Tender Mercy

All my three sons were born with a bit of tongue tie. The older two boys had the quick "surgery" to fix it, no problem. The youngest was the least tongue tied, so the doctor said he wouldn't clip Zenock's tongue tie because it didn't interfere in his nursing. Poor Zenock couldn't stick out his tongue at all. He couldn't even lay his tongue on his lower lip. He could meet his lower lip with his tongue and that was it.

Well, last week on Wednesday I put Zenock down for his nap. When he woke up, the tongue tie was gone. I noticed because for the next couple hours sticking his tongue out was all he did, like it was his new toy! He didn't cry during his nap, showed no sign of pain or being upset. I'm not sure what happened or how, but I'm grateful for tender mercies from the Lord in my life.

Best Birthday Ever!!!

I am not one to call every Christmas "The Best Christmas Ever", and to proclaim every weekend "The BEST Weekend Ever" and to tote every second as "The Best Second Ever". However, this last weekend I had the "BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!"

Now, my last birthday was actually a miraculously wonderful birthday. Let me set the scene for you. My feet are really killing me and I don't know why. I'm trying to get pregnant (and have been for months) and I'm not. I have a 4 year old and an 18 month old who keep me busy.  My birthday comes on a Saturday so we made plans to go out to eat.  Our kids weren't feeling super well so we were keeping it low key. These are the plans. Then Birthday Saturday comes.

Nothing went well. 18 month old threw up ALL OVER. 4 year old is also not feeling well. 4 year old who IS potty-trained has multiple accidents. Other things of this nature (that don't normally happen but occasionally happen to wreak complete havock on one's life) happen.

Here's the part that made that birthday one I remember...

It was on a Saturday. My beloved husband was home. And each and EVERY time one of these disasters happened, he'd look at me and say, "Don't move. It's your birthday. I'll take care of it!"

That's right.

I don't remember the physical present he gave me. I don't remember what kind of cake we had. But boy howdy, I remember that!  Literally lifting my burden and making it light.

That was a pretty good birthday.

So this year my birthday was on a Sunday. We decided that meant "Birthday Weekend". We would celebrate on Saturday by going out to lunch or dinner.

Friday morning, I got a text from one of my good friends.



Trevor "didn't know any details" so I had no idea what I was in for, but I was super excited. She picked me up with 3 other good friends and took me to ... an escape room! I'd never been to one before but it was super fun! 

Afterwards we headed to the Cheesecake Factory (I'd never been) and had appetizers and cheesecake. It was so fun to have girl time that had nothing to do with being a mom or kids or anything!

After they dropped me back off at home, I thought the night was over...but I thought wrong!  Surprise!  My Mom, Dad, and sister Linda had come up for a surprise visit for my birthday!  (They live 6 hours away). They could even stay an extra day because Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr Day. 

Saturday everyone just pampered me the whole day. I didn't have to do dishes or cooking or really much of anything. My Mom, Linda, and I went shopping for 4 hours by ourselves!  Even Wal-mart got in the spirit of things and had a TON of after Christmas Clearance that we had a heyday looking through. 

When we got home, my Mom made me a birthday cake (pineapple upside down cake!  Beware...no candles, the acidity of the cake dissolves them as we found out in a previous year) and we ordered pizza of my choice. We played games, visited, and basically had an awesome weekend the whole time they were here. Ahh, the memories!  Anyway, thank you, thank you friends and family for the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

Here's a video of my Mom playing with Zenock (ignore the speed limit conversation going on in the background, lol).

Here's a video of the kids playing "Tickle Tiger" with Grandpa.

Hey, Friends

Hey, Friends. It's been a while. Sorry about that. I got so caught up online I realized I had to get offline to spend more time with my kids/doing things for my kids. So, to be honest, this post is mostly for me so I can remember the insanity of the last year or so later when it'll be easier to laugh about it.

So, May 2016 I got serious about diet and exercise and losing weight. I started an intense workout and exercised 4-5 days a week. I lost 20 lbs!  Unfortunately, I did it wearing cheap shoes and it DESTROYED my feet. By November 2016 my feet hurt continuously and by February 2017 I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, and "probably a couple other issues". I had physical therapy until about July, when I determined I couldn't walk more because I was super pregnant than because my feet were messed up. Zenock was born October 10, 2017 and now, 12 weeks+ later I'm FINALLY feeling like I can DO stuff again. It was a long time to be hurting, but now I appreciate being able to clean my house, take care of my kids and myself, etc.

In October-ish, 2015, HP (Trevor's employer) announced that they were separating the company into 2 companies: HP, Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Enterprises. In Feb 2016, Trevor got laid off. By the end of April, he was hired by a company called TSheets (they do software as a service building timesheets for small businesses). About a month ago, we found out TSheets was being acquired by Intuit. Yesterday was Day One of Trevor working for Intuit. It seems like a good change overall, fortunately.

I have three brothers. They all got married within an 18-month period (Feb 2016, Oct 2016, and July 2017). My father's mother (Grandma Edlund) was remarried July 2016. My Uncle Robert Edlund (my father's older brother) passed away unexpectedly July 2017.

As happens naturally over time, my little ones have grown up a bit since I last posted!

Gideon is 5 now. He had his birthday last month. We happened to be in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa Edlund after Christmas, so we went to Kangaroo Zoo (an indoor active play place with a lot of inflatable bouncehouses). He had a great time. He is reading like a champ, can tell time on an analog clock, and has started learning the piano. He loves preschool and is enjoying having "Chacho Time" (one on one time with Mom during Toby's nap).

Tobias:
Toby's Favorite Phrases
-Hey, guys!  Watch this! (followed by "Did you see dat?!")
-Muzzer!  (Mother)
-Hey, guys! I'm tryin' to show you somethin'.
-Follow me, guys!
-So, so, so...(used both to start any sentence or story and to describe anything. So, so, so funny. So, so, so fast!)
-Whole enchilada! (for example, if we watched an entire movie, he'll tell Papa at dinner he saw the whole enchilada!)
-I dunno.
-I need help!

He loves looking for decorations when we're in the car. He loves keeping up with Gideon. He's an active, physical kid, more prone to just going for something rather than analyzing it or observing like Gideon would do.

Zenock
We were super fortunate that when we had Zenock, my Mom came to stay with us for 2 weeks, then Trevor's Mom came to stay with us for another week or two. It's been a rough recovery, taking much longer than I'd hoped, but I'm finally over the hump and feeling better again. He's a very good baby, sleeping through the night like a champ. Even in the first two weeks home from the hospital he slept through the night at least 4 times!  He's a happy baby, generally ok with not being held 100% of the time. He likes watching his brothers and will sit quietly, clasping his hands, and just stare around the room at anything and everything. His eyes are darker than the others and appear to be going brown. It's hard to believe he's already 3 months old!

"Balanced meals"
Around the holidays we had a whole counter full of treats. I told the kids if they wanted to earn any treats they had to eat a "balanced meal", and defined that as a carbohydrate, protein, vegetable, and fruit. This was surprisingly successful. They often forget to ask for the treat, but focus instead on their food groups (I need a vegetable, please!). This has also helped at dinner because if they won't eat something I offer to substitute something else from the food group ("Then you need a different vegetable. What vegetable would you like?). I feel like we're all eating healthier and more conscientiously!

March

Ah, the madness of march. Potty training, sleep training, ward split, oh my!

Toby is getting so big. He now is the proud owner of 6 teeth, cruises like a madman, and can sign "more" and "food" as well as clapping and waving. He has the cheesiest smile and eats like it's his last meal. Every meal. He sometime out eats Gideon!  Despite that he's in the 44th percentile for his weight. Go figure. He's finally sleeping better, although he does tend to wake up (usually around an hour after going to bed and an hour before time to wake up) screaming at the top of his lungs for 10-30 min before going back to sleep. Kids. Anyway, he's so funny because he's so adorable, but he still spits up (often), and sometimes bites. He's like the ultimate weapon. He's loving eating solid food and REAL food. He recognizes certain foods he knows he can have, like bread or pancake pieces, strawberries, bananas, etc and will insist on getting some. He also just received his first haircut last week!

Gideon has conquered the mountain. He's potty trained! At least during the day. He loves puzzles and can do 125 piece puzzles by himself. He also loves board games and will play them by himself if he can't get a playmate. Which is kind of nice for him because then he is guaranteed the win. :) We just finished the Book of Mormon for the first time with him last night. It's a pretty big accomplishment for a 3 year old!

Our ward just split, so now there are 3 wards on our square block. I've been called as the 1st counselor in the Primary Presidency. I haven't been in a presidency since I was in Young Women's...as a Young Woman!  Trevor is now a Wolf leader for the cub scouts.

Merry Christmas!

Reflecting over the last week has left me pleasantly surprised. Last Sunday I felt like I was spinning my wheels of life. So much to do, so little time, plus two boys. I've had some things on a to do list for six months plus! So I decided to just focus on what was important and not worry about the rest. Did I succeed? I don't know, but somehow I caulked every window upstairs, busted out my sewing machine for the first time ever and learned how to use it, mended one of Gideon's clothes with it, learned how to whip stitch and hand mended Trevor's coat, finished several wooden ornaments for our Christmas advent calendar, shopped in an actual store with kids in tow, wrapped gifts, bought and shipped gifts, grocery shopped, and visited the library. And Gideon was sick Tuesday. I don't know where the time came from, but I'm grateful to feel like I accomplished something!

Toby has also been busy. Yesterday he cut his first tooth (bottom center). He's rolling like a champ, just upgraded from infant tub to an inflatable tub that fits in a regular tub. He's working on sitting up and crawling. He's quite vocal, too.

Gideon is loving the Christmas season. He's learning to sing carols,  wrapping and decorating like a champ. He's a great helper for me!

It's Been Awhile...

So, after a 10 month break in writing in this blog, you may be asking yourself, "I wonder what major event has transpired leading to a return to the blog? What is so exciting that this mom just had to tell someone but didn't quite know who to text?" Is it that we had a baby?  Because we did (May 15!*). Is it that I officially became a "minivan mom"? Because I did (back in March). Is it that we finished a large project and wanted to brag? Because we did (The garage has built in shelves now! That's right, we park 2 cars in our 2 car garage and one's a minivan!). Finally replaced a dining set that was quickly becoming a liability due to large cracks in its supporting pedestal? Vacation?  Finding a wicked cool recipe?  Too cute for words pictures?

No. No that's not it. For you parents, you may understand. For you not yet parents, you'll just shake your head. Maybe roll your eyes.


Today, my 2 3/4 year old went potty in the potty. Voluntarily. Without tears. Twice.


Really? Really.


I know. I think there was more celebration and excitement in the air than if it were New Year's Eve. We showered the little hero with all sorts of paraphernalia to celebrate, most covered in Thomas the Train. He got to be officially done with his nap early. He got 2 Thomas the Train stickers. He got a couple Ice-Breaker mints. He finally got to open a new Thomas Tic-Tac-Toe game. High fives. Tossing him in the air to "Three cheers for Gideon, Hip-Hip Hooray, Hip-Hip Hooray, Hip-Hip Hooray!".

You non-parents may be thinking, "That's nice."  No, no, no, no, no.  We have been working toward this moment for over a year. OVER A YEAR. Focusing on something so long will make anyone crazy, but when its the bathroom that you keep talking about, encouraging, trying to put in a fun new light, checking out books from the library about it, READING OVER AND OVER AGAIN those kids potty books...it's awkward, uncomfortable, embarrassing.... but it's essential.

Now, we obviously still have a long ways to go. I realize that. But there's a light at the end of this potty-training tunnel. A glimmer. Huzzah for glimmers!


*Just for clarification: Having our second child definitely is a bigger deal.  Not downplaying that. It just didn't inspire me to blog. It inspired me to get even farther away from Facebook and blogs to enjoy spending time with my kids. Tobias is a delight!  And since pregnancy makes life difficult and then the C-section that followed it, and then newborn care...blogging wasn't the top of my list of to-dos. Jus' sayin'.

All At Once Part 2- November

 Gideon is growing up so quickly! He wants to be big in the cutest ways. Here he's taken to trying on our shoes. He's also denounced the high chair and is barely content with a booster. He's trying to dress himself as much as possible and help with EVERYTHING. Below he's helping Trevor put together his toddler bed, which he isn't using yet, thank heavens.  We'll leave him in the cage...I mean crib...as long as its still safe.

And here's the wonder of the first snow of the year. We actually got over 6 inches and it stayed over a week!

Gideon LOVES football. BYU football is, of course, preferred, but he won't say no to watching the other teams.

 Dominos with Dad.

 More of Dad's shoes

 The next adventure in our saga is our Thanksgiving vacation down to visit family in Utah. Gideon was captivated by his grandpa's fish tank and loved watching Rachel feed the fish. Here the room is dark because we just got up and the rest the house was asleep, but Gideon was content to just watch the fish.

 Happy Birthday, Trevor!!! Trevor requested 2 cakes for his birthday. To the left you see a pizza cake, which is essentially 4 or 5 pizzas layered on top of each other cooked as a whole. On the right is Salted Carmel Pumpkin Cheesecake. Needless to say, the beginning part of his birthday was spent cooking. Luckily my mom is a great cook and helped me through it!

 My parents/family gave Trevor two games for his birthday, Jenga and 5 seconds. We played a round or two of Jenga, then commenced playing blocks.

 He's cool and he knows it. Or at least he knows sunglasses are cool.

 The day before Thanksgiving, the Hogle Zoo in SLC, UT had a free day. Wahoo!

Ah, the King of the beasts. Gideon pulls a cheesy smile when he thinks the camera is on him, so I posted both pictures. I love that kid.

Elephants!  This is actually the oldest elephant in the US or something like that.

 Another favorite...the rhino!  I was surprised how close we could get to it.

 Sitting in the eagle's nest together. Can you guess which one is the real eagle? Eagle Scout at least. ;)

Uncle Brian helping him through the tunnel without getting in the puddle.

 Sea lions and seals with Uncle Brian.

 Another favorite...the tiger. He could have played with these all day if another family hadn't come wanting to take pictures. Aunt Rachel is behind him making sure he doesn't get eaten. lol.

 The rest of these pictures are up at my Grandma Edlund's (Gideon's great-grandma) house in Mendon, UT. It's so nice to spend time with family, especially Grandma and Grandpa Edlund.

 Ahh, feels great to get that all out of my system. And my missionary sister will have pictures to look at when she comes home Thursday and her only nephew is 6 hours away. More importantly, it's nice to share the things I'm grateful for and I feel like the more I reflect the more gratitude I feel. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!