Behind Bars; Jacob the Photographer

Look what I found when I went in to get Ephraim this morning.

Not only is he standing up, he is totally chewing on the crib! I guess that's why it has those plastic guards on top, right? He is getting really good at standing up, so most of the time when I go to get him he is standing now. I can't believe how fast he is learning physical skills.

If Jacob beats me into the room, he always has to climb up and say Hi to Ephraim... face to face. It's actually pretty cute.

After I took these photos with our small camera, I asked Jacob to put the camera away for me. He wanted to know if he could take a picture. He asked me so nicely and he's pretty good at being careful, so I let him. Here is the first photo he took:

Not bad buddy... but your fingers are covering the flash. Try again:

Wait until Mommy is done talking to you to take the picture. Besides, I don't think you had that one pointed in quite the right place... you need to see Mommy and Ephraim on the screen.

Can you believe my two year old took the above photo? Great job, Jacob. He was getting the hang of this whole point and push the button thing. Check out the next one:

So there you have it... we have another photographer at the Devereaux household!

Apparently we also have another boy who would like to start using sippy cups. Jacob left his on the floor, and Ephraim headed straight for it! He even has the spout in his mouth... upside down, but hey-- he's only eight months old after all!

Well, I need to go pack some more. We are off to Wyoming for Thanksgiving early tomorrow morning. Happy Turkey Day!

Oh, and Happy Birthday Mom!

Lovely Weather- Time Together

Last week the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I was unusually warm, so we played outside quite a bit. On Friday afternoon Jacob was playing in the sandbox while I ran interference with Ephraim. I let him crawl around on the grass, but didn't want him to get all sandy so I kept picking him up and moving him before he got to the sandbox.

Ephraim was having a great time crawling around in the grass. It's funny because I remember how much Jacob hated the grass his first year. I guess each child really is different.

Ephraim looked so cute in his UofA jacket (which used to be Jacob's, of course)! So I snapped a couple of photos.

Look at how happy this boy is!

Then Jacob wanted me to take his picture too. I tried to get one of both of them looking at me, but as you know these moments are fleeting!

This next picture makes me laugh. It looks like some kind of tug-of-war is going on, when really Jacob is just trying to give Ephraim a hug. The problem was that Jacob decided to give him a hug just as Ephraim was about to crawl away!

They are cute though! They are going to have so much fun together as they grow.

Speaking of growing, Ephraim is working on his top two teeth. Consequently he has been a bit cranky and he chews on EVERYTHING. Here he is chewing on my phone... yummy, huh?

The good news is that I think he is going to get both of them at once... just like his bottom two teeth. Today when I looked at his gums I could see the white of his teeth just below the gums. Here is an extreme close-up of my two-toothed wonder.

We are hoping that his teeth grow in soon! He has been drooling up a storm and has exploded out of a couple of diapers in the past week and a half. So I have been doing a lot of laundry! Today I did three loads and I think I have two more for tomorrow!

Fun stuff, huh?

Go Ephraim, Go!

I just had to post this video and these photos. Tuesday this week Jacob and Ephraim were having such a great time playing around together in the kitchen in the morning. Since I am addicted to taking photos, of course I took some pictures.

Jacob has started to realize that if he won't let me take his picture, then I'll just move on to Ephraim. So now he WANTS me to take his picture. Check out this cute face!

Ephraim loves it when Jacob dances and plays with him. He gets this big, open-mouthed grin, which I think is adorable. What a happy boy (as long as he's not teething!).

The funniest part is the video! Apparently Jacob decided that the walker is the perfect way for Ephraim to give him a ride. Check it out:

"I Gave Beeper Some Toys"

Ephraim is working on his two top teeth, so he has been a bit miserable lately. Consequently yesterday morning he woke up at 4 a.m. I gave him his binky so he would go back to sleep. That only lasted for about an hour. So I got up just after 5 a.m. and fed the poor boy.

Then I decided I might as well get up and ride on the bike trainer. I put in 20 miles and by the time I finished Jacob was downstairs with me. When I finished and Curious George was over, we went up and had breakfast.

Ephraim had just woken up, but he sounded happy. So I told Jacob I was going to take a quick shower. Jacob is a good boy and will generally read books or play with his toys while I am in the shower. I guess yesterday he decided to play with Ephraim and his toys.

When I got out of the shower, Jacob came and told me "Mommy, I gave Beeper some toys!"

I replied, "That's so nice! Thanks Jacob!"

After I was dressed I went to get Ephraim out of his crib. Here is the sight that I saw in his room.

Wow Mommy! Check out all these toys!

Apparently Jacob got Ephraim ALL the toys rather than just one of them. What a nice brother, huh? I couldn't help but laugh a bit at how cute Jacob is. Ephraim definitely would not have gotten bored!

Later in the day we went to Wee Read. Today they read about Thanksgiving, which I think Jacob enjoyed. He is really good about sitting on the carpet by himself now to listen to the stories. He doesn't even worry about where I am! Then we went and checked some books out. Jacob wanted a train book, since that is what they read last week... and he's been thinking about it since then apparently.

Jacob tells me that he wants a train book for Christmas... and a train. So far those are the only things that he has told me that he wants. I am sure that this Christmas is going to be fun for him now that he understands the whole concept of presents!

Play with me!

Jacob and Ephraim are having a great time playing together! Jacob is constantly trying to get Ephraim to go into his room so they can play in there together... or should I say make a mess!

It seems like every time I leave the boys alone for a while I come back to Jacob's room to find everything in his little plastic "toy dresser" spread out on the floor. Sometimes I wonder how the boys can get around all that stuff. But they are having a great time together and I am enjoying having a bit more time to get other rooms cleaned up. So I guess it's worth cleaning up Jacob's room nearly every evening! At least they are having fun... check out these cute boys!


In other exciting developments, on Tuesday Ephraim pulled himself up for the first time! He has been trying to pull himself up, but mostly stayed on his knees. This time he decided that he could get up all the way.

I was working on sorting some laundry to put in the washer when I looked over to see Ephraim stand up! Luckily I had my camera nearby and snapped some pictures quickly. I probably helped that Ephraim didn't quite know how to get back down!

Isn't he a cutie?

Look mom! Just one hand!

Before long I am going to have two boys running in different directions! How will I ever keep up?! I can't believe that Ephraim is already crawling quickly and trying to stand up. He will probably be walking before he is one! Crazy boy!

This past weekend was a pretty busy one for us. Joe went on an early morning bike ride with our local Trek store. While he was gone I went out shopping with the boys. I have been trying out coupon shopping to see what I think of it. So far I have been doing really well! I have been stocking up on quite a few things, and spending less money for more food. It takes some effort to get everything organized and plan out your shopping, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

When we finished shopping we went and picked up Joe at the bike shop. Then we went on our weekly Costco run. We got home in time for lunch. Then we spent most of the afternoon and early evening working around the house. Joe raked leaves in the front yard again. Jacob had a great time "helping daddy", so of course I had to run and get the camera and take some photos.

Almost all of the leaves on our trees are gone. Joe hasn't had to mow the lawn for a while. It seems that fall is winding down a bit. I am glad though that the weather this week has been SO nice. We are back up in the low sixties during the day, which is wonderful. This week Jacob and I have spent quite a bit of time outside playing in the sandbox. That is one thing I know he will miss when the snow comes and it gets cold... I guess he'll have snow to play in then though!

Wet Drizzly Week

This week has been pretty soggy around here. Ever since Monday when Joe and Will were working on the water main, it has been rainy off and on. So we have been spending most of our time inside the house. As always, Jacob LOVES to read books. Right now he is really into Christmas books. I think he already knows that it is coming up and he is getting excited about it!

I have been pretty busy catching up with laundry, dishes, and cleaning. One day this week while Ephraim was sleeping, Jacob and I took the monitor and went for a short walk around the cemetery. Jacob was going a little stir crazy from being inside so much. He was so excited to go SOMEWHERE.

He decided that we needed to take an umbrella with us on our walk because it was raining. Of course, he wanted to be the one to carry it (helps me out a lot, right?).

Of course he decided it was too heavy before we got to the cemetery, so I got it after all. Jacob practically ran the entire time! I had to tell him to stop and wait for mommy once in a while. Here he is "patiently" waiting for me.

I brought the camera just for fun, and I got some pretty nice pictures. I really like the one above, but this next one is my favorite (you'll be seeing it again on my public blog next week). Jacob was going so fast and somehow I managed to get a picture of him where his feet aren't even touching the ground. Click on it to see it up close. Isn't that cool? That's what I call fleet feet!

Apparently Wednesday Jacob and I ate something that didn't agree with us. I was feeling icky during the evening, and Joe was good enough to keep track of the boys for me until I felt better. Then that night Jacob was up several times throwing up. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.

Thursday morning Jacob was chipper as ever! As if nothing at all had happened. Meanwhile, I was SO tired the entire day. Its amazing how much sleep affects your everyday life!

In other events, Ephraim is already starting to pull himself up on everything. He has decided that there are some cool looking things on top of the coffee table... if only he could get to them!

I have also caught him doing this in his bed, so last night Joe helped me move his crib mattress down. Here is a picture of Jacob saying "Hi" to Ephraim one morning this week before the move. I can't believe how fast these two are growing!


Ephraim is already 8 months old! I really need to get busy and get his 8 month comparison photos done and up. He has changed so much in the past month. He is learning to do so many things!

CAUTION: Men at Work!

... continuing on with the water saga at the Devereaux's House.

So here is the water pipe that Joe and Will dug out of our yard. Check out how corroded it is and look at that hole!

So Will and Joe went to the store and put together a replacement pipe out of copper. Aren't they talented?


So yesterday by about 3:30 p.m. Joe and Will declared their work finished. They replaced the faulty pipe, and I was excited we would have running water any minute! So they went ahead and tightened the pipe into place.

Psssshhhhhh! Uh-Oh! The replacement pipe was fine, but now the pipe on the city's side of our water meter was leaking... a lot. Soon the hole they had dug filled up with water. So we got to call the city and let them know that they got to replace their pipe after all.


So they sent a crew right out. You would not believe how many different kinds of equipment it takes to dig up the road, dig up more of our lawn, suck up all the water and dirt, and replace a pipe. I will spare you the all the truck photos, but there were a lot more than this:

Needless to say the boys were completely glued to the front window!

Wow! Check out all those trucks!

I had to leave for work while all the excitement was going on. When I got home last night we had WATER! Can I just tell you how amazing it is to turn on the tap and have water come out? To be able to take a shower, wash our hands, do laundry, turn on the dishwasher, and get a drink is WONDERFUL!

Speaking of which.... I have to go. I have stacks of dishes and laundry in my house that need to get done. Plus I'm feeling thirsty. Maybe I'll go get a drink of water!

Water, Water Everywhere...but NONE Inside the House!

So yesterday morning Joe came home from an early church meeting to find our water meter completely underwater. Not good, right?

So he immediately got out the phone book and called the emergency number listed for PG's public works department. They sent a nice man over in his truck, who promptly shut off our water and started to pump water out of the whole so we could determine what the problem was.

I don't know how they determine these things, but he told us that the problem was on our side of the water meter, not the city's. So not only will we be charged for the water leaking out all night, we are also responsible to have the problem fixed!

Luckily we had all showered the night before, so we were clean and able to get ready and go to church. After our church meetings the Wilshaws brought over 15 gallons of water and the Websters offered to let us use their facilities. Aren't neighbors great?

So this morning Joe and Will starting digging to determine what the problem was. All the while it was pouring rain outside.

At this moment we were basically camping inside our house. We had heat and electricity (thank Heavens!) but absolutely no water. Last night we discovered just how much water is required to flush our toilet... so now we have been going over to the Webster's house to do our business. They are very kind and understanding people. You would be amazed just how many times a two-year-old needs to use the bathroom in one day! The Websters even let me shower over there this morning because I had to go to work tonight.

Joe and Will created a pretty large hole in our yard. Jacob thought it looked fascinating and wanted to jump inside. We assured him that the bottom of the hole was full of water, so it was muddy and yucky.

They determined that (fortunately!) the problem was the pipe that went from the water meter down to our main line that comes into the house. It was very corroded and had a small hole in it. That means that we won't have to have a contractor come out and dig up our front lawn to replace our main water pipe! We are so relieved because that could cost thousands of dollars.

We could call a plumber to replace the pipe, but Joe and Will were confident that they could do it themselves. They told me that they should have it finished by the end of the day. Aren't I lucky to have such stalwart, handy men to help fix things? Especially in the freezing rain and in a big mud puddle. They are pretty smart guys... check out this set-up so they can work and not get too wet:

This has all been a very huge pain in the rear, but we have many reasons to be thankful. First we are SO glad that the leak was not closer to our house. Our basement could have flooded, which would have been much worse. We were fortunate that it happened now instead of later in the winter, when the ground would have been frozen and covered in snow.

We are thankful that we have had terrific neighbors who have offered to help us so much while we have been without water. We won't have to spend nearly as much money to fix this problem because of Will's help and Joe's hard work.

At this point I am SO grateful for running water... probably because we don't have any. I can't wait to be able to wash my dishes, take a shower, or get a drink of water in my own house!

Will and Joe got the pipe fixed just before I was going to come to work. Then when they turned the water on they found out that NOW the city's side was leaking. So PG got to send out their trucks to fix our water problem after all! There were tons of trucks outside the house, tearing up the street and our yard. Hopefully they get the water fixed this evening so I can do the dishes, wash our clothes, take a shower, get a drink...

Boys will be Boys

This weekend was a busy one as usual.

Joe spent Saturday working around the house, while I tried to get some shopping done with the boys. At one point I had just gotten home and was taking Ephraim into the house. I turned around to look for Jacob and couldn't find him! It turns out he had gone up on the roof with Daddy!
It made me a little nervous, but I figured as long as he was with Joe it would be fine. Jacob seemed to do pretty well up on the roof with Daddy.

Ephraim is getting around much more quickly these days. He can follow me ANYWHERE and I have to be careful because he is sometimes underfoot. Either that, or he is messing with things that should stay underfoot:

So now you know why all the rugs in my kitchen are bunched up or moved around. Ephraim is quite the little explorer. The funny thing is that whenever I set him down and I am not going anywhere for him to follow, he will head straight for Jacob's room. Apparently he has already discovered that all the good toys are in there.

Jacob is starting to figure out how to play with Ephraim and it is SO cute! He will get down on the ground and say "Beeper, come here! Come this way!". Then Ephraim tries to catch up with him, giggling all the while. He thinks it is a great game... if only Jacob wasn't so fast!

Ephraim also wants to play with whatever Jacob is playing with. Here are the two boys this weekend playing with blocks. Aren't they cute?

Jacob is definitely learning to tolerate Ephraim more and do a better job of sharing his toys with Ephraim. It's fun to see them start to play together. (They both got haircuts on Saturday too. I think Ephraim's hair is so fuzzy and cute!)

I have even caught Jacob encouraging Ephraim to come into his room. Then he closes the door so Ephraim can't get out. I guess that way he has a captive audience! It's pretty funny.

Joe got out his headlamp this weekend, so here is a picture of Jacob with it on. He thought it was tons of fun. He went to his room and checked out everything with his light. What a character!

Boys are so much fun! They sure are energetic, and before long the two of them are going to be chasing each other around the house!

It all ads up!

Wahoo!

My first check from Google for the ads on my public blog came this week. I have earned $129 to add to my "dream camera" fund. I am trying to save up enough to buy a Cannon XSi so I can take my own photos of the boys instead of going to a studio. I would also like to take up photography as a little side business.

So thanks to all of you (Mom) who not only read this blog, but also take time to check on my public blog from time to time (and maybe click on some things here and there). I really appreciate it!

Leaves Today, Snow Tomorrow!

Last night when Joe got home from voting, he and Jacob went outside to rake up the leaves in our front yard. Jacob just loves to help Daddy! Apparently we need to get him some tools his own size! Check out this boy raking leaves.

While I was taking photos of him, Jacob lifted up the rake and told me that it had "sharp teeth". What a funny boy! He will be such a big helper to his daddy as he grows up.

It turns out that it was a good thing that they raked the leaves last night. When we woke up this morning there was snow everywhere. So of course we had to bundle up and go exploring outside. Jacob had fun running around in the snow and playing with one of his sand shovels. Here he is piling up snow on our porch swing.

At first Ephraim wasn't sure if he liked the snow or not. When I set him down in his snowsuit he immediately tipped over. Then he gave me a face that said, "Mommy, get me out of here!" After a little while he decided it was ok. He even smiled for Mommy.

What a cutie, huh? Jacob had fun playing until his hands got cold. Then we had to run inside for a minute to warm up.

Brrr! Snow is COLD!

Then I remembered the mittens that Aunt Emily made Jacob for Christmas last year. It turns out that they fit much better this year. It probably helps that Jacob understands what they are for and WANTS to have them on. I thought I didn't get a picture with the mittens, but actually if you look at the first picture of Jacob you can see that he is wearing them.

Ephraim was starting to get tired. He had been up a long time this morning without taking a nap. Just check out the look he is giving me in this photo.

Are we done yet?

The snow is already melting away. This afternoon Jacob wants to "build a snowman" but there isn't enough snow left. I am sure that there will be plenty of snow this winter, and we will build many-a-snowman this year. Aren't boys fun?

Halloween weekend

We had a Happy Halloween at the Devereaux Household.

Friday was a pretty busy day. In the morning I worked on finishing Joe's costume. I also had to run to the store and run some other errands. Then we came home and had lunch. After lunch the boys napped and I cooked a bunch of chicken while finishing Joe's costume.

Right after Joe came home from work we had dinner and then headed off to the Trunk-or-Treat that our ward was having at the church parking lot. Everyone thought that our costumes were great! Here is a picture of Jacob and Joe.

Jacob had fun at the trunk-or-treat. About halfway through he lost interest in getting more treats because he just wanted to eat some of what he already had! It was also a bit difficult because there were so many people and sometimes we had to negotiate the crowd for Jacob a bit. He also had fun playing in the leaves and we couldn't help but take some pictures with Joe's hat.


What fun, huh?

Afterwards we went to Melinda's house to show her our costumes. She took some pictures for us that turned out really nicely.


Hopefully you can tell that Joe is the Empire State Building, Jacob is King Kong, Ephraim is Superbaby, and I am Faye Ray/the damsel in distress.

Apparently King Kong picked me up and carried me to the top of the Empire State Building. Then Superbaby had to come and rescue me. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

The rest of our Halloween was pretty low-key. We let Jacob eat some of his candy, and then we all went to bed.

The next day was very busy for us. Joe went and helped a sister in our ward move while I took the boys to Super Saturday. I made a Family Home Evening board to help us remember to have FHE, and then worked on a Christmas present for my mom (no pictures because then it wouldn't be a surprise!). Technically I was supposed to leave my kids home, but they were pretty well-behaved during Super Saturday. Joe showed up so we all ate lunch at the church. Then we went home and put the boys to bed.

During their naps Joe went to look for some supplies to finish his outdoor projects while I worked on finishing up Christmas presents for all my nieces. Then Joe came back (empty-handed) and helped me hang up the FHE board that I made. He also helped with the Christmas presents.

Later in the evening our Stake held a Harvest Ball. I didn't think we would be able to go, but then last minute I was able to get Stacy to come and watch the boys for us. (Thanks Stacy!) She also picked up our recumbent exercise bike to use, since we are using our trainer now. It was fun to go to the dance with Joe even though there weren't a lot of people there. We enjoyed dancing together and chatting with the other couples. It was nice too because when we got home we got to set our clocks back an hour and thus get more sleep! I am glad that daylight savings time is over! Now I don't have to think about what time it is in Arizona whenever we go to call Joe's family!

How was your Halloween?