Ella gets her way

Ella has the worlds laziest Mommy. She has been sitting on the potty with success for about 6 months now but I have not been ready to tackle this yet. 

A few months ago I would find her diaperless, asking to wear big girl underwear... I said no. In early April I had her in underwear all day long, it was going great. When she woke up in the morning I put a diaper on her. I have just been in no hurry to do this. 

Finally, 3 days ago, I gave in. She has been really stoked to be a big girl and has only had one accident thus far, even going poo-poo in the potty without incident. Even though she's made this really simple I still loath potty training. Its going to be really nice having no diapers around here until late September though.

Great job Ella. We are proud of you!!!

united by a common interest

Luke has started to love riding his bike around. His Papa is a pretty big time rider, going over two hundred miles per week. Luke linked this common interest together Saturday.

"Now Papa and I can be friends!" were his exact words. Followed by, " we can both ride bike's together, like speed racers!"

This weekend was Dave's birthday. Papa and Nana were coming over for cake.

"Please Mama, will you ask Papa to bring his bike so that we can ride together?"

I knew my Dad would be over-joyed at Luke's sentiment and excitement. Of course he'd bring his bike, this was certain.

Luke waited all afternoon to ride. He didn't want to go without his bicycle pal... Papa came at 6pm. Luke waited patiently for him all afternoon, his bike in a holding position on the side yard, helmet ready. Lukie bolted out of the house when the white van pulled up and he got a sparkle in his eyes when the liftgate went up, revealing Papa's beautiful yellow bike. 

That's when the fun began. The boys rode their bikes for about 20 minutes... until we had to start the cake. Luke was so happy to have this bond with his Papa, that only they shared for those moments. All that mattered was Papa, Luke and those 2 bikes speeding down Lavender Street.

And it made me realize how wonderful my Dad is. Not because he wanted to bond with his grandson. And not because he acted like the 3 mile an hour speed they were going was faster than even Lance Armstrong could go. But because I have so many memories just like the ones my Son was creating. I have a Dad who loves to have fun and to  play. He always has. He has not only always been there for us to teach, guide and counsel. But to play and laugh with. He is silly and active and always ready and excited to go and do. 

I am so grateful for my Dad whom I have always loved and admired more than anything. He is one of the most amazing men I have ever known. And I am so grateful that my Children have the privilege of knowing, loving and playing with him.

look at the admiration in Luke's face

Ella ran behind them the entire time... I was actually quite impressed with her ability to keep up and her endurance to do so.

The 2 cyclist's doing what they do 

He had a smile on his face this big pretty much the entire time

Happy Birthday!

I will make this short and sweet. 

Happy Birthday honey. I know Sunday birthdays are a little bit of a bummer but I hope you had a nice day. And I hope you weren't as disappointed as Luke was that you only had 2 presents and no Star Wars plates, cups or a R2D2 cake. 

I am so grateful that 31 years ago today your Mother was holding a little baby David. And that the tiny (literally) newborn grew up to be this incredible man who has changed my life and made everything in it better.

Happy Birthday. We love you so much.

Love,

Me.... and our kids

Our first trip to the Dentist

The kids were stars. Regretfully they each had a tiny cavity. OK... Ella had 2. I felt like a bad parent, hearing my 2 year old had 2 cavities already. It made me feel a bit better to discover they were really small though.... for some reason. 

The root on Luke's chipped tooth is starting to release. The Dentist said that happens a lot to a tooth thats been hit at one point. So it looks like he may loose that front tooth within the year and we'll have to get use to a new smile again. The tooth fairy was not expecting to come so soon, but that will be a fun milestone too.

A sad realization

I just got to thinking... why is it I have already gained 10 lbs. Most of which in the last 6 weeks. Then it hit me. The following are the things I crave and eat the most during this pregnancy. What do you think the damage is? Personally I cant believe I haven't gained more weight then I have. 

97 calories and 33 mg of sodium in 1 can. I NEED at least one of these, or a Pepsi, each day. This one's not going anywhere!

Heavenly Egg Salad. Just 49 grams of fat. Luckily I have sort of kicked this one.... for now. Woody's has the yummiest ones out there, unless you can get my Mom to make her Grandmas recipe. Good luck with that one, though her's inevitably has less fat in it.

360 mg of sodium. This one is the snack I can feel the best about. Why is it I can t crave a single healthy thing? O' because I am Jill, who use to sneak the sugar bowl as a child and eat from it in my closet. And Ella is just like that.

I can eat these until my mouth has sores....29 grams of sugar in probably what equates to 1/4 of what I actually devour.

14 grams of fat later Im feeling a little guilty. Though I had a king-sized one yesterday :)

One 18 oz. package of these amazing treats? Only 2520 calories. And saturated fat? Im not even going to go there.

This is where I can do the most damage. My burger of choice... and major craving.... the Super Burger. Now this little baby is something I have already eaten probably 10 times thus far along with a healthy-sized portion of fries. The damage on this burger alone? Only 60 grams of fat. Thats right, you read that right. I know because I looked at it about 32 times with my eyes wide open whilst my jaw dropped. This is now strictly on a "special occasion" outing maybe once every 2 months. So amazing though!!!! I just had one yesterday, who am I kidding. I cant let this go either.

Anyone have any healthy snack ideas? I clearly need help.

One of these things is just like the other

This is why I laugh inside when people say I am barely showing....... and for the record I am only trying to stress the difference in the belly size between these 2 pregnancies. 

me 8 weeks before I delivered with Ella... which makes me 32 weeks pregnant here. Maybe the lack of Family around had something to do with this size.

Me at almost 21 weeks. I think I am practically the same size! This is what happens with lots of double stuffed oreo's and Totino's pizza's on sale for 79 cents at Stater Bro's.

Hows that for depressing. Makes me sad. 

Lukes IEP

Well this week was the week I have been waiting for. Luke had his annual IEP with the School District.

I can not believe that it has been a little over a year since we started all of this stuff with our Lukie boy.

The first thing we did when I got there was go over his old IEP. Including the services he was getting, the areas of concern and the observations that had been made a year ago with him. I was completely blown away. I have known that Luke has undergone several changes in his behaviors and ticks in the last year, that has been clear to most who know him, but those 10 minutes of review opened my eyes to the enormity of his leaps.

It seemed like 80 percent of what she stated was no longer a concern. Some of the statement's were actually laughed at by his Pre-School teacher and his therapist, who were were in attendance. One such topic was his major adverse reactions and delay's to textures of almost all kinds. This kid will now touch and manipulate anything! Another was his inability to engage in pretend play. This has now become one of his favorite activities and he does it well and often. At one point in his IEP the Supervisor asked if we believed Luke to still be a distraction and interruption to others within a close proximity. His Pre-School teacher laughed and stated, "If I had an entire classroom of Luke's my job would be so easy I couldn't allow them to pay me to do it." Mrs. Suzuki also stated that academically Luke was ahead of every child in his class. That was something really cool to hear. Its nice to know that though he has some struggles that other kids don't have to address, he also has so many positives that come from the way his brain is wired.

Luke still has some hills to trudge up and some future hardships that he will need to push through. But I am convinced that his future is bigger, better and brighter now and it will continue to be so. I am so proud of his work, and it has been lots and lots of hours of hard work each week. 

I love you Luke boy and couldn't be more thrilled to be your Mommy. What a privilege it is to get to call you my Son.

bonne fête des mamans

I had to add a little something to Dave's sweet and thoughtful post and video.

I had the nicest day on Sunday.

I got to sleep in, had real french toast, got a super cool necklace that Luke picked out all by himself, got to watch Luke sing in Church with the Primary kids. I have to say, that was the best part of my day. He went up there without hesitation and stood right in the front. He sang so loudly that I could pick him out and knew every single word to all the songs. It was so cute. I had people coming up to me all day at Church expressing how impressed they were with Luke's first singing in Sacrament... he was so awesome! And so handsome and confident. Dave made an insane dinner. A full-blown turkey dinner with all of the sides. We all ate until we were sick, and then some. 

I am so grateful for both my own Mom and for the blessing it is to be a Mom. And thank you to a sweet Husband who takes so much time and effort to show me he love and supports me. I love you kids, thanks for such a special day. And all the other days in between.

Announcing Broc and Grant Ballantyne

My good friend Tara had her twins last week. I went over to bring her some dinner and got to take some pictures of the babies. They are so handsome and good. It made me so excited for September to get here! 

There is not much better in the whole world then new babies... and Tara got 2 of them.

Broc... what a sweet face.

This was my favorite picture of the evening.

So sad... but still cute.
Handsome Grant

Grant's feet

Sweet Grant, he loved being on his tummy so nice and warm... he's going to be a snuggler I bet.

Dane and Grant... I wish we had enough light to do Broc and his big Brother too. Dane was such an amazing big brother to these 2 tiny babies, so loving and helpful.

Broc's feet

aren't they beautiful babies? Congrat's Tara and David. Well done.

Our new house!!

We signed the lease to our new home for the next 3 years. It is perfect for us!! 2100 sq. feet 4 bedrooms/ 4 bathrooms, Family Room, Living Room, Dining area, Laundry, and best of all.... a finished basement with a bathroom in it! That means no toys our on the main floors of the house, my dream. And a room with a King sized bed we'll have, which means lots of room for visitors.

Its in a beautiful area where we are the smallest most humble home... I told Dave we'll need to plant some flowers or something. Down the street is a clubhouse with a jacuzzi, tennis courts and 2 pools. There are a ton of playgrounds in the area too. We are next to the brand new school which Luke will attend next year, Mammoth Heights, and a mile from our church. The grocery store and other shopping is 2 minutes away... needless to restate, this home is perfect!!!!

We are getting really excited now but are also happy to enjoy a big chunk of the Summer at the Beach and with friends and Family.

Covered patio with surround sound and beautiful yard. We back to a little sidewalk and grassy area so no neighbors!

Living Room and good size window to the pretty back yard. The paint in the house is beautiful! And I got permission to do the girls room... bring on the pink paint!!!

Nice sized master with private bathroom in it and a walk-in closet

we'll send out an email with our new address soon

almost 19 weeks

Dear baby,

I just wanted to document really quickly how nice life has been the last 2 weeks. I have stopped throwing up, put on my first, of many, 5 lbs. because I finally have an appetite,  and have more energy. I have felt you moving for the last 2 weeks but 2 nights ago Daddy got to feel you too. And you really put on a show. It was not just a tiny flutter here and there, you really danced for us for a good 10 minutes before you fell asleep. We were laughing at how suddenly you started to make your presence known. I think its because you are already proving to us that you can keep up with your competition, Ella.

So thanks again for finally settling in down there. I love you even more for it.... this is the good part.

I love you,

Mommy

Discovery Science Center

Dave got free tickets to the Discovery Science Center months ago and of course we waited until the day they expired to go. 

I would love to say that it was a wonderful trip for us all but the truth was I am not the biggest fan of this place. First off it is definitely for older kids. Secondly, it was more crowded than Disneyland. I hate crowds of people with a passion, nothing is worth weeding my way through them. And lastly it was just way too much to process for Luke. He spent so little time at each thing and then wondered to the next, and the next and the next.... for over a hour. There were a few things that I got him to concentrate on for a little longer but mostly he just scanned and scanned. Way to much for a boy like him. We had to cut our time short as I knew we were going to regret it if we stayed much longer. Just too much to process.

Luke's favorite part was a little video of a Tiger who, as he ran, morphed from fur to bone structure. He really enjoyed watching the transformation and all of the bones moving together. Maybe he'll be a Doctor.

So we will not be going back there for a few years. I am sure there are a million of kids who love and do very well at the Museum so in no way let me discourage you from going. Just don't call me to come along.

Lukie is all ready to go

Ella loved pushing in all the pins on one side and then running to the other to see what she'd created.

The front of the center. 

Ella and the Tiger masks

Luke really liked the Dinosaurs

looking at the Triceratops with Nana

Ella hugging Clifford

This was one of Luke's favorite things here. He really enjoyed throwing the ball to the catcher and asked if he and Daddy could come back to do it again sometime. This is the stuff Dave loves to see/hear.