Science Museum Fun!

We all went to the Science Museum on Wednesday. Surprisingly, my sister and I survived going to this huge place with five kids. (Surprising for me to survive anyway.) We actually had a lot of fun. The kids absolutely loved it and I saw some things I'd never seen before. My favorite parts were the demonstrations of how different things work (elements of sound, gravity, weather, etc.) Ethan LOVED the train exhibit and the water he got to play in. He also really liked the airplanes, building blocks, and every demonstration that involved a ball. I'm pretty sure Spencer's favorite part was the time we spent in the nursing room. :) We may have to go to the museum again sometime since all of the kids were pretty happy and very entertained for the entire 4 1/2 hours that we were there. Here are MANY pictures of our fun adventure. Sorry I left them huge. There were too many to edit.

At the Echo Tube.

Crazy Ethan



Playing in the water.

Spencer

This was taken just as his tower was falling.

So much concentration.

More concentration.

He loves phones.

Trying to take a seat and talk awhile.

Our weather guys.

On the train car.

Watching the trains.

Signing "airplane" by the planes.

Spencer

Looking at the fish.

Our very sleepy boys on the drive home.

Ethan's First Tattoo

A couple of weeks ago Ethan gave himself his first "tattoo". I actually have been waiting for him to do this for a long time, I just thought it would be with a Crayola marker not a black permanent marker. He found the marker in the desk that is in the room he is sleeping in. It was during naptime, so I didn't know he had done it until after his nap. He seemed pretty surprised by the mess on his arm when he woke up. I am now positive that he is right-handed since all of the drawings were done on his left arm. I was not smart enough to think of taking a picture BEFORE cleaning him up, so the pictures show a faded version of his work. Considering this is the first time he has ever drawn on himself with marker and he hasn't done it again since, I guess I have been pretty lucky in that respect.

For Daddy

These videos are especially for Daddy. Anyone else, of course, is welcome to look at them, just keep in mind that they were taken with my still photo digital camera as I have not yet been able to buy a tape for my camcorder. Turn up your volume!

We miss you Daddy!

Fun with Cousins

Over the past two weeks there has been a lot of chaos and a good amount of fighting, but, of course, there has also been a lot of fun. Ethan has enjoyed playing with all of his cousins. He has enjoyed watching movies with K, being "big brother" to Little L, and running around with Big L. All of the cousins have really enjoyed having Spencer around, and he loves to watch all of the kids play. The fighting, although normal, has caused me a bit of stress since Ethan has never really had anybody around to fight with. It sort of has a domino effect. K picks mostly on Ethan and Ethan picks mostly on Little L. Little L has also occasionally picked on Spencer. It has been fun for Ethan (and me) to always have somebody to play with, so I guess the fun is worth the chaos. Here are some pictures to prove it.

Thank Goodness...

It's been a while since I posted. I am busy helping my sister tame our 5 children. It's not always an easy task. Anyway, as I was flying here alone with my two children I gained a greater respect for humankind. I had two separate flights with an almost three hour layover. Not only did I have my hands very full, but it all started just before nap time. The kids did very well considering, but I was very stressed out all day. Luckily I was able to have Shaun help me to the gate. I don't know how I would have made it through security without him. It was a mess even with both of us. I felt lucky again when we were seated next to a nice woman, who was a mother, in our first plane. She really helped Ethan not to feel nervous during take-off and landing. She also got snacks out of Ethan's backpack (which he won't wear) while I was feeding Spencer. When we got off that plane a nice man stopped and offered to help me with whatever I needed, but of course the only thing I could think of was to have him take my kids for the remainder of the day. Since that didn't sound like such a good idea, I said "I think I'll be ok, thank you." I think he sensed I was lying. Oh well. I can't say much positive about the layover, but I did survive, after all. I did have one man tell me that he hoped I could now get a break (from childbearing) as my hands were so full. I guess that was nice. Our next flight was a little bit longer and we didn't get off to a very good start; Spencer had a blowout during take-off. We were seated next to another very nice woman who was a grandmother. She did a lot to entertain Ethan and even let him put his feet on her lap while he took a nap.
She held his hand as we walked off of the plane, too. When we arrived at our destination, we had to wait for my sister to pick us up. I struggled to get my baggage off of the carousel with Spencer in a Snugli. One woman was kind enough to pull one of my bags off for me, but I got the three larger ones. I then stood next to the carousel with four suitcases, three small carry-on bags and two children completely helpless and wondering what to do next. I watched everyone leave the area effortlessly with their bags and when they were all gone I decided to take my bags and my children, a couple at a time, to stand next to a wall where I was out of the way and waited for my car seat that was apparently stuck in the large items machine. When the airport employee finally brought me my car seat, she also helped me put my stuff on a cart and wheel it over to some chairs so that I could sit and wait. There are other things that happened that I am trying to forget so that I will dare to fly home so I won't mention them here. I would have been so relieved when my ride arrived, but it only meant three more hours of traveling in a car. Needless to say, I survived, but on that day I thought I might not. All I can say is THANK GOODNESS there are still plenty of people in this world who are kind enough to help when they see a need. I may not have made it otherwise.

Sleep Disturbia

So Shaun mentioned in the last post that Ethan likes to wake Spencer up in the middle of the night. This is true. I don't quite know what the thrill of it is, he just seems to think it's something worth waking up for. It started with screaming, but now he has decided it's more fun to wake him by laughing loudly. Although it is a very naughty thing to do, it is hard not to think it's funny when I am awaken in the middle of the night by my son laughing at nothing in his dark bedroom. The funniest thing about it is that when I go in to save Spencer from this obnoxious awakening, Ethan is always just laying in his bed. The first time it happened I expected him to be by Spencer's crib laughing AT Spencer, but apparently the laughing is FOR Spencer. Ethan has also begun to wake up earlier in the morning than usual. This is very disheartening to a mother who has had almost perfect sleepers for children basically since the day they were born. In fact, through my entire pregnancy with Spencer I slept until at least 8:00 most mornings, and the only times I didn't get a nap it was my fault, not Ethan's. When you get more sleep than you could dream of during an entire pregnancy, you dread the sleepless nights that inevitably will come with having a newborn. I just never expected that my 3 month old would sleep better than my 2 year old who allowed me to sleep so much while I was pregnant! His naps have been unpredictable lately, too. Sometimes an hour, sometimes three. He also likes to have a crying session for about 15 minutes when he wakes up from his naps some days. I thought maybe he just didn't need naps anymore, but when he fell asleep at lunch, I decided that wasn't the case. (Luckily Grandma was smart enough to take some pictures.)
So while I try to figure out how I can make Ethan's sleep more fulfilling for him (and me), I guess I should try to enjoy the fact that Spencer sleeps all day AND all night because he will be two one day also.

Spencer's First Laugh

Spencer is getting big. At almost 3 1/2 months he's as cute as ever. He's like a cat in a lot of ways. He eats and sleeps all day. Emily got him to laugh for the first time today. Spencer is still disturbed by Ethan's spontaneous shreaks of joy so we're hoping there won't be any long term effects. Ethan and Spencer share a room. Ethan likes to wake up during the night and scream to try and wake Spencer. He's been successful. Spencer likes to gaze at us, even when we're not paying attention. We look over and he's got a big grin on his face. Adorable...what more can I say?

Ethan Chews Gum

Yesterday Ethan and I were sitting at the computer and I noticed a piece of gum in front of me, so I popped one in my mouth. Well, my 2 year old who always mimics his daddy decided he wanted a piece too. So little by little I fed him the stick of gum, constantly checking to see if he was swallowing it. I kept saying "chew" and he would follow by saying "two" while holding up his fingers. "No Ethan CHEW" I said. "TWO" he replied back. "No Ethan "CCCHHHEEEEWWW" I said slightly frustrated. Ethan then said "One". So I gave up on that and just watched his mouth. He knew exactly what he was doing. He chewed that gum for hours like he was trying to quit smoking or something. Yet again our son impresses with yet another amazing feat. WELL IT WAS AMAZING TO US...OKAY. Shaun

Splish Splash

Well hello there everyone. Emily has done a great job keeping up with our blog. Our kids are growing up fast, getting cuter by the minute. We are wrapping up on the move from Orem to Lehi. Everything has gone exceptionally well. The only bloodshed came from the big toe of Grandpa Dibb. While helping me move an entertainment center he somehow managed to peel back his big toenail. OUCH! Well that’s what he said. The doctor said it would take a year for it to fully grow back. He kept the nail as a reminder not to help his kids move again. J/K Ethan loves to splash in his little pool. We went out today and he played while dad snapped some shots. Emily's parents are on an Alaskan cruise right now. LUCKY! Tomorrow, Emily's brother R. Jay and I will be wrapping production on "Iron...ic Horror 3". It's the third installment to my iron killing horror trilogy. I'm working at Hollywood Video now. It's a fun job. I love conversing with customers about movies. It's an occupation right down my alley. Getting free rentals is a nice perk. There's a bill we won't have to flip anymore. Shaun

My Genius Son

So Shaun and I (like most other parents) have decided that our little Ethan is a genius. My sisters and mom can vouch for the fact that I love to brag about all of the intelligent things he can do. It all started when we realized that he has a special talent for and interest in computers. We think he gets this from his Daddy. When he was about 18 months old he started to play on the computer. At first we thought it was really just playing, but we soon noticed that he was able to point and click on very small buttons. He also liked to change settings and create his very own new folders on the desktop. Now I don't know about anyone else, but I think that kind of hand-eye coordination can be difficult for even some adults to master. It took a while, but I finally decided to let him play some computer games on the internet. They are made for toddlers, but I was amazed at how quickly he mastered the Care Bears matching game (it has the same rules as "Memory") he plays on their website. He has actually become bored of that one I think. His other two favorite games are alphabet games. As a result of playing those games he can recognize all of his letters and knows that E is for Ethan. Ethan is also able to recognize and name all of the basic shapes and is learning his numbers and colors. Of course there are other things that show his intelligence like all of the new words he uses everyday, his ability to draw, and all of the ASL signs he has known for some time now. We are kind of hoping that he will be eager to teach his little brother all of the things he knows so that we can think we have a prodigy when Spencer is two. It has become obvious to me that if it weren't for computers our bright little buddy may not be so bright, so I am thankful for the advancements in technology that have been made possible by people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Now if only the computer could teach Ethan how to use his potty...

My First Blog

So I (Emily) never thought I would do one of these things because I can never think of what to say in things like this, but my brother-in-law just started one and Shaun thinks maybe mine will be as good as his. Although I don't agree, I thought I'd give it a try. I guess for this first post I will just say what's going on in our lives right now. I am just trying to get used to the stress of having a 2-year-old and a newborn. It isn't easy, but it is definitely worth it. Ethan just took his first trip (with Mommy, Daddy, Spencer, and Grandma Dibb) to Lagoon last week. Of course, his favorite part was the train and he didn't want to get off. He and Daddy also went on their first camping trip this weekend (in Provo Canyon), and Shaun decided after getting only a few hours of sleep that it will be a while before they try that again. Ethan did love running around in the great outdoors and building a fire with Daddy, but was extremely tired when he got home. Spencer was blessed on the 19th. Shaun blessed him at Mom and Dad Dibb's house with just family there and it was nice. Spencer is getting to be a fun baby now that he has smiles and coos to offer. He's a little fatty and we just love him. Although Ethan does like to pick on him, we're sure he loves him too. Shaun just found out today that his is not one of the top 15 commercials submitted to Heinz for a chance to win $57,000. That was a bummer, but all of us who love him know he surely deserved a spot. He does have another movie that he is working hard on right now, so that is keeping him busy and motivated. All four (wow, really, four!?!) of us are moving in with Grandma and Grandpa Dibb this weekend, and, although it's not the most ideal of circumstances, we greatly appreciate them and are excited to be able to spend more time with them.

Memories of Spencer

--Spencer loves to make people laugh. He sometimes thinks he's pretty funny. He also loves getting into things and is starting to realize when he's doing something naughty. When he gets caught, he quickly stops what he's doing and smirks. (September, 2008)

--Spencer finally cut his 7th tooth (first molar) on September 20, 2008.

--One day I went to get Spencer from his nap and he was sitting bent over in his bed blowing raspberries on his own leg. I stood and watched him for a few seconds since he didn't know I was there, and he briefly stopped to laugh and then went at it again. (June, 2008)

--All on the same day Spencer (finally) cut his third tooth, learned to crawl on his hands and knees, and learned to drink from a straw (and had his first taste of cow's milk). It was a big day for him! (5/15/2008)

--Spencer's favorite way to dance is to shake his head. We can't decide if he likes music or not! :) (Spring, 2008)

--Spencer loves to play with his tongue. He sticks it out all the time, especially when he's happy. Most of the time he just sticks it out a little bit and it's pointy. It is so cute! (2007-2008)