Bye Bye Yellow Truck

We visited Jonathan's parents today and on the hour long drive home Benjamin serenaded us with the following:

bye bye truck... bye bye truck... bye bye bye bye bye truck... yellow truck...yellow truck...yellow truck...yellow truck...yellow yellow yellow yellow yellow yellow yellow truck... bye bye... yellow truck...yellow truck... yellow truck... bye bye truck... bye bye grandpa's truck...

We're glad he's talking more, but seriously? It's going to be a long drive to Georgia.

Holy Heart Failure Batman!!

Jonathan and the boys got me this for Mothers' Day

(And these bottoms)

And I also got this:

(I asked for it, don't think he was trying to drop hints)

Jonathan and I did Level 1 last night.

My legs=jelly.

Jonathan's shoulders=wimpy.

Hopefully I'll be ready to wear my lovely new swimsuit in 30 days when we head to California for a 2 week vacation in the sun and surf.

Less is Always Best

A couple weeks ago we had a wonderful Enrichment activity where a lovely lady named Alice Fulton (the author of "It's Here... Somewhere") came and spoke to us about streamlining and organizing our homes. She had a lot of really good things to say, but one thing that really stuck out to me was how clutter is visually confusing to everyone (especially kids) and one reason we feel so calm and peaceful in the Temple is because there is no clutter and everything is simple and beautiful and clean. I spent the next week cleaning out our house and getting rid of all the extra STUFF that we don't like, want, use, need, or have space for.

Another thing she said that really stuck out to me was that on average, people will spend $200-500 a year on things they already own because they can't find them or forgot they had them! I've seen this myself (don't ask how many boxes of lightbulbs, extension cords, and new tubes of toothpaste I found in our closets when I cleaned them out).

One thing I was worried about was the whole "what if I need it later?" issue. But Sister Fulton pointed out that IF we did need something down the road then we would be blessed then for letting someone else who needed it today have it. Or a neighbor will have 5 of them in a closet somewhere in her house and would let us borrow one ;)

My closets have never looked so awesome. I even have EMPTY shelves. YAY! I honestly felt a huge relief and a ton of weight/stress lift off my shoulders as we carried all the extra stuff out to the car to donate it. It felt so nice that I decided that I needed to streamline and organize the rest of my life. And let me tell you, I really feel the difference in my life. I am so much more organized and I have more energy (most days, when Daniel sleeps well). I have more time to spend with Jonathan after the kids are in bed and I think our relationship is improving because of it.

Here is what I've done:

1. I deleted a ton of blogs from my Google reader list. Don't worry, none were friend's blogs, just the "other" miscellanious blogs that I've found over the years that I really don't have time to sit and read.

2. Likewise, I stopped "checking" websites everyday: ones like Mamabargains, Babysteals, Pinching Your Pennies, etc.

*These 2 things alone have saved me about an hour a day of sitting in front of the computer. I didn't always do it all at one time before, but sometimes I did and then I didn't have any time left during naps to clean or do things I needed to.

3. I stopped watching so much TV. I really like TV shows, so this was a little difficult. But I'm glad I narrowed my favorite shows down to three: Biggest Loser (Tues nights), America's Next Top Model (Wed nights), and Grey's Anatomy (Thurs nights). Three hours of TV a week is plenty- I still get that "escape" and "entertainment" but I also have more time to read, play Mario Kart Wii or Tetris with Jonathan, or clean the house after the kids are in bed.

4. I made my dinner menu much simpler. Jonathan teaches a class on Tues and Thu nights and usually doesn't get home until 6:30 or 7pm. Normally we eat dinner around 5:15 or 5:30 pm and I was making dinner for Benjamin and myself at 5 and then reheating or making dinner again for Jonathan at 6:30. Not anymore- Tues and Thu we are eating leftovers or frozen meals and Jonathan is fending for himself when he gets home. (sorry honey). The nights I do cook are easier too- spagetti sauce from a jar, hamburger helper, and now that it's warm enough we grill something on the BBQ usually 2-3 times a week.

5. I cancelled about 5 magazine subscriptions. Yes, I had that many, but I only paid for 2 (Real Simple and Parenting). There are so many other things I could spend my time reading. 'Nough said.

6. We play outside ALOT. I'm so glad we do because my house stays cleaner when we are not inside playing with toys and doing craft projects or eating snacks all day long. Benjamin loves to be outside and is really good about entertaining himself out there. So I just take a blanket, some water, and a couple toys for Daniel and we're ready for the great outdoors. Very little effort on my part except making sure Benjamin gets a drink of water every 20-30 minutes and Daniel keeps his hat on.

7. Sadly, I decided to stop my Project 365 and won't be uploading any more pictures to my Daily Snaps blog. I feel that I am way too busy with planning a cross-country move, 2 vacations before we leave, and caring for our 2 boys and their dad. It stopped being fun and started to become another thing on my to do list, so I cut it out. Maybe next year when we don't have such major changes going on in our lives.

8. I am going to ask all of you what you do to make your life simpler-- so tell me!! I'm dying to know!

Friday's 7 Quick Things

In my attempt to update you when I have no time (or desire) to write out long blogs full of pictures, here is my first ever "7 Quick Things Friday"

1. Daniel is not only crawling and pulling himself up on anything and everything, but he is also starting to walk holding on to the sides of furniture or our hands. Yesterday I gave him Benjamin's old walking toy (the kind that they can push while standing) and he took a few steps.

2. Time Outs work only 75% of the time with Benjamin. 15% of the time I have to issue a second time out within 2 minutes of ending the first. 5% of the time he gets a THIRD time out. The remaining 5% of the time I resort to a spanking and nip the problem in the butt, er bud.

3. My house is a mess, but at least my closets are beautifully clean and organized. All of them. And the awesome part is that I cleaned and organized them over a week ago and they are still perfect. Woot!

4. Tonight is date night and it's my choice of where to go out to eat. I've been craving 5 Guys for over a week now so I'm pretty much counting down the hours- only 7 hours left. Then we'll probably rent a movie from the Redbox.

5. My friend Ashley invited us to go feed the ducks yesterday and Benjamin thought it was the coolest thing ever. There was a little duck family- a daddy duck, a mommy duck, and three little baby ducks. Benjamin did not want to leave and carried the leftover hot dog bun all the way home.

6. Daniel is an eating machine these days! In one sitting he can finish a Stage 2 and a Stage 1 baby food jar. He can also drink an entire 4oz bottle of formula in less than 4 minutes if he wants to. We're not worried about his weight being in the 5th percentile anymore.

7. Benjamin went to his last day of gymnastics yesterday. We are so glad that we signed him up for it back in October. The changes we have seen in him are awesome- when he first started going he couldn't hang on to the bar by himself at all. Now he hangs and swings on his own. He is so much more social and understanding of how "classes" and "teachers" work. He loves to stretch and is no longer afraid of walking on the beams.

Daniel- 9 Months Old Already!

I can't believe Daniel is already 9 months old! Time is flying by so fast. Yesterday he had his 9 month check up and here are his stats:

Weight: 17lbs, 3 oz (5th percentile! At 6 months he was in th 18th so this is quite a drop)

Height: 27 3/4 inches (33rd percentile, down from 76th at his 6 month checkup)

Head circumference: 17 1/2 inches (26th percentile, right about where he has been)

Yes, we're a little worried about his weight. He has only gained about 1.5-2 pounds in the last 3 months and only grew a half inch taller. The doctor said it's fine as long as he doesn't fall off the chart. I'm trying to feed him a little bit more during the day since he has finally stopped waking up 4-5 times a night to eat!

Other than the weight thing, he is completely healthy and growing well! We're so glad!

I also talked to the doctor about Daniel's eye. He had a clogged tear duct when he was about 3 or 4 months old. Since then his eye has been watery and goopy quite a bit. It waters most days for no reason (he hasn't been crying or poking at it). I got a referral for a pediatric opthamologist to see him and was told that it might be weeks before we would get an appointment. Luckily, I called this morning and they had a cancellation for this afternoon so I was able to take him in right away. His tear duct narrows and what should be draining out his nose is the water and goopy stuff that keeps coming out his eye instead. If it doesn't clear up on its own by the time he's 14 months old or so then we'll have to get a tube put in. But I'm confident it will clear up. It's already better than it was a month ago.

Daniel has become quite the little crawler. He loves to move around and follows Benjamin and his mommy everywhere in the house. He is starting to pull himself up on the furniture and our legs and is a pro at standing up in his crib and wailing for someone to come get him.

He has finally started sleeping much better at night and usually only wakes up twice- once to eat and once to get a binky and a snuggle in before he falls back asleep. Jonathan is enjoying having his spot in our bed back (he chose to start sleeping in the toy room on the futon because Daniel was taking over his space in the bed.) I love having Jonathan back in our bed to snuggle with too :)

Daniel loves to eat "solids" We've been giving him all the vegetables (sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, carrots, etc) some meats (beef, chicken, and turkey) and he LOVES crackers and things that he can pick up and put in his mouth himself. He is getting formula from a bottle during the day now and is drinking it like a pro. He even holds the bottle by himself. Daniel gets mad when he sees other people eating something and he can't have it too!

And as always, Daniel is so happy and loves to laugh. Lately he has been getting the giggles every time we walk under the trees outside in the parking lot by our car. He looks up at the leaves blowing in the wind and the sunlight coming through and just giggles and giggles. What a great reminder to love the simple things in life we sometimes overlook. Other things he loves to laugh at are animals (especially dogs) and of course, Benjamin.

We love you Daniel!

California

Right after graduation Benjamin, Daniel, and I flew to California with my mom to visit her and my dad and brother for a few days. Here's just a few of the things we did:

We were very surprised at the size of the plane we rode on:

We had pillow fights on Grammy and Pepere's bed:

We played on the swing in the front yard:
We loved the doggy:
Both of them:
Daniel learned to crawl!

We played the piano:
We went to the park:We played in the sandbox in the backyard:

And the doggy played too:

We jumped on the trampoline:
We played basketball:

And hung out with Uncle Blake as he worked on his go-cart:

We took many baths (because we needed them!):

We went to Long Beach and saw the boats:

We had fun visiting family who we love and miss all the time!

Uncle Nick and Jade

Grammy and Pepere

I Graduated Too :)

On May 1st I graduated from UVU with my Associates degree (finally- ha ha. It's tough putting your husband through school). I'm hoping to finish my Bachelor's Degree sometime while Jonathan is working on his PHD, but our kids come first so we will see if that happens.

Oh, while I was lined up underneath the McKay Events Center where Commencement was being held I saw some pretty cool people- Can you see President Henry B. Eyring in the below picture?

That's Sister Eyring in the yellow standing to the right. When I first saw him I started looking around at everyone else lined up around me (we were lined up according to degree) to see if anyone else recognized him and it didn't seem like anyone did so I whipped out my cell phone to take a picture anyway. A few minutes after I took this picture on my cell phone he walked by and shook hands with people around me. I was too busy trying to text Jonathan to tell him who I saw so I missed my chance to shake his hand.

But, I was not disappointed... as I was trying to text my picture to Jonathan President Dieter F. Uchtdorf walked by and looked right at me and said "Congratulations" to me. Whoa. Awesome! We had just heard him speak at Jonathan's graduation Commencement the week before. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a picture of him because my phone was busy trying to text the above picture.

And to top it all off, President Thomas S. Monson spoke at my Commencement ceremony, too.