Quinn-3 Years Old

Thought I should document Quinn at three.  He is really smart. I hate to brag, but he is way ahead of alot of the kids his age. He understands pretty much anything we explain to him.  He is starting to ask a MILLION questions like "mom, what do dogs eat? Why do birds sing?' And he'll ask over and over until we have given him a satisfactory answer. We really should be quicker learners and just give him the lengthy explanation the first time.  He is very logical and reasonable. Ever since he was able to understand, we have been able to reason with him. He would begin to throw a fit and we could calm him down and talk to him till he understood what was going on.
He LOVES to read books with us. And again, while we read he has lots of commentary and questions.  He likes to talk and sing is usually only quiet when watching a show. He makes up his own songs, lyrics and melody. His songs usually have a beat, and alot of times a syncopated beat.  He's always on key and makes up great tunes. He's just really musically talented and I'm excited to see how that develops as he gets older. He will do anything to get out of going to bed. His favorites, which I always fall for, are "I'm hungry & I need a drink." He has gotten sneaky about it and after we go to bed, we can hear little feet running around on the main floor getting into food, toys, etc.
He loves to be outside, especially with his daddy.  He could be outside all day long and be happy.  He makes "cake" out of water and dirt.  He likes to cook with Thurm & me in the kitchen.  He used to be a mommy's boy, but about 6 months ago, he started to prefer his daddy. He started catching on that Thurm is the fun one and that all mommy does is cook and clean. He even prefers daddy to put him to bed now.
He does NOT like getting eye drops put in his eyes. He is finally through the terrible twos!  He has slowly been becoming a more obedient, nice boy the last six months. Getting a new brother last summer really threw his life into a twist.  But he can be very gentle and older-brotherly with Jens now. Quinn teaches Jens and saves him from getting hurt or getting into something he's not supposed to.  It's so fun to watch them interact now.
Quinn has been "running" like his daddy the last few months.  He runs down the side walk about two houses down to a yellow sign and back.  He does stretches before and after he runs.  Occasionally he'll just break into a stretch, its pretty funny.
He knows how to turn on the TV and VCR (yes we have a VCR, all my Disney movies are on VHS) and watch a show.  Usually he asks me, but sometimes he'll sneak off to watch.  He would watch TV all day long if I let him.  His favorites are Dora, Diego, Sid the Science Kid, Wonderpets, and Backyardigans.
He is really loving and loves to be held.  He gives hugs and kisses without us asking. He started sucking his finger last year when Jens was born and is still doing it.  He dresses himself most of the time and almost always has something on backwards or inside out. Its been funny seeing his outfits. He tends towards shorty-shorts that are supposed to be jammies.
He loves to make his daddy laugh. All he has to do is make silly faces and daddy will laugh.  He can make Jens laugh more than anyone else too.

Quinn's 3 year old photo shoot on his birthday.  What a silly, fun, sweet, energetic, nice, smart, loving boy.  We are so blessed to have him in our family. 

Sleeping with wild abandon : )

Irises from the back yard...I just love the color.

Quinn's 3rd Birthday!!!

My friend Debbi made this AWESOME cake for Quinn. She's a great artist. 

A couple of clowns!

Our only family picture with Jens under the age of one. He is 11 months, Quinn is 2 1/2.  

Jens thought taking a bath in the sink was so fun. 

Thurm grilling on the front steps. We are the only people in our neighborhood that hang out on our front porch-does that mean we are the ghetto ones?

Quinn & Jens LOVE the swimming pool.

An awesome flag banner that I made for Quinn's birthday party. I just used some scrapbook paper I had and sewed it together. 

Cute little lanterns made out of baby jars.

Dirty little man~

Pancake Mix Recipe

Making pancakes from scratch is a pain, but they are SOO much better than a mix. My sister in law gave me a REALLY good recipe that today I put in baggies and made into a mix that I can use later. Here is the recipe:

1 1/4 cup flour

1 TBS baking powder

1 TBS sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 TBS powdered milk

I put all of that in a baggie and then wrote on the front of it

ADD and MIX

1 egg

1 cup water

2 TBS oil. 

If you are making this not as a mix, but just to eat right away, you can use a cup of milk instead of the 2TBS powdered milk and 1 cup water.  I just like the idea of using the powdered milk because I have alot of it in food storage that I need to use.  This recipe makes enough for our family of 2 adults and 2 children. 

Jens-11 months

Jens is 11 months old in a few days!  I can't believe how fast this year has gone!  Thurm & I were talking about how sweet our baby is the other day and talking about all the cute stuff he does and how we haven't written anything in our journals since he was born. So I wanted to write a few things down about him at this age.
Jens, whom we all call Jensy or Jensipan is a JOY. You hear parents say that, but he actually is a joy. He brings me nothing but happiness. I never feel anger, frustration, exhaustion, or anything negative toward him. I only ever feel love and patience for him. I sure hope thats how it goes with any other children I have (poor Quinn never got this much love and patience).
He crawls, climbs and stands like a madman. He has had a couple moments of standing without holding onto anything, but lowers himself to the ground after a few seconds. He doesn't seem too interested in walking yet, which is fine by me.
Meal time is spent STANDING up in his high chair. He will not sit down. We repeatedly sit him down and he instantly stands up. We seat belt him in and he wriggles out and stands up.  He throws food on the floor. He wipes his tray back and forth with his hand sending food flying everywhere.  If he wants something he yells until we give it to him, usually food or drinks. This makes him sound obnoxious, but its really cute. He has being crazy lately. He will clinch his fists and shake them.  He can crawl up and down stairs. He repeats sounds like "up, up, up, ut, ut, ut, ma, ma, da, da" Blows air sounds out of his mouth. He smiles constantly and especially if you smile at him.  He is always happy. Even when he is exhausted and on the verge of sleep, he'll look up at me and smile.  He laughs at Quinn alot and when we tickle him. The other night he was nursing and he smiled up at me and it made me laugh. He felt my stomach push out as I laughed and he tried to do it himself. Which made me laugh again, which made him try to push his stomach out again. This went on and on.  He LOVES to be held and wishes he could be carried all day long. He has wispy, fine, blond hair that is so sweet and I need to capture in a photo.
Today was the first time that I've yelled a firm "NO" at him for crawling from his high chair onto the counter. His face completely crumpled and he burst into tears. It was the cutest/saddest/sweetest thing to watch.  I felt bad that it was his first time getting yelled at, but it had to happen sooner or later : )
He LOVES his blanket. He GIGGLES when you rub it on his face or put it over his head. He loves to be wrapped in it.

When did girls start wearing pink?

I read this article today about when pink came about as THE color for girls. Not until the mid 1980's. That's so weird, I just assumed pink has always been a girl color. Not so!

"In June 1918, an article from the trade publication Earnshaw's Infants' Department advised, "The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl." Through the following decades, several department stores, including Filene's, Halle's and Marshall Field, recommended that boys be dressed in pink.

Maglaty describes the turning point as the women's liberation movement in the mid-1960s. Young women gravitated toward gender neutral clothing to rebel against the subservient role of women dictated by society. But by the mid-1980s, gendered clothing returned in a big way. Jo B. Paoletti, historian and author of the forthcoming Pink and Blue: Telling the Girls From the Boys in America, remembers this clear distinction, as it was between the births of her two children, one in 1982 and another in 1986: "All of a sudden it wasn’t just a blue overall; it was a blue overall with a teddy bear holding a football." Perhaps the biggest factor in cultivating a gender obsessed society is the rise of consumerism among young children. Now, as early as age 3, children are subject to marketing campaigns that reinforce the notion that "what makes someone female is having long hair and a dress," says Paoletti."

May 2011

Brothers

Allergies

 My awesome couch I inherited from my grandma! I've been waiting many years to get this couch. I'm so sick of my damask wall. Damask got SOOO trendy right after I wallpapered.  But now that I have a pink couch, it limits what I can do.  What color would you do? I have two light grey walls and and a dark grey.

Just look at that face! How could you not love a little face like that : )

Night before last I was taking a bath, which I never do.  Jens was asleep, Thurm was at class and Quinn was watching a show. So I decided to pamper myself and relax.  Pretty soon Quinn came in and enthusiastically said "Mom, my take a bath?" and I said, "no, just mommy is taking a bath."  "Mom, my take a bath with mommy?"  He said it so cute that I said ok.  So he ran to his room to strip down.  He came back in and started climbing in and looked at me really excited and said "this is going to be fun!!!"  Haha, it made me laugh so hard.  His expression was hilarious.  Like he was about to go on Splash Mountain or something.

I realized today that I've only been a mother for a little less than three years! I feel like I've been a mother so much longer! Maybe because I've been a favorite aunt for 16 years. The past three years have been the happiest years I've had. Taxing, exhausting, frustrating... and most loving, happy, joyful, emotional, and WONDERFUL!

A few nights ago, Quinn was throwing a fit about bedtime. Thurm had locked his door and Quinn was throwing toys at it.  So Thurm took his piggy bank and told Quinn he'd have to fix the door with his money.  The next morning Thurm gave him his bank back because no damage had been done and he was a good boy the rest of the night.  Quinn asked me to open the bank, he took out a quarter and began rubbing it on the door to "fix it with his money." Sweet : )

Today, when Quinn's patience was finally up, says "Mommy Natalie! I want to watch Dora!"

Jens had his 9th month check up and only weighs 17 lbs, only in the 5th percentile.  When he was born, he was 50% but he has steadily dropped. We constantly call him "lil' chunk" and joke about how he eats non-stop. He has chubby cheeks and thigh fat rolls. I guess looks can be deceiving.  He could eat all day if I let him, but I'm always worried about feeding him too much solid food because I want him to be hungry enough to nurse.  I guess I'm going to have to let him eat more, poor skinny guy.
Jens is on his 5th night of sleeping through the night!!! 6pm to 6am!  Quinn did the same at 9 months, but I trained him to sleep an extra hour till 7am.  Jens is pulling himself up any and everywhere.  He can walk holding onto a walker or our legs. And I swear he knows what "dada" means because he starts saying it when Thurm comes home. Geniuses... I'm raising geniuses : )

Thurm has 3 weeks left of school! YAY! This year went fast!

San Diego April 2011

I have to blog about our trip before I forget what we did!  We woke up Saturday at 5:30am and drove to SLC where Thurm ran a 1/2 marathon.  After, we drove to Payson to his sister's so he could shower.  So we finally got on our way about 11:30am and made it to our condo at 10:30pm.  It was a LONG day, but the boys did great! They slept in the car like little champs.  Thurm never got to stretch after his race and we VERY stiff and sore, poor guy.
We stopped in a town outside Las Vegas called Primm and there was a big roller coaster at one of the casinos.  We told Quinn we were going to a park to eat lunch, but they didn't have anything in the town but a couple casinos and a gas station. So we found a piece of grass about 5 ft  by 5ft where we could see the roller coaster.  Quinn called it "town park" and was completely happy. I wish I was so satisfied with small things.
The condo was really nice and had a beautiful courtyard with a pool, baby pool, and hot tub.  We all prefer the hot tub.  I couldn't get over all the beautiful flowers everywhere.  The plants and flowers in San Diego are so tropical.  Thurm couldn't get over the beaches. Every morning Jens woke up at 5am CA time, so Thurm would take him to the beach so Quinn & I could sleep a little longer.  Thurm went to every beach in a 15 mile radius.
Thurm took a few runs while we there. One run that sounded fun/painful.  He ran down to the beach and along it for a few miles. Then he went swimming and ran home in his wet swimsuit.  I'm glad those weren't my thighs chaffing!
Sea World was fun and if we ask Quinn what his favorite thing about our trip was he'll say the sharks.  Though, he didn't seem that impressed while we were actually looking at them.  I loved the penguins because they are just so cute. Thurm like the dolphin show.  And I think Jens liked Shamu, because he got a nice nap while I held him. Our favorite park of SeaWorld, however, was the children's play area. They could have spent the entire day there. It was alot of fun. Quinn rode the tea cups.
We spend a morning in Old Town San Diego and the best part of that was the Mormon Battalion visitors center.  It was really kid friendly and entertaining. You went from room to room that were designed to look like the pioneer-west. They had interactive movies in each room. Quinn got to be dressed up like a little Mormon solider.
We spent alot of time at Balboa Park and if I were to suggest one place to go, it would be there. We spend three half days there and didn't get to see hardly any of it. It has like 15 museums, 10 gardens, restaurants, etc.  I LOVED the gardens.  We ate at a little Japanese tea house that was Thurm's favorite.
Quinn woke up a few different nights and raided the treats. There were two different mornings I woke up to notice a bunch of cookies or treats eaten.  We also figured out that he gets car sick.
Thurm had his life-long search for Big Boggle realized at a toy store.  We looked at the copyright date on it and it turns out they have started manufacturing them again.  He was ecstatic.
My favorite part of the vacation was nap-time each day. Thurm would usually go running or to the beach and I would get a couple hours to have guilt-free relaxation time. I read a book on the patio in the warm sun.   It was a great time!

SLC 1/2 Marathon April 2011

 My endurance man ran the SLC 1/2 marathon last Saturday.  He did really great and finished below his goal He made it in 1 hour and 54 minutes!!!

This is the best pic I could get of my friend Amy and her sister as they ran by. 

Just a few updates on my boys for the records:

Quinn has been into dressing himself lately. Its hilarious the outfits he comes out in. Today he had on first a layer of very small cotton shorts, then underwear inside out, then lounge pants. On top he had two long sleeve shirts, both of which were inside out and backwards.

Quinn thinks he's a big boy. He gets out of the bathtub all by himself and gets dressed all by himself. Brushes his teeth all by himself.  Puts on movies all by himself.  Bittersweet.

Quinn had his first dentist appointment on Tuesday. He was SO good! The hygienist kept commenting on how good he was and helpful.  He did everything they told him and was very pleasant. The only tale-tale sign that he was nervous was how stiff his body was.  He was trying really hard to be a big boy. It was so sweet.  Thurm & I went too. It was the first time we had gone in about four years!  Thurm had two cavities and I had none. The dentist praised me and gave me a gold star because I take such good care of my teeth.  I think I blushed.

Quinn's favorite foods are pasta, bananas, toast, eggs, ABC soup, chicken noodle soup, crackers, pretzels, and most cooked vegetables.

Jens has been pulling himself up and standing for a little over a week.  He's loving the freedom! He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. Everything. He has two teeth on the bottom and 3 1/2 on top. One of his front teeth wants to come in, but just can't cut through.  Its been straining against his gums for about a month and is driving him crazy. Poor kid.  He's a little angel that LOVES to be kissed by me. Not by Quinn because Quinn is too rough. And not by daddy because daddy's beard is too rough. But he'll let me kiss and nuzzle him all day if I wanted to.

Jens does a cute thing where he tucks his top lip under and whispers "babababa."  He also things its fun to shake his head back and forth. He's eating chunks of soft foods like peaches, green beans, cheerios, bananas, bread.  He goes to sleep at 6pm and only wakes once to eat and is up for the morning at 7am. Its great! And he takes two naps during the day.  He still thinks Quinn is hilarious.

We took them swimming on Friday and they both LOVE the water, as I'm sure most kids do.  Jens waved his legs and arms in excitement the whole 45 minutes. His enthusiasm was actually tiring trying to hold him above the water so he didn't drown himself.  Quinn made his daddy take him down the slide non-stop.

Thurm ran a 25 K (little over a half-marathon) around Antelope Island last weekend with his brother. He is running the SLC 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks.

We are installing carpet in our attic on Thursday! YAY! A year in the half in the making and I'm ready to be DONE! Turns out we suck at home improvement and not only that, we hate it.

Such a handsome boy : )

Thurm's dad passed away Feb.13th.  These are Thurm's brothers and brother in-laws that were the pallbearers. Handsome men : )

Cuteness Update

Jens has been getting ADORABLE and smiley. He loves when I kiss his checks. He will hold still, smiling and just let me nuzzle and kiss him. He has even been laying his head down on my shoulder occasionally. Neither one of my boys were cuddly until they were 7 or 8 months old. Is it a learned thing? Jens has been teething. He has his bottom two teeth and his top two (next to the front two teeth) have cut through. I'm guessing his front two teeth are trying to get out and are having problems. On top of teething he has been sick with diarrhea, a runny nose and cough. So he's been pretty needy.  Jens has been sleeping upstairs all by himself for a few months now. What a big boy! He LOVES his mobile. He stares at it until I wind it up and the second I start he gets so excited waving his arms and legs.

Quinn has been a mixture of sweet and naughty lately.  He says the funniest, cutest things. And then he turns around and hits Jens just to get a reaction out of me! Its pretty frustrating. We are taking a Love and Logic class and the big thing they teach is to not get angry. Wow is that hard! Nothing flips my switch like Quinn hitting Jens. I lose it! It takes all my will power not to get angry.

But back to how cute Quinn is... the other day in the car a song came on and he said "mom, my feet singing." I looked back and he was swinging his legs in time with the music.  Its so fun to watch him start to understand more and more. He loves to "exercise and run" with daddy. He will touch his toes and say "mom I exercising." He still amazes me with his musical abilities. He learns songs so quickly. One time when he was interrupting and being obnoxious to get attention, I said "Quinn just sing, "Gotta have some of your attention, give it to me" (Brass in Pocket, by the Pretenders). And the other day when he wanted my attention he sang it and remembered the tune and lyrics! He's got mad skillz yo!

We are so close to finishing our attic bedroom. I just need to clean up the exposed chimney and then we can lay carpet. We are waiting for our tax returns to get the carpet. Its going to be so great to have some more room!!!

Thurm's been really into running. He has run a 5k, 10k, 15k, in March a 25 k and in April a half marathon. His stamina and endurance amaze me.

Polygamy

So today I had some thoughts on polygamy. Why all the hate?  I think it would awesome to have another woman around the house. Another person to keep me company, clean, cook, change diapers, discuss the minutiae of our day.  She just couldn't get jiggy with my husband.