Big Weekend for Carter

Carter's had a weekend of firsts:

Saturday was his FIRST soccer game where he scored his FIRST goal!  It was so fun to watch him play. And he wore his soccer uniform for the next three days. Literally.  The look on his face after he scored his goal was sooo adorable.  A moment of time I hope to always remember. I was so grateful to be there, normally I work on Saturday mornings, but-my morning clients canceled their sessions, giving me just enough time to be there for his first game and goal.  I feel like I was given a tender mercy.

On Sunday, Carter gave his FIRST talk in church. He was awesome and not shy at all.  He was asked to talk on how Heavenly Father answers our prayers, and I think he learned a thing or two.  The next day, Carter spontaneously prayed 3-4 different times.  In one of those prayers, he prayed for the rain to stop and was very happy when it did an hour later....I think he's a believer. =)  (We recorded his talk after church that day but I am having a really hard time uploading videos to my blog or You Tube...grrr)

August 24th & 25th, 2013

True Pig Tails

Avenly's hair is getting longer...but still not long enough for a true set of pigtails, but I tried anyway!  It didn't last for too long, but it was cute for the 5 minutes it lasted.

August 23, 2013

Just a Day's Work

The day is finally here and Carter's soccer season has officially begun! He had his first soccer practice today and his first soccer game on Saturday. I might be more excited about this then he is, but I really try to hide it. :)

And Miss Avenly...she didn't get a very good nap today so by the end of Carter's practice she was pretty tired, but bedtime was just two hours away, so I made the decision to keep her awake those few hours. During those hours I had planned to have dinner, have family home evening, and mow the lawn and I was determined.

I don't know whether to say Avenly mowed the lawn for her first time tonight, or brag that I mowed .31 acres with one hand because I was carrying Avenly the whole time...seriously. She was sooo tired. She just walked behind me crying so hard. I laid her down to sleep and she screamed and screamed like never before. I fed her dinner. She ate, but that didn't change anything. Finally after I was halfway through, I remembered my baby sling. That would at least help I figured. And for the rest of the ride, she sat, quietly in the sling, finally falling asleep near the end. And yes, it was dark by that point.

After this experience, I think maybe, if I was asked to do it, I could walk across the plains, because I imagine it would be similar --at least as hot and sweaty-- to mowing the lawn with one hand while carrying a 15-month old. Makes me wonder if pioneer women made baby slings?

August 21, 2013

County Fair

I have been wanting to take Carter to a carnival/fair for a few years now to test out his courage on the rides.  We finally made it to the county fair this year.  Our first priority was the rides.  We showed Carter all the rides and let him choose a few to ride on.  He choose 2 merry-go-ride-esque rides (boring). We compromised on the roller coaster and the motorcycle merry-go-ride.  Carter was the only one on the ride and a little shy about looking at us (maybe he realized it was a lame ride...ha ha).  Finally, near the end of the ride, we convinced him to put his hands in the air and we got a glimpse of a smile!

Carter was less shy about the roller coaster ride and totally loved the Children's Tents where he got to see- but would not touch -tarantulas, spiders, and scorpions.  I wouldn't touch them either, so I don't blame him.  And the 3-Little-Monkey's tent has some really fun toys.  Carter was only persuaded away from the sandbox by the vacuum like tubes that sucked balls across the roof of the tent.

Avenly was there too.... =)  She enjoyed the fair from her stroller and had lots of fun cheering Carter on for his first rock climbing experience-which he was awesome at! And when he broke a board with a newly learned karate chop.  I have videos of both but can't seem to get either to load...bummer.

The very best part about going to the county fair was being with Nate, Carter and Avenly.  This summer has kept Nate busier than ever, and I had to weasel my way in to get a Saturday night all together, one of a few this summer, and definitely cherished!

August 17, 2013

Sleepover Pup Tents

Ever since we moved into our new home, Carter has been begging for a sleep over. And, my brother's family has been getting their home ready to sell all summer. So I got the great idea to help my brother and his wife out by taking their kids away for a few days, accomplishing two goals in one move-Yeah, I multitask like that. :-)

I had one niece and one nephew for two nights and on the last night we had my other brother's kids come stay over. 5 extra kids total, ages ranged from 3-11. Yeah, I'm over ambitious like that. :-)

For the most part it was fun. We saw The Croods at the dollar movie, made our own ice cream in a bag and our own pizzas, and we attempted a hike (that's a whole other story).

Mostly though, I'm excited about the pup tents Nate made for each of the kids to sleep in. We also took them outside too provide some shade the next day. I love that Nate was as  excited about the idea as I was and whipped them out like they were nothing. (PS, we found the pup tent idea on pinterest and it came from here.)

Now we just have to organize the garage so the tents can go there. The garage: our final frontier in our new home.

July 31 to August 3, 2013

Thank you for the awesomeness

Carter one night prayed "thank you for the awesomeness." Nate and I smiled at each other but said nothing. Carter said it again a few days later and I commented about it to a friend that was with us. Now Carter says it in most prayers, and while it's not as cute as it was the first few times, I still love it. And then I found this picture on pinterest and figured out Carter is really saying thank you for my mom, so it's back to being super cute that he thanks Heavenly Father for the awesomeness.

Lawn Swallows Children

Disclaimer: Our home was empty for three years before we bought it this past February. Because of that, our lawn was 'one summer away from needing to be replaced' per the many lawn care professionals who *had* to stop at my door this last spring.

But we've been able to keep our lawn green and bring back the grass in many of the bald, dead-looking spots. We just have not been the best at keeping up with the mowing. But, it's progress right?

Sunday night we were out talking with some neighbors when their kids buried Carter in the very tall weeds. Maybe we should put more attention to mowing the lawn...we might lose a kid out there. :-)

July 28, 2013

Hair Envy

For a girl who was born nearly bald, Avenly sure has some beautiful auburn hair with natural curls-everything I wish my hair was! I love it. :)

Fishing with Dad

Carter has a few charts that we use to help him do what he needs to, as well as rewarding him. This week one of his rewards from his "listen and obey" chart was fishing with Dad, except we all went. :)

While at the Kaysville Pond we fished next to a cute family, Dad and his five kids. And of course, Carter made instant friends with the boy his age, like he always does. Carter was more interested in his new friends then the fishing and was pretty disappointed when they left.

He also didn't have the patience to wait for a fish to bite, nor did he want us to leave until he caught one. Thankfully, Dad snagged a blue gill and let Carter bring it in. Carter really wanted to keep it, but sorry buddy, this momma doesn't like fish so much. :)

August 10, 2013

Practice What I Preach

In June I attended a training session for TF-CBT, a very effective method for treating children who have experienced trauma. Part of the model includes teaching parenting skills when the children begin to act out, but these skills are also useful for children not responding to trauma. The irony in this story is the timing of the trainng in my life...

Long story short(er), the night before the training, Carter and I got into the ultimate battle of wills. He resisted every method we've used in the past, he laughed at my attempts to discipline his refusal to be obedient, and I found myself getting so angry at him that I could have hurt him...and that confession is so scary and very difficult to make. Determined to "win" the battle and protect my son, I sent Carter to bed and boxed up *every.single.item* in his room that wasn't attached to the wall.

Guess what, in the end, he still won the battle. For the next week or more, Carter never showed disappointment for the loss of any of his toys. He had plenty of fun playing with friends and letting his imagination run wild with whatever item he adopted as a toy.

The irony: had I been practicing what I preach to my clients' parents, this battle of wills would never have happened! I felt so awkward at the training the day after our fight as the instructors reminded me of these basic parenting skills. And I decided it was time to put these skills in place at my home, so I could be more effective with my children and in my work.

I started small with active praising and ignoring while I took a few weeks to pull together a behavior chart that worked for our family. It was only a matter of days once I put it all into place that our home life was so much smoother. We only had to use time-out once the entire week! I told my parents "a miracle has happened at our house this week."

In coming posts, I'll write about the specifics that made the miracle because maybe someone else will find this who needs a little reminder of parenting basics as well.

The picture is if my cute boy, so proud of his tower of cups he made while unloading the dishwasher. He did his own hair, gel and all, and dressed himself...all without a fight.

July 22, 2013

If You Give Your Daughter An Apron

One of Avenly's favorite games right now is to go into our pantry and bring something out, then go back into the pantry and bring something else out.

Tonight she brought out her apron. And after I put the apron on her, she wanted to cook with me. And when Carter saw Avenly wearing an apron, he wanted an apron too. After I put an apron on Carter, he wanted to cook with me too. So I put Career to work making dinner, while I made ice cream.

For dinner he made his favorite food in the whole world, toast with jam on it cut into three strips.  But our neighbors started their firework show before he could cut the strips, so tonight it was a toasted jam sandwich. And when there are loud noises and other children outside, Carter has to find out what is going on.

And if Carter goes out side, Avenly wants to go outside too. And if she is outside, Mom or Dad have to be outside too. And since it was a holiday after all, we all ended up outside at the neighbor's, ooo-ing and awe-ing at their awesome fireworks for Pioneer Day.

And that is what happens when you give your daughter an apron.

Do you have a sudden urge to go read
'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie' now?

July 24, 2013

Preschool!

Last night we went to an open house for Carter's preschool. Carter could not wait to meet his teacher. She gave us a count down chain so we can keep track of the days and we are looking forward to all the fun he is going to have. I just hope he will learn to listen when she's talking because he had a lot to say at the open house while she was trying to tell us about all the fun things she had planned. :-)

August 9, 2013

Ta-da!

I love this boy and his happy faces!

August 8, 2013

Bugs and Boys

What is it with bugs and boys! In the last week Carter has

· "saved" a million roly-polies from the ants (only to die in the little plastic container we put them in);
· caught a dragon fly (who died in Carter's hands);
· and captured a grass hopper (that got fried in the jar we accidentally left outside).

I dread the day I find a snake in his pocket!

P.S. We may not be the best choice for taking care of your pets when you go out of town. :-)

Buzz Time

Nate has been wanting to give Carter a buzz cut all summer. And since Carter's hair was sooooo long, I finally gave in. Yikes! He really needed a haircut!

July 28, 2013

Eat Your Veggies

Avenly is very serious about eating her veggies and not so serious about her cookies.

July 27, 2013

Scary Dinosaur Hair

Carter has been awesome about doing his own hair. I love that he makes sure to put the gel in, even if it ends up as one big gob on the side that never gets fully rubbed in.

Today we had a birthday party to go to for two of our favorite friends and Carter wanted me to help him make his hair look like a dinosaur so it would scare his friends. Not sure they were scared, but my little dude is so awesome and creative and excited about his friends, I had to comply... the best I could anyway.

July 25, 2013

Lately

Lately Avenly has been into reading books and stringing out the toilet paper. So much fun!

July 23, 2013

Movies in the Park!

Our little family got to enjoy a summer's night with a picnic in the park and watching the movie Brave under the stars. It makes me really happy!

Avy had a hard time the last 15 minutes of the movie, but she was a few hours passed her bedtime, so she actually did really well.Carter had his moments too, but mostly he was so good even though he said he doesn't like the movie (it was scary for him).

And I love this picture of Carter I took before heading up to the park. He loves to wear that vest for some reason and the conductors hat is full of fun little toys because he doesn't have any pockets in his pjs of course! And his face is so adorable! Love me that Carter!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Swimmingly

What does swimmingly mean, does anyone know? For today it means "perfect."

We have had a perfect week, with a perfect balance of work (both at home and away), good behaviors from the kids, helping people we love, and enjoying the summer...finally! Even if this is the only week where things are 'just swimmingly' I am grateful that we at least got this one!

Friday, July 19, 2013

Summertime and Living Easy

(I write this and a few other posts a long time ago and never posted, oops! )

Guess what we found....a splash pad, in Kaysville! It's small, but so is Kaysville.

It was just me and the kids on this outing, and it was so fun. Carter learned that his mom is a wimp when it comes to cold water, but I finally convinced myself and Avenly that we would survive. And guess what, it's only cold for a minute, and yes, we survived that minute. :-)

Avenly saw other kids using the splash pad fixtures as drinking fountains and spent a good bit of time trying to get some water in her belly, but I just couldn't let that happen.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Family Dinner

Tonight was so fun. Nate's parents, grandma and sister (and family) came up for dinner. For dessert we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores. Louise was a pro and roasted perfect marshmallows. Carter just liked the chocolate, and Avenly loved the broccoli. (Yeah! ) But the best part of the night was the game Carter made up. Carter told everyone to do a specific action inspired by some stickers we had. He was the judge of who did the best. Grandma High won because she had the most stickers by the end of the night. Good memories made tonight. It would only have been better if Nate's whole family could have been here.

Yesterday's FUN

How much fun did you have yesterday? Because we had a blast! We went to a neighborhood playgroup in the morning and then we spent the afternoon helping my sister-in-law with her house, interrupted only by this even more "fun" incident on I-15:

Here's the pic descrip:
1. The tire (Thank you to the kind man who flagged us down on the free way before it all became tragedy.)

2. Eating a pudding snack with our fingers (bcz we had no spoons) to keep the kids happy while we waited for the Rescue Rangers to come help us.

3. Grandpa, who got to us before the rescue rangers and got things started. We send a huge Thank You to Grandpa! 

July 11, 2013

Avenly's 1 Year Pictures

My cute Avenly!  She was perfect for her 1 year pictures, and rocked the smash cake!  Thanks Emily!

Pre-4th

It may be the day before the fourth, but we finally have a decoration for this fun holiday!  (Marshmallows are ok in the cookie jar, right? )

I can't wait to dress my kids up in red, white, and blue, catch enough candy to last us until Halloween at the parade (and maybe get totally soaked), eat carnival food, and be impressed by fireworks!

Happy Pre-4th of July!

Heaven on my Tongue!

I found "true lime" at the store a few weeks ago and finally got to use it. Delicious, made-at-home, lime tortilla chips! Heaven!

Dino Park in Vernal

We left Friday at noon and were back for the neighborhood party Saturday night! It was a quick trip to the Vernal area but we had lots of fun and made a few memories.

I'm not sure if Carter liked the swimming pool, sleeping in a hotel, or the dinosaur museum better but he did ask to stay for 2 nights the next time we "go out of town." :-)

May 26, 2013

Carterisms I don't want to forget

"What today is tomorrow?" (translation: what day is tomorrow)

&

"Hamly fome hevening" (translation: family home evening)

He has also been "playing" the drums all day today, like in the picture below.

May 26, 2013

The Laundry Fairy has Finally Come!

I always believed in a laundry fairy, I just didn't know it would be my not-quite-12-month-old daughter!

May 23, 2013