Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Neil Diamond is my friend




"There are two kinds of people in the world...those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't"
-What About Bob

I am definitely one of those people that like him. Greg and I attended his concert in Salt Lake on Friday night. It was a delayed anniversary present. We had the greatest time...at least I did. The best part was that he played so many of my favorites like Shilo, I am I said, Love on the Rocks, You don't bring me flowers, Holly Holy, Cracklin Rose, Cherry Cherry, and Play me. Usually when I go to concerts I go home a little sad because the singer didn't do my favorites and played a lot of songs I didn't know etc. Not this concert...it was seriously the best. I would go again in a heartbeat. I was perma-grin the entire time. Greg thinks I'm quite nerdy, which is probably true. There were, however, 2 couples in front of us around our age and the men got up and danced and were so happy when "Forever in Blue Jeans" came on (the wives weren't as enthusiastic).




Monday, December 22, 2008

Merry Christmas!











6 month stats


Skyler went in for his 6 month appointment today. He was 18 lbs and 27.5 inches. 60th percentile for weight and 83rd percentile for height.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Sleep runs my life

Sleep has so much to do with how I feel each day, how much patience I have and how I function. I was so pleased when I sleep trained Skyler and he started sleeping until 7 am! Well, then the time change came and he was waking up at 6 instead. That's still okay. Then it was 5:30. Well the last two nights I've put him to bed around 7 or 8 and then he has woken up at 10, 2, 3:30, 6:30, then finally 8:30. I wondering if this is a new habit? Or if it is growth spurt? What is going on??? If I just knew I could fix it. Also the fact that Reagan has been getting up at 6:30 am on the dot isn't helping. I hate it so bad. Reagan has a child lock on the inside of her door so she can't get out of her room without our help. When she wakes up in the morning she goes straight for the door and KNOCKS KNOCKS KNOCKS as LOUD as she can. It is the worst feeling when I hear that knock. It is like I am in high school again and I hear my alarm clock beeping (I had to get up for a paper route and seminary at 4:30 am). Help!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

My Creation

Here is the BEFORE...a little media shelf that I got on craigslist for $5.












My sister gave me the idea to make a little kitchen for Reagan for Christmas. Here is the link to some of the ideas: http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/toys-kids/roundup-diy-play-kitchens-069808

Here is the after:













Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The pie I'm bringing to Thanksgiving even though it won't matter because there are a million other ones

Bob Evans Peanut Butter Pie
1 5 oz. pkg. Jell−O Instant Vanilla Pudding
2 cups cold skim milk (you could use any milk you like)
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
1−1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 prebaked pie shell of your choice (use a ready made, refrigerated
crust, or you can bake your own), lightly browned
1 − 8 Ounce container of Cool Whip (or store brand equivalent)
Garnish: chocolate syrup & crushed peanuts
Whisk together pudding mix and cold milk in bowl until creamy. Add 1/2 cup
whipped whipping cream, peanut butter. Whisk until completely blended. Pour
into baked pie shell, cover with generous layer of Cool Whip whipped
topping. Put in freezer for 1 hour until set. Remove from freezer, drizzle
with your favorite chocolate syrup & crushed peanuts. Cover, chill 2 hours,
serve.

pumpkin cookies

EASIEST yummiest pumpkin cookies ever
1 spice cake mix
1 14 oz can pumpkin
chocolate chips
mix up, bake for 10 minutes at 350.

modern day miracle

So, I'm sorry there are so many posts about potty issues but seriously that is my life for the past year. The last 2 days Reagan has worn her underwear and she has had zero accidents!!! She has gone #2 four times! That seriously is remarkable. I am so happy. I just hope she will keep it up.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

only 37 kinds of pie???


Dear Thanksgiving,
You are seriously my favorite holiday...or at least in the top 3. You make me so happy. I love that I get to go to Franklin Idaho and visit my family. I love that because of you I get to choose from 30+ different kinds of pie. I love that I get to eat the best rolls in the world because of you. I love that your whole holiday revolves around eating good food and a lot of it. Thank you Thanksgiving you are my best friend!
Love,
My stomach

Monday, November 17, 2008

Monster Baby!


My sister, Gina had a baby yesterday named Kaitlyn Anne Benson. She is beautiful...so I went to the hospital to visit and realized Skyler is like a monster compared to her. He is SO huge!

Monday, November 3, 2008

proposition 8

check out my friends post on proposition 8 in california...it is very well thought through

embarrassinig secret

I'm so embarrassed for myself that Reagan is not potty trained yet. I feel like a failure. She is 3 years and 3 months. The Dr. told me to stop putting pressure on her and let her wear a diaper everyday if she wants. So that is what we've been doing. The good news is that she is not holding her poop in anymore and is not costipated. She loves her diapers and chooses them everyday over panties. Of course when she chooses her diaper she will not go pee in the potty. Why would she? It's such an inconvenience and it's so much easier to just pee in the diaper. I'm so sick of her smelling like urine. I'm so sick of changing her diapers full of poop. I feel like she literally will wear diapers for the rest of her life. Anyway, as you can tell I'm very frustrated.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Thursday, October 23, 2008

4 months old!





4 month stats:
16 lbs 8 oz (exactly double his birth weight) 79th percentile
95th percentile for height
31st percentile for head circumference (don't you think his head looks bigger than that with those chubby cheeks)

While the doctor was rotating his hips and checking them he was laughing and laughing. It just shows his personality...so happy and easy going!

My theme song for Skyler is "you make me so very happy, i'm so glad you came into my life." It really expresses how I feel about him. By the way, he has now slept through the night until past 7 am for 4 nights in a row. This makes me like him even more!

Monday, October 20, 2008

What a beautiful night

Went to bed at 10:30 didn't get up until 7:30! The BEST night ever! Please Skyler, don't tease me. Just do this every night.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Feeling ugly

Dear postpartum body,
I don't mean to sound disrespectful of you but I'm kind of sick of how you are makinig me feel lately. When I was pregnant I was excited to have my body back. Now that I "have it back" I kind of want to go back to the pregnant body. At least I had thick hair that didn't fall out it clumps everyday. I also had a big tummy back then, but at least there was a reason for it...there was a baby inside. There weren't big dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep. I'm just feeling a little ugly lately. Sorry for the self pity. No I won't post pictures of myself.

Halloween Party



Last night we went to our ward Halloween party...here is Greg and the kids...GO BUCKS!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Day 3: A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Last night I fed Skyler around 8:30 and then he stayed up for a little while and then I put him down. He fussed for probably 4-5 minutes and then fell asleep. This was by far the least amount of crying. Then he usually wakes up for a feeding around 11 or 12...well last night he didn't wake up until almost 4 am! This gives me so much hope. Hopefully that will eventually stretch out until 6 am. I am so proud of him. I feel a million times better today than I have for a while. I actually got 5 1/2 hours of sleep in a row!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Day 2: is this for real?

Last night was the 2nd night of ferberizing Skyler. He was so mad mad mad when I put him down to sleep. He cried for a LONG time...probably a 1/2 hour. They said the 2nd night is harder than the first because they are testing you and seeing if this is really for real. He finally fell asleep and then woke up for his late night feeding at 2:30 am (which is usually at 11:30 or 12). Then he slept until almost 7. So there was no crying except for when I put him down around 9. So that was better. Hopefully tonight he won't cry as long. I'm really proud of him and myself and I feel so much better than waking up a million times to put his binky in.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Day 1: Not for the faint of heart

So last night after I put Skyler to bed around 8:30 he woke up for his late night feeding around midnight. After that I put him down and he fell right asleep with no pacifier. Then I turned off my monitor and in my mind said that I am not going to go in there until at least 6 am. Greg sleeps with this really loud fan and so I shut Skyler's door and our door and I couldn't hear a thing until about 3:25 am. I listened and sure enough Skyler was crying so loud and it was so sad. I just said to myself I'm not going in there. I was thinking in my mind, "i could end this all right now by going in there and giving him his passie" but I held strong and didn't go in. I let him cry for 20 minutes and then he put himself back to sleep!!! Of course, I couldn't sleep because I was so nervous/excited the whole night. Then he didn't wake up to eat until after 7 am! So then for this morning's nap I put him down and he cried and I'm sure wanted his passie but I just let him cry for about 5 minutes and then he fell asleep. The other thing I did was not swaddle his hands down like I normally do. That way if he wants to suck on his fingers he can to help him go to sleep. I put an extra warm sleeper on him. If you're going to try this I have to say that you need to be tough. Because if you go in there because they are crying forever that only teaches them to cry long enough to get there way. Good thing I have no heart :)
I'll post tomorrow and hopefully tonight will go well. Soon I'll be sleeping through the night again too!!!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Ferberization

I've had it! The last 5 or so days Skyler has been waking up several times a night. I know it's not because he's hungry. I figure he has become dependent on his pacifier to get him to sleep, so when he half wakes in the night he needs it to go back to sleep. I've decided to use the Ferber method. I used this with Reagan and am an advocate. I love the book "Solve your child's sleep problems." It helped me understand what was going on and has sections for all different ages of your children and all sorts of problems. So the first night you are supposed to put the baby down and go in after a 5-10 minutes and tell them it's okay and then the next time you go in it's after 10-15 etc. I put Skyler down without his pacifier and he screamed and cried. It was so sad...but lo and behold I didn't even have to go in once! He fell asleep before the 10 minutes was up. I'm hoping this will help solve his sleep issues. I AM EXHAUSTED!!!

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Answers to trivia

M Russell Ballard:
He is a great-great-grandson of Hyrum Smith
He also took over his family’s car dealership and managed it for some time
His favorite meal is steak and French fries

Joseph B Wirthlin:
He is a distant cousin of the late President Hinckley.
He was involved in football and track in high school and played several years on the University of Utah football team. He gave up his senior year of football to serve a mission from 1937-39 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
He is a big believer in planning and makes a daily list of what he needs to accomplish.

Robert D Hales:
He was born on August 24, 1932 in New York City, New York.
He then earned an MBA degree from Harvard in 1960.
As a baseball pitcher, he once threw a no-hitter

Jeffrey R Holland:
His father was an Irish immigrant who had formal education only up to the seventh grade
His parents served in the same mission at the same time. He claimed to be the only missionary who said goodbye to his parents at both the start and end of his mission
From 1980-1989, he served as the 9th president of BYU

David A Bednar:
While he was a student at Purdue, he baptized his father into the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1979.
He was a faculty member at the University of Arkansas from 1980-1997
From 1997-2004, he was the president of BYU-Idaho. He led the transition of the school going from Ricks College to BYU-Idaho.

Quentin L Cook:
He is the great-grandson of David Patten Kimball, who helped carry members of the Martin Handcart company across the Sweetwater River.
He served as a missionary to the British Isles, where he was a missionary companion with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland,
He worked as a lawyer for many years in the Bay Area

Thomas S Monson:
He served in the United States Navy near the close of World War II
In December 1981, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve on the President’s Task Force for Private Sector Initiatives
He was called as an apostle at age 36 and has served as a Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church since November 10, 1985

Henry B Eyring:
He lived in Princeton until his early teenage years
He met his wife in Boston when he was going to Harvard for grad school
He is a wiry 6 foot 3 and 163 pounds

Russell M Nelson:
He grew up in an inactive family where it was all about football instead of church
He performed heart surgery on Spencer W Kimball
He had 9 daughters in a row and the 10th child was a 12 pound boy

Richard G Scott:
One summer as a teen he went off to the Ozark Mountains to play the clarinet and saxophone in a dance band
He attended George Washington University and received a degree in Mechanical engineering
His girlfriend told him she’d only marry a returned missionary, so he went on a mission to Uruguay

Boyd K Packer:
He attended Weber State, Utah State, University of Utah, and BYU
He has skills as a wood carver and an artist
He was a seminary teacher

L Tom Perry:
He was the neighborhood leader among the boys. No umpires were needed for their ball games because he had an unusual ability to arbitrate disputes
Shortly after he was called to the 12, his wife passed away
He says that the greatest talent that the Lord has blessed him with is enthusiasm

Dallin H Oaks:
He was a Justice of the Utah Supreme Court
His Father passed away when he was only 7 years old
His wife described him in these words: “he never, never criticizes anyone. I’ve never heard him say anything unkind about anyone and we’ve been married almost thirty years.”

Dieter F Uchtdorf:
He was born on November 6, 1940 in then Mährisch-Ostrau, Czechoslovakia,
He played in bombed-out houses and grew up with the ever-present consequences of a lost war and the awareness that his own country had inflicted terrible pain on many nations during the horrific World War II
At fourteen, he dreamed of becoming a pilot. He pursued this dream as a career, and has become one of the most recognized and honored commercial pilots in Germany

D Todd Christopherson:
He went to Duke Law School
When he was a teen he participated in the Hill Cumorah pageant
His mission president was Richard G Scott

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Blog

Check out my sister's blog it is always fun and has great stuff on it...
http://youaremyfave.blogspot.com/

Constipation Station

That is the name of our house lately. Reagan WILL NOT go #2 on the potty so she holds it in forever and then gets so constipated and it hurts her so bad when she finally does go. I'm so sick of it. I'm not sure how to help her. Does anyone have any advice?

General Conference Trivia game

Last night we had some friends over for family home evening. I think that this is a great way to do it since you actually have to think ahead of time what your lesson is going to be etc. I came up with a fun game about the first presidency and the quorum of the twelve. It is some trivia about their lives. See how well you can guess (I'll post the answers tomorrow)...

He is a great-great-grandson of Hyrum Smith
He also took over his family’s car dealership and managed it for some time
His favorite meal is steak and French fries

He is a distant cousin of the late President Hinckley.
He was involved in football and track in high school and played several years on the University of Utah football team. He gave up his senior year of football to serve a mission from 1937-39 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
He is a big believer in planning and makes a daily list of what he needs to accomplish.

He was born on August 24, 1932 in New York City, New York.
He then earned an MBA degree from Harvard in 1960.
As a baseball pitcher, he once threw a no-hitter

His father was an Irish immigrant who had formal education only up to the seventh grade
His parents served in the same mission at the same time. He claimed to be the only missionary who said goodbye to his parents at both the start and end of his mission
From 1980-1989, he served as the 9th president of BYU

While he was a student at Purdue, he baptized his father into the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1979.
He was a faculty member at the University of Arkansas from 1980-1997
From 1997-2004, he was the president of BYU-Idaho. He led the transition of the school going from Ricks College to BYU-Idaho.

He is the great-grandson of David Patten Kimball, who helped carry members of the Martin Handcart company across the Sweetwater River.
He served as a missionary to the British Isles, where he was a missionary companion with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland,
He worked as a lawyer for many years in the Bay Area

He served in the United States Navy near the close of World War II
In December 1981, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve on the President’s Task Force for Private Sector Initiatives
He was called as an apostle at age 36 and has served as a Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church since November 10, 1985

He lived in Princeton until his early teenage years
He met his wife in Boston when he was going to Harvard for grad school
He is a wiry 6 foot 3 and 163 pounds

He grew up in an inactive family where it was all about football instead of church
He performed heart surgery on Spencer W Kimball
He had 9 daughters in a row and the 10th child was a 12 pound boy

One summer as a teen he went off to the Ozark Mountains to play the clarinet and saxophone in a dance band
He attended George Washington University and received a degree in Mechanical engineering
His girlfriend told him she’d only marry a returned missionary, so he went on a mission to Uruguay

He attended Weber State, Utah State, University of Utah, and BYU
He has skills as a wood carver and an artist
He was a seminary teacher

He was the neighborhood leader among the boys. No umpires were needed for their ball games because he had an unusual ability to arbitrate disputes
Shortly after he was called to the 12, his wife passed away
He says that the greatest talent that the Lord has blessed him with is enthusiasm

He was a Justice of the Utah Supreme Court
His Father passed away when he was only 7 years old
His wife described him in these words: “he never, never criticizes anyone. I’ve never heard him say anything unkind about anyone and we’ve been married almost thirty years.”

He was born on November 6, 1940 in then Mährisch-Ostrau, Czechoslovakia,
He played in bombed-out houses and grew up with the ever-present consequences of a lost war and the awareness that his own country had inflicted terrible pain on many nations during the horrific World War II
At fourteen, he dreamed of becoming a pilot. He pursued this dream as a career, and has become one of the most recognized and honored commercial pilots in Germany

He went to Duke Law School
When he was a teen he participated in the Hill Cumorah pageant
His mission president was Richard G Scott

Friday, September 26, 2008

Some pictures of Skyler







He is the greatest baby! Fat and happy. I love this stage :)

Thursday, September 18, 2008

newborn vs. 3 year old

If someone would have asked me before I had kids "what is harder a newborn or a 3 year old?" I would have said a newborn. Afterall, they cry all the time and need a million diaper changes, and wake up in the middle of the time. I was WRONG WRONG WRONG! My 3 year old cries way more than my newborn. She causes me so much more mental anxiety than Skyler. Skyler is a wonderful baby. He doesn't sleep through the night but other than that he is simply awesome! Reagan is a 3 year old. If you have had a 3 year old you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't you can't even begin to understand the frustration and patience testing that I go through each day. I do love Reagan and we do have our moments of fun and joy, but it is still very very hard. I'm not going to lie. When does it get easier? Maybe when they go to kindergarten???

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Labor Day Weekend

I used to hate labor day because my dad used to make us "labor" on it. Meaning, we spent 5-6 hours in the yard! Now I love it! Ha ha Dad I'm not going to do any yardwork. I'm not sure what Greg and I are going to end up doing, but he's taking Friday off as well, so it should be a nice long weekend.

You know you're sleep deprived when you dream about getting more sleep. That's what I've been doing lately. The baby doesn't seem to be sleeping any longer at night, in fact sometimes it feels like he's going backwards. Plus, Reagan is now waking up at 6:30 AM! That is the WORST. Sometimes she used to sleep until 8 or 8:30. I'm not sure what the difference is, just that I really hate it. Plus she doesn't really take naps anymore.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Blessing Day



We blessed our handsome little boy on Sunday at church. He is so great and so big! These are supposed to be pants, but they are shorts on him. We went to his 2 month appointment and he is 13 lbs 11 oz and 24 inches both in the 85th-90th percentile.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Olympics

I love the olympics, I don't love that they are making me sleep deprived. Or I should say more sleep deprived than I already am. I have been saddend at the gymnastics and the judging. It is hard for me to watch such bias. I guess that's why I like track so much. If you win, you win. It isn't based on what a judge says. Reagan and I have been practicing our floor routines (hers consists of lots of sommersaults and mine consists of a kart wheel or two) and our balance beam routines. We were at walmart today and in the parking lot Reagan walked on the curbing. I told her to hurry up and she said something about being on the balance beam and doing her "nastics."

"Healthy" = Fat


Skyler with his Great-great Grandma




So in the last little while, Greg and I have noticed a lot of people telling us that Skyler looks so "healthy." We decided this is another word for chubby, fat, big, etc. I don't mind that my baby is fat...it doesn't hurt my feelings. Now if you tell me I'm fat that might. Anyway, here are some updated pics...

Thursday, August 7, 2008

It takes over your brain

So when my mom was here right after I had Skyler she brought me seasons 1 and 2 of Lost. I had never seen it before so I started watching. Now it is taking over my brain. I literally dreamed about it all night last night. I am half way through the 2nd season. I watch it when I exercise and sometimes when I'm nursing the baby and whenever else I can squeeze it in. It is a good escape!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Update on Skyler





Skyler weighed at 11 lbs 4 oz at one month!!! He seems to be gaining steadily. He is a big boy and is fitting all his clothes and growing out of some already. I love this little Buckeye outfit on him. Too bad it won't fit him in time for football season.

Reagan's Birthday







Reagan turned 3 on July 17th! She had a very fun day. The highlight was of course singing happy birthday and blowing out the candles. She's been practicing for a while. She is such a cute little girl now. So grown up!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Skyler