Potty training

Picture a three day weekend trapped in a small room just you your son and a frog potty. This was the scene I created trying to follow a mix of a one day and three day method for potty training. The first day there was a lot of playing and not caring a bit about the toilet, asking for a diaper and questioning my sanity. The second day was another rough morning but we had a better afternoon and more motivation to push through. Sunday proved to be better but also a set back when he pooped all over grandmas floor before I could finish blinking. At this point I knew Justin was questioning my decision to try this but we had made enough progress I was convinced to stick with it. It has been almost a month now and while the first two weeks came with their fair share of accidents I am happy to say we are fully potty trained. He still has some two year old potty dance moments but typically he tells you he has to go and wants to do it completely independently. We must have done a lot of clapping early on because he also applauds himself when he goes. It has been really nice not changing diapers and it is just one more thing to make me realize how big Seth is. He is definitely not my baby anymore.

Second Birthday Weekend

We celebrated Seth's Second birthday on January 15th by extending it for three days of celebration. We had lunch and cake with cousins and family at Mcdonalds. Yes Mcdonalds. I know not a lot of thought but super easy and all the kids were entertained. Grandma Diane made the Buzz cake and did an awesome job. He was so cute and kept asking to blow the candle out over and over again. That night we spent it with family celebrating Great Grandma Thompsons 93rd birthday. I have a lot of memories with grandma and it can be really hard to see her sometimes but it was great that the whole family was there. Seth was also willing to give her kisses which made my day. Seths actual birthday was more laid back and spent with the grandpas for dinner and cake. Monday being a holiday we took advantage of the time to play in the snow a little and go swimming at the nearby rec center. Seth of course loves the water and did not want to leave. He loved going around the lazy river portion and floating all by himself. I think swim lessons will definately be needed this summer. It is hard to believe that two years have come and gone and our little baby has turned into an adorable monster who you regularly alternate between wanting to scream at and smothering him with hugs. I proably exagerated his lack of communication skills last post he is actually doing some really good things just not as advanced as all the other moms blogs I get to look at. In a way I think it has really helped me sympathize more with the moms I work with. He is using between 50-100 unclear words to express his wants and needs. Pretty much the kid is the epitome of doing every age appropriate articulation error you can make. (water= badin, fish=dish, stop=bop come= num etc.)He can do two word phrases but has not made it a regular thing. He is super smart and loves to help dad with any building that needs to be done and mom in the kitchen. He has fiqured out where each of the four grandparents homes and his two great grandmas keep their candy and is not afraid to ask. He is really in to hot wheels cars, trains, buzz and the movie Rio right now. I am hesitant to say but he has also shown an interest in potty training and is going everytime we put him on the toilet. I am hoping to really push it this weekend and see how he does. Hopefully it doesn't backfire and push us backwards. Seth is definately our little monster but we are so gratefuly that he is here and are looking forward to what the next two years will bring.

Myringotomy Tubes

So after a year of chronic ear infections we decided to have tubes placed. I am going to blame the ear infections on his delayed speech not the fact that his mother an SLP is a huge hypocrite and doesn't give him the same language time that she tells her clients. The ENT said he had definate scaring on both ears, poor kid I think he had more than we even knew about. Here are a few pictures we snapped. He had a pretty hard time coming off the anesthesia. He wouldn't relax so it took a few hours for him to calm down and let mom go. All is well now and he is back to his destructive self. Life goes on especially when you have a toddler.

He was not very happy when they were taking vitals before. He already knew this was going to be bad.

We tried to calm him down after with his favorite movie, "Toy Story" but even that would not help.

Picture a Christmas and Amazing Nativity Games.

One of my favorite things about being in the Primary is singing time. The fastest way to help me feel the spirit is to put on an uplifting song.  This month especially has touched me as the kids are practicing the song "Picture a Christmas" to sing in sacrament. I tear up every time it is sung in singing time. It's simple message seems to reach out and helps me to feel the true meaning of Christmas amongst all the buying stress. I was online the other night trying to find some nativity clip art for our primary class and came across this blog titled preparednotscared.blogspot.com  It had some great games and pictures for not only Christmas but FHE and of course emergency prepardness ideas.  I printed out some of the games to put in my own files. They would be great for familys with children to help us remind them of our savior this time of year.  They would also be great for sharing times for those of you in the presidencys.  I have to say that I am sad to see the year coming to an end and will be saying goodbye to our sunbeams. They have such tender testimonies and honestly crack us up each week.  Here is just a sample of some of the things they have said. 


1.  My little sister doesn't drink from my moms boobies anymore because she turned two. 


2.  (after needing to be taken out in the hallway) I hate you so much. I hate you more than the mountains and the mountains are big.   When people hate you they do bad things to you like hit you and kick you. 
I hate you so much I wish you would go in the ocean and a shark would eat you.  (This child is very dramatic and very smart.I had the hardest time not cracking up during this.  After his rant he asked to hold my hand, ah children.) 

3. I'm starving to death, and death means you die. 


4. Oh my freaking heck he stole my crayon.  (obviously someones parent substituties swears.)

5.  (during the childs prayer) Please bless that we don't get eaten by zombies.


6. If you really want to kill them you have to shoot them in the head (again more zombie talk) 


Seth has reached a pretty whiny stage, he cries at the drop of a hat.  I keep telling myself that one day we will be able to reason with him as we do our sunbeams.  I am excited to hear all the funny things that he has to say. 


I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Yet another picture update.

In September we went camping with my brother Cory's family to Smith and Morehouse Reservoir. We had a great time relaxing, fishing, eating, and sitting by the fire. It was so nice to get away for a few days.

We played at the park with Grandpa and cousin Zeke. Eating peaches whole is the best treat.

Enjoyed the rain puddles in the gutter. 

Went to Raging Waters and loved loved loved the water.

Had some silly moments, spilled comet cleanser all over and said goodbye to Ainsley and Aubrey

Went to Lake Powell. Seth loved being in the sand and the water at all times Dad had to work so it is a good thing there is a lot of family to help mom.

Boating trips with Brandon and Eden and Taisa and Andrew

Went to the Rodeo and excitedly watched the whole time. 

A small update

           Life is definately different now that Justin is working. We see each other a lot less and Seth re-learns each week to like going to the babysitter. I feel really lucky to have found a great sitter for him.
Aubrey is an amazing person and is such a great mom. She has a daughter a month older and while that essentially gives her twins she says having two is fun. They entertain each other and are even competitive with what they do. It seems that Ainsley is only learning from Seth at the moment. She has improved her climbing skills immensley but Seth is still not using real words. Ainsley knows a ton so the fingers are crossed that she will rub off on him. It might be that his mom is an SLP and so he is meant to be a late talker. I call it a tired mom who doesnt give him the language attention he deserves or needs. I am trying to work on this. He Jabbers constantly but it is definately nonsense at this time. He also is pretty limited on his consonant repetoire so I have some work to do. He tries really hard to produce/imitate sounds when I ask him to and does well to use signs or pick up new signs as we introduce them. So there is hope that he will hit those milestones as needed. I think he is too busy mastering every gross motor skill he can and doesn't have the patience for such a fine motor skill as speaking. A good example is his ability to climb. He loves ladders and a few weeks ago Justin was helping his mom fix her swamp cooler. I went into the house to get something and when I came out Diane was yelling at me to help. Seth had climbed the ladder to the top of the roof. She had happened to look over and see him before he could attempt to climb onto the roof with them. He is constantly learning new motor skills to help him get what he wants and he has to do everything himself it is pretty frustrating for someone so small to be so independent. .
            Justin seems to enjoy working and likes the people he works with. It sounds very diverse and he always has stories to tell. He is getting out of the what am I doing stage and is feeling more confident each day.   On a crazier note Justin and I celebrated our five year anniversary in the beginning of June and I can't believe how fast it has gone. It has not always been a smooth ride but I think we are doing pretty good of holding on to each other in the hard times and celebrating the good times. I know I don't tell him enough that I love him. But, I must because I had a moment of insanity and bought him the dog he has been begging for forever. The condition was that it had to shed little to none. So he researched and came up with golden doodles. Ares is a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle. He has been a puppy through and through with the chewing and potty training but he is so good natured and Seth loves taking him for walks, playing fetch and playing in his food dish. So for now we have our next baby and are trying to enjoy every minute our whole family can be together.


Anything that drives he has to try out.



Ares

Seth and Mom at Willow Park in Logan

Uncle Andrew and Seth, buddies at the park

I spent a few days in Logan visiting Taisa and Andrew we had a great time.

Showing off his scars with pride.

Ready for his shampoo as he waited for mom to get her hair cut.

What mom I just wanted something on the top shelf.



Thirsty, try drinking from a sprinkler.



         

change

I don't have a lot of time to specifically tell all the stories so I am just going to list some of the things that have happened.

1. Sold Justin's Car. Now on a mission to save money for a little bigger car.

2. Got a great tax return to pay off the windows we had installed in October. Even though we didn't end up qualifying for the 1500 window credit.

3. Justin got a job. He is officially a working man a year after his graduation. He is a fab specialist for Fairchild Semiconductors in West Jordan. It is mostly a stepping stone to what we hope will be a better job and allow me to go down in hours but for now it is a job.

4. Still unsure about what we are going to do with Seth two days a week for child care. Makes me really appreciate when I didn't have to worry about it.

5. We are almost finished with our Laundry room/hallway/bathroom remodel. If I could just get justin to put the toilet back on we would be in buisness. I will post pictures later.

I guess its really not that much but they have all been things that really affected our lives. I feel like we are hitting a big change and I can't wait to see what becomes of it.