Toria-isms

After a tiring day at the "Kwanza celebration" at the U's Museum of Fine Arts we arrived at the Training Table for a late, late lunch. Toria was like a Mexican jumping bean and could not for the life of her sit still. She was up, she was down, she was dancing, she was jumping. Now, I'm usually a bit of a stickler on table manners, but after an exhausting afternoon and in a basically empty restaurant, I was giving her some leeway. Well, even I, the pillar of patience(not so much) reached my limit. In the nicest tone, yet with a hint of sternness told her to, "Sit down on your knees or bum, right now." She sits down, sticks her finger in her ketchup and in just as firm a voice states" Mommy, stop being mad at me." Doug and I laughed so hard.  Maybe you had to be there, because as I read this it doesn't seem as funny. But, I promise, it really was. 

A Star is Born

Toria had her first little dance show  and I have to admit that I was a little worried about how nervous she would be with so many people watching her. Apparently it's confirmed. I DO NOT have a shy kid. Despite being far past the hour of her slumber, she was flitting, bowing and clapping like a little sprite. As many of the other little tots were crying for their mommies, she just kept on dancing, kicking, and passe'ing(not quite sure the correct plural for that one) away. She loved every minute of the cheers and adulation. My only concern now is, will I ever be able to get her off the stage?

Forced gratitude

So, one of Toria's new things is to make sure that as we sit down to a meal everyone thanks me for preparing the food. Generally goes like this...

Toria: Mommy, thank you for the food. Daddy, can you say thank you to Mommy for the food?

Doug: Thank you for the food, Mommy

Toria: Skylar, can you thank Becca for the food?

Skylar: Thank you for the food 

Toria: Rome, can you thank Mommy for the food?

Rome:(silence... give the kid a break he's only 8 1/2 months old)

And so on, until all those seated at the table have thanked me for the food.

So, this is cute and funny, but it truly is the start of every meal at our table. Hence, I tend to hear this pretty much 3 times a day.

Well, today she added a spin...

Toria: Thank you for the food, Mommy. Daddy, can you thank your wife for the food?

Ok... are you really 2 1/2?

The most wonderful day of the year!

Our Christmas morning...

Stocking stuffers doing their job

Bubbs in his new headwear from Aunt Leann

Bubbs not getting the present thing, but being very overwhelmed and tired

         Toria Loving her new scarf, hat, and puppy w/ matching hat

Shoveling snow...

Shoveling MORE snow

Rome still not caring about the presents, but loving it all

daily ritual

is it just me or does everyone feel like they are unloading a dishwasher, loading a dishwasher, or washing dishes 24-7? i'm not complaining, just stating a fact.  i guess if i did more takeout, then i would do less of this... but alas, i love to cook(most of the time) for my little fam... thus my ritual continues...

My Men...

Oh how i love them!!!

Halloween '08

This is a little late, but an update none the less. Toria was having quite the time deciding what she wanted to be for Halloween. First a tiger, then a lion... no, no a tiger. No a lion. So a smart little friend of mine gave me the idea... a LIGER! Toria was thrilled, and well, Rome was along for the ride. We went with the whole Napoleon theme and here's what ensued...

Some people got the liger thing, others not so much. But we had fun. Thanks Natalie for saving the day with the Napoleon accessories. We couldn't have done it without you... our hero!

Nuf' said...

My budding artist...

My funny little gal LOVES to paint. 

I LOVE that she is so uninhibited in her creativity.

Daddy Doug's Birthday!

Here is the "oh-so-professional" artwork that my lovely hubby woke up to on his Birthday. Toria had so much fun making it, Rome... not so excited. My guy is another year older, it's true that something just get better with age. You are the best husband/father/best friend a gal could hope for!

Squeezable!

My little Chubarooski! He is pretty dang adorable, if I do say so myself. He is my content, lovable, smiley, sitting up, handsome little guy! I so could not resist this hat for him. Some days I want to just bite into his bulbous cheeks, nibble his rotund feet, and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze him!

Let the sleeping begin!

"Anyone who says they slept like a baby never had one"
I saw this quote and offered a big AMEN.

After three nights of gut wrenching(more so for me than anyone else) long nights. My little guy is sleeping through the night!
The first night was a cry fest, the second was slightly less taxing and the third night was hardly difficult. Day four has come and gone and he is an official all-nighter!

I never thought I could do it. I forgot how much your heart breaks as their little cries for help pull at the mom instinct and make you want to leap up and soothe them and make sure that they know you love them and would never abandon them! I laid outside my little man's room as he learned how to do it on his own. It took everything I had to not save him!

Relief... he still loves me and smiles at me and doesn't hate me.

Back again!

So, I have been hesitant to post, to report the lack of success in our potty training efforts. We will just leave it at that. We have had fun-filled busy times! Between a trip to St. Louis for my father-in-law's 60th birthday, Halloween, trips to the children's museum, dance class, etc., etc., etc...it's been well, busy! I will have pictures up soon!

Binkys, Big-Girl Beds, and Pottys

So, the last few months have been BIG ones for our lovely, little gal. First... we took away the oh so coveted, and adored binkys! It went quite smoothly, I must say. Much easier than I had imagined it would. I swore I would never let a child of mine have them that long, but I did. I drew the line at birthday #2. She only asked for them twice, but since she had thrown them in the rubbish bin with her hesitant hand, she knew they were gone. Second... no more crib for our tot. On to the real deal! A big-girl bed! Ok, so really it's a toddler bed, well... really it's her crib, with one side converted to a toddler bed. So, maybe not such a HUGE transition, but for the "not-so-great-sleeping-kid" it was a big step. She pulled that one off with flying colors. She loves her bad and often just sits on it to play saying, " Mommy, I just sit on my bed, I don't go night-night." On to accomplishment number 3! Well, tomorrow marks the first stop on our potty training expedition. I know that millions of millions have tackled this one, so I go in to our journey with the support of mom's everywhere. I will keep you updated...

Just a note, as I was playing with her today. I wondered-where did this little baby go?

And when did she grow up in to this little girl that I can't get enough of?

Hot Summer Days. Love Them!

          Is it just me, or do the summer days fly by? I guess it's because we are so busy outside, going to zoo's, swimming pools, bbq's and any other activity that lets us enjoy this wonderful, yes I know it's hot, time of year! I am all about flip-flops and lemonade, parks and sunscreen, shorts and vacations. I try to not complain about the hot leather seats in my car, or the sweaty stickiness of an afternoon outside, because I really love thew warm weather. So much can be done, not like those nasty, cold, snowy, miserable, slippery, winter months! Cooped up inside, when only so much can be done to entertain busy bodies.  I am trying to soak up every minute of sunshine, popsicles, and wading pools that  I can!

It really works!

So, as far as my life is concerned these are some B.I.G things! 

1) Yesterday morning Toria was saying our breakfast prayer, which has always been a consistent"Heavenly Father... Thankful... Amen." But alas, this prayer-I don't know where it came from-was... drumroll, please..."Heavenly Father, please bless have a good day, grateful for food, daddy, name of Jesus Christ, Amen." I know I should not be prideful, but I must say I was pretty darn proud of my little, just turned two year old!

2)  Toria was in primary and they were having a lesson on President Monson. When the teacher held up his picture and asked, "Who is this?" My bright little bee piped up, "President Monson!" Ahhhh. The FHE lessons are sinking into her wee noggin! 

It's so nice to see that all the work and sweat and love we Mom's(and Dad's!) pour into our kids makes a difference. Not growing up a member, sometimes I wonder if I am doing the right things to teach my kids the gospel.  I felt like it was like a little pat on the back from Heavenly Father reminding me that it's ok if I am new to all this, as long as I am trying to be obedient He will make up the rest. 

I am lame, but busy!

I have had a hard time getting to this blog in the past weeks. I unfortunately started back to my part-time work at the airlines and am hating, hating, hating every minute of it. I so wish I was not spoiled with flight benefits, but alas, we sure do love our traveling...so hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go. Must find a solution!

 Our ward split this week and since I have tons of free time floating around, I was called to be the compassionate service leader. And it's a fun month-only 8 women having babies! But, seriously, I am really excited and can't wait to get to know the sisters in the ward on a whole different level. Now I have a good reason and excuse to do so. 

The kidlets are growing up way too fast and I wish I could just bottle them up and keep them this cute forever! 

All in all, life is good, just busy...which I am sure is the case for about 99.9% all of us. May the blessings of time-management, multi-tasking, and an extra hand fall upon us all.

the simple things

Last weekend we had a busy day of meeting my bookclub at the park for a picnic and then off to Harrison's 1st birthday party. Toria was in heaven. Nothing could have made that little girl happier than sitting in three inches of water and having on a party hat. Which she did not want to remove even at bedtime! I love that she is so happy with simple joys-a lesson I can learn from my almost 2 year old.

2 months

so, at Rome's 2 month appointment he weighed in at a whopping 11 lbs 9oz! Talk about progress! No worries about our little guy starving. he is a wonderful baby and is already growing and changing so fast. Sometimes I wish I could just bottle my kids up at the age they are and keep them there forever. Toria is so cute and says the funniest things. It's so neat to see how she is figuring the world out, how everything is starting to make sense to her. Her latest thing is calling me "becca." Today, I was getting ready and she put her hand on my arm and said in the most tender voice, "that's my becca." I never knew how rewarding and amazing being a mother could be

Settling in

We are getting our new routine down and Rome is such a great sleeper...8 hours last night! Gotta love the kid! We have had our days of chaos too. Foe example, yesterday! I was watching a neighbors son, who is the same age as Toria, from 11-5 and also had 4 other kids from the neighborhood over to play with water toys, pools, etc. Incidentally, Doug was not going to be home from work until 8 or so. But, the icing on the cake was when Toria woke up from her nap with a poopy diaper and tried to take it off. Yes, I know you can imagine the sight I walked in on...her screaming because of the gross factor, her hands, feet, sheets, and crib covered in nastiness. One of the days you look back on and laugh, but at the time it's not that funny.

Week one

So, the first week of having two little ones at home has been fun, exhausting, and a balancing act. I'm definitely feeling the guilt of not being able to give Toria my full attention, even though I know it's the best thing for her to have siblings. Rome is great, he is a champion nurser and is starting to get his days and nights straight.I love his little coo's and grunts and can't wait to know more of his personality. We love our sweet kids so much and count our MANY blessings every day...I really don't know how our life could get any better.

"Rome" has arrived!

ell, surprise, surprise...our little guy came early. After a long day of standing in line for a "Deal or No Deal" casting call we went directly to the hospital and had a baby! We got to the hospital at about 6 p.m. and he was born at 8:15 p.m. weighing 6 lbs. and 14oz. and 19 inches long. We named him Jerome "Rome" William Stewart-after my Dad(Jerome) and Grandpa(William). I never expected for him to come 12 days early, since I was induced with Toria 5 days late. He is so precious and we love him to pieces! He has his days and night confused, which is fun with a 21 month old sister going all day...no rest for a weary mom! Toria adores him and wants to hold and kiss and touch him all the time. She is always aware of what he is dong..."mama, baby Rome sleeping, shh." She is such a little mom and is our constant energetic, talkative, and sweet little girl. 

along we go...

so my belly is expanding and we are getting close to having our new guy. we are so excited to have him, but i am definitely not rushing his arrival. i am trying to get as much sleep as possible stored up before i go into zombie-like mode again. we are adjusting to a new norm, since my Dad passed away...Toria is quite confused about not seeing "Papa" every day and is definitely missing him lots., as we all are. i count my many blessings every day...i couldn't have a more supportive, loving, amazing husband! we are very abundantly blessed in so many ways!

he's on his way

so baby number two is our boy due in april. we so so excited to be adding another to our fun clan. i, as most moms do wonder how i can love another baby as much as i do toria. i know that magical mom thing happens though, and am not too worried about it. life is in limbo(isn't it always) as Doug is finishing his law school applications and we don't quite know where we might be or what we might be doing in the next few months. time shall direct our adventure...

here we go...

so..first post. we are doing great, living in lehi, ut and enjoying our richly blessed lives. our daughter, Toria is 18 months old and we are expecting a baby boy in april. life is very good and we couldn't be happier. we love our neighborhood, our families, each other and the way our path is heading. we will keep you updated as to what's going on and anything fun or interesting we encounter...till then cheers!