An Awesome Aunt Day

Tate got treated to a day by my sister Kamie. It started with a trip to pick her up on the Front Runner, a commuter train in Utah. We even watched the train arrive. Tate now thinks everyone should arrive by train, it seems like common sense to him. It is also his dream to "listen to the rolling thunder" just like in the Day of the Diesels song on his Thomas CD. He has an addiction. After picking her up we headed to the store for a couple things. Tate and Kamie went exploring together and ended up with an afternoon full of projects to do. 

 They picked their projects; a car night light, a wooden train, and a soda fueled car.

 Tate loved the color black.

 For the second paint job Kamie even found him a special shirt, complete with a huge knot in the back. It took some convincing to get him to put his real shirt back one.

 Tate got a little mischievous and added a splash of black to Kamie's beautiful red piece.

 The soda car was the last project and the one that took the most convincing and the most time. It ended up not accelerating, or moving as hoped, but Tate pushed it along. Does the cold kill the mentos soda reaction? Regardless Tate had an amazing day with my awesome sister.

This is what Ian thought of all the fun. The poor kiddo was sick and could only sleep sitting up. What a little trooper.

Getting to Utah

Utah holds the magic of family during the holidays. Each year we make the trip, dread the travel, love the stay and I still find myself thinking next year I am just staying home.

 Packing for the trip always holds much excitement at our house. Tate and Ian love playing peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek as soon as the luggage comes out. Ian also decided the bags make great dumping grounds for toys. What accumulated in that bag in less than an hour would have taken me ages to decide upon. Maybe next time I'll just let him pack; entertainment would definitely be covered. When I really did pack the bags and the kids were no longer allowed to play in them there was some weeping and wailing throughout the house.

 Tate decided to take matters into his own hands and pack for himself. Note the loaded backpack on his back too. Trimming this entourage down to four toys took four hours and 2 parents. It was quite the feat. 

 Upon arrival at the airport we found that our flight was delayed. It was due to mechanical problems so we decided to take our chances and head to Chicago in hopes that our connection would also be late. Of course fate was not so kind and we ended up spending the night in a hotel. Luckily we were stuck with friends. There was another family and a friend from our ward on the flight as well and we all had a party hanging out and waiting for our next flight; the earliest one we could get confirmed on was at 8:30 p.m. the following day. Ian slept through the 2 hour wait to get our hotel and flight changed and Tate slept in the stroller during the 30 minute line to check in. We left our house in Davenport at 4 and were finally settled in our hotel at midnight. The kids slept 6 whole hours. It was by far the best our kids have ever done in a hotel as far as sleeping and much less stressful than I expected.

 With a day to kill and no wheels to utilize we set about keeping busy in our small enclosure. Ian read a book all about Chicago.

 Tate colored for a half hour!!! It was monumental. It helped that we had a wall of windows that looked out over the train that shuttled people from parking to the airport. It whooshed by every 15 minutes on the dot and was probably the highlight of my little man's life. We could also see all the planes taking off and landing. It was pretty cool.

 So cool it put Ian to sleep. Note the train in the right side of the picture.

 There was a lot of buddy bonding going on. Tate was so sweet to hold Ian's hand for about 15 minutes as we wandered around. I much prefer this to the side stoop I have to do to guide him along.

 Ian and our little friend hanging out and watching Micky Mouse Clubhouse in a hotel crib. We had 2 of these in our room, one for Ian and one for Tate and then a King size bed. It was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. Someday I hope to have one this wonderful.

The middle of our hotel. It was really cool. I would love to visit again minus the kids.

After checking out of our hotel around 4 we headed to the airport. Upon arriving so early I decided we should check out an earlier flight. They ended up having room for us. As we were waiting to board I looked away from Tate to wipe Ian's nose and when I turned to find him he had exited the airport to the baggage area. Our gate was right next to a revolving door exit that was to awesome for my three year old to pass up. With 10 minutes to boarding I had to grab our passes and my ID and run like the wind with him to go through security yet again. I was pulsing angry vibes as Tate kept saying, "Mommy I don't want to be in trouble." We ended up getting onto the plane with attitudes and energy plummeting south by the minute. Ian fell asleep with take off to spike a fever an hour into the 4 hour flight. Oh the adventure of travel with children....

Catching Sunbeams

On Tuesday we returned from our Utah trip. Since then we have refreshed rules, expectations, and behaviors in our house. Thank goodness for the weekend because this mommy needed some team parenting expertise. There is definitely a reason it takes a man and woman to make a baby. Without that I can't begin to imagine raising one. Even on the roughest days though there are definitely golden moments.
Ian has entered and embraced the inquisitive impatient stage. I forgot how time consuming one little one can be. He knows what he wants, when he wants it, and is getting more creative when it comes to getting it. Despite his new fits and screeches he still melts my heart daily. On Wednesday we decorated our house to bring in some Christmas spirit. Our window is now covered with gel clings, in the most organized design we have ever had. My new method requires me to lift Tate to put them on the window out of reach and therefore I determined the vicinity in which each one could go. Ian even joined in the decorating, but was just as content staring at them and carrying around the unopened packages. As the sun was setting and the dancing sunbeams cast Christmas shadows on our wall, Josh and I sat and watched Ian as he tried to catch them. I think a lot of times in life I forget to take a moment to capture and enjoy something so simple and beautiful. There is definitely much to be learned from little ones.

 After a 2 hour fail to get my children to sleep we headed to a chiropractor appointment. The van was just the right trick to get this one to sleep. I keep telling Josh I should get a pizza delivery job during nap time to pay for the gas it would require to get my children to nap daily.

I will never understand how or why Tate is more apt to lay in our cart at the grocery store than in his own bed. Sometimes I wonder if he is allergic to sleep. Is that possible?

 While in Utah Tate was given a lantern/flashlight. He is in love. Our dance parties have turned into raves, with Christmas music. Does it get any better than that?

After decorating our tree Tate looked at me and said, "It don't look good. It's messy." Turning on the lights was the only thing that appeased his desire to take it all off. He was very thankful for the tree though and loves to show everyone that comes over.

We attempted a trip to the gym to find that the kid watch was full. Tate was thrilled and suggested to go to the museum instead. I gave in. Ian loves to explore while Tate still is enthralled with the train table. I wonder if that will ever change.

 My little one-socked monkey sucking on a piece of jerky. He reminded me of a dog as he chewed on it for quite sometime. As much as I love sleep, my kiddos are definitely worth the lack of it even though sometimes I am too tired to appreciate how blessed I am.

Keeping Warm

Winter came like a brick wall. Fifties one day and the next week no high out of the twenties. Our lives were rocked; but since we have adapted. We have had sick days, snow days, sad days, and cold days; the stuff life is made of I guess. There is always the good moments though, for which I am always grateful.

 For family Home Evening we made a grateful tree. Tate was thankful for 4 things: friends and trains (by name), the color red, and chocolate milk. The complexity of life at age three is great. Ian found more joy is pulling the tree down than putting the leaves on. It was fun family time together. We have so much to be thankful for.

One very long day when I needed a nap this Ian friendly couch was devised. Tate wanted all of his animals to watch Daniel Tiger too and found them seats on the balcony from which they all plummeted when the show lost it's appeal.

After telling Tate nap time was in 15 minutes I continued with whatever thing I was doing, probably laundry or lunch clean up, and when I went to put him to sleep this is what I found. He had made his bed an attraction instead of a peaceful place. He must have traveled at least a mile up and down our hall relocating all this loot from the front room to his bed. He did tell me how happy teddy was though and his nap was definitely not very restful.

Ian is the happiest tired child I have ever met. He doesn't get cranky, he just wanders around, lays for a couple of minutes, goes and gives someone a snuggle, and then does it again. It is adorable. He does detest though when you go into his room to actually put him to sleep. His bed is not as comfortable or fun.

 Tate and his rainbow bling. We love rainbows and "clalors" at our house. Tate insisted on wearing this bling for over an hour last night. Love these little men!

Time Outs

Time outs are a hot topic at our house as Tate is redefining the rules and Ian is testing his limits. Yesterday Tate put Josh and I in a time out; I don't even remember what it was for. It was absolutely delightful until he charged into the room where we were conversing on our chairs and told us sternly, "No Talking!" He returned a couple minutes later to count and release us... Suppressing that laugh was nigh impossible so I just choked a couple times to cover up. He even gave us hugs when we were done and told us he was sorry. It was sweet.
Ian on the other hand doesn't see the punishment in sitting on my lap and counting to go play again. He purposefully does things he shouldn't, looks at me, laughs at my stern warning voice, and answers yeah when I ask if he wants a time out. He is a whole new level of mischievous that I am not sure I am ready to handle.

Winter has hit.... HARD... As snuggly as the boys are in coats I prefer the less baggage (and warmth) of summer. I need a serious winter attitude adjustment. I am thinking bears have the right idea...

While making bread with Tate I should have been more wary of what was happening behind us. He was having a wonderful time and he liked the pink pages best of all...

Mario Kart is one of Tate's favorite things to do. His skills include driving his car into the water and he is proud of it. Jon and Katherine indulged him when we hung out this week and he was on cloud nine. We miss having these guys around more often.

 Ian has had a couple rough sick nights. The upside is tender time with Daddy in their favorite chair.

How Tate was wearing his tie when we picked him up from nursery. I'm thinking I may have to revert back to clip on. At least this way he wouldn't spill on it when eating.

Getting My Craft On

This past 6 months I have once again started to craft. It is so fun, but so much harder with 2 kiddos. I always have to stop, start, scramble, and relocate whenever I do projects. Anyway there are 3 I want to remember. My first notable one was a denim blanket I made for a friend moving away. Sad to say I forgot to take a picture. It was the first blanket I have made 100% unassisted.

The second one was recovering my kitchen chairs. I couldn't have done this one without the help of my parents when they were out here this summer, but I am in love with the result. Tate calls them our rainbow chairs and looks longingly forward to the day he has mastered sitting without being strapped in so he can call one his own. I also discovered staple guns are almost as fun as drills.

My last one was this masterpiece. A bunch of ladies in the ward decided we should do a felt page swap. I was overly ambitious in my choosing, but after many, many hours on my machine here is the result. I don't think I have been to bed before midnight this week accomplishing this feat. Yesterday we swapped them and I am so relieved to be done and able to catch up on everything else in life! My sewing skills have greatly improved though!

Now I just have to put the book together... Oh the adventures.

A 3 Year Old

I cannot believe I have a three year old. This last month he has grown up so much, literally and mentally. He is the most grateful, funny, silly, jumpy, BIG boy I know. And he's potty trained; the best present he could ever give me for his birthday.

 His birthday included the addition of Radiator Springs to our house. He was smitten at first sight. He spent probably 10 of the 13 hours he was allowed out of his bed playing on the tracks. His cars crashed, bashed, raced, chased, and were introduced to trains. It was mind blowing, and it is still continuing to entertain for hours on end. Score parents!

After hours on the tracks I finally convinced him to eat breakfast. Pancakes are his favorite. Only the one I intended as a 3, was actually an M for mom. He was very quick to let me know.

Posing with his loot. In the last couple days and with the blasted cold we have explored it all more than once.

He unwrapped a box of McQueen band-aids and bolted to his room. Five minutes later this is what I found. I guess if I ever need instant entertainment I should just have a box of band-aids and a garbage handy. Are they cooler than stickers because they go on your body? I have yet to figure that out.

Tate chose Chick-fil-et for dinner. I don't know if he likes the fries or his own chocolate milk better. He loved the book and glasses that came in his kids meal too. He ate his dinner quickly in hopes of following the cow around the store. There were a couple worrisome minutes each lap when the cow walked behind the pillar. He was keeping track of the important things.

Tate blowing out candles on cupcakes that I made for me. He is his father's son and opted for an alternative to the typical (and under appreciated by my family) cake and ice cream. He picked healthy fruit popsicles and enjoyed his while I delved into the good stuff.

To end the perfect birthday he played Mario Kart with the guys. His favorite thing to do is drive into the water. He does it over and over and laughs every single time. What a man.

Wednesday we had a birthday party for Tate. It was so fun to put together, but I am grateful to be done and have less on my mind at night. I made the James pinata too. Oh the brilliance of modified Pinterest ideas.

Enjoying lunch. In retrospect I should have separated Tate and Logan at the table. Too much little boy going on so eating was not high priority. I will have that problem in my house every night by this time next year!

Blowing out his candles.

Enjoying popsicles with his friends. In our daily recap of our day Tate claimed that this was the highlight.

Becoming trains and running around on our painters tape railroad.

The discovery of a tunnel full of balloons. The kiddos went crazy. It was so fun to watch!

Breaking the pinata was the next event. I need to practice batting with my boys. A t-ball set is in their very near future.

We played pin the engine on the train too. This was the most ineffective one, but we have played it a couple times since and had some serious giggles. The party was SO MUCH FUN!!! I can just see it getting better and better each time as kids get old enough to do more. I'm sad I didn't get a picture with all the kiddos in their conductor hats but it turned out really fun. Tate is still talking about how much fun he had with his friends and how nice they all are. So grateful for my little man!