Terrible/Terrific Twos

Matthew has been 2 for three months.  During those three months, I think that I have had some of my highest highs with him along with some of my lowest lows.  I was really, really hoping that none of my kids would ever throw a tantrum.  Ha. Hahaha.  Well, surprise surprise, that wish was not granted.  I'll spare you most of the details, but let's be real here.  It's not fun when my toddler throws an absolute fit in the store because I wouldn't buy him a $40 teddy bear or let him knock down a display of slinky's. 

Okay, so maybe I have come to understand where the term "terrible twos" comes from.  But you know what else?  I can't even begin to describe how much FUN he is.  He has always made me laugh, but as he grows, his vocabulary expands, and his personality blossoms, I find myself laughing and/or smiling at something he has said or done at least 100 times a day.  

I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again - he has a heart of GOLD.  He is extremely protective of Kate and even though he gets jealous sometimes, don't you dare mess with his sister.  He loves to run all over the place and play in the sand and the dirt.  He loves reading and learning new sight words.  He asks me for "nandy" (candy) and "bookies" (cookies) several times a day.  He will now plug my nose when I'm singing with him so that I sound funny and then he'll erupt into huge fits of giggles.  He enjoys "helping" me (with anything) any chance he gets.  He likes to explore and learn about new things.  He loves driving by the temple, and I can't wait to take him to the open house in a couple months.  When Michael comes home every evening he RUNS to him to give him a big hug and then immediately requests, "Horse!"  :-)  (Michael knows he'll be turned into a horse within a few seconds of coming home).  When we praise him for something good he has done, he lets out a giddy squeal.  He likes to point out shapes.  He has already asked me for a dog.  (Sorry kid, Dad's allergic!)  When we are about to go up or down the stairs, he'll ask for a "hug" as a way to request being carried up or down.  Manipulative and lazy?  Or funny and adorable?  ;-)  I mostly think it's funny and adorable, especially since he is content with holding my hand if my arms are already full of Kate.  :-)  He is smart and talented and I absolutely love watching him grow.

Matthew, there may be hard days, but I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being your mom.  Thanks for being SO forgiving on the days when I'm not nearly as patient as I should be.  You are the coolest little boy I know!

Fall

Growing up in LA, summer was by FAR my favorite season.  This didn't really change when I went to college in Utah and discovered that I really didn't like to be cold.  :-)  Everyone always talked about how much they loved Fall and while I never disliked Fall, I didn't really get all the hype.  Well, reality hit for me when I stopped living in CA every summer.  What do ya know - as it turns out, California is basically the only place where it's nice to be in the summer. Ha!  No but really.  Summer = death everywhere else.  Go ahead, tell me I'm dramatic.  Then come visit me in July and go for a walk around the block.... or try to entertain two kids under two all day every day when it's 115 degrees outside.  You'll be a drama queen too.  It's very sad, and has turned me bitter towards my previously favorite season.  BUT, I have learned to embrace Fall and really really enjoy all the Fall festivities.  And I agree with the masses - they are fun!  Seriously... October rolls around and I'm just giddy to be able to go outside again and get my kids to a pumpkin patch.  While "sweater weather" really only exists here for a month or so in the winter, (and my winter jackets are totally pointless now) I quite enjoy wearing shorts in October (and probably November) and I have once again remembered that hey, I LIKE living here for half the year!  ;-)

Anyway, Fall has been fun and exciting around these parts..... here are some things we've been enjoying:

Going to the park at least every other day.

Festive clothes and festive pictures!

Visits from family!  My kids adore their grandparents.

"helping" my dad work

And my parents coming to town and offering to babysit meant me and Michael got to finally use a gift certificate to a steakhouse he got at work.  I love date nights!  I also love steak!

Kids in costumes.

The pumpkin patch seems to be a "must" for young moms these days... ;-) .... I'm not complaining - it was a blast!

Arizona State Fair.  SO overpriced but oh so fun.  And let's face it, I'll pay good money for a good funnel cake.  Apparently I'll also pay good money for a giant corn dog.

Arizona sunsets aren't too bad either.  We love to go to the park by the new temple and feed the ducks and enjoy sights like this:

Looking forward to all the holidays!  Woohoo!

One-On-One Time

Something that has become pretty important to me lately is one-on-one time with each of my kids.  Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love the time we all spend together, and it makes my heart jump for joy when I watch Matthew and Kate play together (which is happening more frequently now -yay!) but some of my very favorite moments with the kids have come when I am one-on-one with them.  You'd think that with our relatively simple lives and the fact that I only have two kids it would be super easy to have quality one-on-one time, but it's not as easy as you'd think.  So, with the help of my wonderful husband, I have started putting more effort into getting out for mommy/son and mommy/daughter dates.  (And Michael has been getting more one-on-one time with each kid too).   I have also been putting more effort into making sure that my one-on-one time with each kid really is quality time.  Obviously I am far from perfect from this, but when I am mindful of what I am trying to do, I usually end up making much better use of that time.

This one-on-one time is so important, especially for Matthew.  He needs as much of it as he can get.  Without it, he starts to look like this:

Upset.  Overly clingy.  No bueno.

Luckily, Kate is pretty good about taking a nap for an hour every morning and I always spend this time super focused on Matthew and his needs.  We read stores, sing songs, and have "learning time." (Which is when we work on words, colors, shapes, etc)  We both love this time.  He is a total sponge right now and he impresses me every single day with how much he picks up in such a short amount of time.  

My alone time with Kate during the day isn't quite as predictable, but it's a blast as well.  We read books, practice crawling, and/or play with as many toys as possible.  She is just the sweetest little thing.  

While this alone time during the week is great, it's usually still not quite enough since the activities we can do are limited to what we can do in the house.  This is where the weekend comes in handy.  ;-)  Yesterday (Saturday) I took Kate shopping and we had a blast.  She's at the age where she wants to see and touch everything, and it was nice to be able to take our time and look around since there wasn't a bored and impatient toddler whining at us.  Ha!

And then I took Matthew on a mommy/son date to the pool.  We both had an amazing time.  There was so much laughing and playing and it was oh so good.

Love these kids of mine.  I know that as life gets crazier and busier it'll be harder to get that quality one-on-one time, (and it probably won't happen as often) but I hope to always make it a priority.  

Matthew Turns 2!

Well, we're counting years now, not months.  Can't believe my little boy is 2!

Here are a few pictures from the day:

A few things about Matthew:

- Sometimes he can have a fiery personality, ;-) but he is such a good kid and has a heart of gold.  He is very kind and never a bully.  He is protective of his sister.

-He loves attention and applause.

-He knows most colors and most letters.  He was a very late talker, but that is coming along too.

-He is busy and likes to always be playing and doing something active.

-He loves to swim, wrestle, run around, and read.  He enjoys learning new things.

-Most of the time it seems like he's going to be left-handed, but other times we're not so sure.

-For how active he is, we are very impressed with his reverence during prayers and scripture study.  Once we tell him we're going to pray, he immediately stops what he's doing and folds his arms.

-His favorite song changes every couple weeks, and he only ever wants me to sing whatever his favorite song is at the moment.  If I try to mix it up and sing something else, he gets mad.  :-)  Right now, his favorite song is, "Whenever I Hear The Song of A Bird."  We sing it before every nap and at bedtime.

-He is obsessed with buses.  Whenever he sees one, he points and screams, "BUS! BUS! BUS!...." at the top of his lungs.

-He loves any and all animals and bugs.  Except for flies.

-He is so good with technology.  He loves the iPhone.  His favorite thing to do on the iPhone is watch videos of him and Kate.

-He only likes/watches one TV show - Super Why! 

-He loves to come with me to get Kate when she wakes up from naps.  He loves his sister.

-He gives the best hugs and kisses.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!  These last two years have been the BEST!

TWO!

My little man is 2 years old!!!  I put together a short slideshow of his first two years of life.  It's my first slideshow ever so don't judge me for its poor quality. ;-)  

Love you buddy!