Elbows Higher Mama!

This was the resounding war cry at my house this morning. Instead of waiting for Ty to take a nap before I pulled out my exercise video- I decided that Ty could use some activity too (he's driving me nuts- I cannot figure out where all of his energy reserves come from- so in an effort to help make the rest of the day a little easier, I've been trying to wear him out in the mornings). So I plugged in "Turbo Jam" and told him to come and play with me. He totally got into it- it was so funny watching him try to follow what the video was doing. Halfway through though, he turns and starts watching me. He studied my movements for a few minutes and then told me that my elbows weren't high enough. He then stopped me, stood in front of me and said "Like this mama- let me show you." I guess if you tell the kid something often enough- eventually you ARE going to get it back. I wish I had taken a picture of him moving and grooving- but I was having too much fun doing it with him. Though I could have done without the additional instruction. Also- this picture has nothing to do with anything, but I hate posts without pictures.

Go Utes!

Much to my disappointment, summer has said its good-byes and fall has ushered itself in. And as such, football has started again. I don't mind a game here and there, so when my dad called and said that he wanted to go to the Utah/Utah State game in Logan last weekend- we all jumped at the chance. My mom hates football so she opted to stay at the cabin with Ryan while the rest of us went to watch the game. We had pretty decent seats- though there really wasn't a whole lot to watch. Utah State is terrible this year (and the year before that and the year before that...) so it was supposed to be a blowout. It was still fun (Utah won) and we enjoyed the chance to get out with just Ty for a few hours- I sometimes think that so much revolves around the baby now that Ty sometimes gets left out. So it was good. And he loves the Utes so it was fun to see him jump up and down to the fight song and try and sing along. Grandpa and dad tried to point out the finer points of the game to Ty, but for the most part he just yelled "Get him! Get him! Get him!" Not ever really understanding who had the ball or what they were doing.

My sister, Melissa and her husband Mark came up for the game too- it was fun to see them. Melissa likes football just about as much as my mom does, so she was really good to make sure that Ty had food and drink (I think that was more about having an excuse to get up and walk around than anything else- but it was nice to have someone so concerned about my three year old).

The Days Are Just Packed

You know those days where nothing goes right and you feel like you have too many hands and too many feet? Ty is having one of those days. It's like the neurons in the brain just aren't firing right or something. Ty has a hard time anyway- he's kind of stumbly to begin with. But today- is something else. We have hardwood floors throughout the entire house- which can make for a slippin-slide effect when you are wearing nothing but socks on your feet. That's what happened this morning. I was trying to get Ty dressed and we had made it as far as a t-shirt and socks, but as I was trying to coerce him into wearing underwear he took off running. He promptly slipped and fell. He almost caught his balance, but because of the sock thing- he ended up slipping again and then tripping over a chair in his room. He went down in a blaze of glory and ended up smacking his head on the door and his mouth on the floor. I couldn't believe that he didn't knock his tooth out, and I really couldn't believe how quickly his lip swelled to roughly the size of a baseball. It was a rough morning, so I let him snuggle up on the couch with a blanket, a cup of juice and a movie.

Ryan had a better day. He just layed around and pooped most of the day. He's gotten to the point that he recognizes our voices and will break out into the biggest grin everytime we come near him. I LOVE it! He is such a happy baby, who hardly ever cries (unless you are either trying to get him dressed or are too slow with the food). I am amazed at how blessed we have been to get two incredibly good babies. Ty continues to maul Ryan, but I think it's a comfort to both of them- Ryan never gets upset when Ty starts playing with his cheeks or when he gets big wet kisses. And Ty is so stoked everytime Ryan "kisses" him. They are such cute little boys and I know there will come a time when they will start throwing hard things like rocks at each other rather than kisses- but for now- I'm just trying to soak up the moment.

Spring Canyon

This last weekend we had a family reunion of sorts down in Eastern Utah, in a place called Spring Canyon (near Price) which is where my grandpa grew up. It was established as a mining town and spent many years as a thriving little community before the leases on the land were up and the mines closed down. What's interesting is that the government has decided to let the wilderness take back what once belonged to them and all of the houses and buildings have been bulldozed- leaving nothing but the foundations and a few walls. Notwithstanding the lack of evidence in Spring Canyon, my grandpa does not want his legacy to leave this world when he does- so in an effort to preserve some memories, he showed us around both Spring Canyon and Standardville. It was so unreal to see the rocks that marked what once stood as homes to so many families and to see the entrances to the mines completely caved in. My cousin Nicole and I took turns videoing grandpa telling stories and we took a few pictures. Our hope is to somehow document all of this for the entire family so that everyone has a piece of grandpa's history. We would also like to be able to do the same thing down in Mona with grandma in the spring.

A Tag

Okay... so I usually don't really do tags because I rarely have time enough to sit down and show off pictures of my kids let alone sit and tell you all about myself... but I think this one is exceptionally cute and I still get to show off my kids- so thanks Steph! So anyway- you are supposed to take pictures of the different things listed and you have to do it right away. There is no cheating allowed- which means you can't clean up or re-arrange things to make it look better or the way that it is supposed to be. So... let me introduce you to my messy and chaotic house!

1. Refrigerator: And I want to add here that we are leaving town this evening- so there is literally no food in our fridge because I didn't want it to go bad. I also want to add to anyone out there thinking of buying a fridge... stay away from the stupid KitchenAids!! They are stupid and they don't work.

2. Laundry Room: This is down in our basement and is obviously unfinished- but it's huge and I love it!

3. Bathroom: We only have the one bathroom on the main floor and it is one of the cleaner rooms of the house. Just because Ty has figured out that he can pee in the toilet does not mean that he has figured out that it is just as gross to play in the toilet. So I figure if I can keep it clean at all times- the possibility of him getting something really gross on his hands or something is pretty minimal. Right?! Also- it's dark in there so sorry if the picture didn't come out really well.

4. Closet: Shaun and I do not share closets. We both have too many clothes and there is just no way to have them fit nicely into one closet. So Shaun took over the closet that was in the extra bedroom upstairs when we moved into the house. Now the room is technically Ryan's- but Shaun still uses the closet. My closet is the one with the blue walls and Shaun's is green.

5. Kitchen Sink: To be fair- when I checked the blogs- I had just finished washing bottles- so they are off to the side drying.

6. Favorite Room in the House: My favorite room is the kitchen/dining room. It really and truly is the place that we can all get together and yet sometimes- I can still have some alone time when I'm making dinner. I always freak out because it's messy, but Shaun continually stands by the fact that it is "lived in."

7. What are your kids doing right now? Very silly things really. Ryan has found his voice... and is actually a little suprised by it everytime he "talks" so he'll coo and then get this really shocked look on his face. Kind of funny. And Ty is outside playing in a box. In fact he's having a snack in his box.

8. Self Portait: I'm not impressed by this particular one- but I'm playing along with the game.

9. Favorite pair of shoes:

10. Dream Vacation: I dont' know. I'd like to be able to take Ty to Disneyland because I think he'd just eat it up!

Hmmm... I tag Erica, Jeni, Mary, Nat and Jen

TLC

I have a new definition for TLC- no longer does it stand for Tender Loving Care... In my home it stands for Toddler Loving Care which, while cute, is something you almost have to watch for constantly. Ty loves his little brother and is always looking for ways to "help." He wants to feed Ryan, he wants to burp him and he is the first one to reach for Ryan's hand whenever he can. I caught Ty in Ryan's room the other morning. I had set Ryan in his Boppy in his crib so that I could dry my hair and when I came back into his room- Ty had found him and was reaching for his hand (I know it's not a very good picture because of the window behind them- the sun was still on its way up so it was really shining brightly through the window). I am so grateful that Ty loves his little brother the way that he does. I hope that as they get older they continue to be good friends. Being one of three kids in my family- I know that siblings can totally drive you nuts (both when you're growing up and now), but I also know that you can be such great friends as well.

T- Minus How Many Days...? And Counting...

Did you know that I have two very good little boys. Granted I will not state this every moment of every day because heaven knows there are times that I would sell one or both of them for a few minutes of peace. But today... I have two very good little boys. Ryan is doing really well here at home- in fact he is even sleeping through the night pretty consistantly. We put him to bed around 10:30 or 11 and he sleeps until 6 or 7. Yay! I function and am a much happier person when I get a few consecutive hours of sleep. I remember when Ty was a baby- I was talking to my mom who had been doing foster care for infants the past several years and we decided that if you can somehow figure out how to get five hours of consecutive sleep- that you can function so much better the next day. And luckily- Ryan gives me so much more than that.

And Ty is also on a roll... We haven't had a potty accident for three days. I hope I didn't just jinx him. I'm not really sure what has triggered it, but I'm thankful nonetheless. Keep your fingers crossed that things continue to go well.

Hmmm... What other updates do I have for you. Things around here have really been pretty quiet. It is definately turning to fall. The weather has turned and the air usually has a pretty good nip to it. In fact- it snowed on Monday morning. We took a video of it because it was so unreal. Shaun's back in school and seems to be enjoying it- though since football season has started it's hard to pull him away from the TV long enough to find out how his day went. I think that once there starts to be a permanent butt-print in the lazy-boy you should be declared legally dead and your estate probate. I'm well on my way to my inheritance if that's the case.