First Day of Swimming Lessons

Today was finally the day of Bubby's first swimming lessons. I have been a little nervous about it, but I decided that I would make myself excited so that he wouldn't be scared.

I put on his new swimming suit that he got for his birthday, only to find that it was WAY too big! After taking a few steps, the thing was around his ankles, so I dug out his old size 12 month swimming suit, and thankfully it fit! Poor kid is just WAY too skinny. I wish I had that problem! :(

While we were driving to the pool I told him about swimming and about getting to be a little fish. He seemed pretty excited to go by the time we got there. We walked in and found our little class. I took his hand and headed over to the pool. We got to the edge, and he all of the sudden started to panic. He was trying to get away and was screaming "NO!" I picked him up and we went into the pool together. He was far from happy about being in there and cried and hung onto me for probably the first 5 mins! I was sitting there thinking why in the world did I sign up for this? But I know in the end it will be good for him and for me! :)

We were in the shallow shallow end, like 1 ft deep or something, so it was basically sitting in the water and getting them used to the water. The first thing they wanted them to do was to blow bubbles. I thought Bubby would like this since he LOVES "Baubles" so much, but he was having nothing to do with it! He liked watching the other parents and kids blowing them, but he didn't want his face to get wet and he for sure didn't want it in the water! Oh well...maybe he'll try it tomorrow.

Then we did the back float. I had a hard time getting him to lie on his back, but eventually the teacher and I found something on the ceiling for him to look at and he floated a little on his back. We parents were supposed to keep them on their backs and then walk around the perimeter of the pool with them floating. He didn't fight me too badly, but the poor kid was shaking like a leaf! I couldn't figure out if he was COLD or SCARED!

We sang some songs, and did some little games in the water. She had us put them up on the edge and have them jump in the water. Keric actually started warming up to jumping in. He LOVES to jump, and he was able to touch the bottom when he jumped in, so he had fun doing that. He never did let go of my hands, but at least he jumped. By the end of the two weeks I'm betting he'll be jumping like a pro which may or may not be a good thing! I just have visions of him jumping into some pool with no one there to catch him!

The last game we did was with some little diving rings. She gave each of the kids a ring and we were supposed to throw it in the water and see if they would try to pick it up off the bottom. Keric LOVED this game! He was pretty tricky in figuring out how he could pick up the ring WITHOUT getting his face wet. He liked it so much that he wouldn't give the ring back to the teacher! It was time to go, and I had to pry it from his little wrinkled raisin fingers!

All in all it was a pretty fun little class. There are only 5 parents and 6 children in the class. One poor mom has twins! I felt bad for her trying to handle both of them, but she didn't seem to want any help from the teacher, so whatever?

Supposedly by Friday the kids are going to get to go down the big water slide with their parents. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this, mainly because I myself don't really like the water slide, but maybe I can talk Chris into taking him to lessons on Friday?? haha

This is what happens when....

You are only surrounded by "big kids"! You start to think you yourself are a big kid, and that you should be able to DO all the things that they do!



Keric is 5 years younger than Reagan and 8 years younger than Cameron. He of course doesn't understand this, because to him, he is just as old as they are and should be able to do all the things that they do!

I'm sure my sister Cicily can relate to this kind of situation better than anyone! Poor girl was the youngest of 7 and the closest one in age to her was 8. I still remember all of us gathered around the kitchen table doing our homework, and Cicily bringing her coloring books and crayons up to the table to do her homework too! This may be just SOME of what poor Keric has to look forward to!

This morning while we were out working in the yard Keric was busy playing along side us outside. He had been following Chris around with his bubble lawn mower, but when I looked up from watering the flowers, I found him in the garage trying to put on his "hat". He had gone into the garage and found Cameron's bike helmet, and he wanted to wear it. He kept putting it on his head, but when he would go to run out of the garage, it would fall right back off and he was getting frustrated. So I asked him if he wanted me to put the hat on, and he said yes. So I turned the helmet around and snapped it on. He was very proud of himself running around with his "hat".

When I turned around again, he was in the garage trying to get Cameron's old scooter out. Of course he couldn't and he was in the garage screaming, which isn't generally a pleasant sound. So I went to see if I could help him. I don't know why I continue to try and reason with him, but I do. I tried to tell him that the he was too little to ride the scooter and I tried to put him on his little motorized "ride" as he calls it, but he was bound and determined to ride that scooter! He wanted NOTHING to do with his own "ride".

So off we went to ride the scooter! Chris even humored him and put the handle bars down as low as they would go, since there was no WAY he would ever be able to reach them, and he even tried to show him how to ride it a little bit.

Poor Keric must have worked on riding that thing for a good 15 minutes before he started crying and finally gave up. I felt so bad for him! He really wanted to ride that scooter like the big kids around our neighborhood do, and he just couldn't understand why he wasn't able to make it work! He was even smart enough to make sure he had his "hat" on before he rode it!









I was scared to death that he was going to fall and hurt himself or at the very least scrape his little legs and knees up really bad, but I was also pretty proud of him for trying, and for trying time and time again! The kid definitely has that Wexels determination and stubbornness! Ok maybe some of the stubbornness comes from me too, I just maybe don't like to admit it!

Poor little guy! I guess maybe he needs to have some more interaction with kids his own age other than just every week at Nursery!

4 years ago today!

I can't believe that it has already been 4 years since Chris and I got married! In so many ways it seems like just yesterday we were taking these pictures, and then other days it seems like we have just always been married! :) Sometimes I say 4 years and think...surely that can't be right..we've been married for longer than that haven't we??

A Wednesday is kind of a hard day to celebrate, but true to form, Chris pulled through anyway! He surprised me with breakfast in bed this morning, and then this afternoon he brought me the prettiest gerber daisies, the same colors as in my bouquet!


So sweet huh?? I got a little teary eyed when I saw them! They are so pretty! He also brought me Cafe Rio for dinner, and followed all that up with a movie! Pretty good for a Wednesday! :)

Yeah...we may have our ups and downs... but I ended up with one great husband!

I love you Chris! I'm happy that I get to be with YOU forever!

A cry for "HELP!!"

It wasn't that long ago that I was trying desperately to get Keric to say "Mom" or anything that semi resembled mom! Eventually that day finally came and I was thrilled! Slowly but surely he started to talk more and it was fun to hear him learn new words and repeat the things we said. Talking was even one of the things that his Dr. said he was AHEAD in at his 2 year check up, and Bubby being ahead in something really isn't something we are used to hearing!

Lately Keric seems to learn a new word every day! I am amazed still at the phrases he will say to me. The other day he walked into Reagan's room and was looking at her fish. He came running out pointing into her room and said "That's a fish!"

However just like anything else in life with the good also comes the bad. I'm not exactly sure when or where he learned the word "HELP!" but I am not entirely thrilled with this addition to his vocabulary.

The first time I heard him use it was when we went out to dinner with Mama Anne before her surgery. Keric was being his usual rowdy self and Chris had taken him aside and was trying to get him to calm down. All of the sudden I hear Keric yell "HELP!" Chris and I looked at each other in total disbelief! I just kind of shrugged my shoulders...I don't know where he learned it, but not only did he say it clear as day and loud enough for anyone around to hear he seemed to understand what it meant!

A few days went by and I didn't hear him say it again, and then we went to church. As you all know, church has never been a favorite place for Keric! He lasted about 10mins and then he was up trying to escape like he does every week. I grabbed him and told him to sit down and fold his arms. I picked him up to sit him back on the bench and yep, you guessed it...he yells "HELP!" in the middle of sacrament meeting!

I am fairly sure that this new word is going to earn me a visit from DCFS! He yells it all the time now when he is mad! He was mad at me in Wal-mart today and so sure enough the "HELP!" comes out. I of course got a few dirty looks from people standing in the aisle next to me.

When we came home I put him down for his nap. I guess he didn't think it was nap time yet and wasn't too happy about going down. I shut the door and he started in with the "HELP!" He was in his room yelling "HELP!" for like 5 minutes.

I keep waiting for someone to knock on my door or call and ask me if everything is OK! I'm sure the neighbors can hear him yell, he's not exactly quiet!

I have always been told, and have always believed that every baby is born with their own personalities. I suppose there was a time when I myself would be in a store and see a little boy or girl acting up and wonder to myself "What is wrong with their parents? Don't they know how to control their kid?" Well now I am the one who has the out of control kid and I'm sure there are people who look at me and wonder why I don't do something to make him behave.

I love my little bubby dearly, but he is honestly ALL boy, and he comes fully equipped with his very own, very STRONG personality despite the parenting that Chris and I do and have done!

I'm sure someday his persistence, stubbornness, and determination to get what he wants WHEN he wants it will serve him well in his life, but for right now...it's giving his Mommy a lot of unwanted grey hairs and anxiety attacks!

So the next time you see a Mom in a store trying to deal with a temper tantrum, or running down the street chasing after her child, don't look at her in disgust instead give her a big smile! She'll appreciate it, trust me!

Cameron's Birthday

This year Cameron officially became "old", he is now in the double digit age group!

With every passing year Cameron gets harder and harder to buy for! I think the real problem is that he has everything a kid could want, so there really is nothing left to ask for. This year was really not any different. We went to Wal-Mart and to Toys R Us looking for "ideas", but he couldn't seem to find anything he wanted.

Just as we were about to leave the store Chris asked him if he would like a Wii or as my sister in law Denise calls it a "divorce in a box" for his birthday. All I could think was heaven help me!! I thought we had dodged this bullet already! Apparently not! Before I knew it the two of them had decided that Cameron needed/wanted a Wii for his birthday. I think the truth is that CHRIS wanted the Wii, and since Cameron didn't seem to want anything for his birthday, he jumped at the opportunity to finally get one.

Now before anyone gets upset at me, or tells me how fun a Wii is, I need to clarify a few things. My parents have a Wii at their house and we have played it many times! One of my favorite games is Rock Band, so I know how FUN a Wii is. My only "problem" with getting one now, is that we simply do not have the room for it! The only place for the Wii is in the family room. I told Chris that I didn't mind if we got one one day, I just thought we could wait until our basement was finished and we could have it downstairs. That way if someone wanted to play the Wii, they weren't taking away from someone else wanting to watch TV. So that's my defense...I'm not a party pooper, I just thought it would be nicer to have some room so we could HAVE games like Rock Band to play. Anyway....

Cameron of course is ecstatic about having a Wii at both houses now. I guess at least now he will be somewhat easier to buy for. Just get him a video game!

For his cake he asked for a Pokemon ball of some sort. I don't know much about Pokemon, but in looking at the picture of this weird little thing, the cake looks just like it! I made him a lemon cake with lemon frosting and cream cheese filling, and obviously Chris did the decorating.




The following Monday we took the kids to the Natural History Museum up at the University of Utah campus. Every 1st Monday is family night, and your family gets in free. So that's what we decided to do for his birthday activity. When I was looking on their website, they mentioned that it would be easier to take Trax to the Museum because of the limited parking that would be available on Free Family Monday. So I suggested we do that.

Cam and Reag have asked several times if we could ride Trax, and Bubby has been into "choo-choo's" lately, so I thought it would be fun for them to get to ride Trax up to the Museum.

It was an experience for sure...I'm glad it wasn't crowded, because, well Bubby is far from a quiet shy boy, and lets just say he made his presence on the train known!





We walked around the campus for a little while, and Chris showed the kids all the places he had gone to for classes. They seemed to have a fun time walking around campus. The Museum was kind of fun, but quite honestly I was glad we didn't pay any money to go!

It was in a really old building, so there was NO air conditioning and it was hot!




They had some sort of neat things to look at, but like I said, it was hot and crowded and I think we were all kind of glad to finally get out of there!







Happy Birthday Cam! We love you!

Mommy and Bubby's Adventure

A few weeks ago I convinced Chris that it was a good idea for Keric and I to drive up to Wyoming for a few days to go to my cousin Tori's wedding.

I was a little nervous about the long drive and how well Bubby would do in the back seat all by himself, but the trip actually wasn't bad at all.

I got everything all packed and ready to go Sunday night and we left early Monday morning. We left in the rain, and by the time we got to SLC it was snowing. The snow wasn't sticking to the ground until we got to Park City and then by the time we got to Evanston it was a total white out! The joys of driving to WY in May! I was honestly about ready to give it up and turn around and go home, but then Chris reminded me that I would just have to drive in the snow for another 2 1/2 hours so I may as well just keep going and see if the weather got any better. Thankfully it did about a half an hour later. We had a few little rain storms here and there, but no more snow! Whew!

Bubby was actually really good in the car. He slept for a little while here and there, and when he got sick of being in the car seat I would pull over and we would get out for a little while. We got to Riverton and he was really tired of the car and really wanting to be done, so I stopped and got a redbox movie and put it in the DVD player. He liked watching the movie and he watched it a couple times, but at about Cody he was just DONE with the whole trip thing and so he literally screamed the entire way to my Mom's house! Well...about 5 mins from my Mom's house, then he fell asleep! Of course! We got to my Mom's house around 5:45 or so, so we made pretty good time, and once Keric got out of the car, he was fine.


Bubby watching his Sponge Bob redbox movie.

I was surprised to pull in and find Kimball and Elaines car parked in front too! It was so fun to get to see them and little Danny. Keric wasn't to sure about Danny at first, but they ended up being pretty good little friends towards the end.

Most of the week was wedding stuff, and it was fun to see some of my extended family and meet Tori's new husband Chris. Now we have 2 Chris' in the family! I guess it's only fitting that Tori marry a guy named Chris. She has pretty much gone her whole life being called Natalee! My Grandma insists that she reminds her of me, and even looks like me, which I say is more of a compliment to ME than it is to her, so I guess she didn't have much of a choice...she either needed to marry a guy named Chris, or the guy would just be called Chris! :)

The wedding was really pretty. Kind of small since they got married on a Wednesday, but they looked very happy and Tori of course looked beautiful as always! :)



Keric had a great time running around on the Temple grounds, and being his usual loud self! Good thing he had other kids to play with and be loud with.







Keric and I left on Friday morning. I had all the things that I thought we would be able to do before we left, but of course we didn't get half of them done. I am apparently not a very good time manager. Guess I need to work on that!

We did however play "Rock Band"



and play with Bubbles, or "Baubles" as Keric calls them!




The drive home was good. My Mom sent Keric home with lots of movies to watch, so he was well entertained. The drive home he didn't take ANY kind of a nap, so he was a little more grouchy on the way home, but we thankfully didn't have any screaming episodes that lasted a half an hour! We also didn't have any snow, but this time we got WIND! There were all sorts of wind advisories on the roads, and all kinds of semi's pulled off to the side, which is a real comforting sight when your driving a long way all by yourself, but we were just fine, and we made it home in good time.

Chris was happy to see us, and was sure Bubby had grown in the 4 days we were gone. Who knows...maybe he did! :)

We had a great time in WY, and I assured my Mom that it would probably not be the last time I get brave and drive home again. I hate not going with the rest of my family, but maybe once in awhile when they can't go, Bubby and I can sneak up for a few days.

Keric's new Puppy!

No! We didn't go out and buy Keric a new REAL puppy, though there are days when I wouldn't mind replacing Chompie, we just got Keric a much needed new STUFFED puppy.



Isn't he cute?!

I'm sure you have noticed in many pictures Keric's little puppy that he carries around. "Puppy" as he refers to him, has been a good loyal friend to Keric for about a year now, but sadly, it was just time for puppy to retire! He was getting so worn out and no matter how many times I washed him, he still just always looked dirty! Poor puppy had everything from chocolate milk and slobber stains on him, to rips and big holes with stuffing coming out!

Even though I had known for awhile that Puppy needed to retire, I just couldn't bring myself to throwing him away and telling Keric that he just had to get over "Puppy". Maybe I will regret that decision one day? I don't know?

A couple weeks ago we were in SLC at my 6 week check up appointment with Dr. Bertin. After my appointment we did a little shopping at the Gateway Mall in SLC. They have a "Build a Bear" store there and I told Chris that I had been wanting to take Keric there to get a new puppy, so we took him.

(As luck would have it, I didn't bring my camera with me, so I didn't get any pictures of the Build A Bear experience! I'm so sad! )

We walked into Build A Bear and I showed Keric all the different stuffed animals he could make. Bears, Tigers, Monkeys, Kitties, and thankfully even Puppies! I took one of the Puppy bodies out of the bin and showed it to him. He quickly grabbed it and gave it a HUGE hug and said "Awww...Puppy!" I asked him if he liked that Puppy and seeing as how he wouldn't put it back in the bin, I took that as a yes. So I told the man that I thought we would go ahead and make a Puppy.

So we went over to the stuffing machine and Keric got to step on the pedal and put as much or as little stuffing in as he wanted, with of course a little help from Mommy and the Build a Bear Man.

Then he got to put a little puffy heart in Puppy before the man sewed him together. Keric was only supposed to put one heart in Puppy, but he insisted Puppy get TWO hearts. So Puppy now has heart problems! ha ha

After Puppy got sewed up then we got to take him over and give him a "bath". They had this cute little station that looked like a big bubble bath and when you put them on it it would blow air on Puppy to get any loose strings or stuffing off of him. This was Keric's FAVORITE part. I think Puppy got like 4 baths that day!

Then we made Puppy an official birth certificate, paid for him and took him home.

The whole ride home Keric seemed happy with his new Puppy and he even snuggled with him and fell asleep with him, but I was still a little worried about what would happen at bedtime.

When bedtime finally came around, we got jammies on, said prayers, and then what I was afraid would happen, did. Keric started asking for Puppy. We gave him his new puppy and told him that this was his puppy now. This of course didn't go over well! He threw puppy across the room and then the screaming for Puppy really started! I felt bad leaving him in his room crying for his old puppy but he eventually stopped crying and when I went in to check on him later, he was snuggled up to his new puppy.

Thankfully Keric has accepted the new Puppy and he even seems to love him just as much as he did his first puppy! I'm hoping that the new puppy will last a little longer than the old one did, he seems to be a little better made, but hey...if he doesn't, at least I know I can run to Build a Bear, make a new one, and he will be none the wiser! Or at least I hope! :)

Oh and just in case you were wondering...no, I didn't end up throwing the first puppy away. I couldn't do it...he's hidden safely in my Cedar Chest. :) One day I'll get him out again and show Keric his very first "Puppy Love!"