Poor Kid

It's Saturday morning - 11 am. My 4 year old is sad that I told him to eat a cookie.
Worst mom failure of the morning - same child had to ask what kind of cookie it is. What 4 year old doesn't know what a chocolate chip cookie is? Not that they don't get sweets, but apparently I need to make cookies more often.

Something is Sinking In

On Sunday while I was cooking dinner, Guy trailed Cooper into the kitchen and said, "Coop, you Lamanite!

Guy and Cooper had been fighting over a toy when this happened, and I knew he was upset with Cooper at the moment--and it was hard not to laugh.

But my response was, "Hey, if anyone in this house LOOKS like a Lamanite, it's you, Guy."

Uh-oh

 

In April, I just happened to be lucky enough to have the camera out as I witnessed Guy give his first "flower" (if dandelions count as flowers) to a girl that wasn't me. It broke my heart. Just kidding - I thought it was pretty cute.

A couple of weeks ago we were driving home from church and the following conversation ensued:
Guy: "I like Elli."
Dad: "Do you LIKE like her? Or do you like her?"
Guy: "Huh?"
Dad: "Do you LIKE like her? Or do you like her?"
Guy: "Huh? . . . I just like her."
Dad: "Good."

Moments later. . .
Guy: "She's pretty."

Same girl that got the flower gets called pretty a few months later (also another first).

It's a good thing we're moving. ;)

Photos of the Boys

Yesterday was a great cloudy day for photos. It's been a while since I just snapped away at the boys because things have just been hectic. I finally got some photos of Guy in a little 3-piece suit I found for him a long time ago - on a clearance rack - for $17 (love killer deals like that!).

 If only Cooper had been a little more cooperative. Poor boy with a bad rash and incessant teething . . .

Touché

Needing to put some Aquaphor on Guy's chapped face immediately before naptime, I started quickly looking for it in the obvious places in his room, then downstairs, then on to my room.

He knew I was looking for it, and when I was ready to settle on Vaseline to just get him down, he came in smiling, and holding the tub. Then he said, "Here it is, Mom! It was in my room. Next time you need to look harder."

Hmm... where did he learn that? :)

Amidst the Chaos

of a pretty busy week, the boys finally seemed reach their breaking point this morning. Whiny, grumpy, and topped off with runny noses, I had about had it by 10 am this morning (only getting about five hours of sleep, myself). But even in all of that mayhem, we found a good place.

We've been teaching Guy to pray, and trying to instill in him the belief that we know Heavenly Father answers our prayers.

This morning, on his own, for the second time in a couple of weeks, he asked to say a prayer for lost toys. This time, "to have Heavenly Father and Jesus help [him] find [his] Toy Story toys." Immediately I helped him with the prayer, then I started looking around, trying to help and be a "tool" in his request. Shortly thereafter, I was distracted with one break down or another (there were lots of little ones this morning).

However, this time there was no need for me in this equation (with the exception of helping him say the prayers). He asked, and he found. Not even two hours later. These toys were "missing" for at least a couple of weeks, I think. Simply stuck deep in the couch, and I really thought I'd looked there earlier, in my vain attempt.

I loved witnessing the process, and helping him in the smallest of ways in this incident. It's a moment where I think, "He's already growing up!?!" I'm grateful for his innocent faith and his desires to do what right. He's a witness to me of the simplicity of the truthfulness of the gospel that I sometimes overlook.

Guy's Birthday

 

Yesterday Guy turned 3

 He woke up to balloons hanging from all the lights downstairs. And a bunch on the banister and floor.

 

He and Cooper ate 5 blueberry muffins for breakfast AND a cup of homemade yogurt, too.

 

 After Cooper's ultra long nap, the museum plan was nixed. Instead we went to the store and he chose his cake.

 Then we met his our neighbors/friends at Chick-fil-A for lunch (the selling point - the playplace)

 During nap time, I quickly threw a cake together.

For dinner, we had some friends join us for dinner, serving Papa John's pizza - Guy LOVES the garlic dip and will sometimes eat two whole pieces.

 Then Guy went on a scavenger hunt for a present. That was completely Rob's idea and Guy loved it.

 

Here's the loot. A combined gift for Guy and Cooper from us and Guy's uncles, aunts, and grandparents on Rob's side of the family. With Guy's and Cooper's birthdays five days apart, a shared gift for Cooper's first birthday (when he doesn't know any better) seemed perfect.

We had cake and ice cream.

 Coop loves his new cage. :)

 We almost forgot to give him this other gift - one that was left over from Christmas.

 

Today, to begin a new birthday tradition, Guy had his first birthday lunch with Dad. I dropped Guy off at Burger King and he had an hour of quality dad time.

From a Cardboard Box

A couple of weeks ago I got an exercise bike. 

It's already getting good use.

 But there are other perks to this purchase.
Guy requested a car to go with his cardboard box house.

And with the leftovers . . .
The last couple of days have actually brought just a little snow.

 

Enough to thrill this boy.

And make this boy want to grow up even faster.

A makeshift sled was a necessity today.

I love cardboard, duct tape, and a little rope.

Growing Up

Yesterday Guy had a party, and I'm positive it'll be the easiest one I'll ever host. His guests kept him busy for a good chunk of time. They all shared food, games, and even used the bathroom at the same time (washing hands and everything). After lunch, they all took a nap in his room with him--in his bed, on the love sac, and on the floor. They were fantastic guests that are welcome anytime.*

Thanks for coming Busytown Mystery characters, Woody, Buzz, and Jessie.

Today one friend got stuck in the toilet while on a bathroom break. Guy hurried to let them out.

*for the next couple of years anyhow--until he's old enough that it gets weird.


Yea for his imagination and the new realm he entered yesterday. His spontaneous "party" was the first time he's played make believe.

I Had Something Else in Mind

... unfortunately, Cooper wasn't on the same page.

Maybe next year, since I finally took the tree down today. Which would be the reason why Guy cried/whined for almost 45 minutes straight.  "I don't want you to take down my tree."

We Love Visitors

And when we aren't sick, we even like taking photos with them!

 

 

Thanks for coming Papa and Bubbe. We had a great time and wish we could see you more often!

A Few Things

Jury is out - MAYBE I'm enjoying "Guy's" sidewalk chalk as much as he is. Even if I just realized I never drew Donald Duck's right hand--my left hand works better for me, anyhow. :)

 

Guy has been cruising on his bike for quite a while now. Sometimes we take a two mile walk around base housing in the mornings or evenings. Guy bikes the whole way every time. Sometimes a few times a week. He does GREAT!

I love when Coop does this with his pacifier. I just think it's funny. His quick update: His hair is still different colors and textures, his eyes are still blue, and he's 67th percentile in weight and height right now (21.5 lbs). He army crawls everywhere and gets into everything. Every once in a while he's spotted rocking on all fours and even making a few moves on all fours. He's happy and eating tons. We make a lot of his baby food, but on busy days, when we don't make any of it, he'll easily eat 7 of the large tubs.
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A couple of weeks ago Rob was helping Guy with something and Rob was getting a little frustrated. At one point, he asked Guy, "Why are you crazy?"
Guy: "I not crazy! I just like you!"
:)

Guy's often singing and dancing around. He makes up lots of songs as he goes. The "Why?" stage is definitely here. He's growing out of his 2T clothes a little early (which is a first for him). 
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Last thing of note. For the first time since we've been married we bought a piece of furniture. Two actually. When Rob and I got married we were both living on our own, so we just combined households and got rid of more stuff than we bought (don't mention his red kitchen decor to him - not a happy parting). We don't even have matching silverware for our 12 place settings, still. Anyway, last night we bought some new to us black leather couches. They needed a little TLC, and I still need to fix a couple of rips, but I'm so excited for the upgrade, they really look great. And I decided with two little boys used leather (thus less expensive leather) will give me less to worry about. :)

More to come

Parental Influence

Dad's:

Often we are still outside playing in the afternoon when the national anthem starts playing from the base speakers. When that happens, I'm teaching Guy to stand still and put his hand on his heart. After we did that the first time, I told him that we do it because we love America. He quickly responded, "Yeah! We love Captain America!"

Mom's:

Me: Guy, what does a red light say?
Guy: Stop!
Me: Yellow light?
Guy: Uh-oh
Me: Green light?
Guy: Go!
Me: Blue light?
Guy: Go Jimmer! Go BYU!

Atta boy. :)

And We're Back

We've been in our new place for three weeks tomorrow. All of the downstairs boxes are unpacked, with the exception of the garage (does that ever count?), and yesterday I finally did a makeshift reassembly of our hamper (just one of the things our movers didn't move very well). So there's progress. Yesterday I even got two sets of shelves to help me organize our five cupboards they call a kitchen in our floor plan (okay, it's not quite THAT bad, but it's close).

It's great to be back together as a family, and in our own place again.

Lots of stuff going on. Last week I felt pretty back to normal busy while still surrounded by boxes. I was able to help watch two different ladies' children for doctors appointments on Tuesday and Thursday and Wednesday I was able to participate in a missionary discussion with the elders in our ward. It was great.

In the list of most remarkable things of note:

- Rob and Guy's Saturday tradition as of late is to try out donut shops. As a result, Rob discovered the best donuts I've ever had (Bill's) - crispy on the outside and super soft inside. Now, if only he'd stop (kind of). He's down to his high school weight and his smallest pair of jeans is loose on him. I need COT much more than he did, if only I could have gone in his place. He's lifting 3xs a week during lunch, trying to fit in running when he can, and tracking it with the help of his birthday present, a new Garmin Forerunner 305. We all love having him home every night of the week for the first time since he started school in August of 2008.

- Coop has a love affair with food. This six month old could beat any adult anorexic in an all day eating contest, hands down. Yesterday he started the day off with 10 oz. of milk (measured because I was wondering if he's getting enough from nursing), then he ate four large containers of baby food, 2 2x6 inch baby crackers, four large handfuls of baby puffs, one regular sized rice cake, and I can't remember what else, but there was more, I'm positive. Now if only the kid would stop all his drooling and just grow some teeth already. He cries almost every time I wipe his face and take him out of his chair. It seems he's certain that he thinks he is going to starve to death. And the only thing more interesting than food to this little boy is the beloved big brother.

- Guy is occasionally sleeping through the whole night again. With all the changes, he's had it the roughest, I think. And in the upheaval, night terrors began. His first was the worst and it was a full-fledged kicking-and-screaming-it's-unbelievably-scary-what-my-child-is-capable-of tantrum in the middle of the night. It was especially disturbing because I didn't know what it was. My mom was a huge help that night (I woke her up not knowing what else to do), and then she was talking about it with someone the next day and that's when we figured out what it was. He's had a lot of night episodes since then, but nothing nearly as bad, thankfully. Guy is really doing great here. He loves all his new friends - including but not limited to the five boys ages 6 and under in our circle. He's speaking really well - saying tomato and banana as clear as can be (sometimes I hear him practicing to himself, it's darling), and his interaction with all the neighborhood friends is really good, too. We're thrilled to be where we are, but learning the not-so-fun part of the military life fast, as the 2 boys that Guy plays with most will be off to a new assignment in mid-October, probably.

- I get to order PhotoShop tomorrow. That is, IF a paycheck comes through for the FIRST time since Rob made the job change. "Clerical Errors" have been a massive pain in my side for the last month and a half. Last Saturday I did my first paid photography gig. So the short version is that a neighbor/friend asked me to do her family after seeing some of my photos of Guy and Cooper. I said yes on the spot, but didn't think anything of money. Afterwards she offered. In the same sentence I said yes and told her Rob will be thrilled. I want to get better at the whole marketing side of it. I NEED to if I'm going to succeed.

With PhotoShop I'll be catching up a lot more with pictures soon enough. But in the meantime, enjoy this little gem. I love that when my little boys are holding hands it looks like it could be a multicultural/unity/togetherness ad.

Guy, the sponge

Today Guy and I ran a couple of errands. On the way back to the car, I insisted that Guy hold my hand in the parking lot. As he objected, I told him no, because I didn't want him to die. He said, "I want to die." Stubborn kid. I told him that dying isn't fun. It hurts. It's bad. It's sad. You don't want to die. And plenty of other things. As he continually insisted. I changed the subject and asked him what he wanted to eat for lunch when we got home. He momentarily forgot about his petition.

Until we got home (10 min later). First thing he said when Rob came out to the car after we got home was, "I want to die." ?!?!

We both tried telling him it wasn't any good. And distracted him long enough to eat lunch.

Three hours after the subject was initially presented Guy woke up from his nap. The first thing out of his mouth after he came out of his room was again, "I want to die." And this time he was whining about it.

This time, Rob's great idea was to tell him he wouldn't be able to hug us anymore, and he wouldn't be able to have his blanket anymore (which he was still cluthing since waking up). I'm still not sure which one was more important to him (us, or the blanket), but he hasn't mentioned the topic since then.

* the "funny kid" label isn't entirely appropriate, I realize, but it kind of fits there.

Before & After

I've known he needed a cut for a while - I just kept putting it off because I like it long. Last time I cut it in January, it was a trim - I wanted it long for photos when Cooper was born. Then it got really long. I decided it was time for a summer cut since his head gets SO sweaty in warm weather, already. I should have taken a photo of the floor and his body afterwards - everything was COVERED.

My Kid's on Crack

Guy had a particularly rough day today - he was out of sorts in almost every way. Church was really difficult, and then without a nap this afternoon, he was really on one by the end of the day (which ended super early for him).

While we were getting him ready for bed, Rob asked, "Did someone give you crack?"

Guy: "Yeah."

Rob: "Yeah? Who?"

"Uh . . . Santa."

I've always known Santa was trouble.

The Boys

After a long and productive day of work today (lots of lawn care, cleaning out my car, some imperative errands, etc.), this evening we went and celebrated Cinco de Mayo two days late with my family (since Rob was working on Thursday). Afterwards, Guy was playing outside so we joined him, and I grabbed my camera. I love evening lighting--it's just so fun.

I can't believe how fast time goes. Cooper is 12 weeks old now. And since he's so big, he seems even older. At 9 weeks he was 14 lbs., and he's just growing exponentially. He's just moved into a size 3 diaper - Guy's in a size 4. Funny, huh?

He's a pleasant baby, and "talks" a lot - coos and smiles like crazy. I love it - and him.