I Think He Liked The Cake

So a couple weeks ago we celebrated Andy's Birthday over at Matt and Johanna's home. We brought the cake...a Chocolate Cake. Harrison was eying it the entire time, and even put his hands in it prematurely. (There was a lovely little hand print in the side of the cake) Anyways, we gave him that piece and he dug right in. He picked up the entire piece and tried shoving it all in..didn't work out so well. Then he got his spoon, stabbed the piece of cake and ate it like a candy apple. I was surprised how much cake he actually got in his mouth. There wasn't any on the floor...just all over him. He definitely enjoyed that cake, and when Jo brought out the Camera and told him to smile....this was the result. I have never seen him "smile" for a picture before. We laughed so hard at the face he was making. He looks crazy. Anyways, like I said before, his one true love is food. And these pictures prove it.

Grace Clary

Today was an extremely eventful day. Becca, who was 8 days overdue, had her baby girl this afternoon. It was extra special for me though because I was able to be there during part of the labor, and the entire birth. I was the lucky one who got to cut the umbilical cord, I thought that was pretty darn cool. Man, I can't believe my little sister just gave birth to her own little baby.
Becca and I have always been extremely close. I remember when my mom as pregnant with her, and the doctors told my mom she was having a boy. So when my parents told us we were getting a little brother, I fought with them. I told them it was my little sister, and that it was a girl. I remember them telling me I was going to be really disappointed, but I knew they were wrong. And they were. I remember holding her the day they brought her home from the hospital. She opened her eyes and looked at me, I can still picture her as a newborn baby. Becca and I always said that I must have known that she was girl because we had made a pact in the pre-existence to come to the same fam. That we needed each other. I definitely have needed her. She was always the person I vented everything to, about boys, friends, school, whatever else was angering me. Next to Ben, she probably knows me better than anyone else. She has always been there for me. But she is my little sister, and so I have been somewhat protective of her. And I have to admit, that her getting married was crazy enough for me, and now having a baby was even more crazy to handle. But I have to say this, that I have never been more proud of anyone as I was of her today. I was so proud of her for getting that baby here. Because let me tell you what, I saw that baby coming out and she was HUGE, 9 lbs 10 oz to be exact, and the baby started to get stuck when it was time for the shoulders to come out and the Doctor was pretty much pulling that baby out and he told becca just to keep pushing pushing pushing, and she did! I thought she was going to pass out she pushed so darn stinkin hard, but she was one tough woman and got that baby out. I will never forget seeing that baby come out of her, about 1000 emotions shot through me in about 10 seconds, it went something like this "Yeah, she is having a baby, oh I see her little head, hooray! oh and there is a little tuft of hair, how cute. whoa, there is still so much head to come out and she has been pushing for so long. Keep it up becca, come on, keep pushing! don't give up, keep pushing! Oh man, here comes the head, it is big,oh push becca push! oh no...the shoulders are stuck, hurry doctor hurry, help her out, get that baby out, push becca push, please let the baby be okay, oh no, oh no, oh no, please get the baby out, push becca!! don't give up, the baby is right here!!!" The baby came, I started breathing again, and she started breathing too. At that moment I was just so proud of becca I think I could have burst right there. That is when the DR handed me snippers and I cut the cord, that was pretty cool. Now we will have something to talk about when she is older. ha ha. Whenever I look at baby Grace I think of the first time I held becca, because they have the exact same eyes. And yes she is very cute and very very chunky. I love chunky babies.

The Holidays

So I haven't posted a blog in..forever, minus the one I posted earlier today. That is probably due to the fact that it has been Christmas and we have been spending time with family, and I have been completed addicted to the Twilight books for the past week and finished the third book last night. And yes, I really enjoyed them. Bella got pretty whiny here and there, but I still liked reading them. Anyways, so I thought I would just blog about our holidays and how it all went. First off, Chirstmas Eve/Christmas was not what I had pictured them to be. We were spending Chirstmas Eve night with my family this year, my brother was here with his fam, and so we all spent it together. I was really excited about it and was looking forward to setting up the presents and filling the stockings with Ben while the kids slept....this is not what happened.
Just as the kids were going to bed James ran into Harrison's head and started screaming, blood was pouring from his mouth and yep, you guessed it his tooth had popped right out. Fortunately, one of my friends dad is a dentist so I called him to ask what to do and he said that we should try to put it back in, but other than that not to worry because it was just a primary tooth. So, and this makes me so sad, we had to hold the poor kid down and I put the tooth back in place. It was terrible. He was just screaming. He finally calmed down I just held him for about an hour and half while holding the tooth in place. After that he sat up and the tooth fell right back up. So yeah, torturing him trying to put the tooth back in and completely ruining is Christmas Eve had been a complete waste. I felt really bad. So the rest of the night was spent holding him and trying to calm him down because his mouth hurt so much. Poor kid. He was up all night. Ben and I took turns getting things ready for Christmas morning, and then both laid by him until the other kids got up to see what Santa had brought them.
Since James had gotten no sleep that night he was not a very happy kid. Which was sad because this was the first year that we had actually gotten him some pretty cool things. Yeah they got a lot for christmas....oh well. He had been asking all month for a "toy bugarage" and that is what he got, he was excited about that, but mostly he was excited about the big present waiting for him at Grandma Morrise's house...a toy kitchen. It really was from Ben and I but we split up the presents between the two houses. And yes, he really liked that. He enjoyed his presents somewhat, but he was pretty grumpy the entire day, and finally at 7 pm Christmas night he slept...and slept....and slept..until 9 am the next morning. That is when he finally started to enjoy his toys. Harrison liked Christmas though. Santa brought him 8 balls, and that is all he played with the entire day, and the following week as well. We couldn't even get him to open any of his presents because he just wanted to play with the balls. I was glad he enjoyed them so well.
Ben got me some great gifts..some jewelry...which I love. Tons of running gear...which I really love....and the book Twilight. Obviously I liked that as well seeing as how I have spent the last five days reading all her books. My favorite gift was a watch type thing made by Garmin that is for runners and is a personal GPS. It is great. It tracks everything I do when I run, I love it. It keeps track of my pace, my distance, keeps a map of where I have been....all that jazz. It is great. Oh and Marshall gave me these running pants that I have been dying to get..and yes they are amazing, I love them. I feel like a super hero in them though. Maybe that makes me run faster....we will see.
I got ben and the boys light sabers, I will admit I did not think that Ben would enjoy his so much as the boys...but he likes it even more than the boys do. It is fun to see them play together. I don't really remember what else I got him...probably clothes or something boring like that. Anyways, after things settled down a little bit from the Christmas craze we had a really nice break. We took the kids to the Discovery Museum at Gateway, they LOVED that. I ran from our house in Lehi to my parents in Provo..14.2 miles..in the snow..thank you very much. We took the kids sledding, James really loved that. He would laugh the entire way down. we watched way too many movies...a lot of thomas movies, James liked that as well. We ate and ate and ate and ate..Harrison loved that. New Years was fun. We spent several hours at both parents homes. We just let the kids play and do whatever and eat whatever because hey, it was a party and let me tell you what. They both liked that a lot. However, Harrison can only stay up so late and so went to bed around 10 pm, when we took him home at 1:30 am he woke up, and I really don't know when he fell back asleep. I just know I got up at 4 am and he was still singing to himself in his bed. Wow. I am trying to think of what else we did this break. I think we pretty much spent the rest of our time goofing off with family and letting the kids play with their cousins, which was great fun for them as well. So yeah, James lost a tooth, Ben broke his arm (okay that was before xmas, but just before) but we did a lot of fun things to make up for all that. And when you are surrounded by boys, what do you think is going to happen? Injuries are always involved.

Just Say Dang It

When James was first talking he started saying Hate all the time. It really bothered me, and so I told him not to say that word anymore. After a while of reminding him ot to use that word, he started to get after me when I said it. Unfortunately I say it much more than I realized. And when I would say that bad word, James would say "Mom, don't say hate, just say dang it" That always made me laugh so hard because I never figured out how Dang It replaced hate, but it made me laugh so much that I didn't mind him saying dang it.
So now that you know that, when Ben and I were going to bed he told me something James had said that made me laugh so hard I nearly fell off the bed. I realize that it may not be as funny to you, but I still had to blog it so I wouldn't forget it. Here is how the conversation went
James "Holy fweekin beeep!"
(and yes he said beep, like he was covering up a swear word)
James looks at ben like oops I said something bad.
Ben says "James what did you just say?"
James "um...oh..Holy Dang it Beeeep!"
And in the background Harrison began saying "Beep Beep Beep beep"

Yeah it made me laugh.

My Adidas

It was early morning, a large crowd, and I was standing there waiting. Waiting the for the gun to sound. It sounded and I took off. I was amazed at how well and fast I could run. I felt like I was flying. I just kept running as hard and as fast as I could until I crossed the finish line and won the race. I felt on top of the world. Then I woke up.
I had that dream less than a year ago. When I awoke I wanted to keep that feeling, I wanted to be able to run like that. I hadn't really run in years. Every now and then I would go for a little jog, but that is all it ever came to. Shortly after this dream I was shopping at Costco and saw a pair of Adidas running shoes. They were white and pink and about $20, right in my price range. I bought them and was very eager to try them. It was the start of the summer and the weather was perfect for running. I could put my kids to bed and it still go running before it got dark. I remember those first few weeks of running. I started out running on a treadmill, and I would just try to make it past that first mile without stopping. It was very difficult and required a lot of concentration. After a while I was doing 2 miles, and then up to 3. I remember thinking, just make it to mile #2, or to that next corner, or just past that house. It always took a great deal of effort.
My first 5K this summer was in June. I had been sick the day and hadn't really eaten anything. The race went up the hill past the temple, and was much harder than I had expected. But I was extremely proud of myself for not quiting and running the entire way. My time was just over 30 minutes. I ran my next race in July with a time of 29 minutes. Shortly after that I met Tiana. She is my neighbor and was looking for someone to run with. We decided to try running together to see how that worked out and set up a time for the following morning. I remember those first runs very well. She was a better runner than I, and so once again I was pushing myself. It felt so good though. I was always proud of us when we ran 3 miles without stopping or picked up the pace. Somewhere in there we decided to do a Marathon in the spring. So we started doign long runs on Saturdays. The night before our first long Saturday run I couldn't sleep all night. I was so nervous. I had only ever done 3-4 mile runs and I had no idea how I would ever be able to run more than that. Well, 6 am came pretty soon and I met Tiana outside for our run. To my great surprise it was extremely easy. We ran 3 miles, walked one minute, and then ran 3 more miles. I remember feeling great the entire time. I never thought Just make it to the next stop sign, or make it past that house. It was just very comfortable and easy to do. We did 6 mile runs throughout October. At this time I signed up for a Spin class to help my knees. And let me tell you what, that hour spin class is just about the hardest thing in the world. But it does help my knees, has gotten easier over the months. In November we bumped the miles to 9, and then 10, and today we ran 12.8 miles for the third week in a row. It has gotten much much harder to run in the cold. My legs are never sore, and I am never out of breath. But my face is freezing. My hands are burning from the cold air, I have to watch every step I take and change the way I am running so I don't slip on the ice, and my water pack is frozen solid. and for some strange reason I love it. I love running. I love conquering that hill the seems so impossible when you first face it, but you just keep putting one foot in front of the other and give it all you've got and before you know it, you are on the top of the hill victorious. I love seeing how far I can each time. I love it when I have already run 10 miles and we decide to run as fast as we can for the remaining time. I love seeing what my body and legs are capable of doing. I am always so amazed by it. I love coming home and telling Ben about the extra miles we did. Or those hills we ran up. Or the deer we passed by. I can't wait for the day or the Marathon. I can't wait to see how well I perform. I can't wait to start it, and I can't wait to cross the finish line. I want to always run like this. I want to do Marathons all my life because I never want to lose what I have now. I want to run with my kids when they are older. I want to be the mom with all the kids that still runs races all the time. I love learning about running; form, nutrition, gear, shoes. I love all of it.
Last week I finally went to the running store and bought another pair of running shoes. But as I went out for my run and passed my old Adidas in the entryway, a little sadness came over me. Those shoes were what got me going. I liked the way they looked and felt when I ran. So I often went running just so I could wear those shoes. They have covered all those miles with me, and gotten me here. I will always keep them I think. I love those shoes. So I dedicate this blog to my old pink Adidas for helping me fulfill that dream I had almost a year ago.

Snowballs

This morning James and I went around to his friends houses and delivered little chocolates we had made. Most of his friends were not at home, but he and I had a good time anyway. As soon as we had gotten outside James was in the snow. I had just walked past him when smack, I had been hit with a snowball. I turned around and there was James getting another snowball ready. He threw this one as well and it was actually a pretty good snowball and hit me square in the chest. I laughed. From then on in between each house James would go straight to the snow and throw another snowball at me. We had a good time, I was surprised at how well he could throw those things though.

Bath Time

We had lasagna for dinner tonight, which Harrison completely enjoyed...completely. Meaning, his hair, ears, face, hands, and the rest of his body was covered. So it was straight to the tub with him. And I can never give one boy a bath without giving the other a bath as well. We went into the bathroom, I set Harrison down, turned on the water, turned around to see James getting Harrison undressed. He did a really good job actually and even took His diaper off for him, then he proudly stated that he had helped Harrison get ready for the bath. It made me laugh. Then Harrison did his usual pee trick right as he is getting into the tub and just after the diaper as come off, but before long the two boys were splashing and making a lovely mess of the bathroom. Throughout this summer I was trying to teach James how to hold his breath under water, he got really good at it and when he jumped in the pool, would sink all the way to the bottom and then slowly pop back up and laugh his head off. However, he will not stick his face under the water in the tub. And usually gets upset when water gets in his eyes or whatever. but tonight I think he was feeling very adventuresome. Because he plugged his nose and put his entire head under the water, face first and then blew as hard as he could, making huge bubbles. Harrison started laughing so hard. He laughs a lot, but I don't think I have ever heard him laugh this hard. James kept blowing bubbles over and over and Harrison about passed out from laughing so hard. I really wished that Ben had been home so he could have gotten the camera and recorded it becuase it was the cutest thing.
Oh another cute thing today. James was upset about something, I don't remember what, but anyways, so he was just whining and being grumpy, and then Harrison came up to him and jsut hugged him, and patted his back and hugged him again. I seriously almost busted tears it was so sweet. Oh and speaking of little tantrums, James and I were making little chocolates to take around to his friends and Harrison has already eaten plenty and I told ihm he couldn't have any more. So he went over to one of the kitchen cupboards, completely emptied the thing to show me his anger, and then immediately put everything back in its place. That made me laugh. Ah, my boys. Never a dull moment, that is for sure. Wow, this is a random blog.