Dear Nathan

Dear Nathan,

Happy Birthday Nathan, I can't believe that you turn three years old today!  In ways it has gone by so quickly and I can't believe that you are three, and in ways I feel like I can't even remember life before you.  You have me wrapped around your little finger and you sure know it.

You have grown and changed so much in the past year and have truly turned into a little boy.  You are an absolute chatter box and are starting to repeat everything your dad and I say.  You  know just about every song on the radio (jingles included) and are always singing along with me in the car.  You love to dance and to especially to "shake your bottom."  I have no idea where you come up with these things.

Nathan, you are so full of life and truly make the most of every single minute.  You love "having a baseball game", pretending to fly and playing with your cars.   Everything with you is a game and you are always making up new ones.  From having us pretend to be Lighting McQueen and Mater and hide from Crank to making a campfire in my closet and everything in between.

And Nathan, the past year I have gotten to watch you become a big brother and that has been my greatest joy.  The love you have for your brother is something I could have never imagined.  You are always making sure he has his binky and rattle and are usually the first one in his room when he wakes up in the morning.  You give him hugs and sing him songs and even feed him baby food and Nathan, it is absolutely amazing.  You are such a neat kid and every day you are astounding me.

I love that I get the title of being your best friend and I love all your sweet hugs and kisses and "I love you"s.  We have so much fun together and I look forward to every single day with you.  I feel so privileged to get to be  your mom and I am so thankful for you and your sweet personality.  Every year we are together is better than the last and I'm so excited to see how great this next year will be.  Happy birthday little dude,  I love you more than you will ever know.

Love always,
Mom

Dear Logan

Dear Logan,

Happy Birthday!  I cannot believe that you are already one year old.  The past year has flown by so quickly and I feel like you grew before I could even blink.  You have been an absolute joy and a wonderful addition to our family.  Your sweet and loving temperament can always put a smile on your dad and my face and I can't get enough of your big open-mouth kisses.

You have been the easiest baby and your dad and I joke that you are our angel baby.  You have always been a great eater and sleeper and are perfectly content being held or just playing with your toys.  You rarely cry and even when you do you are so easy to console.  You don't complain when I pack you around for errands all day on a Saturday or when I forget to give you a nap.  You are always good for a smile and a laugh and are almost always happy.

I have loved to watch you and Nathan bond with each other.  You have definitely learned how to hold your own the past year and can really give Nathan a run for his money.  I love watching you tackle Nathan, sit on him, or climb right over the top of him.  I think you bully him more now than he can possibly bully you and it always leads to wrestling.  I love listening to the two of you laugh and laugh together and I'm so excited to watch the two of you grow together.

Logan, you have become a light for our family.  You filled a void that we didn't know we had and I thank the Lord every day that I get to be your mom and that we get to have you in our family.  I can't tell you enough how much I love you.  Happy Birthday little guy, here's to many more years just as amazing as the past one has been.  We love you!

Love,
Mom

11 Months Old

Wow, I have been horrible about the month by month updates.  Oh well here is Logan at 11 months.

In the past month Logan has really started to become "Logan".  I don't really  know how else to say it. He is getting more opinionated, definitely sillier, more aggressive when playing with Nathan and way more affectionate with everyone.  He has also turned into a mommy's boy (to my delight) and follows me around the house squawking at me to pick him up.  He is playing like crazy which Nathan loves and hates.  They love playing together but Nathan doesn't know how to feel when Logan steals his toys and chews on everything.

Logan has also gotten so silly lately.  He loves to pounce on Nathan and will usually do it every time Nathan is laying on the floor watching television.  They rough house just likes boys do and laugh and laugh the entire time.

It's a little hard to tell from the picture but right now Logan has the craziest smile.  He has his two bottom teeth and then the two side teeth on the top.  He is missing the top middle teeth so we call him our little goofy.  It's not hard to get a smile out of Logan and when people see his smile they just crack up which makes him laugh harder.

This kid loves remote controls and cords.  We have to watch him like a hawk or we will catch him chewing on them all  He bit my iphone cord (it wasn't plugged in) and completely destroyed it.  Oh and this kid is a climber so unless you put it really high and out of site he will find a way to get it.

Just within the past week or so Logan has started walking along furniture and using toys like walkers.  And he is fast!  His favorite is Nathan's train.  He will stand on the side of the train and walk all through the downstairs.  Logan loves to climb up stairs but refuses to try to come back down and will sit at the top of the stairs crying until you bring him down.  And then he goes right back up.

Logan is just the happiest kid.  He smiles for everyone he is full of laughter and is perfectly content just to be in your arms and packed around.  He is starting to talk more but still says mama more than anything else.  He is more toddler and less baby every day and is doing his best to keep up with his brother.  I'm not going to lie I am a little devastated that my baby is almost a year old but am looking forward to the toddler stage because I know how fun its going to get.

Potty Training

Potty training...oh potty training.  This is not one of those blog posts you see on every mom's blog about how easy potty training was and how their kid just "got it".  More or less potty training did not go smoothly for us at all.  Nathan started showing interest in the toilet just after his second birthday and I thought "Oh this is so awesome I will get him potty trained before my maternity leave ends."  Epic fail.  We let Nathan pick out a potty seat he sat on it at the store he talked and cheered about it the whole way home and then bam! Nathan decided to be scared of the toilet.  Between his fear, taking him off seizure medicine and having a new baby it was just too much and I don't think he was ready any way.  So we gave up.

A few months later Nathan talked about it again, so again we pulled out the seat and we had a repeat of him being too scared to even sit on it.  But at two and a half all my friends started posting about how their two and a half year old was potty trained and I felt the mommy pressure kick in so I made Nathan sit on it.  He would get treats just for sitting on it but never going.  And then my nephew Luke  who still takes a binky got potty trained before Nathan and I really felt like I had failed.  I started really stressing about it but every blog or article I read talked about 3-5 days of straight potty training.  How was I supposed to do that?  Even on a long weekend I would still only have just 3 days and then back to day care.  I couldn't find anything for working moms on how to potty train.

And finally I stopped putting pressure on myself and Nathan. To be honest I totally gave up and just figured it would happen when it happened.  And oh my gosh people the backlash I got was insane!  I had someone *cough cough* tell me they wouldn't let Nathan go to primary in January if he wasn't potty trained so I better start getting him used to the idea of staying in nursery.  (Which by the way isn't true.)  And other someones trying to potty train Nathan when we saw them for a 2 hour visit. Because you know, its just "that easy" (typed with some serious eye roll).  But I was too overwhelmed to listen to them and just blew it off.

I think most of the drama and issues occurred because he just wasn't ready to make the step.  And it wasn't that he couldn't do it, he just wasn't ready.  But a few weeks ago we were up at Traverse Mountain when Nathan started insisting that he needed to go to the restroom RIGHT THEN!  He kept hollering at me that it was an emergency and he needed to go.  So I took him in to the public bathroom and put him on the seat and he actually went.  All by himself with no coaching from me.  And he was the proudest kid I have ever seen and so pleased with himself.

And that's about it.  We got out the potty seat and gave him a sticker chart and he has been doing really really great.  He has only had a couple of accidents and has upgraded from the potty seat to the big toilet with no real problems.  We are still working through it and reminding him to go but he is holding it and getting better at telling me when he needs to go.  I don't think the secret to potty training is having them run around with no pants on for two days or endless stickers on a potty chart or not leaving the house.  I think the whole thing is they have to be ready.  And once they are its amazing how easy it is.

So there is my potty training saga of the past year.  And because I couldn't find a lot of tips for working moms here is a few things that I found helpful.

• Talk about the potty a lot.  I was constantly talking about using the toilet and how great it was without pressuring him to do so.  I would just try to keep potty training in the back of Nathan's mind so that he could come around to the idea on his own.
• Potty books or songs.  Nathan loves to sing so we downloaded some potty songs (seriously they are out there) so that potty training could be more fun and something he would want to do
• Once they start going give them a potty chart.  Nathan loved to put stickers on the chart himself and it was a good way for Nathan to see how great he was doing.  I also made him a Planes chart with planes stickers so that he was more excited about it.
• Get rid of the potty seat as soon as possible.  They get attached to it fast and the sooner they start going on a regular toilet the easier your life will be.
• Listen to your kid.  Encourage them as much as you can but don't force them to do it.  The minute you start forcing them is the minute potty training becomes a nightmare.
• Don't listen to other people who are telling you that you are doing it wrong.  You know your kid better than anyone else and are doing fine.
• Get your daycare on board.  Make sure they will follow through and send your child to the bathroom.
• And most importantly, wait until they are ready.  

The totally awesome potty chart I made!

Brothers

I  know I write all the time about how awesome my kids are and how much they love each other but I just can't help it.  I love having two boys!  And I try to write down the cute moments they have loving each other now so that when they are teenagers and can't stand each other I can remind them how adorable they used to be.  So here you go, another "my kids are so cute" moment.

A few days ago Nathan was really sick.  Like he had thrown up twice and was laying on the couch miserable and every time he stood up he would start crying and lay back down.  Our house was wild.  And Matt was busy getting things cleaned up and ready for the next day and I was trying to manage the boys on my own.

Logan started to lose it and was ready to be put in bed.  Nathan was getting really upset by Logan's crying so I told Nathan that I would put him in bed and be right back.  As I'm going up the stairs I can hear Nathan holloring at me but can't understand what he was saying so I just yelled back that I would be right down and kept going to Logan's room.  Until I heard Nathan crying at the top of the stairs.

Nathan's face was ghost white and he was doubled over holding his stomach but had Logan's Winnie the Pooh in his outstretched hand.  And between sobs he keeps saying "Logan is crying because he wants his Winnie Pooh.  He needs his Winnie Pooh."  I had forgotten to grab the stuffed animal that Logan sleeps with every night and Nathan wanted to make sure he had it.

I just can't believe my kids.  Nathan was so sick and miserable yet to him Logan's needs were more important.  When I handed Winnie back to Logan and he started smiling Nathan got a big smile on his face too.  It's amazing just how much you learn from your kids when you are the one that is supposed to be teaching them.

Summer

I can't believe how fast summer came and went this year.  With the whole "trying to buy a house" thing it felt like we were always running like crazy.  But we still managed to have such a fun summer.  So without further ado, a summary of our summer in pictures.

The Pool

We spent almost every weekend this summer at the pool.   We got passes to Seven Peaks and my parents, Brittany, Shawn and Emily got them too.  I was definitely blessed with water babies because both of my kiddos love the pool almost as much as I do. 

Camping

In addition to our Topaz trip this spring we went camping in Toole with our friends the Arnolds and the annual Ephraim trip with Matt's family.  Both trips the weather was cool and nice.  We got rained on a bit in Ephraim but the temperatures stayed under 80 the majority of the time.  We made fires, had smores and enjoyed spending time together as a family.  

Fireman's Rescue (Planes: Fire and Rescue)

One of the highlights of Nathan's summer was finally getting to see Planes: Fire and Rescue.  Which he so adorably calls Fireman's Rescue.   Thankfully my mom agreed to come with me because I don't think I could handled two kids in the movie by myself.  Nathan was such a champ, I cannot believe how big he is getting.  He sat through the movie and ate an entire bucket of popcorn and barely made a  peep.  Every time Dusty would fly in the movie Nathan would pull out his Dusty and fly him around and around with a huge smile on his face.  Definitely worth taking him to see. 

Fourth of July

The kids absolutely loved the Fourth of July.  We (of course) hit the pool during the day, barbecue with my family that night and then Murray Park for the fireworks.  It was actually our first time going to the fireworks with kids and Nathan and Logan loved them!  Nathan was all a buzz at the park and when the fireworks started he barely moved and was mesmerized.  Logan made it through about 3/4 of the show and then passed out for the night.

Scheels

Yes, we are one of those nutty families who spend Friday nights at Scheels.  What could be better.  We can spend about five bucks between the Ferris Wheel and the gun arcade came and have hours and hours of fun.  We were always telling Matt's parents how much fun we had at Scheels so they tagged along one night and I think they thought we were a little nutty for having so much fun in a sporting good store but its all good.

Summer Randomness

We had such a great summer and I'm sorry to see it end but so excited for fall to begin.  Bring on Halloween, pumpkins, Swiss Days and Disneyland!

We Bought a House!

I just can't say it enough WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!  And that is the reason I have been so a-wall for the past few months.  Buying a house sucks.  I had no idea that buying a house would suck this much.  First of all, months of planning before you can even go get pre-approved.  Then getting pre-approved and shopping around for your loan and mortgage company.  Then once that is over its house hunting which is fun for about two minutes and then it gets really frustrating.  Nothing seemed right, nothing seemed to fit and we were getting so fed up and frustrated until we found OUR house!  And that felt so good and we knew it was the house we wanted and put in our offer.  And then the fun was over again.

 Offers and counteroffers and sitting on pins and needles until they finally accept and then you are under contract.  Fun? No. Because then they are so many things that have to go right, the home inspection, the testing the appraisal.  Those things have to be done before the bank will finalize your loan.  But wait you got pre-approved, that  means nothing at this point because you start all over.  And the underwriters ask you for nine million items and and want letters explaining every place you have ever lived and document every amount of money that you have and if they do have any questions they pull your file out.  And then you get to wait in line until its your turn again and its weeks and weeks of pure torture!

Probably the best part of everything was the actual closing.  Which I have heard is horrible but maybe it just seemed fun because you knew it couldn't get screwed up at that point and all you had to do was sit on an office and sign for an hour.  Not bad at all after talking to the underwriters for weeks.

But I think its all going to be so worth it.  Even though it was rough getting the house its seriously the PERFECT house!  It's in West Jordan in a newer neighborhood with nine zillion kids running around.  And people are so friendly, every time we have gone to the house people stop and introduce themselves and their kids.  It's just exactly what we were looking for and I can't believe we actually got it! And now some pictures!  (These are the pictures we took when we were putting on offer on the house, I will take more once we get all moved in.)