Outdoor pools

I'd like to have a word with the genius who came up with the idea that Arizona shouldn't have indoor pools. ARGH! I know of only one indoor pool in Tucson, and that's a 30 minute drive from my house (which isn't worth it to me). I guess they can get away with it since crazies like me give up and go swimming anyway. (Am I hardcore, or have I just lost a few too many brain cells?)

Of course, the pool water is heated to 80 degrees, which feels great. However, that means when I hop out of the 80 degree water, I get blasted by the 40 degree air. Brrrrrrr......

Toddler bed

We're going to start training Naomi to sleep in her toddler bed next week. If anyone has brilliant advice on how to get an active toddler to stay in her bed and actually fall asleep, please feel free to advise. My main concern is that she loves to read and has a bookcase full of books in her room...I'm not sure she'll ever stay in bed if she can keep hopping up to grab another book! (Not unlike her parents, but it does make it difficult for maintaining parental-approved sleep patterns.)

Still more Christmas

More Christmas morning

Christmas morning photos

Santa's lap

Naomi got to visit Santa in the mall, and sit on his lap. We first tried at 2 in the afternoon, but Santa had lunch from 2-3, so we had to come back the next day. When we told Naomi that Santa was having lunch, she decided that he was having mac-n-cheese, and when we told her we were headed back, she kept saying "mac-n-cheese, mac-n-cheese."

She did great, and didn't cry at all, though she didn't seem to be having any fun either. But we got a good photo of the two of them, and here it is.

Nursing Home Visit

Naomi and I joined some other Tucson moms and kids for a holiday visit to a local care center. Naomi enjoyed it, running around checking out the decorations, marching down hallways, handing out cards to care center residents, and even saying "Merry Christmas" occasionally on demand!



***UPDATE***
I saw this picture and realized that Naomi has the same hair as this guy (second from the left) in The Who.

Pretty girl, fancy dress

Yet another dark, blurry picture. Hopefully you can see past that to our sweet Naomi bug, all dressed up for Christmas celebrations!

Pancakes and blurry pictures

Sorry about the blurry pictures lately - apparently I need to adjust my camera settings

Naomi loves pancakes! Table etiquette at our house doesn't always include a foot on the table...apparently Naomi's petitioning for a change!

Bundled up

Last weekend was the first time I've wanted more than just a coat for Naomi-bundling purposes. While Matt was studying, Naomi and I went to a short reenactment of the Nativity, and it was an outdoor performance in the evening. Due to the lack of cold-weather gear owned by Naomi, she wore her own coat, Mommy's gloves, and Mommy's ear warmer. We also wrapped up in some blankets. We had a great time, although Naomi was sorely disappointed we weren't allowed to pet the sheep.

Study break for Daddy

Naomi was in the mood to cuddle, so Daddy took an unplanned study break!

Ultrasound results: IT'S A BOY!

It's gonna be a boy! Naomi will be getting a baby brother! The baby looked healthy on all points and is right on target weight-wise. We've attached a picture of him stretching his leg out over his head.

Helping with bookshelves

When my parents were here in November, Dad painted some bookshelves for me - yay! We brought the bookcases back inside after they left and Naomi appointed herself the official bracket-installer.

Ultrasound is this week!

We'll have our ultrasound on Thursday! Any bets on what we're having? I think it's a boy, but we don't have a preference one way or another.

thankyoumommy thankyoumommy thankyoumommy

Here's another of my favorite tidbits of Naomi's new habits: she occasionally uses please and thank you at the right time. She tends to repeat things a few times, so it usually ends up sounding like thankyoumommy thankyoumommy thankyoumommy . It's actually quite rewarding to hear those words from her!

Self-tattler

We may be in for a lot of years of tattling from Naomi - she likes it so much, she tattles on herself! She is impatient with her high chair, so I occasionally let her sit on a regular chair at the kitchen table. The rule is that she can be on her bum or knees, but she can't stand on the chair. I always know when she's about to try it because she starts saying "Sit down" before she even starts pulling herself into a standing position!

Same thing with the Christmas tree - there are some bulbs within her reach, and we've told her she cannot touch them. She'll reach out for one, all the time saying "No touch". The little tyke knows exactly what's against the rules.

Halloween pictures.....FINALLY!

Naomi was a BYU cheerleader for Halloween this year. You don't see pom-poms in the picture because they were confiscated after she tried to use them as brooms in Matt's lab building. She held onto the mini M&M's package pretty much the whole time we were there...perhaps she was being greedy, but more likely she saw Daddy's eye on the package for himself!

Snorty face

Here's Naomi's snorty face - she likes to play around with sounds and facial expressions (and she has a fun new dress on - always a good opportunity for a picture!).

Grandpa VS. Grandma

While my parents were here, Naomi learned to say Grandma and Grandpa. Applying the correct title to the correct person was a little harder, though. She basically used the terms interchangeably. I think my parents were amused by this.

At the grocery store today, Naomi spotted someone who looks like my mom (or at least has the same color hair and hairstyle). Naomi immediately commenced pointing and yelling "GRANDPA! GRANDPA!" I'm hoping the lady didn't notice!

Naomi's latest sayings and doings...

PLEASE!! (Used at appropriate times, too - she's already excellent at manipulation.)

There she is! (When she pops out from hiding, she copies the phrase we use.)

Airplane! (Whenever she hears an airplane, she gets really excited about trying to find it in the sky, and she is usually the one that ends up pointing it out to me. Also, she says this pretty much all day long when she wants to see an airplane, so sometimes we take airplane-watching expeditions outside.)

When she wants to leave a place, she starts telling everyone goodbye.

She likes to sing "This Old Man", but she just sings that first phrase over...and over...and over...

And the fun goes on and on. We just thought we'd share these few tidbits with you.

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa Jones

My parents came down for a surprise visit in the beginning of November, and we had a great time with them! The morning after they left, Naomi roamed the house looking for them and asked about Grandma and Grandpa all day. (She still talks about them sometimes.) We did some fun things, but unfortunately the cameras didn't come out during most of the visit.

Grandma Jones bought Naomi a Dora book about Christmas with lots of flaps under which to look. These pictures are of the last evening of the visit when Naomi was staying up way past bedtime and checking out the Dora book with Grandma and Grandpa!

Buckelew Farm

Before Halloween, we took a trip out to Buckelew Farm (a pumpkin patch west of Tucson) along with some friends. Sadie and Naomi picked out their own little pumpkins, enjoyed all the animals in the 4-H animal enclosure, and got to ride on a horse-drawn trailer. The highlight, was probably their ride in a wheelbarrow!

Ladybug Naomi

This was Naomi's Halloween costume last year, but it happens to still fit her. She's been wearing it for days, over regular clothes and even occasionally over her pajamas as seen below!

Fish Stickers

Naomi got a strip of sea-themed stickers at a birthday party recently, and she decided to put them on her tummy. All of them. Not one to waste anything, we also pulled off the outline of the stickers and stuck that on her knee. This provided entertainment for an unbelievable amount of time!

Edward's new baby

I thought we should all celebrate the new addition! It's a Yamaha U-1, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Unfortunately, Edward has now realized how many of his music books are on my shelves...

Bonus points to anyone who can identify the open score on the piano.

Halloween window decorations

Grandma Merrell sent some Halloween window decorations, and Naomi has had a great time with them! She positions them, surveys her work, and repositions. You can be anywhere in the house and ask her where the cat is, and she'll go right to these decorations.

Lunch Party with Teddy Bear

Notice Teddy Bear is wearing a bib - Naomi added that touch herself (but howled for help when she couldn't quite get it on without assistance).

First fat lip!

We were playing a game of chase today when Naomi tripped and smacked her mouth on the tile. The result? A little blood and her first fat lip! Our tough little girl got wiped up and was back to running and yelling "Chase!" within a minute.

I found a fun picture!

Here is a shot of Naomi and Lindsey (a friend from the Tucson Moms group) on a swing/teeter totter combo at My Gym. They both loved it and stayed on it for ages!

Hanging out

Naomi likes to hang out doing whatever we are doing these days. Here we stretched out on the couch, but with her energy level, we didn't stay there for long! (No, it isn't an exciting picture, but it's the only recent one that hasn't been posted...I am slacking in my picture taking!)

Triathlon

My second triathlon was September 9th at Yuba Lake (in Utah). We had a good time camping with my parents. I was sure Naomi would cry half the night and keep all the triathletes awake (although that could have been a defensive strategy, hmm...), but she did great and conked right out! She also enjoyed running around lots, the tent, and the yummy hot chocolate Grandpa made over the campfire.

In the pictures, you can see the swim start. Everyone got whacked a lot, but that's how it goes! The swim was tough - it was 1/2 mile. In the pool that's no big deal, but since this was basically my second time really swimming in open water, I struggled more than I thought I would. And I stopped on the bike leg to donate my spare tube and the use of my tire pump to another biker...and waited and waited and waited while he took forever trying to change the flat. Overall it was a good experience, though, and I look forward to my next one.

Naomi loves backpacks!

As the title says, she loves the things. She loves to wear them, and she loves the word ("BahPah, BahPah"). While Matt was in CO for a conference, Val and Naomi got to stay in Monroe and play. With a backpack.

Family Picture

'Nuff said...

After the big ride

We got to see lots of Val's family a few weeks ago and are just now getting pictures posted. One of the fun things we got to do was ride bikes down a river trail. It was fun, and pretty relaxed, and we got breakfast at the end of the ride. Unfortunately, by then the sun was out and beating down, leading everyone to cower in the shade of the bike-transporter (horse-trailer).

Socks with bells

While we were in WA visiting Matt's family, one of Naomi's favorite things to do was stand on this stool, and watch their cat Raja through the front window. One day, we found these socks with little bells sewn in, which resulted in this great photo-op.

Painting with the neighbors

Occasionally when Naomi and I are bored, we head over to the neighbor's house to see what craziness is going on over there. Sammy (age 5) and Caleb (age 3) are always good entertainment. On this fun day, they were painting with sidewalk paint, so we joined right in!

Merrell family pic

Here's a picture we took in Washington, moments before Kenny and Echo headed back to Utah.

Day in Seattle with Shane, Amy, and Sahara Watts

We got to spend a few hours in Seattle with Shane, Amy, & Sahara Watts, and here are some fun pictures! We tromped through Pike Place Market, wandered along the wharf, chased seagulls, and ended up at the children's playground in REI.