The New Cake Boss?

Atticus loves YouTube. He asks to watch his engine videos (12 minutes of a steam train leaving and entering stations in Wyoming, crossing bridges, etc., filmed with a handheld camera by some old guy), but he always ends up at the cakes.

Video tutorials for a train cake and a firetruck cake, specifically. He watches them with rapt attention. For the train cake they pipe a frosting track onto the plate. After watching them make two curved lines and add the cross ties, he got some paper and drew a set of tracks of his own. This was the first time he'd drawn anything other than scribbles. I was so impressed.

When he pretends to cook, he makes frosting. I swear there's a bakery somewhere in this boy's future.

Keeping Up with Atticus

Atticus is growing and getting smarter every day, every minute it seems. So I thought I'd record a few of his latest developments before I forget them.

• Today James found him playing with the outlet in his room. When James asked what he was doing, he said matter-of-factly, "Checking my email."


• James jokingly asked him if he wanted to come in the shower with him (Atty hates getting water on his head), and Atticus replied, "No tanks. I took a bath last night."


• We were on a walk earlier this week, and he would run ahead of me, stop, reach down to his ankles with an up/down motion, then start running again. When I got closer I could hear him making hydraulic "tchoo, tchoo" noises as he did it. Later I learned he was turning on and off his brakes. "Brake on, brake off!"


• Yesterday he was running at the park, but it was more of a gallop. James asked me if this was like the "Heidi Hop" Grandma would talk about, but I don't remember. Mom, what was the "Heidi Hop?"


• He still resists potty training a bit, but when he's successful he's soooo proud of himself and jumps around with his fists up and cheers. (Of course we jump and cheer with him.) During one of these celebrations, I asked if he was ready to get in the tub, and while still jumping, he said, "No Mama. I jumping."


• James made popcorn one night and put some parmesan cheese on it. Atty was excited for popcorn but when he tasted it, he made a face and said, "Cheese?" and wouldn't eat anymore. James asked if he wanted more, and he said, "No tanks. It doesn't taste very good."


• He's starting to really get into imaginative play. I love listening to him play trains and what he makes them say. Usually their conversations repeat our own conversations.


• We were playing trucks one day, and I asked what he wanted one of the trains to do. He tapped his temple and said, "I tinking, I tinking..." Then made his decision.


• I asked him if he was ready to get dressed one morning, and he replied, "No Mama. I got lots to do."


• When he's feeling goofy at bedtime he'll make his own versions of our bedtime songs. He'll insert whatever toy he's playing with into the song: "I am a child of God-wheelo," "Give said the little Toby," etc.

I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of now (there are a few poop-related ones, but I'm not sure this is the right place for those). James, can you think of any more?

We're Moving!

Before anyone gets excited, we're only moving a block and a half. Why, you ask, would anyone in her right might do such a thing? Several reasons, actually:

• Gorgeous apartment (if a little smaller)
• Cheap rent
• Back yard
• Central air

I recently got hired to take over my friend Konnichiwa's job as manager of several rental properties. (See previous post for more info on 'Nich.) They're moving to South Carolina for grad school, and I've long loved their place, so I applied for the job.

Our apartment is the biggest unit of a 5-plex, plus there's a triplex and a house around the corner. The owner is also thinking about buying the complex of studio apartments on the corner in the next couple years, which would increase our salary--and our workload.

The apartment is two story, with two large bedrooms and the bathroom upstairs. Downstairs is a large living/dining area with lots of light, and the kitchen and laundry. The kitchen opens onto the back yard, with a big shade tree and a lawn to play on and a little bit of space for a garden. Hardwood floors in the living/dining/entry, and did I mention lots of light? Yeah. Big windows. South-facing. And a lawn in front to play on.

We'll lose the ample storage space we enjoy with our two back rooms, but the closets in the new place are big, and maybe we can get creative with food storage in Atticus's room. We also have to trade our nice big washer and dryer for a smaller, stackable set, but since we currently have to run our dryer through four cycles to get one load dry, we'll probably still come out ahead. (I suspect there's a bird's nest in the pipes somewhere.)

If all goes as planned, we'll stay in the new place until we buy a house in a few years. Rent isn't free, but it shouldn't be more than $250/month. (We could choose a smaller/cheaper apartment for free, but we wanted the nice one.) With the savings in rent I'd like to get a second car and save for a house.

The biggest downside, though, is that we actually have to move. I'm really not looking forward to that part, especially since we'll be doing it the end of May/first of June, right when James is finishing the semester and I'm getting ready to go on vacation for a week. Considering I made James move last time during finals week, he may never let me talk him into moving again.

Wish us luck. We'll need it.

Birfday Party!!

Atticus turns three on Monday, and we had his birthday party today. This was his first "friend party," and he's been sooooo excited about it. We even practiced blowing out candles earlier this week. The party was pirate themed, and the idea was to have the kids dress up like pirates, but no one wanted to. Oh well. They still had fun. We had it at the church to give them more room to run around, which I think was their favorite part.

Around the table (counterclockwise from Atticus): Atticus, Abby, Ella, Aubrey, Alex, Mia, Henry, Cardon

In the back (left to right): Baby Ethan, Konnichiwa, and Dennis (Mia's family); Aubrey (Cardon's mom); Patricia (Alex's mom)

Aubrey and Patricia are my gym buddies, and Konnichiwa watches Atticus twice a week when I go to work. I watch Abby's little sister, Shannon (not pictured), each Friday. I was really happy that my brother Mike was able to come with his three kids. Henry is just a couple months younger than Atticus, and they have a good time together.

Mia finally got into the whole pirate thing. I don't think it lasted long....

Opening presents was an adventure, because Atticus wanted to stop and play with each toy as he opened it. But we kept him on task, and it worked out that there were enough toys for all the kids to play, and Atticus didn't mind sharing. He got lots of cool stuff, but his favorites are these two trucks from his aunts Erin and Heather. They make noise. And they're in bed with him right now.

Atticus had a great time, and it really wasn't that hard to put the party together. We'll have to do it again next year. :)

Shatner Love

I'm listening to this album after a long hiatus, and it's just pure genius. From the shockingly vulnerable "What Have You Done?" to the goofy "I Can't Get Behind That" and the honesty of "Real," it's just an amazing album. A friend couldn't get past the fact that it's Captain Kirk, which is a shame, because it goes so far beyond that. I love this part from the end of the title track:

"Has been" implies failure - not so

"Has been" is history

"Has been" . . . was

"Has been" . . . might again

Recent Photos of a Cute Kid

I know I haven't blogged about Atticus in a while, so I thought I'd make up for it with a few random photos. I love love love the above photo. The look of concentration, the the hat riding up his head in a very cool way, the ears, the bangs. And we're at the Blue Plate Diner, which is always a good idea.

In these next photos we're at the Discovery Gateway children's museum. We bought a pass, which has been a great investment for us, and not really all that expensive. Look how carefully he's "sawing" this block:

And success! I don't know exactly what he's excited about, but I was thrilled to capture this moment of glee.

This last one is another favorite. I peeked in on him during his nap one day and found his hands up by his chin like this:

I just had to sneak back in with the camera and capture his sweetness.

He's growing so fast, developing his intellect and personality faster than I can keep up.

A small gripe

You know, some things just rub me the wrong way. Like people putting the Word of Wisdom label on their own personal brand of nutrition. For example, in college I found a book called The Word of Wisdom Diet, which banned meat, salt, and sugar. The recipes were pretty good (Dad's response to one recipe for stuffed peppers: "It would be better with meat and salt"), but I don't think the Word of Wisdom prohibits those things.

Then the other day I came across a new blog called Word of Widsom Living. It's nicely designed, and the photographs are lovely. Their ideas are pretty straightforward and nutritionally sound: eat more whole grain, limit sugar and fried foods, etc. But still it irks me. I mean, the Word of Wisdom doesn't say anything about sugar or fried foods. Would we be better off avoiding those things? Sure. But that's not the commandment.

I have a testimony of the Word of Wisdom, and I admit that I don't follow the guidelines as well as I would like to. But apart from a few specific prohibitions, the guidelines are broad, and for good reason. I believe that it's up to each of us decide for ourselves what the commandment means in our lives. In Relief Society once a woman made the comment that she had some health problems, and through much prayer and study, she understood what the WoW meant for her. She didn't specify details, and I was tempted to go ask, but then I realized that what fits her needs may not be what I need.

So there's my soapbox for the day: your diet/lifestyle program/nutritional guidelines may have much merit, but please don't call it the Word of Wisdom.

Thanks.