John Quotes ~ Vol. 8

John: This is your choice Mama - do you want to play with me or... play in the sink with me. What do you choose?
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His cousin gave him some Berenstain Bear books and he loves reading them. Whenever I ask him to pick out a book for story time, he picks one of those books. He calls them the "Bear-slene bears" =)
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John: Mom, you can't play with me right now.
Me - pretending to be sad but secretly thinking of all the things I could do with a little "free time": What am I going to do???
John: Well... (pause), you can clean the diapers!
Me: Good idea! (not quite what I had in mind!)
- - -
John: Where's my lollipop?
Me: I threw it away because you weren't being nice.
John: Let me see... (looks in the garbage)... Oh - my - gosh, I can't believe you threw my lollipop away!
Me, stunned and holding back laughter: Well, John, you need to be a nice boy to have a lollipop.
- - -
John singing: ♫ a b c d h i k l m o p ... q r s t u v w x 10 2 3, now I know my ABCs next time won't you sing with me. ♬
(I love how numbers were inserted in the ABCs)

John Quotes ~ Vol. 7

Me: John eat your dinner because we need to go.
John: Where's Daddy?
Me: He's going potty.
John: That's amazing that you can hear him go pee-pee. That's amazing!
- - -
I was singing the Hokey Pokey and got to the end...
Me: ♫ That's what it's all about! ♪
John: No it's not!
- - -
John: Actually, Mama, I love you!
Me: I love you too Johnny! You're my sweet boy!
John (without missing a beat): Boogers live in my nose.
Me: Oh
John: Do boogers live in your nose too? I wanna see your boogers.
He looks up my nose... {I'm pretty sure there weren't any boogers in there...}
John: I think your boogers are stinky!

Egg Wars 2012

This year's Egg Wars was pretty exciting! There were 18 competitors and the winning egg beat 14 of them!! This is an unprecedented victory! The competition began on Easter Sunday. The winning egg entered the battle on Monday, fought tirelessly the whole week and became victorious on Saturday, April 14th!

The fun part about this year was that John could participate. He really loved doing it every morning and  he called it "Egg Yolks" - "I wanna do egg yolks mamma!"

And the winning egg was......

"Daddy!"

You can read more about this fun Easter tradition from 2010 and 2011.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

...we have a tooth! Yesterday Peter Julian cut his first tooth (bottom right)! Last week was a long week for me with this little guy and his big brother. There were two nights in particular where I was feeling pretty down about my parenting skills. But it was encouraging when we realized that Peter was teething. Maybe that's why I was having a rough week. However, that doesn't explain John's misbehaviors... Who knows what's up with that almost-three-year-old! He's a different story! I'm pretty sure Peter is working on cutting another tooth, so I'm expecting another crabby week for him.

{Update: Today, on 2/23, his second tooth broke through!}

It's hard to capture a picture of the tooth itself, so I got this video of him where you can kind of see the tooth (FYI - you won't see the tooth until the very end of the video):

Today Peter is officially four months old! A few weeks ago, we decided to try him out in the crib. Here is our new routine: He falls asleep in our arms in the living room. We coax him into a deep sleep in the glider. When we think he is in a deep sleep, we transfer him to his crib and wait it out. By golly, the first night we did this, he slept in his crib from 10:30pm to 3:30am! The second night from 10:30am-6am!!!!! Since John slept in our bed until he was a year old, I was kind of sad with the prospect of Peter sleeping on his own at such a young age. The first couple of nights were lonely for me, but if he is ready, then I don't want to hold him back. Plus, when he wakes up I bring him to our bed and we sleep/snuggle for the rest of the early-morning. He usually sleeps in our bed until about 8:30.

Here is a cute video of Peter that I took today. He is quite the jumper!

John and Peter are interacting a lot more. John always wants me to put Peter in the Jump-a-roo so that he is at his level. Peter is very content watching John play and I can see in his eyes that he wants to jump right in and join him! That will happen soon enough! John also loves to make Peter laugh. Here is a great video of the giggling duo:

John Quotes ~ Vol. 3

There is never a dull moment around this house. John is quite the talker and has a great sense of humor. Here are some quotes that I managed to write down over the last month or so:

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His critique of some homemade grape juice: "It's not sour, Mamma. It's very spicy!"

"Look my did!" (instead of "look what I did")

"This mines?" (instead of "is this mine?")

"Some-be-people" (instead of "somebody") Example: "Some-be-people live in that house."

When Peter was crying: "Oh, Peter, you're fake crying."

After trying to use the potty chair: "I put a toot in there! Come see!"

I was wearing a knit hat and John said, "I like your hat, it's really purple."

We were taking a walk and a sports car went by. The driver was revving his engine. After it passed, John said, "That car stinks!"

He gets to have a little cup of chocolate milk before nap and bed time. While he is drinking it he always puts his finger in his belly button. He calls this "belly button time".


Apparently I call Andrew "darling" a lot because John asked me one day, "darling had to go to work?"

When we were driving past a sign for a highway he said "That man lost his body" (In reference to the profile of George Washington).

What happens when a 2-year-old snatches your camera...

Egg Wars 2011

This event is a long-standing tradition in Andrew's family, and it is a fun way to add purpose to egg painting. Here are the rules that I posted on our blog last year:

1. Before we paint our eggs, we write a family member's name (or Saint's name) on them and they represent that person. We use a white crayon to write the names.
2. Each person uses their egg (since it is just me and Andrew, we will play for the other people we chose to represent).
3. You hold the eggs facing each other. One person goes first and taps their egg against the other person's egg (begin by doing nose to nose).
4. The person with the cracked egg turns the egg around to the other end and they tap that end to the other person's egg.
5. If both sides of your egg get cracked, the you are out and you punish your loser egg by devouring it with a dash of salt and pepper!
6. The winner goes on to challenge the other eggs.
Each day, we will tap eggs until we have two loser eggs (so we can each eat one for breakfast).

Click here to see a video of how it works (from the 2010 championship round).

Egg Wars 2011

Day 1
"Dad" vs. "Mom" ----> "Dad" is the winner!
"Dad" vs. "John" ----> "Dad" is the winner!

Day 2
"Dad" vs. "Baby" ----> "Dad" is the winner!
"Dad" vs. "Grandma St.H" ----> "Dad" is the winner!

Day 3
"Dad" vs. "Dymphna" ----> "Dymphna" is the winner! (*See note below)

Day 4
"Dympna" vs. "Grandma Sto" ----> "Grandma Sto" is the winner!
"Grandma Sto" vs. "Grandpa Sto" ----> "Grandma Sto" is the winner!

Day 5
"Grandma Sto" vs. "Grandpa St.H" ----> "Grandma Sto" is the winner!
"Grandma Sto" vs. "Joseph" ----> "Grandma Sto" is the winner!

Day 6
"Grandma Sto" vs. "Mary" ----> "Mary" is the winner!
Final round:

"Mary" vs. "Jesus" ----> "Mary" wins!!!!!

We felt bad that Jesus lost, but that's probably what He would've wanted anyway - He is a good Son and always puts His mother first! =)

*We will never truly know results of this years competition because on day 3 I accidentally tried to set a jar on "Dad" - the reigning champion up to that point. Needless to say, he got cracked and I sabotaged that round! =(

Elf Storage

Last December, when we came home from our trips to Bellingham, we noticed this sign:

(Photo courtesy of exit133.com)

We thought the "S" in "self" was just brunt out, but that it was a funny coincidence for the season. However, we also noticed that once Christmas was over, the sign was fixed! Hmmm, maybe it wasn't a mistake...

Sure enough, as we made our way back home from Thanksgiving, we were on the look out, and saw that the "Tacoma Elf Storage" was back! We were so excited, we actually cheered! I hope they keep it up every year so John can learn to appreciate it!

Playing with Blocks - Cutest Video Ever!

The cream spill of 2010

Last week, the kitchen became a disaster zone. As I was preparing Andrew's morning coffee, John was clinging to my legs and I accidentally spilled a full quart of cream all over poor Johnny and the floor!

Here is the aftermath:

John had to be stripped down - pronto! I wish I had a picture of what he looked like covered in cream - he had it all over his face and in his eyelashes! Poor guy!

Egg Wars 2010 - And the winner is..."

Today was the last day of Egg Wars.

In honor of it being the last competition, we took a video.

"Jesus" vs. "Grandma St.O"

Poor "Jesus." It's important to note the quotations around Jesus' name - because we all know that Jesus (with no quotations) is a huge winner because He conquered all sin! In light of this game, I am sure He is a Good Sport! =)

So we present to you - the winner of Egg Wars 2010... "Grandma St.O"

Good game, everyone!

Egg Wars - Day 4

Egg Wars 2010

I was placing my bets on "Grandma St.H" after her performance yesterday and her quick defeat of "Grandpa St.O" this morning!


After that battle, we had the Grandma's battle it out. "Grandma St.H" vs. "Grandma St.O"...

Guess who won...

Congratulations "Grandma St.O" - that sure was a surprise victory!

Tomorrow will be the final showdown - Between "Grandma St.O" and "Jesus." (Grandma Stockton told me this morning that she wants Jesus to win... I hope so too!) In honor of this grand event, we will be capturing every moment on video! Check back in tomorrow to find out who the champion egg will be for 2010!

Egg Wars - Day 3 (Posted one day later)

Egg Wars 2010

NOTE: I tried to post this yesterday, but my internet was being slow. I apologize to all of the fans out there who were probably refreshing this web-page every ten minutes to see if more results were in! Just kidding!!; )

Well, we had a busy morning yesterday, so we had to postpone the competition. But we made up for lost time and competed until we both had two loser eggs to eat for breakfast.

Day 2's champion - "John" - first took on "Grandma St.H"! We had high hopes for "John" because of his stellar performance on day 2. But alas, "Grandma St.H" had a little more gusto!

Poor "John" was quickly out of the running!"Grandma St.H" moved right along to compete with "Aaron."
It was an easy win for her though. I think "Grandma St.H" might have some steel in her shell!

So we brought out the godparents, "Lou" and "Jenna." Perhaps they could take down the mighty "Grandma St.H."

No such luck!

"Grandma St.H" has conquered for today!!! She skillfully took down four of her competitors! This leaves us in great anticipation... Will she be as strong tomorrow?

Egg Wars - Day 2

Egg Wars 2010

First up this morning: "Dad" vs. "John"

And the winner was... "John"!

Next up, "John" took on "Grandpa St.H."

With little effort, "Grandpa St.H" was soon cracked on both ends! "John" has been declared the winner for day two!!!

Just look at those poor, tasty losers:

Hooray for John!! Will his egg be able to defeat all the others? Stay tuned...

Commencement of "Egg Wars" 2010

The St.Hilaire family has a tradition of bumping their Easter eggs together to see which ones get cracked. We did this last year, for our first Easter together. I did take pictures of it but never blogged about it because I think I was pretty distracted in preparing for John's birth.

Here's how it works:

1. Last night we painted our Easter eggs - all of them have a family member's name on them and they represent that person.
2. Each person uses their egg (since it is just me and Andrew, we will play for the other people we chose to represent).
3. You hold the eggs facing each other. One person goes first and taps their egg against the other person's egg (begin by doing nose to nose).
4. The person with the cracked egg turns the egg around to the other end and they tap that end to the other person's egg.
5. If both sides of your egg get cracked, the you are out and you punish your loser egg by devouring it with a dash of salt and pepper!
6. The winner goes on to challenge the other eggs.
Each day, we will tap eggs until we have two loser eggs (so we can each eat one for breakfast).

Here are the contestants: Mom, Dad, John, Grandma St.O, Grandpa St.O, Grandma St.H, Grandpa St.H, Uncle Lou, Aunt Jenna, Uncle Aaron, Jesus, and Dymphna.

Today, the challengers were "Mom" (me) and "Dad" (Andrew):


Round one - nose to nose - "Mom" tapped "Dad" - and the winner was "Dad"!!!
Round two - bottom to nose - "Dad" tapped "Mom" - and the winner was "Dad" again!!!

Poor "Mom":
Today's winner is "Dad" - he will go on tomorrow to challenge "John"!

This just in: "Dymphna" has been disqualified due to a premature crack in her shell, thus our breakfast this morning was "Dymphna" and "Mom."

Who will win? Who will be the Champion Egg for 2010??
Tune in tomorrow for more results!

He just doesn't get it...

John's Cigar

When John was a small baby, we really only used his pacifiers when we were in the car and couldn't console him any other way. So John never got attached to using a pacifier and at this point he really has no clue how to "properly" use one. He has two of them and I keep them in his toy basket in the living room. Lately, the way he chews on them reminds me of a cigar:

Undressing at the Dinner Table

Yesterday, John kept trying to take his shirt off. He was almost successful at dinner time!

7 Quick Takes ~ Vol. 15

I know I'm supposed to do these on Friday... but oh well! They're just as good on Monday, right?

1. ACP Kickoff: Two Saturdays ago we had an Anti-Choice Project (ACP) kickoff party in our apartment. It was well attended and I think everyone had a good time. Then on Sunday, we had our first protest of the season. John and I went out with Andrew and every one else. It is always hard to be out there, exposing the horror of abortion. I have so much admiration for my wonderful husband, who is able to get over any fear he may have and stand up for the defenseless unborn! He's my hero.

2. Lullabies from Aunt Jenna: After John was born, his Aunt Jenna gave him a CD of her singing lullabies. For the last few months, I have been using the CD as John's bedtime music. We have a CD player right by his bed, and I press play whenever I am putting him down to sleep. We hear it three times a day, but it never gets old! It makes me sad to think that there are only two babies in the whole world that get to hear Jenna's lullabies (John and Jenna's other niece) - everyone else is missing out!

3. Visit from cousins: Two weekends ago, Ben and Angele, our cousins from the Kennewick area, came to visit us. Ben generously shared his skills and manpower to prune all of my parents' fruit trees. It's great being related to such talented people! ;) We also had a nice time visiting with them and playing some Tile Rummy. We hope they come back soon!

4. Clean kitchen: I've been trying to keep our kitchen cleaner... it has been a long battle, because I really enjoy getting it messy (aka. cooking and baking). Last week I did a pretty good job of keeping it clean throughout the day and then also cleaning up after dinner. I proud of myself! =D

5. "Springing Forward": John and I definitely slept in until 9:30 today... but hey, our bodies think it's 8:30, right? Plus, we were up until 1:30am, so I think a late wake up time is OK for today.

6. Productivity: Even though it's only 12: 45pm right now, John and I have already accomplished so much! (Sense the sarcasm here?) While I was getting ready this morning, John found his liquid bath soap and managed to unscrew the cap and pour the contents on the floor! - Great start to the day!

7. John turns 10 months old today! It's hard to believe that he will be a year old in two months!! Here are some pictures I took this morning. I think he looks particularly bald due to the bad lighting... but he's still super cute!

Strike a pose, John!

Nice, looking good!

Wow, 8 teeth!? You're so handsome!

"Mom, enough pictures, already!"

Video of John Watching a Video of Himself

Yes, I know I'm weird... but I had to get a video of John watching himself on a video because it is SO cute! Here he is watching the video that I posted earlier today: