Still Looking

I used to watch the HGTV house hunting shows and I would think "That looks like so much fun! I can't wait until we are house hunting." Well people I'm here to tell you it's not as fun nor as easy as HGTV makes it out to be. Hah. It's quite the opposite actually. Buying a house is a VERY complicated and process...not to mention stressful.

We've been looking for a month now and we have a realtor -she's great- but we still haven't found that perfect house for us. There are so many factors to take into consideration! We're hoping we find a good house in a good neighborhood with good schools and a location close to work ...soon!

In the mean time we have been soaking up as much Schrammparent time as we can squeeze in before they move to Chili this summer. Their current neighborhood has a lot of awesome parks we have been taking advantage of.

Growing Boy, and Thoughts on Potty Training

Kyler got new big boy shoes this week! He wears size 7 now. His old red converse shoes were size 6 and were getting pretty out. We went with Sperrys this time...with VELCRO straps instead of those time consuming laces. I love them!

Old and NEW

All of Kyler's 12-18 month clothes are put away as he now wears 18m-2T! He growing taller and slimming down, most of his baby chubba lubs are gone, but he still has plenty for me to munch on, and I DO love munching. We also recently went up a size in diapers too. Size 3 and 4 diapers still fit, but we like size 5 because they are more absorbent. These will be the last size before he is potty trained!

New size vs the old size

I've been doing a lot of research on potty training lately. A few facts about potty training I found interesting:

-Girls typically potty train sooner than boys. (Girls usually potty train around 2 -3 years old and boys typically are 2.5-3.5 years old)

-The first child in the family typically potty trains later than any kids that may come after. (I found this interesting because the same is true about speech. The younger siblings learn to speak faster from older siblings)

Poor Kyler has both things going against him. He's a boy and the first child. haha. I have a friend whose older kids completely potty trained her youngest son, and she didn't do anything! Crazy, she is so lucky. I'm so nervous about potty training. hah

 Anyways, Kyler is showing a lot of signs of being ready to potty train, and I think we will start within the next few weeks/months. If you look at the potty training readiness tips here, Kyler is doing all of those things, but still needs a little work on undressing himself (those buttons on pants can be tough!) and broadcasting his bodily functions (I don't think he realizes when he is peeing yet).  

If any of you have recently potty trained a little boy, I would love any tips/ advice! Did you teach him to pee standing up first or sitting down on the potty? Did you do the little portable potty you take in different rooms or attach a smaller seat to the normal toilet? Thanks so much readers!!

Lifting Burdens

I'm so grateful for Sundays. I love going to church with my family; it gives me time to reflect upon what matters most in my life, and an opportunity to grow closer to my Savior.


I love the message in this video.  I know that God answers prayers. Sometimes the answers aren't always what we want, and sometimes the answers don't come right away, but they do come.  I know that Heavenly Father always knows what is best for me, and I have faith in His timing. We all have challenges and struggles. I'm grateful for mine, because they give me the opportunity to grow closer to my Savior. I'm grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. My Redeemer loved me so much that he suffered and died for me. I know that He was resurrected; that because of Him, I can be forgiven of my sins, weaknesses, and imperfections and return to live in His presence some day. I'm so grateful for this knowledge that I have, and for all of the blessings of comfort it brings to me.

Thunderstorm Watching

There was a thunderstorm here last night. It was the first good one we've had in several months.  Apparently Kyler was too young to remember any of the previous thunderstorms, because when he first heard the booming thunder, his head shot straight up and with wide eyes he exclaimed "Whas dat?!"

So we wrapped ourselves up in blankets, and Jared & I took Kyler out under our covered front porch to watch his first thunderstorm. We made it our FHE activity for the night. Each time lighting would light up the sky Kyler would say "Whoa!!" Then, he would apprehensively wait for the thunder (which he was scared of but loved the thrill).  Each time he heard thunder he would nestle in a little closer to Jared, his little body shaking with fear, chewing on the edge of his blanket...and when it was over he would cheer along with us wanting it to start all over again. We sure do love this little boy. Here is another little "Kyler Movie" I put together made up from random video clips on my phone. Enjoy!

Questions Answered

Hello!! My friend Carissa tagged me in the Liebster Award. How fun!! Check out her blog here  She has an adorable baby girl!

Even though I did a Liebster post back in January I thought it would still be fun to answer Carissa's questions. So here they are:

1. What nicknames have you been given thus far in your life? Char, Charskimo, Cher, Schrammster, char-char. That's all I can think of at the moment.
2. Would you rather be a sports star, rock star, or famous actress and why? If I had to choose, I'd pick sports star. Even though I've always loved being in plays and musicals, I think a sports star lifestyle would fit me better with less drama. haha
3. What physical part of your husband do you love the most? (keep it pg of course) This is probably weird for me to love, but I love the groove above Jared's top lip and below his nose. It's called the philtrum in case you were wondering. Don't ask me how I knew what that was called (okay, google). I love Jared's philtrum!! I realize that might not sound pg but it is. haha
4. What age are you most looking forward to your child being? Can I rewind instead? I miss Kyler's newborn age. He was so squishy and soft! haha no, but I look forward to him being 8 years old. Old enough to know, and young enough to still play and have imagination.
5. Who was your favorite teacher ever and why? Ooo. Tough one. I have a lot of favorite teachers, but the most recent one that comes to mind would be my New Testament teacher in college, Brother Wahlquist. I loved his teaching style.
6. What do you think most people's first impression of you is? -Awkward- Hah, I don't know if that's true or not, but I almost always forget people's name the second after they say it, and I'm quiet at first.
7. What store is your go to store for clothes? I've been going to Forever 21 a lot lately.
8. How did your husband first ask you to hang out/go out? I was the cheerleading coach at BYU-I. Jared came to one of the football games I was cheering at. After the game was over he "conveniently" happened to be walking out at the same time as me and offered to give me a ride home. Of course having no car and living so far away from the field I said yes. In the car he asked if I was hungry. I wasn't. But catching on that he was asking me out of course I said "Yes, I'm starving." or something along those lines. Then it hit me that I was still in my cheerleading uniform. It was against "the rules" to wear the cheerleading uniform anywhere except home and on the sidelines of the field. Being the coach, I felt a special responsibility to abide by the rules, but didn't want to cop out on my first date with Jared, so I ended up wearing one of Jared's ginormous sweatshirts he had in his car over my cheerleading uniform so that it was completely covered. Your prob thinking "did she just say she wore a big baggy sweatshirt on their first date?" Yeeeah, my outfit was hawt.
9. What's something your child has done that made you really laugh recently? Yesterday we tried to teach Kyler how to jump. It was hilarious. He is so uncoordinated.
10. Would you rather have twin boys, twin girls, or one of each? I am OBSESSED with twins. Seriously, I've always wanted twins. I've even researched multiple times things that I could do to increase my chances of having twins. Unfortunately I'm not over the age of 40, don't have a history of twins, I'm not black, overweight or tall...so my chances of having twins is seriously: not going to happen... buuut I can always dream. haha! So my answer is I would take ANY set of twins, whether they be boys, girls or one of each. I'm too obsessed with the fact that it would be twins that I wouldn't care!
11. Finish the sentence: Never underestimate the power of a good... nap.

Sprinting to Flush

I really have no idea why I am writing this on the blog. It's kinda embarrassing. and about POOP. Yup. You just read that. I'm writing an embarrassing blog post about poop.

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to use the restroom while talking on the phone? Well I have. I just had a flash back memory to one of those times. It happened a few weeks after Jared and I were married....over 3.5 years ago:

A new school semester had just started. Jared was already in his first class, and I was getting ready to leave for my first class when I got an important phone call. I had to take it. I got ready for school and used the restroom while talking on the phone so that I wouldn't be late to class. I obviously didn't want the person on the other end of the phone to know that I was in the bathroom, so of coarse I told my self I would wait until I hung up off the phone and then I would go back and flush the toilet. I quietly washed my hands, finished getting ready, and ended the phone conversation just in time to grab my back pack, grab a pop-tart, and rush out the door.

My first class was in the Clark building. Possibly one of the furthest buildings away from our tiny apartment... probably about a mile, or a good 15 minute walk. Driving wasn't an option because I didn't have the special parking pass. Soooo I walked as quickly as I could to the Clark building in the bitter cold Idaho wind. Luckily it was all down hill and I'm a fast walker, so I made it to class just in time! Class started. I took out my notebook and started to write.....

Then it hit me.

I FORGOT TO FLUSH.

It was most definitely #2 of course. I glanced at the clock. Jared's class would be out in 15 minutes...he would go home...and then see that I didn't flush!!! In my newly wed mind, this was unacceptable and I immediately got reeeal embarrassed at the thought of him seeing that. So embarrassed, I remember I started sweating in class. hahaha. 

I left my notebook open on my desk, and discretely grabbed my jacket. Before slipping out of class I briefly locked eyes with the professor, Mr. McCoy, who I hoped thought that I was just stepping out of class for a minute to use the restroom. Little did he know.

I RAN.

.... I mean reeeeallly RAN...  

I sprinted that mile up the steep hill in the bitter cold wind. 

Just. To. Flush. The. Toilet. 

Jared wasn't home yet. He hadn't seen anything. Phew!!! I had made it just in time.

Then I sprinted another mile down the hill in the freezing wind back to class....hoping nobody noticed I was gone for a good 20 minutes...and hoping nobody noticed I was completely out of breath.

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I recently told this "sprinting to flush" memory to Jared, and he and I both had a good laugh :D

The Moon is in My Living Room

As I've said before, Kyler calls the moon "coo coo" and here he is thinking the "coo coo" is in our living room. I can't get over how cute he is. Seriously.

I'm OBSESSED with this little boy. Then again, if you've read this blog before, you already know that.

Tears for Entertainment

Inside Kyler's brain:
"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH...Oh cool, there are tears rolling down my cheeks. I will lick them."
"I need more tears to lick...so I guess I'll cry some more...WAAAHHHHHH"
"These tears taste awesome, and this is a fun game...WAAAHHH!!!"

 Like I said. Tears for entertainment:

Let's take a closer look.

Do you see tears for entertainment too?

This Year is Different

I've never been a fan of daylight savings, but this year is different. I used to always brag about how Kyler slept in until about 9:30 everyday. Then he started needing a little less sleep and started waking up around 8:30am. Then the sun started rising earlier and earlier... and he now typically wakes up around 6:30-7:00am...which is EARLY for me. Seriously. I'm not a morning person. I do cook Kyler a healthy breakfast every morning, but when he wakes up too early he gets a snack before breakfast. The other morning his snack was this: crackers and fruit snacks in a measuring cup. Why a measuring cup? I don't know. 

Thanks to daylight savings coming up, his 7:00am wake up call will soon turn into an 8:00am wake up call which will make this tired mama oh so happy.

Called to Serve!

My parents have been called to serve as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! They submitted all of the necessary paperwork, and have been waiting to hear back where they would be needed. Yesterday they got the letter in the mail that said where they would be serving...so the whole family gathered together via Google Hangout- my parents and I were here in North Carolina, Ben was in Las Vegas, Emily in California, Melanie in Texas, and Calvin was in Atlanta, but we were all able to see them open the letter at the same time. I love technology these days!


Just in case you didn't watch the video, they will be serving in the Chile Vina Del Mar mission for 23 months starting on July 1st! My dad is fluent in Spanish already and my mom is working hard and learning. We are going to miss them, but I know they will be doing great things, and I am excited for them and the new adventures they will be having in Chile! 

My Boys

I was completely ready to be Kyler's mom. He was planned, and came right on time. I had finished my degree in child development and I knew exactly how to be a mom- down to each parenting style and technique!

 Then Kyler was born...

....and I suddenly had no idea what I was doing, but Kyler has always been patient with me, and he forgives me quickly when I make a mistake. Being a mother is more difficult than I thought it would be, but it is also more rewarding than I ever could have imagined possible.  I wouldn't trade being Kyler's mom for any job in the world. I love everything about my little boy!

There is no way I would be able to do my job without a wonderful husband and daddy by my side. My support, my other half. I honestly couldn't ask for a better husband, and nobody could be as good of a dad to Kyler as Jared is.  He always puts our wants and needs before his own, and is so quick on his toes to make us smile and laugh. There's no other person I would rather spend my life with.

 I love them :)