The Little Man turns 2!

My little man turned 2 today and I cannot believe how fast time flies. As he was napping I took some time to look through all his pictures and it amazes me how much he has already grown.

1 day old and so so tiny....this picture makes me so excited for Brooklyn to arrive into our family!
4 months old....he still sticks out his tongue all the time just like in this picture. I love his funny quirks.

8 months old....one of my favorite pictures ever!

1 year old...I love his chunky cheeks:)

15 months and starting to look just like a big boy(even with his horrible haircut I gave him;)).

20 months and becoming an adventurous, busy, curious toddler...

2 years old and still my "little man".

I love you bugaboo!

Faith

There is a reason we are using the name Faith as a middle name for Brooklyn.

These days we are using a lot of it.

5 days ago I went to the doctors with a lot of braxton hick thinking it was not a big deal.

It was.

I tested positive on a test that predicts labor early.

I took 6 of these tests with Weston. They all came back negative.

The doctor told me that they would do another cause she believed it was a false-positive.

She was wrong.

It came back positive.

Today I was back in the hospital receiving shots to help our little girls lungs develop faster in case she comes early.

Right now I am only 27 weeks and she weighs less than 3 pounds.

13 more weeks to go.

I am scared to death to be honest.

I have guilt because all Weston is doing all day is watching tv cause I am stuck on a couch on my left side to keep my contractions under control.

He is in heaven though. He gets to watch Cars, Finding Nemo and Toy Story as much as he wants.

I tell him to bring me my phone, blankets, mommy's books and he hasn't failed me once. He is a huge reason why I am staying sane while I am on the couch. He is so much happier since his surgery last week. THANK GOODNESS. I love him more than life.

I haven't even thought about preparing for Brooklyn's arrival. I still have so much to do.

Thank goodness for online shopping and a mother in law who is more than willing to shop for her grand daughter.

My husband has done more for me in the past 5 days that I can comprehend. I am realizing how much he does love me and our family.

He tells me he doesn't understand how I do it everyday. That brings a smile to my face.

However, I will do everything to keep this little girl within my as long as possible

Priesthood blessings are what I am relying on right now.

They are more powerful than medicine.

That and Faith.

"So often in life we think that because we have done things in a certain way, certain results should follow. But life is like the ocean. Sometimes we get caught in squalls & storms & things don't go the way we think they should, even when we think we have done right. But God can find us in the eye of a storm and give us courage to swim in rough water. We learn lessons from storms that we cannot learn from calm seas Sometimes the Lord calms the storm and sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms his child." -John H. Groberg

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we went to Greenbluff to pick our pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. I love making dinner in a pumkin on Halloween night so I put Weston in charge of finding that perfect pumpkin for our dinner. It was such a beautiful day and between the hayride, falling in love with pressed apple cider, looking at all the beautiful leaves, and chowing down on kettle corn we had so much fun!

And in the end, Weston did find us the perfect pumkin!

The Binky

I have a love/hate relationship with Weston's binky.

It has saved us in so many situations that I don't know how I would have managed otherwise.

It has allowed me to sleep through the night since Weston was 6 weeks old.

It has also created a habit that I know would be a nightmare to break.

The habit needed to be broken while I still had patience within me and before his baby sister comes.

I clipped the tip off of his binky, he put it in his mouth then threw it across the room.

We then went cold turkey after we threw it away because it "broke".

We did not sleep for 2 days straight.

Naptime #1 didn't happen. Nighttime #1 happened at 11:30 pm while waking up every hour in screaming attacks that we couldn't stop without praying for patience.

Day 2 woke up with the worse cold ever. Miserable all day long begging for comfort. I wanted to give in so bad. I didn't.

Nighttime #2 took 3 1/2 hours with all of us finally going to bed at 12:45. Little did I know he was cutting more teeth.

Perfect time to take a binky away, wouldn't you say?

Day number 3. A miracle happens. He went down within 15 minutes at naptime and bedtime. Yes, I was by his side both times in his bed, but he cuddled next to me and I knew he found comfort from me and not the binky.

Putting him to sleep with me by his side is a habit we will worry about when I don't need sleep myself:).

Last night I cried out of pure happiness.

We are celebrating tonight on becoming a "big boy"!!!!!

21 weeks

Over half-way and it has been so easy so far.

Love the fact that I can eat oreo cookies in bed at 2 am and not feel guilty:)!

Let's cross our fingers for the second half.

That is where it gets a little tricky.

Bed rest with my busy bee.....I can't even comprehend how it will work.

Bahamas and Baby News!!

So Ryan and I were spoiled by my parents with a cruise to the Bahamas while he were down South. The only stipulation....Weston had to go, therefore it would not be a "relaxation cruise". There were moments when I wanted to pull my hair out trying to control a crazy toddler boy who does not slow down. At one point he was throwing carrots across the room where everyone eats and tries to relax. Nope, not with Weston in the room,lol. However, I experienced paradise with my 2 favorite boys and brother and sister....I couldn't ask for more. My sweet husband even surprised me with a massage in the Bahamas while he took care of Weston because he knew how stressed out I was with Weston. Moment like that make me love him so much! Here are some pictures of our cruise.

Ryan, Lindsay, and Matt got to go snorkeling and they had so much fun. Look how pretty the water is....so clear and blue.
Lindsay helped so much with Weston and keeping him busy. He had so much fun with her. Thanks a ton Linds for all the help!

I love this picture so much. My husband is amazing with Weston and they truly have so much fun together. Weston loved playing near the water and Ryan would sit and play with him while I got time to read on the beach!


I love my family more than life. I smile just thinking that we will soon be having another child in our lives!

To keep Weston quite while we ate were threw out all the rules of healthy eating and gave him as much chocolate cake as he wanted. Dinner was seriously my favorite part of the day...unlimited food with sweets that never stopped. You can see I had 3 different bowls of dessert in the background. When I eat for 2 I seriously do not hold back,lol.

I was once a mother that swore I would never put my child on one of these leashes....yeah, not anymore! This lion backpack/leash saved us on the cruise. This is what Weston did 99% of the time when he didn't hold his "tail"...run away for us,lol.

I truly could wake up to this every morning if I could!

More food....Weston shoving eggs in his mouth. Why use a fork when you can get twice the amount in your mouth with your hands? Oh how I love my little man!

So, from this post you can tell that toddler boys can be beyond a handful. There have been moments the past 4 months when I just break down wondering if I have any control over my little man. My mother keeps telling me that it is because he has been thrown off of his normal routine with all this traveling and time changes and I pray that she is right ( I am happy to say that he has calmed down a lot since we have gotten back into a normal routine). However, there are still moments when I ask myself, is this just a phase or our these tantrums going to continue for the next 5 years. Weston is 100% boy and throwing, spitting ( it's amazing how quickly he learns from watching his daddy), and yelling in the middle of Wal Mart is just his thing right now...even in the middle of sacrament meeting. Time outs are becoming more popular these days, which are working so far. And we are having another child in the next 5 months?!??! Yes, I lie in bed at night wondering how I will survive sometimes.

HOWEVER, WESTON IS A SWEETHEART IN SO MANY WAYS. Weston still makes my heart melt with his kisses, when he calls me mom, and when he snuggles up to me when he sneaks into our bed early in the morning. I love his squeals when he sees an airplane, and how he giggles when we sing Five Little Monkey and Popcorn Popping. I love how every night we have to make "pop pop" before bed and how he sits on the couch with me with his bag of popcorn that he wants all to himself. I love how I tuck him into his big boy bed every night and he waves bye to me as I shut the door. Moments like that make being a mother SO SO WORTH IT!

In conclusion, I have been secretly praying for a girl just to add some girliness and hopefully calming behavior to our little family. I would be happy with a boy of course but deep down I really needed a girl for my sanity. So this past Wednesday, I literally broke down in tears during the ultrasound when we found out we are having a GIRL!!!! I am so excited for everything and I have already gone crazy at the fabric store buying all kinds of fabric for future projects. All in all, I feel like Heavenly Father truly knows what I need in my children to help me become a better mother. I love everything about being a mother, and I know that these moments of chaos and insanity are part of a life that I truly am falling in love with.

Idaho Falls

For the month of July and August we lived in Idaho Falls for a clinical that Ryan had to complete. I love the Idaho Falls area and it was so fun to be around some family and friends. We had so much fun visiting Yellowstone, going to Wyoming, and eating out WAY TO much. I seriously think we went to Cafe Rio more times than I can count. Here are some pictures of our stay in IF.

Weston and I in Yellowstone. He did so good the whole time thanks to Toy Story and Finding Nemo! I recommend a portable DVD player to any family who has a toddler and has to travel. It has saved our LIFE.

Posing with Grampa Patterson's moose in Wyoming. Weston loved this moose and every morning would want to get up close to it.

With Ryan in Yellowstone.

Playing on the playground. I loved the parks in Rexburg and we would go multiple times and just have so much fun!

Weston had so much fun fishing in Wyoming. However, once he caught a fish he would scream when the fish would come in the boat. He literally ran to the other side of the boat.

Having fun with Aunt Lindsay. She spoiled him with her Dr. Pepper while I was apparently not looking;)

We had so much fun at this ballgame. Ryan's work let us in their suite and I had so much fun with all the Texas Roadhouse rolls with honey butter. I was so glad I was pregnant at that moment:)

Overall, we had a blast and came back to Spokane for 3 days only to pack everything back up and head across the country to South Carolina and our cruise. I'll post pictures later for that trip!

Hello from paradise!

So it has been FOREVER since I made a post and figured I should at least explain why I have been so lazy at blogging. First and foremost....

• our life has not slowed down in the past 3 months. We have moved into a new place in Spokane, lived in Idaho Falls for 4 weeks, went to Wyoming then Yellowstone, been on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas, and we are currently on week 3 in South Carolina...and our child has become an amazing traveler thanks to the best portable DVD player in the world!


• I don't have a computer attatchment to upload any of my pictures so I am going to have to be patient at posting those...


• Truthfuly, reading has become my priority while on vacation right now...I just finished Mockingjay and loved it and now reading Eat, Pray, and Love which is so far very entertaining...so this poor blog has been kinda neglected I guess you can say
  

However in the next few weeks you will see in future blog posts...

• Weston eating way to much chocolate cake on the cruise


• Weston's first baseball game in a luxury suite with unlimited Texas Road House rolls and honey butter ( thank goodness I am pregnant:)
• my growing belly ( I seriously feel huge)
• Weston's first fishing trip in Wyoming
• Ryan and Weston boogie boarding on the beach...so cute
• The BEAUTIFUL, BREATHTAKING views of the southern life in South Carolina ( I have been living the retired life for 3 weeks now and I feel so spoiled). We are on the beach every day and it is so relaxing and fun
• Going to the zoo!!!!
• Adventures on a cruise with a busy 20 month old....FYI: I don't highly recommend it if you want to relax;)
• My attempts to get Weston to start calling his dad "daddy" and not "Ryan" or "Ry"...he will seriously call Ryan by his first name all day long...at least I still am getting "mama"
• Whether we will have a boy or girl......:):):):)!!!!!!!!

Anyways, here are some pictures I found on my dad's computer of our trip down South....:)

Can you see why I have been living in paradise for the past 3 weeks. So AMAZING!!!!

And yes I just had to put this one in because he is getting cuter and cuter as the days go by:)

Summertime

We have been having such a fun summer playing outside in the nice warm weather. We just found out that we will be moving to Idaho Falls for 4 weeks while Ryan does his clinical and I am thrilled because we our renting a house with a backyard! We have been stuck in an apartment with no yard so outside time is so vital in all our sanity this summer. After the 4 week clinical we are heading off to South Carolina for 3 weeks to see my family which I could not be more thrilled about. And to just put a cherry on top of all this traveling, a cruise to the Bahamas has been booked for the family and I am sure everyone knows how I feel about that. Can you imagine 1 hungry pregnant woman on a cruise with unlimited food 24 hours a day. This pregnancy I have been craving way to many sweet foods and I have had this on going craving for Sour Patch Kids. I gave Weston one this morning and his face was beyond priceless.

Anyways we had such a fun 4th of July and had a blast with my sister. Of course we went to see Eclipse, which I loved! Ryan is so confused with all this Twilight obsession and to be honest it kind of cracks me up also. I remember loving the books before all this pandemonium started and now I just sit back and laugh and all these crazy women. Seriously, I had to listen to a middle age woman sobbing during the proposal scene in the movie which completely distracted me 100%. Oh well....at least it was an entertaining movie.

Weston loved having the attention (when doesn't he love attention) and had fun with the barbecues, fireworks, and just the fun times with family. Lots of food and ice cream! Anyways, here are some pictures of Weston during our 4th of July picnic and Gramma and Grampa Poffenbergers house.

He loved playing peek a boo with me on the swing set.

Weston loves "mowing the lawn".



Playing on the slide and giggling all the way down.

Oh how I love his eskimo kisses.

He was so proud of himself for climbing up the latter all by himself.

Just being Weston.

Random picture, but this is the spoon that Weston insists on using to eat cereal with. I have no idea where he got that idea,lol.

Daddy Day

When I married Ryan I was so excited for him to become a dad.

Once we had Weston, my heart smiled as I saw him completely fall in love with our little monkey.

He has exceeded my expectations as a father.

This is why....

Ryan shares his bowl of ice cream with Weston when I'm not watching.

If Weston is in tormoil Ryan is the first arms he is in.

When they can, Ryan and Weston go for a walk to the mailbox and get the mail together.

Ryan chases Weston around the house creating squeals of delight that you can hear a mile away.

Last night I came into the living room and Ryan and Weston were sitting side by side of the couch watching Cops while sharing a Popsicle ( Ryan's dream activity with his son)

Ryan is so excited when he can take Weston on his first fishing trip.

Lastly, Ryan never forgets to kiss our little guy goodnight and tell him how much he loves him...he always says " goodnight little man"...

Weston is one lucky boy.

And I am one lucky mother.

Adventures

This month has been non stop craziness. Family has been here for the past 3 weeks and we have done anything but slow down. Weston has also been cutting more molars, which of course is wonderful timing with all this company. You will notice in the upcoming pictures that he is not afraid to let people know just how crabby he can be. However, he had so much fun in between the lack of sleep and those wonderful molars that finally broke through the day after company left.

We loved having Kayla, Nick, Brody, and Gramma and Grampa Patterson here for a few weeks.
Our kazzillionth attempt for a family picture with Weston attempting to smile. The day that it happens I am going to blow up the picture as big as I can and will plaster it on my wall for the whole world to see.

Again, Weston being crabby and refusing to take a picture with his adorable, smiling cousin. I am quickly learning I cannot force my 18 month old to do anything he doesn't want to do...like taking pictures.

My attempt to give Weston a fun adventure of the carousel.Notice how he is terrified and wants to get off. Thank goodness I had a great time.

Having a fun time on the gondola ride over the Spokane Falls.

Weston loved looking out the windows at the water.

Catching up on some much needed rest with Grampa.
Learning from his daddy on how to do homework. Now we just need to focus on drawing on paper and not walls, books, and chairs.
Being a monkey and climbing everywhere. His newest adventure are the tables, which is completely stressing me out.
Going on a picnic and enjoying his yummy peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

So you can tell from these pictures than in our family we try to have fun even though we are in the storm on the world teething. Weston seriously is a joy to have around and makes us smile every day...he just hasn't learned to show it for the camera;)