Daddy and Mommy

This week has been one of those weeks that parents dread!  Kollins allergies got worse and turned into a cold causing him to be the orneriest kid ALIVE!  He's been crying for hours at a time and hitting and throwing things when it's not going his way. He only wants to be held by me, only if I'm standing up. And because he's been needing more attention Kleyton is starting to act out trying to fight for his time, so most of the last three days has been crying, and fits, and wrestling the kids into their high chairs for meals and on and on. We are EXHAUSTED!!  That being said... Kollin is starting to get better and the fits are lasting shorter amounts of time and in turn that is making Kleyton act a whole lot better as well. 

Before we got to this week from hell we actually had a pretty great weekend. 

Kole came home on Friday from working training in Arkansas and we were so excited to pick him up from the airport! (PS sorry for all the non-smiling-not-looking-at-the-camera children.  I think it has something to do with their age where they wont even attempt to humor me when I try to take a picture)  On our way home we grabbed a pizza and hung out all night.

Saturday was a lovely day (you know... after the whole Kollin breaking his two front teeth, calling the dentist, and having that yucky sick to your stomach feeling because your baby might get teased for the next few years or worse, his tooth could turn black and have to get pulled out all together ...fiasco-  More on that in another post) .  My boys took me out shopping and to lunch at a yummy sushi buffet.  we had dinner at home and went to get frozen yogurt with Donna and the kids. 

Sunday was also a lovely day.  Church was beautiful.  I got to wear my new shirt and the new skirt I made.  Kole got me a corsage to wear.

 And even though Kollin had a cough and couldn't go into nursery, he was such a good boy and stayed quiet and content through most of the classes.  He fell asleep the last few minutes of relief society and slept through everything until we put him in his car seat to go home.  I went to get Kleyton from nursery where he had made me a card and I got two candy roses from each of my babies.

It melted my heart to see Kleyton with his big grin holding out the flower to me.

  I just love being a mommy!  especially to these two little guys (even if they exhaust me)

PPS...  They did look at the camera,  they did smile,   the camera didn't focus...  Boo.

18 months

We released these balloons today before nap time.  After a week of them floating around my house it was about time.  And do you know what my boys said?... "bye bye balloons" with a little wave.

I half expected them to cry that they were gone, but my babies -who are turning into toddlers- were to busy watching them float away with the wind, talking like big boys.

At 18 months

Kleyton:   weight- 19lbs and 4 oz (<5%)

head- 46 1/4 cm (<5%)

height- 31 3/4 inches (30%)

He is my little string bean!  So tall and skinny!  His pants are either floods on him or fall off of him.  Kleyton loves people, he loves to play with other kids and is where ever the action is.  My little social butterfly.  He is still such a Daddy's boy.  He says lots of words now and will repeat what you tell him to.  His most used words are Daddy, Mom, No, dink (drink), two (which means he wants to jump to you after you count 1,2,3) and baby(his stuffed dog)  He is such a tease,  he teases Kollin with toys and mommy and daddy with kisses and thinks that he's so dang funny!  If there is a ball outside he goes up to it and kicks it as hard as he can while saying 'kick, kick.' He is very good at kisses and even puckers up and makes a kissing sound.  And he is still such a little cuddler.

Last week I was asking him where his eyes were and he'd point, his ears, hair, mouth and after everyone he'd point to it.  After a minute I asked him for a kiss and he smiled and shook his head no so I said 'oh you little booger' and gave him a hug... then he got serious, looked at me, stuck his finger up his nose and said 'booga' (booger)

These little boys are such climbers and are starting to kick and hit, which is not good but something all kids do and hopefully something we can teach them is naughty as quick as possible.  They like to throw food on the floor and get into things they're not supposed to but they are so stinkin cute, even in their naughtiest moments.  And even though they are naughty little things they are so sweet and do amazing things like kneel down and fold their arms for family prayers every night.

Kollin: Weight- 23 lbs and 15oz (27%)

head- 48cm (60%)

Height- 32 1/2 (50%)

Kollin is such a Mommy's boy, most of the time.  He's been a little wild lately and is prone to accidents, yesterday he chipped some teeth (but we'll save that story for another post) Poor kid also has his mamas bad allergies, so he hasn't had a very fun week. But he is a trooper and hilarious!  Everything that comes out of this kids mouth makes Kole and I bust out laughing.  He does things so so he can see what your reaction is and if it makes you laugh he'll do it over and over again.  He has the cutest lisp and the more he's talking the more it shows.  He says Mommy, Daddy, Ney-Nan (Kleyton), piraths (pirate) and roboths (robots).  He loves to play in the water and if you give him a cup and running water he will be entertained for hours. (dead serious, at the splash pad last week he played with a cup and waterfall for 2 hours until he was tired and practically fell asleep standing up with his head in my lap)  One time at dinner I couldn't find the TV remote so I asked the boys if they've seen it (Kollin usually brings it to me at least 10 times a day). Kleyton didn't say anything and Kole didn't know... Kollin shrugged his little shoulders and put his hands out as if to say i don't know,  and then he says 'Where da ramote?'  which we all thought was so cute and funny, so now most nights at dinner he asks us where the remote is.



These two boys are the light of my life and I am so lucky to be their mommy!  They definitely keep me on my toes and every night I'm completely exhausted but I wouldn't have it any other way.  happy 18 months boys!

Be our Guest!

And no I'm not referring to 'Beauty and the Beast' with the title... although you could always sing/humm the song while you read this post, a little disney music never hurt anyone;)

My Dad, Mom and oldest sister Tori came to visit over the weekend.  They came late thursday night and went home on Sunday.  It was a much needed visit!  I hate living so far away from my parents and love when they visit.  I enjoyed it so much that I didn't take to many pictures because I was too busy.  We did stuff like went shopping and out to eat lunch, one day was just spent being lazy at my house and enjoying the company.  My mom is such a sweetheart and brought a new book for everyone.  My boys absolutley loved theirs!  On Saturday night we went out to Tuacahn High School for my nieces play 'Titanic' (original broadway not the leo version).  She was awesome in it!  They had it in the out side ampetheater and even got the water running during the part where the boat sinks!  I would have taken pictures but there is a rule about no pics and such, so you might have to head over to Donna's blog in a few days to see if she's put them up yet.

Here are a few of the pictures I did happen to take....-

the three little kids eating all of Grammy's ice cream

Kleyton found this blanket in my closet and has been obcessed with it ever since,  he even let grandpa hold him like a baby for like 10 minutes.... He NEVER holds still this long, especially being held like a baby!  He didn't even like being held like a baby when he was a baby...  He must really like you daddy ;)

The 3 visitors

PS.....  My guest room/office/craft room if finally finished!!! So this is where my parents were lucky enough to spend their nights,,  Tori slept on the fouton in the play room.  Sorry Tori.

BEFORE

the AFTERS

Yes I do realize that we still have a GIANT computer chair, but it is too comfy to get rid of!  Plus it doubles as a luggage rack, sort-of..

The office portion of the room with a mirror to check yourself.

The bed! 

My dear neighbor when she sold us the bed frame for our MASTER BEDROOM REDO she threw in a whole comforter set (including decorative pillows) a night stand, lamp, and picture too!  Hence the whole basis of this room.  I love it and couldn't have chosen a better color scheme myself.

I made the curtains again, They didn't turn out exactly how I pictured.  I still like them though and I wont be changing them any time soon.

The closet is my craft room portion and I've already used it A LOT!  It's so nice to have the sewing machine set up all the time instead of having to drag it out of the laundry room and keep the kids away, etc, etc...  It is not at all Pretty in that closet but it works and it's put away and that's all I can ask for.

Kleyton even got in on a little decorating

Happy Wednesday everyone!

What?!?! I didn't blog about this yet? (and other random thoughts)

[I started out tonight with a thought in my head about what I wanted to blog about and I ended up doing something completely different.  I was going to talk about how after a conversation with someone I over analyse everything about it.  Did I say to much? too little?  was I polite?  Did I accidentally put someone down or talk gossip when I really didn't mean to?  Did what I say come across as what I meant or did I make myself look like a complete jerk?   Am I the only one who does this, and has after-conversation-regret???  If I have ever had a conversation with you and offended or sounded like a complete idiot or anything other than been kind, I truly am sorry.  Sometimes my words come out of my mouth WAY faster then my thoughts can truly process them.......   AND NOW BACK TO OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION]

I was going through pictures tonight and came upon Kollins x-ray.  X-ray you say?  Oh wait...that's right... I forgot to blog about Kollin and his broken bone (except for a quick little blurb a few posts back) that happened like 2 months ago.  It happened when I was being an awful blogger, I did put the picture on FB but I'm not really sure who all reads my blog and if we are or are not friends on facebook as well.  So anyway in March Kollin broke his collar bone.  How you ask?  Well just sit down take a drink of whatever you have near by (hopefully it's edible and not something like bubbles or white out) and I will tell you.  We were visiting my mother in law in Kanab and were packing the car to head home. Boosty (as the kids call her) and I were outside talking and taking in the nice weather when Kollin reached up onto a BIG metal wagon wheel to grab something and it tipped and made him fall and landed on his right side, with his left side on the cement, before we could even get near him.  He cried and at first we were more worried about his head and arm then anything else.  He calmed down and nothing felt broken and no bruises showed up either.  Well that night every time we'd pick him up (you know, under the armpits type deal)  he would wince and lift his right shoulder as if holding him by the ribs was hurting him.  Still, there wasn't a bruise and nothing felt broken.  Within a few days he started developing a bruise on his collar bone.  The problem with the collar bone is there is really nothing you can do about it.. no cast....nothin.  So we held off going to the doctor and figured it was just a bruise. But then a day or so later it started to form a bump so I called to schedule and appointment and was in with in the hour.  We went from doctors office to hospital for xray back to doctors to see this picture:

To me it looks bad!  But the doctor said that it really was a minor break and he would have been fine if we didn't take him in and really there is nothing to do for it.  He did give us a little stretchy cloth to wrap around like a backwards bra and hold his shoulders back, so that it would take the pressure off of it.  Other then that, instructions were Tylenol if it bothers him and no picking him up by the hands or under the armpits for at least a month. 

After a few days the bump turned into this:

And I started to get more and more worried but then it started to go down and he was still being a rough and tumble little boy.  Nothing seemed to bother him and he was back to his old self.  A month later we took him in for another xray and it came back fine.  There is a tiny calcium deposit where it healed but the bump from that will go away in a few months.

Another reason why I shared this story is because I've been thinking about how It was such a BIG deal and it involved a lot of our lives, thinking about it every time we changed him or picked him up, or when we were with people we had to make sure they knew how to take care of him and be gentle.  It took up a lot of my thoughts and time and today while we were at the splash pad with some friends I picked him up (under the armpits) and  he was fine, just as he has been fine for a while, and for a split second I almost felt bad thinking I hurt him but I didn't because he's healed.

I am so thankful that my kids, with all that they have been through in their short little lives, are healthy and happy and resilient and mine:) And that I get to sit on my porch swing and see this:

And that on a hot day I have an excuse to pack them up and my nephew, who I watch during the day, and head to Walmart to by a pool so I can soak my feet and they can be entertained.

And that when I'm tired because I didn't get much sleep the night before because my hubby is away for work and my bed is just so empty with out him and that it makes it hard to sleep,  that they will let me lay on the couch, they will find comfy spots to sit on top of me and watch mickey mouse club house.....

I am blessed.

They have both been extra cuddly lately too,  I think they need some extra lovin from momma while daddy is away.  Kleyton layed with me shortly after the above picture was taken for a while.  I tickled his back and sang 'Bushel and a Peck' to him while he had a closed mouth smile and looked at me with his one eye that wasn't hidden in his fluffy blanket.

My 'SON'day

I've been dreading this day for a while.  Kole had to leave for a work trip and I haven't really been without him since he got back from Iraq.  I'm a pretty clingy wife,  just ask him... so when he leaves for any amount of time I get really bummed out and am not the funnest to be around.  Anyway we woke up early and had to get him to the airport so the boys wore their jammies and I was styling some sort of 'swishy' hair style (as my hubby would call it).  As soon as we pulled up to the airport road i felt sick,  the last time we drove to drop Kole off at this airport was when he was deployed and lets be honest here,  that day sucked! I know he wont be gone long at all, but to me anytime with out my husband is hard.  
When we started driving off Kollin started crying for his daddy and I knew that today was going to be a long one.   I had been debating all night and morning weather I really wanted to brave church with 2, 18 month old boys  (yes thats right, they will be a year and a half TOMORROW!!).   I was thinking maybe I'd skip sacrament, or just not go at all, but I better because i need them to get used to nursery, but I don't feel all that great and Kleyton has a runny nose, Kollin has a little cough ...back and forth back and forth....  I decided that we'd get ready and then leave from there.  So if it took us till 10 then we'd just go to classes but if we were ready earlier then we'd listen to sacrament out in the hall.  Kollin kept getting into things he wasn't supposed to and completely ignoring all that I told him so I put him in time out and said 'look mr.  just because daddy is working doesn't mean you can act this.  You need to be a good boy so this time can go by smoothly.  That way you can be happy and Kleyton can be happy and mommy can be happy.'   I think at that moment I was talking more to myself than my baby.  I needed to change my attitude so time could go by quicker and smoother. But it helped that he started obeying me after that little pep talk :)   We got ready by 9 and made it to church just in time for the sacrament song.  We sat in the back on the metal chairs and lo and behold my babies were angels through all of it!!  They went to nursery and I snuck out and went to both of my classes uninterrupted.  So far the day was good.
After church we hung up their artwork in their bedroom, had lunch, played with cars, made carmels and had naps...Well, they napped,  I blogstalked.
After eating my 1 carmel..(okay 5th carmel)  I decided that a nice leisurely stroll around the neighbor hood was in order.  The boys woke up from their nap far from happy but as soon as I mentioned going out side they were searching for their shoes like they were lost treasure.  We did our normal 1 mile rout and thankfully I brought water bottles because jeans, a dark brown t-shirt and sun DO NOT MIX!  I had sweat dripping down my face the size of golf balls and my nose was stuffing up from allergies so my mouth was hanging open so I could breath.  I'm sure I looked awesome.  When we got home they did not want to go inside,  While I swung on our new porch swing (hey, taxes had to go to something fun other than bills and things that needed to be fixed, right?) and blew bubbles,  they chased the bubbles, swung with me, ripped grass out of the ground and watched it float down when they let go,  they climbed on our table for the 100th time and listened to me telling them to get down for the 100th,  they played in the dirt and poured water on their feet, and I loved watching them.  We made dinner and ate it and the whole time they kept saying 'FISH, FISH!'  because we were eating fish tacos and apparently they were yummy and they wanted more. After dinner we played with cars some more and watched a little good luck charlie because my boys definitely have a crush on Charlie..  They sat in their camp chairs and ate fruit snacks and had their own little twin conversation in their own little twin language.  We had bath time, Kollin peed on my carpet and Kleyton got out of the tub and streaked around the house,  around the couch twice before I finally caught him (  He's getting way, WAY to fast!)  They giggled as i lotioned them up and into their jammies while they tried to get away from me.  More cars were played with, more hugs and kisses were given, alone time with each of the boys was a special treat that never happens,, but tonight which ever kid I was not hanging out with at the moment was in the playroom playing quietly.  Songs were sung, teeth were brushed, kisses to everyone, into bed....  ---Good night my babies,  I had a great day with you!  The only thing that would have made it a better Sunday would have been your Daddy here too:)  but he'll be home soon and we'll have a day just like this, to share with him too.---

If you haven't forgotten.

A couple months ago I had written a blog about how I was working on redecorating my guest room/office/craft room and showed you this picture...

Well here is the final product on the desk!!!

It took a little longer than I thought but it's finished and I'm excited to show you the rest of the room soon...  As soon as I am finished ;)

Candy and Dirt and Pictures...Oh MY!!

The week leading up to Easter was sure a busy one around our house.  I think we were trying to fit in everything fun that we could.  We started out the week by making 'Resurrection Rolls' that I found at this website.  You basically make these yummy rolls while reading scriptures about Christ and the Resurrection.  It turned out to be a great Family Home evening and one that I want to repeat every year.

We spent most of the week playing outside in the nice weather and gearing up for the weekend.  Friday we spent the day cleaning and packing and hanging out.

Kollin woke up a little early from his nap and was 'helping' me pack.

That night we drove out to the family cabin and got the fireplace started and got ready for bed.  By 4 am my allergies were acting up really bad so I took some of the children's benadryll I brought for the boys and it knocked me out!  When the boys woke up at 730 I could not even move so Kole took them downstairs and got breakfast ready.  By the time I woke up around 815  I came down to my 3 boys hanging out in their jammies and eating eggs, sausage and toast.  My kind of camping breakfast!  -Notice that my little boys, who aren't so little anymore, sat at regular chairs for breakfast!  We didn't want to bring their boosters to save some space and they ended up doing so good and sitting still for every meal...well long enough to get a little food in em!-

They had so much fun playing with all the old toys inside....

And all the fun stuff outside!

Kollin and Kleyton have this obsession with hats lately!!  They will take one off a stranger just so they can wear it.  I found some hunting hats on one of the walls and they wore them for hours!

After playing at the cabin for a little while we took a drive to pass the time until Kole's brother and his family could join us. Kole and I talked and the boys took a little snooze.

When we got back we ate some lunch and Kris, Danielle, Karter, Kooper, and Boosty showed up.  We spent some time playing at the cabin.  And spent even more time piled into a truck to get water for the cabin and driving around.  By the time we dropped the water tank back where it belongs Kooper and Kollin were asleep.  So Kleyton hung out with Boosty.

And this is where Kollin slept, which is amazing because if you know this kid, he will NOT sleep anywhere but his car seat or crib.

When the boys woke up we got them all ready and had an Easter egg hunt!

Kollin wasn't too interested in the eggs at first and was mad that I took his water bottle away and was holding his bucket... so I put the water bottle in his bucket and let him carry it and then he was all about the eggs!  Silly boy!

Kleyton was a pro and loved that daddy was helping him!

Kris Karter and Kooper did Awesome too!!

And they all loved that there was candy inside..

After our BBQ dinner and when Madi got there from her aunts house, we colored eggs.  It was NUTS!!  I think we had 3 spilled cups and dyed fingers all around.  But the kids sure did love it.

It's a tradition in Kole's family to 'Roll' easter eggs.  I've never done it so I was excited to try.  We found a hill by the pond and let the boys roll em.

They liked throwing them in the pond better..

And Kole and I had fun shooting some!

When we got back, we got the boys all washed up and in their Jammies and headed home.

Sunday morning the easter bunny had come and spoiled the boys like no other!!

Kleyton loved his candy sword...

And Kollin was most excited about his 'Nandy'  (candy)

Before we got ready for Church.

After church we came home and started the movie HOP for the boys.  They sat in their chairs so good and actually watched more then 10 minutes of it before they got bored..

My sister Katie ended up being in town so we loaded up and met her and my other sister Mary and their kids in St. George.

The boys got to break in their new swim suits, and it was a really nice day to be out in the water.

Jamie and Emily

Relaxing on the bench

 William and Trinity

Brandon and Christian

Mary and the kids having  a snack

Katie and Willie

Me and Kole

On the way home we gave them their candy swords and they loved em!

Kleyton was getting sleepy though,  this is how he sits most of the time...just relaxing.

After dinner we made some smores out of peeps

We had a great Easter week!!