October Slideshow

Enjoy the pictures! (photos of our home to come as soon as we have gotten rid of all boxes; you can see some in the background of some of these pictures)

Terrible two better not last 2 whole years

So much going on and so many stories to share. I realize that I am failing horribly on the writing blogs multiple times a week thing. And since there is so much, I'm going to shorten as much as I can so that you all can keep up and not get overloaded.

We started painting in the kitchen. Mostly just the cabinets but its a huge improvement. And, no, we're not done. Stephen was gone a lot during October. He had NATE classes and testing, a 4 day long Comfort Adviser training and workshop, and the hunt. He enjoyed all of it, apart from stressing out about his test and we will know the results of it soon. All that time of course left me at home with the kids and Franklin is DEEP into his "terrible twos" now. Two words for you: NOT fun.

I've opened up a new shop on Artfire. I'm very excited about this new shop, there are fewer fees and it takes far less time to upload and create on it. I've also been working hard on updating new photos for everything. Its been a lot of work, but we are serious about my business and enjoy it very much. We hope to get an LLC this coming spring!

Now on to the good stuff everyone wants to hear.

Lisette has been very fun, funny and oh so daring. That girl can get running, without really wanting to. She turns 18 months this month but has been going to nursery already. She can push back when pushed and is an eating machine. We went to Casa when my parents visited me (on Stephen's hunting trip) and my mom was feeding her beans. She wasn't being fed fast enough, so she got her own fork, turned it around and used the handle part to scoop up the beans and feed herself.

My favorite thing Lisette does is putting herself to bed. I was rearranging Franklin's room while he was playing at Grandma's. Lisette was refusing to nap until she was so tired she couldn't fight it anymore. I gave her her giraffe blanket and she climbed onto Franklin's bed and instantly fell asleep. Ever since, at night when she's "put down" to bed, we don't let her out. She plays in her room till she's ready to sleep. She'll fall asleep in the just-crawled-into-bed position. Very funny! I LOVE that she's great with her toddler bed. I made a few adjustments to it myself. Its working out great, looks better and is completely safe.

Franklin has been getting into so much; and most of that is trouble. A wise woman once told me, when Franklin was starting his terrible twos before he was 2, that, "Its not called Terrible Two's because it starts at age 2. No. Its called that because it lasts for 2 years." It has almost been 2 years since that wonderful, angelic, can-do-no-wrong little Franklin disappeared and the wrath of Franklin began. It has been tolerable until now. He throws the most dramatic, emotional fits over something as little as not wearing the right colored bib, or putting on the wrong pajamas, to him calling our home "Grandpa Reeds house" and me correcting him saying, "No, this is our house".

He has been a HUGE bully to Lisette. Good thing she pushes back. He will hit her just because she was in arms reach. He'll forcibly take something from her, or push her off of things. Remember those two words? Not fun! There's been a LOT of crying here. But don't worry, there are a few funny stories of Franklin to share, as well as some good.

I had Franklin screened at Brighter Day Preschool. His non-sense way of talking has caused problems at home with his highly emotional state. Though most of you love and adore Franklinese, I don't, at least not as much as I used to. His screening went well. He ranks average for his age with speech on single words. They did tell me that when Franklin uses sentences he gets ahead of his thinking. That's why he understands me, but I don't understand him. He is very smart though, knows his ABC's very well, and can count to 15 (working on higher numbers) without trouble, though he likes to get ahead of himself counting sometimes too.

Franklin has been a sneaky devil to top it all off. A week before Halloween we made sugar cookies with some friends. It was fun, but I forgot to put those cookies away. Franklin gets up before me, all quiet like, and helped himself to all the ones that were frosted and a few of the not frosted ones. 2 mornings later he saw bags of candy on the table. Tried opening one bag; no success, but lots of evidence that he tried. The other bag had been opened, and wrappers from half of the candy was strewn about the floor.

3 mornings later he rummaged through my junk drawer in the kitchen where I had Smarties hidden for when he did good deeds and hid in the corner of the dinning room to eat them. Would have gone unnoticed if I didn't catch stupid Rizzo trying to eat the plastic wrappers. Nearly a week later he gets banana bread off the counter, pulls the plastic wrapping back and tore off chunks to eat. That last one I thought was his dad being in a hurry to get out the door but Stephen let me know he had nothing to do with it. Needless to say, all the Halloween candy they collected at Trunk or Treat on Saturday is hidden in my closet and daily the child-proof gate is put up in our bedroom doorway. No way is he helping himself to all that with his track record. And because I never saw him actually do any of it, he never got in trouble for it, but I know it was him.

Here's a few pictures of the past month. Enjoy and sorry that this still ended up being long but thanks for sticking with me!

When did that happen?!

(WARNING: since it’s been a month since my last post, this one is going to be long. Now you can’t say I didn’t warn you.)

We’ve had so much fun this last month, and there was so much going on! Stephen has definitely been busier than ever. We’ve been experiencing 100 degree heat and higher and summer has only just begun. On top of that his company is now down to 2 technicians instead of 4. One guy has a bad back, and too many injuries have caused him to finally stop doing this line of work. The other guy was let go suddenly, so that day was very interesting for Stephen and the other remaining employee who has only just begun taking calls on his own 3 months ago. So they’ve got Stephen and a newbie. All I can say is over-time, and it makes me believe I can learn to be more patient about his job.

One of my old roommates got married at the start of this month and we were invited to the sealing!! It was so great to be there, and my mom overnight babysat for us which made it all worry-free, kid-free for us. It also made me realize I need to do that more often, having overnight sitters. Natalie is so beautiful, and her dress!! You just have to see the pictures, she’s just so stunning, words can’t describe! I ran into her mom after, while she was waiting for Natalie to come back to the bride’s room. She thanked me for coming and I told her that I owe Natalie; after all she was my only roommate who was cheering me on from the start to go for Stephen.

I also have reached 100 sales with my on-line store, and it’s only been picking up faster since. I’ve recently added more styles to my inventory, and in celebration of reaching 100 sales I am giving away a “Bright Blue Tie” that I personally love. The way to win it is fan me on my facebook fan page and comment on my picture of the tie. On Friday at midnight I won’t be taking anymore entries and will announce a winner on Saturday (this is for any of you who may read this and haven’t been on my facebook page and want to enter). We’ve also changed things around a little at home to make my work station more organized and easier to see what I have made and ready to go.

Franklin has been so funny. Just on Monday I heard him say “Oh Man” and I couldn’t help but giggle. He’s definitely been paying attention to things we say, though he hasn’t been repeating it; yet. I’ve begun the whole “if you’re a good boy, and obedient, then you get a treat”. An almost sound like I’m training a dog, but since I started it there has been far less whining, and that was my goal. I have to keep snacks with me at all times now so I can stop the whining before it gets out of hand. Trips to the store, getting into his seat, opening his scriptures, putting a game or toy away, etc. has been far more pleasant. Threats just weren’t working anymore, and now I know that I can make a positive situation work with rewards.

Lisette is miss attitude already. What am I going to do when she reaches the phase that Franklin is at?! (Rhetorical question) At least she’s been letting us put her to bed when Franklin goes to bed, no more of this 10 p.m. or later nonsense. She definitely loves her brother to the point that she’s annoying him already. Because of that annoyance he’s been having episodes of not being very nice to her. She’s also very quick. Sometimes I just can’t keep up with her. I get distracted by Franklin or the cats doing something they shouldn’t and all of a sudden she’s practically falling into the bath tub (empty of course) reaching for the knobs, under a bed, in a closet, or if I left the gate down, on her way to the cat box.

She still stares down people she doesn’t know but she can sure smile, laugh, and play it all up around people she’s close and comfortable with. She’s a ham too, she knows when people are watching her, thinking she’s cute, and plays it up; little miss center of attention, what kind of monster are we creating?!

Lisette also LOVES the water. It’s another one of those bravery things. I’ve got to start her on swimming lessons as soon as humanly possible for her. Franklin I need to because he’s afraid of not having something under his feet, so he sat on the steps the whole time, but still in the water. Lisette was too funny, I’ll need to keep the camera close by next time, but she was leaning back in her floater thing, and kicking her feet so she started to travel. She thought it was so great! That’s my girl! She doesn’t like the feel of grass on her knees though, changing subjects.

My baby is 1!! However, unlike most parents, I was ready for her to be 1, and move to the next stage; walking! She's a brave little girl, oh my goodness. She loves to jump, and almost achieves air. Mostly she jumps on her bed while holding onto the rail, or similar situations. She still has yet to completely let go of things to stand on her own, but you can tell that she wants it very much. She's also starting to cut teeth again. Finally!! Back to her big day…

To tell the truth we had to big days if that makes sense. We had a party with the Reed’s in Sierra Vista the weekend before her birthday, and one the day before her birthday with the Quinn’s. Sierra Vista was busy, but so much fun. That Saturday morning we went to a little ranch with Heidi, Sam and their kids, of someone Sam works with. They have alpacas, goats, horses, chickens, dogs, and donkeys. Franklin really enjoyed himself there!! Oh boy did he throw a fit when it was time to go. That night we had a little picnic on my parents’ porch since it was too windy to go to the park. Lisette got a wagon for her birthday, and because Reyn (7 months older than Franklin) and Tanyth (6 weeks older than Lisette), Heidi and Sam’s kids, have one too, we all went for a walk after the party to take the kids for a ride. They loved it!! Franklin and Reyn rode in the green one while Tanyth and Lisette rode in her red one.

Then for the Quinn party we went to the local park to do a joint birthday party for Lisette and Bridger (Travis and Jamie’s little boy that is 2 days older than her). So much fun! I was allowed to make the cakes and I tell you it was an ALL day event. I used 8 cake mix boxes!! What was I thinking?! Well, it was worth it when I saw some people’s reactions to my fancier cakes. After all I do like to entertain and cook/bake. We stayed till it was getting a little too dark to stay any longer, but it was so much fun. Stephen could only be there for an hour and a half before he had to get back to work (on-call that week) but some friends came to our place afterward and we had an after party, I guess, till Stephen got home.

Whoa, this is a novel so I better end my stories here. Just know that it’s been an exciting month, and we’ve been so busy, and very happy. Enjoy the slide show!!!!

The promised pictures

I'm glad I was able to get right to it this time, instead of waiting several weeks. I didn't take as many pictures as I had liked, but here are a few, and I hope you enjoy them. Also make sure that you go to the bottom of our blog page to see the new videos. I'm still working on adding a few more. I've discovered with our new internet that I can't download several things at once; it takes way too long for my patience. Enjoy the slide show, and videos!!

January Photos, and Lewis visit

So Heidi and her family were up here for a very (and I mean VERY) short visit. So I took a lot of pictures of that brief encounter. The cousins had fun, and the adults had fun watching them, and talking. If you go to the bottom of my blog to the videos, I have uploaded 3 new ones. 2 of them are quick, but one is longer, and you can hear our interesting conversation as the kiddos played. Hope you enjoy it all!

p.s. first one to tell me what we were referring to as a dead body wins. Not sure what the prize is, maybe its just praise from us.

November and December Slideshow

Sorry, but to save myself some time I'm not putting captions. You are more than welcome to comment, and I will respond. I just don't have time with a crying baby protesting in the next room. Enjoy!!!

October in Pictures

Enjoy!!! We have a lot of fun here!

Family slide show

Just in case you don't go to the bottom of my blog to watch all the videos, here's just one of them.

August in pictures

We've had a busy month, and filled with lots of new memories. Just a little note to add about my previous blog. As I read Jami Haban's blog about her husbands' passing, I was crying intensely. Yes, I've known Kameron for 12 years, I've known Jami for 6 years, and they are both amazing people. As I was crying Franklin became very concerned, and wanted to help. After watching me cry for a while, and trying to divert my attention to him, he went into the kitchen, pulled out a wash cloth and brought it back to me to wipe my face. It was very touching and sweet.

Please check out all the new videos at the bottom of my blog, there are some great ones, and if you wanted to get to the photo album, click on the title of this post.

2 years of Franklin

Before you realize that you’re not quite caught up with the time flying by, reality takes a check. Franklin turned 2 on Friday the 7th. Of course it was only 2 years ago he was born, but I remember it vividly. Franklin was born 11 days early and after 6 hours of being in the hospital, 2 of those hours spent on pushing alone, he was born at 4:58 p.m. 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 19 ¼” long. He has been the perfect child; easy to please, and highly entertaining all on his own.

Of course I now realize that birthday’s are more for mothers for the early birthdays than for the children. We had family here for Lisettes’ blessing so the night before we did a little birthday celebration. He loved being the center of attention with both sets of grandparents, and Heidi and her family there.

Franklin is a very intelligent boy, and extremely lovable. He has been stealing hearts left and right since the day he was born. It’s amazing how easy it is to love him, and he is addictive to be around. He understands so much that we tell/ask him, and he has very many words he knows. However, he still only wants to speak his language; it adds to his ability to steal your heart. He is so animated when he talks, and has great inflection to his voice and many expressions in his face.

We love our son, and are so grateful for the love and joy he brings to our life, and to everyone who knows him. Enjoy these photos of 2 years of Franklin!

One Crazy Month

Sorry about the last post, the program I was using wasn't allowing me to correct pictures, or put captions, so I deleted it and went with Picasa. Yes, you may click on the title of this blog to access the album if you like to see the pictures better. Enjoy!

5 years and counting

Along with these pictures (you can click on the blog title to go to the album) don't forget to check out the new videos at the bottom of our page. Franklin has been having a lot of fun lately.

For our anniversary we decided to do some family activites. The night before Greta baby sat for us so we could have our own private dinner. I had a doctors appointment in the morning, and thankfully all my tests came back negative; no more infections. After Franklin's nap we headed up to Salt Lake and wen to the Hogle Zoo. It was very warm with some cloud cover, and a few sprinkles occassionally. Franklin completely enjoyed himself. We bought him a hat first thing since we didn't think about it before we left. He loved his hat (never took it off, a first) and kept changing his mind between riding on the stroller and walking.

The monkeys were his absolute favorite. He would have stayed there all day, every day if we let him. He was interested in the giraffe's; they had a really cool way for you to get up close to them with this tall building/corral. I should have took a picture, but I was mesmorised by one of them. We stayed at the zoo till they were hearding everyone out.

After we left we headed to The Gateway (super cool mall) for dinner. There's this fountain in the plaza of the mall, so after dinner at Thaifoon, aisan cuisine that was very good, we let Franklin have his fun. Just make sure you watch the video, Franklin had a crowd going!

Lisette is definitely rounding out, and she is so adorable. She's been getting better with sleeping longer, just need to make it happen at night instead of the evening when we want to be awake because Franklin is in bed. Franklin is still very facinated with her, and wants to help. He also gets very animated when she cries, wanting to help even more.

Just a reminder, we are going to have a joint blessing Lisette/birthday bash for Franklin on the very first weekend of August. We'd like to have a head count of who will come, mostly cause we've been thinking of having it catered; less for me to do, especially with a new born. Email me at lisl_music@hotmail.com or just comment on the blog.

A Family of Four

So we are still grasping the reality that we are parents of 2 kids; two wonderful children. I will say that Franklin has been putting on the dramatics very heavily lately (terrible two's), and Lisette has proven to be a very easy, wonderful baby (just as Franklin was). Franklin’s episodes have everything to do with him not getting everything his way. He sure was spoiled with Grandma Reed here!

We loved having my mom here, especially Franklin. He wanted to do everything she did, be where she was, sleep next to her, eat what she ate; I think you’re getting the idea. He has been adding more words to his vocabulary, and has been utterly fascinated with his sister. He’s been very good with her, and wants to help, even if it’s not needed. We’re very happy that there haven’t been any accidents, and so far no one has been hurt (I should say no one has been hurt with the new addition, I’ll explain my injury later).

Lisette was kept in the Special Care Nursery for 48 hours. Luckily my insurance allowed me to stay that long as well so I could stay in the hospital with her. I was blown away by how great the whole experience was. When we arrived at the hospital, at 1:30 a.m. May 27th, we were nervous we were going to be sent back home. Luckily the staff was very busy that time, so by the time they were going to discharge me, they did one more check, and discovered I had dilated more. When the anesthesiologist came in I jokingly asked if he was going to be my best friend, and he was. After my experience with this epidural I realize that my epidural with Franklin was nothing, a joke! It might as well have been natural child birth.

Back to my story . . . A few hours later they gave me pitosin to speed it up a little (had the same thing with Franklin). Then at 11:20 I could start pushing, and she was here at 11:23 a.m. With Franklin I had to push for 2 hours. I couldn’t believe how easy it was with Lisette! It was amazing! The nurses were great, and my doctor was wonderful; that surprised me as well.

My mom arrived the night we got to take Lisette home. We had intended for her to be able to sleep in Franklin’s room. There were a few nights, and mornings, that Franklin would get out of his bed and crawl into bed with my mom. With her help we were able to sleep more at night, and I was able to take naps during the day; huge help!! Last Sunday I woke up feeling very weak, and feverish. We took me over to the ER and I was diagnosed with a Uterine Infection. Not cool, and I still don’t understand how I keep getting infections!

All last week we had Art City Days; or you could say Springville’s founders’ days/week. We didn’t participate in everything we had originally planned, but we did watch the Hot Air Balloon fest, and went to the carnival Saturday afternoon. Franklin’s first ride was cut very short; he started bawling when it began, only because he was on the ride by himself. Then he got on the carousel with Stephen, but was still too nervous from his previous experience to fully enjoy himself. Stephen and I used the rest of the tickets (didn’t get too many because the rain was threatening to fall) to ride The Zipper. It was fun until we were getting off, and I hit my elbow on the latch. Looked down after we had walked away and noticed I split my skin open in a nice, deep gash. Yeah, still hurts, can’t bend my elbow all the way, and very happy for the invention of liquid bandaides.

Now my mom is back in Arizona, and we are sad she has gone, but very grateful for her help, and the time she spent with us. Don’t forget to look at the new slide show in my previous post for what we’ve been up to over the last 17 days. Yes, Lisette is 17 days old today, June 14th, and has already gained a pound since she was born, and an inch. She’s the size of the average new born, and my original due date is still a week and a half away. And just as a side note, this Thursday Stephen and I will have been married for 5 years!

May in pictures

Our Halloween

Stephen was Dr. Frankenstien, I was Bride of Frankenstien, and Franklin was Frankenstiens' Monster, or Franklinstien. We didn't take him trick or treating, he was too crabby due to a nap cut short, but we still dressed up for pictures. p.s. I made that dress myself, it took just 4 hours (but I didn't finish hemming it)

Don't forget to check out the new video at the bottom of the blog!!

Franklin's first birthday and visiting Arizona

June is busting out all over

Grandma and Grandpa Reed visit Utah

May SlideShow