Potty Words

My little Sethie is a one in a million. He is such a sweet boy who loves to cuddle and give hugs. He is always quick to say heart-melting things like, "oh mommy, I LOVE YOU!" He is also (in my completely unbiased opinion :)) very smart. He has always been able to speak well and express his feelings and thoughts clearly.

He can make me laugh one minute and make me want to pull my hair out the next. I know he is only 3 years old and his brain and body are changing and growing so much each day which is why, probably, he mimics a moody, hormonal teenager (hopefully he outgrows this before he is actually a teenager!)

The reason for all this explanation is I have been wanting to do a blog post on his OBSESSION with "potty words" for awhile now. I think it is important to explain how much I love and adore my Seth, but this phase cannot go undocumented. I also think his obsession with these words is a little more than some kids because of his early talking and word ability (at least this is what I tell myself to feel better about it all :)!)

A "potty word" makes any mom cringe when she hears them come from her child's mouth. Among Seth's favorites are poopy and diaper. I know diaper doesn't sound too bad, but the way he says it makes it naughty. He looks at you with a gigantic grin and says, "ddiiiiapperrr!!!" and falls to the floor in explosive giggles making any surrounding children aware he just said a bad word.

Matt and I never let him get away with it and have often taken away privileges when he says these words. He is a stubborn one, though, and usually won't stop doing something until he has decided he wants to-- at any price. I am hoping the novelty of these words will wear off as time goes by, but in the meantime I have to shamefully admit :) that I used his bad habit to my advantage the other day.

We were getting our family pictures taken and I probably don't need to say anymore, especially to those of you who have experienced trying to get a photo of your family made up of any (or all in my case) children under the age of 5. Out of about 100 shots we got 3 where the entire family was LOOKING at the camera (never mind smiling!) And I was thankful for 3!

We then proceeded to try to take single shots of my boys so I could hang them on my wall. Wade was great, my other 2 WOULD NOT cooperate. Trent was a lost cause, but I had a glimmer of hope with Seth.

In the middle of promising him the world in exchange for one smile, I remembered his obsession with potty words. So, without a lot of hesitation (I was desperate!) I said, "Hey Seth, smile you poopy diaper head!" I am sure you can imagine how hilariously funny he thought this was. I don't regret it because his pics turned out amazing! I love them and I would do it again if faced with the choice in the future. I know it wasn't the best example, but he is too little to remember his mommy turned to the dark side of the potty words (thankfully!)

Before potty words:



After potty words:




Thanks Bekah, we love the pics!!!

Seth's First Day of Preschool

Seth has been waiting and waiting for his chance to start school and it finally came! He has been more than ready to start a structured program away from home and could not have been more excited for PRESCHOOL!

He chose a "Lightening McQueen" backpack several weeks ago and had almost given up on the opportunity to use it since his preschool didn't start until 3 weeks after Wade's school. When I told him it was FINALLY time to go to school he was thrilled!!

His class is filled with his buddies from the ward and at the home of a lady nearby which made for a smooth and easy first day of school (that coupled with the fact that he was so excited to start school.)

He walked into his classroom without looking back and came home with a grin (and a sucker.) He told me that he isn't allowed to "paint his hands, only paint on the paper," that his friend "cried because he didn't want to sit on his mat" and that he "had a really fun time at school!"

I am glad it is Sethie's turn. He has grown up so fast especially since he watches his older brother do so many things. Now he gets to begin his own journey! He is ready and we are so happy for him!

Look Who's Walking...

Our baby boy has (finally!) decided to start walking! He has been extremely reluctant to take the plunge into this new world, perfectly content with being held everywhere (who could blame him) and crawling the rest of the time. I have not been a big help either since I am well aware of what comes along with a walking (curious) toddler :).

Despite all that, Trent will crawl to a wall, table, couch, etc, pull himself up and walk to his destination. Matt calls him "our little Frankenstein" because he holds his little arms out to help him balance.


He still has a way to go before he is only walking, but improves and gains confidence everyday. I can hardly believe I will have another one in just a few months making my sweet baby boy a big brother :(. He just seems so little.

Although he is little, it is a good thing that he has decided to start walking since I won't be able to hold 2 babies--at least not all the time. (now we just have to get rid of that bink--one thing at a time :)!)

Turning 30 Makes Me Sick

Literally, turning 30 made me SOOOOOOO SICK! Not really because I turned 30, but because I caught a HORRIBLE flu bug on my birthday :). It has actually been an amazing past couple of weeks! I have NEVER had such a fuss made out of my birthday before and turning 30 has been great!
My friends, Lalani and Melissa, threw Kristy and I a 30th birthday bash never to be forgotten :)! They were so sweet to go to so much work and effort to make sure Kristy and I felt special about our big day.

Jess organized a fun lunch date with some of my favorite friends, Matt and I went to dinner with friends and Jess and Ben made me Sunday dinner complete with a birthday cake (my kids wouldn't allow anything less!) It was actually starting to get embarrassing because in my old age :), I tend to shy away from the spotlight more and more (to those of you who have known me for years may find that statement surprising.) I couldn't have asked for anything more although I could have asked for A LOT less sickness.

Like I said, I came down with the flu on my birthday, but still felt up to meeting my friends for lunch. Following lunch, I made a steep and quick downward turn for the worst. I barely made it home and spent the next three days in bed. I could not keep anything down. It was horrible and, actually, starting to get really scary.

I lost 6 pounds and my OB (and Matt) was close to sending me to the hospital to hook me up to an IV. If I wasn't pregnant I might be happy to lose 6 pounds so quickly ;). Thank goodness for Jess, my lifesaver. She basically camped out at my house for 2 days and was mom to 5 all day--not an easy job. She did it without any complaint and the kids were all happy as could be. She is a WONDERFUL sister and a FABULOUS little mommy.

I am up and running again and happy to be so. 30 started off with a bang and I want to thank everyone who made my birthday wonderful and perfect--even with a few bumps in the road!

Wade's in Kindergarten

Summer is short, sweet and SMOLDERING here in AZ which is why (I think) it is only about 8 weeks long. Instead of the typical 12 week summer most of you enjoy, we sweat for 8 weeks and enjoy 2 weeks off in the fall and 2 weeks off in the spring to make up the difference. I, actually, LOVE the schedule and with that being said...Wade started kindergarten last week!

Ever since I found out I was pregnant (or even before) I have been excited for Wade to attend kindergarten all day at the local elementary school. I have been excited because he is ready for more school and he has loved it so much thus far and, most of all, because this allowed a little relief during the day leaving me with only 2 kids. Surprisingly enough it has been REALLY hard to let him go and be gone so long.

As we were getting him ready for the first day he asked, "So, how long am I going to be gone? Like, all day?" (his real words) and I replied, "Yes, you will be at school for the entire day." With which he said, "I will be gone until 5?" and I said, "No, until 3." He said,"How many hours is that?" I said, "About 7." And he said, "That is a long time!" Yes, son that is a long time.

I felt empty without him. As I drove to the gym with my other 2, the car was strangely quiet (which sounds weird since Seth is such a chatterbox) and I had a nagging feeling that something was missing. It made me realize that I have never been away from him on a consistent basis for so many hours EVER! Since he is my first it was a totally weird, sad and unexpected feeling.

Some of the "veteran moms" with 1st graders :) have reassured me that it gets a lot easier and you get used to them being gone. As the week went on, I was able to fall into routine a little better and I am sure it will be much easier as time goes by. It is so weird to let him go. He is away from me more now than he isn't and that is a strange concept to wrap my thoughts around.

On the other hand, it is comforting to know that he LOVES school and ran straight into the playground on the first day and didn't look back. He is anxious to get there on time so he has as much playground time as possible and comes home talking about lunch and recess (typical boy.) I am proud of the little boy he is now and who he is becoming. The truth is this is only the beginning and we have lots of adventures to look forward to.