How Old Are You Again?!?

Yesterday I heard from the mouth of my 21 month old:

"Dad. Daddy." No reply. "BBBBBBYYYYYYY---AAAAAAAANNNNN."

He recently learned how to open all our doors. So yesterday he gets out of his big boy bed, opens his door, and comes straight to our room swinging his arms and lifting his legs as high as they can go, "Ma-ch, Ma-ch, Ma-ch, Ma-ch, Ma-ch." {March}.

Where does he come up with this stuff?!?

I also find it a bit disturbing that my son knows how to use the itouch better than I do. His new routine is coming straight into our room, grabbing it, and playing the itsybitsy spider game every morning. And no, he doesn't need our help AT ALL.

Every time we walk by Parker's room he tip-toes, puts his pointer finger over his mouth, and whispers, "Shhh. Baby."

OH, and in case anyone is wondering...we didn't give him a bad hair cut, it just seems that he is incapable of growing hair on the sides. We pray daily that will change soon.

A Day at the Park

I used to think Caden was my child because he loved to swing like me...Now I'm not so sure...We had a lovely, sunny day while our visitors were here, so we went to Nielson's Grove. Caden ran like he'd been locked up in the house for months. He got going a little too fast...Then he decided to take on a 20 foot slide... Man, my hair is getting RED. Jolene wanted a nice picture with her husband... Jolene: You've been married to him for 30 years, shouldn't you know better?!? :)Paul: As punishment I'm going to tell your mother why you are smiling like this.

Parker Mathews Phipps

Parker was blessed on Valentine's Day. It was a great way to celebrate the day of love since this little boy has brought so much more into our home. (Don't worry, don't worry, Bry and I had a romantic date a few days earlier.) Parker's blessing was so special; unique to him. Bry did a wonderful job! Parker was an angel and Caden repeated "daddy" though most of it. Bry's dad brought out his INCREDIBLE Cannon camera. I was in Heaven using it all week. I believe I took over 900 pictures in 5 days. Some of my family that lives in Utah were able to be at the blessing. I seriously feel like I have the most awesome extended family ever. We are very lucky! And of course it was absolutely wonderful to have my little sister there to represent the Hoggatt clan.

Caden was not having the forced pictures...so he took off. Phipps' stayed with us for Bryan's placement break. I love that my in-laws don't feel like in-laws--they are just part of my circle of trust. :) As always, we had such a fun time while they were here! Caden was entertained all week and is sitting on my lap right now naming everyone: Gammama, daddy, mommy, baby, bumma, caden, jay-am, megan, kayka. (And Tami...Makayla said if I posted this picture you would kill Megan for letting her wear those shoes with those clothes. Show mercy, after waiting an hour for "the men" to figure out how to set the self timer none of us actually cared about the picture any more).Side Note: Jolene took me to finally see New Moon. First, I loved it 9 million times more than Twilight. Second, if you are supposed to think that Jacob's beauty is incomparable to Edward's they did HORRIBLY at casting! :) Moving on...it is impossible to get a picture of the 4 of us.Personally, I think I'm going to have twins that are just 20 months apart...Caden was enamored with his cousin Makayla. He followed her everywhere. And I think he was delighted to get out of the house.

Solution to below problem: counterpoint.

Oh Boy!

Winter is getting LONG. Caden has cabin fever like you wouldn't believe. I try so hard to be the mom that constantly plays with him, that does activities that teach, but with a new baby he isn't the only one that I have to worry about any more. He is still an awesome little guy but I can tell he is getting bored, which is leading to him come up with new things to do...This boredom combined with the fact that he is fearless is just fantastic. Hope you caught my sarcasm. I've been searching the internet trying to come up with new games/activities/projects to do with an almost 2 year old so we can survive the rest of winter. And while I'm sure I will still let him "try new tricks" when I'm in the room, any suggestions are more than welcome!

And I just had to throw these pictures on here. I just can't get enough of our little Parker. He gave us his first real smile the other night. I swear that will NEVER get old.

My Testimony

The other night I was rocking Parker and thinking about how grateful I am that we would be blessing him in 2 weeks. This may seem like a very random way to get where I'm going, but that's just how my mind works. :) Baby blessings led to Testimony, and Testimony led to reflecting on how much my life has changed these past few years, and reflecting led to tears of gratitude. It's all very circular thinking. :) I don't share my testimony as much as I should or would like, mostly because I have such a hard time articulating exactly what I want to share when the tears come. But I want to share this and writing is the easiest way for me to do that. Maybe some day I will be braver, actually standing at church to share these feelings.

As I was looking at Parker that night, I was reminded of the many Sundays before we had children that my heart ached because I yearned to be that mother having her baby blessed. I don't reflect on this time much anymore, but as I did it was accompanied by my testimony. I remembered the days, and months, and years that we earnestly plead with the Lord to be blessed with a viable pregnancy. I remembered the pain of the harder days, wondering if my Heavenly Father heard my prayers or even trusted me to be a mother to one of his children. And then I remembered the day that comfort and peace came, how it flooded me. I knew then that though this time was not easy for me, there would come a day that I would understand. I needed to have faith that the Lord's plan for our family was far better than anything I could hope for. He is all knowing and filled with the most pure love for each of us. I could place my full trust in him. I had to. This peace didn't bring us a baby for some time, but it did bring me the patience to endure what was ahead of us.

Now with my two precious little boys here, I am happy beyond words that my home is filled with giggles, and shouts, and toys covering the floor, and all the other things that I craved all that time. That said, I know the time before was all part of our Father in Heaven's plan for me as a mother. I'm sure as time goes on "the why" will become even more clear. As for now, it has made me eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father for his perfect plan. I am so thankful for the lessons that I learned from this experience that could have come no other way. I am grateful for the faith that has filled our home. I am grateful for the bond I have with other woman because of the empathy shared. I can say, with surety, that I know my Savior lives, and that he loves each of us more than we can comprehend. I know that our prayers are heard and answered in a way that will be for our eternal benefit. When other trying times come, as I'm sure they will, I can place my trust in the Lord, knowing he will help me through. How blessed I feel to truly know these things, and to be reminded of them each time I see my children.

Firsts.

First: Month of life. Parker has continued to be an amazing baby. It truly feels like he's always been part of our family. And maybe that's because families are eternal, and he was always meant to be part of ours. What a blessing!

First: Week in the Big Boy Bed. Followed by First: Night asleep on the floor.

Caden had been doing so well in his big boy bed. He'd stay in bed and sleep for 12 hours. I had this feeling that it was too good to be true. 4 nights in Caden was having a hard time falling asleep; He wouldn't let us leave by saying, "lay" and pointing to his pillow. This went on for over an hour, ending with us leaving him to try to fall asleep on his own. Since he is still so little, he can get out of the bed, but not back in. I feel awful now, because I let him cry it out...but in reality he was probably crying because he couldn't get back into his bed once he'd gotten out. I went to check on him a half an hour later and open the door to this chubby foot (have I ever mentioned that he has to wear an EXTRA WIDE shoe):Poor guy had reached into the laundry basket and pulled out the bassinet liner to use as a blanket. The next day during his nap this little genius outsmarted us. He's too short to open the turn knob doors on his own, but smart enough to know he can open the sliding door to the jack and jill bath, and then get out through the nursery. I thought I'd heard him so I headed up the stairs to check on him, only to be scared half to death by his little smirk around the corner. Luckily, he's been doing awesome since this little episode. Snuggles into his covers and puts his arms behind his head to settle in for a nice snooze.

First: Fort.

Gotta do something to keep this kid entertained during the winter. I keep thinking spring is around the corner...and then I realize it's the beginning of February. Dream on my dear.

First: Time Caden said I love you to Bry and I.

It came out more like "yuv yoo," but it was a heartmelter none the less.