This One's For Daddy and Grandpa Stoddard

A short summary of our lives...

I thought this video was a pretty good summary of our life in general--mostly happiness and joy,

while occasionally getting smacked over the head unexpectedly :)

A few funny stories about the kiddos, starting with this one:

Yesterday she was really into talking about the garden we're going to plant in the spring. We were discussing what to plant and I suggested planting broccoli since Luke really likes it. "Okay," Lydia said, "I want to plant quesadillas for me!" What can I say, the girl loves her cheese.

Tyler bought her "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" and has been reading it to her nightly at her request. Today she was riding her little car around the house and I asked her where she was going. "I'm taking the Christmas tree to my shop, because..... I'm the Grinch!" (Insert a very mean Grinch-like sneer here) You probably had to be there, but it was hilarious.

Picture taken shortly after Luke peed through his diaper all over Tyler's pants :)

This little guy has been doing better napping, but he will now let me know when he wants a nap by laying face down on the floor and not moving. Today he did it in Dick's Sporting Goods. When I went to pick him up I noticed he was licking the linoleum floor. Awesome.

He's started saying "ank u" (thank you) and "ere go" (there you go) all the time. He likes to bring you something and say "ere go," then take it from you and say "ank u!" I love it!!!

Photo courtesy of Ashleigh Hansen Photography, who took our family pictures, which I will post soon

No cute stories from me or Tyler, except that our car battery died and we had to buy a new one. But I don't think that really qualifies as cute, do you?

Help!!!

So I've been a delinquent blogger lately, but we've been gone a lot in the last few weeks. First we had Thanksgiving with my family in Sun Valley, which was amazing. Unfortunately, I can't find the pictures now to prove what a great time we had. Last weekend I headed to Utah to meet up with some of my best friends and ex-roommates for the wedding of another best friend and ex-roommate. Tyler took the kids to his parent's house in Pendleton, so I had a baby-free weekend! (Thanks Stoddards!) It was fabulous to get some girl-time with some of the best ladies in the whole wide world, but I forgot my camera (and my temple recommend to get in to the wedding--no worries, I still made it in) so I have no pictures of the trip. Clearly I am lacking in brain power and this is why I need your help.

Luke is having napping troubles and I can't figure out how to get the kid to nap effectively. For the few weeks before the trip I thought he was trying to transition to one nap a day, and I was getting him and Lydia to go down at the same time. Hooray!!! It was great, but those days are gone. He wakes up at about 6:30 am every day, and is cranky and wanting a nap by 9:30am. If I put him down at that time, he sleeps for about two hours and then refuses to take an afternoon nap. (By refuse I mean moaning and crying endlessly, which wakes up his sister and grates on my nerves.) So, he is irritable and goes into destruction mode by 5 pm. I refuse to put him down then because he will wake up at 5 am if I do. So, we have a very unhappy few hours until he goes to bed around 6:30-7pm.

Yesterday I thought that I'd try to get him to stay awake in the morning by running errands, since that usually keeps him interested in his surroundings. I got to JoAnn's at 10 am and after ten minutes he put his little hands on the cart handle, laid his head on them, and went to sleep. This from the kid who screams bloody murder every Sunday when we try to hold him and get him to nap at church! So, I'm just at a loss of what to do. If I let him nap in the morning, then I basically have one hour to leave the house between his and Lydia's naps and I'm stuck at home the rest of the day. Does anyone have any great ideas of how get him wait until afternoon to take his daily nap? I can't take being a prisoner in my own home much longer!!!

(P.S. Thanks for reading my rambling mommy frustrations.)

The Boy's Got Skills!!!

Sunday afternoon we were relaxing on the couch when Luke began "reading" to me. As you can see, he's very serious about what he's reading and only reads the words on the page when and how he wants to. No messin' around with this kid!

Now, if only he would let ME read a book to HIM. He spends the entire time trying to eat the book or knock it out of my hands. I guess my reading skills aren't up to par--his interpretation sounds a little different than mine. Next time I'll just speak gibberish and see if he'll sit still for reading time.

Randomness

Forgive me for my rambling. I haven't posted in a little while so this is a collection of recent events/thoughts.

So this thought actually ties to the picture; the rest, not so much. I just threw the other ones in for fun. The other morning Lydia was in the other room yelling, "Mommy, I broke my leg!" "Oh no!" I replied. "It's okay," she said, walking into the kitchen as you see in the picture. "I already put a cast on it." I wonder if the guy who invented air splints got the idea from his 2 year old putting a water wing on her leg. Probably.

Tonight Tyler was trying to do something (I can't even remember what it was and it just happened a few hours ago--sad!) and he couldn't get it to work. I heard him turn to Lydia and say, "When things are really hard, don't try to do them anymore. Just give up." Of course, he was laughing as he said it, but I don't know if she is old enough to catch on to his sarcasm. I can't wait to hear her repeat that line to someone in a few days.

Lydia is getting into the "why" stage of her life, and it seems that she likes to use it most when I am frustrated, and it really annoys me. For example, I stubbed my toe and made a groaning sound, and was not really in a talking mood for at least 30 seconds afterward. "Why did you make that noise Mommy? Why? Why did you? Huh mom? Why?" When I slipped going down the stairs this morning (while holding Luke, I might add), her first question was "why did you do that Mom? Why did you fall? Why did you do that?" spoken in a tone insinuating that I had purposely fallen down the stairs. As I'm writing this I realize that it only really bothers me after I've had some kind of bodily injury, so maybe I just need to stop hurting myself and the "whys" won't annoy me so much. Maybe.

A while ago I noticed that there was this kind of film forming on my bathroom floor, I think it's hairspray residue that falls after I spray my hair. Anyway, today I finally got around to cleaning it off the floor. I started with this environmentally friendly cleaning solution that the previous owners left behind because I like the way it smells (lavender and tea tree oil) and because if Luke got a hold of it somehow and ate it it wouldn't kill him. (I really think about these things because he eats everything--today it was my deoderant. He left little tooth marks in it before I could wrench it out of his death grip.) The eco-friendly stuff didn't work AT ALL. After scrubbing for a while I busted out the Scrubbing Bubbles and let that stuff sit on if for a minute or so, and watched the residue just lift off the floor like magic. Way to go eco-unfriendly cleaning solution!!! That poison-in-an-aerosol-can stuff is amazing!

(Don't worry, this doesn't stay sideways for long at all--Lydia refused to cooperate due to her wet pants from earlier puddle jumping adventures.)

Last random question--does anyone else's hair grow in really weird after having a baby? I grow all these tiny bang-like things around the front of my head and they stick out like horns from the side of my head every time I try to pull my hair back (hence the hairspray and hairspray residue on the floor mess.) I am concerned that if I have another baby I may never be able to pull my hair back again without a fan of little baby hairs in a semi-circle around my head. Any ideas?

Halloween

Happy Halloween! I know I'm a little late getting pictures posted, but we sent them to our families and I don't even know if anyone besides our family members even looks at this site, so I figure I'm okay!

Lydia was all psyched up about getting dressed up for Halloween; however, once we arrived at the church for the trunk-or-treat activity she changed her mind. The millions of kids in costumes, some of which were scary, was a little much for her delicate nerves and she spent most of the time clinging to my hand. She loosened up a bit once we made it back to our car, she parked her ladybug bum next to Daddy, and realized that what all those people had been putting in her bag was candy!

Luke (the "stinky stinky skunk" as Lydia referred to him) spent the time climbing up and down the curb, running between cars, and rolling around on the ground--probably pretty close to what a real skunk would have done, minus the raising-the-tail, spraying bit. Tyler and I were un-festive and didn't dress up, but honestly, when the kids are dressed up who actually looks at the parents anyway?

We had a fun Halloween--low-key and spent filling my tummy with Tootsie Rolls, quite possibly the best Halloween candy ever. I'm enjoying my kids' younger years--they could really care less what you dress them up to be and as long as they each have a few suckers they're happy for hours. Life doesn't get much better than a sucker in each sticky hand and a trail of pink drool down your chin and onto your Halloween costume!

Five

Yep, we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary on Friday, October 23rd, although from the space between us in the picture below you'd think we had known each other five days :)

Tyler's sister Breann and her husband Tony came and watched the kids for the weekend while Tyler and I escaped to Seaside, Oregon. (Bre and Tony's report here.) We found a great hotel, Rivertide Suites, which we liked so much we took our picture with it below. If you're going to Seaside anytime soon, check it out.

We had lunch at a charming restaurant right off the beach front Promanade and then snagged some salt water taffy to take back to the kids...

But my favorite activity of all was walking the beach with my best friend. The only bummer to our trip is that I got sick last week and wasn't feeling so great even by Friday, so I basically layed around a lot Friday and Saturday morning recuperating. Tyler took great care of me, getting me whatever I needed/wanted, and wouldn't let me even start feeling bad that I had tainted our weekend away by getting sick. He is truly the kindest, most sincere, loving, and handsomest man I know! Seriously, how could I not love this guy with my whole heart???

It's hard to believe that in the last five years we went from this young couple riding bikes on the Provo Trail....

To the happiest, "my cheeks hurt because I can't stop smiling" couple ever married at the Mount Timpanogos Temple!

We've had a few diplomas on the way...

But by far the most fun and most challenging additions to the last five years would be this:

and this.

I've loved the last five years of my life and I love my husband. The end.

It Won't Be Like This For Long

Last night I ran to the store after dinner, and when I returned this is what I found on the couch:

This is actually a pretty common occurrence, especially on nights when I work and it's just Tyler home with the kiddos. Lydia loves to "rest her eyes" with her daddy, and I love to see the two of them snuggled up together sleeping peacefully. Seeing the two of them last night made me think of this song:

My thoughts exactly.

Happiness is....

...seeing the look of complete pride and joy on Luke's face when realized he could climb up and stand on top of the toilet. I must add that he had a pair of underwear around his neck at the time, since he puts anything he finds over his head and/or around his neck. If only I would have had a camera to capture the moment. This will have to suffice.

Sadness is what Luke experienced after I took him out of the bathroom and shut the door because he kept climbing up on the toilet any time I put him down. Even after he fell off the toilet. Twice.

Signs

First off, I know I've been posting a lot lately, but don't expect the trend to continue. I'm sure I'll soon revert back to once every two or three weeks. Just thought I'd throw that out there; the pressure of frequent blog posting is too much for me!

Lydia has been terrified of fighter jets ever since the Hillsboro Air Show, which was at least six weeks ago. The Thunderbirds flew right over our house (I believe they were F-15 bombers) and were super duper loud, like shake the windows loud. Lydia happened to be asleep the first time they made a pass by our house and she bolted out of her room, ran screaming to me and collapsed into the fetal position at my feet, covering her ears. I then had to spend 45 minutes with my hands over her ears as they practiced their passes over our house. She cried at least half of that 45 minutes even though I was holding her. She was traumatized, to say the least.

Fast forward to the present. Lydia would start talking about the fighter jets and how they came in her room and were loud every morning when I opened her door. She would talk about them as were were in the car running errands. She talked about them at the dinner table. I decided I'd had enough with the fighter jet preoccupation. I borrowed a little trick from my parents, which they used to banish my childhood nemesis from bothering me (my preoccupation was with big blue monsters from California, not fighter jets.) With Lydia dictating, I made a sign and stuck it on her door.

The morning after we put the sign up, I went to get her out of bed and she said, "Mom! The fighter jets didn't come! They saw my sign and they stayed away!" (Probably from repulsion of the hideous artwork :) Needless to say, I was overjoyed that it seemed to work. We're several days out from the posting of the sign, and while there have been random mentions of fighter jets, it's nowhere near the level it used to be. Thank goodness for Sharpies, pink construction paper, and a great idea from Grandma and Grandpa!

Deals of the Week

I love getting a great deal on something. When you find something you like, and it's super cheap, it's like a double bonus!!! It's too bad that I don't play the lottery because I'm feeling lucky this week. Here are my finds:

1. Bar stools for the island. I found these at Goodwill for between $5-$9 each. Considering that one new bar stool at Freddy's is $30, I was pretty happy to find these. I even managed to strap Luke's high chair fairly securely onto one!

2. These adorable shoes for Luke. I found these at Goodwill for $3, and they appeared to have never been worn before and made by some fancy-schmancy French company. (Of course, Luke scuffed them up in the first 10 minutes of wearing them.) I got home and looked up the label, and these babies sell for $55-65 a pair. Again, getting something that I love for an amazing price makes me love them even more!!!

#3. Our corner entertainment center, which I have been on the lookout for for months. It was basically impossible for us to find an entertainment center that would fit in the corner and still house a TV large enough for Tyler's liking that didn't cost an arm and a leg. My sister-in-law Melissa was going to build us one, but I saw this pop up on Craigslist two days ago--custom built out of maple, never been used, would fit in our corner like a glove and house the size of TV we want. What's more, the lovely older couple selling it had received it as a donation for their foundation fundraiser auction and it didn't sell, so they were selling it for an AMAZING price just to get it out of their garage. I can't tell you how happy I am about this find!!!

Now, does anyone know where I can get a great deal on a 46" flat screen TV? Lydia is tired of dancing in the TV space to entertain us!

My Project is Done! (almost)

For the last several weeks I've been working on a home improvement project. My sister-in-law Melissa gave me the idea to build a kitchen island/bar in our breakfast nook to give me more counter and cupboard space. I had fun figuring out how to do it and I learned a lot of what NOT to do on my next project. Here's what I started with and what I ended up with!

I bought a table off Craigslist for $30, took it apart, and sanded it down for the counter top, instead of paying $300 for a real butcher-block counter top.

I bought two separate base cabinets that were pretty inexpensive and scuff sanded them, then primed them with spray primer.

After screwing the cabinets together, I tried to get an idea of what the finished product would look like.

Painting the cabinets to match my kitchen cabinets. Lydia loved to "help" me. Notice the ketchup bottle--that was the "paint" she wanted to use. We settled on giving her a few paper plates and some blue glue stick to paint the plates with.

The lucky recipient of the new bar/island.

A few views of the finished product. I haven't added the hardware yet, and eventually it'll be repositioned a bit once we finish a few more home improvement projects and move some rooms around, but you get the general idea.

I still have to clean out the bottom of the cabinets (as well as the garage, tools, my house.....)

I'm happy it's done and Tyler is happy that the garage will be back to normal! I think it will work well for what we need. I just have to find bar stools now and it'll be ready to use! Lydia and Luke have already initiated it by spilling milk on the cabinets and smearing nectarine on the counter top. Nice!!!

Happy Belated Birthday Luke!!!

Luke turned one on September 14^th. Yes, I realize that was over two weeks ago, but I figured you all might enjoy a few tidbits from his birthday celebration even though it’s belated. We had cupcakes that evening, and as you can see in the progression of pictures, although he didn’t really eat much of his cupcake he made a pretty good mess like a little one-year-old boy should.

Here's Luke's reaction after he'd had some time to play with his food.

Lastly, Luke's favorite birthday present, his big-boy car seat.

He enjoyed riding front-facing on our trip to Pendleton a few days after his birthday. We went to the Pendleton Round-Up rodeo, which was very fun, and my parents came up from Fruitland so the kids got to have both sets of grandparents there to spoil them. For some reason I failed to take any pictures while we were there, so you'll just have to take my word that it was a great trip. The kids were sad to say goodbye to their grandmas and grandpas and return home with their grouchy, mean parents!

I love my little man. He has a smile that lights up the whole room. He is very loving and still cuddles with me when he's tired, which I enjoy very much. Every evening when Tyler walks through the door Luke gets a huge smile on his face and runs to his daddy, hugging his legs. He loves to jibber-jabber all day long. He can say a few words now: mom, uh-oh, go, dog, car, and just yesterday he started saying daddy. (Granted, you have to be familiar with his jabbering to pick out the words, but they are there.) He routinely tries to kill himself or maim his body in some way, but I love his energy and his happy disposition. Happy one year Lukey-Dukey!!!

Poison Control and Prose

Luke has officially given me the opportunity to pass a parenthood rite of passage (or so I hear) by having to call Poison Control. Last night I was unloading the dishwasher and turned around to find him with a sour lemon face. I picked him up and found white powder in his mouth and on his fingers. The detergent didn't completely dissolve, he found it, and ate it. I cleaned out his mouth and hands, read the dishwasher detergent box that says give large amounts of water or milk and "call the doctor immediately." I knew they'd just have me call Poison Control, a necessary but annoying institution in my interaction with them in the past. (They send basically everyone to the ER and then keep calling to check on them.) However, my fear of NOT doing something else that would be beneficial overruled and I called. They didn't have too much else to say, other than to feed him and watch for vomiting. They did want to call back in two hours to check on him but I got out of it by telling them I'm a nurse and was comfortable that we'd be okay. Even though I have to watch him every second of the day, he is my lovable little man. He loves to belly laugh and he gives hugs and kisses freely. (He occasionally bites shoulders when he hugs, so watch out!) I can't believe he will be one year old in less than a week!

Eating his post-dishwasher detergent snack of hamburger and ketchup. As you can see, it didn't phase him all!

Lydia has been on a roll lately with all kinds of funny statements. This morning I went in to Lydia's room to get her, and she was awake smiling at me when I opened the door. "Hey Mom, I waked up!" "I know," I said, "whatcha been doing?" "Oh, I'm just relaxin' with my babies," she said nonchalantly, pointing to her teddy bears. "I was just talking about you. I told them you're a silly girl." I wish you could have heard her, because the tone she had when she said it made me bust out laughing. Sunday on the way home from church she was making up a song, starting with "I know my father loves me" and she threw in a bit about white bruisies (bruises) and how they tickle and finished up with something about big bear hugs. Yesterday she was playing on the castle slide toy saying, "Mom, look at me!" while she danced around. "Beautiful!" I said. "No Mom, not beautiful--cool!!!" Bottom line: I love that kid! She always keeps us guessing at what she's going to say next.

Apparently she fell asleep while "reading" her scriptures. I don't know where she learned that--nobody in this house falls asleep while reading their scriptures!

Lastly, and not related to anything I've been talking about, I'd like you all to know that my current favorite song is "Hey Soul Sister" by Train. Check it out. It's upbeat and happy, although I don't get some of the lyrics. Lydia and Luke love to dance to it--in fact, she requested it last night. ("Hey Mom, I want to hear the Hey I'm Not Afraid of You Sister song!") If I was sophisticated I'd have one of those music player things on my blog, but I'm not, so you'll have to look it up on iTunes or Amazon, but I recommend it if you're looking for a good tune.

***New Development--I am not sophisticated or tricky, but my brother-in-law is, so he figured out how to put the song on here so you all can enjoy it. Thanks Travis!!!***

Picture Time

I finally got around to getting Luke's pictures taken and the kids' taken together a few weeks ago. They did pretty well, considering Luke doesn't really sit still very well and Lydia is in a "I'm not going to smile for the camera" stage. Here is a sampling of the pictures--I'm pretty sure they'll be grainy if you enlarge them. Just a note, if you go to Portrait Innovations, remember that when they tell you if you purchase a large package you'll get a CD with all the images taken, that does not mean you'll have the digital negatives. You get thumbnail files, but not the actual images that you could edit or print, etc. I wish I had known that BEFORE I bought a huge package!!!