Monday, September 29, 2008

Camping in Zions Sept 2008

We went camping on Saturday night and it was awesome! We learned a lot the last time we camped with kiddos and so this time we were much more prepared. We arrived at about 4:00 and it had just gotten overcast which was nice since it had been such a hot day. Our campsite was right by the river and so we let the boys play in the water for a while which was freezing but they loved it! Minus the big wipe out by Davis, not that it stopped him from jumping right back in. You could hear a some thunder in the distance and Caleb was quoting the Sound of Music saying, "it just the thunder talking to lightening!" because Davis was getting a little scared.
Its nice to have someone who is old enough to take pictures so that Mom gets to be in some. Although he kept backing up and wanted to take the picture while standing in the slippery water. We were trying hard NOT to freak out!

After swimming we started our fire and cooked our heavenly foil dinners. Caleb had a great time playing "Ironman" in the trees. Davis was more interested in some baseball. They both eventually settled down to play trucks though so Daddy and Mommy had a little time to just relax and talk.They both slept really well and John and I might have slept through the night had it not been so HOT! We finally got a good breeze going through the tent around midnight and everyone slept in until 7:30. Well everyone but Beckham who decide that it was time to try some gymnastics on Mommys bladder at around 5:30 when Mommy was already dying but didn't want to get up and walk in the dark to the bathrooms and risk waking up the boys!We ate some breakfast and then went on a walk. There is something about waking up on the Sabbath out in the middle of our Heavenly Fathers creations. It was such a great way to start the day!This is how camping is suppose to be! Relaxing, fun, and not one bit of stress!

Fall Primary Program 2008

Today Caleb was in his second Primary Program and he was awesome! It is so fun to watch him sit up there and this time he even knew the words to about 2/3's of the songs. He also did all the sign language for As I have loved you. You could tell there were some signs he didn't know and was just following the chorister but you could also tell that there were a lot that he knew by himself. It was very fun for us to watch him and when he knew we were watching he would smile so big for us! What a man and what a difference a year makes from when he was a sunbeam and didn't have a clue what was going on!

Davis was a little jealous that Caleb was getting his picture taken and so we let him jump in on the action! We also had our ward diced up today. I think they split us up into 3 different wards. They added 2 new wards to our stake and we were pretty sure we were going to go to one of the brand new wards but we live about 100 yrds from the ward boundary and are now in the 13th Ward that was already in existence. We are excited and especially excited because we move to a brand new building right after conference. They even kept us at 1:00 which is great because Davis can nap before church and then in the new year we will be 9:00 which is also a great time because then he can nap afterwards!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Today is a big day...

Most people don't celebrate the day they hit 24 weeks pregnant but we do in this house! It means that the baby is now able to be saved at our hospital. NOT that we plan on having Becks come so soon BUT if for some reason something happened now we know he could live. He would be severely handicapped which is why we now look forward to 28 weeks which is where they start to be able to be born and live a normal life. There are still chances of brain bleeds at 28 weeks but it starts to go down dramatically. 27 weeks 6 days was how far along I was when Caleb tried to come.

I was told by a labor and delivery nurse here that once you're 30 weeks they don't even blink an eye because they can do so much for them and they may be small but they catch up. Don't get me wrong my goal is always 38 weeks but still there is comfort in knowing that I'm getting far enough along to keep Beckham.

Its amazing how much he means to be already. Hes a little active one! I think I know why the name Beckham seemed so right because this kid never stops moving! I notice it more when hes not moving than when he is because he is that active! I cant wait to meet this little guy and hold him!

I haven't had contractions in about 3-4 weeks. Still pressure but Ive gotten much better at realizing what makes me contract. I was told once you start you wont stop but looks like for me I have stopped the contractions for the most part.

YIPPIE!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe



Our Library had some of the original He-Mans on DVD so I checked them out for Caleb and he loves them. Its so cute to see him break out his Mickey Mouse sword and hold it high above his head and yell, "By the Power of Greyskull, I HAVE THE POWER" Its actually a really good cartoon for a 4-6 year old boy. Its slow enough for them to understand and not scary but they also have He-man or one of the other characters tell them something about strangers, or being kind, or teamwork. I can tell Caleb is totally listening to these because this morning we were going to rescue our Daddy and Caleb said, "mommy, we are working together and when we use teamwork we can do anything!"

Some things John and I didn't remember....
  • He-mans outfit is pretty ummm interesting. I cant see many people wanting to be He-man for Halloween!
  • They have cheesy cheesy music that plays over and over during the scenes where they fight
  • Orco (how ever you spell it) is not as funny as we remember from our childhood
Its been good fun and I might even see if I can buy these off e-bay because he loves them and I think they are way better than a lot of cartoons we have now. I felt that way about Scooby Doo too...Hmmm perhaps I'm biased because of my love of these from my childhood!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

No more news!

Ive decided that until this pregnancy is over I'm DONE with the news. We obviously don't get it on TV but I visit news sites on the Internet. While I think its good to be informed I just feel its so overwhelming right now! Perhaps if I wasn't 6 months pregnant trying to stay calm I would feel differently but seriously I cant handle any more missing toddlers, or newborns found dead, stock markets crashes, companies failing, political parties worrying more about elections than helping normal American people, idiotic celebrities who think playing pretend in movies makes them extremely wise in politics, and not to mention a very heated presidential election that I am disappointed in BOTH parties ability to lie, twist, and stretch their opponents words!

Am I generally a very informed person...yes. Is now the right time for me? NO! So if there is something huge that I really need to know, will someone please call me!?! Oh I would also appreciate a call on November 6th telling me who the next president is!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

A day at Preschool...

Today was the day that I get to go into Caleb's Preschool and be the mother helper. It was so fun and man what a difference a year makes. There were 5 kids that were in his class from last year and then 10 new ones. Last year there was always crying and kids fighting over toys and today I didn't break up one fight or one argument. They listened so well and I just love Ms Morris and I am loving this preschool. They do a lot of science and they do their letters and so hes learning a lot but more than that I think she really emphasises being a good friend. She does so many activities that revolve around complimenting each other and also she has us parents send kindness notes that she reads to the class of the nice things they do. Honestly you can see the fruits of it too just in the way the class behaves. The kids were nice to each other and for 15 four/five year olds to be together for 2 1/2 hours and not have one fight or argument is pretty impressive.

It just so happened that today was the day that Caleb was being spotlighted (she reads about them and the kids guess who it is) when she said he had a brother named Davis Caleb looked over at me and winked. Seriously...so cute that when he knew it was him he didn't jump up and down or say its me, but just gave me a cute little wink. After they read the paragraph and the kids guessed it was Caleb then they all get a chance to say something they like about Caleb. Then Ms Morris says something she likes about him too. I was pretty proud of what she said to..."I had Caleb all last year and from then until now I have never seen him be mean to anyone." Cant say that as his Mom she could have given him any higher compliment!

Anyway, I just left today feeling really proud of the kind of person he is becomeing. He is deeply sensitive to others feelings and will play with anyone. In fact most of the kids in the class have one buddy that they really stick close to but Caleb just plays with everyone and is content to play by himself too.

He is one special kiddo and Im glad that he is all mine for right now!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Tender moments


This week I have been especially aware of all of the special little moments that I have an opportunity to have with our children each day. Perhaps its from following the journey of Nie Nie (read here if you don't know what this is about and want to). For example one morning Davis woke up first so I went into get him out of his crib and he just snuggled into my shoulder and hugged me tight. He didn't want to be put down either, he just wanted to hold me. We laid down on the couch (because it was entirely to early for me) and watched a Sesame street video and he sat there all snuggled up to me playing with my hand. When he finally had woken up enough he jumped down to play with toys.

Just a few minutes after that Caleb came out of their room, rubbing his eyes and came over and climbed up into my arms on the couch and snuggled. He even drifted back off to sleep for a few minutes. Davis had wandered into his room and seen that his ducky was in his crib and started crying. He walked in so sad saying, "Ducky..." I asked him if his ducky was in his crib and if needed help and Caleb jumped up and said, "I'll get it for you Davis." I heard him climb in the crib and throw it to Davis, who no doubt was hugging his ducky up to him tight and rocking from side to side like he does after any sort of separation from Ducky. I heard Caleb say there you go, Davis say thank you, and then a few minutes past and Davis came up and hugged Caleb.

These moments may seem small, ordinary, and just quick but they are the moments that bond me to them and them to me. They are so easy to glance over and so easy to miss but they mean so much and when I stop and am still for a few moments it helps me realise just how great my kiddos are.

How lucky am I that this is my job! Sometimes I feel bad for John that he misses these moments and in some ways life forces him to move at a quicker pace and so even when he is home he may not be able to see these darling little moments. I know that's his role and I have to remember to not make him feel bad that he misses things like that. I love the role that I have been given in this life as a mother, a nurturer, and the one who turns our house into a home.

Maybe that's why I love blogging, even when the things I write about seem like they are not that important. I want to remember these times. I want our kids to be able to look back at this time and read about themselves. I also want John to be able to share in some of these times. I love when I find him checking the blog because then I know hes getting a glimpse at what its like each day and all the cute little things that he might not be here for. This is such a good way to keep a record of the little things.

I know when I'm 50 I will remember the big things that happened in our life, but I want to be able to look back at all of the small tender moments and milestones and remember them clearly and bring back memories of what life was like day to day.

I have the best job in the world!

Updated: I was reading here in the early morning hours and this seemed to remind me of the purpose of our role as Females and I thought I would post just a piece of what I had read from Elder Hollands wife here (I only wrote about the part of motherhood since that is what has been on my mind but this talk is for all women and she addresses all of our walks of life and ALL women should read this) its wonderful...

"One Needful Thing": Becoming Women of Greater Faith in Christ
by Patricia Holland
Ensign, October 1987

Our loving Father in Heaven seemed to be whispering to me, “You don’t have to worry over so many things. The one thing that is needful—the only thing that is truly needful—is to keep your eyes toward the sun—my Son.” Suddenly I had true peace. I knew that my life had always been in his hands—from the very beginning! The sea lying peacefully before my eyes had been tempest-tossed and dangerous—many, many times. All I needed to do was to renew my faith, and get a firm grasp on his hand—and together we could walk on the water.

I would like to pose a question for each of us to ponder. How do we as women make that quantum leap from being troubled and worried to being women of even greater faith? One frame of mind surely seems to negate the other. Faith and fear cannot long coexist....

Yet it seemed to me that the young mothers had easily as many concerns. They described to me the struggles of trying to raise children in an increasingly difficult world, of never having enough time or means or freedom to feel like a person of value because they were always stretched to the ragged edge of survival. And there were so few tangible evidences that what they were doing was really going to be successful. There was no one to give them a raise in pay; and beyond their husbands (who may or may not remember to do it), no one to compliment them on a job well done. And they were always tired! The one thing I remember so vividly with these young mothers was that they were always so tired....

If I were Satan and wanted to destroy a society, I think I would stage a full-blown blitz on women. I would keep them so distraught and distracted that they would never find the calming strength and serenity for which their sex has always been known....

I believe we can find our steady footing and stilling of the soul by turning away from physical preoccupations, superwoman accomplishments, and endless popularity contests, and returning instead to the wholeness of our soul, that unity in our very being that balances the demanding and inevitable diversity of life.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sensitive Child


Sometimes it hard to have a sensitive child. Davis is at the age when he needs to be disciplined but seriously it just breaks your heart to make him cry because it crushes him. Caleb has always challenged things and when he gets into trouble he gets mad back, not sad. So its never been that hard to punish him. Ive always wondered why it seems we "baby" Davis since we never expected him to be the last child and I think this is the answer! He reacts so dramatically that we are probably always careful about what we say and are afraid to make him sad.

He has started to climb out of his crib lately. The other night I found him climbing out (once again, this was like the 8th time of the night). By this time I was done and really wanted him to get the picture that it was bedtime. I swatted him on the behind and put him back in his crib. He just sat there looking shell shocked with his hand on his bum, staring at me with those big sad brown eyes and his little lip quivering. I said I'm sorry but its time to stay in bed. I then walked out and the tears started flowing back in the crib. I'm mean he lost it! The poor guy just sobbed and sobbed. It was so hard to just not go in and pick him up and tell him mommy will never been "mean" to him again but I know he has to learn.

Just now I was putting him in bed for his nap and I heard the door handle shaking, which means I know he is out, so I went back in and without a word picked him up and put him back in the crib and walked out. As I was shutting the door (I should have known better) I turned around and there were the shocked big brown eyes staring at me, pleading with me. Now I'm sitting here typing, trying so hard to not go and comfort the tears of sadness that are being shed in the room next to me.

I know Davis has a flare for drama and I'm trying to remember that but....those eyes, are just to expressive. They cut me to the core...

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Officially a Soccer Mom!

Meet the Sparx
Driving in my sweet Minivan to Caleb's first soccer game this week with a cooler full of orange slices, granola bars, and Capri suns...I teared up. I know that not many women would find this to be a sweet tender moment but for me its the realisation of my dreams coming true! All my life I wanted to be the soccer mom, running from game to game on Saturday cheering for my kiddos and providing yummy treats. And now its here...I think in my dreams though my child actually wanted to kick the ball not just run around thinking it was fun to run in a group for no reason.
Here's the proof!

It was so fun and crazy all at the same time. Johns the coach and it was picture day too so it was just a lot for one hour of trying to get the forms out to parents, pass out treats, time the quarters and halves, and get all of my AYSO stuff done. I always envisioned myself as the team mom but I actually was asked to be an executive member of the AYSO board for our region as the treasurer. Its actually pretty fun and I love to do bookkeeping stuff like that. I did all the financials for KinderCare when I worked there and Ive missed it.I couldn't find the best video to post on here and I'm afraid that I accidentally erased the wrong one. Caleb has become interested in Scooby Doo and so during this game when he wanted to put on his big speed he would pretend run in place and pump his arms really fast and then take off (just like they do in cartoons when the legs move around and around before the character actually starts moving) Hes got some sweet moves!
Here is the documentation of Calebs true interest in soccer! I think he was more excited about all the new accessories that he got like cleats and shin guards and the snacks of course. He did have a really good time and thats the most important thing. He asked me before the game if they were going to win and I just told him that it didn't matter either way as long as he tried his best his mommy would be very proud of him...and I was, running in circles and all!

Check out our hot coach!John is such a great coach for this age since hes so patient and makes everything so fun!

Davis cant wait for his chance to play. During practice I had to keep dragging him off the field since he would get a ball and start dribbling and join in! The crazy part is that hes just as good as all the other kiddos and he wont give up and he certainly wont let you take his ball away from him!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

For all of you....

who don't think BYU earns their wins....

WE DEDICATE TODAY'S GAME TO YOU!


Final Score
BYU 59
UCLA 0

Thursday, September 11, 2008

My big boy is getting even bigger!

On Tuesday Caleb started 4 yr old Preschool and it was so fun and so great to see him all grown up this year. He walked right into his new class, found the place for his backpack and then turned around and said, "its time for you to go now Mom!" He loves his class and he was so excited to have school start again. He was whooping for joy...I'm not exaggerating. All Monday he kept saying preschool starts tomorrow! Woo Who! Caleb also started gymnastics this week. One of his babysitters is teaching it out of her garage and she is great! Shes only 12 but get this...shes been teaching for 4 years already! He loved it and after watching him already struggle to sit with the bottom of his feet touching and knees out I think its good that we do some early flexibility intervention!

I wouldn't want Davis to feel completely left out of this post so I wanted to show you how gallant my sweet 2 year old is. We were in the backyard playing while Caleb was in gymnastics and they have a cute puppy. Well at first Davis was a little afraid of the dog and I'm kicking myself for not being ready for the best picture in the world...when the dog first came up to Davis and he was a little nervous so he put his beloved ducky in front of him and then threw it to distract the dog while he promptly made his escape. That's right folks he LOVES his ducky and cant be parted with it for a minute but when its his own neck on the line he has no problem sacrificing his ducky!
*Yeah! Davis has been super duper grumpy and crying all the time and I stuck my finger in the back of his teeth and his 2 yr molars are finally coming through!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Vacation Recap Day 4

Knotts Berry Farm
This was such a GREAT day! I don't think we really waited in a single line. I also have to say that for little kids I actually think there is a lot more to do here than at Disneyland. Camp Snoopy was awesome and the kids had such a fun time and most especially just being together as cousins. Be warned I was the only one with a camera so I'm putting a lot of pictures up for my family! This car ride looked harmless enough but it totally whipped you around on the corners! You can tell Davis was very aprehensive about it though! This was the ride that finally broke the ice for Davis. He couldn't get enough of the horn!
The boys getting ready to go on the Accelerator. Honestly this ride was the hardest part about being pregnant for me. You go from 0 to 82 mph in 3 second I think it is. You then go straight up and then straight down! I cant wait to go back!!!
Okay so maybe this ride was really hard too since you got to get soaking wet and I was hot! We made up for it on Bigfoot rapids which they just let you go on over and over again without getting off because there was no line. It was so nice to cool off!Then log ride was a huge hit because everyone could go on (well maybe I wasn't suppose to but I did anyway) Davis didnt mind it the first couple of times but when we went on the third time he recognized the line and held on for dear life!
The boys loved the roller coaster in Camp snoopy and I mean they LOVED it. In fact they just went on it over and over. The lady running the ride finally called down to me to make sure it was okay that Caleb and Briggs went on for the 5th time in a row!Thankfully Davis complied by taking a nap while the boys did the roller coaster over and over again.Its been so fun to see how much more brave Caleb has been getting with rides this past year (it helps when cousins are around!) This was the last ride the boys wanted to go on and I thought it was so great how much they loved it and didn't even flinch when an adult couldn't go on!In fact I think the kids could have gone longer but us adults were wiped out. Where else in the world can you be home from spending full day at Knotts to home and swimming in a half hour! Thanks Dad and Mom for such a great day! Here is one video that I just couldn't help and I thought was priceless!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Vacation Recap Day 2 & 3

Day 2- The BeachIts been a long time since we have just gone to the beach to play in the water and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. It wasn't crowded, the water was warm, and the sun was shining! Caleb use to hate the sand and was afraid of the water so it was never much fun to go to the beach this time however the sand didn't bother him one bit, in fact he was to the other extreme where I thought some things should bother him . Davis wasn't shy about the sand either, in fact he would drop his chip on the sand and then pick it back up and eat it...YUCK!
We had a blast! The waves were huge and the rip tide a little strong for John to do much surfing but there was a lot of fun to be had on the boogie board. Caleb buried my legs in the sand and Davis spent most of his time digging in the sand and avoiding the water at all costs!
Day 3- Golf and the Aquarium


On Wednesday John and Caleb got to go back down to San Diego for another fun day with Grandpa and Grandma Henderson. John went golfing with Grandpa and then out to lunch while Caleb and Grandma went to the new Aquarium that is right by Lego Land. Caleb said it was fun and told me all about the fish he saw and it then they went over to the San Marcos airport to watch all the planes come in! I don't have any pictures since I forgot to send the camera with them but it seems Caleb had a lot of little new toys to remember it by that I'm sure he swindled out of Grandma!