Mexico

So, we decided to get together with my family in October instead of at Thanksgiving. And where better to go but Mexico! OK, so there is that whole drug cartel/ border war going on, but who are we to be deterred from a little gun fire! (Actually, I took it really seriously and looked at travel advisories, we traveled during daylight, and were careful.) We went to Rocky Point where my family has been going since I was in high school. We stayed at a resort and it was the best place with kids. We had a kitchen & living room attached to our room, the pool had a kid section Shayne could walk around without help in, and the beach had tide pools and minimal surf.

Everyday we basically, got up, ate breakfast, went to the beach, went to the pool, ate lunch, took a nap, and then either made dinner or went into town for fish tacos. You think that that would get boring over a whole week. But it didn't. It was awesome.



Shayne and Avery were little buddies. They get along. . . .most of the time.


One day we painted pottery by the pool.
My bowl for Shayne's room turned out really good. It looked even better when I finished it.
Face painting by the pool.




Ahhhh, Mexico. For the next couple of weeks after our trip, Danny kept saying, "Mexico was so nice." I'm glad he loves it as much as I do.

Must Be All in the Family

Where does this nut get this cheesy smile?

Oh. Let me just defend myself by saying that this was early in the morning and was taken by a 2 year old.

Fall Fun

This has been a great fall. The leaves are beautiful and the weather has been pretty warm up until now. We realized we used to go up Millcreek Canyon a couple of times a week in our 'married without kids' days and this summer we went up maybe once with all of us. Maybe not even that. So, FHE was spent taking a hike up the canyon a couple of weeks ago.

Being close to the canyons is one of the reasons we chose to live where we do, so we better take advantage of it.

This is how the hike back looked from Danny's point of view. I was on repeat saying "Hurry up Shayne," "OK I'm leaving you Shayne," "Don't get muddy Shayne." And then I realized she's 2 and should live life a little.
So then I resisted the swirling thoughts in my mind that said "I'm going to have to do laundry again tonight if she gets her clothes muddy," "I just got her that coat," "Now I'm going to have to give her a bath and she's not going to get to bed before nine." And I let her do this:
Buddies:We went to Gardner Village for their Witch Fest twice before Halloween. It was so fun. They make it really cute over there and then we get a cookie over at the bakery before we go home. Shayne's favorite witch was witchy-poo, which was a witch reading a newspaper in an outhouse. I thought only little boys would be obsessed with potty humor, but my daughter also is.
Everybody havin' fun!

Brooklyn- 11 months

So, poor Brooklyn is suffering the fate of all 2nd, 3rd, etc. children whose parents chronicle their lives much less than their older siblings. But I thought this post could be all about her today.

This is one sweet baby girl. She is walking now which has just started in the last couple of weeks. And she gets around pretty good. She has said "mama," "dada," and "hi." She waves and claps. She's got two teeth on the bottom and two fangs (second teeth out) on the top. Some others are coming in to hopefully fill in the gaps soon. She is the biggest mommy's girl which has its positives (it's nice to be someone's first preference) and negatives (she is like a homing pigeon and I am her homebase). Her favorite pastime is to find me, crawl up my pant leg, and hold on for dear life. She is our blond haired, blued eyed little girl.

She is super cuddly, which is really fun especially since her older sister is not. I can already see that she wants to run with her older sister and other kids. She is such a sweet little lady!

Mommy Training

I think potty training should be called mommy training because that is seriously what it is. And the word 'training' is also very appropriate too. So far, there has been no magical switch. I think it's going to have to be like forming a new habit: a lot of effort, over weeks, and hopefully at some point it will feel like it's working.

I have tested the waters a couple of times with Shayne to potty train her, but if I received any resistance I just stopped because I didn't want to push it too much. Lots of people have told me to wait until she's 3, but I want to do it now. I don't know why I want to so bad, I just do. And some have told me not to use rewards because it should be a self motivated thing. Not so sure about that one either.

It seriously is the most frustrating thing I've had to do with Shayne. I know she can do it. She's done it before for short periods of time. We just have to make it a habit and get her over the resistance to doing something new and uncomfortable. I didn't know it was going to be so frustrating though. I really didn't.

Right now the plan is to stick with it. It may change at any moment though......

Addendum: Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I decided that Rome was not built in a day- or 3 days- and so we are just taking this as a slow slide into potty training. It isn't going perfectly, but progress is being made. So far, at home I would say she is potty trained, but we are working on it in the outside world. Such a scary place. . . . so many scary toilets- even I think so. I cringe when I have to sit her on some. And my frustration level is so much lower since I just decided to relax and not make this my accomplishment. It can be hers.

Family Summer Photos

What a Nut

Out of the Mouth of Babes

After reading 2 books before nap-

S: One more book.

Me: Ok, but just because you are so cute.

S: And you make me happy.

Me: Yes, Shayne. I love it when you're happy.

And this one is just new. And funny too:

S: Tandy mommy.

Me: Shaynie, I don't have any candy.

S: YES YOU DOOOOO!

Me: Shayne. I don't have any candy (just then I remember that I actually do have some in my purse. oh well.) and that is not a very nice way of asking for candy.

S: Tandy mommy please.

Me: That was such a nice way of asking. But I still don't have any candy.

S: YES YOU DOOOO! YES YOU DOOOO! YES YOU DOOOO!

(How did she know??. . . . . still-no candy)

Sometimes I sing songs to Shayne while she sits on the toilet during the rare times she wants to attempt potty training. Today she returned the favor. How nice : ) She sang Itsy Bitsy Spider to me with actions and all. So funny!

Shayne: Mommy, I run so fast my diaper come off! (what an imagination)

It's great to be 2!!

This girl loves to be 2. Frequently, when you ask her what her name is she says "Me two." We're working on it. This girl also loves her 'babas.' We'll work on getting rid of those at some point, after potty training for sure. This is how she goes to sleep. She's got 6 binkies in this picture and I think she could hold on to probably 3 more if we had them.

This girl loves chocolate cookies. We met up with Danny's folks at the Gateway for lunch & a treat last weekend.
This girl loves train (Trax) rides. We rode Trax down to the Gateway for the fun of it. Shayne thought it was the coolest.
And I love this girl.

Babies & Bacon

So, Danny asked me if all I thought he was good for was makin' babies & bringin' home the bacon because I never report about/brag about him. He's right- I need to write more about him. Here are some of his recent goings on. He started and then hired someone to do a little re-landscaping of our yard. My favorite part is the garden box in the back that was built for me. It hasn't been quite warm enough for long enough (snowed yesterday- yeah. . . ) for me to actually plant something in it yet, but I have a salsa & herb garden planned.

Oh yeah, back to Danny. He has also been practicing riding his motorcycle up and down the street while taking Shayne on rides for the last couple of months in preparation for this:
I think he is feeling his manliness coming back after being stuck with lots of females & a baby all winter long.

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day in a couple of different ways. First, for Mother's Day weekend I met up with Katie & Carrie in SoCal. Carrie & James hosted us for a girls' weekend and I went- get this- kid free! Danny took care of the girls up at his parent's place in WY. We ate out, talked a lot, played with my cute nephew Braeden, I read my book on the plane uninterrupted, we went to the beach, got our nails done, and just relaxed. It was awesome to have a weekend without responsibility. I came back feeling refreshed.

Also, I've been doing a lot of thinking about motherhood. I was having a hard time a few weeks ago- just with spring fever, the compilation of 5 months of sleep deprivation, and feeling burdened with my kids needs (it happens sometimes). I found myself thinking 'what am I doing- I don't want to be this grumpy person- I think I'm losing myself- maybe I should think about working more.' Then I read this book about motherhood and it really inspired me & made me start thinking about why I am a staying at home with my kids.

I know that there are tons of reasons that you can name for staying at home: being there for you kids whenever they need you, being able to keep your house organized, making dinner, giving your family consistency, blah, blah, blah. They are all good things and are true. But I realized, for me, the real reason that I am staying at home with our kids is to take advantage of the moments when I can teach my kids that they have a Heavenly Father who knows them and loves them. That's really it. That's it.

So, I have been trying to keep this in mind everyday. The other day I was at the park with Shayne and it came to my mind just to talk to her about how Heavenly Father made the trees, sky, and grass. It's simple things right now and I know it will get more complex, but I think I'm up for it.

Sticker Fun

One day I was busy doing whatever it is I do all day long and the girls were in the same room together. I heard a lot of silence, which is never a good thing- so I decided to see what was going on and this was it. Sticker fun! Shayne decided to decorate herself and her sister with stickers.

This is about how much fun Brook thought it was:
The finished product:

I'm glad Shayne finds Brook entertaining already- in her own way.

Girlies- oh yeah, and this guy

Danny's such a trooper to deal with all of these women in his life:

The cutest smile around our house these days: