Kid Quirks

Luke came home from preschool and the class had made conical asian hats. Luke's hat has a picture of a pig on it and I asked him about it. He said it's because he was born in a pig.
Wow - thanks Luke. (Luke was actually born in the year of the pig.)

Out of the blue, Luke tells Dustin that we aren't supposed to eat in the living room. Dustin asked, "Who told you that? Luke replies, "Jesus."

Dustin walked into the room and said, "Man! This room is a disaster. We need to clean it up." Luke then replied, "You're a disaster."
(I think Luke listens to everything we say and I have said things like that a little too much.)

Luke came up to Dustin and patted him on the stomach and told him he's starting to look like a grandpa. Dustin asked him if he sucked in his tummy, would that help? "No", says Luke. (Then Dustin cried.)

Luke asked Dustin if he was years or is he "mumps"? Luke was trying to figure out why some people are years, like he's 4 years old, and some people are "mumps" because Grant is 8 months old.

I asked Luke to pick up some toys and I commented on how fast he was picking them up. He said, "Yeah! I'm as fast as a hippopotamus!" (okay!?!)

During Sacrament meeting, one of our ward members performed a musical number with with cello. We pointed it out to Luke, who quickly lost interest. A couple minutes later he says, "When's this "jello" going to be finished?"

I will ask Luke to get me diapers and wet wipes to change Grant and he is usually eager to please. He will start to run to Grant's room but then he'll stop and ask, "How many wep wipes do you need?" (wet wipes)

The night before Valentine's Day and Luke and I were working on valentines for Grandma B. and Grammy. Luke turns to me and asks, "Did you get that really big Hershey kiss?" I didn't know what he was talking about but Dustin quickly yelled for Luke to join him in the bedroom, with the door closed. A few minutes later he comes running out and says, "Mom, did you know that Valentine's Day is like Christmas and I'm not supposed to tell you about your surprise that's in dad's closet right now?"

In Primary Luke's class had a handout of a scroll the teacher made. I asked Luke what it was and he said it was a squirrel. (squirrel, scroll. What's the difference?!)

Luke was a bit constipated and so as he sat on the toilet, we talked. I asked if his poop was coming out and he said, "He doesn't want to come out." A few minutes later he was able to get some out. I asked if he had any more and he said yes but, "he doesn't want to come out yet." Then, a minute later Luke told me, "Now he wants to come out and see his poop friends."

A show Luke enjoys watching on the Nick Jr. channel is "Spongebob Upsidedown Pants. (Spongebob Squarepants)

"I need a bandaige." (Bandaid)

The 3rd day in April it was really nice and sunny outside and Luke told us he wanted to run in the sprinklers. "No way!" I said, "It's way too cold. You'll get sick if you run in the sprinklers." (I was home sick with a nasty cold at the time) Later Luke told Dustin that the reason I was sick was because I had run through the sprinklers when it was cold outside.

Stuffed Animal Sleepover

Holladay Library had a Sleepover Party for Stuffed Animals. The teen library volunteers had a story hour and read bedtime stories to the kids and their stuffed animals. After story hour, the kids would leave but leave their stuffed animals behind and the next morning they could come back and pick them up and see what their stuffed animals did during the night. I thought this sounded so cute. Luke and Grant loved the stories and I thought it was great that they were already dressed for bed. Unfortunately, no one else had their p.j.'s on - just us.

I talked it up so much to Luke that he was pumped up and ready to go but he thought that he got to stay at the library and party, not his stuffed animal. So when I explained to him that we were leaving Henry and the snake for the night, Luke was a little upset and refused to leave Henry. I guess he thought that if he couldn't have a sleepover party at the library, then no one else could either. Oh well, it was a cute idea. Maybe next time I can get the story right so Luke will really understand.

I Have Agency

Here is a picture of Luke is his 'missionary' suit and holding his new scripture bag that he received from Grandma Bear-Bear and Grandpa Pop-Pop.

Luke volunteered to give a talk in Sharing Time this week. Awesome news - we were so on time that Luke actually had time to sit on the chairs at the front of the room and be an example of Reverence for everyone else.
He did such a good job. Here is his talk:

In 2nd Nephi 2:27 it says, "Wherefore, men...are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death."
Heavenly Father Has given me agency, the ability to choose right from wrong and to act for myself...the right to direct my life is one of God's greatest gifts to me. While here on earth, I am being proven to see if I will use my agency to show my love for God by keeping His commandments. The Holy Ghost can guide me. I show my love to Heavenly Father by sharing with my brother and playing nicely with him.
I am responsible for the choices I make. God is mindful of me and will help me make good choices, even if my family and friends use their agency in ways that are not right. I can be obedient and set an example for others to follow.

He's Listening

I had a "come to Jesus" moment.

I've been struggling for awhile. It seems that life is really hard, sometimes I feel like I can barely take care of myself let alone 2 little kids. It just doesn't seem fair. I feel like I struggle to do everything I do sometimes. I felt like I was coming to a breaking point and I was looking for ways to relieve that pressure and so I decided that I was going to quit church. Other people don't go to church and they seem happy, so why not me. I even tried it one week but I felt so incredibly guilty, I had a Primary class to teach every week, I couldn't just quit. But then I was released. My plan was working out perfectly.

Then Brother Merrill called and said the Bishop wanted to meet with me and could I bring Dustin too? I really tried to get out of it, we're too busy, we just don't have the time. But the Bishop was too accommodating and we ended up setting up a time to go in. As I thought about my appontment in those hours before we went in, a thought came to me that the Primay Presidency is being reorganized and there was a spot for me. And then I realized that is where I needed to be. I'm not in charge, I can't see the bigger picture. Just maybe I need to have a little faith and turn it all over to the Lord. Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for me that doesn't include quitting church. I just need to do my part.

So Dustin and I went in and the Bishop asked me to be the second counselor in the Primary Presidency. I said, "Okay."
Bishop Downs said, "Are you sure because you can take a few days to consider things and talk them over with Dustin."
"No, it's fine," I said and we talked about Dustin helping with the boys and how things are going with our family.

Later as we walked out and got into the truck, Dustin said, "You know, it's okay to say no. You don't have to accept if you don't want to."
But how do you say no when you've already received confirmation that is where you are supposed to be even before you go in? Apparently I had such a pained look on my face that it looked as if someone was poking me in the back with a sharp stick, forcing me to say yes.

I realized from this experience and the Lord is listening and he does answer you, in ways that you aren't expecting it. I feel much calmer about the future now and not quite so alone. I can do this and I don't feel quite so alone. Nothing has changed - except for my attitude.

I also realized that Luke and Grant have much to learn and it's up to me to teach them. I need to step up to the plate and help them as much as I can. And I can do it, I have help.

Snow Day!!

When I heard the weather report that there was going to be a big snowstorm, I scrambled around to find snow clothes for the boys. Because I knew that as soon as the boys saw the snow, they would want to go outside and play in it.
They had barely finished breakfast before they were outside playing (for 3 hours).

Poor Dustin - I think he would have rather enjoyed the snow from inside our house (as I would).

 Luke LOVES making snowmen. He's getting pretty good at it and he's creative about finding something for the face.

 
 Grant seems to love snow, every time Dustin tried to take a picture of him - he was eating snow.

Luke: The Soccer Champ

We signed up Luke for another season of soccer because his friend Hayden invited us to be on his team. Their team was the Houston Dyno's.  Hayden's dad was the coach and Luke had so much fun playing this year. AND he did AWESOME!

Luke did so much better this year. On the way to the first game, he informed me he was going to get 3 goals and he did! Luke was defintely a great assest to the team. He was great to get the ball and get it down the field. Ususally it's a team effort to actually get the ball into the goal. The whole team did great though.



Grant and I had so much fun sitting on the sidelines. Grammy and Poppy made it to a few games and we had fun sitting next to Melanie(Hayden's mom) and Ethan(Hayden's brother) every week too. The Gardner's are such a fun family.

Grant and I were there for every game and practice to cheer Luke on. Sometimes Grant wanted to play too!



The hardest part was keeping Grant occupied during the game. He loves to do what Luke is doing and so I had to pull him off the field quite a few times. Someday Grant, someday.

Team cheer - Go Dynos!!

Our champ and his new trophy.



Luke's teammates - Diego, Luke, Hayden and Sam



Mommy's Little Helper

Grant is my newest helper in the kitchen. If I even touch the canister that holds the flour, Grant is right there to help me. He LOVES to help. We made pizza for dinner tonight and Grant helped me roll it out (if you could call it help). He is such a cute little boy!

Anything You Can Do....

Grant is getting to be such a big boy. He wants to be like everyone else so even though I cut some corn off of the cob for him - not good enough. He had to have his own. And he LOVES it!

It's been so nice outside we decided to have dinner outside his Sunday.

Saying Goodbye

In January, Dustin took Zoe to the vet to have her teeth cleaned but the vet discovered that Zoe had cancer. There wasn't much we could do and he gave her a couple months to live. We were upset, of course, but we took her home and loved her as much as we could.

Honestly, she didn't seem sick. She had lost a lot of weight but other than that, you couldn't tell. Until last week.

 She stopped eating  and spent all day outside resting. Making the appointment to take her to the vet one final time was the hardest decision we ever had to make. We were going to take her Thursday morning but unfortunately, she took a turn for the worse.

Dustin talked to Luke about where Zoe was going, that she was going to live with Heavenly Father in heaven. He thinks its cool and is glad Zoe is with Heavenly Father. That's where we all want to be right?

We gave the boys one last time to see Zoe and to give her loves, Grant was so cute with her.  Then we took Zoe while the boys went to a friends house to play.

Goodbye Zoe - we love and miss you so much.

Luke's First Soccer Game of the Season

Luke has been so excited to play soccer and so when Luke's best friend, Hayden, invited us to play on his team, of course we had to join! Hayden wasn't able to make the first game but there are lots of other fun kids on his team.

As we were getting ready for the game, Luke told me, "Mom, I'm going to make 3 goals." I, of course, said. "That's great! I can't wait to see you score!"
The top picture is Luke kicking the ball. Last year he was a little scared to get in the group and kick the ball but he is doing great this year!

 Here is a picture of Luke kicking the ball into the goal. He actually did make 2 goals. Way to go Luke!

The star of the game!

What's Up Doc?

 We planted our garden again this year - okay when I say we, I mean Dustin. He does all the work. Anyway, he planted carrots again this year and of course the dogs dug up part of the carrots again this year. But the ones that did grow, are great.

Last year Luke decided that carrots were his favorite food after eating carrots from the garden. This year he has informed us that he only likes carrots that come from the garden and he will no longer eat store bought carrots. I admit, they don't taste the same but they come from gardens too!

So when Dustin pulled these carrots from the garden, Luke asked, "Can you pull some for me that don't have any dirt on it?"

Sure.

After I washed all the dirt off it, he ate it.

Play time

The boys LOVE playing outside. They would play outside every day, all day if they could. With Grant only being 15 months old, he's not quite old enough to go out on his own and so Dustin will usually end up stayig outside with them for hours. Well he had to run inside for something, he was only gone a couple a minutes and when he came back, this is what he found. Guess who climbed up into the playset all by himself?

He loves it up there but it makes us nervous with how daring he is.

Afternoon Tea

 Leana Christison invited me to afternoon tea with Melanie Griffiths and Jami Allen. I love the atmosphere at the Beehive Tea Room, I just wish it didn't cost so much money. I had a great time chatting with friends and Jami let us in on her secret - she's pregnant and due in February. We are very excited for her.
We only have the herbal tea and Leana was the one who introduced me to Lavender Flowers, which is my favorite tea. I decided to try something new today and I had  Bella Coola. It was a tropical blend of flavor and I really enjoyed it but Lavender Flowers is still my favorite.

After having tea at the Beehvive Tea Room, I am inspired to serve tea at my house next time. I have lots of ideas and think it would be a lot of fun. I can't wait to try it.

Dustin's Big Day

 Dustin doesn't get very excited about birthdays anymore, he says that you get to a certain point and it's no big deal anymore. But we try to make a big deal for him.

We had to celebrate the night before because Dustin had to work on his birthday. :( Oh well.

Dustin wanted a Boston Cream Pie and to go out to dinner with his family. We went to dinner at Red Lobster with Grandma B. and the Whites. Afterwards we met at our house for cake (or pie) so we could see Seth, Jess, and Sawyer too.

Grant had a really good time playing with Sawyer and of course Luke had fun with Tyson and Andrew.

Makin' Sumthin'

 After we had dinner tonight, I suggested  a walk or a bike ride but Luke had a different idea. He told me he just wanted to make sumthin with me. He insisted that we needed to make chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

So we began and in the middle of everything, discovered we were out of cocoa. Luckily we have really nice neighbors and the Millers gave us some of their cocoa. Luke loves to help in the kitchen and now Grant thinks he needs to help too. It took a lot longer and it was a lot messier than it needs to be but the boys had fun.

Of course the best part was eating the treats!
After thinking about why Luke was so adamant that we needed to make chocolate cupcakes, I realized that he had recently watched a show called "Bedtime for Frances" and they had chocolate cupcakes in that show. So of course Luke had to have some too.

One last play-date

Luke had another play date with Lucas Barrett, Eva and Connor. Grant also loves it when kids come over to play with Luke.

The kids played with a lot of the different toys that we have: cars, our fireman costume and basically enjoyed running around after each other. Luke has such a fun time with his friends!

Up the Canyon...

We had our annual weinie roast in the canyon this weekend. We usually go up to Millcreek Canyon and we had to pick a weekend when Jay was home because it just wouldn't be the same without him. This year we also decided to invite our cousin Carrie and her family - Emmanuel, Ember, Amanda, Emma and Jonathan. The more the merrier, right?

Poppy, Dustin, Grant and Emma

Uncle Jay and Uncle Joe

Luke has so much fun playing with the kids. They played hide and seek together and since Luke was wearing a green jacket (I don't know why in the middle of summer), it was kinda hard to see him.

Carrie and Ember

The best part - roasting marshmallows and making s'mores! We had a great time sitting around the campfire and chatting while eating good food and spending time with awesome family.

Of course we had to go on a little hike! We walked a little ways and then came to a stream and a bridge. Luke took his shoes off and walked through the water and it was COLD!

But it was fun even a little muddy. We threw some rocks in for awhile and then headed back to camp.

Flag Day Breakfast

We have the BEST realtor! She also happens to be a close family friend to Dustin's family. Kristen Price is also the person who helped Dustin when he bought our house. We like her a lot.

Every year, for Flag Day, she hosts a breakfast at the park with lots of yummy food, a fishing pond for the kids, and drawings. It's a great time and we usually bump into lots of people we haven't seen in awhile. We never miss it! This year we had to hurry because Dustin now works on Saturday mornings at Emergency Essentials but we made it. Thank you Kristen!

Why Dustin TOTALLY rocks!

 Check out this cool pirate ship Dustin made Luke. I saw our neighbor driving by with a huge box in the bed of his truck and I told Dustin to call him and ask him what he was going to do with the box. He said we could have it and I begged Dustin to help me make a pirate ship. Well, while I was at work, he went above and beyond what I asked and this is what Luke ended up with. Doesn't it look cool?

Plus, Dustin is an awesome artist. Luke needed a brown bag lunch for the Carnival with his preschool class and I wanted to put something cool on his bag but I don't have the skills. Dustin does and this is what he did. Luke was the only kid with something cool on his bag. He sure is a lucky boy!! (And I'm a lucky wife!!)