the toughest part (just after dealing with nausea and vomiting all the time).
5. Food is a very big deal to me. After the gym.. it's pretty much all I look forward to. Rich has learned not to come between me and my food... especially when it's chocolate. He made the mistake once of eating my entire Symphony bar (a Christmas gift) and is still paying the price. Plus, since food is such a big deal, I take forever to order. I would hate to order the wrong thing. This is why I like having "a share buddy" like Rich (and before Rich, it was Kate). We each order something and split it... that way I get to eat 2 different things! Of course, Rich has learned that he better not eat more than his share...

(Hmmm.... clean house...food... wow, Julie... we have a lot in common!) Ok...I'm going to pick some of my favorite creative people who I don't think have been tagged yet.... Melissa, Kenzee, Kayla, Allyson or Jared and MariJo.

Rules: Each player answers one of the sets of tag questions themselves (any combination of the 2 sets of tag questions that I did). At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

Jack Stats

Just to update you from the last appointment with the doc... Jack will be 4 months old on Oct. 11 and already weighs a whopping 14.5 lbs! Too bad that chubby tummy doesn't keep him settled through the night. That's right... he is still yet to wake up less than 3-5 times a night. We've tried every trick in the book, but when it comes to screaming this kid is no quitter. Jack also recovered well from his first cold, but David is still on antibiotics for a sinus/ear infection, and I've been plagued with mine for over 2 weeks now. Thanks to Nyquil and a loving husband (who has gotten up with Jack at night far more than I have since his birth), I've gotten some rest and hope to kick it soon. When Jack isn't screaming, clenching his fists and turning red like Jack Jack from the Incredibles, he is watching his big bro's every move, smiling big, splashing up a frenzy in the tub and singing along with the family to our "Silly Songs" tape. We have a movie of that which I will post soon...