I Told You So

Remember when I told you to have Tammy take your kids' school pictures?

I just got Tyson's pictures back.

They are awesome.

Thanks Tammy!

Tyson's First Day

This week marked Tyson's entrance into Kindergarten.

He is no longer my preschooler.

He is a big kid!

I am sure I was more nervous than he was. What if I forgot something? What if I didn't get him there on time? What if we were too early? What if I forgot to take pictures?

I felt an enormous amount of pressure.

It's moments like this that define you as a mother, or so I felt.

While Tyson and Preston were watching PBS Kids I was stressing over my to-do list:

Review teacher forms

Finalize book orders

Add Kleenex and paper towels to his backpack

Make sure his first-day homework assignments were in his bag

Feed him lunch

Take sufficient pictures

Be happy and positive

Don't cry

Everything went off without a hitch, until Preston started throwing a temper tantrum. He was jealous of Tyson. He grabbed Tyson's backpack, put it on and headed for the front door.

After a little convincing I was able to trade Preston this backpack for a smaller one with a frog on it, which he wore for the remainder of the morning and part of the afternoon.
(He only let me take it off him for a diaper change.)

After lunch I made Tyson pose for the obligatory front-porch pictures.

He was more than happy to show off the prized backpack.

Then we loaded up the stroller and walked the block or two toward the elementary school. When we were nearly on school property Tyson said,

"I know my way from here mom. You can go home now."

"I don't think so, buddy."

"Why not?"

"Um. . .because I need to take your picture at the school."

As we approached the kindergarten area I saw the school mascot welcoming kids and posing for pictures.

Once Tyson made it past this furry guy he nearly bolted for his classroom door. I had to yell to him through the crowd,

"Tyson, wait!"

"Have a great day."

And he was gone.

I did my best to hold back the tears, but my best wasn't good enough.

I still tear up thinking about it.

One day down, 179 days to go.

Belly Comparison

I've been told you get bigger faster with your second baby than with your first.

I feel bigger this time.

15 weeks along with Preston

My current "15 week" belly

What do you think?

And if you tell me I don't look pregnant at all I may slug you.

Wordless Wednesday

Twister

Looks like fun, doesn't it?

I think Tyson takes after his mom:

(Me and Chad Frecklton-Snow College- Circa 1998)

Tyson's Aerobic Workout

I recently downloaded a couple Scooby Doo songs for the boys.

Every time I turn them on this happens:

Tyson started it.

I think he is re-enacting the beginning title sequence of the Scooby Doo cartoons.

It didn't take Preston long to start mimicking him.

Tyson will keep this up (re-playing the song over and over and over again) until he is dripping with sweat. In fact, this had been going on for at least 5 minutes before I pulled my camera out. And continued LONG after I turned the camera off.

We Can Learn A Lot From Our Kids

Tyson put on his dad's shoes, put a phone to his ear and started making pretend phone calls. After a minute he told me,

"It's customer telling me I'm late for work."

Then I heard him say into the phone,

"I'm home spending time with my boys. Good bye."

Joy to the World

(Tyson, Joy, Me, Preston, and Dan)

For the last two weeks, we've been hosting a teenage girl from France. We've tried to keep her busy and help her see what living in America is like.

I wish I had more pictures of our adventures, but my camera has been hijacked.

We took her to see Temple Square, where we saw the Joseph Smith movie. We took her to an outdoor play, to see fireworks, swimming at a waterpark, swimming at a regular pool, to see a movie, and lots of shopping. She also went boating with the YW in our ward and to a youth dance. Add that to the regular chaos around here, and I think she had a good time.

She says she is sad to leave and wishes she could live in the US. She flies back to France today.

Bon Voyage Joy.

Wordless Wednesday

Warnings

This is where I would post a funny picture of my boys dressing up as space pirates.

Or maybe a video of Preston singing the ABC song.

Perhaps a video the two boys jamming out to The Travelling Song from Madagascar Two.

Maybe even a picture of my growing belly.

I would love to post these things, but I can't

Because they don't exist.

Why don't they exist, you ask?

Because Dan hijacked my camera a couple weeks ago.

He 'borrowed' it to take pictures of a home in Lindon he is listing.

Let this be my warning to you.

Dan is bad at returning the things that he borrows.

Think twice before lending anything to him.

You have been warned.

And on a completely different topic:

Never drive your car when there is a grasshopper inside.

It's a bad idea.

Tender Moments

Preston was sick this week. He has been running a high fever since Tuesday. It's sad to see him sick, but I can't help but enjoy the extra snuggle time I'm getting.

Preston is not a snuggler. Never has been. Even as an infant he wouldn't sleep next to me. He always wants to be in his own bed with his own space.

This week he has been begging to snuggle in mommy's bed, hold mommy, and be hugged.

We've been giving him Motrin to keep his fever at a manageable level. But every 5-6 hours the Motrin wears off. This makes the nights hard, especially since I'm used to him sleeping for 11 -12 hours every night. We've started a little ritual each night. Around midnight, when the meds are wearing off, he wakes up. We give him another dose of Motrin and a drink of cool water. Then we snuggle him in our bed until he starts to cool down again. It's a sweet time that I am going to miss.

One night as we were snuggling he asked me to sing to him. So I started singing, I Am a Child of God. My heart started to swell as I realized he was singing along with me! I had no idea he knew the words to that song! I was amazed.

We will be singing that song a lot more often now.

The Birds and the Bees and Whales

Tyson has been very interested in this new baby. When we first told him that there was a baby in my tummy he wanted to know what the baby was doing, all the time.

What is the baby doing now?

How about now?

And now?

My answer was usually, "The baby is sleeping."

After a day or two of answering his incessant questions I decided to show him a picture of what the baby looks like now.

So I looked it up on-line.

He thought it was pretty cool. Then he paused. The following conversation ensued:

T: What is that thing coming out of it's belly?

M: That's the umbilical cord. That is how the baby eats and breathes. After the baby comes out that will be where the baby's belly button is. That's how you and I got our belly buttons.

T: Is the baby going to come out of your belly button?

M: Um, no.

T: Where is the baby going to come out?

M: There is a special opening on mommies where the baby can come out. It is usually very small, but when it's time for the baby to be born it opens up big.

T: Where is it?

M: It's by my bum.

T: That's gross!

M: Yeah, well. . . .

T: Hey! That's just like a whale! The baby whale comes out by the mom's tail!

M: Yep, it's just like that.

I can't wait until he asks how the baby got in there.

"Well, there's this special hug that a daddy gives a mommy . . . . . ."

Wordless Wednesday

Behind the Scenes

For the last year or so, I've had many people ask me if I thought I'd get pregnant again, or if we'd adopt again. Honestly, I didn't know. I didn't really care, either. We've done it both ways and loved it both ways. With Tyson we tried to get pregnant and couldn't. So we adopted. With Preston we tried to adopt and couldn't. That's when I discovered I was pregnant.

Not a very good track record.

A few months before Preston's first birthday, we began unofficially "trying." We told ourselves that we would give it a year, if it didn't work naturally (i.e. no infertility treatments cuz I am SO over that) we would begin the adoption process again. Time passed and nothing happened.

And yet, I never felt any closer to adoption. It didn't feel right. I wanted it to feel right, but it just didn't.

I prayed a lot. My prayers were basically this:

"Tell me what to do. I'll do what ever you want. Just tell me what to do."

My answer was always:

"Relax. Do nothing."

So I'd wait a few more months and ask again:

"Tell me what I need to be doing. I'll do anything."

The answer again came:

"Relax, and do nothing."

At the beginning of the year I started thinking about how May was the "perfect" month to conceive. I don't know why. It seems crazy for me, the one who took 6 1/2 years to conceive the first time, to get my heart set on one specific month. As each month passed with no pregnancy I kept telling myself, "It's OK, it's not May yet."

You can only imagine the self-imposed pressure I felt when May rolled around.

What if it didn't work?

Chances were that it wouldn't. I'd put all my eggs (no pun intended) in one basket. I could feel the wall that had been protecting my heart slowly begin to crumble.

The day before my "monthly friend" was due I was hit with a wave of depression. I didn't get dressed. I moped around the house. I felt like crying all day. That night I decided that I was going to test the next morning just so I could grieve my loss and move on with my life. I couldn't let myself be depressed forever.

I woke early the next morning and without a word to Dan, headed to the bathroom and dug a test out from the back corner of my cabinet.

At first glance it looked negative, so I walked away.

I gave myself a little pep talk.

It's going to be OK. There is always next month. It's OK. We've got plenty of time.

When I had my emotions in check I walked back over to the test to throw it in the garbage. When I picked it up I saw TWO distinct pink lines. I couldn't believe it!

It was positive!

It worked!

I was right!

I actually conceived in May!

Shaking, I went to find Dan. When I showed him the test his eyes bugged out of his head. He was just as surprised as I was.

I am now 13 weeks and due Feb 17th, 2010.

P.S. Today is our 9th Anniversary. Happy Anniversary Babe.

Guess What?!

Surprise!

For even more excitement, check out my sister's blog.

February should be lots of fun!

I'm So Excited and I Just Can't Hide It

Do you recognize this cute couple?

They have been in my sidebar for several months now.

Two weeks ago they were contacted by a sweet birth mother who has chosen them to be the parents of her precious baby boy.

Now they wait. . . .

Wait for him to finish baking!

I love a good adoption story!

Click over to their blog for all the juicy details and to give them some love.

An Inquiry

I saw this shirt and wondered,

"Are your kids cuter on your blog or cuter in person?"

Personally, I think my kids are cuter in person.

They are definitely quieter on my blog though.

Wordless Wednesday

The Lightning Aftermath

I was scrolling through my pictures and realized I never posted the pictures showing the damage from the lightning.

This is the root of our tree that was hit.




The electrical surge travelled down the trunk of our tree and caused this root to explode. The root travels under the fence. So naturally the fence received some damage too.


Much to our neighbor's dismay, the electrical wires which operate their sprinkler system run under the fence as well. They didn't fair well.





The electrical current travelled through the wiring system into their garage.

Thankfully, there was no fire.





The lid from this control box shot right off and flew across the garage.




The damage on our side of the fence was worse, but less visible (hence no pictures). I'm still not sure how, but the power surge flowed through our house, shorting out our cable box, our router, our Ethernet card, and our printer. All had to be replaced.



Good Times, Good Memories

Aquaholics

A nearby city just built a new addition to their city center.

Just outside of City Hall is a great splash pad.

A small man-made waterfall runs into a fake river filled with fake, water-spraying rocks, which leads to a great fountain.

My boys loved it!

If you live in my area and haven't been there yet you are missing out.

(The only downside is that some spots of the concrete get very slippery when wet. A running toddler will slip and smack his head . . . . . repeatedly.)