two extremes

The last few weeks we have been able to enjoy some super nice weather and some seriously cold weather. A few weeks ago we spent a Saturday in Phoenix where Thatcher swam in the pool (which was way too cold for me), then we went to Cafe Rio with some friends and shopped at the outlets. Thatcher's highlight of the trip was discovering a kid-sized toilet in the family restaurant. He was so excited, he didn't want to leave his "Thatcher potty". A few days later I took the boys down to Phoenix again to hang out for the day with family and to see my cousin, Whitney's new house. Claire, Cooper, and Kristi came over too and we had a fun day talking, planning Thanksgiving, and hearing the kids laugh at each other.
I couldn't get Crew to turn around, but at least the other three toe-heads are smiling.

Then, in contrast, we spent last weekend at our cabin where it was FREEZING. The first night I thought I would die, but Ty's fire-building skills rapidly improved and we ended up sticking it our for two more nights. The days were sunny and we ended up having a lot of fun. We went fishing a few times (with no success), raked a lot of leaves, jumped in a lot of leaf piles, ate a lot of "P is for popcorn", went on a few walks while Thatcher went on 'hikes' (Thatcher wanted hike which meant him wandering the road or trail so he could be roughing it more), drank way too much hot chocolate, and did lots of snuggling (out of necessity to keep warm). Ty is insane and jumped in the water one day too. It was a fun cozy weekend and Thatcher loves the cabin. Because it was so cold the boys lived in their sweatshirts. I loved seeing James's chubby round face peering through his sweatshirt hood every day.




This is Thatcher's "cave". He loves going on bear hunts and we spent the weekend going on bear hunts in the leaves. Every time I buried him he told me he was in his "cave". I love seeing his imagination come to life.

Thatcher and Simon jumping off the coffee table. This ended badly for Thatcher, poor kid.

Ty's impressive wood pile and our little helper.


My boys.

A big tree fell on our cabin a few weeks ago and caused quite a bit of damage (thus the blue tarp on the roof). I didn't take any good pictures of it close up, but here is one that shows the entire length of the tree. The tree continued up and over the roof, but this picture was taken after that had all been cut up and removed.

thatcher, my singing story telling boy

Thatcher has started to really love songs and singing lately. He is excited about all the Christmas songs and about a couple weeks ago he started singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" out of nowhere. I didn't even know he knew it. He helps me sing "I am a Child of God" to James when James is going down for a nap and he learned to sing "Happy Birthday" yesterday for Nanna's birthday. He caught on really quick and did a good job singing it to her. The other day while driving home from Phoenix we sang songs for most of the drive home and he did such a great job. He knows "If you're happy and you know it" and "The itsy bitsy spider" and lots of others. He is so smart and I feel like all of this has just happened overnight.

Thatcher also loves stories. Some of his favorites are what he calls "The Alligator Song" where the alligator snaps the monkeys out of the tree. He is also addicted to going on a "Bear Hunt" even though he sometimes gets scared when the bear starts to chase us. Other stories that Thatcher loves are "Go Dog Go", "How do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?", "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom", anything pop up, "5 Little Monkeys" and others that I can't remember right now. He has such a love of books and is so good at paying attention whenever a book is being read to him whether it is at home or at storytime in the library or music class.

Thatcher has a new friend named Simon and they have had a lot of fun together. They have very similar temperaments and play well together. They like the same things and like to laugh, give each other hugs, and act like the crazy little boys they are. Thatcher will randomly start talking about Simon's dinosaur pajamas or hte duck bib he wore once when he was over for dinner. I love that he remembers little things like that and I love seeing Thatcher make friends.

Thatcher loves to help me in the kitchen and brings his little chair over every time I start cooking. This morning I caught a naked Thatcher using his chair to sneak a brownie.

Potty training...I really need to buckle down and learn what to do to help him in the right way, but it is frustrating. My approach has been if he wants to sit on the potty or be naked or wear big boy underwear...let him. I am learning that the freedom I am giving him is probably not a good thing. Just this morning a naked Thatcher in Lightning McQueen tennis shoes pooped on the floor in the bathroom then stepped in it as he was coming out saying, "big poop". By the time I realized what was going on he had already crossed the carpet and made quite a mess. Then this afternoon, he came down naked from his nap (thank goodness he took it off after his nap unlike a previous time where he peed all over my bed)...then, after begging for big boy underwear after his nap, he peed all over the floor. Obviously something isn't working.

Thatcher takes such good care of his brother, he is so obedient (90% of the time), he is funny, and he is so loving. He is the greatest and I love my boy.

james, my snuggler

James snuggles with anyone and anything, but this week he has amazed me even more with his snuggling abilities. This morning he rested his head on my head and kept it there while his drool made its way down to my eye. He loves to stand next to the couch or the toddler bed and lay his head on it, and crawling over to me or Ty while we are laying down and nuzzling into our shoulder is one of his favorite past times. Two separate times this week James woke up kind of early and Ty had already gone to work, so I brought him in bed with me. Both times we laid together on the bed, with the lights on, for at least a half hour. While we laid there together, James was completely still while I tickled his face and his head. It was so funny and at the same time got me kind of emotional it was so sweet. He is the most beautiful baby and looking at his angelic face, wide awake, staring up at the ceiling while he is being tickled is the happiest thing for me.

A few other things about my baby James right now:
- He is really starting to cruise. The other day he was pushing Thatcher's little chair all over the kitchen tile. He cruises all over the couches and loves to walk when me or Ty are holding him up a little. He stands up in the tub and pretty much anywhere he can. It is so cute and makes me think he will be walking sooner than Thatcher did. It is a good thing too, because whenever he does start to walk...we are going to Disneyland.

- His second tooth is officially in. I love my little toothy boy.

- A week or so ago James got his first goose egg. It was a pretty good bump the first night and then turned into dark bruise for a few days. The funny thing about it is that I have no idea how it happened, and I was right there. James was playing around by a pile of laundry on the carpet. There was nothing close by that was hard in any way but when he started crying I knew he was hurt by the way it sounded. I ran over to him and picked him up and sure enough he had a goose egg. It is a mystery.


- James is good at making car noises and I don't know where he has gotten it from. He has either picked it up from Thatcher or just likes the noise but it is great. He drives cars around all day and is great at playing by himself (unless he wants to be held of course).

- He loves his brother. He and Thatcher laugh at each other all throughout the day. They are so cute together and you can tell that James really watches everything that Thatcher does. I love those two together and can't wait for them to love each other even more throughout the years.

activity days

I have been in activity days for over two years now. Sometimes it is exhausting...coming up with ideas, wondering if the things we are doing are helping the girls in any way, worrying about the quiet ones, getting slightly annoyed with the obnoxious few, etc., but I really do love it. This week we had a big recognition night that took a lot of time to prepare. It was short and sweet and everyone and their families came to help recognize the girls and eat super-loaded sundaes. The theme was 'The Articles of Faith' and we had ice cream flavors and toppings galore...it was supposed to add up to 13 but I think we ended up with more. Here are the pics:

friends

I have been thinking a lot lately about my friends. I have been so blessed. I have recently made a new friend and one of the first times we hung out, as our boys were getting acquainted, she said, "It's good to see that it's uncomfortable for kids too" or something like that. I loved that she admitted that it really is hard to become friends with people. It takes a lot of time and service and a definite connection for a real friendship to blossom. I feel like after more than two years I have begun to have friends here in Flagstaff. These friendships are still developing, but it makes me sad when I think of moving to Utah or to Phoenix, to think that I would have to start all over again when I have come so far.

Here are some or the things that have gotten me thinking about how blessed I am to have the friends I do:
- Going to a music time with my boys where I was the only mom who knew the "beaver song" and when they asked me if I had sung it when I was younger, I said, "no, I learned it in college from my friend, Maggie"
- A few weeks ago, Samantha's husband and I made the connection that he served his mission with Emily Mitarai. I love having friends like Emily who I am proud to call friend.
- Maggie finding out that her baby had a heart defect and that the baby would probably need open heart surgery right after birth. Even though baby Maisy is a lot healthier than hoped, crying with Maggie brought back so many memories and made me remember all that we have been through together.
- Going out to dinner with the Paynes a few weeks ago and remembering that there really are kindred spirits out there who are placed in your life at specific times because of a loving Heavenly Father.
- When Ty and I had to find a costume for a Halloween party I pulled out all my mission stuff and so many memories of Astyn Shaw (and other great companions) came flooding back and the huge blessing she was to my mission.
- Thinking about how Bekah and Maggie and Nicole just had babies and how Heidi and Em will have theirs soon...it is crazy!

These are just a few things that have happened in the last few weeks and don't begin to describe the memories I have and the significance my friends have had in my life. I am grateful for the new friends I am making and I am grateful for so many of my friends who have been there for so long (some of them are going on 15 years) and been through so much with me (the good and the bad).

reading rampage

I have been reading a lot lately. At least a lot for me. Last year I read more fiction and more for pleasure than I had in a very long time...I am thinking since elementary school age. And this year I have read a lot more. I love it. I am addicted. I probably shouldn't do it quite so much because I know other things suffer. But I also think it has been good for me. It gets me thinking outside of my little moment in time. Outside of my little townhome with my two little boys. So, since January, here is the tally in order of most favorite to just ok...I guess I am not that picky because I enjoyed all of them:

-The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society
-The Help
-The Book Theif
-These is my words
-A Town Like Alice
-Mockingjay
-The Actor and the Housewife
-Silent on the Moor
-The Traveler's Gift
-The Uglies
-The Pretties
-The Specials

Books I Mostly Read:
-Babywise
-Master Your Metabolism
-Parenting with Love and Logic

Books I have started:
-John Adams
-Fire in the Bones
-Sarah's Quilt

I feel like I am missing one or two, but maybe not. My goal this year was to read one book a month. I have picked it up a lot in the last couple months so we will see what December brings.

meet Buzz..and other Halloween memories

Thanksgiving is a week away, but I don't want to let introducing Buzz pass me by. So...I now present the cutest Buzz Lightyear to grace this galaxy (which is saying a lot since EVERYONE seemed to be Buzz this year). Thank you Nana for making Thatcher thoroughly convinced he was the coolest thing ever. The Buzz costume arrived in the mail one day and didn't come off Thatcher until four days later (I would wash it at night when he was asleep). Buzz made appearances at the library, the grocery store, and every where else we went in those few days.

The week before Halloween we visited Bearizona and we got to see a bunch of animals. It was fun to do something different and Thatcher sure loves bears. He even kissed one wearing a witch hat!

The week of Halloween a friend gave us some home-made black licorice caramels that Ty and Thatcher obviously loved. Here are the two goofballs (and a cute spectator in baby James).



The night before Halloween we had our ward Trunk or Treat. Thatcher got pretty good at saying "trick or treat" and "thank you" but what he was most interested in was the bounce house. He outlasted most of the kids who went in there and held his own when a bunch of big kids were in there with him. Maybe it was the Buzz costume that made him invincible. Whatever it was, it was hilarious.

After the trunk-or-treat, we joined a bunch of friends for a couples' Halloween party. Ty and I went as super nerdy tourists and we had a blast seeing what everyone came as, eating great Halloween-themed food, and playing games. The men were all playing pool so the girls took a big group picture.

Then on Halloween, which was a Sunday, we had some friends over for pumpkin soup baked in a pumpkin. We had no trick-or-treaters which was nice and had a nice relaxing dinner. It was a good Halloween!