Li'l menace...

Why is his face blurry, you ask? Because he's running away from the scene of the crime - one that is committed at least 5 times daily.

His new obsession

Alex eats, sleeps and breathes Thomas. First request in the morning? A Thomas show. Play activity for the day? Thomas trains and track. Request every time we go to Target? A Thomas train. Play date of choice? Anyone with a train. Conversation as we snuggle at bedtime? "Mom, I can't wait to play with more trains tomorrow."

The other day, as Alex was watching Thomas on TV (thank heavens for DVR... that show airs at 5 a.m.!), he said to me, "Mom, Thomas is my very best friend." Then he blew a kiss to the TV and said, “Mom, I blew Thomas a kiss, and he felt it, right here (putting his hand on his chest) in his heart.” He was beaming.

American Idol, here she comes!

Here's my cute sister-in-law practicing for the American Idol auditions, TODAY! Isn't she a doll? Good luck, Mino! We hope you have an awesome experience!

Well... update. Didn't make it. :( But that's okay. I think she's a great singer, and she said it was really fun!

A Perfect Summer Day

I haven't really posted about how I've been feeling the last month or two, but it hasn't been pretty. Things have been pretty rough for me, emotionally. I've been ready to just bail on this whole motherhood thing. There were days that I called up Mark in tears, telling him he'd better find someone to take care of his kids because I was ready to walk. Things are better now, but I think that sometimes you have to experience the bitter to better appreciate the sweet. And today was sweet as candy.

It all started with sleeping in until 7! At our house, that's a rare, rare treat. So, starting on that good note, we had a productive morning of a walk, yard work and a great 2-hr nap for the babies. Then we loaded up the kiddies, called our wonderful neighbors, Wendy and her kids, and headed over to Grandma Cheney's for some fun in the sun. The kids swam, laughed, played and ate those dreaded popsicles.

Afterwards, we headed home with three sleepy boys. There's nothing quite like a silent car ride home as three exhausted little kids' eyelids start drooping. Once home, we were blessed with another 2-hr nap from all three boys (unheard of!). We don't usually let Alex nap, but there was no keeping him awake this time. Mark headed downstairs for some well-deserved Yankees time, and I laid on the bed enjoying the latest book from the Mitford Series.

Once everyone woke up (and not a grumpy head in the house! woo woo), we decided that Mom and Dad needed a little Mexican food, so off to Cafe Rio we went. We went to three different parks to eat our picnic dinner until we finally found one that wasn't being used for some enormous family reunion. We lucked out, because we ended up at Storm Mountain park in Draper, right near our house. It started downpouring (big time!) just as we pulled in to the parking lot. So we raced everyone into the pavilion and chowed. It was sooo gorgeous! The hot summer day cooled off by at least 20 degrees. The rain came pouring down for a good 30 minutes or so, the wind blew, and we sat, almost chilly, enjoying the fresh smell of a cleansing summer rain. We enjoyed a double rainbow and just relaxed.

As the rain let up, we ditched our shoes and decided to go for a wade in the baseball fields at the park. Storm Mountain park is a drainage area for all of the storm drains in the area. The fields became a waist-high pond after all of that rain. There were plenty of ankle-deep areas to splash around in, so we headed in. Alex was in little-boy heaven. The dark-gray storm clouds were breaking up and the sun was peaking through, sending shooting rays of light all over the green grass. The air was crisp and we were joined at the park by dozens of people converging in on the fun that the instant pond promised. Alex went running through the water, arms out to his side, wind blowing in his face, laughing and giggling and enjoying the moment with every fiber of his being. The babies were happy and content as Mark and I held them and chased after Alex. The water was making little pockets of bubbles everywhere in the grass and it was warm and refreshing on our feet. Even when Alex had a fall that would typically have set him off on a crying spell, he just took a kiss from mommy and declared, "I'm okay. You made it alllll better!"

After some successful climbing (another new accomplishment for Alex) on the playground equipment, we loaded up the troops and headed for home. The sun was now setting behind the west mountains, casting a crimson and golden glow on the left-over clouds from the storm. Beautiful. It was way past bedtime, but three happy and content little boys were total champs. We drove home with the windows down and the summer night air blowing all around us.

Words are inadequate to describe the feeling of contentment and true joy that I felt in my heart. Everything about this wonderful summer day was perfect.

As we pulled in for the night, Alex's comment rung in our ears, "Dad? If you ever want to do this again, just say the word. Just say the word, Dad."


P.S. sidenote - Happy Birthday to my big brother, Danny! Hope it was a great one!

We've only just begun...

circa 1970's, Karen Carpenter..."We've only just begun..." to fight! And man-oh-man, it's getting great already!

Jackson, the little smarty pants, has learned how to push big-brother Alex's buttons. And push he does -- multiple times daily. His tactic of choice? A big, open mouthed, roar/scream. (can't think of any other way to describe the most annoying sound in the world!) Jackson will be sitting quietly, minding his own business until Alex walks in the room. Then, he walks up to him, and in Alex's face let's out the loudest "aaaaahhhhhggggggrrrr" sound ever. He does it over and over again.

Poor Alex, who's always been sensitive to noise, (ex., "Mom, stop driving on the freeway! It's too noisy!) absolutely goes bonkers! He reacts by whining, then he just goes for the all-0ut blow to Jackson's face. When that makes the annoying sound come even louder and more frequently, Alex just covers his ears and starts crying, "Make him stop! Make him stop!" (a few strategic blows to Jackson's head seem to work their way in there again.)

I feel so bad, because how do you tell an almost 15-month-old child who understands a dozen words to stop making that aggravating sound and leave his brother (and mother!) alone? Yah, ya don't. And my art of distraction that I was so good about with the first child? Well, I've totally lost the touch. I don't distract now, I just say, "Jackson, stop it right this instance!" As if he understands... ha. I even get the stern, mean voice, but that little stinker just looks at me and laughs. The nerve... *sigh*

So today, I'm loading the kiddos in the car, and Alex and Jackson are in there first. As I go back inside to get AJ, Jackson starts up with his I-know-this-really-bugs-Alex-and-gets-me-some-nice-reactions-and-attention scream. When I came back out, Alex said to me, near tears, "Mom, can we get rid of Jackson? I don't want him anymore." heh heh...

Yep, folks. I fear this is just the beginning of some fun fightin' years. Here we go...

Big brother worship...

AJ totally and completely adores his big brother, Alex. He follows Alex everywhere, he puts up with a lot of rough-housing, and he just giggles and giggles at all of Alex's shenanigans. These pictures are blurry and not that great, but I had to quickly capture the moment. Alex climbed into the laundry basket, so, of course, AJ hopped right in after him. The look on AJ's face says it all. Total adoration:
Then, all of a sudden they both leaned in, and I was lucky enough to capture this:
I hope this camaraderie lasts their whole lives.

Boys will be boys...

Well, I'm pretty sure that certain male characteristics are inborn. My boys have been true boys (in all senses) since the day they were born. The other day, Jackson did something that solidified this fact for me.

I was giving Jackson a bath. He's still in the baby tub, because the big tub freaks him out. So, he's lying back in the tub, kicking, splashing, talking, squealing, etc. He's quite loud, for those who know him, and he's always vocalizing and making a ruckus.

Well, all of a sudden, he stopped kicking and splashing, and he grew strangely silent. I looked at his face, and he had this little smirk on his face that grew to a giant, toothy grin. I looked at his whole body and, sure enough, some little bubbles came floating to the surface from his bottom.

Yep... the kid had just tooted. He knew it, and he knew that I knew it. He thought it was hilarious! I have to admit, I thought it was pretty funny too. Ah, boys... I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy Birthday to the best Daddy a girl could ever ask for. I love you tons and tons! I hope you have a fabulous day!

Night of contradictions

After a looooong day parading, playing, eating and more playing, Alex and I headed home from Kaysville last night. It was late and that kid was tired. (biggest understatement of all time...)

Our car ride went something like this:

Alex: (whining) "Mommm... I don't want to go home!" Me: "But it's late, and you're tired. We'll go back another day.

Alex: (whining) "Mommm...I want to go home." Me: "We're driving home right now." Alex: (whining) "But mommmm... I DON'T want to go home." Me: "Sorry."

Alex: (whining) "Mommmm... I don't want to go on the freeway. It's too loud!" Me: "Sorry, bud. It's the fastest way to get home." Alex: (whining) "But mommmm....I don't want to go home. And I DO want to go on the freeway."

Alex: (whining - catching a theme here?) "Mommmm... DO something!" Me: "Like what? Do you want me to tell you a story, or sing a song?" Alex: (just assume he's whining, because he was) "Sing me a song!" Me: "Okay." Start a song... Alex: "No, mom! Not that one!" So I start another. Alex: "Not that one either, mommmm!" This continued for 3 or 4 songs, until... Me: "Alex, I'm just gonna be quiet now and not sing any more songs."

Alex: "But mommmm! DO something!" Me: "Want me to sing again?" Alex: "Yes." I sing. Alex: "Mommmm, STOP singing!" Me: "Whatever..."

Me: (trying to distract) "Look, bud! There's Daddy's work." Alex: "Where, mom? Where? I can't see? Where? WHERE?" Me: "Right out your window, see?" Alex: "BUT MOMMMM, I DON'T WANT TO SEE DAD'S WORK!" Me: Roll my eyes.

Alex: "Mommm... I'm tired." Me: "Go to sleep, buddy." Alex: "But I'm NOT tired, mom! I don't want to."

Alex: "Mommm... I want my jammies." Me: "We'll put them on as soon as we get home." Alex: "But I want them RIGHT NOW." Me: "Sorry, I didn't bring them with me." Alex: "But I don't want my jammies." Me: sigh.

We finally get home, and I'm putting his jammies on. He's in a full-on meltdown at this point. Alex: "I want DAD to put my arms through the holes!" So I go get Dad. Daddy comes in and Alex says, "I want MOM to put my arms through the holes!"

This scenario proceeds with stories and prayers. "Mom. No, Dad. No, Mom." etc.

I'm the final candidate for prayers and snuggle time, and the poor, exhausted kid still will not let up on his night full of the terrible threes contradictions and power struggles. Alex: "Mom, tickle my back." Me: "Okay." Alex: "No, mommm... under my shirt." okay. "No, mommmmm! Stop tickling my back!" Me: grrrrr....

And finally, Alex: "Leave my door open." Me: "Okay, but you have to stop crying so you won't wake up the babies." As I get up to open it, Alex: "NO MOM. Leave it shut!" Me: "Okay, whatever you want, your highness." Alex: "Mom! Open it!" Me: "For real?" Alex: "No. Not now, after you snuggle." Me: "Okay..."

Needless to say... loooong evening. (and even longer post... sorry!) I was a bit worried to see what kind of terrible creature would emerge from his bedroom this morning, but it was my happy cheerful Alex, full of grins, giggles and good-morning hugs. Phew! We survived a long night.

This new generation...

Man, my niece is only 10 years younger than me, but she's got an adventurous spirit that I'll never have. She just embarked on a year-long teaching contract in Taiwan. I know it sounded exciting and fun at first, but I think the reality of it is sinking in. I know she'll do great, but I would never survive. You can read her adventures here. And this post would send me straight home, no questions asked. Yuck.

Love you, Am. Good luck! Keep us updated!