How Kael and Eden Play Together

I'm Eden.

I'm Kael.

Our Mom just calls us silly.

Random Marchness

We are so excited for warmer weather here. We just couldn't wait any longer for it to warm up so we went out anyway. 3/26/11

After the no good very long dentist appointment. 3/17/11

Random playing outside photos. Eden loves the wagon now. Kael is loving bikes. He loves them so much we found one on KSL for $15.00 and Derek and I are going to fix it up for him. Any tips? He was so excited when we went to get it, and we made the mistake of showing him the bike. He kept signing bike and saying it over and over. We are going to hide the bike until we have it all fixed up nice for him.

A Beginning

After being sick for a week and a half I am ready to stop being lazy. I am ready to get going. I have such high goals of myself because I feel so much better. When I was sick it was so hard to get up every morning and get the kids breakfast that by the time I was done I was laying on the couch and turning on the TV in hopes that would distract the kids. I felt horrible. I know that everyone has sick days and that is totally OK, but it made me realize how much I want to be more organized for my kids.

So, I found this link on another blog and decided to give it a go.

http://www.letteroftheweek.com/Preparatory.html

There is so much that I can be doing with Kael to teach him. I feel it is so important for me as his Mom to teach him what I can while I can. Anyway, this program "Brightly Beaming Resources" is going to tell me exactly what to do, and I think I can follow a lesson plan. Can't be too hard. Right?

Included for each week is: Weekly Themes, Learning Poster, Vocabulary Words, Color/Shapes, Letters, Numbers, and Nursery Rhymes. It will last for 26 weeks so that you fit in a letter every week. I am so excited to do this for Kael. He is already excited about letters and numbers, and I just know he will have fun with it. I just can't understand why I haven't tried something like this sooner. I'll keep you updated on how it goes.

Breaks My Heart

Amazing what 1 year can do!

Eden has been so so sick. She got her one year old shots on Monday, and in the middle of the night she started throwing up. Oh it just breaks my heart to see her sick. She just hold on to me so tight and won't let go, and just takes it. She doesn't cry at all. I mean she whines and whimpers when her stomach hurts and then she just holds me. So, that is what I did today. I held her. I loved her. Then she slept. Most of the day actually when she wasn't sick. She has a fever and threw up today too. So, I held her until she would fall back asleep.

I laid her down for a minute on the floor to help Kael and I turned around to find her like this. My kids do not fall asleep on the floor. They usually only sleep on their beds. I put her to bed. Then when she would wake up I'd hold her again. Usually Eden doesn't nap very well. I am lucky to get two 45 min naps a day. Today I think she slept about 7 hours between 7 am and 7 pm.

Oh how this breaks my heart. Hopefully tomorrow is better.

1 Year: Eden's Post

This day came way too quickly. So quickly I can hardly remember bringing her home from the hospital. I do remember the thought coming to my head as my water broke, "am I really ready for this?!" You know that panicky thought that comes before the baby that there is no turning back and this baby is coming ready I'm ready or not. I will forever be grateful for Eden joining our family when she did. I think I didn't quite have my head on straight when we decided it would be great to have our kids about 18 months apart. I think it was best though because if I knew how crazy Kael was going to be all the time, I would have waited to have Eden, and she needs to be in our family now.

Eden is such a joy. She observes everything. That is how she learns. She watches Kael do something and then decides that she wants to do it. She is so much quieter than Kael. I blame this on myself. I am very loud, and I'm learning the older I get to understand volume control. Eden has this figured out for the most part. I took her grumpy to a relief society activity that was to sit and listen. I could never take Kael as a baby or a toddler to something like this, especially if he was grumpy. Eden wiggled a little on my lap, and I could tell she wasn't happy, but she handled it! Don't get me wrong, I love Kael and his energetic personality. It is just amazing to see the differences. Eden is her own person and she shines!

I have to work and work to earn a smile from her, but when I get her toothy little grin, it just melts your heart. She is a mommy's girl, but daddy is the best at getting her to smile.

Her bald little head is getting some gorgeous hair. She already has more hair on her head than I did at this age. It makes me happy because I can officially put in piggy tails. One is not cute, but two are adorable!

Eden is so close to walking. I know she knows how, but she just needs a little confidence. She walks along furniture just fine, and will even hold your hand, but taking one or two steps is a little scary for her. She is amazing at riding her little pink car though. It is adorable!

She is sleeping from 7 to 7 and it makes me so happy! I can't believe how sleep deprived I have been, and I have to stop complaining about getting up in the mornings now.

Eden can clap her hands. Point to things that she likes with her pointer finger. Wave bye to dad. Say da da and ma ma, especially when she is upset. She eats like a champ, but still won't drink a whole lot from a sippy cup. And my biggest fear right now is that Kael is going to pee in the toilet and leave the seat up and Eden will play in the toilet. Gross. Yes. I have so far prevented this from happening, but she is fascinated with the toilet.

She got a baby doll for her birthday present, and I never knew having a girl could be so much fun until I see her hold her baby! She has loved it from the moment she saw it. She picks her up and just squeezes her. She sleeps with her and loves her. The only problem is that Kael loves this doll too. It is too funny. He tries to feed the baby and love it just like Eden. It's super cute.

For Eden's birthday we got to go see her Grammy at the park in the morning. She loved playing on the playground with her cousins and Kael. She just wanted to be with the kids and not stuck with mom. Then she got to open her baby doll. When dad was a school we waited by riding around on cars and eating popsicles. When dad got home we got to eat cupcakes! Eden kept trying to grab the flame on the candle. It was too cute! Then, she inhaled her cupcake! It was too funny because when Kael turned one he didn't even hardly touch his cupcake, but she loved it!

Eden you are such a joy! Your smile brings warmth to my heart. Bringing you home a year ago was so worth it! Thank you for being a part of our family. We love you so much! Keep growing into the little person you are, just do it as slow as you can for mom. K.

Love,

Mom, Dad, and Kael

Stars

This was the end of week 2 of potty training Kael. This was his second complete chart filled will stickers for going potty. You can see how thrilled he is. He wouldn't look at the camera once. I've found a new love of his. I think he likes getting a star sticker more than the treat for going potty. Anyway, I'm just so darn proud of the boy. He doing fairly well and he just keeps getting more and more stars. Now if I could convince him to go #2 life would be awesome. Way to go Kael! So proud of you!

A Silly Girl

She thought she was so cool wearing a hat. She kept putting it back on her head after it would fall off. It was awesome. She is that cool.

PS: Because of her brother, the poor girl is getting her meager 8 teeth checked out this month by the dentist because I'm terrified of cavities more now than I was before, and I was terrified before. Don't blame me Eden. Blame Kael. ;)

A No Good Very Sad Trip To The Dentist

First off. Shell, who does he look like?

Kael was pestering me while I was getting dressed the other morning, and I found my old glasses that I never wear and it kept him occupied just long enough. Disaster averted! Yes!

Teeth.

Look at those beautiful teeth.

Turns out. Not so beautiful. Cavities. More than one.

WHAT?

Yes. My boy has cavities. Argh.

I decided I should maybe take him in to just get a cleaning or check up. I know he's only 2, but I really hate cavities and I want to be a good preventative mom. Weird enough the dentist didn't clean his teeth at all. Nope. He spent a grand total of 40 seconds looking in his mouth. Popped his head up and said, "He has at least 2 cavities and we'll have to put him under to fix them." And then he just throws in..."Oh and he still has about 4 teeth to come in sometime." I was in shock. Literally. Shock. Didn't know what to say.

Ok.

I mean I don't let the boy drink juice or milk in bed. I brush his teeth every night. I slack in the mornings, but hey they are getting brushed.

So, in a week my little boy is going under. I figure better to get it fixed now and prevent bad cavities. I think I'm going to totally eliminate juice and never let him eat candy ever again, not that he has eaten that much anyway. I'm the mean mom that doesn't let him eat candy. :( At least I know the kid is probably prone to get cavities now and I can take action.

Mom's. I do suggest dental check ups because this stinks.

That's all I have to say for now.

Oh and my title should have said "A no good very sad trip to the dentist for mom", all because Kael thought it was tons of fun. I didn't.

Zoo Videos

I think one of Kael's favorite animals is the giraffe. He can point it out in a book and shows it to me and tells me "giraffe" over and over. He is getting so smart and I love that he likes certain things now. He is still always happy and excited about everything, but he does have favorites now.

Eden really liked the giraffe's too! Every day she shows more and more personality and spunk. It was fun to see her expressions at the zoo this time because she loved seeing and pointing to things.

Kael got down on the ground right up next to the turtle and kept following it. In the video he didn't want the turtle to walk away so he ran ahead of it and was saying no no over and over. It was hilarious. We had a turtle as a kid and it was Sammy the turtle, maybe I should get Kael a turtle... Ummm. No. Bad idea.

Kael has a hard time with sounds. It is quite hilarious when you know what he is trying to say, but really frustrating when he is trying to tell you something and you don't know what it is, and you are playing charades to try and find out. It makes me laugh hearing him say snake. It sounds like "nake nake". He cracks me up.

I LOVE THE ZOO. Once again I just need to shout out how much I love living where I do. When life gets hard I think I complain too much and I just need to remember my blessings because I have so many. Look at my children's happy faces. How could I not be blessed?! Thank you zoo for being .8 miles from my apartment. Thank you Derek for having spring break and spending it with me and the kids. I am blessed.

The Zoo

I wrote to the zoo to send me a pet. They sent me an...

(This is a pop up book Kael and Eden have and it is their favorite!)

What a good thing we have a zoo less than a mile away.

Kael has always loved spinning this big ball, but this time so did Eden! She loves being in the stroller and making Kael walk. Probably because that means she actually gets to interact and see things. It might be time for a double stroller.

Kael gets a little grumpy on the last stretch of the visit and walking back to the car can be tiring for a 2 year old. We decided to let him take a break on the big elephant. He didn't want to get off after he sat down. Good thing we brought some snacks to convince him.

What is Eden pointing and laughing at you ask? Well I'm pretty for certain she could see herself in the window and was pointing and laughing at herself... Ya. She's pretty funny.

Dairy Queen

Derek's on spring break. We are loving having him home with us. We had some dairy queen coupons and decided to make a trip with the kids and get some french fries and ice cream. We decided to get Kael his very own chocolate sundae. I mean the kid is 2 now, he can handle his own ice cream right?. So, we start eating and Kael refused his ice-cream. All the kid wanted was his french fries dipped in fry sauce. It was hilarious. Eden on the other hand started out with fries and we finally decided to let her try some ice cream. The little girl threw the french fry down and her mouth opened as big as it would get for the ice cream. I was laughing so hard. With Kael we didn't let him have any sweets until after he was a year old, and even then he didn't eat that many. For his first birthday he had his first cupcake and didn't eat any of it. I think the girl is going to have a sweet tooth. We couldn't help, but keep feeding her more and more ice cream because of how cute she was. Her mouth would open so big and she would just wait until we put more in her mouth. Kael still isn't a big sweet fan. He didn't eat any of his sundae. These kids are our world and we love seeing them grow. They are our joy and our life wouldn't be complete without them and neither would this dairy queen experience. We love you Kael and Eden. :)

Kael is 31 months and a potty update.

I only just realized that Kael is another month older. I just can't believe how fast time goes by. The kid is just doing awesome. He is saying well over 100 words now. This is a huge improvement because at the end of November he could only really say about 5 words clearly. He is putting words together like more milk, or juice please. He is repeating almost everything. Which I now really have to be careful what I say because he is copying me now even though he doesn't understand what I say... Ooops. We can ask him to say something like "say hi grandma" and he repeats it so clear. I couldn't imagine being at this point several months ago. Kael has a long way before he is caught up with his speech, but he is impressing me every day! He is trying so hard and I'm so proud of him.

He still has his horrible tantrums about once a day, but I think he is getting to normal 2 year old tantrums. He is so sad when people have to leave and during any transition for that matter that he goes hysterical. However, it is because he loves people so much. He is getting better every day and the better his speech gets, the better his behavior is.

He is doing well in nursery, except for singing time. He is the crazy kid running around like a maniac. I think that it is over an hour past his nap time, and the poor boy is just like his dad and goes crazy (gets hyper / over excited) when he is tired. ;)

As for potty training.

Kael is doing AMAZING! He is staying dry during naps and didn't have a single accident today. Well, I'm not counting #2 because we are still working on that. However, I feel confident about leaving the house and knowing that Kael will tell me if he has to go! I had no idea 2 weeks ago that right now Kael would be where he is at potty trained.

Any suggestions for how to get #2 down? This has been going so much better than I could ever have dreamed of, but I still don't know how to get him to poop in the toilet. HELP.

I can't believe how nervous I was for this point. Kael has made this a good experience for me. Don't get me wrong, it has been difficult, but Kael is determined when he puts his mind to something and he teaches me so much. Doing hard things is possible. Way to go Kael!

I am so so so so so so so so proud of Kael! He is the sweetest most loving boy. He takes care of Eden, he takes care of me. We love you Kael! Thanks for your hard work this month. Keep it up!

A visit from a cousin.

Ellie came over for a visit. We had TONS of fun. The kids all played so hard that they all took a nap at the same time for about an hour. I didn't know what to do with myself. We love having friends and family come and play! Can't wait until next time.

Eden Faces

I'm slowly getting caught up on my scrapbook pages. Only 7 months to get caught up on. For now, enjoy how my little girl loves to eat french fries.

Outside

We are so ready for spring. Being stuck inside is getting old. So, I bundled them up, and we got some fresh air for the first time in about 8 days. It was much needed. Kael woke Eden up early from her nap, so she needed a little snooze while Kael played out there. We are getting better at building snow men. Slowly but surely, one day, Kael and I will build the ultimate snow man. Kael was hilarious because he kept sticking his tongue out when he was really focusing on playing in the snow. Then, randomly he would throw snow balls at me. It caught me off guard about 4 times! He is too much like his dad. Sneeky little boy. ;)

Potty Training Day 3

I didn't plan on starting to potty train Kael, but he has been grabbing his underwear and insisting on wearing it and insisting on not wearing a diaper, so it has begun.

Overall, I don't know how this is suppose to go and have never done anything like this before, so I don't know if we are doing good or bad...

Rewards:

1 skittle for #1.

2 skittles for #2.

And a sticker for same thing until he fills his chart, which is about a week of going in the toilet, then he gets a toy car.

Day 1: About 5 accidents. 7 times in the toilet. No #2.

Day 2: About 4 accidents. 6 times in the toilet. No #2.

Day 3. 3 accidents. 7 times in the toilet. Still no #2.

I think we are making progress. Yesterday Kael went running to the toilet yelling "mom, mom potty!". Then, today once he yelled "mom, potty". Over and over. So, I think we are getting there. The rest of the time it is me asking him every 15 to 20 minutes if he needs to go. Today he would not let me put a diaper on him for nap time. So I just put the diaper over his underwear and let him sleep in that. To my complete shock, he woke up completely dry!!! We even played outside for about 45 minutes without an accident.

Not sure what to do about #2. He only goes once in the morning, so I'm just hoping to catch him before he goes, and get him to go just once, so that maybe he gets the idea on it.

Anyway. I think we are doing ok. We'll see how it goes.

Keep Moving Forward

So Kael and Eden have been sick all week and it has been a LONG week. I've been reflecting a lot and here are some thoughts.

I am a blog stocker.

That looks weird. But yes. I am a blog stocker. I don't read the blogs that you would think would be helpful to a crafty stay-at-home mom, such as couponing, cooking blogs, sewing blogs, or how to decorate your house with no money. Nope. I don't read those blogs. I read people's lives. It makes me a true time waster and blog stocker. However, I'd like to think that reading other people's lives gives me a little incite to my own crazy life. I feel empowered by the way other people live their lives, and it makes me want to be a better person. I know that the lives that I read about are not perfect, and I know mine certainly is not. However, it's kind of like reading an inspirational quote for the day to give myself a pick-me-up. I think I sound lame, but oh well.

Anyway, this past week I read a friend's blog from here in the village. In summary it was about doing hard things.

Here's a quote because I liked what she said so much.

"We have all done hard things in this life. It is what builds our character. At times it is easier to crawl back into bed where it is comfortable, warm and familiar. It is this "doing hard things" that I wish to teach to my children. I don't believe that it is ever too early to teach our children the value (and fun) of work. There is not a time that is better than others to be an example of persistence and success. Or giving up and failing. (Which ever it is, our children see it.)

...

I often reflect on my own experiences that were difficult, but worth it. I know I can do hard things because I have done them. They are my life's journeys to who I am. And whatever is to come, I welcome the challenge and growth that will follow!"

Anyway, my point for posting this quote is because lately, life seems really hard for some reason. Maybe it's the lack of sleep, or what not, and I only have about 25 more years of this lack of sleep I would imagine before my kids let me sleep again, who knows. It was just nice to reflect and think back on the hard things in my life that I have accomplished.

Such as:

• Going to the Philippines for 11 months at 16 years old.
• Moving to college.
• Getting accepted to nursing school.
• Dated.
• Found the guy of my dreams, and married him.
• Gave birth to 2 beautiful children.
• Held church callings.
• Volunteered and worked in the emergency room.
• Learned from hard mistakes.
• Made bad habits into good habits.

The list can go on and on if I thought hard enough. The point is that if I didn't work for these things in life, I couldn't learn from them. Work and overcoming trials in our lives help us to grow and develop who we are.

So why am I not working harder?

Instead of laying in bed this morning, or grabbing my blanket and lying on the couch while the kids jumped on me, I got up. I got dressed. I played with my kids.

You know what?. I feel better today.

We've been watching a lot of movies because the kids have been sick. Toy Story marathons, Cars, and recently Meet the Robinsons. I love the quote from Disney "Keep Moving Forward". As long as we are moving forward and trying each day to work a little harder, and keep trying, I think we are going to make it.

Here are some awesome pictures of my amazing kids. We got vanilla pudding and mixed it with food coloring, and made some finger painting. It was so worth the huge mess.

Eden's 11 Months

I know this picture is already posted, but I haven't taken that many pictures of Eden lately...

11 MONTHS

Where has the time gone? I wonder how much of this time I will remember even 5 years from now? 10? I don't ever want to forget your amazing personality, because it is amazing. I know you are just going to be more amazing throughout your life, but I don't want to forget a moment.

Eden, you have become Kael's shadow. He is getting quite annoyed, and I'm certain it is only going to get worse. He still loves you, and puts up with you, and hugs and kisses you, but there are times he comes up to you and yells, "No no Edee!". It makes me laugh every time. Kael's room has all of the fun big kid toys in it, and you are always trying to sneak in there to play with a book or puzzle, Kael's cars, any toy you can get.

Your teeth are ridiculous. They should just all come in already. I can see them, but they aren't there yet. You have 4 on the bottom and the top right 2 now. You have this one big tooth on top and when you really grin, it makes me laugh. You are adorable!

You are finally sleeping at night! Oh, the joy this gives me. You still get up to eat around 5 or 6 am, but then you go back to sleep until 7.

You are standing all the time, and are finally walking along the couch. You refused for the longest time and would lower yourself and crawl 2 steps and then stand again. All that extra effort.

You are eating TONS and TONS. You are independent like Kael was. You like to feed yourself. I'm having to get creative with what I feed you, but if I let you, you would eat all day long, and most days you do.

You can say Dada and Mama. Usually when you are mad though. You can wave hi to people now and clap your hands. You are starting to get friendly with people. You still are shy at first and want Mom to hold you, but now you will go to other people and not scream at them.

Dad thinks you are silly. And I have to agree. We love you and are so grateful to be your parents.

Oh and stop pulling cords out of outlets. You are going to get shocked and I"ll be sad. Thanks.

LOVE YOU!

MOM and DAD

A Snowman

I think I'm finally figuring out this snow stuff. I used to make snowmen when I was a kid, but the last couple of snow storms, I can't make it for the life of me... This time I let the snow melt a bit, and we did it! Kael did the top ball all by himself. I grabbed a little snow and he took over and just started rolling it. Poor Eden was on the cement and got wet and cold. By the end of this winter we are going to be cold weather people! ;)

Bouncin off the walls

Every Wednesday there is a place in Sandy called Bouncin off the Walls that you can get kids 5 and under in for 5$. Adults are free, and so is my baby. A couple friends from the courtyard we live in met there, and we had a blast! Kael ran from bounce place to bounce place and did this incredibly tall slide all by himself. (* He is the tiny dot on the top right picture.) He impresses me everyday. Usually in the car Kael tries so hard to keep his eyes open if only just barely, but nope he was passed out. Eden sure had a good time too. She loved watching all the kids and crawling around herself. I think this is a definite must do again and again.

Valentines from Grandparents

The kids received Valentines from their grandparents and I only got a couple photos. They LOVE getting to open letters and find fun prizes. Thank you Grandparents! We love you so much!

Kael puts his cash in his piggy bank.

Eden was not a happy camper waking up from her nap, but then she found that she had a Valentine, and she got super excited and happy!

He Kind of Loves Me. A Lot!

He surprised me with this today. It will be our first get away since we had kids. I don't count spending the night at a hospital to have Eden as a get away... He's so good at keeping surprises. Me not so much. He found out about our date tonight that I was planning for his birthday/Valentines.

I'm so so so so so so excited! Thanks Mom and Dad in advance!

I just have to brag about what an amazing, awesome, supportive, loving husband I have. He is so good to me! Thank you so much Derek! I LOVE YOU!