Made it!!

Yay!! I made it to my second trimester and things are looking just fine. I feel that I can relax a bit now. I am feeling way less sick (if at all) but still very tired on a daily basis. It is hard to sleep because I am always so warm too. I am looking forward to cooler weather though people may look at me weird when I am wearing short sleeves in December. :)

Brother or sister

Today Brendan was saying something about his "brother". He sometimes gets his pronouns mixed up. I reminded him that he doesn't have a brother. But then I thought, "This could be a good time to scope out his feelings on the matter of having another baby."
So I asked him if he wanted a brother. He told me, "No, Mom".
When I asked if he wanted a sister, he replied, "No".
I asked, "What if Mommy had another baby? Would you like a baby boy or a baby girl?"
"Nope, just BabyGirl." That is what he calls Eva.
I then pointed out all the people he knows who have a brother and/or another sister. He was not swayed. I asked him in a variety of ways and each time he told me he didn't want another sibling.
Well Bubba, you have got 6 months to get used to the idea. :)

By popular demand

Foiled again! See previous post. :)

Muuahhhhaaahha! (Evil Mommy laugh)

You may wonder what the above picture is. If you have a child like mine, you already know. It is a fridge lock. I purchased one this week because I have a mini Houdini living in my home. This girl can defeat any lock, lid, cap or zipper known to baby-kind. She defeated the pantry door lock long ago, can open ziploc bags and any zippers (Ladies, hide your purses and diaper bags) and I even found her with an open bottle of vitamins (with a supposed "child proof" cap on them). So it was not a real surprise when she figured out the fridge. Only a matter of time really, and a bit more muscle. And while an open jar of minced garlic on my kitchen floor for half an hour while we were all upstairs is a lovely experience, I decided I had had it after the ummpteenth time I cleaned up the contents of the lower fridge shelf. I installed this bad boy tonight, after both kids went to bed. I could do the dance of joy right now. I cannot wait to see her little face when her move to get the string cheese (that she never eats but insists on having) out of the fridge tomorrow meets with resistance. Is it so wrong that I get so much satisfaction from foiling the plans of an 18 month old?

Future moving day

Today I was doing a load of laundry (the story of my life) and I noticed that my laundry bag is on its last leg. I ought to get a new one but I want a really nice set and that would take up more space than we have right now in our closet. "One more year," I thought, "one more year." It's true. In exactly one year from now, Jason will have graduated, have come home from OBC, we'll have our PCS orders and be moving to wherever it is that the Army sends us. The third year of dental school is made doubly stressful to a lot of graduates by the prospect of finding a job at the end of all of this. Well, Jason already has a job even though we don't quite know where it is yet. But so many people have been asking what our plans are after Pacific that I thought I'd write a post about it.
Jason wants to apply for the 2 year AEGD (Advanced Education in General Dentistry) program through the Army. We feel pretty positive he will get in since he is prior service (the biggest plus), has decent board scores and is attending such a top notch, accelerated program dental school. This program is only in 3 places. They are: Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Hood in Texas. Hawaii would be nice because, well, its Hawaii! However, I am leaning a bit more on the North Carolina side. After looking at houses and schools and prices in the area, I am won over by that post. I don't really want to move to Texas. But, we'll go where they send us.
I look at it as a great adventure. We'll know if he got in by the end of the year and know which post by spring. Now if I can make it through one more year I can get a new home and couch and car and lawn and entertainment center and laundry bag and . . .

Happy Birthday to me

My birthday was Wednesday. It was a nice day. As with most moms of young children, the day-to-day activities don't change much (I still did laundry), but my day was very pleasant nonetheless. Jason wanted to give me my present as soon as I woke up - a Black and Decker cordless vac. Even he thinks it is pretty cool and had a fun time shopping for it in the "manly section" of Sears. Now I don't have to haul out the big vacuum every time Eva eats a meal. I received many phone calls and online well wishes, which is one of my favorite parts of birthdays. Thank you to all who remembered my special day. The kids were even very well behaved all day (YAY!!!!) and I even got a nap in. Jason arranged for a babysitter after the kids went down for bed and we went out for dinner at PF Changs. We hadn't been there in a while and I realized how much I like it. He gave me a funny card with a very sweet message inside. When we got home he played some Guitar Hero with our babysitter (thanks Jared). The night ended with some good adult conversation (I can't seem to get enough of that lately) and falling asleep on the couch accidentally. All in all, a very nice day. And I must say, it doesn't hurt at all to be 32.

3 year old boy for sale, going cheap!

Sometimes people tell me that my kids are cute. I agree, they are pretty cute. But don't let that fool you. Inside those adorable little heads lurks a naughtiness that belies the sweet exterior and makes a parent crazy. Just as I think I have things down, that we are making progress in the behavior/obedience arena, we have a day like today. I won't mention it all (lets just say "medical equipment in the doctor's office" as part of it) but the capstone was when Brendan bit his sister. He went to time-out screaming. I told him that I'd start the timer when he was quiet. He was loud for a good 10 minutes before I look over to see that he had wrapped the cord to the fan around his neck. After taking that away and telling him again about the quiet rule, he proceeds to yell at me that "your mommy will be mad at you." Oh yeah, let's call Grandma. I bet she takes my side. But I don't say this out loud or he'll know he got to me. So I continue to ignore him until he gets quieter. At which point I look over and see that he has done this by slamming his time out chair into my wall repeatedly.
See the big gashes? Right now he is in his room for the time out and I can honestly say I don't know when he'll come out. Maybe never. Or at least until Jason comes home.

Some recent pictures on the camera

Unhappy that the yogurt and smoothie are done
Caught redhanded defeating the rods that keep the books from being thrown all over the floor by a toddler. Any ideas?
Huh?
Oh to be that flexible
A new fashion statement

Third year

Well, it's official. Jason is in his last year of dental school. Everyone said first year would be the toughest but I have always been of the opinion that third year would be, at least on the family if not on the actual student. He loves what he does and loves that clinic is what takes up his time now rather than class. However, his schedule is much more erratic than in the past and I think night clinic is going to be the bane of my existence. But we will endure. And I'll keep dreaming of houses with backyards and washers/dryers and 4 bedrooms by this time next year. Check out this one out in North Carolina by Fort Bragg for only a little more than we pay now. Crazy!

Pooped

This past Sunday during second hour, I was found in Sunday School class and told to go to the women's restroom and bring my diaper bag. In the restroom I saw Brendan with his pants down and poop smeared on his legs and a little on the floor. His Primary teacher gave me an abbreviated explanation ending with, "We can only do so much," and hurried back to class. Well, I am grateful that Brendan asked to go potty when he needed to but I don't think the teacher realized that he still can't wipe well. So I cleaned him up, put on new underwear since the former ones were smeared too, and wiped off the toilet and floor. Not the most pleasant thing but not the worst mishap we have had. After this I sent him back to class. Then, when I was in Young Women's the Primary president peeks her head in and brings Brendan into the room. She explains that something is bothering him about his pants and that he keeps trying to take them off (and his underwear) in Primary. Yeah, I can see where nudity would be a problem in Sunbeams. :) She turns him over to me and tells me to bring him back when we can solve the problem. While we are having this small conversation, Brendan proceeds to take off his pants and underwear in front of the Young Women ! Luckily his shirt covered most of it but then he tried to bend down to take them all the way off. Before he could moon the class I scooped him up and we went out in the hallway to talk. He kept fussing with the tag on his underwear. When I asked him if the tag was what was bugging him, he said that it was. The bishop was outside his office the whole time and heard our conversation. he asked if I needed some scissors. "Yes, thank you, Bishop," I said. He brought scissors and I was able to cut off the tag. Brendan said, 'The bishop is good. He talks in church and brings us scissors." Bishop Johnson smiled at that. Then I took him back to Primary and since he wasn't brought to me another time I suspect that he was able to keep his pants on the rest of class. We will be having a modesty talk soon at my house.

3 year old spelling

At the reunion we had been writing our names on the cups we were using so that we could re-use them throughout the day. My brother offered to write Brendan's name on his for him. This is how he told Thomas to spell it.

In case you can't read it in the picture, it says "B-i-l-o-p-d-a-n". At least he got the "B" at the front and the "dan" at the end correct.

The last day and home again

Sunday was the last day of the reunion. It is a good thing that Amber and Aaron's church meets at 11 am or I am not sure we all would have been ready. That's over 20 people getting ready in one house. We took up a whole long pew and probably doubled the noise quotient and the children's classes. It was nice to sit in Sunday School and Relief Society with my family.

After church we ate leftovers (there were quite a few) and just visited. That evening, Aaron's sister came to take our family pictures. Why is it that everything can be going great one minute and as soon as children are really expected to behave and smile, they all of a sudden go insane? Seriously, the pictures don't really show how cranky and whiny the kids were. But most of the pictures turned out pretty good thanks to our wonderful photographer. She was awesome and goofy enough to get the kids to smile. Here are some favorite shots.
The whole family
Just the parents and siblings
The grandkids in some semblance of order and happiness
The grandkids melting down
Our little family
My favorite shot

After that we had our little "house ceremony". There is a small ceramic house that is brought to the reunion every year and is given from the previous year's recipient to a new one. Tina, my 5 year old sister, had it last time. My mom had to convince her that she couldn't give it to Jack (the dog), which is who she had her heart set on. In the end, she chose Elen, my brother's wife of just a few months. It was very sweet and extra special since Elen has had a rough time being pregnant. In the background you can see Brendan sneaking into the house to get chocolate (see previous post "A kiss or not").

Some of the family had to depart that evening to be home for classes or work but those left stayed up and played a hilarious version of charades. I haven't laughed so hard in a LONG time. It was perhaps my favorite evening of the trip.

The Winns, Telfords and us stayed the night until Monday. Jason and Ryan went skateboarding and then they took the kids to the Sundial Bridge. I didn't feel well and stayed behind, trying to help Amber clean up when I could. Later, the tents were all packed up and the backyard cleaned. It looked a little empty back there but I think my sister was glad to have her house back.

We took off for home in the afternoon. And about 20 minutes from home I got so sick that we had to pull over. Yep, I made it all the way to 9 weeks without actually throwing up. The long car ride did it. Jason unpacked the car and I fell asleep on the couch. Isn't he a nice husband? We also discovered that evening that Eva popped out a tooth over the weekend. Things were so crazy that we hadn't even noticed, or maybe she is just getting to be a better teether. Anyway, the is the 2009 Telford Family reunion.

Another reunion Brendan-ism

I was told this story later by my brother, Thomas. Apparently Brendan was being chased by his cousin, Camden. Brendan went over to Thomas and asked to be rescued. Being the dutiful uncle he is, Thomas put Bubbs up on his shoulders to "save him" from the chaser. Then my brother notices that his neck feels moist. He asks, "Brendan, why are your pants wet?"
The reply was, "I love you, Uncle Thomas."
"Yes, but why are your pants wet?"
"I pee-peed in my pants".
He was promptly set down and directed to his daddy.
We have been potty training Brendan and he has done really well. Only a handful of accidents. At the reunion, however, he got so into playing that he had one at least once a day. Obviously, sometimes it affected more than himself. But hey, if you say you love them, it must be okay. Right? :)

The second day

The second day was the 4th of July. It started out with tricycle riding mayhem on the patio and a french toast breakfast.


In fact, all day long we ate lots of good food (Uncle Aaron's tri-tip is YUMMY!!).

Jason set up a slip n slide in the backyard, filled up the baby pool and, in the afternoon, everyone went to a very cool water park. The Redding Aquatic Center is seriously the most awesome pool for kids I have ever seen. Eva adored the baby water slide. Brendan wanted to go on the big water slide but was too little.


It was a little nerve wracking keeping track of all the kids (there are 11 grandkids and 1 little sister) but we adults managed well.
My brother Thomas and his wife Elen arrived that evening. Elen is pregnant too so it was nice to have someone to commiserate with. :)
There was another fireworks show that evening but we passed since the kids were beyond tired. That was the night of the Wii bowling tournament. I did horribly, and I am a pretty good bowler in real life. Aaron won first, Ryan (who had never played before) was second and Jason got third. It was a riot to watch. My oldest sister, Shiloh, had never played before and hadn't been bowling in a LONG time. Here is her score, beating my sister-in-law who has a Wii and plays it often.

I don't think I trust the accuracy of this bowling game. :)
I wanted to play more games with the rest of the ladies but fell asleep on the couch.

I sort of missed the Orland festivities and the annual frog jumping contest, but I wouldn't trade this time with family for anything. I had the best time. Day 3 to come.

A kiss or not

At the reunion, Brendan was told he could not have a Hershey's kiss but snuck into the house to get one anyway. My sister caught him red-handed and found me. He went to timeout and was in trouble. About 10 minutes after that he was wandering around looking really sad. One of my siblings asked him what was wrong. He told them, "My mom said I can't be happy." So chocolate = happiness in Brendan-land.

Arriving early and the first day

So many fun and hilarious things happened at the Telford Family Reunion that the post would be really long if I wrote it all at once. So I decided I will just tell you a piece at a time. We arrived at my sister Amber's house a day early so we could get the kids settled before everyone else came. My other sister, Amanda, was already there with her boys so we got some time with just the Waltons and the Fairbanks. I loved playing with the twins and sweet Hailey since I don't see them often. Dane was even starting to warm up to me.

We camped out in a huge tent in Amber and Aaron's backyard. Brendan thought he was so cool and surprisingly Eva slept well every night. Aaron put out a sprinkler for the lawn which Eva found very interesting.

The first day of the festivities was July 3rd. My parents and sister, Tina, came up in the motor home that morning. In the afternoon, we went to Kids Kingdom park to play on the splash pad. Unfortunately a lot of the water features were not working but the main one, a large water volcano, was. The kids loved to splash in the puddles and through the misters until the volcano erupted every 15 minutes. Jason joined in the fun like the big kid he is.



The Winns, my oldest sister's family, arrived that evening.
That night there was fireworks. We went to the Stake Center to see them from the lawn. We went around 8pm and ended up waiting about 2 hours for them to start. The kids were all pretty bored or sleepy by the time the fireworks started. But they were great! It was the first time I had seen an explosion in the shape of a heart or a smiley face. The kids crashed at home and the adults followed shortly after. Day 2 to come.

Upcoming

I know I haven't posted for a while but we have been out of town and/or I have been so sick that spare moments are spent napping. I have pictures form our recent family reunion (FUN!) to share soon, when I feel up to it. Love to you all.

Eva Girl

 
 
Jason here. Eva is so crazy cute that I have to put these pictures up. Most are taken on the fly with my phone camera so the pictures aren't that great. I am just having so much fun with the little ones. Life is precious.