Entertaining Liam

No one can make Liam laugh as hard as Zo can...

Recent Romney Happenings

I'll start with Zo getting his new bed a little while back. Liam was outgrowing the pack 'n play, so that meant Zo got booted out of his crib. He has done very well adjusting! It was fun going with Nancy to pick out his bedding, mattress, dresser, and nightstand. His walls are still bare, but that way they match the rest of the house:) I will decorate my walls someday, there are so many things to buy that it all just takes time!

A few pictures of Liam:

A rad tech that Miles works with had a play set that her kids had outgrown, and so she was wanting to sell it. It is pretty cute, and she gave us a pretty good deal. So two Saturday's ago Zo got a play set, and has really enjoyed it so far. Loves the slide, hates the swings. He had a good time helping his dad put it together.

Then came Easter and we had a good time on Saturday. We started with an Easter egg hunt, which Zo quickly got the hang of and had a lot of fun.

About 2/3 the way through he opened an egg and realized they were filled with candy! Best day ever! ("Until Halloween" Miles replied)

The rest of Saturday was spent out in the yard. We took a whole bunch of garbage to the dump, Miles tilled and filled the holes left by the U-Haul last year and planted grass on those patches.

As for Easter Sunday, the morning was a little crazy. Here's why:

6:15 - Zo wakes up and I lay in bed with him until 7 trying to get back to sleep. Did he fall back asleep? No.

7:15 - Liam wakes up. I feed and dress him. Then I cut up the Rice Krispie treats for primary.

8:10 - About to get in the shower when I check my phone. I see that I have a new email, and a new email on Sunday morning is never good. The pianist is sick so now I have to play for Sacrament. (We had a meeting that morning, so we have to leave by 9:00). I am now frantic as I start to try and practice all the hymns for that day. And as you know, piano is not my strong instrument. I practice for about 20 min. until I absolutely have to get ready. What gets left behind? A shower. Who needs them anyway?

Needless to say we did not get an Easter family picture, and now I'm really sad. We have no family pictures. I think we have one, and that was on Liam's blessing day. So pathetic! Sadly, me playing for sacrament, doing sharing time, making treats for primary, and playing piano for primary is not an unusual Sunday. I don't mind it that much, I just would appreciate some notice when I have to play!

After church we went to Nancy & Lorenzo's for Easter dinner. It was so yummy! Nancy made her famous roast, potatoes & gravy, corn, peas, and rolls. After dinner we colored Easter eggs because we didn't have time Friday night or on Saturday. Zo had a ton of fun!!

Happy Birthday to my little Valentine!

Although we celebrated yesterday, today is Zo's birthday. He is 2 years old now! I just can't believe he's already a full-blown toddler (except for when he throws his tantrums - then I believe it). To celebrate his birthday many of the Romney family came over to our house. Jen, Jared, Adelyn, and JR couldn't make it because they have been deathly ill. We are sad that they are sick, and I know Zo loves his cousins and would have had a lot of fun with them.

We played with Zo and his new ball that Nanny gave him until dinner time.

Zo got hit with the ball so he...

tried to hit Naomi...

then hit Julie. (Sorry Julie!)

For dinner Lorenzo cooked his spaghetti, which Zo throughly enjoyed as usual. Then we opened presents, ate cake, ice cream, and cupcakes. The cake was my first attempt at doing a creative/themed cake. It turned out okay. I thought it was gross with the sprinkles and stuff on top which is why I made the cupcakes too. (Those were good:) )

Zo got some really great presents from his loving family. Thank you everyone for your love and gifts!

Lots of REALLY cute clothes (that he desperately needed) from Nanny.

A lovable, soft Buzz Light Year with blanket (that he took to bed that night:) ) from Benjamin and Kalie.

Books and a cool flashlight toy from Jen, Jared, Adelyn, and JR.

Tricycle!!!! From Grandma and Grandpa Olsen

A kid's pinic table with an umbrella from Mommy and Daddy

The bummer part was that by the end of his birthday celebration he had croup. I'm glad we celebrated a day early. Otherwise his birthday would not have very fun.

Zo is such a funny kid. He loves to clean. He gets upset if I take out the garbage without letting him help. When he makes a mess he gets out a rag and wipes it up. He can't sit on his high chair if it's dirty. It must be cleaned first!

He now loves his movies which include: How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story 3, Over the Hedge, and Beauty & the Beast. He likes to watch "Super Why", "Sid, the Science Kid" (I'm so proud:) ), and "The Cat in the Hat". He likes Elmo, but otherwise does not like Seasame Street. He's starting to like coloring and will get into the drawer, get the crayons, some paper, and start drawing. He loves to count, but usually can't make it past one. He just says, "One" over and over again while you keep counting the stairs, toes, fingers, or whatever. (This can easily throw you off when trying to remember how many cups of flour you've added.)

He loves to all kinds of balls. Love to kick them, throw them, roll them, and spin them.

He LOVES cars. When he sees a truck or car pass on the road he says, "Beep, beep!". When we're in the parking lot and he sees a car he says, "Owie." This is because I tell him he has to hold my hand when we're in the parking lot because the cars can give him a big owie. He also knows that knives, lighters, and scissors are also owies. That still doesn't stop him from bringing them to me.

He loves to help with the dishes. I think he likes this one because he gets to play in the water in the sink.

All animals roar, with the exception of pigs and monkeys. He's starting to make their noises.

When he's scared he starts to pant and take really shallow breaths.

He loves Liam and likes to help. He will bring me Liam's pacifier and blanket. If Liam kicks of his blanket, Zo will go and put it back on him. Everything Liam does is, "foounny".

Zo LOVES his daddy and calls for him all the time during the day. He points at Miles' chair and says, "Daddy". Same with the front door, Miles' glasses, shoes, and other things Zo manages to find of Miles'.

Zo is obessessed with shoes. He is always trying to put his on him, mine on him, mine on me, or his on Liam. Last night when everyone was starting to leave, somehow he knew which shoes belonged to who. He got Jacob's shoes and brought them to him. He did the same with Julie's and Kalie's (I think). He loves to go outside and finally when it was slightly warm yesterday was so happy to be outside without his little fingers being in danger of frost bite.


I love this kid so much, as I know Miles does. My dad used to always tell me I would never know how much he loved me until I had children of my own. He was so right. Of course I love my parents, but the love that a parent has for their child is different. You are constantly serving that little person by doing EVERYTHING for them which results is a kind of love that is so deep and powerful that it makes me tear up just thinking about how much I love him. Happy Birthday Zo!

This is why I hate baking

So lately I have been baking more, and thinking that it's not so bad. Mind you I mean baking, NOT cooking. But today I was reminded of why baking makes me sooooo mad.

Today is Miles' birthday. Happy Birthday sweetie! So for his birthday I am making his absolute favorite cake that his mom always made. It is really good, but it takes FOREVER. Nancy says she used to start the cake 3 days before Miles' birthday. So as you can see from the picture the cake did not come out of the pan, and now it is totally ruined! Crying, screaming, and cursing are all things I wanted to do. What are my options? Not having the cake or trying again tomorrow. I guess attempt #2 will start early tomorrow morning. So to everyone that's coming over tomorrow I apologize if I'm a little on the grumpy side.

P.S. Miles, I hope you know how much I love you if I'm attempting to bake this cake again!

P.S.S If anyone wants to get me those cake pans where the bottom comes off for my birthday, I'd be okay with that.

What happens when I'm in the shower...

Yep, this is what I found when I emerged from my nice, hot, relaxing shower. Usually Zo is kicking the bathroom door, anxiously waiting for me to come out of the shower. Today was different. It was quiet when I was done. As all you mothers know, that means TROUBLE! And it did.

These are the thoughts/feelings that came through my mind:

• I'm a little mad at all the food that he wasted.


• What a mess!! I hate cleaning up eggs!


• At least it wasn't on the carpet - Adelyn!


• Can I really blame him? He sees me cooking all the time where I get to crack open the eggs and stir them around. What doesn't look fun about that?


• Holy cow he is getting tall. Those eggs were way up on the counter, and he managed to reach up there and pull them down.

8 months later...

Yes, I know, it's been 8 months. But in my defense my internet is ridiculously slow at uploading pictures, and pictures are the main reason most people look at blogs. (At least that's my main reason.) Now, thanks to Jen's infinite wisdom, I found out that you can upload multiple pics at a time so I can do something else while they load.

Most of the people that might look at my blog probably already know what's going on in my life, but for those who don't here's a quick update...

The biggest news is obviously the new addition to our family, Liam Ammon Romney, who was born on Sept. 20th. Before the delivery I was so nervous that I was going to have a hard labor like I did with Zo. Everyone kept telling me that it was going to be so different since it was my second and the tracks have been greased. (That's how my father-in-law put it.) I didn't really believe him, but he knows what he's talking about because it was such a different experience!! It was so much easier which in turn made my recovery so much faster.

Liam's baby blessing went so well. Miles gave a wonderful blessing. My sister, Floris, and her family came from Saint Louis to the blessing. Floris and I got to play "A Poor Wayfarying Man of Grief" for the special musical number. It was really fun to play her. Her son, David, is getting to be quite the photographer. He took those pictures below.

He is a very good baby, and we just love having him around. Zo definitely went through and is still going through a somewhat rough adjustment period. He can get pretty ticked off when he can't have my attention right when he wants it. But he's getting better. He is already a protective big brother. Yesterday, at church, someone was touching Liam's head and Zo leaped over to slap the person's hand away. I guess only certain people can touch his brother!

Zo likes to share with Liam. So cute, except for when it's a quarter that he's trying to shove in Liam's mouth.

Zo is quite the vegetable eater. He won't eat a lot of things, but he'll eat his green beans, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, and most fruits. Here's him eating a whole tomato.

He also likes to clean. Too bad he like making messes more.

In other exciting news, at least for me, I bought a new car!! Miles told me I could get whatever car I want (within financial reason). Who could ask for a nicer husband! So I got the brand spakin' new 2011 GMC Terrain with leather seats, sunroof, programable lift gate, rearview camera, and more. I absolutely LOVE it!! I haven't had a car in over a year. Our '93 Honda just wasn't trustworthy. I didn't want it to break down with me and two kids in the car. So with my new found freedom I go to the gym every morning and to the store whenever I want!!

This month was also our Primary program, and somehow with only one practice we pulled it off. But apparently we believe in the same organism that existed in the primitive church. It was a little bit of a challenge filling the time since we only have about 12 kids in the whole primary. Just a little different than my sister's ward in Lehi that has over 200.

One Mistake I'll Never Make Again...

I feel robbed. Robbed by H&R Block. I went there thinking they would be fairly inexpensive, fast, and easy. It was pretty fast, but the guy who did my taxes didn't know what some of the terms meant on the questionaire and had never done the sale of a house. Annoyed, yes, but he brought someone over who did know what they were doing to help.
After about an hour we were finished, and he told me how much I owed. I'm not even going to tell you how much because I feel ashamed that I didn't ask about their fees upfront and just assumed they would be reasonable. Let's just say it was A LOT! So now I'm pretty mad because this is seriously dipping into my valuable tax refund.
Today I decided to call the manager and give her a little piece of my mind. All she did was give me some lame excuse about coporate not lowering the fees, no matter how much they beg them. I told her how incompetant "Daniel" was, and how I am telling everyone how awful H&R Block is. Did she do anything to remedy the situation? Nope. Hence I'm spreading the word...

Don't ever go to H&R Block! Ever!!!

And that's all.