Jell-o

There are so many moments throughout the day that I wish Austin were here to see. Of course there are the meltdowns and the mini-tantrums, but there are so many more of the ones that I can’t wait until Austin gets home to tell him about something funny Dax said or did. Tonight, I couldn’t stop laughing at Dax and his funny comments and facial expression. Here’s what happened….

I called Dax to the dinner table and his face lit up as he saw a bright red bowl of jell-o. I hate to admit it, but I honestly don’t think Dax has eaten jello before. It jiggled as he sat down on his chair and he looked at me and smiled. And when Dax smiles, it lights up his whole face and even his eyes smile. I love his smile. I could just tell he was so excited about all this red jell-o.

Before even taking a bite, he says, “I yike this mom.”

I said, “Oh, good!”

We said a quick prayer and he dove right in. And just a side note so you don’t think I am even a worse parent then you probably already do for not having ever fed my 2 ½ year old jell-o before, he wasn’t eating just jell-o for dinner. He had a nice proportioned plate of leftover turkey roast, rolls, and some cooked veggies---I get real fancy when Austin works late. But all that could wait. This jell-o was calling his name.

He took a big spoonful, which took a little maneuvering because of it’s jiggly-ness, and shoved it into his mouth. I could see his eyes smiling again as it slid down his throat.

He says, “Yat’s good mom!” These days every sentence ends in mom.

I said, “I am so glad you like it. It’s jell-o.”

He repeats me and says, “It’s yeyyow”. That’s how he says yellow, without the ll’s.

Before I could correct him and say, “No, not yellow, jjjjjjeeeeeellll-ooo”, he looks at his RED jell-o and then looks at me like I am full of bologna, but says in a way that you would maybe talk to a senior citizen who you know doesn’t quite understand what you are saying, and corrects me very sweetly and thoughtfully and says, “Uh, I yink it’s RED mom.”

I died. I love this little guy!!! It instantly fast forwarded me to his pre-teen years when he’s on the verge of knowing everything and I’m still just going to be the mom full of bologna. At least tonight he looked like he had a little bit of pity on little ol’ me.

Time

Yes, the time has come to….

…shield all electric outlets with safety caps
…move the refrigerator magnets up
…keep Dax’s toys hidden
…buy locks and latches for all cabinets & drawers
…discontinue projects on the floor
…close all the doors
…move the glass vase from the side table
…pick-up all random pieces of food and scrap pieces of paper from the floor
…vacuum more often
…leave no drinks unattended
and don’t forget
…crawl around on all fours "thinking" like Wyatt for anything I might have missed!

This little man is starting to crawl!!

Go buddy! Go!

Utah

We left. We drove. We played for 4 days. We drove some more. We’re back. We’re sad.

As “summer” comes to a close around here (school starts in just a few weeks), we finally took our first vacation of the season. It was well overdue. We hadn’t had days off as a family since last September, so when my parents invited us to Park City with them for a few days, we couldn’t wait.

For Christmas, my mom and dad had given all the couples in my family a 7-day trip with just the two of them and they were to take place over the next 2 years. Well, for those of you who read my other sister’s blogs, know that 3 out of us 5 girls ended up taking their trip with my parents this past May for a week long cruise in Alaska. To tie Austin and I and my other sister and her husband over until our trips next year (we can’t WAIT to find out our destination and itinerary), they rented a time share in Park City and invited us to come stay for a few days. We tacked on a few more days to spend some time with Austin’s parents and brothers and sisters and off we went.

I wasn’t sure how the car drive would be with TWO boys. Luckily, I packed the three things that ended up being a surefire way to keep Dax happy: a DVD player, an Aqua Doodle, and ring pops. He couldn’t be happier. Wyatt had a few minor melt downs, but all in all he did a great job for his first road trip.

I love Utah in the summer. I definitely miss those mountains. It’s strange how Utah is still a little more familiar to me than AZ, but that is slowly changing. I love how we still run into old friends at Magelby’s, at the carnival days in A.F. and see familiar faces in Park City. We almost did a drive-by our old house in Lehi, but couldn’t quite bring ourselves to do it. I loved that house; I loved living in Utah; I miss our old friends. It was good to be back.

The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect chance to ditch this crazy AZ heat. We had a great time with our family. Austin’s parents spend half the year in Utah and the other half in Arizona. It was great to catch up with them! Wyatt met a lot of aunts and uncles and cousins for the first time, and Dax made fast friends with his cousins that he doesn’t get to see very often. It made us even more excited for our annual beach camping trip coming up next month to see the kids running around after each other. Lucky for us, we even had a few hours with my twin, Jamie, and Joe and the girls as they made their way home from a stay with Joe’s family.

Park City is so beautiful. We had some great meals at our favorite Mexican food restaurant that Jamie, my mom and I swear we discovered more than 10 years ago before it turned into a local hangout. We love walking down Main Street and seeing all that has changed since we first had our condo there in the early 80’s. Austin and Dax rode the Alpine Slide for the first time and that was, of course, a hit. Austin even got in a little karaoke at the club house.

We wish we could have played for a lot longer than 4 days. They went by way too quick. I was so glad to have come back on a Wednesday and only have to face a 2 day work week. We are so glad we will always have family and wonderful friends to visit in Utah.

Anyone who is reading this and lives in Utah that we didn’t call or come see, please don’t be upset. We seriously devoted our short 4 days to family and promise to make it up to you on our next trip which is already being planned and is without a doubt, longer than 4 days!

Wyatt

Wyatt is 6 months old! Wyatt is 6 months old!!!! I have to say it twice to believe it.

Yesterday we had Wyatt’s 6-month check and he is tall and skinny just like Dax was. He weighs a whopping 15 1/2 pounds (10th percentile) and is 27 inches tall (75th percentile). He has officially found his tongue and loves to stick it out and blow raspberries. He talks and squeals and get this, scoots! He can get to anything he wants now by rolling and scooting. He just wants to get down and play when anyone is holding him. He is king at arching his back, something that is NOT my favorite when they learn. He is over his baby rings and soft chewy toys. He wants Dax’s trains and dinosaurs. He grabs at everything---yanking the toothbrush out of my mouth and sticking his fist in a spoonful of food on the way to my mouth. He giggles and laughs and loves to be in the pool (thank goodness). He is a getting so big and is as happy as can be!

I can tell that Dax is realizing that he is getting bigger too. Wyatt managed to get over to his tower of checkers and knock it over the other day. And this morning, Wyatt grabbed onto Dax’s shirt with a death grip and Dax couldn’t even pry his fingers off. How do you explain that Wyatt is still a little baby for some things, and doesn’t purposely knock over his tower, but is getting so big all at the same time?

I find myself saying these things to Dax all the time,
“Wyatt is still too little to wrestle with” but, “Wyatt is too big for you to carry”.
And Dax, “Wyatt is still too little to play with certain toys”, but “Wyatt is big enough to play with other certain toys that you now must learn to share”.
Oh, and Dax, “Wyatt is big enough to eat cereal, but not big enough to eat your kind of cereal, only his own special cereal so don’t try and feed him.”
And, “Wyatt knows how to grab onto things, but hasn’t yet learned how to let go, hence the death grip on your pajamas this morning.”
Seriously, this is not logical. Dax looks at me like I’m not making sense, and I can see how in his little world this doesn’t make any sense at all!

I guess for now I’m going to enjoy the things that still make Wyatt little to me. Like burying his head in my neck when I’m singing to him before he goes to bed. And how he sleeps with his little bum in the air. And the way his face scrunches up when he cries and the silly sounds he manages to make. And the way he pumps his leg when he gets excited.. or mad.

For now, I’m just going to have to enjoy all these little things, because each day, no matter what I do, he's getting bigger.

All in a Day's Work

I think this is what Wyatt was trying to tell me today…

Well, I think this world
Is a real nice place (I have been here for 6 months now)

But I think that it's a crime

That I should have an older brother (named Dax)

Who picks on me all the time (to be fair, it's only some of the time)

So, next time he's sleeping in his room

I’m goin' to sneak in and tie him (I'll recruit someone to help me)

Then I’ll take him out into the street

And see if someone will buy him

My brother’s for sale ('cause he body slams me too hard)

Only fifty cents

Brother for sale ('cause he yells in my face too often)

He's not a big expense

You can hug him

You can bug him

You could buy or rent

Brother for sale, ('cause he plays a little too rough, and I'm just a little guy)

Only fifty cents

But wait...

He will always pick me up (or at least try)

When you take a fall (or in my case, if I roll onto the tile)

And he's good at showing you

How to catch a ball (or just putting it in my lap)

He always tells these funny jokes (mainly just sings silly songs)

And does this crazy dance (yes, definitely crazy dances)

Hey, wait!

He sounds like a pretty nice guy... (and pretty cute if I do say so myself)

Let's give him one more chance (mom's favorite saying too!)

My brother's not for sale

Not for any price

My brother's not for sale

I guess he will suffice

I like to hug him

I like to bug him

He's really rather nice

My brother's not for sale

Not for any price!

Treasures

I love anything that has a story; a treasure I like to call it. I love a toy that was so loved it’s been handed down for generations, or a baby dress that your grandmother wore. I love a treasure in my house that has once been in my parent’s house, or grandparent’s house, or great grandparents house.

When my parents and grandparents sold our condo in Park City a few summers ago, I was lucky enough to inherited one of the beds. It was the bed that my grandparents always slept in downstairs and it belonged to my grandmother’s father’s sister, Aunt Lil. (Pheeew, did you follow all that?) When my grandmother’s aunt passed away my grandma inherited it. When we sold the condo, I inherited it, a true treasure to me. It is a beautiful white wrought iron headboard and footboard. I can’t wait one day for a little girl to sleep in it again. I love that I have it and know where it came from and who it belonged to and where is has been. I hope it stays in the family and with someone who appreciates it for a long long time!

There are a few treasures like this at my parent’s house that I am sure all my sisters would happily display in their home. The two I am thinking of are my dad’s train set and my mom’s glass clowns.

My grandpa bought my dad a 1946 authentic freight train set when he was 3 or 4 years old. I know it is probably one of my dad’s very few prized possession. It was always around my Grandparents Christmas tree each year for all the kids to enjoy. We LOVED it, and now our kids love it. A few years back, my grandpa gave it to my dad for his home and his grandchildren to enjoy. My dad takes very serious care of his train and the kids have strict rules when they are around it. But my dad always gives the kids turns tooting the horn and carefully stepping over the track to make a tunnel for the train to ride through. Dax absolutely loved his grandpa’s train last Christmas. I loved seeing the joy my dad had in his eyes seeing the kids playing with it and I loved that way I felt watching Dax play with it, and I loved the absolute delight Dax had in his eyes playing with it.

At grandma and grandpa’s house, my mom has a wonderful playroom for the kids. There is a closet full of games, toys and puzzles. She has some great vintage Little People sets that all the kids still love paying with, no matter how old, and a lot of the toys us girls played with when we were little. The whole entire playroom came to shape around my grandmother’s glass clowns. My mom’s parents passed away when we were little, and there are only a few select memories I have of them, but one is definitely seeing those little clowns on the end tables in their little apartment next to a dish of peppermints. They sit up very high in the playroom so that none of the kids can reach them. They are adorable. Practically every time we are at my mom’s playing, Dax asks for the one with the balloons to get down so he can play with it. I love that he recognizes how special they are.

The reason I have been thinking about this lately is because I think I know what one treasure I will be passing onto Dax. It’s his Airplanes. When I was pregnant with Dax Austin gave me this adorable mobile for Dax’s room that probably cost more than most birthday presents he buys me. I had been eyeing it for a few months and desperately wanted it, but couldn’t justify paying more for a mobile than just about any other thing we had bought for his room. When I got it for my birthday I was elated. It didn’t play music; it didn’t have a nice arm to hang from the side of the crib. It simply hung from the ceiling. It has 4 vintage model airplanes in green, blue, red, and yellow and that is all. I loved it because it didn’t say “baby” to me. It looked like any boy, of any age, could love. We instantly hung it over the crib. Since the day Dax started sleeping in his crib, he has slept under this mobile. Now that he is out of his crib and into his twin bed, it still hangs over him when he sleeps. When we transitioned Dax into a bed, I spent a few nights sleeping under those planes, and I can see why he loves them. He still falls asleep looking at them swing.

The other day I caught Dax standing on his bed reaching to get his planes. I smiled as I watched him through the crack in his door. He loves those planes. He’s had them since he was a baby, and I think he will enjoy them for a really long time. I can’t believe one day he will have a son of his own, and I can’t wait to give them to him so he can hang them in his own son’s room.

What "treasures" do you hope to pass along to your children??

July

We're smack in the middle of Summer. Although the 4th of July is typically one of my favorite holidays, something about 115 degree weather dampers that just a little bit. I guess it's the fact that you are sweating watching fireworks. Err go, we still love wearing red, white and blue and celebrating the freedoms we have in this wonderful country! It's a little late, but wishing everyone happy wishes this month!

4th: Happy 4th of July

18th: Happy Birthday Ally

19th: Happy Birthday Mom

30th: Happy Birthday Shannon