Proud Father Moment

Dressed in his safety gear (and daddy's glasses for a moment) ready to learn to ride without training wheels. Right before one of his many falls. Daddy encouraging him not to give up when something is hard. It worked, way to go Dad!

After about 15 minutes he was ready to give up.

This was after an hour of practice. He didn't end up giving up after all. Initial motivation to keep trying = to show Papa and Nana and Grandpa Judd and Grandma Suzie a video of him riding his bike without training wheels, they will be so proud; final motivation = his very own Costco churro!

This is after an hour of practice in the morning and then 15 minutes of practice when we went back in the late afternoon. We are proud of him for not giving up. Brady was a great teacher. What a Proud Father!
My little boy is growing up TOO fast!
On a side note, I told him this a few days ago(that he is growing up too fast) and his solution was: "Mom, its okay, we can have lots more baby boys and they can grow and be your little bit big boy." (Yeah, lots of baby boys!!) He did however say right afterwards (without any coaxing), "or we can have a baby girl and she can grow and be a little bit big girl for you." What a sweetheart. A while back in Hawaii I told him he was growing up too fast and I told him to stop growing (jokingly), and this is what he said a few days later "Mom, I keep growing and I don't know how to stop" (with tears in his eyes). He felt bad that he was growing up because I told him I wanted him to stay little. We talked about it and I explained it was okay he is growing bigger. Since then he has come up (on his own) with the solution of us just having more babies to be my little boy or girl. He is definitely our sensitive child, trying to make everything okay. He is pretty proud of himself though that he is growing so big (he thought when he learned to ride a bike without training wheels, he would be as big as daddy :-) Fortunately he isn't that big just yet.

Grateful for a Stomach Bug?

I never thought that I would be grateful for one of my kids to get a stomach bug but I am today! I was woken up to the faint sound of Camden throwing up at 5:50 am this morning. The boys door to their room was shut (either the heater blew it shut or Tayson may have shut it when he got up to go to the bathroom during the night)and I haven't had the monitor lately, so I could just barely here Camden puking. I ran in the room to find this: Camden was sitting up or kneeling up in bed puking (no big deal) but the SCARY sight was that I found his blankie wrapped fairly tight around his neck. How? Well as I checked him out I realized what had happened. He has had some small strings hanging from a corner of his blankie (maybe 2 inches long). It honestly never crossed my mind that they could be a problem. Well, apparently some are small loops (both ends still attached to the blankie) and somehow during the night he managed to get his skinny arm in one. He tends to roll around in his sleep, so I think during the night it slowly moved to his shoulder and then with his rolling, the blanket proceeded to twist around his neck. When he was sitting up puking, he was also sitting on the blankie which was pulling it tighter. I thought maybe that was what caused him to throw up, but I'm pretty sure now it is a stomach bug as he has continued to be sick all morning and can't keep anything down for very long, but other than that he is happy and playing. If he hadn't thrown up, I doubt I would have heard anything, and I don't know what could have happened. Needless to say the strings were detached IMMEDIATELY. Camden LOVES his blankie and carries it all around the house (that and his doggie) so it gets used so much it has frayed over the months. Who would have thought such small strings could cause so much trouble. No more strings. Tayson has asked a time or two to sleep with his jump rope or a long string before because he attaches it to his doggy as a leash, but I NEVER allow it and explain to him that it could be dangerous. I just didn't think such tiny strings could have this effect, I've learned my lesson. I am so Grateful the Lord was watching over him. I believe that he had a hand in this sudden stomach bug, maybe knowing it was the only way to get me to wake up and remove the blankie from his neck. All is well now.

Craigslist.com Rocks

Sorry, but where else can you buy two bikes in great condition for only $15.00 for both. My parents gave us $20.00 for Camden's b-day to spend on something fun for the boys. I don't think we could have found anything better. We found both of these bikes together on www.craigslist.com for $15.00. With no car during the day, it has been so nice to have something to keep the boys entertained. They ride bikes at least 2 hours a day. They love it, even Camden is starting to get the hang of it. We had thought originally if we could find bikes cheap enough we could buy them for the time we are here and then get rid of them when we leave, since we have no room to pack them home. I never thought we would find them for this cheap. I was talking to my dad and he was guessing if you average it out over the 7 weeks we are here, it is about $.40 a day for at least two hours of entertainment each day. I calculated it out (excluding Sundays), it ends up being 35.7 cents a day to entertain the boys. Chahoo!!! In other words Sweet! Awesome! It has especially been nice since I've been sick the past two weeks and have little energy to try to go anywhere, I can just take them outside and sit and watch them ride bikes around the cul-da-sac. Thanks Nana and Papa as Tayson and Camden say!

A Day at the Park

Tausha was so kind to come and get the kids and I and take us to a nice park where the kids could play. They LOVED it.
My friend and old BYU-Hawaii roommate and I climbing at the playground. Lets just say it has been a long time since I've been rock climbing, so even this little one at the park was EXCITING to climb.
Look at that climber, takes after his mom.

This is how my boys throw a tantrum when it is time to leave a park. They don't scream, they just get really sad. They could live at a park all day and be entertained. They are entertained by simple things and for that I am very grateful.

Prayers for a Friend

Well, no new pics for now - I've been sick most of this week, since the night of my b-day - gee what a great day to get sick. Anyways, I do want to just add a quick post for a close friend of mine. We have been good friends since I nannied in Boston way back when, but have slacked on keeping in touch recently which I feel horrible about, so I was SHOCKED to find out when we arrived in AZ and I called her (she lives here) that she had been pregnant and went into pre-term labor and had a baby boy at 26 weeks on December 30th. She was on her way to see him in the hospital when I was talking to her. For the most part he is doing very well, such a fighter. However he was supposed to come home this week, but has been struggling with his eating, so they have postponed his release. If you guys don't mind remembering little Ryder in your prayers to help him start eating his full bottles, it would be very much appreciated. He really ought to be home with his mom and dad, they are such amazing people and Kira deserves to finally be able to be a mom in her own home. He is their first baby. Thanks to all our family and friends for your help. Keep fighting Ryder, and hang in their Kira and Greg!

Wildflowers!

Well, I've slacked a little on taking pictures, mainly just cause we haven't really done much exciting, just hang around the house and walk to a nearby park (Brady takes the car to work, because the kids have been catching up on sleep in the mornings so I don't want to wake them up to drive Brady to work and then have to go pick him up again after work. We don't have any big plans and it has been nice to just chill this week. The boys love the backyard full of rocks and playing in a small shed they have made into their playhouse. My favorite part thus far would have to be the WILDFLOWERS by far! They are BEAUTIFUL! There are some right by our mailbox and in many neighbors yards around. Breathtaking! Who would have thought this dry place could have such beauty! j/k. Being here I am gaining a new perspective of Arizona. Saturday morning I went hiking with Brady's aunt up on some mountain (don't know the name), but the view from the top was gorgeous of the valley, and there were many green bushes along the way. It was a lot of fun to get a break and enjoy the beauty. She pointed out that there are SO MANY hikes around here. I had no idea! We will definitely have to take advantage of that while we are here. You will notice in the last picture Tayson found a way to replicate the picture of his name in the sand in Hawaii, with daddy's help. He was very proud. Camden woke up a couple nights ago with a severe cough. I'm hoping it is only a cold and it will gradually go away. He is a little onry at times, but for the most part has plenty of energy, so I haven't gone to a doctor. We'll wait at see if is worsens or just improves and then make the call if needed. The boys love their new home, though they do talk about wanting to go back to Hawaii and Utah. Tayson claims he wants to move back to Alpine Storage after here. I've explained that we aren't going to live there anymore, but it just broke his heart. I think the main reason he wants to go back there is that he misses Jack (his friend). I promised we would stop by and visit and then changed the subject because he kept pursuing the idea of wanting to move there, I really think he is just needing some stability. I try to explain that he is going to make new friends in Oregon and we will be able to live there for a long time so he can have the same friends for a long time (all the goodbyes to his friends are starting to catch up to him). I try to avoid the subject, but he has his moments. I've noticed a DRAMATIC difference in Tayson and Camden playing together. There isn't nearly as much of Tayson trying to drive Camden crazy in one way or another. They are really starting to become friends and play together nicely since we moved to AZ. I AM SO GRATEFUL! They have a lot of fun together. I will count my blessings!