Random Pictures

These two are so cute together when they are getting along. Lucas does everything Zander does, and loves to give out hugs and kisses. 

 These are Zander's Iron Man hands that he bought at the store with his birthday money a few weeks ago. He was so excited to buy them that he had to hold onto the box while we finished our shopping. He sat in the cart holding up his box and saying, "Look! my Iron Man hands!" "I got Iron Man hands!" to every person we passed along the way. I stopped at the pharmacy for a minute so he asked me if I would move the cart to the next isle so he could show "those people" his Iron Man hands. It was so cute how happy he was, and this picture sums it up.

 Ok, I wasn't going to put this picture on here,  but I thought why not document my third pregnancy for a minute and give an update. This was taken at 15 weeks; I am currently 17.5 weeks along, and through the morning sickness. My energy level has come up a little bit, but not where I'd like it to be, but that may be because of the snow and cold weather. We will find out the gender in about three weeks, and can't wait! Zander has been insistent that he wants a pink baby. The boys are still too young to really understand what's going on, so they are constantly climbing all over me all the time, and wanting me to hold and carry them. I'm trying really hard to teach them that they can walk and they don't need my help all the time.

I don't fit into my maternity clothes yet, but I can't button up my pants so I have to use a rubber band to hold them together. I'm trying to eat clean with the occasional treat in the afternoons during nap time. It's been fun to see my belly grow and start feeling this baby kick around a bit. Baby is always at the top right of my belly so I'm hoping that's a good sign that I won't have any placenta previa problems this time. We're pretty anxious for summer to come so we can meet this little one! Only five more months!

Boise Trip

We took a random trip to Boise last weekend with mom for craft day. I say random because I wasn't planning on going to craft day, but I figured since I have been feeling better and the nausea has almost completely gone away why not go for a drive? It'd give me a chance to see Grandma and Grandpa Watson and my cousin Rachel and her family whom I haven't seen in many years. Plus I was looking forward to chatting with mom on the drive to Boise. We had a good time, but the boys, especially Lucas, was tired of his car seat, so they were getting cranky towards the end of the day. We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a bit, then did some shopping and eating before going to Mercedez's baby shower. Go figure, I forgot her shower gift on my bed at home; I forgot to put it in the car, so mom let me sign my name on her gift. It really was so good to see those family members that I hadn't seem in a long time, and the ones that I do get to see every once in a while.

While we were in Twin for the weekend Becky sent Kimball with Lance to stay with his two grandmas for a few days. Zander was so excited to get to play with Kimball. He talks about Kimball and Cora all the time at home. Every time those two get together they get along a lot better each time; they had a lot fun. Even Lucas got in on the fun.

I had to quietly sneak a shot of grandpa with Lucas. Lucas was having a good old time playing with grandma and grandpa giving kisses, and toys, and of course, M&Ms

Differences

The difference in personalities between Zander and Lucas are night and day. When Zander shoots me and I fall on the ground dead he jumps on me and shoots me again for extra measure. When Lucas shoots me and I'm dead he drops his gun and runs to me trying to hold my head up and kisses me on the lips to make sure I'm not really dead.

Last week I took the boys to institute and dropped them off in the nursery. When I came to pick them up one of the moms who watched the kids said, "it looks like you have a lover and a fighter!" Lucas was going around giving everyone kisses and Zander was play fighting (super heroes) with another boy. I had to laugh because those words couldn't be truer.

These babies develope their personalities in the womb and are blessed with special gifts and talents from our Heavenly Father. I remember being so excited to snuggle and love on my little Zander when he was born, but he was SO rigid and stiff and very independent. I can count on one hand the number of times I got any snuggles out him as a baby and most of those were when he got sick. He would never even lay his head on my shoulder as I tried to rock or walk him to sleep at night. Lucas, on the other hand snuggles me every chance he can get. He still rests his head on my shoulder or against the side of my face when I'm trying to put him to sleep. He willingly and readily gives out hugs and kisses multiple times a day.

I celebrate their differences. They are each special and unique in their own ways. I love my boys!

Busted Mouth

Last week towards the end of sacrament meeting Lucas took a fall off the bench smashing his face into the hymn book holder. I knew he was hurt, so I scooped him up and started toward the door. When I was halfway there Stephen yelled at me saying he was bleeding. I didn't see the blood until I got him to the bathroom. His face was covered in blood as was my dress. He was hurting pretty badly, little did I know how extensive the damage was. All I could see was that his tooth went through his bottom lip cutting it up which is where I thought most of the blood was coming from. He was so mad he wouldn't let me clean him up; I got one swipe across his mouth and that was it. I could see a lot of blood in his mouth, but he refused to drink anything to clear it out so I could see better. A friend came in to see how he was doing and tried to help as much as she could, but Lucas wasn't having it; he screamed for her to go and kept trying to hit her to go away. There were several people outside the bathroom waiting to see if Lucas was doing all right including Stephen. I had to teach sharing time, so I handed him over to Stephen to take him home to get cleaned up and take some medicine. I am so appreciative of everyone's concern and help for Lucas. Some people even texted that night and the next day to see how he was doing.

 Later that night Stephen and I noticed that his top gums looked really bad--they were black, dark red, and a little purple, so we got concerned that maybe we needed to take him in the dentist the next morning. We called a few friends who are dentists just to make sure we didn't need to take him in right away. They both said he would be fine and that he would only need to see a dentist if his tooth got knocked loose. Well, Lucas wouldn't let us near his mouth for a while for us to check if his tooth was loose, but I felt that he would be ok.

Luckily Zander had a dentist appointment this morning, so I was able to ask the dentist to take a quick peek at lucas's mouth. Turns out he not only cut his lip, but he also skinned his gums bad enough that it left a hole--he had a chunk of his gums missing, and he did, in fact, knock his new tooth loose. But after the dentist looked at it he said that it looked like it was healing really well and that the tooth had repaired itself. So all I have to do now is keep an eye on it to make sure his tooth doesn't change colors or his gums don't get any bubbles caused by infection.

Poor boy, but he has been a trooper through it all. It really is amazing how fast kids get over things.

Family Update

It's the beginning of a new year and we've seen more snow just this month than we have in a lot of years past. It's great, but I'm not a fan of the cold and being nauseous with morning sickness all day makes it even worse. Instead of trying to get out and get in a little exercise I'm laid up on the couch all day watching Ninja Turtles, Spider Man, Iron Man, Star Wars, and Disney movies in between. The boys get restless and start picking on each other which strikes a nerve real fast. I've sent them out in the snow a few times to get some energy out. I've been able to go out with them at least once on a good day; we had a lot of fun. I'm just finishing up my first trimester (hallelujah!) so I'm hoping the nausea will subside within the next few weeks.

Zander is quite the ball of energy--always on the move from playing Ninja Turtles to having light saber fights, and pretending to be Spider Man and flying around fighting crime like Bay Max. He is all over the place. It is nice to see him using his imagination a lot more so he's able to play by himself for a while. It's so funny to hear his conversations; I don't even know where he comes up with some of this stuff. Zander likes a challenge so puzzles and hidden object books are his thing, and he's really good at them. We are practicing our numbers, drawing our shapes, and pronouncing certain letters like F's and S's. His stuttering has magically disappeared which is awesome, and he is still a great little helper for me. He likes to pester his brother, but that's his way of playing with him, so we've been working on talking to Lucas and asking before he pretends he's a ninja and hits Lucas in the back. It's a work in progress, but they are best buds. One interesting thing about Zander is that he hates getting his hands and fingers dirty, especially with food. So at lunch time when I give the boys Cheetos with their sandwiches Zander will literally take the washcloth and wipe his fingers after eating each chip. He refuses to lick the cheese off his fingers, but like father like son I guess. He hates when food touch on his plate and he doesn't like using the same utensil for different foods. Zander is now a sunbeam and loves going to church to see his friends and teachers. He is really good in class and loves to say the prayer. I love my little three year old! He is so handsome and fun and cuddly and I would't have him any other way.

Lucas is a busy bee too. He is Zander's shadow most of the day, especially at dinner time. Lucas copies everything Zander does. If Zander is done eating he takes his bib off and plays with his hair while he's waiting to get down. Even though Lucas is not done eating he will take off his bib and run his dirty hand all over in his hair just like Zander. Needless to say, we're working on table manners. Lucas loves to play and get into things in mom and dad's bedroom where he's not supposed to be. He's very mischievous! He loves the cat and chases him around the room tugging on his tail. Lucas's weird thing is that he likes to lick and eat stuff off the floor or the table or any flat surface. So he'll dump his snack on the floor and bend down and eat it like a dog. He does this with his drinks too. He'll make a nice puddle to lap it up with his tongue. Lucas likes to play with doors opening and closing them, and he likes to brush his teeth (thank goodness) so that chore is an easy one. He is becoming more and more independent wanting to do things by himself, and he is learning new words every day. He is a big tease who loves to laugh and dance, and he shushes me when I try to sing to him. He loves shoes and going outside, so we're pretty anxious for spring to get here. We love this little spitfire of ours. One of my favorite things about Lucas is that he loves to give kisses all the time, and gets so excited when daddy comes home. Any little noise he hears upstairs he'll yell "daddy?!" and run up there to give dad a big hug and kiss.

Stephen and I are hoping to sell our house in the next few months. There are a lot of little things we need to get done before we can show it, so we need to get on the ball. Stephen is still trying to reach his weight goal and I think he has about 10 more lbs to go. He's still working out everyday at the gym and plays basketball on the weekends. I have to say that I married the most amazing guy ever. He has been so patient, and helpful with all the household chores since I've been battling this morning sickness. He doesn't complain, he helps and plays with the boys, cooks, cleans, and gets me snacks whenever I need them. He literally waits on me hand and foot. I know it gets tiring to feel like you're doing everything alone, but I am so grateful for his help and his love. Me, I'm just trying to survive one day at a time waiting for the day when my energy and health returns. We are excited for this new baby to make it into our family!

2016 At a Glance

This year has been a good one for us, like most previous years. We are all in good health, are strong in our faith, and love each other. Stephen and I were able to go out on dates more often and it felt really good to have some "us" time. We have so much to be thankful for, and are looking forward to many new and exciting changes that will happen in this new year. Two of our biggest changes will be the birth of our third baby due in July, and moving to a new house and city that we don't know yet. These are big changes and blessings and I know the lord will help us and bless us along the way.

So here is a recap of what has happened in our family the past year:

-Stephen and I went on a date to see the Ice Castles
-Zander drank a whole bottle of Tylenol which sent him to the hospital
-I found Lucas in his crib barely breathing; he had caught a bad case of RSV
-Becky and I planned a surprise trip to see mom for a week
-We took the boys to the aquarium where we bought them their animals they like to snuggle with. Zander picked out a penguin and Lucas got a sea turtle
-Lucas turned one year old
-We spent some time with mom and dad and grandpa in Elba and went for a four wheeling ride up New Canyon. On the way home we saw a young moose
-We celebrated grandpa's 70th birthday by going swimming in a pool for the first time
-We had a backyard camp out in our tent and roasted marshmallows
-Zander burned his hand on a sparkler
-Went to another Watson reunion in Boise, and got to spend some more time with Becky and Mom.
-We took the kids to the Boise zoo
-I won best Whizzy for my rock nativity set, and Zander won one of the guessing jars of M&Ms
-We made our annual Bear Lake trip with the family. The boys had a blast playing in the sand and in the water
-Zander and I held a giant snake and Zander handled a tarantula
- Stephen had surgery to remove his tonsils and fix some other sinus issues
-I got to take the boys to Spokane for a week to visit Becky!
-I took two toddlers on an airplane by myself (which I will never do again)
-I took Stephen on a date to play mini golf and eat Indian food (Indian and Tai are some of my favorites, yum!)
-We took the boys to Cornbelly's and had a blast.
-We went to Twin to can applesauce with grandma and grandpa
-Stephen lost 40 lbs
-We remodeled our kitchen!
-Zander has mostly mastered potty training
-We dressed up as the ninja turtles for Halloween
-Lucas contracted Pneumonia, and had to go through a series of tests at the hospital
-Had craft day here in Utah and I got to spend the night and shop for a whole day without kids!
-Found out we're expecting baby #3!
-Zander turned three
-Spent Christmas in Twin Falls

Bring it on 2017!

Christmas 2016

We ended up staying in Twin for Christmas this year, and it'll probably be the last time. I love getting to go for all the Christmas Eve festivities, but it's getting to be a little harder and tiring to have Christmas in two houses. By the time we got home on Sunday we were wiped and ready to eat and put the boys to bed, but we still had more gifts to unwrap under our tree. They weren't really even interested in unwrapping anymore presents because they wanted to play with the ones they already had. That being said, we had a lot of fun at grandma and grandpa's house on Christmas morning, and are so grateful we are able to travel to be with them every other year. The boys love getting to play with their cousins, and I love getting to talk with my siblings and play games.

The best part of Christmas, for me, was watching the boys discover their stockings Christmas morning. It was so magical--their faces just lit up full of excitement and surprise.