Utah Trip Part 1

Fun with the Rasmussen Side in Sandy

 Children's Museum at Gateway

Lagoon

4th of July/Birthday BBQ at Dad's

 

Girl's Night at Stein Erickson Hotel in Deer Valley

Father's Day

I felt bad about this Father's Day because it wasn't such a great day for Ben or any of us for that matter! Poor little Logi was up all night Saturday in agonizing stomach pain. So, Sunday morning we took him to the Urgent Care to discover that he surprisingly had his first case of Strep Throat! I was happy to know what was wrong and that it could be treated, but he never once complained about a sore throat and he hadn't had a fever in days. He just manifest the symptoms in a different way mainly through stomach pains, lack of appetite, and lethargy, which I wrongly diagnosed as being viral related. So, I am very happy that we went to the doctors, but was sad that it all happened on Father's Day Sunday.

Saturday was Ben's day to do whatever he wanted and even though Logan wasn't feeling well, we still had fun swimming and going out to dinner. However, I have never seen Logan sicker, which peaked Saturday night and all day Sunday...he was miserable:( Luckily, Ben still enjoyed his Father's Day even though it was a day home from church with sick kids (Dane was acting sick as well, but luckily it didn't progress into much).

For Father's Day, Ben got a new Motorola Xoom tablet, which he loves, and a few other odds and ends. But, he truly loved our cards and the boys' video message.

Ben is such an amazing father and I found the best card that expressed my appreciation for him.  I love this card so much...it says, "When I look at you, I see a man who's totally in love with his family. It shows in all the big and little things you do every day...as a husband, as a father. When I look at you, I see a man I love and appreciate...a man I am so very happy to be sharing this life with." Of course, I wrote my own little love note and between that and the boys' video and card, I am pretty sure that he felt very loved this Father's Day! We love you daddy!

Terrible Two's

Although Daners has been two for about 4 months now, he has FULLY entered into his "Terrible Two's" and we are scrambling to help him exit this phase ASAP! What is so hard about this phase, is that he is so stinkin cute that it makes it hard to discipline him even though he is so naughty! Do not get me wrong, we love Dane more than anything and he truly is the sweetest boy, but he has soooo much energy and has become very destructive! For example, this is what we found when we checked on him in the middle of the night:

His poor Pillow Pet didn't stand a chance! I have no idea why he did this...probably just plain curiosity, but this is what I am talking about him being destructive.

He also loves to spit, especially with food and/or drink in his mouth. We can't go to McDonald's (or any other like child friendly restaurant) right now without an angry mom approaching me because Dane spit massive amounts of soda into their poor child's face! He does it so fast! I turn my back for 1 second and the damage has been done. He finds it very humorous, but I on the other hand, have to stop and count to 10 before I totally lose it!

He seems to respond well to Time Out and understands what he did wrong. He also apologizes in a seemingly sincere way, but he forgets quickly and often repeats his bad behaviors. I know that consistency is everything and that we will continue to discipline him for wrong doings and praise him for good behavior, but I must admit, this phase is exhausting!

However, this is hopefully just a phase and he will grow out of it soon...right? Or, it will just evolve into different behavior issues, as we have seen with Logan (talking back, etc.). I know that this is all part of parenting and even though it may be hard at times, there is nothing more important or more rewarding. Often I worry about my parenting skills and if we handle each new challenge correctly, but more importantly, we love our kids more than anything. We want nothing more, but for our children to be happy, healthy, safe, prosperous, and loved beyond belief...something that we work day in and day out to achieve for our sweet little boys:)

But, isn't he one of the cutest little stinkers you have ever seen?:)