Shining Moments

Dallin
*Dallin keeps growing and growing! He is a big kid. We are starting to wonder if he is going to reach his full stature by the end of grammar school. He is bigger than most 4/5 year olds. People are constantly amazed that he is only 3. They often ask if he is in school yet or act like he is slow until they find out his age...then it is pure shock. It seems like I am always explaining. "I know he is ginormous, but he is only barely 3....he is going to act like he is 3."
*Dallin said that he wants to fix airplanes when he grows up just like his Grandpa. (He also wants to play the bass guitar in a band like Grandpa)
*It is no longer enough just to name his poops. He now empathizes with them and has full conversations with them about why they have to be flushed. "I'm sorry poop, but I have to go to nursery. I have to flush you now. Go with your family poop!" He wanted to give it a hug and a kiss, but I had to draw the line. It is kind of sweet, but sometimes I am jealous and wish that I was treated with as much respect and empathy as poop. :)
*Dallin found a cricket in the house and ushered it out to the porch. When he got it outside he explained to it "I'm sorry cricket, but you have to go back to your own time to be with your family." If you have seen "Meet the Robinsons" this is pretty funny.
*Dallin has discovered that we have NAMES! We have really been working hard to establish that he has to call us Mommy or Daddy and NOT by our first names. "Let's go check Christopher!" "Val! Val! Val-come over here!" It is funny though when he yells for Kate and uses her FULL name. LOL "Kate! Kate! Kate Wivia...come here!"
*We are REALLY working on manners and being respectful at our house (though my children act like this is not the case) so Dallin is repeating all of the phrases we use so often. He is like the respect police for everyone but himself....sigh...maybe it will sink in. "That is wude (rude) and spectful (disrespectful) No say that!" "That not a toy, mom, don't play with it" (This was when I poked his belly button LOL)
*"Are you proud of me? Is Dad proud of me? Is Kate proud of me?" Dallin is really into having his family be proud of him for his accomplishments. He will ask everyone if they are proud of him, and he just beams when they say yes. Dallin, my sweetie pie, I am very very proud of you!
*"I am so angry that I fall off my bike and got bleed!" Dallin rides his bike now. He pedals and everything. He really looks grown up! Today, Dallin lost control of his bike on a downhill corner and ended up driving off the edge of the sidewalk, toppling over his bike, and landing on his face....TWICE. The first time, he had a mouthful of blood and I was certain we would have to go to the ER or to the dentist, but it was just his lip. After the second time, he got up and balled up his little fists and gave the above statement. It broke my heart. Poor little man. He is a little more wary of bike riding, but I am trying to keep him doing it so he doesn't quit. He will ride if I am right beside him.
*Dallin "sings" to make people happy or to make Kate or Madison stop crying. He thinks it is magic because it was on SuperWhy. Maybe he is right. Every time I am mad at him and he starts squatting/bouncing along and "singing" (I use the term loosely since there are no words and he is a little tone deaf) I can't help myself and I end up smiling. See! Magic!
*"I use the potty all the time just like Elmo" Elmo is the standard by which we live. Dallin wears underwear during the day and STAYS DRY! Yippee! He even stays dry during naps. He still wears a pullup at night and when we go to church or nana's house. I hesitate to fully put him in underwear since just when I think it is a non issue, he pees on the floor at Wal-Mart or on nana's carpet. Sigh....well, 3 times out of 4 ain't bad!
*Dallin can recognize 2 of something. I know this may not seem like a big deal, but he is not quite 3 and I am impressed. He can count into the teens, but I have never really thought he grasped numbers as an amount of THINGS. The past couple of days, he will point and say "Look mommy, there are two ____" and he is right! What a smartie!
*Dallin is getting really good at playing soccer. He will kick the ball, and he has even gotten in a few good steals from me. He will also tell you "No touch the ball with your hands. Papa said." LOL
*Dallin got stuck IN the rocking chair! How might this happen? He wouldn't sit down on the chair and ended up tipping the whole thing over. I had just barely called my mom to ask a question. He landed with his knees in the slats on the back of the chair and started complaining that his legs hurt. I gruffly told him to get up and he said he couldn't. I thought he was kidding and tried to pull him up...he was good and STUCK. At first it was kind of funny because where his knees landed, he was suspended in mid-air by his knees on the back of the rocker. (This was when I took the pic) but I quickly began to freak out when I couldn't get his out and his legs turned reddish purple. I grabbed up my phone and told my mom I needed another adult, I couldn't get him out. By the time she got here, he was out (He told me to put him back though so nana could help him) but those legs were pretty red for the rest of the day.
Kate
*Kate is not quite as verbal so there are as many Kateisms. She can say "thank you" and loves to watch anything Elmo. She will also play with her Tickle Me Elmo all the time. It is really funny to watch her "tickle" him.
*Kate is becoming fiercely opinionated. She wants to do things her way when she wants. This has led to temper tantrums and timeouts.
*Kate LOVES Dallin and they play together quite a bit (mostly nicely). She can hold her own.
*Kate loves to play soccer in the backyard.
*Kate no longer looks like a baby. She has come into her own and has fully entered toddlerhood. She is getting taller and has more and more hair that I love to style.
Here are some pictures of some of the great dos we have tried.
Kate with bobbed piggy braids

Kate with criss cross hair

Dancin Queen

Our little darling LOVES to dance. Almost since she could walk, she would dance. Almost nothing makes her happier than when she is dancing with someone or on her own. When she dances it always brings smile to my face. She is so precious.
When she started dancing on her own, it was just high steps/stomps to the beat. Then it evolved into one arm up in the air while she stepped up and down on one foot. Now she does this...but in a circle. She has even done a little shoulder shimmy once or twice to Elmo. She usually laughs so hard she can barely stay upright. She will dance to ANYTHING, but especially loves the credits on the PBS show SuperWhy and gets downright upset if she missed her opportunity to dance to them. We were lucky enough for Tammy to catch Kate gettin down with her funky fresh self on a video snip. LOL What a sweet pea. I know I am biased, but look at the technique...that kid has talent :) LOL Enjoy!

Emergency Preparedness

As I'm sure you may have guessed, Austin area (which was originally scheduled to be hit) was completely missed by Hurricane Ike. We feel VERY grateful and VERY blessed. I was so nervous, but in the end we didn't even get a drop of rain (and I felt pretty dumb). We did get some pretty gusty winds though. The kids actually went out the morning the Hurricane hit the coast and played in the wind. Dallin kept running around screaming "It's blowing me away!" and Kate just tried to stay upright. Their hair was just blowing all over and they were all giggles. It was amazing to me that just 3 hours away, our neighbors on the coast were being decimated. Some of them are still without power, homes, clothing, etc. We still have refugees here and when you go to the grocery store, it always looks sold out because they are just trying to keep up with demand of the basic items. Last weekend 400 men in our church went down and helped with cleanup efforts. They came back reporting that there was still so much to do. Our prayers are with those affected by this disaster.
Even though I felt silly being so worried and so nervous about nothing (for us anyway) I was grateful for the opportunity to become more prepared and really think about emergency preparedness and how important it is. If we had been hit, I was relatively well prepared. We would have been fine. However, it also brought home things I can do to be even more prepared in case of emergency such as making sure I have our vital documents together in something fireproof and waterproof, building up adequate food AND water storage, and preparing my children so they know what to expect in case of emergency(of different kinds) so they are not afraid. In this case, Dallin was WAY disappointed that we didn't get to stay in our bathroom/emergency bunker for the big storm. After all, I had packed food, clothes, books, flashlights, blankets, pillows, and a 2 lb bag of peanut butter M&Ms (we had to have our basis covered LOL...who knows how long we may have been in there :)
He was so into getting ready for the storm and watching me get the bathroom ready, that he made his own emergency preparations. LOL I had to take a picture of this. He put everything he considered really needed/important in case of emergencies in his closet. You can't see it all in the picture, but he has all his toys, his stuffed animal basket, clothing he pulled out of the dresser, all of his books, his blankets, his pillow, a 6 pack of Charmin toilet paper(behind him on the wall), and a package of pullups(on the left behind the wall). LOL He was set. At one point, he even took Kate by the hand and led her in there. They sat in there and played for almost an hour. After a while, I realized Dallin had left but had Kate locked in the closet with the rest of the emergency supplies. LOL It is kind of sweet if you think about it. She didn't seem too upset...after all she had all the essentials.

Preckles

Do You See That?
Look very very closely...do you see it now? You can see one under his left eye in this picture. They're coooommminnnng!
Just this summer, Dallin started to get his very first freckles (or "preckles" as he calls them) I first noticed it at the water park in June. I was trying to wipe what I thought was dirt off his nose and it just wouldn't let go. I looked closer and realized that I had been trying to wipe off his very first freckle! It seems like they keep popping up more and more every day. He has a sprinkling on his nose and a few are now appearing on his cheeks. It looks like he may be a freckly man like his daddy. He is very proud of his freckles and always tells me he has "brown preckles just like daddy". He will also point out other people's freckles (and if you don't think you have any...he will find them.) He found one in my ear last week. He is so much fun--my cute little preckle face!

Fun from Grandma and Grandpa

One of the things my kids enjoy most is getting a package from their grandparents in Utah-especially since we live so far away and don't get to see them often anymore. Grandparents always seem to find the stuff that is the most fun! Most recently, they sent the kids a froggie swimming pool! I think it is so cute and the kids ADORE it.
It has a little sprinkler on the front and Dallin kept jumping in and out of it over and over again. Kate mostly stood in the sprinkler and giggled.... or tried to catch the water as it was coming out.
This shot shows a pretty good view of our yard. The little play house was here when we moved in. Behind it on the side of the house is the garden plot and there is a big area that you can't see here because it is behind me. The best part is we have a free lawn service so we don't have to mow it! Super Rad!

Happy Birthday To Me!

29 For the First Time!

Well, I am 29 for the first time. Since it is the last year of my roarin' 20s I better live it up. I have had a super fun birthday. My mom took me, Tammy, Kate, and Maddie out on a girls' day out to JC Penney Labor Day clearance. It was super great! I needed some church clothes in a bad way. I ended up with 5 tops, 2 skirts, and a pair of pants!! Woot! Plus mom was buyin! WOOTAH! I am at my biggest that I have ever been, but at least I don't have to look frumptastic all the time. It was very telling when I wore shorts for the first time in ???and Dallin thought I was "naked" or when I tried on my skirts today and he thought I was "looking like a princess" . Leave it to kiddos to tell it how it is.
We had my birthday dinner at my mom's later on. She made my very favorites (all from scratch)--chicken strips, potatoes n gravy, broccoli and cheese sauce....mmmmm. It is a VERY labor intensive meal and NO ONE can make it like mom can! Thanks mom :)
I even got a surprise gift from my family to open (Michael wrapped it in Merry Christmas paper)--it was a sweet red sweater/jacket I saw at Ross and a cute plaque about daughters. It was so awesome.
Dallin was probably most excited about my cake. He was so stoked all day that it was my birthday because there would be cake. "Mommy, is it your birthday? Yay! It's mommy's birthday! Can I come to your birthday? Yay! Have cake and candles? Is that your cake? Is it ready? Is that your cake right there? Where are the candles?" He could hardly stand it. He DID manage to keep his fingers out of it since he was threatened with not getting any if he touched it. It was a delicious orange angel food cake with orange glaze cake (again from SCRATCH...my grandmother's recipe...my mom ROCKS!!) It was all so delicious I totally pigged out and felt sick for a while...like Thanksgiving.
It was so wonderful to celebrate my actual birthday with my family. I don't know how long it has been since I have been able to do that. They pulled out all the stops to make me feel special, and I did. It was awesome! Thanks guys! You ROCK!
(PS-Christopher did not forget about me, he took me on a date on Wednesday night for my birthday! Yippee!! What a rockin' hot stud :)

Curious Bedmates

Q: What do naked Ken, a Carebear ball, and MotherGoose Nursery Rhymes have in common?

Answer: They were all found in my bed when I tried to go to sleep the other night. (which is disturbing on a whole new level...especially naked Ken). I was exhausted at the end of the day and came to my room to find a Carebear ball on the bed. I chucked it off and flopped into bed only to get jabbed in the back. I reached around and pulled out NAKED KEN! What the!!?? What was he doing there? I went to roll over and suddenly.."Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall! ...." Are you kidding me? By this time I was laughing instead of being annoyed and thought I should capture this moment. Hope some of you find it amusing (as well as validating and familiar.) Ahhh...motherhood.