Young Family

Snow Queen and being nice

2012-02-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

Today we went and saw the Snow Queen Ballet at BYU. It was fun to get out and take Parr to something that he has never been to. His daddy took the morning off work to come with us and Sam went to Grandma's since babies under two were not allowed in. Parr had fun and wants to take a ballet class, I will see if I can find a dance class (probably just a creative dance class) that is not overly expensive. Sam would have loved the ballet. She loves dancing.

They are growing so fast and learning so much.

Modeling her hat the she got for Christmas from her Aunt Maren, she will only wear it if she gets to put it on.

She loves the camera.

They were being nice to each other and Sam was actually sharing with Parr.

I sure love these two and I am so glad that I am able to stay home with them.

Field trips and such

2012-02-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

The aviary in SLC has free Wednesdays through the month of February, so we took the opportunity to go yesterday. The kids loved it, and the weather was not bad. It did start to get a little bit chilly in the afternoon but we were almost done by then.

She carried a handful of Goldfish through most of it

Whining about something and had to document it for him

He loved looking for the owls in the trees

She got bored so we went and took pictures

Proof I was actually there with them

Little Parr loves our field trips. He is excited for this month, he has two or three more that we are going on. He is learning so much. We have added spelling words as apart of his homeschooling and is doing really well. He has a PE class that he is taking at UVU. He has started piano lessons taught by his daddy. He is also taking swim lessons and is excited to keep going to that. He told me today that he wants to play soccer, take gymnastics, take swimming lessons again, and take ice skating lessons this next month. Well, we may be able to take a couple of those without burning him (mostly me) out.

Hair Extreme

2012-01-31T21:14:00.000-08:00

What Parr (husband) does to Sam's hair when I am not around. All of these were on his phone.

"Again, really, again"

She looks a little terrified in these ones. Parr says she really did like the hair dryer.

Finger Pegs

2012-01-31T18:29:00.001-08:00

Sam loves to tear out the games from the closet in the game room. We usually have three to four games dumped out each day. Last night they found out that the Trouble pieces fit on their little fingers.

We enjoy the times they play nicely together.

Natural History Museum of Utah

2012-01-10T12:30:00.000-08:00

We went to the Natural History Museum of Utah and we had a lot of fun. It was at the University of Utah. We parked a little ways away from the building and so we got to ride the bus up. Parr loved it, Sam was not to sure about it on the way up, but loved it on the way back to the car.

Parr listening to a story in Navajo

Spot the baby

She loved looking at everything and even with the few tantrums we had she enjoyed herself

This pot was impossible to put together but he sure had fun trying

All things Christmas

2011-12-30T20:42:00.000-08:00

She was having a rough time in church and Parr took her out to calm down. She decided that she did not want to so Parr put her in the corner. She came back in and was better the rest of the meeting. I just love it that she is on her tip toes.

I failed to post any pictures from when we got our Christmas tree so here they are.

He was embarrassed

Helping gather firewood

Maren and Sam

Melia and Sam this was such a cute picture of them

Little Parr wanted to plant a stick so it could grow into a tree

They had a log tossing contest. The contestants were Maren, Melia, Eliza, Rachel, Enoch, and Joseph. Maren won.

Daddy and Sam

Christmas Eve

Evelyn and Parr were Mary and Joseph

The whole cast

Every year we act out the birth of Jesus and talk about the meaning of Christmas and Little Parr is now understanding it.

Christmas Day

He asked for books and a few other things, he got the Magic Tree House books 1-20.

She loves her tutus

And she loves wearing them riding on her car or in this case in the seat of her car

Mom got a sewing machine for Christmas. It was a nice surprise for her.

Little Parr used every last penny he had in his piggy bank to buy his daddy a wallet. He was so excited as he wrapped it up and put it under the tree and then giving it to his daddy.

A tent for playing in

Came right home and set it up and played and played in it, she loves the baby she got from her Great Grandma Young, it glows and sings. She has tried put a diaper on it and totes it around in her car.

Reindeer Cookies

2011-12-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

As our craft today we made some yummy peanut butter reindeer cookies. Little Parr loves to help cook and he loved being able to put the noses, eyes, and antlers on them. He really loved eating them.

Zombies

2011-12-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

Little Parr: What happens when zombies eat my brains?

Me: You won't have to worry about that.

Little Parr: I won't be smart any more

He walks around the house (usually chasing Sam) with his arms out making a grunting sound acting like a zombie. I think he plays too much Minecraft with his daddy.

18 Month Check-up

2011-12-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

Symantha is 18 months, wow where did the time go. She is a dramatic little thing and we love her so much. She had her appointment today and she is doing really well.

Here are her stats:

Weight: 19.58 lbs, 1.54 %tile
Height: 30.1 inches, 10.95 %tile
Head: 17.5 inches, 5.79 %tile

No shots today which we were all happy about.

She gained three pounds in three months. She is still a picky eater, but at least she is trying new foods, she has realized that what is served is what we eat no special orders here. She is still really small, but that is ok she is healthy. She is speaking more and more every day. She can say Parr's name along with Becca, Liza, Maren, and Leah. Kristin and Rachael are hard to say, she does try to say them and sometimes it sounds like their names. If you ask if she is ready she will say "not ready". I find her repeating what we say as we talk to her. She loves to sing, take pictures, play with her babies, and pick on her brother. She has figured out how to undress herself and that makes for a naked baby a lot of time. She loves to have shoes and loves to wear her pretty dress shoes with the bow but all other shoes end up off as soon as they are on. I have to put her shoes and socks on in the car each time I stop (if we are out and about I can easily put her shoes on five or six times a day). She a mullet going on right now, but her hair looks cute when it is done.

Decorating the tree (she has pants on)

All done (no pants)

Photo Shoot

2011-11-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

Sam decided she wanted to pose for pictures. She only did it once and would not do it again. She has really started to like dress up and pretend.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T14:36:00.000-08:00

This year Becca and Cody invited everyone to their place for Thanksgiving. We stayed at the Hampton in Pocatello, Idaho. We got there on Tuesday night and just relaxed and played games. Sam is not a fan of overnight stays. We had our Thanksgiving on Wednesday so that everyone could be there (those who had to work), we missed Rachael and Job. There were thirteen of us. We ate, talked, played games, and enjoyed time together.

On Thursday we hung out and played more games and took an adventure to the park. On our way there we stopped to pet a horse and Little Parr got bit by the horse, he has a bruise on his elbow and a little scratch all in the shape of its tooth. When we got to the park Little Parr flew off the marry-go-round and landed on his back. It just was not his day. Sam had fun at the park. She loved the slide and swing, but not the little bouncing car.

We are grateful for a wonderful family.

Sam's favorite song

2011-11-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

She walks around the house singing and this is her favorite song to sing.

Super Saturday

2011-11-12T13:16:00.000-08:00

We had our Relief Society Super Saturday today and I made this.

You can't tell but the glass is frosted. It turned out better than I thought it would. So now I have a picture that I can put up at Christmas time.

How do cows play with a yo-yo?

2011-11-10T13:45:00.000-08:00

Me: How?

Parr: I don't know do cows use yo-yos!

Happy Birthday Parr, the big 5!!!

2011-11-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

Here are his stats:

Weight: 34.6 lbs, 10.74 %tile

Height: 3 feet 5 inches, 18.08 %tile, a little more than 1/2 my size, to big to sit on my lap

BMI: 14.47, 17.57 %tile

Still on the small side but growing.

He had to have his last round of immunizations and started screaming when the nurse pulled out the alcohol wipe. He screamed the rest of the appointment and is happy to hear that the one shot he will have to get will be when he turns 12.

Time has sure gone by so fast. I can't believe that Parr is five today. Some days it just doesn't even feel like he should be that old.

Two weeks old, just got home from the hospital.

Four days before his birthday, almost 5 years old

I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner and his request was FISH. So, we had fish on Sunday night for his birthday dinner. We had his Grandma and aunties here to celebrate with him. His request for a cake was a tiered cherry cake. Well, I kind of made him one. It was cherry chip with cream cheese frosting and cherries on top. It was not the round tiers that he wanted, but he was happy to have a little heart tier in one corner of the cake.

He is a very active little boy. He loves to run around and play and absolutely loves gymnastics right now. He loves to ride his bike and loves to play with friends. He says his best friend is Evelyn, his second cousin (he only sees her a couple of times a year). Parr is already reading and is doing a great job with that and with math (addition and subtraction). He loves his sister and shows/tells her everyday that he does. He wants to be like his daddy and will try to help fix things and wants to be involved in everything that he does. He has been asking if there is anything that he can help do around the house or at dinner time, which I love, even if at the time that he asks there is not anything for him to do. Parr is a very smart little boy. He is very curious and asks lots of questions. If he does not know what a word means he will ask you to explain what it means. He loves his Grandma and aunties and will ask all week when he gets to see them again and have a grandma day. He is strong willed and determined. I love this little boy and I am so grateful to have in our family.

Happy Birthday Buddy!!!!!!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

Lots of Halloween pictures. Parr took the kids out trick or treating and they had a great time. Little Parr and Sam looked so cute together. She sure figured out very quickly what you do to get candy. I loved the way Little Parr's and Sam's hats turned out, I love homemade costumes.

Singing, talking and dancing

2011-10-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Sam loves the camera, she says cheese when you take pictures of her.

Parr singing songs and nursery rhymes

I was singing a couple of songs that Sam loves (sorry for the bad singing)

...my baby? big girl? fish? and timeout

2011-10-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

I was talking to Sam yesterday and I was asking her questions. Here is her response.

Me: Sam are you my baby?
Sam: No
Me: Are you my big girl?
Sam: No
Me: So what are you then?
Sam: Fish

She understands so much now and responds when asked something.

She has learned the word no and has learned that the timeout corner is not fun (she thought it was all those times that she laughed at Parr standing there).

Here is her sad video in timeout.

This was her first timeout ever and has since seen the corner a couple of times. She is only there for a minute but I am sure for her it seems like forever. We couldn't help but laugh. It was so cute to see her so tiny standing in the corner.

Quiet time

2011-10-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

It is good to see that if he doesn't nap during quiet time he is doing something creative.

Cow

2011-10-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

On our way out to the movies on Friday Little Parr informed us that, "Sammy is cuter than a cow with a bow."

I love his little made up saying and that he loves his little sister so much.

Hee Haw Farms

2011-10-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

We have gotten involved in the a homeschool group in our area and have been on a few field trips and have a few more scheduled. Today we went to Hee Haw Farm. We went into a corn maze and Parr led, we did not make it to the end, we made it back to the start and I decided that we were done with that. We then went on the hay ride, a slide, pet some animals, played in a sandbox full of corn, and picked a pumpkin. It was a fun morning.

Wanting to try the swings

She loved it

Riding the tractor

Start of the corn maze

Hay Ride

The slide, Sam wanted to go too, but I would not let her, she would have freaked out

Petting the animals

She was not sure at first if she liked it

Helping fill up the cart

Helping bury Parr in the corn

He came home with a pocket full of corn

She loved her pumpkin

She has figured out she should smile at the camera

Gymnastics Showcase

2011-10-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

He loved gymnastics. He has decided that he wanted to keep going so he is now signed up for another session. We are so proud of him and how he is growing up into a wonderful little boy.

This is the Place

2011-09-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

On Monday we went to This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake. We had a good time. Little Parr missed having his daddy there.

They got to play

And then do chores. They washed some clothes

Hung them to dry and started to plow the fields

Sam decided that she needed to help

He really liked this

They beat the rugs

Why can't they be this willing to do chores at home?

First train ride

Amazing what a month will do for a little child she went from being afraid of the animals at the Country Farm, to loving most of the animals

She pet them and walked around with them

She was a little bit more cautious with goats after one started to chase her

Parr got to pan for gold

He collected 10 and got to keep 5

Sam enjoying the fruit of Parr's labor

Second train ride back to the entrance

A little treat on the way home

7 Fish

2011-09-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

Parr has been asking all summer to go fishing and there just has not a free weekend for Parr to take him. On Saturday Parr had a food drive for the young men and so we were not planning on doing much of anything outside of the house. While he was gone I was reading some stuff online and found out that Parr could take Parr fishing for free from 8 am-1 pm at Cabela's. So at 11:00 we headed out and fished for an hour and a half. Parr and Parr tried three or four different baits and nothing worked. At 1:00 they closed it down and returned as many fish as they could to the tank. Whatever was left they let the kids have, they just had to catch them. They drained out some of the water and opened up the pool and let the fish out. Parr helped Parr pick up a few fish (off of the concrete) and he was happy to have caught seven fish. When we got home he helped Parr gut the fish. We had lemon pepper fish and chips for dinner. He was so proud of himself and now he wants to go fishing again.

One of his fish

What a great time the had

She did not like the fish so much

Mexican uh... mannequin

2011-09-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

"Look a Mexican, can it take its clothes off?"

"Parr that is not a Mexican, it is a mannequin"

15 Month Check-up

2011-09-12T18:13:00.000-07:00

Symantha had her 15 month check-up today. Here are her stats:

Height: 29 inches, 23.87 %tile
Weight: 16.5 lbs, 0.03 %tile
Head circumference: 17.75 cm, 25.04 %tile

She is still small, but is continuing to grow along a curve, just not anywhere near the curve. I can't believe how tall she has gotten in just the last three months. She is starting to run and loves to spin. She is our little princess and drama queen.

She is learning how to undress herself, we have found naked in her crib after her naps and the next morning. She also loves try to change clothes, when she wears them. Her favorite are shoes. She will wonder around in her diaper and a pair of shoes. She loves to comb her hair and have it done. Parr found her in the bathroom after church on Sunday standing on the step stool looking in the mirror combing her hair.

She is learning to talk. It is so cute to hear her in the mornings talking to herself. She also calls for her daddy to get her out of her crib. She can say mamma, dad, fish, lion, yeah, yes, no, wow, wo, this and that. She definitely lets you know when she does or doesn't want something. She is the first to fold her arms when she hears the word prayer and is even attempting to say it herself. She will mumble her own little prayer as someone else is saying it.

She can hold her own with Little Parr. She is also a little tattletale. She even tells on her daddy. But she is so cute and it is hard to resist the cute little face that she has. We love her so much and are so glad she is apart of our family.

Little Parr had a dentist appointment today and was excited to hear that he did not have any cavities.

Pete's Dragon

2011-09-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

Watching Pete's Dragon.

Museum of Ancient Life

2011-09-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

We went to the Museum of Ancient Life on Tuesday (last $2 Tuesday in August) at Thanksgiving Point with Kristin and her friend. Little Parr and Symantha had a great time.

If listen carefully you can hear Symantha tell what we were looking at.

I forgot her stroller, but it turns out she would not have stayed in it. She loved walking around and looking at everything. And the best part was she was not attached to me.

He wanted to take a picture with the shark. He said he was scared not that you can tell by the smile on his face.

Symantha wanted to touch the glass ball and could not reach it.

Her Aunt Kristin was kind and picked her up

They loved this one, it sent steam into the air in the an "O"

Country Farm

2011-08-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

We went to the Country Farm on Tuesday (yeah for $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point) and Parr and Symantha loved it. Well, Symantha loved most of it.

Symantha loved the chicks, she also just learned how to cross her fingers

Parr loved that he was able to pet the animals, Symantha did not like the animals up close. She would freak out if they got close to her. The horse tried to lick her and she lost it.

She would walk around for awhile and when she got tired she would ask me to put her back in her stroller by patting on it.

This little calf was so friendly, it would lay its head on the edge of the stroller, Sam did not like it all.

She is talking about the goats

The battery died on the camera after the video of her talking, but Little Parr loved riding the horses, Sam wanted to ride one but she was too little. It was nice to get out and Parr and Symantha were well behaved which made it even better.

7 Years!!!!!

2011-08-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago today Parr and I were married for all time and eternity.

I love him so much and I am grateful to have him as my husband. He is a great husband and father.

Love You!!!!

When I get Married...

2011-08-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Little Parr has been talking about his mission, getting married, and having children. This is a conversation that he has been having with us almost everyday lately.

Little Parr: I am going on a mission when I get older.

Parr or I: What Language are you going to speak?

Little Parr: I am going to speak happy face. Then I am going to marry a nice girl.

Parr or I: Where are you going to get married?

Little Parr: In the temple. Then I am going to tell my wife I want twins!

He really wants to have twins and asked me to have some. I told him that I am probably not going to have twins nor do I want twins and that he will have to ask his wife too. Well he is quite serious about it and is planning on asking his future wife to have twins. I am sure he may change his mind as he gets older, but it is sure cute to hear him make plans.

Trek

2011-07-25T16:17:00.001-07:00

We had a great experience and I am so grateful for that. I got to go without Parr (he got hurt at AP Camp). On this trip I had no husband and two sick kids for a couple of the days. It was long and exhausting. I could not imagine spending months walking to get to Salt Lake City. This post is long and has lots of pictures. The best way for me to describe this is with the pictures that were taken.

Day 1

Right before we started on the trek. Parr and Evelyn were so cute, they would hold hands and play and play.

This was a little break we took, he was tired.

Two little friends, just before we started up the rocky part of Rocky Ridge

He got to ride in the handcart for a while.

This is what Sam did most of the day. She was sick the night before, she throw up on me twice on the way up to Wyoming and right before the trek a couple of the uncles gave her a blessing. She did not throw up again the rest of the trip.

Walking up Rocky Ridge. We made Parr get out of the handcart and walk the rest of the way up Rocky Ridge. He was proud of himself.

This is just a few of the rocks on the way up. It is called Rocky Ridge for a reason.

He was so cute. He did it, he walked up "Rocky Bridge (Rocky Ridge)."

Kristin and Melia pulled the handcart by themselves up this part of Rocky Ridge. They wanted them (a couple of women) to feel what it may have been like to pull a handcart up this just as some of the women may have had to do when they came over with the Willie Handcart Company.

A little break at the top.

I wanted a picture with the two of them at the handcart.

Devotional at the top

The Young family and the family flag that we made.

The kids on the trek minus Haley (Heidi's little girl). Symantha was a little unsure about stick pull.

As they were pulling the handcart through the bog Parr was flicking the mud off himself as it was being thrown on him. Alex was great he stayed back and helped with the handcart.

Stick pull on one of the breaks.

Little Parr and Maile really got into it. It was a draw. After they were done Parr asked, "Mom did I win?" I had to just laugh and tell him that he tied.

We are going to be on a documentary that is going to be shown in between sessions of the April 2012 Conference. It may only be our feet and handcart wheels.

After a long day of walking (we think it was somewhere around 17 miles) we were all tired and hurting from blisters, sore legs and feet, and just plain exhausted. I know that if I had to do what the pioneers did I would have done it, but I am so grateful for the time that I live in. I am thankful that I have a wonderful family that helped me on that first day of the trek. I was not going to go because I did not want to do it without Parr and I did not want to ask for help.

Day 2

We stayed at Rock Creek Hollow for one night. We were scheduled to go out for a 10 mile trek the second day and I just could not do it. We were tired and my feet had huge blisters on the toes, so we stayed and helped clean up camp while others went and did a 6 mile trek.

On our way to the visitors center at Willie's. She had some chocolate and was sad that she could not have anymore.

While we were waiting for the group to get back from their trek we played in the school house.

Sam enjoying a pretzel and Parr helping Becca apply aloe to her sunburn.

Day 3

The night before one of the aunts put in a rag curl on top of her head, the next morning she had a little curl.

We had our Martin's Cove Handcart Trek, it was about 5 miles ish.

Symantha was asleep before we even got started. Here is the family heading out.

Just after we got to the top of Martin's Cove Little Parr fell asleep. He was so tired. Parr's cousin Ian carried him down back to the picnic area, I am so grateful for the strong young men that we had on this trek. He looked like a sack of potatoes thrown over his shoulders. Little Parr ended up going back to camp with Uncle Jim and Aunt Kristi.

Thanks so much Ian

The monument at Martin's Cove.

We did the river crossing. I could not imagine crossing this in the dead of winter.

Symantha was not happy when I crossed, but as soon as she could put her own feet in the water close to shore she was happy.

We completed a women's pull after this. It was very hard and emotional. The strength that these women in the family have is incredible. I know we all have hardships and I know we can all get through them with the help of each other and most importantly the help of our Savior. I know that he loves each us and that we are not left alone.

When we got back to camp we ate, I washed my hair (it was gross from three days of wind, dirt, and just grossness), and then it was time for square dancing. Little Parr loved it. He asked me how he did and told me he is the "bestest dancer." I sure love that little boy.

This is my absolute favorite picture from the trek. Grandma holding Symantha.

We finished out our weekend by attending church at Martin's Cove on Sunday and just having a relaxing afternoon. We packed up and returned home on Monday afternoon.

I can not say that I entirely feel and understand what the pioneers went through and how they felt coming across the plains to Salt Lake, but I do understand a little bit (probably the size of a grain of sand) from this experience. I could not imagine what it would feel like to lose a loved one along the trail or what it felt like to send a loved one off to cross alone because they could not go together. Being a mom with young children trekking last weekend was hard. I was tired and I know I had family (Parr's family) all around me, but there were times when I just felt alone. I had a lot of help and I appreciate that more than I can even express. Being there with two kids, each of them taking a turn at being sick was hard. At times I just wanted to cry, not only for what I was going through but mostly for what those pioneers went through, especially the women that did it without their husbands, for one reason or another. I know they had to have a lot of faith and strength to continue on each and everyday for months with little food and tired and in weather that was not the most ideal. There is a spirit about Martin's Cove and Rocky Ridge and I know that there were many sacrifices made from the pioneers so that they could be forever families. I know without a doubt that this church is true. I know that my family can be together forever and the temple is a holy place. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that President Monson is a prophet of God. I know the Book of Mormon to be true. I love my family more than I can say and I am grateful for each and every one of them. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sam is growing up

2011-07-11T19:05:00.001-07:00

Right now Sam is is getting five teeth. Poor thing. She has two more of her front bottom teeth coming in and three of her back teeth coming in, one on top and the other two on bottom.

She thought she was pretty cool with this in her hair. She is sure a little girl. She walks around brushing her hair and putting on chapstick (with the lid on), loving her baby, pushing her stroller and swaddling her baby.

She was getting up after falling

She loves to walk. Crawling is now of the past for sure. Within a couple of days of walking all the time she has figured out how to carry things. Her baby and a book are usually what she is carrying around. She reads the book (flips the pages) as she is wondering around the house.

Trek YM

2011-07-11T18:51:00.001-07:00

Parr went on a trek this last weekend with the youth in our ward for youth conference.

Here he is in his pioneer clothes.

he didn't look happy here so we took another

He had a really good time out there. He came back tired and sore (he only went four miles, two up and two back).

4th of July

2011-07-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

We went and watched fireworks with Parr's mom and sisters. Here are some pictures.

Sam loved the fireworks

So did Parr

2011-07-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

Sam was having fun playing with Parr at his computer. Sorry about the way they are turned, we took them with Parr's phone and I didn't realize that I needed to turn the phone.

She did figure out that the noise was coming from the computer and not their noses.

Stadium of Fire

2011-07-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Parr and went to Stadium of Fire last night, it was fun. David Achuleta opened for Brad Paisley. The tickets were 1/2 price last weekend and so I figured since I had never been to one that we would go. It was nice to get out and do something with Parr without having two little ones to watch over. Here is one of the few pictures that we have of us (since we got married). We are trying to take pictures of us doing things to show that Parr and Symantha do in fact have parents.

Cheerleader

2011-06-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

Sam has been able to walk for a while now, but just won't do it. Well, this last week she decided that she likes it. Little Parr is her biggest cheerleader. His song in this is so cute.

This is what Sam's hair looks like at the end of the day. Looks like she takes after me. Our hair is crazy after a hot day of playing and being outside (at least our hair was done when the day started).

We are both also getting pretty tan. Sam got really tan after one afternoon in the sun. I have not been this tan since the summer I married Parr.

At Least It Wasn't a Trip to the Emergency Room

2011-06-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

We were all up in the game room and I was taking care of Symantha. I asked Parr to go down and put some of the dishes away. I heard him screaming and went running down to see what he was doing. I couldn't find him anywhere. I could still hear him yelling for help. I went outside and he was laying on the sidewalk under the living room window. The window was open a little bit and he fell out of it. He had a few scratches and bruises and that was it, thankfully he did not land on his head or back. After I iced his knees and I got him to calm down I asked him how he fell out of the window. He said he was crawling on the back of the sofa and doing flips, things that he has repeatedly gotten in trouble for doing. He said he would not do that again, I hope he has learned a lesson from all of this. He is still a little bit sore this morning and ended up sleeping in my bed last night (Parr is still in Florida). I am just grateful that he was ok and that we did not need to make a trip in to the emergency room. I think this scared him more than anything else.

Jean skirt

2011-06-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

I took an old pair of jeans that had a few holes in them and turned it into a skirt. I was proud of myself because it actually looks good and wearable. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to make and it was easy once I got the insert straight on the front and back. The inserts are made from the legs of the pants. Hard for me to do since I can't even draw a straight line with a ruler.

Father's Day from Little Parr

2011-06-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

Little Parr's Father's Day letter that he made in church on Sunday.

My Dad has Blue colored eyes, and Blond colored hair.
My Dad is 13 years old.
My Dad loves to: Play Minecraft
My Dad doesn't like to: tease my baby sister Sammy
The best thing about my Dad is: he prays to God carefully
I know my Dad loves me because: he loves to help me
Love, Parr

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

To the best husband and father of our children. I love you. Thank you for all that you do to provide and take care of us.

Parr and Little Parr at 2 weeks old (November 2006)

Little Parr loves his daddy. He loves the time that they spend with each other playing games, going on walks and talking.

Parr and Symantha 2 weeks old (June 2010)

Symantha loves her daddy too. Since he is gone this week she just wonders around calling for her daddy. She will look out the window and call for him and wait to see him in the evenings and gets disappointed that he has not returned home.

Hope you are having fun in Florida.

Happy Father's Day!!!

Train Ride

2011-06-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

We had the privilege of going on a train ride with Parr's family. Parr was so excited. We started in Heber and went down the canyon and back to Heber. It was a fun ride. We got robbed (it was pretend) on the ride. Parr was concerned by the gun and why the robber had it. So here are a lot of pictures.

Little Engineer

Melia, Maren, Symantha, Eliza, Parr

I just love him so much. He is sooooo cute.

She loved it so much.

She spent the first 15-20 minutes sitting at the window with her head sticking out.

Putting together a sticker book.

Snack time

She loved looking at everything that we passed.

Sight seeing

She sat with chin on the windowsill and head sticking out. She loved the breeze in her face. Her eyes would slowly open and close.

She was tired and finally just let her eyes stay closed. She slept for about 30 minutes with her head out the window.

We made it a little bit more comfortable for her. Since it is June I did not have a blanket to use as a pillow so we used a diaper.

The train was "robbed". Grandma let him know that it was all pretend. It was cute to see his arms in the air.

Still snoozing away

Time with Grandma and aunties. She was pointing in Grandma's direction and when I asked her if she wanted Grandma she shook her head yes and went right over, gave her a hug and sat with her. She loved sitting with all of them. She loves her Grandma and aunties.

A little blurry, but cute. He is such a character.

Half Marathon

2011-06-11T19:18:00.001-07:00

A cute picture of Symantha

I will start out by saying I was so tired. I only got four hours of sleep and it was not a deep sleep. I tried to go to bed at eight, but that just did not happen. Sam is teething, had shots the day before, is sick and would not stop crying. She cried for two hours with me and another hour with Parr. I tried to rock her, a cup of milk, walking around with her, and letting her sleep in my bed until Parr got home, but nothing worked. I finally just put her back in bed at 9:30 and let her continue to cry as I covered my ears. Parr got her shortly after that and got her to sleep. It was a rough night.

I got up this morning at around 2:30 to be ready to catch the bus to go up the canyon. We picked up Becca and caught the 3:45 bus up, the driver got lost and when we finally got there we stood around the fires they had for almost two hours. The race started at 6 am. It was cold and a little bit breezy. Both Becca and I just wanted to finish the race in less than four hours. We ran most of the first mile and then alternated running and fast walking. We did really well all the way down the canyon. I texted Parr and Becca's hubby Cody at the 8 mile mark. It took us a little less than two hours to get that far, we were so excited. We knew at the pace we were going we would be able to make it by a little after 9 am. Well, at about mile nine my knee gave out and I was in a lot of pain (the first aid station ran out of ace bandages and so I was out of luck), Becca's feet were also in a lot of pain (blisters on the bottom). I was fine if I just walked really fast, but the pressure of running really, really, really hurt. So at mile 10 we decided to just walk fast and try to make it under the four hour mark. I texted Parr and Cody again at mile 12 and let them know we were almost there. We got to mile 13 and I could see the finish line. At two blocks left of the race I told Becca we were going to run the rest of the way. We were not sure if we would be able to, but I was determined to run across that finish line. As we got closer to the finish line I saw that the clock said we were about a minute under three and a half hours. I told Becca we could make it across before it hit and we did. I was a few seconds under as we crossed. We went to check our official times since we knew we did not start at exactly 6 am (we were in the middle of the pack when we crossed the start line and our chips were read). I came in 3:24:55 and Becca two seconds after me at 3:24:57. We are proud of ourselves for doing this and finishing when we did. I know that they are not the best times in the world, but they are for us and we got our finishing medal to prove it. We decided that we would like to do a half marathon once a year.

As you see from the bags under my eyes I was exhausted. But I would definitely do this again. This was a great bonding experience for us as well. I love Parr's family and I loved having a running buddy. Becca was great and I love having her as my sister-in-law.

A few tips to remember when I do this again:

- Start training early and keep it consistent, even a half hour is worth it. I tried, but with two kids some days it just did not happen

- Get a good nights sleep (don't let husband go out when you need to go to bed and have a one year old)

- Eat a light breakfast, I am so glad that I did. I was just going to skip because I was tired, but with two hours to wait before starting the race it made me feel better when we actually started because I was not starving

- Clip toe nails the night before. Bruised and swollen toes are no fun.

Now let the ballet class begin. I am excited to try a something new!!

12 Month Old Check-up

2011-06-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

Symantha had her 12 month old check-up today. She is small but growing. Here are her stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 11 oz, 0.02% tile
Height: 27 1/2 inches, 7.5% tile
Head circumference: 17 inches, 6.06% tile

She is a character. She loves to laugh and loves to play. Anything that makes music is her favorite thing to play with. She is officially done with nursing. The first couple of days were difficult for her, but she is good now. She can walk, but won't do so unless you have a treat for her at the end. She is getting more and more confident with standing and walking and when she thinks no one is watching she will get up and go a few steps on her own. She is into everything. She plays with all the drawers in the kitchen and empties everything. She is a little cuddle bug. I love it. She will sit with me and just cuddle and give kisses. She can blow kisses and thinks that it is really funny. She loves to play in water, as long as it is not a bath (we are working on that). She has learned how to sign more, please, again, and milk. She absolutely loves to be outside. We will sit outside for hours in the grass and she loves it. She really wants to be like Little Parr already. He got a new bike and was out riding it and she was not happy to sit in her stroller and watch. I ended up putting her in her bike trailer and riding around in front of the house. She was sad when I took her out. She loves her daddy. She knows when it is about time for him to come home. When she hears the garage door open and she yells "dad, dad, dad" until he comes up and hugs her. She is a mamas girl. I love her so much and I can't believe how fast this last year has gone.

Symantha walking

So Yummy!! Cafe Rio copycat

2011-06-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

You can eat this on a tortilla or with chips, so good either way. Top with guacamole, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and sour cream and the dressing (recipe at bottom of post).

Sweet Shredded Pork
1 10 lbs Pork tenderloin roast ( any pork roast will work)
2 cans of Tomato sauce 15 oz
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 can of coke or Dr Pepper
1 clove garlic diced
1/4 cup cilantro minced

Put all in Crockpot and cook for 4-6 hours on high. Shred pork and cook an additional 1.5-2 hours.

I use a 4-5 pound roast and so the pork has a little bit more flavor.

Black Beans1 can black beans
2 Tbsp finely minced onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 c tomato juice
3 Tbsp cilantro
1 tsp salt

Fry the onion, garlic, and cumin in a little bit of olive oil. Drain and rinse beans. Add all the rest of the ingredients and cook until all heated.

Rice
3 c water
1 1/2 c rice
3 bullion cubes
1 tsp salt
1/4 c lime juice
1/2 c onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 can green chilies

Put water, rice, bullion, salt in pot and bring to a boil. Put lime juice, onion, garlic, cilantro, and chilies in blender and puree. Stir the mixture into rice. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

Dressing
1 pkt Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
8 oz can Salsa Verde Green Salsa
1/2 Bunch of cilantro with stems
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/4 cup Mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 teaspoon Hot Sauce

Put all ingredients in a blender, and mix until smooth and creamy….add buttermilk to thin if needed. It will be thin a first and thicken up over time. If you do not have buttermilk, normal milk works just fine.

This is great on tacos, salads, Chip dip….love it!

Sam's 1st Birthday

2011-06-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

Symantha turned one today. She is such a good baby and I am so glad that she is a part of our little family. We had a little party last night with her grandma and aunties. We had yummy pork tacos and cupcakes and ice cream. Sam loved her food.

We opened presents and she loves her gifts. Here are lots of birthday pictures.

Opening her doll

As soon as she opened her present and saw what it was she gave it a great BIG kiss. She loves it so much. She puts blankets on it, pushes it all over the house and hugs it so tightly. She already knows how to be a mommy. It is so cute to see her with it.

Her next present, a swimsuit

A stroller from mommy and daddy to go with her doll

A present from her brother (which he thought was his too), some stacking cups, she was really focused on her favorite gift

LOVED her cake

Grandma got him a little present too, some bubbles.

So excited for her cake

Have to have every last drop

Little Parr would never get this messy eating his cake for his birthday, he would just pick the sprinkles off and eat slowly. Symantha got right into the cake. She loved it. She had cake up her nose and ice cream on her eyelashes.

She was not happy to be taken away from her cake and ice cream and to be put in the bath (especially since she hates them)

Musical Baby

2011-05-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

Sam loves music and we have had this little piano in her room that we just never bothered to put batteries in. Well, we finally did and she loves it. Of course so does Little Parr and so they are always fighting over it.

She stays up a little bit later than Parr does at night and loves it.

I think she was playing the piano with her face

She figured out the seat is just her size

She also figured out that it rocks

Some pictures of her in her dress that my friend Brea made her.

I think she looks like a little doll

I add more thoughts to Little Parr's Thoughts.

Dancing Baby

2011-05-15T20:50:00.001-07:00

Symantha loves the piano. She loves anything that has to do with music. She has figured out how to work our electric piano. She played on the piano for a little over an hour today. Here is a video of her dancing.

This is how we play the piano at our house

She loves music and dancing

"booty shake"

11 Fingers

2011-05-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

Little Parr and I were going through his addition flashcards and he was answering all the ones that equal to 10 or less. I stopped at a card that said 11+0, and he informed me that, "I can't do that one because I don't have 11 fingers." Silly boy knew the answer, he just did not want to answer because he likes to count on his fingers.

Weight Check #3

2011-05-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

We had a weight check for Sam this morning and it went well. We are done with them for now. She gained a little bit of weight. She gained about 8 oz. The doctor came in and said she is small and that she is growing at a slow rate compared to other babies. He said he is not worried because at least she is growing and she looks healthy. We will be back in for her normal check up at a year old. Yay for seeing her normal doctor (he has been out of the office the last two times we have been in). He is fine with her drinking whole milk already and he saw that she is just an active little thing, always on the go. She was so happy today and that made it easier since we had to wait for over half an hour to see the doctor. She is a little eater. She eats all day long. She is just like Little Parr and constantly has something to munch on in both of her little hands. She has figured out how to take the lid off the puffs container, open the top of cracker boxes, and get her brother to give her whatever he happens to be eating at the time. They are too cute.

Sweet Loves

2011-05-06T21:19:00.001-07:00

Symantha is really comfortable with her uncle. After three days of him being home she will sit with him, let him hold her (even while I am standing there), and play with him. I went to get Parr from work today and we got home to this:

She was fast asleep. The only time I can ever get her to sleep in my arms is when I feed her. I think she likes how calm and relaxed Walter is. Little Parr was about her age when Walter moved in with us and now he is super close with his uncle, I have a feeling that she is going to be the same way.

Crazy hair

2011-05-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

This is what Sam's hair looks like a day after pigtails and sleeping on it.

Welcome home Walter

2011-05-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

Walter returned home from his mission on Tuesday. Little Parr was so excited. He made him a sign and we had balloons for him. Little Parr has been stuck to him like glue. He only wants to eat what Walter eats and go where Walter goes and do what Walter does. Symantha was really worried when Walter got into the car at the airport. She gave a little smile, but when she realized he was staying, she cried the rest of the way home. She has since warmed up to him. I was surprised when she climbed up on his lap yesterday. She usually has a really hard time going to anyone, knowing them or not. She smiles at him and plays with him now and will even stop crying when he picks her up. So I guess she likes him and since he is living here she has decided she is ok with that. He was released on Wednesday morning and he is now just looking for a job and looking at where he wants to apply for school in the winter or fall of 2012.

The sign that I made for him

Little Parr's sign

Waiting for him at the airport

He ran up to him and has held onto him ever since

11 Months Old

2011-05-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that she is one month from being a year old. She is so cute and she is a mama's girl. And a princess! She loves music. She will lead the music in church and sing along to whatever music she hears. She has learned to point for things that she wants, that makes it a little bit easier for her to communicate with us. She is a speedy little girl. She can get up and down the stairs really fast. She can stand, well until she realizes what she is doing and then falls with a groan. She is a little bit more of a picky eater than Parr was, but is learning very quickly that what is made is what there is to eat. She seems to really like grilled cheese sandwiches.

She has this squeal that is ear piercing and it is loud. She has finally decided that playing is a good thing, and I agree with her, I can so much more done now. She doesn't really like the swings at the park, but loves the slide. She is a chatter box and loves to just babble and babble. She says dada all the time now and looks for him when she says it. If she sees him she will point and reach for him. She is a happy little girl.

11 Months Old

Sam sing the ABC's with her toy

At the park on the swing

Super cute

Little Parr read a book to us all by himself last night. He is learning so fast.

At the park

I took this just as I was getting them out after our bike ride. Sam was not to sure about the bike trailer at first, but loved it as I got going and talked all the way to the park. Now to get Little Parr a bike to ride, pulling both of them is hard, they are heavy.

Boston or Disney World

2011-04-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

Little Parr has a list of places he wants to save up money to go visit. Last night he said he wanted to go to Boston and Chubbuck as well as Disney World. Chubbuck is little bit easier to do since it is only a few hours away. So Parr asked him where he would rather go Boston to see his Aunt Rachael and Uncle Job or Disney World. He sat and thought about it and Parr asked him again where he wanted to go. After thinking about it for another minute his response was Boston to Rachael and Job. We thought he would say Disney World because he has been asking for a little over a year to go there. As much as he wants to go to Disney World he loves his auntie and uncle so much that he would rather see them. I am glad that he knows who/what is more important. I am not sure we will make out there anytime soon, but he sure misses them and wants to see them.

Little Parr says "I love you Auntie Rachael and Uncle Job!"

Weight Check #2

2011-04-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

We went in for a second weight check today and Sam has gained 3.5 ounces in 2 weeks. She eats all day just like Little Parr does (10-15 minutes after eating both of them want a snack). I would think that she would weigh more. I did not give her the Pedisure like the doctor asked me too these last 2 weeks because of how much sugar is in them, so the doctor said we can try giving her whole milk to see if she will gain more in the next 2 weeks. I take her back for another weight check in 2 weeks.

Kazoo

2011-04-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

Symantha learned how to play the kazoo this weekend. (we need a new camera, sorry about the bad quality on all the videos)

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

This will have lots of video and pictures.

We had a great weekend. We spent Saturday with Parr's family. We looked for Easter baskets, dyed eggs, had an indoor easter egg hunt (it was raining outside) and played games.

The kids looking for easter baskets

Symantha had her rice krispie basket all eaten up by the time everyone finished looking for their baskets, and went from one person to the next asking for more sweets. She had a peep on top of her basket and that was all gone as well.

This is what she looked like after eating her basket

She had rice krispies under her chin, in her neck, in her hair, in her ears and in the layers of her shirt. She loved it!

Dying eggs

On Sunday we went to church where Parr gave a talk in sacrament and it was really good. His talk was about never being alone, based off a talk by Elder Holland in the 2009 April conference. Then we went to his family's house for dinner. I love having family so close.

I love the Easter season. I love it that Little Parr asks lots of questions about being resurrected and Jesus' resurrection. I love my Savior and I know that He lives.

What Parr does during Quiet Time

2011-04-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Little Parr came up from his quiet time the other day looking like this.

He was so cute dressed in his Sunday suit and the boxing gear.

He then went down and got the other set and Parr and Little Parr, both in their suits, boxed for a little while, he had so much fun. The gloves were so heavy that every time he would swing he had to catch himself so that he would not fall.

New calling

2011-04-17T14:37:00.001-07:00

We have lived in our house and the ward for seven months now. After two months in the ward Parr was called to serve in Young Men's presidency as the first counselor and has loved it. Well, today he was called to serve as the Young Men's president. He is excited for this new opportunity.

Crib and Shower Time

2011-04-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

When Little Parr was born we got a pack n play and that was what he slept in until we got him a twin bed. We moved four times in the first six months of his life so just never bothered to get a crib. We also like the pack n play that we have. We decided that we would just continue to use the pack n play when we had Symantha. Well, this morning when we went to get her from her bed we found a nice little surprise in the mesh. She has bitten a hole in it.

Now I guess we are going to get a real crib for her to sleep in. Parr wanted to move her to a toddler bed, but I think she is still too little for that. At 10 months old I think she still needs to be in a crib where she can't roll out or get out on her own yet. She is such a little stinker.

We don't really give the kids baths, they both love to shower. Parr likes a bath if he can have a bubble bath and Sam just plain hates them. Here are some cute pictures of them.

Sam taking a shower

Symantha

Parr taking a bubble bath at grandma's

Weight Check

2011-04-11T10:13:00.001-07:00

Symantha is really little and has been since she was about 2 months old. At her last doctors appointment she weighed in at 13.4 pounds. She got sick a couple of weeks ago and lost a few ounces. Well we went in today to do a weight check and she is only 3 ounces up in the last 2 months. She is otherwise healthy, I think she is healthy regardless and that she is just going to be small. The doctor is a little bit worried about her weight though, I hope this is not going to be the case every time we go in. He suggested giving her formula, which she will not take in a bottle or in a cup. I have even tried the new toddler formula and that ended up on the floor with a dirty look from Sam. So we are going to try Pedisure and see how that works. I hope she will like that. We have another weight check in 2 weeks, here is to 2 weeks of constantly feeding a 10 month old.

10 Months Old

2011-04-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

Sam turned 10 months old this last week. She is getting big. Well tall at least, her weight has not changed in the last two months, still 13 pounds. She is a chatter box. She loves to sit and talk and sing. She hums to whatever music you turn on. She also leads the music the second it starts, especially in church. She is cruising all over the place. She is a little handful. She is already getting a little bossy and is into everything. She is finally starting to play more which is nice for me. As long as Parr leaves her alone she is just happy to crawl around and play.

She loves her daddy. When she gets up from her naps and when she hears the front door open she starts calling for her daddy. As soon as she sees him she wants to give him a hug and be held by him. I love it that she loves her daddy.

Her hair is getting thicker and a little bit longer on top, so now I can put her hair in pigtails, and she lets me do so. It is so cute.

Here are some pictures of her.

Pigtails on top

pigtails in back

her hair after removing the ponytails

On Friday as a craft Little Parr and I made caterpillars.

Sam wanting to play with them

Little Parr worried about her touching them

He is so proud of them

Sam at 10 months old

Prayer and Grandpa

2011-04-04T10:09:00.001-07:00

We have been working on prayers with Little Parr and the proper way to say them. His prayers have gotten longer because he lists everything he is thankful for and he just talks. Here is a part of his prayer this morning.

"thankful for my new house and my family, thankful for things that I did with Grandpa when he was little like stories, . . . . . . please bless Grandpa to be resurrected safely. . . "

He has been talking about his Grandpa a lot and the things that they did together and he has also been talking (making up things) about things that they did together when his grandpa was his age as he puts it. I think Little Parr has realized that at some point everyone was his age, he just doesn't get it that it was a long time ago for some of us. He misses his grandpa and talks about seeing him again. He has asked when that will be and that he is so excited when he can. I am so glad that he remembers him and that he talks about him.

Learning & Ear Infections

2011-03-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

I tried to get Sam to go down the stairs last week and it did not work. She was terrified. Well, yesterday she did it all by herself. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and she was half up when she realized that I was not at the top and she scooted down on her tummy. She is still so short that she has to get all the way onto each stair before moving down to the next stair. Today she was a little hesitant to go down, so Little Parr showed her how to do it and she followed him on down. She is so proud of herself as she goes down each stair. When she gets to the bottom she is excited. It makes me a little bit nervous that she can do this now and I worry about her going down without me at the bottom. She is learning and growing so fast.

Sam has not been feeling very well for the last couple of weeks and has a really bad cough, same as what Little Parr and I have had. I took her in on Monday to the doctors to make sure everything was ok. She came out with an ear infection in both of her ears. This is the first ear infection that she has ever had (Little Parr has never had one). So I guess that would explain the cranky little girl that I have had to deal with the last week. She is feeling better now, but is still a little bit cranky, must be the 3-4 times that she has been getting up at night. It will be nice when that stops.

Little Parr is getting big and he is such a character. He is learning fast. His reading is going really well and he is getting faster with each lesson that we do. He is constantly asking what different words mean if he doesn't understand them. He is just soaking everything up.

Toys

2011-03-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

Symantha has started to make noises when she plays with cars. She really likes the Lightening McQueen car. It is cute to see her race them on the floor or on the top of a tote. She is also starting to like carrying little stuffed toys around the house. I love it that she is starting to play more on the floor and that she is not as clingy. I now can get some things done around the house and not have to worry about her throwing a fit. She stays up a little bit later than Parr does at night, I think she knows that she can play and without Parr running into her or picking on her. She loves her brother and she loves laughing at him and with him, but she sure does love her space and alone playing time.

Funny Baby

2011-03-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

This was so cute. She just loved throwing that lid off her highchair. She was having so much fun.

I love how easy it is to entertain a baby. Symantha is getting so big. Her little personality is really coming out. We are going to have our hands full, but she is so worth it.

It can be hard and I have my days where I just want to have a mommy day off, but I would not have it any other way. I love that I can be home with Parr and Symantha. I love that they feel safe and that they know that both Parr and I love them very much. I know that Parr and I are not perfect parents, but we are trying to become better parents. I am glad Parr and I can apologize to the kids when we have done something wrong and that we can admit that. I love them and I am glad that I am their mommy.

Not Bad Parents Anymore

2011-03-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Our home teachers came over yesterday and while they were here asked Little Parr if were still bad parents. His response was "After they do their morning chores and in three weeks they will not be bad parents anymore." So I guess he expects Parr and I to do all of our "chores" and his chores. He says the funniest things.

Bad Parents

2011-03-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight our home teacher and Parr's advisor in young men's came over to see how he was doing. Little Parr followed Parr to the door and told them that "my parents are bad parents". Little Parr had been crying because he wanted a certain picture of Jesus Christ hung in his room, but that one is going to be hung somewhere else. He would not chose between the other two sitting there. We have a picture for each bedroom and the game room and living room. So Parr and I choose the one that would go in his room and the one that would go in Sam's room. If that is what he thinks makes us bad parents I will take it.

Walk to the Park

2011-03-11T19:21:00.001-08:00

Parr has been asking to go to the park for weeks, so today we walked down there. It was so nice out and he got to ride his scooter there. He did pretty well on the way and was really obedient to me. Right before we left I told him that if we walked there then he had to also walk back and that I would not be able to carry him. He played for a good 45 minutes and loved it. He met some friends and tried new things. On the way back he was tired and was struggling with getting home. He fell off of his scooter twice and skinned his knee on one of those falls and he really needed to use the bathroom (the ones at the park were locked). So about a block away after the "are we almost there?" I put his scooter in the basket under the stroller and took Sam out and had him get in. I was just going to put Sam on his lap, but because both of them are on the small side they fit just fine side by side. Sam loved it. She thought it was funny to be sitting like that. She is so funny. She figured out that she can lounge with her feet up on the tray and that her legs fit perfectly in the space.

Little Parr is happy for the ride home

Sam is just lounging

It is not very often I can get them to just sit together, I am surprised they were nice to each other

New words

2011-03-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

Symantha has learned a new word this week. It is so cute to hear her say it, of course it is mostly used with Little Parr. She has learned to say stop, or "op" in baby language. It is so cute. We think it is funny that this would be a word that she already says. She now says mama, up, op (stop), and sometimes dada. She has learned how to clap her hands and make a happy sound as she does so. She has five teeth now, two on bottom and three on top. Sam is now used to being with and seeing her aunties and she didn't have a hard time with them today. She loved being over there today. It was cute when Parr and I went to get her and Little Parr today. She held out her little hand and waved her fingers and said "up" to Parr so she could give him a hug. That was the first time she has ever done that. It sure made him feel loved.

So much for baby proofing. Symantha did the same thing Little Parr did when he was little. We put the safety plugs into the outlets and both of them had them out in seconds. She just goes over and pops those things right out of there. When Little Parr sees her he moves her away so she doesn't get hurt and she just gets mad at him, but I sure am glad that he watches out for her.

Little Parr has been learning how to read and is now able to read some words. He can read at, cat, fat, mat, rat, bat, mad, sad, read, seed, eat, meat, meet, feet, seat, see, me, am, ram, sam, it, and is. He read the sentence "sam is mad at me", "see me eat", "read it", and "see me read". He gets so excited and proud of himself as he learns new words and full sentences.

Other good news, Little Parr went to the dentist for the second time ever on Monday and was so excited that he did not have any cavities. He was so excited to go to the dentist and I am glad that he had nothing to worry about.

9 Months

2011-03-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

Symantha is nine months old today. Time sure is flying by. She is a very pretty little girl and she is sure learning fast. She is cruising around the furniture and loves it. She loves to eat. She will eat baby food if it is fruit, but will not eat the vegetables. She would rather eat the veggies we eat. She loves green beans cut into pieces that she can eat using her fingers.

She can definitely hold her own with Little Parr. She picks on him as much as he picks on her. She loves to laugh at him and he can make her smile. He loves to sing to her and she loves it. Her favorite song right now is The Wheels on the Bus, and Little Parr loves to sing that to her. She also picks on other babies, especially ones that can't move yet. Her hair is growing in and we are able to put little barrettes in on top, it is really cute. She has started to shake her head yes and no. When she is done eating/full she will shake her head yes to let you know. She hates to hold your hand, she won't even hold mine, for some reason it really bothers her if you try to.

Little Parr is learning how to read and is doing a great job. He is so excited to read. He is proud of himself as he learns new words each day. I can't wait until he can read a whole book to me.

Some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

This is where I found Parr during quiet time

Too cute

Her typical smile

Big blue eyes

Playing in the bottom drawer of the desk

She loves to get into things especially Parr's old computer and his boxes of games

Playing with the train set

Enjoying time by herself without Parr picking on her

Mama

2011-02-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

Symantha has been saying mama for the last week or so and has now associated it with me. I love it. When she wants my attention or wants up she says mama over and over until I respond.

Oh boy, that BOY

2011-02-23T15:39:00.000-08:00

What a frustrating day this has been. Little Parr has been a handful today and I was ready to send him to bed at 4:00 for the rest of the day. I am not sure why, but he just could not be obedient today. He picked on Sam no-stop and she just wanted to be held, he unfolded all of the clothes that I had folded, he did this as I was putting some away, he just did not want to do any of his chores and ended the day with no tickets or privilege pass. He is testing the boundaries and I have been running low on patience with him. I know that he does some of this because of the attention that Sam gets, and he wants it all to himself. It is hard trying to split it between the two of them on some days. It will sure be nice when he can read and gets to where he can find something to entertain himself with even for just a few minutes. I know he find things to do now, but he was an only child for way to long. i hope the week gets better and that he can find a happy medium, and I can be more patient with him.

Long week

2011-02-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

This last week was rough. Parr got sick on Tuesday and passed it on to Symantha on Thursday, then on to Little Parr on Saturday. They all have had fevers and aches all over. On top of that Sam has been teething again. I am happy to say that everyone seems to be feeling better and all I got through all of that was a headache. Parr is back at work and Little Parr and Sam are back to picking on each other.

We did have a great Wednesday. I got to go see a friend up by Salt Lake and it was so nice to see her and talk to her for awhile. I miss having friends that I can hang out with and just sit and chat with. The best part on Wednesday was that Kristin returned home from her mission in Brazil. Little Parr was so cute. He made her a sign that said "Welcome Home Kristin", he wrote it all by himself and was holding the sign for her too see as she came down. Kristin's sisters dropped their signs and ran over to her to hug her and Little Parr just did not know what to do. He just stood there waiting. He finally slowly walked over to her and hugged her and would not let go. He was stuck to her the rest of the time we were with her. On Thursday he would cry because he wanted to call and talk to her and see her. He did get to that evening and he was so happy. He wants to make sure that she isn't going anywhere for a while. Symantha just looks (which is scowling at anyone she does not know) at Kristin. She is not sure who she is and so she has a hard time going to her, but that will change as she gets used to her. Kristin has a better chance of holding her if we are not at our house.

Now Little Parr is counting down the days until his uncle returns home from his mission. Only two and a half months left. He is so excited.

Stairs

2011-02-14T16:24:00.001-08:00

Sam has figured out how to climb up the stairs. She crawled up after me today, I caught her on my way back down. She is so little she has to pull herself up just a little bit with her arms to get her legs up. She has also learned how to walk up the stairs (holding onto our hands). She figured out last night that her legs are not long enough to step up (the stairs come to her knees) and so she steps up with her knees and scoots in a little bit until she can get her feet under her. I will post a video after Parr gets home to help her up the stairs so I can get it on video.

She has also learned how to drink out of a straw. At lunch today Parr was drinking out of his cup with a straw and Sam saw him and would not open her mouth to eat until she got a drink out of his sippy cup. I think she drank most of his drink because he kept giving her his cup. I guess I will need to get another sup with a straw for Sam. She whines now when he has it and she wants it.

Check up and training

2011-02-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

Symantha had a check-up today. It was her 9 month check-up done early since she is only 8 1/2 months old. They did it early to get her caught up on her shots. She had a harder time with the oral vaccination then the shots in her legs. She has become super clingy and so she did not like being there and getting her check-up. She is doing wonderfully. She is growing, but because she is still nursing she has slowed down a little bit, but that is normal. She is active and is getting more brave by the day. She is trying to stand by herself and can for a second or two. She has two teeth and loves to try all kinds of food. She can climb into and out of her car seat as well, it is really cute to see her so proud of herself. Here are her stats:

Weight: 13.1 lbs, 0.21 %tile, she is a little one

Height: 25.75 inches, 9.87 %tile, takes after her mommy, a little on the short side

Head circumference: 16.5 inches, 7.78 %tile

After she climbed into her car seat

Well, I have been running and working out for a little over two weeks now. It was slow going at first with Parr gone and the daycare at the gym is open only certain hours during the day making it difficult to go with the mix of naps and feedings. I have found what works for me to get to the gym now and it is going well. I started out with making it about 25 minutes before having to stop running on the treadmill and moving to the elliptical, and now I can go 45-60 minutes on the treadmill and using the elliptical as a warm-up instead. I am slowly working up the time and how far I run each week. I am up to 3 miles this week and I feel so much better after I have worked out. I am only sore for a little while each day as I do more. I know that will slowly go down as I increase my capacity. I have also lost 3 pounds this last week and it is nice to see that I am getting somewhere and to know that I can do this to be ready for the half marathon. I am able to make it to workout 4-5 times a week, depending on if I have appointments during the week. I run 2-3 times a week and the other times I do strength training. I was proud of myself for making it through an hour of that without feeling like I was going to fall over with exhaustion. I can't wait to be in better shape.

My Hero

2011-02-09T18:44:00.001-08:00

Little Parr got Symantha out of her bed this afternoon after her nap. She was really crying. As he walked into my room with her, he said that he was her hero because she was rescued from her bed. I hope she really thinks that of her brother. He really does love her a lot, even if he picks on her non-stop.

Woods

2011-02-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

After church today Parr asked me if he could go and pray in the woods and talk to Heavenly Father so that he could come and visit him. They must of talked about the First Vision in class today.

Diaper Dash

2011-02-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

I decided to enter Sam in a crawling race at Babies R Us. We showed up about 10 minutes before it started and signed up. I honestly thought she did not really have a chance at winning. So she was in the first race of five that were being held. The winner from each race went to the finals. I sat her down at the starting line and went to the finish line (I took her by myself). The guy said go and all the babies just sat there looking at each other. Sam started to cry and took off. One of the other babies decided to go as well and caught up to Sam, but she kept going and won. We had to wait for the finals that started an hour later, so we just wondered around the store. Parr's mom and sisters came to support her in the last race. Parr's mom put Sam down on the mat and she lost it again, this time worse. She started to crawl and was crying really hard, all the people cheering made it worse. Another baby took off as well and was just about to the end when she got distracted by all of the toys that other parents were using to get their baby to the finish line and Sam was focused on getting to me and crossed the finish line first. She won three boxes of diapers and a $10 gift card.

First race

Champion!!!

Pictures after the race (taken with my phone)

I left the camera at home and so this is a picture with her number on it

Mister Parr

2011-02-01T22:30:00.000-08:00

Parr is an energetic four year old who is two smart for his own good.

He is learning so fast. He knows the sounds of all the letters and has started to put words to the sounds, it is amazing that he can already do that. He is learning to write and does a pretty good job of it. His favorite school subject is math and numbers.

He was so proud of himself with these

When we moved into our house Parr was afraid to sleep in his room so we let him sleep with the hall light on. We have been trying to get him sleep without it. We have tried bribing him and a little night light, but nothing has worked. Well, tonight he asked if he could try again with the night light and earn an extra ticket for games tomorrow if he did. His night light for the time being is a baby monitor that we have not been using, that has a light that goes off after a few minutes. He came up once tonight because the light went off after five minutes and it scared him. I gave him the option to turn on the hall light or to turn the monitor light on again. I expected him to turn on the hall light, but to my surprise he turned on the little light and was fast asleep. He will be really excited in the morning to have those extra tickets. He sure is growing up and I look at him and wonder where the time went. It seems like just yesterday he was just this little thing just learning how to walk and talk.

8 Months Old and a Princess

2011-02-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

Parr has been out of town since last Wednesday and won't be back until Friday. So it has been a long last few days.

Symantha is 8 months old today. Time is just flying by. She is so much fun. When she is left alone she will just play and play. Sam has found her voice and she will use it. She squeals and squeals until she gets what she wants, which can lead to her crying because she doesn't always get what she wants. She has also started to babble. Ba, ba, ba is the most constant sound she makes while she plays and when she is happy or when she wants more of something. She is getting brave when she pulls herself up on the furniture or on me. She lets go and holds on with one hand. Spoons and bowls have become her favorite to play with (my poor ears are having a hard time with that). At stake conference on Sunday she sure had fun playing with the teenage girls that were sitting behind us, they loved her too. She would just laugh at them and they would laugh back which would get her laughing harder. It was nice to sit and listen since she was entertained and Little Parr was at Grandma's.

There are going to be a lot of pictures, her personality is really starting to come out and I love it (most of the time). She is definitely a princess and I think we are going to have our hands full as she gets older.

Here are some pictures of her.

She loves balls

She tries to carry things in mouth so she can crawl around with other things in her hands

This is her little personality coming out, it is the hey give that me

She is just too cute

I love her so much

She crawled into the drawer slot and was playing with some toys, also something new, she can climb onto things

She was crawling out of her pants, she started here

and ended up here at my feet with her pants at her ankles

Playing with a metal bowl that Parr gave her, there are two wooden spoons near her also

Accountable kids

2011-01-27T16:38:00.000-08:00

We started this program with Little Parr called Accountable Kids. The first week was great, it worked wonderfully he was excited about his chores, and earning tickets, and he stayed in his bed all night and was rewarded the next day with a Privilege Pass. This week has been a struggle, he is testing the limits to see if we will continue enforcing the house rules and his chores. He has had a couple of brake downs over lost tickets, which is lost video game and tv time. He can earn a total of three tickets a day. If he earns all of the tickets for the day he has an hour and a half of time to play. He usually uses the ticket the second he gets it. He has however lost tickets just as soon as he has gotten one. This is definitely helping with his hitting Symantha and biting her. He has lost tickets for both over the last week and is sure learning fast that losing the ticket is a consequence of inappropriate behavior. I think after this week he will know that we are serious about doing this and he will be a little bit more aware of his behavior and the consequences.

His chores are done everyday and I am starting to enjoy the day better and we are able to play more games and do more activities. What more can a mom ask for.

Falling over laughing

2011-01-21T16:46:00.000-08:00

I don't know why Sam thinks it is funny that Parr hits his head on the table but she just falls over laughing. (sorry the quality of the video is bad)

Time to get moving

2011-01-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday my sister-in-law Becca called asking if I would run a half marathon with her. After thinking about it and talking with Parr I decided that I would do it. I have been wanting to start working out again, but I just could not get the motivation to do so, but this will do it. I do not like to run but I am hoping that this will change that. I have already set a tentative plan on how I want to train and what I need to do to be ready in 20 weeks. I am glad that I have that much time, I am going to need it. Right now my goal is to start out slow with walking and jogging the first couple of weeks, and then increase the distance by a mile each week until I can run 10 miles. I want to be able to run 10 miles by the end of 14 weeks. This is going to be hard and I know that especially with two kids I will have to get up earlier and squeeze in working out during the day, but I can do this and I know that I will feel better about myself at the end of this. I know that this was the little push I needed to get moving again. Who knows, this may be the start of something I will do more often. I may even run again in October with Parr's mom, we will see. Let the fun begin. Here is to the gym and running in the cold!

7 Months

2011-01-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

Sam turned seven months on the first of January. She is getting so big and is learning so fast. She can pull herself on the furniture and loves to stand. She is into everything. She has fallen down the stairs once and has learned to stop at the top and loves to explore whatever room she is in. She loves to eat, her favorite being Cheerios or Kix. Sam is such a sweet little girl. She now will go to her daddy and even sometimes prefers him over me which I love, now I can leave her with him and she won't scream. She loves music and loves to dance.

"Mom what are you doing?"

"I see you"

We had our first ever call to poison control a few days ago as well. She took a bite out of Parr's deodorant and chewed up a little bit before I got it out of her mouth, no harm done just smelled like a guy the rest of the day.

She just got her first tooth, well the two bottom ones have poked through at the same time so it won't be long before we will see them.

She is better with Little Parr. She just laughs at him as he carries her around the house. I sure love this little girl.

She loves sitting and playing under Parr's desk and in an empty drawer slot in his desk.

Standing on the lock box

Pictures from December

2011-01-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from December:

I made this wreath with the branches we cut off the Christmas tree

Parr and Sam in their new Christmas suit and dress

Parr really likes to learn and wants to go to "public school" so for Christmas he got a backpack with some stuff like erasers, water color paints, post-its, ruler, dry-erase crayons.

This was Sam's favorite part of Christmas at Grandma's, I think this was belonged to one of her aunties.

Sam did have fun with opening presents, well the wrapping paper at least

2010 recap

2010-12-31T18:50:00.001-08:00

The year started out sad with the passing of Parr's dad. We all miss him very much and we think about him often. We know that we will be see him again and that families are forever.

Symantha was a wonderful change for us. She is the sweetest little girl and we love her a great deal. She is smart and is a little princess for sure. She has learned how to sit and crawl in a matter of a week and she sure lets you know what she wants. She loves her mommy and she loves her daddy from afar (she does not want anyone to hold her but her mommy). She is used to Little Parr smothering her and she loves him just as much as he loves her. She is a beautiful little girl and we are glad that she joined our little family.

Little Parr is not so little any more. He is half my size now and can talk for hours if you let him. He has a great imagination and tells the funniest stories. He is excited to learn new things. We love him and are proud of the good boy he is becoming (at four years old he still has his days).

We bought our first home and moved into it. We love our home and our new ward and neighborhood. There are still things that need to be done, I am sure that something will always need to be fixed, we are just grateful to have found a home that was in our budget and that we loved.

Parr got called into the Young Men's and I am in the nursery. Parr's takes time and he is in meetings most of Sundays and also his weekly activity, but he absolutely loves it. I am getting used to being in the nursery, we will see how that goes.

It is amazing how fast this year has gone. I am looking forward to another year of fun and family.

I decided that I was not going to work at all this next year, so I did not take any classes this last fall. It has been an adjustment to be home all day with the kids. I love it most of the time, but I do miss working.

Happy New Year!

Christmas cancelled!

2010-12-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we went to visit family after church and dinner. Little Parr was being a typical four year old, he was not being very nice or obedient on the way home (it was late). As we got inside and upstairs to the game room Little Parr was told to get ready for bed and did not listen, so we told him that if he did not listen we won't be having Christmas. Just as Parr said that our tree fell over. After we had it standing it fell over again. Little Parr instantly started crying because he though Christmas was cancelled.

He now says every now and then that he doesn't want Christmas to be cancelled.

Santa

2010-12-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

So I have asked Little Parr what he wants Santa to bring him for Christmas and he has asked for Mouse Trap and socks (he has started to get holes in his). That is all he has asked for, but the game is still a little old for him (I am sure he would be able to play it just fine though). So I thought maybe he changed his mind in the last couple of weeks, but he hasn't. I told him maybe Santa has something else that he would like to bring, and this was his reply, "Don't worry Santa can bring Mouse Trap," so I guess Santa is going to have to see about finding Mouse Trap for him.

New Calling

2010-12-12T21:42:00.000-08:00

I got a calling today. I am a nursery leader. In January we are going to have a small class. There will be four kids in there, six if you count Symantha and the other leaders little boy who also is not old enough to be in there. We also have four other nursery workers in there so I guess one leader per kid.

Symantha is learning so fast. She has started to pull herself up next to chairs, boxes , our legs, anything that she can use to get to standing. I remember Little Parr was just barely learning how to roll over and sit and scoot in the time that it has taken Sam to do all of those and crawl and stand next to things. She pulled herself up next to a box yesterday and scared herself as she stuck her little hand in a hole at the top and fell over. She is so much fun to watch as she is exploring the house. She is getting brave. She made it to the stairs today and I caught her as she was ready to head on down, so I guess I will be closing the door to the game room so she can't get out.

Little Parr sure has been difficult the last few days. He is fine if he is spending one on one time with Parr or I, but if Sam is there he just doesn't do as well. He head-butts her all the time and just wants all of the attention all day. I know he loves her and shows her that he does quite often, he just doesn't want her to get attention from us. I sure hope it gets better soon. I just need to be patient with him and be positive when I correct his behavior.

Check-ups

2010-12-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

Parr and Symantha had their check-ups today. They are both doing great. Parr is growing at a steady rate. He is small for a 4 year old, but that is alright. Here are his stats:

Weight: 32.19 lbs; 17.62 %tile

Height: 39.5 inches; 32.66%tile

BMI: 14.5; 13.04 %tile

He gained 4 pounds and 3 inches in the last year. He had to get a shot today and asked the nurse if it would hurt. She said it would not be to bad, well that was not what he expected. He let out the loudest shriek that made the nurse laugh. He was not very happy with her.

Sam's stats:

Weight: 12 lbs 11 oz; 1.03 %tile

Height: 25.5 inches; 37.4 %tile

Head: 16.25 inches; 15.91 %tile

She is on the really small side but she is growing and that is all that matters. As of Friday night she is crawling all over the place, scooting is of the past. She is sitting all by herself now. She can sit up on the floor from laying down and crawling. She has learned so much in the last few days.

We got our Christmas tree on Saturday. It was fun and muddy. I had to cut a little bit off the tree when we got home because it was too big, but I did not cut enough off and so it is a squished at the top. Now we just need to decorate it.

6 Months Old

2010-12-03T13:27:00.001-08:00

I can't believe how fast time goes by. Sam turned six months old on Wednesday. She is such a good baby (until Parr picks on her). She loves to play on the floor and scoot around. She loves to eat. She will try to eat whatever she can find. We have to make sure Little Parr doesn't leave anything on the floor that he doesn't want to be destroyed. She is scooting around because it has been faster for her, but she has started to actually crawl around more as she is getting the hang of it. I can tell when Parr is picking on her, she lets out a loud squeal in protest. Sam can sit for a minute before falling over. She loves her bother, even if he is a pain to her sometimes, he can make her laugh even if she has been crying. She loves her daddy as long as I am not far away. She watches him and smiles at him, but she won't stay with him for long. She does cuddle with him at about 10:30 pm, after she has finished eating, so this is Parr's favorite time with her. Here a couple of pictures of her from the 1st of December.

I heard her screaming and this is what I found. She pulled herself up onto her bouncer seat and got stuck. Of course I had to get a picture.

She got her feet back on the floor but was holding on for dear life.

Still trying to get down and was now crying to be rescued.

I sure do love this little girl. She fits into our little family. I am so grateful that she is here with us and I would not trade her for anything.