Tobi's Potty Prizes

My mom and dad took Tobi for us this last weekend so we could go to the Spanish Fork Rodeo (so fun!) and then we saw Batman, which was AMAZING...seriously, such a good movie!  Anyway, my mom has a potty seat for Tobi at her house and I guess he wanted to use it while he was there. She took him out to the store and bought a bunch of cute little prizes to put in a bucket so that he could pick one every time he goes potty.  She even got enough for me to have our own prize bucket at home.  She also got him a cute little potty chart that he gets to put a sticker on every time he's successful.  He loves it and he gets so excited to pick a prize!  I don't know why I didn't think of this myself....durr!  But I LOVE my mom to pieces for doing this for him, I've been getting so discouraged with the potty training lately and I think this is a nice boost for both me and Tobi.  We'll see how it goes!

28 weeks

I am 28 weeks pregnant and boy is time flying by!  Which is fantastic!  The longer I go the more convinced I am that I really don't cope well with being pregnant.  There may or may not be a third baby in our future, Jordan and I definitely have a lot to think about but thankfully we don't have to decide for quite a while yet.  Once Gray is here, I just want to enjoy him and enjoy having my body to myself again.  I'm glad that I try to be fairly honest when I blog about this stuff, that way when I start to forget how awful my pregnancies are, I can come back and read these and be reminded ha ha!  Now that I've been started on insulin, I am feeling much better and I've also started taking unisom to help me sleep.  My mornings are still slow going but at least I don't feel horrible right from the get go.  Things seem to be a bit more manageable.  My energy is still pretty non-existent though and getting worse.  There is still so much I want to do with Tobi I only hope I can make it through the rest of this pregnancy!  I start my non-stress tests next week and I'm relieved that they will be watching my amniotic fluid, I ran out with Tobi and I've been worried about it with Gray.

I also have another appointment with my doctor next week and I'm excited to see what they say about how the rest of my time will go.  Grayson is moving a TON and is in my ribs all the time now.  I'm uncomfortable no matter what I'm doing.  I'm mostly just really excited to be in my third trimester and almost done.  Not too much longer and we'll have another little boy to spoil!!

Rand's FIRST birthday!

This last Saturday Tobi and I got to go to Rand's FIRST birthday party and we had a blast!  Jocelyn did the cutest Super Mario 1-Up Mushroom theme and it turned out AMAZING.  She did such a fabulous job!  Rand was so cute in his little Luigi overalls that we made and it was so fun watching him do his cake and presents.  As you all know, first birthdays are my favorite and I'm so glad we got to share his special day with him.

 These are her cute decorations that she busted her butt on, SOOO cute!!!

And here we have the adorable birthday boy along with my favorite little guy :)

Happy Birthday Rand!!!

Tobi Lately

Tobi has been so funny lately.  He has got one of the goofiest personalities and I am loving it!  He knows all of his colors and shapes and he is doing so great with Kids on the Move, we are so proud of him!  He says the funniest things, here is a little list of his words that make me giggle...

pockstick -- chapstick
ben -- band aid
got found -- look what I found
tafe a bath-- take a bath
minumins-- vitamins

He is SO attached to his daddy right now, the graveyard shifts have been really hard on us, especially lately.  Tobi won't go to bed anymore unless he can lay in Jordan's spot on our bed, and then I have to move him once he's asleep.  He's also starting to have some separation anxiety problems and we're hoping when Jordan starts his new shift, that will get better.

I've been watching season 2 of Love in the Wild, and Tobi likes to watch it with me, it cracks me up.  He gets all excited about their adventures in the jungle and he watches the entire episode with me every time.  He LOVES going swimming and asks me to go on a daily basis.  Most days he gets his way simply because it wears him it out, which means he takes great naps afterwards.

He loves to help in the kitchen, whether it's mixing things together, cleaning up or preparing different foods.  If there is a way for him to help, I pull out the chair and encourage him to do so.  He also loves to take the garbage out with Jordan when it's full, he tells me about how fun it is whenever Jordan is at work.

He has two best buddies right now, Cody and Kayson, and he loves to play with them.  He's always telling me how fun they are and how he likes to play cars and trains with them.  The potty training isn't going as well and has been put on hold for the most part.  My pregnancy has been difficult, especially lately, and I don't like to stress myself out more than is necessary.

He's been such a joy lately and I am so so grateful I get to stay home with him again.  Some days are hard and my patience runs thin, but for the most part it's wonderful.  It's going to be so great when Jordan is back on a normal shift and off the weekends.  I'd really like to start doing more as a family and I know that Tobi would be thrilled if Jordan could come to parks and swimming with us.  We go often and Tobi loves it, so even when I'm tired I try to muster the energy to go.  We've been to a lot of great parks in the area and a lot of great pools too!  We joined a play group that gets together every Wednesday morning and we love all the fun stuff we get to do with these other moms and their toddlers.

And that's what Tobi's been up to!

Insulin

I started my insulin today and as difficult as it is for me to be doing those shots again, I'm so relieved to have my blood sugar under control!  I'm already seeing better numbers and I'm feeling much better.  I start doing non-stress tests twice a week, next week and I will also start doing ultrasounds once a month.  Which isn't bad since I really only have two months left.  I'm so excited to be coming up on the end of this pregnancy and I am so ready to have this new little boy in our home.  Anytime I see other people with little babies I get so excited.  I think Tobi is going to do so great having a baby brother and I'm really looking forward to this fall season with two little boys.  Tobi is so amazing I can't wait to see what Grayson is like.  Hopefully these extra appointments will help the time go by even faster and before I know it, October will be here!

Jayson's 30th

Last night we got to go out to Sean and Brynn's house for Jay's 30th birthday party.  They made some really yummy sloppy joes which Tobi chowed on (I was so glad!  Everytime we make them at home, we can't even get him to try them so maybe next time he'll finally eat it!) and then Jayson made some really yummy chocolate chip cookies with oreos in the middle.  They were super rich but really tasty.  After dinner we all gathered around the table to play Quelf.  It's one of their favorite games and we'd never played it before.  They all dressed up as game characters which was really fun, I kind of felt like a party pooper for not dressing up either but I just don't have the energy ha ha!  Maybe next time.  The game was really fun and I think it was a good ice breaker after some of the rough patches we've had this year.  Tobi had a lot of fun playing with Noah, Ellie and Ben.  All day he kept telling me how excited he was to go play with Noah, he's always looked up to Noah.  And Noah is such a patient little sweetie with the younger kiddos.

Jordan did still have to work his night shift so we had to duck out a little early but we're really glad we got to go.  Jordan's new boss is really good about letting Jordan work later or earlier as long as he puts in his twelve hours.  I'm really looking forward to his new schedule, hopefully happening soon, so that I don't have to go to family stuff by myself anymore.  Especially now that Grayson is almost here, I don't know if I can do it by myself with TWO kids!

Jayson seemed to really have a good time which was most important as it was HIS party after all.  We're really glad that we got invited and we had a great time.

Happy 30th Jay!!

Moxtek Lagoon Day!

We got to go to Lagoon on Friday for the Moxtek summer party and we had so much fun!  Since I couldn't do any rides, we decided it would be a Tobi day, plus we prefer to go in October for Frightmares anyway so we're really crossing our fingers we'll still be able to do that.  We got there just a little after noon which was perfect and lucky us, it was cloudy but warm all day!  Tobi was SO cute that morning too.  When he woke up, I told him it was gonna be a fun day and he asked me if I was excited and if it was a surprise.  Then after that all he could talk about was riding the big choo-choo, which surprised me because I wasn't sure if he would remember that from last year.

We took him right into kiddieland and we let him pick the rides he wanted to go on.  He went on almost everything that was in there, and there were several that he insisted he go on again...and again ha ha.  He had two favorite rides, the first one was the bumper cars...which really had me and Jordan cracking up because he wouldn't steer the car!  He just sat and let it go in circles until other kids bumped into him, we couldn't stop laughing it was so funny.  And the operator kept telling him to turn the wheel, it was too funny.  I figured it was the little kid bumper cars and he's two....if he wants to just sit and go in circles until he gets hit, that's his choice!

Moxtek served us dinner and did their prize drawing at 4:00, so we made sure to catch that and re-fuel.  We didn't win any prizes...again, but Andrew and Bronwyn both won stuff which was exciting for them and we all had a good laugh, because Andrew won a prize last year too.  It was nice to sit and visit with friends and meet the people that Jordan works with, along with their families.  I'm so glad that Moxtek does stuff like this for their employees, we've really been looking forward to this all summer.  They have a really cool Icee station when you first walk in, it has TONS of flavors and cool twistie slurpee cups.  We got one for Tobi that we ended up filling twice while we were there and Tobi loved picking the flavors and Jordan liked helping him drink it.  Tobi is CRAZY about slurpees so I knew before we got there that would be a big hit for him.

Tobi's second favorite ride was the last one we went on that day, it was the OdySea and I was surprised that he loved it so much.  It went really high and it also got you wet, but he went on it with Jordan and he LOVED it.  Jordan said he kept doing his crazy laugh and squealing, and he cried when he had to get off so Jordan took him on it a second time which left them both pretty soaked.  At that point it really got cloudy and started to get windy so we decided that was a good time to go, which again had Tobi in tears but he was wiped out and I was satisfied that he had a fun packed day.  We loaded up our wagon and got Tobi in his seat and about fifteen minutes down the road he was passed out!  Jordan and I both were pretty wiped out too but I had so much fun watching him go on rides, especially the ones that Jordan rode with him.

Thank you Moxtek!!

We meet again

I was tested this week for gestational diabetes and my test came back high.  I have to go in next week to do their three hour test, which really didn't go well the last time around so I'm really nervous.  Even though I told myself I would have it and I tried to prepare, I still cried for most of the day yesterday.  And then I keep wondering if this is happening to me because I'm overweight and I feel even more frustrated and angry at myself.  My weight played a part in my depression last year and I had been to my doctor and a therapist trying to help myself with the cravings I get.  It's not an easy thing and self loathing is no stranger to my life, even now.  I cannot stand to see pictures of me, I try not to post them or even have them taken to begin with unless I have to.  I keep telling myself it will be easier when the baby gets here, I'll have more energy and I can get a better exercise routine in place.  I started prenatal water aerobics last night and I had a lot of fun, but I left feeling really sick, which is usually what happens when I try to exercise when I'm pregnant.  For some reason it really gets my acid reflux going and I end up puking.  I'm going to keep going though, because I really need the exercise and I do enjoy being in the water.

Fireworks

After going to the temple grounds last year to watch the fireworks and having so much fun, Jordan and I decided to make that tradition and we've really been looking forward to it this year.  We even invited Adam and Shannon to come along and we're so glad we did.  We got there at about 8:00pm this year and it was perfect, the sun was just going down so the whole field was shaded and we got a great spot on the grass.  We picked up a couple bags of cotton candy which Tobi was SUPER excited about and chowed on.  We also had glow sticks and Adam bought the boys a couple of light saber swords that they went nuts over.  It was so fun to just sit and relax and let the boys run around and play.  Tobi got nice and wore out and we folded the seats down in our awesome wagon and fixed up a little bed for Tobi to lay on during the fireworks.

The firework show was awesome, I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching the big ones go off, I might have loved it more than Tobi!  Traffic was crazy when we left, but after having done it last year, we knew which way was the better way to go and it only took us thirty minutes to get home this year, not bad right!  Tobi went right to bed when we got home and Jordan and I were happy to do the same.  We had a great holiday and we're excited to do it again next year, only this time we'll have Tobi AND Grayson.

The Grand Parade

Right after the balloon launch, we loaded the kiddos back into the car and went to the parade route to watch the guys run by.  Jordan and Adam have been planning to run for months and they were really excited.  Unfortunately, it took us too long to get to the parade spot and we missed them...huge bummer...but we saw them after and though they were exhausted, they both felt pretty good about it.  We are super proud of both of them!

We staked out our spot in the shade (thank goodness, it was hot!) and I had some really cute little goodie bags for the kids to keep them occupied while we waited.  I filled them with some treats, Pop-Its and bubbles and they were pretty excited to go through everything.  They especially loved the Pop-Its, they didn't even care when the police motorcycles went by, they were having too much fun stomping!

Once the parade started we had fun and Tobi enjoyed it, but he was getting fussy from getting up so early and the heat, so we were pretty glad when the parade ended and it was time to pack up and go.  Tobi passed out in the back seat right away, poor guy, and when we got home we ALL went down for much needed naps ha ha!

Balloon Launch!

Well...we got ourselves up at the butt crack of dawn yesterday so the boys could watch the balloons fill up and launch and while it was really hard to get up so early...it was so worth it.  Tobi and Kayson both thought it was so cool and they LOVED watching the balloons.  I love doing things like this with Tobi, even if it's hard, because he gets so much enjoyment out of it.  Seeing him that excited and that happy just makes my day.  I'm so proud to be his mom and I am so grateful that at 26 weeks pregnant, I can still muster up the energy to do these things with him.  I really hope that never changes.  Shannon commandeered my camera for me, which was actually kind of nice ha ha because I actually got some pictures of me (I can't decide yet if that's really a good thing or not) which doesn't usually happen since I'm the one behind the camera all the time.  I had a lot of people admire and comment on our new wagon which was nice, I've been so excited and saved for months so we could buy that thing!  It didn't take us long at all to get parking so that was a relief and it was really neat when all the balloons started to take off.

Jordan's family BBQ

Jordan and I both were stressing SO BAD about this bbq and we are so happy to have survived it.  We know that his grandparents bbq on the fourth every year and with things being so hard with some of the family right now, we really struggled with the decision to go.  Plus, we had plans with friends for fireworks so we knew we couldn't stay the whole time either.  It's really hard because part of us wanted to skip it so we didn't have to deal with the stress, but then other people in the family are hurt because they don't get to see us.  So our options were to go and be super uncomfortable, or not go and hurt people in the family.  We decided we would go because it was more important to me that Tobi get to see his grandparents and cousins and we could just deal with the awkwardness for a couple hours.  We also decided that we would do our best to be happy and friendly no matter what.  We decided we would smile and be nice and just let it go, have a good time.

Cindi was SUPER cute with Tobi and even though she is still recovering from her surgery, she took Tobi on a small chicken hunt to find Cluck-cluck in the back yard.  I am so grateful for the attention she gives to the kiddos and how much she loves them, she's such a sweet Auntie.  I had a lot of fun visiting with Tanya and Nedra, who both look AMAZING!  They've been working out and dieting and the benefits are really showing!  We're so proud of them and the wonderful example they've set for the rest of us in the family.  And of course it was a joy as always to see Grandma and Grandpa Bourne.  They have the biggest hearts and I am glad we got to visit with them yesterday.  Tobi was super excited to see his Grandma Fleming and Grandpa Leavitt and was so excited to play with the other kids, especially Noah.  Sean was still really nice to all three of us and I was glad for that.  He and Jayson did a wonderful job on the meat, as usual...the food was great!

We had a great time and genuinely felt bad when we had to leave early for our firework plans.  Jordan and I both were SO relieved to have not only survived it, but to have had fun as well.

Payslie's Second Birthday

We got to go to Payslie's birthday party the other night to celebrate her SECOND birthday, woohoo!  We LOVE birthday parties and this time Jordan got to come which was awesome for both me and Tobi.  He was so excited to have his daddy there and he had a blast playing in the water, and of course he got cake, his favorite!  My cousin went with a super cute "sweet" theme and had the cutest balloon suckers at the front of her yard and balloon candies on her porch.  She did a really cute sweet table where the kids could bag up some yummy candy to take home.  Payslie was so cute and we are so happy we got to share her special day with her!

Thanks Lindsay and BJ!  Happy SECOND birthday Payslie!!