Meeting Max

We had an eventful President's Day Weekend meeting our nephew, Max Bollard, for the first time. He is even cuter in person and appears to be amazingly well-behaved. I never heard more than a small sniffle out of him! It was interesting watching the reaction of our boys too. Ethan was delighted with Max, telling Uncle Joe that Max was, "so cute," and happy to hold him for a picture. Luke wasn't so sure about watching me hold another baby and for some reason refused to sit by Max on the couch.






On Saturday the whole gang drove up to Malibu for the Pepperdine vs. BYU Volleyball game. Our boys wanted nothing to do with the game and everything to do with the balloons decorating the gym. Maybe they just didn't want to witness the Cougars losing. Of course, it's a win-win for Will since he's an alum of both. Here's Will with Ethan back at the law school.




















On Sunday Joe & Tori blessed Baby Max. We are so glad we could be there for the occasion!

Our Own Little Linus

I'd like to introduce you to the 5th member of our family: a fuzzy blue blanket that Ethan has named "Bear" (because he used to be attached to a teddy bear, then transferred his affections to this blanket without bothering to change the name). Bear was sewn by a friend of ours and, ironically enough, was intended as a baby gift for Luke. While Ethan would prefer Bear be present for ALL activities, Bear's presence is an absolute necessity for Ethan to go to sleep. Yesterday Will attempted to put Ethan to bed without Bear and we instantly heard his frantic demand over the monitor, "WHERE BEAR?!" (Nevermind that he had two blankets, two stuffed animals and an adult-sized pillow in his toddler-sized bed to keep him company). We started to search for Bear, and searched and searched and searched. Ethan went on a frenzy looking for it in his room. Will checked the car and I tried all of the usual hiding places (under the kitchen sink, in the clothes dryer). We even let Ethan out of his room and tried to make "Find Bear" a new game in case he had intentionally hidden it. This went on and on until Will found Bear at 10:00 pm wedged behind (but not under where we had checked) a couch cushion. At 10:15 all finally seemed right in Ethan's world until I heard a little voice over the monitor say, "Mommy, I throwed up." Yep, that's right--"throwed up" all over Bear! So, Bear spent the night in the washing machine and our poor little Linus went to bed minus Bear after all.

My Amazing, "Handy" Husband

We're not exactly what you'd describe as "handy" around the Bollard household. My home improvement skill level comes to an abrupt end after I hang a few pictures on the walls and you definitely won't find us at a Saturday morning "do-it-yourself" Home Depot clinic. So, when the whirring of our kitchen sink garbage disposal gradually turned into a sad whining noise and then died altogether on Friday, I was dreading the plumber's bill we would soon be paying. During our law school days Will and I lived in a basement with no dishwasher or disposal and it's not an experience I'd like to re-live now that I wash what feels like 100 sippy cups a day. Luckily, Will saved the day by installing a new disposal himself. Unlike most men I've observed, my blessed husband always reads the directions first. So, after some Internet research, 1 trip to Lowe's, 2 trips to Ace Hardware, and some sweaty moments stuck under sink, I have a brand new disposal. A small feat for some, an amazing "handy" moment for the Bollards. Thank you, Will! You are the best.

Audra-isms

So, this is the first time I've been tagged. After listing her own, Candace asked me to share some of my "Idiosyncrasies," or the little things that make me me. This will probably be really boring, and embarrassingly revealing, but here's what I've come up with:

• I've had the same favorite color my entire life: PURPLE. I've had purple backpacks, purple bedspreads, purple nail polish and eyeliner, 2 purple prom dresses, purple bridesmaid dresses and flowers at my wedding, a purple KitchenAid Mixer and (thanks to a very indulgent husband) my bedroom is currently painted purple. I never get sick of it! Where I draw the line: purple cars--ick!

• I can't stand driving with the windows down.

• I love to buy, receive and wear pajamas and take any excuse to change into them as soon as I'm home, sometimes as early as 2:00 in the afternoon if it's a Sunday.

• I get obsessive about a new song I hear on the radio and I have to hear it over and over again. When I was 13, I worked tirelessly to record End of the Road by Boyz to Men onto a tape from the radio 13 times in a row (why didn't I just go buy the single-duh?!). My current favorite: Get Your Record On by Corrine Bailey Rae. I've listened to it 7 times today.

• I normally consider myself a pretty health conscious cook, but there is a certain casserole involving canned tamales, creamed corn and a Frito chip topping that I just love. I made it for a boyfriend in high school and he told me it was trailer-trash food. I made it for Will when we first got married and he politely told me no thanks. I've made it for my kids and they throw it off of their high chair trays. Now I just make it for myself on those rare nights I have all alone to savor the whole thing myself. Yum.

• I cannot, no matter how hard I try, learn to whistle. Will also claims that I don't know how to properly snap my fingers.

• I love to countdown to events, particularly during the holidays. At any given time from October on I can tell you how many days until Christmas and I make sure to open the little doors on my advent calendar first thing every morning in December. This way there's always something to look forward to.

• I watched so many episodes of Gilmore Girls while on bed rest with Luke that I started having dreams that the characters were relatives of mine.

• I love to shop at Crate&Barrel. Everything, from a dishtowel to fine china just looks better coming out of those black and white boxes.
  

• I cannot fall asleep unless I know that both boys are covered with at least one blanket and have one stuffed animal next to them.

If anyone has been inspired to share their own idiosyncrasies, I'd love to hear them . . .

Valentine's Day Fun

Today Ethan & Luke's music class had a Valentine's Party. After some rousing versions of "You are my Sunshine," "Skidamadink, Skidamadoo, I love you," and other kid's-type love songs, the huge valentine's exchange started. Our boys picked Disney Cars Valentine's with rub on tatoos to give to their friends. We also made heart shaped rice krispie treats which Ethan called "stickies." They had a great time!

Luke wants to show you how well he swallowed that sugar cookie heart whole.

A chaotic scene of 45 kids in a sea of red, pink and frosting-covered shirts.

Luke simultaneously eats and guards the Valentine's while Ethan & I deliver to the other kids.

WISHING YOU A HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, WE LOVE YOU!

Dancin' Fools

My boys love to dance! Although they are well-versed in the Wiggles and Primary Hymbook CD's (which Ethan referred to as "The Jesus Music" yesterday), their dance music of choice: Stevie Wonder. As a child of the 80's I am also a big fan--I was happy to see him win another Grammy on Sunday. So, when we need to spice things up around here, we fire up Stevie on the Ipod speakers in our kitchen and go to town! I can even get a full sink of dishes loaded in the dishwasher amidst these dance parties. Here's our current favorites: Superstition, Sign, Sealed, Delivered, (Ethan's picks), Baby, Everything Is All Right (Luke's Pick), Knocks Me Off My Feet & If You Really Love Me (My Picks). If we're lucky, we even get Will to boogie too!

A Great Read!

I don't know how the rest of you spent your summer vacations, but many days of mine were spent watching musicals at my cousin Katie's house. While I can't claim Kate's undying love for some of them (I could do without Oaklahoma), we both never tired of watching The Sound of Music. So, when my book club selected The Story of the Trapp Family Singers last month, I was anxious to uncover the real version told in a first person account by the almost-nun, Maria. While there were some disappointing differences between the book and the musical, what emerged was a story far more interesting and meaningful. I was fascinated to learn about the Trapp Family's eventual escape to America and see the immigration process into our country and culture through their eyes. But, most impressive was Maria's unwavering faith in following the Will of God in her life, through every seemingly impossible challenge that this presented. This woman's strength, and her ability to see humor in the most unlikely situations, was inspiring. And, as an added bonus, you get to see pictures of all of the family members and the original Villa Trapp (although, I still couldn't shake the image of Julie Andrews with the horrible haircut the whole time I was reading!).

Tell me what some of your current reads are! I have a long plane ride in May and am hosting my book club in June, so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Bubble Fun

The bottle of Mr. Bubbles I bought yesterday promised "Big Bubble Fun!" and it delivered! Since our previous experience with bubble baths was just me pouring some of the kid's shampoo under the running water, I may have gone a little overboard. The kid's loved it, until they started rubbing bubbles in their mouths, eyes, noses, etc. Next time I will follow directions and only pour 1 oz. into the running water.

"Two, Please!"

Today I woke up and decided to potty train Ethan (another story for another blog post), however, we didn't get past 9:30 am when I realized the real obstacle: 1 potty. Whenever Ethan so much as glanced in the direction of his potty, Luke would drop everything he was doing and make a beeline for the bathroom to ensure that he got to sit on it instead of his brother! Locking Luke out of the bathroom wasn't a solution either--I mean, how am I supposed to encourage Ethan to "relax" with his brother is screaming, scratching and kicking at the door? So, I found myself in line at Target buying our second potty so that I could try and get Ethan to sit on the first one.

For some reason I thought I was just going to "re-use" everything we bought for Ethan, but the potty has become just another item in a long line of doubles: 2 cribs for 10 months, 2 sets of bottles for 13 months, 2 pack n' plays when we traveled and currently 2 toddler carseats, 2 full-size highchairs, 2 child-sized armchairs . . . AHHHH, I'm being overtaken by baby gear! And, someday I know it's going to be 2 college tuition bills, 2 overlapping missions and 2 weddings to pay for in the same year!

Maybe I'll get lucky and Luke will make good use of his potty and train himself.

You Be The Judge

In response to my last post, Annie told us that Luke is the spitting image of his Uncle Ben (Bollard brother #2).

A week before that Uncle Joe (Bollard brother #3) told us he thinks Luke looks like his Uncle Sam (Bollard brother #4). Luke was born during Sam's mission, so we'll have to get a side-by-side picture this Summer when Sam returns to really tell.

Will thinks that some of Luke's baby pictures look like Uncle Charlie's baby pictures (Bollard brother #5).

Of course, most people tell us they think Luke looks like his Daddy (Bollard brother #1).

And I think he's his own unique blend!

Chairs

January 2006: Both boys fit in one child-sized armchair, neither one caring that it is technically Ethan's chair--the word "MINE" has not entered either vocabulary yet.January 2007: Both boys do not fit in one armchair, nor are they capable of sitting that close without hitting, pinching, or scratching each other. Two chairs = A more peaceful household, as "MINE" is now a prominent word in both vocabularies.

But, they do look cute lounging side by side in their dual armchairs!

Here We Come Sammy!

Yes, we are too cheap to pay to have our passport photos taken and have done it ourselves.

In May we will spend a week in Spain to reunite with Will's brother Sam, who has been serving an LDS mission in Barcelona. From Spain we will travel to London where I will have five glorious days to try and show Will all my favorite spots from my time there with BYU study abroad. It should be an amazing trip! In preparation, last week I baked an English Pudding (recipe below) for us to try--Yum! Hopefully my dear mother & father, who have volunteered to babysit the boys, will still be speaking to us by the time we get home!

Eve's Pudding (from Martha Stewart Living, Feb. 2007)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for baking dish

1 1/4 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

salt

1 3/4 lbs. baking appes (Rome or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices

3/4 cup sugar

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup whole milk

heavy cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 inch square baking dish. Whisk flour, baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. Put apples, 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt into a large bowl; toss to combine. Transfer to prepared baking dish and sprinkle 2 T. water over top. Set aside. Put butter and 6 T. sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on med-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk. Mix until combined. Spread batter over apples and sprinkle with remaining 2 T. sugar. Bake until batter is cooked through and juices are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Let cool on wire rack 15 minutes. Spoon into dishes, generously drizzle with heavy cream and serve.