My Fly Guy...

Ten months have gone by way too fast. My sweet baby Dylan is quickly turning into a little boy who loves to get into everything! Today for instance, I'm cleaning the kitchen and the boys are playing in our nook area, all is well... I think. Kaleb yells suddenly, "Mo-om, Dylan just put a fly in his mouth!" What?!? I come literally running, shove my finger in his mouth, to yes, scoop a dead fly out of my baby's mouth!!! Sick, sick, sick!

Besides exploring and getting into mischief, Dylan loves to scoot everywhere on his tummy and he's pretty fast. Ben calls him our little inchworm. When he's not scooting, he's trying to stand and loves to be propped up against a couch, or held in standing position while he bounces, and bounces & bounces! Dylan loves to give high fives, is waving & also pointing now. He's also quite a mama's boy lately and doesn't like me to leave the room. Endearing? Not so much.

Other favorites: playing with the springy door stop, turning pages of books (which I love), playing in the pool and bath, and feeding himself. He loves grapes, corn, popsicles, pretzel sticks, and hotdogs. Btw... can't believe I'm feeding him hotdogs, but I'm hoping for a not-so-picky eater this time around.

Lately, Mr. Dreamy will come in for a kiss (that's what I think) then clamps down on my lip with a four tooth bite! Every time he bites me, I pull him away, look into his eyes, and in my mean mom voice say, "No, Dylan, no biting!" He immediately puts on the saddest face I've ever seen and cries his little eyes out. Love bites!

Kung Fu Weekend

Hi... this is Ben. Most of you that are reading this are Sara's girlfriends and are probably thinking, why on earth is Sara letting me blog. Well you should know that she is hovering over my shoulder supervising everything that is being posted. Back to your original thought, why is Ben blogging. Well this weekend Kaleb reached a significant milestone in his short life. He is now old enough for Dad to hang out with him and not have to pack a full diaper bag with snacks, toys, pull ups, and an extra change of clothes. So what did we do for our first real guy time... Dad's favorite pastime, we went to the movies. Kaleb has seen all the commercials for Kung Fu Panda and has even collected a few kung fu toys in his Old McDonald happy meals. So it only seemed right that we go see it together. I thought it was rough waiting for the previews to start before. Being 20 minutes early to the movie with a 3 year old was uncharted territory. He did get a real kick out of the silly chairs that seemed to swallow him up since he wasn't heavy enough to keep the seat down on his own (Dad ended up holding it down the entire time by the way). Then as each of the 7 previews started Kaleb exclaimed, "This isn't Kung Fu Panda!". Eventually the movies started and about 20 minutes into it Kaleb said with a sniffle, "Daddy, I want to go home." Even with the matinée pricing Kaleb's ticket was $5.50 and mine was $7.50 which should get us significantly more than 20 minutes of guy time. So he came and sat on my lap thru the "naughty parts" as he put it (which roughly translated means the scary parts). He hid a few times but definitely laughed at several other parts. After the movie was done he couldn't stop talking about his favorite parts, and in fact reenacted several of them for Sara and I later that night. We thought it was hilarious, so of course we did what any loving parent would do... pull out the camera and post it on the internet. Mom and Dad love you Kung Fu Kaleb!!

The Wiggles

So my brother's kids have this uncanny knack for knowing how to shake it! I say uncanny because I know my brother has no abilities when it comes to dancing...maybe it comes from Val's side of the family? Anyway, they have this cute little "wiggle" that they do. I wish I had a video of Haylee when she was a babe...she used to crawl and wiggle her little bum. Very cute! This is a clip of my dad and Joey getting their wiggle on! I love that my dad gets really silly with his grandkids!

Dylan's Giggles

Ben always has so much fun with our boys, we can hardly wait for daddy to come home each night! This is just one of those normal nights, nothin' special going on, but Dylan thinks his dad is hilarious. He has the cutest little giggle... LOVE it!

Take a Little Trip... (Oregon, Part 2)

While we were home we found a fabulous Children's Museum and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves for hours and hours!

Wild Indians behind the wheel of an ambulance.

Making music after yoga with Bendy Wendy.

Sweet cheeks!

Now that's a mouthful! This was at the entrance and Kaleb was enthralled!

Can you dig it?!?

Yes, we can!

Even the babes had fun! I wish I could find these blocks... they look like wood, but are really spongy. The baby boys loved them!

The museum was so great, I did a little research to see if there was one in Phoenix. Sure enough, one just opened. Too bad we can't afford to drive to Phoenix each week to play...these rising gas prices have really cramped our style!

We spent some time at "Mom & Dad's temple" as Kaleb would say. It was lovely and so sweet to be walking these sacred grounds where we started our forever family.

Kaleb had a family party...the best party I never threw! Thanks to Grandma, Grandpa & Aunt Val for doing all the work!

I love my grandma's face in this shot! Nothin' like a backyard BBQ...yummy!
Aunt Val & Haylee made this AWESOME racetrack cake for Kaleb! Grandma was happy to see Kaleb unwrap his presents and enjoy his birthday...something we've never been able to share with my side of the fam.

We went to the beach... one of our favorite things to do! Seaside, Oregon will always hold so many memories for me... a few hilarious ones this trip for sure!

My bro & dad's own candy shop...Tommy always did have a sweet tooth!
A few of my favorite things... Dylan & the beach!

Uncle Jo & Dylan...all smiles!Beach bums!
K's fav. thing to do at the beach...besides chase waves & seagulls. Ben looks less than thrilled.Not my best side, but we seriously have NO pics of the 2 of us together since our munchkins came along.
Don't ask...okay maybe you should. A hysterical story involving my parents' anniversary dinner, the worst dive in Seaside, George Forman grilled steaks, a pirate-chef who looked like he belonged on the open sea, and food that was barely edible. A choice decision I will never live down with a Tshirt commemorating this nice slice of family history...thanks, Ben! On the bright side, an out for having to make another dining decision again... EVER! Totally worth it. Wish you were there, Jonny!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Father's Day was really fun this year! We love our Daddy-o and he loved being spoiled all day long. Ben awoke to fun Mr. Incredible & Nemo cards, presents including a homemade collage, photo cube and Porsche (matchbox), followed by a yummy breakfast. We then went to church where Ben proudly showed off his goofy clip on tie made by Kaleb & me last year, then came home to enjoy Sunday afternoon naps. Kaleb helped me make a "perfect" dinner, according to Ben, and we just enjoyed spending time together as a family, and singing songs to Grandpas as we wished them a happy day as well. It was really sweet to hear Kaleb wish Ben a Happy Father's Day and give him huge hugs, as only Kaleb can. Thanks for making us all so happy, Ben, we think you're the best dad in the world!!!

Take a picture, it'll last longer! Ben wanted to take a picture before he ate his special dinner. I just thought it was funny....7 years of cooking for him and I guess this was a meal that was picture-worthy!

Oh Won't You Please Take Me Home (Oregon, part 1)

Oh what do you do in the summer time...when all the world isn't over 100 degrees?!?

We played outside!!!

Kaleb LOVED playing hoops w/ his uncles and thought it was great being "naked," too!

We got to know our cousins & uncles: Ted, Joey, Jonny & Dylan.

We got spoiled by our Gramma!

We checked out the gorgeous green scenery.

I don't know what they're looking at, but aren't they so darn cute? Probably Kaleb & Haylee putting on some type of a show.

We dressed up like freaks...anxiously awaiting our missionary to greet!

Jonny & Kaleb BEFORE the ride to the airport. Note how happy & pleasant Kaleb looks.

In our Best Napoleon Dynamite/80's craziness.

Even Gramma & Missy got in on the fun! Now check out the grumpster that was clinging to his mom the entire time & of course wouldn't touch the costume I brought for him.

The "little boys" together again: Jonny & Tommy.

"Deb" and her son.

I've never seen a more proud mother than my mom the day Tommy reported on his mission. He is rightfully the Golden Child in our family and you should have seen my parents beaming with pride that day at church! It was all my mom could talk about for days afterward and was pretty cute. He did a phenomenal job on his talk and it was really awesome to hear about his mission, to feel of his strong testimony, and to see the changes he has made and the Christlike example he is setting for us all. Wish Jody could have been there.

First hug in 2 years. The night before Tommy got home, we were all getting ready and very excited. Mom asked Kaleb if he wanted to go on a mission. Kaleb said he did, just like his daddy and Uncle Tommy. So sweet! I'd do it all over again, just for that!

Super T flying high from Cleveland, Ohio...mission accomplished!

My Misters

Mr. Dreamy saying HI!

Look at those little teeth!!!

Mr. Dreamy: Lately Dylan has been getting compliments everywhere we go. Of course, I think he's dreamy, but my friend Em called him Mr. Dreamy last week, and it stuck! I love nicknames, but this one is especially fitting now because Dylan is of course SO CUTE, and also is sleeping so well. I'm still a little in shock over this, but have to record it because it is a first for us. Mr. Dreamy is now sleeping for about 9 hours at night and taking 2, 1-2 hour naps a day! We have even reached the point where I can put him in his crib, he cries for a minute or two, and then POOF falls asleep! I never thought this day would come as it NEVER did with Kaleb, but I am so, so thankful! Dylan is really getting around now, but still mostly on his tummy. He's learning to wave & give high fives. He looks skinnier to us, since he's become more mobile. He loves playing with Kaleb's toys and has lost interest in being fed baby food by me...growing up too fast already! Kaleb has his own nickname for Dylan....DD. He's also standing next to furniture and thinks it's bathtime everytime we are in the bathroom.

Little Mister: A few months ago in an effort to keep the Sabbath day more holy, we bought a few church type videos. A new fav. in our house is Veggie Tales, and there's a part that is often repeated in our house, "I love you Little Mister!" Little Mister says, "I love you, too, Big Mister!" even if it's me. Nice. K has started eating hard boiled eggs lately and it really grosses me out. I'm encouraging it though b/c I know they're so healthy for him and he doesn't get enough protein. One day he plopped himself on my lap, looked really closely into my eyes, and said, "Mama, your eyes look like a cracked egg!" Thanks a lot, Little Mister! He's also started swim lessons and playing computer games by himself this month. Little Mister tells me almost everyday he wants to be just like his daddy. On Sunday, he was curious and trying to be like his daddy, when he tried shaving with Ben's razor!!! We were lucky he escaped few only a few little scratches.

Big Mister: Ben is the Big Mister in our house. I've been so proud of him lately. He's started getting up super early to exercise & study for the GMAT before he starts his long work day. On top of all that, he somehow manages to take care of all of us. Ben is not a fan of dishes, but when the boys were sick last weekend and all Dylan wanted was his mama to hold him, Big Mister washed dishes, started laundry, and cleaned up multiple puke sessions all w/o being asked.
We've had a few of those "moments" lately...you know the ones you never want to forget. One in particular was in our backyard...Kaleb was swinging on his new "park" and said to Ben, "I want to be just like you when I grow up, and Dylan wants to be just like me." Ben said the most perfect thing at the perfect time..."Kaleb, you know who daddy wants to be like? Daddy wants to be like Jesus."

I love you, Big Mister, Little Mister & Mr. Dreamy!!!
We are a Happy Family!
Portland Temple where we were sealed together forever.

Sick of Being Sick!!!

So I haven't posted anything in a while. Mostly because we've been sick, and partially because I'm overwhelmed with catching the blog up on our fantastic trip home to Oregon. This is just a little rant & rave session (not a pity party) because I am SO sick of my family being sick! We are usually in such great health, I just can't understand what the deal is. My boys have been sick on and off for two or more months now... earaches, fevers, earaches, eye infections, earaches, and now the stomach flu. Ben and I have skipped out on most of it, but did get sinus infections while in Oregon that just seemed to linger and linger. Note to self: never fly with a sinus infection again!

I especially hate it when my baby Dylan is sick! He seems so listless, with no energy to do anything but cuddle and snuggle his little head to my chest. I love the cuddles of course, but hate seeing him so sick and wish it could be me instead. While we're happy that we're home and there's nothing seriously wrong with any of us, I just can't figure out why we can't seem to stay healthy. Other thoughts: so thankful for prayer, priesthood blessings, good health insurance, and a husband who is such a good provider and supporter. Being constantly sick now should help our boys with the transition to school and give them less of a chance of having food allergies, since their little immune systems have been working overtime lately. Last, maybe I'll completely sanitize everything and we can be hermits and never leave our house again!