2 Years old already!

Dear Patches,

You little stinker. That's what you have been most of the time lately! I can't believe how fast two years can go by. But even more than that, I can't believe how much one little person has changed my life and how many things that I have learned so fast! You have definitly been the best teacher I have ever had.

This morning when I came to get you out of bed I was trying to get you really excited about your birthday, I sang you Happy Birthday and gave you lots of hugs and kisses. Just because you are 2 now doesn't mean that you get to wipe my kisses away! I couldn't believe that you were saying "Yuck!" Since when did this begin?

You have really been changing alot lately. Like any Mom, it makes me a little sad that it is going by so quick. Don't get me wrong I really love that you can help so much around the house, always cleaning and throwing away "barbage", helping the baby, and bringing me the "motes" (remotes). Mr. Organization. You just suprise me sometimes with how grown up you really are! Just this week sometime I changed from being you "Mama" to you "Mammy". It's like every morning you wake up and decide you are too big for something else. Who know, tomorrow it could be the binki! Let's hope so anyway!

I have a lot of really fun memories with you. We've been best friends since the day you were born. I still remember one of the first times we really had fun together. You were probably only about 5 months old or so and Daddy built us a fire. The house got really hot so we had to get into our underwears to cool off. We were all dancing around to Collective Soul laughing and having a good time. You just had this look on your face like you were really having fun and loved us. Ever since you learned how to control your body you have been able to dance! You can defintly feel the beat! You had some awesome moves since you were 8 or 9 months old. You can entertain us for hours. Now that you are bigger you are starting to get a little bashful, but it doesn't stop you all the time. You even try to get all your friend and everyone around you to "Dance.... Dance!".

One of the best parts about you is how much you really like to sleep. I don't really have room to complain about you waking up much at night, you sleep in every morning and in the day time you have always taken such long naps! It is awesome. I hope it wears off by the time school starts so I don't have to drag you out of bed! 

Like any little kid, you have done some really funny things. I am already regretting not writing them down or taking more pictures. I hope you forgive me someday. The only really funny story I can think of at the moment is actually really kind of gross. I'm going to write it anyway. Before I had Eli I used to work a few days a week and you would go to daycare. On Saturday mornings you stayed home with dad for a couple of hours and then he would get you dressed and drop you off at my work. One week he came in the store with a disgusted look on his face and he said, "You've got a mess at home to clean up!" I was a little confused but he proceeded to tell me a horror story of your diaper that morning. I wouldn't have believe him if I hadn't seen the pictures, but you were litterally covered in poo to your armpits. It sounds gross that daddy took a picture, but the poor guy needed some kind of proof. I have never seen anything like it in my life. He had to give you 2 baths after wiping you down! I like to tease and say thats what he gets for not changing more diapers! You really know how to play tricks! Just remember this for when you are a daddy and help out your wife with the diapers!

Probably the two worst weeks of my entire life were the ones right after your brother was born. The first couple of days were rough because he was so sick. As soon as I knew he was ok, I worked as hard as I could to get him better so that we could come home. I will never be able to describe how it felt to miss you back home. I was so torn because I knew Eli needed me, but I really missed my little buddy and I knew you were missing me too. We got through it, and things have been pretty good since. You adjusted pretty well to your brother, and I think you love him a little too much sometimes. We keep telling you to be careful because we are all almost certain he is going to be bigger than you someday, and probably soon. You can tell Eli already really admires you though and tries to be just like you. If you guys learn to get along and stick together, I think you'll be lifelong best friends. That was the plan anyways, having you so close together. It definitly wasn't to my advantage!

Well little Parker, you are sure full of energy and love. You just need to figure out were to direct it all! I'm sure with time you'll figure it out. Just keep using you imagination. You're an awesome kid, and I am sure lucky to be your mom! I love you little man. Happy Birthday!

-Love Mammy

I will survive

Or atleast I hope I will. Parker will be turning 2 this Monday and we all know what that means! These past few days have been awful! He can be so cute and loving one second and then the next he is beating Eli over the head with a truck or a toy hammer! Poor Eli, he screams everytime Parker comes near him!
Brian was gone hunting for Sheep and Bear Wednesday and Thursday so I was alone with the kids. It can be pretty hard to entertain them both for 2 days straight by myself. I think we were all going a little crazy! Plus Eli hasn't been feeling very well and so Parker and I were both tired of hearing him scream and cry. I think that there was a little bit of jealousy yesterday and that was possibly the reason for Parker's sibling abuse. I put him in time out over and over and over and when I realized it wasn't working I came up with a better plan.

I put Eli to sleep in my bedroom and Parker and I went into his bedroom to play, just the two of us. He insisted we were going to play with the blocks, they are like giant legos. He got them last year from "candy man" (he told me today that santa is candy man) but I never like to get the blocks out because all he ever wants to do is dump the bag and then throw them around and pick them up and do it again. Kinda boring and alot of work. But I figured it was his time, so he could choose today.

When I opened the bag I just sat there waiting for him to dump them out everywhere and scream, but instead he reached in and pulled one out and said "choo choo train"! I couldn't believe it. His imagination is finally working a little better! He has always had a really good one, he just couldn't coordinate it with his hand and words.

Sitting there watching him play trains with the blocks reminded me that we had gotten some little trucks from a yard sale that were also mega blocks, and I realized they would fit with the blocks and we could make a pretty sweet train. So thats what we did! It was pretty awesome. We even made an airplane. Parker really had alot of fun, and so did I!

The best part is that i got him a train set for his birthday already, and I was really worried that he wasn't going to like it! I am excited to see what he thinks about it now!

Unfortunetly the "me time" with Parker didn't really work out as well as a planned as far as the hitting and biting Eli. I even tried again today...no luck. It was still worth it though. If anyone has any suggestions I'm sure I'll be accepting them for atleast the next year or so...

Eli is getting so big. He is learning how to sit up, and he is starting to play with his toys a little better. He has been screaming at us everytime we eat so decided to start giving him a little rice cereal! He LOVES it! I have been wanting to clear out a little extra space in my kitchen so I figured that after Parker was done being in a highchair I would just get a new one that attaches to a kitchen chair. Parker pretty much trashed his seat anyway. But he still sits in it everyday, and Eli is now ready for a highchair so I just went ahead and bought one already. I think it is going to be so fun to see all the fun things that the boys do together because they are so close in age. Since Parker is little and Eli is big, we're thinking they might be wearing the same size clothes pretty soon! There diapers are already 1 size apart.

Anyways I am making a new recipe for dinner in the crockpot. I'll have to let you all know how it turns out. It smells yummy. It's like beef cubes and sauce that you put over noodles, it sounded pretty good and I actually had all the ingredients! I found this cookbook in a box I had that is all crockpot recipes and there are so many that are so easy and I have everything already. I am trying to be a better housewife/mom...and my new goal is to cook caribou and fish both atleast once a week. It will save us alot of money too since we have a freezer full. Hopefully I get better at the fish part. Let me know if you have any good recipes for salmon or halibut.

I  better go, nap time started...oh I love it!

Long weekend...

So I am writing again. This has got to be a record! I just wanted to make a short post about my extra LONG weekend!

On Friday I took Parker and Eli to the Kenai Peninsula State Fair! It was so much fun and we met up with our friends there. We saw all kinds of animals and Eli and Parker both got really excited! The best part was these people who danced on horses to Latin music! Parker loved it! They did all kinds of tricks and dances on the backs of these beautiful horses. They drove all the way up here from Florida just to preform! It was seriously incredible!

The next best part was the "racing pigs" they were so cute and little and they ran around this little track and even jumped a couple of hurdles! It was pretty cute. Parker tried to feed one and it bit him!

I'm glad we left when we did though because a 9 year old boy was killed by his cow! Scary. Makes you think twice about 4h! haha J/k...

David left to go back to school on Friday night. We were all pretty bummed. It has been really fun to have him here for the summer and it has been an extra big help to have him managing our store! It sucks that Brian actually HAS to be to work now. It was so fun to have him just leave anytime he wanted! I hope David decides to come back next year. Parker is really missing him too. And my garage was actually alot cleaner when David was living out there and taking care of it. It's only been 3 days and you can't even see his bed anymore!

Saturday the kids and I got up extra early and headed to Anchorage with a good friend Teri. It's about a 2.5-3hour drive and we did it just so we could go to the temple. I have lived here for almost 4 years and I have never been. What a shame! It's a small temple so the sessions aren't as often as the bigger ones. You actually have to make an appointment. Teri went to the 11 session and I took the kids to a park. Luckily it was nice day! I was so nervous to go in by myself but it was fine. It was a really neat experience. One thing that I thought was so Alaskan about the Anchorage Temple, besides the fact that it is in Alaska, is that you have to take your shoes off when you walk in the door! Keeps things extra clean I guess. But we are all used to it cause you do that in every home up here!

After my session it was about 3 and we spent the rest of the day running around shopping trying to gather up everything that I need for a few months since I don't know when I will make it up there again! Luckily with a ton of searching I was able to get everything for the best deals! Thanks Teri for driving us all over while the kids drove us nuts! We left around 8:30 and got home just after 11! I was pooped!

Sunday was a big day and we were extra nervous because Brian received a call to be part of our new bishopric. He is now the second counselor in our ward. He is pretty freaked out, but I know he will do a good job serving. I'm just a little nervous about sitting alone with two little boys! It is going to be a crazy next few years. What really stinks is that since Dave left Brian is back to work 6 days a week. With a few meetings in the evening every week and meetings all day Sunday, we are really going to be missing him! I know we will be blessed, but it will be tough to sacrifice all that time with our Daddy!

It is starting to get dark a little earlier now so it is making it alot easier to get on a schedule that is a little more healthy! Last night Brian were in bed asleep by 10:30!! It was awesome and then we were up by 8 this morning and refreshed! No more of this staying up til 1 or 2 and sleeping in until 10 everyday! And we actually made it to playgroup on time this morning! Awesome! I hope we keep it up!

So I guess this wasn't such a short post, but I did it pretty quick so that's what counts right??

Spider man

I guess it really wouldn't be that hard to post something a couple times a week...or a couple times a month for that matter! Anyone who knows me knows that I always have something to say. It's just finding someone to listen that is the hard part!

So maybe I'll give it a shot and post some of the funny or stressful things that happen throughout the week. (I know no one is going to believe me when I say I am going to do this...but I might)

Today when I went in to get Parker out of his crib I said, "HI! What's your name?" and when Parker didn't answer I said, "Is it Parker?" He said "NO!" Then I said "Is it Patches?" "NO NO NO!" I was confused cause this is the only thing I ever call him and the only thing he ever calls himself. So when I asked again "What's your name?" I had to laugh when he came back with "Spider!"

He has such an imagination!

All day long we kept calling him Spider and he kept talking about it. Then it changed to "Spider Man" But not like the character since he doesn't even know who that is. Just a man that is a spider I am assuming.

cRaZy kid!

He also thinks that when he finds a piece of hair, like in the shower drain for example, that it is a spider. He finds them all over the house and I blame this on Eli since he is the one who cause the clumps to fall out everywhere!

Oh yeah and it's OK that Brian and I are both afraid of spiders cause now we have the little "Spider man" who likes to squish them!

One more thing...I wonder if it was a "spider" bite I found on Eli's leg tonight? It was about the right size in diameter and the same amount of teeth. No wonder my baby was screaming earlier! Poor guy!