Christmas Eve at Grandma Phelps

Christmas Eve we always attend Grandma Phelp's Christmas Party.

We know Santa will be there. He makes a special trip just for us.

The boys absolutley adore thier grandma!! I don't blame them..she is amazing!

Nope, not happening with this one Santa. maybe next year.

Tysen loves Santa! This year he has grown rather fond of the idea.

cuz Santa gives him toys.

So fond of him that him and his cousin followed him out the door as he was leaving. That was sooo cute. They wanted to give him hugs and kisses at the door before he left. They chased him down the hall.

and gave him hugs and kisses.

Such a great night to see family!

Christmas Cards Will be Late!

I have come to except the fact that this year Christmas cards might come to you all after Christmas...so the easiest way for all to see it on time is to BLOG IT!
Here you go...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!

Tysen's # 3 Birthday

BLUES CLUES BIRTHDAY!!!


We just had a small get together for Ty-man. By small I mean only our family, which include 10+ cousins. We have plenty of guests without inviting the whole primary class. I think next year we will attempt inviting the primary class.

Yummy big cupcake! With Blues Clues Spots. Mommy was running late and put the frosting on when the cake was still hot...it all tastes the same to him though.

The "Whitman" Bite the Cake tradition

He is my first child...he does not like to get messy or sticky, so he had to eat his cake with a fork.


Jayden, on the other hand, could care less. The fastest way to get it in the mouth is his method.

He has been wanting a cozy coop for soooooo long! We should have got him one last year. Mommy and Daddy surprised him!

opening other gifts (There was a "Toy Story" theme to the presents)

He loved it! Especially his "DR. EVIL PORKCHOP!" (as Tysen says it)

Birthday kisses from cousins! So sweet!

Knott's Berry Farm

Saturday we decided to hang out at KNOTT'S with snoopy!

It was raining a little so there were no lines.

The sun came out and still no lines...it was the best.

We must have gone on the "bus" ride 10 times.

He loved saying "Hi" and giving hugs to Snoopy. And he was GLUED to the Charlie Brown skit that they put on. We had to watch both showings. He got called up on stage by Linus to sing Jingle Bells.

Tysen loves Knott's Berry Farm. He loves the log ride, the bus ride, the cars, the trucks, the tug boat, the train, the airplanes. He gets to go on a lot of the rides all by himself like a big boy. Jayden even got to ride a couple rides.

Our little boys excited faces were just so cute. I could have watched them play there forever.

By the way....

Ty-Man got GLASSES! His eyes are turning out so they are trying to train the muscles to come back in. If we can train those muscles then he will avoid muscle eye surgery. So we are all for the glasses.

He does look awfully cute in them. He gets even more attention and almost everyday someone stops me just to tell me he looks like the kid from "Jerry Maguire".

NEW PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG!

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I Miss You The Most!

I don't know what I was thinking but on the night of October 9th I agreed to a bet with four other women. An insane, crazy destructive BET!

NO SUGAR, NO SWEETS UNTIL JANUARY!!

(yes, through the holidays...as if it weren't crazy enough!)

But, my worst pet peeve in myself is making a goal and not achieving it. So I am still going strong. But, OH...how I miss my friend...CHOCOLATE!!!

I honestly don't think this will turn into a complete life change for me but I think that I will be able to limit myself on the sweets.

Poor, Dan...he gets the brunt of it. He has to endure my crazy rants, shakes and with drawls. I swear, when it is that time of the month..chocolate works better than any drug.

Regardless, I will ENDURE TO THE END!

It's been about a month so far...no sweets (oh and eating better).

This is huge for me because Chocolate has become a real problem for me.

I am amazed, though, at the will power I didn't know I had. It is becoming easier and easier to just overlook the sweets or just put it down.

IT STILL SUCKS THOUGH!!!

p.s. Those who fail to hold out until January have to Dance and sing in the middle of the Mall. That is another good motivator for me because there is no way I will make a deliberate fool of myself.

DAN: #102 I love that you love me....chocolate withdrawals and all. And, even though I am crazy sometimes you still support my goals!

Hello... Dan?..or is it Neil Diamond?

If I could have recorded the events from last night and edited them...The play by play would have gone something like this...

-Me - Tysen and I are going to sing karaoke

Dan- Whatever

Tysen- YAY! karaoke!!

-Mommy and Tysen begin to rock the karaoke machine....

-15 min. later-

-Dan is sitting on the couch watching Mommy and Tysen sing to "Good Day Sunshine" by the Beatles

-Dan begins to mouth the words

-Ty leaves his mic next to Daddy (big mistake)

-5 min later-

-Daddy and Mommy are battling it out on the karaoke machine (mommy destroyed Daddy)

-Daddy tells Mommy to stop singing...

-10 min. later-

-Mommy and Tysen are playing legos

-Daddy is standing up now singing his heart out to "Hello" by Neil Diamond :-)

-During instrumental break Daddy wispers in the mic..."Man, I sound good."

I knew you wanted to karaoke Hunny! And I knew it was just a matter of time ;-)

#101. I love when you sing "Hello" by Neil Diamond like it is the last song you will ever sing.

Halloween 2010

This Halloween we had two munch munches to dress up. I seriously feel like I just dressed Tysen up as Elmo.

This year Tysen was (can you guess?) MURRAY from the wiggles. We ironed on the little logo on his shirt and glue gunned ribbon down his black pants, stuck a red electric guitar (a miraculous find) in his hand and sent him trunk or treating.

The other munch went as a skunk (suits him well). I was way too last minute to find him a costume. I attempted party city and immediately walked out. My sister had this skunk costume she had made like 12 years ago for her daughter who wore it. I thought it was a great idea for our little stinker!

Plus, I mean really? How adorable!

Please just ignore the un-carved pumpkins...I just barley got costumes do you think I had time to carve pumpkins? Maybe we will carve a turkey in them and make them our thanksgiving pumpkins. At least, we got pumpkins this year.

Anyways, enjoy the pictures of the very scrumptious children that are mine.

They are so cute together. Excuse the minimal blur. They were moving very fast.

I was shooting blindly pretty much.

Jayden did not even put up a fight for his costume...Oddly, he seemed to wear it with pride.

Tysen is a way better "red" wiggle than Murray is. He rocks the electric guitar way harder. This year was great for Tysen because it was the first year that he seemed to really embrace the tradition. He said his "Trick or Treat" line nice and loud and followed it up with a polite "thank you" He even complimented one lady's dog, "you have a wonderful dog" he said! She got a kick out of that! Tysen loved that the trunk or treat was at the park this year. It was like heaven to be able to play on the playground and follow it up with Trick or Treating. He ate like 6 pieces of candy just on the way home...which was not even 2 min. away.


As usual, Jay just went along for the ride and go sooo much attention.

Pumpkin Patch

Family Home Evening was the perfect time for us to go.

I planned on going back in the day light to get pumpkin patch pictures of the kids in thier costumes but that never happened. I had a feeling it might not happen because it has been so busy latley so I am so glad we decided to go for FHE!

Ty got to ride the swing, go down the slide with Daddy, and pet all the animals in the petting zoo. Jayden was a great onlooker. He just liked being outside.

Family Time is the BEST!

100 Things I Love About You!

October 15th was our 5 year anniversay!

I dedicate this post to my loving Hubby!

1. I love the way you hold my hand every time we drive in the car together
2. The way you make me feel better by saying "your cute" when you really mean "you don't know what you are talking about"
3. I love that you still pinch my cheeks (maybe more so now then ever)
4. I love that you are such a compassionate person
5. That you would drop anything to help family
6. When you sing the wrong words to the song...and you know they are wrong but you still belt them out anyways.
7. When you turn the music up and dance with the boys
8. When you think something is so cool "like the air show" and you turn into a 8 year old kid
9. That you are such a great provider and hard worker.
10. I love that you are so devoted to me and the boys
11. I love that you like cheesy 80 songs
12. I love that you know how to cry like a real man :-)...you don't do it often but when it is necessary you'll show emotion.
13. I love that you are a genius at everything...(EVERYTHING..there is nothing the man CAN'T do!)
14. I love that you think I am so talented
15. I love the way you see me
16. The way you just smile when I want to be stubborn
17. I love that I can walk into a room and feel like the most beautiful women in the world being on your arm
18. I love that you let me call you BOO BOO BOO_BOO BEAR!
19. That you won't spend a cent on yourself...You are so selfless
20. That you can't get enough of your family
21. I love that you say "TMO" and you think it mean "TMI (too much info)"
22. I love that you say gym-mastics ;-)
23. When you turn into a major sports fanatic when the Lakers play...yelling and screaming at the T.V.
24. I love that no one would ever believe that you yell and scream at the T.V. because they think you are too much of a "good guy" to eve raise your voice (because you really are..but Lakers are an exception)
25. I love that you try so hard not to bring your stress home.
26. I love that you love to help me cook and do dishes.
27. I love that you call me your girlfriend
28. I love that you wont go to bed angry
29. I love that every time we talk you tell me you love me
30. That you make me laugh all the time
31. When you look at me for a long time before telling me how beautiful I am
32. That you tell Tysen he has his Mommy's beautiful eyes.
33. That the boys look just like you
34. That you love to cuddle
35. That you love to have time just with me
36. That you stay strong when I crumble
37. I love that you have such an amazing testimony
38. I love that you are so devoted to the Lord
39. I love that you still want me to call you whenever I get from point A to point B....just to make sure I am safe
40. That you will watch chick flicks with me
41. I love that when I eat too much junk food...you take care of me
42. I love that you never say anything when the house is messy...but you will compliment me when the house is spick and span
43. I love that you can not hide your emotions...they are always written all over your face.
44. I love that you believe in me....when I don't believe in myself
45. I love that you spoil me..even though you go way overboard sometimes
46. I love that I can make you feel better after a long day
47. I love your smile (always have, always will)
48. I love how goofy you are around me
49. How You are quick to forgive
50. How you gag when you feed the baby his baby food because you think it is nasty.
51. How you gag when you see any kind of pork products...it sends me into tears every time because I am laughing so hard.
52. I love that you over exaggerate (sometimes)
53. I love when we watch medical mystery shows and you get really freaked out that you have that exact same medical mystery.
54. I love that you always drive
55. I love that you can tell something is bothering me without me telling you
56. I love that you get me flowers when I tell you not too
57. How you kiss my hand on occasion....and I don't think you know that you do it.
58. I love that you want more children, even after what our other two have been through
59. I love that you support me
60. That you write your "letters" to those businesses that try and cheat you...and that you get free stuff because of it.
61. I love you patients
62. I love that you have the kindness and wisdom of your mother
63. I love that you can tell when I organize something and you compliment me
64. I love your testimony of the gospel
65. I love how much you LOVE gummy bears and gummy candy (enough to buy a five pound bag of it because it was a good deal)
66. I love that you call me in the middle of your work day to see how I am holding up...(because I know you have bigger problems at work than to worry about what is going on with me)
67. I love feeling protected by you
68. I love that you will get up in the middle of the night to double check the locked doors because your wife heard something.
69. I love that when I cry you will just hold me
70. I love how sincere you are (and that everyone sees it too)
71. I even love that my family loves you more than they love me ;-)
72. I love that you will sing karaoke with me (and I know you really love it too)
73. I love the way the boys get so excited to see you when you get home
74. I love that when we do on dates I still feel like we are dating.
75. I love that you make me better
76. I love that I cry if you are gone for even a day
77. I love that your ego comes out a little when you know that you have done a good job on something
78. I love that you are always right...(except with me , I am usually the right one between us)
79. I love that you challenge me
80. I love that you say I look amazing after just having a baby. (smart move)
81. I love that you love the outdoors
82. I love that you never forget me ....you always make sure I am right by your side
83. How you love your soft serve ice cream...and how on the cruise you were in heaven because the ice cream was on 24/7.
84. I love that you love surprises and you love to surprise me.
85. I love that you will put up with my crazy ideas
86. That you will be brutally honest with me when it is absolutely necessary.
87. forget your shoes sometimes (don't know how but it happens)
88. I love knowing that our boys will grow up to be great men because you are their father.
89. I love that you need a vacation every year...( I love our vacations)
90. I love that we laugh so hard sometimes for no apparent reason.
91. And how you will hold me all night even if your arm falls asleep
92. I love you endurance
93. I love that you are an open book
94. And how you don't hide anything from me
95. I love that you keep our relationship "issues" just between us
96. I love that my eternity will be with you
97. I love that we have a song together and that when it comes on the radio we both belt it out.
98. I love that if we wanted to we could still talk to each other until 3 in the morning.
99. I love that family comes first for you
100. I love you for exactly who you are and that love has only gotten stronger and stronger through the years and will only continue to get stronger.

There is so much more I love about you...but I will save it for next year :-)
Happy 5th Anniversary Babe!

The "Second Child" Theory

The "Second Child" Theory is that the second child born (or a lot of time it is the middle child) is usually the one who might cause more trouble, be everywhere and get into everything, basically the trouble maker and/or the busy body in the family. I did not make this theory up. I have been told to prepare for this by many people. I really hate when people do that to me. I always just take people's "theories" with a grain of salt or I completely ignore them all together.

BUT,

Jayden certainly has proved this theory to be accurate. He is all of these things and even as a baby I can tell he is going to be a handful! But, when trouble arrises all he has to do is flash that adorable smile (that, I swear, has magical powers) and for some reason he will be off the hook.

Jay just turned 8 months and he is already crawling, pulling up on furniture, cruising furniture, Oh and sitting up all by himself (from stomach to butt). He stands up in his crib and we now have to lower it for our 8 month old. Physically, he is crazy.

Emotionally, He is actually a happy baby most of the time unless he is HUNGRY!....then you better duck for cover!

We love him though!

Tysen is such a good brother. He might draw on his face, and push him over just for fun but, he loves to get him toys when he is upset and he loves to give him hugs and kissed. They will be in the back seat of the car laughing their heads off for no reason...it is so sweet to see them interact.

Round 4 for Tysen

Tysen was having symptoms of shunt failure for about 3 weeks before he finally had surgery. He would have an episode once every 2-3 days and then would be fine after a very long nap (sometimes 4-5 hours). He had scans right before the symptoms started and they showed that everything looked normal.

The worst part about this is his symptoms. He will be in a lot of pain and will be very sick and lethargic. But, they can't go in without something showing on the scans because they don't want to cut him open and nothing be wrong. So we have to wait until Tysen gets worse (like non stop pain) to go into ER and get more scans.

The scans showed water building up so they did the surgery.

His shunt was blocked once again. They put new hardware and BIGGER hardware so hopefully that will help prevent blockage.

He is at the age now that he is aware of what is going on and he was SCARED!

He is starting to realize that the doctor's office or the hospital is not a great place to be.

I hated seeing him go through this realization but it was bound to happen. He did really well though. After the surgery is the best because he is back to his old self and he doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. The pain is gone, the fear is kind of gone, and he is responsive (before surgery his symptoms cause him to be close to non responsive. He just stares blankly and will not respond most of the time).

We are so happy that it was not infection and we are so blessed that he is well and that the doctors know exactly how to fix the problem.

A HUGE thankyou to those who brought meals, took care of baby and dog, and those who were praying for his well being. We can never thank you enough for that wonderful support!

Love you Tysen! You are so STRONG!

He is very much back to his old self :-)

With some of his cousins...making a new fashion statement!

"Just Call Me Aunt Edith"

I remember every summer with you. I remember my friends wanting to spend the summer with you. And, I remember you would say to them, "Just Call Me Aunt Edith"...and they would. I know that I had a better imagination because of you. I remember the stories we made up in your back yard while climbing the grapefruit tree. I remember getting stuck in that grapefruit tree and Uncle James having to fish us out. I remember fresh lemonade and some of the best meals I had ever eaten. I remember the love that I knew you had for each of us children and how much confidence you gave us. I remember being taught right from wrong on many occasions. I remember going into the Jacuzzi whether it was in our clothes or our swimming suits. Also, filling the Jacuzzi up with cold water when it was too hot outside to bear. I remember always looking for a sale. You always let us find our own sales in the stores and when we wanted to buy something on sale you would say "See, That is smart. You are Smart!" I remember wondering why you gave so much service. Why are we giving cookies to the neighbor? Why are we going to volunteer at the stroke center? Why do we need to put on a fashion show and invite the neighbors? Year after year I grew to realize exactly why you did these things. And, I've told you this before but I know that I grew into a better person by watching your example.

It was so hard to let you go. But, I was happy to see your pain stop and know that you are with your sister Mary and your Mother Ardis again. The ones you always talked about. The ones you missed for so long. Now we will miss you Aunt Edith and I already yearn to get back to see you again. You will be in my stories I tell my children....and when I am done telling them I will say "I can;t wait to see her again!"

You were and are such an influential person in all our lives. I remember you as the Crazy Aunt Edith (your normal self) who would sing the shampoo commercial to people when they called.."Halo, Halo." You were the really tall clown "sunny" I think. I remember this briefly because I was little; but, it was silly enough for me to remember. You were our families Easter Bunny, Santa Clause and "new school clothes fairy." How you did all of that for 14 children?.... I will never know.

All that I can say is that I love you Aunt Edith Thank you for the wonderful years and that I will miss you unitl we meet again.

The Latest

Tysen is up to 22 blocks at a time with his "tower" building. He starts with a strong base by turning his tote over and starting there. Then he builds until it gets too tall...when it gets too tall he pulls his stool over and gets up on it to build the rest. What a process but what SUCCESS!

In other "Trouble" news, Tysen now likes to think of his brother's face as a piece of drawing paper. I understand how dangerous this is...but there are those times when I'm not looking that Tysen sneaks a pen and does damage. All the while Jayden was smiling as if he thought it looked good.

Not long after (maybe a couple days) Tysen had some mystery artwork on his cheek. Fine artwork, I must say but the question was "what did he use to get such exquisite strokes?" Certainly a mystery, since there was no sign of a mess, no sign of an open marker...but it looked as though it could be MASCARA! Oh No! But, upon entering my room I found that my mascara was in my makeup bag with the cap twisted on. He must have used it because when asked what it was he colored with he replied "makeup". At least this one was clean artwork.

2010 Family Vacation (Part 3)

Our last stop on our trip was San Francisco. When we first got there we decided to do the Golden Gate Bridge first. The rodes were so scary to drive on. There were so crowded and there were a lot of one way routes. A few times I genuinely thought we might die. It made it that much more adventurous when you think your life is on the line :-)

The Golden Gate Bridge was covered in Fog so it was hard to see how Big it was but as we drove on it we got a good sense. We pulled off to take pictures and we were thinking about taking the trail to walk across it, but opted not since we already had put our lives in jeopardy just driving the streets. We had enough life threatening experiences for one day.

While taking pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge I could see a couple of Asian ladies admiring Tysen and Jayden. One came up and grabbed Tysen and the other stood back and took pictures of the two together. We were laughing (even though it was strange) until the lady decided to take a family picture with my family (me excluded).

So, I have a new family picture to hang on the wall (too bad I was replaced).

A lot of Asian people came up to us wanting to take pictures of our kids like they were celebrities...very weird.

We also visited the Jelly Belly factory. The bummer was that we went on the weekend and they let their workers have the weekend off. So, we took the tour but they just had videos playing and we didn't get to see it up and running.

We got free Jelly Bellys though ;-)

We wanted to ride the trolley but it seemed nearly impossible with two kids and how PACKED they were. We had a very nice man tell us how the system worked. He told us to go down to the second to last Trolley stop because it doesn't have a sign so no one knows that the trolley stops there. Plus, since the trolley goes one way, we would beat everyone else on. He said he had 50 years of experience so we just followed him. He gave us free day passes and made sure that we made it on the Trolley. Then he just went on with his day. I love nice people!

We got to Fisherman's Wharf and there was this bum on the side walk holding a fake bush in front of himself and when someone would walk by he would move it and scare them. HAHAHAHA it was HILARIOUS! He had a bucket out for tips...I have never seen an act like that from a bum. We sat and watched him scare people for a while.

At Fisherman's Wharf we bought some fresh crab from a stand and ate it right there...it was very awesome!

Then we walked over to Pier 39 and Tysen decided that he really wanted to try the bungee jumper ride. We waited in line for a good hour and it was finally his turn. But, when he couldn't have Daddy come with him, he did not want anything to do with it. So, we got our money back and decided to get back to the trolley to ride back to our hotel.

While we waited for the Trolley there was a man playing the guitar and singing songs with a bucket out for tips. Tysen was in love with this. He loves music and guitars, especially when he gets to watch someone play one. He went to his bucket and gave him a tip and the guy started playing "Twinkle, Twinkle", "Old McDonald" and "ABC's". Tysen FREAKED! He was dancing and singing. Everyone in line, waiting for the trolley, were taking pictures and video of Tysen because he was so funny!

No matter what we are doing or where we are, Tysen seems to get an incredible amount of attention. Such a HAM!

This trip was really one of my favorites. It was like we took three vacations...one after the next. It seemed to make it last longer. I think Big Sur will be our camp spot! I couldn't imagine going anywhere else! The best part was having my family with me and making new memories!

2010 Family Vacation (Part 2)

Monterey is were we lived it up! It was the part of our vacation that we experienced the luxury. It was so nice to get down and dirty when we were camping ....but, it was sooooo nice to come to Monterey and get cleaned up!

We went to the aquarium. It was a huge aquarium with lots of neat fish. Tysen loved the touch pools. He was scared at first but after one of the workers started talking to him and helping him he was all about touching the sea creatures. He thrives off of being social. He will do anything if someone does it with him :-)

Bubba Gump Shrimp company was just outside our hotel. They had the bus stop and Forrest Gump's shoes for people to take pictures in front of. Dan was so funny trying to pose like Forrest. He makes me laugh all the time (funny guy).

I had to see at least one lighthouse before we went home. We went to see one of the oldest working lighthouses. I loved it.

When I say that we lived it up, I am talking about our suite that we had. The hotel was fabulous! 1 bedroom, two bathrooms, balcony, windows facing the Bay, two fireplaces. I fell in LOVE right away. My favorite was opening the windows in our room at night and seeing the squid boats on the bay with their lights on and hearing the seals bark.

Then in the afternoon when we would lay down together to rest it was so nice to have the windows open and listening to the sounds of the Bay and the Birds! It was so relaxing that every time we had the windows open and laid down with Jayden, he fell right asleep.

Tysen enjoyed the binoculars that were there for us to use in the room.

2010 Family Vacation (Part 1)

For our 2010 Family Vacation we decided to drive up the coast. Our first stop was Big Sur. We camped for 3 nights. It was our fist time camping as a family and I have to say that it might have been my favorite vacation with the kids yet. Big Sur is the most beautiful camping area. One minute your enjoying the redwoods and loving the smell of pine and campfire..the next minute you are sitting on a beach that sits right outside of the redwood tree. It is the best of both worlds.

We decided to drive the scenic route to get to Big Sur. We made a few pit stops to enjoy the coast. It was so exciting to have the coast right next to us as we drove. I couldn't get enough. We stopped at seal beach and saw at least 50 seals (if not more) laying out on the beach. Some coming in from the tide and some going out. It is weird how they just took over that beach.

While in big sur we hiked up to see Pfieffer Falls. It is a small little waterfall (compared to Hawaii) but the scenery that we were able to enjoy while we hiked ....we were drinking it up!!
Our camp ground was perfect. Very spacious and it felt like we were deep in the Forrest (not to mention the hot showers that were 2 seconds away).
Tysen had fun collecting sticks and talking walks with us. Jayden just LOVED being outside. He was no problem as long as we were hanging outside. The boys were so good...and everything was so peaceful!

And...the BEACH....OH the Beach!

The pictures speak for themselves. There was hardly anyone there. I felt like we were the only ones.
Tysen absolutely loves the beach. He loves the water and he loves running after it and running away. He did not want to leave. Jayden just chilled in his nifty little backpack the whole time. Seriously, can you really have enough beach/husband and son pictures. My Family looks even cuter (if that is possible) on the beach.