Weston 6 weeks

Well I had some requests for pictures of Weston, so how could I resist? :) Actually, I do have to make more of an effort to remember to take pictures of this guy. And since I didn't have my camera for about 12 days, that didn't help!

He had his one month appointment more around 5 1/2 weeks, but his stats were:

9lbs 3oz

20 1/2 in.

Since he was only 6lbs9oz at birth, I was pretty excited that he had gained over 2 lbs!

 Now Collin screetches for a picture whenever I'm taking one of Weston.

As a side note, it's a good thing Trav is back, because I think Collin needed some more testosterone in the house. He called Paula "Momma" since he couldn't pronounce Grandma, and after she left, he started calling Travis "Momma" also. He did not like that. He has also been seen on several occasions, stuffing nursing pads down his shirt.

 Weston's male pattern baldness.

Poor child. He's totally got business up front and a party in the back. And I don't know why!! I'm very careful not to rub the top during baths and it's not like he's wearing headbands. So strange.

 I seriously LOVE the yawns and stretching.

 A quizzical look.

I wish these pictures captured his blue eyes better. Collin never had blue eyes, even as a baby. They were always a different, dark sort of color until they turned brown. Not this guy. Totally blue. It throws me off a little.

 He started smiling while Trav was gone. His smile melts me. It's ironic, because he's not as smiley as Collin, yet he's a much more content and happy baby. I'm usually only up twice a night to feed him and then he goes right back to sleep. So if you need to call me around 3:30am and 6:30am, I'll be available.

The boo boo lip. I think it's so cute when he pouts the lip!

Here's Collin at one month sportin' the lip!

Well this was the first week that I attempted outings with both kids by myself. We went to the Family Room on Mon. and Wed. and on Mon. afternoon I got really daring and took them to Target and the post office. Weston didn't make a peep. He slept for all of it. And yet I still found it to be an enormous inconvenience. I drove around the Target parking lot just to find a cart left out, and parked next to it, so I could load them all in then push it into the store. Collin sat in the big part of the cart and did ok with snacks. But I couldn't put my ginormous bag in there or he'd get into it. So I had to carry it on my shoulder. I'm sure once I have 3 kids, I'll dream of the days with 2, but for now I'm dreaming of the days with 1. Ok, well if I'm really dreaming, I'll head back to the shopping days with none. :)

That said, I love my boys! It's so fun to be able to say that in the plural tense. Collin still loves his "bebe" brother and hasn't seemed to generate any feelings of jealousy. He loves to hand me diapers and wipes when Weston needs a change and shove that pacifier in, whether Weston likes it or not. Lucky Weston.

Book Review

Last year I made a goal. Finish the Book of Mormon. I know that it was a pathetic goal and even more sad that I'm admitting said goal, but there you have it. I've read it many times before, but it's been a long time since I'd done a "cover to cover" read. I'm pro at getting to Mosiah, then letting too much time go by so when I start reading again, I go back to the beginning. Anyway, the other part of the goal was to read every day... even if it was just a verse. Perhaps I used the fall back {verse} option too often because by December I still had over 100 pages to go. Now, I'm actually grateful, because I realized I really enjoyed reading it more like a {book}. You know, reading big chunks at a time instead of a measly chapter. It flowed so much better and I realized I truly loved reading it. Not just out of obligation, but because I loved what it said and knew it was true. And by the week of Christmas, I was done. Now I'm reading it with commentary from David Ridges and it's pretty interesting. Kind of like reading it in seminary. I just wish I had my BofM from seminary. Me, the pack rat, can't find it anywhere! What a waste.

My mother in law gave me this for my birthday and even though it took some time, I ended up liking it. I don't know if it truly qualifies as historical fiction, but it's pretty close. It's sort of a love story that takes place in Seattle and delves into the time of Japanese internment camps. It's a slow moving story, so that's why I didn't immediately love it, but by the end I was glad I had read it.

 I had heard great things about this book and even got it for my dad on CD last year for Christmas so I figured I'd better read it myself! Even though I think it's aim is to improve businesses, it uses a lot of family examples. The main idea is to overcome our tendendcies to see people {in the box}... meaning to see them as objects that get in our way or cause us problems. When we see people {out of the box} we see them as people. We remember that they have feelings and are just like us. It speaks very simply... almost to the point that I felt I was being "talked to" like a child as it illustrated it's points. Very good ideas, but I think if you read How to Win Friends and Influence People you would come away with the same principles plus more.

I was gypped! I never got to read this book in high school! I'm pretty upset about it actually. The only "classic" I remember reading is the Scarlet Letter and that was simply a horrible, horrible book. I HATED it. Anyway, I decided it was high time I read this book and I'm glad I did. It ended up being picked for book club the month after I finished it, but I'm glad because the girl who chose it, teaches this book in her high school English class, so I'm sure she'll have lots of insights that I missed while reading it. It seems the first time you read something, it's just a {surface read}. Like watching a movie for the first time, you only catch some of what is going on. With each viewing you pick up more and more. 

It takes place in the 1930's in Alabama and is told from the perspective of a young girl named Scout. Her father, Atticus, is a lawyer who ends up defending a black man on trial for raping a white girl. Atticus, of course, is the most intruging character and I think, is truly Christlike. I think the book is like a puzzle that is being pieced together as you go. And of course I'd recommend it! Next time I read it though, I'll make sure I have a dictionary on hand for all the words I didn't know!

 This was a book club pick and to be honest, I can't say I really liked it. It was ok. It's juvenile, but then, that's who it was written for, so I can't really pick on it for that. The moral of the story is, everybody is different, but we should accept all personalities, because everyone is of worth. It's about an eccentric high school girl that "rocks the boat" with her crazy personality. In all honestly, it was pretty weird. Interesting in parts, but overall... a bit weird. 

 Another book club pick! It took me a LONG time to get into this book. I was well over half way before I started liking it. It's long, but a quick read. It's about a post apocalyptic world where at 16, everyone has a surgery to make them beautiful and perfect. Before that, they are an "ugly". So like I said, I got sucked in during the last 200 pages, so right after I finished, I request the 2nd book in the trilogy...

...Pretties! I thought the sequel flopped. Most of the time I was reading it, I felt like I was wasting time. (I love a good, mindless novel...but if it's not amazing then I feel like I'm wasting time since I'm not learning anything. Books are best when I feel like I learned something) Thus, I will not be reading the third book, Specials. It seems there is something about trilogies. This was how the Hunger Games went too. I love the first one, am wishy washy on the second, and have no desire to read the third.

"Cuz I'm Leavin' on a Jet Plane..."

When I made Trav take the camera, he protested. He said he wouldn't remember to take pictures. Well I guess he remembered who his wife was and did a pretty good job. I told him to take pictures of even the mundane things like where they were staying, so I could get an idea of where he was for a week and a half. Well not only did I get pics of the house, but also the closet, shower, and toilet. Yes, a picture solely of the toilet. I spared you.

Had to get a pic of the plane, given he spent 40+ hours on them while he was gone, not including time just in airports.

 Here is the clinic they worked in.

 I wish this wasn't blurry, but it's the only one I have of Trav doing dental work. The dentist that went with them as their supervisor basically told them to not bother him with questions and just get to it. So I think he really enjoyed working in the clinic and getting so much experience.

 I guess the church leases (something weird about not being able to buy property on Tonga) a big area/campus that has elementary through high school on it. The house they stayed in was on this same land. Here is a shot of the campus.

One of the days they did an outreach program with the kids from the schools.

 I love this picture! Especially since no girls made them do it. It was all of their own accord.

This pic is going to the be the cover of their upcoming boy band album.

They swear it wasn't posed.... sure guys. Sure. :)

 Trav grew out his beard with the intent of shaving it and leaving his mustache. Not sure why. Just because he could I guess. I never got the whole story, but apparently it only lasted one day.

 They went to a show one night and he was mortally embarrassed when one of the women called him up on stage to dance. He got a lei from it, but left it since it wouldn't have passed customs.

These are all pictures of the place they stayed in. Bugs were abundant much to one of the guys' dismay (we'll leave him anonymous... I think he got enough grief on this trip). So they smooshed the bugs whenever they saw them and by the time they left it looked like a millipede cemetery. Gross.

 Obviously not the Hilton, but it reminded me a lot of the dorm I stayed in at BYU Hawaii. Apparently the island felt much more {third world} then he expected.

 Here's the sweet ride they drove around.

 He was able to go to the Tongan temple a couple times.

Rach made a couple of cakes for our guys the day they got home. I was so excited to have him back. And after washing all his clothes in ultra hot water and double rinsing them, I felt like life was right back to normal. Luckily, no creepy crawlers made it back in his luggage either.

 But this sweet tie did!

 And this shirt!

When I first saw this, I laughed so hard. It was starched to the hilt and screamed {casino employee}. Hideous, right? Well, it's grown on me now. Not enough to wear in public, but still. :)

 And I just died over these widdle things!

 They didn't even fit! His feet were too wide. Ah well, good enough for one picture. When he left I told him not to buy me anything. I don't need Tongan paraphernalia that has no purpose, yet will feel like a waste to throw away. Already went through that living in Hawaii. And he listened. (Maybe I secretly hoped he would find something cute that I would actually wear... so I was a bit disappointed when there was nothing for me) UNTIL... the next day he whipped out a bookmark he had forgotten about. Perfect! I was thrilled. Seriously. It totally looks {Tongan} and I will actually use it. He did good. :)



{Favorite} Night and a Garden Adventure.

Well the hubby is home and boy it feels good! The only damper on the day is the blizzard swirling outside my window... (and the fact that hubs basically went straight to school after I picked him up this morning) It's like being thrown back to the winter devils after reveling in spring for a week. Good thing Paula escaped a couple days ago.... I don't think she would have much enjoyed this.

Even though I missed Trav like crazy while he was gone, it wasn't all bad times out here. Megan threw a {Favorites} party one Saturday night and that turned out really fun. Here are the ladies....

(I have to add that I know I look weird in this picture, but what you can't see is that I am crading a baby in my arms. So that is why I look "posed"... not because I'm trying to show off my {good side}.... not that I have one. 

We all brought our favorite food...

(I died for Kendra's dill dip and Crescent's berry goodness... forgot what it was called.)

I brought the {Lindblom Green Salsa} and later thought to explain that that was my maiden name... everyone else thought it was some weird branding name.

Megan, in all her over-achieving cuteness, compiled our recipes into handouts.

Tiff brought all the fixing's for Italian Sodas and they were soooo tasty.

and of course, cute.

We each brought 5 of our favorite things and while we crafted, Megan would draw our names out of a bowl to win each others "prizes". I brought Wegman's French Vanilla muffins (if you haven't tried these... don't. I think I've gained 5lbs from them... they are sinful) and my favorite FAVORITE chapstick... Natural Ice. They were becoming scarce in AZ so we stocked up before moving out here. When we ran out, my mother in law special ordered them online and sent us a box full. We treat each tube like gold. Then I looked on the label one day and saw that they are manufactured in Orchard Park, NY, about 20 minutes away from here, and sold in our local grocery stores. You've got to be kidding me.

Here we are crafting the birthday banner kits that Megan made up for each of us.

Probably definitely one of the cutest decorations I now own. Thanks Megan! It was a really fun, girls getaway.

On another day we paired up with Gavin, Rachel, and her mom, Sheila, to go to the Botanical Gardens. Paula dressed warm, thinking it was an ouside garden, like in AZ. Nope, it's basically a gigantic greenhouse. It took us about an hour to walk through all the rooms and check out the cool plants and flowers. I know it doesn't sound that great, but it was actually a really fun morning. If not just to be out of the house and in a warm place. :)

Here the boys are getting pennies to make wishes and throw in the fountain.

These two are so cute and best buds. It's crazy to see them looking so big and grown up. And yes, I was one of those parents with a leash on my kid. I didn't whip it out until he ran away from me and got pretty far. At least it's not an electric shock collar or something. Trust me, some days I wish it were.  

The fish pond was a hit.

Of course I wasn't able to get pictures, but another night I invited some of the "husbandless" girls over for molten chocolate cakes and another night, Paula and I got Duffs. So there is Spring Break 2011 for us! :)

(Thanks Meg and Rach for sharing the above pics!)

Tonga

Boo hiss on Tonga. I'm just saying. Tonight is probably not the best time to write this post because I'm missing my husband pretty bad. I think there have only been 3 times in our marriage that we've been apart about a week but it's never been longer than that. How do military families do it? It is no fun whatsoever.

My saving grace has been my mother in law, Paula. She was nice enough to come out and help me while Trav was gone, and she has gone above and beyond the call of duty. I really lucked out in the mother in law department. She is nothing like the sterotype. She is so laid back and easy going. She even watched the Bachelor finale with me Monday night. And she's teaching me how to do crochet edges on burp cloths. I haven't crocheted in over ten years and it's been reallly fun relearning. She loves to read so I enjoy talking about books with her. Collin loves her too... of course. He has been referring to her as "momma" and for good reason. She has been getting up with him every morning so I can catch extra z's and in that sense I am getting a vacation! I haven't even felt sleep deprived this past week. It's been marvelous.

All of us had doctors appointments this week, just so I could either go by myself, or only have one munchkin with me. I've taken Collin to the Family Room and the park and been able to leave the babers. And I went grocery shopping with just Collin. What will I do when I have to face the reality of taking two kids out?

So a little background on Travis's trip.... He is doing volunteer dental work in a clinic that the church owns in Tonga. At UB, they have required the students to do an externship between their 3rd and 4th years, and these volunteer trips have taken care of that requirement. Even so, I was not super excited about him leaving for 11 days just a month after having a baby. After a lot of discussion over a long period of time... it was decided he would go. And during that decision, I remember saying, "You're lucky it takes care of the externship requirement, otherwise I would not be ok with you leaving." Well, the day before the plane tickets had to be purchased, the school had a meeting and told them that the externship requirement was being dropped. Poor Trav. I can only imagine the sinking feeling he got right then. I guess he turned to all the guys there and announced that none of them were allowed to tell their wives, so that it wouldn't get back to me. Of course, when he got home that day, he told me anyway. And somehow he still got to go. Props to me. :) Actually, I know all the other guys going think I'm crazy for even putting his participation into question. It is hard to imagine why I wouldn't be super excited about him leaving me in dreary Buffalo for tropical paradise over spring break with a newborn. Check me into a mental institution! But really, I am glad he's getting some good dental practice in and able to help those in Tonga. And props to him because he sacrificed a vacation in Fiji with the rest of the group and left a few days later than they did. As a side note, while the first part of the group was making their flight over there, the tsunami hit. As far as I know, they weren't affected by it, but I know some of the wives were pretty nervous for a while. And you all know me... I would have been hyperventalating.

Oh! I nearly forgot to write about his plane troubles. It could take a while to explain, so I'll try to make it short. Basically, his 1:40pm flight out of Buffalo got delayed.  He saw that online, early Saturday morning, so I dropped him off at 10:30am, hoping he could get on the earlier flight. He couldn't. So he waited until his plane finally took off at 4pm. He missed his connecting flight in NYC, but was able to make another one that was scheduled at hour after the one he should have been on. I guess they let him on even though the gate doors had already been shut. Well that got him to L.A. 1/2 hour before his flight left to Fiji. Definitely not enought time to get his bags, switch terminals and check in. Luckily, he had anticipated this in Buffalo, and called the travel agency to ask if there were any other flights to Fiji he could get on. (I guess normally, there is only a flight every other day) Well for whatever reason, there was another flight leaving the next day, which was Sunday night. So now he's in L.A. at 10pm on Saturday with 24 hours til his flight leaves. He remembered that a mission buddy was living in L.A., so I got on Facebook and sent him a message telling him about Trav's situation. Within just a couple of hours, he had seen the message and was able to go pick up Trav. Granted, it was 1:30am, which was 3:30am, Buffalo time. So he had a heinous day of traveling. But it would have been a lot worse if he would have had to sleep on the airport floor and then hang out all day with just a book to keep him busy. Instead, he had a nice couch to crash on and was able to go to church the next day with his friend, Jay. He said that as they were walking home from church, Jay asked him if I watched Dancing With the Stars because Chelsey Hightower (who is one of the professional dancers on the show) is in their ward. (Oh, btw Jay isn't married yet, so it's a singles ward). Trav knew who she was because we watched the season of So You Think You Can Dance when she was on. When he told me this I exclaimed, "Did you get a picture?!!!" I guess not. He failed to mention this while they were still in church, so he missed his chance to meet her. Darn. Apparently the quarterback of UCLA also goes to that ward. High rollers they are. Anyway, I was just so grateful for Jay and his willingness to help Trav out. I told Trav later that night that it was a good thing he served a mission. :)

Well that was the last time I talked to him. We aren't able to talk on the phone while he's in Tonga, but people with AT&T can send text messages so I've gotten a couple texts from him and one email. Hopefully I'll be able to do a post with all the pictures he took when he returns next week!

TuRNiN' TwO!

Collin turned two last Sunday but we did our celebrating on Friday, since Trav would be out of town on his real birthday. (I must note that this is extremely ironic considering he still won't let HIS parents live down the fact that they were frequently out of town on many of his birthdays growing up. The irony would have continued when he realized not only would he have been out of town, but he actually would have missed his birthday altogether. Since he loses a day in his trip to Tonga, he would leave L.A, Saturday night at 10pm and arrive in Fiji on Monday at 5am, completely skipping Sunday. That didn't end up happening, but more on that later.)

My original thought was to just have a glorified playdate for his "birthday party", but after I sent out the evite and started looking online... well things just evolved, I guess.

This is the picture I used for his invitation. The title was "Someone is Growing Up!"

I let him help me in the kitchen all morning. He was the official "pourer" of any ingredient. And of course he loved to stir. Big mistake. Now I can't cook anything in the kitchen without him dragging a chair over and announcing "Help!"

It was a {Curious George} themed party, so here is his monkey cake. Like I said, having a theme was not in the original plans, but when he saw this monkey cake on the computer he got so excited that I figured what the heck. He's so obsessed with Curious George so I knew he would like it.

We had Chef Pisghetti pizza (nothing special about the pizza, just appropriate for the theme of the party), Banana Pudding (Grandmother's famous recipe. Oh my, it takes a while to make, but it was worth it.), and "Monkey head fruit kabobs", topped off with banana splits for dessert. And I made small loaves of chocolate chip banana bread for each family to take home as their party favor.

The kids played "Pin the butterfly on the poster" and actually did pretty good with it. They liked putting on the {monkey mask} blindfold. I thought it was weird that it wasn't "Pin the tail on the monkey" but then I realized that George doesn't have a tail!! Weirdness. He's a monkey. He should have a tail. The winner (Miss Maddie) got a package of Curious George stickers.

Then we scooted the kids to one side of the basement while Rach and I hid 24 monkeys from Barrel of Monkeys for them to find. They each got a cup and with some help from parents, found the monkeys hidden all over. The two winners got to take home the Barrel of Monkeys game.

Blowin' out the candle!

 I wish I had gotten a picture of him with Grandma Evans (you can see her in the background). She flew in Thursday night to help while Trav is out of town. It was fun to have her there for the party! When he turned 1, Uncle Christopher was in town, so we'll see who turns up for #3! :)

The party guests:

top to bottom: Ryden, Lily, Kadence, Maddie, Gavin, Collin, and Elsie.

Collin loves his friends. I can't tell him early when Gavin or another friend is coming over, otherwise he heads straight to the back door and says their name over and over (like 200 times) while pounding on the door, until they actually come.

After his nap, he opened up his presents and he got spoiled for sure. He loves the playdough, glove with velcro ball, bath toys, puzzles, fire truck, and books. Grandma brought him some fun toys and he is in 7th heaven. Especially since she actually plays with him! Mom needs to do that more.

On his actual birthday, it was a mad dash to get to church on time to teach my lesson (daylight savings stole an hour from us the night before) and when we walked in, our old bishop saw him and commented on how he was getting so big. I started to agree when it hit me that it was his birthday!! I had completely forgotten. That night during his bath, my family called and sang happy birthday so I put it on speaker phone and he was absolutely thrilled. His face lit up and after they were done he clapped and did a little jig right there in the tub. So they sang it again! Silly family. :) Thanks for remembering!

He had his 2 year doctor's appointment on Tuesday and his stats are:

26lbs (16%)

33 in. (25%)

Looks like I have a shorty on my hands! If he's like his dad he'll have a growth spurt around 18 or 19. If he's like me, he'll shoot up between 8th and 9th grade and tower awkwardly above everyone else. I'm thinkin' he'll take after his dad.

A few things about Collin at 2.....

*He is ACTIVE!! This kid doesn't stop moving. People make comments about it all the time. When he's feeling especially stir crazy, he'll just run from room to room- back and forth for no apparent reason. For like 20 minutes straight.

*He loves to talk, we just don't always know what he's saying. He's pretty good at repeating any words we give him, except for Grandma. It comes out "Cop-e". ??? I love that for fish he says "pish".

*He is an affectionate fellow. He loves to give hugs and kisses and you won't get one without the other. If you just give him a kiss, he will yell "Hug! Hug!" with arms outstretched until he gets a squeeze.

*He LOVES Curious George. Did I really need to say this? He will watch countless hours if I let him. He has the episodes memorized and will laugh and giggle or say "pop!" all of a sudden and then something will pop on the t.v. He knows when it's coming.

*He's kinda of a momma's boy, but still loves his dada. He just needs some time to warm up to him when he gets home from school.

*You'll frequently find him with his finger up his nose, but I have a hard time getting mad at him, since I probably taught him that. :)

*He is not potty trained, but will grab his crotch and yell "poop!" when he needs a change. What more can ya ask for?

*He loves balls and throwing things. When I pick him up from a friend's house, they will usually comment on how much he likes to throw. And not just balls. Anything. You have to watch out when he's in the room. I got pegged in the nose so hard a couple weeks ago, I thought something was broken.

*He sleeps about 11 hours every night and takes a 2 hour nap. He can't climb out of his crib yet and I am supremely grateful.

*He's got a mean lookin' scowl he'll throw your way and it makes us laugh. He doesn't even usually use it when he's mad, just to be silly. He'll tilt his head down and pull down an eyebrow and give you a "look". I need to get a picture of it.

*He's big into telling you what he {can't do}. Like if he sees a package of cookies on the table, he'll get your attention then wag his finger back and forth and say "uh, no no cookies. no no" very matter of factly.

He's pretty much everything that can drive me crazy one minute then melt my heart the next. Even though he can throw a tantrum with the best of them, he's really a good boy at heart. I'm so grateful he made me a mother 2 years ago!

Trav left last Saturday morning, so Thursday night I tried to do a fancier dinner. Ok, it wasn't really fancy, just more expensive. I've gotten on a {homemade mac n' cheese} kick, and didn't know what to serve with it, so I tried making a brisket. Yes, you read correctly. It was actually a pork brisket instead of beef, but it was delicious. I cooked it in the crockpot after rubbing it with liquid smoke and a plethora of spices. It fell off the bone and was oh so good but oh so bad for you. I made Trav take a picture because let's be honest, who would have thought that I would ever cook a brisket?

Then on Friday night we went out to Cheesecake factory. It had been a whole month since I had pictured my Navajo Taco and French fries dipped in ranch during contractions and I finally got it! Di-vine. No wonder it popped in my head during labor.... heavenly food comes with heavenly babies. :) And that was my {Last Supper} with my hubbie until next Wednesday. I made him take our camera with him even though he said he won't remember to take pictures. If he knows what's good for him, he'll remember. So my next post won't have pictures, but I'll do a little update on the Tonga man.