No More Naps

The day has finally come where the pros outway the cons for Ty to stop napping. I LOVE my boys and love playing with them and watching them interact. But I also love the time I get when they are both sleeping so sweetly and giving me some time to actually accomplish some of my things. Lately Ty has been struggling at bedtime. And I mean really struggling. He is usually in bed by 8:30 and when do we finally go to bed because he is asleep? Oh, usually after 10:00 sometime, and it has been leaning closer to 10:30. So it is time to nix naps.

We are working on 'quiet time' so that he still realizes I need some time to myself and he gets to work on doing things on his own. Today was the first day and is going surprisingly well. We started with some play dough and then coloring and now he is singing to himself and putting on his snow clothes. Not because he is going out, just because he likes to play in his snow clothes.

Every so often he would ask me to come color with him and then he would stop himself and say, "Oh, no you don't need to help me, it's quiet time and I a big boy to do it all by myself." I hope that idea sticks. Not to avoid or neglect, but to help him gain his independence (not that he has EVER struggled with that though). We have had some great conversations though, since he hasn't had to compete with Jordo. It is good to give them some time apart.

Here's hoping bedtimes improve. If anyone has any great quiet time ideas, please feel free to pass them along.

Here's Ty proudly posing with the snow clothes. He's still working on getting his fingers into the right blasted spot.

'Tis the Season

So, I realize I am a slacker with the whole blogging thing. It just gets pushed to the bottom of the list with everything else the holidays bring. We have had a busy couple of weeks and I think it will only get worse until the holidays pass. That's okay, I like the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.



So amongst the holiday sales, we found some new PJs for the boys. Ty's has been needing some for a while and we have been in search of the top and bottom set, since the onesies are hard with a potty trained 'big boy'. And I think they both look pretty stinking cute. What do you think?


They look like they are singing, but it just happened to be the picture that worked while the were talking and squirming. Man, I love those little boys!

Shoes and more shoes, Ty's Birthday and Uncle T!

This time of year it just nuts. Even if you aren't doing something holidayish, it seems there is still plenty going on. So I apologize for not staying up with the blogging world.

My boys like to play with my shoes from time to time. Wear them around, usually in the kitchen where they'll make the most noise, but today they found a whole new game to play.

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Shaw for wooden blocks and Grandma and Grandpa Gay for lego blocks for Ty's birthday, all mine and Kev's shoes ended up filled with blocks and then lined up every so carefully on the bathroom counter.

I love how creative kids are and that they make fun out of everyday things. I wish I could be so carefree.

Ty's birthday was a lot of fun. Three is a great age, cause they actually understand and they have so much enthusiasm. All day Ty would ask, "Mom, when's your birthday? When's Daddy's birthday?... " and then he'd ask when his was, I would tell him, "Today!" and and he would say, "Oh, right, Happy Birthday to Ty!"

Here are the boys attempting to blow up some of the birthday balloons. Ty's never got bigger than that, and I don't think Jordo ever found the right end.

And since 90% of our toys are balls, I thought a ball cake was fitting for Ty, who already loves EVERY sport. It is still crazy that I have a three year old though.

And I am a bit late on this, Kev's brother Tanner, got home from his mission from the South Korea Daejon Mission clear back on October 18th. But we still wanted to post about it. The boys were so excited for Uncle T and now they have another buddy when we got to Grandma and Grandpa's. Welcome home TAN!!!

Happy Halloween!

Now that I have your attention, I would like to thank Aunt Barb for spicing up our halloween party this year. She makes a stunning Bethie wouldn't you say? Gotta love the flash :)

Halloween is a favorite holidays at our house. Ty couldn't wait for the day he got to be a cowboy. It was a good thing we had multiple events so he could enjoy it more than once.

Our two stinking cute cowboys.

Barb donated her son's old cowboy costume and really completed Ty's look.

Here's Jordo still trying to figure out what we were doing to him.

The best thing about this picture is that it is not posed. Just before I snapped the picture, Ty grabbed his gun out of his holster and went to shoot the camera. It couldn't have been more perfect.

Ty was a great helper with the pumpkin carving this year. But for some reason he always had to keep checking what the inside looked like.

Then of course Jordo always does what Ty does.

The finished product, ours is the middle really mean one and to the right is Kev's brother's. He just got home from his mission from South Korea and did the Korean flag. (We hope to post about his homecoming, but are awaiting pics)

Happy Halloween!!!

First Snow

I know, this is way late, but at least I'm getting it up.

When it snowed on Saturday, but wasn't sticking, Ty was so excited he wore his snow boots around all day. He kept asking if he could go out and make snowballs, but we told him it wasn't enough yet. We had that conversation at least twenty times. When we woke up Sunday, Kev realized it had snowed and said to keep the blinds closed so that Ty wouldn't see and beg to go outside all morning. Well that lasted about five minutes until Ty saw his snow boots, remembered the snow and looked outside. He was thrilled! And Kev, being the great dad that he is, got the boys all dressed up and took them out to make the first snow balls of the season. I was at a meeting so I missed the fun, but he took some great pictures.

Aren't these the cutest boys ever?

What else would you do with snow besides shovel it? (Kev did the walks, they aren't quite that good...yet.)

Kev told Ty to make a snow angel. He told him what to do, and Ty did pretty good. He flapped his hands instead of his arms, so he made a great angel with itty bitty wings.

Ty's Preschool Update and Baskets of Fun

So we're three weeks into preschool, and two for Ty. He got sick last week, so we thought it was in the best interest of the other kids to stay home. The bad part was, it was my week to teach, so another mom graciously traded weeks with me (I will admit, I liked having one more week to prep though). He was pretty sad when he wasn't able to go, but his friend Mason always brought the fun things they did to Ty so he could do them at home.

At our house we learned all about the five senses. As much as five three year olds will allow at least.

Here are the kids busy at work on their "I Spy" pages. Ty loved using his glue. I had told him ahead of time that he was going to use glue when preschool was at his house. So as soon as the kids got there, he had his glue stick out and ready to go.

He was very excited to show Dad his paper and it is proudly displayed on our fridge, which only entices Jordo to pull of all the fun things.

Day two was smells, hearing and taste. The kids were so full of energy today that we did a lot of running around. I used a tool from my childhood. Some of you may remember "See Me Run". We 'listened' to what we should do and then did it. It works, right?

These are our cups of smells. The garlic was a bad choice and the pickles were a split. Ty really liked the cinnamon and held onto that cup (he didn't want a turn with the garlic). He got a bit intense and breathed right into the cup which caused the cinnamon to blow up right into his face and eyes. Well, it immediately started burning and he was freaking out, so we ran to flush his eyes out with water and the other three kids were just standing in awe. I think they all will have a fear of cinnamon now. Oops. At least it was my kid, at my house. In spite of the disaster, Ty still loves preschool and is already asking when he gets to go to Grace's house.

And the end of our long post:

One day, a long time ago when Ty was little, we were looking for ways to entertain him. He liked the laundry basket, so Kev tied an old tie onto it and it became a ride. The tie stayed and we have kept it up. Kev will drag the boys around the house, in the laundry basket. Well, Ty, in his "I'm bigger" stage wants to do it too. He tries to pull Jordo, but that's slow going, so he finds other things he can dominate. And you can only guess what Jordo wanted, to be like Ty. So we found another basket and let the boys drag all their toys and books around the house. It's great what occupies little kids!

First Day of Preschool

Today Ty started preschool, sort of. I got together with some other moms in our neighborhood and we are all just taking turns teaching a few days a week. It will be nice for me to only teach every fifth week, and great for Ty to start learning some basics and interacting with other kids. He loves playing with friends, so this is going to be no problem for him.

Here's my little school boy who couldn't wait for today. He asked all morning if it was time to go yet and wouldn't let his back pack out of his sight. I could tell he was feeling pretty grown up when he told me, "Not my nigh nigh, not to preschool." For those of you who know Ty, you know how attatched he is to that little blanket.

Here's another picture of him trying to be cool with his hands in his pockets and trying not to smile. This kid is always making me laugh.

Well the other side to the story is, what did Jordan do while his big brother and best buddy was gone for the morning?

He waited until it was his turn to go out too. We had somewhere to be this morning, so he was busy for most of the time. But as soon as we got home and Jordan realized that Ty was outside with his preschool friends (this week it happened to be just a few doors down, in our four-plex), he went to the front door and kept knocking, hoping they would let him come out too. It sounds sad, but it was more cute than sad. Jordo wasn't upset, he just wanted to be part of the action and hang out with Ty. I thought we needed to let Ty enjoy his freedom, so Jordo stuck it out.

I know Ty isn't even three, but it is weird he's going to 'school'. Mostly that he's going somewhere, and is not with me. First the big potty, now preschool, and too soon, it will be kindergarten.

Victory!

I have finished one of the most rewarding things as a parent. Ty is officially POTTY TRAINED! After almost 15 months of buying diapers for two kids, we have cut our diaper expense in half, that is huge! It definitely took some work and some bribing, which I am totally comfortable doing for things such as this, but we made it. Ty had some anxiety issues with going diaperless. Most children love to be naked and take every chance they get. Ty on the other hand, always wanted his diaper back on. So running around with nothing, or even underwear, was a big adjustment for him.

After a few days of thinking about nothing but potties and underwear, total dedication, complete exhaustion (for both Ty and me, but mostly me) and only one mishap, Ty had earned his prize. His prize was a scooter that he has wanted ever since he has been borrowing his friend Mason's. And now he is totally addicted. He wants to ride his scooter all the time, everywhere.

The money and diaper changing thing makes potty training really nice. But it is a bit sad to think my little boy is old enough to use the 'big potty'. He knows he's getting bigger too. This morning he came up and said, "Mom, it alright I play outside by myself?" He's not quite that big. I love that little kid so much and it's hard to see him growing up so fast and not needing me as much.

So here is my amazing little boy, who went from this...

...to this...

Best of luck to all of you who may be potty training or will be in the future!

Christmas in September!

My dad has been using a basically dead grill for much longer than he should have. He wouldn't buy himself a new one, he would just quote his good friend Jeff Foxworthy, "We just can't have nice things." So his kids decided that a new grill would be the best choice for his Christmas present this year. Well, after everyone's plans got decided, it turns out that none of my siblings, that are out of town, will be here for Christmas this year. Which is sad, but good to have everyone miss the same year. Shortly after that was decided, my dad's grill all but died. He didn't even really like grilling on it. So we took advantage of the Labor Day sales and gave him an early Christmas. Since no one would be here to miss it in December, what difference would it make to miss it in September.

Here's the grill (sorry about the lighting). Before my dad came in the room to see it we told him to close his eyes. He gave us all this attitude about why was he getting a gift now, there wasn't any reason for it. Those of you who know my dad, can see him doing this I'm sure. Then when Ty told him "Merry Missmiss", he was really curious. He closed his eyes and we turned the Christmas music on and set tried to imitate the holidays.

If you enlarge the picture, you can see his face and the look of annoyance. That's Dad for you. He sees something someone does for him and he wants to know why anyone would go to the trouble. Well Dad, you deserve it, so get over it.

Merry Christmas Dad. Now we all expect nothing less than perfection in our steaks and burgers!

"Cannon" Fun

For Family Night this week we went up the canyon, or cannon, as Ty says, with Kev's parents. They found a great spot up Vivian with a small stream and an endless supply of rocks to throw in that stream. Ty and Jordo were in heaven.

Here's Ty winding up for a big throw. He liked the big rocks that gave the big splashes.

Jordo's new thing is riding on everything. He rides on daddy as a horse, he rides on my shoes, on bats, on boxes, you get the idea. He saw this rock and had to go for a ride. He's making his horsey noise which is more like an "aahhh". Too bad you can't hear, it's pretty cute.

And what would a canyone visit be without a picnic? We had the perfect picnic with lots of good summer time food and s'mores, of course.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Shaw for the great idea!

Shaw Reunion, Noni Party and Kev is 26!

It seems we go for a while without having much to update on and then it all happens at once! We had one busy weekend and then Kev's birthday a few days later, but the busy was well worth the fun. Here are some of the highlights.

This year, the Shaw family reunion was held at Homestead in Midway and it couldn't have been better. There was plenty for everyone today, especially the kids. They swam and played ball, and the pictures show the boys playing at the pond. They were always there throwing sticks and rocks in the water. Ty said he was trying to feed the fish. I don't think they appreciated the "food".

Kev golfed in the Shaw family tournament and they gave prizes. What did Kev win? A body bag. Why? They were afraid he would kill someone with his 'longest club throw'

At the Noni Party there were pony rides again and we thought since Ty did them last year he would be excited. If you can see his face, you would know we guessed wrong.

They also had a lot of those huge blow-up slides and since I wore flip-flops I was chosen to go with the boys. This one was actually pretty steep and we went pretty fast. Jordo did not want to go again.

There was a lot to do, but the boys found the water. We could have spent all night there, but the water was really cold, so we only played for a bit.

And in case you are wondering, no, we didn't win anything this year. But maybe at the Christmas party!

Happy Birthday Kev!

At last, but not least, Kev celebrated his 26th birthday! I had him take the day off so we could play all day. Our theme for the days was "His day, His choice." Before each thing we did, I gave him a choice. Cinnamon rolls or orange rolls? Mini golf or bowling? He chose mini golf and we were amazed at Ty's talent. We started out and told him to put the ball in the hole by the flag and he did, his first try- HOLE IN ONE! The next hole, only two putts. During our game he had more par twos and another hole in one. We've decided we should probably get him a decent set of clubs so he can do something with his talent.

Next choice, feed the ducks first or feed the kids first. We headed to our new favorite park in Orem and had a family picnic.

The rest of the day was just as fun, leaving the boys behind while we enjoyed sealings at the temple with our friends and then dinner.

Happy Birthday to my best friend and the love of my life. I love you!

Over due update

Oops. I seem to have neglected the blogging world and haven't updated ours much. Let's just say the last few weeks have been a bit on the busy side. At least I chose the blog to neglect instead of something more important, say my children, my husband or even scouts (my calling, for those of you that don't know). I know many of you would think scouts would be the first thing to be ignored, but after serving in this calling for more than a year, it isn't all bad, and a lot is good. For those of you that don't believe me, just wait until you get your chance. I think everyone should have a good scout calling in there lifetime. Anyways, back to the update....

Who doesn't love a good rodeo? We had a really good time at the Spanish Fork Rodeo with Grandma and Grandpa Shaw and Kelly and Launette and their family. Ty pretty much watched the whole thing without saying a word and Jordo would have done better if he wasn't teething. We saw some pretty good rides but the bulls staying fairly well behaved, which is good, but a bull chasing down a cowboy does make for an exciting time.

Here are the boys enjoying the cowboys and horses.

Here are the boys playing together. Smiles mean it is fun, right? Jordo is finally to the point that he is really playing with Ty. Before they would play and do the same things, but now Jordo knows he wants Ty to come and do something. He'll go and grab Ty's shirt or hand until Ty responds. For the most part Ty loves it and they are off playing, which is such a great thing for me. Times they play together well are so valuable.

I wouldn't trade these two boys for anything and love that they are becoming such good friends. It will be fun to see what the future brings for these two buddies.

Family Reunion Time!

My siblings all got together this past weekend and had our family reunion. It was great to have everyone there from Idaho, St. George and Virginia. We had a great, chaotic time. Whenever my family gets together, it's always crazy. Usually fun, but never short on craziness.

Saturday we spent the day at Deer Creek. My parents rented a couple of wave runners and we found a decent 'beach' spot and soaked up the sun. Here are some pictures of our day...

Ty couldn't wait to ride on the "boat".

The boys loved the sand, the water and getting dirty! I was amazed at how long they stayed entertained playing on the beach.

Jordo couldn't believe he was actually allowed to be getting so dirty, and he took full advantage. We all agreed the kids ate way too much sand that day, but what can you do?!

Ty loves to throw rocks in the water. Every morning on our run we have to stop at the canal and throw a few rocks in. The beach was no exception, except there were a few to many close calls with so many people around. So he kept wandering off to his own spot where he could throw rocks without endangering his cousins.

We tried all day to get a picture of all five grandsons playing together, but as soon as someone would take the picture, one of them had walked off. So we set them up for a try. Here are a few of our tries:

Not so great, but still five cute boys. Can we get a girl you ask? Pam is having another boy in a few months and Jim and Cassie are actually having a girl in November! It is fun to see the family growing and having cousins around for Ty and Jordo.