"Peeky Doo"

This is Pinky Dinky Doo or as Maddix calls her, "Peeky Doo". This is a show that comes on Noggin at 1:00 pm which is when Maddix has quiet time. He watches this show and really enjoys it. Pinky makes up stories and will have a word of the day that correlates with the story such as gargantuan, gigantic, unique, nervous, etc. Maddix has started to use these words lately. He'll say gargantuan and knows it means really big. However, he uses nervous and doesn't really know what it means. It cracks me up. For example, I'll ask him to do something or stop doing something and if he doesn't want to he'll say, "Mom, I can't I getting nervous!" I really get a kick out of this. It just goes to show how much they really are picking up on. Another one of my favorite things he's been saying lately is "stylin" (aka styling). He is into combing my hair and putting clips in it. He'll say, "Mom I comb your hair and make you stylin." Or finally when he gets my hair clipped up, he'll say that it looks like a "cow's tail." Thanks a lot buddy!

Maddix's 3rd Birthday...

Maddix turned 3 years old on Saturday, the 24th. He had a Shrek party with all his 'girlfriends' and family. It was the first party where we invited his little friends, which the vast majority happens to be girls. In fact his boy buddies were missing in action on this one, so Maddix had all the little ladies to himself. He wasn't complaining. The kids played Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Swamp Hop (a Shrek rendition of musical chairs). All the kids were three except for Dakota who is in first grade. Needless to say the little ones were new to these games and Dakota was the champ for both. Maddix made out well in the gift department. He got a big remote control Ford truck, a train track set, The Jungle Book movie, some books and misc vehicles, dinosaurs, a sweeper vacuum (yes, he's always wanted a toy one so grandma Pam and grandpa Larry got him a real push sweeper/vacuum so he can really help and can sort of clean up his own messes too!!), and of course some more Play-Doh. He had a 'Shrektacular' time and got spoiled by everyone!

Christmas '08

We had a nice Christmas this year, as every year. We are very blessed and lucky to have great family, friends, and each other. It was especially fun this year because Maddix could understand the concept of baby Jesus being born and Santa Clause. We enjoyed watching Christmas movies this holiday season. We especailly love 'The Grinch' with Jim Carrey and watched it several times. Maddix was able to visit with Santa at our ward party. He was a little shy and didn't really talk. He was mostly interested in getting the candy cane, which has been one of his very favorite treats since last Christmas. We made lots of treats and probably gained a few unwanted pounds too. Maddix enjoyed opening his presents and everyone else's as well. From Santa he received a V-Tech educational video game system, a parking garage, Play Dough set, and some miscellaneous items like Curious George band-aids. He got a lot more toys from grandmas and grandpas. He was very spoiled. Carter got a few infant toys too which he is starting to enjoy now that he's trying to sit up. Maddix and Carter weren't the only ones who got spoiled...Ben and I did as well. We got a nice Canon Rebel camera to take better pictures with and also Rock Band. Rock Band was a lot of fun to play on Christmas day with all the relatives. We stayed in Roosevelt this year and celebrated with Ben's family. However, Nana Connie came out and stayed with us as well. Then a few days later, we went and saw my Dad and brother's and their families. We had a fun time with all our family and enjoyed a wonderful holiday season.

Sleddin' Tradition...

Last year Maddix and I started the Christmas Eve Day tradition of going sledding at the park by our house. Last year, Maddix was a little apprehensive about going down the hills. But this year he kept wanted to go again and again. We enlisted Dad this year who was a good sport to come even though he was having some serious back pain. It was a lot of fun and it's now our yearly activity to pass the hours more quickly until Santa comes. Plus it helps to tucker the kids out, always a plus!

Halloween

This was Carter's first Halloween and Maddix's first time he really went trick-or-treating! We had a fun time. Maddix dressed up as Batman or "datman" as he calls him. Carter just chilled in a little teddy bear jogging suit. Maddix went to see his grandmas, grandpas, uncle and aunt. We also had our friends come over for dinner, The Clayburns. Then Maddix went out trick-or-treating with Dad, his friends Dakota and Courtney, and their dad Ryan to the neighbors. The kids were all hyped up because of the sugar and out of control! They had a good time. It was a memorable Halloween. We're already looking forward to next year when Carter can dress up...we're thinking a baby Yoda!?!

Pumpkin Patchin'

For one of our family fall festivities, we went to a local pumpkin patch/corn maze. Maddix had fun climbing around on the haystacks, looking at the goats, playing with dump trucks, and getting consumed in the little house full of dried corn kernals. It was a fun little family outing. Of course Carter enjoyed being a spectator and got all decked out in appropriate pumpkin patch appearal wearing little overalls and cowboy boots! Later we bought some pumpkins and enjoyed carving them. Maddix is excited for Halloween and is going to be going "real" trick-or-treating (not just going to the relatives homes) for the first time!

Carter's Blessing...

Carter was blessed on October 12th. It was such a special day. We had our family and friends there to support us. Ben gave him a special blessing asking that he grow in health and strength; have a strong body, mind, spirit; that he be a joy to his parents; that he have a fun childhood; that he have a desire to learn and study in school, the scriptures, the gospel; that he get as much education as he can; that he serve a mission, find a worthy companion to take to the temple, and find a good career to support his family. Carter was really good and didn't cry at all during the whole sacrament meeting. I found the courage to bear my testimony, which is a challenge for me. I almost didn't have the chance because in our ward if you snooze, you lose. We have a very active ward and someone always has the desire to share their testimony.

I can't believe how the time flies. Carter is getting so big. He is at such a fun stage. He loves to smile and be talked to. He's starting to be really social. He is such a blessing in our lives. I heard this saying and really liked it. "We didn't give you the gift of life, life gave us the gift of you." That's so true and I'm so thankful for my little boys. They are truly the light of our lives!

Early Arrival!!

Our little boy arrived on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008. He was 3 1/2 weeks early. I was hoping/expecting him to come early, but not that early. However, he was very good sized for being almost a month early. He weighed 6 lbs 15oz. and was 18 1/2 inches long. At my 36 week check-up on Monday, I was dilated to a 4. I however, anticipated making it to my next check-up...shows how much I know. On Wednesday evening, I was just relaxing at home and lo and behold my water broke at about 5:45 and by the time I had him it was 8:13 pm. It was a whirlwind delivery and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get an epidural in time (since I was a 9 by the time I got it!!) Needless to say, I did get it in time thanks to a good anesthesiologist. Then about 5 or 6 pushes later, our little angel was born. His name came along a few days later since we had a hard time deciding, especially on a middle name. We named him Carter Graham Glines. He had Jaundice and had to stay an extra day in the hospital...and we still had to have him under the lights at home too. I just want to say a big thanks to those who sent us beautiful flowers. The bright mixed bouquet is from my good friend Natalie Rawlings, the purple bouquet is from Ben's Uncle Mervyn and Aunt Julie and their girls. The balloons are from Nana Connie. And the beautiful bouquet in the pitcher was from my sweetheart Ben. I loved all the flowers and well wishes, so thanks to everyone for your kindness and support.

Carter has a good amount of dark hair. His hair is darker than Maddix's was and he has more of it. He even weighed more than Maddix and was a week earlier. He also had sort of an olive skin tone, even before he went tanning in the photo therapy lights. So, I hope his dark hair and olive skin stays, but we'll just have to wait and see. We are so happy our little graham cracker is here and that he is healthy

Summer Projects

This summer, my main project has been trying to get Maddix potty trained. And let's just say it stinks, both literally and figuratively. We've definitely had our ups and downs. We started in early June and we're pretty much back to square one. He did well at first, especially with #1. It's been a different story with #2. I think the poor kid has pooh anxiety. He just can't go on the potty. We were ambitious in the beginning...from the advice of our pediatrician, we dived right into big boy underpants and bypassed the whole pull-ups thing. Like I said he did well with #1 if I was frequently reminding him and taking him into the potty. So, I was pretty hopeful. I probably could have stuck with it if we didn't have such issues with #2. I'll just say that I got so tired of dealing with poopy underwear. It's not like you can just throw them away like a diaper. So, then I thought, we'll try pull-ups so I can dispose of them. For a while he did even better in them with #1. Now he's regressed and is basically wearing diapers again like a baby. I decided to just back off and let him learn it when he's more ready. I still try to have him go on the potty 3 times a day, to keep the hang of it. Every now and then he'll tell me he needs to go and we'll run to the potty. Yesterday he had a breakthrough moment with #2. He told his dad he needed to go and then sat on the potty and did a little bit. It was better than he's done before in this department, still I'd liked to have seen a bigger deposit if you know what I mean. But, he finally got the toy I'd been bribing him with and he really enjoyed it. That was our big excitement for the day. Oh, the things that will amuse a stay-at-home mom! Anyhow, I hope he'll just one day decided he wants to go potty like a big boy and we'll move past all this. As long as he's potty trained by his 3rd birthday, I'll be happy....that's six months away.

Chantilly Place Summer '08 Weddings

Chantilly Place had two weddings scheduled this summer and they both came off without a problem. The first wedding was on June 14th and the second was on July 12th. The weather was great for both...a little windy for the first and definitely hot for the second, but no rain or clouds in sight. They both were very pretty weddings. The first was kind of a shabby chic style with the colors being soft peach, pink, cream, and white. They had rented the nice white folding chairs which gave it a very weddingish feel. The second wedding style was more modern and her colors were brown and blue. They had brown folding chairs that went perfectly with the blue sashes they rented. They both had their ceremonies here and then had receptions to follow. It was so much fun to be able to help out and to offer someplace nice for these cute couples to have a pretty wedding. I was only able to get a picture of the second couple, Stephanie Taylor and Chris Carter, but they were adorable and so fun to work with. Stephanie's mom Chris is the biggest sweetheart and was so great to work with as well. She gave Pam and I thank you gifts, cute Scentsy candles and wax, which was totally unexpected and really sweet. And in addition to that, we couldn't even believe it, but she tipped us both $100. We were so grateful but felt we couldn't accept it. We tried to return it, but she wouldn't take it back. Some people are sooo generous!! There is a lot of work involved, but we both enjoy seeing how things turn out. Hopefully next year we'll get a few more weddings!

The Big Five!!

On June 18th, it was our first big milestone anniversary of 5 years! I look back and wonder where the time has gone? It's crazy, it seems like yesterday we were just getting married. We've lived in three places since we got married, in an apartment in Logan, in our first house in North Ogden, and in our current house in Roosevelt. Within these five years, we've had one child and have one on the way. I will recap the past anniversary's just so that I remember what we've done to commemorate them. For our first anniversary, we went to my parent's cabin in Farmington Canyon. The next year, we went to Jackson Hole and saw the Bar J Wranglers and stayed in a Teton Mountain Resort. The third year, we went to Salt Lake and stayed in the Hilton Hotel and ate at Olive Garden. Last year, we went out to Salt Lake and watched a movie at the IMAX theatre and went to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. This was actually a treat because there were no nice theatres or restaurants around here. Ben started the tradition of getting me two dozen roses. This year was low key, due to busy schedules traveling somewhere was out of the question. So we just went to a nice dinner at the Hollow Moon Cafe (yes, they finally got a nice restaurant nearby) and we went to see the Incredible Hulk. When we got married 5 years ago, that movie had just come out and we saw it on our honeymoon, so it only seemed fitting to see it again.

As I reflect on the past five years, we've had a lot of good times and we've had our share of disagreements too. It hasn't been all rosy, but I suppose it would be naive to expect any marriage to be. All in all, things have been pretty good. So, here's to many more!

Mommy & Me Swim Class

This week, Maddix and I have been going to a Mommy & Me swimming class at the pool. It has been fun, except for a couple of days with cold weather. Maddix seems to like the water and his favorite thing to do is to stand on the side of the pool and wait for me to count to three and then jump into my arms. Except, he sometimes doesn't wait for me to get to three. And after doing this a couple of days, he's gotten really brave. On Friday, he just wanted to jump in and did not want me to catch him! I didn't let him do it, because I know he'll freak out when his whole head goes under...crazy little Kamikaze. As for the second picture, we were starting to get ready to go to swimming lessons and Maddix spotted his Grandpa Larry outside and just insisted on trying to get out there. He knows he has to put on shoes and a hat, so he improvised. He had his swimming diaper in hand and put that on his head and slipped his shoes on. Who cares about pants when you've got underwear on? Next thing I know, I see him trying to escape out the front door looking like this! He just kept saying, "I ready Grandpa" over and over. Who knows, maybe he'll be starting a new fashion trend for toddler boys?!?