Guess I Signed Up For This...

Deep breath. Inhale, exhale.

That's what I'm telling myself over-and-over after this living through this long insane week! And now that it's almost over, after all the mini melt-downs and sweat and headaches (and yes, a few flustered tears!), it's hard not to giggle at the thought of everything that managed to happen in only five days! I'll let the week's stats tell the story. There were:

-5 nights that the baby didn't sleep through the night (by the way, anyone out there have any suggestions on how to get the little one to sleep through? I feel like I've tried every trick in the book, multiple times! "Crying it out," gradually phasing out night time feedings, waking the baby up after a couple of hours to "top him off..." I mean, holy cow!)

-3 nights that my toddler slept in my room because his baby brother was busy "crying it out"

-4 days that I woke up at 5:30 am for the day (not my cup of tea)

-2 days that the kids' books were thrown off their shelves

-2 days that my toddler didn't take a nap

-1 day that my baby didn't get a nap

-1 day that the cashier at the shopping warehouse turned me away because I had my husband's membership card (dumb, I know...but I was at the near the breaking point by then)

-1 day that I missed my appointment with the optometrist

-1 day that my toddler spread a new bottle of baby powder and baby lotion all over the de-shelved books, carpet and furniture

-1 day that I had to completely rearrange the kids' bedroom furniture to prevent future mishaps

-1 night/day that my hubby went to Keystone for a scout overnighter (of course, it was right after the book/baby powder/lotion thing happened) :)

Wow, right?

In my early moments of shock and frustration after Taylor completely trashed his bedroom, I called my mom to commiserate. She reminded me that she too had been there before, when my brother Larz and I were little. She said that we managed to trash our room even more artistically though--complete, not only with books off the shelves, baby powder, and lotion every where (in her case, the ever more destructive Desitin cream was the culprit)--but with crayon markings adorning the walls, curtains torn down, a mattress out of place, all the toys dumped out of their bins, and to top it all off...a little Larry wedged motionless high on a closet shelf.

Well Mom, I guess I'm getting what was coming to me! Why oh why wasn't I a sweeter child?...

Special Moments 1/17/2011

Prayer time

After I concluded a family prayer one morning, Taylor got up from perfect head bowing, eye closing, arm folding action and said: "Mom, that was a GOOD prayer!" Then under his breath he added, "I'm SO proud."

Upside down

My little Russell is such a naturally happy baby--I don't know how he manages it. And somehow, being upside down makes him even happier! Take a look at a game that he invented last week:

(If it had a name, I'm sure it'd be something like, "How to Make Dad Look Even Funnier at Dinner Time")

Special Moments in the Week of 1/10/2011

The Nutcracker

I was watching Disney's "Fantasia" with Taylor and he asked me about the music he was hearing. I told him that it came from a ballet called "The Nutcracker" and then proceeded to try and explain what a ballet was.

To give him a better idea of the concept, I turned to YouTube and found a clip of a Russian dance company, dressed in belly dancing-esque attire, performing the "Arabian Dance" movement of The Nutcracker. Hoping for awe and enjoyment from my son's uncultured eyes, he instead chuckled a response that a typical little boy would give: "Ha! BELLIES!! That's silly."

I suppose I'm glad that dancing and bellies aren't his thing.

Wet Hands

Late last week Taylor cleaned his plate before Andrew and I were finished with our meals. Stuffed and bored, he decided that putting his fingers into Andrew's drink would be a fun way to pass the time. His little passtime quickly became a game as he got a rise from Andrew's protests, such as:

"Hey!" "Stop that, please!" and "No, no!" After a minute or two of this, I looked Taylor in the eye and firmly said:

"Taylor, please keep your little fingers out of Daddy's drink. He doesn't like that." To which he replied,

"Only big ones?"

Boys' Club

While I was doing laundry this week, Taylor thought it would be fun to play in the nearby linen closet. He brought several of his favorite toys that could fit in the tiny space and closed the accordion door behind him. I chuckled to myself and let him do "his thing." Every few seconds of closet play time, he would slide the door open, poke his little head out, look in my direction and say: "Mom?"

"Yes?" I'd look in response.

"Only big boys."

He'd then disappear behind the closed door as quickly as he had appeared. His privacy was ensured!

"Baby Tonight"

While in Utah for Christmas, my mom was rifling through the family iTunes library and stumbled upon the one of the latest Usher hits, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love." Taylor asked her what the song was and she replied something like, "I don't know; what is this song, Taylor?" To which he informed her that the song was called "Baby Tonight" (words he heard in the song's chorus).

I guess Nanny + recognized song lyrics is a pretty magical combination for a toddler, because after that, Taylor caught "Baby Tonight" fever! Now, no matter where we are (at home, in the car, shopping...), that's all he ever wants to hear. Needless to say, the music video is now part of our iTunes repertoire.

Think of our singing, jumping, dancing-in-circles Taylor as you view the video yourself:

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

There's something magical about Christmas.

It's a time when my idea of Heaven becomes reality: It's where I'm surrounded by family (whom I love so much, I feel my heart practically bursting out of my chest as I write this); watching my children laugh and play; with my wonderful husband with me, not having to think about work pressures looming overhead; where state borders don't divide us from our loved ones and I when I feel the Spirit of Christ is so near that you could almost cut it with a knife.

It is "the most wonderful time of the year."

It's crazy to think that this is how it began:

True!

My good friend, MariLouise and her little Jonathan drove to Utah with me for Christmas--lucky for me (not so lucky for them, after I assured them that I-80 would be a wiser travel choice than I-70)! This is much what I-80 in Wyoming looked like for most of our 13 hour drive to Provo.

Perhaps this was just one of life's firey furnaces? Or, freezing cold blizzards?! Yikes.

Once safely in Utah, the warm fuzzies came back as Andrew and I enjoyed the company of our beloved friends and extended family, most of whom we don't see so frequently anymore.

Our boys had a blast bonding with their Nanny and Papa.

So did I. My parents are such amazing examples of positive thinking, good humor, patience, and love. I learned so much during this trip to Utah about how to approach parenting and life in general through observing their examples. Sometimes I feel like I should pinch myself at the thought that I'm their daughter. I am so blessed.

We also loved spending time with my best friends: my brothers (the group isn't complete without Kyle--we're missing him in this pic). I think they make me laugh harder than anyone in the world. After spending several days with them, I'm probably cured of all potential depression for a year! We have so much fun together.

Here's Devin, talking to "Le-der" Kyle on Christmas morning. He's serving a mission for our church in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We all had a chance to talk with him a little that day; he sounded great.

It was so neat to watch the magic of Christmas come alive through the eyes of our little ones (or in this case, through the eyes of their new blue Mr. Potato Head glasses). I could have re-lived our Christmas moments with them over-and-over. They are so pure. Again, I'm pinching myself.

Of course, the very reason why we celebrate Christmas is the same reason why I risked traveling through a blizzard in the first place. Family coming together, opening gifts with the little ones, seeing old friends--we do it all because of one special little baby. Christ is the reason that Christmas, for me anyway, truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Having had such an uplifting stay in Utah last month recharged me and made me feel both eager and excited for a new start in 2011. This is a year that I hope to be one of my best yet. Cheers!