Christmas 2013

I always think reading blog posts about other people's vacations are boring (unless of course the vacation takes place somewhere super cool). Utah, is only kinda cool so I'm going to keep this short and sweet, and combine my millions of photos into a few collages, and combine the thousands of words I could say about our vacation in Utah into a few short sentences.

1. Spending time with family. Games. Food. Movies. Laughing. That pretty much sums up our vacation.

2. My favorite part of the trip was going to the Jordan River Temple. Every time I go to the temple, I always feel so much closer to my Heavenly Father, and  I feel uplifted. I love the temple.  The closest temple we have here in NC is about 2 hrs away, and it is so hard to find babysitters for that long...so we took advantage of being so close to so many temples in Utah and of course free family babysitters!

3. We went to see the Christmas lights on temple square. We had 21 family members (including our nieces and nephews) come with us. It was hilarious trying to all stay together with the other 800 families that were there too. The outdoor nativity presentation was beautiful too with the Christmas story being read from the bible, music, and lights.

We've only been home 2 days, and we already miss our families so much. We are looking forward to our next trip to Utah!

Oh ps. My sweet parents  (who are serving a church mission in Chile) were published in an article in the Liahona magazine! Kyler's name was mentioned in the article....in the words of my mom "How's your Spanish?" ;)

Snow much fun

The flight here (to Utah) was about 4 hours. We didn't have any layovers which made the trip relatively easy.  We had to wake up around 5:00am in order to make our flight which tuckered Kyler out, and he actually slept on the plane for awhile!

As seen on instagram, after our plane landed and Kyler looked out of the window for the first time and saw white stuff all over the ground...he said: "Look! Sand! We are at the beach!!" He wasn't too disappointed when he figured out it was snow and discovered that he could build snowmen, have snowball fights, and go sledding.

Jared still has his allergy to cold, but taking his allergy meds plus keeping him bundled extra warm at all times plus only going outside for short periods of time, has helped keep his allergic reactions under control. 

Brooke's blog

Yesterday at a church event (here in Utah where we are currently visiting) I had the opportunity to meet Brooke- an amazing woman who has overcome some extremely difficult trials with her pregnancy. She shared her very powerful testimony with me and I admire her for having so much faith amidst her trials. If you have some free time you should check out her blog and read her story- you won't regret it. Here is a link to the beginning of her story where it all started to go wrong ....Londyn McCall. 

3 years 1 month doctor's check up

On Friday, Jared and I took Kyler in for his annual doctor's check-up.  Kyler decided to be scared of the doctor's office and TERRIFIED of the doctor himself this year- it was kind of funny, until he started crying :(

scooting as far away as possible from those black scary things on the wall

Kyler is 100% healthy! I was glad to hear that Kyler's hips are growing the way they should be (we had a hip dysplasia scare last year). He is 31 lbs and 36 inches tall- a little on the short side, but healthy none the less!

Santa Came Early

We have been lame gift givers to Kyler this year. The reason? He is still too young to expect or care about presents, and this will probably be the last year we can actually get away with it. hah. Poor little guy didn't get a birthday party this year, and we didn't buy him any gifts (besides a few dollar store balloons). We gave him some toys that a friend had given us because her son had outgrown them (a few train sets, legos, and a kid tool bench). He didn't care that his presents weren't new- he loved his birthday and his presents! Especially these little Lego Diego things:

Anyways, Christmas has been/is going to be a lot like his birthday. Basically this year is like:  if it is bought in the month of December then it is a Christmas present! For example, Kyler needed a new car seat this week. Bam! Santa came early:

Besides, birthdays are about celebrating another year of life, and Christmas is about the birth of Christ.

Who needs presents anyways?!

Not my 3 year old :)

Pregnancy with Kyler- 8 facts

One of my friends on facebook tagged me in this "pregnancy facts" thing and gave me the number 8.  I thought I would just make a blog post out of it, because it will probably be too long for a status. Here we go!

1. I got pregnant with Kyler the second month of trying.

2. I loved being pregnant and felt so good the entire time, and never got any morning sickness.

3. I craved powdered laundry detergent so bad! I wanted to eat it but of course knew better so I didn't haha, but I just loved to smell it!

4. I had the linea nigra on my belly when I was pregnant- it faded away 11 months after he was born.

5. Jared and I both wanted our first baby to be a boy before we even got pregnant. We were thrilled at that 18 week ultrasound when we learned it was a boy!

6. I had a planned c-section because he was breech. His cord was tightly wrapped twice around his neck.

7. Kyler didn't cry after he was born, and they whisked him away into another room without showing him to me. I was scared he wasn't alive, but he cried a minute later.

8. My belly didn't grow hardly at all the last month of my pregnancy (Kyler did grow but my belly size stayed about the same). My doctor attributed my "measuring small" to low fluid levels (that makes my body sound like a car). I had to have about 8 ultrasounds because of this, and loved getting to my baby so many times before he was born.

Here are my 8 month belly and 9 month belly pictures side by side. Usually the last month is when the belly grows the most, but mine looked pretty much the same. Can you guess which one is 8 months and which one is 9 months?

The one on the left is 9 months and the one on the right is 8 months.

Your turn for the pregnancy facts game now...I give you the number 7!

Enjoy more fully the sunlight

This week is super busy and stressful for me, especially tomorrow. I read this quote today and loved it: "Don't be gloomy. Don't dwell on unkind things. Stop seeking out the storms, and enjoy more fully the sunlight." -Gordon B. Hinckley

Soooo....instead of worrying and being stressed out, I'm focusing on the good things that have happened recently. Like last weekend and how much we enjoyed that sunlight at the beach... :)

Usually when we go for walks on the beach we look for sharks teeth, sea glass and other cool shells. On our walk last Saturday Jared found a very cool shell... as sea turtle shell! At least that is what I think it is....I'll let you be the judge.

Last weekend was the first time Kyler actually enjoyed played in the sand! Usually when we are at the beach he just runs around like a crazy child and splashes in the water, but this time he played for hours in the sand just burying seashells and finding them again. So fun to watch :) 

It was a little bit chilly at the beach, but not bad at all. Especially compared to Utah- which is where we will be at the end of next week! We're really excited to see our families-we haven't seen most of them in 1.5 years!

Focus on the good.

Locked out

We are spending this weekend at the Lucky Leaf! It's very relaxing, and much needed. 

Kyler and I woke up this morning about a half hour past sunrise (early, but not so bad when you have a nice view :).  Kyler and I stepped out on the back porch to snap a few pictures and tried to let Jared catch some more Zzzzzz's. 

The wind was blowing, and Kyler wasn't a fan of it blowing on his ears, so he headed back in the house while I snapped a few more pictures.

Less than a minute later, I turned around to head back inside too.... only to find that Kyler had locked me out.  

Grrrrrreat. I was on the third floor, with no stairs to get down on the outside, and no phone to call Jared to wake him up to help me. So I did what anyone would do and tried to explain to my three year old how to unlock the sliding glass door.

Fail.

Me: (Yelling over the roaring ocean and through the glass door) "Kyler unlock the door so mommy can come inside!"

Kyler:  (yells back) "It's stuck."

Me: "No turn it around the other way, and don't touch the glass!"

Kyler: (turns his entire body around in a circle) "Okay mommy."

Me: (slaps forehead and laughs and takes a few pics of the situation. Then panics. and starts knocking on the window repeatedly for several minutes in hopes of waking Jared up.)

Luckily Jared was already awake, heard me, and came to my rescue!

Discovery

Yesterday, we went to discovery place kids with some friends. I had never been before, and I was very impressed! There were so many fun activities~

I tried many times to get our boys to both look at me for a picture and this is the only one I got...it only lasted half a second before they went back to playing. They were having too much fun to stop!

We spent 2 hrs inside, and didn't even get around to everything. Looks like we will have to buy an annual pass next time we visit!

A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do

Jared didn't have class tonight. So, for family night we decided to try out a new mexican restaurant that recently opened by our house. Within the first 5 minutes of being there Kyler spilled his chocolate milk all over his jeans. I took him to the bathroom to see if I could dry them off with some paper towels, but that didn't do any good.

So.....I improvised and made him a little dress out of the tank top that I had on under my shirt. Lucky for us there were only 2 other people in the entire restaurant that had to witness this embarrassing sight:

A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.

Bossy boy

Kyler has recently entered a new "bossy stage".  His victim? 

Poor dog.

Kyler LOVES scaring the dog. He thinks it's funny. See that lawnmower in the picture above? Bauer is terrified of it. What does Kyler do? He chases the dog around with it, and tries to herd him into places he wants him to go. He does the same thing with other toys that Bauer is scared of inside (basically any toy that makes noise) and then he herds him into the playroom, or shuts him in the laundry room etc. If Kyler doesn't have a toy? He uses a stick, or just simply grabs the dog's collar, and bosses him. Bauer is probably 4 times the size of Kyler, but he is so submissive he just does whatever Kyler tells him to with his tail tucked between his legs.

It's as if Kyler can't resist. I don't know if he just gets a thrill out of making something bigger than him do what he wants, or what. I can't figure it out. I correct his behavior whenever I see him scaring Bauer, but still, every time Kyler think's I'm not looking he is constantly bossing the dog around. Should I be worried? Bauer has never shown any signs of being aggressive, but still I just don't understand why Kyler likes making the dog so miserable.

Hopefully this phase won't last very long, and they will go back to being buds.

Mothering angelically = a good day for everyone

Source

I needed this reminder today. As mothers, we have a powerful influence on our children, and how their day will go. Children, even as infants, can detect what kind of mood we are in, and often mimic our behavior. If we want our children to have a good day, we must first make sure our attitudes our positive. Second, our tone of voice and the way we say things really does matter! When we speak in a loving way to our children, they respond better, and those difficult days seem to disappear and are replaced by positive learning days. We need to use our words with care to encourage and complement them, rather than using our words thoughtlessly.

Words are powerful. Especially when we are raising a children. We help shape and mold who they become by our words. So let's remember to mother angelically by having positive attitudes, and by speaking with a loving tone of voice to our children. I'm not perfect at remembering to use this tactic every time, but when I do, I'm always pleased with the results :)

We have a three year old now!

Today my little boy turned THREE!!

My CAPTION:  Kyler: "What?!?! I'm already three years old?!?"

What was actually being said:

Me: :"Hold up 3 fingers."

Kyler: "Huh mommy?"

My CAPTION: Kyler: "I'm this many years old."

What was actually being said:

Me: "Like this." (I show him)

Kyler: "I did it!"

My CAPTION: Kyler: "Raise your hand if today is your birthday!"

What was actually being said:

Me: "Good! Now raise them up in the air."

Kyler: (raises all of his fingers) "Okay!"

Me: (slaps my palm to forehead)

My CAPTION: Kyler: "I. Can't. Believe. I'm. Three."

What was really being said:

Kyler: "Brr cold! I go inside now. Bye mommy!"

My CAPTION: Kyler: "Don't even think about blowing out my candles."

What was actually being said:

Me: "Stand still!"

Kyler: "Wook! A spider! Ewww!"

Then I gave up, and don't even care that the last one is blurry.

What was actually being said:

Me: "Okay one more Kyler. Smile and I will give you a piece of candy!"

Kyler: "Okay!"

I also thought I would share what I wrote on Kyler's blog (I use it as baby book, and occasionally write letters to him).

Dear Kyler,

Today you are three!

Today you are happy and always have giant smile glued to your face.

Today you are playful. You love wrestling with daddy and playing hide-and-seek as a family.

Today you are talking so much, and I think your pronunciation is adorable with words like: "butt cake" for cupcake, and "swim soup" for swim suit.

Today you are independent. You like to put your clothes and shoes on by yourself, and we often hear you say "My turn. I do it."

Today you are cheerful and wake us up every morning by running into our room saying "HI MOMMY! HI DADDY!" while grinning from ear to ear.

Today you are a balloon lover.

Today you are the boss. You love telling people (and our dog) what to do, and you like to remind us to say family prayers, read scriptures together, and to take you places, like the park- or where ever you want to go.

Today you are learning. Learning how to speak in complete sentences, learning which letters are which, and learning how to count too. You love learning, and tell me everyday that "Preschool is fun!"

Today you are goofy, and are constantly making us laugh.

Today you are still our baby, and we love you!