Enjoying life in the Pacific Northwest!

Moving

2010-06-04T15:54:00.001-07:00

I guess I am now going to have to change the title to my blog, I will have to think about that for a bit when I have a minute.

This past week I have been busy packing and repacking boxes. The boys love to "help" by pulling things out I have packed. And they are sure the things that get packed in boxes we will never see again. I am waiting for the last possible minute to pack up their toys - that could be a disaster.

We are hoping the loading, driving and unloading goes as well as can be expected with the boys. Wish us luck and any tips would be helpful.

Words from a 3.5 year old

2010-05-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

We recently had a 16+ hour car ride pulling a trailer from our home here to Salt Lake City. This was the first really long car ride for the boys and we were hoping they would survive (or should I say, we would survive). Anyway, along the way we heard:

-Are we there yet (after being on the road 5 minutes)?
-Hey Colby, what's your name?
-Have you ever been to Maine before (asked over and over and over)?
-Can I have gum?
-Where's the trailer?
-I'm tough.
-Momma - no dancing or singing.

And my two favorite-
-Who took a bomb?
-Momma do you have poop in your hair?

I would love to know what is running through his mind when he says some of this stuff. In the end both boys were absolute troopers!

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T20:52:00.001-07:00

I love this day for the fact that it reminds me how much my little guys and Mom really mean to me.

Often I feel as though I will not make it another day with these two - they truly wear me out. Some days when this happens I think about my Mom and I have no room to complain. My boys are 22 months apart. My parents had 4 kids in 5.5 years - my sister and I are 13 months apart. How my Mom did it, I really will never understand. On top of us 4, she also did in home daycare when we were all home and before she went back to working outside of the home. Now that is a super mom!

Today I am not sure how many times Brady told me "Happy Mother's Day" - I wish I would have kept track. I know Colby said it too, but it pretty much just came out as garble, but it is the thought that counts. The boys colored me a cute little homemade card - the best ones in my opinion and Dad made me a picture collage. We went for a great picnic at a park and enjoyed the long awaited beautiful weather, just spent the day relaxing.

Happy Mother's Day to all of my Mom friends and family. I hope you truly enjoyed your little (or big) ones today as much as I did.

Oops

2010-04-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

I know it is April and I have not posted since February, I guess I just get lost in everything else going on. Maybe it is the never ending delay of Spring, the weather plays tricks on me. We will have an afternoon of 70 degree weather, nice and sunny and then bam, back to 55 and rainy for another week.

So here are just a few pics and I will post again soon.

Out the window

2010-02-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

Lately Brady thinks it is pretty cool to try and spit. Yes, I so very much agree with this lesson his Dad taught him (note sarcasm). Every boy needs to know how to spit right, but at 3?

Anyway, I was zooming around Home Depot with both boys driving the cool racing shopping carts they have there (they love them and ask for them at every store we go to). Pretty soon I notice Brady leaning over the side and making some awful noise. I ask him what he is doing -

"Spitting out the window like Daddy."

Thanks Jamie, now I have to try and explain why we only spit outside not in the store.

Oh from the mouths of babes

2010-01-29T20:05:00.000-08:00

I love listening to conversations the boys have with each other or with us. Here is how it went the other day as Jamie was on the floor playing with the boys.

Jamie: Oh Colby, you are such a dork.

Brady: What dork is he....Happy?

I could not stop laughing - I am sure there many more laughs to come.

What were we thinking?

2010-01-18T13:33:00.001-08:00

For some odd reason we decided to take a vacation in January, not really peak travel season. Originally we were going to go to Hawaii for a week and enjoy the sunshine, golf and ocean. Plans changed and we ended up going to VERMONT instead for 8 days (yes, Vermont in the middle of the winter - sub zero temps vs 85 degrees) - first WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

To get to Vermont from the Northwest we took a direct flight to Boston - averaging 6 hours on the plane with a 16 month old and 3 year old. Oh yeah, a teething 16 month old. On the flight there, I was at one point that mother that all other parents look at and feel bad for. Or that mother that people without kids wonder why she cannot control her child. One can only walk up and down the aisle with a screaming child for so long. I even resorted to standing in the restroom for a bit hoping it would drown out the screams, but then I feared someone would think I was abusing him. Finally he zonked out on his Dad for a couple of hours, ah peace for everyone. Not only did we have a long plane ride, but it was followed up by a 2.5 hour car ride to our final destination. Again - WHAT WERE WE THINKING.

As if that travel was not enough, once there we decided to head to Maine to see more family. We headed out in a snowstorm for what should have been a 3.5 hour car ride instead turned into a 5 hour car ride. Luckily the boys were good, I was the one in the foul mood because more time in the car. Once there, we were in a hotel room with a still teething baby who did not want to sleep. Jamie and I both took turns driving around Maine during the wee hours of the morning to get a baby to sleep - again right around the zero degree mark. WHAT WERE WE THINKING.

Finally after arriving back home adjusting to the time difference did not happen. For 4 days Colby was up between 4:30 and 6 ready to go for the day. Needless to say, I was not at all ready for the day and could have used many more hours of sleep.

Lesson learned, we are done vacationing until the boys are at least both 3.5 years old (so basically 2 years)! That is unless another opportunity for Hawaii comes up!!!

Christmas so far

2009-12-15T22:19:00.000-08:00

With the holiday season here, I thought I would give a quick update on how ours is going.

-Brady and I made a gingerbread house (well really it was a kit, but who cares). I did not realize how difficult and time consuming the houses are. I made the mistake and tried to move the house from the table to the counter before it was set, I thought the boys would knock it over on the table. Silly me, I was moving it and it all fell apart with a few pieces crashing to the ground. Before I could get them all picked up, Dexter found and ate 1/4 of the back panel. I had to do a quick repair job with graham crackers and lots of icing. B and I decorated the house and I had to let go of my particular ways and let Brady put the candy on because he wanted to so bad. It actually WAS a cute house, but it was very easy to tell I had lots of help from a 3 year old. I say "was" because Dexter decided to make it a treat for himself one afternoon when we were out of the house. I did not even get a picture.

-The Christmas tree. We went to a cute little tree farm not far from our house to pick out the tree. After much searching we found what we thought was the perfect tree. Jamie started to saw it down and I reached in to hold it so it did not fall on a child. Inside was a birds nest, yes a nest - luckily no birds or eggs. We took the next out and loaded it up to take home. After 2 tree stands - it is still crooked.

-Decorating the tree has been interesting with the boys. I started with putting the breakable decorations up high and ones that were ok to touch lower, they stayed on the tree all of one day. All decorations are now on the top 1/2 of the tree, I have to admit it looks pretty funny.

-Back to baking, I decided to make sugar cookies and have Brady help decorate. I used to love doing that as a child, however I am pretty sure my mom did not have us decorating at age 3. Brady was not into frosting the cookies, instead he just wanted to put on sprinkles. He loves his sprinkles, most cookies are more sprinkles than frosting. Colby watched and ate the whole time.

That is the Christmas update for now, more to come I am sure. Pictures to come too.

Missing Maddie

2009-12-03T21:38:00.000-08:00

Today we had the horrible task of deciding to put our cat, Maddie to sleep. We will miss her.

Maddie was a cat that loved to be left alone yet you knew when she wanted something. She had the loudest howl I have ever heard from a cat. Mostly she would exercise her lungs when the rest of us were trying to get some shut eye. Many nights I woke up to her "singing". I remember one night shortly after we were married she was singing. I got up to quiet her down to find her in the kitchen with a dead mouse - yes a mouse in the house - I guess she wanted to give me a present.

Maddie put up with a lot in the last 3 years - since the boys came along. She never once scratched one of the boys even though they sometimes loved on her a bit too hard. Or thought she was something to drag around.

If you have a pet hug them, we never know how long they will be around to make us smile. We miss you girl.

Halloween

2009-11-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

So I am late posting pics from Halloween but here we go. This was the first Halloween where Jamie actually took the boys trick or treating. Brady walked and Colby followed in the wagon. From what Jamie tells me, Brady did not quite understand the concept of trick or treating. His understanding was that it was a social call. After ringing the doorbell and getting an answer Brady would follow it up by saying "hi" and wanting to go in and chat (with complete strangers). I am not sure he ever really understood what he was suppose to do. However, he does know that he does not at all like scary masks and still talks to me about the "scary guy."

For those of you who remember Brady's first Halloween costume, yes it is the same turtle. I could not part with the costume yet. I LOVED that costume and it fit Colby so perfectly this year. As a middle child I swore I would never recycle costumes to my children, but I had to get one more use out of this one. Mom and Dad - I now understand.

2009-10-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Brady and I often butt heads over many things during the day. I blame it on my lack of sleep and him being a 2 year old. Or I could go that we are both Scorpio's (not sure if that matters, but is sounds good). Today was a particularly trying day with him. He did not nap (really what's new with that though), he was being mean to his little brother and he was pushing EVERY button possible with me. So I decided we had to get out of the house.

The trip was to get me a flu shot at the local Safeway. A little background, yesterday Colby had his flu shot (B already had the flu mist) and I was asking B to tell Colby that it would be alright and he could hold his hand while he had it done if he wanted to help him feel better. B sat on the chair right next to us and told C it would be okay and hurt only for a little while. So today it was my turn. I sat on the chair, both boys in the shopping cart and B kept asking what I was doing, so I told him getting my flu shot. No sooner did he reach out his hand and ask to hold mine while I had my shot and told me it would be okay. As I held his hand a little tear came to my eye.

All is forgiven.

One question answered

2009-09-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

Often while I am out driving I will see one shoe laying on the road. This leads me to the question of how does someone lose just one shoe? I have wondered this for years as I am driving and see yet another shoe on the road.

Today my lovely husband answered the question for me without saying a word. We packed the boys (he loaded B, I loaded C) into the truck to head to Costco to pick up the things we need in large quantities (wipes, dog food, cat litter and Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches). We drove the 15 minutes to get there, getting on the interstate, crossing the river and back off the interstate finally arriving at Costco. While unloading the boys, my lovely husband asks where are B's shoes? My lovely husband had them coming out of the house so I guessed he knew where the were. We both looked at the back of the truck (yes, outside the truck) and saw just one shoe. Apparently my lovely husband forgot that shoes are not meant to ride on the back of the truck where they can so easily fall off while diving at high rates of speed and making many turns.

If you are driving anywhere between my house and Costco and see a size 8 toddler boys green sandal on the road, do me a favor and pick it up. Yes, we did return the same route we went but were unable to find the poor lost shoe. Did I mention I loved those shoes because B had not yet figured how to get them off in the car? And did I mention my lovely husband.....?

So next time you see a single shoe on the road you will know a possible way how it got there.

Off and running

2009-09-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

I knew this day would come, but I was hoping it would be later rather than sooner. Colby is full on walking now. He is so proud of himself to get up and go. He only resorts back to crawling when he needs to get somewhere really quick, like away from his brother. He has also learned how to climb up onto the couch and chairs - great.

Now fear is setting in on both of these boys keeping me running and trying to catch them when they fall.

Happy 1st Birthday!

2009-09-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe that Colby is already 1. He turned 1 on the 1st of September, boy has time gone so fast this last year. I remember last year so clearly when he was born, it seems like yesterday.

We celebrated by visiting the zoo early in the day and then a quiet family party after Dad got home from work. Of course B had to help open all of the presents and break them in for C. Isn't that what big brothers are for? Colby also enjoyed his first cake, I am not sure who got more - Colby or Dexter. It made some great pictures though.

Happy Birthday little man.

Toilets and dog dishes

2009-08-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

Someone tell me what is so interesting and fun about toilets and dog water dishes?

Colby can now reach into the toilet and loves to every chance he can. If someone leaves the bathroom door open he has found his entertainment until busted by me.

And the dog water dish, why is it so fun to try and drink out of it? That is a favorite of both boys.

Just if I could get them to love a bath - it's just water right?

Funeral or wedding?

2009-08-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

We should not have to choose between one or the other.

The Funeral - On Tuesday my step grandpa passed away. Not to sound mean, but it was a good thing. He had been in a lot of pain for quite some time and finally he lost his battle with the cancer that had consumed his body. He will be missed, but as we all know he is in a better place.

The Wedding - My cousin is renewing her vows (they were married earlier this summer in South Carolina) and having a reception over Labor Day weekend. The relationship I have with her means a lot to me and I would love to support her on her big day.

So the choice for me, do I attend the funeral or the upcoming wedding of my cousin? You may wonder why not both? Well they are both in North Dakota - not an easy trip from anywhere except maybe South Dakota. Flying from here to Fargo is an adventure.

My decision - I decided on the wedding. There were multiple reasons, cost being a huge factor, try getting a plane ticket to Fargo at the last minute - a small car is cheaper. Also, I figure I will have plenty of time to spend with my Grandma while I am at the wedding. I hope she will enjoy that.

Why should we have to choose between the two? I guess we do the best we can.

Family Hike

2009-08-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago the four of us went to a place called Skamania (resort type destination) for an overnight stay. It was really a work function (golf) for Jamie. I was invited to dinner though, yippie! The boys had a babysitter in the room (daughter and son of Jamie's coworker). I was a bit nervous about this since they do not have many babysitters, but we were 2 minutes away, so I felt a bit calmer - and the window did not open so I knew they could not fall out! Anyway that has nothing to do with the hike.

So the hike, Jamie thought it would be a GREAT idea to stop on the drive home at a place called Beacon Rock for a little hike to the top. I should have known better when we pulled in and it looked straight up and there were rock climbers (the kind with ropes and stuff) coming down the trail. But I felt a bit better when we passed some 50-60 year olds and they said it takes about an hour round trip, not too bad. We were off. I had Colby strapped on my back and Jamie was holding Brady's hand. Not fair right, well we both knew B would only make it a while and want to be carried, Jamie's job. So we followed the path, climbed, climbed and climbed some more. The path itself was okay until we got to the suspended bridges over nothing, straight down. I used to be great with heights, but I have turned into my mother and freeze when it comes to any sort of heights. I crossed the bridges, not looking down but feeling as though I was about to tip over. Under my breath, I was swearing Jamie's name most of the way for thinking this was such a great idea. And for those who don't know Jamie, everything is a competition. So no way was anyone going to pass us going up the trail, he was cruising up, no leisurely hikes for us. Finally we made it to the top, it took us about 35 minutes.

Now I know I am not in great shape, but this hike kicked my butt. I was not sure I was going to recover, let alone ever breath normally again. We are at the top for a total of 5 minutes and Jamie says "let's go". Are you serious??????? Back down we went. The hike was a total of 2.5 miles, an 800 foot elevation gain and we did it in just over an hour, the 50-60 year olds beat us. But we were hiking with a toddler too. Oh yes, and Colby he slept on my back the whole way. Some day I hope to get paid back for all of this!

It is HOT!

2009-07-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

I am not sure who is still checking my blog, but we will give it another shot at posting. Sorry!

As the title says, it is HOT, HOT, HOT here. We live in the Pacific Northwest, we are suppose to have nice mild summers. Well someone forgot that this year. We have been at or above 100 degrees since Sunday. Today we are suppose to be at an all time high of 107 - yes I said 107 - we are not in Arizona! We do not even cool down that much at night, last night the cool temp was 76.

Right now I am thankful for air conditioning and our pool. We have been in the pool daily for the last 2 weeks and I am sure that will not change at least through the weekend. Finally we are getting some use out of it. Well I guess I mean I am getting some use out of it because it is warm. Jamie seems to think everyone likes 65 degree pool water. Me, I like more around 85.

Stay cool.

First family bike ride

2009-04-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago we decide to enjoy the great weather we were having for the day and go for a bike ride. We had to get everything out of storage, pump up tires and get another helmet in order to head out. Soon we were ready and everything was loaded in the truck to go on the trail we had chosen for the day. Since it was the first ride ever for Colby we had to make sure it was pretty smooth and lots of places to stop.

We ended up on a paved path that you could ride for miles and miles, we decided to go as far as we could and then turn around and head back when the natives started getting restless. I think the actual preparation ended up being longer than the ride. We went a total of 4.4 miles. I was exhausted and my legs were burning when we were done. Did I mention that the wind was blowing straight into our faces on the way back? I will try not to mention that Jamie was pulling the bike trailer and overall it was a pretty flat trek.

Both boys did well, at one point we had a little episode of "he's touching me." Is this starting already - they are 2 1/2 and 7 months old? Colby was a trooper and I think Brady enjoyed having someone in the trailer with him. The halfway point had a playground which was a great resting area. Hopefully this will be something all of us can enjoy together and I will get into better shape from it. I guess we will see where our next bike adventure takes us.

Update on Mother status

2009-04-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

My last entry talked about waiting to be christened as a mother. Well I have had my fair share this week, Colby has had an intestinal virus and has shared almost every meal with me. I have done 8 loads of laundry and changed my clothes a total of 28 times in 4 days. I did not know a 7 month old could hold so much in their stomach when they eat so little. As if it is not bad enough coming out of one end, he has it coming out of both. Poor little guy.

Christened as a mother

2009-03-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

I have been very lucky as a mother with my boys. Both of them really did not spit up much as little babies, the occasional little bit of crap out of the mouth, but nothing big like I had witnessed from other little babies. Colby did get me once with a bit of blessing from his mouth after his first experience with rice cereal, but again not too big.

This last week it finally hit me, literally. Brady had been out of sorts for several day, not wanting to eat, a low grade fever and only wanting to be held. So I did the best I could to hold him and tend to his every need. Then it happened. We were sitting rocking and watching something on the tv and he said "belly urts." I replied with "oh you are fine, here drink some more Pedialyte." Wrong answer, not 10 seconds later he turned to me and shared all of the contents of his stomach. He shared and he shared, boy did he share. I think I was in so much shock, I just sat there for a minute. Dexter on the other hand decided he found a free breakfast that Brady was sharing with him too. I did the best I could to set Brady down on the floor, stand up and get the dog outside before he too was sick from eating whatever this disgusting mess was all over me. Then I stripped Brady down before heading to the laundry room to do the same for myself. Everything was straight into the washer and at this point I did not care that I was mixing colors with whites. Brady starts crying and I am desperately wanting a shower, but a quick towel off with baby wipes will have to do. After we were dressed and the rocker cleaned up, I sat back down and reminded myself that I love being a mother and taking care of my two little ones, but the next time Brady says his belly "urts" I had better grab the closest thing possible.

Yes I am blessed as a mother and happy to say that today everyone seems well.

Month of firsts

2009-03-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

Our little boy Colby turned 6 months this past weekend, it is so hard to believe that he is already 6 months. Every time I think of how quickly he is growing, it makes me sad yet happy. He is becoming such a big boy. Size wise he has way passed Brady at the same age, I think we may have our own little linebacker!

Over the last month there were many firsts for the boys. It is amazing how fast it happens and how many can happen at the same time. Here are a few:

*Brady is now sleeping in a big boy bed. We bought the boys bunk beds for future use and Brady is sleeping in his bed. The first few days he was not sure he wanted to stay in the bed and would end up falling asleep on the floor. I found him one afternoon on the floor with all of his animals, his diaper off, but pants on. He managed to pull his pants off, take the diaper off and put his pants back on, backwards (and they were jeans). But now he LOVES his bed. And I love the fact that when he wakes up he actually stays in bed. He has his bucket of books right next to the bed, so he will wake and either read or talk to his animals on the bed. It is so cute to listen to him on the monitor.

*Colby is eating food, well rice cereal, but we consider it food. It took a while for him to take to the taste, I for one would never take to that taste (if you have never tried it, give it a shot). He gagged a lot and spit it out for weeks, but finally persistence paid off.

*Colby also started to crawl, the army man crawl that is. I know I am in trouble with both of them being mobile now. Forget the gym, I am sure I will get plenty of exercise with chasing them.

*We took an overnight trip with the boys to "test" out the hotel room idea. We wanted to see how traveling will work, not too bad but it could have been better. It was lights out in the room at 8:30 and Brady was finally asleep by 9:45. I think I slept the least, worrying that someone was going to roll off the bed. Any tips on hotel sleeping would be greatly appreciated. I am not sure when will take our next trip, but at least we know it is possible to get to sleep.

I am sure there were many more firsts this last month, but my mind is failing me right now. Besides I figured those who read this and check for updates from me would just be glad to read something.

My new washing machine

2009-01-19T07:41:00.000-08:00

Brady loves to help me with laundry, he will push the laundry basket to the washer, help me load the washer, transfer to the dryer and then push the laundry basket full of clean clothes back to the bedroom (hopefully this will stay through his teenage years). So it was no surprise to me when he picked up the dirty clothes from the front room and took them to his bedroom to put in the laundry basket - or so I thought. I guess he decided I needed a new washing machine - see picture.

Finally snow

2009-01-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

I admit I am about a week late posting this, but we had a beautiful white Christmas here. It snowed, snowed and then when we thought it was done it snowed some more. The Northwest is not prepared for this kind of weather, so it was nice to just hang out at home for a while. We did venture out once the cabin fever really started to hit and were again reminded of why we should have stayed home. Jamie and I both grew up driving in snow, so a few inches is no big deal to us. On the other hand, drivers here are one of two extremes. They either go way to fast for the conditions or WAY to slow. Chains are very popular here (also because of ice) but after the snow is gone, some still drive with chains - I guess fearing it will snow again.

Brady loved the snow, we would bundle him up and take him out multiple times a day. He would fall over and just say "up dada" or "up mama" - it was so cute. He really did not do much in the snow other than walk and fall down, but he loved it. On Christmas day we ventured to Multnomah Falls for a short hike in the snow. It was beautiful - but again we risked our lives out driving in the snow. I think Colby enjoyed the snow too, he never cried when we were out in it.

Tonight it is actually snowing again, I guess this is the snowiest winter in some 40 years. Bring on the snow, we love it in our household.

Dexter did it.

2008-12-17T20:50:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-10-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-29T21:48:00.001-07:00

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

Hold on

2008-08-23T11:44:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-08-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-07-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-03-25T20:05:00.001-07:00

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

2008-02-25T21:46:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-01-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-01-11T20:20:00.000-08:00

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.

Oops!

2007-12-23T20:26:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days that remind me just how tough little kids are. Most of the time Brady is pretty tough, he will take a fall and get back up and go. Rarely does he cry over it. I know it really hurts if he cries until I pick him up, then he is okay again. Well today was one of those days that challenged us all. Brady started the day off by taking a tumble off the couch (someone was suppose to be watching him, wonder who - Jamie?), he landed pretty much on his face and did not even cry. He just wanted back up on the couch again. Later in the morning he was in the bedroom with his Dad and somehow managed to run into the corner of the dresser as he walked by. Just a little cry again. Then the big one, Jamie and Dexter were wrestling and Brady wanted to join in, however Jamie did not know Brady had walked up behind them. He turned quickly and he and Brady smacked heads. Brady was flat on the floor. This time he cried for a few minutes and I can say that he finally got his first goose egg. Poor little man. He then was right back to playing again.

Two posts in one day for me, that must be a record.

Jailbreak!

2007-12-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

We have had a jailbreak at our house - at least that is what I call it. Needless to say Christmas with a 13 month old is very interesting. I thought long and hard about how to decorate for Christmas with Brady. The first day that I set things out, he was into everything. I wondered how in the world would we manage a tree. There was no way we could possibly go without one or put a little one on the table. That is not Christmas (at least in our house). So we went out, picked out the tree, decorated it and placed some presents under it. I do not think that I was done putting presents on the ground before Brady was under the tree playing in the water. I managed to get him out of the water, just to have him tugging on ornaments, pulling off bows and tearing at wrapping paper. This was going to drive me crazy.

The solution for us was to get a gate to protect the tree. Yes you read that right, protect the tree. The gate now goes around the front of the tree from wall to wall so Brady cannot reach anything. However, he has found a new past time. Anything he can lift goes behind the gate to be opened on Christmas day. Sunday I could not find my strainer. Sure enough it was under the tree. The remote for the TV, under the tree. Who knows what else is under there.

So back to the jailbreak. We have had the tree up for 2 weeks now and the gate has worked perfectly. That is until today. Somehow the clever little man figured out how to sneak around the side of the gate and get to the tree. I found him pulling on more bows and throwing his treasures back out from under the tree. The look on his face was priceless. He knew he was not suppose to be back there, but he thought he had got away with one. That is until Mom found him.

I truly thought Brady was the only one I had to worry about with the presents and tree. I was wrong, that is what I get for thinking. Today we had to run a few errands and it was raining really hard (like usual), so we left Dexter inside. When we leave Dexter inside, I need to dog proof the house; put away anything edible on the counter he can reach, hide the trash and generally make sure things are out of his reach. We got home from our errands, I walk into the front room where the tree is and the gate has crashed down. Hiding around the corner is what Dexter was after. He found his 2 Christmas presents and had opened and eaten half of the treats. Will I ever win?

Happy holidays to everyone, we wish you well.

Living in the Northwest

2007-12-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

I knew that moving to the Northwest again would bring days of rain. People would joke that there are 2 seasons here, rainy and not rainy. The first year I lived here it rained for 62 consecutive days, who would have thought that was possible. I had thought we were doing well this year, a bit of rain here and there but not much. That all changed in the last 3 days, we have had over 3 inches of rain. That is a lot of rain. Some days I think my fingers and toes are starting to web and for a minute today I thought Brady made some duck sounds. I wonder if you can buy a raincoat for a 1 year old? I enjoy the rain if it is a bit here and there on a day, but not a downpour all day long. But I guess that is why we have the beautiful green here.

We finally decided that Brady needed his first haircut. I absolutely love the curls in his hair, but it was getting a bit long over the ears. I figured I could handle cutting just a bit over the ears. So with scissors in hand and Jamie assisting (holding Brady still) I cut off the cutest little curls, of course I saved them for his scrapbook. This morning I looked at him and he looks like such the little boy now. Jamie still thinks he has a bit of a mullet, but at least it is a cute mullet!

No pictures this week, I will work on them for next time.

What happens when friendship is not reciprocated?

2007-11-20T23:20:00.001-08:00

As adults we have all come across situations where either we want to be friends with or someone wants to be friends with us more than we do. The friendship is not equal, we try and try and then finally just give up chalking it up to a lesson learned and move on. Sometimes it is just too much work and figure efforts are better spent elsewhere.

The last couple of days I have been watching this with Brady. He so badly wants to be Dexter's best friend. For those who do not know Dexter, he is our 95 pound lab mix dog. Dexter is a very goofy dog and for the most part has learned to deal with Brady. When Brady was first crawling I would watch him start to crawl toward Dexter and Dexter would slowly get up and move to lay somewhere else, Brady would lose attention and move onto something else.

Well that has now changed. Brady wants his best friend and cannot understand why the feelings are not mutual. I will watch Brady run (not walk) over to Dexter and do his version of petting Dexter, which Dexter and the rest of us see as slapping or grabbing hair. I try to intervene, but sometimes Brady is just too clever. I watched him slowly walk up to Dexter yesterday, pat him nicely on the nose with his left hand then do a swift blow to the nose with the truck in his right hand. Dexter just looks back at him wondering what he did to deserve the treatment. We take Dexter's collars off at night to keep it a bit quieter around the house, he loves to shake his head jingling the collars. It is very cute, but now in the mornings Brady will get the collars and walk over to "detter" and try and put them on, Brady follows him around the house with the collars until I put them on. I then have to deal with a dog who thinks it is walk time - do I ever win?

The only time that Dexter is Brady's best friend is when it comes to eating. Not a meal goes by that Dexter is not either beside or under Brady's highchair. He catches every crumb that slips off the tray. Brady has figured out how to slip his hand over the side and feed Dexter, which he thinks is a great time for both. Come to think of it, I do not think I have ever had to clean up the floor after a meal, so I guess it is a bit of a bonus for me too.

Some day I truly think Brady and Dexter will be great friends. I remember growing up with my dog Kel-lee and how special she was to us and hope that Brady has that with Dexter. Until then, I guess I will have to deal with the little growls coming out of Dexter when he has had enough and try and play peacekeeper between the two of them to have the proper balance to keep each of them happy.

Oh yes, Happy Thanksgiving - be safe.

Happy 1st Birthday

2007-11-14T22:14:00.000-08:00

This past week we celebrated Brady's first birthday. I am not sure if he really understood what was going on, but he sure enjoyed the celebration. As with most little kids, Brady really liked the wrapping paper and boxes. Although once we got the toys all put together, he really seemed to like them as well. It was fun to watch him go from toy to toy and back again.

He also had his first experience with dessert - birthday cake. Jamie insisted on the cake being chocolate, so I made him a bear cake (we will start with sports themes next year I guess). At first, Brady was a bit tentative with the cake, but then he dug right in. I am not sure if he ate more or had more on him by the time he was done, but he enjoyed it so that is all that truly matters.

It is so hard for me to believe that a year has already gone by. Brady is busy all of the time and keeps us on our toes. He is usually a very good little guy, but lately has started to throw a few tantrums - great. He has also figured out to give kisses, all open mouth kisses. He has not figured out though if he should suck in or blow out while giving the kiss. He really enjoys giving me kisses (which I love too), however I usually end up with quite a bit of slobber on my cheek or chin. Oh well, what a mother does for her child. I figure some day he will not want to give me a kiss, so I might as well get as many as I can now.

Until next time....

Look - a Turtle!

2007-11-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

I am sure some day Brady will hate me for his first Halloween costume, a turtle. I could not help it though, it is just so darn cute. Every time I would put it on him I could not help but laugh and he seemed to really get a kick out of wearing it too, even the hat and mittens. And how could you not love the shell on his back.

We did not do the typical trick or treating although his Dad would have liked all of the candy I am sure. We had two different parties we went to with him and then he went to Jamie's work on Halloween to show off his turtleness. I am sure this is the only year we will get by without trick or treating though.

Jamie helped Brady carve his first pumpkin. It was actually just playing in the guts of the pumpkin while Jamie emptied it out and left me to carve the face. Brady loved it though and had to try and give it a taste. Everything now goes straight to his mouth.

If you did not get enough Halloween candy feel free to stop by for some more. For some reason I figured we would get more trick or treaters than we did. I bought 150 pieces of candy and we had 36 trick or treaters (yes, I counted). So we have plenty of candy to go around - maybe I will save it for next year (kidding).

Brady and I made a quick trip home to Utah to visit my family a bit ago. He played in his first snow and decided he would opt for the faceplant while on the sled, but he loved it. Of course, he had to try out the kid snowmobiles, he is still a bit young but in our family we start them young. He can almost reach the brake, so maybe next year. We enjoyed seeing everyone and spending time with them.

On another note, Brady is getting 3 molars. So that makes a total of 11 teeth. He tried to get rid of one by knocking it loose, but it seems to be hanging in there. How many 11 month olds have been to the dentist twice already?

Finally, I have a little tear in my eye. My little guy will by 1 in one week. It hardly seems possible. He is growing so fast, but is truly the light of my life and his Dad's as well. He brings so much joy to both of us and we are constantly amazed by what he can do. Look for pictures on my next post of his birthday.

Until next time....

Tag your it!

2007-10-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

So two of my dear friends (and right now I use that term loosely - just kidding) have tagged me. Rachel and Laurel have decided I need to share a bit more about myself and Jamie - so here it goes.

From Rachel-
7 Random things about me.
These are 7 things about me that are most likely not known by the readers. I wish I could think of something more juicy, but I think lack of sleep is getting to me. Here I go.

1. I have bungee jumped, not once but twice. The scary part is not going down but the feeling of being pulled back up. We have all fallen, but few have been pulled back up with a bungee cord.

2. I secretly always wanted to be a race car driver. Now if you have ever been in a car with me driving, you would laugh at this one. I rarely go more than 5 over the speed limit and have yet to receive a speeding ticket. Yet I want to race cars fast someday.

3. Based on the above secret desire, sometimes I like to watch Nascar races, but mostly just for the crashes. I do not want anyone to get hurt, I just love to see them crash.

4. I really like to cook if I have the time and am in the mood. I am not sure if I am a good cook or not, I do know that Jamie has put on 20 pounds since we met though - probably not a good thing.

5. My worst grade in high school was in cooking. Imagine that. How do you not do well in a cooking class?

6. I never watched an episode of Seinfeld when it was popular, come to think of it, I am not sure if I still have watched a full episode.

7. Finally, I use to love to watch Dukes of Hazzard on Friday nights. My sister Shelly and I would argue over who got to marry Bo Duke and who got to marry Luke Duke. What were we thinking?

and now onto Laurel-
I have to complete the following survey about my husband. So here we go, Jamie and I would probably disagree on most answers though ;).

1. What is his name? Jamie
2. How old is he? 36 - he is older than me by 1 month and 9 days
3. Who eats more? He does, except when I was pregnant I could put some food down.
4. Who is taller? He is, by about 4 inches.
5. Who sings better? Wow, neither of us sing well. Although he loves American Idol!
6. Who is smarter? Depends, he would say he is, but we are both smart, just in different ways (I think that is the politically correct way to answer that - after all he does read this blog).
7. Whose temper is worse? We both have a bit of a temper, it takes a lot to get mine going but it is there, he on the other hand does not like to lose and has a bit of temper issues when it comes to that.
8. Who does the laundry? Me for sure, Jamie never would separate his clothes before I came around - everything was gray.
9. Who does the dishes? Again me
10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does.
11. Who pays the bills? Again me
12. Who mows the lawn? He officially does, but I have done it and have been told that the lines are not straight when I mow.
13. Who cooks dinner? Me, me, me.
14. Who drives when you are together? He does, see above my secret desire to race cars.
15. Who is more stubborn? We both are again, but I say Brady gets his stubbornness from his dad.
16. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Neither, we are both stubborn.
17. Whose parents do you see the most? Probably mine since they live closer, but we see his for longer periods of time.
18. Who kissed who first? He kissed me.
19. Who asked who out? He asked me out.
20. Who proposed? He proposed, finally after 4 years.
21. Who is more sensitive? Me for sure, no doubt about it.
22. Who has more friends? That is a tough one, I would say it is probably equal based on our friends around the country, but he has more locally.
23. Who wears the pants in the family? Well, it is a good thing that pants have two legs, because then we can each wear the pants part of the time.

So there we go, you have gotten to know a bit about me and Jamie both in one blog.

As far as someone else completing these, lucky Rachel and Laurel, you are the only 2 I know that have blogs, so I am tagging you to complete and pass on as well. Rachel, let us know about Chad and Laurel, what are 7 random things about you.

Hope everyone is well.

We are mobile now!

2007-10-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

First, for those who read my blog regularly (not sure how many that is) I apologize for the delay in posting, I guess it has just gotten away from me. I also do not have any new pics to post, I promise they too will come soon.

Now on to the happenings. Brady has started to walk, yes my days of sanity are over (or did that happen when I met Jamie???). Brady took his first 4 steps on October 10, from his Dad to me. Each day we work on his walking, he is getting better. However, he tends to get so excited when he is walking over that he usually falls after 3 or 4 steps. He also likes to lunge for things which scares the daylights out of me.

It is hard for me to believe that in just over 3 weeks Brady is going to be 1. Time sure does fly. I guess I will have to get working on planning his birthday party. We will take lots of pictures.

We have also entered the rainy season up here. 7 day weather forecast is rain each and every day. Now those not too familiar with the pacific northwest, that is just not a few sprinkles, but a good downpour a couple of times and drizzling the remainder of the day. I am already looking forward to the end of the season in April and we are 2 days into it.

Rachel - I have not forgotten to do my 7 things people don't know about me, I just have to figure them out. I will post those later.

Hope everyone is well. Until next time....

Why buy toys?

2007-09-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

This week, for several reasons, I have been wondering why we buy our kids toys. The first reason, every time I look at where a toy is made it says "Made in China." So am I letting my baby chew on a toy made with lead based paint or filled with antifreeze? What happen to regulations and protecting our children? It seems each day I hear about another recall on some toy or another. Just try and go through Target and find toys that say"Made in the USA."

Second, Brady prefers not to play with toys. Lately it has been the pots and pans, any shoe he can find (of course they are dirty), the plants, a spatula or wooden spoon and the phone. Oh yes, and the TV remote which we just got dried out after he thought it needed a good washing in the dog water dish. Maybe we have outsmarted him by giving him his own, not the lead filled kids version, but rather a remote from an old TV and a phone that no longer works. I am sure he will figure out pretty soon that these do not work and want the real version again.

Thank goodness Brady has no desire to watch TV, that is unless a commercial with music comes on. He pretty much drops what he is doing turns to the TV and does his little dance. It is so comical and cute. Then it is back to playing when it is over.

We are suppose to be starting the rainy season here in the pacific northwest. So if you have any sunshine pictures send them our way.

Hope all are well and until next time.....

Brady continues to amaze me.

2007-09-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

It seems as though most of my posts are about Brady, I guess since I am home with him all of the time now that it just makes sense. He amazes me more and more each day. I have decided though that he has his Father's temper and stubbornness. When he wants something, he wants it now, there is not a patient bone in the little guys body. He also loves to play really rough, gentle has not yet entered into his vocabulary, I am sure that is from wrestling with his Dad. He is now called "Bam Bam" by the other mommies in my mommy group. If there is something he wants he goes straight to it, who cares what or who is in the way, he will crawl right over it.

The other day I was watching him play, he dropped the sippy cup in to his toy bucket. He could not quite reach it as it is pretty deep. I wanted to see if he would figure out how to get it or just move onto another toy. He was determined to get it, he rolled his dump truck over to the bucket turned it on its side and stood up on it to reach into the bucket to get the cup. He then got down, sat on the truck and took a drink. These are the times I wish I had the video camera rolling.

Life for us is slowly getting back to normal after losing Happy. I still expect to see her coming around a corner or getting me up to go out in the morning. She was such a special dog to us and we miss her greatly.

Hope all is well with everyone and until next time...

Losing Happy

2007-09-05T13:59:00.001-07:00

So as most of you know, we love our animals in our house. Sadly, this week we had to put Happy to sleep so we are dealing with the loss. Happy was our 7 year old black lab who, if you knew her, you would wonder is there a better behaved dog? Never once did we have to worry about Happy running away or hurting anyone. She was always eager to please and willing to do anything. She was great with Brady and my walking buddy. She would often come into the bathroom on cold winter mornings while I was drying my hair to have hers warmed up too. She loved to play ball, Jamie could throw the ball forever and she would always go and get it and want to play more. If there was a ball in the pool, she would be in after it. She loved to ride in the car, her spot was the front seat next to me while I was driving, on cold days she would even have the seat heater turned on for her. Her tail was always going.

Happy started feeling poorly in early July, she was diagnosed with diabetes at that time. She endured daily insulin injections, she would come to me right after eating sit and wait for her injection, never flinching and wagging her tail the whole time. About 2 weeks ago, she really started feeling bad, lethergic and not wanting to eat at all. We took her to the vet and had multiple tests done and had her hospitalized to keep her hydrated while we tried to figure out what was wrong. Tuesday during an ultrasound it was determined that she had pancreatic cancer that had most likely spread to her liver and lungs and was infecting her lymphnodes. She was also starting to bleed internally. So as every pet owner hates to do, we had to make the decision to put her to sleep.

We are trying to adjust to living without Happy, Dexter often looks around for her and I know he misses her too. We miss our little girl, but know she is no longer in pain and running after a ball somewhere!

If you have a pet, love them and give them a hug.

New learnings for all.

2007-08-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

Something new this week for Brady, he has learned to wave. He is constantly waving at anybody or anything. It is so cute, he even waves at the dogs and cat. I am not sure if he understands what it means, but he loves to do it.

We also were battling our first real cold. It looks like he is definitely his fathers son, one he whined a lot and two, how do you get colds in the middle of the summer? So we had a couple of sleepless nights and a bit of a cranky little guy.

Today I was reminded why you keep a diaper on a baby at all times. I am sure I am not the only Mom to do this but it was a first for us. So I thought I would let Brady crawl around a bit without his diaper on to air out. I was in the room with him watching him play, then all of the sudden he squatted down and did his duty. I guess in my old age I cannot move quite as fast as I used to and he made a deposit on the carpet. Brady just smiled.

Jamie has been busy golfing. He played in a tournament this weekend with his boss. They had fun, but did not bring home a prize. I am not golfing near as much as I used to, I guess my priorities are different now. Someday, we will golf together again though.

Otherwise our life here is pretty good. My parents are coming to visit in a couple of weeks, so it will be fun to see how much Brady has changed in their eyes.

Hope all is well with everyone, until next time...

Howe Family Blog

2007-08-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Since I have not yet quite figured out how to create a webpage to show pictures of Brady, I thought I would try my hand at a blog. It is much easier, at least I hope so.

Greetings from the Howe family in Vancouver Washington. Summer is flying by, we have made a few trips and Brady has so far been a superstar on each of them. I am hoping his calm attitude on the airplane continues, but we are sure one of these times we will have a bit of a tantrum.

Brady and I went for a mommy and baby trip to the Oregon coast with 4 other mom's and babes. We had a great time, Brady loved the ocean and sitting in the sand. Luckily he did not figure out that he could taste the sand.

Brady also loves to swim with Jamie in the pool. They both float around with Dexter and Happy watching close by.

I noticed tonight that Brady is cutting another tooth, yes that makes 8 and he is only 9 months old. He is moving around so quickly now, I never knew someone could crawl so fast. It seems as though I have barely got his hands out of the dog water dish and he is back in it again. He really does love water. He is also jabbering all of the time, I have heard dada a few times, but I don't think he realizes what he is saying, I have yet to hear mama though. I cannot believe how quickly these 9 months have gone, he does not even really seem like a baby anymore. Our little guy is growing up so quickly.

Until next time....