My Boys Are Growing

Today we went to Hyrum (3 yrs) and William's (18 mo) well-child check ups. When the doctor came in Hyrum said, "I'm three years old. I'm getting bigger. I'm strong...grrrrrr). He is getting bigger, though still quite small for his age. He weighed in at 26 pounds and was 34 in. tall. William is quickly gaining on him, weighing in at 21 pounds and 31 in. tall. William also likes to show us how big and strong he is by putting his hands up above his head while giving us a "grrrrr". Boys are just too fun. Here are some random photos of them from the past few months.

Hiking tent rocks. Hyrum was such a trooper. He just kept going and going and going. I thought for sure he'd tire out after so much walking, running, and climbing but he never did.

Ok, so now he's all tired out!

William's drawing is indicative of his personality...crazy, busy, full of color and all over the place.

Eating at the big boy table and using a big boy spoon all by himself...my baby is all grown up!

I let Hyrum help with putting sunscreen on and this is how he did.

Baby Update

Today I have felt a tender mercy from the Lord. I know that he is so aware of the details of our lives, from the big life altering, down to the small and seemingly insignificant things. At my twenty week ultrasound a choroid plexus cyst was found on the brain of our developing baby. The doctor explained to me that this was a small bubble/blister that forms as the spinal fluid is produced in the choroid plexus. He assured me that this was a common thing and would likely dissovle within the next 4-6 weeks. As a result, I had a follow-up ultrasound today to determine whether the cyst had dissolved or not. The ultrasound revealed a homogenous (isn't that a fun word) choroid, indicating that the cyst was either too small to recognize or it had resolved completely. Even though I wasn't worried and knew that 99.9% of all choroid plexus cysts resolve with no further problems, I realized how much of a miracle the gift of life is. It is almost beyond my ability to comprehend. I feel blessed to be able to be a mother, endowed with this marvelous gift!

As for our little baby...he is the cutest little guy ever (and yes, I am of course very biased). The place I have my ultrasounds done at use the 4D technology which captures features so well, it's amazing. He is measuring a week bigger than my due date and already weighs 1 lb 13 oz. He'll be a big boy, just like his two older brothers. I can't wait to hold this precious boy...only three more months!

Dave's New Workshop

Now that Dave is building a Bass, he quickly outgrew his old workshop, which we had in a room just off our kitchen. Dave has been dreaming of a sunroom/workshop ever since we moved into our home and his dreams finally came true. He loves his new room and the space it gives him to work. Here are some pictures of the construction process.

Potty Training Success!

We finally did it! I decided that since baby number three was getting closer I couldn't wait any longer to potty train Hyrum. He hadn't really shown signs of being ready, in fact, it got to the point where he'd break out into tears if I even asked if he wanted to try on the big boy potty, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I can happily say that it was a huge success. I had stressed over it for so long and had no idea what I was doing, so I thought I'd share what worked for us for any of you who may find it useful.

Potty Seat
He picked out his own train potty seat which allowed him to sit more comfortably on the potty without feeling like he was going to fall in.

Potty Chart
I printed off a train potty chart from the internet and let Hyrum put one sticker on the chart for going "pee pee" and two for "poo poo". He knew that when he filled up his chart he would get to go to the store and pick out his very own big boy underware. We had looked at the store prior and he already picked out the train ones (he wanted to match his potty).

Penny Jar
This one was the life-saver! In the past we had told Hyrum if he tried on the potty he would get a little treat, but that didn't seem to work very well becuase he'd still tell me, "I just want to go in my diaper this time." I read an idea online about using a penny jar and adapted it to Hyrum. Each time he tried sitting on the potty he got one penny. If he went "pee pee" he got another penny and if he went "poo poo" he got two pennies. He knew that once he was potty trained we'd take his penny's to the mall and he could go on the rides. It was a night and day difference in his attitude after that. He was so excited to try using the potty! After two days we changed to using nickles as an incentive. If Hyrum told me he needed to go potty without being reminded (by me or the watch) he got a nickle. He quickly learned to recognize when he needed to go potty on his own.

Watch
I'd set my watch to beep every 20 minutes, at which time we'd try sitting on the potty. I slowly moved the time back until we weren't using the watch as a reminder anymore.

Cheap Big Boy Underware
After trying all morning with the potty training thing in a diaper I realized he needed underware to really learn. If he went in his diaper he didn't realize it because he couldn't feel that it was wet. We bought some cheap, white underware and it only took a couple of accidents for him to learn to control when he needed to go. He was determined not to get his new underware wet.

We started potty training on a thursday and by sunday I felt comfortable enough to let him wear his big boy underware to church (three hours with no reminders and no accidents...yea!). I can't believe how quickly he learned. I'm so proud of him. I was afraid of potty training and it turned out to be kind of fun! Now all I can say about potty training our next two boys is..."bring it on!"

Sorry about the underware pics, they're just too cute to not post.

"Mom, look at all my pennies"

He was so proud of his big boy underware

One of the Hard Facts of Life...

As told by a three year old!

One day while reading a book to Hyrum he pointed to the farmer and asked what the white fluffy stuff around his ears were. I told him it was his hair and that when people get older their hair falls out and that's why the farmer only had hair around his ears. Everytime we read that book he is very quick to point out the farmer's hair (or lack there of). So, monday night during our FHE Hyrum starts talking about playing basketball and says, "I'll be able to shoot the ball in Daddy's hoop when I get bigger and my hair falls out!" After laughing hysterically for a few minutes, I explained to Dave that because of the book we had been reading Hyrum now associates getting old with hair falling out. I guess he doesn't quite grasp what "old" means yet!

Happy Birthday Hyrum!

Today was Hyrum's big day. Here are some pictures of the fun things we did.....

Helping make cupcakes.

Sampling the batter was his favorite part.

Sampling the frosting...he liked this even more than the cupcake batter.

Can you say "sugar overload!!!"

We frosted the cupcakes to look like baseballs, basketballs and tennis balls.

Feeding the ducks at a nearby duck pond.

Check out that arm, this boy can throw!

He LOVED his new bicycle helmet.

Trying out his new bicycle (well...new to him at least).

Two Years Old...and Lovin' Life

Tomorrow Hyrum turns three years old. It is hard to believe that my little boy is growing up so quickly. I love him to pieces and want to share a bit of him with you through this video. It has become a tradition in our family to watch these picture slideshows on each child's birthday. (Hyrum loves them and it is a very inexpensive alternative to scrapbooking all the pictures.)





While putting together this slideshow of Hyrum's third year, I was reminded of how innocent and loving he really is. Whenever I feel frustrated with him I need to watch this in order to put my perspective back in the right place. Hyrum has such a soft heart and loving smile....we're so blessed to have him in our family!


I'll put a post up tomorrow with pictures of our little celebration!