A - Z TAG

My sister Ashley tagged me, but let's face it I love tags and would probably have done this one anyway, without being tagged. Thanks Ash for giving me a reason.

A. Attached or single? Attached thank goodness, I did not enjoy dating.
B. Best friends? Eric, my mom and sisters.
C. Cake or pie? Usually pie, the only time I really like cake is if it is from Costco. If you have not tried it, I reccomend doing so.
D. Day of choice? Friday, I love looking forward to the weekend. We never do anything too exciting but I like the possibility of doing something fun.
E. Essential item? As of right now my computer.
F. Favorite color? Yellow, is there a happier color than yellow? Just seeing it puts me in a good mood.
G. Greatest accomplishment? Of course my boys, they bring me so much joy. I also have to say though moving away from my family. You have no idea how hard this is until you have done it. I can truly say though that it has brought us so many blessings as a family, I would not change this experience -- we have learned too much.
H. Hometown? Layton, UT
I. Indulgences? A bowl of ice cream every night -- something Eric got me hooked on when we got married.
J. January or July? I honestly really love both. January is my birthday and anniversary, plus I love the aftermath of christmas. You usually have fun new toys, and I love cold nights when you can stay indoors with your family. I also love July though, summer, the 4th, BBQ'S, there are so many fun things to do in the summer. I really can't say; I love them both.
K. Kids? My two angels Lance is coming up on 3, and Luke is 15 months.
L. Life is incomplete without? Family and the gospel. Sorry Ter and Ash my answer is the same.
M. Marriage Date? January 23. 2003
N. Number of siblings? 2 wonderful sisters. I can't imagine a life without them.
O. Oranges or apples? Oranges, I can't stand apples. Yuck!
P. Phobias or Fears? Not being able to fix all my childrens problems. I know that it's for the best and how they learn, but honestly it breaks my heart when they are sad and there is nothing I can do for them.
Q. Quotes? "Time will change you beyond imagination; for now I hold you close as though time does not exist." I think about this every time I am loving one of my babies.
R. Reason to smile? Too many to count, I am so blessed.
S. Season? I love fall! The holidays are coming, the crisp in the air, leaves changing colors, all of my favorite TV shows coming back on. I know I am a dork, but there are alot of shows that I like; The Office, Dancing with the Stars, Heroes. It's so exciting when they all come back on. I probably shouldn't admit to this.
T. Tag three friends? Randy Jo, Stacey, and Yvonne
U. Unkown fact about me? Not really sure.
V. Very favorite store? Definitely Target, you can find everything there and it is all cute.
W. Worst habit? Procrastinating, and worrying. I put things off that I don't want to do and then worry that they are not getting done. I know there is an easy solution to that but I just can't seem to get with it.
X. X-ray or ultrasound? Really neither, I had one too many ultrasounds with Luke. One every other day for 10 weeks, they sort of lost their excitement. They really scare me now, I will forever worry that something will be wrong like it was with Luke. Which is why we are on a little break from having children for awhile.
Y. Your favorite food? I don't really have a favorite kind, I would have to say my mom's homecooking. No matter what mine never tastes as good as hers.
Z. Zodiac? Aquarius. Not sure if I spelled that right.

Grandma To Infinity and Beyond is Calling

When Lance gets into a phase, he really gets into a phase. I know I have mentioned countless times on this blog that his current phase is Toy Story or more importantly Buzz Lightyear. Well good old grandma has made his obession much worse with her visit to Kentucky. As all mother and daughters, do we of course spent a day at the mall doing what girls do best: shopping. Lance LOVES the disney store, how could he not with a big giant mickey on the front, his other obsession. After spending a very long time there, grandma of course could not leave without buying Lance some prizes. First, she bought him all the Toy Story figurines you can see him holding them in the top picture. Then on our way out she spotted this Tshirt. As you can see in the second picture Lance is in love with it, I think he would wear this all day, every day if we would let him. Sadly they only had a size 5, so it is pretty big on him but makes great pajamas. This bought us a few extra hours in the mall that day, as Lance spent the rest of the trip having a blowout fight between Buzz and Zurge in the stroller. We got quite a few looks, but hopefully they were the kind of looks like oh what a cute little boy, but I am not really sure, Buzz and Zurge were really going at each other very loudly. I am sure he got on a few people's nerves, but it was so funny I couldn't stop him.


When we got home Grandma spent the next few hours playing To Infinity and Beyond with Lance. Mom, since you have left he has really perfected this, now instead of just making him fly across the room, he gets on the couch and jumps off screaming to infinity and beyond and lands on a pile of pillows. Of course Buzz is ruling our lives right now, he goes everywhere with Lance. If we are eating dinner buzz gets the honor of sitting at the table. If it's time for bed, Lance also informs Buzz that it's his bedtime too. If it's bathtime Buzz's schedule had better be cleared because you can bet he is getting a bath too. Note to myself: never take Buzz to church again. I thought it would be a nice quiet toy to sit with Lance on the bench. Yeah right, Dallin Lebaron, Lance's best Kentucky friend was sitting behind us (he is also a huge Buzz fan) when he spotted Buzz, he of course wanted him and Lance of course would not allow him to even play with Woody which resulted with both boys screaming in the middle of sacrament. Again Ashley I am so sorry, Buzz will not be making an appearance at church again. Mom thank you for the presents. They were a big success, however Infinity and Beyond is just not quite the same without grandma playing too. We miss you already.

Luke Update

I thought everyone might find it interesting to know the latest on Luke and how he is developing. We had two appointments for him today, (yes go ahead and feel sorry for me, we spent five hours total between the two) the first was with the NICU grad clinic and the second was his first hearing and speech therapy session. The NICU grad clinic, for those of you who have no idea what that means, is basically an appointment with an NICU doctor, the nutrionist, a social worker, and a physical therapist all at once. Ever since we brought him home from the NICU, he goes to these appointments -- more frequently at first and now they are every 6 months. They are really great because they look at all of the possible problems and physical disabilities that preemies may have. For instance Luke always sounds really congested when he breathes, not so much any more, but up until a few months ago it was really bad. His peditrician was concerned, but when we talked to the NICU doctor, she said 9 out of 10 preemie babies sound the exact same way and that it is just something his lungs will have to grow out of. We love his peditrician but we feel the NICU doctors really know what they are talking about when it comes to Luke because they see it all the time. This appointment went great, Luke is right on the charts with the other 15 month olds and adjusted age he should only be 12 months. We were really happy with this, not to mention his motor skills such as crawling and hand eye coordination are right on track. He is obviously behind with his speech, but of course that is because of the hearing loss. They also took him off his preemie formula and he now gets to drink whole milk. Oh what a big boy my baby is becoming! His second appointment with the speech and hearing therapist was interesting too, they do a hearing test by putting him in a soundproof booth and make all sorts of noises at him. With his hearing aids in he responded at a mild hearing loss level, where without them, he responds at a severe hearing loss level. It is obviously too soon to say, but we have our hopes up that he may not need the cochlear implant, and that the hearing aids may benefit him enough. We will just have to wait and see I guess. But all in all Eric and I were very pleased with the day's results. Hopefully this didn't bore the majority of you but I can't help but brag about how my little miracle is doing.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful easter, we certainly did. Though I must complain for a minute. I get a little upset when Easter is in March -- it was so cold here yesterday. We didn't even get to go outside and do an easter egg hunt. I guess we could have worn coats, but then it doesn't really feel like a beautiful spring Easter morning. Oh well, the boys got to color eggs and go on a easter egg hunt in Utah so I don't feel too bad about it. We really just had a nice lazy day. We lucked out because my mom is here so we got to celebrate with her, which never happens. The last two years it has just been our little family, so it was great having her here. We made Easter dinner together, the boys got their easter baskets and after they had gone to bed my mom and I stayed up until 1:00 watching movies together. What a great easygoing day. And I must say the boys looked so cute in their easter outfits.

With This Ring....

We were so happy that Eric's parents flew us home for Matt and Brooke's wedding on March 13, 2008. I don't know about all of you, but there is nothing quite like being able to witness a new eternal family sealed together. It was such a great day! The last sealing I was able to see was my sister Ashley and her husband Souli when they got married almost three years ago. So it had been awhile for me to experience this again. It brought back so many wonderful memories of my own wedding day and the happiness and joy you feel as a newlywed. It was so wonderful listening to the sealer and remembering the covenants Eric and I made on our own special day. I think we all need to go to these every now and again to have a little reminder about what life is all about. We are so blessed to be able to have our family sealed together with the knowledge that it is possible to be with each other for eternity. Matt and Brooke, we love you guys so much and are so proud of you. Thank you for letting us share this special day with you!

Home Sweet Home

We love getting to go home to Utah to visit with our families for a few weeks. This trip was even better because we got to see Eric's brother get married in the Bountiful temple. Here are just a few highlights of our week and half. First it was so great getting to see Matt and Brooke get sealed together as an eternal family. Teri and Jill successfully watched 8 kids under the age of 6 for a whole afternoon and survived it. Lance decided that his one and only friend is Carson and when they were apart drove us and everyone else insane asking for him every five seconds. We are now trying to teach him the importance of a variety of friends and being nice to everyone. Luke, Lance and I all got the flu and poor Luke has never thrown up so much in his life. Eric and I got to take an overnight trip to Seattle, WA without the kids to see about the possibility of moving there in the next few months. On the flight home I was really excited about having two hours all to myself to read a new book without the kids bugging me and yet somehow I ended up sitting by a 9 year old girl traveling alone who talked my ear off the entire time, I got 2 pages read. Isn't life ironic. Best of all my mom got to come home with me for a few days to help me on the plane with the boys because Eric only got to stay for a few days. I now get to spend a weekend playing with her. For the most part it was a great trip minus getting the flu.

One Word Tag

Okay nobody else can get mad at me about not having any new posts. I am on vacation what else can I say. I promise to post all my pictures when I get back on Thursday until then this is all you are getting (Teri).

Where is your cell phone? dresser
Significant other? Eric
Worse bad habit? procrastinate
Hair? ponytail
Favorite food? Italian
Your favorite thing? family
Your dream last night? nothing
Favorite drink? Pepsi
Dream/Goal? happy
Room you are in? office
Ex? nobody
Your fear? cancer
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Utah
Where were you last night? Deeann's
What you are not? outgoing
Muffins? blueberry
Wish list item? house
Where did you grow up? Layton
Last thing you did? blogged
What are you wearing? clothes
Your TV? off
Your pets? Eric (Jk)
Your computer? Mom's
Your life? blessed
Your mood? happy
Missing someone? Eric
Your car? Kentucky
Something you are not wearing? shoes
Favorite store? Target
Your summer? carefree
Love someone? absolutely
Last time you laughed? yesterday
Last time you cried? month

I am tagging Stacey, Teryl and Deeann. Hopefully this will be an incentive to get yours going you two, Teri , Stace and I are waiting.

Date Night

Last night Eric had to study for a test he had today, so he was locked in his office all night trying to get ready for it. Lilo and Stitch was just starting on the Disney channel and neither Lance or I had ever seen it. We usually put Lance to bed at 8:30 every night, well as you can imagine at that time Lance was engrossed in his movie. I was going to put him to bed anyway but since Eric was studying, I kind of wanted the company, so I decided to let him stay up a little longer. I was trying to finish a book I had started weeks ago and only had one chapter left but Lance had made himself a little bed on the couch and kept asking me to come sit by him. I really had no desire to watch Lilo and Stitch but then it occured to me this was the perfect opportunity to have one on one time with my son. I have so many memories as a little girl of my mom doing little things for me such as wallpapering my barbie house or making me a cup of hot chocolate when I couldn't sleep. Because of things like this, I knew without a doubt, my mother loved me. My greatest hope is that my children will know how much their mother loves them. So I put my book down and me and Lance spent the next two hours having one of the greatest nights I have had in a long time. If you have ever watched a movie with Lance, you will know he is not quiet about it -- I think this comes from watching one too many ball games with Eric. He is a firm beleiver that in order to really enjoy the game you must cheer when they make a point and groan when they don't. Lance really takes this to heart and loves to yell and holler at the bad guys shaking his fist at them -- so funny! We ate brownies, candy, pop -- all things you don't want to give a two year old right before bed. But I don't regret it. Lance loved it -- he kept giving me hugs and kisses all night, I knew he was enjoying it as much as I was. Chances are he won't remember this as he gets older but it is my hope that he will always know how much I love spending time with him and cherish our moments together.

Spring Is In The Air

Today was a GORGEOUS day here in Lexington. I actually had to turn my air on in the car while we were out running errands. It was great! I don't know about all of you but I am so sick of cold and winter weather I could scream. In early March the nice spring days are still very rare, so when one comes along you just have to take advantage of it and go play outside. Me and the boys took a walk to a park nearby us and played for an hour or so. I don't know who loved it more me or them. Although by the time we arrived home, after pushing those two in the double stroller almost a mile, I must say I was exhausted. I obviously need to get out and exercise more -- but oh well, it was definitely worth it!

101 Dalmations

I must confess I am a sucker for animated animal movies. I remember as a little girl sobbing over The Chipmunks Adventure when the baby penguin loses his mother. I still get teary-eyed just thinking about it. 101 dalmations was my all time favorite disney movie growing up. So naturally when I heard it was coming out of the vault to buy I was thrilled. Me and the boys were at Walmart first thing today buying a copy of it. I am so excited to introduce one of my favorite movies to my boys. However I can't decide if I want Lance to like it or not. Part of me would really love a new movie in the rotation along with Cars and Toy Story. Another part of me doesn't want to end up with a strong dislike for these cute little puppies, which is what has happened with Cars and Toy Story. After the 50th time watching them you really start to despise them. I am sure all you moms can relate. Either way me and these puppies have a date tonight after the boys are in bed!

MEDIEVAL TIMES

Last Saturday night our ward put on a Medieval Times activity. We were all split into four kingdoms, and our family was in the red kingdom as you can see from Lance's shirt. I have to apologize for the picture selection -- I brought my camera with good intentions of taking a lot of cute pictures. However being on the activities commitee I was running around all night helping with the games and these are the only two I ended up with. Despite running around all night, our family did have a great time. I think it was a fun activity. Lance spent the night with some good friends of ours, the Lebaron family. Eric had his hands full with a somewhat fussy Luke so my sweet friend Ashley is always willing to let Lance tag along with her family. I think Lance thinks of himself as an extended member of the Lebaron family. He absolutely loves his best buddies Dallin and Hannah. Every time I came near him to see how he was doing he would shove me away and say "no mommy go". Oh it is so nice being loved by your children. All in all it was a fun night for our family.

So Sweet

I only have like five seconds to hurry and post this so sorry if I am rambling. Lance just did the cutest thing that I can't not post it. He hates when Luke has to go take a nap because then his friend is not around to play with him. He has been bugging me for the last half hour saying "Lou wake up". Of course I told him no that we have to let him sleep he is really tired. I got busy frosting cookies and did not notice the house got very quiet. When I was finished I went to go find Lance thinking he must be playing in his room. Oh no I found him curled up next to Luke in his crib softly patting his back, with Luke still sound asleep. I really don't think he had any intentions of waking him up he was being to still and quiet. I think he just wanted to be near him. Talk about melting a mother's heart. Of course right as I went for the camera Lance climbed out so I missed the moment. I could be wrong and he really was trying to wake him up, but I like to think he just has a tender heart and missed his brother.