Where are your pants?

As Jaxon walked by me today, this is what I saw...

I swear I got him dressed today...

and this is where I found his pants...

Guess the boy needs to grow a bum! ha, ha!

Meanwhile, Carter was putting Candy Canes on the Christmas Tree.

I wonder if he could fit any more on 2 branches? Later tonight we decorated the Christmas tree and he did the same thing with the ball ornaments, put 5 green ornaments on the same branch.

Man, I love my kids!!

WoW!

WoW! It has been almost exactly 1 month since I have blogged (once again a blog slacker)!

WoW! Jaxon started singing in the car on Saturday...too cute. We were driving up to my cousin's going away party (moving to Austrailia - jealous!) and we were trying to keep Jaxon entertained because he was tired and hungry (although truly he is always hungry and could always eat, but that is a subject for another blog post)! My mom started singing a song, and Jaxon started singing too (not really saying the words but humming) Too cute!

WoW! Carter says everything and anything. Matt took Carter on an errand the other day and says, "Man, Carter talked the whole time! It is so cool." We were playing hide-and-seek last night and Daddy and Carter were having a hard time finding people, so Carter says, "Daddy, just yell at them." Not quite how the game works. This might be a little embarassing but as we were packing some things up the other day, Carter found my breast pump and asked what it was. After explaining it to him he says, "Mommy you need to get some milk out." I explained to him that you have to have a baby and he says matter-of-factly,"Mommy, you do have a baby, Jaxon!" Also, not quite how it works. He has also been very interested in how babies come to be. We were in church the other day and Carter asked Grandma during the Sacrament, "Do you have a baby in your tummy?" (loud enough for many to hear). She said "no" of course and then he turns to me, "Do you have a baby in your tummy, mommy?" Then a few days later he asked, "Mommy, how do the babies get in your tummy?" I told him, "Heavenly Father puts them there." Carter says, "Oh, yah, right, right." He cracks me up!

WoW! Our window coverings are FINALLY in and we get to FINALLY move in this week (hopefully)! My mom was so gracious to help me put up the curtains in my room and over the sliding glass door, but I talked to our blind man and our covers came in on Friday, so hopefully they will be installed in the next few days and we can move on over. We are so excited! Stay tuned for pictures!

WoW! Matt finished his 2nd triathalon with a time of 1:05:19.36! Go honey! He has been training hard and we are proud of him! Now it is on to training for his first Iron Man in 2010...you are truly amazing!

WoW! My Grandma Elkington turns 75 this week! She is an amazing lady and hopefully we can make it up to Idaho to help her celebrate!! Love you!

WoW! The holiday season is just around the corner and I'm excited! My mom, aunts Janice and Debbie, their friend Dianna, and I all went to Soldier Hollow this weekend to get our Christmas Tree permit! I really want to get a fake tree this year, but Matt will have none of that. He loves the tree smell (as do I), but I just wish a lot of them just didn't look like Charlie Brown trees! I am excited to get a really tall one, as our ceiling is vaulted! Now I just got to figure out a way to talk Matt into putting the lights on the tree!

Have a happy week, and who knows maybe you'll hear from us again...

What I've Learned

Rather than boring you with all of the details of our long "blog break." I'll simply give you a few highlights of things I have learned in the last month.

Boys need 2 things to be happy: A pair of Cars shoes and a cape (courtesy of Kari, thanks Kari!).

The Cars shoes is funny to me. Carter is very observant. Everywhere, I mean everywhere we go, Carter can pick out any little boy who has a pair of Cars shoes like him. They instantly become his "friend." He says, "Mommy, he has Cars shoes! He's my friend." Now if only making friends was as easy for me! The cape on the other hand is just a fashion statement. I think it is so adorable and I simply think every little boy should have one!

Strawberries are apparently best eaten by taking one bite out of the strawberry and putting it back in the container.

The other day I found a few half-eaten strawberries by the strawberry container. I thought to myself, "that little bugger Carter." Then I proceeded to look through the strawberry container and found 10 more strawberries that Carter had taken a bite out of and put them back in the container. I couldn't help but laugh, especially since I was standing in the same room talking to him while he did it but I just hadn't noticed.



I never quite get the reaction I expect to get from my kids when put in a certain situation:

We celebrated Jaxon's 1st birthday (horray) on September 24. I got this ingenious idea to make a red velvet caking thinking he would make a huge mess and we would all get a good laugh. As you can see in the comic strip above, it did not quite go like that. Even though I think the cake turned out cute and it actually tasted "okay" Jaxon wasn't into it. I guess we really do never get the reactions we expect or want!

Whether you have a cosmetology license or not, cutting a 1-year-old's hair is nearly impossible!

I'm exaggerating a little bit, but it really was difficult getting Jaxon's hair to look good. I decided it was finally time to cut Jaxon's hair after receiving various comments about how cute "she was" and no, I don't dress my boy in pink! Jaxon was actually pretty good the entire time, but towards the end got a little restless, hence the really high cut above his ear! I put him in his high chair and gave him a cracker to keep him entertained as Jaxon could be happy eating all day (I hope he didn't eat too much hair!). Doesn't he look handsome?

Jaxon's B-Day

Check it out!

Make a Smilebox greeting

A budding photographer!

Can you guess who took these pictures?

Can you seen the "mystery photographer" in this one?

kind of fun to see what a 3-year-old looks at all day, huh?

Run Jess, Run!

So about 3 months ago my friend Kari challenged me to do the Hobble Creek Half Marathon with her. I have NEVER really wanted to do something like this and I always told myself that I wouldn't, but crazy me I signed up. We started training and I really enjoyed getting out and having a few nights out with Kari. I soon found my love for running once again and really started enjoying myself and the fresh air!

The race came and Kari and I started out really fast! By mile 6 I think we had averaged a 9-minute mile (okay so that is fast for me). I had to take a pit stop, so Kari ran on ahead! She ended up finishing with at time of 2 hours and 2 minutes. I came in some 15 minutes later (long pit stop I know) at 2 hours and 17 minutes for an average mile of 10:30. I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself and (us). My friend Andrea said that I would become addicted, and I thought, nah, no way. But now that it is all said and done, I think I might be headed in that direction. The St. George Half-Marathon in January is the next one on the list! I hope I can just get a better time. Thanks again Kari for training with me and thanks to my family for being there at the finish line! What a great to surprise to see them all cheering me on! Love ya all!

Matt showed up a few minutes after the picture was taken (he had to work).

Yes officer!

So lucky me, I got pulled over today. I wanted to burst into tears, but then I had a conversation with Carter and it really made light of the situation. After the cop took my license and registration Carter asks, "Mommy what happened?"

I replied, "Mommy got in trouble. She was going too fast!"

Carter comes back with, "Mommy, you are in trouble? Do you need a spanking."

I really wanted to tell the officer that I only needed a spanking instead of the $82 ticket, but I'm not sure that would have sounded very good!

I'm glad Carter has it all figured out!

Where or where are the boys these days?

So life has been crazy with all that is going on right now. Since getting involved with the new website Ilearning Global, getting ready to move into our house, my work exploding (f.o.s), and Jaxon crawling all over the place, we feel like we are running around in whirlwinds. I have to admit that in regards to my last post about our anniversary weekend, it was go great to be away for a night that I had a hard time kicking back into "mom mode" but I'm back! However, our boys are still alive and well and doing well and doing well and here is what they have been up to. Gotta love the farmer's tan in the picture below ;)

Carter is talking up a storm. His new favorite thing to do is playing "racing" on the XBOX. I think he's going to be like his dad in that regard because I litterally have to pry him away from that! He loves riding his Razor scooter with the "road" we draw on Grandma's sidewalk with chalk. He also loves playing on PlayhouseDisney.com! His new favorite foods are in his words, "Peanut butter sandwich cut in squares" and "chocolate milk with strawberry." He always wants to sing "Up in the Sky" which is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and "Child of God" you can figure out that one! He's found a love for painting and actually surprisingly doesn't make too much of a mess! He said something funny to me the other day when we were going down to the racquetball to play with the balls. Jaxon was napping and so I said I needed to check on him. Carter said,"You leave Jaxon in his crib and we can go play without him." I guess he didn't want him to play, but they have really been playing good together. Tonight he kept asking to play racing before bed, and we said, "No Carter, and don't ask again." Carter retorts,"Come on!" It was pretty funny!


Where do I start with Jaxon. He still loves grandpa more than me (I'm serious, he would chose to go to grandpa over me). He is all over the place and loves to go up the stairs but hasn't learned how to go down yet. He loves dancing to music and waves him arm in the air and bounces. He waves "bye-bye " and "hi." Carter has these pullback racing cars where you shake them and then set them down and they go. Jaxon was playing with one and shaking it and putting it down. It amazes me how smart they are so young. He loves toilet water and we have to make sure we put the toilet seat down or we'll find Jaxon in there just sloshing around. Disgusting, I know!! He also likes to "scavenge" for food that has dropped on the floor when he's eating, so I have to make sure that is cleaned up! (That is digusting too)!

6 years and counting

Wow, I can't believe we have been married for 6 years! Matt and I were able to take a mini-vacation to Logan, Utah to celebrate our anniversary. We haven't been back there for almost 4 years (crazy how fast time goes). It was great to see some of our old (not to mention ghetto) apartments. We had a great room at the Best Western which was called the "Anniversary Suite"...how fitting! It had a fireplace, flat screen TV, king bed, and huge 2-person jetted tub. On the way up to Logan we stopped at Benihana for dinner. It is expensive, but is amazing and trumps Tepanyaki any day. Back in Logan, Matt was a trooper and we went to Wal-Mart at midnight to get Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyers.

Matt had our friends from Logan leave some Gerber dasies and

sparkling cider in the room as a surprise for me!

The next morning we were supposed to go golfing with some old friends at 10:00 but we didn't wake up until 10:15. It was great to get the extra rest we never get at home any more! :) We decided to go do an early lunch at our favorite Restaurant in Logan called Cafe Sabor and then golfing after that!

Yummy Mango Cherry surprise smoothie from Cafe Sabor.

After an amazing yummy lunch we headed to the golf course where I golfed for the first time. Matt was really patient with me, but said I actually did very well for my first time. I kept getting frusturated and he just kept saying, "At least you hit the ball, no matter how you hit it." I guess that is true but I'm not goint to be joining the LPGA anytime soon! I really enjoy it though and look forward to doing it again.

Check out my amazing form! :)

He might just be headed for the PGA!

In the golf cart after our 9 holes!

It is always nice to get away from all the stresses of normal life and just enjoy each other!! I'm so grateful for Matt and all his hard work for our family. What would I do without him? :)

No more wusses!

We had a ward party and barbecue 2 weekends ago. They had put down some heavy duty plastic and made a huge slip and slide that was probably like 30 feet long! Of course Carter didn't want to do it (he is kind of a wuss when it comes to stuff like that). Matt finally decided he was just going to take him up there and push him down it. He litterally did push him down the slide and Carter laughed the whole way down. It seems like that is how it goes with Carter, he doesn't want to try things and once he does he loves them! I was talking to a lady in my ward and I was telling her about Carter, and she said, "We don't tolerate wusses in our house." So I decided that is my new motto. No more wusses in the Shane house! I want my kids to try everything! What do you think?

Matt's face is classic in this one!

Fascination with random everyday objects!

So once again it has been a while since I have posted and I'm sure you are all dying to hear the update (he he), but as I put myself back together, get into the swing of things, and collect my thoughts, I have a random question I need answered. I'm always amazed at how much money we can spend on toys for our kids and yet it seems that they find the most enjoyment in the most random every day objects. Like in a previous post, Jaxon so far in his life has been fascinated with laundry baskets, which usually run between $3 to $8. This is nothing compared to the $35 nursery music player I bought for his crib. When we were at Lake Powell, Jaxon found fascination in a plastic sand shovel. It always took him a few minutes to get used to the water. He would cry, but as soon as we gave him his shovel, he would calm right down. Now a sand shovel probably costs under a $1. Once again that is practically nothing compared to his baby floor mat which cost around $25. And finally, today at Costco Jaxon was sitting in the cart and kept pushing the plastic piece on the cart up and down to make a funny noise. This type of entertainment is free and what a steal considering we pretty much ate lunch with the amout of samples they were handing out today (that makes us sound like bums...eating lunch with the Costco samples). I guess to sum it all up, all I am saying is that I could have bypassed the $60 spent on baby toys and bought Jaxon a plastic shovel and laundry basket for under $10, wheeled him around Costco a few times a week, and he would be a happy camper. What have you found your kids intrigued with that are every day objects? Are my kids just weird, or does this go for all kids? I'm curious...

Oh Dad!

Here is a tribute to all of the fathers in my life! Namely my father, Matt's father, and the father of my children (Matt)! I love you and thank so much for all you have done and continue to do for me!! Here is a reason why I love each of the dad's in my life!

1. My dad is the hardest working person I know. I dare you to find anybody who works harder. He is always there for me and loves me no matter what!

2. My father-in-law is very selfless. Whenever we visit he takes time to take us to the office and clean our teeth (even on a Saturday). He rarely thinks of himself and is very caring. We love you!

3. Matt really is probably the most forgiving person I know. I tend to hold grudges but Matt seems to forget about it in 5 minutes or less. Now that I think about it, maybe it is just senility setting in. I love you and thanks for being such a great father for Jaxon and Carter and getting down on the floor and playing with them and being their punching bag!

Jaxon's Request.

Dear Fellow Bloggers:

Don't you think it is about time there was a post just about me! It seems like my mom likes to brag about everything except me. I made my mom promise that she would make a post just for me and this is the result! These are just a few of my favorite things at the moment!

Love, Jaxon

1. Hammer won by my uncle at Lagoon.

2. Grandpa! He gives the best hugs! (not to mention one of the only people I will hug).

3. My stellar smile! For some reason whenever I smile I get out of trouble. Can anyone tell me why??

4. My pincher fingers - good for more than just eating!

5. Bike rides with my brother. (Squishy balls are pretty fun too).

6. Laundry baskets!!

7. My 6 teeth - I cut my first one at 4 months and am now working on my 6th one at 8 months!

Way to go Bro!

I'm so excited for my little bro, Cody (who is actually bigger me in real life) who is graduating this weekend. My props go to him! He is an amazing young man. He is smart, funny, athletic, and always happy (I'm super jealous of that one)! As many of you know, the Hill family loves a reason to party. So as all of the guests arrive and the chaos settles in, I couldn't be happier to have loved ones around to celebrate this occasion for Cody. Now he is headed off to BYU where his true blue can really shine through! Way to go Cody!

The start of something great!

Sometimes a picture says it all!! We met with the contractors last Friday and they said they would start digging on Monday and a week later look at what we have! So excited!

A boy after my own heart!

I don't know if you all know that I would much rather eat the cake batter than the cake. I think Carter might feel the same way!

Our dirt!

Yesterday we had our "pre-dig meeting" for our house. I left Jaxon at home with my mom, but I thought it would be fun for Carter to see our lot and where our house is going to be. Well, it turned out to be a sad day for Carter. On they way there Carter kept asking where we were going. I told him that we were going to see our house and then corrected myself and said "our dirt." As we drove down the road he saw a few piles of dirt and said, "Mommy, there's our dirt."

When we got to our lot, Carter loved throwing the rocks and playing in the dirt as we went over things with the contractors. As I put Carter into the car to leave, he had the saddest, puppy-dog look on his face. I asked what was wrong and he asked where we were going now. I said back to Grandma's house and he said, "no, my house." I spent the entire trip home (which is only 15 minutes) explaining to him that they are building our house and we have to wait for a few months. Then I explained to him about how they get tractors to dig a huge hole and then build the house. Now he loves explaining how they are going to make a huge hole for our house to everyone he talks to.

Photo Update

We were able to see Matt's Grandma Shane (and all of Matt's family in fact) as they were in Utah for grandma's radiation treatments. This is one great thing about living in Utah, is we get to see Matt's family a lot more as they pass through fairly often.

Carter has been pushing Jaxon around a lot lately!

They have also been playing really good together!

Carter got first place in the Fun Run 4 Kids! (He is so much bigger than all of the other 2 years old that people probably thought we were trying to have our 5 year old run in the younger race, but oh well. We can't help it that he is really tall). Needless to say I didn't place. I was happy to cross the finish line alive and not on a stretcher!!

Matt after the Fun Run 4 Kids. He came in 3rd place overall! Way to go Matt!

Jaxon continues to grow like crazy and I can't believe he is almost 8 months! I pushed Jaxon in the Fun Run and he wasn't a happy camper! He screamed for half of the 3.1 miles. One of the other runners even asked me if she wanted me to have her old Jaxon and then I could push the stroller. But this picture is after the race and he was exicted to be done. Such hard work for a 7-month old sitting in a stroller!!

Fun Run 4 Kids Reminder

For all of those who might have forgotten, the 2nd annual Fun Run 4 Kids is tomorrow. It should be a huge success, and I was able to get a sneak peak of the T-shirts and they are super cute, so do it for that alone. Plus, it is for the Children in Africa right! You can still sign up all day today and even tomorrow at the race! I'm so excited! Please come run and have fun with us!!!

Check out their website: www.funrun4kids.org

Kids are funny!

Ever since Carter has started talking, I have recorded funny things he says in a little book. This is just a funny little conversation that went on between Carter and his friend Paige that I had to share. I hope it makes you laugh and hopefully it isn't one of those "you had to be there" things. I tried to censor it as much as possible, but remember that this is a conversation between a 4-year-old and an almost 3-year-old. Carter is almost potty trained (horray) but he still wears diapers at night. I was putting his diaper on before bed and it didn't even occur to me that Paige was in the room and that I should have had her leave, but here is how the conversation went:

Paige: Carter, my brother (who is almost 2) has the exact same "pee-pee" as yours. It is the same size, shape, and everything .

Carter: Oh, shapes like squares, triangles, and circles?

Mom: Not quite Carter!

I hope it makes you smile....it made me!

White and Black

So for all of you who don't know, Matt and I are building a house in Lehi. I'm excited to be able to choose most of my color/options but at the same time it makes me realize that I'm AWFUL at making decisions. Matt and I were at the design center today and we got most things sorted out, but the one thing I cannot decide on is the color scheme of the kitchen. I've always been pretty traditional but as I've explored more and more kitchen designs, I'm thinking about a white kitchen with a black island. I have a picture in my head, so it is hard to explain how exactly I want it, but I found a picture online that is close to what I want. So here are my questions to you, my fellow bloggers: Do you like the beadboard cabinet doors, or is it "beadboard overload?" What about the contrasting island? Give me your honest feedback and thanks for your help!

Fun Run for Kids

My adorable aunts, Janie and Debbie Hill, traveled to Africa last year to do some service. When they returned home, they felt such a love for the children there that they started a Fun Run for Kids last year. All of their proceeds go to "Reach the Children" for Africa. Carter and my other nephew and neice participated last year and it was really a blast. It was so fun to see the kids race and every single kid gets a prize for participating. Breanne Garlick and I even participated in the Adult 5K and I was pregnant (needless to say I didn't win)! The 2nd annual Fun Run for Kids is coming up on Saturaday, May 3, 2008. Although I would love all of you fellow bloggers to come participate, I know distance is a constraint for many of you. For those of you who are in Utah and closeby, I would love for you to bring your little kiddies and Run for the kids in Africa. Check out their website for more details! As an added bonus, you get a super cute T-shirt for running! Let me know if you have any questions!!

http://www.funrun4kids.org/

March on!

Wow! Where did March go? I can't believe it is almost April. Here are a few key events from the month. Refer to the picture above for numbers corresponding to pictures!

1. Carter got a little "sticker happy!"

2. Carter's and Jaxon's cousins (Scottie, Stacey, and Daniel) from Texas came to visit!

3. Jaxon started eating solid foods (To mom's dismay, he likes to wear it more than eat it)!

4. Easter egg fun! I don't know how many times you hid eggs at your house but I counted over 10 Easter Egg Hunts at our house.

5. Carter showed us his G-funk look.

6. Jaxon learned how to fly. (He is constantly waving his arms straight out like he is flying).

7. Jaxon learned how to drink out of a "big boy" cup. Needless to say the cup was litterally bigger than him!!

8. We celebrated Matt's 29th birthday. We hope he enjoys his last year of his 20s! It's all over the hill from here!