Must Haves For Your Library

I rarely buy books, but every now and again, I run across one that I have to have. Paul Collicutt wrote several "transportation" children's books. The pictures are amazing and the boys can read them over and over and over again - they're entrancing. Each book teaches about opposites and they're simple enough that Andrew was able to memorize them quickly. The only one we're missing is "This Plane." (Hint Hint, Grandmas).


Another book that we discovered at the library was "Everywhere Babies," by Susan Meyers. The illustrations are adorable - they capture babies perfectly. On the back cover, they even have an illustration of a baby sucking his two middle fingers like Andrew did (does). The verse is fun to read. A warning, however, is there are some "politically correct" illustrations of same-sex couples. They're not blatant, but they are noticeable. Of course, my boys have never pointed this out, and I figure if they ever do, it will be a great way to discuss that there are many different types of families out there.

Josh Therapy

If you've been one of the lucky recipients of Joshua's hugs...this entry will make total sense. He flashes one of his heart-melting smiles to anyone that pays special attention to him; and if he finds you particularly friendly, he'll run up to you and give you a hug. And it's not just any old hug, it's a mold-into-your-body-full-on-cuddle-type hug. It's therapeutic to cuddle with Josh - it's serious business to him, and he doesn't take the matter lightly. I'm so lucky - I get those hugs multiple times each day.

Here he is in the arms of his grandma, his favorite person in the world (his dad and me are a close second):

This picture was taken a few weeks ago at a Bees game. As soon as we got there, and grandma was spotted, he wanted nothing to do with me. Those two are kindred spirits, I'm telling you.

Bed Bug

The Devil Made Me Do It

Andrew is four; and he knows better.

He knows NOT to push the "campus police" button on the elevator - or to dump water by the cup-fulls out of the tub - or to play with permanent markers.



However......

If he can get little brother, innocent little brother, to do these things...little brother gets in trouble. Andrew gets to laugh at little brother, while remaining unscathed.


I'm onto you Andrew.

Watermelon, lots of popsicles, many trips to the water park, and very little picture taking...

....that's what we've been up to this summer. I'm beginning to feel the motivation (it might help that my husband has been pestering me on a daily basis) to update the goings on of our lives. Stay tuned...

Red Butte with Grandma

Apologies...

...for the misleading comment on my "My Addiction" post. No, I'm not pregnant. I'm a big time planner, and yes, I'd like to have another baby in the forseeable future.

Time?

Before I had Andrew, I worked as a bank teller. I always wore a watch because I needed it to record the time in a book every time I took cash into and out of the vault. I also had to write down the date several times a day.

Now that I'm a mom, I've stopped wearing my watch altogether. And I never know what the date is.

My Addiction

I got this harebrained idea some weeks ago that our apartment is just too small. That I NEED a fenced backyard. And a garage. And a basement. And a place to put a third baby. We're on a waiting list for 8 total student 3 bedroom townhomes/houses - we're 3rd in line. The problem is, once a family moves into one of these said homes, they park it for eternity, so we're looking at a 6-month to 18-month wait. Sooo....I've developed this terrible habit of checking Craigslist every few hours, and every time I drive by a FOR RENT sign, I stop and call to find out the price & number of bedrooms. I've yet to find as good a deal as the student homes. So I wait.

And dream.

Dr. Daddy: The First Week

Randy started his residency last week. When he came home Friday evening, he pretty much questioned his decision on becoming a doctor.

This isn't the first time he's said such things, and I'm sure it won't be the last time (and I believe many medical students/residents/doctors have similar feelings on any given day).

After being married to Randy for 7 1/2 years, I know my role well--I listed all of the jobs he could possibly have had (he graduated with a chemical engineering degree, we could have stopped there!). We deduced together that this is the best job for him, that he is way overwhelmed, and that things will get better. That night, we went to a BBQ with the residents and fellows. He is working with the nicest, most down-to-earth bunch of people I've ever met. I left that BBQ feeling comforted, knowing Randy was in good hands. I love their residency coordinator - she is like a mom and makes sure the residents are well taken care of.

Do you want to know another beautiful thing about Randy's choice in residency? He had a three day weekend! We went swimming and did all of the fun 4th of July things we've always done. I'm telling you, Randy is a smart man.

My Photoshop Break

I finally felt inspired enough to fiddle around with our Photoshop Elements software. We got it last September for Randy's India trip and I was excited because it's supposed to be the best photo-editing/digi-scrapping software out there (next to the full-blown version of Photoshop). Too many other things got in the way and, well, the new blog banner is the by-product of my hours of fiddling with it. Although I should be filing, making my cards for Card Night, balancing our checkbook, blogging about my children and the 4th of July, scrubbing someting, etc.--it was a nice break and I learned something new!!

In Memory of Camille

Little Camille is a sweet, 1-year-old baby that I've never met. She is the niece of a dear friend of mine and she died 2 1/2 weeks ago in a drowning accident. I've been reading her mother's blog (who uses blogging to help cope with her loss) and it has touched me so profoundly that I wanted to respond to one of her blog posts:

Take a minute for me tonight and record the little things your kids do right
now. They don't even need to be cute things. Someday when your baby is grown you may even miss the food thrown on the ground or the face wiped on the sleeve.
Cherish the little things. For the little things are the spice in life.

Andrew:

• Andrew is a hard-core back seat driver. He tells me to go, stop, or slow down when the traffic lights change. Randy was following a car ahead of us a little too closely the other day and Andrew said, "Don't crash Daddy!"
• His grammar and sentence structures are still a little off, and it reminds me that he's still my sweet, little boy and that he's not quite a "big boy."
• When he doesn't want to go to bed, he says, "But Mom! I'm bigger now! I can stay up!"
• He's my little buddy. He gladly goes on trivial errands with me while we leave Dad & Josh at home.
• He has an unstoppable urge to suck his fingers whenever his blankie is around. I have to remind him to go put his blankie on his bed.
• Every now and again he'll ask me to sit with him while he's watching Sesame Street. We both usually end up taking a little snooze together.
• Whenever I get the camera out, he gives me the cheesiest smiles & poses. It's hard to get a normal picture of him.

Josh:

• He has this move we call the "Joshy Strut." After bathtime, he gets this sudden burst of energy - he leans forward and starts running up and down the halls. I've yet to get a decent picture of it (he doesn't perform for the camera).
• Whenever I pick him up, he puts his head on my shoulder. He's such a cuddly kid.
• When I ask him to give me a kiss, he leans forward so that I'll kiss his forehead.
• When we're out on the playground, he has to walk every square inch of the area and tries to discover new crevices.
• He started going to Nursery two Sundays ago. He's doing great and when I go peek on him, he's usually playing on the little slide they have. He'll climb to the top, clap his hands, slide down, and giggle, and then repeat.
• He always has a bruise (or 2 or 3) on his head. He just can't keep his noggin' out of harm's way!
• He has very distinct cries, I know what they all mean.

Stephanie, please know that you are changing lives with your faith. I can't even grasp the loss that you and your family are going through right now. I think about you often. I wonder how I'd react. I wonder if I'd be as strong as you are. I go through many emotions, and I'll be honest, sometimes I've felt mad for you. I know you're not mad, but sometimes I go there. Thank you for sharing your pain and your testimony. You have strengthened my testimony of the healing powers of Jesus Christ. I love how you said that you "fully feel His arms wrapped around you" and that you "feel the ministering of nearby angels." My faith has been strengthened and I know that no matter what trials I will need to face in this life, that I will never be alone because I am a child of God. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing with us. You are wonderful.

A Day of Rest - Or Not

Josh was a beast yesterday. After lunch, I put Josh down for a nap and then Andrew and I went to take a nap on my bed (it's the only way I can get Andrew to take a nap these days). Thankfully, there's one responsible person in this family - Randy stayed up and cleaned the kitchen. Andrew and I were deep in slumber when Josh - who should have been fast alseep in his bed, mind you -came waltzing into my room. Randy hurried in to get him out and closed the door. Well, Josh was having none of that and wouldn't relent until I got up and attended to his needs - which were to have some cuddle time. The rest of the day, he walked around either screaming (for not getting a sufficient nap) or cuddling with me. He's at that stage where he wants something, anything - but can't quite figure out what it is.

We've been working on American Sign Language with him. He's actually picking up on quite a few words - and he's so proud of himself. My favorite sign he does is "helicopter". Whenever the helicopters fly over our building (which is quite often considering the helipad is located just yards away), he'll wave his hand. We checked out a bunch of "Signing Time" videos from the library - I really like them - the only problem is that their songs are a bit too catchy and I find them in my head more often than I'd like!

My Boys

I sure do love these two....

At 18 months:
23.8 lbs - 22%
33.0 in. - 70%

Josh is my little trouble maker. His top agenda in the day is to wander aimlessly and get into anything he shouldn't. He's so dang cute, we can't even stand it.

At 4 years:
36.0 lbs - 51%
41.1 in - 68%

Andrew is our feisty one, but very quick to forgive and forget. It's fun (and sad) to watch him grow up before our eyes.

We had success with pictures this year. It has always been a painful process for us -but they were both cooperative and I had several good ones to choose from. The lady that took Josh's pictures got him to laugh every single time - it was so cute!

Mud + Boys = Trouble

Flashback Friday: Our Favorite Doctor

We had our last appointment with Dr. Allred this week--it was sad (we'll be switching to a different insurance company). Here are some of my favorite memories of him:

• Andrew was 3 months old and he wouldn't eat (had a stomach virus) and I was frustrated. I took him in and Dr. Allred said, "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, he's normal. The bad news is, he's normal."


• Andrew's weight was always super low, once it was in the 5th percenile, but Dr. Allred still told Andrew, "Way to grow!!"


• Just before leaving the office, he'd turn back and say to me, "You're doing a good job."


• When Josh was just a few days old, I brought him in for a checkup--Dr. Allred took Josh into his arms and said, "There's just something so special when they're this new."


• He always promptly returned my pages.


• He took me seriously and prescribed medications without having to, "wait and see."


• When Josh was colicky & refluxy, he gave me permission to let him scream so I could get some sleep; he was very understanding and empathetic during that time.


• One of his daughters used to suck her fingers like Andrew does. He said she was his smartest child.

He sure will be hard to replace. Know any good doctors under the University Health Care plan?

Camping is Fun

After our restful night away from the children, we decided to pack up the play yard, tent, foam mattresses, sleeping bags, many changes of clothing, and every other belonging we've ever owned into our car for an overnight camping trip with the boys. We went for a hike:

We even ran into a rattler; it was already dead.

Throwing rocks in the water is Josh's #1 favorite pasttime.

They loved the tent
Josh threw some pretty sweet tantrums. He also won the "Get the Dirtiest" contest.
We made Tin-Foil dinners, Andrew helped Dad with the fire.

The boys had fun drawing pictures with chalk:

All was going well until it was time to turn in. Now that I have a bit of hindsight, I believe Josh was trying to tell us, "Where the heck is my bed, and why aren't I in it?!!" Andrew had his own sleeping bag and Josh shared with me (he had his own bed as well, but I forgot to pack his bunting and I was afraid he'd be too cold), we slept for about 3 hours and then everything fell apart. Josh would scream, we'd calm him down, get him to go back to sleep, then Andrew took his turn, he said his feet hurt. We calmed Andrew down and got him to go back to sleep, then it was Josh's turn to wake up and scream. By 4:45 am, Randy and I'd had enough fun for one night, so we hauled the kids down the mountain so they could sleep at Grandma & Grandpa's. That wasn't even good enough for Josh, so he went back with Randy and I to break down camp. By 9 am, we were back in Salt Lake, where Josh could finally sleep in his own bed:

There's no place like home.

**Josh has this cute little habit that I hope he never breaks. Whenever anyone (even complete strangers) asks him a question, he nods his head yes. When we asked him if we could throw him in the creek, he nodded yes.

***I think the next time we get an inkling that we want to go camping, we'll go up for the hike, the Tin-Foil dinners & roasted marhmallows, then pack up our things and go home to sleep in our own beds.

Best. Gift. Ever.

Randy's aunt & uncle gave us a night's stay at the Zermatt resort in Midway as a graduation gift. Randy's parents watched the boys for us and we had such a relaxing time. Very much needed!

When we dropped the boys off, Josh went straight for Grandma's arms; when I went to give him a goodbye kiss, he pushed me away. I come second when Grandma is around.

Hide in the Sink

On our camping trip this weekend, Andrew was inside the tent while Josh was just outside of it. Andrew said, "Let's play hide-in-the-sink," and then proceeded to cover his eyes with his hands and counted to ten. Too cute.

Perfect Fit

Josh, where's your belly?

Where's you nose?

And if you ask him where his eyes, mouth, ears, etc. are, he'll still put his finger up his nose.

Me? A Homeschooler?

When Andrew was a little thing, I had a neighbor that lived across the hall. She had two kids and one on the way. That in and of itself was impressive to me, but she also homeschooled her oldest; she made me tired just thinking about it! From the very beginning of my motherhood career, I never once entertained the idea of homeschooling my children. In fact, I think I was actually looking forward to the days when all of my children were old enough to leave the nest and I could have the days to myself again!

As Andrew got older, I decided I wouldn't send him to preschool when he turned three because I didn't think it was necessary. But I FOR SURE would send him the year before he started kindergarten. I also didn't want to do an at-home-co-op with other moms because 1) it looked like a lot of work and 2) I'm not a huge fan of watching other people's kids. Let me explain that a bit, I like kids, I really do. Just not unruly kids that annoy me.

However, the summer that Andrew turned three, some moms in our neighborhood asked me to be part of their co-op preschool. Two of them were teachers, so I figured Andrew would get more out of this co-op than with just me at home, so I signed up. It was hard at times, but we had a lot of fun, Andrew learned tons, and I'm glad we did it.

Andrew is now almost four and he has one more year before he starts kindergarten. And can you believe it? I'm not sending him to preschool! It was actually a very tough decision for me, but when push came to shove, Andrew made the final decision. I actually signed him up for preschool. It was a great preschool right on campus. I heard nothing but wonderful things about it. But when I took Andrew down there to pay the deposit, we took a gander at the classroom he'd be in. I told Andrew that this would be his new classroom. And he said, "Mom, don't leave me here." He was panicky. I was panicky. It was not a good thing.

So I did some research, lots of talking it over with Randy and the ladies on the playground (and some prayer), and I decided to keep him home for another year. We're actually going to do a co-op with three other moms, it all happened so perfectly and I'm really excited about it. We're also going to try something new this year, we're subscribed to a preschool curriculum:

They send you the lesson plan each month with book lists and the materials for all of the art projects. It looks so fun (and hopefully it will be easier on us teachers).

Another motivating factor for homeschooling Andrew this year is the money. In our city, preschool for 3 days a week is $180/month! We can get the curriculum above, a family pass to EVERYTHING, lessons, supplies, and we can go on cool field trips around the city for less than half that price.

Plus, I get to spend one more year with my baby.

And little brother can tag along.

Andrew is getting a head start this summer with his Summer Bridge Activities workbook. If you're looking for something educational for your kids to do this summer, I highly reccomend this book.

**author's note: I know it looks like we're always doing some fun activity and that my boys are always educationally engaged, but trust me, they also watch lots of TV.

The Monkey is Four

Andrew is a lucky boy. His birthday has always landed on perfectly beautiful days. We invited the neighborhood friends to have cupcakes, popsicles, and sprinkler fun today....

Happy Birthday, sweet kid.

Fun facts about Andrew:

• He's all legs and arms
• He's still obsessed with the color red
• He can write his name with no assistance
• He loves playing games & putting together puzzles. It has become part of his bedtime routine
• He is obsessed with "growing up," he talks about it almost on a daily basis. He says he wants to stay "medium" (brother is small, mom & dad are large)
• He knows the colors of the rainbow in the correct order (ROYGBIV)--I have no idea how he knows that
• He is very protective over his baby brother--so watch out!
• He also tattles on brother (a trait I'm grateful for when little brother is dumping water out of the tub)
• He's better with the computer than I am--he loves computer games
• His favorite TV show is Sesame Street, his favorite movie is Monsters Inc.
• When we go to the zoo, his top 3 requests are to see the elephants, tigers, and snakes
• He hates soccer, but he loves swimming & T-ball

When I asked Andrew what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he had only two stipulations:

1) It needed to have "letters" on it and
2) It had to have 4 candles

(Thanks Andrew for keeping your standards low, you'll never be disappointed in life with that kind of attitude.)

So we went to my favorite cake website and picked out a cake. Andrew helped me with the whole process (and boy is it ever a process, why can't I just go out out and buy a cake like a normal person?) and was so excited with the end result:

He guarded it with his life and made darn sure brother didn't go near it.

We had his party with our family, a fun tradition we've done since his first birthday

This is his cheesiest smile yet.

His one and only birthday request was "Geo Trax." It takes up his entire bedroom, but both of the boys LOVE it. The first day we had it set up, they took turns every two minutes (I had to set the timer, and yes, Josh screamed for an entire two minutes until it was his turn again).

Overall, I think we had a fun and successful fourth birthday.

The Grocery Game Re-Cap

We just finished our 12th week doing the Grocery Game. They say it takes about 12 weeks to see your grocery spending go down because by then you'll have a good stockpile started. We do have a good stockpile--I now have the challenge of finding room for it all! Here are our stats after 12 weeks:

Cumulative savings: $1050
% saved: 41%

(This is for all food, diapers, cleaning supplies, cosmetics, toiletries, etc. that we have spent in the last 12 weeks)

I'm happy with where we're at, and I think there's still room for improvement. In the beginning, I was hoping to get to 50%, but now I'm shooting for 45%, I think that's more realistic for us.

I also was referred to a great website that doesn't charge a membership fee: http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/. I use both the Grocery Game and this website. It's a fun little hobby for me and I love that we're saving money!

Want To Know How To Make God Laugh?

....just tell Him your plans!

We got a fatherly pep-talk from our Bishop yesterday in Sacrament Meeting. Why? Because our ward, that once housed 50-60 families will soon become 30 families with few prospects of any additions. The Bishop told us that many of us would have multiple callings, that presidencies may need to operate with one less counselor, etc. Sheesh! And we thought we were taking the easy road by staying in student housing! The Bishop's words today were very comforting, though. This whole situation (a change in "vision" of the University's master plan) has stressed me out a bit (ok, a lot), but I think this small trial will put us to the test and show us what we're made of. Bring it on!

I Chose Wisely

Driving back home from spending time with our family, Andrew urped (that's Randy's word, I don't know if he made it up, but I like it) multiple times in the back seat. Amazingly though, we still had smiles on our face when we finally arrived home. Randy is just that kind of person-you just take one step at a time and realize "it is what it is." The boys adore him and so do I. Happy Father's day Randy, we love you.

Our Summer Agenda

I thought this summer was going to be boring. Randy is studying for Step III of the boards and he starts his residency in July. Well, now we've got more to do than time to do it!

Firstly, we got family passes to:

Red Butte Gardens. We love this place, it's practically our backyard and we can walk there. They have a children's garden with a splash pad; it's a crazy beautiful place.

This Is The Place Heritage Park. We got a pass 50% off. We can go on train rides, pony rides, and there's a petting zoo plus lots more. We've been twice so far and haven't even scratched the surface.

Hogle Zoo. The boys (including Randy) love it. They just built a new carousel which I'm excited about.

Raging Waters. We've yet to use our passes. It's been a strange summer beginning, but I hear it's going to be in the 90's all next week.

We're also hoping to make our way to our favorite camping spot:

Hobble Creek Canyon. The place where Randy proposed to me.

And we're crossing our fingers we'll make it to Powell for a few days:

And in between, there's the summer reading program at the library. Every time we read, Andrew gets to color in a "reading bug", and every time we have 18 bugs colored, Andrew gets a prize. We've been reading like crazy around here!

We also have a 10-day vacation planned. It's far, we have to go on a plane, and I'm nervous about bringing my children, but I can't tell you anything more about it (it's a surprise, shhhh!).