At the Movies

Twilight: 2008

New Moon: 2009

When I will stop letting my squealy, giggly, Lip-Smacker-wearing inner 12-year-old dictate my movie choices: NEVAH!

On Motherhood...

This blog post has been in the making for a few weeks, because it’s something to which I’ve been giving a lot of thought. I wrote it in part for myself, and in part for those people who wait behind me at the checkout line on one of those days when Weston is screaming and I look like I want to kill myself. It’s a reminder to me of the joys of this crazy, trying, uncertain “mom” job, written especially for when times are tough or when I might be too old to really remember how great it all was.

So, on with the post! And Weston... I love you.

JEAN'S TOP 20 LIST ON MOTHERHOOD

(in no particular order)

Weston sandwich

1. Knowing that there exists a child in this world who adores me and needs me, who comes to me and smiles at me and is comforted by me.

2. Hearing the glorious music of baby laughter. Enough said.

3. Watching him eat, run, dance, and sleep. These four activities have the endless ability to bring his cuteness factor to the near-bursting point.

4. Hugging him, snuggling him, holding him, rocking him, and basically embracing him in whatever way possible.

5. Rubbing my cheek into his head and enjoying the soft scent of his hair. I could stay like that for hours, days… just resting against him.

6. Hearing him yell, “Mama!” in the morning when he awakes.

7. Watching him concentrate and focus on something. I love when I can see the gears turning in his mind.

8. Observing the “first” everything of an entirely new human being.

9. Feeling so proud of him with every small accomplishment, and feeling so happy in a whole new way as I watch him develop and learn.

10. Seeing others be kind to him, smile at him, and take an interest in him, and seeing how much it means to him.

Pure joy on the trampoline

11. Knowing that I can bring someone great joy just by making a fool of myself (and readily and happily doing so).

12. Finding relics of him around the house, even when he’s not there (e.g., a toy car in the sink, tiny fingerprints on the TV, etc.).

13. Having toys, children’s books, and tiny clothes in our home, and realizing that they’re only temporary and that I am blessed.

14. Recalling his movements and his hiccups inside my tummy, and realizing that it was him all along in there, alive and kicking.

15. Experiencing childbirth. I believe that it is at the arrival of new life that we are nearest to the divine, and that no majesty exists on this earth above creation.

16. Feeling a new type of anguish for other children in this world, no matter where they may be, who I know are suffering.

17. Daydreaming about him (and my future children) growing up and having children of their own, and about holding and gazing at those tiny grandbabies.

18. Witnessing my own heart swell with love, and realizing that I want to be a good person more so that I can be a good example to him.

19. Having a new, immensely important purpose in life, making my role in this family both more critical and more meaningful.

20. Envisioning infinitely more happiness in my world now than before I knew what it meant to be a parent. That’s even with the heartache included.

Happiness

(The interspersed photos are thanks to Lauri at Lalee Photography, who took them back in August. They were spur-of-the-moment and just for fun, and Lauri, being way too humble, later sent them to me and then actually apologized for what she called their “not-awesomeness.” Lauri, you are crazy. They are AWESOME, and so are you. Thanks again!!!)

Shane and His Octaves

If you'd like a laugh, this one's a winner. Enjoy.

Why Front Doors Should Never Have Side Windows

...Because your landlord will do THIS when he comes by:

(Thanks for listening... I just had to vent.)

(And thanks to Tim for his assistance with the reenactment. Click on the photo for a close-up of his face, if you'd like a special treat.) :-)

Halloween Wrap Party

Welcome to the Halloween Wrap Party at the TIM & JEAN blog! Come and join us as we celebrate another successful Halloween. Here was the to-do list for this year's festivities:

1. Attend a sweet Halloween party
2. Remind Weston once again how awesome his Gangy is
3. Attend a Parent Ed class that is exploding with toddly cuteness
4. Visit a pumpkin patch
5. Attend a rip-roaring Trunk or Treat
6. Watch the best Halloween special ever
7. Bake Halloween sugar cookies
8. Go trick-or-treating!

Let's see how this year stacked up!

1. Attend a sweet Halloween party. (Check!)

Meet the out-of-work ninja:

Meet the gypsy:
Jenny's house was fantastically decorated for the evening, and there was even a crock-pot soup buffet:

Behold the table of sweet treats!!

It was so great that Octomom even showed up!!

Karla was a giant fish (and kudos to her for figuring out how to eat food):

Mike and Rebecca also rocked it, Japanese style:

The bobbing-for-apples was very amusing:

We all enjoyed it (really, you have to be a sport to go bobbing for apples, and they did great!):

2. Remind Weston once again how awesome his Gangy is. (Check!)

A special Halloween package from Gangy arrived one day:

There was sugary goodness inside!!!

There was also an extra-special gift, for which Weston went digging:

Ta da! It's Buzz Lightyear pajamas!

Aaaaaand he freaks out:

(There were even some goodies for Weston's momsy and popsicle! Mmmm Asher's...)

The next morning, he displayed his new PJs proudly:

What he says: "Finny!"

What he means: "To infinity, and beyond!"

3. Attend a Parent Ed class that is exploding with toddly cuteness. (Check!)

Tuesday's regular Parent Education class (where I get together with other moms and their toddlers for playtime and discussion) became a Halloween party when all the kids dressed up in their costumes.

Here's Jedi Weston with his lightsaber (which Tim and other Star Wars geeks will tell you should be green, not red, because red is the Sith color):

Did you know that some Jedi warriors like to play Kitchen?

And that some just like to play cars?

Occasionally, there are other things on which to focus besides the Force:

The other kids were so unbelievably darling! Check out Miss Bumblebee and Superman:

Here's another cute little bug:

And don't forget Supergirl!!

We all gathered for song time:

And then it was snack time! (Score!)

Weston got to sit next to his Yo Gabba Gabba buddy, Charlie:

I think snack time is the kids' favorite part of the class. You just don't get toddlers that are more organized or focused than this:

Later, I caught Weston sharing - yes, SHARING - so I had to snap a picture. (HE SHARED!!!!)

Before we all left, we attempted a group photo of the children. Naturally, chaos ensued:

Weston actually sat there very well:

This was the closest thing that I got to an orderly group shot:

And then Weston had had enough:

4. Visit a pumpkin patch. (Check!)

One night, we drove down the street to our neighborhood pumpkin patch. In most of the USA, pumpkin patches can be found at farms. In Los Angeles, pumpkin patches can be found in the vacant corner of a drug store parking lot (CVS, in our case). I used to find this to be sad, but now I find it to be very amusing:

But guess what?! They had a little pumpkin path!!

Weston was delighted:

5. Attend a rip-roaring Trunk or Treat. (Check!)

Our church's Trunk or Treat activity was held on October 30th, and it started with a dinner in the cultural hall and followed with trick-or-treating in the church hallways. (I suppose it was deemed too cold to "trunk-or-treat" outside in the parking lot?)

It was packed. (We combined with another ward. We're not this big!)

Plenty of chili, baked potatoes, and fixin's:

This being Southern California, there were also tamales (YUM!):

We chowed down:

This is (the back of) Emma ('s head). She is six, and she's one of Weston's love interests:

Look at Shelley's little monkey, Jett!!!

And look at the little Caleb-football!!! AHHH! I just exploded from cute overload.

Believe it or not, this is our bishop. Isn't that awesome?

Finally it was time to roam the hallways in search of sweets and treats! (Why is my shirt stuck in my pants?)

Weston hit his threshold for candy acquisition quickly:

6. Watch the best Halloween special ever. (Check!)

I know I'm probably alone in this, but Garfield's Halloween Adventure is my favorite. (It turns out that it's probably Weston's favorite, too. We ended up watching it five times! I think he really liked the house with the ghost pirates.)

7. Bake Halloween sugar cookies. (Check!)

Watch out! That cookie dough is spoooooooky!

Weston tried to bake the dough with his lightsaber, but unfortunately it didn't work:

8. Go trick-or-treating! (Check!)

Here's our Jedi again, with a homemade GREEN lightsaber this time (his father insisted), to match his allegiance to the Jedi as opposed to the Dark Side:

He used it more often as a walking stick than as a Jedi weapon, though:

And now for some photos without the flash! WHEEEE!!!

ZOOM!!!

The End. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!