Dexy is Just Growing Up

Watch this video and you'll see and hear how.

What Precarious Positions!

On the 19th, we had Evan and Robby over to play for a couple of hours in the morning while Marie took Kael to an appointment at Primary Children's Hospital. They had to come all the way from Eagle Mountain, so her boys hadn't had breakfast yet. I sat them up at the table with some cereal and of course, Oliver and Brooklyn both instantly had to sit at the table, too! There were 4 kids on the bench and the little one said, "move over, I'm crowded! So they all moved over and one fell off." OK, she didn't really, but this picture just reminds me of that song about the bears in the bed. Later, Dexy was crying and Evan asked me, "Why is Dexter crying? And I'm wondering - how was his day?" It was so funny and clever, especially since it was only like 9:30 am. The whole 2 hours of his day so far were good. They are such fun, nice boys! The next day, Marie came over again with just Robby and Kael to use our internet (theirs isn't hooked up yet). We were "dining room" area when we hear Oliver say, "hem meen (help me), hem meen." We walked around the cornor and found him like this! He had crawled up on the computer desk, not sure how since the chair was pretty far away, and couldn't get down. How precarious! And the day after that, the 21st, Dexy pulled our little basketball hoop over on himself. The situations these kids get themselves into!

Bath Time in a Little Tub!

We love splashing, kicking, and "swimming" in a big bath tub, but since we don't have one of those, we make the most out of bath time in our little tubs. We have just as much fun and can get more water everywhere in our own personal tubs (the carpet ends up soaking wet). Looks like it's time to get another toddler tub for Dexy, though. The infant one is getting mighty comfy. That's ok because the only place we could find a toddler tub was Ikea and I always love any excuse I can find to go to Ikea! It's like Disneyland for an obsessive compulsive, anal retentive, ogranizationalist such as myself. And it's inxpensive, too. Grandma Oliver thoughtfully bought us the one we have, but it was only $8 so I think I could spring for another one!

Want a Cookie!?

A couple of days ago, I made cookies and gave Oliver one. He then came running back into the kitchen saying "Dexy cookie" and about half of his cookie was already gone. He went running back out into the living room and sure enough, he was feeding Dex a cookie. And a peanut butter cookie, no less! He didn't choke and I have yet to see any kind of allergic reaction, so it turned out to just be a deliciously good time for everybody!

The "Sacred" Big Tub

We spent the weekend playing with Marie's boys in their big, beautiful, yet empty, new house while everyone else packed, loaded, and unloaded boxes and furniture. The first night that we were there, we attempted to give the boys a bath in their tub. However, the water wouldn't get warm and when it was even a little bit warm, then the water pressure was terrible. It would have taken me an hour to fill the tub. The water, of course, worked perfectly in the big tub in the suppose to be off-limits master bathroom. So, unfortunately for Marie, she conceeded to let the boys be the first ones to take a bath in the "sacred" tub before heading back to the old house to continue packing. They loved it!

Oh, Glorious Honey Kix

Oliver loves Honey Kix. But I had no idea how much he loved them until today. I gave him a bowl of Honey Kix to snack on and he first set the bowl on the floor and was sticking his face down in the bowl to eat them. When that didn't work as well as he thought, he dumped them all out on the floor. Ollie then proceeded to not only sit in the middle of his pile of Kix, but to roll around in them while still snacking. He was rolling in them the same way that you would image someone rolling around in a huge pile of money! I must admit, they are quite delicious.

Why Can't We All Just Get Along!

Yesterday I came to a greater appreciation for and understanding of why my dad use to get this look in his eyes and then exasperatedly exclaim, "You have got to learn to get along; now get away from each other!!" All morning long, Brooklyn subtly pestered Oliver - pushing and pulling him, and taking everything that he had right out of his hands without being mean or agressive. But that, of course, almost made it more annoying to Ollie. It got to the point where she would even just walk near him and he'd plea, "no, first!" He started whining over every little thing that she did, even if it wasn't taking what he had first. She'd pester him and he'd whine and she'd take something and he'd whine and she'd pull him and he'd cry and cry and finally I was ready to shout, "You have got to learn to get along; now GET AWAY FROM EACH OTHER!!" Then, I of course, thought back on the times when my dad would say that to us and realized why, when we thought that we weren't doing anything wrong, he was ready to pull his hair out. They weren't really fighting, but boy do they know how to bother each other. Dexy, was as always, Mommy's little angel baby and happily occupied himself for hours while I played referee and only broke down and wailed when he was so hungry and tired that he couldn't take it anymore. At that point, we were all nuts, so everyone took a nap. After our rest, we were all much happier! I just want to tell my parents - thanks for putting up with us!!! I love you both!

In That Moment, I Was Blessed

This morning we got up, ate breakfast, changed the soggy diapers of and dressed 2 boys and took Brian to school. We had to spend $30 for a parking pass. Things were going like the usual day to day grind. Since we were already out and about and we were going to have to go back to get Brian from school and take him to work, I decided to use that time to be outside and away from all the bad, 60's brown of the basement. I took the boys to a park that Hollianne had told me about. It had ramps and small stairs, there was that fabulous bouncy padding for the ground and one of those awesome swings that looks like a chair. It is a great playgound for little kids. Oliver ran around and played for a few minutes and then he saw the swing. I sat in the big, chair swing and put Ollie on one knee and Dexy on the other. We slowly started swinging back and forth and back and forth through the gentle, cool breeze. And in that moment, everything was perfect! My world, for a brief moment in time, had stopped being the frusterated, busy, dirt poor, over-workedl, over-stressed, and under-slept whirlwind that it usually is and it was just peace! The sky was blue with hardly a cloud in sight. I could see the lightly, snow-capped mountains in the distanst. The sun was shinning. It was not too hot or not too cold. And every now and then we would see a bird fly by or hear one chirp. No one was hungry, poopy, tired, or cranky. In that moment, everyone was happy! We just sat there and swung for a good 10 minutes. Dex fell asleep and Ollie sat peacfully on my lap. In that moment, it was nothing but tranquility and an opportunity for me to enjoy my boys and my life! I don't usually wax philosphoical, but I feel like in that moment, I was receiving a special blessing from my Heavenly Father. My life for the past while has been one of struggles, depression and hardship and whether it has been of my own making or not, it has felt like a trial to be happy. I have been working on a attitude adjustment as well as seeking an increased measure of the Spirit of the Lord in my life and I feel like today I was blessed for it. What a tender mercy from a loving Heavenly Father! It was great to have a moment to feel like the world around me was beautiful, that my boys loved me and I loved them, and that everything was going to be alright! I'm sorry to spill my soul to all of you, but I really wanted this moment of time to be recorded some place where I would be able to remember it forever. So that in moments that aren't so perfect and tranquil, I can look back and remember that the Lord loves my and that as long as I do the best that I can, everything will be good!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween this year! Oliver was still a bit too little to get the excitment of dressing up and getting candy when I would talk to him about Halloween, but now that it's actually happened he's starting to see the joy of it! Well, the candy part at least. He got his first taste of it when the crazy, yet very sweet, couple upstairs gave him his own little jack o'lantern of treats the night before Halloween. She was good to give him things like stickers and a coloring book as well as a little bit of small candy. Brian went golfing with his Dad down at Thanksgiving Point all morning long, so the boys and I went to play with the girls. Ollie loved playing with the dogs, seeing the horses that live behind the Bowles' house and getting to be in a real, big backyard. We made carmel apples, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and jack o'lanterns. Brian got to eat a treat or two and help with the pumpkins for the hour that he had between golfing and heading to The Woods to work the reception for a Halloween wedding. We were sad that he had to work! We got ourselves all dressed and made-up. Then the girls helped me get the boys in their costumes and even somehow convinced Ollie to wear the monkey so that we could go and visit Brian's grandparents - Grandma Christensen and Grandma and Grandpa Bowles. I didn't take them around to any doors (they're too young), but they liked visiting the Great Grandparents and of course the Greats loved it, too!! And they got plenty of candy just from seeing family, especially since they are only babies. They both looked so adorable! We then, of course, went back to the Bowles' house to use their bathtub seeing how it was a kind of late, long night and Brian was at work. And Grandma even let them take a bath in the big, jet tub as one last Halloween treat! It was lots of fun!