Summer Vacation!!

So I don't forget!!

Family photo November 2013

Recently, I was looking over our blog and loving all the stories and pictures and little updates about our life. I am horrible at keeping a journal/scrapbook, and since this has been neglected for 2 years, I feel my memories have been neglected as well. Today is Mother's Day and as I have spent the day pondering over my few years of being a mother I realize my boys are growing so fast and I don't want to forget any of their special little things they do or say. So, here is an update on what has been going on the past little while.....

Landon, my big 5 year old. He is such a Momma's boy and I secretly love it. :) Anywhere I am, he wants to be. He LOVES to tease! Especially his little brother, which makes me crazy most days. He is a fan of wrestling with his Dad on a daily basis, but can get into trouble because he "forgets" he can't scratch, or kick in certain places.... He is my picky eater, but Dad can usually get him to eat dinner by making bets about how hard he can punch or fight dad if he takes more bites. Landon will get pretty excited, finish off his food, and see what kind of marks he can leave on Dad. His punches are getting harder, so I'm getting a little worried for David's future. Landon is turning into a little sass, tries to be tough, but has a tender, loving heart. He is such a good big brother when he wants to be. He and Tanner love to play rough, dress up in super-hero costumes and basically give their Mom a heart attack several times a day by how rough they play. Speaking of rough play, this kid is tough and active! He learned how to ride his bike without training wheels last summer and he goes full speed on his bike All.The.Time! He is one smart little dude. He is in an online preschool program. He works on the computer 20 min a day and has excelled so much in the past 8 months. He is turning into such a good little reader. I love how proud he gets when he finishes a book and shows me all the new words he has learned. He will be starting Kindergarten in September and I'm not sure I'm ready to have my little buddy in school!! I cry thinking about it. He is growing up so quickly. I love how much he is learning and the little person he is becoming.

Tanner is my funny little 3 year old. This kid is a comedian, but he doesn't even try to be. He has the sweetest little voice that just melts your heart. He is our little fashionista, which totally cracks Dave and I up because we don't have any style! He is so particular over what he wears, and his accessories. He LOVES pajamas though. If we are going out for the day and changing out of our pj's he will ask me a million times if he can wear a certain set of pj's when we get home. The first thing he does when we come home is strip off his clothes and get into his comfies. Often times he will want just his undies and his shoes. He thinks he has to ask for my permission. He will say "Can I just wear my undies? With no shirt, or shoes, or socks?" It cracks me up! I have never told him no, but he thinks he has to ask every time. When he gets dressed he has to be the one to pick out the shoes. After he gets them on he walks down the hall, looking down, and checking himself out. This kid is also obsessed with Mom's chest! He tries to sneak a feel frequently... even today in Sacrament he told his best little buddy Cooper to "watch this!" He then proceeds to grab my chest and yells "boob" Yep, in church.... I'm going to have my hands full in 10 years. Tanner has the sweetest little spirit. He is my sensitive little man. When he gets in trouble all you have to do is look at him wrong and he starts to cry. He will then run and yell for "brother" to give him a hug and make him feel better. He tells me all the time how much he loves me and it will never get old. Although sensitive, he loves to play rough with Landon and Daddy. He also loves blankets, stuffed animals, and our dog Macie. He is our good little eater and will try anything, but absolutely hates strawberries. He has recently become more animated when telling stories. His eyes will get really wide and he puts his head up when he talks. It just makes me giggle. I love him so much!!  His little world will change soon as baby sister arrives, and Landon goes to school. I hope the adjustment won't be too difficult for him. I'm excited to be able to spend more time with him when Landon is in school, because Landon can be a bit of a attention hog. :)

David, my big kid. :) He is working at Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake. He has a lovely 80 mile round-trip commute each day. He gets up early and leaves for work so he can be home at a decent hour. He is such a hard worker and I am so grateful for him. He is seriously the best dad to our boys. He is always playing with them, wrestling, taking them on hikes in the back field, and other adventures. He is a kid at heart for sure, and that makes him the best father ever!! He loves to be with his family, even if it is just going to get a gallon of milk at the store. He wants everyone to go with. He doesn't want to miss a second with his family.

As for myself, I am still working at McKay-Dee hospital in Same Day/ PACU. I work three 8 hr shifts a week. It is enough to make me feel overwhelmed sometimes. It is hard being a working mom, but I know my little ones are cared for when I'm gone. After the baby comes (10 more weeks, crossing my fingers for 8!!) I will drop one day and just do 2 shifts a week. I am so looking forward to more time at home with my children. I love being a nurse, but my main priority is my family. Not sure if it's the pregnancy hormones, but I just get emotional lately watching my children play. I can see the little men they are turning into and it makes my heart ache. Why can't they stay little??!!!

We're Alive!!

It's finally time I post some pictures of our cute little mutts!! They are getting so big and I can't believe how fast they are growing. Landon will be 4 in 2 months!! Seriously??! And Tanner is no longer my little baby. He is a little dude that's starting to get an attitude. Love them both so much!!

Almost Time to Say Good-bye!

I celebrated my 29th birthday! I cannot believe this is my last year in the 20's!! I seriously still feel like I'm 21. Hence the birthday candles..... (not really, we just had a 1 and 2 on hand!) Actually I am grateful I am 29 and no longer 21. These last few years have been awesome. I mean, look at the awesome men I have in my life now. I never had this kind of love and happiness at 21!

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE these little men!

Landon smothering his brother as usual!!

Landon apparently picking a present for me, and his little sidekick laughing it up!

Dave bought me Lady Antebellum tickets. BEST. PRESENT. EVER!!!

My Tanner Bug is O.N.E.!!!

I seriously can't believe a year has passed (so cliche, I know!) People told me that time goes by quicker with the 2nd child, and I totally believe them now. I feel like I just left the hospital with a tiny little peanut yesterday, and now my peanut is making naughty little messes, and has even started tormenting his older brother!! Oh where did the time go?! It's milestones like these that make me realize how precious time is, and how I need to sit back and enjoy this precious time with my babies......

For Tanner's birthday I found the cutest little caterpillar cake via Pinterest (yes, I am slightly obsessed!) So, I decided to make the Hungry Caterpillar his birthday theme. The invites and cake turned out so cute. I was pretty impressed with my copy-cat abilities. :)

Nothing says "Awesome Mom" like feeding your 12 month old sugar and red dye!!

The Presents!!!

PURE ENJOYMENT!!! Seriously love these faces.....

This is the not-so-awesome present from Grandma. Don't get me wrong, the kids LOVE IT!! The parents, not so much. It consists of like 2.7 million plastic balls. To a kid, what's not to love? For a cranky, tired parent that's constantly tripping over toys? This present is sick and wrong!! Ha ha. I mean, thanks MOM!!: )

I love how Dave is pointing in this picture. I think he is asking my mom if she is going to come over and pick up the 2.7 billion balls everyday. (Yes, I just increased the number)

I mean, just look at the possessed look in Landon's eyes....... I have walked into Tanner's room after naptime to find the entire ball collection covering his body. Landon is so great to share!!

This toy is currently tucked away in a very special hiding place......

He had an awesome birthday and was seriously spoiled. We were so glad we got to spend it with our families.

Birthday Boy!!

My big boy turned 3 on the 16th! He is turning into such a handsome little dude, and I am so lucky I get to be his mamasita! We had a little party for this blessed event and had our favorite people over..... our family! We put up balloons and streamers (what kind of party would it be without them?) We enjoyed spaghetti and garlic bread. Instead of baking a cake (Mr. Landon just loves the ice cream anyways) I attempted cupcake cones. If you have never tried this, you should! Seriously so easy and fun. Easy clean up too!! :) Landon was seriously spoiled by the fam. Thanks again!! He also got his first "big boy bike" which he often tells us is too big for him when he is frustrated he can't get it going by himself.

Being bashful, pointing at Daddy to blow out the candles. :)

Excited to try the cupcake cones!!

Giving Aunt Julie loves for his presents. So cute.....

Hippity-Hop horse from Grandma.

Spiderman!! (Thanks Fernandez fam)

Showing off the new bike

Landon's FAVORITE THINGS at age 3!!
-Waffles....
-Candy (pretty sure it will always be his fav)
-Backyardigans (thank you Netflix)
-Reading with Mom
-Cars/Trucks/Trains
-Nursery -ICE CREAM!!!
-LOVES to give his mom kisses and tells me he "loves me most!"
-LOVES rough housing and teasing Daddy
-Landon has such a sweet connection with Tanner. I seriously love to watch them play!

Landon's PERSONALITY at age 3!!
-STUBBORN (are you a red head or something?)
-Full of energy.......

Funny things he has said lately.....
-Frequently calls me "babe" like daddy does
-Told me when I get big I will be a big boy and grow a puddy (ie. penis) like Daddy. Yep kid, that is my ultimate goal in life! Needless to say, Landon has not taken any more showers with Mom!!
-Always talks about growing up and being a mommy and playing volleyball like me (He had a breakdown today when I told him he would be a daddy instead, but he could still play volleyball)

Happy Birthday Little Landon!! Mommy and Daddy love you so so much!!

ER visit......

My little Tanner bug had his first trip to the ER (it was also my first trip to the ER as a mama). He was at the babysitters while I was out shopping with David's mom. We were only gone about an hour when Melissa called to say that Tanner had pulled himself up to the file cabinet and fell back on his bottom. He bit his tongue and it was bleeding.... a lot...... She said it had been about 15-20 min and it wasn't slowing down. We came home and I snuggled my little TJ. I called the pediatrician after about an hour because it was continuuing to bleed. She told me just to put him down for a nap and hopefully it would clot. I kept checking on my little bug and he was sleeping so peacefully. He woke up 2 hrs later with blood crusted across his face. He sat up, saw me and smiled, and bright red blood continued to pool down his chin. It had been about 4 hrs since the accident. I called the doctor again and she wanted me to take him to Primary Children's. I told her I wanted her to look at it first before I drove all the way to Salt Lake. I quickly bathed him and got him in the car. As we were pulling out I heard him throw up (Dave's mom was in the back with him). I threw the car in park and jumped out. I knew the sight wasn't going to be pretty. He was covered in black, coffee ground colored emesis. So sad! I started freaking out with the amount he had just vomited. Brigitte ran inside to start the bath as I was stripping off his clothes in the driveway (sorry to any neighbors who had to observe the bloody scene in our yard!) He was getting so pale and lethargic. I yelled to Brigitte to just come out to the car because we didn't have time to bathe him. As we drove to Layton I pleaded with Heavenly Father to help stop the bleeding and keep my baby boy safe. I didn't realize how much blood he was swallowing. I felt like such a bad mom that I had just put him in his crib to let him "sleep it off." When we finally arrived at the doctors (I was seriously out of my mind, why didn't I just go straight to the ER?) little Tanner was so white. He didn't have any color left in his lips. His ears, and nose were also completely white. I was crying and just praying that my baby would be ok. Right before we got to the reception desk he puked again! all over both of us!! It was seriously such a mess! Once the doctor saw Tanner she told me she was calling the ER, and she wanted me to walk over there. She looked at his tongue and it had FINALLY stopped bleeding.....5 hrs later! The medical assistant came with us. I was shaking so hard, I could barely fill out the paperwork. Once the nurse brought us back she took one look at Tanner and switched gears. She took us to a trauma room and then 4 nurses came flying in getting him all hooked up to the monitors and started poking on my little man. It took them 4 tries to get the IV in and labs drawn. I couldn't believe all this was happening over a dumb little tongue bite! Needless to say, after a CT scan, fluid boluses, a visit from the ENT, and an expensive bill later he is home and healthy! Words seriously could not express how grateful I was to see him become my smiling and AWAKE little Tanner again. I never EVER want to experience something like that again....... I do realize I have 2 boys, so the likelihood of that is small. Dang!

My little Inch Worm!!

Look who is on the move!!

This is our little Tanner Bug at 9 months. His arms are going to get pretty buff if he keeps it up! ha!!

TOU 1/2.....

Last Saturday I ran the Top of Utah 1/2 marathon with Cindy. It was seriously so HOT!! My time was pretty slow but I am glad I finished considering how overheated I was. The first 7 miles was in Blacksmith Fork Canyon. So BEAUTIFUL!!! I kept getting choked up (probably cause of the heat!) thinking about all the fun times I had in that canyon growing up and how much I missed living in such a beautiful place. I have the best family who always support me and my crazy endeavors. My sister Julie came up from Orem to watch me finish. Thanks Sis!! Here are a few pics of the morning..........

The BEFORE @ 5 AM!!

The AFTER.....several hours later

I finished 4 minutes slower than last year (when I was prego and had a chest cold). The heat seriously did a number on me. I was nauseated and couldn't stand up without passing out for 3-4 hrs. My muscles are still feeling the pain!! I no longer have to fall on the toilet, or roll down the stairs though, so that's improvement!! : )

Trying to get a pic with my boys-

I don't have a pic of me crossing the finish line, because SOMEONE (love you sis) didn't know how to run my camera and accidentally turned off the camera instead of capturing the photo. That happened last year too. They wanted me to run thru again, but I seriously just wanted to sit down and never get up!! Oh well......

I am going to run another 1/2 in Provo on October 29th. It is a costume race. Any suggestions?!

Summer 2011 {HIGHLIGHTS!!}

Since I am ever so behind on blogging I thought I better just do quick catch up of our summer events.
We went to Lagoon with Aunt Ninny and Jacob..........



We went to the Zoo with the Jackson family.........

I think John is scared of Landon! He has reason to be, Landon can be a little monster sometimes. Sorry JJ!!

Daddy looking in the mirror......

The boys and I took a little trip to Rigby Idaho to visit my friend and her family. Landon was in heaven the entire time riding the 4-wheeler and playing with all the farm animals!

Jodi took him on his first spin, he wasn't quite sure he liked it at first. He sure is cute in his shades though!! : )

Landon with his girlfriend Erin! He was all smiles with her!!

The boys also got their pictures taken by Jodi's niece Jill Aponte. I love the pics of them together.









Next on our late Spring/Early Summer plans was getting our little Landon potty trained! He seriously did such an amazing job. We had been talking about it, reading about it, and watching Elmo Potty for months..... but when we actually went to the store and bought the potty chair and Diego under-roos he was potty trained in about a week. We didn't even have to remind him. He would just run upstairs and do his business. He is one smart little dude!!

I am not really sure what he is doing here...... pretty sure he isn't peeing on the door. I just think he looks adorable in his undies and boots!

This little guy is growing so fast!! At his 6 month appt. we got a little scare from our pediatrician. Tanner has been really behind on his motor development and the doctor told me she saw some "minor anomalies" in him that resemble down syndrome. I just stared at her in disbelief. I really didn't think anything was wrong with him, and that he was my perfectly healthy little baby, but having a doctor say those words just puts it in the back of your mind. It took 2 months for the insurance company to approve the blood test, and I'll tell you those were the 2 longest months of my life!! It was on my mind constantly. We were able to get the blood drawn when he turned 8 months, and we also saw a Geneticist at Primary Children's. The Geneticist said she was very optimistic that he was NORMAL!! and the blood test came back normal as well. {YEAH!} He is just the most content little guy around, and rarely cries. He is just happy at looking at a toy near him, rather than trying to figure out how to roll over, sit up, etc to get to it. We have started him on physical therapy (which I think is kind of silly, but doing what the doctor requests). He has improved so much the past couple of months. He finally started to roll over at 7 months, and is mastering his sitting up abilities now (9 months old). Things have been so different with him vs Landon. My little Landon was cruising around furniture at this age, but I do know children grow at different rates. I am just so grateful that he is healthy. I have never prayed, cried, or lost so much sleep over something in my entire life. I am just so grateful he is happy and healthy!!

Showing off his new teeth. They first popped thru at 5 months. He got his bottom two teeth then his upper canine tooth. He was my little vampire for a while (and he did use those teeth to bite me with!)

Here are his 6 month stats: 15 lbs 12 oz (17th%)
26.2 in (40%)

And his 9 month stats: 17 lbs 9 oz (8th%)
28.4 in (55th %)

We took a trip to California to meet our cute little niece Cali and attend her blessing. David's little bro and his wife Jamie have the cutest little girl. It was so fun to actually hold a little GIRL!! We stayed at their house the entire time (thanks again guys) and we loved it. Our little boys did so well on the trip. We drove both ways, but broke it up into 2 days at Mesquite. (Gotta love the Virgin River $24.99 room deal) Staying in Mesquite made the drive definitely doable with little ones. We were able to go to the beach, and we also hit up swimming pools in Bakersfield every day we were there. Both Landon and Tanner love the water. I think I have little fishies on my hand. : )

The Swimming Pools!!
Daddy throwing Landon up way too high!!


Look at Todd's face- ha ha.

This face says it all! Pure happiness in the water!!

I seriously love this photo. Landon and Avery are a year apart and they were so cute playing together and splashing their toes in the water.

Heading to the beach!
We piled into the parent's SUV....... Brian and David had to snuggle for 2 1/2 hrs. They looked so uncomfortable!!

Testing out the sand for the 1st time. Can you tell that he loved it?! ha ha. He was definitely not a fan of the beach. It was so windy, the poor little guy cried the entire time. I finally got him to sleep, bundled him up so the wind wasn't blowing on him. He was much better after that!!

Tanner with Grandpa Ken

Daddy showing Landon the beauty of the ocean! : )
Landon's favorite part was exploring the beach and chasing the seagulls!

Pic of David's family after the blessing. I am so mad I didn't get a pic of Cali's dress. It was so beautiful. It was made out of Jamie's wedding dress. I had never heard of doing that before. If I ever have a girl I want to do the same thing!

Now we are home, and trying to get back on a schedule. The summer always seems so crazy, and although I love being busy, I need my schedule back!! The boys have been staying up way too late, and I need my "ME" time. LOL.

I have been training for my 2nd 1/2 marathon (not as much as I should). It is on Saturday and I am a little nervous. I hope I survive. Stay tuned for pictures (I may be comatose in them). The sad thing is my time was probably better when I ran it last year--PREGNANT!! haha

RANDOM PICS!!

These are the things I have come downstairs to find after nursing Tanner. Landon always gets a little too quiet for my liking. He is such little turd!!!
He wanted chocolate milk!! Unfortunately we ran out of milk that morning. : (

This kid loves ice cream. Yes he is in his jammies, and yes this was most likely before noon! Takes after his mama! He needs some chocolate to get his day going.

Needless to say, I have since purchased a fridge lock!!!

Tanner just looking so dang cute!

Landon growing up way too fast, and turning into a big kid!