Okay, okay, okay

This is what Corban says when he wants you to stop, but this is what I am thinking as I have neglected to write about the cute things my kids do daily.
One of my favorite things he has been doing since we have started working on puzzles together:
Mommy: "Corban, is it this piece?"
Corban: "Oh! Thank you. You're welcome."

He has this obsession with Sword in the Stone, so I could go on and on about the funny things he has said. Here are two:
"I'm not a boy, I'm a squirrel!"
When you ask him to tell you what your name is, "Your name is Wart." (said more like, "Is name is a Wart.") He also likes to tell you that his name is Wart.

Lately he doesn't like it when we pray over the food. During the entire prayer he will say "No" to everything we say we are thankful for. Tonight at FHE while Jared was praying, he started off as usual saying "No" to everything and then he said "Name", pause, "Name", small pause and then a more insistant, "Name"...and daddy finished, "In the name of...."

Both kids have been sick today, but as lively as ever. Corban was enjoying that mommy didn't resist when asking to watch another movie. Malia was her sweet little self, almost more sweet and giggley. More than once I realized that she had been awake in her bed for a while, but she was just in there talking to her bed. One of my favorite things, which reminds me of Corban, is when you go in to get her after she has been awake and chatting, she BEAMS as you approach the bed and does this little bounce of excitement. Who can resist picking that up?

For a short version of catch up on our lives, we have the amazing news that we are now 19 weeks along in our 3rd pregnancy. Call us crazy, having three under three, but we are thrilled! We are gearing up for a huge challenge, come the end of Oct., with some changes already making life a little smoother. For those of you who already are the organized, clean types, you are just laughing at me, but it really does make a difference. With Lisa moving in I switched rooms around and in the process did that Spring cleaning that I NEVER get to. This gave me ambition to do it through the entire house. Not done yet, but very close. Jared so kindly spent hours upon hours cleaning the garage, switching everything around to create paly space out in the garage. I believe this will be what saves me when it is too cold to send Corban outside once baby #3 arrives.
Along with cleaning, Jared and I are scheduling our week together every week. He probably feels it is my way of having control, but it is making a world of difference on my stress level. Most people live lives with some sort of consistency. There isn't much consistency with managing retail other than you have to consistently be flexible. Scheduling is helping me to be more flexible, if that can even make sense. I am feeling much more on top of things, which is noticable by how many meals we have on the table.
Lisa (Jared's youngest sister) moved in with us 2 weeks ago. She transferred her job from Orem and started as a server at PF Chang's TODAY! We are thrilled for her because the last 2 weeks there has been a cloud of disappointment that they were taking her on as a Hostess first, which was movement down the ladder. On Saturday as she was filling out paperwork and preparing to start work this week, her new manager said that she could now use her as a server because 3 people had just given their 2 weeks notice. Yahoo! We look forward to eating at PF Chang's and having Lisa do an amazing job serving us!
She has been a fabulous house guest! Lisa helps with the kids mess, my mess, and keeps Jared from making a mess. She has helped out with the kids more than a handful of times. Hopefully we don't abuse her with that convenience...she is now part of our weekly scheduling meeting as well. It is fun having another adult around for conversation, but most of all I am enjoying getting to know her a lot better. One on one is always the best way!

And that is our life in a nutshell for the moment. Don't get too excited about the next post :)

That's how long it's been...

I couldn't figure out how to start a new post to the blog...that's how long it's been.

It's sad really. I love looking back and seeing the cute things that have happened and we have missed writing down a lot of them here on the blog. Here are a couple off the top of my head.

Corban (forcefully) "TIME! TWO MINUTES!"

We read somewhere that you should only put your kids in time out for as many minutes as they have years. Usually we don't have to put Corban in time out because the mere threat of time out makes him cry and stop the bad behavior. Apparently it didn't take too long for him to understand that if something is going on that is not liked (say putting a child to bed at night, or trying to change a diaper, or simply asking him not to yell at Malia) then you have the right to put someone in "time out" for two minutes. This always makes me laugh.

Corban "So, um.....exactly."

We think that he picked this one up from mommy on the phone. She will begin explaining something, "so, um" and then there is a pause where the other party is obviously finishing the thought, then "exactly". For him there is no context, he just says this sometimes.

Tantrums are the worst! I'll just leave that without explanation.

He's actually quite the chatterbox, not that it's all coherent. He talks quite a lot and sometimes it takes some deciphering, but for the most part we understand what he wants. Now if he would only make more effort to explain to us reasonably before he freaks out, that would be awesome. When he freaks out, I always approach him asking him not to cry and to use his words. This works 80% of the time. Success!

He is a cutie!

Malia is MOBILE! She has been crawling for a while now, and is trying to walk all the time. She will use anything to aid her, especially if it has wheels. She will always want for Mom or Dad to help her walk and get upset when we try to stop the walking. she could probably walk on her own, but still won't risk it. She is such a great child. Hardly makes a sound, even when upset. She will cry when she wakes up, but only until she sees you, then everything is ok...except for the tear rolling down her cheek. I am afraid that she will just get what she wants by rolling out the tears, at least from me.

She is still a chunk and loves to eat. we are feeding her all sorts of goodies and now she has a little help as 2 bottom teeth have finally broken through. I could just eat her up she is so cute.

Here are some pics.

"Ba, Mom"

(actually posted by Amanda)

This is what Corban said as I left his room tonight after putting him in bed. This kid is the cutest! All day he has been cracking me up with what he is saying. And to go along with that laugh is me pulling my hair out trying to figure out what he wants as he is also very quick to get upset. He has definitely entered the terrible twos- now I know what other moms are talking about ( I HOPE). So it is a really good thing he has a lot of cute moments that I can dwell on for enjoyment.

When I brought him down for breakfast he was saying "dogs". I figured he was talking about dogs and asked if he wanted oatmeal (that has been a winner for the past week). "No". But when I showed him the packet he said "yessss". So I cooked it up for him. He hadn't finished eating the oatmeal, but he asked to get down, "hans" as he is holding out his hands asking that I wash them. And then he started looking for "baby". He saw a blanket on the couch and stood over it as if to peek at the baby, but he couldn't see her, so he pulled the blankets off the couch. Luckily "baby" wasn't there, but was up on my bed sleeping. So I took him up to see her. He calls her "baby" even when you say, "Say Malia".

Later I was getting into the freezer for yeast to make bread and he saw the frozen hot dogs and says "DOGS". Oh, that is what he meant. So I then cooked him hot dogs for breakfast...But those hot dogs he gobbled up- 2 to be exact. So while he was in his chair eating, I was making bread. Back to the hot dogs, EVERY TIME I put them in the microwave, he cries/whines. It is as if the microwave is a cue for that. It lasts just short of the 30 seconds that they are cooking, and when I take him out he is happily yelling "hot dogssss". When I gave him his second one, he wouldn't allow me to cut it up. Later I came in and he was choking, mouth stuffed, on it. But he is pretty good at solving those problems on his own.

I allowed him to get up on a chair while I was making bread. After it has risen and was time to put it in pans he wanted "Up" again. So I allowed him. He started picking and eating the dough. When I got to the last loaf he played tug-o-war with me over it and it ended with him yelling at me with big alligator tears. So I put him in his chair with a little bit of dough to finish off. It would be one thing if he were just playing with it, but since it was being eaten I was a little concerned of the amount of intake. I threw some crackers on as a distraction.

Then tonight he wanted "cheessse" (he must love "s"). A few minutes later you hear, "I", "J", then there was a "Y" and a "K". He was making...seeing letters in the pieces of shredded cheese.

Jared came home with a yogurt cup in hand and Corban excitedly says, "yote."

Dinner was soup, so Corban kept saying it, "Soup. Soup. Soup."

As we drive around I will every once in a while hear, "O", "T", or whatever letter he is seeing. He will also do this at t he yogurt store, "Z", "Y", "Rrrrr" (that one is the sound, not the letter), "S". It is amazing what Letter Factory has done to this kid. When he goes to "draw", he wants me to do it with him and I just end up going through the alphabet while he says the letter I write. Today I decided to do numbers, "10" was his favorite.

It really is "delightful", as one of my friends put it, to watch these little ones learn and grow. The simplest of things are so entertaining. The other night I saw him rolling around on the ground- it was like he just had figured out he could do that. Same thing with putting his head on the ground while his feet are still on the ground- so I pushed him into a somersault. He liked that.

There is so much more I wish I could remember. He really is so much fun at this stage. Oh, the other day I was changing Malia on the floor and Corban came up and laid down close to her head and just started talking sweet talk to her. She got a big smile on her face and was enthralled with him - bigger brother taking care of little sister. He also has been found jingling toys in front of her face- they both get enjoyment out of that one.

Jared will have to write about nursery since I wasn't there and would do the story justice.

Life really is good!

Santa House

We are lucky enough to have friends that are concerned about our Christmas spirit and are interested in helping us build traditions in San Diego. On Wednesday night we went with the Garcia's to "The Santa House", which is a home of a very wealthy couple who have Santa and toys from Santa every night in December leading up to Christmas. They have been doing this for years. Pretty spectacular! More amazing than any other place I have seen Santa. Corban was a little scared of Santa, but he sure was a nice one. In fact, he said, "We believe in Golden Spoon. Anyone who is a friend of Golden Spoon is a friend of ours." Even Santa knows we have the best yogurt!
Corban really enjoyed looking at all the toys but probably wouldn't have cared if he couldn't take one home. He also enjoyed all the scenes they had set up. The "snow" bubbles weren't as exciting as I thought they would be to him, especially considering his facination with bubbles.
We left with a hot cup of cider and hot cocoa. It was a fabulous night spent in the Christmas spirit!

Visiting Hours

The best way for the kids to spend time with daddy lately has been at Golden Spoon. Can't say that we don't enjoy it. Every visit gets a sweet treat! Today the store was so slow that daddy even sat in the lobby with us, played a guessing game with Corban and fed Malia a bottle while mommy ate her yogurt...or two yogurts. Corban's favorite treats are a cone with yogurt, he starts at the bottom of the cone, and gummy bears or worms. Daddy played "which hand has the gummy" and was very good to stick to the rules- only pick one.

When it continued to be slow we decided to take a walk outside. We stayed close because Jared was the only one working :) There is a lovely fountain out front that gives lots and lots of entertainment for an almost-2-year-old. When I was outside with Corban and Jared was back in serving some customers, an old couple walked by and stopped to watched for just a moment. I made the comment to go with their look, "It makes me just as nervous." Corban doesn't always look so stable on his feet and was walking around the edge of the fountain. Of course I was the one that got this started, but that was when he would hold on to my hand. Now he was comfortable handling it all on his own...picking up speed every now and then.

Daddy joined us again once another employee arrived to work, so I had him take over the Corban watch. He tends to not get as nervous as I do and this kid needs exploration time! Mom holds him back too much.

It was fun being able to spend some time with daddy. To make it all worth it, the night ended with a SPLASH! Even San Diego is too cold for a fountain swim in December!

And I am thinking he enjoyed that part of "exploration", but was just a little nervous about getting back up on the edge.

The Fabulous Find

I was out and about looking for something for a Christmas present I am putting together. I decided it might be a good idea to try some thrift stores, that way I could also see if they had any great winter wear for my babes or toys Corban could enjoy. We are going light on spending for presents this year, every year for that matter, so I have to be creative in how I find them. I had been to four thrift stores and had one more to go. I had purchased nothing because the few items I had found were so cheap it would have been ridiculous to put them on a credit card- I will have to remember to take cash next time. I arrived at the last store and the parking lot was jam packed. I drove to the back in hopes of finding a spot, but there was a traffic jam of people dropping off items. The first person I saw was taking little girl toys over to the trailer. I wanted to shout out, "Hey, I will take those off your hands!" But I felt silly and she was in a rush. As I passed by the back of her truck I saw there were more items. So when she came back I got the guts to ask her. She seemed a little hesitant but said she would set the items aside. I then had to quickly maneuver my vehicle to not be in the way of others while i loaded up the toys. As I walked into the store I still had it in my mind that the first items I saw her take over would be great..but how would I get them? I could see through the back of the store to where they were loading the trailers, so I decided to head back and see if I could talk them into pricing the item and allowing me to buy them. Unfortunately they wouldn't do that for me because "it isn't fare to everyone else." But I was more than fortunate to find...

I couldn't believe it! Who gives away a phil&teds?! I put my hands on it right away and strolled it around thinking-"There must be something wrong with this? Why has no one else claimed this steal of deal?" It was a little wobbly, but I could see it had a flat tire- easy fix! What was even more unfathomable was the sticker- $49!!! AND I came on a day more perfect than others, "30% off everything in the store." As I stood in line there were two Spanish ladies (that means they were only speaking Spanish) admiring my find. They even came up and touched it and spoke a few words back and forth. They were just as surprised as I was that this item was for sale at the thrift store.

I left having spent only $35 and feeling so grateful for wealthy people! I couldn't be happier with my fabulous find, so I hope they felt really good about giving it away to some unknown individual! I got home and Jared filled up the tires and I took Corban for a stroll through the house and then down the driveway a few times (it was already really dark outside). I read the entire owner's manual online, which is not even something I usually do when I purchase things brand new. I really am so stoked about this stroller, I might even take up running so I can use it everyday...not really :)

To make the day even more fabulous, Malia was out shopping with me for four hours and was so happy and smiley (when she wasn't sleeping) all the way to the end. I did have to feed her the parking lot before driving home, but we are accustom to that.

Here are two reasons I love life:

And this is Malia talking to me.

The Luckiest

Hey there! So I am the luckiest guy in the world. I have the coolest, most beautiful wife! Two amazing and cute little kids! And to top it all, they love me and I love them. Here are a couple of recent looks.

Malia in the bath, loves it as much as Corban Two cuties together.
This is Malia in the morning, this and a lot of smiling. I just liked this one.

This is what Corban looked like when I checkid in on him during his nap this evening. gotta love it!

If you haven't heard the song, the luckiest by Ben Folds you have to check it out. I will try to attach it to a video or something. we'll see how that goes.