Let it Snow...

I have found that I don't mind the snow so much as long as I am not required to do a lot in it- like drive. Playing is okay. Especially with Ty. He's loves the snow. And he loves it when we get dumped on because then he is guaranteed to get outside with mom, since I like to shovel before Shaun gets home. Ty he claims he likes to play with me but the reality is that he just likes to throw snowballs at me. It will be nice when Ryan gets old enough to go out with us because then it will give Ty another target.

Sitting...!?

No. Ryan is not sitting. But we're getting there! My mom sent Ryan a package in the mail and it was a BabyPod- it's supposed to help babies sit a little better. I thought it was the funniest thing I have ever seen- but my mom hasn't steered me wrong yet so I put Ryan in it. So cute. And what's even better is that Ryan seems to like it too! It has a little tray on the front of it where you can hook little toys and he just thinks that is the greatest thing EVER! Ty thought it was funny that Ryan had his own "chair."

Primary

I know I'm a little late in posting this since it's the last week of January. But a few weeks ago- Ty hit a big milestone. He went to Primary!! Ty is offically a Sunbeam and was so excited about it. When we said prayers that night, he made sure that he told his Heavenly Father how much he loved his new class and his new teacher (and has subsequently made the same declaration in his prayers ever since). I sometimes can't believe that Shaun and I don't have anyone in nursery anymore!!

Too Big

I hope that I am not alone in thinking that there are moments out there when you are so struck with something that you have to stop for just a minute to either admire or think about it. I had one the other afternoon. I had given Ty his bowl of Mac and Cheese for lunch and had then taken Ryan into his room to change his diaper. When I came back out into the kitchen- I was really struck with how BIG Ty has gotten. I sometimes can't believe that he's THREE!! I know that three is little, but it's big too. Anyway- as I looked at him eating his Mac and Cheese- I just couldn't help but marvel.
Maybe it was because of what he was wearing. Last year before we left Boise, we bought Ty a Bronco's jersey and it still fits. Maybe it was the jersey that made him seem so old. Or maybe that he was just chowing down at the kitchen table. I'm not explaining myself very well. Oh well. Anyway- this second picture is for Ty's uncles, Chad and Chase. All Ty wanted for Christmas was a Bronco hat. So Shaun and I figured we'd get him decked out in his Bronco gear just for our Boise-ites. I know the picture is sideways, but I'm not talented enough (or patient enough) to turn it.

Attack of the hair clippers!!

We did not give Ty his first haircut until he was eleven months old. Ryan however is a hairy little beast, and Shaun and I gave him his first hair cut last night! Ryan used to have the cutest little mohawk- but it was starting to get a little long and kept flopping over. Mohawks are only cute when they stand up.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

THE DAMAGE:

Sunday Night Football

Unfortunately for me, on any given Sunday night there is some kind of sporting event on TV. Since it's January- Sunday Night Football is all the rage around here. Shaun was watching the Steelers/Ravens game and Ty had gone to bed, so Ryan and I decided that we were going to work on sitting. Ryan is six months old now and it's time to have some new pictures taken- but I don't want him to be a slug again- so we're practicing on sitting. Truthfully it's not going so well. But despite that- Ryan seemed to have a good time.

Green Jello

When I was in high school, I had a really hard time coming up with subject lines for emails to my friends- so I would pick a word or subject that had absoltely nothing to do with the content of the email. Apparently coming up with titles is something I still haven't overcome. I'm just not sure what to title an odd assortment of pictures and activities. Not that it really matters though- this is my blog and I can (and will) do whatever I want.

Shaun had another home game tonight and we went to watch. They played Malad... and they... WON! Yay! The last couple of games the girls have come close... but haven't actually been able to finish victorious. Tonight- they even went into overtime, but ended with a win. The boys both really like going to the games. There is enough noise and movement going on to entertain Ryan and Ty is just a sports junkie. He looks forward to each game in order to get his fix for the week. What kills me is when the girls are out warming up. Ty sneaks down to the bottom step of the bleachers and sits and watches the girls. He wiggles and sometimes stands up- you can just see that it's absolutely killing him not to be able to get out and go play too. He also LOVES to tease his dad. Shaun's team colors are blue and white. True to Grandpa JB's "Go Utes" teachings, Ty will NOT cheer for anything that looks like it might be blue- so he cheers for the opposing team everytime.

Meanwhile- our "little" guy isn't so little anymore. I can't believe that he's already six months old. Isn't that nuts!? Ryan is eating cereal and baby food- his favorite right now is peaches- which kind of suprises me since they are kind of sour. He absolutely HATES mashed potatoes. When I tried to feed him a bite the other night- he tasted it for half a second before he stuck out his bottom lip and burst into tears. Then he buried his head in his dad's chest and wouldn't look at me for a good five minutes. I think he was making a point. We haven't tried potatoes again. He's also sleeping through the night now- I put him in bed at about nine 0'clock and I don't hear from him again until about eight or eight thirty. The other day I went and checked on him at eight because I hadn't heard any noise yet- and he was just in there sucking on his thumb and watching the ceiling fan. I can't believe how good he is. He's our little snuggle bug and always has a smile waiting.

Okay fine... I'll post something, but I'm warning you that it's a LONG ONE!

Okay- so it's been a while. But come on people! It's Christmas! We had such a great time the last couple of weeks- it's hard to come back to reality and much to my kid's disappointment- bedtimes made a big comeback. This December was a lot of fun- Ty is old enough to understand some of the finer points of the holiday season and we had fun putting together a Christmas chain.

We also got a chance to go and visit Temple Square down in Salt Lake. It was pretty cold and it snowed the whole time- but it was a lot of fun to go and see it again. Growing up in Salt Lake- I think that I took having the temple so close for granted, and especially the lights around Christmas time- they are gorgeous!! This was Ty's first time down at Temple Square and he was in awe. He couldn't believe all the lights and thought the Nativity was pretty cool. But I think my favorite part was when we took Ty into the visitor's center and took him upstairs to see the big statue of Christ. I took Ty's hand and we stood right up underneath him, and as I was whispering into his ear a few things about Christ and Christmas- I couldn't help but notice that we were surrounded by six or seven other parents with their own kids, saying similar things. And I was almost struck dumb. It just hit me- we, as parents, have such a huge responsibility in this life. We are entrusted with this little souls, and we are given the charge to bring them up righteously... and look at everything that they need to be taught to be able to cope with the world around them. It was so overwhelming that I just burst into tears. Why in the world would Heavenly Father trust Shaun and I to do this? We're just a couple of idiots- how are we going to be able to teach Ty and Ryan all that they need to know?! The more I thought about this- the happier I was that we both have great parents and siblings that will help with this teaching process, as well as teachers from Church and friends. Anyway- it was my "AH-HA" moment for the season.

We spent Christmas at my parents house. It was so nice- Dave and Nat flew in from Minnesota for two weeks and Mark and Melissa spent Christmas Eve at the house too... It was so strange to have everyone there- but it was so much fun. My parents were both so sweet to allow Shaun and I to introduce a few family traditions of our own to Ty and Ryan in conjunction with what we had always done as a family. Shaun is a big believer that Christmas has become too commercialized and in an effort to make sure that our children understand why we have Christmas, we wanted to read the Christmas story on Christmas Eve as a family.

We also got to leave out milk and cookies for Santa- which Ty loved! On Christmas morning- that was the first thing he checked. Ty had left two Oreos out for Santa (which from what I can remember growing up- are his FAVORITE!), and Santa ate one and only took a bite out of the other. Ty was just in awe- it was like proof that the big guy had been there. Santa left a bike for Ty and a drum for Ryan.

Shaun unfortunately had to go home the day after Christmas because he had basketball practice- but Ty, Ryan and I took advantage of my parents hospitality for a few more days. It's just so nice to have extra arms to help and more people to help entertain. Ty became my dad's little shadow- in fact Grandpa had to chase Ty out of the bathroom a couple of times, telling him that there are just somethings that Grandpas like to do alone- and peeing is one of them. I'm not sure the message sunk in though- Ty just kept trying to break into the bathroom. I think Grandpa had fun though- he took Ty outside to build a snowfort on the front lawn- it was pretty big. I'm not sure Grandma was too impressed that they used one of her comforters as a roof... but she didn't complain too loudly.

Ryan stayed inside most of the time, it was a little cold and he was a little irritated. Not only did he get a new drum and rattle for Christmas- but the poor little guy also got two new teeth. I don't think he was all that excited about them and Ty found out first hand how sharp little teeth can be. Ty didn't believe me that his little brother had teeth- so he stuck his finger in Ryan's mouth and (obviously) got chewed on.

I also got the chance on Sunday to go down with my grandparents to Nephi to visit my great-aunt Carol and her family. I haven't been down to Nephi for years and it was so much fun to see everyone again. My grandma grew up in Mona (near Nephi) where her parents owned a small ranch. Growing up, we spent a lot of time down there. It has since been sold and is now a home for boys that are working on becoming better members of the community. The old barn is gone and so are the corrals... It was so strange to see. There have been some changes made to the old ranch house too- you can still see the original structure- but it was still a little heart wrenching to see so many childhood memories gone.

On Monday (okay, so my "few days" that I spent with my parents turned into a week. So sue me.), I took Ty to the mall so that he could spend his "Build a Bear" gift certificate that he got from grandma Janet. Now, this is a business that I wish I had thought up first. It's so silly that it's brilliant! Ty wandered through the animals making sure that he got to pick out the best one. He saw the green dinosaur in the corner- and it was love at first roar. The guy helping us was so sweet- he let Ty push the button that filled the dino full of fluff. Ty was in heaven. He was so impressed with the "roar" that the first thing he did when he got home was shove it in Ryan's face. Ryan didn't think it was such a great thing and burst into tears. Ty kept telling him that it was okay and then tried to get him to push the button. It was so funny!

In all- it was a crazy week- as evidenced by this last picture. It was about seven at night and my dad and I walked in to find Ty, Ryan and my mom sound asleep on her bed.

We were also lucky enough to be visited by Shaun's parents a few days later. They came down for a second Christmas and they wanted to see Shaun's game. I have to admit- he's pretty impressive in action. Granted the Varisty keeps taking away his best players, but he keeps plugging along. They almost won on Saturday. Almost.
In all it was a fantatic Christmas and Christmas season. I am so grateful for both my parents and for Shaun's parents (who gave us half a cow for Christmas- it may sound silly- but the meat is sooo good and it's awesome to have meat ready to go in the freezer all the time), who love us and treat us so well. We are so lucky and have been so blessed. My mom took the time on Christmas morning to read a letter from their Stake Presidency. In it was a quote from one of the inmates at the prison, who said that when we look at what we have we are rich, but when we look at what we don't have we will always be poor. I hope this is a message that we can all keep with us in our hearts as we start into this new year.