Fat Lip

Owen is my little daredevil. He has had more bloody lips and bonked heads than I can count, and yet he is never deterred from danger. I have to keep a close eye on him, and even then he manages to get hurt.

On Monday we had a busy morning - Owen had a well check at the Dr's office, then we went to the store, then to visit a friend in the hospital. Owen ended up with only a 10 minute nap in the car, so maybe the lack of sleep affected his coordination. When we got home, we were inside the house for less than a minute before he managed to fall face first onto the tile floor while pushing a little toy. There was much crying and blood, as he nearly put his teeth through his top lip! Thankfully, nursing right away will stop the bleeding of any mouth injury because there was no way he was going to suck on a rag or anything of the sort. Within minutes, he was up and at it again, rough housing with Eli in the new tent and tunnel that we finally got from a Christmas exchange (thanks Grandma and Grandpa B.!). He had a nice fat lip, and the next day it turned completely purple from the inside out. It's only been 4 days, but the bruise is already fading - amazing how the human body works!

By the way, his well check when great. He's officially 27 pounds, and a genius, lol. He scores in the 24 to 26 month range in language, fine and gross motor, and right about 16 to 18 months for social something or other (I don't remember the exact name of that part of the scale). It was his 15 month check, though he turns 16 months this week. We love you O man!

It Lives!

My camera is back! And it seems to be working this time! Here are a few pics from this week... haven't you missed these?

One day during Owen's nap, Eli wanted to play baby. We pretended he was my newborn and I held and rocked him and said sweet things... then he wanted to be wrapped. So we took a bunch of funny pics of ourselves and laughed together. It was a nice day.

My little artists!

Finally, pictures of my heart-attacked car!Owen's various stylish looks - First, peanut butter face.

Next, super bed head.

And of course, the pink and black beads (thanks Aunt Aubrey)!

I LOVE it when Daddy comes home - as soon as the boys hear the garage door open they head for the stairs shrieking "Daddy's home!" It's our favorite part of the day! Poor guy had to go back and forth from work this entire weekend... it was tiring but at least we managed to get him to church and home for dinner!

My little helper.

PS - Eli go to say the prayer in Primary today for the first time... it was one of those moments that had me welling up. We was so brave and went right on up there in front of all those big scary kids and said a sweet little prayer. I couldn't really hear him, but I felt wonderfully proud of him anyway!

Potty Updates and Funnies

I have slacked off on this blog in a major way! I don't even know why... I've been thinking that maybe my life right now as compared to last year is just comfortable rather than adventurous or exciting, haha. Unless you count the adventures in potty training and taking care of sick kids, and then getting sick yourself and still having to take care of kids! I felt more motivated to blog when I got to talk about things like Boston, New York, DC, Cape Cod etc. I'm sure Missouri has some hidden gems out here that we just need to get busy uncovering. At least it is finally starting to warm up!

I AM excited to say that Eli is potty learning like a champ! I thought he might NEVER poop on the potty, and Brad and I even joked that it would probably take him a year considering his stubbornness over other issues (ie. solid food, sleeping through the night, drinking from a cup which he still refuses... you get the idea). Anyway, one day two weeks ago I happened to catch him at just the right time and he was able to go just a little. We celebrated and bought a train... and he felt he had accomplished what he needed and refused to try again for another week... then we had another lucky day, and now he's up to 4 poops on the potty this week! He has a special poop chart he puts stickers on, and we made it with five boxes... he gets another train when he fills up the chart (though I should have made it with more boxes... I thought he might be stubborn about it and now I can't believe I have to buy a second train this month). Anyway, the next chart will have to be like a month's worth so we don't go broke, lol. But I'm so proud of him and he's been so proud of himself! I love calling Daddy together to make the big announcement everytime he's successful =). So he is totally diaper free, even at night, and has been for a month... and now I'm very nearly free of poop cleanup duty. It's amazing how easy having only one child's diapers to tend to seems to me now, haha.

While I'm finally blogging, I thought I'd post some of the funny things the kids have said lately. They really do keep me laughing and bring a sparkle to the days around here! At three, Eli comes up with the most hilarious things, and Owen's emerging grasp of language really cracks me up too.

Eli:
"Mommy, some dinosaurs poop in the potty and some dinosaurs poop in the plants."

(While trying on my bracelet) "I'm wearing a bracelet - like a girl... when I turn a girl I will be a mom!"

"When I grow up I'm gonna be a baby... but I'm not a baby yet!"

Eli is really fascinated with pregnancy and birth - he has two aunts expecting babies soon and talks about it a lot. He often tells me he has a baby in his tummy. During one such conversation, I asked him where his baby was going to come out. He looked himself over and said "This little TINY hole!" while pointing to his belly button.

While walking around with his eyes closed - "I can't see, but I'm still walking!"

One day out of the blue he says "Oh no! Daddy's lost!" We had to call Daddy at work to confirm he was not lost and would be home for dinner.

Another random comment - "Oh no! I need more seashells for my collection!' I had no idea he had a collection, or knew what one was!

I was sitting on the floor and Eli was on the couch - he looks at me and says I'm going to give you a blessing (puts his hands on my head) - "Heavy Fader, take you this day, eat the food and bless the food, Jesus Christ AYYYMeeeen!"

I drove through a puddle one day and Eli says "That was a might splash!" I think he picked that one up from Thomas the Train... he also likes to say "Thomas is applying his brakes" while playing trains.

When upset and crying he will yell "I need a binky in my mouth!"

He is very into understanding emotions right now, and identifying facial expressions of others, as well as noting what he is feeling. He frequently changes his face and tells me "I'm cross" or "I'm grumpy" or "Look, I'm happy now!" He will also tell me "I can't, I'm busy!" in a cross tone of voice when I ask him to do something - oops that one could be my fault =). He also likes to tell me that he is frus-us-strating (frustrated).

*Warning - next comment involves the word "Nipple"
Brad was working late one day when we were all sick... I was worn out so I took a bath with the kids to kill two birds with one stone. When we got out, I was dressing and Eli points to himself and says "These are my nipples." Then he observes, "You have big nipples." Nice... I agreed and quickly put my shirt on. He notices and says "Oh, you keep them safe. So they don't get lost... so no one tries to STEAL them!" Hopefully this is not offensive, but I got a good laugh from that one. I don't know how they'd get lost or stolen, but obviously he realizes they are special, haha.

Owen:
When anything gets on his hand he says "Oh! Binger!" (finger)

When he gets covered with a blanket, or can't stand up quickly, or anything happens to restrict his freedom of movement he starts yelling "oh duck! duck!" (stuck)

He lets me know everytime he is pooping by announcing "oh! Poop!" And then adds "steeky" (stinky) when he's done.

Owen LOVES to stir up trouble by looking Eli in the eye and saying simply "Miiiiiiiinnnne!" no matter what Eli is holding. It sends him through the roof every single time!

He learned how to say "Nuhse" (nurse), so now asks me in plain English when he wants it. I am not ashamed of extended breastfeeding, but I don't really like to announce to every one in ear shot that I'm still nursing my 16 month old. I never had to really deal with that with Eli because he called it "some" or would just give me a look. Owen doesn't care where we are, he'll just start announcing "Nuhse, Nuhse!" when he wants it (usually just at naptime though thank goodness). What's realy cute though is when I repeat back to him "oh, you want to nurse?" he gets a sheepish yet gleeful smile and says "Okay!" and immediately jumps into position. Once at a friend's house I was getting him set up to nurse and he completely lifts my shirt and says "OFF!" That was a new one and I was glad I was at a breastfeeding friendly friend's house!

When he doesn't want to fall asleep at night, he will start asking to "Wap" (wrap) meaning he wants me to get up and wrap him instead of laying there. I fell for it a few times, feeling overjoyed that he was requesting the wrap... only to realize it was just his sneaky way of trying to delay bedtime. What a stinker... they learn so early....

Cuddit (carrot)

Rek Rah (breakfast)

Our Valentine's Week

Again, I'm behind on holiday posting because of the absence of my camera! I've been hoping I'd have it back in time to take a few pictures, but it's MIA from the repair company. *sigh* I feel so disabled without it!

The week of Valentine's day was a fun-packed week for us, and thankfully we were in between illnesses. I belong to a group out here called the Network for Residents' Spouses (NRS) and usually attend the weekly playgroup. I was asked to host the Valentine's Day party here at my house, so on Thursday we ended up with around 30 people packed in here! It was a lot of fun. The boys helped me scatter some heart decorations here and there, and we had some red Christmas lights up on the stairs. And since the house was already clean and I had leftover treats, we had Eli's Sunbeam class (the 3 year old class at church) join us the next day for a party repeat!
We celebrated our family day of Love on Saturday. The boys each got a small heart box of chocolates, which they went to town on immediately! They each got a little movie (Thomas the Train and Cars) courtesy of Grandma K., and Grandma B. had sent them a little care package earlier in the week with some cars, dinosaurs, and candy! What lucky little boys!

I lucked out on Saturday as well.... my sweetheart pulled out all the stops to spoil me. He woke up early and took my car out in the freezing cold to wash and vacuum it (much needed!). He even taped hearts all over the inside with little messages on them, and included a pink airfreshener! I was glowing all morning while driving it out around town on errands =). He also splurged on some orange roses (my favorite color!), which I know is kind of extravagant for our current situation, but I do LOVE flowers!



We also got to go out on a REAL DATE! We traded babysitting with some friends of ours out here, so they went out the week before while we watched their kids, and they watched Eli and Owen for us on Saturday. Brad picked the restaurant - Sophia's - which was serves up YUMMY meditterranean/Greek/Italian type food - my FAVE. It was so nice just to be able to spend a few hours together with no worries - laughing and talking and just enjoying our DATE. Of course I always know I love Brad, but it's nice to have times like these now and then to remember how fun it is to be "in love" too, you know what I mean? Anyway, I don't really use this blog as a forum for professing my love for Brad, but he is an AMAZING guy, I LOVE HIM, and I'm so thankful that after all these years and the crazy twists and turns our lives have taken, that he LOVES ME too! I'm a lucky woman!

PS. I'm editing to mention that we also had two other couples over on Sunday evening (actual Valentine's Day) for a candelit dinner of chili and cornbread. One of the couples brought sparkling cider, so I had an excuse to unpack my goblets that had been stored away for two years. It was a lot of fun! *(Except for the part where Owen woke up puking in the middle of the night)* Anyway, I can't believe I forgot to mention it =).

Poop, Snot, Barf

Sorry for the unattractive title, but these are the inevitable unpleasantries of motherhood... made especially fun when you get to deal with them all at ONCE. Hence, the lack of blogging in the last week... I've been "up to my elbows" as they say =).

First, the potty training. Eli has been officially in underwear for two weeks now. Really, it has gone more smoothly than I could have hoped. After all of our half-hearted attempts to start, I just had to let go of diapers cold turkey. And guess what - not a SINGLE pee accident in all that time! And he's gone to church, the store, and friends' houses! Wow. I still have to remind him and take him throughout the day, but if I forget for a few hours, he will just hold it rather than pee himself (and he won't tell me he needs to go, lol). But the poop... OH. THE. POOP. I have had to clean up poop out of his underwear EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. He refuses to tell me when he needs to go, and never produces on the potty even if I sit him there for a half an hour. He sneaks away somewhere quiet (usually playing trains) as soon as I am busy (ie. putting Owen down for a nap). He has a sticker chart, bribery chocolate, and knows as soon as he poops on the potty he will get a NEW TRAIN, and yet, no success. Ugh. Thank goodness for my diaper sprayer! For those of you unfamiliar, it's like a kitchen sprayer that hooks to your toilet tank - I use it for spraying poop off the cloth diapers, and it also works great for messy undies and little training toilets!
And since we are discussing nastiness, of course winter illness brings on even more! Owen ended up with unexplained diarrhea for a couple of days two weeks ago. It figures that I had recently re-committed to cloth diapers full time and we had no disposables in the house. After hosing diapers out all day, I called Brad at work and begged him to bring some home with him! We lost a few nights of sleep over this illness, because it seemed to hit hardcore in the middle of the night.

Owen recovered from the diarrhea and had a good week last week, and then this week got a major cold. The WEIRDEST thing though, is that after I put him to bed on Sunday night, he woke up and puked ALL OVER the bed, himself, and nearly missed Eli. I thought he was getting the flu on top of it, but he was fine the next day. I washed up all the bedding (you know what a task that is), only to have him to it again the next night! Again, fine the next day, and the next night, then Weds night he lost his cookies all over MY bed! The best we can figure is that he was just having a little gag reflex to the thick cold secretions when I'd lay him down. Ugh. Washing bedding 3X in one week is NOT fun, not to mention getting up in the middle of the night to clean puke off of a crying kid and then try to find somewhere clean to sleep. Thank goodness for Brad and his help - the poor man was on-call and getting woken up all night by his pager as it was. Last night was much better - no puking, and Owen slept pretty well most of the night. So hopefully we are OVER IT.

Naughtiness and Fun

Well after the marathon holiday catch-up, I thought I'd post some funny and naughty things I caught my kids doing in the last month. The pictures are from my camera phone because my good one is still broken, so sorry about the quality!

Story #1: Little Picassos

The boys were pretty inspired after their trip to the art studio in January. One morning I had the bright idea of letting them "paint" the wall with water. They were THRILLED. They were getting along so well and seemed to be so wrapped up in making water "rainbows" that I snuck away to fold laundry in the bedroom.



When I came out to check on them, I was shocked to discover that the water had somehow turned the wall black and blue! Then it dawned on me... Eli had gotten into the pantry and helped himself to the actual watercolors (did I mention after the Cheerios post that there is now a LOCK on that door?!). It took quite a bit of scrubbing to get it off, but he helped me clean it up. Then he repeated all day "we don't put real paint on the wall, only on paper."

Story #2: Headbands

The boys love my headbands... what more can I say? They fight over who gets to wear them, and actually broke my favorite black one with the flower... grr! Though I have to admit, I think they look kind of cute in headbands =).

Story #3: Monkey Business

One afternoon the boys found it hilarious to run shrieking through the house with monkeys hanging on their necks. Brad and I got a good laugh at that one!

Story #4: The Dentist

Eli had his first trip to the Dentist... not only no cavities, but NO PLAQUE. And he really did GREAT. He was excited to go and was very cooperative - even with the tooth brushing, flossing, and flouridating. The hygenist was awesome with him, and the waiting room was really set up fun for kids. We had to stay for 20 minutes after our appointment just to play. Owen got his teeth briefly looked at too, but he wasn't as excited or cooperative =).

Story #5: Giant Dinosaurs

Eli and Owen each picked out a giant dinosaur for their birthdays (with a giftcard from a friend). Good old Stegosaurus and Triceratops are lots of fun and very splashy in the bathtub! Between the four of them, I end up with water dripping down the walls after their bath together. The kids also love bubble baths, but have emptied out TWO brand new bottles into the tub in ONE week... I will be locking our new bottle up as well =). Much laughter, squealing, and splashing occurs during bathtime around here!

Catching Up Part 6: Sledding and Snow Men

Are you starting to wonder how many catching up posts there are going to be??? Haha. This is the last one, I promise! Anyway, it wouldn't be a trip to Utah without some good old sledding and snow man building! Last year we forgot to bring snow clothes for Eli, and with Owen being only a few weeks old, we avoided the outdoors, lol. This year I made sure to pack correctly! We had to borrow a coat for Eli, but luckily had some snow pants that still fit him and his old snow suit from last year fit Owen. We improvised on snow boots - covering Eli's regular shoes with a pair of Grandpa's old socks - they went up to his knee under his pants to keep snow from getting in his shoes. We went with Grandpa and Sky, Ash and Kenna over to the park for some sledding!

Three kids on a sled:

Both boys cried about going down, but kept wanting to do it again so I guess it was fun afterall.





After a few sled rides, we goofed around in the snow a little. It was all fun and games until some snow landed on Eli's face. As soon as he felt the cold on his cheek, that was the END of the fun! Major waterworks ensued, and he sniffled the whole walk home. Oh well... it was a fun memory to make!


One day I went into town alone to do some shopping, and Brad and Grandpa took the boys out in the front yard for some sled pulling and snowman building. Didn't they do a good job?


They thoroughly and effectively wore the kids right out!

Our trip home went more smoothly. We took the I-80 through Wyoming and Nebraska this time. There were some very pretty parts of Wyoming - forests that looked like they'd been frosted with diamonds! Nebraska was very boring... and COLD. We spent the night in Lincoln, NE and everything in our car was frozen the next morning. Even the DVD player didn't work for a while until it got warmed up (and can I just say how THANKFUL I am for car DVD players???? It's the ONLY thing that allowed us to survive such a long road trip with little ones!). We made it home safe and sound, worn out, and happy. We had a great time and sure love and miss everyone. We are happy here at home as well.