My kids amuse me

Yesterday I was playing one of those addictive puzzle games on my phone.  And I was failing the same level over and over again.  Wes was watching over my shoulder and said "It's okay Mommy! Failing means you are almost WINNING! Good job failing!"

Tonight for the bedtime story, my kids wanted to read Highlights and do a couple of those pictures where you find the hidden objects.  Carly was sitting there, concentrating so hard, and said under her breath "if I were me, where would I look for that paperclip?"

Conversation overheard between Carly and Wes:
Carly: Which planet is the largest?
Wes: Umm... Jupiter.
Carly: Okay, but which planet is the hottest?
Wes: Venus!

Today in the kitchen Wes was banging pot lids together.  Marshall told him to stop making racket.  Wes told him "But I'm practicing the cymbals!"

Who has been sneaking into my house and secretly teaching my kids?

2013

It's a new year, and I'm not much for resolutions.  But lots of my facebook friends are, which has led me to consider in the quiet of the evening, if there is some word, some value, I want to focus on this year.  A family theme.  A personal mission.

And being far from perfect, there are words flying through my head.  Ideas on how to better myself this year.  But days like today, a day when my tiny terrorists have cornered me in my room with a box of chocolates and the lifetime channel, I find it hard to be motivated to pick a happy adjective.

But they are now all asleep, and I have emerged from my foxhole to pick up the house and assess the damage.  I see the freshly waxed floor now covered with crushed chalk.  The broken Christmas ornaments and the back broken off my nutcracker for the 3rd time in a month, and the indications that some picky preschooler has gotten into my chocolates, and found some he didn't like.

But then I see the labels my 5-year-old has put on all the doors.  She is so excited to be sounding out words.  And I realize that I need to be more grateful.  I need to embrace what I have, even on aggravating days like today when it's the end of Marshall's 48 and I'm just ready to go to work tomorrow.

Translation: Mom and Dad's Room, Garage, Basement

And you know what?  This blog helps me to do that.  This blog is so chalk full of stories that my kids love to have me read to them, and I have missed a couple years worth now.  Stories that I can't remember anymore and I'm so sad I didn't document anywhere.  I mean, someday I will probably look back and laugh that Wes smashed chalk all over my kitchen less than a day after I waxed it.  So I'll take the pictures, and post them here.

And work on being a little more grateful this year.

2 minutes with Wes

Wes was his normal, fantastic little personality on Easter when trying to take the kids' photo.  He only sat for about 2 minutes of camera time before he just couldn't handle me saying "Wes sit still! Wes, look at the camera!  Wes, smile!" anymore.

When going back and looking at the pictures, trying to find a decent one to post, I felt the exhaustion of all that effort all over again.

I give you: 2 minutes with Wes.  Because a picture is worth a thousand words, so 24 is worth... well you get the picture. yuk yuk yuk.

Yes, these are all that I took.  Yes, just right in order.

Man, I just love him!

Getting unpacked- The Boys' Rooms

Calvin's nursery; Before:

After:

Wes' room; Before:

After:

We brainwash them young around here.

Catching up: Wes

Wes, my best little buddy.  Yep, he's a ham!  He's so full of life and energy.  He is definitely allllll boy.  I don't know if it is a difference between raising a boy and raising a girl, or if it's more due to being the 2nd born, or if it's just all his little unique self, but Wes is a very big personality in a small package.  He has to keep up with Carly and do all that she does, meaning he's way ahead on all his milestones.  But he has to add volume.  

Lots of volume.

Whereas Carly thrived on attention at this age, and was generally cute to catch our eyes, Wes could care less if anyone is paying attention to him.  He'll just make his own background noise all. day. long.  I have been assured that this is directly inherited from Marshall.  He just growls, hums, makes up words, or beeps and bops to his own movements all day.  And if you engage him?  Growling.  Lots and lots of shrieking growls. 

Part of him is so independent.  We hiked the Y mountain trail back in April (or March?  Can't remember).  All I remember is that I was 10 weeks pregnant, hadn't hiked it since I was a college freshman, and was very proud I made it the whole way!  

Anyway, he hiked the whole way by himself.  And he was less tired, slow, and out of breath than I was.  He just ran up the mountain!  

The other part of him is so cuddly.  He is much more of a cuddler than Carly was at this age.  He loves to come and give kisses, or rub my back.  He's always saying how much he loves members of his family.  I love his little "You're my favorite mommy in the whole world!"  Melts my heart!

Wes is also at this really fun stage where he is aware of the camera and seems to think that anytime we ask him to "smile," he has to pose.  Like this:

Love it!!

He is also super fearless.  Anyone been to kangaroo zoo?  It's a huge warehouse full of inflatable bounce houses and slides.  We went a couple times this summer.  These pictures are from our visit in February.  So he was 19 months.  He zeroed in on the tallest slide in the place and went down over and over again.  All on his own!

All of the other parents were appalled that we let this little baby throw himself down the 25 feet or whatever it was.  Then they were equally shocked when he emerged laughing, and ran to climb it again.  

For Wes' 2nd birthday, we went to Kangaroo Zoo again, and then had a low key party at the local pirate-themed pizza restaurant.  

Does anyone remember my post about Butt Pie?  Well, for Wes' party we had another Andrews' special: Asphalt Cake.  

We bought this Cars cake super last minute at a grocery store, and were running into the restaurant.  Marshall had the presents and cake, and I had the kids.  The next thing I know, the cake was upside down in the middle of the parking lot.  After how elaborate and memorable Carly's cake was just a couple weeks before, I felt so bad that we just flipped it over and ate it anyway (it did have the plastic cover on).  We just figured, "he's 2...he won't care."

We let him have creamy alfredo pasta- a big treat since he's allergic to milk.

Carly recently learned how to take pictures on her own, using our phones or a camera.  Her favorite subject? Our Wesley.  This was one morning when I went to work and left Marshall "in charge."  I think you can see how in charge he was. (note the pajama-ed and slipper-ed legs of unconscious Marshall in the bottom of each shot as Wes lords over him.

Marshall doesn't remember any of this, and found the photos on his phone a day or two later.

That's our little growler's personality!

Our most recent parenting triumph with Wes: the binky is gone!  Carly was never much of a binky kid.  But Wes loved his and saying goodbye has been a little trickier.  We started doing the "just at bedtime" earlier this year, but seemed to backtrack occasionally when around other kids with pacifiers, or when he found one around the house and I was too tired to fight him.  But for about a month now, he hasn't had one at all.  Not even at bedtime.  And it's been such a relief.  

Fingers crossed he doesn't relapse when New Baby gets here and has his own.

Wes is also working on potty training.  But I'm not bringing it up at all.  Occasionally he'll come tell me that he needs to poop, and we'll run to the toilet and he'll use it!  This happens on average once a week.

Wes had his 2 year check up in July, and he's pretty healthy.  He was in the 17th percentile for just about everything.  Marshall is convinced I somehow stunted his growth in utero.  I have to remind him that he was only in the bottom 10th percentile growing up himself.  Genetics.  

But Wes is advanced in everything else.  Especially in speech.  Just like Carly, he's off the charts when it comes to his ability to verbalize.  He's been talking in full sentences for a long time now, and just keeps adding new words every day.  I love that I can talk to him just like I do my 4-year-old, and know he completely understands me.  I also love that he can answer me back, even if most of the time the answer is "No! I don't want to."  

We're still working on that attitude.....

But how could you ever be mad for long at a little personality like this??

We love you Wessy!!

Wes has been busy

The difference between boys and girls is just amazing.  Especially since we treat them pretty much the same.  We never tried to "girly up" Carly, and Wes just plays with all of Carly's toys, so he has access to dolls and dresses and the like. 

Anyway, the little guy is just such a boy.  He is so busy, and so laid back, and such fun to just watch.  Lately the new phrase I hear all day is I bonka my head (gibberish gibberish) and then the offending object or person.  So I hear a LOT of "I bonka my head em..o..wa Carly!"  Then he demands kisses.

            I love this little guy!

Getting bit in the face by fellow toddlers



Making faces on the screen

Drawing on the steps

Drawing on the screen

Making new "hats"

And just being worn out by it all.

It's been a busy week for Mr. Wes!

Picture of a Tuesday morning

1. It's 11, and we're still in pajamas. I'm obviously not in the office today. Oh, and Carly sans pants? The norm. If I've managed to force her into pants, it's because we are leaving soon to go somewhere.

2. These two are inseparable. Carly wants to dress up in Daddy's shoes? Of course Wes has to then!

3. They just can't leave that shoe basket alone. Or anything else for that matter. Yesterday I spent the day scouring the house. I wonder how long it will take them to destroy it once more.

A closer look

4. We've all been sick around here, and one major symptom has been goopy eyes. All that eye rubbing has led to Wes having infections in his eye lids. Don't worry- he's on antibiotics. But doesn't he look pathetic, like he lost a fight?

5. Carly decided Wes would make a good canvas last night. This is what he looks like after his bath. He was (and still is) head to toe marker.

6. We were lucky enough to have my sister-in-law and niece stay with us for 10 days, and they just left on Sunday. We have been trying to get rid of Wes' binky, but Kalen still has hers, and also he was sick so we give in out of pity. By the time Kiernan and Kalen left, they couldn't find any of their binkies. I guess Wes was stashing them away, because he keeps sporting pretty pink bling now that we're working on taking away his binkies again.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and can sure sum up my morning.

18 months

Wes turned 18 months back on the 8th. He has been sick, so I've had to wait to get some pictures to go with this post that weren't entirely booger-encrusted. Gross, right?

So this morning, I rubbed his face raw, and just took some pics before church. And now I can post.


At Wes' 18 month appointment, his stats were as follows:

Weight: 22lbs 2ozs - 7th percentile
Height: 31.2 inches - 20th percentile
Head circumference: 18.27 inches - 15th percentile
Diapers: Size 4
Clothes: 18-24 months

This was his first appointment with our new doctor in Provo. I had tried to get his records transferred before our appointment, but shockingly it wasn't as important to the pediatrician's office receptionists as it was to me. So no records going into our appointment. The doctor walked in, reviewing Wes' measurements from that day, and said "he's small, is that normal?"

You see, when determining if a baby is a healthy size, the actual numbers aren't as important as the growth curve. This is a plotting of his proportions since birth. If he'd been 90th percentile, and then dropped suddenly to 7th, that'd be concerning. But Wes has always had a "shallow curve," as I like to call it. So thanks a lot, other pediatrician, for making this appointment worthless without those records.

I assured the doc that Wes has always been small, and that his daddy was small growing up too (did I ever mention that Marshall wrestled at 112 lbs at one point in high school?).

Otherwise, Wes is ahead in every way!

- Wes doesn't just try to jump; the kid gets air! He can jump and get both feet completely off the ground. His favorite thing is to jump straight from standing to sitting. Ouch. He thinks it's hilarious.

- Wes now fake laughs. He watches social cues and loves to throw his head back and do a hearty "Ha Ha Ha!"

- Wes talks a ton! At first, I was wondering how he would possibly compare to Carly. She was super verbal. And a girl. And a first born. All of those things meant that she had a huge vocabulary for her age growing up. I mean, Carly had more than 300 words by 2 years old. So with Wes being a boy, and being a second born, I had no expectations that he'd be near that. But here he is at 18 months, and he has 130+ words. He is well on track to having more than 300 by 2. He speaks in 3 and 4 word sentences, such as "Carly, come on! Upstairs! Let's go!" Or "Look, it's a cup."


- Wes still has terrible skin. Poor kid lives in a constant state of rashy-ness. His new doctor didn't buy the milk allergy thing (again) and suggested I try a new regimen for eczema, and then add milk back in to see if it gets worse. Well, we did that, and now he is rashed from neck to toes. Fantastic.

- Wes now is in his own room, and is fighting to give up his naps. Not happening. But it is nice that if we are out an about, he can go without a nap a day here and there and make it just fine until bedtime.

- Wes likes to try to count. He says "1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11!" Sometimes he gets hung up around 7 and will do the "7, 8, 7, 8" thing for a while.

- Wes LOVES reading stories. He asks for books anytime we walk by a bookshelf.

- Wes is starting to point out letters, and loves to say random letter names while pointing at words, usually something like "O X E E O X!"

- Wes is incredibly social and loves everyone. He's never met a stranger, which makes the new arrangement of him going to a babysitter a couple days a week so great. He just walks right in and is like "see you, mom!"

- Wes feeds himself and uses and fork and spoon pretty well. Just today he ate a bowl of cereal using a spoon, and kept his shirt more clean that Carly ever does.

- Wes is really fighting me for that binkie. He can go the whole day and his naps without it. But I try to go a night without a couple in his bed, and I am up 2 or 3 times with him. So for now, he wins the binkie war at bedtime. That does mean that I continue to have kids who sleep from 8pm to 8:30am every night.

I just love him to death! Such a handsome little guy!

Primary 2011

Carly and her 'picture of Jesus;' Jan 2nd, 2011

It's a new year, and both my kids had some big first days at church. Carly graduated nursery and is now a Sunbeam. Wes turned 18 months the first week of January, so he got to go to his first day of nursery that same day.

The kids with Marsh before church


Carly going into Sunbeams

Love the duckface!

Wes outside of his new nursery class


My kids are unusual. Instead of the normal anxiety and crying when dropped off with new people, my kids run into class and never look back. Not even a moment of tears or uneasiness when the door closes and they're all alone. Carly never had stranger anxiety as a baby. We thought it was probably just her unique personality. But Wes couldn't be more different in temperament, but he's the exact same in that aspect. Maybe even more so. When the new Relief Society presidency came by to introduce themselves, Wes was practically begging the new strange women to take him home with them. Sometimes I worry I've done something wrong. That there's something wrong with their attachment. They don't miss me! They don't prefer me to perfect strangers! But I know they're healthy kids and securely attached, so I guess it's just an anomaly both are that way. Probably the next will be uber-clingy.

Their first day in class, I of course, had to be the mom-arazzi. So I went back to check on them a few times and caught them with their classes.

Here's Carly in the hall with her class


Here's Wes moving rooms with his class. He doesn't quite get the purpose of the jumprope yet.


Speaking of Primary, anyone care to guess what my new calling is? I should have made a poll when we moved so people could guess ahead of time and get even more entertainment out of my pain. After my second Sunday, I even got a couple calls from friends and family asking if my streak was still going- had I been called yet to nursery/sunbeams? But yes, yes, it happened again. It's getting to be a rather old joke, but once again I am called as Sunbeam teacher within the first month in a new ward. I think the bishopric counselor that extended the call was a little scared when I began bawling in front of him.

You'd think that at some point my bad luck would stop. So it's either that there really is a conspiracy among wards to call the newest warm body to deal with shrieking toddlers, or these callings really are inspired...meaning that God dislikes me. Either way, for the fourth time in as many wards, I am spending my Sundays with the very age group that most tries my patience. Heaven help us all.