Christmastime is Here

So, I haven't been blogging at all. The biggest reason is that I haven't been taking any pictures. Poor Linus. I spent Calvin's first months just at his side snapping pictures of every move he'd make. I am spending Linus' first months chasing Calvin around trying to get him to get dressed, eat, and learn how to clean up after himself. Poor Linus just sits in the Bumbo watching the craziness. He is a good sport. I thought it would be, but this parenting 2 children thing is really hard. Calvin is one of the sweetest and funniest boys, but he sure does get feisty lately.

Linus is taking his time learning things. Just like he waited until his 2nd day of life to even open his eyes, he is doing things on his own time, ever so sweetly. By 4 months, Calvin could roll over and was sleeping 12 hours every night. Linus is content just laying on his back or side, looking at everything. He also still wants to visit and cuddle with one of his parents at least one time in the night. He is so sweet about everything and seems so loving and grateful whenever you feed him or cuddle with him. All of his eating and cuddling is making him a little chubster and I love it. I just think he is so cute. He has his 4 mo. appointment tomorrow, so we'll see how much he weighs then.

We have been super busy with the above-mentioned craziness and doing everything that we can to have a festive Christmas time. We have done a Christmas-y activity every day (reading a scripture about Christ, eating yummy things, choosing toys to give away, going to look at the lights, watching a Christmas special, etc.) and Calvin is really getting in to the Christmas spirit. We have been trying to really teach him about the true meaning of Christmas, and I think he's getting it, but then he told us there is a ghost in Mary's tummy, so he might still be a little confused. He LOVES singing Christmas carols, though. He knows all the words to:

Jingle Bells
Deck the Halls
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
The First Noel
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Let it Snow
Frosty the Snowman
Walkin in a Winter Wonderland
Up on the Housetop

and he thinks he knows Jingle Bell Rock

It is a Christmas miracle that I got him to sit still and do it for the camera upon my request. Merry Christmas!

Tricks and Treats

So, it is official. Calvin's favorite thing maybe ever is trick or treating. He absolutely loved it. He shouted "trick or treat" all day today, asking if it was time yet. Then, when it was finally time, he ran from house to house, shouting "next one!" We went for about an hour before he got so tired that we went home. Now I have to figure out what to do with all of this candy...

My favorite thing about Halloween is making costumes. I think maybe the best ever was Calvin's last year. I had big plans for one for him this year, but since Linus came early, I simplified. I did make a costume for Linus, though. Behold the little candy corn:

He liked it a lot better with his hat off.

The costume was super easy to make (only 20 minutes) and materials were really cheap (only $2.70 total).  I just laid Linus down and traced a candy corn shape around him, allowing a little extra for a seam. I marked where his armpit and shoulders were too. Then I sewed the orange and yellow together and turned it right side out. I then cut out some arm and head holes and added velcro to the top to fasten it. Super easy!

 

I embraced my nerdiness and went as Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. I liked what I found at various thrift stores, though I did wish I had more money to spend on a better wig. I probably should have struck a more serious pose, but I just don't think I can come across as very hardcore.

I am most proud of my homemade Mockingjay pin. It's just 3 pieces from Michael's hot glued together!

 We had so much fun for Halloween and thanks to pinterest, I am already working on ideas for next year!

Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood

 All Calvin wanted to be for Halloween this year was Christopher Robin. He has been talking about it for months about how "on Halloween, I'ma dress like Christopher Robin an knock on the door. An say Trick-or-treat, an then they gonna give candy to Christopher Robin."

I have to say that it was a pretty simple costume. We went for the classic C.R. from Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree:

All I had to do was buy him some black Mary Jane shoes. He loves them. All morning he has been playing outside with his Pooh and Tigger stuffed animals, pretending he is C.R. I have made his little dreams come true.

I love this one.

Coming soon-- mine and Linus' costumes!

Linus Crying!

Calvin is usually first on the scene whenever Linus calls out. LINUS CRYING! LINUS CRYING! is how the siren goes. Calvin is good about trying to make Linus happy, whether it is talking softly to him or giving him his pacifier. I am excited for when Linus learns how to laugh because I think he is going to find his older brother just hilarious. He is on his way, though-- he can smile!

It's so hard to catch a picture just right.

This face makes the long nights a bit easier.

Calvin playing with his train set he got from Baba.

We dropped Steven off at the MTC last Wednesday after eating all we could at the Chuck-o-Rama. He'll be serving in Paraguay as a missionary for our church.

See you in 2 years, Steven!

I do have to say that adjusting to having 2 children has been really hard for me. The nights are long and hard, yes, but the days are almost even harder, since that is when Calvin is awake. We've been working on everyone getting good sleep and things are getting a bit easier. I just press on with faith that normalcy (a peaceful normalcy) will happen. I am so grateful for the evenings when Tyler is home and we can be a family team getting everyone's needs met. I am grateful for my husband and best friend. I will report soon and let you know if things get easier!

In the meantime, you know how much I like fall and Halloween. Wait until you see Linus' costume! It's pretty dang cute. And Calvin has been talking about trick-or-treating for weeks. He can't wait until we actually go.

Hee Haw minus Conway Twitty

We got a Groupon earlier this month to go to Hee Haw Farms for a Fall family outing and used it on Saturday. I will say that as we drove up to the seemingly empty farm that really lacks in production value, we got a little nervous, but the outing ended up being fun. Calvin, especially, had a blast. Here are some pictures from our autumn day!

First thing we found was a giant box of corn kernels to play in. You can make corn castles, corn angels, and dig corn holes.

2nd attraction. No comment.

Calvin riding on the tractor barrel train.

These little piglets were actually really cute. Calvin called them all Wilbur.

"It's a scaaaarryyy goooaaat!" (He thinks goats and ghosts are the same thing)

Corn maze. The corn was so tall! We were really scared that we were going to lose Calvin because he kept taking off running through the corn.

Our little family on the hay ride to the pumpkin patch.

Linus also enjoyed the hay ride. He's almost 2 months old now!

Calvin picking his pumpkin. Look at all the huge sunflowers! I decided that sunflowers are actually super creepy.

Calvin's first pony ride! He held on so tight!

I Love October

Time seems to move fastest when you have a newborn (and yet the nights seem SO long...). I cannot believe that Linus is almost 2 months old! And yet the only pictures I have posted are from when he was born. In my defense, I have been quite busy. Besides being available for feedings which take up a full third of my life, we moved! So that meant we spent two full weeks packing and a week so far unpacking. We are settling in well and absolutely love our new place. Pictures are coming soon.

The great thing about the move is that I get to be so creative! There is so much house to decorate and interior design is one of my favorite things. Pinterest has become my new best friend, filling me with ideas of different amazing things I can do to decorate on a budget. I have started so many projects in my head and now I really need to get to work!

I do have to say that I am so grateful for all the help we received for the move. Our ward showed up Saturday morning and we were able to load the truck in about 30 minutes! Tyler's family drove up to Utah and helped all weekend, too. Steven was the MVP installing our washer/dryer and and a new range above the stove in our old place (only getting electrocuted twice!). Tyler's mom helped me all week, watching children, making valances, and getting such nice things to put in this beautiful home. I feel spoiled with all the wonderful things that we have; I am so grateful. I love it all. The place is so nice, and I can't wait to post pictures.


In the meantime, Here are some recents:

Week old Linus. Don't you love how newborns must cuddle because they can't move by themselves?? :)

Calvin playing with friends at the park. He ended up getting in the fountain shortly after this...

Calvin loving Linus before church one Sunday. I love Linus' expression.

Linus looks just like Calvin in this picture.

Linus on blessing day. Again I love the expression. He pretty much looks at everyone skeptically all day long.

Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

We have had some great things happening in our house! College graduation and the introduction of a new baby!

Tyler graduated in August with a degree in Computer Science. He recently accepted a full time job at a software company in Provo!

As part of our celebration, we spent the next few days up in Jackson Hole, WY, seeing the show that 2 of Tyler's brothers were a part of at the Jackson Hole Playhouse. We had so much fun watching cowboy shows and drinking huckleberry floats! It was a good thing that we moved our trip up a few days because a few days later we found ourselves in the hospital welcoming a little boy we weren't expecting for 4 more weeks!

I woke up in the middle of the night on Saturday and knew that my water was broken. We didn't really have a game plan for going to the hospital yet, but we grabbed some essentials and packed Calvin and his pack n play into the car. Our dear friends answered their phone at 3am and agreed to watch Calvin for the next day while we went and had a baby!

Labor went SO much quicker than Calvin's. This little guy was out in 3 pushes! They were concerned about his breathing so he was taken up to the NICU and put on a CPAP. His lungs weren't yet fully opening so they started treatment. It was undetermined how long he'd need to be there.

Calvin and Mommy going to visit the NICU and bring the turtle stuffed animal that Calvin picked out for him.

Introducing Linus William! Born 6lbs 10oz and 18 1/2in. He made remarkable progress in the NICU and was breathing room air by the next morning.

Mommy and Linus. He stayed in the NICU the entire next day for observation, but was released to sleep in my room the next evening!

New brothers!

Daddy and Linus.

Calvin and Linus. Calvin loves his little brother. He is always willing to sing him a song, give him his pacifier, or pat him nicely! We've only had a couple of scary incidents so far where Calvin tries to be a bit too helpful.

Tiny tiny baby

I love having newborns sleep on me. It's best when they're mine too.

This is the turtle pillow Calvin picked out to give especially to Linus. It is like 4 times his size. Linus loves leaning on it though!

Anyway, things have been pretty crazy! I am completely sleep deprived, so be happy that I've taken this time to update this blog. I feel a little nuts and am not quite sure how to be the mother of 2, but I trust that I'll receive strength from above and it will all seem normal soon! Phew, back to feeding...

"Hush," whispers the old lady, "I am checking my facebook."

Calvin really thinks that the old lady in "Goodnight Moon" has a laptop. I don't think this ever happened with kids 10 years ago.

There's a Place For Us

I am sad that I don't have any pictures of the room before, but here is what I have been working on.

Calvin's room has been a room/office and a catch-all for any clutter in the house. Since his latest hobby is unloading every single drawer and that he can reach or climb to, this has meant a 30 minute clean-up of his room after every "naptime." I have wanted to make the room more of a bedroom for him and make a space for the new baby to be when he comes as well. It has mostly consisted of rearranging and swapping out existing furniture, but the results are great!

Behold, the little boys' room so far:

I just got the toddler bed today. I am so excited about it!

There's still some more to do, but the room is sooooo different than it was a week ago. Phew. I believe I might be nesting...

Calvin now calls this room his "house." I think he's happy with it, too.

Signage

This sign is posted outside The Malt Shoppe in Provo. We have wanted to post it for about a year now. We love it so much. Comments please.

Do You Play Croquet?

Recently, I did more work for the King James Bible documentary, and this time, my duties included props and set dressing for the pickup shots that we had to do. We were able to borrow and buy most things, but we did need a croquet set that looked like it could have been played with in the 16th century. Well, I bought this one at Wal-Mart: 

 And made it into this one:

I was very happy with how it turned out! All I did was sand parts of the mallets, especially the bight colors, so it looked more dull and used. Then I put a coat of a darker wood stain on them. Calvin and I banged and scratched them on the concrete to also look more used. For the balls, I bought brown paper machete balls from Michael's and just used Mod Podge over tissue paper to put a stripe on them. A layer of Mod Podge over the whole ball made it look more wooden.

So there you go! An antiqued croquet set fit for decoration in your rec room.

Summertime

It finally feels like summer in Provo and we have been taking advantage of our Pass of All Passes which gets us into the water park, the fun centers, and the baseball games for free! We have also been making trips to the library a few times a week to participate in activities there and listen to storytime. Calvin loves picking out books and using the computers to check them out.

Today's activity was miniature golfing! He seemed have a hard time grasping that the clubs aren't hammers and that the balls are not really to be thrown, especially not into the surrounding bodies of water. It took some work, but he seemed to get the object of the game by hole 17.

He ran straight for the biggest puddle he could find.

Looking to see where his ball went after it entered the lighthouse.

Figuring it out!

Hole 17- he gets it! But why do I say "Can you golf it into the hole?"



His prizes that Kayla bought him with some tickets she won at the arcade. He spent the entire car ride home having his 2 monsters growl at each other.

Two of my sisters are staying with us right now and it is so much fun. Sam is doing an internship for the summer here, and now Kayla is visiting for 2 weeks!

Calvin has been cracking us up lately. He is such a good talker lately and his ideas and comments on things are just so cute. My favorite thing is when he does something he knows he shouldn't do, like throw a toy across the room, and our conversation goes like this:

Me: "Calvin!"
C: "Mommy happy now?"
Me: "No, Mommy's not happy because Calvin threw his toy."
C: "Oh, sorry, Mommy."
Me: "It's okay."'
C: "Mommy happy now?"

This conversation repeats probably 20 times a day after various episodes. Here is another favorite conversation that we had lately:

Me, upon seeing a very focused expression on his face: "Do you need to go poopoo in the potty?"
C: "No, not poopin. Only tootin."
Too funny.

In other news, we're getting ready for baby number 2! I still have a couple more months, but I am starting to look and feel very pregnant. Calvin is very excited to have a little brother. He puts his hand on my belly all the time and says "Feel kickin!" Precious.