Busy Week

This week has been a busy one. Brent got back from his nice trip to California. He got to see April, Chris and Ashlyn for a night and I'm so jealous!!! And April I must say that Brent said you looked so good for being so close to your delivery date......he said you didn't look "HUGE" at all. (really he did)
We all went to pick Brent up at the airport and Carter was so excited!!! He missed Brent so much while he was gone so we all were so happy to have Brent home! Carter's new phrases are "good idea, mom" and "nice work." I was cleaning up and he was so nice to tell me "nice work." And anytime that he is getting cranky or bored I say oh let's go get a snack or color or play playdough and the next thing he always says is "great idea, mom" He can be in the middle of a melt down and the moment I suggest something he stops crying and tells me great idea. So cute. I'm not quite sure where he comes up with these things but everyday he has something new. I've been trying harder to potty-train him and it's a little tiring. I think it may be too early. I was talking to my mom on the phone while carter was playing cars and telling her that I didn't really like this whole potty-training thing and realize it's a LONG process. When that afternoon I sit Carter on the potty and he tells me "done potty train'n' mom." I get him off and then he proceeds to tell me....."don't like potty train'n'." I swear he hears everything I say even when I think he's in the other room playing he somehow is able to play and listen so well to what I am talking about.
I am happy to say that while Brent was gone I went to church and for the first time Carter actually stayed in nursery the whole time. The leaders did say he tried escaping once.....but they caught him and he didn't even cry. So YEAH for CARTER!!!! Church was actually nice and I was able to listen to the lessons.
We are getting ready to go to Vegas in a couple of weeks and we are hoping to be able to get to California to see my new little nephew who will hopefully be here soon! So February while it seems like it just started is going to be over way to fast.
Anyway I better get going both kids are sleeping which is a great thing and I might go take advantage of it. Love to all!!!

Some pictures

So I haven't been really good at taking a lot of pictures lately......but here are a few.

We asked Carter to go get a diaper for Brooklyn....when it was quiet we searched all over for him and found him in Brooklyn's crib pretending to sleep with her suckie and everything.


Brooklyn's first ponytail! She hates me to mess with her hair but I finally got it in with out her screaming to much!

Brooklyn in her jumper-roo.

So this week Brent gets to travel to California for a big seminar. Too bad I can't go with him and see my sister April who is ready to have her baby....Hang in there girl and post some pics of the wicked rash.

Carter has been pretending that he is Dr. Schaeffer. He's been pretending all week to check our ears and our throat and hear our heart. I guess we've been to the doctor a little much. Brooklyn went this week for her shots and she weighed in at 16 pounds!!!! She is rolling over like crazy! I lay her down and immediately she flips making it hard to change her. Carter thinks it's so funny that she can "roll" so when she actually is laying still he tries to help her roll. Well I better go and try and get some sleep. Carter had a 5 hour nap today so he might be awake extra early tomorrow. Love to all.

Happy Days

We are all doing much better!!! Brooklyn's rash and diarrhea completely cleared up by Saturday and she is such a happy girl. Her pediatrician completely disagreed with the other doctor. She told me that throughout our lives we will always find that doctors do have different opinions even though both doctors are good doctors just see things differently and to always go with your maternal instincts. She did think she was allergic and charted it and did not want her on any other antibiotic until her system was completely flushed, and she didn't think she had an ear infection at all. So I felt completely better after my visit with her.

Carter gets funnier everyday. His big new phrase is "NOT FAIR!" One evening we all went shopping and Brent took Carter out to the car to change his diaper and he thought for some odd reason he was going to get to drive and when Brent told him no you get to ride in your nice chair.....he replied "Not fair". I'm not quite sure where he picked it up but he now tells me this often when he can't do something. I try to hide my little laughs as I can't believe he is already trying to reason with me. He also is growing up so much he has finally gone potty on the big potty. He's gone the big #1 and #2. Now the problem is just sticking with it. Potty training is way more in depth than I imagined. Right now I'm kind of just going with the flow, not pushing it at all...I'm just thinking it is a little easier to just change the diaper. Carter has been calling Brooklyn "gorgeous" and is making sure she has plenty of toys. He'll even share with her for a few minutes and then when she drops the toy he'll say "Thank you Brook it's my turn" Last night we were in the car and Brooklyn started fussing and Carter quickly said " Brooklyn, U Or Words, top crying" (use your words stop crying). Yes this is what I tell him when he is in the middle of a melt down and it seems to work quite well. He soon can get a hold of himself and usually will tell me what is wrong so we can work together to make things better. I now know what I must sound like when I'm talking to him. Brooklyn has really found her voice and loves to squeel and talk. She gets so excited the moment she sees Carter and without him doing anything she'll start laughing so hard at him. She constantly watches him and I can just see in her eyes she's waiting for him to notice her and she wishes so bad that she could get down and play with him. I know that day will come too soon! Brooklyn is getting so big and it is so bittersweet. I'm just trying to make the most of my days and enjoy Carter and Brooklyn as they are now, although life is CRAZY I love it, and I certainly know that it will only get crazier in the years to come. I better get going...I'm in Twin and so I don't have my camera but I'll post pics as soon as I get back. Love to all!!!!

Sleep Deprived!!!

This is the beginning of the rash

Pictures don't even do it justice....it's so sad and looks terrible

I was nursing Brooklyn and Carter came and sat on my feet and next thing I know he's asleep


Carter making a snow angel

Brooklyn laying with Carter in his bed. This was the morning we woke up to just some spots on her.


So our little Brook has become quite the trooper. Last Monday I took her in to the Dr.'s because she had become fussy and having trouble sleeping and scratching the heck out of her ear. It was an ear infection so they prescribed Amoxicillin. After being on the amoxicillin for 7 days, Sunday morning Brooklyn had broke out in a rash. At first it was just a whole bunch of spots on her body and as the day progressed so did her rash. She is now covered in welts and it has broke my heart that she has to go through this. Today I took her to the Dr. to not find out anything. The Dr. was a new doctor that they stuck me with since Brooklyn's normal pediatrician is not in the office on Mondays. This Dr. looked at her ears 5 to 6 times and then asked me well which ear was the infected one. Once I told him he looked and looked and then said well I think it is a little red and so I think it's still infected. Then he said I don't think her rash is bothering her. She's too little to swipe at her rash and want to itch. And he also doesn't think she is allergic to Amoxicillin he just thought it was one of the side effects. Allergic or not I'm never giving it to her again!!!! He wants to put her on a different antibiotic, and not document that she is allergic to it.
Well I completely DISAGREE with this dr. so I'm going tomorrow to her regular dr. for another opinion!!!! She has not been this uncomfortable EVER! She is swiping at her forehead and her eyes where the rash is the worst. Before the rash she was still sleeping really well and only waking up 2 times in the night rather than just waking up at 5. But last night she was awake and just whimpering and getting so frustrated! Brent was so great to wake up with me (I was becoming FRANTIC) and helped me give her a bath and then I ran to the store to get Aveno Oatmeal baths. This all occurred at 3 in the morning. Brent gave her a blessing and she soon calmed down and slept for a good few hours.
I'm so grateful for the Priesthood and to have it in our home. Thanks to my honey for being such a good daddy and being so calm!!! I don't know what I'd do without him.
Amongst all the craziness in taking care of Brooklyn.... it has finally snowed and left us with some snow on the ground. I was able to take Carter out and play with him in it and he loved it! We had tons of fun making snow angels and throwing snowballs at each other. He is such a fun smart little kid. He loves to make us laugh and make himself laugh. He definitely keeps the spirit in our home happy as long as we remember to laugh and not worry about the messes he makes or the curiosity in him. This past week he has thrown my phone in the bathtub (now I have a newer nicer phone...thanks carter), given the floors tons of baths, thrown tons of rice down the heat vent, taken keys off our keyboard, tried drinking a bottle of ibuprofen thank goodness I was close by to catch him right before doing so. You may now think I never watch this kid but seriously I DO constantly and that's when he plays so good and we play together and the moment I go to the bathroom for 2 minutes or go to lay Brooklyn down or just sit to nurse her he takes these opportunities to become curious. Okay well I better go get some sleep.... I now have just been informed that our dryer isn't working (it's only 1 year old)....AUGH now I have wet clothes and have to call customer service be on hold forever and probably won't be able to understand the person I'm talking to. Oh my it really does pour when it rains!!!! I just have to laugh and say tomorrow is a new day. Love to all!

It's been a while! So much to tell but where to start. First.....in regards to my last post. I figured out who Grandma Bessy is. Grandma Bessy is in the book "Five Little Monkeys With Nothing to Do". She is coming to visit and the monkeys are trying to clean to get ready for Grandma Bessy. The five little monkeys books are so cute! They even have little finger puppets of all the monkeys! I guess Carter isn't thinking up imaginary grandmas.
Now for Christmas....We spent Christmas at my parents house in Twin Falls. Carter understood a lot more than I thought he would. He couldn't wait for Santa to come and for the reindeer. His favorite song is Santa Claus is Coming to Town. We still have to sing this song as one of our bedtime songs. We had lots of fun Christmas morning! Carter was so happy with his presents. I think Carter and Brook got spoiled!!! The best part was that Brent was able to take some time off and we were able to spend some great time with family. We were over at Terry and Ana's almost every night rocking out to Guitar Hero and Singstar on the Play Station. I think Brent will be the next American Idol ( love ya babe)! We had so much fun with everyone we went and bought a Play Station for us.
Of course with Christmas comes great food! Thanks to my dad and mom for the good food and to Ana who cooks some great authentic Mexican food for our Christmas Eve party!!!
We then came home to ring in the new YEAR! We went over to our friends house and of course brought over our Guitar Hero and Singstar and had a great time! Again the food was GREAT (thanks Collette, I now have 10 more pounds to lose on top of what I already need to lose!)
And now it is 2008. I can not believe it! The time just seems to slip away and it seems to go faster each year. I hope to be able to make the best and most out of it no matter what! Oh the list could go on forever for my new years resolution. I have so much to be thankful for and am loving being a mother of 2 beautiful healthy kids. I better get going, it's late and I'm in need of some major sleep. To all of you that we were not able to see this Christmas Season you all have been in our thoughts! WE miss you all. We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Grandma Bessy

Today Carter has stumped me on what he is talking about. He's been sitting in front of our big front window telling me "Grandma Bessy comin'. When I ask who is grandma Bessy. He gets quite flustered and states again....."grandma Bessy comin, Carter's house." I say you mean Grandma Helen? Reply: NO, Grandma Bessy! So I say you mean Grandma Tami/Thueson? Reply: No Grandma Bessy. I have no clue who Grandma Bessy is but he is quite sure she is coming to our house. His imagination grows everyday! Last night he pretended his frozen peas were HOT and he had to blow on them. He kept laughing and laughing that he was actually blowing on cold peas. (Just so you don't think I've lost my mind feeding him frozen peas.....thats the only way he'll eat them!) He is loving to hold Brook. She loves this too. She smiles and talks to him and he eats it up trying to click his tongue or shhhh. her or sing to her.
Brook is getting so big. She is such a happy content baby as long as she is held out so she can see or be put on the floor. If I hold her to much she reminds me to put her down. Then of course if I don't hold her enough she'll let me know too. When she starts to get fussy I know she's tired and I try to rock her or cuddle her to sleep and she only fusses more so I go to lay her down and she immediately begins to coo and talk and is happy and then in just a couple of minutes she's out. I am still getting used to having a baby that would rather be put in a crib than be held.
We are all staying busy this Christmas season. I have to say I haven't even done a whole lot of Christmas shopping. Every time I go I go crazy but then I end up putting things back and think that's not what Christmas is about. Which is somewhat frustrating as I love Christmas shopping and love to give gifts. But Overall I just want to enjoy what I have and teach Carter from the start it's not about gifts it's about Christ and what we are going to do to keep Christ in our lives and become more Christlike. Ok so this post is becoming more in-depth than I thought or wanted......
So anyway, I hope you all are having a great holiday season and enjoying the great food that comes with it. This is my favorite season for sure. I love the music and the hot chocolate and decorating! It's so fun. I better get going!!! Love to all!

photo shoot

So we had some pictures taken around Brooklyn's blessing. We are just getting them so I thought I'd post a few. It was soo CRAZY!! Carter hated getting his picture the moment we stepped foot in the room. He didn't want to sit by us didn't want Cristi the photogragher taking pictures, he screamed bloody murder when we tried to change his shirt. He seriously was so difficult. But in his defense he was extremely tired and wanted to be with grandmas and grandpas. So if you are wondering why Carter isn't really in the photos, it's because he jumped ship and went into the other room to watch Nemo. For it being a crazy day of kids Cristi managed to capture some good shots. Thank goodness it wasn't all a waste!

Happy Happy Birthday

SO I haven't posted in a long long time!!! WE have been extremely busy and going a little crazy! First I'd like to say Happy birthday to Brent. His birthday was yesterday the 3rd and today is my sweet little Carter's birthday and mine. December is the craziest month and we are staying busy. We celebrated Carter's birthday on Saturday with some friends. I attempted making a lightning McQueen and Mater. They turned out pretty cute thanks to my amazing dad for carving the loaf cakes into the shape of cars. I made marshmallow fondant and it was a lot better than trying to frost the cake. Carter loved the cakes and was surprised when we "broke McQueen and ate it". We still have some left and he is constantly asking "eat lightning McQueen please.....bite mater now please!" I can't believe he is already 2 and I am 24. Time has really gone fast. Carter has really hit the terrible 2's and is becoming quite independent. For Carter's birthday we got him some big boy underwear and an Elmo book about going to the potty, I thought I'd just introduce the idea to him.....well last night he asked to sit on the potty and we read the book and he kept pushing and pushing.....but nothing. We went through the motions though of wiping and flushing. This morning again he asked. We'll see how long this lasts. I'm not pushing at all because half of me still thinks diapers are so much easier. But when I get those real stinky diapers I think it would sure be nice if he started going in the toilet!!!! We know many of you have birthdays in December so we are wishing you a Happy Birthday!!! I am trying to upload pictures but it's not working so check back!!!

WE ARE MARSHALL

Okay so I normally don't do movie reviews, but I have to say that "We are Marshall" was a great show!!! I am awake at 2 in the morning thinking about it, and yes still getting teary eyed. After a really good or scary movie I can never sleep because my mind just thinks. I cried throughout the whole thing but don't let that stop you from watching I must say I am quite emotional still. You know I just had a baby and I think I can still use the excuse of hormones being the cause of tears. Brent didn't even tear up (which is a sign that I'm really being sensitive because he usually tears up if it is really sad. Sorry Brent, but you do.) It was the kind of show that gives you goosebumps and makes you really enjoy your own life and realize how much we have to be grateful for. And it makes you laugh, cry, jump off the edge of your seat your so excited! So if you haven't seen it yet, go rent it. It is great! For now, I must try and get some sleep. Tomorrow comes.... oh it is tomorrow.....morning comes oh so quick!!! Love to all.

Brotherly sister love

The lovely artwork





Our sweet Brook




Just thought I'd share some recent photos of the kids. One day when Brent was supposed to be watching and playing with Carter he seemed to somehow escape Brent's eyes and got a hold of a pen. A pen and one little boy can create masterpieces which Carter created one heck of a masterpiece on himself. Carter is really learning his manners like "cuse me, thank you, peese, and sorry." He definately knows when I start to get frustrated and immediately bursts out "sorry mom....sorry" Every time he says this with out fail it brings a huge smile to my face and immediately I am not frustrated anymore. I'm so grateful for the word sorry and and thank you! When a crazy almost 2 year old uses them it helps me put in perspective that he's still so small and is learning. He is way to smart for his age, if I have to take something away from him that he shouldn't have like scissors or a pen or some adult thing that isnt a toy he tells me "share mom". He is becoming a big help to me with brooklyn, like getting diapers, throwing them away, or finding blankets, finding her binki when she starts to squak and trying so hard to help her not to cry. She loves him! Brooklyn watches him like crazy. She smiles and talks to him and he loves it. She gets so excited when she sees him she kicks her legs and flails her arms and Carter comes to give her hugs and kisses. When it's diaper changing time they love to lay by eachother and Carter tells her "no cry ookn." He tries to do patty cake with her and itsy bitsy spider. So fun that he actually now really enjoys her and she enjoys him. I hope that when Brooklyn gets bigger they'll become great play mates, since they're so close in age!!!
Brooklyn is talking and cooing like crazy. She sleeps really well for me, so far. She still isn't much of a cuddler at all. I'm glad I'm nursing as that's the only time I get to hold her real close and cuddle. Other than that she has to be held out to see what's going on and when she's tired she'll either fall asleep with me holding her out or she'll fuss until i put her down. Weirdo....I still can't totally grasp that a baby doesn't really like to be snuggled and cuddled. When she starts to fuss my natural instinct is to bring her in and snuggle her but she quickly lets me know that is not what she wants. She is really starting to fill out and get those chubby cheeks that you just want to pinch.
We are having lots of fun with our little family and are excited for the upcoming holidays. We are hoping to get to see some family and eat lots of good food. We hope all is going well and love to all.