Thanksgiving 2012

I do want to post about Thanksgiving. We spent Wednesday and Thursday night at Nana Ricky and Boompa's house with Audrey. The kids had a blast playing together. Freddy also got a chance to play with his closet cousin to his age, Hunter.

 We had a wonderful long Indian summer, with only one snow storm a week or so before Halloween. Thanksgiving weekend was warm and gorgeous!!

 If I remember correctly this is the first time Freddy jumped in leaves, that is the sad part of living in apartments. He had a lot of fun!!

 After a wonderful meal, we went to a pond close by to feed the ducks and go for a little walk. This is the best picture I got of ALL the cousins on the Crossley side. I can't imagine getting a picture on my side of the family, there's about 20 cousins!! And we had a hard time with 7.

 

 We got back to Vernal Friday afternoon just in time for the Holly Days. Vernal is really good about providing free activities year round. Freddy got to do soo much. They had a camel ride he could have gone on, but he only wanted the ponies :)

He loves blowing bubbles, and the buzz bike was a huge hit even though it was a little small. 

 

 We waited for an hour to get a ride on the horse drawn carriage. Freddy saw these and thought they were the coolest and really wanted to ride them. I believe he giggle almost the entire time.

 

There were also fireworks, free hot chocolate, roasted marshmallows, and a bunch of other stuff. It was a great way to begin the holiday season!!

Happy Birthday!

I am officially in my early 30's. I am really missing the 20's. I had so much fun those 10yrs, had so many experinces and learned soo much. The 30's have been filled with heartache, trials, struggles, disappointments, frustrations. Yes, I am still learning A LOT about myself, my family, and the gospel. It just hasn't proven to be as fun as the last decade of my life. It is scary that I can say that I have had a friend for over 20yrs. That I can remember what was happening a quarter of a century ago to my family and me personally. I am not liking being in the 30's yet. Hopefully things will change soon and this decade will prove to be as much fun as the previous 30yrs.
We did get to something fun on my birthday I haven't done in YEARS!!! We live in Vernal which is a very windy place in the spring. We went and bought a kite on my birthday, and we flew a kite a the park. It was a gorgeous day to fly a kite. Devan wanted to take me on a date, but I really wanted to spend time with us as a family. I let Freddy pick out our kite, which of course was Lightening McQueen and Mator, he also got a Buzz glider. Can you guess his favorite movies :) I loved flying our kite. We got it up in the air really high. It made me laugh.

 Freddy wasn't too sure about flying the kite, he was more interested in his glider. But we did him to hold it for a few seconds. At one point he tried to get him to let the string out more and he dropped the handle and ran away.

 It was a really good day!!

Halloween 2012

I reall want to catch up on my blog, and don't want to forget who we spent the holidays with. So I am going to post a bunch of pictures.

 Freddy was really into Halloween this last year. We were given a pirate costume from a friend, and he LOVED it. He couldn't have made a better pirate.

 We invited some friends over for navajo tacos Halloween night and went trick or treating with them. Freddy's favorite part was not the candy, but knocking on the doors to say "trick or treat"

 This is not the best picture, but then only one I have for the moment or our Joyschool Halloween party. The kids did a great job of singing for their parents two cute songs.

This is one of Freddy's best friends in Vernal, William. They have so much fun wrestling and just being boys together.



We went to so many Halloween parties, one was at the library, our local grocery store, Jubliee's, the ward party, our Joyschool party, and a party at the USU branch party. We were done with Halloween when it was over.

 

Freddy Turning 3

Oh my, our little boy is turning 3 this week. He has grown up so much over the last 4months. I know I say this a lot and it's a little dramatic, but I want him to stop growing. He is becoming so independent he doesn't need me as much. He is fully potty trained. In November I saw a switch flip in his head and he started wanting to use the toilet. He was so easy to potty train. We used treats for maybe 2wks until he decided he could do with out incentives from us. There was a small period where he refused to wear underwear, he only wanted to wear a diaper. The problem was that he wanted to be changed EVERY time he peed in his diaper, and we couldn't afford that. That's where the treats came in to help him realize it was more comfortable to pee in the toilet. He also went through a period where he would only use his little toilet. I didn't mind him using it at home, but it become very inconvenient when we went out. We even had to take it (the little toilet) to Nanny Ricky's house during Thanksgiving, and had to take it into a convenient store so he would go potty. I am know pleased to announce that thanks to his cousins in Oregon he can go potty in the big toilet with almost no help.
Freddy's imagination is amazing to me!! His imagination allows him to be Buzz from Toy Story, a race car in the stores as he zooms down the isles, and Spiderman to fight fires and monsters. His fingers often become people who drive cars or airplanes, and he enjoys having Devan play puppets with him. Closer to September he had some batman pjs, and Dev taught him the theme song. So when he put on his batman pjs he would jump around his room singing the song. It was adorable. Another favorite game of Fred's is to have us pretend we are sleeping, and then he roars really loud like a dinosaur or lion to scare us awake. Since he is an only child it is a comfort to me that he enjoys playing with us and by himself with his imaginary friends. Most recently he is interested in telling us his stories about what he is pretending. His vocabulary is growing and his sentences are becoming quit long. It is still difficult even for I to understand everything he is trying to express.
Fred is also interested in identifying his left and right body parts. He does a fairly good job at knowing what side is which. In Joyschool this month we are learning about goals. His first goal was to put on his own shirt. Well, when we worked on it the first day he got it on with no problems or help. So now his goal is to spell his name. This may be a little more challenging since his favorite letters are O and B which neither are in his first name. But he is very interested in doing what his other classmates are doing, and they are all interested in either writing or spelling their name, so hopefully peer pressure will help him focus.
Physically, he is growing. He is 28lbs. Not sure how tall, I'll have to measure him on his birthday. He is finally in size 2T clothes. He will only wear silky/workout pants, and usually his shirt MUST be red, so he can be a red race car. Although, the other day he did get himself dressed, and he wore a stripped blue shirt. Yes, he is already dressing himself and must have a say as to what he wears for the day. He loves to jump, wrestle, climb on our furniture. Last couple of times we went to the park to play on the jungle gym, he seemed very hesitant when he got to the top of the stairs. He may be afraid of heights. He is very coordinated, always has been. So I hope this fear will go away this next summer.

 He loves to tease me.

 He was very excited to blow out his candles and to hear us sing happy birthday to him. I am glad he is easy to please when it comes to decorating his cake.

 He was vey serious about opening his presents.

Freddy continues to be a picky eater. His favorite foods are almost any fruit, but especially bananas, apples, and blue berries. He enjoys peanut butter and jelly. For awhile he would only eat plain peanut butter, but now enjoys jelly on his sandwiches. He will also eat almost any meat as long as there is BBQ sauce or ketchup. Spaghetti and tacos are a couple of other favorites. Oatmeal is a very common breakfast favorite (we put chocolate chips, and vanilla in it).

Odds and Ends

A lot has happened over the last month and since I last blogged. I was thinking tonight, which Devan strongly believes I do way too much...and admitted to myself that I may disclose too much about our family, my feelings, thoughts, circumstances. I hope people do not think I do it to make them feel sorry for me, or to get pity, or charity. I suppose I am an open person because I don't always know how to respond, or act. According to my parents, my personality is one that demands to be different. If anyone has read the book Enneagram (sp?), I am personality #4. It's a great book for those who have not heard of it.(I just took a test on website to see what personality I am accoding to the Enneagram and it said I am an 8, which is what my parents told me originally. So know I am really confused.) #4 personalities tend to struggle being normal. So I kind of feel like I am battling with myself to be like everyone else. I wish I didn't think as much, or worry about what others think of me. I feel like I am stuck being 16yrs emotionally. Oh well, enough rambling on this topic. My point being is that as I share my thoughts and struggles, I hope I am helping someone in some way.

On that note...we have gotten to know two of our neighbors better over this last month. There is a single guy, a little younger than my parents living right next to us. I will call him M. He is a pretty rough guy. Loves hunting, big trucks. Has been working in the oilfield for ever, been married three times. He was raised in the church, but now very inactive. He loves to tell stories. Well, his father had a massive heart attach several weeks ago, and is now looking to have open heart surgery. I believe this has spurred M to think about his life, accomplishments, and mistakes. M has opened up to us by expressing his regrets. He has put everything he has into his job. He gets up early(3-5am) and gets home late. (9-10p). He was telling Devan and I the importance of family. That making tons of money isn't the reason why we are here on earth, and it isn't worth losing a family for. "Money can't buy happiness." I agree with him completely. Money is not happiness. It is hard for me to wrap that around my mind at this very second however. We have been struggling so long financially, it's really hard to remember that money is not happiness. It's hard to look at mine and Dev's closets and wonder what we could look nice in for family pictures. Or just out not wearing jeans and faded t-shirts. Family is important. That is why the church leaders are constantly talking about building our families up by praying together, studying the scriptures together, working and playing together. To have Christ the center of our home.

Another neighbor we have gotten close with, is PJ. She is a single mother from Portugal. She is an amazing woman. To hear her stories of just labor and delivery in Portugal make me wonder how women in that country have more than one child. We canned 39 pints of salsa together, and a large number of stewed tomatoes. She has also listened to me whine and complain about our government's involvement in our personal lives. She has had several miracles happen to her this last year. She is having a house built for her, she will be moving in November which makes me very sad. Freddy LOVES going to her house. Last Sunday he wanted to go see her, so while Dev and I talked to M, he walked over to her door and she let him in. They played for 30min or so before I got the chance to go check on him. She loves him just as much as he loves her. She keeps telling me that we are good people, so why don't we expect miracles to happen for us. I suppose that's where my faith lacks greatly. I feel like we have been praying so hard for a good job for Dev that will allow us to get out of debt, be more financially independent. We have been praying for another baby. It just doesn't seem to be in the cards for us. I am not saying we have not had miracles...we have never been evicted from our place even though there have been many times we have not been able to pay rent. We have ALWAYS had food on the table. I am so grateful for people's generosity and the help that has been given to us. I suppose I have weary of having to ask for help. I am ready to give in the ways we have received. Yes, yes, I know that we can serve and give back in other ways. It just isn't the same.

One other thing happened this last month that has really made me think. A very close, long time friend of mine was diagnose with leukemia. She had quit her full time job, to be a full time mom and wife, when she was diagnosed two weeks later. She has been in the hospital for about 5wks now. She has only been able to video chat with her children due to the chemo and her poor immune system. Please pray that she can go home this next week. That is her dream and hope. I can't imagine going through what she is going through. It makes my problems so small.

Her are some fun pictures of our little boy growing bigger.

 Our Joy School Friends. Yes, we only have one girl and I LOVE her!!

 Our library had some really fun activities for "Talk like a pirate day" that we got to enjoy.

 Devan didn't want to rub my legs for me, so Freddy jumped on the couch and said, "I will rub your legs." He is going to make a great husband some day :)

Father and son eating ice cream and watching football. What more can I expect on a Saturday in September. 

Fun things in August

This  last month I have decided to start up my own preschool. It took me most of summer to decide I wanted to and then to plan it. Since we have 'smaller' apartment, we are having to use most of the rooms. And preparing for the preschool meant cleaning and reorganizing the house. So we went through Freddy's walk-in-closet, and moved toys from downstairs to Freddy's room. In the process of moving things, Freddy found his football rug. His car rug has been out, so the football rug was put away for awhile. He acted like it was Christmas when he saw this rug. So we put the car rug away and laid out the football one. Come to think of it, it was perfecting timing since football season is literally knocking on our door. He loved the rug so much I had to take a picture.

Freddy really likes football. I strongly believe it is in his genes because I don't feel like we talk about very much. He switches between sleeping with his lion and football. 

These are some pictures of a family night activity we did. We had bought this car 'pan' for Freddy's birthday but ended up not using it. So we tried it out for the first time, Freddy was super excited. Cars and football are his favorite things. He didn't even care we didn't put the car cake together after cooked, since it made a huge mess. We just ate the pieces.

Gratitude

I just have this desire to write about how grateful I am for the blessings I have in my life. Life is hard for me right now. But as I have made scripture reading and prayers a priority for myself and family, I am more able to see the amazing blessings we are blessed with daily. I can not say it enough times, I am so grateful for my little boy. Each day he changes, becomes wiser, more curious, and just amazing. I hope each day that I am not failing him to badly as a mother. Every night I envy his energy. It appears as the night grows late he gains more energy. Tonight I snapped at him when he had climbed on the chair I was sitting on and wrapped his arms around my neck and yelled in my ear. He was just running every where and my tired mind couldn't keep up with him. To see how sad that made him melted my heart. I wish I could have the energy he does in the evenings. He is so GOOD. He has the most perfect heart; filled with such great unconditional love. I look up to him and only wish I could be as good. It's such a blessing for me to be able to stay home with him. Yes, times a very difficult for us. Choosing to be a house wife and mother has brought some amazing blessings to our whole family.
Some other blessings....we have some great friends here in Vernal. Our kitchen is always filled with food, thanks to some great visiting teachers. Prayer and the visiting teaching program are some powerful tools our Heavenly Father has blessed us with. The friends I have made through playgroup are such a delight. They are very supportive of me and my family. Several have proved themselves as great listeners and shoulders to cry on. It's nice to have when one's family is so far away.