March Maddness

I wish I could say that this post was about b-ball and how I was leading in my bracket, but even if I did follow the March madness with Matt, I probably wouldn't be leading in my bracket. Our tournament however began in the middle of February, we have been going non-stop since We have had our fair share of leaps and hurdles along the way, but we have come out better athletes in life:) So what have we been up to for the last month? I'll spare you the stress and fill you in on the good stuff.

March 7th Matt's sister, Mallory, gave birth to our sweet nephew, Braxton, at 28 weeks, almost 3 months early! Tiny little Braxton and the circumstances surrounding his arrival were truly a miracle. He was delivered at Banner Gateway by one of the best neonatal specialist that just happened to be at the hospital when Mallory arrived, and was then care-lifted after delivery to Banner Desert. Mallory and her sweet hubby Jesse have been incredible new parents and Braxton is doing amazingly well! He is now, 3 weeks old and just made it to 4lbs. He is off the ventilator and CPAP and is breathing on his own with just oxygen now! Here are a few pictures....

Every time, I see these pictures, I just want to cry because he is so precious and such a miracle.

Braxton at 1 week old.

Mal and B just a few days ago! Look how sweet and tiny he is!! So beautiful! He is so tiny now, but he will probably be a tank just like Brody and Colby. There were no short genes available for this kiddo! I'll let you know when this sweet boy gets to come home, but as for now we think he will be in the hospital until around his due date mid-May. My guess at Mal's shower this weekend was May 10th...we'll see!

I think one night after taking Mal and Jesse something, we were in the car coming home and it was way past bed time, Brody was so funny. He loves trains, trucks, and all animals now, and on the way to Mal and Jesse's we had seen a train. This little boy couldn't let it go, so on the way home he kept saying "choo choo eeee ahh you?" looking for the train we had seen earlier. Colby was trying to tell him the train went night night and he was yelling "noooo" at Colby. The video is horrid, it was on my Iphone and the every bump of the car made the video blur....but here is Brody in true form; absolutely adorable, indescribably cunning in trying to get Colby in trouble, and very defensive about his choo-choo.

It seemed that amidst all the chaos of what was happening in our lives this month, almost everyday, the boys made me laugh. Most days they also made me fuss at them more than laugh at them, but isn't it amazing how even a few seconds of silliness can make all those grumpies disappear! I especially laugh when I see this picture, because it just captures these too boys as I see them everyday! Colby there with his classic crazy faces in pictures, and Brody looking pudgy and adorable as a little toddler.

Only a mother could love, what I loved most about this picture, Brody's feet, I love those little feet so much, I kiss them multiple times a day...poor kid! And Colby is such a ham, to see him doing this crazy face, makes me love him even more, because his motivation is to go back later and laugh himself silly while he looks at his pictures over and over again.

So what the heck else have we been doing? Well, we really have been trying to stick close to home. I have really just felt drawn to be at home more. I really have enjoyed being a homebody this month. I have always kind of been this way, don't get me wrong, I love to get out too, I have too, but this is what we needed this month.

The weather has been phenomenal so, we have been enjoying the outdoors as much as we can. We have been to several parks, and even got to play on the splash pad several days. I love it, b/c I can actually cook dinner without two whiny boys at my feet, and they have so much fun.

Colby has been learning to read. Thanks to his incredible teacher Jennifer Vanderpool, he has just excelled. He loves school, and he has always loved to read books. There is not a time that we go to the library that we have not checked out more than 20 books. We read him at least 3 books a night after his scripture and prayer and often he is begging for more. This just might be one of my proudest moments so far as his mom. So try not to laugh too hard when you watch the video and hear me saying "good job" every 5 seconds. Last night he even decided he wanted to read his own books and say his prayer alone and then invited us in to do scripture and say good night. He is just getting too big.

I scream, you scream, we all scream, for ice cream! One afternoon we were outside and heard the familiar sound of an ice cream truck. Of course Colby recognized it and went nuts, and I have to admit I got a little excited too, but the protective parent kicked in pretty quickly too, that is until it rounded the corner. It was seriously the cutest thing I have seen, and the ladies selling were super nice and very mindful of the kids safety. Brody now runs screaming to the door if we hear it. What have we started????

If you get bored enough at home you get a little creative...Colby and I used a box we got in the mail to create this little ditty. Who knew that a box could turn into a mansion? We had so much fun creating this little house, and they are still playing with it!

After running one day a few weeks ago, I dared Colby to climb this big rock pile, he had so much fun sneaking up it as fast as he could for a picture before the Power Ranch, landscapers came and shooed us off!

I have been working on projects for what seems like the entire month, sewing heating pads, making baby gifts, and a gift for my niece. The boys were tired of being ignored and shopping for things for my projects so we ate lunch in the park and played for a while to give them a much needed break from me and my projects!

Last Friday night we went to McDonald's for dinner (I know, yuck), but Matt had a meeting to got to that ran late and I needed the boys to be happy and have a break! Brody saw the other kids with these ridiculous hats on, and monkey see monkey do, he had to have one. So we made his happy meal box into a dragon slayer hat and he screamed cheese for the camera. He was so happy.

Even though life was crazy and there seemed to be no time for anything, Matt and I made time to go to the temple a few days before it closed. We had not been in what seemed like forever and good intentions aside, we just hadn't been even though we wanted to. It was fantastic. I was able to put some names in for prayers, and we attended a session. It was great. I really have a testimony that we learn things in the temple that we cannot learn anywhere else, and we came out with questions answered, and with renewed strength to press forward.

Remember the projects? This was one of them. I made a hooded towel for Braxton's shower this past weekend. It was so fun.

One Saturday morning we were at Lowe's and one of the employees in the garden center turned Colby's attention to a new resident. A great horned owl had made a nest in the top of one of the mulch bags. He said that she comes every year. We only had our phones so the pictures didn't turn out, but she was huge! So this week we went back with our camera and took pictures and someone else had arrived too. Three baby owls. It was incredible. If you have a chance you should go check it out.

My dad came in town this past weekend and will be here through Easter. Monday we went to check out the Santan mountain regional park. It was fantastic. Colby was really grumpy most of the time, Brody was an angel, and the weather was incredible. We hiked for a while, and enjoyed the amazing bluebonnets and wildflowers along the trail. On the way back, dad and I heard a familiar rattle....a little too familiar...and wow right in front of us probably less than a foot off the trail was a diamond back rattle snake. Yikes! Had Colby been out in front my story probably would be different, b/c as soon as we figured out where he was it was almost too late. He was already coiled up and ready to strike, luckily enough, we froze and waited for him to chill out, before taking a different path. We were blessed to see him though, and not only not be bitten, but get to explain to Colby what to do if that happens again. It was incredible.

Taking a break, for a snack. Brody just made himself at home.

Some of the crazy beautiful bluebonnets. I didn't even know they grew here.

Yikes here is the snake. You will have to click on the picture to see it, b/c I took it with my phone. And it really doesn't do it justice. We were entirely too close for comfort. Dad said he was about 8 years old. Just in case you are wondering. Of course this is only something Dad would do in the face of immediate danger, count the sections of the rattle on the snake to see how old it was.

So that's it! I think this month the thing I have learned the most, is that when I lose myself in service to others, I forget my own problems, even if it is just for a little while, and life just seems to keep moving. I know that we are truly blessed, and I am grateful for life's little moments of greatness!

Full Bloom

All things are in bloom at our house. I was and still am a little too excited about my peach blossoms. They are so beautiful, and last year our peaches were so yummy, but they were tiny. So I am totally hoping for bigger ones that taste just as sweet this year. My purple mallows are blooming like crazy and we are about to have orange and lime blossoms too!

We also planted a garden and Colby is so excited to watch it grow. I guess it is the anticipation to watch as a little seed turns into a plant and then produces something you usually get at the grocery store. I get it, I feel like my boys bloom too. Sometimes they grow overnight. I swear I put them to bed and they grow a few inches or gain/lose a few pounds. It is such a trip to watch them grow, not only in stature, but also to see those little personalities develop.

Brody turned 18 months old, and I am still taken a back when I think that my sweet baby is almost two. He is such a good an obedient boy, but just like weeds in the garden we have had some tootie two behavior cropping up over the last month or so. He likes to tattle on his brother and say "he not being nice." He has learned if he screams it usually gets Colby in trouble, although I'm figuring this little sneaky boy out and Colby is thankful for that. Tantrums I'm sad to say are becoming the norm now when he doesn't get what he wants, but they are short lived and ignored most of the time. But aside from those few little bits that every kid goes through we can't complain. This is him saying "tcheeeeeez" for a picture. Every time he sees the camera out he is posing and ready to go.

He is very social, loves to say "hi and bye" to people and is ever so fascinated with other babies and children. Brody loves to play outside, any opportunity he can get.

He loves climbing up the playset in the back yard and sliding down the slide. He will say "lide" and then count "one, dooo, weee." He likes to get in and out of the swings, but doesn't swing for very long. Of course anywhere there is dirt or water it is a total magnet for him. Very slowly we are learning throwing sand, dirt and rocks is not good. The words he is saying are too numerous to list, but we love it when he says " I wan nack" and then says "ummm" as he opens the pantry door, debating what his tummy is hungry for. We laugh when you ask him questions and he answers appropriately with "yep" or "right." He does like to say "No!" at his brother, and we try to keep our snickering under-wrap when he is saying "mine!" Lately he loves to play hide and seek and he will whisper "where doh."

Okay, his stats...he is 35in long, and 27.5lbs. That puts him in the 97 plus percentile for height and a I think 75 percent for weight. He is the same length Colby was at 18mo. BUT Colby weighed 4 more lbs that him. Yeah, he was a tank, still is...And of course Colby is right there with him outside. We love being outside this time of year. If we are not in the back yard, then we are out riding bikes or playing in the parks. Thanks for watching us bloom!

Firsts

This was one of the many firsts we had this weekend. It was so much fun. From the video you can see, our first first, was Colby's loose tooth and then his lost tooth :) He first told me it was loose last Wednesday (2-3-2010) and it came out just before dinner on Friday night. The tooth fairy brought him a nice crisp $1 bill (hey I think I got quarters...what tooth fairy did I have?)

Colby got lady bug larvae from his cousins for Christmas well, they did in fact morph into lady bugs and Monday we released them out of the plastic dome they had been in for well over a month. Brody nearly squashed all ten and let a few out before we were ready, but we still got to play with them!

My beloved purple mallows started blooming and I just want to be out there all the time staring at their total beautisimusness (yeah that is my word). Which reminds me, I must be turning into my mom...ahhh...she used to make up gigantic words, especially when she was mad at us....funny...good times....anyway...here is my beautiful flower...and if you look close enough you might even see our lady bug on there.

Last, but definitely not least, Brody went to his first day of nursery this Sunday and did fantastic. It makes me teary looking at how big he is and how incredibly smart he is. He just has this incredible zest for life and is totally my little adventuresome boy! I love it. I am so happy that he will be happy playing while I get to soak up some spiritual renewal that I desperately need at the end of the week :)

Maudie's visit

Maudie, Auntie Marcie, Marz, Mawjie...she answers to any of them, but I don't care what she is called as long as she is here! It was so much fun to have my sweet sister come to visit. Oh lucky us, we got to have her for 5 awesome days. I'm not sure we stopped once she got here. We had a really fun day with the kiddos the day she got here, and then on Friday we got to go have a fun girls day together and then meet back up with Matt and the kiddos to have some yummy Italian food at Oregano's. Colby was so excited for her to come, he remembers how much fun she was the last time she had come to visit just a little bit before Brody was born, and she was not disappointing this time either. I think what he loved most was when she showed him her Ninja moves on the trampoline out back for about 45 minutes. He just laughed and laughed and she wore him out pretty good. Brody, loved being chased and cuddled by his Auntie, and when she left at the airport he cried and kept reaching for her with his hands. It took me a while to figure out what he was doing because he had everything he needed, movie, snacks, sippy, bear bear, then I realized and I cried to.

On Saturday we went up to the cabin and the timing was perfect. It had snowed a ton the week before and it stayed cold enough to leave most of the snow on the ground. It was beginning to melt Saturday, but it was just soft enough to make a perfect snow man, and to throw.

Are you twins? Happens every time. No matter where we go. We had at least one person ask everywhere we went. I never get tired of it. We always laugh, only because we get asked so much, and we are 3 years apart. Well, we both must be doing something right, although right about now after having 2 bambinos and loving my late night treats, I am wishing I had the couple of inches in height she has on me, and her long skinny legs.

We didn't have to go far to sled, the snow was deeper than I have ever seen it before behind the cabin, so we just made our own shoot and away we went. By Sunday morning we had extended it even further so we were able to sled from the hill next to the neighbors cabin, almost all the way down and into the driveway of our cabin. It was so much fun.

Brody was such a little adventurer. He was so excited to go sledding over-and-over. He loved it. He screamed "weeeee" all the way down, and said "fun" at the end. He had a really hard time walking in the deep, deep snow, but he was such a trooper.

We went into Pine to eat lunch and finally ate at the Nifty Fifty Diner. It was really good and fast, and I am glad we did it. We took the boys back to the cabin and then headed back down to the antique shops. That was so much fun. I have been waiting to take Marcie there for a few months now. I found these bins of old jewelry at this one place and had sent her a few pieces to remake. Of course she made them so beautiful and fun, so we had a blast digging through all the bins and finding total scores for nothing. I can't wait to see what she does with them. She has been doing a lot with her seed jewelry, but over the last several months now aside from her Aveda orders, she has shifted focus to recreating heirloom pieces for friends and other people who have been referred to her, and every piece has been stunning.

The pictures didn't quite do the sledding justice so here is our sledding videos. They are super short.

Monday before she left, we walked to Power Ranch and fed the ducks. Oh, poor ducks, I wasn't willing to give them my bread because it wasn't old enough, so they got left over pancakes. FYI...they don't really like pancakes....:) but some of them ate it and the fish did acquire a taste for them.

The best thing about the visit, was honestly just having her here. We could have done nothing but the day to day and sat around my house and I would have loved it just as much. It was so awesome to just be able to stay up late chatting, do our toes together, and have her around. I love you Maudie!! Miss you.