Miriam is 2!

Because you can never have too much birthday, we celebrated Miriam's second on two separate dates. First we had a combined cousin party at Grandma and Grandpa Scott's house on Sunday. Bennet and Miriam's birthdays are only two weeks apart, so we exchanged presents on that side of the family then. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. Miri got the cutest little singing tea set and a book from Grandma and Grandpa Scott, and a baby and outfit from Aunt McKall and Uncle T.

Then on her big day, we had a party with the Grover grandparents at our house. Grandma and Grandpa gave her a doll and a bunch of books. We gave her a couple of books (you can never have too many) and a laptop. Miri would always sneak into the big girls' room and steal their laptops, so now she has her own age-appropriate one to mess around with.

Behold!

Unwrapping a book from Mom and Dad.

Bekah gathering up her homemade confetti. She and Ana knew that a party needs decorations, so they spent the afternoon coloring pictures of Elmo and taping them up all over the living room and kitchen. They also cut up crepe paper and hung it up on the fridge, ceiling, walls, mirror, doorknob and kitchen chairs.

Blowing out the candles on her Elmo cake.

The cute 2-year-old sporting cake crumbs.

Getting help from Ana while playing "Pin the Head on Elmo."

To see more, click here.

Ana's belly button

One day, Analee reported that she has an upside-down grandma in her belly button.

I know, I know. This comment certainly topped our "oddest things ever uttered in our house" list. So we asked her what she meant.

"See?" she said. "I have an upside-down grandma in my belly button. Her eyes are closed. You can see her hair, eyes, cheeks, nose and mouth."

So we took a look. This is what we saw:


We still weren't exactly sure what she meant, so Seth came up with the idea of taking a closeup of the kid's midsection, printing it out and letting her draw the grandma on there. Here are the results:

(The picture has been flipped so you can see the grandma right-side-up.)

And in case you're still having trouble seeing it, here is a diagram:

I don't know whether to be amazed at her imagination or worried that she spends so much time analyzing her umbilical cord stump. Either way, she's a cutie.

The Cone Comb at state (and our trip to Boise)

After Rebekah's wins at the school and regional Tournament of Innovation, we thought the state Tournament of Innovation in Boise was a good excuse to go on a little family trip and visit my brother and his family. Unfortunately, the thought of spending time with the Grovers strikes fear into the hearts of our kin, so my lovely brother, sister-in-law and nieces decided they'd vacate their house that weekend and visit a "friend" from "dental school" in "Logan."

All right ... so they already had the trip planned when we found out that Bekah qualified for the state competition. We were sad that we didn't get to spend more time with them, but they allowed us to squat (definition #3 ... numbers 1 & 2 would just be weird) in their home while they were away.

Friday after our long drive, Seth tried in vain to put Miri down for a nap (her cousin's crib was WAY too different/exciting/weird for her to close her eyes for very long) while I made two attempts to find the Discovery Center where the tournament was being held to drop off The Cone Comb (curse you, Google Maps, for telling me the wrong exit). After that, we ate dinner and took the girls for a walk around the neighborhood. Gratefully, we were able to find our way back to the Hotel Scott. Miri tripped on the asphalt and scraped up her nose pretty well. (I mention this now so that in subsequent pictures you don't think, "What happened to that kid?")

Saturday morning we had some time to burn before driving to the Discovery Center, so the girls played outside for a while.

Miriam and Rebekah "doing an Indy walk" (Bekah's explanation) while swinging in the backyard. Yes, the wind was chilly, but if it's above freezing, the girls believe it's downright balmy outside.

Then they played inside for a while.

Analee during the pop gun battle we waged in the living room/kitchen.

It was epic. Seth had some pretty incredible moves.

Then we herded everyone into the van to check out the Discovery Center while we waited for the award ceremony.

Miriam trying to touch the spring that appears to be right in front of her. It was actually located below the opening, but a series of mirrors "moved" it.

Rebekah lying on a bed of nails.

And using the shot of air of blow her face instead of the ball.

Andrea and Miriam in the green screen room. We made it look like our heads were floating next to a shark's mouth.

After lunch and a trip to the park, we came back to the Center to hear if Rebekah's invention won anything.

How Analee looked while waiting for them to announce the winners in the non-working invention category.

How Rebekah looked while waiting for them to announce the winner in her age division.

How Miriam looked. See the injured nose?

The tension mounted as they announced the third and second place winners in Bekah's age division and category, but she was relieved when they announced her as the first place winner.

Getting her ribbon from this dude.

Celebrating with Seth.

Needless to say, we're glad we drove the 300 miles so Rebekah could participate.

Sunday was a day of relaxation, church, packing up and traveling home. Oh, yeah ... and another one of these:

Beware the pop guns!

The Cone Comb at regionals

Because Rebekah placed first in her school's Tournament of Innovation, she got to compete at regionals. We dropped off her invention at the Museum of Idaho annex on Friday (Feb. 24) and went back Saturday morning to see if she won anything.

Rebekah with her poster, inventor's log and invention at the Museum of Idaho Annex. She pinned her school's 1st place to her shirt before we left the house. Miri with her ponytail in the foreground.

Her score sheet indicated that she would receive something at the awards ceremony, so we stuck around for a while and looked at the other projects.

Ana checking out some glasses with windshield wipers.

Miri being a goof. I guess we can safely say that her eyes are green. Or are they hazel?

What Miriam does when she's in a crowded room with people who are five times as tall as her.

In her age group (K-2) and division (non-working invention), Rebekah received second place. The family is going to Boise this weekend to see how her project fares against others in the state.

Rebekah posing for the museum's photographer and her mom in front of the Tournament of Innovation banner.

It's a good thing she brought an extra safety pin. ... She brought it "just in case" she received another ribbon.

New mattress

Because Seth's back had been hurting and we received our tax return early, we decided to buy a new mattress (like, a month ago ... but I'm slow in reporting it on the blog). The sales guy told us we'd have to walk around on it to help break it in. This is how Ana helped:


And then Miri woke up from her nap feeling forlorn, so she needed some quality snuggle time on the new mattress.

Miri-ism #3

While reading this book:

When we get to this page:

Miri: Ana!

When we get to this page:

Miri: Ana!

When we get to this page:

Miri: Daddy!