Some Cute Conversation

So, spending every moment of the day with my cute, little, toddler man can be exhausting.

Most days it is difficult, draining, tiresome etc. But usually, by the end of the day, I just feel really blessed to be able to do it. Actually, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't stop whatever it is I am doing and just look at him with complete gratitude that he is here and he is MINE! I guess going 7 years without any luck at having a baby will do that to you! That is one perk from all the trials and stress I guess, SHEER GRATITUDE for every moment.

I haven't been doing much on this blog (I have done other "memory keeping" projects over the past year or so that have taken the place of this, but THIS year, 2012, I have kind of been dropping the ball on ALL things, altogether). Most days I haven't felt too guilty about it, but this past week or so, Brayden has been soooo super funny and quirky. He has been EXTRA snuggly and lovable and with his ability to talk improving, I am beginning to feel the need to jot down some of our conversations. Today, for instance, was one of those days where he spared no expense at making me smile! I figure I better whip out this new blog post in hopes of remembering it forever.

The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Brayden, what do you want to do today?"
Brayden (after thinking for a minute): "Go to Audrey's house." (Audrey is a cute lady in our ward whom I visit teach.)
Me: "Bray, we can't go today, she is sick."
Brayden: "Oh." (forlorn look on his face).
Me: "How 'bout we go to the library for story time?"
Brayden: "No, Mom. No story time."
Me: "Why not? The lady will read us a book and then they have crafts and games to play."
Brayden: "We have games here Mom."
Me: "Yes, but there are other kids to play with there."
Brayden: "I can play with you Mom!"

Um. . .and then I proceeded to pick my melted heart up from off of the ground.

He is quite possibly too sweet for his own good! Most days I just want to eat him. Doesn't help him too much either, when he spends the remainder of his time saying things like:

"I so love you mommy!"  or;  "You a cute little girl mom!"  or my favorite; "You my favorite mommy!"

Well Brayden, news flash: you are MY favorite little two-year-old boy and I SOOOOOOOO love you!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

So, this is the first year I have ever experienced snow and Halloween simultaneously. The boys are in complete heaven. The only thing that would have made this picture cuter is if Brayden were in it. He was napping while the boys built this cute little snow pumpkin man!

I know I have not blogged about our life in Evanston yet. I started a post about a month ago but since this computer is not at our house, I couldn't finish it before I had to leave to get home. I haven't carved out a time to get it done. BUT, it is on the to do list! It will get done!

Plus, our house is almost complete. We should be in it by mid November! I can't wait! I will surely make up for lost time once I get my beloved internet back:)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Keeps Getting BETTER!

Delightful. It is the best word to describe this child right now. This baby is just nothing but DELIGHTFUL lately! He has definitely turned over a new leaf here in his ripe old age of NINE MONTHS! I think we have FINALLY figured him out and have him comfortable with life. Don't get me wrong, he has ALWAYS been nothing but pure joy, but I was always feeling a bit defeated and discouraged that I couldn't get him on a great sleeping pattern and keep him moving through the day happily. It has taken us a good NINE months to get to this PERFECT place of peace and contentment.

I think the turning point has been the sleep habits. I read FIVE different books, finally finding the MAGIC potion for success in this one, "Sleeping Through the Night." It was a gradual process with immediate rewards right away and each day getting better and better. It was gentle and sensible and Brayden is reaping the rewards.

It's so funny. I never had to read any "sleeping" books with the older boys. They were great sleepers from the very start. They basically did what I wanted them to do, no problem. Yes, Brayden has taken a little more brain power, but we GOT IT! And he actually giggles and smiles when we put him in his crib now. He ENJOYS a good rest as much as the rest of us now. AHHHHH. Makes him so much happier throughout the day.

He's got some other cute things going on at this age too. Probably the newest and cutest is his waving. He waves at his little glow sea horse when we leave his room after his naps. He waves at me in the mirror. He waves at his brothers, the neighbors, anything! I love that his little brain tells him to wave when he thinks it necessary.

Well, that's not quite a "waving" picture, but just look at the length of those fingers! CRAZY! Maybe a future basketball/piano player? He's also been a little dancer lately. Most of the time he is bopping up and down to the music playing in the background in the house throughout the day. Sometimes I catch him moving and grooving to whatever is going on in his head I guess! He definitely has some grooving skills:) It's especially fun to watch while he's in the jump up thingy.

He is super social and can't get ENOUGH of being out and about and around people. We went to Iggy's for a Valentine's Eve family meal and he was turned almost all the way around in his high chair grinning and "chatting" with the people at the table next to us. He jabbers a ton and enjoys anyone paying him attention to what he has to say. Love it!

I also love that he is at that EASY age where he can stay happy with any random item I happen to give him. Or anything the boys give him (like this girl-y hair band). You know, whatever happens to be close by, a sock (clean of course), a piece of ribbon, a packaged scrapbook supply (he loves the plastic-y sound). Just anything. He will stay happily entertained with a plastic cup for twenty minutes. LOVE this!


I am a little bugged that we are on the down hill stretch to this boy's first birthday though. What happened to this year?! He is getting way too big.

I have his nine month well check exam scheduled for this week. It will be interesting to see what his measurements will be. I feel like he is starting to thin out a bit. He is still a BIG, SOLID boy, but he has more length to him now and doesn't seem quite so chunky and dead weight.

One thing's for sure, he is still a little heart breaker! I love, LOVE everything about him. I just can't seem to get enough! It just keeps getting better and BETTER!

Conner's Sad Story

Once upon the grass there was a mom hippo and she had a baby and the baby did not appreciate her milk. So she went into the river to seek water. She walked around to find water but she could not find any water. "Mysteirious." She said at the age of zero. Then all of a sudden she saw water. She ran to the water on the way she died because her heart burst.

The End
Part of Conner's second grade homework is to draw a picture of suggested item and then describe the picture. Conner has been getting progressively more creative with his descriptions lately and usually pens some pretty good stories. Sometimes he focuses a lot on the picture and has even added three dimensional items, like cotton balls for clouds, in the past. Other times, he chooses his words carefully and writes and edits for a good, long while.



This time, it is safe to say he put some thought into the story and in what he wanted the reader to take away from it. When I asked him about the sudden tragic ending, I thought he was going to tell me he was just tired of writing and wanted to end it quick, but he surprised me with his response. He said he wanted it to be a sad story like "Stone Fox" when the dog dies because his heart bursts. He wanted people to feel bad for the hippo and maybe even shed a tear or two like some of the kids did when the dog died. Hmmm. Really?

All I know is this sad story might have had the opposite effect on me. I especially grin when I think of his opening line, "Once upon the grass" or how he used the word "appreciate" instead of boring old "like." He also ALMOST spelled "mysterious" right, pretty good for a seven year old. Of course, the picture is adorable too. Not so sure he's going to get the reaction he's anticipating once he hands this in to his teacher, but I sure thought it was enjoyable; and SAD too. I made sure to tell Conner that.

One Day:

Happy 8 Month BIRTHDAY to You Baby! We have LOVED every DAY, minute, smile, giggle, dirty diaper, crying fit of rage, hug and all the rest! YOU are the BEST!

Basketball Season

Seems football season isn't even OVER before we start up with basketball! Both boys are deep in the thick of practices and games.

It has been tricky trying to keep track of their little schedules but we are doing our best. The games are every Saturday and that gives our family something fun to do together each weekend. Brayden enjoys the noise and chaos of the basketball court just as much as the rest of us!

Steve has been coaching Lewis' team this year and they are currently undefeated! I haven't had a chance to snap any pictures of them yet, and BARELY have had a chance to get any with Conner playing too, but the season is still young.

Conner has a really great team too and he has been enjoying the challenges and excitement that basketball has to bring. I love that both of my boys would rather be out shooting hoops than anything else lately. They've got the BASKETBALL bug!

November

Well, here it is, December, and I am ONCE AGAIN looking back on a month's worth of memories I failed to report, in a timely manner, on this here blog of mine. So, ONCE AGAIN, here is a LONG WINDED, super in depth, probably not interesting to anyone but us, re-cap of November happenings (in no particular order):
My little (BIG) Brother's Birthday-

Yes. It is hard to believe, but Kirk is now TALLER than me and 14 years-old! He is such a good kid and I am glad he's around, not only for someone fun to hang out with but also for my boys to look up to. He has always been such a fun, good uncle to them. We had an enjoyable dinner with cake and ice-cream and then opened presents and listened to a private concert:) A typical, relaxing birthday occasion!

I found this picture of Lewis (on his first Thanksgiving) while at my mom's for Kirk's birthday. People are always asking me if any of my other kids were as chubby and huge as Brayden, I think this is sufficent proof. I actually think Lewis looks chunkier in his picture, and notice the two teeth! Lewis had two teeth by the time he was two months old and kept getting two more every two months after that! Brayden still has not had any teeth cut through his gums, but he has been working on it for a few months now. Hopefully they will just come in already and leave him BE! Anyway, I thought it was fun to see a picture that really showcases how similar Brayden and Lewis look.

The END of Football Season 2009-

Um, sadly this is the ONE AND ONLY image I have of EITHER of my boys playing football this year (and they aren't even playing)!!!! Our computer crashed last week and some of our photos are gone forever! That is indeed a whole 'nother story (a sad one) that I might feel up to telling later. As for this post, I just want to say that football season was pretty good this year. There are PROS and CONS to going with the Washington City League this year as opposed to the pricier SUSA that we have done in past years. With SUSA, the kids have way more playing time and they get to have custom jerseys and mouth guards and weekly games and practices. With the city league, there are WAYYY more kids per team and they wear the city jerseys. Also, apparantly nobody is at risk for losing their teeth 'cause mouth guards aren't required and, they have some different rules that I am not sure I liked or understood, but whatever. I guess the only thing I really liked better about city league was having the games on Saturday as opposed to week nights and you save a few bucks. I really think the boys had better opportunities to grow and shine on the pricier teams. Hmm, I really didn't think I'd come to that conclusion or even notice! I am so not a sportsy person! But, I guess as always, you get what you pay for. REGARDLESS, the boys had a great time and isn't that all that matters:)?!

Young Womens-

Man. This calling has certainly been keeping me busy! Between meetings, events (like Young Women In Excellence that we had at the beginning of Nov.) and other weekly activities, I am BACK in the saddle for sure!

Could not ask for a cuter group of girls to be hanging around with though! I have amazing girls who are so WITH IT! Here's something sort of funny, one of the girls in this picture I used to babysit when I was in college! She was THREE at the time! Now she is fifteen (and still cute as ever)! This really shows my age. . .

Yep! She is still such a sweetie. I can still hear her little three-year-old voice saying "Nick Jr." 'cause that is all she wanted to do (watch Blue's Clues on Nick Jr.)! So funny. Her little sister is in Y.W. as well. I used to change her diapers (she was one at the time). Oh, I am sooooo old:)

Being Thankful-

This year we did a Thankful Jar where the boys chose a paper from the jar each day and on it, it had something for them to be thankful for and a task to perform representing the item. This turned out to be a really simple and fun family thing to do each day. I was amazed at how little I had to do to help the boys perform their tasks. They were really cute about doing them and seemed geniuinely excited to choose a new one each day. I am thankful to Lindsay for sharing this cute activity with us. Otherwise, I never would have known about it and never would have done it. I think our family truly benefitted from this:) Here's the link in case you want to give it a go next year: Thanksgiving Thankful Countdown

First Place Lewis-

So, Lewis memorized a fairy tale for his school's Story Telling Festival and as no surprise to me, he took FIRST PLACE in his division and went on to perform for the district. He is such a great storyteller, a natural, and I am so proud of him for giving it his ALL! He had some pretty stiff competetion in the second round, but he did his best! Everytime I crack open the book, "Falling for Rapunzel" and read the words. . ."Once upon a bad hair day, a prince rode up Rapunzel's way. . ." I will hear Lewis' funny, little British accent-voice and smile! He is such a funny kid and never ceases to amaze us with his hidden talents.

Time to Ourselves-

One great thing about Steve's mom is that she is always begging to have the grandkids come and stay with her and Grandpa. Since we were up to their house in Richfield for Thankgsiving, we decided to leave our boys there for a few nights of fun with them and some of their cousins. While they were off riding four wheelers, building gingerbread houses and Christmas caroling, Steve and I had some time to re-connect and relax at home with Brayden.

Steve is soooo super busy all the time. He is always running from one thing to the next and it's hard to carve out time for just us and for just FUN!

We spent our three days getting Christmas shopping done (yeah Black Friday!), doing odd jobs around the house and just CHILLING! It was so great! We even got a jump start on the holiday decorating and surprised the kids with most of it done by the time they got home on Sunday.

Of course, Conner was soooooo stoked to see his baby brother again. He is such a sweetheart when he wants to be. He played with Brayden for HOURS non-stop and was just so obviously excited to be with him again:)

Of course, we saved the decorating of the tree for the boys to do with us that night. It was the perfect way to send November out the door and welcome in the December festivities. We had a fun and packed month and look forward to more of the same in Dec.

ONCE AGAIN, I am going to make a promise to myself to not wait until the very end of the month to post the happenings! I am going to try harder to keep that promise this time:)

The Blur That Was October

Along with the usual comings and goings of the every day. . .

October was a month that packed in a LOT of little "extra" festivities and celebrations. It was crazy and sometimes exhausting trying to keep up with it all, but we did our best. I made it to about 50% of what I needed to or wanted to, I guess there is some give and take in life.

One of the events I really enjoyed (and look forward to every year) was the annual Girl's Weekend event. It is the best time, getting together with the high school crowd and just relaxing and chatting the night away. I always come away from this event with my cup filled back up again! Such GREAT girls and amazing examples to me. The conversation never fails to be impressive and amazing. I feel like I need to take notes; so many great ideas, home remedies, advice about child rearing, marital counseling, and endless humor! It's the best:) This year, I was only able to make it to one night out of the two. Such a bummer, but it was still great! It was held in a beautiful cabin in Pine Valley and it could not have been more enjoyable. I didn't bring my camera but Erin, the amazing photographer that she is, got a GREAT group shot of most everyone (I wonder if we'll ever be able to swing getting EVERYONE there all at once?). You can click here to see it, plus some head shots of each beautiful girl. My favorite is the last group shot. I feel like they are all smiling at me! I love that I am not in this photo (especially since I am so overly critical of myself lately). I can look at each person and remember something funny or encouraging or motivating that she has said at any given girl's weekend/life event and it makes me feel so blessed and inspired and happy! I am a total product of good friends. Without their influence (and a lot of their families' influence) on me in high school and college, I think I would be a completely different person. What an amazing group of girls! Glad I made it to at least one night, oh and Brayden got to go too!

Actually, part of the reason I didn't get to go to the entire girl's weekend was because he was just getting over his first yucky cold. No fun! Actually, our family dealt with our share of illnesses and trips to the doctor this month. We did get our flu vaccines though, including H1N1, so hopefully we will be on top of our game come winter (fingers crossed).

Okay, so when we were all feeling up to par, we were able to make it to some fun seasonal, family events, like the Staheli Corn Maze. Laura's family invites us every year and it has been fun to see the boys grow and change at this same event each time. They looked AWFULLY big to be sliding down the slide and riding some of the rides this year, but I am convinced it is still fun for all ages! I even had my brother Kirk come along with one of his friends. They are 14 year-olds and they had just as much fun as the younger variety. Brayden enjoyed the crisp, fresh air more than anything I think. We played around on some of the fun "farm" rides for awhile, then hitched a ride on the trailer bed over to the actual maze.

We spent plenty of time getting LOST (the fun kind) in the maze. Conner was worried about everyone getting lost (the scary kind) so I sent him off with Steve to keep track of the bigger boys. I had a grand time chatting with the girls (all two of them) and looking after the smaller kids. Brayden fell asleep in the carrier thing I had him strapped in. He loves that thing. I swear, if he weren't so dang heavy, I'd pack him around in it more often!

Of course, we have to get a great group shot with everyone. This year, only mine and Dani's family joined Laura's so it is fun to see that ALL the kids in the picture are BOYS! Pretty crazy huh?! Yep, we are mamas of ALL BOYS and definitely outnumbered:)

Another fun fall tradition that we were able to make it to this year was the annual Peterson Pumpkin Party in Farmington at Steve's sister Shauri's house. I really love this event. It is such a fun idea and I love being at Shauri's house in the fall. She lives in the coziest, cutest little neighborhood that reminds me of days gone by. They just don't make neighborhoods like this anymore:

Shauri's house is the one in the middle and the other images can be found either across the street or right next door. I should have taken more pictures, these are not doing it justice. It really is so quaint and festive! Of course the kids had a blast with their cousins and I had fun visiting with everyone and keeping Brayden content. Shauri's family has a great little garden and they grow their own pumpkins. They invite all the siblings (and their families) from Shauri's side of the fam (which is a LOT of people) and we get to carve pumpkins and eat homemade donuts and other goodies! It really is so simple and so fun!

Capitalizing on the fact that most of the family was in Farmington for the P.P.P. anyway, Shauri's son Heath had his missionary farewell the following day. I can't believe it is his turn to go out into the field! His brother Morgan will be returning from his Australian mission in January. Heath won't get to see his brother for another two years and it has already been two years since HE left! I realize this will be the exact same situation for our boys when they go off on their missions. Their birthdays are EXACTLY two years apart. Just one more thing to test their faith. We are proud of Heath and his amazing example to our boys. He'll be an awesome missionary to the Spanish speaking people in California.

Okay, let's see, what else happened in October? Oh yes! My birthday! I can't believe I am thirty-something! Steve and I are noticing that we are turning into those "older people" we always looked at curiously from afar-never imagining we would become them someday. . .
I had a nice little birthday this year. One of those events that drag on over a few days. Steve and Lewis were off hunting for the first part of the weekend, but cut the trip short after Steve shot a deer on the first day. It was a nice present to have them come home on my actual day (Sunday). Also included in the festivities; I went out to lunch with some girlfriends, went to my mom's for dinner/cake & ice-cream on Sunday, ate a yummy birthday breakfast prepared by the boys on Monday. . .all good stuff! I am blessed.

Alright, moving on. Let's cut to the chase. We all know HALLOWEEN is the main event in October. We had our fill of the holiday for SURE at our house. Lots to do. We managed to squeeze in a ward carnival:

School Halloween Parade and parties:

The Beaver Dam School Carnival (Steve's school-yes, he dressed as "The HULK"):

You might notice in the pictures that my kids had SEVERAL different costumes this year. This was the first year that I made a mandate that they choose their costumes from the large collection we have here at home. No need to fork out an arm and a leg for costumes when we have an assortment of perfectly great costumes right here. Conner ended up being really logical in his decisions to dress up for each event. For the church carnival, he opted for last year's Storm Trooper costume which was just down-right easy and comfortable. He had been planning to be a vampire for weeks leading up to Halloween and he ended up being a super cute version on the school parade day. However, later that night at the Beaver Dam carnival, he said he wanted to be a Karate Kid (again for comfort) and because he didn't want to have to do his makeup over again. Amen I said! Now he has an INKLING of an idea of what it's like to be a girl that has to be "made up" on a daily basis-sometimes twice when we have evening events to go to. "Man, I'm glad I'm a boy!" he said! So cute:) For the ACTUAL Halloween event, once again-he went for his GO-TO storm trooper ensemble. It was all about the candy at this point!

I really have no idea what Lewis would have chosen to be if he could have chosen from the store again this year. I am sure it would have been something "scary" but he was happy to bring "the Joker" back to life again this year. He wore the mask to the church carnival and we did his make-up for school. He opted for the "football player" costume for the other two events.

Then there was Brayden. Now, I confess, I know there are people that literally go NUTS over 'Baby's First Halloween.' I am not one of them. I am a little more laid back and VERY traditional. I ended up dressing him in the same dragon costume that his older brothers wore for their first Halloweens. It makes my heart happy to know that someday there will be a scrapbook page in our Fall family album with a picture of each of them as the dragon. I don't even know where we got that costume? Oh well, it's cute and warm. Brayden, our little chunky monkey, was a bit too chubby for it though. We weren't able to do the top snap because of those cheeks of his! Even though it is a size 12 month, it barely fit him. He is such a big boy! He was "sort-of" a pirate during some of our day time events (preschool party and the boy's school parade), but I didn't officially get him all decked out as a pirate. Let's face it, we were SWAMPED! I keep thinking I am going to dress him up with all the trimmings and at LEAST get a good picture! Better hurry or he'll be too big for IT too!

Oh yes. I did dress up as well. Of course, a witch, it's what I do best! Plus, I really like singing, "I'm a mean old witch with a hat. . ." to the preschool kids! Wouldn't be Halloween without that!

and then, of course, there was HALLOWEEN NIGHT Trick-or-Treating! Steve took the kids out while I stayed home and RELAXED (gave out candy)!

Needless to say, with all that runnin' around to all those different events, we ended up with WAAAYYYYYYYY too much candy! How 'bout you? What's the deal with people giving out FIST fulls of candy these days? I'm so old school. The candy seems more special if you have to work for it. How pathetic I must have seemed to the poor kids that came to our house and I was giving ONE measly piece to each person! The boys RAVED about the houses that just dumped in handfuls of candy! WHAT???

So there it was! October-what a blur! Now, I need to go put away all those darn Halloween decorations before Thanksgiving gets here!