Easter 2009

Our easter festivities began on Saturday with the Easter Eggstreme down at Thanksgiving Point. We went with our friends the Dutsons and Jackson had a lot of fun. He collected a whole basketful of eggs, went on a wagon ride, rode a pony, fed the animals, got his face painted with a dinosaur, and ate lots of treats. Benton had a good nap in his stroller and loved the muffin he had when he woke up. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great... maybe next year. After Thanksgiving point we went to Cabella's where we had lunch. Jackson always has fun at Cabella's feeding the fish, and shooting the guns. And I love to go to Cabella's to sample the delicious fudge. Saturday night we colored Easter Eggs and got ready for the Easter bunny to come visit which he did on Sunday. Jackson was really excited about the basket of candy that was just for him. He especially loved getting gum. Gum is still his treat of choice. Because I was still sick we didn't get a chance to take the boys to church in their new Easter suits instead we all went to the doctor to see if I had strep throat. At my moms Jackson had another Easter basket waiting along with a special new pet his little Darth Beta. He was really excited to get a pet fish. He has been asking for a puppy or kitty but I think that a fish is a much better option for now. Of course my mom fixed a great meal like always and my dad put together his annual big people Easter Egg Hunt. Mo won the prize... a dinner at the timbermine... which I hope to be included in. Easter could have been better for me but I hope that Jackson had fun which I am sure he did.

Flowers from Jackson

I have been really sick this past week with some sort of yucky flu/cold/sore throat thing and while I was lying on the couch last Friday wrapped up in a blanket because I had the chills, my cute little Jackson knocked on the front door and had a handful of dandelions in his hands. He handed them to me with a big smile and said,"here mom, I picked some flowers for you." Later he asked me if I was still sick and when I said, "mommy doesn't feel very good" he said,"but I brought you some flowers didn't that make you feel better?" He is such a little sweetheart. I am so thankful that he is so thoughtful and that he shows so much concern for me when I am not doing very well. His flowers really brightened my day.

Benton is crawling!

So, this is going to be a post full of lots of random things and thoughts. First... Benton finally started crawling this week. He has been on the verge of it for weeks now but he was so comfortable doing his army crawl that he didn't really need to crawl. He has also been pulling himself up to stand by everything that he can- the couches, the beds, the dishwasher, the bathtub, big toys, shelves, our legs... can you say dangerous! He has hit his face hard more than one time but he is very determined. He gets very upset when he can't get up, and he has a very loud yell of frustration. As Benton gets older I am realizing that he is not as easy going and laid back as what I originally thought. He is very happy but he definitely has a little fire, and he is soooooooo busy already. He has started getting into my drawers and cupboards and pulling everything out, and things from shelves are also very enticing. His favorite cupboard is the one with all of the pans- of course, because it is the one with the loudest toys. I am afraid that soon, he is going to be my little destroyer. I read a quote from a friends blog the other day and it said, "A mothers work begins at son up, and ends at son down" and it really hit home. I feel like I am so busy all day and at the end of the day I feel like I didn't get anything done. I shouldn't say anything, what I should say is anything on my list of things that probably aren't that important when I really think about it. What I need to remember is that my children care the most about the time we spend together playing and laughing, and they don't even know that my laundry is overflowing out of the closet, or that the car needs the crushed crackers vacuumed out of the seat, or that the mopboards need to wiped off, or that the blinds have dust an inch thick (this could be a really long list so I will stop there because I think that I have made my point :)). Despite all the of things I am not getting done, I can confidently say that at the end of every day that I have given my best effort at taking care of and loving my children, and that is probably what really matters. I can't even count the number of adults with older children that have told me to enjoy the stage of life that I am in and to enjoy the time that I have with my children while they are young because it goes by too fast and it can't be replaced. That it, is a time to treasure. I know that is true, but it is so hard to remember when Benton poops in the tub (which he likes to do almost every morning) or Jackson misses the potty and pees all over the floor and wall :). Second... Benton got his first hair cut this week. Word of warning- Walmart is not a great place to go for haircuts (I know, I really should have known that). Benton sat perfectly still which I was completely surprised by but his hair looks like she was cutting it while he was riding a bucking bull. Even with his knicked up hair he is still as cute as ever. Third... I ran my first half marathon last weekend. It was the Canyonlands half marathon in Moab and it was so much fun. Not the race, that was actually not fun at all- I can honestly say that I have never wanted to just give up at something as much as I did this race- I was really considering just jumping in the river. All I can say is that if I ever run a half marathon again (which I am running the top of utah half marathon in august) that I will train and be prepared. I went down with some friends from my ward- Rachel who is my running partner, Jen, Melinda, Natalie, and Joni. Once we got there (after 8 hours,being lost, and almost running out of gas) it was a good break from everyday life. My goal for my next half marathon is to run it in less than 2 hours. Fourth...Mo and I have our house for sell. We have totally set a new record though. We have been in this home for over two years. We are still a little undecided as to where or what we are doing if and when our house sells. I do know that I am going to be very sad to leave all of the good neighbors and friends that we have made. Fifth... Jackson is always saying the funniest things but yesterday while we were shopping with my mom he was holding her chapstick (I have never met anyone who loves chapstick as much as Jacks) and she told him that she need it back because it was her only chapstick and he said," you can use my mommy's dads". Which is so funny because everytime Jackson goes to my parents house he always takes my dads chapstick and so he knew that my dad would have some that my mom could use. Jackson is very good at calling bluff on some of the reasons he is given as to why he can't do something that he wants to do. He is very clever and always provides a very good argument as to why he should be allowed to do something. Like for example Jackson was going through this stage where he was talking about killing alot and of course as a mom I knew that it probably wasn't the best that my 3 year old was talking about killing so much so as I was trying to explain to him that it really isn't very good to talk about killing people and that we shouldn't do that he said, "well Nephi kills" yep- my three year brought out a book of mormon reference as an argument. How do you argue with that? Sixth... while I was gone to Moab Mo did great with the boys. He even took them to the zoo. He loves our boys so much and he also gives his very best effort at being the best dad that he can be. Our boys love their daddy so much.

Benton at 9 months

Our little Benton Boo or Bents as Jackson calls him had his 9 month doctor visit yesterday. He was such a good little boy like always- he seriously couldn't be a better baby. He didn't even cry when they poked his toe to get blood or when he got his shot. He weighed in at just shy of 23lbs(0nly 7 lbs less than Jackson) and was 29+ inches long. He is still in the 80-90% for both height and weight and the doctor said that Benton looks great. He was really impressed by the size of Benton's thighs(I wish that someone would be impressed by the size of my thighs :)). At 9 months old Benton is on the move. He gets around so good with every method you can imagine except for crawling. He is not doing that yet, but he does have his form of the army crawl mastered and he is getting up on all fours in the crawling position. He loves to try and keep up with Jackson. It is so cute to watch them play. Their favorite thing to do together is to take baths. Benton loves the water- when we went swimming last week he was all smiles. I put him in the little yellow tube and he just floated around or went on rides with Jackson pulling him around. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. Benton does a really good job of finding things to keep him entertained- everything is a toy to him and he loves to play and explore. He is so fun... he is constantly smiling and it is so funny when he tries to laugh. He loves being a part of our family and he loves when we are all spending time playing together. He loves food- not his baby food he doesn't like that very much but big people food- I haven't found anything that he didn't want to eat. We just bought a baby food processor which is awesome because I can put a little bit of everything that we are having for dinner in it and then Benton can have that too. I would have to say that ice cream is Bentons favorite treat. Benton also loves to go shopping and ride around in the cart or go on a walk in the back pack. He just likes to be out and about. I can't wait until the weather warms up because I am sure that he is going to love playing outside. We love our little Benton and we are so thankful everyday that we are blessed to have him in our family.

A really cute moment...

As I was walking down the hall to my room I heard a really cute little voice talking. I quietly peeked around the corner and Jackson had his own little photo album which we have spent many hours looking at and he was talking as if he were telling a story to someone about each picture. It was so cute to hear him say things like,"here I am, I weighed 5 ounces" and "here I am looking all around and,"here I am ready to go home, my mommy and daddy love me so much". It was a really special moment.

Jackson Skiing

He finally said yes! Every Saturday since the season opened we have asked him if he wanted to go skiing and he would say maybe next year, or maybe next time. As soon as he said yes we were so excited. We quickly got dressed, loaded up the car, dropped Benton off with my mom, and headed up to Snow Basin before he could change his mind. It was the perfect day for him to start. The weather was fabulous... not even a cloud in the sky.

Here we are getting ready for Jacksons first big ski day. He had everything he needed for skiing except for ski socks and an edgie wedgie which we bought in the lodge. He loved his new hot chillies socks- he told me that he liked stuff with chillies on it. He slept over at my parents last night and my mom told me that he carried his socks and edgie wedgie around all night and that he even fell asleep with them.

Here is us getting ready to go on the Little Cat chair lift for the first time. Jackson loved the name. I think he thought the name was special for him because sometimes I call him a little cat. He loved the chair lift ride- he thought it was cool to be up so high in the sky. He loved to say hi and wave to the people down below.

Jackson was a little bit nervous to start... he went from holding both mommy and daddy's hands, to being between mommy's legs, to holding onto mommy's poles, to doing it himself to ," get out of my way, I am going to go fast."

Besides skiing, we also spent some time making snow angels.

"I am going to catch you!"

"Let's take a rest."
What a fun day! I am so proud of Jackson, he did such a good job. He actually has really good balance. It was so great to be able to teach and watch him. It was better than the best powder day. And, we all know how much I love a good powder day.

Some funny things: There were some kids cheering for and waving at their friends and I told Jackson that they were cheering for him, and he just smiled and waved. Also, when my dad called Jackson told Mo to tell him that he was skiing pretty good :). We love our little Jackson.

The cutest reunion ever...

On Friday Mo returned from the TDY in Texas that he had been on all week. I was so happy that he was finally home. I really missed him- especially at night. I really don't like being by myself, never have. The good thing was that I could call him whenever I wanted. The funny thing is that I probably called and talked to him on the phone more during the day while he was in Texas than I normally do when he is here. When I heard Mo's car pull into the garage I told Jackson that I think that daddy just got home. Of course Jackson hurried to run and hide because that is a fun game that he plays. After I got my big hug and kiss Mo grabbed the little gift that he had promised Jackson that he would bring home and went to find him. As soon as he found him Jackson gave Mo the biggest hug ever and when Mo said,"hey buddy I missed you" Jackson said,"I missed you too daddy, I love you." It was so cute that it brought tears to my eyes. It was a really special moment. My little boys really love their daddy. That night Mo took us all to our family favorite restraunt Tempenyaki for dinner to celebrate his return and Valentines day. Jackson tried Sushi and ginger for the first time and really liked them both and Benton liked the rice. I think that Jackson's favorite part about the evening though was his dessert at Krispy Kremes. I have to admit that it was probably my favorite part too.