I remember this quote from a packet I received in my "Teachings of the Living Prophets" class at BYU. Said packet is buried somewhere in Mom and Dad's house now, and I've never remembered what talk it was from or anything. Then today in my study from "Come, Follow Me" I clicked to a link from an Education Week talk from Elder Ballard, and voila! There is the quote. I was excited to know the talk it's from. I think it's funny, and also very true.
"When you stop and think about it from a diabolically tactical point of view, fighting the family makes sense. When Satan wants to disrupt the work of the Lord, he doesn’t poison the world’s peanut butter supply, thus bringing the Church’s missionary system to its collective knees. He doesn’t send a plague of laryngitis to afflict the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He doesn’t legislate against green Jell-O or casseroles. When Satan truly wants to disrupt the work of the Lord, he attempts to confuse gender and he attacks God’s plan for His children. He works to drive a wedge of disharmony between a father and a mother. He entices children to be disobedient to their parents. He makes family home evening and family prayer inconvenient. He suggests family scripture study is impractical. That’s all it takes, because Satan knows that the surest and most effective way to disrupt the Lord’s work is to diminish the effectiveness of the family and the sanctity of the home."
From "The Sacred Responsibilities of Parenthood" in the March 2006 Ensign, taken from a BYU Education Week Devotional
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
11 Months!
Dean is 11 months old today. That means (in case anyone out there is REALLY bad at math) that he will be one year in one month. What? How is that possible? Here are pictures of him the day we brought him home from the hospital:
And here is a picture of him in the same rock n' play taken about two weeks ago.
Crazy.
Dean is now army crawling his little heart out. It's nice that he can follow me if I go to another room, because it means he doesn't just cry every time he can't see me. The only down side is...he can follow me. Oh, and that I feel like the worst housekeeper in the world since his onesies are always SOOO dirty! Our floors are impossible! They are this textures linoleum that looks like wood. I love that it's not carpet. I hate that it's...it. I just bought a steam mop and I hope it helps!
After a few times of this:
we finally borrowed a drill and got cabinet locks installed. We've also had to move the toilet brush to sit on top of the toilet. Yuck.
He has not outgrown his phase of spitting out all fruits that aren't pureed. Ugh. This morning I tried to sneak some bananas into his oatmeal. This was the result:
It doesn't show up as well in the picture, but it was all over his tummy and legs and ear. I try feeding him a non-pureed fruit every day. Remember how he loved those grapes? I'll tried a few more times to no avail. He used to eat pieces of banana just fine, too. Yesterday he did play with/chew a tiny bit on an apple slice. He didn't throw it on the floor until he'd had it for 5 minutes or so, so I count that as a great success! Good thing he's so cute.
There are plenty of foods that he loves. He normally just eats what we eat for dinner with the help of the food grinder. We're trying to introduce him to more foods not ground up. Normally if we give him some ground up and then follow it up with some just cut in small pieces he'll do okay eating it. And the boy loves yogurt. Cannot get enough. He also gobbles down garlic bread and taco meat. He likes blueberry bagel a lot, too, so that and yogurt is his typical lunch. Here he decided he didn't want the little pieces I had torn off for him and swiped the rest of the bagel when my back was turned. Stinker.
We went to the library last week and Dean had a great time playing with the toys. He loved his activity cube!
And he would even stand at the tables! He doesn't really pull himself up yet, and normally if we try to get him to stand he just lifts his feet up, so this was huge!
Then, this past Saturday, Trevor and I found a yard sale in our apartment complex, and look what I found for $5! I looked it up on Amazon just for kicks and giggles, and used ones were starting at $40. I felt like a champ! It's Dean's birthday present, but we just cleaned it up and let him have at it.
He still loves books a lot. I've started showering while he's awake more often since he's better at entertaining himself. One day I got out to find him like this just reading his books.
He just loves turning pages!
He's still learning appropriate book choice. Obviously he's tried to read some things he's just not ready for.
We doggy-sat for Trevor's cousin while they went out of town for a wedding. I think Dean ate more of the dog food than Presley did!
He loves our Sonicare toothbrushes and always wants to help us brush! I tried putting it in his mouth to feel, but he wouldn't let me.
He had his first actual throw up. I'm so glad I got to hold him for that. (sarcasm, if you couldn't tell) No, he wasn't sick. Isolated random, incredibly stinky throw up.
He loves our Sonicare toothbrushes and always wants to help us brush! I tried putting it in his mouth to feel, but he wouldn't let me.
He had his first actual throw up. I'm so glad I got to hold him for that. (sarcasm, if you couldn't tell) No, he wasn't sick. Isolated random, incredibly stinky throw up.
So, I tried to take pictures of him with his yellow blanket and elephant, but they didn't turn out so good. Something about him refusing to stay put and crawling towards the camera.
Can someone make the next month go by a little slower? I need some time to plan his party and to snuggle the daylights out of him.
Mommy's Little Helper
Dean has been a great little "helper" lately. Here he is helping me fold laundry. It's pretty much is favorite thing in the world.
Some of those piles used to be folded nicely. Today he did start bringing me clothes, so that was cute.
I don't have a picture, but he has started feeding me food. He'll put his cheerios up to my mouth. And his chewed on graham crackers. So sweet! He attempts to slide his tray onto his chair. He's still working on that one.
The other night he was SUPER fussy pants--crying if I held him, crying if I put him down. So I finally decided I was just going to do the dishes. Well, he seemed interested so I held him up to see the bubbles. I put his feet in to let him feel the water. Next thing I know, bam, he's in the sink with the bubbles. I guess it counts as helping me do dishes since he even grabbed some dishes and put them in there with him. He was in heaven. Then he got to go straight to the bath. More heaven. Have I mentioned that he loves to splash? He was just so happy and cute that I didn't mind cleaning up the massive amounts of water all over the kitchen.
I sure love my little helper!
Some of those piles used to be folded nicely. Today he did start bringing me clothes, so that was cute.
I don't have a picture, but he has started feeding me food. He'll put his cheerios up to my mouth. And his chewed on graham crackers. So sweet! He attempts to slide his tray onto his chair. He's still working on that one.
The other night he was SUPER fussy pants--crying if I held him, crying if I put him down. So I finally decided I was just going to do the dishes. Well, he seemed interested so I held him up to see the bubbles. I put his feet in to let him feel the water. Next thing I know, bam, he's in the sink with the bubbles. I guess it counts as helping me do dishes since he even grabbed some dishes and put them in there with him. He was in heaven. Then he got to go straight to the bath. More heaven. Have I mentioned that he loves to splash? He was just so happy and cute that I didn't mind cleaning up the massive amounts of water all over the kitchen.
I sure love my little helper!
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Today Is Not That Day
I know there are approximately a bazillion blog posts about stuff like this, but I wanted to write down some thoughts I've been having lately for my own benefit.
I often find myself thinking things like this:
"Someday I will go an ENTIRE day without anybody else's bodily fluid getting on me. Today is not that day."
"Someday my life will not revolve around nap times. Today is not that day."
"Someday I will go a whole day without sweeping up food my kid dropped on the floor. Today is not that day."
"Someday I will do everything with two hands. Today is not that day."
But then I get to sit with Dean and read stories and play blocks and my thoughts change a little.
"Someday his face won't light up every time he sees me. But today is not that day."
"Someday he won't want to cuddle with me. But today is not that day."
"Someday I won't get to hold him close while I feed him his bottle. But today is not that day."
"Someday clapping and peek-a-boo will lose their wonder. But today is not that day."
"Someday I won't be his favorite person in the world. But today is not that day."
"Someday his feet and hands will stop spinning wildly when he gets excited. But today is not that day."
"Someday he'll be too big for me to carry and spin and flip upside down. But today is not that day."
"Someday I'll go a whole day without hearing him laugh and I will miss it so very much. I'm so glad that today is not that day."
I often find myself thinking things like this:
"Someday I will go an ENTIRE day without anybody else's bodily fluid getting on me. Today is not that day."
"Someday my life will not revolve around nap times. Today is not that day."
"Someday I will go a whole day without sweeping up food my kid dropped on the floor. Today is not that day."
"Someday I will do everything with two hands. Today is not that day."
But then I get to sit with Dean and read stories and play blocks and my thoughts change a little.
"Someday his face won't light up every time he sees me. But today is not that day."
"Someday he won't want to cuddle with me. But today is not that day."
"Someday I won't get to hold him close while I feed him his bottle. But today is not that day."
"Someday clapping and peek-a-boo will lose their wonder. But today is not that day."
"Someday I won't be his favorite person in the world. But today is not that day."
"Someday his feet and hands will stop spinning wildly when he gets excited. But today is not that day."
"Someday he'll be too big for me to carry and spin and flip upside down. But today is not that day."
"Someday I'll go a whole day without hearing him laugh and I will miss it so very much. I'm so glad that today is not that day."
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Ten Months
Time has really flown this month. I always hear moms saying things like, "Stop growing so fast!" and such, but I haven't really felt that way until recently. I think it's the teeth. He has 6 now and it just makes him look so big. Here are some fun things from the last month:
1) We went to California for the Cox family reunion. Friday, August 1, Rob and Cynthia's family drove from Lubbock to Mesa. We went out to eat at Organ Stop and Dean was completely enthralled. And he loved, loved, loved the garlic bread. Rob and Cynthia and all of their kids really liked it, too. It's such a fun family place!
Saturday we caravanned to Anaheim. Anne was able to get 6 3-Day tickets with her military discount, so she gave them to Trevor, me, Ken, Jen, Liz, and Nate. Jenny Jo upgraded her pass too. So that night, we got to ditch Dean with family members and go to Disneyland kiddo free! We used the time to do all the big rides.
On Sunday afternoon, I went to feed Dean some food. We brought his chair with us and it was sitting on the hotel chair. As I was putting him in, Trevor said, "I didn't strap that onto the chair yet. I don't know where the straps are." I explained they were in a little compartment under the chair, but I was going to sit next to Dean the whole time anyway, so it would be fine. And I sat right next to him and fed him his food. Then, without thinking, I got up and walked away to go throw the container away, and of course Dean leaned forward and flipped his seat off the chair and landed on his face. The tray was on his seat, so his face was on the ground, but his bum was still kind of up in the air with his back arched. I was so scared! We grabbed him as quickly as we could. His lip was busted and bleeding pretty bad and his nose was scraped a little. He had a hard time calming down. I was crying. I didn't know if his back or neck were hurt or if we needed to take him in to the ER or something. Eventually he calmed down and we got the blood stopped, and he was acting just like his normal, happy self. I seriously felt like the worst mom ever. But it seemed every other mom in the family had some sort of similar experience which made me feel a little better. Here's him Monday morning all ready for Disneyland and then some picks of his injuries. So sad!
Monday night when we were wiping his face after dinner, we got the scab on his nose and then his nose started bleeding! Poor kid.
He was pretty ambivalent about the rides we took him on. He liked looking around at things, but he was just as happy looking at things walking down the sidewalks as he was on an actual ride. But he did enjoy waiting in line with Daddy!
This is how he rides around these days. All over Disneyland in the stroller (well, anytime in the stroller), in grocery carts he wiggles his legs up, etc. I've gone in to get him from naps and he's been on his back with his feet up on the rail of the crib. It's so funny.
After Disneyland, we spent a couple days at a beach house in Oxnard, CA. It was RIGHT on the beach. We walked out the back door to sand. The beach was never crowded and there were DOLPHINS! About 50 or so yards out from shore. We could see them swimming around. They were so close I could have swam out to them. It's my life dream to swim with dolphins. But I let the frigid water get the best of me. I regret it. Dean actually really enjoyed the ocean. He loved being held down for the waves to rush past his feet, but he wasn't too keen on sitting all the way in the sand. It was just too cold.
Still no actually crawling, but he's getting more and more mobile all the time and getting better at scooting little bits at a time. Here he made it to the tissue box and found entertainment while I cleaned up all the food he threw on the floor during lunch. Yep, we've had flow blown entered the food spitting/dropping phase of life. It's not my favorite.
He is better at scooting backward than forward, so sometimes this happens.
He learned to clap last week, and if we raise our arms and say "Ta-da!" he will raise his arms over his head, too. He will also make car noises as he pushes his car around. It's adorable.
He continues to love drinking out of a straw. This month we introduced him to CapriSuns. We got the flavored water kind.
So he can be a little hot and cold about food. I fed him cut up grapes for the first time and he devoured them! Never has he eaten with more fervor. And then the next day he just spit them out. These pics are from the day he loved them, even though his face doesn't look like it!
I started getting the newspaper on Sundays so I can get the adds and coupons. I'm not sure if I will keep it or not, but I wanted to give it a try. While I'm undecided, Dean definitely votes yes. He loves the paper!
And he loves books. The "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" book that Micah got him is his favorite. He could sit and lift those flaps all day long. (that book isn't in the picture.)
I took him to the park to swing last week on a random cool day. I don't think you can really tell in the picture how awesome his hair looked blowing in the breeze. He really liked the swings.
Here's some pictures of him just generally being happy and looking handsome.
1) We went to California for the Cox family reunion. Friday, August 1, Rob and Cynthia's family drove from Lubbock to Mesa. We went out to eat at Organ Stop and Dean was completely enthralled. And he loved, loved, loved the garlic bread. Rob and Cynthia and all of their kids really liked it, too. It's such a fun family place!
Saturday we caravanned to Anaheim. Anne was able to get 6 3-Day tickets with her military discount, so she gave them to Trevor, me, Ken, Jen, Liz, and Nate. Jenny Jo upgraded her pass too. So that night, we got to ditch Dean with family members and go to Disneyland kiddo free! We used the time to do all the big rides.
On Sunday afternoon, I went to feed Dean some food. We brought his chair with us and it was sitting on the hotel chair. As I was putting him in, Trevor said, "I didn't strap that onto the chair yet. I don't know where the straps are." I explained they were in a little compartment under the chair, but I was going to sit next to Dean the whole time anyway, so it would be fine. And I sat right next to him and fed him his food. Then, without thinking, I got up and walked away to go throw the container away, and of course Dean leaned forward and flipped his seat off the chair and landed on his face. The tray was on his seat, so his face was on the ground, but his bum was still kind of up in the air with his back arched. I was so scared! We grabbed him as quickly as we could. His lip was busted and bleeding pretty bad and his nose was scraped a little. He had a hard time calming down. I was crying. I didn't know if his back or neck were hurt or if we needed to take him in to the ER or something. Eventually he calmed down and we got the blood stopped, and he was acting just like his normal, happy self. I seriously felt like the worst mom ever. But it seemed every other mom in the family had some sort of similar experience which made me feel a little better. Here's him Monday morning all ready for Disneyland and then some picks of his injuries. So sad!
Monday night when we were wiping his face after dinner, we got the scab on his nose and then his nose started bleeding! Poor kid.
He was pretty ambivalent about the rides we took him on. He liked looking around at things, but he was just as happy looking at things walking down the sidewalks as he was on an actual ride. But he did enjoy waiting in line with Daddy!
This is how he rides around these days. All over Disneyland in the stroller (well, anytime in the stroller), in grocery carts he wiggles his legs up, etc. I've gone in to get him from naps and he's been on his back with his feet up on the rail of the crib. It's so funny.
After Disneyland, we spent a couple days at a beach house in Oxnard, CA. It was RIGHT on the beach. We walked out the back door to sand. The beach was never crowded and there were DOLPHINS! About 50 or so yards out from shore. We could see them swimming around. They were so close I could have swam out to them. It's my life dream to swim with dolphins. But I let the frigid water get the best of me. I regret it. Dean actually really enjoyed the ocean. He loved being held down for the waves to rush past his feet, but he wasn't too keen on sitting all the way in the sand. It was just too cold.
Still no actually crawling, but he's getting more and more mobile all the time and getting better at scooting little bits at a time. Here he made it to the tissue box and found entertainment while I cleaned up all the food he threw on the floor during lunch. Yep, we've had flow blown entered the food spitting/dropping phase of life. It's not my favorite.
He is better at scooting backward than forward, so sometimes this happens.
He learned to clap last week, and if we raise our arms and say "Ta-da!" he will raise his arms over his head, too. He will also make car noises as he pushes his car around. It's adorable.
He continues to love drinking out of a straw. This month we introduced him to CapriSuns. We got the flavored water kind.
So he can be a little hot and cold about food. I fed him cut up grapes for the first time and he devoured them! Never has he eaten with more fervor. And then the next day he just spit them out. These pics are from the day he loved them, even though his face doesn't look like it!
I started getting the newspaper on Sundays so I can get the adds and coupons. I'm not sure if I will keep it or not, but I wanted to give it a try. While I'm undecided, Dean definitely votes yes. He loves the paper!
And he loves books. The "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" book that Micah got him is his favorite. He could sit and lift those flaps all day long. (that book isn't in the picture.)
I took him to the park to swing last week on a random cool day. I don't think you can really tell in the picture how awesome his hair looked blowing in the breeze. He really liked the swings.
Here's some pictures of him just generally being happy and looking handsome.
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