Guitar Hero

As we leave grandma and grandpa’s house, Dax quietly asks, “Mom. Can I take this home?”

“No, Dax. It stays here,” I say hoping against hope that this answer doesn’t result in a total melt down. It is already past bedtime on an already long Sunday tacked on to an over jammed weekend.

“But can I play with it when we come back?”

“Yes, of course,” I say and softly guide him towards the toy box to put it away. Pheww. He handled that pretty good.

The second Dax puts it down, one of the other cousins grab it. I look at his face and can tell he is heartbroken to leave it. It’s his most beloved toy at my mom and dad’s house. It’s the one that all the grandkids can play with alike; all the way from the oldest to the youngest, boy or girl. Even Wyatt had a few seconds with it before a bigger, faster cousin swiped it away. He just moved on to something else. He doesn’t quite have the love for it just yet, but he will. It’s the toy that was purchased at a garage sale for a dollar but would cause buckets and buckets of tears by all twelve grandchildren if it ever broke. It’s the toy that even on its loudest setting doesn’t bother me. It’s the toy that makes me smile when I see the kids playing with it.

It’s the Sesame Street guitar.

When we left the house on Sunday night, Dax proclaims, “I love playing that guitar”. I love how he says guitar, just like a cowboy with a twang. It made me smile because I love watching him play that guitar.

I would love for Dax to have the exact same one at home. But truthfully, it really wouldn’t be as fun. Part of the fun of this toy is that it stays exclusively at grandmas and grandpas. I would never want to take the fun of it away by having the same exact one at our house. Nor do I think I could ever find one like it anywhere.

But, I thought something along the same lines might be fun. So yesterday, this is what I came up with.

You would have thought I invented a light bulb with how excited Dax was when this little creation was complete. He didn’t want me to cover it with paper, or give the suggestion of him taking some markers to it, or even wear the perfect zebra print guitar strap ribbon I had stashed in my closet. He wanted music on right then and there so he could rock out. It’s was so funny to watch him play, even on his shoebox/rubberband guitar. He does this move that I’ve learned is called the Duck Walk. He jumps on one leg and can move his other foot back-and-forth all while he’s playing. And his favorite is running and sliding on his knees across the tile. He really looks the part…and I have no idea where he got these moves. Either way, I was totally entertained listening to him play.

As I’m watching him I decide, one day, as soon as he is old enough, I think he would love taking guitar lessons. I would sign him up as soon as he was ready. I started daydreaming as he sat on the couch concentrating on plucking those guitar strings how fun it would be to have him play songs for the family around the campfire when we are camping, or maybe even play nursery rhymes for any future little babies who come along. He could play in the school talent show and at Christmas parties. It would be so much fun to have someone with musical talent in the house.

Then I pictured him wanting to start a grunge band in the garage. He's already got the holey jeans.

And then, maybe 10 or 12 years from now when he asks me if he can, I would think, “This is all my fault.”

And then I would probably smile again.

Footie Jammies

The past few days have been, dare I say, COLD!

Last night there was just enough of a little nip in the air to pull out the footie jammies. I forget how much I loved Dax in these kinda of jammies, and now it’s Wyatt’s turn. There is just something so darn cute about them. Maybe its how his diaper bums looks in them, or how he looks extra tall and skinny, or how his little crawl makes a shhh….shhh….shhh sound. Whatever it is, I can’t get enough of them and I am so happy it’s finally that time of year.

What else do footie jammies mean? It means we can finally go on bike rides and walks and play at the park without having to be a 5-gallon thermos of ice water. The boys can finally play outside, for longer than 10 minutes, and not have to let the adventure in the great outdoors involve any type of water or swimsuit; two good things. They mean I can finally cook dinner in the oven instead of the BBQ without worrying how blistering hot it will make the house. We can finally sleep with the windows open (maybe even a cover or two if it’s really cold) instead of running the a/c all night. It means I can finally turn on the water in the kitchen sink and have it be cold the second it comes out rather than letting it run for 2 minutes to cool the warm water down. It means Wyatt can finally wear cute shoes without feeling bad that his little feet will sweat right off. It means I can finally curl up on the couch with a warm….

Wait! What’s this? 97 degrees by Friday? Scratch that!

Oh well. Footie jammies---what a cute preview of things to finally come…one day!!

There’s No Buddy like a Brother

My mom gave me a cute sign when Wyatt was born that says “There’s no Buddy Like a Brother”. I love it. I love how true it is. And for some reason today, I was thinking a lot about it.

You’d probably think I was witnessing a loving interaction between the two; Dax with his halo and Wyatt with his sweet squeals laughing at his brother and adoration in both their eyes.

Wrong!

What made me think of this quote, how there is no ‘buddy’ like a brother, was when I had to explain to Dax what a “cheap shot” and a “sucker punch” was. Seriously.

This morning Dax worked some pretty major WWF moves on Wyatt without the poor little guy even seeing it coming. I had to explain to Dax that it wasn’t fair for him to body slam his brother, especially when Wyatt has no idea it’s coming. Forget the lecture that Dax is two years older, 20 pounds heavier, knows how to run, knows how to talk, and so on and so forth. We’ve been through all that, and it doesn’t hold any bearing at all.

So we have a new rule. No cheap shots and no sucker punches.

Well, that’s only the rule for the time being.

I think during one of these smackdowns, me and Wyatt had a moment. Dax was performing some super flying clothesline, neck binder, drop kick, belly bounce move, and Wyatt and I made eye contact. Wyatt wasn’t crying, he wasn’t squealing, and he wasn’t yelling. I knew he knew I was sorry his brother was going crazy. But, I honestly think Wyatt didn’t care. He was thinking that one day, not too far off, he was going to get Dax back. He was going to be able to put Dax in a head hold, and fire punch Dax in the stomach, and super clothesline him.

And I may have to pad the walls and buy new furniture and make a few hundred trips to the emergency room, but Wyatt deserves to get his revenge.

Because really, at the end of the day, there truly is no buddy like a brother.

Toddler Diet

My doctor talked to me about Dax’s diet after his second birthday. She called it the “toddler diet”. The diet where he would suddenly be more picky about what he eats. And probably turn his head away after just a few bites. Or refuse coming to the table all together. She said to just offer him a variety of food and not to worry because he would eat when he was hungry. After last week, I almost called her.

I was concerned.

Then I kept a record for a day:

1 container of apple sauce
½ strawberry pop-tart
1 bowl of Kix
A glass of milk
A bowl of Pretzels
3 M&M's
Scooby Doo fruit snacks
The other half of the strawberry pop-tart
2 servings of creamy black bean salsa chicken casserole
2 oranges
A glass of juice
Another bowl of pretzels
A bowl of Wyatt’s dry cheerios (which would explain why Wyatt was crying in the back seat and Dax was quiet)
String cheese
A banana
Batman fruit snacks
Zwieback toast (again, Wyatt’s)
1 entire sloppy-joe
8 sun chips
3 cucumber slices
6 grape tomatoes
A total of 8 candy corn's for going potty
Topped off with a glass of milk before bed

My toddler isn’t picky. He eats anything. He doesn’t turn his head away from food. He asks for more. He doesn’t refuse to come to the table. He won’t leave it.

Am I worried? Yes, because there is another little guy hot on his trail. And two growing teenage boys keep flashing through my mind.

Growing Up

I just might win the worst mother of the year award by confessing this.

Why has it taken me 2 years 9 months and some-odd days to figure this out?

How did Dax age years right before my eyes?

Why did I shed a tiny tear when I dressed him for Church today?

And why, why, did no one ever tell me this is the way to "accessorize" with little boys?

What one tiny thing could do all this?

A tie. A tie!

He was wearing his first tie. And my obsession begins.

Our Beach Bum

It took a little more convincing to get Dax down to the beach. Whose kid is this?? After a little power struggle, some major out-smarting, and some pretty convincing grandparents, Dax had a great time…in the sand that is.

He loved finding rocks with my dad and playing Smash Ball with my mom. He ran miles, miles, chasing birds away. Even with the gorgeous weather we were able to enjoy, the beaches were not crowded, so the little two-year-old running around didn’t seem to bother anyone…except the seagulls he kept chasing off.

A few times he would be distracted at almost catching one of the birds and get pretty close to the water, but not once did his little toes feel the salty ocean. It was pretty funny to watch. There was a cute little girl playing by the water one day and he wanted to share a shovel with her because she had no sand toys. He ran down fairly close to where she sat playing, threw the shovel in her direction, then sprinted back to the towels all in one big circle. I heard him talking as he ran back, “that beach is going to get me.” So funny, it was hard not to laugh.

Each day he did get closer and closer. And instead of the mantra from last month where he kept saying “the beach is so scary”, by weeks end he was saying “the ocean is scary but the sand is nice”. I can take that!

Besides, beach bums don’t have to actually go in the water to be considered a "beach bum". They can hang out on the sand all day long and never go into the water if they don't want to.

Right?

Our Surfer Boy

I think Wyatt will make a great surfer.

He was up every morning at the beach before the sun came up; the same time as the die hard surfers were hitting the glossy water and perfect waves.

I didn’t complain one bit.

We sat outside with our sweatshirts on, hoodies over our heads, wrapped in a soft blanket and listened to nothing except the sound of the crashing waves.

Some mornings as the sun was coming up we hoped the wall and collected sea glass for my mom. Wyatt was hypnotized by the ocean. He loved it. During the day he gladly sat in the sand, and mostly tried to eat it, but glady sat nonetheless. He was so much fun to watch. I loved how he would grab a handful of sand and let it slide through his fingers -- I didn’t love so much how he tried so despertaley to eat the dried up seaweed.

I think he’s a true little beach boy. There was no crying over cold water, a sandy diaper bum, wearing a floppy hat all week, or sandy cherrios. He was pretty easy to please. Let’s hope it’s the same case next year.

Because I'm pretty sure he whispered to me that he can’t wait to go back.

cal-i-for-nia

How do I recap a week at the beach in one word?

Glorious!

My mom dearly misses the beach, so she and my dad rent a condo for the month of September in Oceanside to escape the heat. They graciously invite each one of my sisters’ families for a few days to come stay with them. Last year Austin and I happened to go the week of my birthday, and the same thing happened this year as well. I have to admit, we don’t go to CA specifically for my birthday, but now that is has happened a few years running, as long as I can convince my sisters, I think I might unofficially officially declare the week of September 15 as our week at the beach with my mom and dad as long as they keep inviting us back! And I really hope they do.

I love the beach. The beach is home.

Well, it used to be home. It was my home for over 18 years. In high school we would walk to the beach at lunch. We even had a Surf Team. We ran to the Pier for warm up before practice. We spent long summer days laying in the sun on the crowded beach watching the helicopter fly up and down the coast to film the intro to Baywatch and getting David Charvet to sign our empty box of strips and cheese. It was a simple. It was peaceful. And is was so much fun!

It has been close to 10 years since I have lived near the beach. I know how lucky I was to grow up there. I know I took if for granted. Warm weather, beautiful ocean, amazing sunsets, great people, we had it all. When I can only stay for a week at a time now, it just doesn’t seem fair.

The thing that makes it okay for me is getting to experience it with Dax and Wyatt. I think one of the things I love most about being a mom is watching my children experience new adventures for the first time. I love how doing something my whole life, something that is so familiar and common to me, can all of a sudden be an entirely different experience when you do it with your children for the first time.

So, I figure in the posts ahead I will try to relay how the boys perceived the week.

All’s I can say for certain, it was glorious.

So good bye beach. See you next year! Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful trip and Jamie for taking such amazing pictures!!

Promises

I had been promising Dax that we could go feed the ducks since he was doing so well on the potty. It has been since early spring since we had visited our favorite little pond, and let’s face it, it has been way too hot to even try. So, seeing as we’re in mid-September, I felt like a trip to the park wasn’t an unreasonable request. Dax and I both were ready for some fresh air and different scenery after a week in the bathroom…I mean house. He’s doing great, so it’s been well worth it being home bound for five days, but we definitely needed to get out.

We grabbed the bread and a blanket and headed out yesterday afternoon. Dax was thrilled. Whenever we are going somewhere exciting, he sings a little chant that goes, “We’re going to the (fill in the blank) woooo!” Sometimes I have to initiate this little chant to generate some excitement. For example, “We’re going to get our hair cut, wooo!” just to see if I can trick him into thinking we are doing something extra special. But on this day, he sang that chant proud, all by himself, all the way to the park.

We arrived at the park and no one was around. I was a little nervous because I couldn’t see any ducks right away. Immediately I start to wonder, maybe ducks aren’t even in “season”? Maybe they have flown south for the summer? Do ducks migrate? Maybe it’s still too hot for them to be in Sun Valley? I don’t know these things! I start to panic. I have this thing about promises. I know most parents are this way, but I am really really adamant on telling Dax the truth. No white lies. I don’t try to trick him or tell him something false just to get him to do something I want. If I say we’re going to do something, we usually do it. If I say I am going to buy him something or give him something, I do. True, these promises are pretty few and far between, but if I make it, I keep it. I have seen kids disappointed or let down and I vowed never to be that parent that would say one thing and not ever follow through. So, when I couldn’t see any ducks, I just wanted to cry. It looked like I wasn't going to be able to keep my promise, and that just doesn't sit well.

We get out of the car and walk towards the grass area and lo and behold, under a park bench was a beautiful white goose happily resting. I point her out to Dax and he grabs a hot dog bun (bread? hot dog bun? same thing, right?) and takes off towards her. I’m thinking this little goose is going to be in heaven to have all of our bread all to herself. It was going to be picturesque watching him feed this little feathered friend. She was stark white, the water was crystal blue, Dax was looking as handsome as could be (like always to me), and we had the pond all to ourselves.

It didn't happen that way at all.

My wonderful vision is interrupted when Mother Goose decides to take off in the other direction. Dax patiently goes after her, trying to tell her to come back and eat the bread. Next thing you know she disappears behind some bushes (see first photo). He runs over to me and asks where she went. I tell her I am not sure and start panicking again because our little adventure is not turning out right at all. He says, “I think she went to change hims clothes”. Hmmm. Maybe, that’s a good guess. But really, I am just feeling horrible that the one little goose that is around runs off and won’t come back.

Dax doesn’t seem to be bothered. He is happy just to be “free”. He runs up and down the water shore, climbs trees, plays peek a boo with Wyatt and chases the birds. I’m feeling a little let down that my big promise to feed ducks was a total bust. Dax informs me he has to go potty (this is going to take some getting used to) and as we walk to the bathroom, we are pleasantly surprised to see on the other side of the building about two dozen ducks that are more than happy to see us.

Let’s just say, these ducks were fed with pure love. And thankfully, promises were kept.

Meet Bob

Bob is our new friend.

He has started to come around a lot lately. But that’s okay because we all really like him.

Ever since we met Bob, he is our wake up call. The time? Usually ten to six. Bob

We eat breakfast with Bob, and play in the morning with Bob. Bob. Bob.

Come to think of it, Bob’s around most of the day.

He goes on walks with us. He drives in the car with us. He sings and dances with us. He plays with our friends with us. He fixes lunch and does dishes with us.

Bob usually stays throughout the afternoon and usually through dinner.

He can get really loud. BOB!

And he can be really fast. Bobobobobobobob

Oh, and he is sooooo funny. A bob a bob a bob.

In fact, even with him around all the time, I still can’t really figure out who this “Bob” is.

I don’t know any Bob’s. Austin doesn’t know any Bob’s. Dax doesn’t know any Bob’s.

But Wyatt does.

And he says his name all day long.

Potty Party

I had no idea this was all going to happen this week, it just sorta happened…..

….we have started the adventure of potty training.

On Wednesday I asked Dax if he wanted to sit on the potty and surprisingly he said yes. What’s even more surprising is he actually went when I put him on the potty. He was so proud of himself and so excited, so I decided I better just run with it. We’d been reading "Once Upon a Potty" for a few months now, and he knows all about “Joshua” and his “new potty”. I remember when I worked at Media Play (kinda like a Sam Goody) when I was in college seeing this book in the Book section and laughing at how funny it was. It’s all about how everyone has a “body” and this body “has many nice and useful parts” and unfortunately, I have it memorized, but Dax loves it and insists we read it all the time. Whenever we talk about anything related to the bathroom, he ends everything I say with “like Joshua”, the little boy in the story. It’s like they are friends; it’s so funny. All the “potty” phrases we use are from this book.

Other than "Once Upon a Potty", I have not done any reading or studying up on potty training. I only know what I know from friends and family experience, horrible and successful. Everyone has different solutions and techniques that have worked for them, but the one thing that was consistent with everyone I talked to is that Dax needs to be rewarded like crazy. So after he went potty on Wednesday we made a mad dash to Target to pick out his “special treat”. I couldn’t help myself when he went wee wee (that’s what we call it thanks to Once Upon a Potty)to do a little celebrating. So, I invented a little term every time we entered the bathroom and told him that we were going to have a little “Potty Party”. He thought that was fun. So when we were at Target I bought a few extra things to really make it a party.

We got some cool “undies” and some foamy soap that he was real excited about. We were looking for Diego or Mickey Mouse, but the only foamy soap character we found was Sponge Bob. He’s never seen the show but knew exactly who he was, and even though I am not a fan, I thought the foamy soap would be perfect for our Potty Party. Then we got some drinks and treats and he picked out a very cute 3D Fisher Price Memory Game with animals and hay stacks complete with a plastic egg carton carrying case. A very good choice if I do say so myself, and I may have had a little influence over it. Let's be honest, the boy does NOT need another truck for heaven’s sake!

After he went to bed Wednesday night I made his “Dax’s Potty Party” chart and hung it in the bathroom. Whenever he goes wee wee, poo poo, or sits and tries, he gets to put a star on the chart. I showed him it when he woke up on Thursday and asked if he wanted to put on his undies. He was so excited and couldn’t wait. For our “potty party” I bought cookies for when he goes wee wee and cupcakes for when he goes poo poo. We don’t stock a lot of treats in our house so these were especially special. His eyes lit up when I showed him the plate.

It’s been a few days now, and besides the very first accident on Thursday morning, he has successfully gone wee wee in the potty every time. I figured out that he wasn’t going to tell me he needed to use the potty, and after the first accident I discovered what the pee pee dance was, running in circles was, and crossing the legs was. Those all meant he had to go. It is a little hard to distinguish these moves when he kinda runs in circles and jumps around anyway because he is such a wild boy, but I think I got it, because every time I would run him on the potty, he would go. We even have a nice little routine down now---Run to the bathroom, drop undies to the ankles, fling undies off ankles and laugh extra hard when they land on your head, go wee wee in the potty, do our Potty Party song and dance (which baiscally consists of saying "potty party" lots of times real fast with a few "woo-hoos" thrown in), pull a little toilet paper from the roll and drop it in the toilet more like a salute or farewell because we all know boys don’t need to wipe, flush the potty, wash our hands with foamy soap, put a star on the chart, and get a treat from the plate.

So far so good! The poo poo part is going to be tricky, I can tell. He fooled me today and I won’t go into details, but let’s just say he was a little extra sneaky when I was distracted with Wyatt. Any suggestions? Overall, not too bad except the fact that I am going a little house crazy. The baseboards in the bathroom are spotless, the linens closet is clean and organized, and I have mentally redecorated the bathroom from paint color to accessories.

I think we’re headed down the right road, a diaper-less right road that is! Yea Dax!!

Disclaimer: Don't mind Dax's attire, he insisted on wearing his "muscle shirt" all day, even if it meant his Batman jammies. And, he needed to stand on a "tall tall tower" to wash his hands, hence the stool AND the gallon of paint. Nice, I know.

Our Rock Star

I did not grow up with much of a musical upbringing. At one point I think I was interested in taking piano lessons, but I think that was more because my older sisters had taken lessons and I thought it was only fair. The lessons didn’t last. I guess my mom thought it was a waste because the piano teacher only came once for me. My mom would never tell me I was a lost cause, but that must be the reason. She probably couldn’t stand to listen to me practice. But I don’t blame her; I was probably nails on a chalkboard bad

I can’t hold a tune, not even close. I’m not even an “okay” singer. I am horrible. Just horrible, and I’d admit it to anyone. I disclaimer whenever I sit next to someone other than my husband at Church that I stink.

I don’t even know anything about music. I don’t know how to read it and I don’t know how to lead it. I honestly don’t remember learning any of this, even though I know they teach it. I must have been absent that day. I remember enrolling in a Music 101 class my first year at BYU because it filled a general requirement and figured it would be easy enough. I remember looking over the syllabus at what we were expected to know, and I couldn’t even stay in the beginners class because I didn’t know how to count music, I couldn’t tell one note from another. Treble clef, measure, quarter note, sharp, flat, what is that?? I’m pathetic.

I can barely keep a beat, and even that is hard. I have no coordination, therefore I only lasted in one jazz class as a child and that has even left scars because we wore atrocious costumes that involved red spandex, bare stomach midriffs and crimped hair. Even lately I gave it another whirl with a hip hop aerobics class and I am telling you, it was soooooo embarrassing.

Austin is pretty much the same. He never played a musical instrument and focused on sports when he was younger. I actually think he has a really nice voice, and has the confidence to sing fairly loudly, even at Church, but he would never join the choir or anything like that.

Basically, our children are doomed.

At least that is what we thought.

There have been quite a few situations arise the past few weeks that give us a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, our kids have a fighting chance at having a well rounded childhood rather than one that is tainted only with sports. Dax has given us a world of hope. Here are three examples how:

1. Dax has been playing at a little friends house on Tuesday’s and the other day I went and picked him up and they were listening to the Kidz music channel on TV and dancing. He was having such a great time and rocking a pretty nice beat. He actually looked pretty coordinated and not like a total spaz like his mom. He even threw in a few twirls just for me when I got there. I usually turn on the radio when we’re cooking dinner and lately he has loved having a little dance off in the kitchen while I cook. Even when we were in HB on the pier there was a little concert with some Reggae band, and Dax had no problem busitn’ a move in front of hundreds of bystanders. So, he has rythym! Hooray!!

2. A few days ago we were at Austin’s parents and Dax and his little cousin were providing the entertainment as usual. Jett brings out the Guitar Hero guitar, presses the hand to one of his stuffed animals which is a gorilla that sings “Wild Thing” and pretends he is playing the tune on his guitar. He held the guitar perfectly, stood with one foot in front of the other like he was doing a hard core solo, and was banging his head as he played, and he’s two in a half! Dax’s turn was next, and instead of pressing the gorillas hand for a mock concert of “Wild Thing” he belts out every word to “I Love to See the Temple” rock style. We couldn’t stop laughing. On Sunday his nursery leaders told us he did the same thing with the play guitar in his class, and they couldn’t stop laughing either. So, he has an interest in instruments and loves to sing! Hooray!!

3. Yesterday as we were cleaning and getting ready to leave for the day Austin turned on his iPod. We were all singing and dancing and Dax runs out of the room. He comes back with a turkey baster and proceeds to sing in it like a microphone. Austin and I get distracted with something and Dax takes his place in front of the full length mirror in our room to watch himself sing and dance. He is singing a song, but nothing I can make out. He keeps saying the same phrase over and over again. I can’t quite tell what he’s saying, something I’ve never heard before. The only thing he has been singing lately is “I Love to See the Temple” and even though it is a great song to be sung, it’s been making me a little crazy!! Austin and I have a quick conversation that goes something like this;

Dax singing in the background

Bryn: Austin, what is he singing?

Austin: I have no idea.

Dax still singing in the background with the turkey baster.

I listen really hard to try and make out the words…
Its two butterflies…..?

Its takes two …??

Dax still singing in the background with the turkey baster, jamming in front of the mirror.

Austin stops what he is doing to try and make out the words.

Dax still singing in the background with the turkey baster, jamming in front of the mirror, and singing so unbelievably loud.

Finally Austin picks up what he’s saying.

Dax: “It’s tooooooo laaaate to apooooologiiiiiize. It’s too late….” (the song by OneRepublic)

Are you kidding me? We laughed so hard. Where does he come up with these things?

We concluded that we might just have a little Rock Star in our home.

My mom has told me lately that a singing child is a happy child. Dax is definitely happy. And when he sings like that, so passionate and so fervent, so are his mom and dad.

Go Dodgers!

This weekend Austin and I went to a Dodger’s game. Everyone else in our group may say that we went to a Diamondback’s game, but when you grow up in Southern California, there’s an unwritten rule that you will always root for your California team no matter where you live; whether it’s college football, MLB or the NBA. Once you’re a fan of a team in CA you will be until the end of time.

A few weeks ago a friend of ours called us up and invited us to the game. She had reserved the Owner’s Suite at the Diamondback’s stadium for her husband’s birthday and was inviting about 25 of us from the neighborhood to come along. We couldn’t wait! We knew everyone would be rooting for the Dbacks of course, so just to have a little more fun, I ran to the good ol’ local Wal-Mart and bought ourselves two brand new Dodgers shirt to have a little fun with everyone.

If you remember a few months ago, this was the same couple that had the amazing Halloween party in October and gave away iPod shuffles, so we knew it was going to be a fun group and a great time. We met at their house at 3:30 in our bright royal blue shirts and instantly were heckled. “How many straight games have the Dodgers lost?” Ohhh, that’d be 8. “How many games are the Dodgers behind the Dbacks?” That’d be 4 ½. “What was the score of last nights game?” Dbacks 9 and Dodgers 2. Yes, it stung a little….okay a lot, but we were sure we would bring good luck.

We carpooled to the stadium and lucky for us, it was Hispanic Heritage Day at the ballpark (funny, I know) and they were giving out “Los Dbacks” (notice the Los because of Hispanic Heritage Day :)) hats with hair Velcro'd into to look like their star Eric Byrnes who also has a show on Fox. To make the heckling even grander, they were also handing out huge red signs that read BEAT LA and the group definitely took advantage of that. Austin loved the trash talk, but up to this point he really didn’t have much to defend our team.

The cute little lady escorted us to our suite. Amazing! Couches, 5 TV’s, all you can eat, all you can drink, Haagen Daz ice cream (to die for) and great seats above home plate. Tina, the birthday boy’s cute wife, had Diamondback hats for everyone as well, and even though we had on “those ugly t-shirts” she still shared two with us. The night got really fun when Manny Ramirez homered in the third inning. We stood up and danced and everyone tried to hold their signs in front of our faces. The Diamondbacks answered right back in the bottom of the third with a run of their own. We heard the cheers and trash talk loud and clear. It’s kinda not fun being 2 Dodgers against 28 Diamondback fans. Lucky for us, Ramiez homered again later in the game, and for fear of sounding like ESPN for too long, the Dodgers came out with their first victory in quite some time. We won!! The final score ended up being 6 to 2 and we attributed this sweet little victory to two little fans sporting Wal-mart Dodger shirts!

Austin was psyched (how long has it been since you heard that word?). He really was going crazy. The rest of the group were good sports and in the end we took a big group picture, and even though they were all supposed to be holding their BEAT LA signs and crying with Austin and I standing tall and proud in the middle, you can tell we all had a great time.

Just to rub it in a little more, Austin thinks he’s going to wear his Dodger shirt under his shirt and tie today to Church. Nothing like a little sportsmanship! For me, I’m just glad I had a fun distraction from leaving Wyatt home with his first official babysitters (yes, we had two!) Look at these two in their new Eric Byrnes hats!!

"It's this face that keeps me outta trouble"---Wyatt

The Beach

Finally. It was finally here. It was finally time to go. It was finally time to spend a week at the Beach. Finally….finally…finally…

We plan for our annual beach trip in San Clemente for an entire year. We go each summer, almost 50 of us, and camp for a week. We pick a theme for the next year at the end of each week. This year’s theme was Superheros, and we go all out! We even have committee’s for everyone to pitch in and make the week a memorable one. We have food, decorations, activities, service project, “convenient store” and reservations.

This year the site was decorated like Gotham City, with murals of skyline vinyl table cloths tied to the fences to give us the feel of the city. There were blow up’s of Spider-man, Batman and Superman surrounding all the picnic tables. We had a great menu with lots of yummy food and fun activities for the kids to make capes, dress up like Superheros and run an obstacle course and some fun trivia games and even a Boggle tourney for the adults.

We even added a few extra days to the trip to visit HB and go to Disneyland.

Here are some highlights:

--We met my best friend since kindergarten, Ashley, in HB to start the week off. It had been years since we had seen her and we spent the day downtown enjoying the sun and each other’s company. I think I’ll refer to her as Aunt Ashley from now on; the boys adored her and she was so cute with them. Dax loved walking down the pier and watching the fisherman and surfers. Ashley even joined us for one of our days at Disneyland, which was really fun!

--Although Wyatt’s bottom two teeth broke while we were at the beach, no one would have known. He slept so great; I think the crashing waves were like music to him. He loved playing in the sand and he had no problem splashing in the cold water. He happily wore his hat at only got a little sun-kissed on his nose the first day. He was a great mini-Spider-man and loved all the kids playing with him. He loved the baths we gave him in the outdoor tub-like sink at the bathrooms. Someone said he probably had the most sleep out of any of the campers that week, and I think they were right. He was such a good baby!!

--Dax on the other hand had a little tougher of a week. He got a crazy diaper rash that really put him on edge. I don’t blame him… A diaper rash + sand does not = a happy camper. This threw him off with the majority of everything. He would hide out in grandma and grandpa’s trailer for as long as we would let him. He thought the waves were “scary” and was perfectly happy playing in the shade in the sand. He wasn’t happy taking showers and cried every time we put his trunks on. This carried over to Disneyland. He wouldn’t even ride the carousel. Miraculously, after two days of being at the park, he did stand next to Mickey Mouse for a picture.

Good thing next month we will be back in California at the beach in Oceanside for some better attempts at pictures on the beach and Dax semi-close to the ocean because this trip was a total bust at a family picture. Cross your fingers for us, because if not, you'll all be seeing this picture in your Christmas cards. Oh help us please!

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!