Happy Birthday Jack!

That's right, my baby boy turned one.  Crazy that a year has flown by but what a CRAZY year it has been.  This little boy has kept me on my toes from the second he was born.  He is full of personality to say the least.  Porter was such an even tempered easy going child, but Jack, well let's just say he is completely the opposite!  He is, shall we say, a bit bi-polar but he certainly is such a fun-loving joyful kid when he is on the upswing.  It has been quite a year of sleepless nights which we still haven't overcome but how can you resist this smile?

He has just started walking and can take just a few steps before he gives up because he can crawl faster than any other baby.  He says two words.  One is Mama (yes I'm loving that!) and the other is Ama.  Let me explain.  When I first taught Porter the clean up song a few years ago, he translated clean up into Ama. ("Ama, ama, everybody everywhere. . . ")  So for some reason Jack has picked up on this and now sweetly sings Ama, Ama.  So dang cute!

We celebrated his birthday with a Mickey Mouse Party.  The cake:

Note for all you mothers, don't have your one year old's cake have black frosting on it.  I didn't expect him to dig into it as much as he did because Porter hated his cake, but Jack LOVED it!   Needless to say we had to throw him into the bath before the party could continue.

He wasn't sure about it right at first.  I put a little in his mouth and then he started to get into it.

And dug deeper.

He thought it was hilarious.

And this was the end result!

The opening of present was a bit overwhelming.  This present was my favorite.  Haven wrote Jack a card and on the back she has constructed a lesson on symmetry.  I love how kids think!

Jack is such a joy to have in our family.  He adds quite a new dynamic.  He loves to wrestle with anyone but especially Porter whom he beats up on a daily basis.  Pillow fighting is his favorite activity.  I need to get a video because I have never seen a kid laugh so hard, especially because he is getting bombarded with pillows at his face.  Apparently this is the funniest thing in the world!

I think it is indescribable the joy you experience being a mother.  I love my boys and wouldn't trade it for the world!  I am blessed that although right now I do need to work because of some uncertainty, I am grateful that it allows me to still be home with my children.  I cannot imagine working a full time job and consider myself lucky that my main job is to raise my children.

And the Battle Rages On

Did I mention we have mice?  Yes mice,as in the plural.  We have now caught around 10 and I am writing this while sitting at my mom's house because I saw my second one this morning.  I am writing this more as a venting and coping exercise more than anything I warn you.  Now let's backtrack for a moment.  I am an over-reactor and an anxiety ridden freak who does get swallowed up in the false info on the internet when I start to stress over something. When we found our first mouse, I told Tommy if we find one we will find at least 10.  My mom and Tommy assured me that it was probably just one or two and when we found the entrance point we would be done with them. Now although I am not happy about being right, maybe my over-reactions should sometimes be taken more seriously.

Tommy has dealt with all the rest and it had been about a week since we had seen really any or any signs of them.  At first I felt disgusting because maybe my house wasn't clean, but once the mice enter they can breed fast!  21 Gestational cycle to be more precise and from what I can tell they can start breeding soon after they are born.  So even if the mice entered my house a month ago there could be more!  Upon sighting, I packed up the kids and headed to my mom's house.  They are in one centralized location in our house it appears but I don't really like the thought of my children playing around areas where mice have been or could be.  Almost everything in my cupboard is now in plastic containers and I have just about lost my appetite.  I vacuum my house EVERYDAY, in every nook and cranny and underneath couches.  I sweep the kitchen no less than 5 times a day and continually spray lysol everywhere.  Everytime I walk downstairs I hesitate and slowly turn the corner for fear that I will see another one.

The exterminators are coming tomorrow. I called a number yesterday but after one company charges $39-$50 per mouse removed and the people at Orkin told me no less than 5 times that mice lay eggs, I decided on BEELINE Pest Control, so here's hoping.  While on the phone with the orkin tech, I even hesistated for a moment in my elementary knowledge that mammals don't lay eggs and even double check the internet just to be sure I hadn't completely lost my mind.  I mean it was supposedly a trained animal control technician.  But indeed, Mice are mammals and therefore do not lay eggs.  The Orkin tech kept telling me that I would need to have their services for a year because even though we may catch the live ones their eggs will be left in the walls to hatch.  Um, WRONG! Although the thought of a mice infestation makes my stomach churn, I do believe (and hope and pray) that we will soon be rid of them. After which will require another thorough cleaning of every cupboard, pantry, drawer, and baseboard in my entire house.   

Jack Jack

Jack has become a WILD comanchie!  He is seriously out of control!  He NEVER stops moving.  He is hands down the fastest crawler I have ever seen and could go forever. He continually bounces up and down. He is also a climber.  He can climb just about anything.  The latest accomplishment?  My bed. Now Porter is not safe anywhere.  Today, after learning his Articles of Faith, he was being "attacked" by Jack, he said, "Jack, you will be punished for your own sins and not for Adam's transgressions."

Jack loves to pillow fight and wrestle and thinks it is the funniest thing he has ever done!  Who knew getting hit in the face with a pillow was so funny?  Sometimes he gets laughing so hard I think he is going to stop breathing.  He can definitely take Porter in a fight and usually does.  Oftentimes when we are at the grocery store Jack rides in front and Porter will sometimes ride in the front.  Without even turning his head, Jack will reach his hand around and pull Porter's hair while he is still smiling at me.

This boy keeps me on my toes as he is constantly getting into one thing after another and the worst part is that he knows he is naughty and squeals in delight.  But however naughty, he is irresistible.  He knows how to be coy and flash his cute smile to everyone.  I now have a favorite checker at Rite Aid who never gives me an issue with anything now because she is so smitten with him.  It is amazing to see the differences in my two children.  Oh, and in case you are wondering?  No, his sleeping is still HORRIBLE!

He isn't quite walking but can balance FOREVER!

Porter's First Talk & The Articles of Faith

Ok, forgive me for a second for my proud parent moment.  Apparently he has an incredible ability to memorize. (not so good with numbers, did you know eleventeen is a number?) Does anyone else notice when he says name of Jesus Christ that he closes one eye like he is saying a prayer?  And I totally love it when the King says "NO!"

He is learning the Articles of Faith right now. They get to pass them off in Primary.  He's done two. Here are the first three. Love this little boy!

Sometimes You Have to Laugh

Do you ever feel like if you stepped back from your life for a moment that you would find that you live in a comedy?  At the risk of becoming a social pariah, let me share with you my week so far.  To think it is only Wednesday almost makes me cry.

So I decided to organize my pantry, something I have done not too long ago.  The first three shelves looked great and I was moving on to the next one that has first aid supplies and electronics.  Well, it also has corn and rice bags as well to use as heating pads.  Well, I noticed there were pieces of corn  on the opposite side of the bags.  What the. . .?  So I pulled out the boxes and the corn was spread all over the back of the shelf.  Weird. And then I saw little black flecks and some were smeared.  I knew what this meant.  SICK!  (let me just say that I used that bag no less than 1 month ago so this hasn't been going on for too long.  So I cleaned all that up and moved to floor.  I pulled on box out and saw what looked like  black string.  Although I knew that it wouldn't be that simple and when I started to move the box the black string disappeared.  I grabbed the kids and drove to my mom's and told Tom that I would not return until the mouse was caught.  My mom informed me how impossibly that probably was to think he would be able to just go home and get it.

Well, he caught the mouse by throwing a sticky trap at it!  Seriously, my husband is awesome.  Then caught another one.  So I came home and slept the night thinking maybe the problem was solved.  The next morning I sent Tommy down again to see if we had caught anymore. One more in the same place as the other two, so I grabbed some clothes and went to my mom's to hide out again.  Tom came home from work that day to find two more had been caught.  So he stayed home from class and went on a tirade.  Well, we discovered that there was an electrical cord going in to the house with quite a large opening that the mice could easily get in to our house and then climb out the vent.  He caulked it up and since then we have not seen any signs.

Just to give you an idea, they can fit through the tiny vent above, SICK!!

I took the boys down to Provo today to see Josh and McKay and guess what?  My car died, Porter pooped his pants and I missed my work meeting.  Then I headed back to my mom's house to have dinner until Tom came home to be sure there were no more mice before I came home.  I refuse to be the one to dispose of them!  I am that ninny stereotypical house wife, who would have thought?  But then in the middle of cooking chicken the power went out.  My mom drove up the street to see two boys being arrested after having crashed into a power line while under the influence I am guessing due to the cuffs.  But seriously?

Some days you have to laugh just to keep from crying.

What We're Up To

Since I'm never good at updating, I present an update of the past month through pictures:

 Jack never gives up on the baby gate.  He has an entire floor to explore but he stands at the gate and cries as if he is in prison.  He has totally mastered going up the stairs, but we don't get the going down so the gate stays for now.  And what is he looking at?  Yes, Miko taunts him at the top of the stairs.

And sometimes makes things worse by blatantly teasing him right next to the gate.

We spent a day at Discovery Gateway.  Porter absolutely love the Grocery Store and the Post Office.  However, the majority of our time was spent with the ball tubes and the paper airplane simulator where an odd 13ish year old boy informed us of the variety of different ways to fold a paper air plane.

 Out of a complete loss of ideas on how to entertain my 3 year old, we have started a Letter of the Day game.  Yesterday was S for Superhero Day.  We had to stay in costume all day (even Jack, although for some reason I don't have his picture) and everything we did and ate had to be related to Superheros.

 But despite the dreary weather, we managed to make it through a depressing January quite happily.  

Porter's newest obsession is Bible Scripture Stories, courtesy of "Follow the Prophet", which by the way is an extremely confusing song that is impossible for me to remember. Not to mention I have realized how much I don't know about all the details of Bible stories and with a child that is continually asking why, I often find myself at a loss.   His favorite story for the moment is Daniel, however he is completely fascinated by the story of Enoch.  He has informed me that it would be a great idea if we all were righteous like Enoch so we don't have to die but can just go straight to heaven.  Wouldn't that be a great idea indeed!

Happy 27th Birthday Tommy!

Today is Tommy's 27th Birthday and in perfect mormon mommy blog fashion, please indulge me as I tell you how much I love him and why he is such a great husband and father.

-Tommy has amazing patience.  He is always so calm and collected, which is such a great balance to an anxiety ridden perfectionist. 

-He is an AMAZING father.  His little boys can't get enough of him.  He is awesome at playing guys with Porter (which apparently, Porter has informed me that I am not), he is a great story teller, and is always willing to man one of the kids at all times, but most especially at night.  

-He is such a hard worker and manages to get so much accomplished each day.  It can't be easy to wake up at 6 to be sure he has enough time to eat breakfast with porter before he leaves for Ogden at 7, comes home at 5 to head to school or later to a Young Men's activity, and gets home with just enough time to put Porter to bed with a story.  (he does usually fall asleep and doesn't wander into bed until 10 or 11.  But man he is a busy guy but keeps a positive attitude about it all.  And even manages to pull off running the Wasatch Back (pictured above).

-He is an INCREDIBLE cook.  Have you guys ever tried Tommy's cooking?  He is a master at the grill and can cook an amazing piece of meat, he makes homemade waffles every weekend (even trying recipes with yeast), and is great at making homemade bread.  You just wish you were in his Early Morning Mission Prep Group on Sunday because even though it is at 7am, he gets up early enough to make a homemade breakfast treat.    

-He is a great Handy Man.  He can figure anything out and knows how to build just about anything:  decks, shelves, beds, floors, doors, cabinets, and more.  He can fix toilets, solve flooding problems, change oil, and do almost anything else you can think of.  It is quite nice to have a handyman around.

-He has an awesome sense of humor and can always make me laugh, even when I am crying.

-He has a wonderful testimony and understanding of the gospel.  He is doing an awesome job teaching out children the gospel and its principles.  Porter already knows by heart tons of bible stories and can recite the 1st Article of Faith to you.  

There are a million other reasons why I love Tom, but I'll refrain from going on for now.  I am grateful to have such an Incredible Husband.

Happy Birthday Tommy!