a little bit of our story

february 13, 2012

2012-02-13T23:57:00.000-06:00

Now we are officially ready for Valentine's Day. Yum!

february 12, 2012

2012-02-12T23:13:00.002-06:00

And just like that, all of the boxes are empty again.

february 10, 2012

2012-02-10T21:10:00.000-06:00

We are officially homeowners again!

february 2, 2012

2012-02-02T22:05:00.000-06:00

I am not too crazy about my commute, but I am trying to focus on the best thing it has to offer: 30 minutes of sweet, golden silence in the car. No complaining about who is looking at who wrong. No "I'm bored." No toys flying through the air. Hmm. Maybe my commute isn't so bad after all.

january 28, 2012

2012-01-28T22:48:00.001-06:00

No strikes from the little guys tonight, but they are getting better!

january 23, 2012

2012-01-23T23:44:00.000-06:00

Isn't packing supposed to be easier when you have "help"?

january 22, 2012

2012-01-22T21:25:00.000-06:00

"I do it."

january 21, 2012

2012-01-21T22:25:00.001-06:00

Playing video games at Best Buy always seems to be more fun than playing at home.

january 19, 2012

2012-01-19T22:28:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately this boy had to have surgery today. Although we thought it had resolved when he was a baby, it turns out that both of his testicles were still undescended. So, like his brother, he had an orchiopexy today. Both Charlie and Cannon had surgeries when they were babies and that definitely wasn't fun. Even with Cannon's ear surgery a few weeks ago it was comforting to know that he won't remember any of it. But it is different this time because Charlie is seven. He is very aware of what is going on. He was a little bit nervous and he asked a lot of questions.

The procedure went well and he is home now. He is having some pain but is doing good overall. We are so proud of you Charlie. Thank-you for being so brave!

january 15, 2012

2012-01-15T23:53:00.000-06:00

Operation Packing is in full force. Eric and I figured out tonight that this is our 14th move in our almost 12.5 year marriage. Dare I say that this will be our last move for a very long time? Through all this I've learned that you never know what the future holds, but I sure do hope so.

january 14, 2012

2012-01-14T22:20:00.000-06:00

I love that whenever Charlie is asked what his favorite sport is, his answer is always "bowling".

It also looks like his future goal has upgraded from becoming a Coke truck driver to becoming a ninja and he is now on a first name basis with Justin Beiber.

january 13, 2012

2012-01-13T22:07:00.000-06:00

Our Friday night tradition: Chinese takeout and a movie. Sounds like the perfect start to the weekend to me.

january 12, 2012

2012-01-12T20:55:00.000-06:00

You always know when Cannon is feeling under the weather because his cheeks turn fire engine red. The little guy was out by 6:45 tonight. Crossing fingers that he feels better in the morning and that his new ear tubes are working hard to keep those ear infections away.

january 11, 2012

2012-01-11T23:17:00.000-06:00

Over the past few months I have been slowly selling off most of my scrapbooking supplies. I never thought it would happen, but it just seemed like it was time. I haven't truly dug into my supplies for over a year and a half. It kept getting harder and harder to jump back in and I found that I just really didn't want to. I tried to force myself but that just led to guilt and frustration. Not to mention the feeling of being "behind". I now had two boys' books to keep up on and it was just too overwhelming. Eric and I chatted about it and he looked at me like I was a crazy woman. He asked me why I would let a hobby make me feel so miserable. I realized he was right. So I went through my stuff and I only kept a few things that I truly love or could use for other craft projects, and I sold the rest.

Right now I am just going to focus on taking lots of photos and getting my favorite memories recorded in some way. I will probably keep up with a simple school album for each of the boys. I will definitely continue to be crafty in one way or another. I think I just needed to accept that sometimes things change, even things that you really love. And that's okay.

january 10, 2012

2012-01-10T21:08:00.000-06:00

Today was the official launch of Charlie's new webshow "Charlie Chat". Charlie has been a big fan of YouTube since he was two and lately he has been talking a lot about how he wanted to start making his own videos. He was over the moon when he unwrapped his very own Flip video camera for his birthday. So now the planning begins. He and Eric have had several production meetings and are busy putting together the content for his next episode. Maybe we have the next Walter Cronkite in our midst?

january 9, 2012

2012-01-10T00:27:00.002-06:00

Since I am not working on Mondays, they have become mommy and Cannon days. Today we played legos, made a fort out of pillows, did laundry and ran some errands. How much do I love it that my three year old knows the chorus to Adele's Someone Like You and sings it at the top of his lungs in the car along with his mama? Can't wait until next Monday little man.

january 8, 2012

2012-01-09T00:10:00.001-06:00

My love for pinterest goes up and down, but lately I cannot seem to stay away. I may need an intervention soon because those boxes aren't going to pack themselves.

january 7, 2012

2012-01-07T23:50:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Charlie! I know every mom says it, but how is it possible that you are already another year older? Today you turned seven. So crazy.

You have been talking about your birthday for months. Especially since you have become such great friends with Abe at school. You just couldn't wait to invite him to your big day. We played games and ate hotdogs at Wahooz and then later had dinner and cake with all the grandparents. I couldn't stop smiling as I watched you play with your new little buddy. He is such a great kid and I love that you have found someone that is so much like you. You guys get each other and that is so awesome.

Happy birthday dude. You are the coolest seven year old I know.

january 6, 2012

2012-01-06T20:36:00.000-06:00

We received our formal loan approval today for the purchase of our new home. Not looking forward to packing again, but happy to be settling down in one place for a while. Just a few more weeks!

january 5, 2012

2012-01-05T22:26:00.000-06:00

Dad started his first day of radiation today. He said that his skin was a little bit tender in his neck and throat area tonight, but overall he was feeling pretty good. Praying that he will continue to do well and he won't experience any of the nasty side effects they talked about.

january 4, 2012

2012-01-04T20:21:00.000-06:00

Getting used to spending eight hours a day at a desk again. A diet coke makes everything a little easier.

january 3, 2012

2012-01-03T22:12:00.000-06:00

Cannon is my personal shopper at the local craft store. Luckily, Eric can smile about it.

january 2, 2012

2012-01-02T21:09:00.000-06:00

Celebrating the new year with dinner out at the Texas Roadhouse. The boys love any place that you get to throw your peanut shells on to the ground and country line dance with the wait staff.

january 1, 2012

2012-01-01T22:49:00.000-06:00

Shopping for a refrigerator for our NEW HOUSE!

december in a nutshell

2011-12-27T23:49:00.000-06:00

The last few weeks have been a little more crazy than I had expected. A few days after my last post we found out that my grandma had passed away. On the same day that my dad had his thyroid removal surgery. It was such a terrible thing to have to tell my dad that his mom had died while he was in the recovery room. I traveled with my mom and dad to California for the funeral while Eric held down the fort at home with the boys.

Cannon also got ear tubes put in on the 8th. He had been on very strong antibiotics for a while and his ear infections still kept returning. He did really great. Luckily, we knew what to expect since Charlie had tubes too and it all went as expected. Cannon is also doing really good with potty training. He still has some trouble with going number two on the potty, but overall he has it down.

I was so relieved that I had so much of my holiday preparation done early this year so I didn't have to stress too much while I was gone. Eric kept up with Teeny the elf and the advent calendar activities.

So here's our December in a nutshell:

We made snowflakes.

......and salt dough ornaments.

We decorated gingerbread houses.

We said goodbye to Grandma's house for the last time.

We did some holiday baking.

The boys met Teeny the elf.

And we inherited my mom's ceramic christmas tree from 1976.

It has been one heck of a month. I am not ashamed to say that the Christmas tree and all decorations were taken down and put away yesterday. It was great while it lasted, but it feels so good when it's over too!

merry christmas from the smith's

2011-12-24T22:48:00.001-06:00

kicking off december....

2011-12-04T22:46:00.001-06:00

It has been a full and very good week.

Before getting out the Christmas decorations, I felt the need to purge a little first. No room or closet was safe. When life is a little crazy, there is nothing better than organized closets and big full bags to take to the goodwill.

Then it was time to decorate the tree. It was much more fun this year than last because Cannon is starting to "get it". He loved looking at every single decoration and trying to find the perfect spot for it. He was a fan of one branch in particular and it took a little convincing that we needed to cover the whole tree. Charlie was into it too - he is old enough to remember the ornaments and wanted to put up all his homemade ones first.

Every year I always have all these ideas of things I want to do to make the holidays special. I usually end up putting them off too long until things get busy and then they just don't happen. I decided I wasn't going to let that happen this year. The boys are at the perfect ages right now where they really believe in the magic of the season and I know that these years won't last long. So, I made a list. A long, long list.

And I have been having so much fun preparing without the stress. And you know what else? I am about 95% done with my christmas shopping, all presents are wrapped (including handmade gift tags), and my Christmas cards have been ordered and stamps/envelopes have been purchased.

This week I also finished my last two classes and I am now officially done with school! The last 16 months have been tough trying to balance my classes amongst everything else, but now it feels so good to just have it done. I also just finished up my internship at a local law firm and they offered me a position. For now I will just be working Tuesday-Thursday, but hopefully things will pick up in the Spring and I can move to full time.

On Friday night the boys wrote their letters to santa. Cannon definitely does not understand the santa concept, but he is always up for some drawing/coloring. Charlie on the other hand was completely serious about the whole thing. He is very concerned that Santa will not get his letter and he will not get the items on his wishlist. No matter what we say, I don't think there is much we can do to reassure him that everything will be okay until he sees for himself on the big day.

I am excited and blessed to get to spend every minute of my favorite season with my favorite boys. This is going to be the best Christmas yet.

school pictures, 2011 edition

2011-11-28T20:58:00.001-06:00

Ah, the dreaded school pictures. Even though they are so dreadful, I feel like a bad mother if I don't at least order the smallest portrait package.

I am just grateful that Charlie's fake "CHEESE" smile didn't make an appearance this year.

Now that Cannon is in daycare, he is also in on the action and got his own photos this year too.

I need to find out who to talk to at the school to be sure we have some laser beams and huge 2012 number props in the photos next year. ;)

cannon at 3....

2011-11-10T21:00:00.000-06:00

Well, Mr. Cannon, you are now three! You are filled with personality and you know how to turn on the charm. To say that you keep us on our toes is an understatment. You are a challenge and you always know what you want.

A few things about you at three years old....

- You are 30 pounds (25th percentile) and 37.25 inches tall (50th percentile).

- You are Independent with a capital I. You have to do everything for yourself. This is mostly a good thing, but sometimes it is downright frustrating. You are dressing yourself and have to get yourself in and out of the car. You are also buckling yourself into your carseat, but luckily you cannot unbuckle...yet!

- You are talking up a storm. A few months ago, it all seemed to click for you and now you are completely caught up to your peers in speech and language. You talk in complete sentences and we can understand almost all of what you say.

- You love to sing and your favorite songs are You are My Sunshine and the ABC Song. You are always learning new songs at daycare and we hear you singing them to yourself as you play with your toys.

- You are crazy about playdoh. You ask to play with it pretty much daily. You also love coloring and drawing.

- You are terribly stubborn. Once you have something set in your mind, it is almost impossible to change it. This has been a huge challenge for us and one that we are fighting on a daily basis. We keep praying for wisdom on how to raise you. We want to encourage your independence and channel all your energy in a positive direction. Hoping that we can find some middle ground in this area soon.

- You and Charlie are complete opposites. I notice things every single day that remind me that you two couldn't really be any more different. Your relationship has its highs and lows and I hope that it keeps getting better and better. You are lucky to have each other.

- You love macaroni and cheese, yogurt, fruit snacks, and fruit. You aren't too picky, but you usually know what you want when you want it (as usual!)

- You are still an early riser. (I would still like to know where you got this from!)

- You are attending daycare and you love it. You need the social interaction and you love all the action.

You truly are a character, little dude. We are learning from you everyday and we love you so much Can Man.

halloween 2011....

2011-11-06T23:29:00.000-06:00

Halloween this year was an absolute blast. The boys are at the best age and they loved every bit of it! Charlie did not have his heart set on a particular halloween costume this year so we threw a few ideas around and once this idea came up, we knew it was the one.......

Angry Birds!!!!

These costumes were pretty fun to put together and I was so grateful that there was no face painting involved and they were easy to put on and take off.

Since we don't really know any of our new neighbors, we decided to go to our old neighborhood for trick-or-treating. It was so nice to see some of our old friends that we haven't seen for a few years and they were pretty surprised to see us at their doorstep!

I wasn't too suprised that Cannon caught right on to the whole concept of trick-or-treating. He was all over the candy and couldn't walk fast enough at the beginning. He is still young enough that he wasn't too scared of the scary decorated doorsteps. He would just march right by the spiders and zombies and hold out his bucket and yell "Tick O Treat!" As the night wore on he did slow down but he became worried that we were going to stop soon. After every house he would get a concerned look and say "One more house please?"

Charlie did great too. In the past he hasn't had much endurance when it came to trick-or-treating. We would go to a handful of houses and then he would be done. This year he wanted to keep going and was very proud of his haul.

I would say that Halloween 2011 was a major success!

Cannon is 3!

2011-10-19T23:15:00.000-05:00

I had big plans for a monster themed third birthday party for Cannon, but with my dad's surgery and all that has been going on with that, time just got away from me. Luckily, he really had no idea that the day was coming and was happy with how the day turned out anyway.

The weather was beautiful on Saturday so we thought it would be the perfect time to make a trip to the pumpkin patch.

Charlie thinks corn angels are much more fun than snow angels.

Charlie wasn't very interested in picking his own pumpkin. They were either too big or too dirty and he gave up pretty quickly. Cannon of course was the complete opposite. He was totally into it and was trying to pick up pumpkins bigger than him.

We had the grandparents over for dinner and to do presents and cake. The only thing I had put together for the party was the cake. I copied it directly from this one. I had the bottom made at a local bakery and then I made the cake pop eyeballs.

Cannon and GG had spent some time in the morning playing funny birthday songs on YouTube and he seemed to catch on pretty quickly that it was his special day. He was loving it. He spent most of the day singing "Happy Birthday to MeeeeEEEeee" songs and once he saw the candles lit on the cake he was yelling "Birthday song! Birthday song!"

Happy Birthday Cannon! We love you, dude.

By the way, this was my first time making cake pops. My review: a lot of work and way too sweet. I don't think I will be making them again anytime soon. Too bad because they are so stickin' cute.

please pray....

2011-10-10T23:19:00.001-05:00

Just when I thought that life was ready to settle down again, we are once again thrown for a loop.

My dad has cancer.

You always hope and pray that you will never have to say those words about someone you love. Someone that you have looked up to your whole life. Someone that has loved you unconditionally from the moment you were born.

It has been tough to accept. It is an emotional rollercoaster that at times doesn't feel real and at other times I feel like running far, far away so I can pretend it is not happening.

I don't know what the future holds for my dad. It looks as though we have a long fight in front of us, but I am so grateful that we are back home and we can do it together.

You can follow my dad's journey here: CaringBridge

daily photos, week 2 &3....

2011-09-26T15:53:00.001-05:00

I have managed to finish up 3 whole weeks of taking a picture a day. I am so thrilled that I have stuck to it. I haven't put them in the album yet. I need to figure out a way to print them at home or find a local place that actually does a decent job. I also realized that I need to be jotting down some notes for what to include in the album when I get time to work on it. I would also like to include other details from the day besides just the photo.

end of summer celebration.....

2011-09-13T22:24:00.000-05:00

To stick with tradition, we took Charlie out for a special evening to say goodbye to summer.

He got to pick the dinner place, much to my dismay, and off to Burger King we went.

Burger King is not his favorite place to eat. He just really, really wanted the flame guitar Paper Jamz kids meal toy. After 4 different visits and lots of pleading with the BK employees, the flame guitar was just not meant to be.

The next stop was the mall. We had spotted these LEGO shoes the week before and Charlie was pretty sure he needed them for school. He was a little surprised that we were shopping on his special night, but we made sure to keep it quick.

And then off to the big surprise, Spy Kids 4D. Charlie talked about this movie all summer. He is crazy about anything spy related and 3D, so this was a very big deal.

Soda....check!

Popcorn....check!

Aromascope......check!

They actually ran out of the aromascope cards during the previous showing so they grabbed some used ones. Crisis averted.

Charlie gives this night two thumbs up!

project life....

2011-09-12T16:37:00.000-05:00

I have finally jumped on the bandwagon and started project life. I have been wanting to do it for a while, but just wasn't ready to commit. Most people start it on the first of the year, but the truth is that the last thing I want to do right after Christmas is start a new project. I was going to start this summer when I finally broke down and purchased the kit but I kept forgetting to take photos.

Then, last week it just felt like the right time. With the move and the new school year I feel like we have a new beginning and a new schedule. What a perfect time to start documenting our everyday.

Here are last weeks photos.

9.5.2011

9.6.2011

9.7.2011

9.8.2011

9.9.2011

9.10.2011

9.11.2011

I am looking forward to getting them tucked away in the album this week. Is it crazy that I am a little intimidated to dive back into my scrapbooking stuff again? It has just been way too long.....

goodbye minnesota.....

2011-09-07T15:48:00.000-05:00

Really all I can say about Minnesota is that it was an adventure. Those nine months went by so, so quickly.

I can tell you that we won't miss this:

Or the humidity. The weather in general was really not my favorite.

We also won't miss the ticks. We discovered a tick burrowed into Cannon's knee one evening at bathtime. Cannon kept pointing to it and saying "ladybug?" Luckily, when I just wanted to panic, Eric took control and handled the situation. We were itching our heads and were skeeved out for the rest of the night. We told all of our coworkers our traumatic story the next morning and they laughed in our faces. Apparantly, ticks are very common in Minnesota and you aren't truly livin' if you don't get at least one a year. You better believe that didn't make me feel any better when I found one crawling on my shirt the very next day!

There are a lot of things we will miss about Minnesota though. Do you know how wonderful it is to live just 15 minutes away from the Mall of America? It is fabulous. A few days after we told Charlie that we were moving back to Idaho, he burst into tears when he realized that we wouldn't be able to visit the MOA anymore. The Nickelodeon Universe and LEGO store are important stuff to a 6 year old. So of course we had to make one last trip before we left to soak it all in.

The Science Museum of Minnesota was also a favorite place to go.

The local splash park was also a big hit.

This was as far in as Cannon would get. He always acts like such a tough guy, so it is funny to see him being so timid.

And of course we had to grab one last Caniac combo from Cane's before we hit the road.

Good-bye Minnesota, it was fun while it lasted. We just may be back one day, but probably only to visit next time.

it was a pretty good summer.....

2011-09-06T16:37:00.000-05:00

So for the last 8 months or so, life just got much busier than I expected. I was working full time, going to school and trying to meet the needs of the kids as best as I could. Something just had to give and unfortunately, it was pretty much all of our free time.

I missed blogging.
I missed playing with paper.
I missed being creative.

Luckily, things have changed over the last month and I am finding that I am no longer flying by the seat of my pants. We are pretty much moved into our new place and unpacked. Charlie has started school and Cannon is getting used to his new schedule. Eric is busy job hunting. I am almost finished with school and will start my externship in a few weeks. Things are good. And we are good.

We did have some fun this summer.

Charlie kicked it all off with his kindergarten graduation.

I was so proud of him. I wasn't expecting to be emotional at all, but I did tear up a bit as they did their little march in.

Then it pretty much went downhill from there. I could not believe how pushy and rude all the other parents were. We couldn't see anything because everybody kept standing up. From what little we could see of Charlie, he seemed nervous and was not into the program at all. What is up with the singing of 37 songs in a row? It just never stopped.

Charlie had the best teacher this year. Mrs. Gerten was so good for him. She really understood his special needs and encouraged him in the perfect way.

In June we went to the Como Zoo. It is a smaller, free zoo that also has an amusement park. Cannon is a big-time animal lover and was completely in his element.

Charlie was more interested in his new spy watch from GG.

We saw the Sparky the Sea Lion show.

Cannon could have stayed by the monkeys all day long.

Then we headed over to the rides. I love this picture. It is such a true representation of their relationship right now.

Charlie decided all of a sudden that he is now scared of rides even though he rode all the huge roller coasters at Legoland just a few short months ago.

He was freaking out by the end of this ride, you can tell below that he was not doing too good. I think the girl stopped the ride early because he was screaming so much.

Charlie did decide that he wanted to try the teacups after this. Things went from bad to worse on the teacups and Charlie and Cannon got in a knock-down drag out fight. It was one of those times where the other parents are all giving you that look filled with judgment and disapproval. We took a video but I am not going to share that because it is downright brutal. We headed home with two boys who pouted and cried the entire car ride and naptime just couldn't come soon enough.

For the 4th of July, we headed to a local event that had some games and rides for the kids. It was really small which ended up being good for the boys. We got there early so we didn't really have to wait for any of the rides.

This carnival was pretty ghetto and they didn't have any height restrictions on any of the rides. While I was slightly concerned for the kids' safety, it was kind of nice that Cannon could ride all of the rides with Charlie. Their lives may have been in danger, but at least there were no tears.

We took a break for some mini donuts and cheese curds.

Then we headed home to get out of the heat. We talked about taking the boys to see some fireworks but Charlie just isn't that interested and Cannon won't sleep in no matter how late he goes to bed, so we decided to skip it this this year. They were stoked with just a box of pop-its, especially this little guy:

Sometimes it is the simple things that make us the most happy.

first grade....

2011-09-01T22:10:00.000-05:00

I have a lot to catch up on from the past few months, but today I just want to share Charlie's back to school photos because I just can't get over how grown-up he is getting! sigh.

Even though Charlie wasn't really looking forward to starting school, he seemed pretty excited on his first day. He had to start at yet another new school so I think he may have been a little nervous about everything being new again.

He wasn't too crazy about going full day because it is "such a loooOnnnNG time" but now that he has been a couple days I think he likes it better than he thought he would. When he got home on is first day he said "It was SO boring. I didn't learn one single new thing." Great. I didn't think I was going to get that kind of attitude until the teenage years...

The only other comments we got were to be sure to add less mayo to his sandwich for tomorrow and please add apple sauce instead of a fruit cup. Sounds like lunch and recess are the top priorities at this point.

And in true Cannon fashion, he had to be a part of the whole event. We couldn't find Cannon's backpack from the move and he was devastated. A plastic Target bag had to do and he was proud to drag that thing all the way to school and back.

Looking forward to settling into a new routine and praying for a wonderful school year!

easter 2011

2011-05-16T21:47:00.010-05:00

The boys are at the perfect ages for all the Easter festivities. Charlie is not too old and Cannon is just old enough to get that it is a pretty special time filled with family and crazy traditions. He kept looking at us like, egg hunting? Seriously? We have carpet in our dining area, so there was definitely not going to be any egg dying at the table. What else is the huge island for other than to climb up on and get crafty?
So typical of Cannon, trying to boss Charlie around. He definitely thought he was the egg dying master. He took charge of what colors all the eggs were going to be, whether we wanted him to or not.

The word "gentle" is not in Cannon's vocabulary, so most of the eggs looked like this when we were done:

Cannon wanted the Easter bunny all to himself. Have I mentioned that he is 2???

Once we tried to get Charlie in the picture, he was over it.

We headed to the cousins' house in Des Moines for Easter weekend. The kids LOVE visiting their cousins.

Although he thought it was crazy at first, Cannon had no trouble catching on to the egg hunt concept once he found out there was candy involved. Charlie of course was an old pro at the hunt. Four very happy kids. :) Checking out the loot.

I think it is safe to say Easter 2011 was a huge sucess!

we miss her.

2011-03-11T09:43:00.003-06:00

This picture was taken in August when we were in Boise for a visit. It was a million degrees and she was in quite a bit of pain due to her hip, but she was determined to go out on these paddle boats with the boys. She took Charlie in her boat and I had Cannon with me. Cannon kept trying to climb out of the boat so I had to watch him and try to paddle at the same time. Our boat kept getting stuck in the mossy stuff. I was sweating and getting a bit crabby but I tried to keep up with Grandma P. and Charlie. When we were finished, you could tell she was in a lot of pain and she was just as hot and sweaty as I was, but she had a big smile on her face and she was so happy to have this special time with the boys. At the time, I thought she was a little crazy for dragging us out there. But now I am so thankful for this memory. This is the last picture I took of her.

I can't believe it has almost been a month since she passed. She is in my thoughts all day long. I still can't believe that she is gone.

I miss her for my boys. She loved them with all of her heart. After she passed we had to stop by her office for some paperwork. All four of us walked in and Eric made a little small talk and then introduced himself as Priscilla's son. Her co-workers smiled and said "We know, we recognized Charlie the minute you guys walked in. He sure was the light of her life, she never stopped talking about him." Grandma P. and Charlie had such a special bond and I am so sad for him. I don't think Charlie completely understands what has happened but I hope he is not too young to remember that love that they had for each other.

I miss her for my husband. She was his number one cheerleader. When we first got married, I would get upset because Eric would share some news with her or ask her for advice when I thought he should be talking to me. But I quickly learned that they just got each other. They were alike in so many ways and she always knew how to encourage and support him in just the way he needed it. Instead, I became grateful for the support that she gave him because it made him a better husband and father. I know he is in a lot of pain. I wish I could ask her what to say to him, to encourage him like she could.

I miss her for me. It took us a while to really get to know each other, but once we did, I felt so blessed that she was my mother-in-law. Not only for what she gave my kids and husband but what she gave to me. I am so thankful that I had a wonderful conversation with her just a few days before she passed. I wanted to know how she was recovering from her surgery, but she quickly brushed that off and used the time to encourage me. She asked about our new home and our jobs. We laughed about the funny things that the boys have been doing recently. She told me that I am a good mother and wife and that she loves me. I wish that I would have said more to her.

I pray that we gave to her even a tenth of what she gave to us. We love and miss her so very much.

home...

2011-02-04T21:10:00.003-06:00

I am back from L.A. and it is nice to be home. CHA was fun, but I have never been more exhausted! We were working most of the time, but we were able to sneek away one night to the Magnolia bakery to get a cupcake. Yum.
We also got some dinner and were planning on seeing a movie, but we were just too tired to go!

It was nice to get a little break from the boys. It was easy to leave them behind because they were being left with their beloved GG. They hardly even noticed I was gone but they asked for GG the whole day after she left. I know where I rank!

The last few days have been spent playing playdoh, drawing puppy dogs and watching cartoons. Even though I may not be their first choice, I will say it again, it is good to be home. :)

Looking forward to relaxing this weekend before things get crazy again. Today Charlie told me that he was so glad it is Saturday tomorrow so that he could sleep in. I just wish by "sleeping in" he actually meant sleeping past 6:30am!

blur.

2011-01-16T13:54:00.000-06:00

The last six weeks have been a total blur. I suppose that is what happens when you have 2 kids, move 1400 miles across the country, attend school and start a new part-time job during the holidays. Life has been moving at a tremendous speed lately, but you know what? We are all doing just fine. We are together and we are taking care of each other and things are good.

With the big tradeshow coming up and lots to do for that, things will continue to be busy for a while but we will just keep taking it all one day at a time.

I wanted to get down a few thoughts about our holidays before I completely forget! This year we really scaled back. We just didn't have the time to do everything we wanted to but it made me evaluate what is important. Even though it was the last thing I wanted to do after unpacking all our boxes, we did get the christmas decorations out. Overall, the boys couldn't care less about decorating the tree, but they did love this little toy. It has always been a favorite of Charlie's and now Cannon has discovered it too.

The one thing Charlie insisted we do is make cookies for Santa. He didn't care about anything but making sure he got the Michael Jackson Experience game for his Nintendo DS. He was pretty sure Santa was bringing it for him so we had to be sure to take care of the big guy by leaving him some treats.

>

The boys slept pretty well and even waited till 7am to get up. They got lots of great things from their friends and family and we all felt very blessed and loved this year.
Cannon figured out the presents thing pretty quickly.
After presents we got ready and drove to Des Moines to spend some time with Eric's sister and her family. It has been a while since the boys got to play with their cousins. It was great to relax and catch-up.

Because of all the craziness lately, I was happy to get all the decorations put away and get things back to a little more "normal". It was nice to keep things simple this year and focus on what is most important. I will definitely have to keep this in mind next year.

six!!!...

2011-01-09T13:10:00.011-06:00

A special little boy in the Smith household turned six this weekend. We have spent the last few days celebrating him and all the amazing things he brings to our family. I don't remember being as reminiscent of his actual birthday in the past as I was this year. Throughout the weekend, I noticed I kept thinking about that day that he was born. It was the scariest day of my life. I had never felt so helpless and terrified. But it was also one of the most wonderful. Six years ago, this little boy made me a mama.
The boys got gift cards to Build-A-Bear so we started the day there. Neither of them have really been into stuffed animals (or plushes, as Charlie calls them) so we have never thought to take them there. They really liked it. They were quick to decide on their animal. Charlie picked the monkey and Cannon picked the panda bear.
Cannon holding his panda's heart and making a wish. You can see he was very serious about this.

Charlie didn't like the noise the stuffing machine made.

Making sure his panda was filled just right.

Naming their new friends. Charlie had already decided right away that his monkey would be named Monkey Man. Cannon had no idea so we came up with Pongo.

Charlie had gotten a kid's meal coupon for Rainforest Cafe from school and decided that is where he wanted to celebrate his birthday.

Another failed attempt at a group shot.

Cannon loved when the little show would come on. The lights would flash and there were rumbling noises.

They sang happy birthday and Charlie got a birthday sundae. We were lucky enough to have our friend's Heidi, Tanner and Chloe at dinner with us, but of course I forgot to get pictures of them. So typical.

Then we headed home for cake and presents. We didn't really have a party theme going on so we went with the good ol' standby for the cake. Charlie can always use a little Spongebob.

It was a very, very good day.

alive and well......in minnesota!

2010-12-07T15:48:00.005-06:00

I know some of you have been wondering where in the world I have dissapeared to. Well, the answer is that we packed up our family, said goodbye to Utah and moved ourselves to Minnesota! Eric got a new job here (with a scrapbooking company of all things!) and it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. He left the beginning of November while I stayed behind and got all of our stuff packed up. Then on the weekend before Thanksgiving, Eric came back to load up the moving truck and start making the 1200 mile trek across the country to our new home. I knew there was no way I was willing to spend 20 hours in the car with Cannon, so he and I flew. It was totally worth every single penny to do that.

Eric took a few pictures of their adventure. The weather was terrible and he encountered many storms and setbacks. Charlie remembered riding in the moving van from Idaho to Utah so he was excited to do it again. We tried to tell him that this ride was going to be much longer, but he was insistent on riding with daddy.
Snowy roads for miles and miles.

There were several long stretches where they never even got over 15mph. They eventually had to stop on their first day in Laramie, WY because the road was closed. It took them over 9 hours to go just 350 miles.

One of the many wrecks that they saw on their way

Our car after the long trip.

They made a stop at Cabela's on the way to get an elk sandwich. (Yuck. Good thing I was not there because I definitely would have vetoed this decision!)

Crossing into Nebraska....

Ahhhhhh. After 3 days of driving, they finally reach Minnesota.

Since I previously blogged about how much I loved the Utah mountains, I thought it would be amusing to share this photo. This is the big ski hill here in MN. How sad.

And this is the view from our new place after our first snow storm. We now have about 12 more inches since this picture was taken. It is beautiful. Very cold, but beautiful nonetheless.

We are getting settled in and exploring our new surroundings. The school district here is one of the best and that was a huge factor in our decision to move. Charlie loves his new school and he has an awesome teacher. Both of the boys have done great with the move and we are feeling good about our decision to move. Just another part of our adventure. Sometimes I wonder what could possibly be next. I never would have thought that we would be moving to Utah a year ago and now here we are in Minnesota. Life can be crazy sometimes. But we are embracing it and loving (almost) every single moment!

legoland!......

2010-11-15T14:19:00.000-06:00

After begging to go to Legoland for over a year, Charlie finally got his wish. Pake (my grandpa) passed away and we went to California for the funeral. Since we were in the area, my parents wanted to take the boys there for an early Christmas present. Charlie was beyond excited. We couldn't really keep it a secret because he already knew Legoland was in California and once I told him we were going there for the funeral he immediately started talking about it.

These pictures are not great by any means. Let's just say that 2 busy boys running around Legoland do not have any time to stop for the camera.

First stop was miniland. I think this was the part Charlie was looking forward to the most. They had the entire vegas strip, the french quarter, NY skyline, San Francisco and the Sydney Opera House completely recreated in legos. It was pretty incredible.

Charlie was also really excited about driving the cars and getting his own driver's license. He wasn't too good at steering the car and I think he only got about half way around the track.

The park was not very busy at all which was perfect! We didn't have to wait in line to get on the rides and if we wanted to go again, they would let us stay on the ride and go again. The weather was also great. We couldn't have picked a better day to visit.

There is a reason they do not charge for kids under 3. They pretty much cannot do ANYTHING. Cannon was about an inch too short to ride any of the rides. He would get so ticked off when he would see Charlie getting on all the rides and he couldn't tag along. There were lots of breath holding incidents. Poor dude.

Charlie LOVED the rollercoasters. I was so surprised. As we were going up the first time he said, "I think I might be getting scared!" but then he chilled out and enjoyed the ride. He immediately asked to go again.

This is the only ride that Cannon could go on and he was totally in love. He smiled the entire time and then he started to put his arms up in the air and yelled "wheeeee!"

A lot of people told us that Charlie was at the perfect age for Legoland and they were completely right. He was able to go on all the rides and they were fun without being too scary. We enjoyed six hours of lego bliss and everybody left with a smile on their face.

halloween 2010....

2010-10-31T20:26:00.003-05:00

We knew for a while that Charlie wanted to be a lego minifigure for Halloween. I mean really, we all knew that was coming, right? And of course, I looked high and low and nobody actually sells a lego minfigure costume. So, once again, we were going to be making Charlie's costume this year just as we did last year and the year before. This costume was quite the project and as we made our 23rd trip to Hope Depot to get yet another supply, Eric and I looked at each other wondering if we were completely crazy. Charlie was thrilled so that makes it all worth it I suppose. The costume was a pretty big success. Everywhere we went people were commenting about it. Charlie even won the costume contest at his school and was quite proud of himself.

Here in Utah, everybody went trick-or-treating on Saturday. We weren't happy about this but we didn't want the kids to miss out, so we followed their tradition and went on Saturday. (Utah even celebrated the 4th of July on Saturday instead of Sunday this year, CRAZY!!!) It started to rain at about 4pm and it didn't let up for hours. Bummer.

Neither of the kids were having much fun in the rain, so we headed to the mall. Along with everybody else in the city. It was a total zoo and most of the stores were out of candy early.
We gave up and headed to Target to just buy some candy. The kids were happy with that. We ended the night with a quick dinner at In-N-Out, and the adults were happy with that!

Hope you all had a fabulous Halloween!

we finally made it to the zoo.....

2010-10-27T23:56:00.004-05:00

I heard that the zoo was fabulous here but we had never made the effort to go. There is a funny story of why we ended up going on this day. I used to work with a gal named Christine at Archiver's in Boise. She moved but I never realized it was to Utah and I especially never expected to run into her at Costco a few weeks ago! She has an annual pass to the zoo and invited us to tag along with them when the kids were on Fall Break. (on yet another note, is fall break just a Utah thing? I don't ever remember getting 3 days off in October for "fall break") Anyway, we quickly accepted the invitation and we had a great day. She has a daughter that is also in kindergarten and a son that is about 6 months older than Cannon.

Charlie was quick to do his standard pose and cheesy smile whenever the camera pointed his way. He loved the giraffes and we were able to get pretty close to them.

Cannon did pretty good in his stroller for a while but he finally decided that he needed to get out to explore with the big kids. He did much better staying by me than I expected him to be. He kept trying to lead the way and then he would turn around and yell at the rest of us "Come on!" I think he has heard me say that to him about a thousand times as he usually thinks the walk from our apartment to the car is a 15-minute nature walk. I am constantly standing there with my arms full of groceries trying to hurry him along.

And of course, what would a trip to the zoo be without a ride on the carousel? We had to wait in line a little while before our turn and Charlie had scouted out that turkey. He really wanted it and I was thrilled we were able to get it for him.
Cannon had the praying mantis, but he couldn't care less.
We didn't get to see everything because naptime came much too quickly, but we were happy to have finally made the trip to the zoo. Another great day spent with my two cute boys.

pumpkin painting...

2010-10-19T10:51:00.000-05:00

Our complex had a pumpkin painting party at the community center last week. It was so cute when we walked in the door and a bunch of the kids yelled "Hey! It's Charlie!" He got all shy and then whispered "those are some of my bus friends." They must be from other stops because I didn't recognize any of them. It was fun to see him interacting with some of his school friends.

We didn't know if Cannon would be interested in this so we just got a pumpkin for Charlie at first. What were we thinking? If Charlie is doing something you better believe that Cannon will be doing it to. He will not be left out on anything. Ever.

I started Cannon out with just a little bit of paint and then he was pretty happy just dipping his brush in the water and then going over his pumpkin. He eventually figured out there were other colors of paint and he would reach way over to the other side of the table to dip into them. He was very serious about the whole process.

Charlie just kept plugging along until most of his pumpkin was covered in paint. These types of projects are not usually his favorite, but he had fun anyway.

There were some kids waiting for a turn so we hurried the kids to finish and Cannon was not happy about this one bit. I think he could have stayed there all night dipping his brush over and over again. Maybe he will be the artistic one??

cannon is two.....

2010-10-17T22:42:00.005-05:00

Since I figured Cannon may have an opinion on what kind of party he wants next year, I took advantage of being able to choose this year and I picked an owl theme. It was a very small party so I didn't really have to do much, but it was fun to put together a few fun details for the day.

I started with some invitations. Luckily, I only had to make a handful of these, so I added a lot of stitching and detail.

Then I made a plush version of the owl to put into the cake. We decided to go with a Nothing Bundt Cake again. They are just so GOOD.
Banner and balloons. The ballons were the biggest hit of all with Cannon. He was not happy that they were tied to his highchair so I had to take a few off for him to play with. He calls them "noons".
The little goodie bags I made for the guests. I made each of the boys a t-shirt using a freezer paper stencil and some bleach using this tutorial. They all turned out different and the boys loved them. The bag also included a toy skeleton and a sucker/crazy tooth toy thing.
I didn't really get any good cake photos. Bummer. The light in our dining area is pretty poor and it was dark outside by the time we did the cake, so I was forced to use the flash. Charlie got a little excited and blew out the candles before Cannon had a chance to, but I don't think Cannon even knew that he was supposed to blow them out anyway.

The boys were very helpful to Cannon with the present unwrapping. They were all unwrapped in no time. Even though the toys were much too young for the bigger boys I think they were so excited with just the thought of new toys that they wanted to play with them as much as Cannon did.
He LOVES music so he thought this toy was pretty cool.
Getting his groove on.
It was fun to see Cannon enjoy the day. I am not sure he really understood what was going on, but he was happy that there were balloons, cake and presents so I would say it was a success.

He played with the older boys the whole time and I am pretty sure he thinks he is 4 or 5 too. He has really grown up these past few weeks and I definitely see a little boy nowadays. No more babies in this house!

cornbelly's....

2010-10-14T23:35:00.008-05:00

The weather on Saturday was PERFECT for a day at the pumpkin patch. Charlie got a coupon from his school so he had been begging to go. How smart of them to give out coupons directly to the kids at the school, right?? Cannon is finally old enough for this kind of stuff so I was looking forward to seeing him soak it all in. He loved it. Charlie had fun too, but he is at a weird stage right now where he is constantly thinking/worrying about the future. I think he sometimes forgot to enjoy the moment because he was afraid it was going to be over. He kept asking, "We aren't leaving yet are we?" Not sure what has brought this on, but I hope it doesn't last too long.

Trying to get a picture of the two of them together....another FAIL.
Cannon was crazy about the tetherball. He is his mama's kid.

Showing how scared they were to go into "The Creature". It was very dark inside so I carried Charlie. It was cute to hear him rationalize the experience when he started to get scared. In one part there was a disco light flashing and he just kept saying "oh, that is just a disco ball, there is nothing to be scared of."

Cannon HAD to do everything that Charlie did. Even if it may have been a little too big for him.

Chowing down on some kettle corn as we wait for the pig races to start.
Throwing a fit....An outing wouldn't be complete without at least one!
The boys loved jumping on the jumping pillow. Cannon kept falling and got bounced around quite a bit, but he just laughed and kept on trucking. It was so cute. Charlie would have NEVER done this at this age. One of my favorite things is observing how they are so alike and so different all at the same time. I don't necessarily like to compare them, but I just like seeing how they truly are their own unique little personalities.

yellow stripe super star....

2010-10-13T00:22:00.005-05:00

After lots of hardwork and practice, Charlie earned his yellow striped belt at tae kwon do! (on 9/21/10) He had to perform a series of kicks for Master AJ in order to earn it. It took him a few tries and then he did it perfectly. He was SO proud of himself. Right when class was over he insisted on calling daddy and GG to let them know of his accomplishment. I loved seeing him learn that he will get rewarded for his hard work and the sense of pride beaming from his entire little body.

Of course we had to celebrate with some frozen yogurt. Luckily there is a cute little yogurt shop right next door to the tae know do studio called Menchie's. Charlie picked green apple tart yogurt with nerds and strawberries for the toppings.

Good job Charlie. We are so proud of you buddy!

fair days...

2010-09-26T23:47:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we went to check out the Utah State Fair. It is kind of weird to go to a different fair. We didn't know where anything was and we kind of missed our familiar little ol' Idaho fair. It was hot and windy, so by the end of the day we were all sticky and covered in dirt.

The boys didn't care though. They got to ride the rides and eat fair food so they were happy as ever.

Cannon was not thrilled that he was banished to the stroller for most of the time. But little mr. curious just could not be trusted!

The ferris wheel was the one thing that Charlie just had to do at the fair. He talked about it all week.

We will see you again next year!

lately....

2010-09-15T23:50:00.000-05:00

I have been avoiding anything to do with blogging, picture-taking or scrapbooking.

We decided it was time to move Cannon out of the closet and in to Charlie's room. The room is pretty small so we got some bunkbeds. I can't believe we moved Cannon out of his crib already, are we crazy? He is actually doing great. It takes a little longer to get him to sleep because he thinks it is pretty cool that he can get out of his bed now. Once he is asleep, he is sleeping through the night and both he and Charlie are doing awesome with it all.

Because of this move I am doing some redecorating in their room, including lots of furniture painting and toy organizing/purging. Hence, the avoidance of blogging, picture-taking and scrapbooking.

I finished up the first term of my paralegal program and got A's in both of my classes. I am taking four classes this term and am not too thrilled with my american history class or my written communication class. Can you say b-o-r-i-n-g?

In one month, Cannon will be two years old.

Today at taekwondo one of the other mothers came over to me and said "I just wanted to tell you that I think Charlie is just the sweetest kid. I just smile as I watch him and I wish I could just give him a little hug. He is absolutely amazing." It made me tear up a little. How kind of her to take the time to say that. I love that Charlie's sweet spirit just spills out of him and even complete strangers notice it right away.

Cannon is having a hard time understanding that I can't (and won't) drop everything I am in the middle of to help him right.this.very.second. We are definitely working on patience around here.

When Charlie gets off the bus he flashes the biggest smile and waves like crazy when he sees me. I cherish it every time because I know it probably won't last forever.

I am hoping somebody will call soon about our ad on craigslist for the crib and changing table. I am not too sad about getting rid of it. Maybe I would be if we didn't live in a tiny apartment right now. But we do. And I could really use the extra space they are currently occupying right now.

Looking forward to fall. And pumpkins. And changing leaves. And little boys dressed in halloween costumes. And celebrating Mr. Cannon's birthday.

The neighborhood park had hundred's of flags set up last weekend for a 9/11 memorial. It looked pretty amazing.

Excuse me now while I go back to furniture painting. Anybody wanna help? :)

bus update....

2010-09-06T15:59:00.003-05:00

Thank-you all so, so much for your comments on our bus fiasco. It is so nice to hear all your thoughts and about your experiences. I feel so new at this "being a mom with a kid in school" thing. I truly have the greatest friends! :)

After chatting with Charlie about the bus, we decided to try to get this thing worked out. He said that he really wants to ride it so I told him we had to make sure it was safe first. I keep thinking about how he wasn't really scared when I found him at the wrong stop. At first I was relieved because I didn't want him to be upset, but then I became concerned that he didn't seem to notice that he was in danger. I don't want him to be scared all the time but I do want him to know when something isn't right. I am trying to figure that part out without making him feel like he should be in fear whenever I am not around.

Anyway, I have had quite a few conversations with the transportation department and the school. I will say that nobody I have spoken with has really shown the level of concern about the situation that I would expect. I was surprised to see this especially after what I have heard from all of you guys that commented about this. Charlie did ride the bus on Thursday and Friday and it went okay. Since there were substitutes both days I just made sure to get ahold of the dispatcher on both days and let them know that Charlie was on the bus and that the driver was not allowed to get off until he saw me at his stop. It went fine and Charlie was happy.

There are still some major concerns that I am sorting through right now though. The bus has been 20-25 minutes late at pick-up and drop-off every time. The school promised they would call me back on Friday with some information and they never did. I am concerned that there is a new substitute driver every day.

At this point I do feel okay about Charlie riding the bus, it has just become a lot more work than I expected. Honestly, I am just so dissapointed with his school and I am currently writing an e-mail to his teacher and principal about my concerns. My problems are more than just the bus situation and I am afraid my fears of sending Charlie to public school may be coming true.

When they say that parenting just keeps getting harder as your kids get older, it is so completely true.

Here is Charlie waiting for the bus on Friday morning.
I was laughing when I uploaded this picture to my computer. I didn't really notice it at the time, but you can see below that Charlie is our little rule follower. I had told him to stay on the sidewalk and he never budged. I am sure he was just dying inside that the other kids were in the street. Not that he wanted to be in the street or anything, but because he is all about safety.

i hate the bus....

2010-09-01T16:55:00.003-05:00

We had no problems last year when Charlie rode the bus to preschool. I suppose that is because they picked him up and dropped him off right in front of our building. And they actually arrived when they said they would. So, I didn't even think twice about Charlie riding it again this year. I would rather not deal with all the chaos at the school doing the drop off and pick up.

Yesterday was the first day to ride it. The bus was supposed to come at 7:50 so we got there about 10 minutes early just to be safe. The stop is at the entrance of our community and is definitely too far for Charlie to walk to alone. We waited over 20 minutes and never saw the bus. So I loaded up the kids and drove him to school. I called later that afternoon to find out what happened and was told they changed the pick-up time to 7:36. Thanks for telling us!

Then I go to pick him up yesterday afternoon at 3:15. It was 3:25 and still no bus. I get a call from the school letting me know that Charlie is on the bus, but he freaked out after school and was afraid to get on the bus. She said he was very upset and practically hyperventilating. Poor guy. I was so surprised because he LOVED the bus last year. The bus finally pulls up about 3:40. It was 25 minutes late because of Charlie's little freak out. He is calmed down and looks at me like nothing ever happened.

This morning I make sure to get to the stop by 7:30. I wanted to talk to the driver to be sure there is someone to help the kids when they get off since he probably didn't know where he was going. It is a substitute driver and he doesn't seem to care what I am saying. I load him up on the bus and pray for the best.

This is where I lose it. The bus pulls up this afternoon at 3:20 and I am waiting to see Charlie's spikey-haired little head come down the steps and I don't see him. I walk up and ask the driver where he is. She says "Oh he got off at the last stop, sorry." Um. Are you KIDDING me? I explain that he is only five and he has no idea where to go. She just looks at me and says "Are you going to be okay?". I ran to my car to drive to the previous stop. I am looking around everywhere and I don't see him. I asked the mail carrier if she had seen him and she said a bunch of kids had just gotten off but she didn't know where they went. I continued to drive around another 5 minutes and I am beginning to freak out. Where in the world could he have gone? I call Eric and just as he picks up I see Charlie out of the corner of my eye walking around with another little boy. He is just fine and he calmly says "Hey mom. I couldn't find you." I was so glad that he was not upset. I was worried he was going to be freaking out (like I was!)

I am just so upset and frustrated right now and don't know what to do. I am sure that this will eventually get worked out and it won't continue to be total drama everyday. The regular driver should be back soon and we would get into a routine. But I am not feeling comfortable with this bus system right now and wonder if I should go with my instinct and drive him to school for a while. I don't know. What would you do?

we have a kindergartener in the house...

2010-08-30T21:28:00.000-05:00

Well, the day is finally here. Charlie started kindergarten today. He was so ready for this and he woke up very excited this morning. When I went in to wake him up, I told him it was time to get ready for school and he quickly started to shed his pajamas saying "I cannot be late for my very first day of school!" I had originally laid out shorts for him to wear, but it was a chilly morning and we decided to switch to pants.

Cannon is thinking about how he feels about all this school stuff going on....
Nope, he doesn't like it one bit!
Right after taking these photos it began to pour so we ran inside, grabbed some jackets and then headed out to school. He is going to ride the bus normally, but of course I wanted to bring him on his first day.

He quickly found his seat and gave me the thumbs up letting me know that everything was going to be okay. I had expected to be a little more emotional today, but I think I know deep down that he is more than ready for this and he is going to do so great. Makes my mama heart happy.

We were all up and ready, dropped Charlie off, got some groceries and were home by 9am. I am so not used to these early mornings. I am also pretty sure we were the only ones at Walmart under the age of 65. I was thinking I should make it a habit to go so early because the store was so empty (well, besides all the senior citizens of course). That is until we got to the checkout and they only had ONE lane open. And I don't think the clerk was very happy to be there.

I had been wondering what Cannon was going to do without Charlie around. He pretty much stuck by me all day. Occasionally, he would wander into Charlie's room looking for him. When he couldn't find him he would come find me again. Don't get me wrong. These two don't really play together (unless you count yelling and screaming at each other as playing). They still really don't even seem to like each other all that much. I am sure Cannon just noticed that he was missing, and probably wondering why he was stuck home with boring ol' mom.

We played, ate lunch, cleaned up a little bit and then got a special present ready for Charlie for when he got home. He has been saving for the lego beach house for a while and had about half saved, so I kicked in the other half to surprise him with it. Just a little gift to let him know how proud of him we are and reinforce what a special day it was.

Charlie was pretty quiet when we first picked him up. I expected that. He is usually an observer at first when he is put in a new situation. He told me he had a great time. They learned about math, had goldfish crackers for snack, he loved the spongebob stickers I put on his sandwich bag and it rained at recess. Those were the highlights. I asked him if he was excited to go back tomorrow and he said "What?? I get to go back tomorrow? Awesome!" Sigh. I am so glad to hear that.
And of course the lego surprise was a big hit. Now it is time to hit the sack so we can do it all over again tomorrow.

cannon at 21 months....

2010-08-29T15:34:00.000-05:00

(Okay, so I know he is 22 1/2 months now, but I did write these down when he was 21 months. Just wanted to get this posted on the blog so I have record of it here.)

Cannon has turned into quite the big boy these last few months. He is crazy, adventurous, curious and most definitely a handful!

A few things about you at 21 months:

- You have 16 teeth - all 4 of your incisors have finally broken through. 2 of them are still hard to see, but they are definitely there. I am so glad we are almost done with this teething business.

- You have become a little chatterbox. You are talking and repeating a lot more these past few weeks. You probably have around 25-30 words in your vocabulary now including mama, dada, cha-wee, doggie, apple, drink, cup, milk, more, ball, book, elmo, spongebob, up, car, lego (wego), cereal (cer-e-o), gigi, gpa, chair, light, blankie, block, shoes, nose, feet, toes and night-night.

- You have been sleeping much better lately. You go to bed between 7:30-8:00pm and wake up between 6:30-7:00am. You usally take a 1.5-2 hour nap at 1:00. You are much happier when you stay on schedule (and so am I!) You love your blanket and cannot sleep without it.

- You are wearing 18-24 month clothing and size 4 diapers.

- You are still a pretty picky eater and will hate something one day and then love it the next. You love milk, cereal and bananas. Everything else is pretty much day-by-day.

- You are finally showing an interest in books. You love to rip them all off the bookshelf and then bring them to me one by one so we can look through the pictures. You think every animal is a "doggie" and every little blonde boy is "Chawee".

- You call McDonald's "da-ways" and everytime we drive by one you scream excitedly from the backseat "da-ways! da-ways!"

- You love the Lagoon commercial. Everytime it comes on you stop what you are doing and dance around the living room. You also still love the Lion King CD and sing at the top of your lungs to all the songs.

You are so much fun and you make me laugh everyday. I am so glad I get to spend my days with you and your brother.

summer days....

2010-08-23T12:09:00.000-05:00

Hmmmm...well, I wasn't planning on taking a break from the blog, but I guess I needed it! :)

We have been enjoying the summer and getting excited for Charlie to start kindergarten next week.

Our summer days have been filled with...

- Lots and lots of swimming at the pool. Both boys started out pretty cautious, but are now crazy about being in the water. Cannon gets cold pretty quickly but still tries to homestead the pool even with his blue lips and shivering body.

- Charlie has been going to tae kwon do on Wednesdays and Fridays.

- Cannon turned 21 months and Charlie turned 5 1/2.

- Eric and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary.

- We played with shaving cream.

- My mom and dad came to visit.

- Charlie has been playing with legos every single day and has gotten lots of great new sets to keep him busy.

- I started to redecorate the kids/guest bathroom. I could not find a shower curtain that I liked that wasn't at least $80, so I decided to decorate my own. I found some fabric that I liked from the Nicey Jane line from Heather Bailey and I just sewed it on. I also sewed the fabric on a few plain white hand towels. I love how they turned out! Now I am trying to find some decorations for the walls and countertops.

- I went back to school. I am doing an online program in Paralegal Studies. It sure is hard getting back into the swing of things after being out of school for 7 years!

- We went to Idaho for a week so Charlie could attend a lego camp. He learned all about motors, gears and motion sensors. He was absolutely crazy about this class and could not wait to go to it every afternoon.

- Eric dug out all his fishing gear and went fly fishing for the first time in over a year. He didn't catch anything but had a good time anyway. I don't think he will let the summer end without at least catching one though, so I think he has another little trip to the Provo River planned.

- We went on the paddle boats with Grandma P.

- We played at the splash park. This was pretty much the first time Charlie would ever go to one of these. He used to just hate the water splashing up in his face, but not this time. He ran around and laughed and just loved every minute of it. Cannon took a while to warm up to it, but he liked it and he made a little buddy while we were there.

- And of course we enjoyed a few summer treats including some chocolate chip cookies. Can anyone tell me how it is possible to get so much on your face when you only had less than a half cookie to begin with? He's thinking "put down the camera and give me another cookie lady."

doing a happy dance....

2010-07-19T14:55:00.000-05:00

I went to Archiver's last weekend to scrapbook. Unfortunately, I did not get much done (only 2 pages!) but I did complete the final page for Cannon's first year album! That's right, it is done!!!

I have the hardest time scrapbooking professional photos. I am not sure if it is because usually they are so large or if I just overthink them because the pictures are "special" somehow. I just tried to keep this one simple with the focus on the photo. Eric calls this Cannon's George Costanza photo. You will probably only get that one if you saw that Seinfeld episode. It just makes me laugh when I look at it.

Here are the ultrasound pages with all the journaling from my MANY doctor's appointments.

I was dreading working on these pages because of all the text, but I really wanted to include all of the journaling. I am so glad that I have it all written down and I know I will love to read through it all later. When I was going back through my blog to get the journaling I was surprised how much I had already forgotten!

And here is the completed album. I just love the WRMK albums, especially this red one.

Just for fun, here are a few stats on this album:

Number of pages: 54
Number of photos: 126
Number of 2-page layouts: 2
Number of months to complete: 21
Having this album finally finished: priceless

one of those days....

2010-07-08T22:38:00.003-05:00

This is Cannon's teething face. His cheeks get all red and he gets little eczema patches on his chin. Poor little dude.

I spent all morning on the phone fighting with the people at Social Security and still got nowhere. Cannon spilled his milk all over the couch. Charlie cried for 15 minutes because he couldn't get his button fastened. Cannon is STILL teething. I didn't get very much sleep last night and had a headache. Charlie was ticked because I had the nerve to make pasta for dinner (which he hates). A man almost wrecked into my car and then cussed me out like it was my fault.

To top it all off I had to go grocery shopping. I normally don't mind grocery shopping, but it is almost unbearable with Cannon right now. He would rather be pulling all the food off the shelves than be strapped into that cart. I know, it is so unfair. I ran through the aisles and tried to get everything as fast as I could, knowing I was probably going to forget something since I forgot my list. There were a few meltdowns when I wouldn't let Cannon take a bite out of the cheese or throw the olives on the ground. The lady in front of me at the checkout argued for 5 minutes that the grapes should only be 80 cents per pound, not 82 cents. I had finally paid and double checked that I didn't leave any bags like last time and we were on our way out the door. The greeter had gotten Cannon's attention and was trying to make him smile so I slowed down a bit. Cannon finally flashed a grin and then the man said "Your job is only half way done. Now you have to go home and put all this stuff away. You moms really have your work cut out for you, but by the looks of things I can see you are doing a great job."

And just like that I let go of all that had gone wrong today. Is it weird that a complete stranger was able to make such an impact on my day? He obviously knew just what I needed to hear and I am grateful that he was nice enough to say it. So, thank-you to Mike at Walmart. I may not be the world's greatest mom, but I try to do my best and I hope Charlie and Cannon will agree with you in 18 years.

july freehand scraps reveal...

2010-07-02T15:47:00.005-05:00

The July Freehand Scraps kit is now available! I really liked that I was able to do a variety of different subjects and didn't feel like this kit was too "themed".

I had this picture printed at Costco in 8x12 (only $1.49!). I loved all the white space on the right that was just begging for a big, bold title. For the bottom, I just punched out some circles, crinkled them up and then stitched them on. The glitter buttons were the perfect finishing touch!

On this page, I cut out some of the circles from the Girls Paperie paper on the bottom and then added them on top of the yellow October Afternoon. Then I stitched some messy circles around them to help them stand out a little more. I also added the Maya Road envelope and a few October Afternoon stickers to finish it off.

And this last one is a page I made with one of my favorite pictures of the boys. I could not believe I had never scrapped this one yet! It was taken the day after Cannon came home from the hospital. I didn't know what title I was going to use, but I got the word "be" in the vintage scrabble letters in my kit (everyone gets a different word), and this title seemed perfect. It is definitely something I have to remind them of everyday now that Cannon is older and can fight back! :)

Be sure to check out the rest of the gallery. The other girls did such a great job with this kit.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend! Happy 4th everybody!

it is sneak peek time again!....

2010-06-29T11:27:00.003-05:00

The July Freehand Scraps kit is full of bright colors, fun embellishments and THREE alphabets! My favorite embellishment is alphas, so I felt like this kit was put together especially for me! :)

The October Afternoon and Girls Paperie papers are perfect for just about any occasion making this a very versatile kit.

Check out the kit and the rest of the gallery here on the 1st. You won't want to miss this one!

our taekwondo adventure begins...

2010-06-25T22:45:00.006-05:00

Charlie started taekwondo last week and he loves it. He had two classes with an instructor to evaluate his skills and see what class would be best for him. They were amazed by his focus and said it was the best they have seen in a 5-year-old. He is definitely behind physically but they think because of his focus and attention in class that he should hopefully be able to catch up quickly.

Here he is in his gi. They wrote his name in Korean on the collar.

And in his class...

This one is blurry but it cracks me up.
It is so fun watching him during his class. The instructors really do a good job with being strict but still giving a lot of praise at the same time. You can tell that this does not come naturally to Charlie at all, but they know how to push him just right. He has already shown some great improvement.

I think he looks especially adorable in his uniform. Even though the tag says it is size 0000, he still loooks like such a big kid.

consumer reports....

2010-06-19T17:48:00.004-05:00

Charlie was talking again today about which lego set he really wants to get next (or ask santa for). Yesterday he was considering adding the Beach House set to his list but he didn't mention it today. I asked him why it wasn't on the list anymore and he informed me that he looked up the review online. Seriously? Yep, The review page is now his favorite part of lego.com. He wasn't happy with what they had to say so "he is going to pass on that one". Apparantly you have to take the top off to play inside of the house and he is "just not interested in all that hassle."

At least he is an informed consumer.

perfect day for a picnic....

2010-06-18T15:05:00.004-05:00

The boys and I headed outside today for a picnic lunch. There are 2 large trees right in front of our building that provide a lot of shade. Just the perfect spot for a picnic with two cute boys.
We ate PB&J sandwiches, apples, cheese and pretzels. Cannon was having a hard time sharing and kept trying to hoard all the food.

Or he would take a bite out of something and then try to put it back when we weren't looking.

We played airplane with our hands and made funny noises.

We talked to the birdies.

We took off our shoes and got comfortable in the shade.

And when we were done relaxing for a while, we played ball. But all Cannon wanted to do was throw the balls in to the street and then whine until Charlie got it for him, so we didn't play ball for long.

Maybe tomorrow we will try bubbles instead.

the dreaded holiday pages....

2010-06-15T16:04:00.005-05:00

Holiday pages are not my favorite pages to complete. This would explain why I am just now getting around to Christmas 2008 & 2009! But, in an effort to get Cannon's first year done, they had to be done.

From here on out I am just going to be putting all the holiday pages in a family album because I am definitely not going to scrapbook them all twice for each of the boys. Since this was Cannon's first Christmas, I made a few pages specifically for his book. All the paper on this one is from Crate Paper's North Pole Collection. I cut the snowflakes with my Slice and then stitched them on and added a few embellishments. Definitely one of my all time favorite pictures.
Cannon's first visit with Santa. Cannon had only been home from the hospital for a little over a week and was so tiny! This page will go in the family book. I cut the stars with my Slice and added the embellishments. I just love this North Pole collection from Crate Paper.
And this one is not a holiday page, but one that I recently finished up as well.
I just got done putting these pages into the album......aahhh, it feels so good!

around the house....

2010-06-13T23:46:00.005-05:00

Cannon has an incisor coming in as well as 2 molars that are still breaking through. He is pretty sure that he is dying. We now know that he can and will cry for 4 hours straight. I do feel bad for him, but I really miss sleep.

The nice thing about doing the laundry in the summer (if there is one) is not having to track down all the baby/kid socks.

We decided it was time to try to put Cannon in church nursery this week since he did so good with the grandparents. The drop off went fine and they never called our number so we thought it had gone well, but he looked pretty pathetic when we went to pick him up. The sweet lady that was taking care of him said he had been quite sad. He had been crying off and on and kept hanging out by the door looking for us. Hopefully next week will be better. Charlie on the other hand loves this church and had a great time.

For the last few months every time I have taken a shower Cannon would sit outside the bathroom and cry. I used to let him come in the bathroom with me, but then he would try to climb in with all his clothes on. Last week he suddenly stopped doing this and I am happy to be showering in peace.

Eric made one request for dinner last week and that was meatloaf. I had it all prepared and opened the oven door to stick it in. I hit the edge of the pan on the door and it fell upside down in the oven getting the raw meatloaf everywhere. It could not be salvaged so we had McDonald's instead. He definitely did not marry me for my cooking.

I have been enjoying the scent of Havana Cabana in my scentsy. Makes me wish I was relaxing on the beach with an ice cold diet coke and a magazine.

The other night Eric had made an exaggeration about something and Charlie said "Easy there, dad". It is obvious that he has spent some time with G-Pa lately.

If you say I love you to Cannon he will immediately give you a kiss. The other night I said to him "who is ready to get on his pjs?" and to my surprise he squealed "Me!"

Charlie is completely obsessed with what Lego set he should ask for from Santa. He goes back and forth between the Spongebob House set and the Police HQ set. He is constantly talking about it and changing his mind. We have been trying to tell him that Christmas is still pretty far away and that they may come out with some other sets by then that he will want instead, but he is not hearing of it.

I have been getting some scrapbooking done but the above mentioned lack of sleep has been hindering my creativity.

Charlie has been trying his best to be a good big brother. They have been fighting so much lately that I had to sit down and have a talk with him. It is hard for him to understand that Cannon is still a baby and we cannot expect him to do all the things Charlie can do. He has been trying though and when he does something nice he asks "Am I being a good big brother now?"

And just because any post is boring without a picture, here is the little cutie at In-N-Out a few weeks ago. He loves those hats.

it's official....

2010-06-11T15:51:00.003-05:00

The popsicles
are out.
Summer
has
officially
begun!

fountain fun....

2010-06-10T14:34:00.004-05:00

Last night we went out to dinner to the much raved about The Pie Pizzeria. The pizza was good and the place was cute. I think we will definitely be back. We decided to check out the large fountain that was right next to the restaurant. I am so happy in moments like these that I carry a point and shoot camera in my purse.

Cannon was not sure what to do. The first few times he approached the fountain he did this.
With daddy at his side, he got a little more comfortable.

Still not wanting to get close enough to touch it.

And there he goes.

Charlie had fun and was even willing to get more wet than he usually does.

Then Cannon found this spot where he could get his feet wet. I am pretty sure he would have gone in deeper if we didn't stop him.

Yet another failed attempt to get a good shot of the both of them together.

I think it is safe to say he loved it.

more cannon layouts....

2010-06-09T18:41:00.001-05:00

I have continued to plug away on Cannon's first year album. I have been so inspired lately and am finding myself stealing any free moment to work on my pages in progress on my scrap desk.

I had so many photos of his first birthday that I just picked 2 for this layout and then put the rest in pocket pages. This polka dot paper from American Crafts is one of my all time favorites. I used it for his invites too. The color of it photographed kind of weird here, it is more of a khaki with white polka dots. The felt monkey is from Sassafras and I thought it was the perfect accent since it fit the theme.

I struggled with this one for a while because I was having a hard time picking out the right accents, but I think the stars look pretty good. I love that banner sticker from Sassafras too.
And lastly, this page is about our visit that we had to the neurologist last summer. I am not completely crazy about how the journaling part turned out, but it is better than my previous 2 attempts. I love the orange polka dotted paper. You can definitely see my alphabet sticker addiction in this page.
Hopefully I will soon be able to say that I am done with this album. It is getting very, very full!

our preschool graduate.....

2010-06-08T21:57:00.005-05:00

That's right, we have a preschool graduate in the Smith household. We were bummed to find out that we were going to be out of town for the graduation festivities, but Charlie did come home on his last day with this diploma. He also got some sidewalk chalk, bubbles and a pinwheel from his teacher. He was so stoked about all his new treasures.

A few weeks ago I had a meeting with his teacher to review the goals we had set when he started there. She said that he had made great progress with his social skills. He was playing with others without having to be asked and was rarely playing alone. He was also completing fine motor skill activities with little help and was able to stick with it for at least five minutes. He had completed the goals and will not be eligible for any special services next year in kindergarten. I was not surprised to hear this because I could see at home that his fine motor skills had really improved over the past few months. I have also seen him interacting more with kids at the playground and breaking out of his comfort zone. I was also not surprised to hear this because I don't think his teachers here ever really got why he needed help in the first place. The only reason he qualified for the program in Utah is because he was eligible in Idaho. From day one here, I have felt like the teachers thought I was completely crazy. I don't know, they just didn't seem to get it like the preschool in Idaho. I am thankful that his teacher here really did love Charlie and he had a great experience. He was bummed that school was out and is excited to start Kindergarten.

They also did some reading and mathematics testing. I am not sure why they did not do this when he started, but I didn't say much then. Our case worker in Idaho told me to disclose only the minimum and let them figure it out. I know the teacher figured out quickly that he was pretty bright, but she was quite shocked with his testing results. She said she had to ask him questions that she has never had to ask before because he just kept going. She said she was laughing because he kept saying how much fun it was. I let on that I did have some idea of what we are dealing with and explained that is why I have been pushing for the help he needed in the other areas. I did find out that Utah starts their gifted program in first grade (as opposed to the third grade in Idaho) so that is good news. If I think about all this for too long, I feel the anxiety creep in and I start to feel helpless and scared for the next few years. I just want him to get the education that he deserves and for him to love it too. Instead of panicking, I have just been praying. Praying for the path that lies before him, that all the right people are there to guide us right where he needs to be.

On another note, as I was taking the picture above Cannon came outside to see what was going on. He was not sure why Charlie was standing against the wall, but he was sure that he needed to do the same. Here he is behind the scenes, always toting his cup around in one arm and exploring with the other.

june layouts.....

2010-06-06T16:38:00.001-05:00

I am so happy to say that with these last few pages I completed with the Freehand Scraps June kit, I am officially done with Cannon's monthly update pages. I still have quite a few other pages I want to do to finish up his first year album, but I feel like I have made a good dent in it.

The kit came with these chipboard frames from American Crafts. They were all different colors/designs so I painted them all white so I could put the patterned paper behind them. Other than having to paint 4 coats of paint, this page was simple and came together quickly. I laugh out loud whenever I see this picture of Cannon.

I had tons of scrap papers when I was finished with my layouts so I put together this quick card. I love having these types of cards ready to go because then I am much more likely to send them out.

Another layout showcasing all the cute patterned papers and that beautiful ribbon. I did create separate 6x12 pages with all the milestones/text like I have shown here before. They are just so simple I didn't take pictures of them for the gallery.

Here is a layout with the chipboard frames in their original form. I have actually changed this page a little bit because I remembered that I had the little baggie of hair that the hairstylist gave me. I removed that chipbaord scissors from the yellow circle and put the baggie of hair behind it. It turned out cute. I am just too lazy to re-photograph it. I just ruffled up the ribbon as I fed it through the sewing machine. I will have to say that this layout is much, much cuter in person. I am not sure why I couldn't get a good photo of it.

My pages are usually so simple I don't really feel like they need an explanation, but if you have any questions feel free to ask! The kit is still available at Freehand Scraps. Go get one.

we're home!......

2010-06-04T22:21:00.005-05:00

Last Saturday we drove to Boise to drop off the boys with the grandparents so we could spend a few days together without the kids. We decided to go to Seattle since it is a pretty cheap plane ticket and it has been over 10 years since we were last there. We mostly just wanted to relax but we also had a little list of things we wanted to do and I am happy to say we completed them all.

1. Visit a few crafty stores. I couldn't find any recommended scrapbooking stores in the area, but we did go to Paper Source, Impress and Amuse rubber stamps. All super cute stores.

2. Take the ferry. We decided to take the ferry to Bainbridge Island. We walked around a little bit and had lunch at a cute little place called the Streamliner Diner.

3. Pikes Place Market. How could you go to Seattle and not visit the market? It was great as usual. The flowers were beautiful and all the produce looked delicious. Eric bought some raspberries and something called Salmon Candy. I was told by Eric and our parents that it was delicious, but I still passed. Yuck.

4. Visit the first Starbuck's location. It was tiny and crowded and looked nothing like the stores do now. Eric said the coffee was fantastic though.

5. Visit the Chittenden Locks. I really had no idea what these were or what to expect, but I was surprised at how much fun I had watching the boats pull in. There was a gorgeous yacht that pulled through and I was just amazed how nice it was. I would definitely recommend stopping at the locks if you are in town.

6. Go to a Diners, Drive-in and Dives restaurant for dinner. We decided to go to Slim's Last Chance because Eric wanted to try the Verde chili they featured on the show. The place had a lot of character and the food was pretty good. Eric gave the chili 2 thumbs up.

7. Take the Boeing Tour. Obviously this was Eric's choice, but I loved it! The tour was fantastic and it was incredible to see how they put together the 747's. The facility and technology that they have developed is just incredible. Another activity I would highly recommend while in Seattle.

8. Eat breakfast at Top Pot Doughnuts. We saw this on the Food Network so we wanted to check it out. The store was really cool and the donuts were huge!
We also just enjoyed the time alone together and of course we slept in every morning! We are so grateful the grandparents agreed to take the boys for us so we could enjoy these much needed days off.

We were told that the boys did great and everybody had a great time together.

Even though we are now on complete grandma detox, it is great to be back with our little dudes. It was nice to recharge our batteries and be reminded how blessed our little family is.

june freehand scraps sneak peeks....

2010-05-27T14:50:00.004-05:00

The June Freehand Scraps kit is adorable. It is full of grey, yellow, green and a very pretty salmon color. It has two alphas which I always love. The ribbon was gorgeous. I just loved it all.

Check out the full reveal of the kit and gallery on the 1st of June at Freehand Scraps.

surgery day...

2010-05-25T21:30:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was the big day for Cannon's surgery. He had to have his right testicle repaired. The procedure is called a right orchiopexy. I don't know if it is like this in other areas (it wasn't in Idaho), but here in Utah they don't tell you the time of your surgery until the day before because they set-up the schedule according to age. I was thinking we would be fairly early and of course was hoping we would be since Cannon couldn't eat after midnight the night before. So, I was pretty surprised when they told us not to get to the hospital until 11:45. I tried to keep Cannon preoccupied the best I could, but he was in the kitchen pointing at the cabinets and saying "more, more, more". Aww, so sad!

As you can see, he was getting pretty desperate on the way to the hospital...

Once we got there I gave them my insurance information for the 56th time and Cannon got his snazzy pj's for the day. These are very special pajamas because they have a tracking device in them. There are marked areas in the hospital the kids must stay inside of or an alarm goes off. Isn't that cool? We are lucky to have a brand new children's hospital by us and it is beautiful.
He HATED that arm band. He picked and pulled at it all day.
In the pre-op waiting room.
We were thrilled when we got there to learn that the doctor was an hour behind. Which actually ended up being 3.5 hours behind. Cannon found a way to pass the time....
He did SOOOO good. Once at the hospital he never asked for anything to eat and he was very happy to play with the toys in the waiting room. He was great for the entire 3.5 hours. About 15 minutes prior to going to anesthesia they gave him some versed to help him relax and induce short term amnesia so he would not remember the procedure or being taken away from us. During that 15 minutes he was not allowed to walk so I took him for a ride around the hospital in the wagon.
Getting his temperature and pulse taken one last time.
He was a charmer to the nurses. They all loved him and were constantly checking on him in the waiting room. They played games with him and read stories to him. You could tell they really love their job.
Then the medicine really kicked in and he was chiiiiillll.
Then he was taken off and we were sent to another waiting room. The procedure took about an hour and the doctor said everything went great. They usually have to make 2 incisions, but he only had to make one on Cannon. They called right away and said he was starting to wake up and I could go back to comfort him (only one parent could go at first). Then we got moved to another post-op area. Cannon started to wake up a little more and he was really, really mad. He tried to get the blood pressure cuff off his leg and when he couldn't move it, he lost it. I knew right away he was going to hold his breath. His monitors started beeping and the nurse and I were trying so hard to get him to breathe. She yanked him from my lap put him up on the bed. They had the oxygen turned on full blast and he was not responding. His back was arched and he had his head thrown back and he was very blue. He did not look good at all. Soon there were 6 nurses surrounding him all trying to get him to breathe. He took one huge breath and then panicked and quit breathing again. This time for a shorter period and then he snapped out of it. I kept thinking he was going to go into seizure again. I am not sure why he didn't because he was not breathing for a lot longer period than the time he did have the seizure. It took him a while (with a few more small breath holding incidents) to get calmed down. He was very hoarse from the breathing tube. He just sounded and looked miserable. After this the nurse said we were going to have to stay longer than usual to be sure he was going to be okay.

This was after the big breath holding event.

Right before all the action happened, they told Eric he was doing great and it was okay for him to come back and see him. He headed to room 1 as they told him and he walked in just as all the nurses were rushing. He turned around and walked out because he thought he must be in the wrong room since he was told his son was doing great. He confirmed room 1 and came back in just as Cannon started to breathe again. He didn't see me the first time, but this time he spotted me in the corner. I was crying and trying to keep it together. It is so crazy to be sitting back watching your child go through something like that and all you can do is pray.
He was very irritable so they gave him some juice. He sucked it down in record time and wanted more. Then they gave him some milk and some pain medication. We had to wait another hour just to be sure everything was good.
The nurse took him on another wagon ride to kill some time.
Then his spirits picked up and we were allowed to go. They gave us some crackers for the road.
And then about 5 minutes after I took this picture, he threw-up everywhere. All over himself, the carseat and the car. It was not pretty. It was so bad in fact we decided to just throw out the carseat and buy another one. He had some gatorade when we got home and then he was out for the night.

Overall, the little patient is doing pretty good today. He is still pretty crabby which they told us to expect for a day or two. He is a little loopy on the pain medicine. His pupils are dialated and his balance is off. He has been walking in to the walls and falling a lot. His incision area looks terribly painful. It is hard to look at. I can't imagine what it must feel like for the poor guy.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow and a fast recovery. I am so proud of him. Honestly, I could have done without the breath holding scare, but other than that he did so great.

Love you Mr. Cannon. Mommy is sorry you had to go through this but you are a total rockstar.

cannon's monthly updates documented.......

2010-05-18T15:26:00.004-05:00

I decided it was time to buckle down and try to get Cannon's first year album done. I still have quite a bit to do. Some of my favorite pages are his monthly updates, but I find them the hardest to do since they have so much text (which I just copy from here). For these I made a separate 6x12 page for all the text so I could focus on the photos on the 12x12 layouts.

These layouts are easy and simple. The nine month layout was made with the Cosmo Cricket Joyride line. I love these papers.

This one I pretty much copied from here. That yellow cloud paper is from Pebbles. It is one of my favorites right now. I love the yellow and anything with clouds.

This one was also pretty much a copy. I found it here. (the buddha belly page) I love that elephant paper and figured I better use it before it becomes too "baby" looking.

I think I have 2 more of these to put together. After 18 months, I will just do them yearly like I do for Charlie. Now, back to my scraproom...I have work to do!

charlie's school album....

2010-05-16T22:50:00.003-05:00

I have thought a lot about how I wanted to format Charlie's school years album. I had ordered the Becky Higgins school kit mostly because I just wanted the plastic envelopes that she created to hold artwork/paperwork from throughout the year. I just did not care for the rest of the kit and decided not to use it. Instead I just created 3 simple layouts.

There was way too much text that I wanted to include, so I just typed up a letter to Charlie about his first year and tucked it in the plastic envelope. So, the layouts were mostly focused on the pictures of his first days at both schools he attended. I kept the layout on the right very simple because the one on the left is pretty busy.

I really wanted to include his signature and handprint too. I wish that I would have done this at the beginning of the year, but figured it is better to do it now than never. I will just have to do it at the end of the year every year, but that may work out better anyway since I won't be putting the layouts together until then anyway. This is also very simple because I wanted the handprint and signature to be the focus.
Here is the envelope that I mentioned above. I love these things! It fits perfectly in the album and holds quite a bit. I just love that I can put all my favorite artwork and other paperwork from the year in here and it is all organized and included in the scrapbook.
I should have lots more scrapbooking stuff to share this week because I have been busy this weekend trying to get caught up. I also just got the June Freehand Scraps kit and can't wait to start working with that too!

little lego maniac....

2010-05-10T23:09:00.003-05:00

Charlie was so excited to get the mail the other day and see that GiGi had sent him a new lego set. He has been asking for a Prince of Persia set ever since he laid eyes on them at Target. We immediately ripped open the box and started sorting the pieces. I helped him put together the accessories and Eric helped him with the structure. I will be honest here and admit that was all I could handle. I actually like putting them together, but I have no patience with trying to teach Charlie how to read the directions. I just end up doing it myself. I know that he is not learning anything when I just do it for him. Definitely something I need to work on. Luckily, Eric is pretty patient and is good about working through it together with him. This has always been a downfall of mine, I use to hate group projects in school because I would end up doing all the work myself. I would make a terrible teacher!

Anyway, we have really been encouraging him to play with legos because they have helped with his fine motor skills so much. Not to mention all the creative play it facilitates. He comes up with some of the greatest creations. From concert stages to scenes from Spongebob, his imagination is always in overdrive.

Look at little Cannon trying to get in on the action. He was not happy that he couldn't help.

Playing with the final product.

Thanks Gigi! As you can see, he loves it and has been playing with it nonstop since the day it arrived.

mother's day....

2010-05-10T00:01:00.003-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

I had a very nice day hanging out with my favorite boys. We did a combination celebration since Eric's birthday was on Friday. Our friends took the boys and we drove up to Park City to go to the outlets. I got a super cute purse from Fossil. Then we drove around exploring downtown SLC. We drove through a gorgeous neighborhood called the Avenues. I am pretty sure I saw my dream home there. The homes looked like they were right out of the movies with beautiful tree lined streets and amazing architecture. Then we ate dinner at Pei Wei and finished the evening off with Iron Man 2. It was SO nice to get to sleep in this morning. We met up with our friends at The Gateway this afternoon and got some frozen yogurt. It was a perfect weekend and it certainly didn't hurt that the weather was beautiful!

This is what I made for my mom for Mother's Day.

I used the Freebird line from Moda. I love this fabric. I used this tutorial: Sew4Home. Next time I will probably get better towels. I got these at IKEA and I didn't like that they weren't actually 20 inches wide like they said they were. Of course I didn't measure them myself, so my fabric strips were a little off because of it. They turned out pretty cute anywayand think I just may need to make a few for myself!

happy national scrapbooking day!......

2010-05-01T16:50:00.003-05:00

It is national scrapbooking day! What are you all doing to celebrate? I have a few pages in the works that I am hoping to complete sometime today. In the meantime, I thought I would share my projects for the May Freehand Scraps kit.

This kit is full of pretty pink, turquoise and green. Since Mother's Day is coming up, I thought the papers and embellishments included would be perfect for some cards. I made 3 cards since I have my mom and 2 mother-in-laws. I like that they all turned out so different and they were made with each recipient in mind. I hope they like them! :)
The "happy" on this card was stamped with an older Heidi Swapp stamp. I loved the combination of the October Afternoon alphabet with the Jenni Bowlin Bingo Stamp. The felt embellishment is from American Crafts Dear Lizzy line. The patterned papers are AC Dear Lizzy and Crate Paper.
I think I did machine stitching on all my projects except for the card above. I just love the finishing touch it seems to add to my projects lately. If I find that it looks like something is missing, I usually add some stitching and am happy with the results. I handcut the flower from the AC Dear Lizzy paper. The flair embellishment is also from AC Dear Lizzy. The sentiment was printed from my computer.
On this one I cut the flowers with my Slice. I rolled up the edges to give it a little dimension and then hand cut the leaves and added the Jenni Bowlin button. The paper is actually fabric paper from AC Dear Lizzy and the alpha is October Afternoon.This kit has a little more pink than I would normally use on a "boy" page. I thought if there was any time I was going to get away with it, it would be Easter! I handcut the banner pieces from the AC Dear Lizzy paper and stitched it on. The cute felt bird is also Dear Lizzy. Paper from Fancy Pants, Crate Paper and American Crafts.
My kit came with an egg shaped card (I think there are eggs and bunnies, you get one or the other). I used it as a template and cut one out of the fabric polka dot paper. This is definately one of my all time favorite papers. The color is so great and it is polka dots, that explains it all. I added a few buttons and did some stitching and it all came together.
One of the first things I did this morning was check out the rest of the gallery. It was awesome this month! Check it out here.

it is sneak peek time again...

2010-04-29T10:42:00.003-05:00

The May Freehand Scraps kit is full of fun and bright spring colors! It has 2 alphabets, lots of Dear Lizzy and Fancy Pants papers and some great embellishments. I had fun getting some Easter pages and a few Mother's Day cards completed. Check out the kit and the rest of the gallery on May 1st.

cannon at 18 months.....

2010-04-17T16:02:00.005-05:00

I can't believe we have made it this far (even though some days I wasn't sure we would!). This is definitely my favorite age so far. You are turning into a toddler and are not looking like my baby boy anymore. Here are a few things about you at 18 months:

- You weigh 22 pounds 6 ounces (10th Percentile) and are 31 inches tall (20th percentile).

- You go to bed around 8:30-9:00pm and wake up around 7:00am. You usually take a 1-2 hour nap after lunch.

- You are walking everywhere and are getting into everything. The bathroom is your favorite place to wreak havoc, usually clearing out all the stuff from the cabinets and unrolling all the toilet paper off the roll.

- You know how to throw a good fit and you like things to go your way.

- You have the cutest smile where your nose scrunches up just the tiniest bit. You love to cuddle and give hugs. You don't miss a thing around you. Not one single thing.

- You love to go into rooms and then shut the door. You usually just wait there until I come and knock on the door. When I open it you just squeal with delight.

- You love to bring things from room to room. Especially now that you are walking and it is much easier. Today I found the broom in my bedroom and the TV controller in the bathroom.

- You are more curious than ever about your brother's legos. There are lots of tears spilled everyday because you can't play with them. You want to do everything he does which leads to lots of frustration. I am pretty sure you think you are 5 too.

- You officially have 11 teeth now as 2 molars just popped through this week. You have one more on the way.

- You do not want anything to do with the car. The second we get in you start screaming and usually don't stop until we get to our destination. Makes errand running a lot of fun for all of us!

- You are still a little behind on your speech, but you have a few words that you use regularly.

Cracker (Cack-ker)
uh-oh
whee (said when on the swings or going down a slide at the park)
Daddy
Mama
Ball (bah)
More (mo)
Hi
Bye
Charlie (Chaw-chee) This one is my favorite. It sounds so cute when you say it.

- You have gotten much better around strangers. You did so good at your 18 month check-up. The doctor got close to you and you actually smiled instead of cried. You also love Lisa, the EI specialist that comes to visit you twice a month.

- You are going to see the Urologist next week since your right testicle is still undescended. The doctor said he thinks it may have dropped a little, so we are hoping we may be able to just wait it out instead of surgery.

- You love to sleep with your blanket wrapped around your head. I thought it was just an occasional thing, but every time I peek in at night to check on you, it is wrapped around your whole head and face.

We love you more every day. Can't wait to see what the next 18 months bring!

a little catch-up.....

2010-04-15T19:22:00.000-05:00

I took these 3 photos of the boys on Easter before I got this....

So much for any cute Easter photos this year! I had also wanted to take more photos this trip with all the grandparents and I got nada. Ugh. There is always next year!?

Lots to catch-up on.

-First off, Cannon is officially walking!! He has become very good at it over the past 2 weeks and is pretty much walking 95% of the time. He also has learned how to get up on his own now, so if he falls down he gets right back up and keeps trucking.

-We had a good Easter. It was a nice relaxing day. Grandma P made most of the dinner and we were able to just hang out. Those are the best holidays, the ones where you just relax and enjoy being with each other.

-Driving 5 hours with a crabby, stubborn almost 18 month old baby is pretty much the last thing I want to do again any time soon.

- Eric has an interview for a position at another branch on Monday. This move would give us a much more consistent schedule which we would LOVE. Hoping and praying this happens for him.

- Happy that we don't have stairs at our apartment. Cannon's favorite thing to do was climb up and down the stairs at Gigi's house. He probably would have done it all day if we let him. And don't even try to go upstairs without him.

- When Charlie got home from school today he said "Mom, I have some really bad news." I asked what was wrong and he said there was a girl that was bossing him around on the bus so he told her to please stop. He was very sure that he said the word please. She then said she was going to have her parents "kick his butt". Seriously? I am so not ready for this school thing.

- Speaking of school, we have Charlie's kindergarten orientation tomorrow. We get to meet the teachers and learn about what programs they offer. Lots of prayer happening right now that we will get the right teacher for Charlie and that it will be a great year. I am so excited and yet so nervous!!

- I have not done any scrapbooking lately. I should be getting my May Freehand Scraps kit any day now, hopefully it will bring some inspiration as well.

- Here are my pages from the April kit. My pages were all very simple this month. Must have just been my mood. I loved the color combination of this kit.

I also loved that bird from My Mind's Eye. I had to use it right away and this page came together pretty quickly. These photos were taken on Cannon's birthday. Just added a few strips of patterned paper along the edges and then stitched over it.
The light bulb embellishment is awesome and it is exclusive to this kit. I thought it was the perfect touch for this page. I also broke out the circle punches again for this one. Those punches have been getting a lot of use lately! The Hambly stitches rub-ons apply so easily, they are the best.

The red gingham paper was one of my favorites this month. It is so simple, but I just loved the color it added. You can see I used it on all three of my layouts. That ticket die cut is also so versatile.

And lastly, a very simple card. I couldn't fit the crocheted flowers on any of my boy layouts, but I just had to use one so a card it was.

- Planning on getting back into the blogging routine. I need to do Cannon's 18 month post (can you believe he is 1.5 years old?) and hopefully I will have some May sneeks to share soon.

egg hunt 2010....

2010-04-03T23:40:00.004-05:00

It was a pretty chilly day. The forecast had called for snow so we were just thankful that didn't happen! The egg hunt was okay this year. There were way too many people and not enough eggs. Many of the small children didn't get any eggs and it was pretty much over by the time it began. Way too crazy. Thankfully, Charlie was not really into quantity and was happy that he got a striped egg and a few pieces of candy. Cannon really had no idea what to think of it all.

Getting ready for the hunt to start.
The craziness.

Charlie showing off his cool striped egg.

Look at the big tear on his cheek. He was totally ticked that I picked him up off the wet grass so his clothes didn't get wet. He really wanted to dig through his basket and play with those colorful eggs.

Cannon did surprisingly well with the Easter Bunny. He kinda looks upset in this picture but he was actually smiling. Not sure why he kept jamming his hand in the bunny's mouth.

I realized what a bummer it is that Eric wasn't the bunny this year. In years past it was way easier to get a good picture with the bunny since it was him. The boys would get special attention with lots of opportunities to get a great shot. Not this year, we had to take the 10 seconds and hope we got a good shot.

Charlie can't wait to see what the Easter Bunny is going to leave in his basket this year. Charlie was concerned the bunny wouldn't know we were in Idaho and he'd try to deliver his basket to Utah, so we had to write a note to him to let him know where we would be. Hopefully he got the message.

some sewing projects.....

2010-03-30T22:28:00.004-05:00

I really don't know much about sewing. I can sew a straight line, but patterns and sewing jargon scare me to death. So all I can say is thank goodness for online tutorials!

I am finally getting around to adding some special touches to Charlie's room. First, I made this bunting to hang on his window.
Since I loved that polka dot fabric so much, I decided to make an upholstered headboard with it. This one didn't include any sewing. Just lots of stapling.

I completed these pillow covers today. I have been looking for some new decorative pillows, but haven't found anything that I loved. I liked this fabric at JoAnn's and decided to make them myself. So easy, I made 2 of them in an hour. They have an envelope closure on the back so they come off easy to wash them. Definitely a must with the boys in this house.
A few projects I never thought I would be able to do! Feels good to do them myself. The next project on the list is a slipcover for the footstool we got from IKEA. It has a plain canvas cover now and I think it could be much cuter. Now I just need to find some fabric that I like. Good thing there are like a hundred fabric stores here in Utah. I can see this new little hobby could become very addicting!

first haircut...

2010-03-29T22:17:00.002-05:00

Cannon got his first haircut today. Although, I think he will remember it as the first time he got a sucker! He did so good. When the hairdresser got close to him at first he got upset, but then she suggested a sucker. Perfect idea. He sucked on that thing the entire time. He was a sticky, hairy mess by the end, but it was worth it for the positive experience. Charlie screamed bloody murder everytime he got his haircut until at least age 3. It was always a nightmare. I was so impressed at how well Cannon did and hoping this is an indication of how well his future haircuts will go.

Look at all that drool! Ewww.

He didn't even mind when she sprayed him with the water bottle or used the electric clippers on his neck. However, he did mind when we took the sucker away at the end. It was just about gone and he was gagging himself so we had to do it. I can't believe how much older he looks after a little trim. Our handsome little boy.

april sneak peeks.....

2010-03-28T22:34:00.004-05:00

I got a chance to work with the April Freehand Scraps kit this week. The color scheme was fun and I loved the exclusive embellishments.

As always, you can check out the kit and the full gallery on the 1st.

I also made some Easter cards with some of the new Dear Lizzy. I couldn't resist purchasing some of this line even though it is so girly. Perfect for these cards though!Tonight I cleaned up the huge mess on my desk. Hoping to find some more time this week to make it messy again :)

now I get it....

2010-03-25T00:25:00.003-05:00

When I would tell people that we were moving to Salt Lake City everybody would comment on how beautiful the mountains were here. I would think yeah, yeah I have heard about the mountains. I guess I just thought it was kind of a cliche thing for everybody to say. Now that I am here and I get to experience them everyday, I get it. They are stunning. When I am out and about I am constantly finding myself admiring their beauty. Definitely one of my favorite things about SLC.

These photos were taken from the car so they are nothing spectacular, just wanted to share a glimpse of my view with all of you.

king of the couch....

2010-03-23T23:09:00.003-05:00

He has officially figured out how to get up on the furniture by himself whenever he wants. It still takes a little effort, but he gets his little body up there eventually. Then he props himself up like the king of the place. He is so proud of himself and it is his favorite place to be. Even more fun is getting down and then back up over and over again.

His second favorite thing to do right now is test mommy's patience, but let's just focus on the positive for today. :)