Bocelli Fascination

Gru, from the movie, Despicable Me, says the phrase "Light bulb!" every time he gets a good idea.  Wile E. Coyote also used the phrase "Light bulb!", only his came as the image of a light bulb floating over his head whenever a new great idea came to him.  In each case, it seemed, a light bulb bubble appeared over his head immediately preceding the arrival of another ACME crate.  We have "Light bulbs!" too; however, around here "Light bulb!" has come to mean a discovery rather than simply an idea.  Just a couples nights ago, Phil had another "Light bulb!" moment.  And it had to do with Andrea Bocelli. 

Recently, Phil discovered Andrea Bocelli's rendition of The Lord's Prayer, sung with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  He can't get enough of it.  He listens to it at least once a day (usually it's more like 4-5 times).  Well, the other day, Gabe started having a fit - crying, flailing, whining, not wanting to eat, not able to sleep, crawling back and forth around the room. In desperation, I handed him to Phil, who, of course, was listening to/watching Bocelli on his laptop.  I went into the kitchen to do the dishes for a little break, but before I was able to turn on the faucet, I heard. . . no crying.  Only singing.  I looked over at our chair in the corner, and a picture-perfect Gabe was sitting in Phil's lap, entranced with Andrea Bocelli and MoTab.  He sat there for the whole song!  And, after the song was over. . . he was calm!  And quiet!  And ready for a nap! LIGHT BULB! Phil says it's because Gabe appreciates good music :)

I was skeptical about using our new tool again, wondering if it was just a one-time deal.  But, yesterday morning, Gabe was having a cow while I was doing my hair. I'd already exhausted my usual list of distractions: toys, brush, make-up bag, nose sucker, fingernail clippers, wire whisk, water bottle, books, snacks, washable markers, duct tape, etc...), so I brought my laptop into the bathroom and Light Bulb!  It worked again! 

In the spirit of November, let's all be grateful for Andrea Bocelli.  This is a "Light bulb!" that we'll definitely be using in the future.

Nacho Libre

These are my recreational robes.

Get that corn outta my face!

Don't you want a little taste of the glory?  See what it tastes like?

Do you remember when everybody was shouting my name, and I used my strength to rip my blouse?

Beneath the clothes, we find a man. .  . and beneath the man, we find his. . . nucleus.

Did you not tell them that they were the Lord's chips?

My life is good.  Real good.

Hug hug, kiss kiss, hug hug, big kiss, little hug, kiss kiss, little kiss.

Halloween Party

Gabe and I were invited to a Halloween party today at the home of my friend, Kari.  There were lots of moms with kids.  Most of the kids dressed up.  Some notables: Aurora, Piglet, scarecrow and a devil (with a red/black tutu).  Gabe wore his Nacho cape, but the clothes underneath were not nearly as cool as Nacho Libre's bare chest and blue stretchy pants.  And, Gabe hated the mask.

P.S. If you are interested to know: Gabe's heart is fine.  We had the tests done in Columbia on Monday.  Also, he woke up yesterday morning with two new teeth (which would explain why the Columbia drive and doctor's visit on Monday were so awful).  One more on the bottom and the first one on top. :)

Owl Earflap Hats

So, recently, most nights after Gabe goes to bed, I leave Phil to his studies out in the main room, and I retire to the bedroom, where I pop in a movie, and make owl earflap hats.  The first one came out kind of wonky.  Gabe was asleep, and since I couldn't measure his head, I made it too wide and too short.  I changed some things on the second trial, and decided I like it much better.

Hat #1: Made while watching X-Men: 1st Class.  (Phil is always surprised that I like this movie so much.  He says it's not the kind that I would normally go for, but hey, I like it and I don't know why. P.S: If you're familiar with the movie, this hat kind of reminds me of Magneto's helmet.)

Hat #2: Watched old episodes of House while making this one.

Gabe was a good sport and modeled it with and without a shirt (the tassels are more easily seen next to his bare chest).

Mama and the Skull Garland

Gabe's lexicon currently consists of three words:
1. ba-ba-ba:   ball
2. ba-ba-ba:   bottle
3. ma-ma-ma: mama
He started saying "mama" yesterday when he was trying to get me to pick him up, and I was lucky enough to catch it on camera today. What makes the video even more endearing is that he is trying to climb over me and then just decides to cuddle my knees.

Since it's Friday, and it's cold here, and since Phil is tied to the library for the weekend studying for tests, I decided that today would be Pajama Day.  And, what do you do on Pajama Day? Well, for starters, you wear pajamas.  Normally, you wouldn't take a shower either; just go from wake up to bedtime in the same attire.  But, seeing as how my spinning class this morning got me smelling a little less than rose-like, I exempted myself from this rule.  And, seeing as how Gabe got soggy goldfish crackers stuck to his face and hands, he will be exempted later tonight. 

That brings me to the second thing you do on Pajama Day: eat goldfish crackers. Lots and lots of them. Scatter them across the floor, put a ton in your mouth at once, mush them up and then lick them off your fingers. . . however you like them best.

And finally, the last necessity to make Pajama Day really great: make a skull garland.  Yes, people, a skull garland.  Laugh all you want, but Gabe and I thought it was of the utmost importance to string a nice line of happy skulls across our bookshelf in honor of Halloween, and what better day to create it and string it than on Pajama Day?

It was a pretty successful Pajama Day.

Nauvoo

We drove to Nauvoo today for stake conference. The drive wasn't bad - on the way there it seemed a lot shorter than I expected.  On the way back, we (Gabe included) were all dying to get home.

Nauvoo is awesome!  It's beautiful, and I wish that we had had more time there to see the town.  We were very impressed with the flowers at the temple, which were still in full bloom and smelled great!

We drove for just a bit through the historic Nauvoo area, and stopped at the Smith Family Cemetery.

Destination: Columbia

The three of us spent the day today in Columbia.  It's an hour and a half south of Kirksville and about 7 times as big.  So, that means more things to look at, eat and do.  We had a lot of fun!  Here are some of the highlights:
1. Gabe snoring in the car.
2. Having lunch at Applebees.
3. Walking around at the mall.
4. Getting a gumball from the gumball machine.
5. Convincing Phil to get a new pair of much-needed pants.
6. Finding a 3-pack of Old Spice deodorant for $3.40.
7. Going to the yarn store.
8. Gabe's new pajamas.