Learn, Grow, Enjoy

That has been my motto this year. I always set many goals because that is what keeps me going. I enjoy checking things off and seeing progress. This has been a great few months for me as a mom. Dallin is loving school, Emily is getting closer to fully potty trained (don't jinx it), and I am thoroughly enjoy my little Bryce man. I feel like I have come out of a big fog and things are finally falling into place. The biggest thing I am trying to learn is that when things don't go well it doesn't have to be the end of the world. I need to take the good with the bad.

Here are some pics from our beach trip in January. We had a last minute invite from great friends and had a fabulous time! I didn't realize that I didn't post about it.



We were lucky enough to have a visitor last week. We loved having Jeff's brother, Rob in town!! It was fun to see Jeff and Rob together. We hope he will visit again soon and bring the rest of the family!

Emily is a sweet, loving, fun little girl...

...who loves to stash things in purses. This is what she dumped out the other day.

Some of my favorite things about Bryce: he is very proud of himself when we figure out what he is trying to say. His language is really taking off and I am loving it! He is much happier now that he can communicate. (Which makes for a much happier mom!) I enjoy library time with him and watching him start to venture off my lap.




For St. Patrick's Day I wanted to have a little fun with my kids. They had fun with the green eggs and Lucky Charms.

I copied this idea from a blog by a cyber friend I really admire.

I have been trying to upload a video, but it didn't work, so here is my update!!

My focus right now is back to getting sleep. So, I am still trying to limit my computer list. I did get back on Facebook, but only for a few minutes at a time. I like feeling connected, but I also like feeling balanced.

Thanks for checking in!

Sunday Catch Up

I am going on a diet. Nope, not the kind of diet you are thinking of. (Although I am trying to eat healthier!) I am going on a computer diet. I have an addictive personality (those of you who know me well already knew this) and when I read a blog, I can't just stop at one. (Just like with potato chips and cookies, etc, etc.) I hop from blog to blog and ultimately spend hours reading about people's lives instead of living my own. I enjoy learning from others, but I need to limit it. So, on Sundays is when I will be catching up with my friends, new and old. During the week, I will be staying away from the computer. In other news, I am also giving up Facebook. I enjoy it way too much. The final straw was when I was the unknowing sender of a nasty Facebook virus. So, it was just what I needed to deactivate my account. I will miss it, but I think it is the right decision for me. I will still check email once a day, but that is it. Wish me luck!!

Thanks for all the advice for dealing with disappointment. I am sure it will be a continual learning process for me and Dallin. :-)

This weekend, I took a quick trip to Seattle with Dallin and Emily. We visited with my cousin Tasha who has a baby boy named Tayden. He is adorable, and not quite so little anymore. We went swimming, hung out and just played. It was a wonderful, relaxing visit (minus the car ride!) Any guesses as to how many times Bryce made me play "Eye of the Tiger" over and over again in the car? Thank you Guitar Hero!







Last night, I made a last minute decision to take my darling Emily to see a high school production of Beauty and the Beast. We went with Emily's good friend, Campbell and my good friend and running partner, Molly. We were also lucky enough to steal Waverly! It was a great performance with amazing costumes. Emily was in heaven the whole time. And I will admit, I enjoyed it just as much. I am so glad my mom taught me the importance of theater arts, especially musicals. Emily was giddy the entire show and loved meeting Belle and the Beast. When she met the Prince, he asked her what her favorite part was and she said, "The Beast." He said, "I was your favorite part?" and she smiled and said yes. It was very cute.


Here's the tired girls at 10:30pm. It was a late night, but a night to remember!
Real Life moment- I don't remember what I was going to call these little tidbits, but I want to insert the things that happened that make life interesting. Emily has been doing really well with her potty training, but in the excitement of the play, she didn't quite make it to intermission. Just reminds me to take it a day at a time, and don't assume we are completely done.


Edited to add: Wow, I didn't even go a whole day without getting on blogs. So, here I am, pledging to stay off until Sunday. Seriously, what is wrong with me?!!!

What if I can't stand it?

Yesterday I was taught a lesson by my sweet 7 year old. He was planning on taking a karate class with 2 of his friends. I hadn't quite decided if I wanted to put him in the class, so when I finally made the decision the class was full. When I told Dallin, he collapsed in tears. He was so disappointed and was just bawling. I gave him my spiel about having a good attitude and how life doesn't always work out like you plan. He then said,
" How can I have a good attitude? What if I just can't stand it?"

All of a sudden, I didn't know what to say.

One of my weaknesses is my inability to deal with disappointment. I feel like I have a positive attitude in general, almost to the extreme. I decide how certain events are going to turn out, always assuming the best, and then when they don't turn out as planned, I too have collapsed in tears on many occasions. This is not going to be his last experience with a bummer situation and I guess I better learn now how I am going to help him through these. I am working on this on my own, and now my son will join me in my learning.

Any advice? For me and for him...

Happy 7th Birthday, Dallin!

7 years ago today my life was changed forever. I became a mother! It did not go the way I imagined, but I instantly fell in love with this tiny little version of Jeff. (Look at those little legs!) As they wheeled me into the OR for my C-section, my dr. said, "I am sure this is a big baby and that's why we are having a hard time getting him out." As they pulled out my scrawny 21 inch, 6 lb 1 oz baby, he could have never been more wrong. I was scared to take care of him, afraid I would break him, but I am so grateful he was little as I feel like I got extra cuddle time with him. The C-section was a disappointment when they first told me, but I was just glad to have a healthy baby to hold. My mom wouldn't be coming for 10 days and I was terrified of my recovery, so I actually listened to the Dr. when he said to take it easy for the first 2 weeks. It was the best advice I was ever given. I enjoyed every moment with my new little baby. I never regretted how much I held him and played with him and cuddled him. I learned that dishes could wait, the bed didn't always need to be made, and the most important part of my day was with Dallin. I am so grateful for this perspective I had with him. As I struggled with infertility before baby #2 I am glad I was able to build a strong relationship with Dallin. He is a sweet little boy who has blessed my life for 7 years. Here are some things about Dallin:

1. He would never hurt anyone. I love that I don't worry about him getting in trouble. I can feel comfortable leaving him anywhere. That is just the demeanor he was born with-just like his dad.
2. He loves to learn. From a young age I have enjoyed teaching him random things because he memorized pretty quickly. It was a game that I would try to surprise Jeff with the things that Dallin would do. (It still is!)
3. He is very conscientious and follows rules exactly. He is also good at correcting others when they aren't following the rules. (including me.) One of my favorite stories was just at student conference on Friday his teacher told me that she gives Dallin the spelling list to double check for her before she photocopies it for the class. Too cute!
4. His level of focus. He gets on one thing and hyperfocuses. It's all he wants to do over and over and over...right now it is Tetherball! When it is rainy they don't get to go outside to play and he comes home in tears. I told him this is going to be a long winter, and that's when I decided his birthday present would be a tetherball.
5. He is getting sassy. I am not always happy about this but I love seeing the spunk to his personality and watching his sense of humor grow. When he was a baby it was hard work getting him to smile, but oh so rewarding!
6. I love watching him with his friends. He has been lucky to grow up with very good buddies since he was a baby. (I am lucky for this too. Their moms are some of my best friends!)
7. I feel a special closeness to him. It makes me grateful I had the C-section. If I hadn't I think I would have been quicker to be up and doing things. I enjoyed each aspect of watching him learn and grow. I miss the time I had with him and I hope he knows how much I love and treasure him.


































































































































We did not do a birthday party this year, but decided to have a playdate with some boys that he doesn't get to see much anymore thanks to school. They played some basketball, traded Pokemon cards and just enjoyed being boys. It was fun watching them play Guitar Hero and I was very proud that Dallin knows every word to "Eye of the Tiger." Makes a mom proud!









































We surprised him with the tetherball court and he played all day. We could barely get him out of the house to go to Chuck E. Cheese. We went there with just our little family and had a great time together.

Today his birthday weekend continued as we ate cake and ice cream during half time of the football game. I hope his day was special! We had a great time. We are grateful for the presents that were sent and the phone calls he received. He knows how loved he is!

Rest of Christmas Vacation!

Merry Christmas! Since I didn't send out cards this year, here is our family pic! I love getting Christmas cards and I didn't get to it this year. Please don't cross me off your list. :-)

I only posted about the first half of our trip. We were lucky enough to see both families over this Christmas holiday. We were also snowed in both places, so no, we weren't able to escape the Oregon snow as many people thought! It was a lot of driving, but for the most part, the kids were great. Bryce enjoyed it about as much as you would expect from a 19 month old! Luckily the other 2 were good sports.

So, here are some more highlights from our trip to end 2008.

***I am just trying to get some pics up for my mom! As soon as I am ready to start posting 2009, I will backdate this and make a new post! Enjoy!***

1. Spending time with Grandma Nise
2. Playing in the snow on New Years' Day. This is my idea of fun sledding! Being pulled by a snowmobile-no hill to climb. The kids (and adults!) loved it. And of course, nothing like finishing with hot chocolate.



3. Kids playing with their cousins. They love Grandma's toy room!
4. Spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Marker.
5. Enjoying the lights at Temple Square.
6. Riding the Frontrunner with Matt and Trish and kids.

7. (This is from the California part of the trip, but I am too tired to renumber it!) We went to see Christmas lights with great friends! Only bad part was it was the day after Christmas and I think the failing economy made half the houses decide not to continue turning on their lights...)


So, we were in the car for a total of 30 hours-crazy! We did hit traffic to Las Vegas that was not very fun, but we were grateful to have a safe trip. On the way to Ogden, it was about 2am and we were 2 hours from Grandma's when Bryce decided to throw up. We pulled into a gas station, cleaned him up and kept going. The kids woke up and watched one more movie. :-) On the way back to Portland, all was going well, until we were rear ended 10 minutes from home. What a way to end the trip.

All in all, we feel so lucky that we were able to see and play with each and every cousin this Christmas! We love you all!