Been Awhile

So it's been a little while... okay a long while since I've last posted. The last picture I posted is with Tyler with a binkie in his mouth- The binkie has been gone for a long while now and a lot has happened since then.

I'll admit I went on a bit of a blogging strike. (Enter on soapbox) Oh, I looked at all of your blogs and commented and what not, but I was just striking against my own blog. Have you ever been reading cute, creative, witty blog after blog and suddenly become depressed because you realize that your blog is not as cute, creative, or witty? That was me. So I stopped blogging because I felt like I didn't have anything to knock your socks off with. I was talking with my friend Stacie (who I set up with her now husband- apparently I'm a pretty good matchmaker) and we were talking about how it seems like people always try to outdo others. You know- in high school it was who had the best clothes or the most boyfriends or the best party. And now it's who has the best job, the biggest house, the best holiday craft, the best dressed or well-trained kids. I realized I had totally fallen into the trap (thanks a lot Satan!) and was feeling down on myself because while I have a pretty darn cute kid (have you seen Ty? best looking almost two year old you'll ever meet!), he's not always dressed to the nines and most often has food smeared on his face. And while I have a very comfortable home, we're still renting and in school. But guess what? I love my life! I have so much to be grateful for and appreciate in my life! I'm crazy about my husband and son and we have a blast together! And I want to keep a record of the the things we do and accomplish, our struggles and failures, the funny things Tyler does and says. And I want to share them with you! But I'm back, without any promises to knock your socks off. This is just us. And I love it! Here's to not comparing myself with others! (Exit off soapbox)

The Ty Guy

Tyler loves to wear my sunglasses in the car. He'll put them on and say "coo" (cool). And then he'll point to the radio and say, "moe, moe" (more, more) until I find the Jack Johnson song on the cd. Once everything is set he'll start nodding his head to the music and begin his "jam session". He's very particular about the things he likes to watch/listen to. For instance, if we do a sesame street video online, it has to be this one with Elmo and the apple. And if we listen to play songs on our computer, we have to start with "It's a small world" or he'll get pretty upset. Silly kid. We're trying not to cater to all of his particular-ness because I don't want him thinking he can get everything he wants. It's hard to be tough sometimes- he's just so darn cute!



Tyler is talking all the time now. He can communicate so well. So well that he gets frustrated if there is ever a time I don't know what he is saying. I'd document more words that he can say, but he'll pretty much repeat anything we say. Some of his new favorite words are "Anony" (Anthony- our cute neighbor boy upstairs we watched last night), "bee ball" (baseball), and "Nenony" (Melody- his cousin). He can say everyone's name on my side of the family, and about half of Jake's family (which is pretty good considering there are 40 of us!). We'll be driving in the car and he'll start listing off people's names. And the funny thing is he'll group them up in families. Most often he'll do Ben and Cindy's family or Ryan and Becca's.

He loves to sing! I'll find him humming himself to sleep for naps, which is funny because until about a month ago he never wanted me to sing to him before bed time. Now we sing all 3 verses of "I am a Child of God" about 3 times before he goes to bed at night. He'll also sing "Clean Up" while picking up his train set or crayons, and "Happy Birthday" anytime he sees a candle.

Well, I guess I'm kind of proud of my kid. What mom isn't? One of the benefits of being a mom- you get bragging rights... and then other times you're totally embarrassed when your 16 month old kid rips a loud man toot in Kohls, and then flashes a toothy smile like it's the best thing he's done all day. I love you Ty!

Weekend o' fun

Oh how I love this man. We had a... "fun" weekend with the stomach flu. Jake came down with the stomach bug around 4 in the morning on Friday. Isn't it the worst when your kids or spouse are sick- so much worse than when you're sick yourself. Jake is so tough. After spending a little one on one time with the toilet, Jake decided he was well enough to go help his friend out with some pest control stuff. After 2 hours of that he realized he had overestimated his superhuman abilities to overcome the stomach flu in just a few hours and was back home in bed for the rest of the day. He hardly complained at all and asked for very little help. He even almost fainted at one point, but played it off like it was nothing. Well, the next morning at 4 am, it was my turn. Let's just say I handle being sick a little differently than Jake. I immediately began asking Jake to help me with this and get me that. And Jake was there to help me every time. When it was my turn to have the "I almost fainted" spell, I had to have Jake hold me up, tell me what to do (put your head between your legs- it works!), and be there by my side until it was through. Then I had to have my mom come over to help me while Jake ran to do some errands. Gosh- do you think I'm a little needy?

It's funny how something so unattractive like throwing up, staying on the toilet all day, having your insides turned out, sweating like crazy, and staying in a dark stuffy room all day can make you fall more in love with someone. But it happens. Taking care of each other really made me realize how much I rely on Jake and how sweet he is to me. I only wish I treated him better when he was sick the day before me! I'm crazy about you Jake! (but let's not do the stomach flu thing again).

Merrell-Thon

My family is awesome. Last year we (by we I mean my crazy sisters and little brother) did a half Marathon and called it the Merrell-thon. I ran about 5 miles of it and called it good. We continued the tradition this year and decided to do a much more fun, laid back Merrell-thon and went with the 5k. My sister Cindy can tell you All About It.
It was fun and I'm hoping next year I can beat my slow, but steady 10 minute mile pace.

(A More Real) Love Story

My brother in law posted this video on our family website. Doesn't life feel like this sometimes? I love it!

Jake's 25th

Jake turned 25 years old today. His golden birthday- 25 on the 25th! Oh how I love this man!
25 things I love about Jake:
1. His burning testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
2. His dedication and devotion to his family
3. His contagious laugh
4. His urge to share a drawn out, detailed, scientific explanation for the most simple questions
5. His hardworking nature (you'll never find a guy that works harder!)
6. How he wrestles with Tyler everyday
7. How Tyler cries "Dadda, dadda" every day he leaves for school (Jake's boy loves his daddy!)
8. His desire to always have a strong, faithful, playful, romantic, marriage
9. His back and foot massages
10. His humble nature
11. His love of fishing, sports, water, geology, and anything outdoors
12. His desire to provide for his family
13. His granny driving
14. How he reminds us to pray every morning and night
15. How he so readily serves others
16. His support to help me reach my goals
17. His love of games- yahtzee, farkle, and boggle to be exact
18. That he loves crossword puzzles, that we get excited to find them in our weekly ads, and set aside time to do them together that evening
14. That he'll sit and watch HGTV or Food Network with me (even though a more exciting ball game might be on)
15. That he still gives me butterflies and makes me shiver (sorry Mom... you're probably blushing)
16. His love of school and learning
17. That he tells me all he wants for his birthday is for me to be happy (really? who is this guy? I love him!)
18. That he'll help with Tyler when I've been up with him in the night, even though he has class early in the morning
19. That he can laugh when hard things happen- especially when it comes to diaper explosions
20. His complete honesty
21. That he loves my cooking and encourages me to try my own twist on recipes (he's a brave man!)
22. That he tells me I'm beautiful everyday
23. That he drives whenever we're in the car together
24. That he's handsome, strong, and darn right hot
25. That he married me in the temple and has followed his promise to my dad to take me there often

Oh there is so much more about him I love, but there's a little snapshot for you. And apparently in my world- 14 comes after 18. So i guess that was 30 things I love about Jake. For his birthday we got together with both our families and had a little swim fiesta. The water was freezing, but the kids enjoyed it. We had enchiladas, 7-layer bean dip, fruit kabobs, and boy was it yummy! I love you Jake! Happy Birthday!

The Help

My friend Megan has started a book club and invited me to join. I've never considered myself as much of a reader, but apparently I LOVE it! This was the first book we read. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This book was amazing! I loved every moment of it and had a hard time putting it down (ask Jake!). I read it in less than a week (which is super fast for me- especially when I was working 2 of the days in the week). The characters became my friends and I loved being brought into their world. The author did an amazing job of giving each of the characters a distinctive voice. The story takes place in the 1960's in Jackson Mississippi and is told from the perspective of 3 different ladies: Miss Skeeter, a young Ole Miss graduate who is pursuing a career in journalism; Aibileen, a black maid who is raising her 17th white child; and Minny, a plump black maid that has a lot of spice and a mouth that has gotten her fired from numerous jobs. These 3 ladies "will come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed." If you are looking for a good book to read, go get it... now! Good luck finding it in the library though. Last I checked there were currently 109 holds on the book at the Mesa libraries. Let me know if any of you have read it or decide to read it. You will love it!