Bubba Bath-Time Bubbles?

This morning I had Carter and Anna in the bath. It started out like any normal bath-time routine. They play with the toys, drink the water no matter how many times I tell them not to. Half the time, Carter chokes himself trying to suck up the water through his mouth and nose when he puts his whole face down in it! I wash them up and scrub them till they sparkle! I really love bath-time! Sometimes, we will be in the bathroom for an hour! Anna and Carter just play and play and I enjoy not having to chase after them and clean up after them! Carter usually splashes water all over the whole bathroom...but how much is a little water going to hurt anything?

I got Anna out and was drying her off when I noticed a funny yet familiar look on Carter's face. His face started to turn a little red as a big grunt escaped his little mouth. Instantly I hoped it would just be bubbles that came out of that cute little scrubbed and sparkly bum! I take a peek as I see a ginormous poopie, still attached, floating behind Carter! I yell out, "Oh my heck, Carter's pooping in the bath!" This gets Anna's attention and she peeks around to the other side to see as I am frantically trying to gather all the toys and wash rags before contamination begins! As I am working frantically, Anna can't help herself from chastising "Bubby"!

"Bubby, No, NO! You not posed to poop in da bass! Oh Yuck! Mom-mom, Bubby poop in da bass! Bubby, oh, dat tinky! When daddy tum home, I tell him, Daddy! Bubby poop in da bass! Bubby too yittle poop in potty, Bubby hat to poop in hims diaper, NOT in da bass, mommy!"

Her jabbering went non-stop through the whole charade...I could only relate half of what she actually said! Poor Carter, just trying to do his duty, sat there squatting in the water, pushing and grunting, while I scooped up poopie number one with a cup and dumped it in the toilet, and turned around to find more that began to float everywhere! Panic started to set in as I am wondering what in the world to do with him! Should I just stick him soaking wet on the toilet? What if that doesn't go over well cuz he's wondering what in tarnation I am doing to him! Then I might have a huge disaster on hand with a pooping, wiggling, crying mad toddler! So, I just let him finish in the bath, scooping and dumping the floaters as they came, then wiped his bum with a wet wipe, and then picked him up and washed him off again!! Whew!

Needless to say, the bathtub got the detox treatment afterwards and when Russ got home, he had to open the windows because the whole house smelled of bleach cleaner! That's one way to clean the tub! So...I'm thinking...potty training anyone?

For the love of.....Reading!!!

After I had Anna, I wanted to make it a goal to start reading to her from very young age. It helps in so many ways...she learned to sit still, to focus for short periods of time and it progressively got longer, it has helped with her vocabulary and grammar, it has fostered her creativity and imagination, it is a great time-killer, and she learns from the books about life and life lessons. At our house, we all treasure reading and we all really love to read when we can. Read to your children, it is the best gift you can give them!

A perfect moment....

Perfect moments don't happen very often, so when I stumbled upon Anna and Carter sitting together reading and sharing a book, I had to get it on video! It was amazing to me to see them side by side, as brother and sister, having this perfect harmonious moment together! I was feeling quite proud....I had done it, all those lessons about sharing and loving each other had finally sunk in, and now we were reaping the rewards of our hard labor! Oh....I spoke too soon! I guess sharing is only fun for but a perfect moment.....and then THIS happens.....watch and see.....it is quite hilarious!

Who is this little boy?

Recently, Russ and I have been commenting on how much Carter has grown up in the last few months. He really has changed from baby to toddler...and in such a quick space of time! Here are some milestones Carter has achieved and some bits and pieces about him.

Carter started crawling on Memorial weekend at 10 months old. Only a few months later he started walking! He had been walking for quite awhile, but only if I would hold his hand. If I let go, he would sit down and throw a little tantrum! Suddenly one day, he figured out he could do it without me, and he has been walking ever since! He loves to walk and will often find an object or toy he fancies and carry it around with him as he walks around the kitchen table and wanders to and from each bedroom! He has no fear of heights and if he is on the couch or bed he would walk right off the edge as if nothing were wrong! Carter often gets distracted by what is going on around him and has fallen so many times we've lost count! He also has a knack for walking right into the walls, hitting his head, and falling over. Usually the falls don't even phase him and he gets back up again to fall down again only minutes later! He is very persistent, and when he has something in mind that he wants, nothing can deter him! It is a great quality to have, but also a frustrating one for the parents to deal with at times!

Carter loves Anna and his favorite thing to do with her is run or crawl with her down the hall into the bedrooms. She will "chase" him and they will play forever! It is quite nice when your older children start entertaining the younger ones! Anna has a cabbage patch baby boy that Carter loves to play with. If he sees the baby, he has to get it and then will give it a love by putting the baby by his face and saying "Ooohhh". He will then carry the baby around by the hair and occasionally love on it! It really is cute! Russ had a hard time at first, accepting the fact that his little boy liked a doll! But he is okay with it now! Carter also loves to play with the toys that Anna gets out for herself. That has caused some disagreements! I usually find the two screaming both gripping onto one of Anna's toys! I try to explain to Anna that Carter is still a baby and is learning to be nice and not take toys away from her! She just doesn't understand! We have daily, if not hourly, talks with her about sharing and not having a fit if Carter approaches her and tries to take a toy from her! We explain over and over how she should react, what she should do, who can help.....hopefully someday it will set in! If Carter wants something Anna has, he will get so upset if I tell him he can't have it! That kid has such a temper at times! Wonder who he got that from? (Hmm*#!RUSS!#*mmH)

Speaking of tempers...Carter, it seems, at such a young age, has learned to throw tantrums! Temper tantrums are the most dreaded part of toddler-hood for me! Learning to deal with them and to teach your children as they go through that stage, and trying to avoid them is sooo tricky! Carter's tantrums are not so bad and can actually be quite hilarious! He is at a stage where he is learning to communicate more, but can get easily frustrated when he can't communicate effectively enough for us to know what he wants or is trying to do. Thus, frustrations lead to tantrums. Then there is the tantrum when he doesn't get what he wants, or gets something taken away from him. Another one for being out in public (those ones tend to be the worse...go figure!) Some tantrums seem to happen for no reason and come out of the blue...the storm rages and before you realize what hit, it's all over as if nothing ever happened! There are some parts of young children that will forever remain a mystery to me!

Carter has added just a few words to his vocabulary, but mostly he thinks he can communicate with a few grunts and gesture with his hands as to what he wants! He says mom, dad, dog(daw), woof woof(woo, woo), ball(baa), this(dss), that(dat), Anna(ah), uh-0h(uh uh), baby(baba), says oooh when he gives hugs or when he hugs his blanket, boom(ba) for loud noises-he usually throws his hands up in the air, he makes vroom noises when he plays with his cars or trucks, and can shake his head "no". He often will go up to the shelf, look at me as he is reaching for something, and then shake his head "no"! Sometimes he will leave alone what he is not supposed to play with, other times he completely disregards our warnings!

Carter eats very well, especially compared to how Anna used to eat! He loves all fruits, some veggies, and mostly everything we give him. He has a knack for picking out candy anywhere...and if we are at the store and he spots a sweet treat, he will start pointing and grunting "uh-uh-uh" and look at me with pleading eyes! When I shake my head at him, he has a meltdown, twisting and writhing in the grocery cart! I would have been quite horrified with my first child if that happened in a public place, but now it doesn't phase me! He has his fit and then it is over after a few minutes and he is fine! Whew!

It has been so much fun watching Carter grow and learn. It seems like he has grown up so much faster than Anna did. I think with each child, times goes by a little faster. Anna and Carter are so different in so many ways, but then are so much the same in others. We are just starting to realize that what worked with Anna isn't going to work so well with Carter and it seems as though we have to re-learn everything all over again! Each day is still like trial and error until you get it right....eventually....someday.....whenever that may be! The best and easiest part is loving our children and seeing them as individuals with different talents and strengths...and catching glimpses of perfect moments each day where life couldn't get any better than being together as a family.

Tactful Toddler ?

This past Sunday, we actually made it to church early!! So, instead of sitting in the back of the cultural hall, we actually got a pew in the chapel! We were visiting with an older couple, the Samuelsons, in which we found that Brother Samuelson along with a half dozen or more individuals work at BYU-I as teachers!

As sacrament meeting began, and everyone began singing the opening hymn, we discovered that Brother Samuelson can sing quite enthusiastically! (but he was quite good) I noticed earlier that he had hearing aids, thus he was singing enthusiastically loud! I didn't mind and neither did Russ, but poor Anna was quite put-out! Immediately she noticed the sound breaching her comfort zone and as I discreetly watched her, she proceeded to try and alleviate her annoyance by trying various methods and ways of covering her ears! When that wasn't working, she combined the cover-the-ears method with the evil-eye-I'll glare at you with utter annoyance-look!

Well, if Brother Samuelson noticed, he payed no heed to this three-year old and her silly antics! That must have frustrated Anna more, so she looked at me, with both hands tightly covering her ears, and said with barely kindled anger, "Mom...I NOT yike dat....too Youd!"

Somehow the situation became completely hilarious to me and as I tried hard to subdue my increasing giggles it only got more difficult as I watched my very tactful toddler deal with such injustice! Soon, Russ noticed our situation and he couldn't help but start laughing as well! In a matter of minutes Russ and I could not look at each other or at Anna for fear that we would have to leave the chapel to keep some sort of reverence! Throughout the whole song Anna continued to voice her frustrations...very tactfully let me remind you....and never have we been so relieved to have a hymn end!

Other moments with our tactful toddler:

I was walking with Anna at the BYU-I campus and a student walked past us. I don't know what goes on in Anna's head, but she felt as though he was committing a huge offense. With her face all screwed up in anger she proclaimed, "HEY! Dat NOT bery nice!" and then she stops and puts her hands on her hips, points at the student and says,"Dey NOT posed do dat!"

Once while playing at the park, a little girl Anna's age spied Anna and began to follow her, perhaps hoping she would gain a playmate! If you don't know Anna, well, she doesn't take well to strangers and oft times prefers to play alone! As Anna noticed this girl trying to play with her, she tried to evade her wanna-be friend. When it didn't work, she came running to me annoyed and mad and said,
"Mom! Dat dirl not yeave me ayone!"
"Well, why don't you play with her?"
"NO! I NOT yike dat!" stomping her foot
"Anna, she just wants to be your friend!"
"Dat dirl bein mean mom!"
"No she's not! She was nice and said hi to you. You should say hi back"
"Uggghhhhhh" as if saying hi is too hard a task.
After our conversation, though, Anna did decide that maybe the little girl wasn't that bad after all and she ended up playing on the slides with her!

One evening we were at WalMart and someone walked by with tattoos all over their arms. Anna saw, gasped, pointed her finger and said to me,"Mom! Dat person dot marter (marker) all oder him arms! He not posed do dat!"

Blurbs....

I almost feel as if I have lost a part of myself being away from this blog world for a few weeks! Pathetic!!!!!!

Here is what we have been up to for the last little bit of time...

Russ finished his last two weeks of work in Pocatello...hurray...no more bus driving for him and now I can enjoy not being a "single" mom during the week! We went to Pocatello and stayed at grandma and grandpa Meredith's home for Russ's last two weeks...we planned on going camping, but then I chickened out, worrying it would get too cold at night...maybe next summer, eh? We helped Russ's parents paint their house while we were there and I got the thrill of tromping around on the roof and leaning over the ledge to paint all the trim! Russ couldn't handle the stress of watching me up there, so he got to be "mommy" and entertain the kids instead! I thought it was a pretty fair trade...though some beg to differ!

We finally got around to going to the fair before we came home...I LOVE going to the fair...Russ DESPISES going to the fair.....so, when that special season arrives...let's just say there's some tension! Russ is always a good sport...sort-of...and I drag him around....and usually by the end he has enjoyed himself somewhat!

Anna and Carter really loved the animals, especially the free petting zoo, where Anna took to a baby goat, so we got her a little cup of feed, and she had fun trying to feed the baby goat, which I think had sooo much feed in its belly, all it could do was try and humor her by sniffing and licking a bit! Carter just wanted to be everywhere all at once and if we deterred him at all it was all we could do to stop a tantrum!

We finally left the fair with two grumpy and tired kids who cried, fussed, and whined all the way to the car! I had to admit that it wasn't as fun as I expected it to be, and Russ had to admit that he hasn't had as much fun EVER at the fair! *sigh* Go figure!!

After returning home and feeling like we were gone a month...(I think poor Carter forgot we had a home separate from grandma and grandpa's!) Russ started school at BYU-I and can I just tell you all the difference it has made in comparison to ISU? We LOVE it! This decision to come here has just felt so right, and we have felt even stronger about our decision once Russ began his classes....it feels good to know that we are on the right track! What a blessing it is to have the Holy Ghost to gently guide us.

We didn't get much of a break once we got settled in to our new ward. Russ has been called as the cub wolf leader...he just cannot get away from those scouts! I got called to be the primary secretary...I just cannot get away from the primary!!!! I love being there each Sunday...but whoa...being the secretary is crazy busy!!! In every calling I have had, I gain more appreciation for what so many others have done! Anna loves nursery...she actually goes quite willingly and sometimes does not want to leave! When we left our old ward in Pocatello, we had a hard time getting her to want to go to nursery! Once you think you have your child figured out, they have to turn around and prove you wrong! Carter is a monster during sacrament meeting...he cannot sit still for a second, but when we separate for classes and Russ leaves with the baby bag on one shoulder and Carter on his hip, that kid is an angel for the next two hours! Amazing! I don't know how it works!

We are loving the fall season and I have gotten all of my favorite fall decorations out....oh how I love autumn!!! I love the smells and all the foods and baking you get to do...leaves changing colors, crispy-smelling air, cold mornings where you have to put your robe on, pumpkins and Halloween, cinnamon, apple cider, caramels, pumpkin pie, scarecrows, our wedding anniversary....what a happy season! If only it could last a little longer!

We are well and even mostly happy, which is more than we could ever ask for! Everyday I am grateful for the overwhelming amount of love I feel for Anna and Carter and find that almost four years of marriage to Russ has refined us in ways we never imagined! We've learned hard lessons at times, having to swallow our own pride, making hard evaluations of our own self. There are times when we are selfish and haughty...stubborn and uncompromising.....luckily the Lord has His ways of bringing us around to our better selves! I was just thinking the other day that if we were to remain in a tiny apartment the rest of our lives, never acquiring much more than what we have...I could truly remain happy and content. Life's greatest blessings come from the simple life lived....going for walks in the park, drawing with sidewalk chalk, baking with Anna, holding hands, making Carter laugh, eating home-made bread, playing pretend and telling stories, sitting around the dinner table with family....just a few of my favorite things.

Hope you enjoyed my blurbs....stay tuned for more blurbbing....and some new pictures too!