Scary Conversation

(I walk into the bathroom to wash my hands and discover Dallin pulling his pants up after obviously doing some serious business)

Mommy: Oh, hi Dallin, you went poo poo! good job!

Dallin: I tasted it!

Mommy: What????

Dallin: I tasted it. It was yummy.

Pause

Mommy: (closing my eyes feeling a bit nauseous) You tasted what?

Dallin: The toothpaste! It was delicious!

BIG sigh of relief

Mommy: Oh, that's good Dallin! Yes toothpaste is delicious.

This Weeks Random Moments

Tanner got this hard hat with his new dump truck that Grandma sent for his birthday. he loves it. He even wore it when he went with me to Target the other day. He got a lot of smiles from people. He is so cute.
We were having a heat wave and it was too hot to play outside so Peter brought home this hot wheels track thing from a garage sale. Dallin literally played with it all day on Saturday. He decided to us a whole roll of scotch tape to reinforce every piece. I usually don't let him play with tape, but he was so into his project and it kept him busy.
Dallin and Eden made this "garden".
Dallin found the Shaving Cream!!!

Sand and Water

It seems like the kids have been into everything that they are not supposed to be lately. I guess they just don't have enough to do so I am so happy that we got Tanner a sandbox for his birthday, well really it was for everybody. Since Sunday Dallin especially has spent every spare minute outside either playing in the sand or with the pool. My kids don't swim in the pool as much as play from the outside of it with toys. I love these hard plastic pools. they are built to last much longer than the air filled kind. We have gotten so much use of of this thing.
The sand everywhere is driving me a bit crazy, but it is so much better than playing in the dirt or mud so I am happy and the kids are having such a good time with it. The hard part is keeping the sand and the water apart, but the kids are trying. I think the sand is really good for Dallin's sensory system(he needs a lot of sensory input) which is another huge plus. Between these two things and the trampoline we have a pretty good set up going.

Father's Day

We had a very nice Father's day/birthday weekend. On Saturday we had to have our Subaru towed to a mechanic to get a new clutch. This old car has been so good to us, so we can't complain too much. Dallin was very involved with the towing and the guy even let him push some levers. It was so funny because our neighbor was out in his yard and he assumed that we were donating it. It only has 100k on it still so Peter explained that he is going to drive it for a few more years even though it is a 92.


After that we were off to our second soccer game. Dallin did pretty well, but Eden was just not in the mood to play so she cheered Dallin on. Tanner on the other hand wanted to play and kept trying to run out on the field. Peter was holding him on his lap and chasing him most of the time. Then Eden crawled onto his lap and he didn't realize that it was her and not Tanner so Tanner took his chance to run for it. By the time we realized that he was out there he had gotten pretty far and the pack of running soccer players was getting very close. I jumped up and sprinted as fast as I could and snatched him up just before he would have been trampled by all those little cleats. The crowd thought it was hilarious.

Then after talking to his brother Larry, Peter got the idea that he wanted to camp out the back yard with the kids. First he told them that if they wanted to camp, they had to clean the house. I have never seen them clean so much before. Then they set everything up and we made s'mores with our barbecue. At bed time we all sat in the tent and sang campfire songs and Peter took the kids on a "bear hunt". The kids loved that, but now Dallin is paranoid of bears. He won't go potty or go get anything out of his room without making Eden go with him. We keep telling him that there are no bears but he is still not quite over it. I slept in the house with the baby, but I brought them some late night snacks which they enjoyed just before going to bed. I guess everything went fine and everyone slept through the night.

I think Peter had a fun Fathers day just being able to spend some quality time with the kids and of course he loves his new GPS that we got him and the cards the kids made. Peter is such a fun loving Daddy. He is always thinking of the kids and doing fun things with them. I am so blessed to have such a loving Daddy for our children. At church they handed out bags of home made cookies to the Dads in priesthood. Peter was sitting right in front of the Deacons and Teachers. He knows them since he works with them and so he decided to torture them by enjoying his cookies in an exaggerated way. They were so jealous and everyone thought it was so funny. Even the bishop was cracking up. He has such a sense of humor.

Carter is getting chubby way to quick. I just wish he could stay small forever. He has only been waking up twice in the night lately and even just one time here and there so I am getting pretty good sleep for the fourth week. He smiles a lot in his sleep and when I tickle his lips with my finger. He is still really easy and content. Looking back at the other kids baby pictures I realized that he looks a lot like Dallin did, except Dallin was more bald.

We started our exercise program this week but I couldn't do it every day because I was so sore I could barely move. I hope this week I will not be so sore. My hamstrings were so sore that it even hurt to sit on a hard chair. Even Peter got sore after a couple of days. I hope that means we are accomplishing something and won't be so sore this week.

Happy Birthday Tanner

Yesterday was a double holiday for us. It was Father's Day and Tanner's second birthday. Tanner was the cutest birthday boy. We sang happy birthday to him many times and he definitely knew it was his special day. We had a little party to celebrate. I was trying to come up with a cake idea and when I asked myself what is favorite thing is, CANDY was the first thing that came to mind. The kids were all out of their minds exited when I was making it. It was a little stressful decorating with 3 little kids all around trying to see and touch it and help put candy on, but we managed to get it all together. This is actually a peanut butter/butterscotch rice crispy thing instead of cake.

Tanner was so cute when we were singing to him. He was singing too but his timing was off from everyone else. It was so funny.
I got Tanner this little board book set and it came with this little Nemo fish. Tanner totally loves Nemo right now so he was so exited and kept yelling "I got a Meemo!"

Tanner also loves animals so he also got a new giraffe to go with his beloved alligator and elephant that he already has.

Having Tanner the last two years has been nothing but a joy. It seems like he came out smiling and has never stopped. He is also always doing things that make me smile and laugh too. He is a very playful little boy and loves to be tickled. He is a great talker and is very determined. Lately, he keeps coming up to me and saying "Mommy your silly!" He puts up with a lot from his older siblings but is such a happy little guy and tries to be one of the big kids. I just love being Tanner's mommy.

Exercise and Nutrition

This week I have started my new exercise and nutrition program. I am using the book Body for Life as my guide. After 4 babies in 5 years I really need to get my strength and endurance back. So I am hoping that I will see a huge improvement 12 weeks from now. Peter took my "before" picture in a swimsuit the other day and I didn't even recognize myself, Yikes! Ya, that's not going on the blog!!! Good thing I have an excuse since I just had a baby. I gained a lot more weight with this pregnancy than with the others so I have my work cut out for me. Peter is doing it with me to try to gain 10 lbs of muscle too, what a supportive husband. It will not be easy, but I am very determined. I wanted to write this on the blog so that I am more accountable. I am so exited!

My Mommy With Long Hair

June 9, 2008

Marshmallow Sandwich

Today I was having a migraine and so I just opened a can of spaggetios for the kids lunch. They have never had it before so they didn't really eat it. I was lying down and the next thing I knew Eden walked by me holding a "sandwich". That was unexpected so I asked her what was inside her "sandwich" and this is what she showed me. This girl knows what she likes. She cracks me up.

Blocks

Dallin impressed his teachers at school today by looking at these charts and creating the same patterns with blocks. She was so exited that she sent them home for me to look at. Way to go Dallin!

Church/Soccer

Carter went to church for the first time this week. He was a very good baby and slept the whole time. He looked cute in his little grown up outfit.
We got a new swing for Carter since our last hand me down one was finally abused and destroyed. The kids call it his "nest"
We also got the kids soccer pictures so I put those on just for fun. They had their first game on Saturday. Peter said they just ran back and forth in the pack and had a great time. Dallin did kick the ball once, but I am sure he will get the hang of it very quickly.

Father Daughter Campout

This month it was Eden's turn to go camping with Daddy. She was so exited about it. Eden helped Daddy put up the tent and blow up the matress and then she liked putting wood on the fire and eating smores. I guess when it was time to eat the bishop asked for a volunteer and Peter asked Eden if she would say it and she said okay. Peter said that her prayer was nice and loud and very sincere. She even said "thank you for Dallin" which a lot of people thought was so cute. Eden also got to try out her new bike, and did awesome. They took a nice long ride on the trails. What a special activity!

I took the boys to the track for some fun running around and they liked it. At bed time I told Dallin that he could sleep in Daddy's spot on my bed. I think he was surprised that I was allowing that and when we went to bed he covered up and exclaimed "I like this!" Then as soon as he woke up in the morning he told me that he was going to go to work. I guess he thought he was replacing daddy.

Grandma Arave

My mom left yesterday which is so scary! Now I am on my own with 4 kids. I know I can handle it, but I am a little nervous. Here is my mom and Eden making peanut butter cookies. She let Eden make her own little batch. Eden is a great little baker.

Carter is such a sweet little baby. He sleeps a lot and doesn't fuss very much. He is a great eater and at his doctor appointment he was almost 10 pounds already. He even lets me sleep for about 4 hours at a time during the night. I really appreciate that part. I love holding him which makes time go by way to fast. I could just sit on the couch and let him sleep on my chest all day long. I am still amazed at how small babies are. They grow way too fast.

I ended up getting Peter's strep throat. Luckily Peter had a bunch of extra antibiotics so I just started taking them when I knew I was for sure getting it. It didn't get as bad as Peter's because of that, but it has definitley slowed me down a lot. I am mostly tired and my throat hurts but hopefully it won't last long. I need all the energy I can get right now.

I also went to yet another IEP meeting to get details figured out for Dallin's kindergarten so that he can be successful. We talked about what special helps he will need, speech therapy, occupational therapy, his aid that will be there and which school he will attend. It was brutal as usual because they still want him to go to the autism kindergarten and I was feeling so sick but pretending not to be. I hope that I am doing the right thing for him. I am relying on my mommy instincts here. They finally did soften a little bit once they realized that I was not going to change my mind so that was nice. I still haven't signed anything because I am not totally happy with them assigning an aid with no special training. I want to push for getting an aid through our ABA company, which is fairly common here. The battle never ends.

We decided to put Eden and Dallin in a soccer league for the summer. We even got them on the same team. Last weekend we went and got jerseys and they had their pictures taken. They look so cute in their clothes so I took a little video. This kind of stuff is an all new experience for me so it is very exiting.

Funny Words

I love how Dallin says "squishmers" instead of scriptures. So far he likes reading some days and other days he doesn't want to read the "squishmers".

Eden has become very aware of everyone's nakedness. She will often come running up to me to say "Mommy, Dallin's maked!!!" The other day she was very concerned that some of her dollies were maked too. She still doesn't mind being maked herself though.

Dallin's Birthday Week

In our family we don't just do birthdays. We do a birthday week, which is a Dickinson tradition. Peter was very adamant that we continue this with our family. So we started the festivities on Sunday with a birthday party for Dallin. My Mom is still here helping out so it was fun to have Grandma here and we also had Uncle John, Uncle Dan, and AJ and their families here. We had a nice barbecue and a fun afternoon.

Ever since Eden's Strawberry Shortcake party in January Dallin has been talking about having a monster truck cake. I was not feeling super energetic about it, so I just put all these cars on it and used graham crackers for ramps. I was not up for special cake shapes or creative candy use. I think it still turned out really cute. The monster trucks were new so that was pretty exiting for him. When Dallin saw his cake he was soooo exited, he just studied it for about a half hour. I couldn't find monster truck decor so the rest of the decorations were Thomas the Train. He didn't mind though.
For presents, Dallin got a little lawn mower so he can help Daddy mow the lawn, a new semi truck which was his favorite, some little cars, a spider man water bottle, a transformer, and a few other things.


After all the presents were open, we brought out the big Surprise! This is a Speed Racer big boy bike. Then we pulled out a little pink and purple bike for Eden too. We find that it is fun to give the other children something too and we figured this way we can go for bike rides all together. She was delighted and Dallin thought it was great.

On Monday night, I took Dallin to see the Speed Racer movie just the two of us. He liked picking out some candy and eating nachos while we watched the movie. He felt pretty special during the one on one time.

Today was Dallin's actual birthday. Eden and I visited his class and brought cupcakes and baby Carter to show everyone. Dallin was totally exited when we walked in. He was a very proud brother. Each of the kids came up and looked at the baby and I let them touch his little feet. They were eating lunch when we arrived so Eden got to sit with Dallin and eat gold fish crackers. She seemed to fit right in and felt like such a big girl.

When the class was done eating I opened the cupcake pan and put a little cardboard Speed Racer car in each one and some matching napkins. A couple of the boys had obviously seen the movie too so they were totally exited, which made everyone else exited. The teacher helped Dallin give each kid a napkin and then a cupcake. He was very exited that he got to pass them out. They sang Happy Birthday and then everyone enjoyed.

So Dallin has now had 3 days of his "birthday week". I can't believe that 5 years ago I became a mother. That is when my life really began. It seems like I have been a mom forever. That is all I ever wanted to be and I am so blessed to have my Dallin. He is such a sweet little boy and he amazes me every day. I am so glad that 5 years ago I met and fell in love with a very special little baby that has brought so much joy to my life.