The White House

Much needed update!

2011-06-14T10:10:00.012-06:00

Wow it has been a while. Lets see, birthdays, a couple visitors, vacation, end of school, husband starts MBA, and oh baby #4 in the oven! That about sums up the last few months. My three boys can keep me super busy and then the pregnancy I am completly worn out. So sorry I haven't updated.
Right now my baby is sleeping and sick and the older two are watching a movie because Noble threw up this morning so we are taking an easy day. They do seem to slow down a tiny bit when sick. This slow down mind you makes them equal to the average kids activity. My crazy boys are so full of energy it is ridiculous!

I thought today I would post a bunch of pictures since thats mostly what people want to see is the growing boys.

This picture is grandpa White welding onto the playground. We wanted it safer and slightly bigger for the boys. So Brady's parents came down and his dad helped work on the playground. Thanks grandpa. The boys still love their pirate ship!

While they were visiting we went to a nature walk and got to see ducks and a few other wildlife. Grandma loved holding baby Erik. We loved having them come visit. The boys had a lot of fun.Erik had his first birthday in April. This cupcake design I stole from my sister-in-law. It is in the shape of a 1 if you couldn't tell. We had some friends over to enjoy some cupcakes and play on our new awesome playground. Mostly I just didn't want a ton of cupcakes left over!Happy Birthday Boy! Don't worry he got messier.In April we went to the Kite Festival here in St George. The boys got to rise this little train thing and they loved it.Here's another brother picture I love. This is when they were easter egg hunting in our backyard. They had to go together and help eachother find them. Then they split the booty. They can be such best friends sometimes. Glad I captured this moment.Our next visitors were my brother and his family and my parents. This visit was kind of a bust thanks to 2 days of rain and then the stomach flu ripping thru my house. But hey the boys still loved seeing family. Here's Erik, what a smile!
Grandpa Waite really enjoyed playing with his grandkids.

For Memorial weekend we went to Phoenix to see Brady's sister and her family. Their new little girl was blessed. This picture is of the boy cousins. They had lots of fun.Here's everyone who was at the baby blessing.This is dad putting bows in Erik's hair. Just to prove a point that his hair is too long. I did trim it up this last weekend so he looks like a big boy now. I think Erik's face pretty much sums up how he felt about this bow business!This has got to be the best picture of Noble the entire trip. We stopped in Kingman, AZ on the the way there and back. They had a big train at the park that the boys enjoyed playing on.

Did I mention the coal powered train was humungous?

On our way home we stopped at Hover Dam. The dam was cool but seeing the new bridge was just as impressive. It does shave off quite a bit of time instead of traveling directly over the dam.

Some random picture of my cute boys.

We will find out next week what gender baby #4 is. I am just hoping healthy with no real prefernce to gender at this time.

Picture update

2011-01-19T15:00:00.004-07:00

We have been busy with life and it has been good. I thought since there hasn't been an update for a while I'd at least post some pictures of what we have been up to.

This is a picture of the Superman pizza I made for Noble's birthday. Funny that this kid kept insisting on a Superman birthday since the only reason he knows who Superman is is because he has a jacket with the symbol on it. He has never seen the show or anything. Despite this I made him happy and made a superman pizza.

This was taken last weekend. There was a free national park day so we went to Zion's. This was taken at the trail of Temple Siniwava. It was fun.

This is my cutie Erik. He is such a happy kid.

This is another one of my cuites. This snow ball ended up down my jacket all for the sacrifice of a good picture! The boys had so much fun playing in the snow.

These are my boys hanging out at the airport muesum.

My oldest cutie. He had lots of fun looking at all the buttons inside the plane.

I just love this picture. It was cold and windy and he was still smiling. This kid just loves to ham it up for the camera.

Life keeps going

2010-11-03T10:04:00.005-06:00

So this time I have pictures that will hopefully tell the story of what we have been up to.

This picture was taken last Sunday. What is amazing is he is 6 months old wearing a 24 month old outfit. Can you say big kid? It was a tad big but not really much at all. He is such a cutie! This picture was taken on a hike we attempted recently. I say attempted cause we didn't get anywhere near the arch we were supposed to be hiking to. I lost my patience when it took us an hour to go almost a mile. And Brady didn't have an exact amount of how much longer the hike was, and the last time that happened I wasn't happy. So we didn't go far but our boys had fun finding lizards and getting sticks. Hopefully we'll find some short but fun safe hikes we can go on soon.

And of course the faily home evening of pumpkin carving. These are really Brady's creations but the kids help tell him what they want. We got small pumpkins this year cause we let the kids pick out their pumpkins and they could only get ones they could pick up. I love these boys, they were so funny gutting these pumpkins.
Then there is the halloween costumes. We were the Incredibles (minus Violet plus an extra Dash). I really don't like halloween so the costume idea was Brady's and he helped me get them together. I have no motivation to get the costumes done so they took a while. Just so you know Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, food! Anyways, the kids had fun dressing up and saying "trick or treat". We only went to our church's trunk or treat cause we don't feel our kids need so much candy. They got plenty in the parking lot. Oh and in this picture I look taller than Brady but that was just because I was wearing my black boots.

And last but definelty not least is the Dixie State football game. They actually won this game so that made it even more fun. The boys loved the game. I loved trying to do a play by play for the boys so they understood what was going on. Now they 'tackle' eachother all the time. Which is really what they did before but now they have a name for it! This Friday we are going to a Dixie State basketball game. I am excited for that too. They will love it!

That is pretty much it for us. Life is great. I am trying to get christmas presents together now and enjoying that. I love this time of year because it is all about being thankful and giving things to others. Not that I don't try to do this on a daily basis I think it is nice though to have a special time of year for it too.

And to start the season I'll tell you a few things I am thankful for. I am thankful for my family and their health. I am thankful for my husbands job and our home. And I am especially thankful for my testimony of Jesus Christ which gives me strength on hard days. There is much more to be thankful but these our definetly my biggest things. Hope everyone out there is doing great.

Just Life!

2010-09-23T21:48:00.003-06:00

I haven't updated for a long time because sometimes I don't feel like my life is exciting enough to post about. But today I figure it might help to lift my spirits.
Life has been good in our house just busy. The boys seem to lately be able to terrioze my house in mere seconds. I left the room to feed the baby and I came back to find an almost finished crocheted washcloth completly undone and all the yarn taken aff its spool. This was all done in just a couple minutes, ahhh! But the kids still survive.
AJ has been doing well lately. He is back in school and loving it though not wanting to ride the bus anymore. He seems to still have a bit of seperation anxiety which started this past summer. At least he is still willing to go to school. He is pretty well potty trained. Not at night though and I haven't really worked on that so we still use "night time underwear". He is such a big help to for mom when he wants to be. He can get stuff for himself and Noble and he really loves the praise of helping. I think he is starting to "grow out of" some of his behaviors. I am learning that his ASD may never really go away so much as he learns to function with it among others so that it isn't as obvious he has a problem. For instance instead of running of and freaking out at parades, when the sirens ont he police and firetrucks were going off, this summer he did better if he was sitting down. He was able to relax. And it did help that I warned him and told it was okay to grab my hand and leave if he needed to but he never did and relaxed thru it. He still quotes movie lines when he is a little unsure about a social situation but the lines seem more appropriate for the situation than random. Sounds weird but a step forward and to be honest I don't mind if he keeps this behavior a bit because it makes me laugh all the time. I can be mad one second and the next not able to keep a straight face because he has me laughing so hard. I love this kid. He is one special kid.
Noble, the 2 year old. What else can I say?! This kid has way too much Waite blood running thru him. He is fearless, defiant, and stubborn. And if you know a Waite, this pretty much sums them up. He will be an adrenilaine junkie, this I am sure of. I was but calmed a bit down as I got older but still need that rush occasionally (which does happen enough when kids get lost so I actually don't do much to bring it on anymore!). He likes to say "never" to everything you say. Not just "no" but "never". And he is stubborn, he really would mean never if it wasn't for the power of mom counting and following thru. He understands that at least and will bend to the counting. Evil mom I know! Recently he ran in the house to tell me his 'bike engine' was broke. It took me a while to figure out what he was saying cause it made no sense at all. So I followed him outside and just smiled and said 'ok'. And then he went off on how he needed a toll to fix it so he got a stick and went to work tapping around on it. Next thing ya know his 'bike engine' works! And he was off again riding around. He is also the one usually banging the play hammer on walls, and when you ask him what he's doing he tells you he's "fixing it". Soon he'll get tough enough so we will have to fix it so until then I enjoy watching him be like his daddy. Oh and just for the record I have more than once apoligized to my parents for the terror I inflicted upon them, in some small way hoping they will lift this curse of me having a child just like me! The curse has yet to have been lifted and I continue to fear the teenage years with this one. I do love him just some days it takes a bit of chanting and extra effort.
Erik, the adorable chunky baby. He is the cutest kid in the entire world right now. And yes I mean he is way cuter than all of your kids, no offense. I am a bit biased but he has the right balance of chunkyness, length, and chubby cheeks. This kid smiles at everything, laughs for almost anyone, and really only cries to be feed. I can't get enough of him. Today I have been kinda blue and this kid seemed to pull me out of it a bit with his smiles and laughs. I just soaked them up knowing soon he would be out in the sand box getting all dirty like his brothers and weilding sticks like they're swords. He can roll around and gets to what he wants on the floor pretty well. He also recently started saying 'mama'. He's been saying baba for a while but just started saying mama and it makes my heart melt every time. I love my baby. This is definitly my favorite stage, just learning how to talk and not mobile. Nothing better.
Brady is doing good. I have two funny stories about him. First of all I made him go to the doctor to do just a check up since he hadn't done one since his mission. Maybe it sounds silly but I would rather know my husband is healthy than die on me for something easily preventable. SO anyways, he had to have some blood drawn and needed to fast for it too. I am sure you see where this is going but let me add one more thing. He decided to ride his bike into work that morning before having his blood drawn while fasting. See a problem? While sticking him with a needle they had a hard time trying to find his vain, which we learned was probably because he was dehydrated not knowing he could drink water while fasting. They were poking around which he said hurt pretty bad and the next thing he knew he had a ton of people around him calling his name. Yes he passed out! I do feel bad for him cause I saw him a few hours later and he looked awful. Me, I would have come home and rested after that but Brady, he went to work and kept moving. I did get him some candy and he had some peanuts so this helped him alot. The next thing is really funny. He was riding his bike home the other day and slowed down to a stop and turned without stopping so that he would not loose momentum. The street he was turning onto had a wide shoulder and he thought it was fine. Next thing he knew was that he was being pulled over by a cop. Yes you read that right, you can be pulled over on your bike by a cop car! He got a warning ticket. I am not going to go into how I think it was a waste of time when there was cars going 10 mph over the speed limit going by, but I still find it funny. I love this man. He has been helping alot with all the canning we have been doing. Whether by watching kids or doing some by himself. He is just awesome. I still can't believe I have known him for 6 years. The best 6 years of my life.
Well, onto me. I haven't been to exciting. Lately we have been fighting one sickness after the next and the last one I had a fever for 3 days and that was rather annoying. Now instead of being sick I am totally unmotivated. I have a million projects to do but have no motivation to any of them. Right now we are processing the last jars of apple rings and I have no interest in canning till next spring. I have been reading a little bit more lately. I read Mockingjay, the last book in the Hunger Games series. I loved it, and would recommend it. I also just finished The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale. I liked this book, warning this book made me ball like a little baby so have tissues ready. Mostly it was funny but the sad part was excrutiatingly painful to read. Anyways, right now I am readin Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.
I thought I would share something I learned today. While talking to my mom today she pointed out that maybe I was shwoing off sometimes when I point out the amazing things my husband does. Its not that I try to do this mind you. We go thru our tough times and work at things all the time but I guess I tend to not dwell on the little things he does that aggitate me. I inform him of these things and he tries to do better but sometimes it just doesn't work for him and I get over it. I just don't let my mind dwell on things. So yes, you only hear about the amazing things my husband does because in my eyes, the love of my life is practically perfect and to help me see that I don't often dwell or remember things that we had to deal with or work thru. It really isn't worth my time or his. I would rather be happy and in love with him all the time.
And if you have read all the way to end of this insanely long post you may as well know that I love my family sooo much. My kids may be slowly driving my crazy but I love them so wonderfully. And Brady! Well, there is no one more perfect for me than him. He came home today and gave me a hug and everything seem to feel better all at once. He is my rock and I love him.

Summer

2010-08-04T08:30:00.002-06:00

This summer we have tried to keep busy. AJ was in summer school until the end of July so that kept him busy. I had to can peaches apricots and plums. We have lots of jam, frozen fruit and some dried fruit. The fruit leather I made was also a big hit.
We went on a trip to my grandmothers memorial in Montana in June. It was really nice to see family I haven't seen in a long time. It was also really nice to talk about all the wonderful things my grandmother did and passed on. In July we went to Lake Powell and spent the weekend with my cousins on a house boat. My boys had lots of fun. Noble liked the water more than AJ but they both were still a little scared of not being able to touch the bottom. I am definetly okay with that, made it a little less worrisome of them jumping off the back. I really enjoyed Lake Powell. It was a very much needed vacation away from everything.
We then came home for three days and were off to Brady's 10 year reunion in Preston. He enjoyed seeing friends from high school. It was also rodeo weekend so he took the boys to the rodeo one day and had fun. They stayed to watch the mutin bustin which our nephew was in. The last day we were there we went to the rodeo parade. We sat in the street to watch it and when it was over the cops didn't give us any time to get out of the street. I was trying to help clean up stuff and get kids out and cars were going by the whole time, very annoying. In all of this AJ snuck off somewhere and we lost him for 15 mins or so. Those have been the longest 15 mins of my life. I am just glad I have an awesome nephew who stayed where we were on the corner and happened to see him and grabed him. So we now have all our children safe at home for the rest of the summer. No more vacations, just visitors. My grandmother comes next week and then after she leaves my brother-in-law from germany comes for a week. We are excited to see everyone.
I am doing okay with 3 kids. We just don't go out much these days cause of the heat which is driving us all crazy but soon it will cool down. Until then we will stay inside driving eachother crazy but staying cool.
I am going to try and update more often but updating with kids running around is stightly difficult. I am done with all the fruit for now. Finished my last 2 batches of jam last night. On to making skirts.

New Baby

2010-06-03T08:11:00.003-06:00

Okay so I know it has been a while. I do have an excuse though. Erik Brady White was born on April 12 at 2:41pm. He weighed 9 lbs. 20" and is quit the cutie. This was the first pregnancy you can say I did all natural. I did get an iv drug, not an epidural, but before it could really took affect I realized I needed to start pushing. So all the drug did was make me a bit loopy. I think I might skip it next time all together. The drug helps me from getting nauseous and takes away a little pain. I don't think I needed it this time because my sweet nurse relized I was doing this without ever being taught techinics and she taught Brady a pressure point that got me thru the contractions. Interesting that most people say that being induced makes the contractions worse yet I remeber my second baby being so much worse. I was induced with this baby because I was already 39 weeks, which is the longest I had been pregnant, and I did not want another big baby. Luckily I had already been having contractions for a week they just wouldn't get strong, and I was dilated to a 4 when they induced me so maybe they just pushed it along a little bit. Anyways, everything went great and we were back at home less than 24 hours later.

Having 3 kids has been an adventure. Luckily Erik is by far the easiest baby we have had. And I thing I desereved an easy baby after the last two, and I hope he continues to be such. Brady and I realized that Noble was probably a colicky baby we just didn't know. Erik usually cries for the basics and thats it and if I am on top of it he doesn't cry at all!

We had Eriks baby blessing this past weekend. We had both sets of grandparents and Brady's older sisters family come. It was loads of fun. My kids enjoyed having someone else to play with.

Besides surviving the day to day there is nothing else going on. Noble is a terrible to kid which drives me crazy most the time. He balances that with his real cuteness. AJ is going to be going to summer school. He is really a smart kid just still has issues with social and behavior. On a side note, I really enjoyed this last April as it was Autism Awareness month. It was nice to have more articles and tv shows dedicated to this and realize that I am not the only mom who lives thru some of the things I have. AJ is much better than he was thanks to mothers intuition and early intervention. Yet he still has things that most parents don't deal with. We still have meltdowns but they are definitly fewer than before. And now when we have them its usually because I forgot to do something or didn't deal with the situation like I should have. Besides all that, it just is really nice to know I am not alone and I do enjoy talking to other friends who go thru the same thing everyday. Well on to Brady, he finished our main bathroom. We had to remodel it and get some mold out of there before the baby came. He successfully did that and made it look beautiful. Next he is to fix a problem in our bathroom and we are praying that it is not too big. It is behind the wall so we don't know how much damage has occured. Oh the joys of owning a home. Which brings us to our most recent home issue. Our ac/heat pump leaks frion. No one has ever been able to find a leak but it does leak which causes it not to be able to work right. So now we are heating up here in our house and the ac is blowing warm air. Very frustrating. I don't think I can make it here in the heat of the desert with no ac so hopefully we can get it fixed for little or no money considering we just spent our savings on baby and new tires for the car.

Tired of it all! (warning ventint)

2010-03-22T20:50:00.003-06:00

So this is a venting session. I have read lots of peoples agruments to this healthcare bill that past. I can't say I am all for everything in it but I am definitly not against some of the ideas.
The first thing that makes me laugh all the time is that people keep saying they don't want to be forced to buy health insurance. Now I agree that it should be affordable but to say that you don't need it and you should be given the choice... Let me ask you this, do you have car insurance? Were you given that option? Do you really want to be without that car insurance when some underinsured or uninsured driver hits you? The answer would be no. So why do you feel so compelled to agrue that it is unconstitutional to be told to buy health insurance? Which leads me to my next point. Other people then say that their money shouldn't be going to help the poor pay for their health insurance. They think this is socialist. Let me tell you something you may not know, you are ALREADY paying their bill. Hello people, they can't afford healthcare thus they don't pay their bill and costs go up. See the problem. We already do this, nothing new in this healthcare bill just it would come out of taxes instead of increasing all our medical expenses everyyear.
Last thing I promise. How come all these people who are complaining about all this and saying they'll never have government in their life will be lined up to get medicare in their old age? Do they not realize this is socialized medicine for the old people? I am sure I can agrue more but I have a show on tv I want to watch!
Anyways, just wanted some people to get a different view. How healthcare system sucks. And yes maybe some people would have to wait in line but the other side of the argument might be that right now plenty of people don't get the care they need cause they get turned down due to lack of insurance or even that they are not in network (don't get me started on insurance companies).
The silver lining to this healthcare bill being passed is that it keeps the talks going. I don't agree with everything in it. Yet I do think that you have to start somewhere and if it did get shot down this last week then it would have more than likely ended there and more people would continue to suffer.
I hope this just gives a different perspective to some. Okay I am done. Love Everyone.

fun kids

2010-02-19T10:08:00.002-07:00

Our boys have been really fun lately. Yesterday we took them swimming. Brady swam with them while I sat out and watched, I was a bit to tired and pregnant to be running around the kiddie zone. Anyways, it was quit fun to watch them. Noble discovered the slide too. Before he usually would climb the stairs look down and climb back down. Yesterday he finally went down and had the biggest smile on his face. After that I think he spent most his time on the slide, ind you this is a little kiddie slide. AJ loves the water but seems to not like having his face under water where Noble is totally unphased by being immersed. They played for over an hour and then getting them out what soooo much fun! AJ was tired and worn out and had a complete melt down when we drug him out. The bright side is when they went to bed there was no argument and we didn't hear a peep from them after Brady left the room.
In other news AJ has been taking the bus and loves it. He actually carries his backpack around for a half hour before the bus comes just to make sure he is ready. He is growing up so fast. His 4th birthday is next week. And in that growing topic, he has outgrown most his shoes. Poor kid keeps saying oww on his way to church cause his shoes are too tight and his toes hang over his sandles. He's probably in a size 13 or 1, which is crazy for a 4 yr old. Oh well, the joys of big boys!
Noble is growing up all the time. He speaks in complete sentences all the time and eighty percent of the time it is completely understandable. He also seems to be looking more like a toddler and less like a baby all the time. He is a cutie, but he also likes to show his terrible twos sometimes too. He still hasn't accepted that he will not be the baby soon. We are giving him plenty of warning so he'll just have to deal with Erik when he comes.
On that note, Erik continues to grow. I am about 32 weeks. I am so looking forward to not being pregnant anymore, and having a cute little baby.
Brady has officially started our vegetable garden. He put a fence up last weekend and planted one more grapevine so that we have two. He also finished painting the baby's dresser it just needs to be moved inside now.
Nothing else really going on here. Just trying to prepare for the baby. If I can just keep my house somewhat clean before the baby comes that would be good enough for me.

The last days of 2 kids

2010-02-03T13:35:00.003-07:00

In the back is Noble.

So I am now 29 1/2 weeks. Erik is quickly approaching his time to enter our family. While we await his arrival, we have tried to keep busy while we only have two kids. Last weekend we went to Provo to have a get together with some of Brady's mission buddies. He had fun. Nothing like reminicing about all the silly things you did for 2 years. On our way back home we stopped in Cove Fort to build a snowman. AJ has been learning about what you wear in the winter and what a snowman looks like in school. So we had to stop and build a snowman while there was still snow. The boys all had fun, but I think they were glad to get back home where it is warm, especially Noble my hates cold boy.

I have been nesting, a wonderful part of pregnancy. Today I made a double batch of split pea soup and plan on freezing half of it so that we'll have a meal to eat after the babies born. I have a few other recipes lined up for being made and then frozen. This way I'll hopefully have a weeks worth of meals prepared for my family. They really like to eat so I am trying to make sure their happy while I adjust to being completly outnumbered!

The pregnancy is going well. I had a little scare yesterday. I was having timed contractions, or at least they were similar to contractions I had with one of the other boys. I went in and everything was fine. I just probably had some other things going on inside. I did feel better this morning so that is always a good sign. Erik gets bigger all the time and loves to stick his foot under my stomach which gives me bad heartburn. This little guy seems like he'll be born as tall as his brothers at least. He can have his head down as low as it will go and a foot pressing well into a rib, wonderful feeling.

AJ and Noble are doing well. Keeping me going crazy. They have recently lost a bunch of toys due to mom putting her foot down and making them learn to clean up. They don't clean up, we pack up more toys they left out. They are learning all the time and do cute things too. They love to wrestle though I don't' know if it is fair cause Noble, small kid, always ends up on the bottom. I guess someday he'll grow big enough to have a chance.

Brady is loving his job still. He has been riding his bike to work alot lately. Mostly to save on gas and money, but also because he wants to stay in shape. Since he sits behind a desk most the day a good bike ride is probably his best way to fi in exercise.

Well, that is us in a nutshell. We are just trying to get things organized and done before the baby comes.

Been way to long!

2010-01-04T11:27:00.002-07:00

Well, here we are in a new year. I really have been slacking. Life got busy and then sicky,so here I am. We got a laptop and a router so now I can watch my kids while on the computer. This will hopefully make my life easier.
So to back track a little, we found out we are having another boy. So 3 boys, yeah!! I honestly had a hard time the first day but now I am excited to have another boy. His name will be Erik Brady White. Yes that is with a 'K'. It is the Swedish spelling, and since it is family name must keep it real. Brady just finished the baby's room. We painted it and finished the spots that didn't have molding. He borrowed some tools and now Brady is petitioning for more tools! The manly man toys!
We had Thanksgiving here at our house this year. There were 8 kids five and under running around. I think I might wait to do this again when kids are older! We did have fun though. The weather was nice to we got to go out alot and run the kids' energy off. This is a big plus for living in St George, Love IT. At the end AJ and Noble were ready to have mom and dad back. We hadn't realized how little one on one time we had with them until everyone was gone. The kids loved having us back! Nice to know they love us.
Next was Christmas. Most years I am on top of gifts and have them mostly done by Thanksgiving. This year all my focus was on making sure thanksgiving went well. So I spent the next 2 weeks getting presents done. I made Noble a crocheted dinosaur and AJ a cowboy vest. AJ and I got a pretty bad cold around this time too. We had fevers and felt nasty for a few days.
This year I decided to start a tradition in honor of my Grandmother Graham. She passed away the Saturday before Thanksgiving. She used to make a ton of cookies and not just one kind lots of different ones. So I did this and then gave them away to our neighbors and friends. It was fun and I am positive we'll do this next year. I won't be pregnant so it will be even easier!
Oh on Christmas I didn't feel good so by the next day I decided to go to instacare. Found out I had strep throat. Merry Christmas to me! I got worse before I got better which was no fun. Oh well, I feel better now.So to new years. Brady's sister and family came thru and stayed New years eve. We had fun with fondue and pinochle.
That brings us to last Friday when Noble started puking. Only my kid would be puking and running around at the same time. I ran out of the room so I wouldn't puke but Brady said he kept puking until he slipped on it. He puked until about 3am Saturday morning. He wouldn't keep water down. But he woke up at 8am the next morning bouncing around acting as if nothing happened. I slept in till 10 thanks to my husband since I was up till 3. Then Saturday night AJ decided to join in. And then there was me at 4am Sunday morning. Brady luckily never did fully join us though he never felt really good. Needless to say we stayed home from church the first Sunday of the year.
Well, hopefully we are done with the sickies. AJ starts school on Wednesday. Hopefully he won't bring anything home. He is really excited to go back to school. He is going to a different place this time, one closer to our house. Hopefully he'll be okay with it. Let's see, I am 25 weeks and rolling into the 3rd trimester. All down hill from here and so much to do before the baby comes.
Hope everyones year starts off great.
Pitctures will come later. Sorry.

Life!

2009-10-03T22:19:00.003-06:00

I have been really busy and lazy and haven't posted. Sorry. We have had a few changes.

First, for those who don't know, we did get our house in July. We have been here for 2 months now and love it. It is so nice to have a backyard again. I can let my kids out to play while I do other things. We have all just loved having space again. The boys are sharing a room, even though we have enough rooms for them to have their own. We decided it would be good to share. I don't know if it was the right decision. A few bloody lips and dressers squashing children latter we still have two boys. They are becoming better friends and tolerating each other more. There is always a few screams but we have learned to ignore most of them and let them learn to deal with it. Another decision I am not quit sure of but seems to be working.

So the second thing that has kept me busy and lazy has been #3. Yes that is right, we are expecting our third. As you read this please think Pink. I want a healthy baby yes, but I really need a girl. I have hopes this might be one but who knows. I have 12 weeks and I can find out in 2 more months. I am hoping before Thanksgiving. Anyways, the pregnancy has been better than the last 2. No throwing up just some dizziness and headaches and all the other joys of being pregnant.

Well, not much else. AJ is back in preschool and is starting to do better. It takes him a while to get adjusted to school. But he is really loving it. Noble wants to go sometimes too. Instead he gets to come home with mommy who is no fun while pregnant.

One thing I recently did is got addicted to the Twilight series. And I know who to blame. I watched the movie and liked it. I thought 'I bet the book is better than the movie', mostly cause they always are. I figured I would read it some day like I eventually read most books. Then I got on to my friends page, Shamae this is where I blame you!!. She posted the trailer for the second movie of Twilight, New Moon. I loved the trailer and knew I wanted to see the movie. So I decided before I saw the movie I had to read the first 2 books. While I read those in 27 hours and was addicted. I ran to the library the next day and got the last 2 books and read those. When I ended the last book I had read them all in 3 days. I was a little tired, and I had a crouchy husband, who does still love me! I am now a huge fan of the books. If you ever need a world to escape into these books will do it. No other book has kept me so captivated that I would choose reading over sleeping. Which is apparently not healthy while your pregnant, paid for that later. Anyways, I will be seeing the 2nd movie when in goes to theaters and I am excited to see how they try and stick to the story.

Well, not much else. I'll just post a few pics.

Here is the boys in front of our new house. AJ loves the tree and I am sure as soon as he grows another foot he'll be climbing it. And then breaking bones!

This is Pecan as Brady calls it. The middle picture is a 4d pic. It is cool cause you can actually see the arms and legs. Just hoping for a girl!

What we have been up to

2009-07-13T22:34:00.006-06:00

So life in our house has been a little crazy and up in the air lately.
First of all, we should be closing on our house this week at the latest next Monday. There is no set date because it took them forever to get the AC working. That is another story entirely. But everything is moving forward and we are now just waiting to sign and call it ours. Our kids are excited because everytime we drive by AJ tries to unbuckle his seat belt and get out. Then we have to explain that we can't move yet and then he cries to us saying "my house, my house". It is very cute and very reassuring that this move will not be as tramatic as the last one.
Since I last posted the fourth of July came and went. One tradition we started with our boys is to make sure they understand the reason we have the fourth. I was reflecting one day on what I do on the 4th. I then realized all I could think of is bbq's and fireworks. These things are all great but they are not the reason for the 4th at all. Having been raised in the military and really understanding the sacrifice people make for their country, military personel and families alike, I decided to make sure my kids appreciate that sacrifice. So this year we wrote cards to members in our families who have and are serving in the military. And for those who are not our family but have and our serving we Thank You from the bottom of our hearts. It is because of you we have the oppurtunity to celebrate the 4th and we are greatful for the sacrifices you make for that oppurtunity.
So now on to pictures of our fourth of July. We went to Cedar City for their parade and afterwards went to Cedar Breaks to go on a hike. It was loads of fun and 10-15 degrees cooler than St George.

AJ up at Cedar Breaks. I think it is beautiful but boy does this kid like to hang close to the edge!

Me. By the way I got a haircut. Much better short when it is really hot outside.

Daddy and Noble at the parade.

So this picture is from the week I thought my kids would never survive. If you can see the dot on AJ's lower lip that is from not staying in the cart at the store. He didn't bleed to much then. On his head he is sporting a nice 'goose egg'. I took this picture a few minutes after it happened. It actually got bigger. The same week Noble feel out of kitchen chair he was supposed to be sitting in not standing. He got a nice bump on the back of his head. I think this was also the same week mom didn't put enough sunscreen on Noble and he got a bad burn on his back. I paid for that when I was up with him in the night cause he couldn't sleep. And last but not least, Noble should have been sleeping but decided to play and somehow fell on his bed railing and got himself a nice bloody lip which later turned into a fat lip. Lips bleed alot, he screamed alot. I was just proud with all the blood and pain during this week that I did not once pass out. Yeah Mom!!! My kids have been fine since. Not even a scratch. I guess my nursing and sanity skills all come in spurts.

Well, that is it for us. Hopefully the next post will be of our new house.

Pictures

2009-06-22T13:26:00.009-06:00

Here is some pictures from recent happenings.This is in Zion and my kids are being so loving.

Here we are at the Zion narrows.

AJ wanted to touch the squirrel. I think the squirrel was expecting some food.

This is AJ playing by were we camped up by Zion. We had to scrub sand out of both the boys' hair the next day.

This is daddy and Noble in the virgin river.

This is my boys in the Fort something we went to. It was fun getting there, all a dirt road.

Wonderful Kids

2009-06-07T16:13:00.004-06:00

Today was a good day at church. AJ was telling me about the sacrament and reading me one of his church books. That made me feel like he really is getting what I am saying.

Not too much going on. We went to an awesome resturant here, it is called Pirate Island. We just had pizza, but we could have a bunch of other things. They had an arcade and a small play ground for kids. It had a little ship that would make canon sounds occassionally, the kids thought that was cool. And the coolest thing was that the kids menus turned into a pirates hat. I think we might go back sometime. All AJ has talked about since then is treasure. Well, I'll just post some pics of that trip.

Here is the ship playground. Lots of fun.

This is AJ pretend playing this car game. He was doing a good job pretending to shift and turn.

Pictures

2009-05-16T09:46:00.000-06:00

So I finally am getting pictures up. The first group of pictures is from our hike in Zion 2 weeks ago. We went to the lower ponds to see the waterfall. It was cool. AJ is really good at making a mile and a half hike into 2 hours. It was fun though. I will let the rest of the pictures tell of what we have been up to.

Waterfall at the pond.

Our family on a rock that AJ insisted was a picture taking rock. I have such a good looking family.

Here are my boys. They are growing up to fast. I love them soo much. They are just the cutest kids you will ever meet.

This is the wildlife we saw.

And this is what happens when mom leaves the permanant marker in reach of children. I was just glad it was on him and not anywhere else, that fact kept him from getting in big trouble.

These pictures were done at the church museum. This I believe was one of the original pulpits from the tabernacle. My boys were so cute. There was a kids area in the museum and it had alot of cool things to do. So if you ever go there ask someone about it, it was way cool.

Here is a picture of my brother and his wife. They were sealed last weekend. They are also due to have their baby boy in June. They look so good.

So this is what we have been up to. We were supposed to go to Zion today but AJ threw up this morning so that plan was axed. The boys did go for a drive and left me at home. I did some canning. My first attempt at apple pie filling. We will test it out tomorrow and see how it is. Nothing much else. Oh, for those who want an update, AJ's quilt is now in the handstitching stage. This part will take the longest but I think it will look good. I have a goal to have it done by October which is around the time it gets cool here at night.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T16:08:00.000-06:00

We hope everyone has enjoyed their Easter and remembered the real reason for this special day.

There hasn't been much here lastely. We but another offer on another house. We have no idea when we'll hear from the bank. So it is just another sit and wait time. Oh well.

I guess there was some fun stuff a week ago. My cousin got married here at the St George temple. Her family is from Houston and her husbands family is from California. So I guess here was half way. It was really exciting to see family and to go to a wedding. I felt bad though. The day before and the day after the wedding were beautiful but the day off was rainy and windy. What are the chances here in St George really! Well, congratulations you two, you make a cute couple.

Well, not much other than those things. We had our easter bunny thing Saturday and have tried to teach a 3 year old about Jesus and the resurection. I am just glad he knows who Jesus is.
We are having some friends over tonight to have a easter dinner. Ham and the whole works. It is my first time baking a ham, hope it tastes good.
Sorry no pics, blogger is being dumb and won't upload them so maybe next time.

The World of couponing

2009-03-19T09:42:00.000-06:00

So I haven't done much lately other than enjoy this world of couponing. I have gotten boxes of granola bars for free this last week, pasta for .49 and some more snacks for free or less than .50. I have a full pantry and have spent less than $50 this month. Way exciting!!!! Brady loves it too cause it stresses me out less with the bills. It has left me open to go buy AJ some much needed clothes. I went to old navy because I had a $5 of a $25 pirchase coupon. So he got some new shirts and some to grow into for next winter. Poor Noble didn't get anything but he has plenty of handme down too I guess. I am just having way to much fun saving lots of money.
Well, moving on. We are now looking at houses again because I assume the bank took someone else's offer on the other house. No one told us we just noticed it is off mls now. We found a house we liked but it was bid up way above what we want to pay. So we are still hunting. I am grateful to have a house now and I am trying to like living here. Somedays are better than others. I guess I just miss having a backyard and lots of counter space to make food. Oh well, there are many people now a days without all of that so I am very blessed for my husband to have a steady job with an income that pays our bills. I do like the friends I am making here and enjoy the sunshine and being outside. I think I am going to take the kids swimming today. It is supposed to be in the 80's again.=)
I hope everyone else is doing well and for those living in St george, enjoy the last days of spring break, for they are coming to an end.

No pics but an update

2009-03-10T23:53:00.000-06:00

So I haven't gotten the pics off of my camera so I figured I should at least update.
On the 24th of Feb. AJ turned 3. We had fun arguing with him that he was 3. He insisted that he was two and still insists that he is 2. In a year will have him saying 3! AJ also started preschool. I didn't really have a problem with it. I was afrtaid I would break down after I left but he did great. The teachers had to tell him I was leaving and I could heart him as he was running off that he said bye mom. He is doing better every day. The teacher says he gets better at the routine and is no longer throwing fits in class. So hopefully we will see an improvement at home. AJ also had his first dentist appointment and found out he has NO cavities. Yeah!! I don't think it is because we brush so good because he hardly lets us brush his teeth. I think its just because he got his teeth later. Anyways, I think that is enough about AJ.
Noble. Well, what can I say. He now thinks it is a fun game to run away from mom and have her chase him. He laughs so hard at that. Good thing mom is trying to get in shape so I can run faster than him! Noble is super fast for a 14 month old. By the way he runs and walks you would think the kids been doing it since birth, he hardly falls and has the whole stopping thing down which is something most kids his age haven't figured out. He is really cute and lets us know when he wants to eat by saying "mor mor mor" and trying to climb into his chair. He likes to play with his brother too. Even though AJ isn't quit keen on letting him play with his toys yet. We are still working on sharing but it is coming.
Me, I am trying to get in shape. I have started running after I drop AJ off at school. That way I only have one kid in the jogging stroller and he is usually content. I haven't been up to much else. Just trying to buy a house. Banks are dumb and won't give us an answer. We have waited 4 almost 5 weeks now to hear whether the bank will except our offer or not. So now it is back to square one I guess. We are now looking again at houses. It is difficult to find what we want and one that is in our price range. We are working on it though.
Our family is enjoying the weather and some fun hikes and outings. I have enjoyed the being able to go out lately, its'been great. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Nice weather for the weekend

2009-02-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post some pics form our trip to Snow Canyon State Park. The kids loved playing in the sand dunes and enjoyed the hike we went on up a canyon.

I buried Noble's legs underneath sand. He just laughed and thought it was great.

AJ had lots of fun building castles. He has been really into castles lately.

This is our family up near the end of the canyon.

My boys while we ate our lunch before we took off to the sand dunes.

And this is me "trying" to look good. My husband finds me very atrractive so that is what is important!

High School Tag

2009-02-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

High School Tag

1. DID YOU DATE SOMEONE FROM YOUR SCHOOL? I went on dates, seldom at that, but I thought it silly to actually date a person. I needed my freedom.

2.WHAT KIND OF CAR DID YOU DRIVE? I didn't get my license till my senior year so I just got my moms red van. Never even owned a car till I was married. I loved to ride my bike instead.

3. DID YOU PASS YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE TEST YOUR FIRST TRY? Of course!

4. WERE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL? Sure, it usually involved a little dancing and some crazy fun ( all clean mind you these where legal high school parties usually thrown by some church friends)

(Sorry forgot to flip, so please turn your head to the left)

5. WERE YOU CONSIDERED A FLIRT? I had to think but I guess I was. Not purposefully but it just kinda happened naturally. Hard to avoid when you have flowing blonde hair that whips around like in the commercials.

6. WERE YOU IN BAND, ORCHESTRA, OR CHOIR? I was on the color guard team in marching band, played percussion in symphonic and marching band another year, I played the piano and sang for our choir my senior year and I also occasionally played percussion for the community college orchestra (my friend played percussion for them and would call me if she needed help in an upcoming concert)

7. WERE YOU A NERD? I was a defenite band nerd. I guess I also took advanced classes but I don't know if that qualifies you as a nerd

8. WERE YOU ON ANY VARSITY TEAMS? The Winter Guard team, this is where the color guard competes without the band. It sounds weird to some but it was some really hard stuff and involved broken bones and concuissions for some. I only ended up with bruising over every part of my body.

9. DID YOU EVER GET SUSPENDED/EXPELLED? Of course not!

10. CAN YOU STILL SING THE FIGHT SONG? I can sing the melody but I have never known the words, curse of being in band. I do know the words and melody to the Alma Mater.

11. WHO WERE YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS?

12. WHERE DID YOU SIT FOR LUNCH? My junior and Senior year I hung out by the band room.

13. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S FULL NAME? Sherman E. Burroughs High School

14. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S MASCOT AND COLORS? We were Burros (no kidding) our colors were green, black, and white

15. WHO WAS HOMECOMING ROYALTY? I can't remember queen but the princesses were Dannon and Brandi. I don't know the guys

16. IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN WOULD YOU? No but I would love to go back and do the first couple months of being married over and over again!

17. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT GRADUATION? I remeber it was windy because we were outside and I was trying to accompany some friends and my music kept disapearing. I also remeber staying up all night playing gambling games to win prizes and eating a ton of food. By the time I left at 6am I felt like I wasn't safe to drive.

18. WHERE DID YOU GO SENIOR SKIP DAY? If I skipped I probably stayed home, since we lived hours away from any decent sized city.

19. WERE YOU IN ANY CLUBS? I was in pep club and I had my picture taken with habitat for humanity but I never went.

20. HAVE YOU GAINED SOME WEIGHT SINCE THEN? No but my body has shifted since high school. I think I had more muscle in high school due to running and being in physically good shape. That is compared to my post 2 babies and my deep love for any tasty dessert.

21.WHO WAS YOUR PROM DATE? Junior year was Jacob Butterworth. Senior year was Jacob Weingardner.

This pic is junior year

22. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION? Sure, why not if I get to show off my hott and amazing husband and the cutest kids ever!

23. DID YOU HAVE A JOB IN HIGH SCHOOL? I was a paper delivery girl. I worked at pizza Hut for a while and also did telemarketing for the newspaper in town. I also volunteered at the day care on base.

24. WERE YOU AN HONOR STUDENT? I believe so, I had good grades except for one C, apparently if you don't do your homework for class your teacher gives a low grade. I still passed that math final with a 110% second highest grade in the class, I didn't need homework.

25. DID YOU TAKE SEMINARY? All four years. First 2 years at 6:30am and the last 2 years at 5:30am, now that is dedication!

26. WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOUR MOST FUN TIME? Band trips and Band camp, need I say more?

27. WERE YOU CONSIDERED SHY OR OUTGOING? I think I was outgoing but I guess I was shy a little bit at first.

28. ANY LAST MEMORIES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? I have to keep this G rated so no band bus stories which is where some of my funniest memories come from. Sorry kids.

Sorry I have more pics up stairs but I am to lazy to get them and they are all already in an album and taped down. So no crazy senior pics, these 3 were from my junior year.

My Boy in Preschool

2009-02-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

So AJ ended up qualifying through the school district for their preschool. I met his teacher which made me feel better. I got to talk to her for a while and she understood how he learns and will work with him in a similar way and also try and guide him so he can learn also from the teacher. She also told me that they work with the kids 2 on 1. This is 2 kids and one teacher. This way they have interaction with the teacher and have some peer interaction to try and help them along. I think that will be great for AJ. He doesn't get to start until he is 3 so I have a few more weeks to get used to it. Luckily he will be going right across the street from us so I won't feel like he is a world away. It actually might encourage me to get out and exercise.

Well, besides that not much else has been going on. Noble is learning new words all the time. He is starting to say 'ball', because he plays with them all the time. He also asks 'wha is it' all the time to and then after I tell him what ever it is he know responds with 'oh'. What a cute and funny kid.
Brady is doing good, and so am I most days. I am just trying to keep sanity through this new stage we have entered with the boys.
Hope everyone has a Happy Valentines day, we are sending our love.

Who Ever thought of Standerdized Testing????

2009-02-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

So yesterday AJ had some testing done to see if he qualifies for a preschool. The test they gave was a standerdized test. Now I never had a problem with these tests growing up because I did well with them. Now that I have a little boy that has a mind of his own I being to understand the argument for how STUPID these things are. The lady would ask questions and I would say he doesn't know that word but you can substitute it for this word and he would get it but she said she couldn't. Then when AJ wanted to do something she asked but in a different way she would not let him because "it has to be done exactly the same by every kid" and of course AJ got mad and thru a huge fit that she wasn't letting him do the task. So I explained to her that my method of teaching at home, which by the way has gotten us the most progress in AJ's communication, is to let him lead me to what he wants to learn. So, if he wants to learn about Joey's (baby kangaroos) we get books about them at the library, or if he wants to learn how to make a snowman out of playdough, we learn how to do that. He has really advanced lately with this method of teaching instead of forcing him to try and learn. So this is what I told her and she told me that he will probably fail in the school system if he can only learn this way and he will never succeed in life. Really, I thought to empower a kid with self confidence and knowledge, that that will give him more ability to succeed than some stupid method of teaching they generlize to the standard good student. Sorry about this rant. I must explain that I am not an avid supporter of home schooling, and what I mean is that I don't think it is the only way. But I also know that public school is not for everyone. After this meeting I really felt like I either need to make a ton of money to send AJ to a Montessori school, where I feel he would learn the most, or I need to be prepared to home school him if he doesn't seem to be doing well in public school. I am still just appaled at what the lady said. I think she thought that we all need to be one way and that is the only way to succeed. I have to meet with her again in a week and I definitly think I will be telling her my mind, or maybe I will be cooled down by then.

Finally an update!

2009-01-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

I have been lazy lately. Really I just haven't had time to get pictures on the computer and I haven't really wanted to post without pictures. So here I finally update with some pics too.

Nothing realy has gone on lately. Brady and I sang in church yesterday a duet. It was nice but I always get so nervous. I think playing the piano is easier because if you can screw up you can fake something to make it sound like it was okay but when you screw up singing there is nothing you can do. Oh well, we did great.

We have been looking at houses. We think we found one that might work for our family but now it is the waiting game to see how we can get our downpayment together. It is frustrating knowing we can afford a house payment but can't come up with a couple thousand dollars for a down payment. We'll figure it out, if its meant to be it will happen.

Well, I guess I'll just posts pics now.

This is a before and after of Noble's first hair cut. He needed one a while ago but I had a hard time wanting to cut his hair because he wouldn't look like a baby anymore but more like a toddler. It saddened be to put him in that next stage but I had to do it. Really was because a guy at the store called him a girl and I decided that that shouldn't happen again!

Noble's birthday was a couple weeks ago but here our some pics of him from our little family party.

Noble Loves to play the piano. He looks like the next great pianist to me, don't you think?

After christmas some time we went on a hike my Snow Canyon. It was a little cold and breezy but not to bad. We had fun.

My Baby's 1!

2009-01-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

Noble turned 1 yesterday. He just had a little family thing. H eloved the cake of course and seem to enjoy one of his presents. I have some cute pictures but my computer is being retarded so I will try loading them later. AJ seemed to under stand the birthday thing better than his brother. He wanted to blow out the candle and open the presents. This was all after he took out a chunk of the cake before I frosted it. Needless to say he ended up in the living room for his own safety, mom was really mad. Noble seemed to have fun though.
So now is his first day of being one and I no longer have a baby I have 2 toddlers. They both get around and make a mess of my house and steal all the energy I have, but they are both oh so cute!! I love my boys I couldn't ask for anything better.
Hope everyone is doing well.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T09:54:00.001-07:00

So this blog is full of pictures and they will tell our recent going ons.
First of all we left last Thursday to go to Idaho for a before christmas visit. The day we left we had 3 inches of snow in ST George. Who would have thunk we'd get so much here in southern utah. We got back last night and it is all gone but I thought I would show that we really did get a significant amount of snow here.

So the main reason to go to Idaho was to see Uncle Quinten, Brady's youngest brother. He has been in Germany for the last 2 1/2 almost 3 years. So we were excited to see him. So this is a picture of him with my boys.

While we were in Idaho it snowed like a foot on Saturday and it was the good snow. The kinda of snow you can make a snowman with. SO here is our beautiful snowman and boys.

This is me with the boys outside. It took longer to gather up and dress the boys in the winter clothes than the time we spent outside. But AJ liked, poor Noble was a little mad after a while so I went back inside with him while dad took AJ sleding.

Dad and boys. Noble is covered in snow because dad put him down on walkway to walk and he walked right into a snow bank. He didn't like that so much!

We also went into Pocatello to visit frineds and some family. Here is my brother and his wife with our boys.

Now it is christmas time. AJ had fun opening presents. Noble tried a few and then just wanted to eat. Here is a picture of AJ with his new coloring book. After he opened this we lost him. He had also gotten markers from a cousin so he decided colorig was way more fun than openeing anything else.

Here is Noble and dad. Aren't they cute!

And this is our family christmas morning. I made the pajamas and the shirts say White family Christmas. I think we have a cute family. Our christmas was great. The kids had fun and so did my Brady and I watching the boys have so much fun.

Merry christmas to all and we pray that everyone is doing well.

not really snow=(

2008-12-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

So no snow stuck and it only snowed for a half hour. Not fair. The news said it might snow a little today. This morning at 7 my car said it was 29 degrees so their is a chance of it snowing if we actually get a storm. Well, as long as it doesn't snow this weekend when we go to Idaho I will be fine.

SNOW!

2008-12-13T19:36:00.001-07:00

Really it is snowing right now in St George. When I got out of the temple it was raining at about 6pm and at 7:30 it is starting to snow. You can see a little on our neighbors red truck but other than that I don't think much will stick. It is still kinda of exciting. Maybe there will be enough for the kids to play in for a few seconds tomorrow morning.
Now I feel ready for christmas.

White Family Christmas Letter 2008

2008-12-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

Below is our christmas letter. The one we sent out has pictures on it but I can't figure out how this site takes pdf files to upload. Anyways, here is our year in review.

December 2008
Dear family & friends,
The past year has brought many changes for the White family. We’d thought we’d better give you the rundown so you’ll be up to speed on where we’re at and what we’re up to.
Noble Jedediah joined our family on January 11, 2008. He weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 ½ inched long. He has grown quickly and has been mostly healthy, aside from developing an inguinal hernia last spring. We took him to Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City for surgery in April to have that fixed and he came through the procedure much better then his mother did. He has been crawling for months and is now starting to walk, so of course he gets in to everything and tries to go swimming in the toilet every time we turn our backs long enough. He has a smile that will melt your heart and a squeal that will pop your eardrums. We are happy to have him in our family.
Alan Jay turned two in February and exemplifies the terrible twos. He initially struggled with no longer being the only child, and he still has trouble sharing sometimes, but he is usually a good big brother. He isn’t talking much yet, but surprises us with new words every day. He loves to sing and sometimes we even recognize the songs he’s singing. He has been taking gymnastics and although he has trouble waiting his turn and sitting still, he is fearless and very good at running, jumping, and doing flips.
Brady enjoyed his job at the nursing home in Pocatello, but when the economy started slipping and his monthly bonuses started shrinking, he decided it was time to start looking for something else. He had a few interviews in July and ended up taking a job with Intermountain Healthcare, working as a public relations specialist at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah. He got to work finishing up last minute projects on the house in Pocatello so that it would be ready to sell and the whole family packed up and moved to southern Utah in August. Our house sold within two months and now we’re renting a townhome on the south end of St. George. He kinda misses having a house to work on, but he has been keeping busy building two bookcases and doing other little projects here and there.
Brady loves his new job and the people he is working with. His job responsibilities include writing and producing a weekly employee newsletter, maintaining both an internal and a public website (www.dixieregional.org if you’re interested in checking it out), and helping develop marketing materials for several departments within the hospital. He’s with a great company with excellent benefits and there are plenty of opportunities for him to move up the ranks.
Annalea has her hands full taking care of two energetic little boys, but she still finds time to bake bread, maintain the household, and learn to play the violin. She is enjoying the mild winter and beautiful scenery in St. George, but is really missing friends and family in Idaho. She is making some new friends, but it is a slow process. She really misses our old house but is glad her husband can spend time with the family on the weekends instead of pounding nails and crawling around in the attic. She misses having a backyard and hopes we can find a place in St. George with a yard before long.
At church, Brady and Anna were both called to be primary teachers for the 5 year-olds within three weeks of coming to our new ward. Being in the primary does make it harder to meet people in the ward but we enjoy our class. While trying to get a room full of youngsters to sit still is challenging, Brady thinks it is a bit easier than being Elder’s Quorum President.
The big move limited our vacationing this summer, but we have tried to visit some local attractions this fall, including Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Kolob Canyon. We also had an unexpected trip to Preston, ID and Vernal, UT in October for Brady’s grandmother’s funeral. Our townhouse is only five miles from Arizona, so we had to head south and visit Brady’s sister Alayna and her family in Phoenix for Thanksgiving. We plan to spend Christmas back in Idaho with family there.
We love you all and wish you the best during these bleak economic times. We’re just a short drive from several national parks and beautiful scenery and the weather is pretty nice around here most of the time, so please feel free to come visit us sometime.
With lots of love,
The Whites

Merry Christmas everyone.

What we have been up to!

2008-12-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

We haven't really been up to much but I thouight i'd share a little.

AJ's ankle seems to being healing well. He has been putting weight on it again and his limp is going away. He thinks he is totally fine so he tries to jump off of things already. AJ has been really fun lately because he is learning the alphabet and doing quit well. He'll run up to me or dad and ask us to read him whatever letter bookhe picked out and he usually will tell you the letter he grabbed. His favorite is C of course cause it has cookies.

Noble has been getting around quit well. I think he is so cute but I know to enjoy the cuteness now because when he turns 18 months I am expecting a flip flop. And if he doesn't do that then I am okay, but better to be prepared. Anyways, Noble gets into everything but AJ has taken to him getting around on his feet okay. I was afraid AJ would get mad and try to push him over but actually sometimes he seems to encourage him and want him to run around with him. AJ is a good brother and Noble really likes to play with his big brother. I put a video on here of my baby walking around too so everyone can see.

I have been finishing sewing some presents and now I am on to my own project for myself. I am hoping all of the sewing projects will be done before we got to Idaho. I guess I won't hold my breath. I have also been attempting pies. I want the pampered chef deep pie stoneware dish but my husband said I needed to make at least three good pies before he would let me do that. I have never made a homemade pie before. I only ever bought the frozen crusts. So on Sunday I made a pecan pie and a cherry pie. My cherry pie even has stars around the crust. I have 2 pies down and 1 to go. We'll here is my proof with an amazing picture.

My husband has also been kept busy recently. He finished our bookcases in November, but I thought I would share a picture of these amazing bookcases he made for us. They are solid wood and quit heavy. I love them though. I have a lot of books, I even have one more box that would not fit on these bookcases. I have the most amazing husband that is for sure. And I love him and all the amazing things he does for me, including making these awesome bookcases.

I have a christmas letter that I will try and upload latter this week for those I don't have an e-mail or home address for.

What a week

2008-12-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

The last week was quit fun. First we had AJ's last day of gymnastics. He had lots of fun because there was only 4 other kids there instead of 10, he isn't big on crowds. He really enjoyed the personal time and his dad was also there to do the last class. I think Brady had some fun in the foam pit too.

Then we went to Phoenix on Wednesday. The drive wasn't bad but we did leave 5 am in the morning. It rained the whole way until we hit Phoenix. At least it wasn't snow!! We had alot of fun visitng my sister-in-law and her family. AJ enjoyed having someone to play with, his cousin Zander is 4. Thanksgiving was great. Alayna, my sister-in-law, had planned out when to cook things so that everything ended up being done when we wanted to eat. It was perfect. She also taught me how to make rolls, so maybe my next attempt will be perfect, we'll see!

Brady and I played pinacle every night with Alayna and Brandon, her husband. It was nice to play it while children sleep. Brady and I aren't very good but we did manage to win 3 out of 4 games. I do believe the last time we were there we won also, so next time our luck might run out but hey bring it on!!! Well, The real fun part of the trip was Friday, when AJ and Zander chose not to take their nap and AJ jumped off of Zanders bed and, we are guessing, rolled his ankle. He is not a sissy boy and usually won't complain about being hurt but AJ wouldn't even walk on his ankle and it was slightly swollen. So I took him to an urgent care down there and they took 6 x-rays. All that and they just told me it was sprained. They did put a brace on it. We took him to his pediatrician here today and she said that it will be at least a week before he wants to put any weight on it again. So he crawls around everywhere now. Which is kinda funny because Noble has taken off walking, I think Noble realized now is the safest time to get around without a brother running into him.

We are having fun now and enjoying the christmas season. I am already done with christmas shopping thanks to Alayna and our black friday shopping. Happy holidays to all!

I thought I would share this cute picture of AJ. Doesn't he look like his dad? The coat even has elbow patches!

Kids are Cute

2008-11-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

So not much has been going on. We took the kids on a hike without the stroller. So Aj was left to wonder and try to follow us and Noble was in the backpack. It was nice to be hiking in red rocks. It was really pretty and AJ enjoyed crawling into the crevesses in the rock and crawling around inside and then trying to find a way out. After the hike we came home and the kids slept for 3 hours, that was the best part.
So yesterday Brady and I sang in the ward choir. One lady I visit teach was sweet enough to watch the kids so that we both sing. When we were starting to sing I could see AJ's head hanging over the pew in front of him and he pointed up at me and said "mommy upstairs", he knows you have to walk up some stairs so anything that has stairs is "upstairs". It was really cute, I think I smiled really big for the rest of the song. AJ usually doesn't care where we are at unless he needs something so it is nice to see that he really does love me.
Noble is cute too. He is going to be walking completely soon. He lets go and walks about 6 steps a couple times a day now. He could do more but he gets a little nervous when his brother comes walking in. He has learned the the higher you are the more it hurts when your brother pushes you!! Noble also likes to yell AJ's name, like when AJ was wondering off to far when we were hiking I started yelling his name and then you can here Noble going "Aj". He is really cute and way to inquisitive gfor his age. I blame that on him being so mobile. I went on a hike the other day with some friends I met and one lady said I had big kids. I guess AJ is still pretty big for his age but I think that Noble is so skinny. He is definetly healty, the boy eats a ton, but he is only like 21 lbs and AJ was a little bit heavier at this AJ. SO I suppose Noble is normal and AJ was really the heavy one. Anyhow, they are both rather cute and I think I'll keep them!!
I hope every ones Thanksgiving is good and that everyone is able to think of all the wonderful things they are thankful for.

Time to think

2008-11-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would share my thoughts.
I went to stake conference yesterday. While I was sitting there I was thinking about some of AJ's character traits or personality that seems to drive me nuts. Ironically any one who knows my son well and me knows that the poor kid has inherited much of my temperment and personality. The one trait that always sticks out to me is his stubborness. Sometimes, okay all the time, it is really hard to deal with. He just doesn't get it, somethings just don't work the way you want it to, I still don't get it I guess!! Anyways, I thought that his stubborness could actually be such a wonderful trait to have. It is obvious that these are the last days. When I was growing up it was much more difficult than when my parents were growing up and to think that it is even going to be worse for my kids some times scares me. I got to thinking that his stubborness could just be one of those traits that will keep him on the straight and narrow later in life, as long as we teach him right. I guess all this pondering just put me in a new perspective of his traits that reek havoc on my sanity some days. I really can look at my own life and see were my persistance and stubborness has kept me making right descisions. I guess he might turn out okay after all.

So my next thought while sitting there was how much the Lord has blessed me and my family. Sometimes people forget to put credit where credit is due. Thus I am going to tell all of you that we have not had all these wonderful things happen to us recently because we are amazing but because we trusted in our Lord and followed what he wanted us to do. Even though it was hard, didn't entirely make sense, and left us wondering for a while.
When we moved we left our house in Idaho unsold and moved to Utah knowing full well that we would not be able to afford making rent and a mortgage. Now most people would have stayed until their house sold and tried to get the new job to wait a month or so. We opted not to do this. The reason was because we took our matter to the Lord, we prayed about the job and whether we should move and what not. Leaving out most the details I can tell you without a doubt that moving without our house sold and starting the job right away was what the Lord wanted. Was it easy? Are you kidding, I left my house unsold and didn't know if I would be able to feed my family! But my husband and I knew we would be taken care of by the Lord if and only if we followed what he had guided us to do. So we packed up and left, house unsold. Long story short, after a little less than 2 months we signed papers and sold our house, even with a little profit which is amazing in this economy. We never went hungry, we paid all our bills, and still had fun. I am not writing this to show how good we are for following what the Lord said but to share my testimony of personal revelation. The Lord speaks to each of us and has a plan for each of us. For whatever reason this is where the Lord wants us now. I know that if everyone prayed ernestly about what the Lord wanted them to do and honestly followed what the Lord guided them to do, that in the end, they would be so much better off.

Life in the White House

2008-11-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

So there is really nothing exciting going on. Noble can climb all the way up the stairs if someone leaves the gate open. A little surprise for me when I was trying to finish getting ready upstairs and AJ left the gate open downstairs next I knew Noble was half way up the stairs. Crazy kid can do way to much for 10 months old! AJ is getting better at talking. He is pretty much making 2 word phrases all the time and we are now working on 3 words, which is getting better at too. Life has been pretty good with these kids. AJ is getting better at learning what it means to wait his turn. In gymnastics we have to wait all the time for the next event because some kids are faster or slower than others. So we have learned to stand and count. He can now count to five. This is great but now when I am playing the piano sometimes I can hear him counting waiting for him to have his turn, pretty cute, I guess I can't turn him down to play the piano because he has been really nice about waiting.
As for me, I had a littl eclass at church about how this whole couponing thing works. Now it seems simple that you just use the coupons whenever you need them, but they explained that you can doublke up coupons if one is a store coupon and the other a manufacture coupon. Also if Albertson's is having a sale and you have soupons for things they have on sale it can really cut costs. So I got some frozen vegetable boxes for 50 cents because I had a coupon on top of their deal. Albertsons also ahd a thing if you bought $30 of certain items, which I had coupons for, you get $15 to spend there next time. So because the $30 is before coupons I actually only paid $26 after taxes and still got $15 back. Which I used yesterday on meat since it was on sale, getting 4 lbs ground beef and 3 pounds ribs and 1 soda because I deserved it, for $1.01. I feel like I am doing okay. It is true sometimes that you can get the store brand cheaper but if you have a coupon and it is on sale at the store I am willing to bet that it is then cheaper than the generic. My best find was yesterday I got cearel at Walgreens, yes Walgreens, for $1.50 a box plus I got $2 to spend the next time I got there. The boxess were on sale and I had a dollar of coupon. The $2 deal was if I bought 4 boxes and I had 4 coupons so it works out that really I only paid $1 a box. Well, anyways, I hope everyone is having a wonderful November and has excellent plans for Thanksgiving. We are going to Phoenix to visit my sister-in-laws family. We are excited to see them and have a little vacation.

What Happened to Thanksgiving!!?

2008-11-01T21:35:00.003-06:00

So my question for tonight is what happened to thanksgiving? Really, we went to the store tonight and they were getting rid of all the halloween stuff and were playing christmas music and had christmas trees up and santa out, the whole works. I am not against the christmas music but come on people decorate a little for thanksgiving.

I am not a huge fan of halloween, if it disappeared off of our holiday list I wouldn't care to much, though I would miss the pumpkin seeds. It is thanksgiving that I love the most. As a kid that is when we would really try to get together as family. And it was also when I could eat some really good food, stuff I don't remember getting for the rest of the year (love you mom). So I am totally looking forward to greenbean casserole, some homemade stuffing and some cherry pie (because I don't like pumpkin pie).

Anyways, our halloween. It was fun. On thursday our ward had a chili cook off. I am proud to say that I won the best vegetarian chili, though I wonder if mine was the only one entered. AJ played some games around the church and then enjoyed his first halloween he understood, last year he didn't get the whole open the bag and keep the candy in the bag thing. On thursday we all dressed up as a bunch of farmers. I found out that I still fit my overalls that I got my freshman year of high school, even after two kids. I felt pretty good.

Then on halloween AJ dressed up as a fix it man. I wanted him to go as that to the ward party but I was worried he might lose all his toys. He was really cute. We just went to a few houses in our neighborhood and went home, which was fine with AJ cause he spent the rest of the night trying to eat all his candy. I caught on and we sent him to bed. Brady and I watched the new Indiana Jones movie, I guess not much of a halloween movie but we liked it.

Today Brady has been working on our bookcases all day. All thats left is to sand one and stain them. They look amazing, I have such a talented husband, and really cute kids. Which Noble took two continuos steps today, he fell on the third. He is so cute. He says dada when dad comes home and now claps when he wants more food (he hasn't gotten the closed hand for more so he just claps). He can also repeat his name sometimes. Dad called his name from another room and Noble looked at me and said his name, he is sooooo cute.

I found out that my best frined from college had her little girl last night and then my best friend from high school had her little boy 2 weeks ago. Isn't it so excited to hear from friends that they are having babies too? Maybe I am just weird but I was really excited for them, or maybe it is just now we have that much more in common! Well, that is all our news. Hope everyone had a safe and happy halloween.

Mr. Fix-It wanting the trick-or-treaters candy.

He is so cute, he really does try to use his tools to help dad fix things.

These our my farmer boys, AJ has left over chili on his shirt.

These pumpkins are supposed to represent the kids, though neither one wanted to help. AJ found the remote and watch the disney channel, and Noble wanted to eat the insides to we just kept him busy with gold fish crackers.

Weekend Trip

2008-10-18T21:03:00.000-06:00

We took a quick trip today to Kolob and Cedar Breaks. It was fun and since they are close to home it didn't take all day and we were back in time for afternoon naps. I thought I would share some pictures.
The first two are at Kolob and the last two are at Cedar Breaks. Both gorgeous places to visit if you ever have the chance.

Family Update

2008-10-16T19:12:00.000-06:00

I realized it had been a while since I had updated so I finally do have a few things to write. Starting today. The boys had their doctors appt. with their new pediatrician. The joy of moving is you have to go back through the search of finding people you like. Luckily I liked our doctor so I don't have to look for that anymore. Noble was 29 inches tall and weighed 20.5 lbs. AJ was 36 lbs. I don't think AJ has gained any weight for a while and Noble only gained 1 pound from his 6 month to his 9 month check up. I gues they are both slowing down in growing.

A couple weeks ago our family went on a fun trip to Idaho and then to Vernal Utah. The reason was for Brady's grandmas funeral. It was one of those funerals that wasn't really sad cause grandma was 98 years old and had been in bad health for years. It was more of a remembrance of her long life. I learned alot about her at the funerals and felt like she must have been a really fun and interesting person to be around. I guess I'll get to know her better after I die, which won't be for a very long time!

So I guess not much else has gone on. This weekend we plan on going to Kolob. We want to see a few more sites before it starts snowing more in those areas.

Oh so the exciting news is that we sold our house. It was all official October 6th. We didn'tmake much money off of it but we were glad it sold and to be done with that chapter of our life. Now it feels like we can move on into the next chapter and enjoy our time here in Utah.

This is a pic of AJ in Preston having fun with the leaves.

The kids were bored waiting inside during the viewing so they all went outside. I think the boys decided to make me their leaf pile. It was kind of funny.This is our family. We took this one in vernal.This is Noble. He is just so cute.

Zion is Gorgeous

2008-09-21T14:59:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we made a family trip to Zion National Park. Zion is only about 45 minutes away from where we live so it was a nice break without a long drive. Mom knew we couldn't stay past 2 because nap times were around there and sure enough, we were on the bus back to our car and the fits began. But I do consider that normal and a minor detail in our exciting trip. So I will just post pictures so you can see instead of read.

Here are my boys getting ready to ride the bus through the park.

AJ was so excited to be out in an open area. We ate lunch at the Grotto and he seemed to like to run around and play with sticks there, not much eating was done.I thought this picture of Noble was kind of funny. He seemed to like to be in the backpack most of the time though.Dad, who actually wanted to eat and not run around. Here is Brady and Noble hiding under the bus stop. It had started raining while we were eatin glunch and we weren't sure how it was going to turn out. It ended up rainging for only a few minutes and was actually pretty light. We just couldn't tell due to the gorgeous rock formations in the way.This is my favorite picture. This is the view from weeping rock. It just doesn't get much better than this.Just so you know, AJ was totally falling out of my arms. But this is our family pic.
This is me at weeping rock. Isn't it gorgeous (the rock of course)?

So Lonely without my better half=(

2008-09-11T23:25:00.001-06:00

My husband is on his retreat and will be back tomorrow around the normal time he gets home everyday. I think I learn to appreciate all the things he helps me with when he is gone. Like getting the kids up in the morning. I am so not a morning person. I like it when after I feed the baby he takes him downstairs to play while I get myself ready and then I get the oldest up and we go have breakfast as a fam. Well since dad wasn't here, I tried getting ready with my baby but he just wanted to nurse more instead of play, I think he needs to leave the room to have something else on his mind. AJ got up okay but wasn't to interested in eating and we totally forgot to read scriptures and say prayer this morning all because dad was gone. I am so glad I have a wonderful husband who helps keep us in order in our house.

Today wasn't all bad, the kids went to bad rather nicely. We'll see how tomorrow goes. I am going to take them to the dinosaur farm and hopefully that will fill up part of our day so it won't seem so long. Maybe we'll have a picnic too because it is finally cooling down a bit. I just wish they had more trees here to find shade under, oh well.

So, we are looking at new tvs and I was wondering if anybody had suggestions on what they have whether you like it or not. We are looking at either a 27" or a 32", anything bigger than that is to big. Heck, that is way bigger than our 14" which is even smaller when you watch those widescreen movies. Well, I wouldn't mind some input if anybody had some.

So this is our new home. It is definetly different renting and not owning our own home anymore. There is the advantage of not having to fix everything, we call someone to do that. Yet there is the many design flaws in this place that I would love to rip out and redo, don't get me started on how unintelligent this person was when they designed our "walk-in closet". Well, none the less it is our home and we love it here.

This pic is from our trip to Cedar City Labor day weekend. I hardly ever get a picture with my boys cause I am always taking it so Brady was kind enough to take one of me to prove that these our my children, not the stretch marks are proof enough!

I think we need to work on that picture taking thing. Neither one of them really seem to get the whole smile for the camera, it usually comes after the flash. Weird!

Bank Fraud

2008-09-08T17:30:00.000-06:00

BEWARE, we just had a bank statement come from my husbands bank and it had a charge of 9.70 that I knew he had not made. The company is Image Company out of NJ and the phone number for the place is 1-888-329-3564. Watch out it is a fraud.
Keep a close eye on your accounts. It is debted so the bank usually will not refund it. I guess I am supposed to keep track of my husbands account not too. I had assumed he checked on line occassionally but I guess not.
Just everyone watch out. I know someone else that had this happen to them so I know we are not the first nor are we going to be the last.

Darn construcition road and tires

2008-08-31T21:29:00.000-06:00

So we now have one complete flat tire which we had to change today while on our drive in Santa Clara. Our other car has a slow leak in it, figured that out when we were in Cedar City on Saturday. So we believe that these problems are caused by the road they are tearing apart that goes to the freeway. We now will not take that road anymore. Hopefully our tires are still good and only need patching.
Well, we were in Santa Clara today because yesterday they did an unveiling of statues of my ancestors. They had the old Utah governor Mike Leavitt talk at it beacuse he is also a descendant. I think it is fun to go and learn about the people who came before us. Especially those who are the first to areas and have to settle them on their own. It was neat seeing the statues and reading stories about the people. Some of the stories I had heard which makes me feel good that I can remember a few stories that my grandma has told me. It is such a wonderful oppurtunity for me to live here in St George now because there is a ton of family history. From the builing of the temple to the settling of towns it is amazing to hear and see what my ancestors did then and now to see what the towns have grown into. I am so excited to learn more.
Oh, just so those who were following I took some diflucan for my infection and they gave me nystatin cream to put directly on the problem. Some of the burning has gone away, but I figure it might take a couple weeks for the cream to get rid of all the readness but I hope the diflucan got rid of the rest.
Brady wanted me to tell all that we had a light bulb explode in our family room. Never heard nor seen such a thing, have any of you? Hopefully it won't happen again because we have a 7 month old who believes everything goes in his mouth and a two year old who would have used it to possibly beat up his brother (having issues with pushing from older brother). Anyways, I have to finish making my bread, hope all is well with everyone else.

Just one of those days.

2008-08-27T22:26:00.001-06:00

It was just one of those days for me. Those days were you can't seem to be happy and everything that can cause stress in your life weighs down on your shoulders like a ton of bricks. I feel bad for my kids when I am like that. Noble cried most the day, though I think he is teething cause he has cried all week and has driven me nuts. AJ just kinda did his own thing today. He is getting pretty good and knowing which days are better to leave mom alone. I think he was tipped off on that when mom started crying today for no reason, well there was a reason but I am not going to write it here. Anyways, this evening Brady and I, and the kids of course, went to look for a couch. We need one and can afford one once our house sells! Well, we went to this totally awesome store that had a tv with cartoons on and toys for AJ and when we walked around they had those car carts they have at the mall for the kids, and they were free to use. AJ loved it and we didn't have to keep yelling at him to not push the lamp off the desk or not jump up and down on the couches. Okay so we did have to tell him a few times but overall he stayed in his little taxi!! Kids are great fun! I never thought I would miss having a couch as much as I have. Oh well, there are worse things. Hope everyone else is enjoying cooler weather, I think Phoenix was even cooler than us today. We were around 107, and thank heaven for air conditioners!

It is HOTT here!

2008-08-22T20:20:00.000-06:00

St George i sreally hot. I attempted to go on a walk yeserday at 3pm. I made it around our complex and came home rather promptly. I was sweating buckets by that point. I just have ot tell my self that the summers here aren't nearly as long as the winters in Pocatello. So, soon I will be able to go outside whenever and go for a walk. We do have a pool here but the thought of watching two little kids, of which one I would have to hold the whole time, in the pool by myself is a little too much. AJ likes to see how far he can go out even if it means all you see out of the water is his hands. I am not quite sure if he has even learned how to hold his breath. He has really taken to liking the pool though and for that I am glad, it just means we bribe him to get out of the pool!! Both of my boys right now have really runny noses. I am hoping it goes away soon. I am really worried that Noble has an ear infection but even if he did I would rather wait a week and see if it goes away on its own before I were to give him meds. He doesn't have a fever so that is a good thing. I do think that Noble and I have been passing a yeast infection back and forth. After talking to my mother-in-law about thrush I looked it up and read more about the symptoms. I had already known that it was painful and that the babies usually get white stuff around their mouths so I never thought that was what we had. After reading more about it I think that is what I have been calling my clogged milk ducts. (sorry for anybody who really doesn't want to hear) I would really like to go to the doctors and get this all fixed but it really sucks when you are in between jobs and don't have health insurance. We will in a little while but not now.
Everything else in our life is great. I am starting to make some friends and actually found someone who taught at my husbands high school. She was the speech teacher so you might know her Caranna but she said she remembered Quinten. Small world. Well, off to cute my HOTT husbands hair (Yes I still think he is HOTT)!!

St George Utah

2008-08-12T16:01:00.001-06:00

We are officially in St George Utah. We have never had an airconditioner and thus did not know it wasn't working right. SO yesterday we had someone come and fix it and teach us a little bit about them. Not really the time of year to have the thing not working either. Well, we are slowly unpacking and getting settled in. My mom has been helping watch the kids so I can unpack. I think unpacking is much more fun than packing and it happens ahole lot quicker. I love the view from my kids' bedroom it is so beautiful. Just so everyone has our new phone number it is 435-773-9855. Well, my baby is waking and i have to go so I will write later.

Moving

2008-08-04T21:14:00.000-06:00

For all those who do not know we are moving to St George Utah this weekend. Yes, no warning for those who live far away. I myself have only really known for a week and a half. We are well on are way to being totally packed. Our only hang up is selling the house right now. If anybody out there knows anybody who wants to by our house please send them our way. Other than our house, we are totally ready to be gone. If anyone is free this friday we wouldn't mind some help too. We are loading the U-haul friday evening and taking off on Saturday. So long to Pocatello Idaho. Utah here we come. Hope everyone else lives has been less eventful than ours and quit a bit less stressful than mine!! Love all you out there.

The Sick House

2008-06-30T08:38:00.000-06:00

Just as a warning, you may want to keep away from our house for a while. Right now we are experiencing a lot of sickness. But you can come at your own risk if you would like. Lets see, since it has been a while I have a lot to share. For me, we have found out that I am lactose intolerant. I am in denial slightly so I had milk in my cereal the other day. While I went on a walk to the farmers market affterwards and ended up makeing a mad dash for the bathrooms. This whole intolerance thing sucks since I burnt cookies last night and they only go good with milk. Well, next is AJ. We took him to urgent care yesterday because he had a fever of 104. By the time the doctor saw him we had been sitting in the air conditioned building for a half hour so his fever went down to 102. Not much better though. They couldn't figure anything out so just said it was some virus and to keep giving him medicine. I think he finall broke his fever at 1am last night. Next is Noble. We think our baby has croupe. He gets this awful cough at night that when he starts into fits I have to hold him up or he stops breathing. The first night this happened I didn't sleep because he would stop breathing a couple times during the night. He seems to be getting better. Last night he was sleeping in his car seat so he could be propped up, and I happened to hear him making lots of noise so I go to look at him and he had flipped himself out of the seat and onto the floor and was playing. I think he likes to be on the ground and playing. Last but not least is my husband who felt sick luckily for only half the day. I made him take a nap and made sure the kids were quite and he felt better after that. Hope fully today is a better day and we all can get feeling better.

Summer days!

2008-05-19T21:16:00.001-06:00

The weather has been so nice, a little taste of summer before it drops back down. My boys are both growing and getting smarter all the time. I am really glad AJ has started being able to communicate with us better. It has made somedays better than they used to be. Noble is a giggler, he loves to laugh. He thinks AJ is funny when he starts talking to him. It is really cute. Oh, I taught AJ how to use the hose. He presses the thing and loves to watch the water spray. It is funny cause then he will turn around and say WOW, like 5 times while he is spraying.

Right now my husband is putting in the screens that he made. I went and bought them so that has to count for something! It will be nice to be able to open our windows and keep out the bugs while staying cool this summer. I could always put our air conditioner in the window but I am to cheap and don't want to pay for the electricity to run it. If it gets above 105 then I'll put it in. I survived last summer without it and I was pregnant so we should be good.

Well, not much else. Just staying busy and playing outside any chance we get.

This was Grandpa Waite's birthday present, an updated picture of the boys. The sign AJ is holding says "Happy Birthday Grandpa" but the lighting wasn't so great.

Finally an Update!

2008-05-12T19:48:00.000-06:00

Sorry it has been so long. Alot has gone on since last time. Noble had his surgery. It went great. I almost passed out afterwards but hey I don't do well with other peoples blood. His iv popped out so I was getting faint. Anyways, he is doing better now and his hernia is gone. He had his doctors appointment today and he weighs 17 lbs 7oz and is 26 1/2 inches at 4 months old. I guess I can only make big kids!! He started solids tonight, not exactly a success but he'll get it down. AJ is increasing his vocabulary everyday. It is great to see such growth. Today he even tried saying prayer for family home evening. All we understood was thank you and amen. It is a start at least.
I have been up to a lot. For some reason lately I have been feeling rather domestic. As in, I am making our own laundry soap, way cheaper and better than the stuff I buy. I do cloth diapers, I am finding ways to freeze and can my produce from our vegetable garden (which we hope succeeds this year). By the way, our vegetable garden will never happen if it NEVER STOPS SNOWING. Do I seem a little irate, well I am. This is mid May and it snowed today. I was at an appointment with my boys. None of us had sweaters, we all were wearing sandels, t-shirts and shorts. I hate Idaho right now. I don't think i will ever get used to the fact that the weather can be beautiful one day and freezing the next. Well anyways. I am happy otherwise. On Saturday we had a little party to celebrate having closed on our house one year ago. Everyone who helped was invited. Our house is still a work in progress but is so much better than what it was a year ago. I love my house and especially my kitchen. Anyways, hope everyone is doing great. I think we are all doing good here, just prayin for some warmth.

Primary Children's Hospital is great!

2008-04-10T09:16:00.000-06:00

We went to Primary's yesterday for Noble. The doctor wasn't even in there for more than 5 minutes but told us it was a hernia and told us a little about the surgery. He was really nice. I was most impressed with the facility. Of course the hospital is totally for children but I wasn't expecting it to have murals on the wall everywhere and in the waiting room they had little cars to drive and toys on the wall. It was great. It was the first time I think my husband and I had a hard time taking AJ out of a waiting room. Usually he wants to get out of places and move to the next. Anyways, everything went great. We have our surgery planned for April 21st. We have to get to the hospital around 6am. That is right, I actually have to wake up early in the morning to get him there. My only trouble is they want him to fast. I have to stop feeding him about 2am and then I can feed him water up to 2 hours before the surgery. This will be interesting considering my boy eats all the time. They did say that I will be able to take him home the same day which is one less thing I have to worry about. I am a little bit less scared about it all after going but it is still my baby having surgery, nothing will make knowing that less scary.
AJ is doing good and mom is holding together. Hopefully soon the weather will warm up so I can take this boy to the playground and run him tired!

Spring Time At Last!!

2008-04-02T08:54:00.000-06:00

Yeah, it is starting to warm up here. Today we might actually be able to go outside and play. And then again AJ has a fever so maybe not. AJ woke up last night and was burning up. I couldn't get his temp the first time but the thermometer reached 100 in seconds so I knew he had a pretty bad fever. We are just taking tylenol and hoping it will pass. With no other symptoms I have no idea of what to do right now.
Well, after 3 days of mom being sick I finally feel okay and am not spending my days posted near a toilet. I really hope this bug doesn't make its way back through my house.
Noble is doing good. Nothing new there except he slept real good last night. Figures cause his brother didn't, no rest for the weary! Hope everyone else is fairing well.

Mom's can't get sick=(

2008-03-27T10:39:00.000-06:00

So this morning was not so good for me. I ended up throwing up but I feel better now. I just think moms should not get sick. As if we don't already have a busy day without having to take care of ourselves. All well. I do feel better now. My boys are being cute today, except for AJ pooing all over his bedroom floor but we are all cleaned up and have moved on to being cute.
I hope someone out there is enjoying warm weather for me because it is cold here still and I am ready for it to be in the 50's at least.
Our update on Noble is that he has an initial appointment with a pediatric surgery on April 9th. So hopefully everything we find out then will just reassure me. Somehow I feel I am still going to have another day where I just cry all day. I am mom and mom really doens't like the idea of my babies having to have surgery so young. I know it will make it better for him but I am still worried. I am just hoping for the best.

Kids get bigger so fast!

2008-03-26T09:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Noble's 2 month check up. It was a good and bad visit. Well, the good part was when he was weighed and everything. He is now 14 lbs. 7 oz and 24 1/2 inches. This means he gained 7 lbs in 2 months. So he is the same weight AJ was at this point. I guess Brady and I only make big kids even if they come smaller. So the good part of this for me was I was worried he wasn't always getting enough to eat because he doesn't nurse real long. But I guess he is fine!! So the bad news. Noble has an ingunial hernia, which we knew but I was just waiting for this visit to talk to the doctor. He told me for this hernia he will need surgery. Not exactly what any mother wants to hear but escpecially about their 2 month old. Needless to say yesterday was not a good day for me. We are going to try and get him into Primary Children's even though they can do it here. I just feel like they would have done more of these surgeries there than they have here, just the same reason I go to a pediatrician, they really know what they are doing. Today I have to call the doctor and tell him that we want primary's and then we will go from there. When I know more I will update.
I am hoping today is better than yesterday. I hope there is no rain so maybe I can send AJ outside for a little while. Well, I am going to post some pictures of my cute boys from Easter Sunday. AJ loves his brother and thinks it is fun to try and hold him.

AJ and Noble chilling out together on the bean bag.
AJ giving Noble a hug.
Noble was done with pictures at this point and I don't think he wanted to be held anymore!

This is AJ on the hunt for easter eggs at grandmas house.

Yeah, Noble found an egg too!!!

Just an update

2008-03-21T09:55:00.000-06:00

Our family has been keeping busy. Yet it hasn't been anything really big just the usual stuff. St. Patricks day was a few days ago so I thought I would share a few pictures from that and a little video I made of Noble. Noble was being terribly cute that evening and I was trying to get him to say hi to you Grandpa Waite. I thought him saying hi to you would brighten your day! Well, we have really nothing going on. So I'll just post our fun pictures.

This is our Green Eggs and Green toast.

Don't I have some really cute boys.
Here's Noble in his first video.

I ran away!

2008-03-13T20:25:00.000-06:00

So the title is such because when my husband Finally came home tonight I gave him both boys and said I'm leaving. I went out for a couple hours. I got a milk shake and attempted to find something at Ross that I could fit. So apperently if you are nursing there is absolutley nothing you can buy. My chest is to big to fit anything cute and you can't get any of those cute tie shirts cause then you couldn't nurse. I am not quit sure how effective the trip to Ross was in making me feel better. At least I got to listen to my music. While I was driving around tonight I was one fo those people I hate. I had my music loud and my base on. I learned my car has a pretty good system. Anyways, it was nice to listen to my girl power music that I used to listen to all the time until I had kids. Now I listen to Little Einstein and disney songs all day. I think they are starting to make me go nuts. I noticed the other day I was singing one of the Einsteins ditty's without even knowing I was. I felt a little crazy.
Anyways, I am surviving now and hoping that tonight I get more than three hours of sleep.

What time is it?!

2008-03-09T21:18:00.000-06:00

So the time change really confuses me because I only remebered to change one clock in our house. Luckily that one clock was the one in our bedroom so we weren't late for church.
AJ is still a little sick but he always seems to hold on to these stomach viruses for a few days.
Noble is doing a little better. I think his cold is starting to go away which has allowed him to eat a little better. He had to 4 1/2 hour blocks of sleep. I feed him in between and was able to go right back to bed. I felt so much better this morning having slept most the night.
SO yesterday was entirely devoted to finishing our laundry room. I was able to help a little too. We mudded holes and chipped off old paint and mudded more. Then Brady textured the walls. It looks so much better textured because it covers the cracks in the plaster. After the texture dried we were able to prime the walls and that is where we are. The next couple days we will be painting the ceiling and molding white and the walls yellow. I am so excited!! I won't be so embarresed to bring people through our back door and into the laundry room. After that room is complete the only major project left is to finish off the basement. This involves redoing plumbing and buying a new furnace. Also putting in more outlets and lights. But hey at least our upstairs is almost done.
Tomorrow is laundry day, as are all Mondays. So if anyone is bored you can stop by, I'll be here all day.

What a difference a change makes!

2008-03-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

In my last blog I noted that I was trying something new with AJ and doing timeouts. In the past three days we have not had one major tantrum and my husband toldme while I was gone he put him in timeout. The first one in 3 days. AJ seemed to have gotten the message. We still have the beginning of tantrums but I have also tried different approaches with him to understand what he is angry about. Something I learned is that anger is a secondary emotion. You are always angry about something whether it is your tired, emotional, or hungry. So I have learned from this to find out the real reason AJ is starting to get angry and then we don't get into the hard core tantrums. Seems so simple but it has taken me a while to learn this. He really is such a sweet boy. I try and spend my mornings teaching and playing with him as much as he will let me. He likes to run off after a while and take a break so mom doesn't spend every minute with him! Well, last night AJ threw up. I think it was the casserole I made. The onions might not have set right with him cause they didn't set right with me. He seems to be doing better this morning.
Noble still has a cold and can't breath to good while eating. So I am nursing him every hour just cause he can't eat for that long. I feel bad when the little babies get a cold. It is not fair cause they don't understand why they can't breath and are completely uncomfortable. He is doing good otherwise. He coos alot, especially when he is getting ready to spit up, which is a nice warning. He also has become more consitant with rolling from his stomach to his back. SO his tummy time ends up being rather short do to his unwillingness to stay there. He is really cute though.
As for me, I am doing good. With figuring out AJ's triggers to tantrums and being able to deal better with him life has been great. Noble also sleeps through the night better. I would have slept better last night if AJ hadn't of thrown up and I hadn'tstayed awake listening for him to do it again. I am right now trying to make myself feel like I am teaching AJ something. He is behind most of his peers in communication and I am trying to help him. He seems to want to learn a few words but not all of them and has still yet to consitently call me mommy and Brady daddy. I am at a lost for what to do. He not a dumb kid just has chosen not to verbalize things and if anyone has any ideas of how to work with him I wouldn't mind some help. I hope I can figure it out, because it has made me feel a little like I am failing AJ as a mother.
Tell next time.

Try a different View

2008-03-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

So for the past couple days I have tried to do different things to deal with my sons tantrums. One, I realized that I thru tantrums when I was young and he at least doesn't hold his breath until he falls over like I did. So, I sat down with my husband and decided to try time outs. Now, we have only been doing this for a couple days but it really has seemed to work. There aren't really any fewer tantrums just that a few have been shorter cause he doesn't like being in the corner and a few have been as long but have at least kept him from throwing things and hitting mom. Life has been a little better since we have started time-outs. AJ has also been really helpful around the house. Picking up toys when he is supposed to and helping load the dishwasher (he even let the dishes stay in instead of taking them all out!). This morning he helped me make apple juice which was kind of fun.
All these fun things AJ gets to do are only when the babyis sleeping. Once he is awake he is attached to me for the rest of the day, no fun for mom. I love the little guy though. He is starting to smile and coo all the time. He does seem to eat a lot though, and sometimes I wish my husband had the equipment to feed him too so I could get a break!
My days have been much better lately. The baby is sleeping more consistently though the night and AJ is getting a little easier to predict. Oh, if anyone has any suggestions on potty training that would be great because AJ is ready for it. The fact he has now figured out how to pull off his diaper and poo on my floor told me he was ready.
Anyways, so when life is hard and you are frustrated with kids just try a different view, then they aren't so bad!
This picture is from my brothers wedding almost a month ago. Noble was 4 weeks old so if I look dishoveled that is why. But don't I have a cute family?!

Just Another Day

2008-02-27T12:17:00.001-07:00

So I thought I would post even though nothing exciting is going on. My dad is in Kuwait and is headed over to Iraq sometime today or tomorrow. I guess that is about all that is happening.
Noble slept for five hours last night without eating though I did have to force him to eat after those five hours so he could have slept longet but I was nervouse about him going so long without eating. It was nice to get that much sleep.
Brady is working on finishing our laundry room. At least all the sheet rock is up so right now we are working on mudding all the cracks and things. I actually got to help because AJ was asleep and I got Noble to sleep for a half hour. I really like helping my husband but I don't get to do it often with two kids. I hope we can fifnish up our laundry room soon so that we can get our basement done. Our basement is going to be the kids play room and there is one room down there that will become my craft room. I have enough stuff to fill the room too so I am excited to be able to work on stuff and not have to pack it up or keep kids from unpluggung the sewing machine. Anyways, I am real excited to have that done but we want to finish most of upstairs first. Oh for all those who didn't know we bought a fixer upper house in May of last year. It has consumed my husbands time most weekends but he has done a good job fixing it up. He is proud of his new fireplace he fixed up and rewiring the house. It is nice to have wires that aren't as old as the house. The house, by the way, was built in 1910. It has what we call character!! i.e. creaky florrboards and cracks in the plaster wall!! We love our house and we do enjoy fixing it up.
Well, I better make lunch because we get to go to Preston today.

A Two Year Birthday!

2008-02-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

So we now have an official two year old. Yeah!! We celbrated his birthdya yesterday because Sundays our rather busy days for us. He enjoyed all his presents. I know he especially liked his new piano keyboard because he is always wanting to play on my piano. He didn't seem to like the shirts he got. He just through them to the side and moved on to the next present.
My youngest seems to have some serious reflex problems. I can't figure out if he needs to go to the doctors and get some medicine or if I should just wait it out. We'll see how tonight goes with sleeping because last didn't go with sleeping.
The break AJ had from me was good. We have done a little better. Fewer fits and less intensity is better to deal with.

This is AJ getting ready to attack his cupcake.

Apparently he thinks you have to eat the microphone in order to get sound out. We are going to work on that.

This is AJ after he went to Lowes and made a squirrel feeder. He looks like he is ready to go and help daddy fix up the house.

A Break

2008-02-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

So AJ went to grandma and grandpas house for the past two days. We picked him up last night. I realized that it could not come at a better time. All we had been doing was getting frustrated with each other and so there were a lot of tears shed in our house and not a lot of happiness. So while he was gone I was able to remember all the cute things he does instead of yelling at him, which happens almost everyday now.
I was also able to get my taxes done and go to the doctors without having to chase after him, I was actually on time to an appointment for once. Now that he is back, I am hoping that I can kinda start all over with him and we won't start straight into fit throwing. He seems to have hit the terrible twos, since his birthday is on Sunday and he will be turning two I guess that makes sense. Well, we'll see how much this break has helped us all.

It's a Monday

2008-02-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

I don't mind Mondays except I get used to my husband helping over the weekend. I really like having help with the 2 kids and then all of sudden I am left to do it on my own. I manage but I don't get to take care of myself. All mothers understand that. There is no shower, lucky if you get an uninterrupted meal, and hope that you get dressed at least (PJs though are quit comfortable all day).
Grandma has volunteered to take my oldest for a few days. SO he will be gone 2 days this week. I hope I can get a few things done, like catch up on sleep. Our 5 week old has not figured out how to sleep through the night and I figure he won't for a little bit longer. Anyways, I think I am going to use this blog as a way for me to feel like I have a conversation. I seem to lack that during the day. Talking to an infant and a toddler does not count to me.

First Blog

2008-02-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog. My attempt with this blog is to keep both sides of my family and friends updated with my little family. So much goes on in my house everyday with 2 little boys and I just want to share that with everyone.