What a Wonderful Day!!

Well yesterday was Corey and I's 3rd Anniversary. And what a wonderful day it was!! We first started out the day by waking up and Corey's mother had made my favorite breakfast, biscuits and gravy. Then Corey and I got away for a little while and went on a nice ride on the quad. So much fun!! It is so beautiful up here in Eagar. Then we came back to the house, had lunch and went up to his grandparents house (they live just behind his parents) and visited with them for a while. Corey's grandmother has Alzheimer's and so it is sometimes hard to have a conversation with her but we still love seeing her and grandpa and sure did enjoy our visit with them. After our visit we spent some time just the 4 of us out on the little lawn in front of the house playing baseball and frisbee with the boys. It was so fun to be together as a family. Then Corey and I got ready to go out to dinner. We went to what is now my ultimate favorite steak house, Molly Butlers. Wow was the food great!! The whole time we were eating Corey just kept saying oh my gosh, wow, oh my, wow! He got the prime rib, which was by far the best piece of meat either of us have ever had. I got the Molly Butler Signature chili and that was so so so good. A bit spicy but I love things that are spicy so it was perfect! After dinner we headed out to our camp site that we had set up earlier. Corey's mom was wonderful for watching the boys for us over night. Along with all his siblings the boys were well entertained. I have to admit I was not looking forward to leaving them. Bryant has never been without me that long and I am a little weird about leaving my kids. When we got back I could tell Bryant was happy to see me. Unlike Dallin he knows who his mommy is and has kinda become a mama's boy. I must say I am liking that quite well!! Sorry for those who have to watch him but it sure makes me feel good when he wants me. So to sum it all up the boys were good for the Whiting's and Corey and I had a wonderful anniversary!! I'm so glad that I have such an awesome husband that treats me so good. I look forward to spending all eternity with my best friend!! (I wish I had my camera with me but I didn't which is ok since I was able to give 100% attention to Corey and the boys all day)

What wonderful Boys I have...

So I know I complain a lot about my kiddos and their bad habits that they have but... I just have to say I am so lucky to have such cute wonderful boys. Bryant is such a happy kid and laughs at everything. He makes me smile just looking at him. He makes me love my husband more too. Isn't it weird how kids can do that. There are so many times Bryant is just so happy that Corey and I just look at each other and there is this feeling of complete happiness, like nothing could be better. And then there is Big Boy Dallin. Today he really surprised us. We have wanted to start potty training him so we have been showing him what the potty is for and having him sit on it and when we notice he is going to poop we run him in to the bathroom and let him do his thing. But today after he got up from his nap he Looked at me like he was gonna poop so I asked "Dallin do you have to poop?" and he pointed to his diaper and tugged on his pants and ran towards me. I stood up and he grabbed my finger and we both ran to the potty and he actually went poop in the toilet. We were so excited. We bought treats the other day so that when he does go in the potty he will get a treat and he loved it!! But that was a one time thing today, he had two more poopy diapers after that and he didn't say anything. Maybe if I had noticed and asked him he might have gone on the toilet again but oh well we're all learning. And then despite his biting and hitting, which really isn't all that bad, he is such a loving boy. He will just come up and lay on me and give me a kiss and I just melt. And every time he goes to bed whether it is for the night or just a nap he waves bye bye to everyone and takes out the Binky and gives me a kiss. And then he just goes to bed like an angel!! I'm sure lucky he sleeps well. And today Bryant has really discovered his thumb. I know it's probably not a good thing but I think it is cute. He has started sucking his thumb and he makes the cutest smacking sounds. When Dallin hears him smacking on his thumb he thinks he is trying to give a kiss so he goes around giving everyone kisses. And then today he was a little mean to Bryant and made him cry so I told him to give his brother a kiss so he goes over to him and tears out Bryants Binky and I thought he was trying to be mean again but what he was really trying to do was make it so that he could give Bryant a kiss on the lips. I figured that out the second time. So I just wanted to make it known that I love my boys and I think they are great. I'm one crazy yet super lucky mama!!

Hurray!!

We finally got a descent night of sleep!! After talking with my sis-in-law for a long time about Bryant's sleeping behavior Corey and I decided that he will only be allowed 2 naps a day, none of this 10min naps here and there and I did like Jennie said and put him to be when he was about 80% sleep and he had to do the rest. I waited until he was REALLY tired. Every time he would doze off I would say, "Hey no sleeping" so that way when I laid him down he was ready to be out! This worked wonderfully and he even took 2 really great naps. I was still worried that come night time it was all gonna be the same but last night around 9pm he was really tired and I tried to keep him up but gave up after only a few minutes. I put him to bed and he slept until 5:40am!! Wow!!! I was so amazed. I know people told me to not feed him but I figured this was pretty much a full nights sleep so then I fed him but he went right back to sleep for another good hour and a half. I was amazed!! But now I am still tired from getting to much sleep, what gives?? Oh well it was awesome and I hope that we have found our solution to this horrible problem. I am trying again today and we'll see if we get another good night.

The House of Grumps!!

What do you do to a one and a half year old that won't stop bit ting or hitting?? Dallin's new favorite thing is to hit, well maybe not so new but it sure is starting to drive me crazy. And he bites on occasion and that is not something that I'm happy about either! Today it was really weird. Because I had a c-section with Bryant it left some of my stomach numb. So I was playing with Bryant and Dallin came up and bit my stomach and I didn't even notice until I looked down and saw that he had my clothes in his mouth so I pulled them out and that is when I felt it. Ouch. For the hitting problem I have tried putting him in time out, he loves time out. He could play in time out all day. I changed time out to a chair by himself for 1 whole minute. He tries to get off but I put him right back and the minute starts over, he thinks this is a game. I tried a spoon full of vinegar like my sister in law suggested, he loved it, he licked his lips and wanted more. I thought well I have known people that use Tabasco sauce but I thought that might be a little too mean for a 1 year old. But today after I realized he was biting my stomach I told him please don't bite mommy, if you do it again your gonna get Tabasco. Well sure enough he did it again and I was gonna make sure I followed through with my promise of Tabasco so I took him to the kitchen got the Tabasco out (I wanted to start off kinda slow so I only got my finger tip wet with it) and I told him to open up, which he did willingly, and I put it in his mouth. Oh and just so you know the whole time I'm taking him to the kitchen I'm telling him what is about to happen and why he is getting it and how much he is gonna hate it. Then Corey says from the other room, "well at least you hope he hates it". So I put it in his mouth and what do ya know, he likes it. I just had to laugh because he loves anything that you can put in your mouth and eat. Ahh that will never work!! I really don't want to spank him but Corey keeps telling me that maybe that is the only way. This kid is impossible to punish because he makes any situation a good one. I guess I should just be happy that he is optimistic. Which is unlike his brother...

So my lovely second son, who I am now nicknaming "Destroyer of Sleep" is driving me bonkers, along with my upstairs neighbors!! Come'on every stink'n night. Last night he cried for 3.....3 hours. I told Corey I was going to go insane, I was so close to driving myself to the loony ward!! He is impossible to please (at night anyways, during the day he's supper cute and smiles at everything). I would really like to keep nursing but I really don't think that I am producing enough milk anymore to satisfy him. I am too sleep deprived and stressed from this no sleep business that I don't ever feel like I am making any milk so I don't know if he is even getting any??I really wish that I had the energy to work on still nursing but I'm just to stink'n tired!!!

Any suggestions on how to tame a wild 1 year old and my "Destroyer of Sleep"?

But on a good note: Today my lovely first son aka "Wild Beast" showed me just how independent he can be. Corey was cooking breakfast and I guess Dallin had enough of this waiting around for it to be done stuff and so this is what he did... He climbed up onto one of the kitchen chairs...climbed up onto the table... and then climbed right on into his high chair and waited for us to notice him and give him some food. As soon as he saw us look at him he started signing please, please, please!! What a cute kid!! I sure do love my "Wild Beast" even if he does hit and bite.

Memories of Me...

I saw this on Dustin's blog and thought I'd give it a try.
Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Help!!!

Well when Corey and I moved here from Arizona we were only moving a few things, one of which was not our bed. We bought a air mattress to get by for a while until we could get a bed here. Well the air mattress was working out great for the longest time so we never got a bed. Well about a week ago I'm sure you can probably guess what happened to our air bed...that's right it got a whole in it. So now I have to either sleep on the sir bed that my husband thinks feels like a hammock or on the couch. I am a tummy/side sleeper and I don't know if any of you have ever tried to sleep in a hammock on your side or tummy. It doesn't work very well. So now my back hurts really bad and I don't have a bed. We tried putting soapy water on it to find the whole but have not had much luck yet.

Pictures!

Well I have desperately been wanting to get a nice family picture taken of us. So I had it all planned and I told Corey what I wanted and him being the cheap person that he is said, "well if you have a nice camera and good lighting I don't know why we should go to a professional?" Ahh, this really bothers me. I would love to have a nice picture of all four of us to hang on the wall but no. So I tried to be good and take our camera out to the creek and take some pictures but trying to use a 3 inch tripod and a sewer outlet and the timer on the camera just wasn't working. After about 3 pictures I had had it. I was all hot and sweaty and getting very mad so I said forget it and decided that until my husband loosens up on the professional photographer thing we're not going to have a nice family picture. I did however get a few cute ones of the boys. At least I think they're cute. There is something about cute WHITE boys in overalls that just gets me.

Look at that smile I love it!!


What a stud!!


Bryant sat up so well for the longest time, I was very impressed!!

Going Crazy!!

OK I definitely need something to change!! My poor baby still doesn't sleep through the night. What the heck?? I talked to the doctor about this problem and he said that most babies his age should and are sleeping through the night. But I did like his response better than the doctor I had with Dallin. He said well for your sake lets try to figure out what it is. When he wakes up is he eating? I said yes sometimes. He said well sometimes some babies need a few extra calories so when he eats is he eating a meal or is he snacking? I told him that it's probably more like a snack. In which case he doesn't need it. This has become more of a habit that a necessary thing. He doesn't need anymore calories, I mean look at the kid, hello!! So then the doctor said that we should try to let him cry, which we have and it gets horrible!! I can't sleep that way either, I don't know how anyone can?! (our walls are paper thin and I can hear my neighbors VERY well so I'm sure they can hear Bryant at 1,2,3,4 am screaming!) I am at a loss, I don't know what to do anymore. Feeding him, letting him cry, I thought maybe it was constipation, and I still think it might be that, but i get up with him and try to help him poop, I fill the tub with warm water and sit in it with him. For the constipation I've done prune/apple juice, Karo syrup, suppositories, you name it I've probably tried it. And sometimes I think it might be teething so I have given him Tylenol. I'm considering no more breast feeding and just formula cause I don't know if he gets enough milk from me anymore? That makes me sad but I need to do something because this has GOT to change!!!

SCATEGORIES

SCATEGORIES - it's harder than it looks! Use the first letter of your first name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things - nothing made up. Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same first initial - which by the way is hard if you already have read their answers! You can not use your own name for the boy/girl names.
1. What is your name? Kari
2. A 4 letter word. Kind
3. A vehicle: Kia
4. A city: Kansas City
5. A boy's name: Keith
6. A girl's name: Katrena
7. A beverage or drink: Kamikaze
8. An occupation: King
9. Something you wear: Koala hat
10. A celebrity: Kate Hudson
11. A food: Kiwi
12. Something found in a bathroom: Kleenex
13. Reason for being late: keep sleeping in
14. Something you shout: Keep Out!!
15. An animal: Kangaroo
16. A body part: Knee
I Tag: Whoever dares to do it!!!

Yummy!!

Ok well if you have been reading my blog for over a year now you might remember a post about a year or maybe a little more or less ago of a sweet boy named Dallin eating baby food. We called him our little birdy because of how he would flap his arms and get so excited about eating. Well now we have 2 little birdies!!

What's been happening with the Whiting's?

Well yesterday we had to go to Walmart so we loaded up the car including our bikes so that we could go for a bike ride afterwards. We have a new favorite spot to ride bikes and it just so happens to be between our house and Walmart. So after we got out of Walmart it was raining pretty good with more on the way. Corey asked if I still wanted to go on a bike ride and I said sure why not? We had the water shield thing for the boys on their trailer if it got bad. So we headed to our fav spot, Mallard Creek and got ready to go. About half way down the trail it started to come down again and so we stopped and covered the boys and kept going. About a little over a mile down the road there is a huge tunnel that goes under the freeway. We stopped there to let the rain die down a little. While we waited Corey and I got the boys out of the trailer and Corey put Dallin down and started running out into the rain and Dallin followed. It was so stink'n cute I wish I had my camera. Dallin wouldn't stay out of the rain. He looked at us like we were crazy for not playing in it. I could just imagine him saying, "come on guys its only a shower" (he loves taking showers). But we waited about 15 min and then the rain slowed down and we were off back to the car. I told Corey that we should try to get back as fast as possible to get our heart rates up. That was SO fun. You have to imagine all the pictures I've sent of all the trees. Well this path/trail is like a tunnel of trees. I feel like I'm in a movie, like the Bridge to Terabithia or something so many times here cause the tress cover so many streets, anyways it was a blast going down the trail as fast as my wimpy legs would peddle. Corey and I were soaked by the time we were done and our backs were covered in dirt. But i would do it again in a heart beat!! Then as we were driving to Walmart I always wish I had my camera when we pass these trees cause they have vines from top to bottom and I love them. So I wanted to show them. This doesn't even do them justice cause this is going 45miles per hour done the street and trying to take a quick photo but I think you get the idea.

And then again the other night while I was cooking dinner Dallin wanted to help set the table so he went to his cabinet and got out all his bowls and put them on the table for dinner. It was so cute! He took one at a time and put them there. It was fun watching him walk back and forth through the tiny kitchen!

Sweet Sweet Dallin!!

Dallin is such a fun kid!! He loves the camera and every time I take a ppicture he wantes to see it and then he wants to be the photographer.

Today Corey was helping Bryant walk and Dallin absolutely loved this!! As you can see by this video he was going nuts. And then you'll see at the very end just how happy he was to see his brother walking. I can't wait to see what kind of trouble they're gonna get into when Bryant really can walk. I've got my work cut out for me that's for sure!!

Help!!!

Anybody know how to get THIS out of ....

THIS???

I had a great idea to make tee-shirts for our family reunion coming up in August. I was going to make them for the whole family which meant a lot of shirts. They didn't want just white tee-shirts but to find the right color for everyone ages ranging from 5 months to 57 years would be quite the task. So.... I thought well I will just buy a bunch of white tee-shirts and dye them all the same color, therefore having all the shirts I need in the same color. Right?? Wrong, Ahhhhhh!!!!!

I started to dye them and it wasn't working quite the way I thought it would. I got a big bucket and put them all in and realized this was a bad idea when I started to use my hands knowing that I should be wearing gloves, so know my hands are blue! Ahhh!!! So I decided to change my method of dyeing and put it in the washer as it suggested and as I went to pour in the blue dye water it spilt on my very white carpet. At 10pm I ran to get my Spot Out stuff and within 2 seconds it was gone, ahhhh!! So I ran to the closest store and got some more and it didn't work. I'm screwed!! This stinks!!! Now I don't know what to do??? All I got to say is, Carolyn and Jennie, if you're reading this...EVERYONE is going to wear these shirts no matter what they look like and they will like them and not say one thing about it!!

Oh my goodness...

This is what Bryant looked like the other night at dinner. He was screaming SOOOO loud because I wasn't feeding him fast enough. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm abusing my kids sometimes. I'm always afraid they are gonna come pounding on my door thinking that they'll find my kids hurt. But if they only knew it was cause I couldn't be fast enough with the spoon. He is my drama king!!! He over exaggerates EVERYTHING!! I hope that's all it is anyways, I'll feel bad if there really is something wrong with him, hmmm?? Anyways he was so red in the face from screaming I had to take a picture.

So so sad!!Then this morning Dallin climbed up onto the tray of his high chair and fell back and landed like this. We thought it was a good way to keep him in his seat. He actually finished his breakfast like this.

Fourth of July Happenings...

For the fourth of July we went to my sis-in-laws brothers house, or better put to our friends house for a bbq. It was lots of fun and we really enjoyed hanging out with then. They are super neat people and are so nice. I'm glad we have their friendship. Here are just a couple pictures of us on their back porch eating our watermelon. What would the 4th of July be without watermelon??

Here is Dallin enjoying it on Allen's lap. (that is Krisztina in the background)This is just a closer look at the mess he was making.
Bryant and Corey looking mighty cute if I do say so myself!!
We all wore red, white and blue in honor of the day.

My Country Tis of Thee...

Sweet, SWEET land of liberty of thee we sing!!

Yesterday Corey and I enjoyed this beautiful land we have to live in by taking the boys on a wonderful bike ride. It was so beautiful in the trees and the weather was great. See what I mean...
And while we were riding I learned the difference between a cardinal and a red robin.
This was a cool yet very scary bridge to me. I am not a fan of bridges and this was made way to much noise as I rode across it.
After our bike ride we stopped at a picnic table to eat our lunch that we brought with us. It was a very good day for the Whiting clan.


While we rode our bikes I told Corey that we should make up a poem in honor of our country for the 4th of July. So please keep in mind that we are not poets and don't claim to be good by any means but this is what we came up with:

Oh how we love thee,
Our beautiful Country,
Your quite a sight to see.
With your rolling hills,
And your daffodils,
This is where we want to be.

Oh how we love thee,
Our beautiful Country,
From ocean to ocean we roam.
Phoenix has pools,
but North Carolina is cool,
There's no place we'd rather call home.

Oh how we love thee,
Our beautiful Country,
And to all the brave that were willing to fight,
it's because of those few,
we have the red white and blue,
Thank you dear friend,
For enduring to the end,
Now...
Now it's home to say goodnight.

Silly boys,parks,bubbles,and forts...

Today Corey put the floaty toys on Dallin he thought this was great and wore them around everywhere for the longest time. What a good sport!!
Then Corey played a while with Bryant. He is just so amazed and happy with the simplest things!! And then the other day Dallin thought it was sit on Bryant day. I would turn around and before I knew it Dallin was on top of Bryant. This is how I found him while I was cooking dinner.
(Sorry bout the side ways picture)

This is how I found them a little later, see the look in Bryant's eyes he's saying "please mom save me, Please!!"
Then the other night we went of a walk around the complex to get out of the house. Dallin doesn't know what the word stranger means. It is really scary to me. He walked up to this cute college aged girl and just started to get in her car with her. What the heck? He is just gonna leave me like that? I mean she was a cute girl but come on. I think we need to be a little more careful but how do you teach a one and half year old that doesn't even talk yet to not get in a car with a stranger? How am I supposed to get it into his head that this is a BAD thing? I'm lost, no clue what to do??? But our walk was still nice and we ended up and the park where we had loads of fun!!
Dallin going down the slide, Wheeeee!!!
Bryant's turn, he looks pretty excited huh?
"Am I really gonna get a turn, are you really gonna let go of me? Ok I'm a little scared now!!"
Hey that was fun (he really did go down and he loved it!)
Stud!!

Then we blew some bubbles.
Cutie Pie!!
Dallin spilt the bubbles on the ground and then played in them.
Here he is trying to catch them.
I just think this is so funny. I love putting the diaper on their heads. They kinda look like those clogger people, I can't think of what country they are from?? You know like the little people in that you see on the Small World ride at Disney Land.

Then I helped Dallin make a super cool fort, I think I might be getting better at this fort thing.