Big Baby No Longer

As crazy as it seems, two years has gone by and Seth had his birthday last Thursday! He has officially entered the terrible two's. He is still such a sweet, cuddly boy, and it was so fun to celebrate his birthday with family. It's crazy how much happens in two short years.


This is Seth the day we brought him home. He was such a cute, fuzzy little baby. He had tons of hair...even on his face and back. (I'm sure he'll appreciate me talking about that when he gets older.)


This was last year on Seth's first birthday. He was just learning to walk and his hair was quite reddish then...check out that sweet mullet.

Here is my big boy at age two. He is such a handsome little guy and so fun. He has lots of energy, is into everything, and makes everyone around him happy. He runs, jumps, climbs, and loves to give bear hugs with those chubbly little arms. He has us all wrapped around his little finger. (Even though I said "little" three times above, Seth is actually growing like a weed and in the 90th percentile for both height and weight!)

Here are some more party pics:

Seth had a construction themed party complete with a "dirt" cake served in a dump truck. He thought it was pretty tasty.

We needed the hose by the time he was done.

Baby Ian chilling with Grandma Cid.

Presents! He was spoiled with summer play stuff, dump trucks, dinosaurs...you name it. Fun!

We got him this "Daygo" bike. He likes it but hasn't quite learned how to pedal it yet.

Happy Birthday Seth!

Sundays Fun Days

Well, yesterday was Sunday and it was quite a workout. I'm sure most of you can relate. I hope I'm not the only one that doesn't find church very relaxing! Actually yesterday the kids were great at church, so I can write about this with humor instead of tears. A lot of Sundays the value of going to church with young kids seems to be just making the effort. After Luke took the sacrament yesterday he dumped his leftover water into about 6 full cups as he put it back in the tray. I dumped out the cup that seemed to get the worst of his backwash and figured whoever got the others would have to tough it out. About 2 minutes later he announced in quite a loud voice that he "needed to go poop." That got a chuckle out of about three rows worth of people around us. When the speakers started I left to feed Ian. I have to say that was actually quite relaxing to sit in the mother's room. It was quiet, and I could hear the speakers over the intercom. I've realized that I need to invest in some nursing friendly church clothes. I don't think it's kosher to lift your dress all the way up to nurse--even if you're in the mother's room! (I did not do that by the way. Our nursing room is usually a full house, so I wore the one and only skirt/shirt combo I could find!) Anyway, Jer supplied snacks and maintained the peace until he got the kids off to Primary, Ian slept while I taught Sunday school, and we managed to get everyone rounded up and in the car at the end, so all in all I call it a success. Until next week!

Here are a few random pics of the kids:

This picture cracked me up. In Luke's defense, despite the evil smile on his face, he was not the source of Seth's bawling. Seth has been treated with three different antibiotics the past month for strep, double ear infections, and walking pneumonia. He seems to finally be getting better but has a bad case of the hives, so I say bawl away Seth! You've had a rough month.


He loves me, right?




See...he does.

Goings On

I hope everyone is having a good Mother's Day. I guess I'll have to post about that next time. I uploaded some pics the other day but haven't had time to write anything until now. Life seemed quite crazy this week with lots going on. Jer and Luke went to the Father/Sons overnighter on Friday and had fun. Seth actually went along too for dinner and then came home because he's sick. I had the poor guy at the Instacare on Saturday again, and he has bad double ear infections. He is now on another antibiotic so hopefully that will do the trick. We also headed down to Lagoon Saturday to meet TJ and his family. We missed K'Lee dancing because of the doctor, but the kids had a fun afternoon riding the kiddie rides. I haven't been there since I was a teenager, so I guess I can check that off my to-do list of summer activities.

Now on to my pics:

Seth likes to do everything his big brother does, so when Luke headed outside with his "hunting" backpack on the other day Seth had to have on too. When Luke kind of ditched him to play with the neighbor kids Seth tried to tag a long for a few minutes and then gave up. I felt a little bad for him, but it didn't take him long to make his own fun. Pretty soon he was geared up and headed out on his own little adventure.

Since the baby has been born there has been kind of a subtle shift in how Luke and Seth interact. Sure they are brothers and Luke still does his share of tormenting, but he has also taken a lot more responsibility to help Seth. One of his new things is "reading" him books. Luke can actually read quite a few words plus he has lots of books memorized, so it is pretty entertaining for Seth. He also helps out with helping Seth get dressed, opening things for him, disciplining him (that's always interesting), you name it.

Ian is growing so fast already. He either really works out during tummy time or just turns his head to the side and relaxes.

Luke has played indoor soccer for the last month and loved it. He scored two goals and did a great job. He really has decent skills but could be a lot more aggressive. It has been fun to watch him trying so hard and enjoying it so much. He was sad to see it end, but he can play in a little outdoor program in the fall.

Neither Jer or I saw his first goal. It was only a few days after Ian was born and Jer had taken the boys to the game. Seth insisted on going potty and when Jer got back with him everyone told him Luke had scored. Luke didn't seem too fazed by it and was very excited when we all witnessed his other goal. He had lots of great assists too.

Mr. Ian will be doing full on smiles soon. He already locks eye contact with you and makes happy/part smiley faces. So cute! Seth now copies Luke and says, "hi cute" when he sees Ian. I also looked back as we were driving to Lagoon yesterday and Seth was holding Ian's hand while they rode in their carseats.

Luke and his neighbor buddy Max. The nice weather has been great. All of that dare I say "junk" in the basket and Luke's backpack is his "hunting" stuff which he hauls around a lot right now. It includes tools, markers, socks, a rope...anything you might need I guess. It did at one point include a gun until that was confiscated by me for improper use against Seth!

Baby Days

This is probably a boring post, but we haven't been too many places lately to write about. Most of our time has been spent hanging out around the house adjusting to our newest little family member. Of course there have been the trips to preschool, soccer games, etc. and lots of time spent playing outside. Jer has been such a huge help, and the boys love hanging out with him. He's been doing most of the errands including the late night runs to the store when we're out of everything. I do feel like we're settling into kind of a routine though, and I'm quite a bit more on top of things than I was a week ago. All in all I can't complain. We all love having a new baby around, I have an amazing little family, and I'm feeling good...so things are great.


Ian is awake a lot more now. He can focus on your face and makes little expressions with his face...it won't be long until he smiles for real.


Seth is keeping me hopping as usual. He is such a fun, affectionate little guy. He seems to be adjusting to Ian quite well. He can get into all sorts of trouble while I'm feeding Ian. I'm amazed at the things he comes up with. He got out the central vac hose and attachment (which is huge and awkward) and had it all plugged in to do some vacuuming when I got out of the shower the other day. When I turned my back at dinner for a second he dumped about a cup of lemon pepper on his bread with jelly..and then ate it with a fork. You get the idea...it's always exciting!


The first bath was not a big hit..at all, but now he likes it. There's nothing quite like a baby that's fresh out of the bath/lotion...so sweet.

Ian is still sleeping pretty well. He wakes up about every 3 hours to eat at night, but he is going back to bed easily most feedings. The verdict seems to be that he looks like Jer. I agree, but I'm not sure what it is about him. I can see Luke in him sometimes too. We sure like having him around.