2 More Days!

Man, I just can't believe that in 2 short days Matt will be home! Matt is Jason's brother who has been on a mission in Hawaii. He did so good there- we are super proud of him. He was made Zone leader, and helped many people in the different areas he was in as well as struggling missionaries.

Over a year ago Marge bought all of the boys Tiki shirts to wear to the airport, it should be fun. (Except Owen either wasn't conceived or known about yet, so he doesn't have one).

Jason has been so excited to play music with him again that he hasn't put down the guitar in a month. All of the little nephews are excited too. Ike is constantly saying "Matt, Matt." and the older ones are always talking about him. My bet is that Christian will be super shy and not know him.

Anyways, here are some of my favorite pictures of Matt. He has cleaned up a lot. He got his tattoos removed and wears longer pants (most of the time). Actually, he got pulled over on the way home from Christian's first Birthday party in that outfit. Funny! We are so excited for Matt to be home! We have missed his great sense of humor, his musical skills, and easygoing attitude. I am sure he has grown in so many ways (He is wider and taller- from all that Polynesian cooking). I hope his awkward missionary phase doesn't last too long!

Thursday Trauma:

So, we had a bit of an exciting day yesterday. Christian had to get STITCHES! It was his first major injury, and I am not to great with blood and staying calm, so I am sure I made it more traumatic than it actually was. Here is the culprit: I should actually add a picture of myself because I was the one letting him drink out of a glass in the bath tub. I know I know, I feel bad enough, so please don't rub it in! He was drinking a smoothie (All fruit- at least I am trying to be healthy). I needed to hop in the shower, he was being slow, so I let him take it in the tub. He drinks out of glasses all of the time. Sometimes Mommy's are a bit slow and don't think of how slippery the bath water is okay.
So I was putting make-up on and heard the glass break and yelled "DON"T MOVE!" But it was too late. I ran over and grabbed Christian out, and it was bleeding like crazy, so Christian started freaking out. I set him on the floor on the bath mat and got dressed and started to call my neighbors to find someone to help watch Owen. Uh yeah, the ones who aren't too elderly work all day, so I was starting to panic to the point that I couldn't think of people's last name to look up phone numbers. So, I called my Aunt Rebecca who lives not too far away. Thank goodness she answered the phone and headed right over to save me! By this point I literally had thrown a towel over his bleeding leg and set him on the bed. Also, both Owen and Clark were crying as well. It is so strange that Clark knows when something is wrong. He would cry when Spencer died. It is weird. Anyway, Rebecca and her son Jake arrived and checked out his knee. It was nice to have an experienced Mom look and confirm what I thought. Oh, and wrap it up, and comfort me, and generally take care of the entire situation.
Jake came with me to immediate care. We were the only people there- thank goodness! They took us right back and I had to explain what happened (we all make mistakes:). They put some numbing stuff on it and we had to wait a half hour for it to kick in. We read to Christian and he was happy. then they came in and gave him the shot inside the wound to numb it. THIS was the worst part of the day. Poor little Bunky started screaming, "Take it out! Mommy, tell them to take it out!" and then, "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! I don't want to home here anymore!" He wanted his Daddy, he wanted to go home, it was terrible. I heard that those shots hurt REALLY bad. So, he cried through the entire procedure even though they told me it was numb.
We finally got to go home, and Christian was fine. Mommy was a bit shakey and stressed-out, but that's okay. It was nice to have Jake there to keep me calm. And Rebecca picked up my house (Thank you), it is always nice to come home to a clean house and a sleeping baby! So we watched Cars and had dinner on a tray on the couch. He was actually really excited to get a lot of extra attention. Geez.
Sorry about the long post! I will update in a couple days when we go back to make sure it is healing right.

Smart Baby:

I was so excited the other day when I looked down at Baby Owen and saw the fingers he was choosing to suck on. I don't think he will be a career finger-sucker like I was (Probably until about age 7) but he will find them when he is really tired to comfort himself. Christian would do the same thing, but never really relied on it either. The ring and middle finger are the best and yummiest fingers. People who suck their thumbs don't know what they are missing!

Owen: 4 Month Update-

Today Owen turned 4 months old, and he had his check-up as well. Look at him, he is just wasting away! At a mere 15 pounds 2 ounces (that is 75th percentile). And a tiny little 26" tall (that is 90th percentile). I think he may be in competition with his big brother! He is doing great, not rolling yet, but he is starting to grab objects. He is still a great sleeper and laughs and smiles all of the time. He also talks to himself, I think he may have got that from me. We love you Owen!

Guess who?

Can you pick out which balding man is Owen?



My poor little guy is totally losing his hair. Christian lost most of his hair too, but didn't rub the bald spot in the back. It makes me sad. Even though he is still so cute it melts my heart, I hope it grows back in soon.

Father's Day (a little late).

So, I haven't had much time to blog in a while, but I wanted to just express my love for my Dad. He is truly my hero. He is the best Father and Papa. I miss him and wish he would let me come and visit!

My Father-in-Law is so awesome too. It is seriously strange how much I love my in-laws! I am so glad my boys have such strong examples of how men should be. Christian loves his Grandpa's so much! He constantly talks about them and imitates the things that they do.

I can't even begin to express how my life and my Children's lives have benefited form having these great men in them. We love you!

Do I even need to say how much I love Jason?? He becomes a better Dad every day,I have never seen a man so involved and concerned about his children. He is my best friend and Christian's best buddy. Even Owen at such a young age loves his Daddy. I hope our boys grow up to be just like him. I love you!

New Toy:

No, I did NOT buy him this. Do you think I am insane? This would be one of my parents bright ideas. When my parents went to Vegas for my Dad's new cancer treatment, they stopped by FAO Schwartz. I guess it was on sale for really cheap and they couldn't resist. I must say, it is pretty cool, but I like the mini version (the kind that fits in the palm of his hand) much better. Jason and I opened the box and just rolled our eyes. It took us a few hours to assemble the darn thing, and by that time Christian was driving us so crazy wanting to ride it we finally just put him to bed so we could finish it. He has been a good boy not digging up the garden that Jason just planted. It is a bit large to ride in our backyard, but I did take him for a spin around the block the other day. Watching me pedal while Christian rode on the hood gives the neighbors something to talk about. Anyway, um... thanks Papa and Nana. Christian loves it!

To Pee or Not to Pee:

Changing Christian's diapers is becoming a task that I hate more and more. It is like an adult. We are going to have to start buying Depends if he keeps growing. But gosh-darn-it, he just doesn't want to go on the potty. We bought him this cute little potty (Sorry Owen, we used one of your gift cards, but someday you can use the potty too!) I made a little treat jar, got stickers, and even bought some pull-ups. The kid just won't go! He will sit on the potty and then say "all done mommy." I will say "Did you go in the potty?" He replies by saying; "I don't want to go in the potty. I want to pee in my diaper." Good grief, if he can say that, he can pee in the toilet. Stubborn. Anyway, what do you think... vote on my poll and tell me what worked for you! (or your kids... you know what I mean).

Rain:

I know it is strange, but I am missing the rain. There is nothing better than curling up with a book when it is all dark and rainy. Plus, Christian takes longer naps! Of course, I won't miss all of the mud tracked through my house, having to change Christian's wet clothes all day, and Clark refusing to go outside to go to the bathroom. He can hold it for almost 18 hours- isn't that crazy!

The Mayan:

Last week my Dad took Jason, Christian, and I to the Mayan. Christian seriously can't get enough of his Papa. Since he went back home, Christian has asked about a hundred times "where's Papa?" And his favorite phrase is: "I want Papa to stay at mine house!" He seems sad when my Dad leaves. It is so cute to watch Christian when my Dad walks into a room. He yells "PAPA!" and runs to him and gives him a big hug. Then he follows him around like a dog all day and copies everything he does, gets stuff for him, and draws pictures of him. It is a little obsessive, but that is okay... he is only three, and Papa is pretty dang cool.
Anyway, this blog was supposed to be about the Mayan. Has the food actually gotten worse? It was really fun for Christian, but I think I would rather eat Taco Bell. And I could barely watch the diver because it looked like she was going to dive right into a rock. There is no way I would jump 20 feet down into that tiny pool of water! At least the atmosphere and the company was good. It kinda reminded me of Indiana Jones at Disneyland.... and we all know how happy that makes me!

Thomas the Tank Engine:

Friday night my friend Mindi called me and asked if I wanted her Thomas the Train Tickets for Saturday because her little girl was sick and they wouldn't be able to go. I was like YES! Oh my goodness! We wanted to go, but after looking at the ticket prices, we decided it was not in our budget this year. Mindi was so sweet, she said we could have them for free- but I am not that greedy so I gave her some money, and we were set to go! We had to wake up at 7:30 to get there on time, and for those of you who don't know me very well, that is REALLY early for us. My kids don't even go to bed until around 10:30 0r 11:00. Anyway, Kelli came with us because Jason had to work. We headed up to Heber and the drive was gorgeous. Unfortunately, I was so panicked about finding my camera before we left that I forgot to bring myself a jacket, and it was cold. When we got there it was really crowded so we hurried to do the train ride. All of the cars were full, so I finally asked a man who was sitting alone if he would move. He was really nice and gave us his seat that we squeezed in to. Christian and most of the other kids didn't even realize that we were on the train at all. He was bored out of his mind. Owen cried and I couldn't get him out because we were so crammed in. After this joyous ride, we went to get pictures with Thomas. We ended up waiting for quite a while before actually taking the pictures because he backed away right when we got to the front of the line. Christian did find a dead worm that he was really excited about while we were standing in line. When we did take pictures, Christian refused to smile or even look up. What is really strange, is that for the last couple of days he has asked me if he can watch Thomas on TV. I keep saying "But you didn't even what to see him when we were there!" Kids are so strange. I must say, I think I will save my money from now on.
If you want to read some more about our fabulous day with Thomas check out my other blog!

Spencer's Clothes:

When I was pregnant with Owen, I asked my Mom if I could have some of Spencer's baby clothes. I was surprised when she said I could! So she brought up a ton of late 1970's retro outfits that are SO AWESOME! I must admit I truly love the corduroy bellbottoms and polyester jumpers. As I was putting all of the clothes in his little armoire, I realized with sadness that Spencer and Owen were born opposite seasons! Spencer was born at the end of September and Owen at the end of February. For you men who don't understand what I am talking about, this means that all of Spencer's 3-6 month clothes are for cold weather, but Owen is 3-6 months during warm weather. So, you can imagine my joy when we had a cold-spell! And because Owen is so huge, he fits into the 6 month outfits perfectly! SO, that is the story of the green sweats. Although, I don't think they put long pull-cords on hoodies for babies anymore. I was a bit paranoid all day that I was going to find it wrapped around his neck.
When Christian saw Owen, he laughed and said "Owen is a frog!" I thought he looked so cute, and it makes his eyes look even bluer. Thanks Mom for all of the clothes!

Air Force Museum:

Last week me met up with our friends Josh and Peggy and their 2 boys and went to the Hill Air Force Museum. Did you all know it is FREE to get in, and the boys had a ton of fun!

Christian's favorite questions (besides "Why?") were:
-"Where is the Shark airplane?"- We went to the museum last fall and he remembered the shark airplane. Weird what kids remember.
-"Why does it have wheels?"- We found out that it is quite difficult to explain the take-off and landing procedures to a 3 year old.

Other than that, he had so much fun following Jonas around and copying everything he did. All of the elderly folk who seem to frequent the museum were a bit appalled, but they weren't hurting anything, so we let them have a fun time. Hopefully we can do many things in the future now that our friends are back from school!

Owen's 3 Month Birthday!

Owen is 3 months old today and I just can't believe how fast time flies. I cannot even tell you how lucky and blessed we are to have this sweet little baby in our family. Here goes the bragging: He sleeps about 10 hours each night and wakes up smiling and happy. He never cries unless he is hungry, tired or needs to go poop. He will just sit and talk and laugh when he is alone. He is SO SO easy to take care of! I do not know what we would have done the last few months without him and Christian to make everybody feel happy and positive. We love you little Baby Owen!

Dnnnns.

What is a Dnnnn you ask? That was Christian's word for snails last year. I can tell how much he is maturing because I can actually understand what he is saying this year. Anyway, as much as it drives Jason crazy (they eat our garden)- we have a backyard full of snails. Christian ran in the house a couple days ago and told me that the snail was too high. I went outside with him and there was a snail climbing up our fence. So, I grabbed it for him. Don't you think that was brave of me? Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day telling him that snails live outside and that he could not bring him into the house. He took the hingle guy outside and after his nap was really mad that he would not come out of his shell. I think that he stuck his finger in there and killed it. Yuck!
Sorry about all of the bug posts, but I really think that this is just the first of many. Lucky Mommy!
Can you believe Christian's eyelashes??? He is so lucky! What a handsome boy!

Temple Quarry

Last week Jason an I took the boys on a short hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was perfect because it has a paved trail that we could take the stroller on. Christian LOVED it. He was literally jumping with joy just to be outside. He had a ball climbing up the big boulders and going on the little dirt paths with Daddy. He kept asking us why we were in the forest.
I was reading a sign that said there were mountain goats, so I started looking and we saw a couple up high on the ledges. That would be a scary life.
Christian found rocks and a rolly polly to take home. He lost the bug in the car on the way home and I found it just a couple days ago dead in the button hole of one of his shirt. I also found a tick in his bath. I searched his whole body and couldn't find any more. How strange is that?
We all had a lot of fun, even Owen had a great time!

Farmer Bunky:

Okay, I have a confession. As I read everyone's blogs about going to the farm and seeing the baby animals, I just don't share the joy. First of all, I have Horrible, Terrible, Unbearable allergies. secondly, I really don't like animals all that much (except Clark). Yeah, the baby cows are cute form a distance, but when I get close up all I see are the flies buzzing around them and snot dripping from their noses. And do I even need to mention how the pigs smell?
Anyway, I broke down and decided to take Christian to the farm. Jason, Owen, and my parents came along too.
Christian is so opposite of me in this aspect. He just loves the animals. He wants to touch and feed all of them, and he shows no fear. I think he is a lot like his Grandpa W. in that he loves to be outdoors all day and likes to play in the dirt.
He thought it was really funny that the geese were biting his fingers when he fed them. Um, yeah... I hope he doesn't learn the hard way that those evil birds are mean! I try to stay at least 10 feet away from any animal that honks. But we did give the birds homemade bread, so I guess that make up for my hatred towards them.

Shots:

I forgot to mention; when the Nurse was giving Owen his shot, I kept waiting for her to finish (I can't look). When she said she was done we both stared at Owen. She said she had NEVER seen a 2 month old not cry when getting a shot. I guess I have really tough boys because Christian didn't cry when he got his last shot either. He just said "Ouch!" and gave the nurse a dirty look.
I pray that my kids aren't huge wimps like I am. The last time I got a shot I cried my eyes out, just ask Karen. Of course, I was a bit traumatized about having a needle stuck all the way through my finger and lodged in my nail. Now THAT was weird.

Lemon's Big Brother:

Who is Lemon?? Well, Lemon is a little baby caterpillar who has just been born and is still at the hospital with her Mom. Lemon's brother has a name I can't spell and sounds like someone hacking something up. So we will just call him "Lemon's Brother"
Christian is a total crack-up. He found this caterpillar at my parents and I made the mistake of letting him keep it. He discovered that it was fun to let it crawl on his hand. He kept saying "I like this hingle guy!" (Hingle=little). I spent that night and the next morning trying to convince Christian that it was mean to keep the caterpillar away from his family. This is when I was assured that Lemon's Mom was at the hospital having a baby and the caterpillar was very happy with Christian. As if I didn't have enough little critters in my room, Lemon's Brother slept on my nightstand in a blanket of leaves that Christian tore up for him. Unfortunately, he lost the poor hingle guy the morning we left somewhere in the house. I looked everywhere, but we seriously couldn't find that tricky little bug. I wonder if a beautiful butterfly will be flying around the house when my parents get home?

Owen 2.5 months:

Owen had his checkup today. He is 13 lbs. and 24 inches long. He is in the 62nd to 75th percentile. He is growing great and developing on time. We are so grateful to have such a healthy baby boy!

Worst Sleeping Position Ever!

Isn't it so strange that kids can fall asleep practically anywhere? I kept trying to straighten out Owen's head, but he just moved it back. He is a great sleeper! He sleeps through the night and when he wakes up he is always so happy and sweet. He brings so much joy into our home.

Troll Poll:

So I know all of you are just dying to know the results of the Troll Poll:
Whoever said that I didn't sell any obviously doesn't understand the enormous value of trolls. 52% said $23.98 and 41% said $56.99.
The winner is:
$56.99 plus $5.00 for shipping. That is an insane amount of $61.00!
I guess people love trolls! I had a ton of bids and have sold almost all 130-something trolls. Let me just say troll people are really weird, but also really nice. One woman called me and talked to me for over a half hour. One lady e-mailed me and told me that she puts blankets on hers. All I know is that if people are spending that much money on trolls, they must know something that I don't know. Here is a picture of the $60.00 troll just incase you were wondering. Oh, and don't worry.. this will be my last post about trolls- unless I decide not to cut the boy's hair for a while!