Videos of the Boys

Elliot likes to push himself around in circles to get to new objects. After he turned himslf around he had a cute little conversation with me.

L Crawling from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Landon gets better at crawling everyday. The safety gate by the stairs is officially in use.

L & E 11/28 from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Here's Elliot doing the circle trick again. Sorry about the dishwasher running in the background.

Thanksgiving

I tried to talk Brooks into going to Arizona for Thanksgiving, but was told a few times "no way." Thanksgiving Break is prime studying time for finals. So we decided to make the best of it and have Thanksgiving at our house. We had 18 people and 5 babies over. It was a crowded house, but we really enjoyed the company. Everyone brought something to share for dinner and there was way more food than we could eat! As people were arriving, there was a light snow falling..the first time it's snowed at all since we've lived here. Us Arizona people thought the snow added perfectly to the festive mood. We missed being with family, but stayed busy and enjoyed our day with friends.

This is some of the food...after the dinner was over.

I took on the turkey this year and was a little nervous about doing my first turkey. Thankfully it turned out well. I ended up brining the bird and was pleased with the result. After the turkey had been carved and eaten, I realized that I never took a picture of the bird just out of the oven. How sad! All that work and now it is gone (other than a few leftovers in the fridge.)

This is Samantha with Elliot. Her and her husband, Jeremiah, came over early and helped get the tables all set. She brought some flowers for centerpieces and cute Thanksgiving napkins. The tables were very festive! They also stayed and helped us clean up after everyone left. Thanks for all your help guys!

Earlier in the morning, Brooks went to play football with the men in the ward. Long story short, he accidentally elbowed someone in the face during the game. The person he hurt happened to be the previous bishop in our ward and the elbow did some damage to the bishop's lip. He might even need stitches. Brooks felt really bad and it was not a fun way to start Thanksgiving Day!

Food Saver

Since the day we moved in to our house in Spokane, I was not thrilled with how our oven worked. It seemed to burn things quickly, especially baked items. Heidi recommended that I get an oven thermometer (mainly because I was in charge of the Thanksgiving turkey this year). I bought one earlier this week. Come to find out, my oven was heating up about 40 degrees warmer than the outside temperature was set at. No wonder I was having so many oven problems. These handy little gadgets cost about $10. Well worth the money for me!

Free Food

Jen, Marissa, Cassie, me & Tiffany

Last week I went with some of the other law school wives to Wingers to eat. They had a "ladies night" deal Tiffany saw on Craigslist where girls could get a free dinner. It happened to be the same night Twilight came out, so we all ate free food and then a few of them went to see the midnight showing. I ditched out on the late showing and went the next night with some other girls. The "Sticky Fingers" were good, and the best part was they were free!

Play Ball

Sunday Drive to the Snow

Brooks and I took a Sunday drive up to Mount Spokane and this is what we saw. While it was raining like crazy in Spokane for the last couple of weeks, it was snowing up on the mountain. Still no snow here in Spokane which is fine by me. There is a ski resort at the top of the mountain. It is only about 45 min to an hour away from our house.

This is right by the ski place. I could see Brooks dreaming about snowboarding already. There were people up there with their boards even though there wasn't much snow left. If it wasn't Sunday, Brooks might have asked to borrow a board for a few minutes.

Forward Motion

Landon has been really close to crawling for about a week. He would move forward a bit, but then end up pushing himself backwards. Today, he finally figured it out. We got home from church and he went crazy! For some reason, the paper church program was very interesting to him. Everytime he would get to the paper, we would take it back and have him try again. Mean? Maybe. But, I am pretty sure I'm not the first ever to do it. He didn't seem to mind. So far, he is doing a very traditional crawl...no army crawling for him yet. Now I won't be able to leave the two boys alone in the same room for very long. Elliot can't defend himself from a brother who can come and get him. Elliot may figure out how to crawl just so he can get away from Landon.

Landon also pushed himself from his tummy, to his side, to a sitting position for the first time. He had a big day!

Finished Product

Here are the before and after pictures of the boys room. I'm finally getting around to posting these. We covered the three pink stripes with one thick brown stripe. I really like it.

Before...

1st coat of primer...


Starting on the brown...


Finishing the brown...

Voila! I ended up hanging the crib blanket on the wall because they don't use it. I like it!

While I was posting pictures of the house, I thought I would just post a few more of the rest of the house. I didn't post all the rooms, but you get the idea.

Basement

More basement

6 Month Pictures

Hi Max

This is for my brother, Max, who is on his mission in Brazil. I just found out he can link to my blog if I put the link in an email to him. Hopefully he can watch it. We love you Uncle Max!

I Had That First

Obama Fans

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are


No matter who you voted for, this is a funny video! Thanks Donelle for posting this. I hope you don't mind me using it.

6 months

Landon and Elliot are now 6 months old (on the 13th.) They are growing and changing so much everyday. They are more content to sit and play and are really starting to notice each other more. Sometimes they are both on their tummies playing and Elliot will look up and say something to Landon. Landon will look up and give him a big grin. I am really enjoying this stage they are in. They are content to play on their own with toys and are just happier babies now. They have changed so much over the past six months!

Landon likes to move. He starting to sit up more although he is still pretty wiggly. He rolls both directions and is moving more and more everyday. Just recently, he figured out how to get up on all fours. He will rock back and forth from this position and try to scoot his legs forward. In just a matter of days, he has gotten better and better at this. Another thing he does is push off with his hands and move backwards. Within a few minutes of laying him down, he has worked his way to another spot in the room. He also likes to push himself in circles while he is on his tummy to get to new toys and objects. When he is in the jumperoo, he goes crazy. Sometimes, he gets frustrated because he can't make his body move in the direction he wants it too. Landon is sleeping pretty well at night. He is more stubborn about bedtime, but when he finally gets to sleep, usually between 8-9, he sleeps through the night. He is up around 6:30 or 7:00 everyday. He has good and bad days, but overall I can't complain. He started solids a couple of weeks ago and is still not a big fan. So far he has had rice cereal, green beans, sweet potatoes and pears. None of it seems to interest him. He will do okay for the first couple bites, but then he's done. In fact, he just pushes his lips closed when he doesn't want it anymore. I don't want eating to be negative for him, so we are taking it slow. Landon laughs and smiles all the time. When he is happy, it shows in his whole body. Some of the things that make him happy are clapping hands, peek-a-boo, big smiles from mom, looking at Elliot, watching other kids, watching Cole, the jumperoo, chewing on toys (especially rings), playing with daddy, being outside, tickles and moving. Landon now has his two bottom teeth and is drooling like crazy.

Elliot is such a sweetheart. He smiles almost every time I look at him and talk to him. Elliot will still sit and snuggle with me. I love it! Over the past couple of weeks, he has gotten really good at sitting up. If he is laying down and gets fussy, I just sit him up and that seems to do the trick. He will sit and play for even 15 minutes or so without any tipping over. I love watching him sit and play! He is very observant and likes to watch what is going on around him. On the exersaucer and jumperoo, he will play with the attached toys instead of just sucking on them, which is more Landon's style. He is also rolling over all over the place and will push himself in circles while on his tummy. Elliot is starting to pull his legs underneath his body, but hasn't figured out being up on all fours yet. Elliot loves playing with his feet. His latest self discovery is his hands. He will clasp them together in front of him, and he just recently learned that he can open and shut his hands. He does it all the time! He is doing okay with solid food and has tried rice cereal, green beans, sweet potatoes and pears as well. Sometimes, he just pushes all of it right back out with his tongue, but other times he attempts to eat and swallow. A huge accomplishment for Elliot about a month ago was, he learned to nurse without the nipple shield. (TMI??) I am loving this new talent of his. It makes nursing much less messy, he can eat faster and I don't have to go looking for a shield at every feeding for him. (Now if I could just get Landon to quit using one...) He likes to be in the highchair and look out the back window or watch mom in the kitchen. When I grin at him from across the room, he lights up. It sure is fun to be loved! No teeth yet for Elliot, but he is chewing on everything he gets his hands on. Some of the things that Elliot loves are turning pages of books, smiles from mom and dad, being by Landon, the exersaucer, sitting up (much better than laying down), peek-a-boo, sneezing noises, chewing on toys, being outside (if it's not too cold), watching Cole, playing with Daddy, and listening to singing. Elliot is a pretty good little sleeper. He goes to bed around 6-7 and gets up between 6-7 the next morning. Sometimes he wakes up around 11:00 pm and eats...it just depends on the day. I can actually sleep 8 hours at a time if I go to bed early enough and this is fantastic for me!

Even though being a mom is hard, I am so grateful for everyday I get to spend with these little boys and watch them grow and learn.

Costco Cart

Going to the grocery store is a big deal around here. When I get the boys out at the store, I have a few options: put both car seats in the cart, or put one car seat in the cart and carry the other boy in a front carrier. Either way is tricky. When both car seats are in the cart, there is no room for groceries. If I carry one of them, it is hard to grab things off the shelves. We make regular shopping trips without too many problems though. I was looking forward to when the boys could sit up in the Costco cart because there is room for both of them. That time has finally arrived. They seemed to enjoy this new way of shopping, and I liked having my hands free and room in the cart.

Movin' On Up

Landon learned this new trick today. It's crazy that all of sudden he can get up on all fours! When all of our visitor's were here, he didn't do this, but just a few days later, he figured it out. This afternoon, I noticed him doing it and he was working on it for quite a while. Over the course of 15 minutes or so, he went from getting up onto his hands and knees to trying to move his legs forward from that position. He wants to crawl! It was fun to watch him practice his new found skill. He also pushes himself backwards with his hands when he is on his tummy. In a matter of seconds, he pushed himself under the coffee table and was almost stuck. He was not happy about that. I walked back in from the other room to find his legs and lower body shoved under the table. He'll figure out going forward eventually.

Nanay Was Here

A few days after my parents left, Brooks mom was able to come and visit. We love having family around to spoil Landon and Elliot. It was great to have her here. I was able to go the grocery store by myself while she watched the boys! On Sunday, Brooks taught his primary class for the first time and I had both boys. Luckily Nanay (aka Grandma Susie) was here to help. I honestly don't know how I am going to do that with both boys by myself, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. The past week has been rainy and chilly all day, everyday and so we spent a lot of time inside hanging out with the boys. On Monday night, Nanay watched the boys while I got to go to an event at the law school with Brooks. Ken Starr (best known for his role in investigating the Clinton scandal) spoke about first amendment rights. We were hoping for more dirt on the Clinton's but had to settle for a discussion on freedom of speech. I had tried going to an event with Brooks a few weeks ago, but couldn't find a babysitter. (Probably because I didn't try very hard.) Lucky for me, I had a willing babysitter for the evening and was able to spend the evening with Brooks. Landon and Elliot both decided they wanted to stay up late and give Nanay a hard time while we were gone. Silly boys! Before she left on Wednesday, we were able to go to Value Village here and stop by Dick's (a burger place) on the way to the airport. We already miss her!

We did go down to the mall one day to get some 6 month pictures taken of the boys. They were both so good.

I didn't get my camera out much for some some reason, but the following pics are ones she took while she was here.



Elliot loves turning these flaps on the exersaucer. You can see how hard he is concentrating.

One afternoon when the temperature wasn't too bad and the sun was sort of shining for a few minutes, we bundled up the boys and went for a walk. Elliot was not thrilled with the cold weather and the walk didn't last too long.

Nanay also took a couple of videos of the boys.