Dexter did it.

The last month in my lack of posts we have missed Brady's birthday, a trip to SLC for my sisters wedding. Thanksgiving and a visit from Jamie's parents. Sorry I have not posted well, hopefully this one will make up for it.

I was cleaning in the house today while Colby slept and Brady was running around playing. It started to get quiet so I know Brady was up to something. Pretty soon Brady came up next to me and kept saying "Dexter" - usually he wants to know where Dexter is to see how soon he can start tormenting him. So I played along and told him Dexter was laying down by the Christmas tree. The way a 2 year old can be he was adamant - he kept saying Dexter, Dexter, Dexter. Finally I gave in and took him to Dexter. He ran up to Dexter and started pointing by his side saying "no, no no." I looked and Dexter had an ornament from the tree (Brady's favorite thing to do lately is pull off the ornaments, which leads to a timeout each time) right beside him. I am 100% sure Dexter did not put the ornament there, but rather some help from a 2 year old.
What am I to do, put a dog in timeout?

Halloween - yes I am behind

Last year I shopped for months online to find Brady just the perfect Halloween costume - he was the cutest turtle you ever did see. This year was the complete opposite, I was out the week of scanning stores for any costume that did not resemble evil or a Disney character (nothing against Disney, I just figure while I have the say I will choose). One good thing about shopping so late is that costumes are mostly at least 50% off. We went with a puppy for Brady and a pea pod for Colby.

We decide along with the other 2000 people to head to the mall for trick or treating. The weather was not great here, so we decided to stay inside. We soon found out that Brady was terrified of any scary costume, mostly the evil Joker from Batman and the black and white skeleton costumes. Each time he way one he grabbed his dads leg and held on tight. I think we made it to 6 stores and then he was done. Fine with us and we headed off to playland. Colby like usual slept the entire time.

When we arrived home there were still trick or treaters out, Brady could not figure out why so many people were coming to the door and getting Dexter all excited. Luckily it did not last long.

Watch for more posts soon when I have both boys sleeping to update on birthday #2 and how things are going for us.

The dreaded four letter word

This weekend we heard the dreaded four letter word from Brady that I had hoped we would not hear or at least he would hold off until he was a bit older. For those of you who know Jamie, it was not one of THOSE four letter words, he did teach him this one though.

I was busy making lunch and Jamie and Brady were playing when I heard it. Brady took something from Jamie and Jamie replied "mine" - I shuddered internally knowing what was to come next. Almost immediately I heard Brady say "mine" - and most of the afternoon I kept hearing it. Now "mine" has entered into his ever expanding vocabulary and to my husband I am eternally grateful.

Conversations with a 23 month old

Yesterday Brady turned 23 months, I cannot believe he is almost 2. But that is another post.

Brady and I have a lot of conversations throughout the day. Most are to distract him from something he should not be doing, but we still talk. I figure talk to him now, who knows if he will want to talk to me as a teenager. Anyway, here are some of our conversations lately (I will translate when needed).

"Do you love mama?"
"No"
"Do you love dada?"
"No, detchur" (Dexter)
"Are you hungry, do you want lunch?"
"No"
"Do you want to go outside and play"
"No" followed by him getting his shoes and running to the back door.
We have decided that he pretty much answers no to any yes/no question. We are working on yes.

When we drive in the car, I like to point out things I know he knows. Trucks, buses and trains. He does not say train yet, but knows what they are. So back to our conversations.

"Mama, cuck, cuck mama"
"Yes, that is a truck"
"Cuck"
"Brady look at the bus"
"Lello buh"

It is amazing how many trucks and buses there truly are out there when they are being pointed out to you.

And finally, this is not a conversation between us, but rather a thank you to my husband. When we are in the car, Brady has a favorite song. Jamie liked the song first and would play it quite a bit when he and Brady were going somewhere, now it has moved to my car. Brady will hear the song and request "noh" (more), meaning he wants to hear it again. And again and again. I think today when we were running errands we listed to the song 8 times. The song - All summer long, by Kid Rock. Yes I said Kid Rock. Thank my lucky stars that it is not another of Kid Rocks songs. At least this one does not have any swear words in it and it is tolerable. I have even found myself singing to it now and then and remembering going to the lakes in the early 90's with friends - but we were not smokin' funny things (as the song says).

Colby is growing like a weed. He has started to figure out big brother is not always the softest but he loves to give him kisses. He has started to smile and was actually laughing the other day when he was sleeping, it brought a smile to my face. Jamie cannot wait until "the lump" (as he refers to Colby) is 1 so he can play with he and Brady too. I really am in trouble then.

Twice the fun?

I love both of my boys - well all four of my boys (including Jamie and Dexter). Lately, very few days go by that I wonder what did I get myself into. People ask me if I want another child - try for a girl. I run for the hills with that question, the way it looks I would have another boy. I am severely outnumbered - 4 to 1 (the cat does not count) and I don't think I need to add to it. I spend a lot of time at home dodging things flying at me - sadly not all are thrown by Brady, yes Jamie has taught him well. After I have dodged the UFO I have to step lightly or I may come down on a mega block, ball of some sort or a truck. Most days by noon it looks as though a tornado has been through the house. And to wrap up these random thoughts, I have not even started any potty training, I dread cleaning up after that.

Our two boys!

Life for us has changed quite a bit this month. The addition to our family is keeping us all busy and on our toes. Both boys are growing, healthy and trying to figure each other out.

For those who don't know my delivery was quite different this time than last, I have put together a few comparisons, draw your own conclusions.

30 hours of labor vs. 2 hours (1 of the hours at home)
3 hours of pushing vs. 3 pushes
epidural vs. no epidural, no pain meds at all (yes, I said no pain meds)
doctor delivery vs. nurse delivery

Now the difference in the boys
blondie vs. dark brown hair
short fingers and toes vs. long fingers and toes
7 lbs 2 oz vs. 8 lbs 6 oz (yes again no pain meds)
chubby cheeks vs. slender face

It is amazing how much different this experience was versus the last. Jamie did make sure and tell me though that I was begging for pain meds, but there was no time. We made it through though and are enjoying our boys.

Hope all is well with everyone. I will post again soon with more of an update.

Not yet

No, no baby yet. This little one seems to be perfectly content where he is. Who knows when at this pace.

Hold on

As you know our due date with baby number 2 is rapidly approaching - not fast enough for me though. Jamie on the other hand, wants/needs me and the little guy to wait until at least after 7 on Sunday night. Why you ask - fantasy football drafts - both tonight and tomorrow night. Now to be fair, I am involved in the draft tomorrow night, but at this point I would rather have the baby.

Last week I could not have the baby on Thur/Fri or Sat because he was playing in a golf tourney and NEEDED to be there for the sake of his team. What about me? Then we get into early September with work issues - at this rate if it were up to him we would not have the baby until mid September. Oh he did tell me, it would be okay to have it on Monday or Tuesday of this week - he is not as busy then! Whew - 2 days!

I keep telling him he needs to help out around the house to keep the baby in - well today he did. The picture on the side shows how he and Brady help out - I just shake my head sometimes and wonder where he will fit the next baby if he ever vacuums again. Who knows but I am sure he would figure it out somehow.

Third Place!

This weekend we ventured to the county fair. Who doesn't enjoy the smell of the farm animals, cotton candy and amusement park rides. We took Brady last year, but he was much to small to enjoy it, so we thought we would give it another try this year. He loved it, so much that it tired him out and we had to leave earlier than we had anticipated.

We started by watching the duck races, actual mallards racing each other. I was selected to be a duck starter in one of the 4 heats. I had to actually hold the little guy and drop him in the water on the whistle, we didn't win, we took third. Jamie said I was slow on the drop - that will come back to bite me. After the races we went to the barns, starting with pigs. Brady loved touching all of the animals and I mean all. In the sheep barn, we met a nice teenager who let Brady feed her sheep - I thought we would never get out of there. I was also so afraid that the sheep would take his finger as part of the snack, but he made it out unscathed. Enough of the animals so we moved on.

There was a toddler trot that we thought Brady may enjoy - yes races for toddlers. We registered him and tried to get him psyched up for the race. Now Jamie and I are both pretty competitive (Jamie way more than me), that was probably a sign that we should not have signed Brady up. He was in the second heat of the under 2 division. Again, I was "dropping" Brady and Jamie was on the other end trying to get Brady to race to him. On the go, I let him go and he - SAT DOWN. All of the other toddlers were off, finally I got him up and going and he made up some time finishing third - another third place - but he got a ribbon! I should have known, according to Jamie it was my fault that he did not win because I did a bad drop - just like the duck - how was I to know that my son would sit on the start line! I promise now not to be the demanding parent at their children's sporting events - I will have to work on Jamie for that one though.

The highlight of the fair for B was the John Deere tractor display. He loved sitting on them, steering and pushing any buttons he could. He had a huge smile on his face the entire time. We finished the fair with a few amusement park rides and then little man was tired out, falling asleep on the way home.

Maybe next year he can ride more rides as hopefully he will be 36 inches by then!

Where have I been?

Missing I guess, hiding under a rock, lost in the Northwest? No, just too busy (lazy) to update my blog.

It has been a busy summer for us. Brady is growing like a week and into everything he can possibly get into. Jamie has been traveling a lot for work as well as perfecting his golf game. And I am still incubating. Just over 4 more weeks and will I be glad. I now understand why women are younger when they have kids, my body is telling me it is done and punishing me for waiting until my mid-late 30 to reproduce. I blame Jamie.

Brady loves to be outside doing anything he can. I often see the devilish side of him when we go outside for our afternoon play. He loves to pull my flowers, climb up on the table or play in Dexter's water dish. He also LOVES to swim or jump into the pool with his Dad. This year we finally turned the heater on and the pool rests at 82 degrees, perfect for those of us who do not like to be cold. For me, it is nice to just float around - but without fail I am splashed by one of the boys - Jamie usually.

We are anxiously awaiting our new arrival. I am not ready at all around the house. I guess I will just wing it when it happens. We will keep you updated, but probably not through the blog as it would be Thanksgiving before you found out at the rate I am posting!

Sorry this is not much, but it is an update. Hope everyone is well.

What I have learned over the last month

Over the last month a lot has happened for us. Not much to the average family, but I take some of it as big milestones for us. So enjoy the list.

1. I really am not very good at blogging. My heart wishes I were better, but I just am not. No excuses.
2. Traveling 6 hours on an airplane with a toddler has its challenges.
3. A toddler can eat snacks for 6 hours straight if they are offered.
4. When you figure a toddler will fall back asleep on an airplane after getting up at 4:45 a.m., they will not.
5. Some people are very kind and understanding of families traveling with toddlers and some are not (yes I am referring to the woman who was already in an exit row, had nobody sitting next to her, was maybe 5 feet tall and insisted on fully reclining her seat the entire flight - and I was behind her with Brady on my lap). At that point I was not very good at keeping Brady from kicking.
6. I now know what an alpaca is and more importantly how expensive they are.
7. Teaching your toddler to blow bubbles in the bathtub is not such a great idea. Brady now thinks he needs to blow bubbles in the dog water dish and any puddle he sees on the ground.
8. Even if you think you have scooped all of the dog pooh out of the yard before play time, a toddler will find it and either mash in it his shoes or pick it up - yes pick it up.
9. Maybe a sandbox was not such a great idea (refer back to 7 - yes he tried blowing bubbles in the sandbox too).
10. Another boy, am I sure I can deal with it? Some days the two I have (Jamie and Brady) are already enough for me! But I still love them.

So there, the top 10 things I have learned over the last month. I will try and be better at posting.

Hope all is well.

Our little daredevil!

You know how it is when you are watching children play, they usually can be separated into a few different groups. The shy ones, the play nice ones and the daredevils. Brady falls into the last category. I will often find him at home standing in his wagon, on the seat with his hands in the air. Or he stands on the very edge of the couch. Of course there are tears when he falls, but he gets right back up and does it again. This past weekend we took him to a playtime where there was a slide. Brady has been on a slide before, but we have had to lift him to the top and give him a little push to get going. Not this weekend. As soon as he figured out how to get up the slide he went down his own way. Head first! I about died and of course Jamie thought it was great.

We also had our first Easter egg hunt. How fun is it to watch 50 1-2 year olds gather eggs! Nobody was exactly sure what to do. Brady's first step was yes, right on an egg. He fell down. I think he had fun. I estimate it took him 7-10 minutes to gather 12 eggs. It was pretty cold our, so we helped him along. Otherwise who knows how long it would have taken. I know years to come will be much different when he understands what the candy inside is for (instead of for Dad this year).

Hope everyone is well.

Not so good

I have decided that I am not very good at keeping my blog current. I faithfully go to my friends blogs and read theirs. Some update daily and some weekly, I am lucky if I update every 2 weeks. I cannot figure where the time goes most days. By the time I get Brady to bed I am ready to crash and the last thing on my mind is posting a new entry on the blog. Jamie often reminds me that I have not posted for a while. So to those who come faithfully to read my blog I apologize that I am so far behind and do not update often.

We have enjoyed a bit of sunny weather here in the northwest these last couple of days. This weekend was so nice that Brady and Jamie spent a good bit of time outdoors enjoying the sunshine. Brady managed to get his first fat lip and face road rash. I was inside, but the story goes that he was chasing after the basketball and fell down forgetting to put his hands down before his face slid across the driveway. He is okay, just looks a bit scraped. Some days I look at my child and think "what happened to you?" I really am a good mother. And as the mother of a VERY active boy I am afraid that I am going to see my share of stitches and emergency rooms. Great.

Brady also figured out this weekend how to climb up onto the couch and how not to get down. He tumbled a few times, but yet again survived. I think we move into a plastic bubble to keep the house baby proofed.

Hope all is well.

Communication

It often amazes me how we communicate. We use words, gestures and looks to get what we want or say what we need. I really wonder how we communicated long distance before email and phone, I guess maybe we did it the old fashioned way by writing a letter. I still try and write my grandparents once a month because they so look forward to the letter. I often think how much easier it would be to send an email, but they do not have it. How time has changed.

We are really dealing with communication issues now with Brady. He is trying so hard to get us to understand him. When he is hungry he walks to the cupboard where the crackers are and points and grunts or screams. He is getting his point across, I know what he wants. However, it is always not that easy with a 15 month old. Some days I strike out trying to figure out what he wants. We are both then frustrated.

I say now that I cannot wait until he can chat with me, but then I know what will come next. The series of never ending "why" questions. Oh well, something to look forward to I guess.

I will post more pics soon.

Snow day!

As a child growing up in eastern Washington I remember the words snow day! We loved hearing snow day. It meant no school and hopefully enough snow to sled. Snow was a big deal for us there. After moving to Utah, I remember the first snowstorm we had and sure enough we thought snow day. It snowed 15 inches and we knew there was no way there would be school. There was and we could not believe it. I cannot remember a snow day in Utah, we went to school no matter how much snow there was.

Today was a snow day here. I woke up this morning and saw the snow and immediately though "oh no." Now when I say snow, it was a skiff, less than an inch. Schools were canceled left and right and it was a huge deal on the news. I looked out and the streets were pretty much cleared off, a few patches of snow here and there. I went back and forth of whether or not to go to the gym, so I waited a few hours and then Brady and I ventured out. I do not worry about my driving ability in the snow it is all of the others. At the gym all classes were canceled - snow day. Brady and I did our work out and headed back home. It was snowing ever so slightly when we left. Somehow I managed to get behind the guy going 15 mph, I guess afraid of the snow. Now he should have stayed home.

It amazes me how snow does not phase one part of the country but basically shuts down another. I guess it is what you are used to.

On a good note, I loved seeing the snow. I just wish it would have been more and lasted longer. I miss the snow. The snow did not even last long enough for me to snap a picture.

Holy Tornado!

We do not live in the Midwest, so pretty much I figured we were safe from tornadoes. Guess I was wrong on that again. I thought that too living in Salt Lake, but we had one there about 7 years ago go right through downtown when I was working. Well yesterday we had one here. It touched down about 3 miles from our house and was on the ground for about 4 miles. I was watching the news, so I knew it was happening. Then the news said it was heading towards us. Do I jump in the bathtub with Brady or what? We don't have a basement, so I guess the tub is the safest place. I watched out the window to see if it was coming, luckily it did not. But it sure does scare the pants off a person. All I know is that I want no part of tornadoes. So I guess we will not be moving to the Midwest.