My Updates

In my last post I wrote about the heart problems I was having. The potassium supplements didnt seem to help at all so last week I finally went to see my physician about it. And of course, in Dani fashion, once I got to the office I was not having one palpatation that they could listen to. FRUSTRATING!!!! The doctor did however still believe me and sent me to the hospital to have a cardiac monitor placed. This little device records my heart 24/7 and when Im having an "episode" (if thats what they are) then I push a button to capture the last 90 minutes and the next 60 minutes. For the last 3 days Ive had no palpatations (typical) until last night....I got dizzy and out of breath. So I finally got to push my little button. :) I still have to wear the monitor for a few more days so hopefully I will get to push it again so they can really see what Ive been experiencing. The plus side is that maybe Im getting better because the palpatations havent been as bad. One can only hope though! The down side is that the monitor looks like a big pager that I have to wear on my belt loop. So it looks like Im trying to look cool wearing a pager and failing miserably. Its slightly embarrasing. :)
The other good news is that we are signing Carter up for soccer. We are so excited and so is he. He loves to kick the ball around and I cant wait to see him and a bunch of other 3 yr olds chase the ball down. Its gonna be so cute! We will post pics once games start.
Last but not least....my parents finally found a house they love and bought it. Theyve been looking for a year and a half. The best part is that it is really close to us. Supposedly they are closing in a few days but those of us that have ever closed on a house knows that there are always little hang ups. I am so happy for them and cant wait to help them get moved in. I will post pics of the new house when they actually get moved in too.

Camp Ideas, Babies, Diets and Illness

I recently got called into Young Womens as the girls camp director. I am super excited about the calling but a little overwhelmed at the same time. I had no idea how much responsibility was involved. I am literally in charge of EVERYTHING! We have to plan where to go, what theme to use, what games and activities to play, where to go on the "hike", which special speaker to invite for testimony night, how much and what food to bring, make sure the girls get all of their certifications passed off, crafts to make, write up an itinerary, make up a packing list, create driving assignments, plan secret sisters, organize fundraisers to earn money and submit a budget. Sheesh...I get tired just typing all of the stuff. But the good news is that I have an awesome assistant and the Young Womens president was the camp director for the last 2 years so I think Im going to have plenty of help. Im excited to get started. I've heard that once you pick a theme, everything else just falls into place. I hope thats true! I will have to post my camp adventures as we are preparing, during and after camp. It will definitely be a worthwhile experience and Im truly blessed to be serving in this calling. I cant wait to get to know all of the young women. So if anyone has any ideas they'd like to share with me or past experiences of girls camp, Id really appreciate it!
On a totally different note, we found out last week that my sister Misty is expecting a baby boy in June. We are so excited for her because this will be her first baby. I cant wait to see her be a Mommy and experience all of those "firsts" with her little guy. Also, my other sister Amanda just informed us that she too is expecting in July. She will find out what she is having in a couple of weeks. She says that she and her hubby have convinced themselves its a girl and I told her that when I told Carter about her having a baby that he immediately said it was a girl. Now thats not to say we will be disappointed if its a boy. I think boys are fun and less work! Either way we will be happy to have another sweet baby in our family. This baby will make 6 grandkids in our family. Nick and I have been ready for another baby but for us its not as easy as just deciding that we want another one. We have to pray to know where our next child will come from. We really wanna try and conceive this time but that in itself is a whole other matter. :)
As of the first of the year, Nick went on a high protein, very low carb, doctor monitored diet. in 6 weeks he has lost 40 lbs! I am so proud of him. He has not cheated once and he looks amazing. I wish I had the dedication he does. But when he puts his mind to something, he follows through with it the whole way! I am so blessed to be his wife. He on the other hand probably wonders why he ended up with a problem wife such as myself. I always have something wrong. Maybe I do need psych meds....(a sarcastic comment from my husband). :) For the last 2 weeks Ive been having some health problems, mainly with my heart. Ive had a lot of palpatations, fatigue, diarrhea, and hot flashes. Ive had to have an EKG, and a lot of blood tests. The conclusion for the moment is that I have really low potassium which causes all of those things. Apparently I was really close to being in the hospital attached to an IV bag full of potassium. For now I am taking potassium pills to try and control it but thus far it is not helping all that much. I go back in a week or so to be retested. The up side is that Ive lost 13 lbs and Im not sure if its because Ive been really watching my diet too or all of the diarrhea Ive been having! So we will see what happens. Until then, life is day by day as usual! :)

Grasshoppers

For the last week Carter has had a terrible case of diarrhea. Its been so bad that he cant make it to the bathroom in time. We've had to wash a lot of underwear. He's even thrown up a few times. Finally after the fourth accident on Thursday morning, Nick consulted one of the doctors at his office and we decided to put him on a liquid diet for 24 hours and then take a stool sample to the lab to be tested. Apparently, a bacteria called Giardia has been going around so we needed to test him for it. If its positive, he needs to be on antibiotics. Well lets just say that the 24 hour liquid diet did not go over so smooth with him. He kept begging me for cereal, toast, raisins, peanut butter, cheese sticks and anything I would agree to. I had to explain to him numerous times that there was a "bug" in his belly that was stealing all of the food he eats and then pushing it out his bumb and that's why his belly had been hurting so bad.
Well today we took the sample up to the hospital lab to be tested. Nick took the sample inside while the kids and myself waited in the truck. After Nick got out of the truck Carter asked me where Nick was going. Here is our conversation..... (hehe!)
Carter: Mommy, where is Daddy going?
Me: He's taking your poop to be tested to see what kind of bug is in your belly....remember?
Carter: (sigh) Its probably a grasshopper. I hate those grasshoppers!
Me: (uncontrollable laughter) :)

I just had to write it down because it was so cute. He literally thought he had a bug in his belly and he really does hate grasshoppers!

Smooth Criminal

I took part of the day off work today to get some shopping done in preparation for Carter's big birthday bash on Saturday. I decided to take Carter with me and spend a little mommy/son time together. I went to Party Palace to pick up some decorations. As we were getting in the car after making our purchases Carter pulls out this soccer pen from his coat sleeve. I asked him where he got it and he said from inside the store. So....I made him go back inside and hand it to the store clerk and apologize for stealing it. The lady was really nice and explained to him that it's not nice to take things with out paying for them. He pretty much kept his head turned into my leg the whole time. I really think he felt bad about it and we had to have a talk once we got back in the car. I cant believe I didnt see him take it. It was our first and hopefully last shoplifting experience.

On a lighter note, as we were driving around town he said 2 really cute things today. When we first got in the car he said to me, "Mommy, it stinks in your car. It smells like the dentist!" I guess I bring my work home in more ways than one. Then later on we were driving past Wilks Funeral Home and he said, "Mommy what is that place?" I tried to explain to him that its a place we go to remember loved ones when they die and go to heaven. Our Grandpa Bullock passed away in October and we've extensively talked about how Grandpa Bullock's spirit went to heaven. After I explained about the funeral home he was quiet for a few minutes and then he said, "Mommy, Grandpa Bullock is the spirit of Christmas." I'm not quite sure what he meant by it but it was cute anyway. I love the innocent things kids say!

Halloween and Dentists....Scary!

Avery went to her 1st dental
appointment the other day and she

did great! I had her watch Carter
go first and she was itchin to have her turn in the fun chair and play with Mr. Thirsty (the suction). She even let them take x-rays which is awesome for someone as young as she is. She is only 20 months old but she was a pro! There was good news and bad news though. The good news is that she didnt have any cavities...Yay! But the bad news is that she has a tiny mouth and we need to start saving our pennies for braces. Its a good thing I work for a dentist cuz we usually get a professional discount at the orthodontist office. Guess I cant quit working just yet. Bummer!

I know this is like 2 months behind schedule but better late than never. Here are our goblins! Carter wanted to be Optimus Prime for Halloween and this is what we came up with. All of the store costumes were way to big for him so we improvised. We got a tshirt, sweats and a bandana that we put around his mouth. And of course the OP treat bag is a must accessory. Avery on the other hand was my Dollar Store costume. She is a little fairy, like Tinkerbell, and I bought her entire outfit for $5 including the Tinkerbell treat bag. They both looked so cute. We went trick or treating at the mall and met up with the rest of the Bullock family. Aunt Cassie dressed up as a bull and Carter was completely terrified of her/it. After the mall we went to Grandma and Granpa Roeslers, Ashley and Brandi's and then Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's. We ended our night by eating dinner at Burger King and then stopping at Home Depot to visit Aunt Misty. We had tons of fun! The week earlier however, we went to Grandpa Erick's annual pumpkin patch party at Caldwell Park. The kids each got to pick out a pumpkin and got lots of candy. It was fun but SUPER cold. We were popscicles by the time we left. It was a good thing Grandma Bullock offered to buy us lunch at Wendy cuz the chili was warm and yummy!

Last weekend my friend Jenni graciously came over to our house and took lots of really cute pictures of our family for Christmas. I wish I had the patience to load all of them onto my blog cuz they are so cute, but I dont. Here are my 3 favorite and of course the family one at the top of our blog. Arent my kids so stinking cute. They are really photogenic and I love taking pics of them too. Next weekend is Carter's birthday and we are planning for a Transformer Party. It should be lots of fun and I will definitely post more pics at that time.

Just Dance

The other night Nick and I were sitting in the living room watching TV. We had just put both kids to bed, however, we could still hear Carter in his room talking and moving around. The show that we were watching started playing the song "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga. Its a pretty catchy tune. A minute later Carter yells out.....

Carter: Daddy!

Nick pauses the TV.

Nick: What Carter?
Carter: I like this song.
Nick: Me too bud now go to sleep.

Nick pushes play and we continue watching the show. Another few seconds go by and we hear...

Carter: Daddy!
Nick: What Carter?
Carter: I'm dancin in my bed!

We laughed for the next 20 minutes or so off and on. Ahh.....the things kids say! Classic!

Random Stuff

This is my new hobby. My friend taught me how to make hair bows for Avery. I have been having so much fun. You can be so creative. I decided to make a bunch for the craft fair I am going to be a part of in November. I can make any kind and any color. Let me know if you'd like me to make you one. I am going to be selling them too!

Last Sunday we took the kids to Cherry Springs for a nature walk. Carter found a big stick and turned it into a gun. He had lots of fun kicking the leaves around too.

And this is my sweet little Avery. This is one of the few pictures I actually got of her looking at the camera. She watches her feet when she walks and so she wouldnt look up. But....we were in this grove of trees and the sun was shining on her just perfectly. Isnt she adorable!!

Avery is kind of a slow walker because once again, she looks at her feet when she walks so Carter, being the good big brother that he is, grabbed her hand and walked with her. How precious!

And this is my little Jazz man!! He is just as big of a Jazz fan as his Mommy and Daddy. I cant wait to take him to a real game when he is old enough. He loves sporting his jersey and head and wrist bands.

This kids loves healthy food. I dont even have to try and force her....she just eats it! I was making tacos one night for dinner and she wanted some tomatoes. I gave her a few on her plate and she ate all of it. In fact she ate 4 plates of tomatoes that I had chopped up.

By the time I realized it, she had eaten the entire tomato!! I had to chop up another one just so I could have some on my taco. Avery and I are the only ones that like tomatoes. Im so grateful she loves healthy food. But.....she also loves unhealthy food too!! :)

The other day I was sitting the living room and the kids were in Carters bedroom playing.

Carter: Mommy!! Come here.

Me: What do you need Carter?

Carter: Come see me and Sissy.

I walk into the bedroom and find both of them in his little recliner....reclining.

Carter: Dont we look cute Mommy?

Me: Yes, you guys look so cute!

Carter: Take a picture Mommy!

An Awesome Night of Fun

Well the auction went great on Thursday! We raised a lot of money for Tegan and I pray that it helps her and her family with the day to day costs. I loved being a part of it all. Thank You Jen for letting me help. We got to the Red Lion at 3pm to set up. Erin, Alison and I were getting all of the centerpieces ready. We had fish bowls filled with pretty pink and purple rocks and goldfish. They were slippery little suckers! So much in fact that Erin ended up spilling the bag of like 30 fish on the floor and there was goldfish flopping all around. It was pretty funny and I just want to reassure everyone that we saved every single fish.....including the one I found under the table about 5 minutes later! We got the slide show working on the projecter and then the band showed up to set up and practice. The bands name was Brothers of Jared and they were really, really good! They played a lot of old and new stuff. I was really impressed with them. I highly recommend them. After setting up, we all rushed home to get ready and head back to start greeting people. I was positioned up front with Brandi, Shelby and Alison. Shelby and Alison are aunts of Tegan. It was really awesome to get to know them and work beside them most of the night. Our job was to sell raffle tickets, greet people and assign them a bid number. After the auction we were also in charge of checking the winning bidders out at the end of the night. That proved to be the toughest job throughout the whole night. It was pure chaos but everyone ended up paying and being happy with what they won. Even Brenda Baumgartner and Todd Blackinton from channel 6 news came. Brenda won a fun gift and it was really neat to see them there just showing their support for the Salce's, not because they were reporting the event. The auctioneer, Roger, did an amazing job with getting people to bid higher and making it a fun night for everyone. I never did get to go inside the auction because I was super busy selling tickets and checking people out but I could hear him and he sounded like he was having lots of fun too. We had one game called 50/50. Anyone who bought a ticket for it was eligible to win half of the pot at the end of the night. I knew the lady that won it and she ended up donating her half back to the family!! What an awesome thing to do! The whole night was so much fun. My family and Nicks parents showed up too and they all stayed the whole night. Carter, my son, had so much fun playing with all of the big kids at the auction. It was so fun to watch him laugh and run around. They all ended up dancing on the dance floor to the band. I'm pretty sure they had a good time too. Towards the end, Shelby, Tegan's aunt, got up and thanked everyone and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Earlier in the evening, I had 2 small boys, along w/their mom, come up to the table and put $20 each in the donation cans. I thanked them for their generosity and the mom pointed to one of her boys and said, "This is my little survivor. He was diagnosed when he was 5 and he made it. Ive know people on both sides and we support anyone going through this." All four of us at the table were bawling like babies. Its just so amazing to see how generous people can be and that they really do care. I am so blessed to be a part of this and I pray for Tegan everyday that she will get stronger and healthier for her big surgery on the 29th. Thank you to everyone who came and showed your support. Mostly I am thankful for my beautiful children and for their health. You never know when it could be them in the hospital fighting for their life. We are going to start planning our next fundraiser for Nov. 7. A craft fair with lots of neat stuff. Keep it open on your calendars and please keep Tegan in your prayers! Thanks everyone!

Spread the Word

For those of you that actually read my blog I would love it if you can help me spread the word about Tegan Salce. She is a 2 yr old little girl that was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer called MRT in April. There are only 15 cases diagnosed each year and only a 20% survival rate. Tegan's parent tried for 5 years to conceive until they were finally blessed with this sweet little girl. My heart goes out to them because of our own fertility problems. Tegan lives in my neighborhood and there are a lot of wonderful people helping out her family. We are having a fabulous fundraiser for her next Thurs. Sept 24th from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Red Lion. Its a FREE, yes I said FREE, Ice Cream Social. There is also going to be a Live and Silent Auction and also a raffle. There is going to be some amazing items in the auction and raffle. We need as many people to attend as possible. Please come and bring your family, friends and coworkers!! Did I mention there was going to be Free Ice Cream!!! To see all of the items being auctioned and raffled go to miraclefortegan.blogspot.com. I cant help but think how many of us take having healthy children for granted. My children in particular to me are divine gifts from God and I am so thankful that they are healthy. I cant imaging sitting in a hospital room for days on end watching my daughter endure the awful side effects of chemo and then to be holding her as clumps of hair fall off of her precious little head. Tegan is scheduled for surgery to remove the tumor and it is a very invasive surgery. They actually have to remove her collar bone to get to it. Please help us to raise money for the medical costs associated with her treatments and the traveling expenses. We will also be having a Craft Fair in early November. If anyone is interested in having a booth to sell items, please contact me. I will definitely be there helping out so you will see a familiar face there. If anyone has any questions or knows of something to donate for the auction or raffle please let me know. I hope to see you all there!!!

Spring and Summer Stuff

Here are some pics to go with what we've been doing for the last 6 months.....Just having fun mostly!!

We took the kids to Hogle Zoo and had a blast. Well except Nick....he got eaten by a lion!!

Me and Avery liked the elephant exhibit. It was our favorite!

Carter got pneumonia right after we moved into our new house. Here is one of the bad days he had laying on the couch. He was so weak he couldnt even sit up to let me dress him. Poor kid!

Avery had her first birthday in March and I made a butterfly cake for her which she hardly touched. But that was ok....she looked to pretty to get all messy!

My sweet baby girl on her 1st birthday. Doesnt she look so pretty in her party dress!

On Mothers Day we had a BBQ at my parents house and Carter was giving Avery rides on his Harley. He can pop wheelies ya know. Even with Avery on the back.

It's very rare that I get both kids "sitting" and posing for pictures. Here they are on the 4th of July all fesive-like. Carter was giving me the courtesy smile that's not really even a smile.

Kissing cousins....or should I say hugging cousins. We went to the mountains with Nick's family and Cayben and Carter actually got along for most of the night. They even hugged each other because they wanted to and not because we made them to apologize for something. Dont they look so stinking cute. I wish they didnt fight so much! :)

When cousin Sam came to visit, a lot of time was spent playing in the pool and eating popscicles. On this HOT day, they each ate about 3 popscicles and as you can see Carter is in love with his and Sam thinks he is a weirdo. He's probably right though.

Avery also enjoys a popscicle now and then. I tried to take the popscicle away from her to clean her up and she flipped out. Do Not Mess with her popscicle!!!

Last but not least, this is what happens when you let Grandma do Avery's hair. Enough said.

Boy Trouble

Okay all of you mothers of little boys.....I need help. At least I think I need help...maybe its just a phase or something but what do you do about your son playing with his little schmeckel constantly!! The other day I got him out of the bathtub and was putting lotion on him. He grabbed the lotion, put some on his hands and went to town on his manhood. I kept telling him to stop but by the 3rd or 4th time I said it, I noticed that "it" was at attention. What do you do?
Also, Carter has it out for his sister. I am constantly finding new bruises all over Avery's back and head. He will go out of his way to knock her down or jump on her or throw stuff at her or push her down. Its impossible for her to even walk around him. We've had talks about being nice to her, family home evenings specifically on loving our family members and it just doesnt seem to be getting through to him. Any suggestions would be helpful.

The Po Po

So this is such a funny story that I had to blog about it. Yesterday we went to Walmart and when we were coming out there was a policeman outside. Carter immediately recognizes him and says "The cops Daddy, look". Nick proceeds to say "Yup, its the Po Po"(an inner city slang term for police---for those of you who didnt grow up in the hood) :) Any way, so then we head over to Shopko and on the drive over I told him we do not call them the Po Po. They are nice policeman that are here to protect us. So we go inside and as we are waiting for the one of the clerks to retrieve the item we just purchased, I see a cop car speed by. Nick and Carter go outside to see what is going on. They see a policeman park his car and get out. Carter sees the policeman and as if he knows it was wrong, screams, "Its the Po Po!" and turns and runs into the store.

Thank You Bryce

On Friday I decided to get the kids all dressed up in patriotic colors and go to a funeral precession for Spc. Bryce Millward. He was a cousin of mine and he died in a helicopter accident in Hawaii while on active duty. I knew that the community was going to support his family by displaying flags along the route to the funeral home from the airport as they brought his body home. Before we left I showed Carter the US Flag on his shirt and explained that we lived in a very special place and that there are "nice people" who protect us and our homes by fighting against the "naughty people" who want to take that away from us. Once I could tell he sort of knew what I was talking about, I explained who Bryce was, a "nice person", who died trying to protect us and is now in heaven with Jesus and Heavenly Father. Then I told him that we were going to show our support to his family by waving our flags and saying Thank You as they drove by. As we headed out the door we grabbed our little flags and bundled up since it was pretty chilly. We got a really good spot on the street and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson showed up with blankets. While we were waiting, I again took the opportunity to explain to Carter why we were there. I wasnt sure it would all sink in. Then, we heard the police sirens and the POW/MIA motorcycles leading the precession. Carter jumped up in my arms to see better. As they all drove by, the entire street fell silent. You could feel the gratitude in the air from everyone around us. Then we saw the hurst carrying Bryce's body and tears began to stream from my eyes. Carter kept asking me, "Mommy, who is that?" I told him it was Bryce. And then, just when I thought that maybe he didnt remember anything we had talked about, he silently whispered...."Thank you Bryce". My heart melted and I held my son as tight as I could knowing that the Millward family had just lost theirs. It was a moment I will never forget. I am so happy I shared that experience with my children. I didnt know Bryce, nor did they but I knew it was important that they knew about him. I hope I can install a sense of honor and gratitude in them for the free and wonderful country we live in. We are all truly blessed!!

Short and Sweet

I always feel like I have to blog with a ton of pictures and lots of fun news and then I get so discouraged because it will take me forever to blog it all. So what im gonna start doing is blogging random things..quickly and maybe even sometimes without pictures!! I need to do it so that I can count this as my journaling. So far....here's a recap since the last blog. Short and sweet!
1. Avery turned 1....it was a great day but sad for me. My baby is one and getting bigger.
2. I turned 31....again a good day but sad for me. :( I hate getting older too. Nick took me to a beautiful themed suite and dinner. It was really fun.
3. Carter tried to potty train and did really good but got really distracted because it was so nice outside and never wanted to come in to go potty. So we gave up....Honestly, I wasnt ready. :)
4. I had an awesome Mothers Day. The kids gave me a maple tree to plant in our front yard to watch grow as they grow....how thoughtful. Nick changed all of the diapers and we had a BBQ.
5. Carter called me at work the other day to tell me he pooped in the potty all by himself.
6. We planted grass in our yard, had a sprinkler system installed and just got A/C installed.
7. I heard some sad news about a friend of a friend. My friend Jen has a friend named Angela who has a little girl named Tegan and she has just recently been diagnosed with MRT, a rare form of cancer that only affects 15 people a year! Jen organized many fundraising events for Tegan. I have offered to help because seeing what this little girl and her family are going through is heart breaking and it really maked me appreciate the healthy children I have. If anyone is interested in the fundraising events go to teganlyn.blogspot.com or click on the link on my side bar labeled Tegan Lyn. If anyone would like to make a donation or help in anyway please let me know. Any donations are appreciated. The main fundraiser will be next week June 12 and 13 at the Diamond Court Apartments. There will be a yard sale where the money earned from all items sold will go to the family. They will also be selling raffle tickets for some really awesome prizes. I hope there will be a huge turnout!
8. Summer is here...kind of...and Im looking for fun ideas to do things with the kids on my day off. Hopefully we can go swimming or something. If anyone is interested in a play date let me know. My kids need to get out of the house and play with other kids! I am really looking forward to the summer. I might try and add just pictures tomorrow. I have a ton of them.
9 My sister and her family coming down for the fourth of July and I am really excited. Ive got some stuff planned and hope to keep everyone entertained....especially myself and the kids. :)
10. I went to the foot doctor because I have been having tremendous pain in my heel. I have plantar fasciitis and had custom insoles made....which were expensive and so far have not done anything to help relieve the pain. My next option is probably surgery....which I am totally avoiding. Im going to see how the next months go and then make up my mind....so wish me luck.
11. Carter got pneumonia and was pretty sick. He was so weak he couldnt even sit up to let me dress him. It was so sad! But he recovered quickly and is healthy now.
12. Avery is trying to walk....but only when she wants to. She is stubborn and if youre not paying her any attention, she'll walk all over!!
13. We found out that we are adding a new niece and a nephew to the Bullock side of the family. We are super excited to have one of each. Cassie is due at the end of October and Erika is due at the start of November. Why cant anyone in our family have a summer baby? They are all winter babies!! Sheesh..... :)
Well there it is....the long and short of it all. Happy Blogging!!!

I'm A Survivor

I went to bed at midnight and talked to Nick for an hour. At 1:45 am Carter came into our room (not crying). I picked him up and carried him back to his bed and he asked me to sit with him. I did until he fell asleep and then went back to bed. Five minutes later I heard him crying for me so I went in his room and laid on the floor next to his bed with a blanket. For some reason he wouldnt go back to sleep but he still hadnt asked for a bottle. I asked him if he wanted to sit on the recliner in the living room with me and he jumped right out of bed with his Cars blankie. When we sat down he started crying again and then finally asked for a bottle. I reminded him that he threw them away so the Bottle Fairy could take them to the new babies at the hospital. A few seconds later he stopped crying and fell asleep. I put him back to bed and shut his night light off since it was pretty bright. I figured that may be the reason he couldn't go to sleep. As soon as I did that he never got up again!!! At 7:07 am he came walking into our room. When Nick set him up on the bed he asked to pick a prize out of his bag.......he wasnt gonna forget! I got up to go get the bag from his room and he yelled to me that he wanted the M&M's! He already knew which prize he wanted. He was so cute. He picked the little baggie with Smarties, Sixlets and of course M&M's. He put them in his mouth pretending to be an walrus. Nick and I gave him high fives and told him how proud we were of him. He just grinned from ear to ear. I think we have a Big Boy on our hands now!!!

Bye Bye Bottle Party

Today we threw Carter a Bye Bye Bottle Party. Carter is 2 yrs old and still demands a bottle at bedtime, during the night and at naptime. I decided that in order for the weening of his bottle to work, it needed to be a BIG deal. So we threw a party and told him that for every bottle he throws away he gets to open a present. We bought him a new toothbrush that sings, a football nightlight and a bedtime book. His final present was a back pack full of small prizes. Every night he goes without a bottle he gets to pick a prize out of the back pack the next morning. I also bought him new sippy cups, which we decorated with stickers. We also decorated Averys bottles with stickers too. We made cookies and had milk in fun animal cups. We invited our parents so that Carter would really think it was a big deal. Every time he threw a bottle in the garbage we all clapped and cheered and high fived him. Grandma Kim gave him a horse on a stick (which he used to hit all of the balloons with) and a giant bubble wand (which also used to hit the balloons with.) We had a really good time. After he threw all of the bottles away and opened gifts he tied up the bag and put it on the porch, where we told him the Bottle Fairy would come and pick them up and take them to the hospital for all of the new babies. This whole bottle thing has been such a struggle for us because he is sooooo attached to them and its hard to ween him when Avery still drinks bottles. Tonight will definitely be the test to see how he does. Im anticipating it NOT going well but praying for the best. We said a special family prayer tonight that it will not be too difficult for him or for us and that he will enjoy all of his new gifts. I hope everyone will remember us in their prayers. I will update everyone in the morning on how tonight goes. It should be interesting.........or a nightmare! :) Wish us Luck!

Moving and Birthday ideas

Ok so I know its been a long time since I last wrote but we've been trying to sell our house and we finally did! We just moved into our new house and are still living out of boxes. We just got our internet set up yesterday and Ive been dying with out my computer. So as soon as I get my house put together and finish unpacking then I will definitely post new pics of the house and some really cute pics of the kids. Avery's birthday is at the end of the month and she will be ONE. I cant believe it. Im trying to think of some cute and fun ideas for her first bday party and am having some trouble so if anyone has any great ideas, Id love to hear them. Thanks to everyone else who updates their blog often cuz I love to read them! Ive been so busy lately that I just havent had the time to sit down and do it. I promise I'll be better! :)

Playing Catch Up

Okay family and friends.....I apologize for the delay in updates in our blog. Life has been crazy to say the least. I think what I will do since there is so much to catch up on is to shortly write what's been going on since Halloween and then post random pics. My sister, Amanda, and her family came home for Thanksgiving and we all had so much fun. Carter and Sam get along so well. There is no fighting or crying and I wish they got to see each other more often. We had a great holiday. We invited my entire family and Nick's family for a combined dinner. Most everyone showed up and we ate til we were stuffed and then ate some more. The boys played basketball, the kids ran around and of course us women cleaned up the dinner. But that's the way it goes right? Actually, I prefer it that way cuz then we get to have girl talk. Unfortunately, Amanda and her sweet family had to go back to Spokane. That meant Christmas was just around the corner and I needed to start planning and shopping. For some reason I actually left all of that until a few weeks before Christmas because I had so many other things going on. Carter had his first dental appointment. He actually had his teeth cleaned when he was 18 mo old but that was kind of impromtu. This appointment was actually scheduled. He looked so cute sitting in the waiting room waiting for his turn. He did so good!!!! We were able to take x-rays, clean, polish and apply fluoride. He got a new SpongeBob Squarepants toothbrush and for his prize......chapstick!! It was a pretty good experience. I thought he might cry or freak out but he didnt and he did great. Right after that, he had his wellness visit and I am proud to say he is healthy. He weighs 30 lbs, and is 37 in tall. he is in the 96% for his heighth. He is tall!!!! Avery also had her wellness visit. She is 16 lbs 9 oz and is in the 25% for her weight. She is so little but it seems like she is growing every day. She is getting around so well. She isnt crawling in the normal sense but she does this weird army like crawl and thats how she travels. She finally cut her first 2 teeth.....thank heavens. She looks so cute with teeth.

Carter had his 2nd birthday last week. I cant believe my little boy is finally two!!! He had a pretty good day and of course he made out awesome with the toys at his party. He wanted basketballs, Cars toys, and Walle stuff. He got it all!!! Plus he had fun playing with the balloons. Cayben and Ellie also joined in. Actually, Ellie is more of a watch from a distance kind of participant. She liked to play with Avery for the most part. She loves babies. Ellie is Carter's future wife. She and him have already made out, slept in the same bed and Ellie likes her new mother in law....Me! Anyway, the birthday was a great success. Then there was Christmas. We had a really good Christmas. Carter of course made out and received so many toys that now we have to figure out how to store them all. Avery got lots of clothes which she desperatley needed. We had such a crazy Christmas that for the last 2 days we have done nothing but stay in ourPJ's all day and be lazy. Its been awesome. Well.....I hope I've covered everything. If not then I will post again soon. I'm pretty sure thats all of it. I will try to be better hopefully after the new year.

Halloween

Well this was our first Halloween that we actually got to go out and trick or treat. I made Carter's costume which by the way is a dog......not a bunny (Kim). :) Heehee I think it turned out cute and he got lots of comments on how cute he looked. I dont think it was the costume that made him look cute.......that's just how he is. Although, the night did not start off well. It didnt help that I was not feeling well, and Avery had spiked a fever so she was not happy either. I tried to get a picture.....as you can see did not go well. So we just gave up on picture taking and put him and Avery in the truck and went to the trunk or treat. He fell asleep before we opened the garage. But once we got there, he was so infatuated by all of the kids' costumes and the fact that people were "giving" him candy. Avery was so cute in her costume.....she was a cat by the way. She was just in awe at all of the kids and loved watching everyone. After our wards trunk or treat, we went to Nick's brothers wards trunk or treat and got even more candy. Then we went to the mall. By this point, both of the kids were showing signs of fatigue and wrestlessness. I was finally able, however, to get a good picture of his costume. Carter got so much candy in his bag that he tore a hole in it. It was so heavy for him that he dragged it along the ground but wouldnt let us carry it for him. He was too smart for that. He knew we'd eat his candy. All in all we had a pretty good time until that night when Avery's fever spiked to 102 and wouldnt sleep. Poor thing was miserable. But it was definitely a memorable night....especially when Carter was so hopped up on sugar that he tore off his clothes and diaper and started running around the house naked only wearing his dog collar that read "FIDO". At that point we knew it was going to be a long night. :)

Fun Fall Day

Today we went to a pumpkin patch to get a couple of pumpkins. When Carter found his pumpkin he gave it a kiss. Carter and I picked out a pumpkin for Avery but unfortunately I put it on top of the truck to load stuff and forgot about it. The pumpkin died. The park was full of pumpkins and leaves. Carter had so much fun kicking the leaves around and Avery was enjoying eating her leaf. Plus I was having fun with my new camera and I took like 80 something pictures. My hubby got me a new Canon EOS XTi Digital SLR camera. I LOVE IT!!! I can take multiple pictures at once. It was a $600 camera that we got for $250 because the newer model came out this week. Anyway after picking pumpkins, all of our family came back to our house to decorate the pumpkins and sugar cookies. Everyone had a good time and frosting found its way all over the place. The kids had fun with each other and we ended with some pretty awesome looking pumpkins. I am getting so excited for Halloween. I am making Carters costume and I have most of it done but I need to sew a few things. I will post some pics once its done.