Autumn

We spent Saturday afternoon at Uncle Dan's and Aunt Clare's house. The boys all went over to help Uncle Dan with the new house construction, while the girls had a little party for cousin Bronwen. We made some oh-so-stunning party crowns, decorated the bikes and wagons, and went for a "parade" down the street.


(I think Elizabeth is a little jealous that her cousins' neighbors are cows, goats, and chickens!)



On the way back we stopped at the pumpkin patch. Elizabeth thought the pumpkins made great chairs. . .


It's hard to believe that it's fall already! This has always been my favorite season, but this year it's been especially gratifying to me to share in Elizabeth's discoveries as the season changes. . .to see the smile on her face as she shuffles through the crunchy leaves, to watch her determined scramble across a muddy pumpkin patch, to teach her to throw those little winged maple tree seeds into the air and watch them spiral downwards (over and over and over!). I often tell Jared that becoming a mom has made me feel "old"--but for brief moments it also allows me to be young again, when I catch glimpses of the world through my little one's eyes.

New Baby

Congrats to Aunt Angie and Uncle Nick on the arrival of their little girl, Payton Kay! (This brings the grand total to 2 grandsons and 7 granddaughters for Grandma and Grandpa Olson. Phew!)



Congrats also to Aunt Kellie and Uncle Joseph on their new puppy, Panda. (This makes 2 granddaughters and 1 grandpuppy for Nonny and Poppa Epperson.)

Oops, I Did It Again. . .

September is National Child Safety Month (don’t you love all these “awareness” months/weeks/days? There is even an awareness week for. . .drumroll please. . .head lice. No, really.)

Anyway, unlike some of these "awareness topics", this one interests me greatly. It would take a few volumes to describe every particular thing you can do to try and keep your kid safe. And it changes on a near-daily basis as your little one learns to roll, crawl, walk, open cupboards, and operate heavy machinery. So I’ll narrow my focus to the NUMBER ONE safety issue. Nope, not rabid dogs. Or pennies. Or lead paint, iron pills, Drano, or the temperature on the water heater being too high. The number one cause of death for children 1-12 is car accidents. And sadly, many of those deaths occurred because child restraints were missing or improperly used. Of course, determining what “proper use” means isn’t always easy. . .The whole issue can start sounding like one of those logic problems on the SAT:

“A child can be in Seat A until he reaches 20 pounds OR 26 inches and must be in the rear-facing position at all times. In order to be forward facing the child must be 20 pounds AND 1 year, regardless of height. Seat B can be used in the rear-facing position from 5 pounds until 30 pounds OR approximately 35 inches. The straps may be at any slot setting but they must be below shoulder level. The seat may also be used in the forward-facing position, but only if the child is 1 year old AND 20 pounds and only until the child is 40 pounds OR 48 inches, but the straps may only be in the top slot setting AND must be above shoulder level. Seat C can be used as Seat B, but additionally as a booster without the internal harness if child is 40 pounds AND 4 years old and until the child is 100 pounds OR 4’8”.”

Phew! It’s no wonder that more than half of all carseats are installed or used incorrectly—some studies even suggest it’s as high as 80%. (Starting to wonder if you’re in that 80%? Keep reading. . .)

We’ve made puh-lenty of our own carseat mistakes as new parents, and we’ve learned quite a bit in the process. I was planning on writing out all the things I wish someone had told us at the beginning about car seat safety. . .but then I found the following site that sums it all up quite nicely. So instead I've devised a little test. Go ahead and read the info on the following link--your current and future children and grandchildren will thank you!--then come back and take the test.

Car Seat Safety Guide

Okay, finished reading? Great, here's the test. . .What's wrong with this picture?:

(For the benefit of those who don't read PEOPLE magazine, that's Britney Spears with her 8-month-old son Sean Preston.)

a) The harness straps should be snug across the shoulders and body, with the harness clip at chest level.
b) The baby should be in a rear-facing seat until at least 1 year and 20 pounds.
c) World-famous pop singers should not have babies with their skeezy thug-wannabe backup dancers.
d) All of the above.

Eatin' good in the neighborhood. . .

Today was the second annual neighborhood "Fall Festival". This has been such a fun new tradition for our neighborhood! The main even is the Dutch oven cookoff; each family is assigned a slot in the church parking lot in which to set up their Dutch oven(s), but since much of Dutch oven cooking is about *waiting* (for the coals to heat up and then for the food to cook) everyone spends a lot of time walking around to visit with one another. . .and to size up the competition. A panel of judges samples each entry, and then everyone gets to enjoy all the food while the judges making their final decision.

Elizabeth loved the teepee that had been set up for the kiddos:


(I don't think that war paint is authentic, but the kids didn't seem to care.)

More Summer Fun

Several weeks ago we made a trip out to Liberty Park with the Olson cousins. . .what fun! The kiddos splashed and waded in the Seven Canyons water feature, built to represent--you guessed it--the seven canyons in the Salt Lake Valley, with rivers winding their way downhill to join together into a little "lake". This is a lot of fun for playful kids and sharp-eyed grownups alike! Here's Elizabeth playing in the "downtown" area (notice the city blocks and tall buildings):

I don't actually have any pictures of Elizabeth playing IN the water--she mostly walked around with a ball in each hand and let her cousins do the getting-wet bit.

When cousin Brooklyn came out a few weeks later, we headed back to the park to visit Tracy Aviary and splash around in the Canyons again. In fact, Elizabeth was talking about this second trip just today: "Mama! Bwoo bird! Ducks! Eat! Food! Throw! Carseat!" (Translation: We went to Tracy Aviary and saw a bluebird. Then we saw the ducks. They were eating. We threw food out on the water for them to eat. On the way home I was stuck in my carseat for an hour and a half while Mommy battled the rush hour traffic.)

Elizabeth, Uncle Brandon, and a lame pun in the background.

Elizabeth was much braver in the Canyons this time--I think she was trying to do the whole "older, more experienced cousin bit" to impress Brooklyn.

Sweet dreams, Imelda. . .

Elizabeth loves her big-girl bed--especially because it means more room for her "treasures"! We never know what we're going to find in her bed (or ours!) come morning. . .On this particular night, after we tucked her in with her plush menagerie, she was apparently overwhelmed by the need to ACCESSORIZE and climbed back out of bed to retrieve her beloved "bwoo shoes" and the oh-so-dainty Fisher Price pop-bead necklace.

A few nights later Mom woke up in the morning with Elizabeth snuggled up next to her--binky in mouth, security blanket in one hand, Matchbox car in another, and laying on top of a copy of "One Hungry Monster" and her pink chenille teddy bear. We're still not sure how she managed to climb into our bed carrying all that stuff!

Water Baby

Elizabeth had a great time swimming at Aunt Joni's grandmother's pool tonight. Okay, fine, maybe "swimming" isn't quite the right word--she did spend much of the time frantically wrapping herself around Mom or Dad's torso. . .but eventually she got a little braver and even tried paddling around with a kickboard for awhile. After cousin Jordan showed her what the slide was all about, she was eager to try it herself: