Happy Thanksgiving!

The flights were surprisingly good so we decided to come to Utah for Thanksgiving! Both of our families were having a very small Thanksgiving so we decided to just combine the both of them and have one BIG happy Thanksgiving! This would prevent us from having to run from house to house! It was so perfect!

I thought that this was a nice fall picture! There was actually a couple of inches of snow and it was 8 degrees outside! But I liked this picture for posting purposes! :)

Peyton LOVED the olives on the vegetable tray. It looks as though he didn't really enjoy the carrots. He decided to spit them back onto the tray, along with the half-eaten carrot! Oh dear, it might be time for the manners talk! :)

He didn't see anything wrong with it!

Blake doesn't need to be in Disneyland to get a turkey leg! Sick.

Everyone mingling before dinner!

Of course we had to tune into Thanksgiving Day football!

Kael LOVED all the extra people that would hold him!

Kael played with some toys during Thanksgiving dinner!

Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner! Especially the seasonal treat of Pomegranate 7up! My dad also makes phenomenal stuffing! It was ALL delicious!

Post Thanksgiving dinner! I guess the Tryptophan got to Peyton!

Kael wanted a taste of Jana's cheesecake. Who could blame him? It is phenomenal!

He also LOVED the blueberries that went on top!

Kael and I on Thanksgiving. We actually caught a smile!

Kael and his daddy!

Grandma gave them Christmas jammies for the season!

I really LOVE this holiday! I was so glad that we could spend time with both of our families! It was such a fun day! I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and beautiful boys! Both of our families are so supportive, we LOVE them! I am so thankful for a lot in my life {I could go on for pages}. We ALL have so much to be thankful for!

We Survived the Blizzard of 2010....

We survived the blizzard of 2010! Don't worry, I will be making t-shirts "I Survived the Blizzard of 2010!" ;) What a joke! We heard for days about this blizzard coming to Utah. We wanted to make sure that we made it to Utah before the "epic" storm came to town. We actually moved our trip up one day to prevent any Thanksgiving delay! This storm was so hyped {which is totally typical of Utah weathermen!}! It is actually probably good that the storm was hyped because a lot of the employers in Utah {except Wells Fargo where Blake works} sent their employees home early before the storm hit around 5:00 PM. It actually probably prevented many accidents and saved some lives! We heeded the warning and were tucked inside my parents home! When the storm finally rolled into town, it came in with a vengeance! It was blowing so hard and then it started to snow! It was a blizzard.....for like ten minutes! It was so cold when the wind stopped blowing! That's right, when we left Texas it was 81 degrees. It is now 8 degrees, that's a pretty BIG change!

Peyton was so excited to play in the snow! We had to let him go play for a couple of minutes even though it was FREEZING!

For as excited as Peyton was, he was a little scared to go outside! Tim helped him overcome his fears!

Tim taught him how to make and throw a snowball!

He thought it was the greatest thing in the world!

Peyton had to kick over the snowman that Corey made him! He had fun in the snow, a lot different from last year! He hated it!

The blizzard didn't last long and neither did the snow! Because we heard that the storm was going to be huge, we all prepared to be home bound for the night! It was fun to be all together!

The White House...

Most people when they hear or think of the White House think of this image......

Not Peyton, he thinks of this house.........

This is his "White House" (a.k.a my parents house) . My mom will probably kill me for posting this picture because it was in the fall and she hadn't cleaned out her flower beds and such. Anyways, this is Peyton's "White House". This is ALL he talks about. I think if he had one wish in the world, it would be to move back to the white house. He LOVES it! He is so excited when he gets to come to the white house! We are not exactly sure why he calls it the white house. Our only thought is, is that the back of my parents house is white. So therefore this is now the "White House". Last time we came up from Texas we pulled in the driveway and he said, "Mom! Look! We found it! It is the White House! I am so excited!" He really couldn't contain his excitement. It was the cutest ever! He misses his Utah life more than I ever thought that he would. He talks about living at the white house all the time. It is cute and sad at the same time. He always tells me, "I don't like the Dallas house. I want to go back to the White House." I am glad that he has fond memories of living here! It was a good time!

Today I Am Thankful For....

At this time of year I know that it is customary to say what you are thankful for. I am definitely thankful for my husband, children, food, shelter, family, transportation {I could keep this going on all day!} But today as I was putting my children down for their naps and had a moment of silence {Which is rare around here, and I am not just being dramatic. Ask anybody who has spent more than 3 hours with my boys. Love them!} I pondered the last 48 hours of madness, and remembered cleaning up Peyton's puke yesterday....twice....off his clothes, and his blankets {He threw up when he woke up and when he was going to bed. He has had a bad cold and when he coughs too hard he throws up. Stupid gag reflex!} And Kael's blow-out of all blow-outs this afternoon. {I am just glad we weren't at church!} This kid has a blow-out every other day! I have never seen a baby like him and his bowels. {TMI?} Not to be too graphic but it was in his socks and up to his neck! {I am not sure how he did this one!} It was a two person job and mid-day bath! BAD! Anyway, as I was pondering the events of the last 48 hours, I am especially grateful that we no longer have to use this........

I would have the buffest arms in Dallas, I am pretty positive. This is ALL I would be doing all day! Luckily we have the modern conveniences of this......

There was a reason I wasn't born a hundred years ago {bless the hearts of our ancestors}! I could only wish for a washer and dryer as nice as this! And maybe a laundry room that big some day! But at this point in my life, I am grateful for the set that I have {and the fact that I don't have to go to a laundromat, gross!}! So this day, in this season of "Thanks", I am thankful for my washer and dryer!

Funny boys......

His face kills me! It is so mesmerized! Don't worry, my 8 month loves Backyardigans! It is so funny. Every time we turn on Backyardigans, Kael stops what he is doing and stares. He only loves the introductions song where they are dancing and singing. He also looks tired. Hmmm. Could it be from staying up all night{If these teeth don't come in I might have to have myself committed!}? I fell asleep for the night just as the sun was rising {5:45 AM} and when did Peyton wake up? 6:45 AM. These are the mornings you wish you could hide, or revert back to the age of 16 and sleep until noon! But since I could do neither, I had to
get out of bed {whether I wanted to or NOT, emphasis on the not}. Lets just say that we had a VERY early nap time! {Yes, I did say WE}

What a sweet face!

Today, Peyton asked me for a piece of bread. I then heard him push a chair over to the counter. A couple of minutes later he brought me bread in his basket {a.k.a a silverware holder}. He had ripped it up into little pieces. He asked us if we wanted some sacrament. I laughed so hard and took a piece of bread! He really does pay attention in church. I was glad to know that he got something out of it! It is hard to tell with all of the noisiness and crying!

Overload....

I really do want to apologize if it seems that we are on blog overload! We have recently moved and our families back home are going through their grandchild withdrawals! I am sure they could have cared less if it was just Bryan and I that moved, but because we took the children with us, they want regular updates! Both of our boys were such a part of our parents lives! We miss them and they miss us! So between Skype and our blog, we keep them regularly updated! {I have also found that I have more time to do this now that I am not teaching or in school! I won't lie, I don't miss all of the poster making and papers I had to write. It has been a nice change for now!}

Doggy bed.....

We are struggling with night time! A little background info for you...we used to live in my parents basement. Since we had two other house guests residing in the basement with us, {Tyler and Blake} our little family lived in one giant room. Yes, there were four of us all sleeping in one room. Bryan "tetrissed" things nicely so it was quite roomy. So, needless to say our transition into a three bedroom apartment has been rough on our children. We got them sleeping in their own room for the majority of the night. Yes, I said majority of the night {they are both terrible sleepers}. Like I said, they were both going to sleep in their own room, until Peyton got scared of the train that passes by our house. It is this lovely little old fashioned train that passes our house randomly. I don't know what it carries or where it is going but it travels slow, and honks very LOUD. It scares him so bad, even during the day. I think it is just the surprise of the sound that frightens him. It always passes by in the early evening hours and then conveniently passes our house between midnight and 2 AM. He always runs crying into our bed. Then two weeks ago our fire alarms went off in the early morning hours because our furnace burned out. Then a week later they did it again. I was not a happy camper. Now he is afraid of EVERYTHING! Now he runs crying when someone knocks on our door or the ice falling from the ice maker.
At first we just made Peyton a little bed on our floor that he could come and sleep in when he got scared. Now that he has become a more permanent resident of our room, the bed has grown a little more extravagant if you will. Bryan has created him a fluffy bed with four blankets piled high and two blankets to cover him. I call it the "doggy bed". It is the same size as a doggy bed. Peyton LOVES it! And who wouldn't? That thing is just as comfortable as my pillowtop mattress. Bryan shouldn't have made it so comfy, now he will NEVER leave!

The other night I was going to go to bed and found ALL 3 of them piled on the dog bed. Well Bryan can't actually fit on the bed so he is left to lay on the hard floor! But it doesn't look like he minds too bad! They were all laying on the floor leaving a big comfy bed ALL to myself. I didn't enjoy it too long before I was invaded! I NEED a BIGGER bed!

Making Progress...

Today was a BIG day we totally made progress with Kael! This morning before Mammow left we went to Mickey D's {that is what Peyton calls it} for breakfast. Peyton and I shared some pancakes. Kael was getting a little restless sitting in his highchair so I gave him some pancakes. He LOVED them! He ate so good, and he didn't spit any out! I was totally shocked! Kael is starting to eat more solid foods! Yay, maybe he will be somewhat of a normal eater!

Peyton got an ice cream cone after dinner and Kael wanted a taste! Peyton actually shared with Kael. We are making progress people! Peyton has a very hard time sharing! But now that Kael is bigger and has a growing interest in Peyton's toys, he is getting better about sharing with his little brother!

That is the look for complete adoration! He loves his big brother, even after he pushes him down or tackles him. {Somehow he got ice cream in his hair!}

They both were giggling! Music to my ears!

He LOVED his ice cream! Hopefully this trend of wanting real food continues!

Bus Driver....

Peyton has a very funny personality. Anybody that has spent time with Peyton knows this. He is a spitfire! You know when you make Peyton mad when he pulls out the index finger and points at you. {Another freaky thing, he does it exactly how my Grandma Helen did it when she was alive. I mean, just like her! You knew you were in trouble when grandma pulled out the index finger and pointed at you! I can't help but laugh and think of her every time he does it. At this point, I would give anything to have her point her finger at me again, even if I was in trouble! But at least I get it from my little guy, it keeps her memory alive :) } The other day the finger point was accompanied by "Mommy, you a big tubby idiot." It is hard when he does this because the combination of words that he uses is hilarious. Where did he come up with that? But, I discipline as straight-faced as possible! Although, I have to admit I am dying inside!

Peyton has this thing about playing in his room. He is two years old and has rules. Only on adult is allowed. If there are two adults they will converse, thus taking the attention away from him. No cell phones or computers are allowed. Also taking the attention away from him. If I take out my cell phone while we are playing he will scold, "Put your cell phone away. Stop texting!" He even knows what I am doing. So, if you are going to play with Peyton it is a commitment! While Mammow was down visiting {she spends 90% of her time in his room playing, the other 10% she is sleeping. I am not even sure if Peyton allows her to have a bathroom break, it's against the rules!} Today before Mammow left for home, her and Peyton had to play one last time in his room! When I walked in his room, of course I was scolded, "No, MOM! I want to shut you out of this room!" I was violating the rules, only one adult in the room. {ridiculous, I know} But somehow I convinced him to let me stay. {I do this for Mammow's sake, she needs some adult interaction!} I had to ride on the bus though. Peyton was the driver and Mammow, Kael, and I were the kids on the bus.

Our bus driver, steering us with a plate!

Concentrating on the road!

He is a very particular child, and knows exactly what he wants and how he wants it. I think we are in BIG TROUBLE!

Bryan's family came to visit....

Bryan's family flew down on some buddy passes. I was shocked they made it, Dallas can be a little tricky to get to. The night they got here we went to Cheddar's. This restaurant came highly recommended and it did not disappoint! They have yummy homemade chicken fingers and the prices are great! They gave us a TON of food!

Jana feeding Kael a bottle, Kael LOVES Jana!

Of course Peyton had to sit by Mammow!

Mark and Megan having a good time! {Note the smile on Megan's face} It is a big family joke that Megan hates vacations. She loves to stay near her home! At the beginning of the vacation she was all smiles. Her family teased her all week as she was a little less excited each day because she was away from home. They all joked that she would be pinging off of the walls happy the day that she got to go home. I thought they were all exaggerating, but they were RIGHT! She was all smiles the day she got to go home! You can bet she was teased all day long about being happy she got to go home! Although, Bryan kept it a total secret that their flight was oversold and it wasn't likely that they were going to get on! That would have turned her smile upside down!

Meggy is so funny!

Bryan and I at dinner!

Peyton gets so excited when Mammow comes, that he forgets to take a nap! He fell asleep at dinner!

My kids are weird. Both of them have LOVED to suck on lemons and limes. This is Kael making his sour face after sucking on the lemon. No worries, he kept sucking on it!

Like I said before, Kael LOVES Jana. She is reading him a book. I took a picture because I have NEVER seen Kael hold this still for ANYBODY. He is such a wiggly baby! He loves to look at books now! He will totally look through them with you, it is so cute!

Kael at the stockyards. Of course he had to wear his sheriff shirt to the stockyard. I was so mad that I forgot his cowboy hat. He probably wouldn't have kept it on anyway!

We have also coined Jana as the "Baby Whisperer". When Kael was young he had colic and Jana would hold him by with her hands wrapped around his tummy and he would stop crying!

Peyton was mad that I was disturbing him!

Look at those curly longhorns!

There they go! It is pretty short but they are pretty cool to look at!

Of course we had to take a ride on the pony!

Kael hates to ride in the stroller. He always has to be held. Usually we let him just deal with it, but he had extra eager hands this weekend! He was always being held! So spoiled! :)

We saw these mechanical bull rides while we were at the stockyards. This guy had a smaller longhorn for kids to ride, but it ran out of batteries. So Peyton got the giant devil horse. I NEVER thought that he would go on it. Mammow put him up on the devil horse and away he rode. He kept a very brave face, he was freaking out inside. I could tell, his eyes were like "get me off of this thing!"

This thing was really creepy up close. It had glowing red eyes! Bryan thinks that it was an old Jazzy motor. An easy way for a guy to make five bucks a ride!

The rest of their trip was fun, we went shopping. I have waited for Jana to come to go to this cute jewelry store, Sam Moon's. It is so awesome! They have really cute jewelry for cheap! They also have purses, scarves, and luggage! It is like a giant Canal Street in a store! If you want to check it out click here!
We also went shopping at the outlet mall near our house and Jana got some GREAT stuff! I got some Christmas stuff as well!
We then went to Rockwall, TX to visit some friends of Jana's. Her friend made us pumpkin pancakes!
It was so fun to have Bryan's family here! Jana, Mark, and Megan were able to get out on that oversold flight {thanks to a flight delay} and they got first class!
Mammow is going to stay for a few days longer! Yay! Peyton is in heaven!

Chocolate...

So I KNOW I have discussed the fact that Kael will NOT eat any solid food. I don't mean baby food, I mean real food. I have given him tiny bread crumbs and he has choked on them to the point that he throws up {dramatic}. The pieces are not big enough for him to choke on, I assure you. If he doesn't choke on them, he spits it out. Apparently, if it is coated in chocolate he will give it a try.....

Once again, Peyton left food on his blue table. And once again, Kael pulled himself up and helped himself to a chocolate cookie! I saw him chewing on something and when I took a closer look...I saw the chocolate smeared all over those chubby cheeks! It was also smeared all over his hands, shirt, my carpet, and my white pillows! :)

He enjoyed it though! Which gave me HOPE that he will actually eat REAL food someday!

*****
Also, I forgot to mention { I CAN'T believe that I forgot to mention this} Kael has one tooth that popped through!
Can I get a HOLLA!? Or HALLELUJAH, whatever you prefer! I am just SO excited that ONE has popped through! Now for the pesky other one! SOON I HOPE!