Remember When...

World Photography Day

2011-08-19T11:20:00.001-07:00

Apparently today is World Photography Day. So, I took the advise of one fabulous Jasmine Star and "grabbed my camera and shot something today."

So, I recruited my children to help.

I have been thinking of Baby Ruby a lot lately. Her story has impacted my life in so many ways. It is because of her and her families perspective that I did not hesitate on what I wanted to shoot today. I am most in love with photography when I can capture the happiness and joy of my own family. Sometimes I forget how happy it makes me. I get caught up in getting the job done for others that I skim over the fact that I bought my camera to document our life as a family.

It is when I take picture of them that I don't care if I am following the rule of thirds, or if my picture is in focus, or that the composition could be better. I fall in love with ever picture I take of them and I want to hang them all up on the walls. I want to remember these sweet faces because right now they are growing way to fast then I'm comfortable with. This time, jumping on the bed, will not be as fun soon and they will not be as easily amused. I want pictures of their toes, their noses, their big beautiful eyes. I want to remember how they smelled through these pictures. I know it is a lot to ask from a picture...but pictures are memories and I can remember their smell and the sound of their giggles and they jumped and then fell on each other.

So, as I celebrate World Photography Day with my children I am grateful for the fact that my camera is able to capture such sweet moments. I am so thankful for my children and so thankful for Baby Ruby and her family, who taught me to savor moments and SLOW DOWN, have fun! We sing a little more (if that is possible)..we pretend a little more, we hug and kiss a little more...and I take a little more time for my children (period). All of these moments are tender mercies from the Lord and I am most thankful for that!

Happy World Photography Day!

Thank goodness we have photography because sometimes words just aren't enough.

To The Greatest Daddy on the PLANET!!

2011-06-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

"Walk a little slower, Daddy,"

said a child so small.

"I'm following in your footsteps

and I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,

Sometimes they're hard to see;

So walk a little slower, Daddy,

For you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up,

You're what I want to be;

Then I will have a little child

Who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,

And know that I was true;

So, walk a little slower, Daddy,

For we must follow you."

Today You Have Grown Even More Wonderful!

2011-05-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

Many people do not like to divulge their age and, to them, birthdays are a terrible day that only emphasizes that hideous number.

But, I think that the number is the beautiful thing about birthdays.

I know that when I look at my husband, who has turned 34 today,

I see a man who is...

34 times more handsome today

34 times more wise

34 times funnier

34 times more of a man

34 times better as a father

34 times a better kisser

34 times more charming

and he has 34 wonderful years of a great life lived!

So, to be ashamed of the number (34) would mean you were ashamed of the 34 years of memories and experiences.

So, Hunny, I refuse to keep your age a secret because I am proud of these amazing years. I can't wait to have more with you. I have a lot of love wrapped up in you and I love you more every second. So, you better get older so that I can love you up more and more everyday.

I love you Daniel!

Happy 34th Birthday Baby!

I guess 34 is kind of old.....

(HA! just kidding...had to throw an old man joke in there.)

Movies Outside

2011-04-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

As it gets hotter we start to spend a lot more time outside.

It is the favorite place to be right now. From the time they wake up...to the time Daddy comes home...the boys want to just play, play, play outside.

We have even started watching movies outside instead of in the T.V. room.

They pull their little chairs over to the BBQ Island and sit and enjoy a show outside..in the shade.

Tysen always has to have the Blue chair.

We love spring/summer time

(it's getting so hot I can't tell which on it is right now)

Boys 101

2011-04-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

To Be a Boy You Need:

A Sword

Some Armor

Some Dirt

Bad Guys (who are out to get you)

Hiding Places

and...

A Very Active Imagination

Tysen got a lesson on being a boy this week while his cousin Gavin was over to play.

Gavin taught Tysen all about the art of sword fighting and "bad guy" (or, as Tysen puts it, bad boys).

They had to have all the Armor on for protection.

This was what they gave Jayden for protection :-)

Gavin made good use of a helmet, a shield and a baseball bat (or sword).

...And Tysen had a sword and some armor that covered his chest (who cares if it is upside down)

Of course, the outfit would not have worked without PJ's

(even though it was probably 1:00 in the afternoon)

These two knights saved me from a lot of bad guys...and believe me, there were a lot.

But, I wasn't worried one bit...I had three strong , brave, heroes protecting me!

I am one lucky Damsel.

I mean just look how determined they are to protect!

Whenever...Wherever

2011-04-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

If I do not put him down for his morning nap...he will pass out by himself in random places.

His favorite spot is his highchair... he does that a lot

The other day he was playing in my room in front of my bed while I did laundry. After a while I didn't hear him anymore but I could hear some little snorting sounds...he was out!

He is a snorty sleeper! We had the dog sleeping in our room one night and Jayden in our bed (which is a rare occasion...our children actually prefer their own beds) and Dan leaned over to me and said...I can't tell which one is snorting more the Dog or Jayden!

Anyways, this time he passed out with two binkies ( I can not bring myself to wean him yet..I need the binkies to stick around a little longer )

...And his shoes on

He brings me his shoes now. I think he thinks it means something exciting is going to happen if we put his shoes on.

Sleepy babies are one of the things I will miss when they are all grown...(sigh)

The Essence of Newport..In Love

2011-03-05T16:08:00.000-08:00

I planned a relaxing weekend for my hubby as a belated Valentine's surprise.

We went down to Newport and stayed at a cute bed and breakfast right on the beach.

I just got my new camera from my hubby for Valentines Day so we had a lot of fun trying it out on the gorgeous day at the beach.

I have always loved his smile...what a cutie I have for a husband.

My husband actually really loves the camera and loves to try his hand at photography every now and then...and I am afraid he is better than me sometimes....or I'm just a really good model ;-)

I love little details

I am so mad that my husband gets to claim this shot. I mean, I did tell him the details of what I wanted the shot to look like... and then I posed the right way...so I should get some credit, right?

But, technically, he was holding the camera..so this (my favorite shot of the day) goes to my husband.

Pictures under the pier.

I really loved feeling Newport's vibe. It was so relaxing yet it had a great energy about it that makes you want to just break out in a hip hop dance or stop to do yoga. We did not do either one but were very tempted to.

yes...It must be that I am just that good of a model...I think I will be in another life.

At the end of the day we went on a romantic, sunset gondola ride. We have never been on one before and it ended up being really great! (ok it was a little cheesy with the boom box blaring the oldies and the basket filled with lunchable meat and cheese)...But even so, the old romantic songs playing in the background were sweet and it was fun to boat around the Newport harbor and envy all the amazing homes and great big boats.

I love you babe....you know I do!

Your it for me!

#103 I love that you will put up with my cheesy plan to ride the gondola. And I love that we can laugh at ourselves.

Jayden's First Birthday Party

2011-02-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

First Birthdays are always a big deal. But, since we have such an enormous family it is hard to invite friends..so we had a nice big family party for our (growing too fast) Jayden.

It was all about the CARS!

We had cars everywhere for all to play with... and we played red light, green light.

...And the Birthday Boy came out wearing a very appropriate T-shirt that read "Speedy"

We made a big muffun cup cake for Jay to dig into..and he did...he didn't even wait for the candle to be blown out.

He was very happy with the mess that he made.

Grandma and Mom washed him down in the sink before presents.

PRESENTS!!!

He loved opeing all his presents. Especially, the big ball! He knew what it was before he opened....(Aunt Melissa...how did you wrap a ball??)

The alphabet train was from Mommy and Daddy!

We can't forget the really cool pop-eye shirt that he got from Aunt Shelley. So Funny!

Who needs real mustles when you have a shirt with "pop-eye" mustles.

Thought this was cute...Jay with his cousin Brooke!

Happy Birthday my sweet, stubborn, goofy, dramatic, fast, squishy, happy baby boy!

Annual Birthday Photo Shoots

2011-02-01T13:45:00.000-08:00

I never got around to taking 3 year old pictures of Tysen in November.

When Jayden's birthday came around in February I decided to get birthday pictures of both my sweet boys.

Tysen 3 years old.

Very Healthy

Very Smart

Very Silly

Very Sweet!

Jayden 1 year old

Very Healthy

Very Smart

Very Wiggly

Very Crazy

Very Snuggly

Very "Momma's Boy"

Very Squishy!

Being a photographer, you would think my kids would know how to sit still and smile or pose....NOPE! This was the hardest thing. I had to bribe them like CRAZY. That is why Jay had chocolate and crumbs all over his nice white shirt....*sigh*

I just figure it makes for sweet, sticky, messy, funny memories.

Plus, for how wiggly they were, I am surprised I got this many pictures out of them.

Jaden's First Birthday CAKE!

2011-02-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

This will be our tradition...

I will never get enough of watching my babies stuff thier faces with birthday cake.

I am so tickled the whole time I am trying to snap shots.

Jayden was cracking up the whole time (unless he was stuffing his face).

It was so cute to see him so messy with cake and giggling like crazy.

We finished our photo shoot off with a big "glass of milk".

What a day! Such a hard life these babies live.

Snow Day

2011-01-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

We went up to Palm Springs and took the tram up to the snow! We had to see the snow before our Christmas high faded. We bought a sled on our way up. It was a very busy day, very crowded! If we were to do it again we would get up there EARLY!

We got up there and just had fun sledding down "kid friendly" hills. Tysen would not stop; he wanted to keep going up and down the hills. Jayden just wanted to crawl around and eat snow and whatever else he could pick up.

We made a snowman and it didn't last long because of the giant baby that pulverized it...Poor snowman, didn't stand a chance.

He just kicked back until Dan got him to the top.

Jayden is adorable! That's all I can say

Jayden is so wiggly and all he wanted to do was crawl away. He is going to travel the world one day. He can't stay in one place. He is too curious.

I love myself a great family day.

On the ride home we passed a lot of COWS! They smelled so bad that Dan had to sniff an empty Gatorade bottle in order to block the smell.
I just thought it was the funniest thing. He drove like this for like 20 min.

#102 I love how much you make me laugh and I love that you get grossed out so easily...hahaha

Christmas Morning

2011-01-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

We had such a great Christmas this year! Crazy...but great!

Black Friday Shopping

Ty's Birthday

(remind me to post about that)

Cookie Making

Homemade PJ's

Made a stocking for Jayden

Got Sick

Birthday...Went to see a Christmas concert

No sweets through the holidays

Shopping for families in need

Christmas parties

Wrapped presents

Christmas lights

But the best part about it all was Christmas Morning...

and the look on their faces!

Really can't beat family time!

(we had lots of that too)

Christmas Eve at Grandma Phelps

2010-12-24T20:09:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-12-20T08:37:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-22T21:59:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-11-21T14:27:00.000-08:00

COME VISIT - and leave some comments for me :-)

http://www.crystalruby.com/

I Miss You The Most!

2010-11-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-11-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-10-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

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"

2010-09-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-09-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-09-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-09-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

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.

Ashley ..."Sister Whitman"

2010-09-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

My Beautiful sister is going to be turning in her papers to receive her mission call. We took some fun shots of her and thought that we might get a mission plaque picture in the process. She is gorgeous isn't she. The boys will be lined up waiting for her when she gets home :-)

Brooklyn

2010-09-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

This is the sweetest boy! He was a little serious in the beginning but after a while of play he warmed up and we got some great smiles from him. His Mommy is one of my old friends from my days working at "Richies Diner". It was so great to catch up and see her little one all grown up into a toddler.

Don't Be Deceived

2010-08-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

He may look very cute and cuddly but he knows exactly what he does.

This is Jayden after I tried to put a bite of cereal in his mouth (yes, after only ONE bite, he looked like this)

I have tried everything...the kid does not like cereal. I did sugar. I did bottle. I did lots of sugar.

He refuses to eat it.

He purses his lips and does a sour face like I just gave him a lemon.

When he sees the spoon coming his way he starts flipping his hands around and covers his face while putting it face down on his tray. So that I have NO chance of touching the spoon to his mouth. After this big fight he put up...he looks like this! (refer to above picture)

He won't eat cereal but he will eat 12 oz of milk within a 4 hour time period..and not spit up!

CRAZY BABY!

On another note:

Jayden is now 6 months and is doing great!

We are so blessed by the health of our children. I am so excited when I can say that we are all healthy and doing well.

(Even though, the medical bills have made Daniel and I a lotta sick in head)

Jayden is a very strong willed, stubborn boy.

When he want to eat, he will let you know....SERIOUS!

He is very wiggly (as predicted from being in my tummy)

and he is very very strong.

He was rolling over at 4 months and is now putting his knees under himself and getting to an almost crawling position. He can pretty much get anywhere he wants through other means of transportation that he has figured out.

He eats more than any other baby in history!

I can not keep up with him.

But, yet he is small, which could only mean that he is so wiggly he is burning off all the calories as fast as he takes them in. (I totally buy that)

Six months is a very fun age for Jay. He is much happier (maybe because I give him all the food he wants...which is an insane amount).

He sits up and plays with toys and I love to see the boys playing together...my favorite!

Tysen tries to console Jayden by playing his "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" on his guitar and them saying, "It's ok Jay, Tysens' here." (when Mommy is obviously taking to long to pick him up)

We will see Jay's Cardiologist in another month and we will have an update on Jay's heart.

Tysen is do for scans soon as well...hopefully all is well.

We had our Family Home Evening and we went to the park as part of our activity. It was super fun and I was able to do my favorite thing besides hang out with my family...Take Pictures!

And some cute ones at that!

Ty loves FHE so much. He always conducts and get up front and tells us who is going to lead the song and say the prayer (he usually picks himself).

I love to see him enjoying learning about the gospel. I can't believe the information that boy retains. FHE is so much funner with a funny two year old around.

THE WIGGLES CONCERT ON THURSDAY!

2010-07-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ever since we bought the tickets in JUNE, we were telling Tysen that we were going to see a Wiggles concert, just like they showed on T.V.

He didn't get it at first; but, as the week of the concert rolled around and I made him a Wiggles shirt (iron on) and we started X-ing off the days on the calendar, he got more and more excited. Every night before bed we would mark another day off and he would say "When you wake up, you get to see the wiggles on THURSDAY!"

It really was the cutest thing ever to see him get so excited about something.

The day finally came and I think it really sunk in for him when I finally put his precious wiggles shirt on (it had been hanging up, eye level, to taunt him all week)

we drove all the way to San Diego to see the Wiggles.

We got there just in time (thanks to Dan's crazy, "we're gunna be late" driving) and got in our seats

(3 rows back from the stage!!!)

There was some music and talking at first from a "no name" guy that Tysen was not impressed by. He waited patiently and looked as though he knew something better was going to happen.

FINALLY!

There they were! One by one and called out by name over the load speaker!

JEFF! ANTHONY!

at this point Tysen was laughing, pointing and looking quite overwhelmed to see them coming out

(it was all too exciting)

MURRAY! (Murray is his favorite!)

Tysen's Laughter turned into TEARS!

He was a crazed fan!

& SAM!

(he is not so sure how he feels about Sam, being a replacement of Greg and all)

Crying returned to laughter and excitement.

(Insert classic video of Tysen crying/laughing here)

...and at this point Dan and I were rolling in our chairs holding our bellies...it was a very classic moment for us.

They got on with the show

Tysen calmed down

Mommy sang all the songs.

These wiggles sure know how to keep you entertained. It was such a cool concert, I have to say. We were right up front with all the action!

They surprised everybody by coming out in the audience to greet people.
What nice Wiggles they are!

It was fun to see them come out into the audience but I swear each one of the Wiggles almost tripped over Tysen!
Tysen wanted to see Murray the most..Murray came right up and said hello!
(after that, I was sold on the Wiggles..I am considering becoming a Wiggles groupie)

They sang all the songs that were anticipated and danced the moves to go along.

Then they said good bye :-(

We will never forget you Wiggles concert...

Really, a Top Dollar Show!

The only problem is, Tysen thinks we are going every Thursday

Beach

2010-07-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this is the first time we got to the beach this summer and summer is nearly OVER!
I guess the point is, we got to the beach as least once this summer.
This was Jayden's first beach day....we got his first "feet in the sand" picture.

We decided late that we wanted to head down to the beach. We left the house by 11:30
Drove to Oceanside behind very slow trucks.

Got to Oceanside hungry. So we walked down the 10 mile long pier and ate a Ruby's (who had run out of ice cream)
Then by 3:30 (don't ask me how the time passed so fast) we made it to the sand and set up to stay for the rest of the day.

Even though it was a late start, we were all very laid back and were in no rush. It felt good to have no real plans and to just go with the flow. We were hoping to get a fire pit (who were we kidding) they were completely taken up by end of summer high school hooligans (which is fine because it turned out that the kids did not last that long anyways)

We got in the freezing water.
Built a sand castle.
Found Sand Crabs.
Tysen ate sand.
We buried Tysen in the sand.

Mission "beach day" accomplished!

Wild Rivers

2010-07-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

Have you ever just thought "something's gotta give"?

I was just getting the feeling that we were doing too much; we were all high strung and needed a brake.

Wild Rivers was our "Quick Fix".

We reserved a private cabana to chill out in when we got tired (it was sooo worth it!)

We left our stuff in the cabana while we explored the very fun water rides.

Ty's favorite was this big blue slide.

He would not get off the thing!

Our cabana was right next to the kiddie playground (so if Mamma had to stop and feed baby, Daddy could take Ty to play)

His second favorite place to play.

We also loved to lounge in the river pool. Just sitting in our tubes and floating (so nice)

until, Tysen decides to try to swim against the tide and starts floating away (not nice!)

Thus, the life jacket on him in the next photo.

Needless to say, it was exactly the care free day that we all needed.

Building With Daddy

2010-07-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

We were walking out of Lowes and noticed that they were giving kids a building project. So, we grabbed one, gave Ty a hammer (took away the hammer) and got to work.

That face has trouble written all over it...(doesn't help that we gave him a hammer to go along with his mischievous face)

Tysen hammering away. Daddy got scared a few times by the way Tysen would swing his arm all the way back and just start pounding on the wood as fast as he could. It was very finny to watch though.

All done! We made a ball catcher game thingy.

First Fourth, Third Fourth

2010-07-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

This year is Jay's First 4th and it is Ty's third 4th of July. Grandma Whitman came down from Utah to join us in celebration and to meet Jayden. We had a blast having so much family in town. Since the 4th was Sunday we did most everything on Saturday the 3rd...but we called it the 4th :-)
We walked to the ward breakfast. They had funnel cake...sooo good! I really really love our ward so it was really awesome to just mingle and have a few laughs with some awesome people. Then we had EVERYONE over for swimming and BBQ. (no pictures because everything was at my house so I was a little busy.)
Finally, when it got dark, we went to see the fireworks at Pachanga Casino (which were not great...Tysen was out cold anyway). We got our firework fix though and felt no need to see more.

On Sunday (the real 4th) We had some more family come over to make patriotic sugar cookies and have taco soup. We opted for watching fireworks on t.v. (which were much better than the ones we saw in person...the base from the t.v. was better than what we got at the live ones). It was actually a nice and relaxing day.

First BIG RIDE!

2010-07-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

We went to Knott's while my sister was down and I took Ty on the Log Ride! His very first big ride! Poor guy didn't know what he was in for when I told him we were going on the BIG ride. He just assumes bigger means better. He was all for it and ready to go with Mommy on the ride. I told him before we dropped that I was going to put his hands up and he said "ok!"...so I did! When I saw his face in the picture I was laughing so hard but I felt so bad for putting his hands up. He didn't scream (He was probably in too much shock) and when we were done he enthusiastically put his hands up and said "I DID IT". Then after the ride I asked him if he wanted to ride it again and he said "ya!" and I asked him what he was thinking about and he said "I'm thinking about I was berry scarred on the log ride" (yes, he really speaks in full sentences like that). But, he went on it two more times and loved it!

Fireman...Like Uncle John

2010-07-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

Heather (my sister) came down from Iowa and spent 2weeks with us. I hadn't seen her in three years and she had never met Tysen. So, it was oober exciting for us. We took the kids to the forestation that Uncle John works at and played around in the fire engine. Of course I had my camera and caught some cute little moments. As Tysen puts it "Fire engines are AWETHOME!"

They were fighting over the headphone things and over who gets to drive the wheel. But they loved every minute.

Thanks Uncle John!!

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin!

2010-06-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

...And now Jayden will show us how to roll over at only 4 MONTHS!

Tysen did not roll for a long time. I think it was at like 8 months; but, we knew Jayden would be a super strong boy because he liked to kick really hard in Mommy's tummy. He has proven to be even stronger since he was born. He is so impatient and strong willed but when he is happy he is really happy! He has also been smiling since only a couple days after birth. He might know what he wants and will not quite until he gets it... but he is very sweet and really fun to tickle and play with.

I really can't get over how strong he is!

WHITNEY IS HERE!!!

2010-06-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

Spent the day at Tom's Farm with my bestest friend from high school.

I got to meet her new sweet baby boy James.

He is sooo adorable. That kid is gunna be a model.

Tysen got to go around with Dan on the train and on the carousel while Whit and I caught up a bit.

Her awesome family came with her and it was good to see them too.

It was such a nice day and it was so relaxing being able to laugh and just hang out.

So excited she will be here for a whole month!

I mean seriously a gorgeous baby!

Aren't' they the cutest! What a beautiful Momma!

Baby Nathan

2010-06-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

I loved taking shots of this Cute Chubbo Baby!He is a month younger than Jay...Jay can't even compare to Nate's chubbiness.

For the pictures Nathan kept sticking his tongue out and smiling like crazy at his Daddy. He also liked spitting up on his Daddy. I got some nice close up pictures of that :-) He is a special little spirit and he has awesome parents.

Love you Nate!

I Wonder

2010-06-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Dedicated to Jayden on his blessing day.

I wonder what you’ll do
I wonder who’ll you’ll see
I wonder what lives you’ll touch
I wonder who’ll you’ll be

I still wonder who you look like more
Your Mom or your Dad
And I still wonder what makes you happy
and what makes you sad

I look at you now
With your bright alert eyes
Seeing the world so simply
Seeing no bad, hearing no lies

Your innocence inspires me
And makes me think clearer
You feel our home with love and life
And bring the presence of God nearer

I wonder if I will be able to raise you right
I know I will try
I will take it day by day and enjoy you now
I know that life flies so fast and it will soon pass me by

I don’t ever want to miss a laugh
I don’t ever want to miss a smile
I don’t want to miss kissing your tears
I want to make ever moment worth its while

Always know that you are the world to us
Know that you are a precious child of god
You have a special purpose to fulfill
Remember to hold fast to the iron rod

Some last words of advise…
It is better to have loved
than to have never loved at all
Always get right back up after you fall

Please remember to live as the savior did
Please remember to have joy in your life
Be strong in your faith
And let Christ help you carry the strife.

Jayden's Blessing Day

2010-06-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

We finally blessed Jayden. He is almost 3 months and his blessing outfit would not have lasted another month.

We were so happy to be able to know that you are healthy and to be able to give you a Father's Blessing in front of our ward and family.

You had a lot of family come to witness your blessing...(we literally took up about 5 rows... and it wasn't even half the family).

Your Father gave an amazing blessing for you from your Heavenly Father.

It talked a lot about missionary work and how you will be able to share the gospel. That is one big thing that stood out to me.

It also said to learn to be patient and I think you could start using that piece of advise like NOW!

Jayden we love you so much. You light up the day with your smile. You are very good at flirting.

We thank our beloved Heavenly Father for you every day!

Look how big you are! You do not look like a newborn getting blessed. Daddy was worried that if we waited to long to bless you, you would try to run away from them. We were close, but you stayed put. You only started to wine for the last part of the blessing.

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T21:56:00.000-07:00

I wanted to thank these women for all of their hard work in raising me and my husband.

We love them so much, I don't think they will ever know...

I wanted to thank my Mother in law for raising the greatest man that I have ever known. My husband is a wonderful person all the way through. It is actually incredible how kind and loving he is. I thought that he had to be the most caring, loving, kind person in the world...and then....I met his Mother. When I met Dan's Mother I finally understood where his great qualities came from. This woman would give anything for anyone. She would drop what she was doing in a moment just to help you pick something up off the floor. She is so giving and she forgets herself completely, in order to think of others needs. She cares so much about her family... she cares so much about people in general. She has a gift for empathising with you and trying so hard to understand the way you feel. She always has great information too. She is very wise (I know my husband got that from her too). I look at her and I am so appreciative to her for all that she has done for us as a family. I appreciate her qualities because I know that it was those qualities that made my husband the most amazing man. I want to make my boys as strong and as loving as she has made her children.

I look at her and think..."What a Woman!"

Love you Mom Carlson!

On this day I can't help but think of this woman who raised me to be such a great woman :-)

My mother has an incredible spirit. She has a strong spirit. She is patient and wise. She is so talented and always seems to find a way to make things happen. She has a deep love for her children (all fourteen!)

She has taught me so much through out my life. It was through her patients, trust and love that I learned my greatest lessons in life. To this day I really don't know how she has done it all. I never knew how she ever put up with me until I had my own children. I know now that it is only through love that she was able to with stand the "teenage years".

I look at her with so much love and admiration. She is always smiling and is always excited to see and to be with her children. I am so proud to be her daughter. I can only hope that I can turn out to be a Mother like she is. She loves the Lord with all of her heart and her testimony is unshakable. Our conversations never end without her bearing some of her testimony with me, which, in turn, strengthens my testimony. She always woke us up at the crack of dawn (before seminary...yes BEFORE!) to read scriptures as a family and to say family prayers...we never missed a day. She encouraged our strengths and strengthened our weaknesses. And was always quick to forgive our mistakes. I know God meant for her to be a Mom but I don't know if he anticipated her to be the BEST!

I love you Mom for making it your life's goal to be the Best!

You are my Hero!

Today, Tysen was sick still from yesterday so these are just some of the faces I got. I guess for me Mother's Day was all about doing the Motherly things that Mothers do...like taking care of a sick two year old and making sure he is happy and comfortable...minimizing his sadness and pain.

Daddy bought him a "I love Mommy" shirt to wear. I loved that!

Eventually, Tysen calmed down and he was trying so hard not to be sick and to be happy.

Daddy and my sweet baby boys got me flowers, cards, candy and a very pretty watch.

Daddy made me dinner and even finished the night with doing the dishes!

It was a great Mother's Day!

I am so luck to be the Mother to such beautiful, sweet, cuddly boys. They are my life and I will spend the rest of my life trying to help them grow in the best ways possible. I devote my life to them and my husband because...Where would I be without them?

I love you Tysen and Jayden...and I love being your Mommy.

I know I will do a good job because I have learned from some of the best Mommy's in the world.

(That includes all of my sisters and sister-in-laws)

He knows My "Real Name"

2010-05-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

Daddy- "Ty, say Happy Mother's Day"

Ty- "Happy Mother's Day.. Crystal

(Oh no, he knows my real name and he is using it against me on Mother's Day)

Me- "Hey MR. You call me Mommy on Mothers Day!

Ty- Ok, Crystal

Me- :-(

Dan's Birthday Weekend

2010-05-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

My goal for Dan's Birthday was to take as much stress off of his shoulders as possible. So, for the sake of being close to the kids, we went to Pala Resort and Spa. We had a yummy dinner at "The Great Oak" in Pechanga. Then we sat and listened to a live band play Bob Marley songs. We even danced a little.

Then we went to go check into our room and the resort had upgraded us to the Luxury Suit! It was so niiiiiice!

I loved the Jacuzzi tub :-)

Dan opened one of his presents. The Kodak zi8 (HD) pocket camcorder.

Then we had room service brought up for breakfast and from there we went to the spa to get a couples massage. Dan said it was the best he's ever had. It all felt so relaxed and Dan didn't even have problems to deal with at work. (every time we go on any kind of get away there is always a major problem that comes up at work for him...ALWAYS. So, it was really nice for him not to have to stress about it.)

Then, we went and saw Iron Man 2. We have not seen a movie in ages so this was exciting.

We ended the day picking up our sweet boys and giving them lots of kisses and hugs! Even though it was soooo what we needed and soooo relaxing, we still missed the boys terribly.

Then today Tysen woke up with the flu at around 1am and we have been so exhausted. But, by late afternoon he was feeling much better so we decided to make a cake for Daddy and Tysen wanted to give Daddy the present that he picked out.

Daddy made a wish and blew out his one pink candle :-)
(sorry it was the only color I had)

Tysen licked the cake for Daddy.

Daddy got a snow cone/ slushy machine with the flavors and everything because Daddy loooooves his slushies!

Don't get a brain freeze Daddy, take it slow.

Air Show! March Air Force

2010-05-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

We woke up early and headed to the air show at March Air Force. Tysen was in HEAVEN when he saw all of the cool air planes flying around so close.

When the loud jets came by he played it cool by placing one hand on Daddy's leg and grabbing on tight. He was really scared but only I could tell :-)

There were so many planes and jets on the ground for Tysen to sit in and be amazed by.

We sat under a ginormous airplane to get shade. We stayed there through out the show. It is not everyday we get to kick it under the wing of an airplane.

Tysen had his little airplane and he kept flying it around doing the sound effects. (I loved that!)

Oh! Their faces were so cute. They seemed as though they were both the same age at this point. It was a little boy's dream (that includes the little kid inside of Dan ).

Some amazing stunts from the Jets. They were so cool and I loved taking pictures of them. I could see the little guys in the jets with my telephoto lens.

It was one of those days that I just sat back and watched with Joy at how much Joy these airplanes brought my two boys.

Jayden was such a good boy..he slept a lot and I just held him in the shade while Tysen and Dan were joined at the hip. Tysen was like Dan's shadow. (so Cute!)

Yup! It was just one of those good days...ya know?

Thanks Aunt Rebecca!

2010-04-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

My sister is a master seamstress and she makes all of the blessing gowns in our family. She sent me Jayden's outfit the other week and since we are not blessing him until June I wanted to take his Blessing pictures early. The outfit turned out to be this amazing little man tuxedo and I am so very lucky to have such a talented sister. Thank you so much Rebecca for doing such a wonderful service for us! We love you and we LOVE the outfit.

Here are some pics of my adorable little man in his adorable outfit.

Totally GQ

2010-04-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

While I was playing with my camera, taking Jayden's Blessing Pictures....I had Tysen jump in for a Little Man photo shoot.

These boys are sooo cute and they are my favorite models to shoot but I think it is about time I start using other models for photo shoots to get more practice.

It is hard not to want to take pictures of the cutest boys in the world though.

One Minute... and Then The Next

2010-04-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

One minute he will be smiling up a storm and as happy as can be....

And the next he will be balling his eyes out.

I think it is so funny how his switch can flip so fast.

These pictures were literally taken one snap after the next.

But,

ever since the first day we brought Jayden home, he has been quite the smiler. He smiled way earlier than Tysen did. It is so sweet to see him smile every time he wakes up and as he is dreaming.

Even though he can be very cute while smiling, it does not last very long. Jayden can get very mad. He kicks his feet against the floor so hard that he scoots himself from one side of the floor to the other. He is very strong. Poor little boy has the smallest , softest cry ever since he was intubated in the hospital.

It is so sad.

He will cry all day long and then give me one smile and it will have made it all worth it.

I love baby smiles!

I Love that he Loves it so Much

2010-04-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

Joy when he saw it

Tears when I gave it to the cashier to buy it

Overwhelming Excitement when I asked the cashier for scissors to cut it free

Pride when he held it and knew it was now his to play.

Then, when he fell asleep, still holding so tightly with his palm

Mommy had Joy, Tears, Overwhelming Excitement, and Pride.

Tysen loves anything to do with music or singing. He reminds me of myself when I was young. I would go around the house singing all day long. The only difference is that Tysen doesn't have any other siblings that are telling him to SHUT UP!

Yes, it's true, I am 90% certain that I would have grown up to be a famous singer ( and I mean REALLY famous) had I not been brutally scarred in my child hood (it's ok I forgive you guys).

Anyways, I am hoping that Tysen will turn out to be the great singer
...as I was always meant to be :-)

Best Cousins

2010-04-14T11:40:00.001-07:00

Tysen and Laura are the very best of cousins. They have such a ball together and they make me laugh all day long!

Laura came over yesterday and she wanted to watch a movie that Tysen wasn't too into. Tysen started to get bored so he thought it would be funner to try and tackle Laura. Laura shrugged it off a few times but the little bug kept at it. Finally, Laura took Tysen down in two seconds FLAT. Then she just put her elbows on Tysens belly and had him pinned down under her while she continued to watch her movie...HAHA

All the while, Tysen is trying to get up (with no success) and shouting, "I'm Stuck!"

It was hilarious!

Then they went outside with me and played on the big school bus we have outside. They always have a great time on that thing. It is so cool and colorful that, of course, I decided that I would take pictures of them to remember their special bond by.

He Falls....He SCORES!!! SWOOSH!

2010-04-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

BIG BOY ROOM

2010-04-12T11:05:00.001-07:00

I never got the chance to write about Dan's hard work on Tysen's big boy room. He worked day and night on it before the baby was born so that we could switch Tysen from the nursery to his new room.

He painted the colors I picked out.

He put up crown and base molding.

he decked out the door, closet and window with casing.

And he put a beautiful window seal on the window.

After all that, He build a little closet organizer (my favorite part)

There is room for all his toys on one side and his clothes and shoes on the other!

I love it... it feels much more organized now.

I swear my husband can do anything!

If he doesn't know how to do something ....he will figure it out.

He is AMAZING!!

And of course Tysen loves his "big boy room", as he calls it.

Even though he looks so small in it..he loves sleeping in his ginormous bed.

The cool part about the bed is that it is a full on the bottom that can convert into an twin if we want it to.

And of course, he helped me put the finishing touches on the decor.

So cute, if I do say so myself.

The boy loves his sports.

Good Morning Beautiful Boys

2010-04-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

It is Sunday morning and Dan has gone to church to be spiritually fed. I am here at home with my two boys, who spiritually feed me as well. Tysen is being funny and crazy as usual and Jayden seems so peaceful and sweet. Tysen wants to hold Jayden, I give Jayden to him and my heart aches when I take Jayden back and Tysen cries, "I want to hold Jayden again." He just loves his brother.

Tysen is so proud to hold his brother while I take pictures of them in my bed. And even when Jayden cries, Tysen only kisses him and says, "Oh, it's ok Jay....What's wrong Jay" but he still does not want to give him back.

I love watching the love exude from both of their eyes. I never knew that two could be sweeter than one.

I love my boys....I could never say it enough.

I love waking up to these sweet faces.

They give me everything to look forward to.

the only boy missing is my handsome husband.

Groovin' at the Wedding

2010-04-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

Last night Dan and Ty went to Cousin Tyler's Wedding reception and got his groove on.

Wherever there is music Tysen is having a ball. And the microphone that he found was just a bonus!

Ty is such a ham when it comes to people's attention. He loves to make people laugh and he loves to have a good time.

They were happy to help Tyler and Jessica celebrate their special day. Congratulations you two!

Love these two!

Somehow got a cowboy hat on and just went with it.

If there is a microphone around you know Tysen will find it and he will use it.

I mean, his favorite show is American Idol!

We LOVE grandma! Ty never stops talking about his Grandma. They are so cute together.

This is just funny! Don't know where he got these either, but again, he just went with it.

He makes everything look cool.

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

For some reason our hospital trips seems to fall on holidays...

New Years...Tysen

Christmas....Tysen

Valentine's Day.... Jayden

Easter...Jayden ...etc....

So, we were ill prepared for Easter this year...Luckily Grandma Easter Bunny came to the rescue and delivered some amazing baskets to the boys. Some cute pails filled with candy, toy trucks, little ducks, bubbles, and fabulous jammies.

After the Easter Bunny came Aunt Emily and Uncle Derek came and picked up Tysen and took him over to Aunt Shelley's house for the egg hunt. He has been to two others before Easter so he got a lot of practice. Mommy, Daddy and Baby Jay stayed behind to get some much needed rest. Tysen came home passed out and wonderfully exhausted...he obviously had a blast!

It was a good day...and General Conference was just the icing on the cake!

Easter at Grandma Phelps

2010-04-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

Ty went to the Easter egg hunt with Grandma, Aunt Carie and Gavin.

and had a blast!

Thanks Uncle Michael for the pictures.

What a sweet face!

(don't let it fool you)

Looking for eggs with Grandma
his favorite part was putting it in the basket
Aunt Carie said that there were bags of peanuts that were thrown about the grass and he tossed those ones back.

scanning the candy for the one he wants...picky, picky, picky!

Very proud of his full bucket!

Very excited about what he got!

making sure it doesn't fall out.

The boy did great this year and even brought home some of Mommy's favorites :-)

Home Sweet Home

2010-04-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

We are home! It feels good but we still have a lot of adjusting to do. We are very tired and Daniel got sick and is now trying to recover from that. We are certainly glad to be home and we are anxious for our next Doctors appointment just so we can make sure Jayden is still doing well. He seems to be doing good except the fact that he has to drink yucky low fat milk. Hopefully, we can get him back on the breast milk soon. (cross fingers)

We are happy to be home! (sigh)

Since We've Been Here...

2010-04-01T17:08:00.001-07:00

Since Jayden has been in the hospital we've been able to capture these special moments from mommy's camera.

Making progress...

2010-03-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

Jayden has been making lots of progress. He's actually surprising a lot of doctors, but doesn't surprise us because he is such a strong baby. Since the last post, Jayden had several IV drip lines going for different blood pressure meds, various nutrients, pain meds, etc., but as of today that has been reduced down substantially. He really only has two going, and that is to keep him hydrated and to keep the central IV line good just in case they need it. They were able to wean him off the oxygen completely, so all of his breathing is on his own now. His blood pressure meds have been reduced down to an oral med. For pain, he is receiving Tylenol, which is much better because he's more aware and not so loopy/drowsy.

We did run into a few minor complications last night. The chest tube he has, which is used to drain excess fluids from around his heart, started showing fat cells, which is an indication that a duct (forget the name of it right now) was damaged during the surgery. This duct is part of the lymph system and is used to help flush out fats from the system. This is not an uncommon thing to happen with this kind of surgery. They have a general idea of where the lymph nodes are in the body but every body is different and sometimes a lymph node is damaged during surgery. Because of this, Jayden will have to go on a special fat-free diet. This means he will have to eat special formula for 4-6 weeks and Crystal will not be able to nurse him (She is really sad about this).

Our goals now are to get the chest tube out and to have the central IV line replaced for a traditional IV (Poor baby has had too many pokes). They say that it might be a few more days so that they can make sure that the drainage from his chest is under control. Which means we might be celebrating Easter here (Thanks Shelley for watching Tysen...Dan will probably be coming home to see him. We will call you). We trust these doctors and they have been very meticulous. They double & triple check everything and we feel that they are being very attentive to his needs.

We will keep posting updates as they come. Jayden did smile today for the first time after surgery...of course it was at the pretty nurse, but he did smile nevertheless. We love you all and feel free to call us with any questions or just to chat...we will answer if we are available.

Jayden update

2010-03-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

They were able to pull Jayden off the ventilator last night, which was a really good thing. He was not very happy, and it was sad to see his silent cry, but they were eventually able to calm him down and make him more comfortable with some pain meds. Once they removed the ventilator, they put him on oxygen. Hopefully, they can wean him off that today.

Aside from the pain and keeping him comfortable, we are a little worried about his blood pressure. Initially, after the surgery, his blood pressure seem to be almost normal, but then started going up. They were giving him two different blood pressure medications intravenously, and were able to reduce it down to one. We were hoping that they were going to be able to wean him off of the one, but unfortunately they had to increase the dose, and will be adding the second medication again. They say that he will probably go home with blood pressure medication. Please pray for his blood pressure to go down. If he continues to make improvements, we might be able to go home on Thursday.

Thanks for all the prayers, kind love and support!

Out of Surgery and Stable

2010-03-29T14:43:00.001-07:00

We just wanted to update everyone and let you know that Jayden is out of Surgery and stable. He is still on the ventilator, which is basically doing all the breathing for him. He has several tubes and machines hooked up to his little body as well. It's very scary to see, but we blessed to have him in good hands. Currently, they are keeping him sedated and waiting for his blood pressure to go down. When that happens they will be able to wean him off of the anesthesia and start to see if he can take some breaths on his own.

All of this has really been a great blessing. All your payers have been felt. Please continue to pray for Jayden to have a speedy recovery...It's been working so far. Thank you!!!

Prayers for Baby Jayden

2010-03-25T23:26:00.001-07:00

Written by Shelley (Crystal's Sister)

Crystal wanted me to post this blog to give you a little more details of what's going on with Baby Jayden. When Jayden was in utero, perinatologists detected a narrowing of one of his arteries going into his heart through ultrasound. They took lots of tests and told Crystal & Dan it didn't look like anything serious but to follow-up with a cardiologist when he was born. When he was born they detected a slight heart murmur in the hospital and ran some tests to be sure it wasn't caused by the same thing. Everything looked OK and they again advised Dan & Crystal to see a cardiologist to follow-up. At one of his regular check ups Crystal was impressed to get the referral from his regular pediatrician to see the cardiologist even though there seemed to be no sign of the murmur. Crystal got the referral from a doctor at CHOC and went to see him today. During the visit and routine ultrasound the doctor found that indeed the artery was narrow and had worsened. He indicated that it had been a little lower than previously thought and urged Dan & Crystal to go home and pack and go straight to CHOC to admit Jayden into the ICU. Jayden will be there to go through a battery of tests to fine tune his diagnosis. He is set to have surgery on Monday to remove the narrowed artery through the side of his body. We know through prayers, fasting & faith Jayden will be just fine and growing like a weed. Whitman prayers are the best medicine for the Carlsons now. I will try to keep everyone posted on details as they come. Thanks again for the love and support, I am so grateful for our family and Dan's family what a great network to fall back on when you feel you can't do it on your own. We love you all!

Pictures Are So Valuable

2010-03-05T09:03:00.000-08:00

I will probably be posting loads of pictures since I have a new born and a sweet two year old that, i think, are so stinkin cute. I want every moment captured...especially the ones where Tysen leans over his brother to give him the softest hugs and kisses ever while whispering, "it's OK baby Jay." I cry every time! These boys are just too cute together in their "Big Brother" and "Little Brother" shirts (thanks Grandma Carlson and Carie).

This Boy and His Music

2010-03-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

Tysen LOVES music! He loves to listen to it, sing to it, play to it, dance to it... He just loves it.
He even asks to watch American Idol every night so that he can grab his microphone and sing along. It is his favorite show right now.

Every morning he wakes up wanting to play Daddy's guitar. He has good rhythm and he has a good memory for lyrics and melodies.

Daddy decided to sit down with Ty and teach him a thing or two about the guitar. Tysen was just eating it up! He sat very still the whole time just listening to Daddy and then when Daddy actually let him play it...oh he was soooo excited! He was very careful when he strummed the guitar and he made sure that he strummed all the strings at once or he would try again.

These are the moments that I just have to capture because I'll bet that Tysen grows up to be a great musician some day, and now he can look back and see where it all started...in his Daddy's arms.

Presenting...

2010-03-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

Good News!

2010-03-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

(insert picture here)

Everything went really well and we are expected to come home today at some point. They found the problem and he is expected to make a full recovery. What a strong boy! Thanks to all those who kept Ty in your thoughts and prayers.

Prayers for Ty-Man

2010-03-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

Tysen will be going in for surgery, yet again, today at about noon. He will be getting a revision on his shunt because he is showing major signs of it's malfunction.
We just want to ask for prayers that everything will go smoothly for surgery and that he will recover well. Tysen loves all of his family and we all appreciate your love and support. We are very grateful to have the Lord watching over him.

A Fine Tuesday Morning...

2010-02-21T15:31:00.000-08:00

February 16th 2010

at 9:30am

Jayden William Carlson was born

weighing 7 pounds and stretching out at 19 inches.

Mommy labored in the hospital for a mere five and a half hours. Things went smooth as can be and I have to say how much I love Fallbrook Hospital! I always feel as though I am the only one there with all the attention I get.

After labor I was escorted to my PRIVATE room! And we had a few visitors

including big brother Tysen. Tysen looked like a giant when he walked into the room. He was not my baby anymore. He suddenly turned into my Big Boy!

We went home the next day and took some time to relax and adjust to our family of four. It wasn't too hard. He defiantly is cute enough to be apart of our cute family.

JUST ABOUT READY...

2010-02-15T16:16:00.000-08:00

TO POP!

We are very ready for Baby Jayden to arrive. Things are all in place and I keep running through the house cleaning up every little mess that I see.

This pregnancy has been pretty great.

Even though Jayden seems really strong, and at this point, it feels like he is going to just kick his way out.

He is an active boy all the time!

Anyone could feel him kick any time of the day. You could see my stomach moving in weird directions all the time!

It is hard to imagine that we will have a family of four soon.

We have gotten the rooms ready, the baby clothes are down, and the swing is out.

We are very anxious to meet you baby Jay.

I don't know if Big Brother Tysen fully understands what is about to happen but he seems excited to meet the baby in Mommy's tummy.

The Doctor's have been telling me for about two weeks now that I might go any day because I am already dilated a little. But...(sigh) ...that was two weeks ago and even though it is only two days before the due date we are left wondering....

Will this baby ever come?

Sports Photo Shoot

2010-01-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

Tysen and I went to the park with all of his different sports ball to take pictures for his new "big boy" room. It is sports themed and I wanted some cute framed pictures of him playing sports...HIS FAVORITE!

Now I just don't know which ones to pick.

All That Matters is...He Thinks He is Helping

2010-01-15T16:59:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning out the pantry and It was one of those times that I was so focused, I blocked out all other sounds from my brain.

Tysen was in the kitchen with me but I did not notice the work that he was doing. He was very busy as well.

He opened the dish washer and decided to unload it. I caught him in the middle of putting away the silverware (yes, even the knives) in the silverware drawer. He knew exactly where those went. He just wasn't tall enough to sort them.

He took out the plates too. After opening several cupboards, I guess, he figured that the plates didn't belong in any of the cupboards that he had opened because he eventually put them on the dining room table.

Even though I had to put all of the dishes where they really belonged, it was so sweet to see all the effort he put into putting the dishes away in, what he thought, was the right spot.

(please let this be a permanent trait of his)

I couldn't ask for anymore.

2 year old Check Up!

2010-01-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

Tysen, you are 2 already and doing great!

Aside from getting the flu like three times this season, You are healthy and very smart.

You do not have anymore physical therapy (because you were doing too well)

and your understanding for things has shot through the roof!

You weigh 29 pounds and stand 32 1/2 inches tall.

You are in the 50% for your age, even though people are constantly commenting on what a

BIG, solid boy you are.

You are such a healthy boy.

Being 2 has brought on some new and interesting attributes.

You now have a mean voice and a nice voice and you are learning when to use them.

You also have quite a temper and you like to FREAK OUT when you don't get your way.

There is also hitting and a little bit of scratching which usually leads to time out and then a sweet hug and kiss. (time out is a new 2 year old activity that we have now)

You test Mommy and Daddy to see how far you can go before you get into trouble.... you've tested this theory many times and yet it seems that you still need to test it over and over and over and over!

Aside from all the "normal" 2 year old behavior, you have become quite the talker! You like to talk a lot and you come up with new words everyday. You surprise Mommy and Daddy with how much you understand.

You can count to twenty (with the exception of 3 numbers)

And you are very interested in your alphabet.

You like to ask everyone "How Do'in?"

and you like to ask "What time is it?" every five seconds.

You LOVE to be around people! You love to say "hi" and "bye" to everyone in the store...which usually starts up a conversation, which makes every shopping trip take about double the time it should.

You have an amazing memory!

After meeting someone once, you will always remember their name and you will make sure to call them by their name.

You have memorized the words to many songs.

When we drive somewhere familiar you always tell Mommy where she is going.

And, because you have an OBSESSION with climbing stairs, you seem to always remember the places that have stairs.

(the stair obsession is getting to be a bit much)

You are a very sweet boy. You love to ask for "suggles" from Mommy and Daddy. You say your own prayers and you make sure Mommy and Daddy are both present before you say them. You hug and kiss Mommy and Daddy randomly (my favorite).

And if anyone around you is emotional you make sure to ask if they are "ok?" and then you get emotional too.

You love to say "bless you" when ever anyone sneezes.

Tysen you get funner and funner to watch grow. You sure are more of a handful now and you can really bring down the house when you are mad, but you also bring a lot of joy and love to our world. You are a happy, outgoing, emotional (cry at the drop of a hat... like Mommy), loving 2 year old boy!

We really are lucky!

Christmas Morning 2009

2009-12-25T12:29:00.000-08:00

I loved Tysen's face when he saw his power wheel quad bike. He rode it around and had to get a feel for it. He kept pulsing the button that makes it go. so he was stop and go for a while until he figured out that if he held it down it would keep going. :-) We took more video this year than pictures. So we only have the one family picture. That is ok because we can watch the great video footage we got.

Tysen got:

Aquadoodle

computer

shopping cart

train set

tonka trucks

microphone

....among other things

Daddy got:

Bike

Universal Remote

Sage TV

some tools

blue ray DVDs

cologne

Mommy got:

Necklace

Lens

cricut

VS Jammies

Perfume

"Gone With the Wind" Blue Ray

Here we are in our matching jammies on Christmas Morning.

This Christmas morning was special because we were able to deliver some presents to a needy family. It was a very special experience to shop for each person and to deliver them (anonymously) on their door step Christmas morning. We were able to teach Tysen about giving this year which is something we want to be a priority every year.

Grand Canyon/ Polar Express..Choo Choo

2009-12-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

For our Christmas vacation we took a trip to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon and to ride on the Polar Express train. The Grand Canyon was so gorgeous with all the snow around. We took one train to the Grand Canyon; then, we got back and rode on the Polar Express train, where we met Santa Claus. Tysen now has a new found love for trains since experiencing them first hand.

This vacation was the perfect thing to do before Christmas to get us in the spirit! It was filled with lots of fun family time and beautiful scenery. And we got to experience the prettiest white Christmas ever.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-17T17:14:00.000-08:00

We didn't get as many of these out this year as we would've liked So, we just wanted to make sure we wished all of our friends and loved ones a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Decorating the Christmas Tree 2009

2009-12-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

We got our tree the other weekend and it has been sadly bare until now. We woke up today and it felt like the perfect time to decorate out tree. So we got out our plastic ornaments and our colorful lights and decked out the tree. Tysen was all over the place trying to do everything at once. He was so amazed by all the new "toys" that were brought down from the attic to decorate the tree with. He didn't want us to do anything without him, until after about 15 min, then he was ready to move on to bigger and better things.

Setting up the (non breakable) nativity scene.

Putting up ornaments with Mommy

Trying to do it himself.."I can do it Mommy"

Helping daddy put the hooks on

Maybe Daddy can help

Work Christmas Party

2009-12-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

Since I was young, I have always LOVED to get all dressed up to go somewhere. I still get very excited and in this case it was much needed. I am 7 1/2 months pregnant and I really needed to take time for myself. Getting all prettied up rejuvenates the soul, I think. Even though it didn't start out very fun because when I went shopping for a dress I only got more depressed as I looked at my round figure in a bunch of ill fitting dresses. Thank goodness I came across this dress, which isn't even a maternity dress, because I was about to give up and it would've resulted in wearing sweats to Dan's Christmas Party. :-)

The Work Christmas Party was fun and I even won a $50 gift card. We had a yummy dinner and had a great time spending our fake money at the mock casino night. I am getting pretty good at Black Jack, I'm too scared to play anything else...maybe next year.

I was very proud to be on my hubby's arm all night. He always makes me feel like the only woman in the room. He looked very handsome as well. I even loved that we were color coordinated (like prom or something)

It was exactly the night I needed with my husband.

Christmas Stockings

2009-12-15T22:34:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do these last year but there were...complications

So, I made sure to get them done this year before CHRISTMAS!

And even though my house is in shambles, I should be doing a million other things and my child was a little neglected for a day...We will have stockings for Christmas!

I'll go straighten out my priorities now :-)

...I'll do the new baby's next year

BIG BOY BED!

2009-12-11T12:01:00.000-08:00

This had to happen before the baby came....

And it did...with little to no problems. (except that Mommy cried at the sight of her big boy in his big boy bed)

Mommy's Number 24 Birthday

2009-12-11T11:48:00.000-08:00

DISNEYLAND!!

Love the lights
Love the rides
Love that Tysen wanted to ride the carousel 20 times
Love the music
Loved Tysen's face on the Pirates of the Caribbean
Love that it is Christmas time
Love that I got to spend my Birthday with my Family!

Why is he crying....it's Disneyland!

Cookie Day!

2009-12-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

Every year we have a cookie day with Dan's family and we make gingerbread houses. This year we had it in our backyard. The kids made some cool houses and by the end of it we had candy everywhere and frosting all over the concrete, the basketball hoop, the hammock, and the KIDS! What is cookie day without FROSTING WARS!

Dan working hard on the construction...I said I would decorate :-)

Working away, trying to build the BEST!

Decorating our mini-me house

We ended up with a pool and all...the boys were very creative but, mommy made the house look gooood!

Everyone with their awesome houses!

Love this tradition!

Tysen's Number 2 Party

2009-12-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

SHOULD HAVE BEEN POSTED 11/25/09

For Tysen's number 2 birthday we just had Family over for dinner and sang happy birthday! Aunt Emily made an Elmo pinata that Tysen was not sure about hitting at first...But, after all the other kids hit the Elmo head Ty got right in there with them. Aunt Shelley (the cake expert) made the Elmo cake which was SUPER yummy. And Ty loved all of his Elmo decorations (which we left up for a few days just for fun). Tysen got lots of ELMO toys (are you starting to see a pattern yet?)and he got his first Geo Tracks set.

We have a tradition in our family that after the Happy Birthday song is sung and the candles get blown out the Birthday person has to BITE THE CAKE!

Tysen completely went for it...no questions asked!

Tysen is so good at being the center of attention...he thrives off of it!

Cheesy Matching Jammies

2009-11-11T07:48:00.000-08:00

These will never get old for me.

We made it a tradition to have matching pajamas for Christmas and I LOVE IT..as cheesy as it is.

The only thing is that matching P.J.'s cost a fortune so the only other option is to make them!

Last year I made them but with the help of my wonderful sister...ok...with A LOT of help from my sister...ok, she pretty much made them for me!

Anyways, I did not want to bug her again so I found a tutorial online and I am soooo proud of myself! They are super easy and now I know how to make then for every year!

(and I did it all for about 25$ bucks!)

I made my pattern by tracing an old pair of P.J. pants. Then cut is out and sewed each leg together

Then you have to sew the legs to each other by putting one leg inside the other and sewing around the crotch area

The only thing left is to size the waist band and hem up the bottom.

With in a couple hours I had three pairs of pajama bottoms.

Here are all three...Tysen's are too cute!

We just got matching shirts and I designed a little logo on the computer then ironed them onto the shirt.

They are not perfect but they turned out cuter than anything they had online!

Baby # 2

2009-10-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

MY HAVE YOU GROWN!

Mommy is feeling pretty good now. Not as tired and not as sick.

You are kicking like a maniac! The doctors tell me that you are a BRAT already because you won't sit still while they try and take pictures of you.

You are healthy so far. We had a couple scares but everything turned out to be O.K.

Your big brother loves to tell Mommy that there is a baby in her tummy. I don't know if he fully gets it; but, he is learning how to be very careful with babies so, by the time you arrive he will be a pro!

Tysen gets mad at Mommy because when he goes to sit on my lap he can't sit back all the way. He gets irritated with your little bump then and want me to move it away. Other times he kisses and loves you and seems to be excited for you.

We are just so happy that we are all doing well and that we are all HEALTHY!

Still working on your name...

Mommy, baby#2 and Tysen at 18 weeks

Mommy and baby#2 at 5 months

Happy 4th Year!

2009-10-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

It does not seem like it's been four years since our wedding. Time flies and I can't believe we already have one baby and another on the way. We must be having fun for time to fly by so quickly.

For our anniversary (October 15th) Dan took me to a new restaurant in old town called "The Edge" A little too overpriced for my taste but the food was pretty good. We sat in a cute little booth and were able to just take our time and talk. We even managed to talk about things other than pregnancy and Tysen. We reminisced...and it was so nice to reconnect a little.

Then (since I'm pregnant and can't stay up past 10:00) We went home and PASSED OUT!

Boo Bear, (HEHEHE)
I only get happier and happier each day with you. You have taught me so much about love and patience and understanding. You are my rock (who I lean on way too much) and you never get tired of how much I need you. I feel so much security in our love for each other. I admire the person you are. Because of your love and support I am a better wife, friend and mother. Thanks for being my Best Bud! I love you!
Happy Anniversary!

Halloween Fun ...All Month Long!

2009-10-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

We still have 2 weeks left in October and we have already squeezed most of the FUN out of Halloween. I don't know if Tysen will cry or laugh when I tell him he gets to go trick or treating again.

We've painted a pumpkin with Miss Natalie

Proud artists!

We've gone to the Pumpkin patch festival with Gavin and Travis

and put on the famous ELMO costume.

Picking out a weird green pumpkin

Sweetest Elmo EVER!

Got his hair sprayed blue

Along with his cool cousins

We've Gone to the Trunk-or-Treat at the church

and used hands to eat the donut on the string

In record time too!

Hung out with more cousins...

Jace, Kade and Gage

Got all decked out in costume...

And we have to do this two more times still!

(we should have skipped dressing up for the trunk-or-treat)

But, it sure feels like Fall is in the air

(apart from the 100 degree weather)

179th Annual General Conference

2009-10-18T10:49:00.001-07:00

We were able to score tickets for the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference this year. We have never attended before, so it was really exciting. We took my little brother, Quinn, who is preparing to go on his mission.

It was very surreal to feel how the spirit grew stronger and stronger as the apostles took thier seats. And, when the prophet and his counselors entered the room there was an explosion of love for these men that poured out from my own heart. I have so much love and appreciation for all they do and for the great service they give to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

All of the talks were so wonderful this Conference but I would like to record some highlights from a Sunday morning talk given by President Monson entitled "What Have I Done for Someone Today?"http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1117-27,00.html

“When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”

I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives.

How many times has your heart been touched as you have witnessed the need of another? How often have you intended to be the one to help? And yet how often has day-to-day living interfered and you’ve left it for others to help, feeling that “oh, surely someone will take care of that need.”

we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the “thick of thin things.” In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes.

I have wept in the night

For the shortness of sight

That to somebody’s need made me blind;

But I never have yet

Felt a tinge of regret

For being a little too kind.

We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.

The words from the 25th chapter of Matthew come to mind:

“Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
“Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
“Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
“When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
“Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me

Have I done any good in the world today?

Have I helped anyone in need?

Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?

If not, I have failed indeed.

Has anyone’s burden been lighter today

Because I was willing to share?

Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?

When they needed my help was I there?

This talk inspired me most for this time in my

life. This is just parts and pieces of this talk but there was much more said that touched me deeply. Like the story he told about his birthday gifts...The service projects that people did for President Monson for his birthday were so sweet. And I realized that I do not have to wait for some extravagant service to be done, that service comes in all shapes and sizes. It might seem small to me but it might have meant the world for someone else.

There are many times that I have taken care of my needs before even thinking about the needs of others. It is important to be aware of the needs of others and to ask myself each day "Have I done any good in the world today?"

SEAWORLD!

2009-10-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

We went to Seaworld on September 12th.

Grandma and some of Ty's cousins came along with us. At the beginning of the day Tysen would not get too close to the glass to see the fish, but by the end of the day he was yelling at the fish through the glass. Now he is very aware that fishies are not just crackers.

Lots of boy cousins.

Gavin, Tysen, Jace, Kade

Gavin feeding the manta rays. The thing sucked his WHOLE hand in its mouth!

I attempted to feed them...ya..it was grose.

Daddy and Tysen looking at the starfish. Tysen actually touched it only when it was out of the water. He would not touch it while it was in the water.

We did not want to wait 60 min to go on this ride. It was hot and we just wanted to get wet. So, we stood on the bridge next to it to get splashed. Tysen LOVES the water. Evertime it splashed him he would bust up laughing.

This was such a cute picture, just wish something interesting was behind him in the water.

Jace and Ty are really good buddies. They had fun walking around together.

At the little water park they had water that squirted up from the ground. Tysen loved it and it was so funny to see him get nailed in the face.

Of course, before the day ended we had to go on the ELMO ride.

It was a good end to the day.

Grandma rode the Elmo fish with him.

I am one Lucky Girl!

2009-10-09T15:54:00.001-07:00

My wonderful husband has been helping me a lot around the house, especially with the vacuuming. Every time he helps Tysen wants to "help you too". So he grabs his "bacuum" (that I got at a garage sale for $3.00) and follows behind Daddy, which means he usually gets tripped over. He doesn't seem to care...he just keeps cleaning and throws a fit if he can't "help you" when Daddy is helping.

Like I said,

How Lucky am I?

And cleaning for me right before my Hubby had to go to his presidency meeting

Tysen's Little Moments

2009-10-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

Tysen: "Mommy.....Mom...Mommy!!"

(after calling Mommy many times with no answer) .

..long pause...

"Daddy!"

Dan: YA?

Tysen: "I -ant (want) Mommy!"

"I -ant (want)"...

(fill in blank with anything he wants...usually Elmo or Juice)

Mommy: "fold your arms...you're in time out!"

Tysen: Pay-er? (prayer)

Mommy: No! Time out...big trouble

Daddy: "Ty are you having a good day?"

Tysen: "Ya...Day!

HUNNY? HUNNY? (yelling around the house to find Mom or Dad)

"wuv you baby"

"BIG GRUNT" when he is frustrated with something (oddly sound just like Mommy's frustrated GRUNT)

"awww....Mom" (when I won't let him do something)

"Dan...are you?"

"See Mommy!" at EVERYTHING

"Niiiice" while petting the dog (The dog runs off) "Awww...SIT, SIT!!"

Pregnancy Brain

2009-09-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Can't remember where it put the USB cord for my camera....

Frustrated!

Potty Awareness

2009-09-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

Ever since I took the "big boy potty" out Tysen has really taken an interest. I only got it out to start getting him aware of what we do with the potty and aware of the feeling. So every once in a while I set him on it and tell him to go "pee pee" or "poo poo" and he would just sit there feeling very proud to be on the potty. Nothing would come of it but at least he was liking being on the potty.
BUT yesterday was the first time he actually "pee peed" in the potty...TWICE! I, of course, had to ask him if he had to "go"...he won't tell me yet. Before, he would tell me "I poopy" but that is a little too late for the potty.

THEN, this morning I caught him all red faced in the corner and I asked him if he wanted to "POO POO" in the potty...he hesitated because I think he was already in the middle of pushing and then he said "ya" and ran straight to the potty wanting to get his pants off A.S.A.P. I sat him on the potty with his chocolate milk and went to finish the dishes and when I came back he had a BIG "SURPRISE" (seriously, what am I feeding him) waiting for me.

I have never been prouder!
I took a picture to prove it to Daddy (which I am sure he is not going to want to look at) I will spare my blog audience and not post it and I am sure it will get deleted by Daddy immediately!

Another Sweet......

2009-08-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

Momma Whitman you were right!

We are so excited for Tysen's baby brother to come.

Please give us some of your favorite names to think about.... We have no clue what to name him.

Sometimes, You Just Gotta Let Them Play.....

2009-08-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

Even if it racks up a huge water bill and soaks them head to toe......

Their BIG smile makes it all worth it!

HAWAII

2009-08-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

We took our "big" family vacation this summer from the 15th to the 25th of July. It was a nice TEN days of relaxation and beautiful sight seeing.

We cruised around the Islands. It was so awesome to see how each Island is different and still so pretty.

In Honolulu we visited Pearl Harbor (sort of). We went on a tour to see it but since we brought our sweet little boy we had some complications and we missed our boat out to the actual Pearl Harbor sight. So we admired from afar.

Honolulu was filled with tourists but we loved the beaches there. The water was so warm and the waves were not too big. Tysen loved being out in the water. It was definitely his favorite part. He laughed so hard when the waves hit him in the face. We also went to visit the Honolulu temple, which is under construction, but it was so nice to be able to see it and to go into the visitor center. It is such a beautiful building.

Finally, one of the last things we did was visit the Doll Pineapple Plantation. That turned out to be really fun and interesting. We had pineapple ice cream and I never knew there were so many different kinds of pineapples. Honolulu was a BLAST!

(P.S. Honolulu has the BEST french fries EVER!!)

Maui was our day of true relaxation! We just hung out on the beach, swam in the hotel's pool (not sure we were allowed too), and took a great nap together. We rented a Jeep, which was so fun and SO Hawaii. We also found a great "secret" breath taking beach and there were only about five people on the whole beach. Maui will always be one of our favorites!

Hilo did not have many beaches but the sight seeing was amazing! We went to visit the Botanical Garden, where I had a photo field day. Then we went to see Akaka Falls, which was so worth it. It was like seeing the waterfall in the movie "Jurassic Park". It was HUGE and very overwhelming. Then we went to visited the active Kilauea Volcano. We didn't see the lava but the steam was flowing up from it everywhere.
When we got back to the cruise ship, later that night, we passed by the other side of the Volcano which was flowing lava into the ocean....THAT WAS SOOO COOL!!! I have never seen Lava flowing like that before and it was one of those things you just don't believe unless you see it.

Then we visited Kona and Kaui.

In Kaui we visited the Canyon. It was great to see and it wasn't a huge hike either. When we got to Kaui there were flash flood warnings! It was pouring for half the day so I didn't take out my camera too much. But when the sun came out a little we hung out at the beach where a sea turtle swam right up to us and kept bumping into us....It FREAKED me out a little so Dan got up closer to get the picture.

Even though it was a little gloomy this day, Kaui was soooo Beautiful!

In Kona we did some shopping and we went on a glass bottom boat. We sighted a pack of dolphins (which I have never seen before). That was very exciting. They even did some flips for us. We did hang out a little on the beach but the water was a lot colder for some reason. Even so, it was a nice time and very beautiful and fresh there.

Hawaii was a dream come true! We wish we were still there :-)

New Words for Tysen

2009-08-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

cacker (cracker)
bubbow (bubble)
Yee Ya (see ya)
biaper (diaper)
bubbon (button)
Dadda Go? (Where did Dadda go?)
Okay Momma/Dadda
Cookie (cookie monster)
Ocar (Oscar the Grouch)
Melmo (elmo)
Bir (big bird)
wower (flower)
Ewww dose (ewww, grose)
gucky (yucky)
yu you Momma/Dadda (love you)