Easter

There were a lot of pictures taken over Easter. A lot. So I'll let them do most of the talking. But some little updates..

Sawyer:

Sawyer was all about getting eggs this year. After I took him to the Staheli Farm egg hunt and he understood the whole putting them in your basket thing, there was no stopping him. Although, when we got to the egg hunt in Hinckley, the candy was in Ziploc bags..no eggs in sight. There was some reluctance and confusion (plus tiredness from playing so hard the night before).

He had so much fun playing with his cousins. The day we were going to leave, I let him know that we were going to go to Aunt Kristin's and that he could play with Allie and Mason. It was maybe a mistake to tell him so early in the day because then he stood by our back door and would demand in outrage "Play!...Mason's!" Like, "What gives, Mom? You said this was happening."

Dawson:

Dawson got his six month shots right before we went out of town which could have been disastrous but he actually handled them fine, just a little fever. So far my kids haven't skipped a beat after getting shots. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

Dawson had fun during our visit because he had plenty of hands ready to hold him. And because he got to sleep in the bed with me and Dillon. Little stinker.

The trip either threw him out of whack or he's going throw a growth spurt, which means a sleep regression. There's been a lot more feedings, a lot less sleep, and definitely a lot more sanity lost. I don't do well at night when my sleep is interrupted. I try to make a conscious effort to be calm but my first reaction is always irrational anger that my baby/kids need me during sleeping hours. Like they can help it. It probably doesn't help that I am so over nursing. Being a food dispenser is dumb buuut definitely cheaper.

Dillon:

Dillon started his softball season with the team he's been playing with for a couple of years now. In typical wife fashion, I'm worried about his shoulder but he assures me that, "the doctor said it's fine. He just said to avoid sports where I might get hit/run into." Because that never happens in softball.

But really I'm glad he's healed well enough that he can play because he really enjoys it.

Fun fact about Dillon: He's super susceptible to marketing ploys and advertisements, most often when it comes to food. So when Starbucks came out with the Unicorn Frappuccino, he suggested we try it. It was...not great. Dillon loved it. I loved to look at it more than drink it. But it was fun to grab one and getting frappuccinos always brings back memories of my senior year in high school when me and my friends would hit up Starbucks after the Friday night football game (because Starbucks was the new, cool thing and because frappuccinos are delicious).

DaNae:

I was pleasantly surprised when a hospital bill for Dawson's delivery showed up and we ended up being responsible for a quarter of what I had been planning on. Dillon and I decided that we would use some of the leftover money we had saved to get new phones. We haven't upgraded them in four years and probably still wouldn't worry about it but they were on their way to dying. They had a lot of glitches and wouldn't hold a charge for very long. So yay! for new phones.

We did a little egg hunt for Sawyer and G in my parents back yard for practice (and for less a of chance to get trampled on).

There's been a lot of, "Don't eat the eggs!" because he always manages to get one half all the way in his mouth and it's perfect "block your throat" size.

Hungry, Hungry Hippos! with Aunt Bridgette

And cousins

Dawson and Aunt Bridgette

Take 17 for a family picture

Got it

Hinckley Easter Egg Hunt

Good thing he had help from Papa Steve and his dad. He wasn't into it as much without the eggs.

A bag for Dawson!

He got a Thomas at the egg hunt but still wouldn't smile.

Just wanted dad

But a sucker did the trick

Some Snapchat fun while out shopping

Painting eggs

Love this goofy boy and the bigger goofy boy helping him

Dawson's and Sawyer's Easter baskets and clothes

A little lick on a Push Pop

All the eggs

The only pictures from this week.. Andee came to visit and while she was here she got Sawyer a beta fish. He (we) named it Maui. Every night so far before he goes to bed, he says "Night Maui fish." He asks to feed it in the morning and regularly points it out "Fish. Rocks." Safe to say he's a fan.

Dawson Six Months

Six Month Stats:

Weight: 15 lb 3 oz (11th percentile)

Height: 25 in (7th percentile)

Head: 16 3/4 in (18th percentile)

During month six of his life Dawson started rolling from his front to his back. He's still not real sure about it and would sometimes rather scream into the carpet until the hard work of flipping over is done for him but when he's in a good mood, he flips in half a second.

He found his feet and really loves when they're not covered. He grips his toes and hangs out like a turtle on its back.

He LOVES anything that makes a crackly noise. He has toys that do this but, of course, he prefers the wipes container.

He tried a few solids foods and has done really well with them for the most part. His crazy sensitive gag reflex has made things interesting. I kind of prefer to go the easier route (to me) and skip the jarred baby food but this one...that might be what he gets for awhile because he doesn't seem to be able to handle texture. He did avocado fine but we tried mashed cauliflower (which was the smoothest that I've ever had) and it was a vomit disaster. 

Poor thing was SO hungry in the car. He fell asleep simultaneously sucking on his hand and screaming.

He loves the sounds of his own voice

Snuggles with Grandma Paula

First food: avocado

Patiently chilling in his baby tub while I give big brother a bath

You Get a Date! And You Get a Date! Everybody Gets a Date!

This week was full of all kinds of dates: play dates, spouse dates, toddler & mom dates. And it was so, so fun!

Sawyer:

For a while now, Sawyer's had this obsession with paperclips. He'll find one and put it in his mouth lightening fast and start munching. You would be surprised at the abundance of paperclips in almost all locations. It was starting to get beyond frustrating and I could not for the life of me figure out why he thought paperclips were to eat. And just this week it dawned on me..Penguins of Madagascar. I've already mentioned how much he loves that movie. If you haven't seen it, there's a penguin in it that eats pretty much whatever and can also regurgitate things when convenient. He totally eats a paperclip or two and then coughs them up later to help pick locks. So now that I've solved why my two-year-old thinks paperclips should be consumed, I have to figure out how to explain to him that he still shouldn't eat them. I think I'm going with semi-lying and telling him that only penguins eat paperclips because I feel entirely confident that he will not be getting the chance to feed a penguin anytime soon.

He got to do a couple of play dates this week. The first was with a friend from high school and her little girls. The oldest is only a couple of months older than Sawyer so they got along well, more parallel play than anything else but there were some fun interactions. Most of my friends' kids are closer to a year or more older than Sawyer so he has a hard time playing with them even though he would like to. It was nice for him to have someone more his speed I think.

The second play date was with a bunch of the girls from my bunko (bunco?) group and their cute kiddos. They're all older than Sawyer except for the babies but he had fun with sticks and wood chips and sitting on the playground steps. He was absolutely terrified of crossing the bridge to get to the slides (total mystery) which I only found out after trying to help him cross thinking he just needed assistance. He gripped the bar as tight as humanly possibly while screaming when I tried to guide him across the bridge.

The last date was with me. I took him down to the Staheli Family Farm. He has recognized that I have Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York" on my playlist because it's the intro to the movie Secret Life of Pets. As soon as we get in the car he requests to hear "puppies" on repeat. So I got to listen to that over and over for forty-five minutes on the way down and back. But he sits with the biggest grin on his face the whole time, every time, so I kind of love it.

I think his favorite part about the farm was the egg hunt. Egg hunts give me major anxiety when the age groups aren't split up. The older kids just can't help themselves. They WILL try to get every egg. But each kid only had to get one or more eggs to trade in for a prize bag. Sawyer got two. He might have gotten more but the second one was one that had been smashed by the stampede and he was insistent that every single piece of plastic egg make it into his basket.

He wasn't overly impressed by the animals they had (even though there were fun ones) and preferred to pick up rocks from one spot and place them in another. Toddlers. But he was really excited to take a picture with the Easter Bunny. I was surprised because he tends to get a little anxious if he thinks I'm leaving him, especially if we're somewhere new. But he sat right down and jabbered away trying his best to have a conversation with the rabbit and tried to continue it even as the next kids were posing for a picture.

It was nice for me to have some one on one time with him. I've missed interacting with him without being distracted.

Dawson:

Dawson somehow is getting more fussy as he gets older. I think it's mostly because he's becoming more and more aware of everything. And he's very aware of his preference for being held. If he's awake and not nursing/being held, he's usually crying. Yesterday, I fed him and then put him down so I could bathe Sawyer and get him dressed. Dawson cried. I soothed him for minute but then needed to get ready myself since we actually needed to leave the house. Put Dawson down. He cried. He was nice for the car ride but as soon as we got home and I needed to make lunch, he cried. But when I do get to hold him, it's the sweetest thing because he loves to just rest his cheek against mine and snuggle. He'll occasionally look up and smile at me then go right back to nestling in by my cheek. And then I feel bad for getting mad at him because he's so heart melting.

My mom watched him for me Saturday morning while I played with Sawyer and held him for about five hours straight and he was in heaven. And he was nice and actually took a bottle while he was with her (and didn't take an hour to eat it). Miracles happen.

Cetaphil seems to be the answer for his dry skin. I tried a few different things and they seemed to work for a few days, but then it was like his skin adapted? It would become super dry all over again. But Cetaphil has been going strong for at least a week now.

Dillon:

Dillon took me on a Tuesday date to see Beauty and the Beast. Going to movies on Tuesdays is a steal of a deal. I've learned to buy my tickets early though because getting there even twenty minutes early is going to result in a lame seat because the whole town seems to flock to the theater on Tuesdays. Some poor lady was in my seat when we got there, so that was awkward. I always hate situations like that. I would have just picked a different seat but I didn't want to risk taking someone else's. After assuring her that I had, indeed, purchased that seat number, and proving it by showing her my ticket, she left to get it sorted out and moved to a different seat. 

We really enjoyed the movie! Dillon is such a good sport and is never too good to hit up a more ''chick flick" type movie with me. I can only assume that can be attributed to having only sisters. Beauty and the Beast was funnier than we thought it would be and we both left thinking it would be worth buying.

Dillon had committed to helping with the ward Spring Cleanup Saturday morning but, because of the weather, it turned out that they didn't do it. So instead, he volunteered to set up chairs for Stake Conference but they kept delaying it and it turned out they didn't do it until about the time I came home with the boys. So Dillon could have come to play with us but he was a good sport and did some cleaning in the house instead (bless him). After he set up chairs, he borrowed my dad's chainsaw and took care of some much needed yard grooming.

DaNae:

Most of my week has already been outlined but it was a really good week for me. There was a lot of playing and my house was sufficiently ignored which I'm only partially regretting. I do need to buckle down and do some cleaning before we go out of town this weekend though. 

I won a free skirt through my friend's Lularoe group (do some shopping!) which was completely awesome. I feel like I never win those types of things but, then again, I also feel like everybody says that. The clothes are stinkin' comfy and I love the skirt I got. It's nice and spring-y.

I experienced my first public nursing while at the park with my bunko girls. It was about as wonderful as I anticipated (sarcasm). I'm 90% confident one or two of those poor girls saw parts of me that I try to keep to myself. I can't decide if it's better or worse than if they had been strangers. But they were nice and understanding with mine and Dawson's struggling feeding session. I'm just not blessed to be able to gracefully and discreetly feed my kid.

Picking up the shattered Easter egg.

Yeah..I don't really care about these animals Mom. I'd rather..

...pick up rocks and...

...put them in this tire.

Every picture I took looked like this because he wouldn't stop talking to the bunny to look at me.

The few minutes in the car I got to pick the song that played.

He was delighted that we found minion bathwash/shampoo. We had to get a Kevin and a Stuart.

Some honesty: We debated whether or not attempting Stake Conference was worth it with two kids but they did really good! We lasted an hour and forty-five minutes out of a two hour meeting before Sawyer had had enough. More honesty: my numb tailbone and bum were relieved to stand up and leave a little early.

Farm Fresh

We made a trip over to Delta two weekends ago. Visiting family is always a good time. Traveling with kids is a combination of fun and so exhausting. It was nice to have a relaxing follow-up weekend with General Conference.

Sawyer:

Sawyer had such a good time over in Delta. So much dirt and so many animals, a boy can't help but love it. He mostly likes animals from a distance though, he has no interest in touching any of them. He's decided that his Papa Steve is pretty cool, the traumatizing tractor ride a distant memory (although not distant enough for him to take up Papa Steve's offer to go for a ride again ha). As soon as we pulled up to the farm and Dillon's Dad walked out Sawyer piped up, "Steve! Steve!" And in the mornings, Sawyer would wake up with one eye barely cracked open and ask, "Steve?"

He's becoming more and more opinionated and obstinate every day (read: early threenager). I have to pick my battles. Ask me if he had pickles and chocolate milk for breakfast the other day because I just didn't feel like dealing with the meltdown. The answer is yes. Although in the same day he was all about oranges and carrots as part of his lunch so..balance.

He has a sweet little morning routine where he quietly tiptoes into my room (because he's pretty much always my alarm, don't judge, he wakes up plenty early) and to the edge of my bed where he waits for me to notice him. After I pull him up next to me he asks, "Lips?" because he wants to play with my nighttime lipgloss that is always on our headboard. After a few minutes, when he's fully satisfied with his gloss coverage, he points to my phone and asks, "Wother?" So I open my weather app and he scrolls through thoroughly entertained by the clouds, snowflakes, and moving icons.

A couple of random things that I want to remember: 1. He hates not being fully clothed (basically the opposite of all toddlers?) He either better be in pajamas or a complete outfit. If I try to have him shirtless for a messy activity, he yells for his shirt to be replaced. Same for pants. Such a funny dude. 2. He loves to chomp away on ice as one of his many activities. Our ice maker only makes big cubes so it's not quite as satisfying for him but he's all about crushed ice. And if anyone leaves a drink with ice unguarded, he's all over it.


Dawson:

Dawson is a needy soul when it comes to being held. While we were in Delta he was pretty chill and some family members commented on it, but he also had an endless supply of people wanting to hold him.

He really is a sweet little guy but the fact that he wants to CONSTANTLY be held combined with him not taking a binky makes for some exhausting moments/days. I have to get stuff done, which means he will be put down, which means crying. 

I love to snuggle him and I promise I try to enjoy the moments like everyone says to, but if we can all be real for a moment...those dishes and that laundry etc. can actually only wait for so long. They do in fact need to be taken care of.

It probably doesn't help that poor Dawson got yet another cold because his older brother got yet another cold and shared with him. I think we've all been dealing with snot since October.

Dillon:

We went to Delta so Dillon could help his dad (getting to visit everyone was a bonus). They were originally going to take care of branding and de-horning but the weather didn't cooperate. He still got up early each morning we were there to help milk the cows and then did it again at night. Looking at him, most people would never guess he grew up on a farm (myself included) but it absolutely shaped his work ethic. Being a farmer is no joke.

His March Madness bracket is all hinging on Gonzaga. His work has some point system they're working with instead of just counting wins. Dillon is currently second to last but because he picked Gonzaga to win, he could end up taking second. Fingers crossed for a win that will fund a date night.

Dillon is so funny about his weekend sleeping. He puts in extra time during the week and it definitely makes him tired but when the weekend comes, he always determined to stay up at least kind of late and play. I have pretty much the opposite philosophy when it comes to sleeping. I like to get as much as I reasonably can. So after the rest of us go to bed, Dillon usually plays some kind of game on the Xbox while talking to his buddies through his headset. I think he always regrets it, at least a little, when he gets his Sawyer wake-up call the next morning but it's good for him to have a little down time.

DaNae:

I got my hair done for the first time in a coupleish years (besides for trims). I've been embracing letting my natural hair grow, half out of curiousity, half to save some dollars. I've been pleasantly surprised to find that my hair is actually still pretty red. It was a strawberry blonde color growing up then I hit puberty and it was like, "Just kidding, I'm going dark now." It made it look like I had regrowth when I had never dyed my hair, I panicked and had my aunt frost it to bring back the blonde. I've been adding some kind of color (usually mixed with my own hair color) ever since.

I had the lovely Ashlee Lambeth (find her work on Instagram #ashleedidmyhair) add some blonde to it while keeping my natural color up top for easy maintenance and I love it. She worked some magic for sure.

I enjoyed watching conference this weekend. It's always rejuvenating. With two kids, I definitely didn't get to hear all the talks but these ones by Jeffrey R. Holland, Joy D. Jones, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and Gary E. Stevenson were my favorites, with particular emphasis on the last two. President Uchtdorf's was just perfect. Hope and positivity are where it's at. He quoted my favorite scripture, "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." - Exodus 14:14 and his whole talk really just revolved around that. I appreciated everything he said. It's easy to get bogged down with the seemingly perpetual evil in the world but we just can't forget about love and hope and our Savior. Everything will be okay. It will. 

And Gary E. Stevenson's talk mentioned the sweet Huerta family. I used to visit teach Bayley and Dillon worked with Fernando with his church calling. The way Fernando handled the passing of Bayley and their baby girl was nothing short of inspiring. When I heard about the accident, I wanted to be angry until I heard that Fernando was full of forgiveness and peace. It mentions in the talk that Fernando's family members have been baptized after witnessing Fernando handle everything so gracefully amidst the sorrow. It was really special to get that update and hear how things were going. I'm so grateful for the gospel and for the comfort the Spirit can provide.

Tromping around in his dad's shoes

New hair!

With Papa Steve and Kim

Aunt Andee bought Sawyer a Ninja Turtle tricycle. He really does love it. He just constantly pulls an angry face when I take pictures of him now.

Oh Andee

Pantsless with crushed ice to munch on. One of the few times he didn't freak out for not being fully clothed.

From Instagram: 💛 #DawsonD

Some park time in Delta during the brief minutes it wasn't freezing

It was a little bright (Chandler Bing photogenic moment, anyone?)

Chickens!

Hard at work at Aunt Kristin's

The window needed some attention too

With Grandma Ronna

Multigram from Instagram: This game is absolutely encouraging his obsession and could completely backfire but it's kept him busy for the last half hour (and maybe if he has his own he'll be less fascinated by the real ones?? HA!) 🚽 #SawyerD
1/3

2/3

3/3