Grandma

My Grandmother passed away this morning.

It's comforting to know that she is with her sweetheart and that we will see her again...but we'll miss her.

{This is Benson with his great-grandma when he was about 4 months.}

Bootcamp

When someone says the word "bootcamp" I think of a crazy, intense, in-your-face workout. Well, I'm doing it...and it is kickin' my butt.

I started yesterday at RAGE fitness in Lehi. It's 5 days a week for 4 weeks. I also have meal plans and rules I must follow.

I am so sore.

Here's the man that I want to scream at when he tells me to do more, and more, and more....push harder, push harder, push harder....don't quit, don't quit, don't quit.

His name is Kenny...he's cool.

And look at those muscles ladies!

Wish me luck...

POSH giveaway

http://myposhbabydesigns.blogspot.com/
Click on the link above to enter into a giveaway that my sister is doing. It's for a very adorable tie for a BOY. It's nice to get stuff for boys sometimes...since that's all I have.

New Moon Trailer

Hum....you like that?!

Click on the link below for a very short trailer of the NEW MOON movie.

I'm quite excited for it.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/movie-trailers/395235/trailer-premiere-new-moon.jhtml#id=1612947

Nice to see you again!

Ya, it's been awhile---and I have a lot to catch you up on.

Sunday, May 3rd was Benson's 3rd Birthday. I don't have any pictures or video to put on here of the special day, because my mom took pictures with her camera (I forgot mine...I know, I'm such a great mom).
Hey mom, could you email those pictures/videos to me?
(I'll post the pics when I get them)

About 2 months ago I started potty training Benson. We just started off doing the naked thing...and it worked out pretty good for him (except for the the free reign on playing with the privates). I've heard of some kids only taking 3 days to learn from doing it this way, but it took Benson a little longer. He did catch on to it, but I'd say about 2 or 3 weeks later he was pretty well potty trained. He didn't have a lot of accidents. He does still have a poop accident once in awhile...which is frustrating. But I've been really happy with how quickly he's done it.

I'm a big boy now!

One of my garden boxes has become a play box for the boys. I don't mind...it keeps them entertained. They have both pulled a few growing peas and snap beans from the other boxes. They like to have something fun and dirty to do outside.

Here's Benson with his friend Jacob (being shy). Benson has on his new gardening gloves and you can kind of see his bull dozer and dump truck he got from grandma for his b-day. He likes to cover everything with the dirt.
And no, he doesn't have a sunburn. He turns bright red from just being out in the sun. I'm pretty good about putting sunscreen on him.

I went on a girls trip down to St. George with my girlfriends Nikki and Lisa. Nikki's parents live there, so we had a wonderful and FREE place to stay. We went out to a nice restaurant, did a bit of shopping, saw the movie Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (not that good btw), gave ourselves pedicures, and just had a fabulous time.
Here are the only pics I took.
Hey Nikki, email me the pictures you have.

no, my eyes are not shut...it just looks like it when I smile and the sun is in my face.


posin'


While I was in St. George I bought the boys cute matchy-matchy outfits.
This is the only picture I could get of them together. I told Benson to go over and hold Owen's hands. Owen is trying to get away.

I love the plaid shorts.

Owen is walking around like crazy and doing a lot of fun stuff.

yum...I like spaghetti, peas, and milk--great mixure on the face.

oh, now I use my index finger to point (instead of my birdie).

Owen likes to spin around in cute little circles. I kind of caught it on video.

So much more I could talk about...but I'm burnt out.
Maybe later.

Free Giveaway! (Not by me)

Check it peeps! Click on this link below to enter in for some great giveaways. You have to enter by today....sorry I'm slow.

http://themeanestmom.blogspot.com/


Also, a ton of people have already entered, but you could still win. ;)

Owen's walking

Owen took his first steps about 3 or 4 weeks ago. I've been an awful mother at catching it on video (my own mother scolded me for it). So, here it is. He's walking all the way across the room now. He falls a lot, but he's starting to get faster.


This happens a lot...Benson moves Owen because he thinks Owen shouldn't be doing something or going somewhere.

FYI - Owen's frenulum is completely healed. It doesn't even gross me out when I look at it now...it looks soooo much better.
I also forgot to report Owen's measurements when he went to the doctor a few days after he turned one. You probably don't care, but I just like to have it on here.
Owen - 12 months
date: 3-20-09
length: 29 1/4 in. (above 25%)
weight: 22 lbs. 4 oz. (above 25%)
head circ: 45.7 cm (above 25%)
So I guess he's a little on the small side, but at least he's in proportion.

I got my hair cut and colored a couple days ago. I didn't get much cut off...just a trim, but I love it.

Here are some great poses of myself.

I hope that made you laugh...

Hello, this is Jeff, Carrie's husband......

Carrie is always saying I never post on the Blog. So I decided to show her that I could.

Here are just a few posts.

Upper Frenulum

Maybe you haven't hear the word Frenulum before, but you know what it is. It's that piece of skin that connects your upper lip to your gums.

Owen has been doing so well on the stairs lately. So a couple day ago when I was making dinner I wasn't too worried when I realized he was crawling up and down our stairs to the basement. I was almost done with dinner when he fell. I rushed to get him and immediately noticed his nose was bleeding a lot. I got him cleaned up and he only cried for a couple minutes. He went back to playing. A couple minutes later I picked him up, he opened his mouth and there was blood in it. I thought he must have a cut in his mouth. He still has no teeth so I knew he didn't bite anything. As I searched around his mouth I found the source of all the blood...the place where his frenulum used to be. When he slipped he must have been on his tummy and his upper lip rubbed the carpet so hard that it tore his frenulum...and he got a bloody nose. Poor guy. I have felt guilty since. One of my neighbors is a doctor and the other a dentist. They both said this happens a lot and they usually heal really well. I just have to make sure it doesn't get infected.

He has been surprisingly fine. The big difference is his smile...it's not the same.

Before

After

His cut frenulum hangs down, but I think it is just because his upper lip is swollen. It looks a lot better now, than in this picture.
Something interesting...my frenulum was torn was I was younger too. I can still remember it well. My older sister, Julie, and I were sharing a 7up (it was one of those long-neck glass bottles). I was chugging it (probably taking more than my share) and Julie got mad, so she popped the bottom of the bottle while it was in my mouth. She tore my fremulum. I'm still a little bitter about it...ok, no, not really. Owen's is torn worse than mine was though. Oh---I still feel so bad.

On a happier note...here's a cute video of Owen dancing.

My Posh Baby Designs

My sister, Dana, and her friend have this cute little company they've started. It's called My Posh Baby Designs. They sell such cute stuff...it really makes me want to have a girl (no I'm not pregnant...just someday). But, they do have stuff for boys as well. You must check it all out. They are doing a giveaway.

Here is what they're giving away...

So, cute eh? You can win these if you go to their site and do a couple different things to be entered (you can get a total of 8 entries). Here is the link: http://www.myposhbabydesigns.blogspot.com/
I also have a link to it on my sidebar under my playlist.

How can you pass this up?

He's ONE!!!

The Birthday Boy

I can't believe it...Owen turned one today. He isn't walking yet, and he hasn't even cut his first tooth. But he loves to give 'high-fives' and wave bye-bye. I can't even begin to explain the joy that he brings into our lives everyday. Oh, and he's a huge mama's boy....I love it!

Playing with the cake is much better than actually eating it.

wow...what a fancy cake

Owen opening his first present. I think he does a pretty good job. Notice how sly he is about putting the paper in his mouth...so quick.

Gerber Daisies!

I love gerber daisies. I had them at my wedding, and I want them at my funeral. Jeff went to Vegas about 2 weeks ago with my bro-in-law, Trent, to see the Nascar race. That was the weekend the boys had HFMD (Owen did get it...but it wasn't too bad. He did have one sore in his mouth that did bother him though). Since I was having such a bad weekend, Jeff had these flowers delivered to me while he was gone. I love him! It's been awhile since I've gotten flowers, which is fine because they're so expensive and they just die. I actually still have these flowers on my island. They don't look as good, but they're still alive.

What a beautiful yellow and red...I love the combo. I've never seen one like this.

Here's Owen in his favorite hiding place. When I can't find him, this is where he usually is.

A cute video...

I love how he knows what bye-bye is. He's got such a cute little wave.

I've been slacking on the blogging lately. I've been very busy with one of my callings...Region Sports Director. We have been getting ready for our basketball tournament. It just started tonight, so I just have 3 more weeks of it. I do enjoy my calling, but it's very time consuming during tournament time. Poor Jeff will be home with the boys a lot.

Owen and his Little Birdie

Owen loves to point at things...with his middle finger.

Hello Little Birdie!

We went to California last week for a quick getaway. A lot of Jeff's family live there. Since Jeff snowplows in the winter, we had to wait til we knew the weather would be nice for several days in a row. We ended up being gone for a week (although we did spend 2 days driving).

Playing with cousins is always fun.


Oh look, Jeff has a little birdie friend too.

Right before we went out of town we got Benson a new car seat. It's a 5 point harness booster, so he can use it a long time. It's called the Britax Frontier. I love it. It's quite expensive, but for good reason. It's the best and safest 5-point harness booster out there. A lot of these have a weight limit of 40 lbs for the 5-point harness. It's best to keep your kids in a 5PH for as long as possible. Benson is already 33 lbs. The Britax Frontier has a 5PH weight limit of 80 lbs. So they can stay in it a lot longer. Since we got that for Benson, we upgraded Owen to Benson's carseat, the Britax Boulevard. We decided to put him forward facing for the long car ride. He really liked it.

While we were in California Benson was exposed to Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Here are a few facts that I've learned about HFMD (from the nurse at the Pediatrician's office).

Kids between 6 months & 4 years are most likely to get it (it's unusual for adults & older kids to get it).

HFMD is very contagious.

When you get it you are contagious for 1-3 days and will usually have a low-grade fever.

You don't show any rashes until 3-6 days after you get it, so by then you're not contagious anymore.

So, it's a lot like chickenpox...you don't know you have it, but you're spreading it to someone else.

You don't always get rashes/sores on your hands, feet, and mouth.

30% of kids have it start on their buttocks.

Benson's started on his bum and I thought it was just a weird diaper rash, but a couple days later he had a rash on his legs then his arms. After I found out it was HFMD I checked his mouth and he has a couple coldsore type sores in his mouth. Nothing seems to bother him, so he has a minor case of it. I just hate telling people he has HFMD. I feel like I'm telling them he's a leper or something. Owen hasn't shown any signs of it yet, so he didn't get it.

Here's Benson giving a goodbye kiss to his cousin Laney. Luckily Laney didn't get HFMD.

Waiting to go home.

Bye Grandma

Owen loves to wave bye-bye.

We had such a good time. My sis-in-law, April, took some pictures of the boys while we were there too. She is so talented. I can't wait to put up some new pictures in the house.

The Day After Valentine's

Today, the day after Valentine's Day, means more to me than the blessed v-day.
5 years ago today, Jeff proposed to me. It's the anniversary of our engagement. So, Jeff's brother did a video of the actual proposal. We have it on VHS, so I took a video of the video. I know, so clever. It's obviously not the best quality, but you get the idea. Just a little info before you start it; we were in California with a lot of Jeff's fam. We were playing the game Cranium.
(Pause the music on my playlist)

My only request was to have it be a total surprise. I was not expecting it at all...he did awesome!
Love you Jeff!
You might have noticed Benson at the bottom of the screen watching the video. I thought he'd like it, but he just wanted us to put Dumbo back on.

"Come Back"

I'm not sure why I've been feeling such a strong impression to share this...the spirit I'm sure. I've been reconnecting with old friends from college and high school on Facebook (and here) lately. It's interesting to see where people are in their lives...and how different they are. Some have changed for the better. Some that I thought were not very 'active' members of the church have turned things around and have been sealed in the temple and are very 'active' in their callings and church activities.
Others have changed in a different way. They've gone the other direction. Friends who I went to church with, who shared their testimonies with me, who knew the plan and were going to stick to it...they fell off the path. It breaks my heart. I wonder what made things change for them. I'm sure for some it was a very gradual thing...miss church once in awhile, stop paying tithing, get new friends who don't share the same values. I'll admit, I haven't always been on the straight and narrow. But I'm sure glad I got back on it. I'm having a hard time getting these people out of my mind. Wondering what they think the purpose of life is...without the gospel.
A talk that kept coming to my mind was the April 2008 Conference talk by our Prophet, President Monson. I'll admit, I'm not usually good at remembering things our leaders tell us at Conference (sometimes I'm asleep or trying to keep the kids quite or happy..whatever). But for some reason this one stuck with me. I just loved it.

Here's the quote from President Monson's talk:

Throughout the journey along the pathway of life, there are casualties. Some depart from the road markers which point toward life eternal, only to discover the detour chosen ultimately leads to a dead end. Indifference, carelessness, selfishness, and sin all take their costly toll in human lives.

Change for the better can come to all. Over the years we have issued appeals to the less active, the offended, the critical, the transgressor—to come back. “Come back and feast at the table of the Lord, and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the Saints.”

In the private sanctuary of one’s own conscience lies that spirit, that determination to cast off the old person and to measure up to the stature of true potential. In this spirit, we again issue that heartfelt invitation: Come back. We reach out to you in the pure love of Christ and express our desire to assist you and to welcome you into full fellowship. To those who are wounded in spirit or who are struggling and fearful, we say, Let us lift you and cheer you and calm your fears. Take literally the Lord’s invitation, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

educational games

I've been trying my best to be a better mom lately...so I've been playing some educational games with Benson while Owen is taking his morning nap. I did this before, but I didn't make an effort to do it everyday. For Christmas Benson got a game called Roll & Play from Grandma & Grandpa Gunther. It helps him learn his colors and follow simple directions. One time he rolled red, and the card told him to find something yellow. I showed him the card and reminded him what the color yellow looks like. He got really excited and ran out of the room. We were playing upstairs in his room and I could hear him running down the stairs. I figured he must have something yellow in mind and knew exactly what he wanted. A minute later he came up the stairs with a yellow banana. I laughed so hard...because the girl on the card was holding a yellow banana. Benson then had a snack.

Here's Owen with his Nap Hair aka Bed Head.

These are from a couple months ago, but I just wanted to show them. Benson actually likes to eat vegetables. We have a hard time getting him to eat the main course, but he'll eat his veggies.
Funny guy.


He especially likes his veggies when he can dip them in yummy veggie dip.

He's actually dipping his finger in the dip. Oh well, as long as he gets some calories...this guy is skinny.

Benson doesn't like to take naps or go to bed at night. On a few occasions I've just let him play in the loft until he falls asleep. This is really how it looked when I went up to move him to his bed.