Real Long, Real Fast!

A few months ago, over Labor Day weekend, Austin, Dax and I headed out to a friend's cabin in a beautiful place called Pine about 2 hours away. It was gorgeous there and we actually felt like we were in the mountains and far, far away from the desert and 115 degree weather. The best part is that we even got to play in some rain! Dax was having a ball (probably because it was seriously his third of fourth time experiencing rain) and we just let him go crazy sloshing in the mud and puddles. He was opening his mouth up wide to catch drops in his mouth just like the rain drops and gum drops song says (You know the ones right? Or was that just a Girl Scout song?) Anyway, my fun friend Jen started snapping some photos of him. Thank you Jen for being the prepared mom! :) She is a super talented photographer and got some great shots. She made a disc for me of the pictures she had gotten of Dax flopping around in the rain and I just opened the file yesterday for the first time (I know, I'm a total slacker) and I came across this picture of Dax and I about died!!

I stared at it forever. I couldn't get over his eyes. Anyone that has known me, says Dax looks like me. Anyone that has known Austin, says Dax is a spitting imagine of his dad. Austin even has this baby picture when he was about 3 months old that could pass as one of Dax's in a heart beat except for the retro colors and silly little outfit. Either way, I guess you could say Austin and I have been pleased with Dax being a perfect mix of the two of us. Dax definitely has Austin's skin color, my nose and I would say probably my lips, Austin's coarse hair and believe it or not Austin was a total blondie when he was a boy, so Dax's hair color is an even mix. And then their are his eyes. He has my eye shape, but 100% Austin's eye color.

Well, this total round about way brings me to the reason for my post. Like I've said before, this has been my greatest anxiety about baby number two. What is HE, going to look like!?!? I don't remember feeling this anxious about it with Dax, him being my first and all, but for some reason it's overwhleming! Will he be an even mix, or look more like Austin, or more like me? Lots of you out there have had more than one child, is this normal feeling? Do both your kids, or all your kids look pretty similar? Tell me, what should I expect because this pregnancy just got really long really fast!!!!

66!!

66. That’s a big number. It could mean a lot of things. It could be the low in October in Arizona, or the average I spend at Target in a month. It could be the speed I go on the freeway (plus a few more miles per hour), or the number of times I’ve seen Cars in the past 6 months. It could be the age of your parents or the famous Route 66. 66 could easily mean any of those things. But today, to me, that number means something entirely different. That is the number of years my very special Grandparents have been married. I couldn't help but post about them today on their 66th Anniversary when I saw this day on my calendar. They are the prime example of a long, healthy, happy marriage and I admire them so much for that. I haven't been able to get a hold of them today but that's probably because the last few years on their anniversary they have driven up the California coast to go to the Church where they were married and have lunch. They have accomplished so much in their lives together and I hope Austin and I will have as much happiness as they do 60 years from now!

Just a few things I admire---
They still call each other by their nicknames, Susie and Al
They still make each other laugh. My grandma looks like a teenage when my grandpa says something funny and will playfully hit my grandpa and cover her mouth and put her head down a giggle. It is the sweetest thing.
They still hold hands; I love that!
My grandpa still teases my grandma and my grandma still writes my grandpa poems. And then, she doesn’t even read them to my grandpa, but recites them word for word! She can even recite the poems she wrote for him years ago.
My grandpa never fails to get my grandma a case, yes a case, of tic-tacs at Christmas time. And it’s not because she has bad breath, but because he’s teasing her again because she has more tic- tacs than anyone would ever need during any lifetime. And my grandma will still give him a kiss and say thank you.
My grandma loves chocolate and my grandpa will pick her up a candy bar each day he goes down to the liquor store to get a “cold one”---of Coke that is! He'll even let my grandma have a drink after she's finished her chocolate, but don't think she'll get away with him not teasing her for leaving lipstick on the straw!

I love my grandparents so much! I think they are two of the most special people in my life. Good thing I have a husband I can see growing old with because these two make it seem like the best years of their lives. I am so grateful Dax has had a chance to get to know them. They are so amazing!

What a trip!!

Dax and I took our annual trip to Seattle this past weekend to visit Jamie and her cute little family. I love them all and I love Washington! We always have the best time when we get together and I am so blessed to have the best twin ever!!

Last time Dax and I took the trip it was August and the weather was beautiful. I wasn't sure what we were in for this time around, but boy did we luck out! We had gorgeous weather and I have never seen so many beautiful trees and fall leaves! I think I need to plan each trip for a different time of year, because so far I have yet to experience the rain and I love visiting the Pacific North West---everyone kept using that term so I thought I'd throw it in to sound hip!

Dax was great on the flight and was so happy to see Gwen and Gabriella! They all were so cute with each other. I think Dax has come back with a little obsession with princesses and pink, and Gabs may have a tiny love for hot wheels now and Little Critter books! I know Dax is especially sad to not have two moms anymore...he was in heaven with Jamie! I love spending time with Jamie! She is such a great mom and has a beautiful home and she cooked for me every meal!! How could I go wrong??

We visited some really fun pumpkin patches while we were there. It was nice to be in warm clothes and feel like it was actually Fall and Halloween time. At the pumpkin patches were little petting farms where we petted baby cows, baby goats, kittens, bunnies and little ducks--which we opted out of petting. We went on a hay ride and there was a huge tracker and hay barrels that Dax climbed all over and the largest pumpkin patches I had ever seen.

We also visited this great place in Seattle called the Museum of Flight where the kids got to play in huge airplanes and helicopters and feel like real little pilots. Dax couldn't stop running from plane to plane! I loved it there and wish we could have spent more time exploring the aviation world, but once we got the kids into the gift shop there was no going back!

We had such a great trip! Whenever I see Jamie I realize how much I truly miss her. At least I know there is only a little over a month until she comes down to Arizona, except this time I have to share her with the rest of the family! Thanks James for everything!

Forecast

Washington here we come!! Dax and I are headed up to Seattle tomorrow for a few days and we've been gearing up for wind, showers and 50-60 degree weather. It's been a long time since we've seen weather like that!! I was getting some clothes and shoes out of Dax's closet to see what I needed for our trip...this is what we've come up with. Do you think we're prepared? Not quite! But it's sure to be a great trip no matter what!!!

Some things never change....

...and apparently never get boring. Dax has always had an obsession with the kitchen and everything that goes along with it; Tupperware, pots, pans, cupboards, chairs. Are all kids like this in the kitchen or him? The big question is why I continue to buy him toys??? He seems pretty happy to me and can play for hours! This obsession started long ago...

Dax at 8 months

Dax at 9 months

Dax at 10 months

Dax at 11 months

Dax at 1 year

You get the idea!! I only have so many pictures of this because it was such a daily occurrence and I thought it was so funny. He practically never played with toys because the kitchen was so much more fun to him. I don't know if it was the year mark or moving to our new home at the beginning of the year that crushed his habit, but he wasn't into the kitchen as much as he was before. He probably didn't know where anything was...too bad I was kinda the same way for awhile!
Lo and behold, this week he completely reverted to old ways. He's a little more clever now that he's older. He dragged a box from one cupboard up to the stove (thanks grandma and grandpa Mac for our Raclette), grabbed a whisk and thought he was a chef! Then he found the turkey baster. I've seen singing into a wooden spoon, maybe a whisk, but a turkey baster?? Priceless! I'm glad things don't always change because this guy makes me laugh!

Cousins

Dax has so many cousins! He has 10 on my side and 23 on Austin's side...and both sides are still growing! Needless to say, he has never been deprived of other cousins his age to play with, and older cousins to baby-sit! Even more lucky, is Dax has lived by each and every one of his 33 cousins at one time or another, except for two....Gabriella and Gwen. This is especially hard for me, because this also means that I haven't lived by my twin sister in not only the 20 months that Dax has been in our family, but going on 7 years! Needless to say, when Jamie and I get together, I have so much fun watching our kids play. And even though Dax may only see Gwen and Gabriella 3 times a year, he 100% knows who his Aunt Jamie is and especially who Gabriella is....after all, they were both born on December 8th one year apart.

When our family was in Oceanside a few weeks ago, it was going to be the first time seeing Jamie and her family in almost 10 months, and I wanted to surprise them. I practiced for weeks with Dax to get him to say Gabriella. It isn't the easiest name, especially for a little guy who only has a handful of words in his vocabulary. Every time I would say "Gab--ri--ella" I would split it up into syllables and really accentuate the "ella" part. Dax usually just smiled and laughed and would run off, but I kept talking about her and practicing. I was so elated when on the drive to CA he finally got it!!! For some reason I can't figure out how to post the video, but the way Dax says it is "la la la la". He has all the syllables down, but the best is the way he says it...it looks like he has peanut butter on the roof of his mouth and he is trying to get it off by using his tongue. It is so funny!

Of course he wouldn't even say it when we got to Oceanside, but lucky for the two of us, we're headed up to Seattle for our 2nd Annual Trip (yes, good news Jamie, I will make it an annual thing!) and I hope he will get over his stage fright and say her name then. I couldn't help by reminiscing on these two cuties and the fun that they have already shared together in their short lives. I know Dax is so excited for his reunion with his cousin next week in WA for even more fun!

Goodbye Summer!!

I love summer! I grew up at the beach and there is no other time more fun to live there then in the summer. The typical summer day was heading off to the beach near the pier where you would spend all afternoon laying in the sun, playing in the sand, and swimming in the waves. You would head over to the snack shack mid-afternoon for some strips and cheese, which is nothing more than tortilla chips with shredded cheese on top, but it was the hot sauce and the fact that you were at the beach that made it so good!! You would spend hours and hours and never get bored, sunburned yes, but never bored. Those were the best was to spend the summer!

Well, enough reminiscing. Those are so not your typical summers in Arizona! I think the best way to describe Arizona summers is like Utah winters. You stay inside as much as possible, you leave the blinds shut to keep your house cooler, you start your car to get the air conditioning cool, instead of blasting the heat, and you feel completely detached from the outside world. After a winter in Utah, when Spring finally rolls around after all those long and horrible months of freezing weather and icy roads, it barely hits the mid-60's and there are a million people everywhere! People washing cars, doing yard work, kids riding bikes, and it's only in the 60's.

It sounds ridiculous, but it's true. Any change, no matter how insignificant, is worth a celebration after months of hibernation. This was me this week. Except, I wasn't celebrating 60 degree weather, I was celebrating the fact that it had finally dropped into the 90's. How is it that our first summer in AZ there is "record breaking heat" and summer months having the record with most consecutive days over 115!?!?

I had been feeling so bad for Dax. He'd been cooped up for months already having been in Utah for the entire winter and moving out here in March where we barely had time to get situated in our new house before the heat began. This was his first official summer where he could actually enjoy going to the park and playing in the backyard. And up until this week, he had never really had the chance. This final stretch of AZ summer, where the rest of the world is cooling down and looking towards Fall, has been killer. I knew it would eventually come, at least I hoped, so I figured the best thing I could do to keep myself sane and give Dax one heck of a nice "summer" (even though it would be a few months late) was to spoil him...and spoil him rotten!

I went crazy on Craig's List and at garage sales hoping to find the best outside toys I could to make his first official "summer" the best ever. The only outside toys he has ever really had have been beach toys, which are nice for the beach and the park, but we needed something for the backyard. Lucky for me, I hit the jack pot! I ended up with a Spiderman Scooter, Tonka Truck bike, Cozy Coupe Car and a Fisher Price Basketball Hoop all for $20!! Even though we are in the process of finishing our backyard, Dax had the best time playing with his new toys! It was completely dark before we were able to get him inside. This morning when I got him up from bed, usually his first words are" Where's dada?", today it was "outside"--- thank goodness it's official! Goodbye Summer, hello Outside!

I won!!

I love long lost friends! Since being apart of this new blogging frenzy, which I absolutely love, I have ran across some great friends from the past! I love catching up on high school and church friends and college roommates and seeing them with their wonderful families and happy lives! Lucky for me, I ran across a sweet friend of mine from those fun days in high school who I have soooo many great memories with. On her blog she was putting her craftiness up for a special give-away---a homemade magnet board! The winner would be able to create a custom broad and choose the size of the board and the color of the frame and she would mail it to them....just because she is so great! All you had to do was leave her a comment by Tuesday and she was going to randomly select a winner using a "Random Number Picker". Well, her Special Friday Give-A-Way came and guess who won!? ME!! How exciting is that!! Here is the cute creation she came up with that I will soon be able to enjoy myself! Thanks Jenny!!

23 Weeks & Not Even Counting

I can't believe it. I am officially over the half-way mark and it has gone by so fast. I am feeling great and haven't even thought about the count down! Who knew chasing after an almost two year old would make you forget you are pregnant half the time!?!? But of course, there are all those other fun reminders that don't let you forget! :) I love having Dax around to talk about the baby with and see him point to my belly. He hasn't quite caught on what any of this means, and how it will change everything once the baby comes, but I know we will all adjust together. Dax is 100% in the "I don't know how to share phase" but I can happily say that he does love little babies and loves to share his toys with them---even if they are choking hazards! I'm just happy he's being nice and hope it continues when this baby doesn't go away.

And although we're having another boy, this pregnancy has been so different. That's how come I was sure it was a girl. What do you think that even means to have them be so different but both boys? Does it mean this baby with have fair skin, blond hair and brown eyes instead of olive skin, brown hair and blue eyes? Will he be left handed instead of right? Will he be a chunker rather than a skinnie minnie? I'm just not sure.

*With Dax I had to have apple juice in the morning, with baby #2, it has to be orange juice. It has to be. Sorry Austin...off you go to the store at 10:00p.m

*I couldn't even look at chicken when I was pregnant with Dax...I wasn't even sure I would be able to like it ever again. With this pregnancy, not only can I look at it, I can even cook it, which makes Austin happy, because that means a lot less salad he has to eat.

*I was morning sick every single day of my pregnancy with Dax. Yuck! Luckily with his baby, I stopped being sick at 16 weeks ! Hooray!!

*At the Ultrasound with Dax when we found out he was a boy, he yawned twice during the sonogram...it was soooo cute! At the ultrasound when we found out this baby was a boy, he peed in the ultrasound...sooooo NOT as cute!

*My "go to" meal with Dax was mac-n-cheese, with hot dogs of course. My go to meal with this baby is garlic and chives instant mashed potatoes...that counts as a meal, right?

*I have had placentia previa with both pregnancies. With Dax it finally moved at about 28 weeks, with this little guy, it was long gone at 18!

*Dax was so active and busy in the womb. This baby is so much more mellow. Do you think that means anything? Please say yes!

*The average temperature I endured when living in Utah and pregnant with Dax I am sure was probably in the 70's. So far, this pregnancy, the average I'm sure has been 114! No joke!

*Dax was a week overdue and I was in labor for 16 hours. With this baby, it better be none of the above!!

It is so strange to me that I am pregnant with another boy and it is almost opposite. With Dax we didn't decide on a name until about my 7th month. I hope we come up with someone before them; and we're taking suggestions! I am just so anxious to meet this little guy. Maybe, at 23 weeks I am counting afterall.

Dax 2005 below and Baby #2 2007 right

Mickey Mouse

We had been looking forward to a trip to Disneyland for almost a year, ever since my parents surprised us with a trip to Oceanside and a day at Disneyland for Christmas. Even with a season pass to Disneyland in high school, I knew this trip would by far be my favorite because of Dax. I thought he would be the perfect age to enjoy the rides & the atmosphere & the characters. But, Christmas last year didn't go to well with the whole Santa Clause thing, so I was determined to smother him with all things Mickey Mouse so we wouldn't have any screaming pictures like with Santa.

We watched Mickey Mouse Club, bought toys, coloring books, books, bouncy balls with Mickey Mouse's face (thanks mom), pancake shaped Mickey Mouse, anything! I even went as far as cutting his peanut butter and jelly sandwich into the shape of Mickey Mouse the week before the trip to try and get him familiar with him. I would quiz Dax too...

Mom to Dax: "Do you want to go to Disneyland?"
Dax: "Yeah"
Mom: "Do you want to see Mickey Mouse?"
Dax: "Yeah"
Mom: "Are you going to be scared of Mickey Mouse?"
Dax: "Yeah"
Mom: "No!! We're not scared of Mickey Mouse!"

I wasn't sure we had a believer yet, but the day had arrive for our trip and all in all it was fabulous!! I was able to go on every ride that Dax was, except I opted out of Dumbo, the Rockets, and the Tea Cups (no problem there) and we meet up with lots of fun characters.

He wouldn't go see them alone, but he didn't cry either, so I happily counted it as a success. I think he was star struck with Mickey Mouse....we couldn't even get a picture of him looking at the camera! You know they were friends when he gave him hi-five and bumps and waved good-bye!

At the end of the day, I knew the hard work paid off, because as we let Dax loose in the final souvenir shop with Disney Dollars from Grandma and Grandpa, he ran over to grab a Mickey Mouse practically the size of him. Austin & I decided there would definetly be a yearly trip to Disneyland, becuase just as we perdicted, we had the most fun than ever before watching Dax take in the whole experience! Thanks Mom and Dad for all the memories!!

Off We Go!!

Finally, after a trip to California and lots of requests/ pressure, I have decided to start a family blog! Hooray!! Austin, Dax and I just returned from an amazing end of summer trip to Oceanside, CA thanks to my parents, and I thought highlighting some of the fun would be a great start.
But, first, to invite you into our little world down here in the HOT summer sun, maybe I should introduce you to my wonderful little family…that’s growing! With Dax at 22 months, there is never a dull moment, and with another little boy around the corner, we couldn’t be more excited.
To know Austin and I, is to know Dax. He is our pride and joy and the greatest blessing. He makes us laugh, and sometimes cry, and we are so proud of him and love watching him grow and learn. He is such an active little boy and keeps us on our toes, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Here a just a few of the many reasons we love Dax, and a little glimpse at his fun personality.

-Dax loves music and dancing. Since we are fairly new in Arizona and our ward, the first Sunday that he clapped after a song in Sacrament made me want to close my eyes and hide. But after hearing some encouraging laughter and seeing smiley faces, he picked up that what he was doing was, if anything, funny and now it’s our struggle to try and get him to stop (even though I secretly don’t want to!)

-Each morning, when I go into Dax’s room to the calling of “moooommmy” he throws out everything in his crib. This includes his Tigger pillow, lion, Snoopy, and most recently, over sized Mickey Mouse and his blanket and does the highest seat drop in the middle of his crib. You know, the one you do on a trampoline when you jump straight up and land in a seated position with your legs straight. And by high, I mean he even bounces a few more little ones from the spring the mattress gives him.

-He LOVES trucks, we point them out where ever we go…diggers, dumpers, graders (I’ve even impressed with my growing knowledge of them). Luckily for Dax, twice a week our garbage gets picked up and all morning long, whenever we hear one, we get to go running all over the house to figure out what window we can see the garbage truck from Unluckily for me, this is also the reason we are up extra early on these mornings.

-I’ve always loved spare change. Kinda a weird thing, but I have. Even though I don’t have a cute or fun spot to put it in, I always like it when I find it lying around or on the street. When Dax came along, I figured what better thing to do with the change then to get him a piggy bank. He loves to add the change to the piggy bank (did I mention it's actually a hippo) by himself, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, each time before putting the quarter in, he looks at the picture of George Washington and says, “Jesus”. What to do?!?!

- Walks!! Of course! Before we moved out here, we were cooped in during the Utah winter and now we’re cooped in because of the Arizona summers. That being the case, our walks consist of going to our mailbox about the distance of 8 driveways. My favorite thing about this though is the way Dax’s smells the flowers as we go; and by flowers, I mean trees, plants, weeds & tumbleweeds. He must not enjoy the smell, it’s tumbleweed for heaven’s sake. The trick is on me though---I think he is trying to draw out the experience as long as he can while I sweat.

-I can remember getting in trouble by my teacher when I was in second grade for holding my pencil incorrectly…but I never corrected it and still to this day I hold the pencil between my middle and ring finger. The thing I love lately about Dax is he is really into coloring, and the thing I love more, is seeing him hold his crayon the exact same way as his mom. Would I be horrible if I didn’t correct him??

-I don’t get to take Dax to nursery, because I have my own little nursery class to teach, but I have figured out when his singing time is and I sneak a peek each week. Without fail, while everyone else is sitting during singing time, he’s standing in the middle dancing and doing ALL the actions....don’t forget the clapping after the song!

-Dax, for some reason, knocks on things when he can’t open them---including bags of M&M’s…how can I resist even if it is dinner time!

-We have a little tiny piano and Dax has a little chair he loves to pull up to it and hunch over and pound away on it. I finally figured out why it looked soooo cute and so familiar. He looks exactly like the piano playing Peanut’s character on Charlie Brown…Schroeder.

-Thanks to Grandpa MacGillivray, Dax has a baseball tee and a little Easton baseball glove. He is great and catching and throwing and would blow you away if you saw him hit off the tee. The thing we can’t figure out is how he's convinced you run the “bases” after you throw the ball, but not after he hits it off the tee?!

-His favorite movie is Cars. He loves everything about it, that is until the part where Mack falls asleep on the highway and Lightening slides out of the truck on the highway and gets awaken by all the screeching and honking. I better be sure I am in the room for that part because he is basically in hysteria every time he watches.

I know I need to cherish all of these moments with Dax, because we all know, they change so fast and are on to the next thing in no time....and, like I said, off we go!!