A Visit with Aunt Brenda

Well this past week my sister, Brenda, came to Utah for a visit.  I was so excited for all of the kids to be together.  It didn't quite go as I expected.  It was so good to see her, but when all was said and done, I don't really feel like I spent enough time.  It was a tough busy week for me.  Mitch has been offered a job transfer to Logan and we have decided to move there.  This has all been very last minute and he has to start on July 2nd, so I have been so preoccupied with trying to make it all work.  He has been out of town for work 3 different times in the last month, so all of the planning has not gone smoothly.  He'll have to end up commuting for a while because there is no way we will be able to make a full move by July 2nd.  I'm really excited to go there, but poor Brenda just didn't get the full amount of attention from me towards the visit that I would've given otherwise.  I'm sorry Brenda.  Also, we were so excited to watch the kids play, especially Payton and Kayla.  Although both of them are awfully cute, it just didn't turn out the way I played it out in my head.  I'll tell you this much, I got a nice glimpse of what it will be like when the new baby comes.  Kayla does not like sharing the attention.  I thought for sure that she would love playing with Payton, and at first she did, but then the reality of it set in... Kayla would have to share the people (Grandma and Grandpa) and space around her with Payton.  Poor Payton.  Again, I'm sorry Brenda.  Maybe next time will be better.  I'm convinced that if we were at Brenda's house, it would have been different.  Payton would have been comfortable in her own surroundings, and Kayla wouldn't have to "share" anyone.  I wonder if they would've been better friends if that were the case.  Jaxton really liked Payton though, and Kayla loved her Aunt Brenda.  She was so hooked on her.  Anyway, that's it in a nutshell.  Overall, it was really good to see Brenda and Payton.  That happens less and less as we get older.  Here are some pictures...

Payton has a laptop and Kayla wants it

And soon it will start... Payton thinks Grandma is lots of fun, and Kayla will have to share

Jaxton went in for a kiss and it was so cute

Enjoying sidewalk chalk together... well kind of together.  

Payton playing Peek-a-Boo in Grandpa James' truck

Enjoying ice cream sandwiches 

Kayla's chocolate face

Bathtime!

Brenda and Payton



The other day I was helping Mitch do something for work and the kids were watching a movie.  It got awfully quiet so I went to check on them and this is what I saw.

Once he realized that I was taking a picture, he decided to put on a smile.

He was so patient and just let her lay there and sleep until she woke up.  It was so cute.

It's Official

I am officially a stay-at-home mom!  I can not even describe how excited I am!!!!  Today is the first day that would usually be a work day for me, but instead I'm home taking care of Jaxton and Kayla.  And let me tell you that this stay-at-home mom adventure has started out with a bang...
On Thursday when I left work, I went straight to Cynthia's last softball game of the year, where Mitch and the kids already were.  The kids got bored on the bleachers (where they were sitting underneath an umbrella for shade).  I was quite impressed, by the way, that Mitch had thought of shade to put everyone under.  Anyway, they were getting bored on the bleachers so I let them get down to run around a little bit.  Not long later, I notice Kayla's skin getting really red.  I asked Mitch if he put sunscreen on them and he answered with a big fat "no".  So I continue, "well did you bring sunscreen?".  Again, a big fat "no".  At that point, it's back to sitting underneath the umbrella, which didn't work very well with a 4 year old and a two year old.  Needless to say, I have two sunburned children.  Ask me how excited I was about that.
Well when the game ended and we got home, I started dinner.  As I'm making dinner, the kids are playing and Mitch is cleaning this big, metal, restaurant size coffee maker. (He's going on a catering trip for 10 days and he has to bring it with him).  Everything is all hunky dory and then I see out of the side of my eye:  Jaxton runs through the kitchen and then starts screaming.  I thought that he had stubbed his toe one of the bar stools but quickly realized it was more than that.  Mitch had immediately swooped him up and is running to the sink with him.  I see blood dripping through his toes and Mitch must have seen my eye catch it, because he says to me that I shouldn't look yet. 
Oh great.  What the hell just happened?  Well, Jaxton caught the coffee machine with his foot as he was running by and put a big gash in it.  It was not pleasant, and seeing Jaxton cry and clap his hands because he had no idea what else to do with the pain, made me cry. 
Against better judgement (I won't go into that part) I didn't take him to the emergency room.  I took him to the doctor the next day.  That was a bad idea and I should have gone with my gut, and taken him in to the ER when it happened.  Turns out he needed stitches, but at this point we were past the 12 hour mark and they couldn't stitch it.  Which means now that it has to be left open and cared for.  A much longer healing process that a 4 year old doesn't even understand... changing wrappings two times a day, oral antibiotics, no shoes, etc.  We have been nursing this wound all weekend.  Which brings us to today.  My first real day off. 
We had well-child checkups for both kids bright and early this morning as well as a follow-up appt. for Jaxton's foot.  Kayla was a breeze; a clean bill of health and no shots.  Jaxton, on the other hand, was not only unhappy to be back in the doctor's office with his foot, but got two shots in his left leg and 1 shot in his right leg.  We then had to go to the lab to get blood drawn.  He was not a happy camper.  He tried so hard to be so good, so I took him for ice cream afterward.  And now both kids are taking naps.  It can only go uphill from here.  Here are some pictures of his foot.

Jaxton's foot 1 day after it happened

Jaxton's foot 2 days after it happened

Kayla's 2nd Birthday Party

Well we finally had Kayla's 2nd birthday party.  It's only been a week, but it feels as though it's been forever since she's turned 2.  Maybe it's because of all of the rearranging of schedules that we had to do in order to have her party.  It was pretty exhausting by the time we actually had something set in stone.  First it was going to be the day after her birthday, and then it was going to be the following Friday, and then that ended up not working so we endend up having it just this past Wednesday.  It ended up being a really good day and she was so excited!  She got lots of fun things: darling clothes, books, and movies, and she loved it all.  Mom and James got her a playhouse to play in outside, and Mitch and I got her a trike.  She is in playtime heaven.  So is Jaxton, actually.  He seems to think that these items are as much his as they are Kayla's.  We certainly are having our fair share of time-outs for pushing, shoving, and not sharing so well.  I can't tell you how many times the two of them were put in time-out within a 24 hour period.  Oh well, practice makes perfect.  Maybe within a week I'll have kids who are perfect sharers!  Hahaha... it's a nice dream.  :)  
She doesn't like cake so we got an ice cream cake, which was a huge hit.  It was beautiful weather, so Mitch fired up the grill and we had a barbeque for dinner.  Who doesn't like good old fashioned cheeseburgers loaded with all the fixings, with some cantelope, chips, and pasta salad on the side?  It was such a good evening.

Grandpa John showing off his party favor skills

Having a party favor skill contest

Now all the big boys are involved.  I don't know who won

Kayla's new trike

Her playhouse

Very intent on calling someone

Hello World!!!

Kayla's ice cream cake

Excited... and a bit nervous

Yesterday was such an exciting day for me and I have been waiting for this day for a really long time... I gave my two weeks notice and I'm going to stay home with the kids!  My Mom and James have been so good about watching the kids and working around every whim of a schedule change that Mitch or I have had, but more and more we are getting to the point where there are too many inconsistencies, and it's not fair to Mom and James or the kids.  It's just too much at this point.  So we are up against finding a sitter that's available at the drop of hat sometimes, or me staying home.  It doesn't make much sense for me to work just to pay a sitter, so we have opted for me to stay home.  That is the part that I'm really excited about.  The part that makes me nervous is the financial end of it.  Thankfully, Mitch is being promoted to a manager at work so he will get a raise.  That makes me feel a little better, but we're still pretty sketchy about how this is all going to turn out.  It's such a big decision to go to one income, and as we all know, these days don't make it easy to live off of one income.  I am saying lots of prayers that it will all work out.  We know that this is the best decision for the family's overall well-being, so I have to believe that it will work out. 
Overall, I am just really really excited to be able to stay home and take care of things that a mom and wife should be able to take care of.  I will be able to concentrate on the people and things that are important to me instead of trying to just fit it all in somewhere.  I feel very blessed to be in this place right now.

Kayla is 2!

Today, Kayla is two years old!  I can't even believe it.  She is officially not my baby anymore.  She is a toddler... a big girl.  She definitely has a mind of her own and is big enough to think that she can do anything Jaxton or we can do.  She makes us laugh every day!  I can't believe that my sweet baby is getting big.  Happy Birthday Baby Kayla!!!

On the day she was born

Her First Birthday

Her Second Birthday

She got a taste of peanut butter for the first time!  She's hooked!

We had sticky buns for her birthday breakfast

We have discovered that she doesn't like cake and will not have anything to do with it.  Since we aren't having her birthday party until next weekend, we had to do a little something for her actual birthday, so I got a yummy gourmet cheescake.  She was so excited!

Kayla has lots of things that she absolutely loves at age two.  Here are just some of the favorites:

Food. 

What little kid doesn't like food?  Limes in particular are something that she can never pass up, and will throw a full blown tantrum over if you tell her that she can't have one.  Just a word to all those who use limes in their cocktails...  always hide the lime if your gonna tell Kayla that she can't have a slice.

She gets really excited about cold cereal and peeling her own fruit

She loves baths!

More than anything else on the entire planet, this girl LOVES HER LIPGLOSS!!!

...or anything chapstick, for that matter.  She's addicted.

Here she is, showing me her beautiful glossy lips!

I love this girl!!!