$7.99 Well Spent

I am somewhat of an idiot and when I bought our kids wading pool a couple years ago I bought one that needed to be blown up. Well we don't have a pump and I am not about to blow it up myself so a few days ago I went to Target and bought one of the cheap plastic ones for $7.99. The very first day I bought it we were supposed to be having a huge storm that night and I was afraid it would blow away so I brought in inside. Well the boys have found another use for the pool and I am now afraid I will never get it back outside they enjoy using it as a bed too much.

I am feeling a little guilty because they have watched one too many movies the last few days because Lance never wants to get out of his "bed". However we had to speak in sacrament on Sunday and I am not one of those people who can pull a talk together in an hour. So I have really enjoyed having them out of my hair while I was preparing my talk.


Whoever said you need water to enjoy a pool?

I also had to through these pictures in too. Lance has discovered a new place to play with all of his favorite toys without Luke bothering him. He gets up on the top bunk bed in their room with all of his treasures. He sometimes stays up there for a good hour which is cute but he often spends his time taunting Luke that he can't come up. Poor Luke just stands at the bottom of the bed looking up with this sad little look on his face while Lance shakes his finger at him saying "no no no, Lance's bed".

All of his paraphernalia; piggy bank (don't ask me why that's a favorite, his photo albums particularly his pictures of Carson, Buzz Lightyear of course and you can't see but he also has Mack and a big Pixar movies book that my Aunt Tammy gave him for his birthday. Thanks Tam he loves that book, he takes it to bed with him every night.

Mom this picture is for you he is showing off his Buzz Lightyear talking shirt you sent him. I literally have to fight him everyday that he can't wear it because it's dirty seeing how he wore it the day before. He is also still in his pajama pants which are Lightning McQueen pajamas. Doesn't get any better than that a Buzz shirt and Cars pants he is in heaven.

Cruising...

My little chicken doesn't quite dare walk on his own yet. He really can take like ten steps in a row but then gives up and goes back to crawling. We keep waiting, waiting and waiting for him to take him off but so far he realizes he can get around a lot faster on his hands and knees. He is a pro however on his little walker he goes all around the house with it.

Love this smile!

I swear he looks more and more like a little man everyday.

Gotta love those ears, don't you think they are quite pointy? My little elf!

Grandparents you might be the only ones that find this video interesting (well and maybe a couple of aunts too), it is basically just him showing off his moves on the walker. You will notice that he is so unbelievably talented he can do this without even looking minus running into a few walls of course. The reason for this is he is too busy sucking his arm. I think I have mentioned his little habit of sucking his arm when he is tired, I think it's quite funny. Not sure why he is so tired it's only 8:30 in the morning, might have to do with the fact that both little monkeys were up at 6:00 today, lucky me. No worries though I put them both in front of cartoons and slept on the couch for another half an hour. Sometimes tired moms just have to do that right?

HELP! Potty Woes

Okay I am serious if you are reading this and you have a potty trained child or just plain and simple have some advice for me please share your secrets. I have been trying to potty train Lance for the last week and so far we have had one success and about a million accidents. I seriously don't know what else to try. I started out buying him an Elmo goes potty movie that my sister in law told me about. He could care less about it, watches it for about a minute and then he is off. I have been having him wear Cars and Mickey Mouse underwear that he picked out and LOOVES to wear them and is hating his diaper on. Since last Thursday the only time he doesn't wear them is on Sunday to church and if we have to run a quick errand and I put a pull up on him. Which has so far only been to the grocery store and the park one time only, other than that we have been hermits staying at home trying to get this dreaded goal accomplished. Is that my problem should I not use pull ups even for church when the chances of having an accident are pretty much guaranteed? He will sit on the toilet okay no real fights, but the second he gets off he has an accident. I really feel like he is ready he is three years old, he hates his diaper, he tells me when he wants to be changed so why is this so hard? How long do I keep trying until I just say he is not quite ready yet and give it a few more weeks until we try again. His biggest problem is telling me when he needs to go, he always goes and then comes and tells me. I would just really love to have him potty trained before we move which is less than four weeks away now. Seriously help, suggestions needed!

Gotta love boys and their needed reading materials for getting the job done! We are also using the rewards system where every time he sits on the toilet he gets a starburst and if he actually uses it he gets an airhead. You can see him unwrapping his treat.

I have even pulled out the portable DVD player as an enticement to sit for awhile without getting bored. He is really concentrating hard on the movie notice the squinting eye.

So give me your advice! This is a first time for me and so if I am going about this all wrong please tell me I really have no idea what I am doing. Thank you friends!

Their Many Moods

It's so interesting to me how many different moods kids can have within a matter of minutes. Yesterday we had been promising Lance a trip to the park all day and last minute we decided to go out to eat at Olive Garden (we had a gift certificate from my Grandpa). We thought Lance might just forget about it because we took the boys with to go and eat figuring an exciting outing would do the trick for Lance. Nope the minute we got back in the car he reminded us we promised him a trip to the park. So we went at about 7:30 on our way home which is getting pretty close to Luke's bedtime and he had already not had a great nap. He went from being very grouchy, to quiet and content to pure joy and then back to screaming mad again all within a half hours time. We did have a fun time though daddy got to come with us and that never happens, we love the weekends!

Peaceful and Content


I love the sweet innocent looks on their faces as they explore new things. Nothing better than looking at things through the eyes of a child.

Pure Joy


There is also no greater joy than watching your children in such a state of happiness and joy it warms your heart all over. Even if it is something as simple as swinging on a swing that they have done a thousand times.

Happy Birthday Carson!

Tomorrow is my little nephew's third birthday. Carsy we love you so much and wish we could be there to celebrate with you. Hopefully this will be the last year we aren't there. Have a great day and we will be thinking of you!

Top 10 Reasons we love Carson Jeffrey Cano
1. I do not have greater friends than my two sisters so naturally I adore their offspring not to mention he was the very first little guy to make me an aunt. Which I would imagine is something like being a grandma. It amazes me all that I would let my niece and nephews get away with that I wouldn't my own kids.
2. He has a great love for all appliances ie; hair dryers, curling irons, and vacuums are the ones that first come to mind. Who needs toys, right Cars?
3. He has one of those personalities that just draws to people. I love my little Lance but he can be so shy, Carson is the exact opposite. He is outgoing, loves to talk and can make friends with anyone. Kind of like his dad, Thiago is sounds like I am describing you there. Like father like son.
4. Him and Lance are only twelve days apart it has been so fun watching these two little boys grow up together. Most of their lives have been spent miles apart, but there is nobody Lance talks more about than his Carsy.
5. He is a natural leader. Teri and I always thought Lance would be the leader and Cars would be the follower. I am not sure why maybe just because Lance is bigger and older or something. However it's Carson that always comes up with the great ideas that Lance goes along with. Lance is pretty happy following Carson with whatever he is doing.
6. He is only three years old but he has such confidence in himself. He is one of those kids that never gets his feelings hurt by the other kids. He has a philosophy that is you are lucky to be my friend and if you don't want to be then it's your loss. I love that about him!
7. He is so much fun to be around. One time while I was visiting Utah my luggage got lost so I went to Teri's house to get ready for the day. Just Thiago and Carson were there and Carsy spent the entire time in with me helping me dry, curl and style my hair, we had the most fun. Again why is it with my own kids it drives me nuts when they are in my way trying to get ready, and with Carson I have nothing but a wonderful happy memory with.
8. He has one of the cutest little faces I have ever seen with a killer hairstyle. Teri has styled his cute little hair like that since he was nine months old. I have tried to mimic this with Lance and it looks ridiculous. He has great styling hair!
9. He loves the color pink! Teri I know I always say this but Cars really would have made an excellent girl. He loves trying on shoes, baby dolls, dressing up, styling hair. To be fair he also loves getting dirty, and playing with cars and trucks as well. He definitely has some boy in him too.
10. He takes good care of my Teri. Me and Teri being twins and all have always kind of watched out for each other. In my absence Cars does an excellent job taking care of her with a little help from Thiago of course. He has such a tender heart he is always right there when his mommy is sad or crying, he gives her kisses and loves telling her it will be okay.

Love you Carson and happy birthday!

Happy Minute!

I am starting a new segment on my blog called Happy Minute and yes I am stealing it from happy minute in relief society. I would imagine most of you know what I am talking about. My blast from the past segment was not working seeing how all of my pictures are in my mom's basement. So until I retrieve them, this one should be fun too. I know the last thing I need is another reason to post something, you are all probably sick to death of seeing my name pop up on google reader. I just can't help it I love to write to much. One day I would really love to write a novel but for now I make do with my blog.

My first happy minute is probably pretty silly, but it made me smile and that is what Happy Minute is all about. I had errands to run this morning so after I was finished it was almost past lunch time and I wasn't in the mood to go home and make a late lunch. So we were waiting in line at the drive up of McDonalds (I know shocking we never go there, right?). Thank you mom for the five dollars, Lance appreciated his kids meal. It was pouring rain outside because that is what it does in Kentucky. Gorgeous weather Monday through Thursday then Friday hits and it rains all weekend. I was just sitting there thinking that I looked like a drenched rat from my stop at the grocery store a few minutes before and this cute little somewhere around sixteen year old couple got out of the car running towards McDonalds. It made me smile because like I said it was pouring rain out and I could tell the girl was worried about her hair, her cute boyfriend ran next to her shielding the top of her head with his hands. Does anyone else think that is so darling or is it just me? Only a new little couple would do something like that. Don't get me wrong Eric does plenty of sweet spur of the moment things for me but nowadays that would not be one of them. With two kids if we were to get out of the car in the rain the last thing from his mind would be trying to save my hair from a downpour. It made me smile the whole way home thinking about it. I am weird I know, sometimes odd things make me happy.

My second happy moment of the day is it is Friday date night. My netflix movie came in the mail today The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I have a brand new box of popcorn, a good movie, pouring rain and a cute husband to share it with. What a happy night!

Friends From Afar

Funny story this morning we had to go to Walmart to pick up a few things when we got home I got Lance out of the car first so he could play on his bike while I unloaded the car and got Luke out. Being the lazy person that I am I only wanted to make one trip so I had about five bags in my hand and was carrying Luke with the other. I yelled for Lance to come in and of course he told me no. It's a daily battle to get him inside once he is outside so I was already a little irritated anticipating dragging him in crying for his bike. I had my back to him as I was still struggling with my armload of stuff and trying to get the door unlocked without dropping Luke. I of course dropped my keys right as we got to the door so I reached down to pick them up and heard Lance start screaming his head off. It was impossible for me to hurry and stand up to see what was wrong, Luke was seriously dangling by a thread I was so close to dropping him. So finally I was able to turn around and see why Lance was going ballistic. He likes to play in the neighbors driveway because it has a good slope and the guy is never home so Lance loves to go whizzing down the drive on his bike. He is running as fast as his little legs will carry him and our backyard neighbors huge dog is running after him. I totally should not laugh because he was seriously terrified but it was the funniest thing I had ever seen. I had no idea the kid could run so fast and he was screaming so loud. The dog is really a nice dog it was just playing with him but it is huge next to Lance. I tried to hurry and open the door as fast as I could because I couldn't pick him up with all of my crap I was carrying so the only option I could think of was to just shove him inside. Lance flattened himself against the house and the dog just stood there kind of looking at him because he was still screaming. Finally I got the door open and Lance darted inside slamming the door shut and dead bolting it for safe measures. He then spent the next ten minutes curled up on his bed and checking the windows every few seconds making sure the coast was clear. I am actually really thankful to the dog, it has excellent timing saved me the hastle of chasing him down to get him inside kicking and screaming.





Later on we went outside to play for a while. Lance was very unsure to go outside in this picture he is standing against the door where he stood for seriously five minutes while I tried to convince him the dog was gone.





Here he is pushing his lawnmower he would mow for a minute and then look behind him to make sure no dog was sneaking up on him. You can see him checking to make sure, still no dog.



This is where the dog usually is at and Lance really does like him, he always says hi to him. I guess they can only be long distance friends. I am still not sure how the dog got out, I keep checking all day to see if he is back yet but he has still not returned. I guess I should have grabbed him when I could but I was a little busy at the moment. I am hoping the dog isn't lost now.



Lance has finally decided it should be safe to finally really have some fun!


Mom he saw me taking pictures and decided he better get his camera so he could take some pictures of the "naughty doggy" so he could show his "mandma".

Potty Bucket/Bath Toys

Sisters this post is for you! Every time my sisters come to visit me in Kentucky, I get made fun of because of my bath toy selection or should I say my lack of bath toy selection. For the last few months the boys have been using Lance's little bucket that came with his little potty than we have still not used yet. No fear though, tomorrow is the big day we are beginning potty training, wish me luck. Anyways because we were not using the potty bucket for any reason it became a bath toy along with a few empty shampoo and bubble bath bottles. Occasionally if they were lucky I threw in a few measuring cups for good measure. I mean really do kids need more bath toys than this, I don't think so. The only time we have ever really had some real life meant for the tub toys they got all moldy because we only have one bathroom so Eric and I would shower and it got the toys all wet and gross. So my sister Ashley took pity on me or I guess Lance and Luke and for Lance's birthday bought him a whole bunch of new bath toys. Ash you can see they are greatly appreciated, bath time is probably the funnest thing to do around here now. However you can see in the last picture potty bucket is still a heavy favorite, it's always right in the middle of all the fun!

Happy Father's Day!

I have been blessed with three wonderful fathers in my life. The first obviously is my own father. Dad I wanted to tell you how much I love and appreciate all you have done for me my whole life. Sometimes it is hard not to wish my parents were still together but as a divorced child I could not be more blessed. Never once have I felt the loss of my father, you sacrificed so much for us; living in that dopey little apartment so we could keep the house, being there for all my big events, calling me every day to see how I am doing. The list could go on and on. I have always known you would do anything for your girls. I can call you up and on a moments notice you fix whatever it is I am worried about. You are an amazing grandpa and Lancey is watching me type this right now saying "papa" and laughing. It is evident of your love for my boys, I think this picture says it all. We love you!

My second dad is Eric's dad Steven Smith and is also a wonderful example of what a father should be. The other day at the wedding we were sitting together at the table with all of Eric's brothers and I sat and thought how proud I am to be part of the Smith family. You and Elaine have raised five wonderful boys, the best being my own husband of course. You are such an example to me of what a happy family looks like. There is not an opinion that Eric cares more about next to mine than yours. I know he strives to be just like his dad and that is great in my opinion. Thank you so much for all the love and support you guys have given us over the years, it does not go unappreciated. Sometimes it is hard to say so I want you to know how truly much we love you. The boys love their "bandpa"!

Last the best of all my own dear husband. Eric has forbidden me to get mushy he can't stand it when blogs are all mushy and sentimental. So being Father's Day and all tomorrow I thought I had better obey his wishes. I will only say one thing that pops to my mind. I have been trying to think of a moment that means the world to me relating to fatherhood. The one that pops out the most is when I have witnessed him giving priesthood blessings to our children. Particularly Luke in the NICU as he was fighting for his life. I am so grateful to have married a man that respects and honors the priesthood and brings those blessings into our home for me and the children to reap it's rewards. I have never seen such love and devotion as those moments when he lays his hands on our little ones heads and blesses them. So that is all I am saying I think actions speak louder than words I gave myself a little activity to do throughout the day and it was such a blessing to realize all the things Eric does on a day to day basis for his family.

6:00 am gets a bottle for Luke
9:00 am playing ball with the boys
10:00 am playing Lance's leapfrog with him ( I think Eric enjoys Lance's birthday presents as much as Lance does)
11:30 am finally gets his breakfast only to feed half of it do a begging Luke
12:00 pm changes a stinky Luke
12:30-3:00 pm has one on one with Luke while Lance and I are at the movie this also includes lunch, nap and another dirty diaper
4:00 pm takes Lance with him to go buy groceries for our dinner tomorrow
5-7:00 pm takes family to mall while we try to buy him a father's day present ( he is impossible to shop for I needed ideas)
9:00 pm is at the store again because I forgot to tell him to get potatoes
9:30 pm Lance is still awake and hour past his bedtime because he refuses to go to bed without a kiss from his daddy

These are just a few of the many things he does for us, Happy Father's Day Eric we love you!

Kung Fu Panda

Out of the last three movies I have seen they have all been 3 for 3. While I was in Utah my mom sisters and I saw Iron Man and the second Narnia movie which were great. Then today Lance and I went and saw Kung Fu Panda which we both absolutely loved. Mom I have decided that if I can't go to a movie with you, Lance is the next best alternative. Though you are and always will be my favorite movie going buddy. Lance's only criteria for a good movie is animation he gets so mad when he watches Enchanted with me and it goes from animation to real life. I like animation every now and then but certainly not every movie. Lance got birthday money in the mail from his great grandma and grandpa Williams. I had a hard time deciding how to spend it, he did not need any more clothes or toys, that's for sure. His only savings account was in Utah, so I could not put in there and I was afraid if I just held onto it I would end up spending it on gas or something like that. So I thought it would be fun to take him to a movie with it. He is so funny when he watches movies he gets so into it. A few times he was quite embarrassing hollering it up at the bad guy and shaking his straw at him. He was one of the youngest kids there and probably was the most well behaved only because he LOVES movies certainly not because he is always well behaved. He did not fuss or get antsy once the only time he would whine was the scary parts and then he would just come and sit on my lap and hide until it was over. We had a great time, it was so great getting to spend one on one time with him!




Ready for our date together!



Lance I can guarantee your mommy is more fun to go to the movies with than your daddy. Lance shares my appreciation for theater food. We got way too much food for one mommy and a little boy. If Eric was taking him they would be drinking water and maybe a box of Dots from the dollar store. With me we bought Dots and Mike and Ike's at the dollar store plus he got a movie meal and I got a large coke. Yes Jill there I go being an alcoholic again but it would not be the movies without a huge coke to wash all that popcorn down it's all part of the movie going experience.

Milestones of a 3 Year Old

Lance the day he was born, all 4 lbs 15 0z of him. Sorry about the not so great picture, I scrap booked all of the really cute ones, this was the only one I really had left to scan. This was obviously before we got our digital camera and downloaded them all on the computer.

Four months old -- this was a chubby Lance (well as chubby as he as ever been).

Swimming at the pool in ST. George, this was the only summer that he liked to swim. Jury is still out for this summer. He is a little over one years old here.

Lance and daddy having a guitar playing session. 18 months old
Playing at the park almost 2 years old.

Louisville Zoo on Lance's 2nd birthday!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Lance, I love his little precious moments face. He is a little over two years old in this picture.




Lance and his beloved friend Mickey Mouse aka "TOODLES" -- two and half years



His new best friend "Buzz Lightyear" and him playing to infinity and beyond. March 2008




Lance at 3 Years Old

1. Loves wearing his shoes- he thinks it means we will be going bye bye sooner.
2. Loves Buzz Lightyear and Lightning McQueen.
3. Could eat McDonald's chicken nuggets every day.
4. Can count to ten, sometimes has problems with 6 and 7 though.
5. Knows all of his colors except red.
6. Favorite color is orange, Popsicles, shirts, crayons has to be orange.
7. LOVES to be outside.
8. Favorite cartoons are Handy Manny, Curious George (thanks to Carson), Barney and I hate to admit this one Telly Tubbies.
9. Gets great big urges when he is loving someone mostly Luke loves to pinch his cheeks.
10. Could spend all day in the Disney Store.
11. Hates brushing his teeth.
12. Loves Dub a dah (what he calls getting in the bath tub).
13. Loves the idea of combing his hair but then won't hold still.
14. Great with directions
15. Loves going to Target -- a boy after my own heart.
16. Loves to read, has more books than I do and actually looks at them all.
17. Loves his own bed, I never have to fight him to take a nap or go to bed.
18. Great big brother to Luke he loves to include him in whatever he is doing.
19. Loves his extended family he doesn't get to see them that often but talks about them always. Seriously I have never seen him more excited than when he gets to see all of you!
20. Has a very tender heart, he really feels his emotions. When he is excited he is overexcited and when he is sad he is really devestated.
21. Gives great big hugs ( you have to catch him in the right moment though).
22. Just about the cutest most wonderful little three year old there ever was.

WE LOVE OUR LANCE!

One Year Older and Wiser Too

Happy 3rd birthday to our little Lancey boy. We love you so much, you have blessed our lives in more ways than we ever could have imagined! We had a birthday party for Lance at grandma and grandpa Smith's house on Monday night. We had a BBQ, presents and of course cake and ice cream. Thanks to all of you who came, you have no idea how excited we were to celebrate Lance's big day with all of you.

Lance starting in on his second hamburger of the night. Grandma Smith must make them better than daddy. We are usually lucky if we can get him to eat one when we grill hamburgers at home. He must have been starving from the excitement of the day.

Luke enjoying his meal! This is probably gross but look closely at his face you can see exactly what he has eaten, he is not the cleanest of eaters. However nobody clears there plate quite like him. He is a little human garbage disposal, he never once has turned down any food, eats the whole thing and when he is done (meaning his plate has no more food, if you give him more of course he will accept it) he throws it on the ground to announce he is ready to go play. Just one of the many wonderful qualities of our little loubird.

Luke and Chloe going over a little baby gossip; who eats more, who's cuter, who got to play with their older siblings toys for longer. You know that kind of stuff.

Grandma and Grandpa Smith quite possibly have one of the funnest backyards around. They have a swing set, a tramp, a hammock and a huge yard to run around in. This has also contributed to Lance's new bad habit of wandering outside by himself. Who could resist such fun? Julia, Hallie and Tanner having fun in the hammock, Lance is in there too but surprise surprise would not come up for a picture.

This picture has a little background behind it. I am a huge procrastinator and did not buy Lance any birthday presents until the day of his birthday. After we went to the treehouse we took him to Toys R' Us to give me a few hints on what to get him. I had a few ideas but I figured there would be something that he would see and would just have to have. I was right, he spotted this Mack diesel of CARS the movie that turns into a race track and also holds all of his little cars. He spent 40 minutes in Toy's R' Us babysitting this Mack. He did not see me buy it or wrap it but the second we brought all his presents out he knew exactly which one was Mack and of course opened that present first. He was so excited the little pill would not open anything else until Carson and Hallie started helping him with the rest. That got his attention a little bit but Mack was definitely the biggest hit. In this picture he is sticking his tongue out like Mack does in the movie to the minivan. What a little weirdo!

Teri was the only one Lance could talk into opening up Mack for him after all the presents were open. Unfortunately for him there was way too many small pieces and it did not get set up that night.

He also loved this little flintstone car my mom gave him. We also discovered it was a great way to keep Luke from making a mess of his poor little knees by crawling on the pavement. He was happy as a clam to sit in the car for 30 minutes and occasionally reaching out to play with a little wrapping paper.

This was a fun game; Lance drives while Carson fills it up with gas and vice versa. You get the picture.

Blowing out the candles on his wonderful Costco cake, you will notice Mack is in on the fun. We had a great night with all of our families and friends. No worries Lance loves all of his other presents you all got him as well. Tonight as I was unpacking he kept pulling out all of his new toys saying "Oh wow" like he is seeing them for the first time. Most likely he probably was since he had a one track mind the night of the party.

And for all of you who wondered the flight went great they both slept for three hours straight, yeah!