Busy Busy Busy

It is amazing how fast kiddos grow up. Tate is my little tape recorder and is using new words more and more. In the last week he has had many busy days and moments. He is also working on perfecting the art of distracting me to allow him more time to do whatever he wants to be doing. This week he told me I stink and need a shower in hopes that I would leave him alone for a while to pick the perfect pair of underwear.
Books are also becoming more exciting at our house too. The other day Josh was flipping through the pages of a book and Tate told him to stop. Josh then started looking at the pictures and Tate again corrected him. Josh finally said, "well than what am I supposed to do?"
"Talk to the book Daddy!" was Tate's response.
Apparently we are still working on the text to story connection but I have faith we will get there.

On Friday Ben and Katie stopped

by for a night and it was fun to visit and play. Tate keeps asking for them to come back at least every few hours. When I told him today they were headed back to their house in Utah he said "not My-tah." I truly wonder what he is thinking sometimes because Utah is not a new subject.

 We went to a balloon festival and it was fun to watch the balloons fill up. I never realized how hot the air they blast into them is until I was standing close by and felt the heat.

When it got dark they had everyone "glow" their balloons at the same time. I loved getting out and making memories with people I love!

A Year Ago Today

I wouldn’t change anything that has happened in my life, but I’m happy to leave some experiences in the past. A year ago today, is one of them. I don’t ever want to sit in a hospital and listen to a Doctor tell me “It’s not a question of if it will come back, only when.” Or when a nurse tells me right after surgery, “Don’t expect your husband to come out of there. It takes years for people to recover from this type of surgery and some don’t ever do.” But he did! Aside from being a little slower mentally he is still the man I married with the same foundation of beliefs and an even better sense of humor.
I never want to be the young couple again in the radiation office. I do know where to go for a wig and which stylist to ask for because of my excellent eaves dropping skills during appointments(my skills aren’t all that good actually; it’s hard not to hear older people’s conversations in the small reception area). I just kept thinking I am to young to be hearing these things. Ian was the highlight in the radiation office. He knew how to draw a crowd at 2 weeks old. It’s strange when nurses see your children more often than your own friends do.
I don’t ever want to see people look at me with tears in their eyes not knowing what to say.
I don’t ever want to hand off my child for a week for someone else to look after and love and come back to a child whose world has been rocked who doesn’t even want me. The first time I came back to Tate while Josh was still in the hospital he just stared at me and started crying; I bawled. We had 2 hours together and I broke down and cried with him in my kitchen. I didn’t know what else to do. My house felt so empty with my husband in the hospital.
 Before I never knew the goodness of so many people or felt the power of so many prayers. I never knew how fragile life was but how sustaining faith in Christ is. I never felt so exhausted, cried so hard, or been served so much. I never before have been this grateful.
A year ago today my life changed forever; I am so glad it was for the better.

More Memorable Moments

 We love walking with our buddies. We even did a kiddo swap for the last little bit. Tate loved turning around and talking to Colton. Ian was oblivious. He just comes along for the ride and the snacks.

 Apparently dark enclosed places are a highlight at our house. Ian and Tate both love them. Tate's new favorite thing to do since hanging out with Daddy on Saturday is study. At least three times a day he will go into his cave (the corner under the table) with 2 or three books to study. Ian is not allowed to talk to him because he is busy studying. He occasionally goes to his room for study time and told me just this morning that he had a busy day and a lot of studying to do so he couldn't help me out. He is going to be brilliant with all the studying he does.

 Ian tried ice cream for the first time. His first couple bites were weak but by bite number three he go the hang of it and dove right into Josh's ice cream sandwich. I ate all mine before he knew how good it was so Daddy would get a chance to share.

 We introduced plastic knives to play dough this week and the highlight for Tate is having me make snakes and then he chops them up while I make strange pained noises for the snakes. He was laughing so hard for quite a while.

So a week ago I put dinner in the crock pot and went about my day, very pleased at the prospect of a delicious dinner with all the work done. A couple hours later when I went to check in on my savory chicken I was sad to find it still frozen...This is my farewell to a trusty crock pot. It's last 4 years have seen many a roast and fed more than a few crowds. It was a hard worker until it's demise and even then it provided Ian an entertaining evening before it's final trip to the trash can. 

Ian is by far a better eater than Tate ever was or still is, but recently he has the strange misconception that the belly button must be a sure way into his stomach or a great storage compartment. Maybe he caught onto the kangaroo show we watched last week...  I find more food down this kids shirt than I ever thought possible. I guess it could be because he is the second child and Tate's large head stretched out all of the clothes he now wears but still. Changing his diaper now requires emptying his belly button too and seeing what treasures lie within. I guess I may not have to worry about him filling his pockets until he no longer wear onesies.
Because Ian loves to eat, and because he is a baby, he has a rather large belly. This morning Tate walked up to him, put both hands on his abdomen, and asked, "Is there a baby in your belly Ian. Let's check." I tried to assure him there was not, but he didn't believe me. Tate is my health insurance. He keeps me laughing, running, and concocting healthy food for him to try all the day long.

Blessed Fall

 Last year I missed out on Fall due to a large belly and an unexpected life changing week and a half away with Josh. This year we are trying to live up every moment before the doom, gloom, and cold of winter arrive. We hit the park almost everyday and are utilizing the sand box to it's full potential. The sand level inside continues to mysteriously sink lower and lower. My vacuum has found quite a large amount of the missing sand despite my best brush and shake house entry protocol.  The boys are both growing up too fast. Ian now likes to actually swing, not just sit in it and rock. Tate now claims that regular swings are for the belly and are not to be used any other way.

 Once again that right leg.

 So adorable in overalls... I'm just so sad every time I get out my phone to take a picture he comes running. Denying him his phone time is the cause of 75% of his discontentment in life.

 Josh and Emily share a birthday so on Sunday we had a joint birthday BBQ bash and enjoy the weather. I made a pinata with a side for each of them. Tate sat beside me while I made it cutting paper on the floor and laughing about how funny it was to make a mess. He is improving with the broom daily because mess making is too much fun.

 Notice in the first picture how Tate is holding the bat. Baseball lessons are commencing this week. He has a lot to learn and no real interest. I think the candy at the end of the pinata was a good incentive to learn to hit a little harder in the future. Sugar is an amazing motivator.

 The post pinata pillage was a little scary for Tate. I guess the first time is always the learning curve.
He had some friends watch out for him and fill a bag.

 Blowing out the brownies in true Browning fashion. We may make that the birthday tradition at our house. SO DELICIOUS!!

 Tate and Emily... The whole night Tate asked Emily for help with this and that and was always saving her a seat. We are so grateful for our Iowa family to celebrate with!

Random Realizations

Today's realization was that dentists should recommend a diet consisting of foods like jerky and corn because then you would have no choice but to floss. Wednesdays - car seats may be annoying to buy and keep your children in forever, but the strapped in aspect sometimes provides a much needed break.  Tuesdays included duct tape to prevent someone from sleeping in the nude. Mondays - there are worse things that can happen to my husband's hair than him going grey as he gets older. Sundays - I should never again have restful expectations and then if naps ever do happen I can be pleasantly surprised. The last one is that fries (or any other special treat) are better if you name something you are thankful for each time you eat one. I recommend this with a child for maximum enjoyment.
Here are the other memorable moments from our week.

 Monkey's nap went south. I don't think I ever want Tate to put me down for a nap; I don't know where in the world he would want me to sleep. Good thing monkey has good circulation so his nap wasn't detrimental.

 Ian is mastering the art of golf young. He can hit it standing up, but he moves to fast to get a non blurry picture.

 Josh turned 28 on Monday! He wanted cinnamon rolls. I should have used more extreme colors with the frosting, but they tasted delicious. Tate loved wrapping presents for Daddy. He would have loved to open them too, but he knows his birthday is in 2 months and he has to wait his turn.

 Ian has discovered his dome. Now we get baths almost nightly to remove whatever food/slime he manages to massage into his scalp. Oh the joys.

 Tate and Ian playing at the park together. Ian still looks at me when I open my bag of distractions. Tate knows them all and continues doing whatever he is doing. I need to expand my collection. Any ideas?

 My walking little man. He has already jumped a couple times too! I can't believe how much better his walking has become in just a week. He will walk around for hours through our house and has no qualms about pavement. I still cringe with the mommy "what if" complex where I imagine every possible thing that could go wrong if he trips and falls. Letting kiddos grow up is hard!

 Tonight Tate ate all of his vegetables and left the pasta on his plate.. I don't know what to think about this strange wonderful phenomenon.

11 Months Old

It's hard to believe that as of yesterday my baby is 11 months old. This year has been the most unpredictable year of my life thus far but I am so grateful for Ian's sweet smiles, koala hugs, and easy temperament that have blessed me daily.

 Tate was showing Ian something on the sidewalk and Ian was mentally plotting his escape.

My three hoodlums. Keeping up with this crowd takes a lot out of ya. 

Tate prefers walking backwards for some odd reason. I think it has something to do with how you hold someones hand. He has a tendency to go for the handshake grip instead of the interdigitation or normal side by side hand holding technique. His backwards and Ian's forwards are about the same speed so it worked out perfectly. I love my little sidekicks.

Tate decided dinner should sound like trashing the camp in the Tarzan movie. His noise doesn't quite have the musical catchy quality to it so I told him if he wanted to be loud he could go outside and eat in the rain. He thought it was a great idea and was happily relocated. I have to start watching what I offer because we definitely don't think alike. When he came back inside he was much quieter though so I guess my logic did end up working, just not quite the way I was expecting.

Rain Rain Go Away

Josh has a 5 day weekend starting today and the rain keeps falling just enough to leave mud everywhere to cover kiddos in a mess that only little boys can achieve. There is a rain run off with a little mud spot behind our house and Tate loves to play in it just like the piggy in his book, "mommy I'm wallowing in the mud". I love a good occasional rain but the wet everywhere that lingers and leaves irresistible puddles is not my favorite, especially when we want to be outside playing! We will still manage to keep busy though. I decided living far away is easy as long as there are no holidays, long weekends, or birthdays. But life is good and it keeps flying on. 

 Tate colored this by himself! He even attempted to write his name on the bottom. Whenever I ask him what he wants to do that sounds fun he asks to do Mommy Tate school. It is so fun that he is excited to learn.

 Tate and I were in the kitchen working on something and when we went to check on Ian we found him under his crib. He had a binky in his mouth and one in his hand. He now knows whenever he wants a binky to head to his crib and it has yet to fail him. He is so funny!

 Ian found his friend at the museum. He gave it a kiss and growled. He knows his animals already.

 With Daddy home today we went on a field trip to the pet store to learn about pets and then to the dollar store to get out of the house and stay clear of the rain. The boys loved picking out their spoils. Ian stood by a bucket of balls and threw them over his shoulder one be one grinning like he was in heaven. The best one must have been in the bottom of the bucket. When I asked Tate his favorite part of the day he said it was picking out his colorful cars. I'm in love with these adorable kiddos.

Prayers and Parks

Tate has his "prayer" memorized. It goes just like this, "Dear Heavenly Father thank you for the food thank you for blessings and health in the name of Jesus Christ Amen, AMEN." This may look like it is missing punctuation, but so is his prayer. He always gets the emphatic second amen right to have the last word. It takes him all of about 8.7 seconds and if your arms aren't folded when he begins, you may just miss the whole thing. It's not to big of a deal though because it is easily repeated again when everyone is ready. Ian has even started folding his arms; well it's more the Elder grab the wrist thing. I don't know if it's because his belly is so big or if he's just that cool. Anyway, this same prayer is used for meals and family prayers; it's multipurpose. He has perfected the speed and annunciation of this oration over the last couple weeks. Today I started helping him "prep" for his prayers by brainstorming what we are thankful for and good things that have happened in our day. Over breakfast he added two items to his prayer, one he was thankful to laugh with Ian, and two he was thankful his light turned green. He and Ian started sharing a room last week and Tate plays peekaboo with Ian in the morning and is rewarded with giggles that are contagious. I have never been so happy to wake up to my children's shenanigans. Tate also has a night light that glows yellow all night and turns green when he is allowed to leave his room in the morning. I was stunned and awed by the thought he had put into his prayer. It was a rewarding mommy moment. Again at FHE tonight we prepped for the prayer and he was thankful for all of his friends and named them one by one. He was even thankful for a little boy that he has never met that we were supposed to watch while daddy went home teaching who didn't end up coming. All night long he kept asking to call this boy's mommy because Tate was sure he was so sad he didn't get to come.
Here are some photos from our beautiful day. 

 Tate and Emily. When he says her name I can't help but smile. He adores her! They made sand cakes for their wedding for over a half hour together. I am definitely not opposed to this someday.

 Emily loved helping Ian walk. She did a good job too. Just the right pace for his little legs. He can take up to 8 steps on his own but to often he looks like he's been drinking something and loses his balance. I am enjoying the time it takes him to figure it out. Tate just took of running so the change of pace is refreshing. Another Ian blessing.

 We love our friends! So many fun adventures.

 This is how we role. We even ran on part of our walk and whipped out the backwards walk so kiddos could face each other. It was fun. Life is so much better when we get out in the sunshine and mommy gets her exercise!

A Looooooooong Week

I'm glad last week is over. It started with a wonderful three day weekend, crashed with a 2 year old full blown fit, escalated with a sleepless teething tot, worsened by mommy's humidity induced allergies, and resolved with the most restful Sunday this year to date. There was a 24 hour period this week that I was peed on, pooped on, thrown up on, yelled at, cried at, I cried, and I only slept about 4 hours in this period. Not the best combo; this is one week I don't think I will ever want to return to. I am so thankful for the good moments that make weeks like this endurable. Here are some of those moments.

 Tate playing Christmas. I am working on a felt book page for a swap some ladies in my ward are doing and Tate thought he should decorate his Dr.s office with the felt. He told me he was making Christmas. I also found him streaming ribbons on the couch today that I used in Primary, "look mommy, Christmas on the couch." I think this will be the most fun Christmas with him yet and he will finally start to understand that Christmas is more than colorful decorations and lights. He even wants to watch all the Christmas shows on Netflix and is not easily dissuaded.

 My handsome church going boys. I can't believe how grown up they looked today.

 It is hard to believe how fast Ian is growing. He can now get on and off the car all by himself... sniff sniff 

 Tate helped me make bread today. He is such a good little helper. Now I just need him to listen first, and then help. I have a feeling this will take some more work, but we are getting better.

HE TOOK A NAP!!!!! Dreams do come true once or twice a month. It was such a beautiful thing. I didn't get to fully enjoy it because Ian was throwing a fit, already, for some reason he seems to know what he wants now and can't be as easily distracted. BUT IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!!

This is how we mowed the lawn this week. It was a little cooler than the previous days this week and the lack of humidity was so refreshing. Tate found he needed a hat and a jacket to go with his blue open toed shoes. I think the only reason Tate loves to come out with me to mow the lawn is because he gets a Popsicle.  It keeps him stationary for the longest period of time, making him easier to watch as I mow back and forth and back and forth and back and forth...

 Ian even came out to enjoy the last 40 minutes of mowing action in our $2 hiking backpack. It was the most painful lawn mowing I have ever done as he picked the hairs out of the back of my head one by one by one. But his conversation in my ear could not be beat.

 Josh's photographic skill always catches priceless faces like these. :)

 Tate was coloring with markers with me until I looked over and he had decided to apply them like chapstick. Thank goodness they were washable because this was minutes before church. Who knew markers looked so attractive for coloring lips.