a weekend in heaven

Last weekend we went to the cabin. It was pretty much the first trip we have ever taken as a family, just our family (even though the cabin is only 30 minutes away). We had friends over Friday night, then we spent all day Saturday and Sunday hiking, playing in the creek, reading, and relaxing. It was so much fun. We ate way too much food, and got to spent some much needed time together with just our little family.

not always perfect...but almost

Thatcher is a pretty perfect little boy and he always has been. He is sweet, nice, happy, funny, and even tempered. Last night we had some people over for dinner and he played so well with the other kids. He brought toys to the baby, gave Skyler hugs, and was very sweet about sharing all his toys. He is always so good and fun with James and he is just the best.

However, we have had a little rough streak and I am at a loss as to how to handle it. Thatcher likes to get out of his bed...a lot. He gets out numerous times at nap time and bed time. He always wants more stories told to him or books read to him. And he gets quite emotional and defiant when things don't go the way he wants and we are having problems with whining and not using big boy words. I am interested to see what the next few weeks bring, but I just wanted to remember that there are rough times every now and then even when you have an almost perfect child.

Thatcher's current obsession is with 'big buzz' and the stories his dad tells him about 'big buzz' and I am hoping we can hold out till Christmas for that special gift. He is learning his letters so fast right now. He can identify at least five of them and today Ty was singing the alphabet song and Thatcher was filling in the blanks when Ty left out a letter. He is getting so smart and so big and I think he and I both need to adjust to his growing independence.

We took Thatcher to a car show a few weeks ago and it was so fun to see old cars that looked like they came from the movie. Thatcher was able to identify cars that looked like Sherriff, Doc, Ramone, Flo, Fillmore, Luigi, Sally, Red, and I am sure others. It was pretty impressive to see him look at a car and figure out which one it most resembled. This picture is of a car that looks like Doc Hudson...pretty cool!

Other things we have been up to include lots of story and singing times and feeding the ducks. Thatcher is so good at paying attention and participating in big kid things. I am excited for preschool because I think we will thrive on learning new things in an environment like that. He has had some fun play dates with his friends and we have been working on going on the potty (with not a lot of success). Overall, life is good with the Thatch-man!

big firsts

James has a tooth! Last week one of his bottom middle teeth popped through. It is cute and I know it is about time, but it makes me sad. I have a hard time with little signs that my baby is getting bigger.

Another first happened the day I discovered the tooth, he climbed up a stair! Scary. He hasn't climbed up more than one stair but he sure loves to climb. He will crawl towards me at full speed just to crawl over my legs and then leave. He is so funny and so busy, I love it.

Another first is having James sit up in the shopping cart. This will change shopping for me not having to haul in the big car seat (except that now Thatcher likes to stand up in the big basket and cause mischeif). The first day I had James sit like this everyone around us was laughing at how he was putting both arms around the milk cartons and just chilling and smiling. He is the cutest baby. I feel like I did with Thatcher...like a celebrity...when I have such cute kids that people constantly gawk at.

Today I put James down for a nap in the pack n' play in the living room and for the longest time he would press his face against the netting and make funny faces at me. He knew he was making me laugh and so he kept doing it. It was hilarious seeing my little nine month old press his face into the funniest faces. I am so excited to see what a comedian he is when he is older.

Last night we had some friends over who brought their dog. Even though the other kids were scared of it, James followed it around the entire night. It was so funny seeing my baby do everything in his power to hunt the dog down. He would touch it and let it kiss him and would laugh every time he got close to it. It was the cutest.

chocolate lover

The other day I was in a huge hurry. As incentive to get Thatcher to move a little faster leaving the gym, I told him he could have a treat if he was super fast getting in the car. He will do anything for a 'treat' so when we got home, I quickly gave him a few chocolate chips from the 72 oz chocolate lover's bag I had bought at Sam's club the day before. I ran upstairs to shower, throw on clothes, and jump back in the car for story time. James was asleep in the car and I new Thatcher would be fine playing by himself. I came down 15 minutes later to quite the scene. Thatcher was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs with a mouth stuffed full of chocolate chips, chocolate all over his face, and chocolate chips all over the carpet. He kept saying, "fall" though it was a little hard to understand with all the chocolate in his mouth. Sure enough...I went into the kitchen and all 4 1/2 pounds of chocolate chips were covering my kitchen floor. I am sure he tried to reach up to grab a few more and the bag fell on the floor, then I am guessing he tried to pick it up and just made it worse. We were already in such a hurry that I didn't think to take a picture until the mess was cleaned up, but here is my chocolate-faced boy. So cute.

Oh, and the follow up to the story is that I think he got his first headache and said no to a chocolate chip cookie for the first time in his life. I guess that is what 15 minutes of stuffing your face full of chocolate chips will do to you!

ty's "ode to Jen"

Most often the posts on our blog revolve around our kids. I (Ty) usually end up in the pictures somewhere because Jen is always on the other side of the camera. I think its about time Jen gets some credit here.

I have great kids. I'll take credit for 1/10 of their greatness. The boys also deserve about 1/10 credit. The remaining 80% goes to Jen. Jen is a fabulous mother. Day in and day out she encourages and motivates us to be better. She is able to discipline the kids...even when its tough and I feel like I will cave in to their tears she stands strong. Most importantly the boys know they are loved and cared for.

We have a beautiful and peaceful home thanks to Jen. I always thought that decorating a place meant you put furniture in it. I have now learned otherwise. Jen has made our home a happy place to be and, I must admit, a very well decorated place.

Although I didnt know that Jen was a great cook while we were courting she somehow managed to pull an ace out of her sleeve and the boys and I eat the best meals around town. You know that you have it good when going out to eat doesn't really compare with eating at home.

The best that I am and the boys are we owe to Jen. It is easy to be happy and confident when Jen is by my side. Here's to Jen because she is a wonderful mother, wife and friend. How could you not be happy with someone like this in your life?

And finally here is a note from Thatcher ....nnmvmvmmnnnnnnnnnnnnnncncrcxxxjfalskjf.

My Thatcher

I have been so extra full of gratitude the last few days thinking about my sweet sweet boy. He is getting so big and turning into a little person more and more each day. He loves to have fun and make people laugh. He is silly, smart, kind, thoughtful, daring, and energetic. He loves to read and it is easy to see that he has a sincere desire to do the right thing. Thatcher is very motivated by the promise of treats or surprises and by the threat of his toys needing to go to time out). The toys in time out doesn't happen very often, but today he just handed them over to me as if it wasn't worth the fight (I was trying to get him to clean up his toys).

Thatcher loves to help me cook...though most days it ends up like it did today while we were making apple crisp, with cinnamon, sugar, and flour everywhere and Thatcher's hand constantly in the mixing bowl and every other ingredient container.

Today I watched Lexi and was in awe watching my sweet little boy. He ran circles around her just laughing he was so happy to haver her over. He gave her many hugs and was concerned whenever she got away from his line of sight. When Michelle came to pick Lexi up we found them in his room. Lexi was sitting in the bed and Thatcher was standing next to the bed reading her a story. I about died it was so cute.

Tonight I laid James next to Thatcher while reading Thatcher a story. James stayed put and smiled and laughed at me and then at Thatcher throughout the entire book. Thatcher was in heaven and thought it was the coolest thing. Both boys looked like they were about to burst they were so happy and I thought I was going to burst too. It was a memorable moment for me to see my boys love each other so much.

Thatcher loves books, sometimes to my frustrations. The last two days I have gone into his room after nap time to find books strewn all over the place. It is evident he doesn't just through them around either (at least not all of them). Many of them are open and whenever I am around Thatcher is very interested in reading as well. He is so good at listening when I read him stories, but sometimes we just do reading time (so I can read a book of my own) and he will just sit with me and look at his books too. I think that is pretty amazing for a two-year-old.

Last week we went to story time and he was enthralled. He was one of the youngest kids there, but he kept up with them. He paid attention the entire time and followed directions better than the rest of the kids. It was the first time I have been to a story time where he hasn't sat on my lap. All the moms sad on the edges of the room and the kids sat on a rug in the middle. It made me sad to think that this is the beginning of what will happen more and more as Thatcher gets older. I don't want him to grow up.

Recent loves: Thatcher loves pumpkins. We got him one for a dollar on Saturday and he carries it around everywhere. I think he just likes anything new, but it is pretty cute to see him get excited about it. He also loves big and small versions of things. He as a big elephant and a baby elephant, a big Mater and a little one, and a big and little Lightning and Woody. He has fun comparing the sizes and having them talk to each other.

My boy can eat! He always has had quite the appetite, but I am still shocked and amazed at how much he eats, at how much he stuffs in his mouth at one time, at how not-picky he is, and at how little he chews. He cracks me up.

I love that Thatcher loves me. He really cares for me, James, and Ty and I know it means a lot to all of us.

Thatcher is talking so much and I love to know what my little boy is thinking. He often points out things that hurt and likes to address all his toys by their names. He is very good about telling me exactly what he wants and I am just amazed at how much he has been able to say in the past few months.

One of the most amazing things about Thatcher is how well he plays by himself. He loves friends and interaction with others, but when I am trying to get stuff done (which is way too much of the time...I am trying to be better about that), he is so content to play with his toys. He is super creative with how he plays with his different animals, his cars, Buzz and Woody, and all the others and I think his imagination is already quite advanced (but of course I do...I'm his mom)!

Potty-training is still a long ways off. Today he refused to even be diaper-less for a few minutes while Friday, Saturday, and Yesterday the potty was very appealing. He has gone a few times in the last few days which is a good sign of interest, but then he doesn't seem to care the next. I think it is great that we are at least making progress.

Last night was the first Family Night we had where we sang songs, prayed, had a lesson and played a game. It was such a success and invited the spirit more than I thought it would. We showed Thatcher a picture of Jesus and explained the story and that was going to be it for the lesson, but Thatcher kept wanting to look at other pictures of Jesus and talk about them. It was so sweet how interested he was in learning. I hope I can be a better example of how to live and love the gospel. I think Thatcher has a very exceptional spirit and I want to help him have a strong testimony more than anything.

I love my life and my boys. I don't know how a mom could get any luckier. He makes my life so easy...too easy. I think I try to get so much stuff done sometimes because I can. I know a mom with normal kids wouldn't have nearly as many opportunities to get things done throughout the day. I love my boys and am so grateful for how blessed I am.

Baby James

Some thoughts on James...

He is a kicking machine. No matter what floor you are on in the house, you can hear James's feet kicking constantly...hard. He is also very talented with his legs. He likes to play with toys squeezed between his legs and has impressive coordination at getting even small things in his 'leg grasp'.

The last few days I have been making peach cobbler and eating peaches. I give James the pit (each pit still has a lot of peach around it) and he goes crazy. It ends up being a huge sticky mess, but it is so worth it seeing him wrestle that slippery thing into his mouth so he can suck on something sweet.

James loves Thatcher. His face lights up every time they see each other. The crawl around together. Thatcher supplies him with toys to play with. They laugh like crazy together and I can't describe how happy that makes me every time it happens (which is a lot).

My baby is a bouncing machine. He goes crazy in his bouncer and bounces whenever he gets the opportunity. (I wonder if all these things related to his legs mean something. I don't remember Thatcher kicking, bouncing, or picking up things with his legs nearly as much) Right now James is pulling himself up on a stair and bouncing. It is the first time I have seen him do it and it scares me...stairs her we come.

James is still the snuggliest baby. When you pick him up he straddles his legs across your belly wraps his arms around you and nestles his head right in your shoulder. It makes me so happy that I have someone in my life who can't get enough love from me. What doesn't make me happy is when James wakes up in the middle of the night because he wants to be snuggled. He will scream bloody murder for a long time, but the moment he is picked up he is instantly calm. It makes me sad that all he wants is love, but my feeling sad is what has gotten me an eight month old who doesn't sleep through the night.

James is such a happy baby. He loves people and attention, but he is also perfectly content to play and explore on his own. Yesterday it seemed like he entertained himself for hours. He would play with a toy, then crawl to find another. He went to the open back door and just stared outside for the longest time soaking up the fresh air. He is just happy and content and that makes his mom happy.

He has plenty of funny faces, but the two that make me laugh the hardest are his crazy face- when he sees something he wants from across the room his eyes get enormous and so determines and he goes straight for it. The other face I love is when he bites his top lip. He does this a lot and it is hilarious. He also sticks his pointy little tongue out all the time. Man I love my baby.

It is funny to see differences between my two boys. Thatcher took a long time before he was interested in sippy cups and understood how they work, but James loves them. If he ever finds one laying around he is drinking it instantly. That will make weaning him off the bottle easy and I am grateful for that.

I love my James. I can't believe he will be nine months old in two weeks. Where has the time gone? I am so grateful he came to be a part of our family. I know we would all be lost without him.

lake powell

We spent a few days in Lake Powell last week with Ty's law firm and had a great time. We started off the trip with a tour of Antelope Slot Canyon. It was pretty fascinating learning about them (we had a geologist with us so she pointed out a lot of interesting things) and it was gorgeous too. The next couple days were spend eating good food, putting together puzzles, frantically reading 'Mockingjay', and lots of boating! I got up on the wakeboard and on the surf ski and had a blast. I love trying new things! The water was warm and the only thing wrong with our trip is that it didn't last longer.

fun in the saucer

My mom pulled out the saucer while we were visiting in Salt Lake and both boys went crazy. Thatcher figured out how to get himself in it and out of it. He would sit in it for the longest time as content as could be even though he looked a little ridiculous because he is so big. James loved it too and would bounce like crazy and spent plenty of time discovering each little toy. Things got a little trickier when James was in the saucer and Thatcher wanted to be in it too. Numerous times I would find Thatcher trying to climb in when James was already there. One time I came downstairs to find that Thatcher had wrapped three blankets around James and then climbed up on top. I couldn't even see James' head he was so buried. They are the funniest pair and James is a good sport.

jackpot

James is not only crawling, but he is fast. He knows what he wants and he can get there before I know what it is he is going for. It is hilarious and definitely keeps me on my toes.
On this particular day, James was under the stool where Thatcher eats at my mom's house and eating up all the treasures that Thatcher had dropped (dried cheese, a frosted mini-wheat, other various cereals, and other gross things) before I got to him. Look how happy he is at his discovery!