Papa Mark visits!

My dad was in town for a couple of weeks in April and it was so much fun to have him! Charlie would wake up in the morning and call for "Papa!" first thing. We had so much fun with him here- he made a new swing for the big kids when he was last here and they got good use out of it. The weather was mostly rainy but we got outside on the few nice days. Sam and Lily had a bunch of sleepovers, Dad helped Steve and Kerry move, and we even had a combined March/May birthday party for half the family (John, Grandpa, Charlie are March birthdays and Steve, Lily and Cat are in May- we had everyone together except for Cat) so there was lots of quality time together.






Two of my favorite guys- my dad and my little boy!

Baby Niece

I just got to Skype with this little cutie. Guess what she can say like a champ? "Baba". I will choose to believe that she's saying my name. What a little love. I can't believe she's going to be one year old soon!! I'm so excited to see her this summer!

Happy Mother's Day!

Nothing makes you appreciate your own mother more than becoming a mother yourself! I'm grateful for my mom and all the other wonderful mothers in my life (aunts, mother-in-law, sister, and sisters-in-law) who I see in a different light now. I love you!




I'm grateful for Charlie who taught me how to be a mother and for this next little boy who will take it to the next level!

Charlie- 24 months

John made this little pillow recliner one day for Charlie and he LOVED it!

Showing off his cute little scowl in the sandbox in the backyard

Charlie's talking so much more and doing the funniest things. Man, I love that kid and he is at a great age.

He loves things that are big. He says it the cutest way, "Beeeg!" So as we're driving around town, I hear "beeeg tah" (big truck) or "beeeg bus" (big bus) from the back seat. The other day he said "That's a big bus."

He loves when he hears an airplane in the air. He stops everything, puts his hand to his ear and says, "Lissen. A pane!" (Listen, airplane!) Then we have to search the sky until we see it and then we wave to the plane and say goodbye. Now that the weather is heating up, he gets confused by lawn mowers- they sound like airplanes you know.

He loves to point out the mama, dada and baby in groups, pictures, books, on tv, wherever. If he's playing with two toy cars, the big one is the mama or daddy and the little one is the baby. Then he'll often point out his Mama and Dada, which we love. This weekend for the first time, he recognized that he's the baby and said, "I baby." So darling. (Just in time for him to be dethroned as the baby in a few months.) Luckily, if I ask him if he's big or little, he loves to tell me he's big, so hopefully he'll still think it's cool to be big in September.

Right now he's playing a game where he falls down, then looks at me and asks, "Otay?" to which I'm supposed to reply, "Oh, are you okay?"

His favorite food recently is french fries. He loves them (let's be honest, who doesn't?) He can now ask for them and often will. He calls them "foof fies".

I taught him how to be "soft" and he'll take his little hand and rub it so softly across my cheek when I ask him to be soft.

He loves to be in the backyard. Despite new sand (thanks to Grandpa Mark) and new toys (thanks to the Easter bunny) in the sandbox, he still prefers digging in the dirt garden beds most of the time. We're trying to train him to pick up rocks and put them in his bucket (might as well put him to work, right?) The other day, Johnny was helping him and came across a big rock and said, "That's a big guy" which Charlie repeated every time word for word after that.

I've been visiting a chiropractor (whom I LOVE) for my pregnancy related aches and pains in my back and hips. It helps me so much and I really believe that going often will prevent other health problems. I've been meaning to get Johnny and even Charlie scheduled for that same kind of preventative care but just hadn't gotten around to it. Then last week, Charlie fell off the couch right onto his neck. It was really scary and I knew that he'd need to be adjusted by the chiropractor. So the next day, Charlie had his first visit to Dr. Kristina. It was so interesting to see how she adjusted his little body- it was so gentle! She just adjusted him while he played with toys in her office and he was so still and good for her.

Charlie loves the wonderful people in his life and has certain games he likes to play with each grown up when he sees them. For example, when Grandpa T gets home from work, Charlie grabs him by the hand and says, "C'mon! C'mon!" and takes him downstairs to the treadmill. He wants to watch Grandpa walk on it and walk along with him for about a minute and then he's done. But he will not give Grandpa any peace until they've performed this little ritual.

Johnny bought himself a bunch of Rokenbok (it's a combination building/marble run kind of toy- click on the link if you can't envision it) in college. Yes, college. He has had fun playing with it every now and then but it's mostly been in storage for years. But one morning John got up with Charlie and when I woke up, I found them building towers and ball runs. They build and play with it almost every morning. It's so cute to see them building and working on it together and Charlie loves it! It's a little too old for Charlie so we mostly just have the ball run set up for him.

He's starting to understand sharing and being kind and taking turns. He's still learning but I'm proud of his progress. I'll ask him which truck I (or Sam or James) can play with and he'll choose one out of his toys. If he wants something another kid has, he'll try to offer a different toy before he takes it. And a few times, he's given toys to other kids completely unsolicited.

He's our little pal and we love him a lot!!

Vote for Fictionist!

Our boys Fictionist are rocketing to the top of the Rolling Stone competition. Can you believe that these guys from Salt Lake and Provo are getting national attention and are one of four finalists left competing for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine? I can, actually, because they're wicked talented and driven and always have been. Please vote for them by rating them 5 stars, sharing and liking on Facebook, and Tweeting about them. While you're there voting, you can download some of their music for FREE.

They deserve this big break! VOTE!

And for those of you who aren't too tired and pregnant (like me), they're playing a FREE show tonight in Provo with Paul Jacobsen and the Madison Arm. Check it out.

My littlest buddy

Dear Baby,

We just found out that you are a boy! It's exciting and fun to think about having TWO sons soon and truthfully, a little bit exhausting! Your big brother is full of energy- he doesn't walk anywhere, he runs or jumps his way from room to room- and that gives me a glimpse into my future when I'll have two little active guys.

I love feeling your kicks in my belly. You're my little buddy throughout the day as I chase and play with and take care of Charlie and I think about you being along for the ride. You often kick when we sing songs or read books, I like that you're included on the fun.

I used to feel bad for second children because inevitably their lives aren't documented as much as first children. I have found that to be true for you, little buddy. I haven't taken any pictures of my belly and we didn't even take a videotape to the ultrasound (although that's more about the outdated technology of VHS). I haven't written many journal entries or blog posts for you. I haven't purchased a thing in anticipation of your arrival.

But I no longer feel badly for second children. True, I was probably more giddy with excitement and anticipation while pregnant with Charlie. But now that I actually AM a parent and I know how awesome it is, I am just full of joy that I get to do it again. And I think that makes being pregnant with you even better.

Love you little guy!

Love, Mama

Welcome Home, Elder Sam!

On St. Patrick's Day we welcomed John's little brother, Sam, home from his LDS mission. He'd been serving for two years in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana mission and we were so excited to see him! He hadn't even met Charlie before! Despite Charlie being wary of Sam at first (lots of frowns and furrowed eyebrows), within ten minutes of playing with Sam, they are now best friends!

Charlie's birthday party

Our great family gathered to celebrate Charlie's birthday. We met at the U of U Union the Saturday morning after Charlie's birthday for a round of bowling. Charlie remembered exactly what to do and had such a great time. He could lift the heavy balls and loved pushing them down the ramp. The bumpers ensured that the ball made it to the pins, even though it took quite awhile sometimes.

Grandpa T showing off his snazzy bowling shoes

My little birthday boy, love him...

Notice the dirty face- halfway through his bowling game, Charlie was more interested in Lily's bag of chips than bowling...

After we bowled (yay to Breea who got the highest score!), we went to our house for a pizza lunch, opening presents and cake. We gave Charlie a Blu-Ray of Bambi- it's so fun to watch these classic movies from my childhood with him.

The show stopper of the whole day was the "digger" cake that my friend Amy Bellamy made. The backhoe was made out of rice krispie treats and fondant and the chocolate cake was incredibly delicious!

Charlie knew what it was immediately and really wanted to play with the digger!

To appease the birthday boy, we let him use his new lego digger from Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Mark to scoop up his cake.

Thanks everyone for celebrating with us! We love this little guy!

Charlie is 2!

Time just flies when you're having fun! Charlie, you are the light of our lives. You dominate our thoughts, conversations, and days and that's just how we like it. You are such a special individual and we're so blessed to have you in our family. It's so fun to watch more and more of your personality unfold. You crack us up, you make us cry with gratitude, and you teach us how to truly love. Happy birthday, Little Man, Big Guy, Cheby, Char-Char, Chucky Ricky, our little Charlie. We love you.


One week old...





One year old...

Charlie- 23 months

We have an almost 2-year-old on our hands. He's so darling and fun but can throw a fit when he wants to!

He's getting so much better at talking. Often I'll hear, "Hel. Peas." from the other room which means, "Help, please!" So cute. He also likes to grab our hands (or push on our bums) to get us to come with him, usually while saying "C'mon".

If he hears a plane or dog barking, he puts his hand to his ear and cocks his head to the side. Then we all listen. The other day, he "listened" his way into Grandma and Grandpa T's backyard because he could hear the creek rushing.

He's loved to point out our noses or ears, so we've been teaching him other face parts. He now knows chin, cheeks, teeth and eyebrows.

We've had a few warm days (hallelujah) and have spent them at the park. He loves the slide, sandbox and climbing on the play structures but still doesn't want anything to do with the swing.

He's starting to learn his colors, although almost everything is blue. He loves to color (so do Sam and Lily) and his favorite part is putting the markers in and out of the package and taking the lids on and off.



He loves watching "Little Einsteins" and blasting off when Rocket blasts off. He gets so excited to countdown and blast off that he makes sure I'm watching, too and we do it together.

There's a large construction site a few blocks away and as we drive by Charlie yells out "dee!" when he sees the digger (backhoe) and "da ta" when he sees the dump truck. Often, we'll just sit in the car and watch all the heavy machinery for awhile.

Every night when John gets home from work, Charlie puts him through the "Charlielympics". It's basically a game of follow the leader through the living room, including crawling through the IKEA tunnel (yup, John goes through the tunnel), climbing over the ottoman, sitting in all the chairs and culminates in sitting in the tiny, child-sized rocking chairs. Charlie sits down in one and tries to get John to sit in the other one and every time, John has to say he's too big. Then Charlie will get up and trade chairs and try to get John to sit down in the other one.

He's started sitting down and "reading" to himself, which has me over the moon. He'll jabber along while looking at the pictures and sometimes, he'll say the words he knows go with each page. In particular, he's been loving his "Potty" book and reads the last three pages over and over ending with a big "Hip, hip, hooray!" (He's so into it that he puts the book on the floor, and stands up so he can jump on the "hooray!")

The biggest snowstorm we had this year (probably about 14 inches) and it was in March! Silly Utah. Charlie loved "helping" John shovel the driveway and then he and I explored the backyard. The snow was up to his waist and he needed my help to walk through it. Even with all his snow gear on, he climbed to the top of the playhouse and down the slide. He was so slippery that he slid off the slide and kept going for a few feet on the snow!

"Listening" to the stream in Grandma and Grandpa T's backyard led to throwing rocks in the gully, of course.

Checking out a pine cone at Liberty Park

Showing off his beautiful necklace- he's very into accessories recently, especially jewelry and hats

I love that he lines up all his cars, trucks, trains and buses in a row

We sure love our little man!

16 weeks

I'm 16 weeks along with this pregnancy and time still feels like it's going very slowly. But I DO get to find out the gender in 4 weeks, so that's something to look forward to in the immediate future!

I started feeling the baby move this past week, which is so fun- it makes it seem so much more real (like there's actually a baby in there instead of just a life-sucking force.)

I'm totally showing and have been for weeks. It could be because this is my second pregnancy, or it could be my late night Wendy's habit- who can know? I DO know that I've been in my stretchy waist maternity jeans for 2 months already and I don't think they're gonna make it through to the end.

I'm feeling much better nausea-wise, although mornings are still hard until I force myself to eat something. And I definitely still have my dry heave moments, usually involving stinky laundry, gross stories, or poopie diapers. You know, the usual.

I'm still exhausted. I thought my energy would pick up a little bit now that I'm in the second trimester but I still am so wrecked by the end of the day (or at any given moment during the day). I nap with Charlie every day and it saves me. On the days I don't take a nap, I'm whimpering by 5 pm.

The weird aches and pains have started, too. I went to a movie last weekend with John and I was uncomfortable the whole time- I'm such a lemon.

The weird, vivid pregnancy dreams are back, too. Today I dreamt that I was trapped in a sinking ship with my family and all I had to help us survive was my cell phone and a set of bow and arrows. Wha?

I'm slowly wrapping my head around having TWO children. It will be strange and hard but I think it will be so much fun (once I get the hang of it!)

JohnnyT is 33!

It's JohnnyT's birthday today. He's bummed that he's no longer 32, only because that means he's no longer 2 to the 5th power. What a nerd. Love him.




We spent the weekend together after a week basically apart. He spent four days in Las Vegas and two days here at two different work-related conferences- the SmallTalk and Mountain West Ruby conferences. Geek heaven.

It was so nice just to be together as a family. We went to the temple in the morning with his family and Elder Sam, recently returned from the Baton Rouge, Louisiana Mission, then spent time shopping at Gateway and eating an early dinner at Happy Sumo (wait, is it MY birthday? What a great day!) We bought JohnnyT some new pants and Charlie some rad sunglasses. Then John, Charlie and I played in the backyard until bedtime. It was cold but my boys weren't phased at all. Charlie decided to climb to the top of the fort and send all the golf balls down the slide. John spent the rest of the weekend working on house projects, including cleaning up my "desk of shame" in the kitchen and organizing it into a beautiful work station. (Again, whose birthday is it?) Sunday we heard Elder Sam's great talk in church and helped at the open house at Grandma and Grandpa T's house afterward. Lots of family and friends and for Charlie, throwing rocks into the gully.

Saturday, JohnnyT opened one of his presents- a canvas print of this photo which had us both a little teary-eyed. Sometimes we just get overcome with gratitude for our little family.



Then this morning, he opened another round of presents. These two shirts from BustedTees. The man loves a good geeky t-shirt- ahh, the joys of a tech department dress code (hint: there is none.)




Happy Birthday, JohnnyT! We love you so much!

Emergency preparedness- 72 hour kits

With the disaster in Japan on my mind, I feel so helpless and scared. My heart is heavy with compassion for the people there and my head is full of worry about my own little family. Many of the recent disasters in the world have shown me that I need to be prepared, because a large scale disaster can strike any time and anywhere. So to combat my worry, I decided on a plan of action. My first step: to create 72 hour kits.

John and I were lucky enough to be gifted with kits for Christmas several years ago (thanks, Grandma and Grandpa T!) So I had a good start. First, I gathered clothes for our kits (which we had never added to ours). We happened to have gone through our closet last weekend in preparation for a yard sale, so I had a large stash of clothes to look through. I chose a pair of pants, shirt, and sweatshirt for each of us (along with socks and underwear). Then I found some comfortable shoes that were starting to look shabby but still had plenty of wear and added those. Charlie didn't have a kit at all, so I found an old backpack to fill with supplies for him. I chose clothes that he'd fit into for at least six months (my plan is to check and replace/replenish our kits every six months, more on that later). I added diapers, wipes, a blanket (lovey), and shoes. I had hand-me-down clothes and shoes for him that I didn't mind sacrificing to the kit- I recommend using the upcoming yard sale season (or your local thrift store) to find clothes for yourself or kids that you don't mind putting in your kits.

Next, I pulled out the contents of the kits to check the expiration dates on the water (yup, water expires) and food. Our kits have dehydrated/ration type food and a small amount of water. In our kits, the food was still good (several years later) but most of the water needed replacing. I just replaced it with bottled water from the grocery store. Each bottle had a small expiration date stamped on it, but I rewrote the date on the lids in Sharpie so it'd be easier for me to read next time I check it. For Charlie's kit, I put in some water and some packaged food that will last at least six months (mostly dehydrated apples and granola bars). As I did this, I wrote a REPLENISH card (idea from this excellent post by SeattleMamaDoc on emergency preparedness) which has the date I checked our kits, when I need to check them again, and when the food and water expires.

The rest of the kits' contents were in great shape. We have toiletries, toilet paper, garbage bags, a basic first aid kit, flashlights (both regular with batteries and emergency hand-crank), road flares, emergency solar blankets, waterproof matches, and an emergency whistle in ours.

SeattleMamaDoc's post lists more important items that our kits are missing: children's medicine, prescription medications, copies of important documents, games/books, and storable milk (for our milk drinking toddler). I will be tracking these items down and including them in the next few days.

Our finished kits- the shoes are attached on top for easy access (and because I couldn't fit them inside)

Another recommendation from her blog post that I think is excellent is purchasing a large storage tub for your kits and/or supplies. Our kits are in backpacks and are meant to be portable. However, we don't have enough water or food in them to last for 72 hours. Each person in your family needs 3 gallons of water per day (more for nursing mothers). So for our family, we need to have at least 27 gallons of water (and likely more). There's no way to fit that in our backpacks! We need a separate container for the water (perhaps some jugs like these) and all the food we will need.

Now, about the REPLENISH card. Writing a card and putting on or in the kit is not going to do me any good if I don't remember that it's there! SeattleMamaDoc recommends setting an appointment in your day planner, iCal or Google Calendar to check your kits every six months. I set mine up in Google Calendar to email me a reminder to check our kits. That happens to fall about four weeks after this baby is due. So our food and water and clothing needs will change at the time that I next check the kits.

It feels so good to have started to organize some emergency preparedness for our family. I'd love to hear about your ideas- it really helps to have buddies in this process!

Sophie's portraits- sneak peak

I took some portraits of John's cousin's little girl, Sophie. Isn't she a doll?

Charlie- 22 months

Still catching up, but here's some notes about Charlie at almost 2!

We have afternoon church now which means that Charlie often doesn't get a nap. One Sunday during sacrament meeting, he just conked out. It was so cute.

When Charlie wants to go outside he'll bring me his boots or my boots and say, "Boo" and then the sign for outside.

My two valentines dressed for the holiday and checking out our patchy snow after church.

Charlie's been more interested in drawing and the chalkboard. He loves it when I draw different shapes for him and he knows and can recognize several shapes (and a Stop sign!)

-He's started to put his finger to his mouth and say "Shhhhh..." He loves to do it while we say prayers.

-He's talking lots more; one of our favorite things he says is, "I deeee!" which means, "I did it!"

-We're all working so hard on teaching and learning to share and take turns. The other day, he gave James a toy without being prompted. And then when he wanted it back, he kept signing please and waited patiently until James gave it to him. We were all so proud of both of them! (Of course, ten minutes later Charlie was tackling James to the ground to get something that he had).

-Learning to have bottles only at naps and bedtime (this is a Mom and Dad learning curve!) We're hoping to phase the bottle completely out by his 2nd birthday.

He's finding more humor in life all the time. He recently started cracking up while watching certain TV shows or reading certain books (especially Blue Hat, Green Hat).

-John has been making forts out of blankets and couches and Charlie loves them. Hiding and chasing are two of his favorite things and having a fort to hide in or chase through has just amped up the fun!

-He loves playing with toddler apps on the iPad and can navigate them pretty well.

Different this time around

Thank you all for your kind words about our new little one. We are very excited. I'm sure many of you have felt the way I do right now- it's a little overwhelming to think about actually having two children. Whoa. The practical aspects of it sometimes blow my mind.

Being pregnant this time around is just so different. I feel better than I did with Charlie, but it could just be that I'm more used to it and I'm busy chasing my toddler around. I've been less nauseated but so so SO tired. I have to take a nap every day or I just cannot function. So if you call me around 1 pm I won't be available. :) I'm so lucky that Charlie still takes a good nap every day- I'd be sunk without that break.

I feel like this pregnancy is going so s l o w l y. I'm 14 weeks now but I feel like I've been pregnant forever. And have forever still to go.

The main difference in this pregnancy is that I'm not just sitting and dreaming about this baby all day as much as I did with Charlie. I'm already so focused on Charlie and delighted by him that I just don't think about it. I definitely have those, "Oh yeah, I'm pregnant" moments. I am excited for sure and so happy but it's just different.

I am totally convinced I'm having another boy just because that is what is familiar to me. I am in boy mode. I will be shocked if I'm having a girl (although, the odds are 50/50).

I'm going to need one of these...

and Charlie's going to need one of these...

image from Etsy

because baby number 2 is due on Labor Day! We are very excited and happy to add to our little family! Thanks to everyone who already knows for their joy (and help!)

Jolly Green Giant giveaway winner

Hi all-

I forgot to announce the winner of the Jolly Green Giant giveaway. I entered the possible number of commenters into Random.org and the winner is commenter #5, Kimi and Joe! I'll contact you shortly to get you your prize. Thanks for playing along!