February

Sawyer

During this month, Sawyer decided to shove a Nerd's candy up his nose. Just, why? I tried to have him blow it out, but it was not coming. And then he kept sniffing which just made it worse. I finally had to use a trick that I discovered on the internet. It's not the most pleasant, but it saved us from an expensive trip to the doctor. In the video I found on the internet some time ago, the lady explains that she just pinched the clear nostril shut and then blew really hard on her kid's mouth. The obstruction came right out of the other nostril. Sounds lovely, right? But it did the job.

He's really progressing with imaginative play and it's so fun to watch (until he wants me to talk to his puppets, I suck at imaginative play but thankfully Dillon rocks at it so Sawyer can at least have a good time with his dad). Lately he likes to use his hands as little puppets and has them talk to each other. Those conversations are the best to listen to. He also calls everything his son when he's playing with his toys. Lots of, "My son! I need to save him!" goes on during play time. 

We had his parent teacher conference and his teacher and head TA said that he has progressed so much since the beginning of the year in a lot of areas. He's good to stay with the group, is learning better hand control with coloring and writing, is getting good at writing his name, and so many other things. It was so great to hear! They said that his anxiety has calmed down even since we met in December for his IEP (individualized education plan). They did say that they've noticed his stutter more and that it really comes out when he's nervous but that was nothing new on our end. I think he's finally comfortable enough at school that he talks more, which means that they are likely to hear his stutter more. But they said when it happens, they as the teachers simply slow down their own speech for him rather than telling him to slow down (Which I recently read is the perfect thing to do, telling them to slow down just makes them more self-conscious and more likely to stutter. So glad he's got teachers who are on top of it). I can tell Sawyer really enjoys school and he's gotten so good at being able to actually tell me some highlights of his day when he comes home. So much progress!  

After we told the boys that they were going to have a baby sister (which they were so excited about!) Sawyer said, "Let's go. Dad's coming in the van too?" And at first we were like, "Wait, what?" But after getting a little more out of him, we figured out that Sawyer thought we were going to be able to pick up his sister right then and he was so excited to go get her. We had to re-explain that she's growing still in my tummy and will be for awhile but when she was ready to come out, he could see her. He seemed alright with that answer and now asks me every day about his baby sister in my belly.

Dawson

Dawson gets to come with me to my prenatal appointments and he does such a good job while we're there. Both the boys came to our first ultrasound so they got to see the baby on the screen and Dawson really took note of everything. The second appointment the doctor walked in and Dawson piped up, "Mommy's belly doctor? Look in yours belly?" which gave everyone a good chuckle. And then once the doctor had found the heartbeat he talked to Daws, "Hear that? That's the baby!" To which Dawson grinned and nodded. The next appointment Dawson brought his wubbanub monkey and made sure to tell the nurse that it doesn't have a binky on it anymore (which happened a good four months ago but just lately he talks about his binky a lot). And he made sure the doctor acknowledged his monkey too. He's such a funny, social little two-year-old.

He likes to sit by Dillon or I and pet our face with back of his hand while saying, "Aww. Good boy." in his high pitched little croon. I sometimes do that to him when he's struggling at bedtime so it's funny that he's transferring that to us. His favorite colors currently are yellow and white. I think it's so funny that white stands out for him. He picks it or yellow over the other colors every time. In fact, my mom had some Valentine's M&Ms at her house and he only wanted to eat the white ones. He recently asked for Harry Potter as his movie to be watched and that let me know I'm doing something right in parenting. We've watched the first and second movies with both boys and Dawson loves the part with the chocolate frog that jumps out of the window. If we watch that movie, he wants to see the frog part on repeat at least seven times before we move on.

Dawson recently informed me that "yours bum too big for toilet". So, ya know, really dealing out the compliments over here. And he's as independent as ever but his stubborn phrase has now morphed into, "I do it mine oowwwn!"  

Dillon

Dillon got to go snowboarding for the first time in a couple of years this month. He went with a couple of his old college buddies that he used to go with pretty frequently. He was so excited and definitely had a good time. Before he left, I told him to try not to break any bones but if he was going to get crazy, might as well do it this year since we'll be hitting our deductible ha. He thankfully came back in one piece. He would definitely go more often but doesn't really have anyone to go with. I just don't love it. I went once with him when we were newly engaged and I had to still present my best self (right? right) so I had to pretend I was loving it more than I was. But it's not my jam. Hopefully one or both of the boys love it so Dillon can start taking them with him relatively soon.

DaNae

I decided to try to embrace some positive reinforcement with boys. I started feeling like our days were constantly filled with threats  and negativity when I tried to get the them to do things. So we created a warm fuzzy jar that the boys can fill up to get a reward. They get little pom-poms (fuzzies) for all sorts of things. Recently Sawyer was being really argumentative and obnoxious about brushing his teeth so we used warm fuzzies for that and he's really improved. And they can earn them by helping to clean, putting their stuff away, getting themselves dressed (mostly Sawyer, Dawson still needs help obviously), being nice to each other which mainly includes sharing and not throwing fits etc. Our days aren't without some negativity but our warm fuzzy jar has helped so much! It's been a nice change.

I mentioned in my January post that I discovered (thanks to a friend) the comefollowmefhe.com blog and it has been the best thing to help us implement the new church curriculum in our home. For the first time probably ever, we've been successfully and consistently doing FHE with the boys with the stuff this lady creates. She's been using her awesome talents to create material that works for primary aged kids based on the Come Follow Me curriculum. She creates and outlines lesson plans with activities that are hands on and engaging and she shares them for free! I'm so grateful that someone has those talents and is willing to share because it's definitely not my strong suit. So if you're looking for something to help you and your family out, definitely look into her stuff. I love it. 

My terrible pregnancy sickness seems to have peaked at about 14 weeks. Each week after that, I felt some improvement. Minor at first but by 18 weeks I felt almost human. I typically only throw up a couple of times a week now and nausea mildly shows up in the evenings. So much better than those first few months! Heartburn is here in full force but medication thankfully tampers that for the most part. I'm mostly experiencing growing pains now as my body changes to adapt to this growing babe. And now that I am beyond simply tolerating food I can say that this baby seriously LOVES meat. I would say that that is the only thing I consistently crave. It's not just a matter of getting protein in any form like it was at the beginning, she's all about the meat. 

We had our big ultrasound this month and it was so fun! We found out baby is a girl and I felt her move for the first time during our ultrasound. The technician was pushing pretty good on my uterus with the ultrasound wand and I don't think baby girl appreciated it because she punched/kicked pretty hard right at the spot the wand was pushing. She was much more wiggly than either of the boys and we watched her do some fun things. Rolling and wiggling and opening her mouth to stick her tongue out. Everything they check during that ultrasound looked good which is always a big relief.  

The day after we found out baby is a girl I texted Dillon, "Well, I just spent $40 on bows." And then I ordered some cute girl clothes from Target that same day ha. And within 48 hrs of finding out we were having a girl, my mom had ordered about 20 outfits and 5 blankets for this baby. She's definitely excited and it's the sweetest. The next day she had me come to her office to pick out more bows from a variety that her coworker's daughter had made. And then my dad, feeling left out, ordered some onesies for baby girl that all reference Grandpa. Safe to say this little lady will be well dressed (And doing girl shopping is a pretty good time. I love boy shopping too actually. I just like to shop for my kids. Tiny clothes are more fun than my adult size clothes). 

Visited the park for the one day of February that wasn't bitter and miserable.

The sunshine was so good for all of us.

Just being cute.

He found this vest at Ross and declared himself the King because it was clearly King's clothing.

Dawson's turn.

Being Mr. Incredible.

"I'm the Indominus Rex!"

Watching a movie, both decided Grandpa's lap was the place to be.

Dawson: "Make me a bo-eet-oh?!" Sawyer: "Me too! Me too!"

Gotta stay warm with these frigid temps.

One of our FHE activities included making slime and the boys loved it!

Making play-doh letters with key phrases from the FHE lesson.

"Look! My monkey!"

Valentine's Day!

The boys filled their warm fuzzy jar all the way up and the reward that they had chosen was to go their favorite dinosaur park in St. George.

This was the first time the train was running while we were there so we decided to take a ride. Definitely worth it.

"I'm just going to take a rest right here. Okay, Mom?"

Dawson reading. I never catch the stuff I'm trying to but this is still cute. And I always want to capture their little voices at this stage.

Helping mom make a rainbow chip cake.

Gender Reveal! Dillon's "Ooooh" in the background is some inside joke for him from some sports guy something or other. He really is excited. But I edited that out for social media ha. 

This little guy has said he wanted a baby sister each and every time we asked him so he was definitely excited that that's what he's getting.

Me: "Sawyer just smile normal!" Sawyer: "I aaaam!"

23 attempts later. Got it.

January

Sawyer

January brought on a lot of change for Sawyer. At church, Dillon and I are no longer Sawyer's teachers but we are still in primary. We tried to explain to him that we would all still go to singing time together, but then he had a new teacher and new class that he would go to while Dillon and I taught our class. I packed a puke bucket and plenty of wipes that first week, just in case. Sawyer ended up needing both between sacrament and primary. I walked him to his class after singing time and told him that we'd be back to pick him up, just like school. He had some tears but was able to go without us. After church that day, I was talking to him about the changes and he told me, "Sawyer doesn't go to nursery, Sawyer is a big boy." I assured him that he would never have to go to nursery again and kind of connected the dots that when we told him he had a new class, in his mind that meant going back to nursery. After that first week, things have been much smoother. Now that Sawyer understands the changes and how they work, he's pretty calm. He sometimes gets nervous when his teacher isn't there because she's the new face he's used to, but he's been able to cope really well.

He also had a new school building to attend. His teacher had classrooms in the elementary school while construction was being done on the preschool building to expand. Over the break, she was able to move back to the preschool building. They had given the kids a tour before break and we had driven by a few times to show Sawyer his new building but he was very concerned with the change the day of. I kept reassuring him that he would have the exact same teachers he'd come to know, but that they were in a new place. I could see him panicking as we walked through the door and looked for his classroom but as soon as he saw those familiar faces, he calmed right down and did great.

The last big change that came for him was riding the bus. For children with IEPs, they qualify for the bus to pick them up (I don't know the if's or why's behind that but that's how it is for the preschool). When his teacher first told me about that opportunity, I wasn't quick to accept it and instead expressed my concern that that might really push his anxiety over the edge. But she had a plan that was really smart. The first week of school, I still took Sawyer in the mornings and then the TAs helped him get on the bus and explained to him that the bus was going to take him back to our house and to me. Then, once he was familiar with that, we started having him be picked up in the mornings. I explained to him that the bus was going to take him to his teacher from now on, and that it would bring him back home and I would always be there waiting for him. It was the smoothest transition out of all of them! (Which I really didn't expect). I was prepared for the possibility of messes on the bus and needing new clothes when he got home etc. but there was none of that. He handled it like a champ and I was so excited and so proud of my brave boy.

All of those changes were a lot for Sawyer. He definitely handled them all well and really, quite quickly. But it upset his system for sure and we dealt with a lot of vomit at home for a few weeks. I can no longer get gas and leave him in the van unless I want to be washing his seat and scrubbing the van's interior. Same goes for cleaning snow off the van. He prefers to stand in the bitter cold and wait for me to be done, than to be strapped in first and not be able to see me while I clean the snow. So ups and downs. Ebbs and flows. But for the most part, some really great and high ups on Sawyer's progress.

Dawson

Dawson's favorite phrase this month was, "M'ere, I show you something." This was always said while he moved his little fingers in a "come here" motion and it was always so cute, you just had to do what he said and see what it was that he wanted to show you. 

During one of our many, many visits to Wal-mart, the boys had swayed me into letting them go down the toy aisles. Dawson was still sitting in the cart while Sawyer was eyeballing stuff when, out of nowhere, Dawson starting singing his own made up little tune. And the only lyrics that merry little tune contained? "My peeennis! Myyyyy penis!" over and over again.   I about died from stifling my laughter and dealing with my indecision on whether to shush him or not. I'm glad he knows his anatomy and I don't want him to feel embarrassed, but also, maybe we don't need to belt out a song about our anatomy for everyone to hear while at the grocery store? Good times Mr. Dawson. Definitely one of my favorite stories of yours and I fully intend on sharing it with your future spouse.

Daws got to go with me for a couple of my appointments including my first trimester blood work appointment. Little Dawson doesn't love being in a doctor's office. He's gotten a shot almost every single time he's been in one so I don't blame him. He was sitting nicely in his stroller watching everything they were doing to me with wide, nervous eyes. And when the nurse inserted the needle into my arm and started taking tubes of blood, poor little man started to whimper and stick out his bottom lip as far as it could go while looking at me like, "Are you okay? What's happening Mom?" I appreciated his empathy.

He got his very first cold of winter and I'm really only documenting it because we have been amazingly fortunate this winter when it's come to sickness (knock on all the wood). Sawyer hasn't had to miss a day of school and the worst Dawson has had was this little cold. Our last couple of winters were pretty terrible so I'm definitely thankful and will always look back on this miracle sickness free winter with fondness.

Dillon

Dillon was a serious rock star in the husband and dad department the last couple of months. Baby number three made me feel terrible ALL day with the evenings being the absolute worst. I would seriously have to be permanently horizontal by about 7:00 pm and just pray to fall asleep to escape the sickness. And Dillon was amazing and really stepped up, especially with bedtime. Putting two little boys to bed is no small feat and we usually tag team it. But he and the boys got into a good routine that included letting them watch a couple of song videos on his phone. Their most requested were "Baby Shark" and "Apples and Bananas". 

DaNae

I tried to keep a little update for the weeks before we made the announcement/we got to our first ultrasound. So this is from November to about the middle of January.

4 weeks: We found out we're going to have another baby! We're so excited and I'm going to embrace this tiny bit of time where I know I'm pregnant but don't feel really awful. I've mostly just been crampy and dizzy but nothing bad yet.

6 weeks: I've started to feel nauseous for the majority of the day but it hasn't been bad at all yet. My chest is definitely feeling all these pregnancy hormones, so sore. I am sleepy all.the.time ha It's crazy what this tiny little bean I'm growing can do to my body. I don't look pregnant yet but, I swear, I look... thicker. Which is just lovely. I'm basically just counting down to when I can hang out in maternity pants since my regular pants are weirdly uncomfortable already. Still so excited! And anxiously awaiting our appointment and ultrasound that are scheduled for the beginning of January.

7 1/2 weeks through 13 1/2 weeks: So sick. Sooo sick. Around weeks 6 and 7 I just needed to make sure I was constantly full of protein to avoid feeling so sick that I couldn't function beyond what I absolutely had to (which was no easy feat since food constantly sounded terrible), everything started having a nasty sour after taste which is usual during my pregnancies (and so annoying), and I was sooo tired I either HAD to take an afternoon nap at the same time as the boys or.. have a 7:00 bedtime. And then for the next six weeks I still experienced all of those things PLUS debilitating nausea and dizziness. I typically threw up in the morning and then just felt disgusting the rest of the day with evenings being the absolute worst. I remember being dizzy and sick with Sawyer but I had pockets of time throughout the day where I could function. And with Dawson I was throwing up around 4 to 5 times a day and feeling gross BUT I also had slivers of time where it eased off for a minute. Not this time. Constant 24 hour horrible sickness. It's been rough. Though I'm happy to say that it is just barely starting to be less extreme. Still throwing up in the mornings but now I am just mildly nauseous for most of the day, until evenings again where it gets pretty bad but not as bad as it was.

We had our first ultrasound when I was 11 weeks. That first appointment always helps as a reminder as to why that first trimester is worth it. Sometimes, even though I know I'm pregnant, it's hard to remember that the terrible sickness is for a reason and will end up being worth it. But seeing our third little baby wiggling all over the screen and hearing its heartbeat was a nice visual reminder and positivity booster.

Me sending a picture to Dillon to let him know that baby and I now own his hoodie.

A quick trip to Bulloch Drug for ice cream.

After they finished their ice cream, the boys danced their little hearts out to every song that came on the jukebox. Dillon helped pick out some songs and I just sat at the table trying to capture the scene in my mind of my boys being so full of simple joy while all the workers cooed over the cuteness. It was a good, good moment.

Dentist visit! I don't know why I feel compelled to take a picture every time we go, but I do. I think it has something to do with their little bodies in those great big chairs?

This was the first time Dawson sat by himself. He was a little nervous but the movie helped distract him. And he actually opened his mouth this time to let them clean so that was a step up.

Sawyer kept trying to talk while getting his teeth cleaned. He just had a lot of stories to tell.

Out riding bikes.

I've come to realize with this kid that I suck at teaching bike riding. Sorry buddy! I think we need to do a little adjusting with seat and handle bar height and hopefully that will help. But also, I maybe need to take a course on how to teach your kid to ride a bike?? Struggle.

Every toe gets to go to the market when Dawson's in charge but only that last one does the squealing. I love him.

Big box coloring and entertainment.

He thought he should get to ride on the back of the cart like Sawyer so often does. And I couldn't help but laugh when his little eyeballs could barely pop over the edge and be seen.

Just a little Target dancing. I think it was Katy Perry's "Roar" that was playing and it really got Dawson grooving. He kept doing the funniest little squat bounce/ butt shake move but I, of course, didn't get it on camera.

I ordered some shirts that were on an awesome sale thinking that they would fit Sawyer NEXT fall aaaand they fit him now ha. He's rocking size 6 in this Hurley shirt. Little man is tall!

From the preschool blog.

13.5 weeks. Hopefully seeing the light at the end of the sickness tunnel.

Primary. Sawyer was so excited when he got called on but then quickly lost all enthusiasm when he realized he wasn't going to get to open a present like a few of the other kids, but was supposed to wear this poster instead.

Watching a move in Mom's bed while we all tried to survive until Dillon came home.

Dillon pulled out these goggles for Dawson one of the times they played in the snow and it made for the best pictures.

I love this picture and his sweet face.

Dillon buried them in a pile of snow and they loved it.

Still rocking the goggles for dinner time.

Coloring during FHE. I've found this blog comefollowmefhe.com and it has been a real game changer for us with the new church curriculum.

"Brother, come lay down and I'll tuck you in."

His favorite activity.

"Look Mom! I'm wearing your shoes!"