Catch-up

Wow. I am kind of behind in my blogging. I haven't missed anything really major, but a few smaller things. I was looking at pictures on the camera, and realized I have a few things to blog about. I am just going to go in order: so, first, a while back our family went to the Aerospace Museum with Matt's brothers and their families. It was a lot of fun, and really interesting! Lucas LOVED it! Every time a plane or helicopter flies by, he has to point it out to us. Sometimes, he will find ones that Matt and I can't see. The kid loves planes - maybe he will be a pilot. Luke's cousin James brought his brand new "Tickle Me Elmo" and right away Lucas stole it from him. Even though Luke had one at home, he wanted this one. Luckily James was too little to really notice that he got mugged. Lucas kept Elmo the rest of the time, if he wasn't carrying it, we had to push Elmo in the stroller. And Lucas wanted to make sure that Elmo got to see the planes too, so Lucas kept pointing to them saying, "See it". I didn't get too many pictures, our camera died, but I got a few cute ones. They had little planes that the kids could sit in and 'ride', once we saw those it was over. Lucas LOVED it, but he had to get out to share with the other kids. After that, he was not interested in anything else. They also had this fun ejection seat that you could sit in, Lucas really liked that one as well. If you haven't been, I would recommend it. It is fun, really interesting, and best of all, it is free!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Our anniversary was on Feb. 3rd. I cannot believe we have been married for four years! Four years sounds like a long time, but it sure didn't feel very long! When I think about all we have done during the last four years, I realize just how much of an adventure marriage is. And I love it! We have had our hard times, we have had fun times, we both have learned and grown so much. I wouldn't change anything about the last four years. I married my best friend. When we were first married I was madly in love with Matt, but I don't think I was able to call him my best friend. Now, after everything we have done together and been through together, he has really become my best friend. He is the man I think about everyday, all day. Matt is such a kind, considerate, and loving person. Although he doesn't like to show it, Matt really is just a teddy bear. He takes such great care of me, and loves me no matter what. I love you Matt! And I am so excited to see what the next four years will bring. Happy Anniversary!


On our anniversary, we didn't get to see eachother more than one hour that day. Lucas is teething (his two-year old molars) so he was a nightmare. And I am just an emotional wreck lately. My Grandpa has been in the hospital for a few weeks now, and has had several close calls. That day, was the closest one yet. Matt was at school when I got the phone call about my grandpa. He is at the hospital in Orem, so I packed up Lucas and me, and prayed that I would find someone to help me babysit before I get there (children are not allowed in the hospital). Luckily my sister in law said they could. So as I was about to get on the freeway, I got a call that he went into a 4-5 hour surgery. The doctors didn't think he would make it though. So I had to turn around, and break it to Lucas that he doesn't get to see his cousin. I was so upset, I didn't know if I was going to be able to say my good bye. And I had a total break down. I couldn't stop crying, I had to pull over since I couldn't even drive. Finally I was able to make it home, and to make Lucas happier I promised him he could play outside. So, I purposely avoided all of my friends who were outside. Then one came up to me, and asked how I was doing. I lost it. I could barely talk. As others saw me crying they came to help. I complained about the day I was having with Lucas, and everything with my grandpa, and then I announced that it was my anniversary. One friend ran inside and brought out a huge chocolate bar for me (she knows me well). And later that night, I had food dropped off so I could make a nice dinner for me and Matt, and another friend brought over dinner with the works. She bought a rose, sparking cider, and came over and set up my table all fancy. And she made us an amazing dish. After my friends took care of me, the day turned around. Matt and I had a wonderful late dinner together, until Lucas decided he didn't want to sleep anymore, and stayed up until 11:00. And then woke up again at 2:30 and stayed up for two hours. Needless to say, he was a major grump the next day, as was I. Although the actual day of our anniversary was a terrible day, we celebrated the next weekend by going to Tucanos and going to see "The Blindside." Matt was in heaven at dinner. He had a huge smile with every bite he took. It was like a kid in a candy store! We had a great evening, and thank you to Matt's sister Kaitlyn for babysitting for us! We owe you!

Tantrums, melt-downs, freak-outs....

Before you read on, I want to say something: I have been thinking lately about how I don't write in my journal anymore. I don't enjoy writing, it hurts my hands, and I don't feel like I have enough time. I am so far behind, that the idea of writing, it just appalling to me. I would love to use my scrapbook as my journal, but I have similar issues there. I don't have time or space to do it. And again, I am so far behind that I fear that I will forget these things before I get a chance to scrapbook them. So, this blog is my only form of a journal. I feel like journals are so important. My mother kept a regular journal all her life and I am so grateful for that. Since she died before I could really know her, her journals are the only way for me to 'get inside her head'. I love them! But since it is not a talent of mine, I have decided this blog is my journal. One day, I am going to make one of those 'blog/photo books'. That way my kids and my grandkids will still have a 'journal' that I have kept. My point is, from now on, my posts will not only be about our family, and our kids, but it will also be a lot of my thoughts and feelings. Don't ever feel pressured to read it, it is mainly for me. But of course, I will never put anything on here that I do not want people to read. With that being said, lets get started:

By reading the title of this post, you are probably thinking this is about my "terrible two-year old". Well you are wrong. Yes it is a result of a total freak out that Lucas had (this was way beyond tantrum), but this post is about me. Tonight, Lucas freaked out. He was so tired (due to skipping his nap), and overwhelmed by all of the family members at our family dinner, and he had just had enough. I have no words to describe the way he acted except 'psycho'. Needless to say, I started thinking about why he acts that way (only sometimes), but where does he get it from? I realized....he gets it from ME!! Granted he is a two year old, so it is his age as well. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I still struggle with it! I have a few stories that will explain it:

First let me preface this, most of my 'freak-outs' were a result of my sister who is 3 years older than me. It is strange to say that since my sister has always been my best friend. We are three years about, and shared a room our entire lives. When one of us would come home from college, we still shared our room, clear until we got married (we had a double wedding). My sister always took care of me, she is the most motherly woman I know. But for some reason, I reacted to her in very disturbing ways. One time, she was babysitting me (I think I was about 9-10 years old). I was playing in my front yard with some friends, and she came to tell me it was time to come in. I don't remember being mad at her before this, so I have no explanation for the way I acted. But I snapped. I picked up a shovel that was sitting next to me, and began chasing her around the yard....and I caught up with her. I think she still has the scar on her ankle.

One Sunday, we were going to church, I was 12 years old. I was having a bad day (bad hair day, bad clothes day) and I was just in a bad mood. As we got to church my jumper/dress started to rip. So my sweet sister decided to help me in the bathroom. I was crying and upset, not with her though. But I yelled at her for something, and she called me stupid (or something equivalent to that) and started to walk away. I grabbed her arm and dug my nails into her skin, and said "Don't call me stupid" and she pulled her arm away, and my nails were so deep into her skin that I left four deep scratches all along her arm. After wards I looked at my nails, and sure enough, there were strings of skin under each of my nails. Again, she still has scars on her arm.

This one happened on too many occasions to count. My sister would make me mad over something, usually something small like she didn't clean her half of the room. But I would always get mad at her, and I would try to 'control' my anger. (I use the word "control" lightly) Instead of attacking her, I would attack the blinds in our room. I would grab handfuls of the blinds, and pull them, tear them, bend them, whatever I could do to them, I did. Eventually my parents discovered the 'white-trash' fix-up job we did (on several occasions) and we had to get new blinds, that I destroyed later in a similar situation.

There are many more situations like these, one that involves throwing wee-waffle toys at her face, leaving her with a very fat lip. Many that involve punching and kicking her.

There was one time when I think I was about 5-6 years old. This one is with a different sister, who wasn't so quick to forgive. She was helping me bathe, and accidentally got shampoo in my eyes. I had been fighting her in the bath most of the time, so there was water everywhere. I shoved her as hard as I could, and she fell back sliding her left hand under the door. The edge of the door cut her pretty bad, and yes, she still has the scar. She was pretty self-conscience about it (and I don't blame her) since her left hand would be the hand in all her bridal pictures.

I don't know what my problem was. And in fact, what my problem is! Last night, I was so hungry (like I always am being pregnant), and I couldn't find anything that sounded good. So I was just going to starve. Matt grabbed himself some fruit snacks, and I saw it and it sounds so good. So I asked him to get me one. Now this is one of the biggest problems in our marriage (I know a lame problem, but it is true). He gets frustrated with me, because he says I wait until he is standing up, and then I ask him for things. Like I just sit there, waiting for him to get up so I don't have to. So when I asked for the fruit snacks, he did his "I am kind of annoyed" laugh, and got me some. But to make a point to him, I threw the fruit snacks at his face. They landed on the floor and I didn't touch them, just to show him, I didn't want them anymore. I think Lucas picked up the fruit snacks after he woke up.

Now I feel like I have matured, and calmed down since those really wild days. Now when I am frustrated, I either keep it in, or I talk to Matt about it until we figure it out. But what the heck was I thinking back then?! I really have no idea of where to begin to figure it out. I was just an angry child I guess. And I have to say, my sister is a sweetheart. Right after I would attack, I would realize what I had done, and would just start bawling. Emily would almost always forget her pain, and would come comfort me!! And she would help me to "cover up" the evidence so my parents wouldn't find out. I don't know why she continued to be not only my sister, but my best friend.

Well, please do not judge me by this post, like I said, most of these stories were a long time ago. I am MUCH more mellow and calm now. :)

Christmas and much more....

Like every ones holiday season, ours was extremely busy. But we loved every minute of it! Thanks to Matt's hard work, he was able to win gift cards from work for Christmas, and then Santa blessed us on a few occasions. I am not sure who our "Santa/s" were, but hopefully you come across this and you can get the "Thank-You" you deserve. We appreciate your thoughts for us and want you to know, the money was spent wisely. :)

Some how I didn't get any pictures of Christmas! I got a video of Lucas opening his presents, but that was it. What kind of mother am I? But here are a bunch of pictures from other things we have been doing around here:

Lucas LOVES Elmo and 'Bear'. He carries them around everywhere. We have been talking to him about the potty, and how diapers are for babies, so he has decided that Elmo is the baby. He puts diapers on Elmo, and feeds Elmo, and even puts him in Time-Out. Lucas received 'Bear" from Great Grandma Andreason, and has not put him down since. He sleeps with him, eats with him, reads to him, even paints with him. It is so cute!

We went sledding as a family a while ago. It was Luke's first time, and mine and Matts first time in at least 6 years. It was so fun! We chose small hills since we didn't know how Lucas would handle it, but he loved it. By the end he had convinced us he was ready to go down all by himself. He thought it was so funny. Matt and I enjoyed ourselves too. :)

There is a picture in here of me at 20 weeks pregnant. And somehow in 2 weeks, I think my belly doubled in size. As far as pregnancy goes, things are going fine. I have been off of my prescription for 'morning sickness' (although for me it is 'afternoon/evening sickness') for one and a half weeks. I have been doing well, I still get pretty sick, but it doesn't last longer than 10-15 min. And I am not throwing up! Woo Hoo! I have been feeling more like a pregnant woman, not just because of the sickness, but it is catching up to me, big time. Yesterday, I passed out, with just me and Lucas at home. Kind of scarey, Luckily Lucas thought I was playing a game. I woke up to his face about one inch from mine laughing while playfully screaming "Momma!" Afterwards, I was just fine. It makes me a little nervous about if it were to happen again and I fall on my head or something, but this one wasn't bad. For those who don't know, light-headedness is very common for me while I am pregnant. And I did pass out with Lucas as well. My Dad says my Mom passed out every time - I must take after her. Then the day before yesterday, I sneezed, and of course peed my pants. That was the first time with this pregnancy. And I will tell you, it is an embarrassing thing when your two year old (who you are trying to get to go pee-pee in the potty) sees that you went pee-pee in your pants and says "eh, gross" and grabs his potty for me to sit on. That was a sad moment. But those are things you have to just take with pregnancy, other that, things are going great.

The other pictures are just the happenings of a two year old. Lucas loves to brush his teeth, so he will carry his potty to the sink (kitchen or bathroom) and turn the water on, and brush away, while trying to spit. It is cute, but gets frustrating, when I am trying to brush my teeth and we have to fight over the sink. Of course, he wants the one that I am at, and if I move, he moves. Lucas has discovered couch cushions. I don't think I need to say much more. He pushes them up, he takes them down and uses them as stairs, he jumps on them. He just loves them. Lucas has been spoiled lately. Since Dad doesn't have school right now, Lucas just soaks up as much time with Matt as he can. He is obsessed with Matt. I love it, Matt gets really tired of it. If Matt is leaning on the counter, Lucas comes running to lean on the counter right next to Dad. If Matt is in the bathroom, Lucas hangs outside the door sliding gifts to Matt under the door. If Matt is on the phone, Luke will grab his phone and walk around the house pretend talking and laughing. He loves his Daddy!

This is the last week of Matt's break from school, and Lucas and I are not looking forward to this semester. Even though I think School is very important, and I think it has blessed our family in so many ways, I do not 'like' school. I think it is great for Matt, and even for me, but it gets hard sometimes. So as of next week, I will be a pregnant single mom of a two year old. Matt has officially applied for the masters program in Speech and Language Pathology, and now we just have to wait to see what happens! Please keep him in your prayers. I am not worried, in fact I know he is going to get in. But Matt is a worrier, and he is nervous. We are praying and keeping our fingers crossed! Thank you for those doing the same! I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and a Happy New Year. And we look forward to seeing what other changes this new year will bring.

Drum roll....

Today Matt and I went in for our ultrasound, and discovered we are having twins! HA! Just kidding! But we are having a girl!! She is looking very healthy, and everything is developing great! She was pretty active, the technician sometimes had a difficult time getting images, but we worked through it. I don't think she likes having something rub all over my tummy, I have never felt her move that much! Because of the placement of the placenta, I rarely feel her (MUCH different than Lucas), but I felt her a ton during the ultrasound. We had a great technician, she really took the time to show and explain everything. We didn't get that with Lucas. It was quite fascinating to see all the parts of the brain already developed, and to see all 4 chambers in her tiny little heart. Matt just finished an anatomy of speech and hearing class and they studied the brain, so for him to see it in his own child was really cool. And Matt was able to understand exactly what the lady was talking about. It was really amazing! Although it makes it a little harder for Lucas, since he doesn't have very many boy friends, we are excited! Matt was hoping for a boy for Lucas, but we are happy! And all I can say, is 'I told you so!' I have been telling everyone it is a girl, very few believed me, including Matt. When the technician confirmed it, I turned to Matt and smiled huge, and said "Told you!". He, of course, just rolled his eyes at me.

What we've been up to...

It has been busy at our house, with Luke's birthday, Matt's schooling (finals coming up), and Thanksgiving, but it has been fun. For those who are wondering, Matt did well on his GRE test, his score was in his range, so we are happy! Now hopefully he can get in the program for the fall!

For Thanksgiving, we had dinner with Matts family. It was a small group this year, but it was really nice. Of course the food was excellent, and it was a nice intimate meal together, that ended with everyone showing the best youtube videos. Not what you would expect for Thanksgiving, but it sure was funny. Thank you Sandi for all your hard work! Sorry we missed most of you though. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera, so we have no pictures. After dinner with the Andreasons, we went and ate pie with my family. Lucas had so much fun with both families, he loved it! Thank you everyone who made it such a great day! In the Spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to express my gratitude for my husband! Matt has been working so hard lately. I don't know how he does it, but he manages to work, go to school full time, and be a wonderful father and husband. Matt has done so much for our family and we love him for it.

Lucas and I have been enjoying our time together at home. We have had to get creative with some of our activities, and it has been fun! We do a lot of art projects, and play in his tents quite often. Lucas is such a funny kid! I love being able to stay home with him.

As far as the pregnancy goes, it is going. I think I am starting to get better. I have only gotten sick one time in the last 2 weeks. There are times when I get "sick-spells", but they don't last long. I have started cutting down on my prescription, and I am still functioning, unlike the beginning. I find myself eating more and sleeping less now. I am so happy! This pregnancy has been so much harder than Luke's. We have our ultrasound scheduled for Dec 21, we are so excited. I really think it is a girl, just because I have been so sick. But I don't care what it is, a boy would be nice for Lucas, and we already have the stuff. But a girl would be fun too. So, either way, I am happy!

Matt and I are big into Christmas decorating, though we don't have much money for it, or space. But it is tradition, the day after Thanksgiving -we decorate. Lucas loved it, he enjoys the lights on the tree. As soon as we pulled out the tree, Lucas started putting ornaments on it, and had so much fun. Daddy even let Lucas help with the star. We are excited for this Holiday season, and hope you are too.

Luke's two-year stats

So at Luke's two-year check-up, we found out that Lucas weighs 24 pounds and 14 ounces, and that puts him in the 15th percentile. As far as his height goes, he is 34.75 inches, which puts him at 55%. Lucas is doing very well developmentally. He is talking so much, but he is picky about who gets to hear it. He is very smart and is learning new things everyday. Lucas used to be kind of a difficult baby - he wouldn't sleep ANYWHERE but his crib, and he would cry every time we would go to one of our families houses. But now, he is great! He loves going bye-bye, and gets so excited to see both Grandmas and Grandpas. He used to be so shy and wouldn't go to anyone but us, and would just cry, but now he just marches right in like he owns the place. People have always teased him for his picky sleeping habits, but I will tell you, I will take a picky sleeper as a baby any day if it guarantees that the baby will be like Lucas now. Lucas asks to go to bed, sometimes he asks as early as 5, but we keep him up til at least 7. Usually he goes to bed between 7-8, and loves his bed. He has even started asking for naps! Lucas sleeps for a solid 12-13 hours every night, and then has at least an hour and half nap every day. You can make fun of his sleeping all you want, but I think I am the luckiest parent! How many parents have their 2 year old asking to go to bed? I don't think many.

Lucas has learned to jump, and is loving life doing it! He makes us turn on music (if we don't he figures out how), and gets on our bed and just jumps forever! He loves it!

I could go on forever about what a good kid Lucas is, and how smart he is, and how lucky we are, but that gets pretty boring. So now I am going to talk about some of the difficult things. Lucas is two. That pretty much sums it up. He is throwing tantrums now, and hits, and screams. We are still trying to figure out how to deal with it, since sometimes it seems like enjoys time out. Actually, he will do something bad, and then with a big smile say "time out", like he is asking to go into time out. Another issue we are having, is potty training. I have been working with him, and he gets really excited one week, goes in the potty several times, and then the next week, decides he doesn't want to take off his pants. When I try, he screams. I want to get him potty trained before the baby comes, two kids in diapers does not sound fun, but I don't know what to do or how to do it. And one more, we got Lucas a toddler bed for his birthday (courtesy of my sister), and Lucas was really excited that day. He wanted to go to bed at like 4, but then when bed time actually came, he wanted nothing to do with the new bed. Now he doesn't show any interest in it, and I don't know how to get him in it. Again, I want him well transitioned before the baby comes, but I don't know how to do it. If anyone has any advice, I would love it!

Well, this has turned out to be a really long post, but in short: I love my boy! He is getting tough because of his age, but I love it! I feel so blessed to be his mommy! Below are some pictures of Luke's birthday - we didn't do much to celebrate, but we had fun!