Toddler Talker

If you spend much time around toddlers, you realize they are sometimes hard to understand. They are developing their speech, and with any language there are some stumbles along the way. Ba does a great job at keeping up with LEs new words. Ry struggles a bit, and he realized how much he uses context to try and understand. As we enjoy many games, we decided to develop the "Toddler Talker". Watch the following videos and try to guess the words LE is saying. You can't see most of the props, so it might prove difficult even for you seasoned mothers and linguist out there. At the end of the post is the answer key to each video, so let us know how you did. One of LEs favorite words that didn't make the video is "Fa-gee", and neither of us know what it really means.











First video
milk, orange, cheese, ranch, cheese, plate, cup, mine

Second video
Elmo, dice, tights, headband, jammies, sock, baby, blanket, hat, blanket, pillow, tower

Last video
apple, boat, apple, doggie, ball, milk, car, bath, flower, cat, banana, duck

A little breezy

Two weeks ago we had a wind storm that cased a lot of damage, we were even with out power for 24 hours . We were lucky that in our little apt. area there wasn't a lot of damage. But driving down the street one could see a lot of trees down and power polls. The Sunday after the storm we went to church to find out that we would just be having sacrament meeting. The rest of the day we were asked to go help clean up the trees, to avoid more problems with a storm predicted that night. It was a very different Sunday but all types of people come out to help each other.



There were four tall firs, and now there is only one tall stump.
Hundreds of trucks were on the roads hauling limbs to the high school or landfill. It was a nice decoration for Christmas having garland strung along every street in the entire city.

The big dump truck at the end of the picture was filled with only a few trees in it. Nearly every pine tree that was over 30 feet tall was blown over.


On a lighter note, we celebrate St. Nicholas Tag. It was fun to have LE get excited to see her shoe filled with candy and a gift.


I know this shirt is cheesy but it is so true. LE loves to help out with whatever we are doing.


Ba is very excited when she was able to get LEs hair into two very small piggy tails. It only stayed in for about an hour but it was still able to be done. She will probably get her first haircut when she is 5.

Little Chef

We went on a hike last week and in turned out to be more of a scramble than a hike. It is kind of tricky with having a backpack on with a 19 month old in it.

We made it to our destination! That was close. We enjoyed throwing rocks into water, and finding the right path back to the car.

LE and Ba had fun painting glass jars and making them look like jack-o-lanterns. LE is at a very fun age, and learning so fast.

She has started learning the art of dress ups. After moving from trying on all the shoes in the house, she put on as many pair of pants on as she could-or that BA will help her with. She is sporting 4 in this picture.

One of our favorite games to play is hide and seek. Most of the time we just hide her "baby." She thought it would be so funny to hide herself and she chose to go in the block bag. It was very funny because it was clear, and she keep tipping over and wanting to do it again.


LE was a chef for Halloween, and it fits what she loves to do the most. Whenever either one of us is cooking she wants to be right in the action helping.

Our ward had a harvest fair, which turned out to be very fun. With LE's great cooking skills, she won an award for the creamiest pie in the contest. You would think her age played a role in skewing the judges decisions, but it was an anonymous entry.

This is a picture of us at the fair sitting on some hay.


This is a picture of us with a witch. LE didn't like them when they were close, but loved them when they were far away.

This is a picture of us dressed up for a Halloween party. Ba is a cupcake (with cherry on top), Ry is a receipt and cooking supplies, and LE is our little chef.

All five kids did not smile, but they also did not cry, so that is a bit of a miracle.
Ba put a lot of time into hand crafting this outfit, and it just might be the last year for that.

A new time Record

Sometimes Ry rides his bike to work. It is about 9 miles, and some days he goes super fast. Today was one of those days, and he was aiming for a new record. At one downhill stretch he was going 30mph and crossed a bridge. He looked behind him to find a gap in traffic to merge between cars when his front tire suddenly blew. It is hard to control a bike, and he started to panic right when the second tire blew. He didn't crash or get hit by a car which is good. Ba was not awake yet so he got someone from work to come get him because he was 2.5 miles from a bus stop. While walking down the road a not-so-ugly blonde pulled over and asked him if he wanted a ride. He politely declined, but thought it was pretty funny. In the end a new record was set for getting to work, but it definitely wasn't the fastest.

Klepto

Last weekend Ry went on an adventure with his brothers. Ba and LE were left behind. Sad? Yes, but it is good for Ry to get in some brother/man time. Ba was determined to have some fun as well, so they went to her sisters house for a day and a half of the trip. LE, Abe and Big Red had a swell time. Playing with shaving cream on the table was a big hit, but Abe was a little hesitant to getting messy.


When Ry is gone, what else is left to do but go shopping!! Ba found some nice clothes for LE for next summer which is always fun. At one store, Ba was checking out and LE was playing with some displays. While driving on the freeway, Ba noticed LE was pulling things out of the bag and was playing with some lotion. Ba didn't buy any lotion. Little pirate snuck her goods under the sensors, and right past the security cameras. Ba had a good laugh and turned around at the next exit and headed back to the mall. We had a little talk about making sure we pay for things before putting them into the bag.

The local town was throwing a safety fair. LE thought she was such a big girl when she was able to sit in the fire truck.


Waiting in line to sit up in the truck.


Aunt Netty and Uncle S were so nice and treated us to ice cream. Abe and LE shared a cotton candy scoop. It wasn't very good, but LE thought it was great. She looked like a little Smurf before she was done.

Over Labor Day weekend, the girls headed over to nick-knack heaven, Swiss Days. We like to get there early and beat all the crazy shoppers. It is always so much fun to walk around and see what decorating ideas other people have, and what the "hot" items are.



LE has become quite the pool shark. She is very sad that our complex pool is now closed for the season. If you look closely, she has just enough hair to make a tiny pony tail. That is 18 months of hard work.

Ba taught swim lessons to family, and she just loved teaching people of all ages. Below is our niece just figuring out how to side breath. Doesn't she look good?

flour power & 6 girls in 18 mo

LE and I having a great summer. We enjoy swimming, playing at the park and cooking together. LE loves to help out in the kitchen, especially when it comes to measuring and dumping. This morning we were making Zucchini bread. I turned for just a second and she dumped flour all over. And of course she had a taste!




Another day when I was making waffles she was helping load the dishes. There are two things on the door that shouldn't be there: a cup of flour, and LE.

We were getting ready for the blessing of the last of the "Sixlets." All six siblings in my family have had a baby girl within the last year and a half. We decided to take pictures of all the little ladies in their blessing dresses. I think LE's dress fits better now than when she was blessed. Her arms and neck are about the same thickness, she is just longer.
The Lake family came to the blessing, so LE had a chance to play with "Elephant", her cousin from Washington who is 4 days older. They are just getting their heads suck in non-regulation railings.
It was a great day at Wheeler Farm. LE liked the wagon ride and of course all the animals. It is a little gross when she tries to give them kisses.

There are 14 grand kids on this side of the family with one more on the way. There are only a few looking into space, crying, and no nose picking!

The original six Lake kids holding all of their baby girls. A whole basketball team with a sub.

Two months in review

When we don't blog for awhile it means we are boring people and don't do anything or the opposite. Lets just blame the lack of updates on how much fun we have been having this summer. Last summer was a lot harder for Ba so we are making up for lost time. Here is a recap of some things we have been up to.

Ry's side of the family had a Reunion in Eden up Ogden Canyon, or if you are crazy and want to ride your bike, North Ogden Bypass. It was so much fun to play games, eat good food someone else prepared, and just play with family. LE loved having other kids to play with.

Here we are at a petting zoo, I think this was LE's favorite part of the trip.

She was all smiles the first time she was on the horse, she could have taken a few more laps.

Feeding the animals was a really funny to watch. I think both were scared. LE has learned to give kisses, so naturally the goat was an excellent candidate for some lovin.

She likes to push strollers around even when it has her cousin in it that weighs as much as her.

The Barn yard dog sprawled out- Do all farm dog have their tail cut off?

Family hike! It is hard to walk with a little body moving around all over the place.

Playing at the Lake, it was so much fun we skipped nap time. That is not mud on her face(but could have been), just Oreo.

Painting Dad's stomach with mud. Gotta love that man with a mega farmer tan!!

Playing with a stick on the beach. LE had a great time splashing in the water and going on boat rides.

LE likes to find BA's swim cap and goggles and try them on. It makes her eyes all squinty, and everyone gets a good laugh.


We had a great July 4th weekend, with a ward Breakfast, hiking, fireworks, and BBQ. It was the first weekend in 6 weeks that we were at home, we sure enjoyed sleeping in our own beds.


LE was very good during the hike sitting in her back pack, but at the end she just wanted to get out and walk. Well lets just say her legs had a hard time keeping up with the rest of her. This time it is mud.


Weekend get away! It was a wonderful thing. Ba's parents were so nice to watch LE while we went and hung out with some good friends down in St George. It was so nice to do things that you can't do with children around, like intense climbing/hiking.



It was Ba's first time playing real golf. We played best ball or it would have taken forever. Our teachers were very patient, and can you say SLICE!

We took a short cut through a small river to cool off. Ry was a very good ball gatherer. I think we ended up with 14 more balls then we started with and that is saying something for all the ones we lost.

We did a relay race with some people in Ry's family up in Idaho. You run two legs of about 5 miles, and we both felt very good about how we ran. Of course there is extra time waiting for other runners, so reading is nice.


Yeah, everyone on the team (except for one party pooper) wore tu-tu's. Others were embarrassed when they got passed making it so much more fun.

Camping the night before was also really fun. Ba cropped this picture, but she is wearing chacos with socks. Sick.


We participated in a stake Sprint Triathlon. We both took home some hardware for our performance.


Black ninja strikes again. It doesn't even look like she is trying hard.

This is Ry and he is extremely out of breath trying to catch the guy in front of him (Ed). His dad was talking trash to Ed so it motivated everyone to go faster.

Other pictures from the race.