I have no no no idea how we were able to land Miss Holly Crow with us in AZ but she has been more than we could have asked for this week. Kendrick has been sick for the past few days with the flu and Auntie Holly has been incredibly helpful. I have been having some dizzy spells (another sickness maybe?) and there were moments where I could not take care of my little boy. Nate and Holly stepped up to the plate no questions asked. Carpets were scrubbed, laundry was washed, dinner was made, and trips to the store are just a few things that both Holly and Nate have been doing with a cheerful voice.
Again I have no idea how we landed this angel but we are going to enjoy a few more days of the old Nintendo, speed games, board games, and down right good conversations before we take her back to Utah to give her farewell talk.
Miss Holly will be serving a mission in Arcadia, CA and will leave for the Mexico MTC in one week. I feel like we are royalty getting her all to ourselves in her last few days before the mission. We have a lot going on this weekend but I will do my best to take some photos and report back shortly on our adventures.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
Pictures from the phone
I just learned how to e-mail my pictures from my phone to my e-mail and so I thought I would share a few of my recent favorite.
Nathan was being the star hubby and Daddy that he is and went grocery shopping with Kendrick. It just so happened to be that it was during Kendrick’s nap time so this is a picture he sent me of Kendrick trying to get comfortable enough in the cart to take a nap.
I was trying to send a picture to Nathan to show off my lipstick that I had just made with my sil. I don’t know how I moved the phone to get it blurry but I loved the way that it was still me through the blur.
Kendrick was playing in my Auntie and Uncle’s yard and after a few minutes of not seeing him or hearing him I found him against the wall on this giant bike. He is bound to be an athletic champ. He loves everything outside… camping, biking, swimming, running… he was born to be an outdoors man.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Grown to 2!
Yesterday we celebrated Kendrick's 2nd Birthday. It made me a teensy bit sad but mostly I couldn't help repeating Happy Birthday to him a million times because I love watching my little boy grow. We celebrated by having cinnamon roll pancakes for breakfast, going to Frozen (looks like we are increasing our tradition to 2 movies a year) and eating popcorn for lunch, and then had a small party with our neighbors who have 4 boys.
Kendrick played with his toys every waking chance he got. I love that almost any toy can keep his attention for such a long period of time. He loves to play and imagine. He loves to ride around the tile on his cars or bike. He likes it when I play with him but he also doesn't mind following me around and playing wherever I am cleaning. He is my little helper and buddy and I it is hard to remember what my life was like before he was a part of it. He just fits with Nate and I and everyday we feel so lucky to be called his parents.
Happy Birthday Kendrick! We look forward to spoiling you every year because we are so happy that you were born into our family!
Kendrick played with his toys every waking chance he got. I love that almost any toy can keep his attention for such a long period of time. He loves to play and imagine. He loves to ride around the tile on his cars or bike. He likes it when I play with him but he also doesn't mind following me around and playing wherever I am cleaning. He is my little helper and buddy and I it is hard to remember what my life was like before he was a part of it. He just fits with Nate and I and everyday we feel so lucky to be called his parents.
Happy Birthday Kendrick! We look forward to spoiling you every year because we are so happy that you were born into our family!
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Mister is not so little
I feel like Kendrick has gone from being my little toddler to my little boy the last few days. He has developmentally changed so much that I knew I needed to document it. In less than a week this is what he has learned.
*How to get water out of the fridge for himself.
*That climbing out of his crib was cool. We decided to switch it to a toddler bed on Wednesday. Already he has learned to stay in his bed until mommy or daddy come and get him even though he does have access to get out.
*Mimicking every single word I say... except Love. This one impresses me the most. Last week it felt like he didn't know more than 20-30 words and all of the sudden he knows hundreds. I guess he decided that it was cool to talk after all.
*He understands to wait for a prayer before eating his dinner.
*If he looses something I can ask him where he put it last and he will almost always remember and go and grab it.
*He will tell me if he is hungry or thirsty and usually tell me what he wants to eat or drink.
*If I tell him what we will be doing after his nap or when he wakes up in the morning he will go to sleep giggling with excitement.
*Still sleeps like a champ. It is rare for him not to sleep at least 12 hours at night and he has finally switched to just one nap which is typically 2 1/2 - 4 hours. Mister loves his sleep.
*We took away his binky and just told him it was gone. He barely fussed which was a HUGE deal because we though he was so attached. A few days later he saw a binky we hadn't thrown out yet and cried for it. I handed it to him and told him to go throw it away. No questions asked he took it from my hands and ran and dumped it in the trash. Proudest moment of my mister.
*When in Washington he learned the word snuggle and says it whenever he wants me to snuggle him.
*He will run and hug me LOTS throughout the day and makes it a mini game.
*He loves to just play with one or two toys at a time. He has a favorite truck and police car that he keeps in both hands and will entertain him for HOURS. He is also great about cleaning up his toys and singing the clean up song while he does it.
*When I tell him Daddy is at work he will stop looking for him around the house and say "Daddy work"
I love being this little misters mama. He makes me happier than I ever thought possible. Nate is also the best Daddy I could have hoped for. Growing up I never imagined my kids having such a great Dad... I just assumed Dad's worked and that was their only role. Nate is so much more than that. He plays and teaches Kendrick so much. He never ever loses patience or cheerfulness. He is Kendrick's best friend and even just today before his nap Kendrick told me he missed Daddy. I feel so blessed to have such amazing boys in my life and I hope to someday have more. I adore boys and would be completely content if that is all our family consisted of...except me haha.
*How to get water out of the fridge for himself.
*That climbing out of his crib was cool. We decided to switch it to a toddler bed on Wednesday. Already he has learned to stay in his bed until mommy or daddy come and get him even though he does have access to get out.
*Mimicking every single word I say... except Love. This one impresses me the most. Last week it felt like he didn't know more than 20-30 words and all of the sudden he knows hundreds. I guess he decided that it was cool to talk after all.
*He understands to wait for a prayer before eating his dinner.
*If he looses something I can ask him where he put it last and he will almost always remember and go and grab it.
*He will tell me if he is hungry or thirsty and usually tell me what he wants to eat or drink.
*If I tell him what we will be doing after his nap or when he wakes up in the morning he will go to sleep giggling with excitement.
*Still sleeps like a champ. It is rare for him not to sleep at least 12 hours at night and he has finally switched to just one nap which is typically 2 1/2 - 4 hours. Mister loves his sleep.
*We took away his binky and just told him it was gone. He barely fussed which was a HUGE deal because we though he was so attached. A few days later he saw a binky we hadn't thrown out yet and cried for it. I handed it to him and told him to go throw it away. No questions asked he took it from my hands and ran and dumped it in the trash. Proudest moment of my mister.
*When in Washington he learned the word snuggle and says it whenever he wants me to snuggle him.
*He will run and hug me LOTS throughout the day and makes it a mini game.
*He loves to just play with one or two toys at a time. He has a favorite truck and police car that he keeps in both hands and will entertain him for HOURS. He is also great about cleaning up his toys and singing the clean up song while he does it.
*When I tell him Daddy is at work he will stop looking for him around the house and say "Daddy work"
I love being this little misters mama. He makes me happier than I ever thought possible. Nate is also the best Daddy I could have hoped for. Growing up I never imagined my kids having such a great Dad... I just assumed Dad's worked and that was their only role. Nate is so much more than that. He plays and teaches Kendrick so much. He never ever loses patience or cheerfulness. He is Kendrick's best friend and even just today before his nap Kendrick told me he missed Daddy. I feel so blessed to have such amazing boys in my life and I hope to someday have more. I adore boys and would be completely content if that is all our family consisted of...except me haha.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Tine and future plans
The best Christmas present I got this year was having my sister from Boston come and spend the week with us. I adore her and love having her in our home. Kendrick learned how to pronounce Aunt Tine and it melts my heart as much as the word mommy. He adores his auntie and we both were sad to see her leave. It was hard not to feel bummed when he woke up asking for her this morning. She headed back to Boston last night and I am already trying to figure out how we can live closer. We are thinking of possibly moving again and Tine is factored into our plans because we just love being around her. We are big big dreamers and this is what our future looks like...
We buy a duplex with my brother David and each live on one side of it. My best friend and Tine will be our neighbors in which we will have a underground tunnel that will connect the houses. This underground tunnel will include a theater/ game room. It will have a secret entrance so that our kids will not know about it. There will be a recreational center in our backyard that will have everything from a zip line to a gymnastic tramp and anything dreamable and amazing in it.
It is pretty much the best dream ever and luckily Nate has a job that is flexible on locations so it really will happen. So excited for this dream to come true! It makes living apart from them now seem doable because when we live close together our world will be heaven!
We buy a duplex with my brother David and each live on one side of it. My best friend and Tine will be our neighbors in which we will have a underground tunnel that will connect the houses. This underground tunnel will include a theater/ game room. It will have a secret entrance so that our kids will not know about it. There will be a recreational center in our backyard that will have everything from a zip line to a gymnastic tramp and anything dreamable and amazing in it.
It is pretty much the best dream ever and luckily Nate has a job that is flexible on locations so it really will happen. So excited for this dream to come true! It makes living apart from them now seem doable because when we live close together our world will be heaven!
Say what you want to say
A few weeks ago I posted about this song, Brave. I decided that it deserved another post because I truly think it is that amazing. This time around though it has to do with being brave while communicating. If you listen to the song again and think about the lyrics telling you to be brave enough to have difficult conversations (this can be anything that would be difficult for you to talk about) with people it has a whole new meaning.
I did my bachelor's in communication because I think it is so important in the family unit. I have always struggled with communicating and being brave about my true feelings and opinions. I had a boyfriend call me out on it in high school and I will be forever grateful for him telling me that. I have been trying to change since because of him bringing that weakness to my attention. I never had a strong opinion of my own. I would just agree with whomever to make peace and move on but not actually fix a relationship or deepen a relationship by stating my true feelings on a subject.
Speaking up has absolutely backfired many times when I choose to be brave and put my feelings out there. However, I have yet to truly regret ever choosing to be open. There have been too many good things that have come out from speaking up about something that I'm convinced that talking too much is still better than not talking at all. Being open is a very vulnerable thing and yet it is what can allow others in and heal relationships.
Example: I was (I've been trying to change :) ) the type of person would shut down completely when I was sad, mad, or irritated in some way. I would go in my room and attempt to lock out the world until I felt better. I would not say a word for hours no matter the questions I got asked. I just had to get over my bad mood and then I would come back out acting like nothing even happened.
This has been the most damaging attribute of mine to our marriage. Why? Because when I don't talk I am ultimately telling Nathan that my feelings are more important than his. I am ignoring his need to talk about whatever happened and shutting him out of my life for awhile. Don't get me wrong, it is important to calm down before communicating, but the difference is that I wouldn't even communicate after I felt better. I would just move on with life and ignore whatever issue was going on.... NOT COOL!
I have had to learn to communicate time frames when talking about sensitive subjects. For example I'll tell Nate I'm too upset to talk now but lets talk (insert time). Sometimes we won't resolve an issue for days or weeks but we will still remind each other to think about it. This way we can try to understand our own feelings toward the subject and then try to think of a way to help the other person understand our point of view. It has taken me years to get to this point in communicating but I feel like I have a deeper relationship with Nate and other people because of it.
There is another song that goes along perfectly with this topic called Walls. Check it out! It was another gem introduced to me by my high school boyfriend and while the singers are not outstanding the message certainly is. I probably have even shared it on here before but I don't even care because I love it. :)
I did my bachelor's in communication because I think it is so important in the family unit. I have always struggled with communicating and being brave about my true feelings and opinions. I had a boyfriend call me out on it in high school and I will be forever grateful for him telling me that. I have been trying to change since because of him bringing that weakness to my attention. I never had a strong opinion of my own. I would just agree with whomever to make peace and move on but not actually fix a relationship or deepen a relationship by stating my true feelings on a subject.
Speaking up has absolutely backfired many times when I choose to be brave and put my feelings out there. However, I have yet to truly regret ever choosing to be open. There have been too many good things that have come out from speaking up about something that I'm convinced that talking too much is still better than not talking at all. Being open is a very vulnerable thing and yet it is what can allow others in and heal relationships.
Example: I was (I've been trying to change :) ) the type of person would shut down completely when I was sad, mad, or irritated in some way. I would go in my room and attempt to lock out the world until I felt better. I would not say a word for hours no matter the questions I got asked. I just had to get over my bad mood and then I would come back out acting like nothing even happened.
This has been the most damaging attribute of mine to our marriage. Why? Because when I don't talk I am ultimately telling Nathan that my feelings are more important than his. I am ignoring his need to talk about whatever happened and shutting him out of my life for awhile. Don't get me wrong, it is important to calm down before communicating, but the difference is that I wouldn't even communicate after I felt better. I would just move on with life and ignore whatever issue was going on.... NOT COOL!
I have had to learn to communicate time frames when talking about sensitive subjects. For example I'll tell Nate I'm too upset to talk now but lets talk (insert time). Sometimes we won't resolve an issue for days or weeks but we will still remind each other to think about it. This way we can try to understand our own feelings toward the subject and then try to think of a way to help the other person understand our point of view. It has taken me years to get to this point in communicating but I feel like I have a deeper relationship with Nate and other people because of it.
There is another song that goes along perfectly with this topic called Walls. Check it out! It was another gem introduced to me by my high school boyfriend and while the singers are not outstanding the message certainly is. I probably have even shared it on here before but I don't even care because I love it. :)
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