A Letter to a Hero

Dear Beecham Research Laboratories,

Thank you for being intelligent, for spending the money, and I dare say being guided by the Spirit to develop new and modified medication that has saved countless lives. My little baby is finally getting better after a double eardrum rupture. Twelve hours after her first dose of amoxicillin she no longer has a ridiculously high fever (105 degrees!) or massive amounts of puss coming out of her ears... oh and she's no longer screaming incessantly. For this reason you are my hero right now! So from all the moms out there that have seen the awesomeness of this medicine, I say thank you!


Before


After


Ahhh all better!

Labels: baby, Erin, pictures, Zoe

posted by Erin at 9:58 AM 2 Comments

Spring was supposed to have sprung...

I was all excited to post about how warm it has been and how much fun we've had outside...





Bubbles are so much fun!





And then this happened...



All I have to say is that the girls better be grateful I hadn't packed their snowsuits yet... lucky kids.



"Seriously mom, you're still taking pictures? I thought we were going to play!"



"Oooooh. Snow!"



"I fell! And it's Cold! And I don't like it!"



"Ooooh snow!" (Gotta love a 2 second attention span!)



What do you do at the end of March with snow on the ground? You make a snowman of course! It was perfect snowman snow! But you really do need your gloves to stay on...



Or maybe you don't.



At this point Zoe was done... "But I don't want to make a snowman!"



While Aeriana was far too wrapped up in the moment... "Something doesn't look right. I don't think it goes there."



While Zoe did a little more of this...



"It has to go on just right!"



"Is there anything else in there? I think we are still missing something."



"Why does Aeriana always get to do everything?"



"OK fine, maybe this can be fun..."





And of course my little princess modeling next to the snowman; I seriously don't know where she gets this. Notice the serious face.



Hey I managed to get a smile!



Then of course the questions start now that the snowman is all done and his hat is on.

"Mom... why is the snowman not talking?" (yes that is what she asked me)



And on that note... Who wants hot chocolate!



"Mmmmmm... tasty!"



"What? I'm not tried I don't know what your talking about!"



All in all not too bad of a day considering there is snow on the ground and it's almost April.

Happy Springtime!

Labels: Aeriana, Erin, family, pictures, Zoe

posted by Erin at 10:01 AM 9 Comments

Apps We Like - Redux

With iPhone and iPad apps coming out constantly (~60,000 new/updated apps per month), and with specials happening frequently to make many of them free, I imagine that every week or so Erin or I will have a new app we're really excited about... In fact, since my post just a few days ago, Erin's already got a new one she found that seems to be a lot of fun - Shift.

So rather than finding myself posting a blog in six months titled "Apps We Like - Part 37", I decided to just add a short list of apps we're currently excited about to our blog, which we'll update whenever our excitement shifts. Just keep an eye to the right side of the screen, scroll on down past our pictures, and stop right before you get to our list of books we've read this year. Right now there are eight apps listed, this could easily change depending on our moods, but at least you've got something you can look at if that anti-feline inquisitiveness grabs you.

Of course, if you've got something that you happen to be excited about, just leave a comment on any blog post - even if it's not relevant. We love getting recommendations.


P.S. We can't wait to finally get iPhones next month and be rid of our lame LG Chocolates.

P.P.S. Did someone mention chocolate?

Labels: Brett, computers, Erin

posted by Brett at 10:48 PM 0 Comments

Apps We Like

My brother asked me for a list of apps for the iPad that we would recommend; I was part way through the email when I realized that there were probably others who might be interested as well.

We tend to gravitate toward free apps, and for many of the apps listed below we actually have the "lite" or "free" versions because we like the app but not enough to pay money to do more with it (we also will sometimes use the iPhone version rather than the iPad version of an app if it's cheaper - app purchases can add up quick). There are also a number of paid apps that we were able to get for free during a special discount period (using the three websites below); finally some are apps which Erin or I thought worth the cost and purchased the full version (I've added an asterisk before the ones we actually paid money for). We do have plenty of other apps, but these are our "recommended" ones; we also really like some of the native apps - but I don't think you'll need any help finding those.

Sites with Free App Notifications:
freegameoftheday.com
freeappaday.com
freeappalert.com


Now, on to the good stuff...

Aeriana's and Zoe's Apps:

*Wheels on the Bus (Zoe's Favorite)
I See Ewe (Aeriana's Favorite)
I Hear Ewe
Toy Story Read-Along
*First Words Deluxe
Baby Piano
Doodle Buddy
*5 in 1 Kids Pack HD



Erin's Apps:

*LDS Scriptures for iPad
LDS Hymns
Gospel Library
*Angry Birds (Erin's Favorite)
*Carcassonne
Fare City
Harbor Master
Mega Jump
*Pinball HD
BioDefenceHD
Labyrinth2 HD
Babo Crash
Alarm Clock
Epicurious
iRewardChart


Brett's Apps:

Flixster
*AirVideo (Brett's Favorite)
iBooks
Dropbox
Dragon Dictation
Sentinel 2
Tap Tap Radiation
Tap Tap Revenge 3
iMahjong HD
Quaso
Befuddled CE

We're definitely on the look out for more great apps, if you have any recommendations, let us know in the comments!

Labels: Aeriana, Brett, computers, Erin, movies, religion, Zoe

posted by Brett at 3:45 PM 1 Comments

Erin As A Guest Writer

My aunt and cousins have a great blog where they cover a wide variety of topics. This week they invited Erin to be a guest writer, stop over to read what she had to say.

Always Something To Talk About
(Also in our 'Links' section at the top of the blog.)

Labels: Erin

posted by Brett at 9:10 PM 2 Comments

Warning: Don't Get an iPad!!!

Seriously, do not under any circumstances get an iPad.

Get two of them. Or maybe three.


For Mother's Day, Erin got a new 64GB WiFi iPad. (Yes, I realize that it's not yet Mother's Day, but do YOU have the self control to wait to give a present like that? I obviously don't.)

When I gave it to her, I told her very clearly "this is YOUR iPad, not OUR iPad. If you want it, you get to use it." That may have been one of the dummest things I've ever said. And that's why I so strongly recommend that, if you're going to get an iPad, get at least two of them. Otherwise you may find yourself typing up a blog post on your laptop, looking longingly across the room as the one you love is being swiped, flipped, pinched, zoomed, and rotated by your wife... um, I mean while your wife is playing with HER iPad.

Seriously though, the iPad is cool. Very cool. Browsing the web is extremely natural, the books we've got on it so far look great, the games are fun, and so far we haven't paid money for a single app - they've all been free (so far, at least).

Check out Erin's reaction when I busted out her Mother's Day gift:



Zoe even got in on the fun. (Aeriana and her two-year-old-attitude hasn't gotten to touch it yet. Maybe in a few years.)


But such joys cannot last forever - look at that sad face! (I'm sure you can imagine the same pain and sorrow on my face when it came time for me to hand over the iPad as well):


Happy *almost* Mother's Day, Erin! You are an amazing mom and an amazing wife and I'm glad you like your new toy.

(P.S. I'm offering monetary rewards for any successful suggestions on how I can trick Erin into letting me use the iPad... unfortunately, suggesting that she take the laptop to read this blog didn't work - she just opened it up on the iPad. ;-)

Labels: computers, Erin, holidays, pictures

posted by Brett at 11:10 PM 4 Comments

Still Playing 'Catch Up'

So I have officially been an epic failure when it comes to blogging. But I'm honestly going to try better ... again... And yes i realize i have said this before. Sorry... But I'm almost up to present time. :)


Aeriana and Zoe are the best of friends, and I love it. They play and giggle together all the time and Aeriana can always get Zoe to smile. I mean look how Zoe looks at Aeriana you can just tell she thinks Aeriana is the coolest.


We had a big snow storm and Brett got to work from home one day and they even closed the office the next day! It was awesome! The car was crazy stuck in the snow and we don't have a shovel, so Brett dug the car out with our ice scraper. Yeah... it took him forever. But then I made him hot chocolate to make him feel better. :)


This is a snow man that Aeriana and I had made a few hours prior, when it was only snowing a little...




This is later after it snowed a bunch more. Poor snow man got buried...


My good friend Crystal lives right up the street from me, she took the kiddos out while I stayed inside with the babies. (She had a little girl (Lillie) two weeks after Zoe was born, and Rebekah her other daughter was a month after Aeriana. We like being prego together, what can we say.)


It's hard to tell in these two pictures but Aeriana was having a blast picking up the snow and throwing it in the air.


This is Zoe and Lillie chillin' inside. I love Zoe's face, it says, "Seriously, you licked me. I can't believe you just did that."


We have a baby that loves the bumbo. :) It's awesome! (Aeriana hated it.)

Zoe was super sick for about a month. It was so sad super high fevers and she had a horrible time breathing. She's all better now, but it took her forever!


One of Zoe's favorite things... Eating her giraffe and staring at herself in the mirror.


Speaking of giraffes, Aeriana has a giraffe too! And a pooh bear! And Bubblegum! And her Blanket! - all of which she wants to sleep with every night. I think she's going to be one of those kids with a million stuffed animals on her bed where you can't even see the bed, but they swear it's comfortable.


I tried to curl Aeriana's hair... It didn't work. I think she would have to sleep in the curlers over-night and there is no way they would stay in her hair with the way she sleeps (which is every which way). Any idea anyone?


We started doing a cousin exchange this year and Aeriana got her very first laptop from Evie. She loves it! At first she would walk up to it and say "No, no!" thinking it was mommy and daddy's laptop, but once she figured out it was hers she couldn't put it down.


Here's Zoe being the happy baby that she is... happy but loud, man this kid can make noise! Currently her favorite noise making technique is blowing raspberries. (and yes i know this toy got recalled... I sent it in, no need to send the parent police after me.) ;)


Aeriana loves to read and her favorite book is Dora! Well, she loves anything Dora really. She's obsessed!


But obsessions sure are handy when your friends come into town and you want to play games (yay Agricola!) and not be bothered by a two year old. :) Notice Aeriana in the background... yeah she's watching Dora.


And sometimes Dora is just great, but Aeriana has lots of energy and needs to move around a little while she watches... sometimes she decides to undress herself.


She's starting to realize that undressing, and attempting to get re-dressed, can be fun... and the results can be rather interesting.

Anatomy of an Early Morning Wardrobe Change:

Pants removed - check!
Diaper 90% removed - check!
Pants inside out - check!
Both legs stuffed into a single pant-leg of the pajamas - check!


This is Zoe's favorite position, she does this all the time and the picture just doesn't do it justice. She arches her back in this really weird way just so she can look around and see what she wants to. She tends to use this most often when Dora is on the TV; being placed on the floor facing directly away from the TV is no problem for a master contortionist.


This is her other favorite position. Pacifier and foot!


Here's Aeriana having fun with friends. Hanging out watchin' a movie. Three peas in a fleecy-blanket lined pod.


Zoe, super comfy and totally relaxed... (this mastery of relaxation makes her daddy proud).



I love the bed-head and I can hear Aeriana as a teenager saying "Mom what do you want from me, I just woke up?"



Aeriana got her first hair cut. It was much needed she was starting to look mullet-ish. And I would have none of that!


Pierson and Aeriana hand in hand at the mall. She loves to hold other kids' hands; it's so cute, we see her walking down the halls at church with one of her friends hand-in-hand all the time.


And last but not least! Happy birthday Brett!!! I love you!


Well, that was another long post but no need to worry, there is more to come!

Labels: Aeriana, baby, Brett, Erin, family, holidays, pictures, Zoe

posted by Erin at 5:26 PM 4 Comments