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taken any pictures of my belly and we didn't even take a videotape to the ultrasound (although that's more about the outdated technology of VHS).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!

On friendship, sisters and bravery

Do you know my friend, Casey? She is kind of a big deal. Our story is one of those "we were childhood friends who grew apart because of life's circumstances and then were reunited because of the blogging world" old chestnuts.

Barb and Casey, circa 2007 (yes, we're at Baskin-Robbins in the dead of winter, what of it?)

Casey found my blog one day and we reconnected. We had both changed a lot since our days of playing on the same street and planning elaborate pet talent shows. We became friends again based on the adults we now are, not the children we were. Even though she lives in Indiana, I feel lucky that I'm on the shortlist of people she wants to see when she comes back home for a visit.

At the premiere of Twilight- I've never heard so many preteens squealing all in one place!

Casey's expertise in navigating the blogging world has given me courage- she helps me to be brave enough to try new things (I've called her my security blanket before). She has opened her soul to her readers on her blog in a way that can only be described as honest, admirable and raw, even. She has struggled with horrible demons and challenges like depression and infertility and come through it stronger and purified as if by the refiner's fire. She is one of the bravest people I know.

at the Pioneer Woman's book signing last year

Casey is expecting her second daughter (nicknamed Mozzi) who joins her first little cutie whose nickname was The Moosh. She will have two girls and they will have a sister. I have a sister, as does Casey- we know firsthand that sometimes a girl just needs her sister. Both of us are separated from our sisters by large geographical distances. I think sisterhood and friendship are closely linked- sometimes, if you're lucky, you can find sisters in the world to be your surrogate sister. That's what I wish for Casey- that she will always have sisters around her to help her through those hard times. (So far, she's got a small army all organized by Emily to throw her this virtual baby shower!) And that's what I wish for Mozzi- that she and The Moosh will love and support each other.

at the Casual Blogger Conference last year

Congratulations, Casey! I'm so happy that another baby gets to have you for a mom, because you're awesome at it.

Nighttime

Charlie, I love our nighttime routine. Usually Daddy is home and we do the routine all together, the three of us. It doesn't take very long, but it is my favorite time of day.

We get your bottle out of the fridge and head into the bedroom. This turns into a game of "I'm gonna get you..." that you never seem to tire of. You and daddy hide under the covers on the big bed until I find you. You always scream and laugh.

I love putting lotion on your lovely skin, keeping the eczema you've had your whole life at bay.

I love putting on your footie pajamas and telling you "One arm, two arm. One leg, two leg." and having you help put on your jammies.

I love going into the nursery together. Daddy carries you and then lets me get settled in the glider and then hands you to me- you are getting heavy and I let Dad do the heavy lifting whenever I can.

I love your independence and I remind myself of that when we struggle to get your teeth brushed. We do it in the glider and it takes a lot of patience on our parts as we convince you to take turns brushing- Charlie's turn, Mama's turn, Charlie's turn, Dada's turn. Charlie's turn involves lots of chewing toothbrush bristles and asking for more toothpaste.

I love reading books to you on my lap while Dad sits on the footstool nearby. Sometimes Dad does the reading and I sit on the footstool, but I love that Daddy lets me have more than my fair share of turns snuggling you and reading to you. I love that you can find the moon (and lots of other things) in your favorite books, including Goodnight, Moon, Goodnight, Gorilla, Pajama Time, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

After a few books, we sing songs. I love hearing your dad sing with me to you. We add new ones every so often, but the favorites are Itsy, Bitsy Spider, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, I am a Child of God, Snow is Falling all Around, and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. We always end with "May There Always Be Sunshine" a song we learned at Kindermusik. (It's a Russian children's song and there are many versions, this is how we sing it each night). (Mama usually does the signs as we sing).

May there always be sunshine,
May there always be blue skies,
May there always be mama,
May there always be me.

May there always be laughter,
May there always be big hugs, (with a big SQUEEZE from Dad)
May there always be daddy,
May there always be me.

I love praying with you each night, Dad and I taking turns saying the prayer. I'm excited for the day when you will pray in your own little voice, right now you just listen.

I love getting you into your crib and making sure you have your two blankies and your toy giraffe and the rest of your bottle. You snuggle right up and "get cozy".

I love that after we have turned out the light and turned on the sound machine, we always say, "Goodnight, buddy. We love you. See you in the morning."

And I love that after we shut the door, your dad and I turn to each other and say, "I love that guy." We love you so much, Charlie. We are so lucky.

Jolly Green Giant giveaway (*sponsored post)

As a child, my parents were great about letting us try different activities. I remember trying lots of things once and not really sticking with anything. One of the things we tried was a children's contemporary dance class at a studio called Virginia Tanner Dance. I remember that my sister and I were placed in the beginning class because we were total novices. However, many of the children in our class were much younger than us. Over the course of the class we had to create and then perform an original piece of choreography to go along with our assigned color. We were assigned green so we made up a dance with tall, tree-like moves (I think that's what we did. It seems really weird now, but that's kind of what I remember doing.) Then we were given our costumes- they were green leotards with different patches of green fabric sewn on. The green patchwork costumes coupled with our obvious larger stature led my sister and I to dub ourselves the Jolly Green Giants of the group. That was not my favorite performance.

Our costumes were remarkably similar to this

image source

I've always thought of that story when I see the Green Giant brand and now you can, too!

Anyway, I have an opportunity to give away a fun little prize package to one of you. I received a prize package from Green Giant and MyBlogSpark to test out. The prize package included one frozen sample of Green Giant boxed vegetables, an insulated tote bag, serving bowl, a heat-resistant serving spoon, and pedometer. I actually was most excited about the insulated bag- I have already used it to take a pot of soup to someone in the hospital and it was still steaming hot an hour after I got there. I was impressed!



Frozen vegetables work really well in our house because I never know who will be here for dinner and when, so they are a lot more convenient than fresh produce sometimes. This particular package of veggies was a broccoli and cheese one- something that both of my particular boys will eat. And they have Weight Watchers points on the package for those of you who might be interested in that.

Please leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite or least favorite vegetable is to enter to win your own prize package (the insulated tote alone is worth it, but all the other stuff is pretty cool, too.) You have until Friday, February 25th to enter.

Charlie-21 months

Giveaway post still open below!!

I'm a little behind on my updates: we've just been busy playing with our fun little guy. I just love this age- Charlie is talking more and more every day and he says the funniest things. He is just the most fun little companion throughout my day. Here's some of what he's been up to.

He's been saying "mmmmMMMMmmmm" with so much emphasis. He does it while eating but also sometimes in the bathtub while drinking bath water (gross).

He hides so quietly that sometimes it takes me a few minutes to find him. Before, I usually could find him by his excited giggles but now he's figured out stealth hiding. Luckily, he has a few favorite spots and can often be found in them (behind the rocking chair, by my side of the bed, in my closet behind my clothes, under the dining room table, behind his curtains in his room, up the ramp toward Grandma Barb's apartment, etc.)

Playing with stickers at church- this kept him occupied for at least 20 minutes

He still loves his trains and plays with them every day

He loves to play the piano with mom, dad or by himself- he really likes to turn the pages of the Children's Songbook and look at the illustrations

Charlie is the only child in our ward's nursery. He loves it, though, because it means he gets to have all these great toys to himself!

This child LOVES the snow. He will go out and "help" shovel whenever given the chance.

Look at that pure joy on his face!

He often begs for a "no ba" (translation: snowball) and often eats them on the couch like a treat. This one day I convinced him to wear his mittens so his hands wouldn't get too cold.

When Sam and Lily got new bikes for Christmas, Lily let Charlie borrow this old bike of hers so he wouldn't feel left out. He can't ride it, but he loves to sit on it or be pushed around on it.

We finished Kindermusik (which we LOVED) and started a Gymboree class (with James and Chelsea). It's been so great for these two little boys to get out all their energy on the fun slides, ramps, and mats. Charlie has a look of intense concentration on his face the whole time- he hardly talks or smiles because he is so focused on the "work" of climbing and sliding and picking up balls and rolling them down the slides and ramps.

(John joined us on the last day of Kindermusik. You can see our teacher Ms. Katie and Chelsea and James all playing the drums.)

Here's Charlie exploring a tunnel at Gymboree

Charlie found this Lilo and Stitch hat at Sam and Lily's house and they graciously let him have it (I think my dad bought it for them at Disney on Ice?) He wears it at least once every day. His favorite thing to do is put on this hat and a multi-colored string of beads and go running through the house, sometimes running into walls and doors.

Charlie found my Grandma Bonnie's old magnifying glass and he LOVES it. He thinks it is the funniest thing ever!
Charlie is getting really attached to his matchbox cars and trains- he carries them around with him and gets upset when he can't hold them all at once. He lined them up on the couch like that all by himself. Also pictured, his two blankies (a green one and a blue one) that he needs to sleep.

The number one comment we get about Charlie is his cute, curly hair. This was a great shot John took of his hair at church.

And here's the rare day when his naptime habits flattened out all his curls- he looks like a completely different kid! (He LOVES to color and has really great fine motor skills. His favorite part of coloring is taking all the crayons out of the box one by one and then putting them all back in.)

Another shot of his "straight" hair

We love this little boy!! He's just the most fun!