valentines party

Because of all the crazy snow we have been getting our ward playgroup valentines party was rescheduled for the 19th instead of the 12th. I signed up to bring cupcakes since I got a bunch of fun cupcake stuff for Christmas (Thanks Sue!) and have been anxious to try them out. I made a box of chocolates. I managed to take pictures of the cupcakes the night before and quickly put the camera in the diaper bag so that I wouldn't forget to bring it and take pictures. Well, I had the camera the whole time but somehow forgot to take any pictures. Lame. I really can't believe I did that. Oh well we still had fun. Easton even started to have a melt down when we were leaving because he wanted to stay and play with his friends. Hopefully all this cold winter snow will finally come to an end because we are definitely ready to get out of this house and have some fun.

Bath time and peek a boo

Cute pic of Blair during bath time.

Video of the kids during bath time:

I just love the way that Easton can get Blair to laugh. She sure loves him.

Video of Blair playing peek a boo:

Some other stuff that I forgot to add last time I updated the kids:

Blair has officially started to growl. I can't say that I'm surprised especially since Easton is her older brother.

Video of Blair growling:
It is kind of hard to hear her and she only does it until Easton comes and distracts her.

Easton sure can be sweet with his little sister.

Easton can now snap his fingers. He is really proud of this and gets really excited to show you.

The other day I was playing animals with Easton.
Easton: "What are you?"
Me: "A dinosaur." I couldn't remember the name of the dinosaur.
Easton: "No, what are you?"
Me: "A dinosaur."
Easton: "No, you a brontosaur."
Nathan had told Easton the name of the dinosaur before but how did he remember that?

Valentines Day

Valentines Day was celebrated early this year for a couple of different reasons. First and most obvious was that V-day fell on Sunday but we also celebrated early because of Nathan's crazy work schedule. Nathan came home Tuesday after work and surprised me with flowers and lots of chocolate (3 different kinds to be exact from Trader Joes. They have good chocolate there.) Thursday Nathan took all of us out to Cheesecake Factory (my favorite). It was wonderful. Good food (especially dessert), well behaved kids (thank goodness) and best of all I got to spend it with my three favorite people. I love them all so much!

Easton recently has been getting some things mixed up when he says things. These are just a few of them that I remember.
"Easton want to hold you." Translation: I want you to hold me.
"Get off of me!" Translation: Put me down!
"Lights off." Translation: Turn the lights on.

Another recent thing for Easton is if he is about to be sent to time out he will try and change the subject so that hopefully we will forget that he is in trouble. He will either say he has to go potty and run to the bathroom or he will say, "I love you, ______"(fill in the blank of the person who is going to punish him) with his sweet angelic smile. It makes me laugh everytime though. He is definitely a smart and clever little man.

Have I mentioned before how stubborn Easton is? Well, I have been working on colors with him for who knows how long and I felt like we were getting no where because anytime I would ask him what color something was he would just say, "I don't know." Well, yesterday we were coloring pictures on the computer (he loves to touch the computer so I knew this activity would be fun for him) and I asked Easton what color he wanted to color the picture. He would point to a crayon on the screen and I would ask him what color it was. He knew five colors (blue, red, yellow, pink, and green)! He didn't know orange or purple but still I can't believe he knew and wouldn't tell me before. I know this is the case because after getting his H1N1 nasal spray today I gave him a blue sucker and asked him what color it was and I'm sure you can guess what he said, "I don't know." He can be so stubborn sometimes.

The other day Nathan was reading stories to Easton before bedtime and Blair was already in her crib for the night. Nathan looked over at Blair's crib and she kept playing peek a boo with them. She would look over bumper then hid her face and then she would pull the bumper up and peek at them briefly before hiding herself again. She continued this several times.

Diaper changes have become a challenge now with Blair. She does not want to hold still for anything. She is such a wiggle worm.

The other day I was making homemade finger paints and I hear Blair just laughing away at herself. I turn around and she clapped about three times and then just started laughing and laughing. She continued this same cycle for a good five minutes. I couldn't help but laugh with her because it isn't very often that she laughs a good laugh (usually they are forced laughs unless it is Easton of course. He is really the only one who can get her to laugh).

Video of Blair standing using the couch.

Random pics of Easton and Blair after church on Valentines Day.

Blair attacking Easton. I think this is one of my favorites.


Blair looks cute but Easton didn't want to take pictures. Can you tell?


Blair looks like a deer in headlights. Easton looks alright.


Blair looks good. What is Easton doing?

Easton attacking Blair. She thinks this is so funny when he does this. Another favorite.


Where's Blair? Easton actually looking at the camera.

Why is it that you can't get just one descent pic of both kids looking at the camera?

Video of Easton attacking Blair and Blair laughing.

But Mama I love you.

So I was sitting on the couch checking my email when Easton came and sat next to me. The next thing I know I have a little boy's foot touching my face.
Me: "Easton, please don't put your foot on my face. I don't think you would like it if someone put their foot on your face."
Easton: "But Mama I love you."
All the while he is caressing my face with his foot. Thanks Easton! I love you too!

Blair at 8 months

I really don't have much that is new with Blair. I did some updating last week so she really hasn't been up to much since then. Blair does however seem to be kind of sneaky. I'm not sure if it is just me but it seems as though she waits until no one is paying any attention to her (i.e looking at her) before she does things. I noticed this the other day when she was playing on the ground. It seemed as though she would pretend to be playing with something (usually her own hands) and then she would look up to see if anyone was watching her. If someone was she would smile at them, look around the room, and then go on playing with her hands. She would continue this until it looked like the coast was clear and then she would roll over and get one of Easton’s toys that she had been eyeing (I could see all of this out of the corner of my eye). As soon as I would turn and look at her and she noticed that I was looking at her she would stop playing with the toy and begin to play with her hands. Once I turned away she was back at playing with that particular toy or she was rolling after another toy. It was as if she thought she couldn’t play with Easton’s toys so she had to be sneaky about it.

Video of Blair rolling.

She isn't being sneaky in this one.

Blair is starting to get her second tooth on the bottom. Both of her teeth seem to be taking their precious time coming in. For the most part I’m okay with this because I really don’t want her biting me with sharp little teeth but on the other hand it seems as though she is in a lot of pain and we all have to hear about it, especially at night when we are all trying to sleep.

Blair for the most part is a pretty happy baby but every once in a while she gets upset and has a little temper tantrum. Most of these times just seem to come out of no where. She is happy one moment and then the next she’s really upset. She really doesn’t give any warning.

Video of one of Blair's little tantrum.

Blair’s newest excitement is standing and walking with help.

I know this is supposed to be a post all about Blair but as I was taking pictures of Blair Easton wanted his picture taken as well. The first picture I thought was really cute of the two of them. The second one cracks me up because again it looks as though Easton is an underwear model. Funny kid.

V-Day Decor

I saw these ideas on one of my sister's friend's blog and decided to copy their ideas since we didn't have any valentine decorations. I thought they turned out pretty well. I had fun making them but the wreath took me forever. Easton definitely loves all the pillows. He brings out all his blankets and makes up a huge bed on the living room floor every day now. I swear all I do is clean up pillows and blankets all day long. Hope everyone has a great Happy Valentines Day!

SNOW, SNOW, AND MORE SNOW!

As many of you know we got hit by a snow storm this weekend which started Friday and lasted through Saturday. Nathan took Easton outside to play while he cleaned off the cars. We got so much snow that Easton could hardly walk through it without getting stuck. Eventually I got Blair and myself all bundled up and joined the boys outside. This was Blair's first time out in the snow. Surprisingly she seemed to really enjoy it even though most of her pictures don't seem to show it.

Blair all ready to go outside.

Thanks to Gma, Blair actually had a warm coat to wear outside. I thought it would be big on her but it actually fit her pretty good.

Easton stuck in the snow. This is how Blair and I found him when we came outside. He wasn't too happy to be stuck.

Video of Easton.
He wanted to help Daddy out so bad but was having a really hard time reaching him.





This is the walkway that Nathan made from out apartment building to the parking lot. The snow was taller than Blair standing up but because she can't stand by herself I took a picture of her sitting instead. We got more than 2 feet for sure.



Close up of Blair. See she doesn't look that happy.


Video of Blair and Easton playing in the snow.




After playing in the cold snow we came in and had toasty warm cheese soup in bread bowls. Nathan made both of these beauties from scratch the night before. yummy!

I posted another post about Easton earlier today so don't forget to check that one out too.

Random Easton Stuff

Easton has been cracking me up lately with the things he has been coming up with. Since we have been home he has been playing really well by himself and for long periods of time. In the past he couldn't play very long by himself and would insist that someone play with him. Also, he would get bored easily and try to convince someone to turn the TV on for him or he would attempt to turn it on himself. He has watched some TV since we have been home but he really hasn't been drawn to it like before (this definitely makes me happy). Anyways, it is really funny to see his imagination come to life.

Easton singing on his little stage.

Video of Easton singing?

I like his little stage and of course him closing his eyes while he belts out his song.

Video of Easton playing with his animals.

He can play for hours with these things. He just loves them. I didn't get the best parts on video. He normally talks to his animals and has his animals talk to each other. He will wrestle with them and he even puts them in time out for biting him. "Time out Tiger! Two minutes! No biting!"

Video of Easton dancing.

I only caught the very last part of it (he caught me recording him). He likes the Madagascar movie with the lemur that moves it. He dances around the house singing "I like to move it, move it"

If you noticed at the end of the video Easton said, "I want to take a picture mama." He has been really interested in and wanting to take pictures. I finally let him and I must say he did a pretty good job.

Picture taken by Easton.

Nathan got a bloody nose the other day and of course Easton had to be just like daddy!

On a side note: I think it is almost safe to say that Easton is officially potty trained! He has had 5 days without an accident and has been telling us every time that he has to go. Along with that he has even been taking himself to the bathroom and doing it all by himself! I am so proud of my BIG boy!

Back Home

We got back Saturday night. It was a really long trip and all I can say is I'm not looking forward to May when we have to do it again (even longer to California and I have to drive one car all the way). The roads were bad in Missouri and again in West Virgina and Maryland. We saw so many accidents along the way (many of them were cars that sped right past us). With the road conditions the way they were it took about three hours longer than we had expected.

We are definitely glad to be home. It was really nice to visit family and I'm really glad that we will be moving closer to family later this year, but it is always nice to be home. We got to stop in and see my brother and his family for less than a day on our way back to Maryland. It was definitely too short (shorter than we had planned for) but it was nice to see them. We are almost completely unpacked. I'm not sure which one I dislike more-packing or unpacking. Both just seem to take a really long time.

Easton is adjusting really well. I'm actually really surprised. I was sure with all the changes (time change, being home, not getting spoiled/his own way, etc.) that he would have lots of fits and have problems with his potty training. He has only had four accidents so far and two of them I would say have been partly Nathan and my fault. He had an accident at church which left him pantless for the last 10 minutes of church (I forgot to bring an extra pair of pants). Easton also had an accident yesterday. We were gone for 2+ hours getting the car washed and grocery shopping. When we got home I forgot to ask Easton if he had to use the restroom and while I was making trips up and down the stairs to unload groceries he had an accident.

Easton is actually telling us almost every time now that he has to use the bathroom. I'm so excited! I have to thank Nathan's aunt because she told us our last night in Idaho that a friend of hers had their little boy potty trained in two day! She told me that every time the boy had an accident they put him in the shower and splashed cold water on him. I thought that was a little mean (especially cold water) but figured at this point I would try almost anything. I did it a couple of times in Utah with warm water (Easton hates showers so I thought that was punishment enough) and it seemed to work a little bit. On Sunday Nathan splashed Easton with luke warm water after one of his accidents but within an hour Easton had another accident. I decided to try the cold water this time and see how it worked and since then (besides his accident yesterday-which he didn't get a shower) he hasn't had an accident. Every couple of hours I ask Easton if he has to use the bathroom. He usually says no (of course) but then I remind him that if he has an accident he will get a cold shower. This generally changes his mind and he decides he better go potty. Today we have only had this conversation once. He has told me three times today that he has had to go to the bathroom. Hopefully he continues this because I honestly felt really bad after I splashed cold water on him.

Yesterday Easton finally dressed himself! I'm sure he could have done this a long time ago but because he is so stubborn and wouldn't do it without help I never really pushed him to do it. I figured it wasn't worth the fight. Yesterday I asked him to dress himself and he actually did it without complaining and/or asking for help. I think I'm in trouble now though. Today he keeps taking off all his clothes. I guess new things are really exciting and must be practiced.

Yesterday we went to get the car washed. While we were waiting our turn (there were a lot of people with the same idea) I was explaining to Easton what was going to happen when our car got washed. I hoped this would help since in the past Easton has been scared by the car wash. He actually thought it was really exciting. When we left this was our conversation.

Easton: Car washed?

Me: Yes, the car is all clean now.

Easton: Awesome!

Sometimes I wonder where Easton comes up with the things he says because some of the things that come from him I know neither Nathan or I have said. We were out shopping last week and Easton picks up a girls headband (hard plastic one) and put it on his head.

Easton: Easton a princess.

Me: A princess huh? How about a prince instead.

Easton: No, Easton a princess.

At my brothers place I was fixing Easton hair and he grabbed a mirror sitting on the counter. He admires himself in the mirror by turning his face every which way.

Easton: Mommy, Easton pretty.

Me: You mean you're handsome Easton, just like daddy.

Easton: Easton handsome.

Random video of the kids.

I would fast forward to 1:30 (Its not very exciting before that).
I like how Blair just lets Easton take the balls from her (because he doesn't want to share with her) but she just helps herself to some new ones.

Blair has just recently started to sleep on her tummy. I put her down on her back and when I go to check on her I find her on her tummy. She sure is silly especially since she doesn't like tummy time.

Blair seems to be taking off with her solid foods. The last two days she just downed her carrots. She was even opening her mouth and wanting more instead of me pretty much force feeding her! In fact she got upset last night when it was all gone. I can't tell you how excited I am that I won't be breast feeding this girl for the rest of my life. I was almost convinced a while ago that this was going to happen. I think I might have a veggie monster though. I remember the last time Blair seemed to enjoy her food and do her weird tongue thing was when she ate squash. I guess I just figured that most babies prefer fruits over veggies and since she was being so picky I would give her fruits instead of veggies. Maybe I'm wrong but if not I guess it isn't a bad thing if she prefers her veggies over her fruits.

Blair is just a rolling machine. It is really fun for me to just sit and watch her roll all over the living room to get to where she wants. Easton never did this so I think it is just the cutest thing ever.

Nathan just started his emergency medicine rotation yesterday. I can already tell you that this is going to be my least favorite rotation. He has to be on call every fifth day which means he has to work weekends. It is definitely going to be hard to adjust to this schedule espeically since he had every weekend off (not to mention every Friday off) last rotation.