I love My Family

I have watched several friends and family struggle through sickness and death of loved ones these past months and it causes me to reflect on the significance of life and living life in the way the Savior would. After hearing of another friend's baby's illness today I stopped and pondered, my heart ached and tears came. I can't help but feel a greater love and appreciation for my family. It makes me want to be a little more patient, a little more carefree, and little more kind, and little more forgiving.

New Years

Caleb looks good in red.

Paul loves birthdays. He thought the hats meant there was a birthday party so he insisted on singing and blowing a candle out.

Cousin Josh

Happy New Year!

Pat is showing Paul how to make a Coke rocket. Paul loved it.

Christmas Catch Up

My mom sent pictures of our Christmas vacation to Boise. Here are a bunch of pictures of the kids.

Paul and Chris jumping on one of the few non snowy days. Most days we were there the snow was piled on the tramp.

Paul found a dish of Hershey Kisses at Great Grandma Clement's house. Paul had several before anyone noticed.

We have a climber.

Why do we even buy toys?

Daddies are always good at showing their sons a good time. Caleb appreciates any sample you'll give him.

Cousin Chris

Cousin Sarah

Paul loves to paint. He's showing Sarah the ropes.

Great Grandma Madsen doing what she loves when she comes to visit, hold the grandbabies.

Paul and Josh were excellent shovelers. I think Paul is telling Josh to get back to work.

Potty Training Flunky

So potty training had a good start, but somewhere it went dreadfully wrong. The first week Paul was a superstar. All but the pooping thing, but I figured it would just take a few days to get the hang of it. I am discouraged. He will go in his underwear like a diaper and not tell me he needs to go. We will be out and about and I will take him to the bathroom not realizing he's already gone. The few pairs of pants we keep using with stretchy waists are hard to tell if he's wet unless you touch them. He doesn't seem to mind being wet, and I'm talking soaked (even the socks and shoes get it). He'll just keep playing. The novelty of the whole thing has definitely worn off. He cries and whines when I take him into the bathroom now. Today I put him in a diaper and I think I'll try again this Spring. It may seem like I am giving up too soon, but the more I try the more Paul resists. I don't think he's ready.

Johnny Jump-Up

This video shows what a good helper Paul can be with Caleb. He insists on either swinging or bouncing the Johnny Jump-Up for Caleb. It is too tempting; he can't leave it alone when Caleb is in it. We never got a swing for this very reason. Poor Caleb hasn't gotten the chance to experiment with the jumping yet. He doesn't seem to mind Paul too much though. It's like that Bill Cosby routine where he sends out a barrage of commands to his children that they never respond to like, "Come here, come here, come here, COME HERE, COME HERE! COME HERE!!!" But if you were to say, "Money for the Children," you would only have to say it once, quietly and all the kids come running. Likewise, Paul ears are tuned into the sound of that Johnny Jump-Up and he comes running. He is always asking Caleb if he can have a turn. He knows he's too big, but maybe he thinks that if Caleb says yes...

My Phone Broke

I keep missing a lot of your phone calls so I am posting about my phone. My phone broke and it's not repairable. I can take incoming calls, but I can't make outgoing calls. The buttons stopped working and since I can answer my phone without pushing a button I can take calls. However, the volume is turned down and I'm missing a lot of your calls. So, if I don't hear it ring or if I don't get to the phone in time and you leave a message - I can't check the message and I can't call you back (nor can I adjust the volume). Until I get a new phone, just keep calling. Sorry

I am feeling very disconnected from everyone because I can't use my phone. I probably wouldn't think about it as much, but because I can't use it I keep wanting to use it. Does that make sense? It's the concept of wanting what you don't have I guess. Or it's like those ridiculous diets that deprive you of carbs or sugar, and then that's all you think about.

Last week I participated in a "No Technology Day." You turn the phone, computer, TV, etc. off for the entire day. I really loved the outcome of having the TV off for the day. Paul actually played with his toys (that is after several TV tantrums, but he eventually gave up asking). Having the computer and phone off was very difficult for me. Now that I haven't had a working phone for several days now, I think I am going crazy. Am I really that dependent on technology? I wish I could just think, oh well going without a phone for a month might be healthy for me. I am just as addicted to technology as my child. I was looking forward to having the TV off more frequently after that Off Day, but that's because it wasn't hard for ME to have it off. Am I making any sense? I think I need to get back to the basics and enjoy life a little more with my family one on one. I sure do miss my phone though.

Candy Fiend

This morning we broke out the big boy undies, set the timer for every 30 minutes, put some Skittles in a dish for reward treats, put some toy rewards out for the poop accomplishments, and I felt ready to tackle our first all day potty training episode. I was prepared to have several soiled undies and a few tantrums, but it has evolved differently than I anticipated. Paul went through almost the entire package of Skittles in the first hour! I have a candy fiend. Not that I was unaware of his obsession for sweets, but this is a little ridiculous. As soon as he swallowed the Skittle in his mouth he got back up on the toilet and squeezed out a few more drops. There were a couple occasions where he didn't even leave the bathroom before he climbed back up on the toilet and then asked for more candy. So now the worry of soiled undies are no longer the concern; getting Paul to eat anything but Skittles today has become my new concern. I hope the novelty of the situation wears off before the end of the day.

What a Ham

I finally got some pictures of Caleb. My friend Tracy got a nice camera for Christmas and I let her practice on Caleb. Just kidding. She was so nice to do it for me. Didn't they turn out good? Thanks Tracy!

Caleb's Blessing

Caleb had his blessing while we were in Boise. The bottom picture is of him on his blessing day. We are so thankful for his sweet, calm demeanor and we love that his spirirt was entrusted to us to raise.

More posts that include our holidays are to come when I get some pictures. I didn't take any. I have become that mom that has no pictures of the second kid. I think I am still getting used to the added responsibility. That or I am just lazy. My goal by the end of this month is to take tons of pictures, and to get Caleb to sleep through the night. We are still struggling through 2-3 feedings a night. I started to read Baby Wise. It worked with Paul and I expect it to do the same for Caleb. It's just hard to let Caleb cry himself to sleep in an apartment with a toddler that needs sleep too. I can't imagine how those one room hut people do it, (IT, being sleep and life in general) but we all seem to work with what we have and we all get through. Wish us luck.

Potty Training

We are starting the potty training. I have a feeling it will take a while for Paul to be fully potty trained, but we're starting. Paul was more excited about the train underwear than the potty seat and stool. He wanted the underwear on while he played with his trains. What can I say; my kid loves trains and hats.

Caleb Smiles

Caleb is smiling now and I love it! However, to get him to smile with his eyes open for the camera is difficult.

He'll scowl with his eyes open though.

The ultrasound for Caleb's hips went well - as in Paul was well behaved. We are pleased to inform everyone that Caleb's hips are normal and healthy.

Much To Be Thankful For

We had a good Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for. I am grateful for this free country, having enough to eat, having good health, being able to stay home with my kids, a loving husband, and so much more. The Lord has blessed me and my family.

On a lighter note, I am thankful for a good pumpkin pie which we did not have on Thanksgiving. I was so excited that when I pulled the pie out of the oven it was perfectly golden. The crust was perfect, there were no splits in the top, and the knife came out clean as a whistle. I was so excited that the appearance of my pie was so lovely. Unfortunately, my recipe following abilities aren't as wonderful. I forgot the sugar.

I participated in Black Friday which I enjoy doing every year, mostly because my thirfty side comes out and I am always pleased with the amount of money I save. Later that day we set up the Christmas tree and put out our Christmas decorations. I love this time of year. It makes it so much fun to have kids to get excited with.

Paul's staples came out just fine and it's healing well. The picture of Paul was done while I was doing the dishes. I could hear him wrestling around and I knew he had found the dum dums, but I was surprised at how many he was able to get open in such a short amount of time.

A little Health Update

Paul gets his staples out tomorrow (wed 19th). That should be a pleasant experience. Paul seems to be having really poor balance since the head incident. He fell off the dining room chair again on Sunday and re-opened the wound, so I pushed the day back to get the staples out.

The doctor hears clicking in Caleb's hips, so we go in for an ultrasound next week. Hopefully this will turn out to be nothing that will need treatment. Cross your fingers for us.

I have healed up completely and have started to exercise again! This is a big thing for me. During my pregnancy I wasn't able to excerise because of cramping and ligament pain, so it's been a while. I really enjoy excerise and Paul enjoys getting out of the house. I sure hope it doesn't take as long for the pounds to come off as it did last time, but I've found it's less depressing to just have low expectations.

Here are some recent pictures:


I think there's a trend.

My three boys!

Paul still wants to be the baby too.

Catastrophe Strikes Again

I wonder if my son is going to survive his childhood. This poor little kid sure does know how to bite the dust. When he gets hurt it's disastrous.

This evening Paul was running around the house with a cell phone charger around his waist pretending he had a tail. He thought it was so funny that the cord followed him. He kept saying, "monkey tail monkey tail, oh oh ah ah." It was really cute until he tripped and smacked his head against the wall. When he got up a little bit I noticed blood on the wall. He had somehow split the back of his head open on the flat surface of the wall. He was close to the corner, but it didn't look like he hit the corner. Pat and I rushed him to the bathroom where we tried to examine the damage. It was bleeding so much that it was hard to see anything through his hair. I have not seen so much blood in my life. We were able to temporarily stop the bleeding by convincing Paul that the ace bandage head wrap was a hat. I was so thankful Pat happened to come home in between work meetings. We rushed him to the ER where he got three staples to the back of his head. It was a little tramatic for him, but I think he'll survive. Here is a picture of him after the ordeal. He was in pain, and no longer happy about the hat the hospital put back on him.

I Love You Mom

My mom stayed with us for three weeks after Caleb was born. She was a tremendous help and comfort to me. She has always been good at serving others and is continually sacrificing for her family. I loved having her around, and I wish we lived closer. Some people enjoy their space from family and move a little distance away, but I can't get enough of family. Thank you Dad for giving Mom to me for such an extended amount of time, and thank you Mom a million times over for coming! I love you.