Thursday, May 23, 2013

42 Month and 1 Year Updates

Looking at a train in Roanoke:


It got a little chilly that night, so Dylan wore Autrey's coat:

Mr. Cool at the Homestead Farms field trip:


Video of Dylan making Colton laugh in the walker:
Dylan:
*April 12, the day after my last update, Dylan turned the bathroom light on and off without a stool when he went potty.  So tall!

*He is into privacy and shuts the door when he goes potty.  He can also put on his underwear, shorts, and slip-on shoes by himself.  Sometimes the shorts and shoes are backwards though.  He needs help with the pant buttons/snaps and he needs help with his shirts.

*D: "Can I lick them?" (the beaters)
  Me: "No. Pizza dough doesn't taste good.  Trust me."
  D: "Ok.  I'll trust you.  I'm trying to trust you."

*Autrey kissed me and Dylan said, "Don't trust him!"

*One of his little friends came over and Dylan said, "So, my name's Dylan...Shake my hand."

*Me: "You're growing into a big boy."
  D: "No, I'm not.  I'm going to be a truck, like Mack."  (He has also said that in Sunbeams.)

*Me on the way home from church: "Who created the animals?"
  D: "The cars.  They made the animals."

*In Primary he finished this sentence on his own: "I know Heavenly Father loves me because...He gave me cars."

*"Lion leader" = Line leader 

*"Walk and park rhyme!"  Actually, the way he says 'p-aw-k' makes that sentence true.

*Dylan is transitioning from the "What?" phase to the repeated "Why?" phase.  Yippee.  *eye roll*

*While playing with his toy cash register he said "buy one get one".  My little pricematcher.

*Dylan woke up one morning and called out "I will wait.  I will wait for you...mommy."  (part of a  Mumford and Sons song)

*Before Ali came to visit he was talking about her: "Ali is coming with red and blue hair."  He wouldn't be convinced it was just red.  When she was here he would ask "Where's Ali?" if she was out of his sight more than 2 seconds.  On Monday when Autrey picked us up from the airport on the way back from PA Dylan wanted to know if we were "going to go eat pizza by daddy's work house with Ali."

*We ate at Joe T's when Ali was here.  He has always been one to shove food in his mouth to capacity, but this time as he was chowing down a tortilla he bit his own thumb.  Of course we tried not to laugh at the poor guy, but it was just too funny.

*At the Stockyards Autrey and the boys rode the little train.  I'm glad I stayed behind with Ali because it hit a water pipe and got everyone all muddy.  Dylan still talks about the "soaking scary train at the Stockyards."

*Ali taught Dylan to put his hat backwards so it wouldn't fall off when they were running at the park.  That is known as "the speedy way."

*The other day he told me to "Follow your dreams and get the most out of your workout."  Clearly Tony Horton and my P90X DVDs are rubbing off on him.

*He was playing by himself and I heard him say: "I'm going home.  Why?  Huh?"

*"Gracie's having a party for you in Trey's belly."  (I had a baby shower for my friend, Melinda - aka Trey's mom - who had little Gracie a few days before Mother's Day.  Dylan did correct his sentence when I gave him a strange look and asked him to repeat it.)

*"Derek moved to Arkansas.  Rock moved to South Korea.  I'm moving to California.  With Autrey, named daddy.  And mommy and baby Colton."  Poor guy's had to deal with his best friends moving away and figured he should move too.

*Me: "Buddy, you've gotta point your whizzer all the way down so you don't get peepee on the floor.
  D: "Mommy, you're exhausted."  I think he meant frustrated, but either word applied at the time.  When I get upset with him he will ask me if I'm frustrated.  After a few minutes he will ask, "Are you happy now?"  It always makes me feel bad and resolve to be more patient.  I'm trying so hard to improve my patience with Dylan.

*One day I said, "Argh.  You're driving me nuts."  A while later I must have been bugging him and he said, "You're driving MY nuts."  I needed a good laugh that day.

*Dylan to Autrey: "You take care of yourself and I'll be in charge of you."

*I was making the guest room bed and Dylan was playing with the BYU quilt as a dinosaur.  He said, "Mommy, my tail is sharp (the edges have triangles).  Keep away from the children."

*"The scouts are the best friends ever."

*I pulled down the suitcases to go to PA a few days before we left so I could sort clothes to pass down.  As soon as Dylan found out what they were out for all I heard was "When are we going to G-ma's house?" "Pack the suitcases so we can go to G-ma's house."  "Are we taking that to G-ma's house?" all. week. long.  Autrey would get home and Dylan would shout "Daddy's home.  Now we can go to G-ma's house!"  I finally had to tell him that our plane wasn't ready yet so he would realize we weren't the ones holding up the trip.  It was cute though.  Now he's asking about Mimi's 'real' house because we are driving down tomorrow to help her with her summer camp.

*"G-ma and G-pa live in Mechanicsburg-er, Pennsyl-bane-ia."  For now... *sigh*

*Dylan loves to be outside playing with his friends.  He always asks me in the morning where we are going and who is going to play with him.

Colton:

*1 Year Doctor Appt Stats from Today: 
          Head: 18.4 cm - 25% (Dylan was 18.5 cm - 50%)
          Weight: 21.13 lbs - 35% (Dylan was 20.14 lbs - 25%)
          Height: 31 in - 75% (Dylan was 30.2 in - 50%)                                    

*Colton laughs a lot.  You never know what's going to trigger a belly laugh, but Dylan is really good at it.  Unfortunately Dylan also plays pretty rough with him and makes him cry.  But overall Colton is a chill baby and a good sport to be manhandled so much and to have toys put out of reach.  (Yes, we are still working on that.)

*Though he is a chill baby, he is one that has to be securely fastened in his highchair.  But even then he is buckled in, the skinny kid is able to wiggle his way into a standing position.  Thankfully we haven't had another Bumbo incident.  I don't remember Dylan ever trying to stand up in his highchair.

*He loves to play with little toy balls.

*He loves the water and doesn't mind it being dumped on his head.

*Even without any teeth he is doing great eating food with texture such as 1/4 grape slices, bananas, and kiwi.  He likes spaghetti noodles with sauce that have gone through the food grinder.  I gave him little raw apple chunks without the peel and he eventually spit them out.  Not ready for that yet.

*He points at everything, high fives, waves, and jabbers.  The other day he was crawling toward the open back door and I motioned for him to come back to me.  He just waved at me and crawled out the door.

*He loves climbing up the stairs.  I timed him once and he made it up in 53 seconds.

*He is cruising on furniture, but hasn't stood unsupported yet.

*He has the cutest shy smile where he ducks his chin and gives a reserved smile to people.  He will go to other people fine for long periods of time, but sometimes he isn't sure about it if I'm standing right there.  

*I'm almost done weaning him (I still nurse once every other day) and he loves drinking whole milk.  So does his daddy.

*He likes to play Peek-a-Boo in his crib when we go to get him out of bed in the morning or after his nap.  (He has been sleeping from 8pm to anywhere between 8-10am with a good afternoon nap.)

*He loves to be thrown in the air.

*Nicknames: Sweetabug, Squirmy Wormy, Bubbee, Shy Guy, Little CD

More to come on Colton's birthday celebrations and such after I get the CD of pictures from dad...

Monday, May 13, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!

On Saturday, I spent the morning helping with the Girls Camp rose bouquet fundraiser with the Young Women.  I loved that everyone was all dressed up as cowgirls to deliver the flowers with a singing telegram to the tune of "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission."  My favorite part was Amber, one of the cute Laurels, riding Dylan's stick pony to each house and back to my car...with sound effects.  Love those girls.  Youth callings are intense with multiple activities throughout the week.  Even more challenging because Autrey also teaches in Primary and Colton isn't in Nursery yet, and Autrey had Scouts at our house the same night as Mutual so I had to take Colton with me and make him stay out way past his bedtime.  Even still, I love those girls and my fellow leaders.  Why am I getting all mushy?  Because yesterday I just got called to be the 1st counselor in the Relief Society.  Yeah.  Me.  The girl who hasn't attended Relief Society in this ward yet.  I went from a Primary teacher straight to Young Womens, and now graduate to Relief Society.

Ok, I went to a fundraiser.  That's all you needed to know.  Moving on.  I came home and walked into the kitchen to find flowers, a rose petal message, and my boys wearing shirts that say, "My mom's outta your League" (baseball reference) and "My mom's hotter than your mom."  Autrey apparently had way too much fun with the wardrobe selection.  
 Funny side note about the flowers:  I ordered 3 half dozen bouquets with the intent of giving them to the girls I visit teach (and to support the Young Women).  I wasn't with the group that delivered my flowers and Autrey assumed I got them for myself.  I guess he thought I was out of HIS league too.  He undid all the packaging and added them to the flowers he had already picked from our rose bush to make quite an impressive display.  I know that my visiting teaching girls had spouses or home teachers get them some so I didn't feel too bad about keeping them.  But, technically, I bought my own roses.
However, the boys' shirts, the rose petal message, the cute heart triple hand print card, and lunch at the Cheescake Factory was all Autrey's doing.  He also was a huge help to me with watching 7 extra kids that night so 2 other couples we are friends with could have a much needed date night.  Those kids were all so fun and Dylan had a blast with the older ones.  

Autrey was certainly brave painting the boys' hands all by himself.  I love the sweet poem he wrote on the back of the card:

A mommy's day can be full of struggles,
But it can also be full of snuggles.
Always know that as sure as the sun rises above,
That you'll always have these helping hands,
And these hearts full of 
LOVE.
Happy Mother's Day.
Love, your boys

Life is good.  Hope you had a great Mother's Day too.  Can't wait for Mother's Day part 2 next week with my mom and sisters in PA!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Bluebonnet Photo Shoot with Amanda

I have wanted Texas Bluebonnet pictures since I moved to Texas almost 3 years ago.  Thanks to my friend, Amanda Holcomb, I finally have some.  We look good, no?




 
 
 
 
We ordered 8 pictures on the CD, but these were some of the other ones I had to choose from.  I took these pictures of pictures while looking at my computer screen, hence the poor quality.  But you get the idea:
We told Dylan to give Colton a kiss.  He really planted one on him:




 
Which ones are your favorites?

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Ali's TX Visit

Alison Merritt, my BYU roomie/favorite feisty redhead, came out for an extended weekend visit last week.  On Friday we went on a walk and to the park with the boys, did P90X while they napped, BBQed steaks and corn on the cob when Aut got home, and watched Total Recall while eating personal pints of Blue Bell ice cream.  Our spoons hit the plastic faster than expected.

Saturday we got up and went on a jog to burn off the ice cream...or at least a few spoonfuls.  We took Ali to the Fort Worth Water Gardens.  This one was my favorite:





 Then we were off to the Stockyards:
 Stockyard Petting Zoo:






Hungry, are we?

 I told him to pet the camel:






This camel kept pacing and trying to eat my children...:

 ...and make out with Ali:





Waiting for the cattle drive:





 The boys on a real bull:
 Dylan went a little 'Brokeback Mountain':
 And Ali really got into the Texas spirit:
 This cracks me up.  Everyone is smiling now because they have no idea this train is about to hit a water pipe, get them all wet, and cause Autrey to carry them back to the station and get a refund.  So glad I stayed behind with Ali.  Ask Dylan about getting 'scary soaked':

 We took the dirty boys to Joe T. Garcia's to have dinner out in the beautiful Fiesta Gardens:


Ali volunteered to take sleeping baby duty at church while Autrey taught Primary and I taught the Young Women.  It was very helpful for us, and I know she enjoyed playing hooky out in the hall.  Such a sweet boy:
I made a big Sunday dinner with roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and rolls.  Ali and Autrey vetoed the green beans.  Then we went to show Ali the Blue Bonnets by the lake.  And I would like to point out these outfits were all Autrey's doing.  Love my boys:
We skipped rocks.  Autrey and I tied the high score with 8 hops.  But his covered a lot more distance, so he might have actually won.  Dylan was so happy to play in the rocks and make them splash:

Ali looks GORGEOUS.  I get photo credit for the pic:
 A Washington girl in her natural habitat with water and GRASS...in Texas, mind you:
That night we watched Italian Job for old times sake with another pint of Blue Bell.  But this time we showed a little restraint and only ate half.  Except Autrey.  He ate the bottom half and had to eat the top half to get there.  On Monday, we went to the park before we met Autrey at his clinic and had dinner so Ali wouldn't have to fly home on an empty stomach.  Dylan put together this little bike-riding Mr. Cool/Buzz Lightyear/'Captain Dylan Hook' outfit.  The kid knows how to class up the playground:
Dylan was Ali's little shadow.  If she was ever out of sight he would ask, "Where's Ali?"  He just might like her as much as I do.  So glad she came to visit!