Doodlebops!

Today we went to the Doodlebop show, courtesy of Don's work. They gave us what we thought were general admission tickets, but turned out to be box seats! We were pretty high up (making us a bit nervous with the boys being so close to the edge) but it was pretty nice.

The boys all really enjoyed themselves. We thought they would be too young to "get it", but they totally got it. Jaxon was dancing -bopping his little head around- and would clap and cheer when songs were over. Lucas would yell mid song "Go Dood-bops!" like a regular at the concert scene. Wyatt was a bit more contained, just bouncing his little legs or bopping his head side to side once in a while.

The boys started getting antsy during intermission, but we stuck it out probably an hour and fifteen minutes total before we thought the boys were about done. They couldn't stay still any more and we were still not feeling great about the 20 foot drop behind a little railing.

Afterwards we took them to the park to let them get the ants out of their pants and called it a day. It was a full one, for sure.

Tractor Time

These are the boys new toys!

We got quite the deal on FAO Swartz.com and with their additional 30% off for their Presidents day sale, the price was better than perfect!

The boys loved playing in their new tractors last night while the batteries were charging. They had no idea that the cars were actually supposed to move on their own, and they were thrilled pushing them around with all their might. Wyatt was quite the hoarder, putting any and all toys he could think of in his little trailer.

Tonight when Don got home we put the batteries in and let the boys try the tractors out again. First we had to teach them how to hold their foot down on the pedal, and then we had to teach them how to turn. And let's not forget stopping! It was a hilarious disaster, plenty of near misses and lots of curb hitting.

The boys seemed to have a good time trying the tractors out and Don and I got quite the workout chasing them around, trying to prevent them hitting each other or our neighbors cars. We are hoping we can take them to a nearby field this weekend and teach them to carry rock loads in their trailers. Yee HAW!

New Sheriff's in town

Don's parents got the boys little Sheriff badges for Christmas. The boys have just rediscovered them the other day and like to wear them for all of 3 minutes at a time. 10 times a day. They know the badges have their names on it, and who's badge is who's. My favorite part is that even though things will be impossible to find with Jax's name how we chose to spell it, Don's parents circumvented that by getting his name on it with little stickers. Works great, and all of them have their own sheriffs badge.

Thanks again Grandma Vicky and Poppa!

The new Cubby

A couple months ago (yikes!) Don and I started a project of sorts. We thought it would be neat to hollow out a little area under our stairs for the boys to play in. Now that it is 90% of the way done (we still need to install the quarter round) the boys love to hang out in it.

We put their little couches inside and a bucket of books. They will just turn the light on over head and start reading. Yesterday I glanced over and saw Lucas and Jaxon sitting on a little couch looking through a book together while. They were sharing the couch and a book. What a wondrous little room.

And from the movie a couple days back, you can see it is a great place for them to hide in as well!

Hugs

Even though Wyatt is looking down, I love this picture!

Here is a (longish) video of them playing yesterday. They love to watch Barney on the television and when his infamous song comes on, they'll give these huge hugs to each other. Don't be fooled, these are no ordinary hugs. Once everyone is hugging, they pull down in their own direction and try to pull the other two down. I am not sure if it is an alpha male thing, or a loving/playing thing, but it is funny to watch. I would have shortened it, but the last 30 seconds are the cutest!


Here is another taken after I made sure Jax's head was okay from the head bounce at the end of the last one. You can hear them sing bits of "twinkle twinkle" and if you take a look, you will no longer see the scab on Jax's forehead!



Times like this I look back and think about how worried I was when pregnant. How could Don and I possibly love them enough when there were three of them and only two of us? People would try to reassure me by saying they will also have the love of each other and I just didn't get it. However, just looking at them in these videos reinforces what those people meant. It is so easy to see how much they love each other and how secure they are because of one another. It does even out and it is a hoot to watch!

Lake Panguitch movies

I just downloaded a bunch of movies so here are a few from Lake Panguitch

Playground Pros

Yesterday I took the boys and met up with Cathy at a nearby park. According to my picture files, it has been a full year since the last time we went there and WOW what a difference.

The little babies that Don and I (with the help of my Mom, Michael and Cathryn) had to chase around and keep an eye on to be sure they wouldn't get hurt.... those toddlers are gone! In their place are three little boys who ruled the roost and knew exactly what they were doing.

Run around, but stay close to each other - check
Climb all the way to the top - check
Go down the biggest slides - check
Try to climb on the rope climber thingy - check
Jaxon give your Mom a heart attack by climbing on the metal climbing "wall" - check

And last but not least.....
Swing like big kids on the big kid swings

CHECK!

Incredible

Last November when we were in Texas visiting Don's family, my friend Cathy ordered my kids some sets of Disney PJ's at only $4 a pair. One of the sets were made to look like the Incredibles costume.

Today after their nap, the boys found one of the pjs, so Don thought we should rent the movie and have the boys wear their new pj's after their baths. They didn't care for the movie until the last half -but once they did start to enjoy it, they were very animated about it. Wyatt thought it was funny to stand next to me while I was sitting on the couch and stick his face in mine while repeating the parts he thought were hilarious.

Tonight after their baths they got to wear their new pj's and we could tell they thought they were so cool. Jaxon immediately tried to run fast like Dash and the poor guy hit himself on his crib. But no worries, he was back up in less than a minute and they all had a little wrestling time before lights were out for the night.

It is incredible (get it, incredible? hee hee) that the boys are old enough to actually watch a movie with Don and I. To have all of us sit and enjoy a movie together just seems beyond their age. They are such cool little guys.

Valentine's Day

We just got back from our Valentine's date plus three. We spent the evening at the District where we had a BBQ dinner followed by a horse ride and free chocolate. What could be better?

The boys are really cracking Don and I up with the things they say. They are conversing with us and it is great to hear the things their little minds come up with. Or the reasoning they have with their actions. Jaxon loves to say "hurry" or "hurry up" but in a very concerned way. Lucas is still big on telling us something is "right there" or "down there". The way he says it sounds very direct and knowing. Such a little man he is. Wyatt is talking more and clearer lately, but when I try to think of what he says., I just picture him laughing like a little imp. I will have to try harder to note what he is doing.


Two things to note:
First, Jaxon's big forehead boo-boo (the one he has had since MAY of last year!) is actually going away. No scab on it for about 5 days now, so we think it may actually be on it's way gone. I can't imagine how much longer he will be scarred there, but we are glad to at least be past the scabbing!

Second, today I tried on a couple pair of jeans that have been previously unwearable since my rear end is too large. TADA! They fit tonight! My calves are tight in them, but the rest of me fits just fine! Whoo hoo!

What a great Valentine's Day!

Snow Fun

This past weekend the boys had their first snow experience. Leigha and TJ invited all five of us up to TJ's family cabin up in Panguitch Lake. The whole experience was fantastic. From the scenic drive up there, the beautiful clean snow, pine trees everywhere and the weather hovering around 50 degrees out, we couldn't have asked for a better trip.



As soon as we got there we unpacked the boys brand new snow suits that finally came in the mail the day before -along with their new snow boots their Uncle Jeremy was nice enough to ship out all the way from Virginia. Lucas and Jaxon took right to the snow. They laughed and rode around on the sled while Wyatt seemed unsure of the whole idea. He looked so uncomfortable all wrapped up in his snow gear that we had a laugh thinking about how he looked like the little brother in "A Christmas Story".



The rest of our trip was lots of eating, some playing in the snow and then more of the same. Wyatt never grew fond of the snow (although we really wonder if he just hated being bundled up in the snow gear) always crying to be held when we were outside. He would tolerate the sled and actually had a really good time riding on the snowmobile for a minute with his Dad.



Luke couldn't get enough of the snow. He loved to walk in (or on) it and just had the mindset to conquer it. TJ and Don built a little tunnel through the snow and Lucas tried to crawl right through it, not even complaining when he was a little stuck. Once we showed him that he the snow was edible,he constantly was grabbing a handful to take a bite. Lucas took right to TJ this weekend and I think it is safe to say that TJ is Luke's new best friend.



Jaxon really liked sledding and playing in the snow with Leigha's dog. Every time I looked at Jaxon, he had a big smile on his face. Everything he saw or did just seemed to make him smile bigger and he never seemed to run out of energy the entire weekend. At one time he had gotten snow in the back of his snowsuit, but only a few minutes later he was no longer bothered by it and ready to play some more.



Some of the great memories made:
-The boys building garages, bridges and "Mi-Mouse house" with Jenga blocks
-Pulling the boys in the sled up and down the deserted road
-Don trying to show the boys how to make a snow man
-TJ "cleaning the floor" with all three of the boys
-Wyatt calling out to Leigha and running to her for kisses -over and over again
-Don and TJ trying to be a bobsled team on the front walkway
-My introduction to "Pants off Dance off" (has anyone else ever heard of this? OMgosh!)
-Sleeping in the same room as the boys and having them come into our bed when they woke up in the morning.



Thank you, Leigha and TJ for inviting us and making all five of us feel so welcome. We had such a great time.

On the upswing

Finally we are feeling better! Woo hoo! The worst of it today is just runny noses and coughing. Wyatt's abscess is going down with the help of the antibiotics, but we have one follow up appointment next week -just to be sure.

The past couple of days I have been taking the boys for a walk in a nearby vacant lot. It gets them the fresh air they desperately need and gives us a chance to stretch our legs. Lucas is so into analyzing the rocks. He loves to try to pick up huge ones (huge for him) and always exclaims "big hole!" regarding the little spot in the ground left by the big rocks.

Jaxon likes to climb to the top of these rock hills and slide down on his stomach or tushie. It makes me wince seeing their clothes get that kind of use, but they are having so much fun I don't want to stop them for that. Jaxon also like to wander off and when I call for him to come back to us -he is not so defiant to tell me no- but he shakes his head no with a big smile on his face.

Wyatt is a bit more laid back about it. I think in the next few days as he starts to feel a bit more normal, he will be up there trying to give me a heart attack in his own little way, too. Even today I could see he was ready to throw a rock and I yelled (because I was about 20 feet away) for him to put it down. For whatever reason he didn't and chucked it -hitting Jax's head which was only about 3 feet away. Poor Jax had quite the goose egg on his little head and got a bag of peas to soothe his owie once we got back home.

So thankfully, life is getting back to normal and I am so glad to see the boys playing like little boys again.

Abscess-tion

Seriously, the pediatrician is going to think we are stalking her. Today we had our 8th (?) appointment with her since 2008 rolled around -with one more scheduled for this Wednesday. Wyatt's ear infection not only kept living through his batch of antibiotics -it worsened and turned into an abscess on his tonsils. The poor guy got a healthy shot of antibiotics in his thigh. Hopefully the shot will give the new batch of antibiotics he starts tomorrow (with the steroids again) help in draining his abscess before Wednesday. On Wednesday we will see if his abscess has drained. If not, off to the ENT he goes and it will most likely mean going to the hospital and putting him under to drain it. All from an ear infection gone bad. Who knew?

Jaxon and Luke have begun coughing and Don still hasn't stopped coughing. He swears he is going to the Dr on Wednesday afternoon himself if he hasn't gotten better by then. Dare I say it aloud, but I am thankful the bug has passed me by so far. It is nasty nasty. It has definitely overstayed it's welcome and I am hoping we can kick it to the curb soon.

Guess who..

Jaxon went P.U. on the potty! He was so excited when he was done that we called Dadoo and Nana to tell them and he would just yell his accomplishment out on the phone! Little marshmellows were his reward and both brothers felt the need to try after seeing Jax get so much praise.

Good job, Jaxon! Mommy is so proud of you!

We are still here...

So much of nothing going on here, I am not sure where to start. We have been home bound the past couple days. Wyatt is still not feeling better and I am sure he will be back in the Dr's office tomorrow. He has this pitiful little face he makes and he does a little half cry, like he doesn't have the energy to get the whole cry out. This evening he had a temp of 104.2 (!) in one ear and 103.9 in the other. It was about 20 minutes after he got a does of Motrin, so we felt we could give him ten minutes to give the meds a chance to kick in and sure enough, he was down a whole degree in about 5 minutes and it quickly dropped as more time passed.

Even though Wyatt is mostly sad and needy, sometimes he perks up and laughs at Luke and Jaxon being silly with their Dadoo. Then Wyatt will jump up like he's miraculously healed and run around laughing with his brothers. It has been nice cuddling with him, but I hope we can get to the bottom of this tomorrow at the Dr's.

Jaxon and Lucas are getting a bit of cabin fever from being indoors so much lately. The weather is cold, raining and very windy- so there has been no chance of even going out front to get fresh air. Today, Don and I brought their basketball hoop inside to the kitchen. After cleaning the net and balls off, the boys finally had something to get their energy out with! At first they would yell "touchdown!" when a basket was made, but they finally caught on to the correct basket ball terminology of "two points!" and "basket!".


Tonight it was game time again as Don helped them with their Michael Jordan moves. The boys love their Daddy and just think he is the funniest man around. Riding on his back, playing mini basketball with them, teaching them how to eat nachos from Taco Bell or adding sour cream on their quesadilla, their Dad knows it all. Thank goodness we were home bound on the weekend when he was home to keep them occupied!