Parker, Char, and Colton Lybbert

Buddies

2012-02-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Lybbert made some new buddies this last weekend. Paxton became quite attached to "gwampa" and still asks for him now that we are home.

Pentagon Memorial

2012-02-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

We went to Virginia this last weekend to see Parker's sister and his parents. Mom and dad Lybbert flew all the way from Seattle and we figured this would be the closest we would get to them for a while! We had a WONDERFUL trip. One of the highlights for me (other than seeing family) was making a trip to the Pentagon 9/11 memorial. That is a day I will never forget. I could tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing when each of the planes hit. I have a very deep pride for this great country. In fact, a lot of people don't know that I HEAVILY considered enlisting in the army after high school.

The memorial was sobering and humbling. All 184 victims are listed and honored with a bench within the memorial. The benches faced two directions, toward the Pentagon and away. If the bench faced the Pentagon, it means you were on the plane, looking at the Pentagon when it crashed. If the bench faces away from the building, it means you were inside the Pentagon, likely looking at the plane as it approached.

The year of the youngest casualties birthday. She was just three.

In the picture below, you can see the difference (although slight) of the new construction they had to do to fix the building. Behind the tree to the left, you can see the stone on the building is yellowed. To the right of the yellowed stones is the repaired construction-- a whiter/brighter stone.

These two didn't know the significance of where we were. I am glad I didn't have to explain it to them. It would have been too difficult for me.

This is Parker's sister, Aimee, and her daughter Ashley. Ashley realized there was a nine year old, the same age as herself, on the plane. It was a tender mother/daughter moment.

A Sunbeam

2012-01-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

Colton had a nasty cough the first two weeks of January so we kept him home from church. Colton has attended nursery since he was 18 months old but now that he is three, it's time to move up. This past Sunday was his first time going to sunbeams. And this is what he thought of it--

The primary presidency was attempting to get pictures of all the kids joining primary this year. They kept apologizing to me because they couldn't get a good picture of Colton. I just laughed!

A Mini Snow Storm

2012-01-15T16:20:00.000-08:00

We had a serious dumping of snow over the weeekend. We went to bed Friday night with about two inches on the ground and woke up eight hours later to a full 15 inches. After all was said and done, I would guess we had at least 18, maybe 20 inches of snow. I felt so bad for the workers trying to remove all the snow, they just couldn't keep up. The kids loved the snow-- I set them loose on our deck and they played for a good 30 minutes before getting too cold. I have to say, I LOVED waking up to tons of snow. I think it's so fun. I hope this is the first of many snow dumps to come this winter.

2012-01-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

Before Christmas, we went over to my sister's house, Nicole, in Indiana. My younger sister, Shelly, flew in from Phoenix to spend the holiday there. Shelly and I had a blast talking about all our old shenanigans from when we were younger....the memories. The nights were filled with treats and long talks amongst the adults. My kids played hard all day with their cousins. Colton is quite attached to Jaxon--he refers to him as his favorite cousin. It was a short trip, but it was well worth it to hang out with Shelly for a few short days!

Colton playing soccer with Jaxon. Colton asked him to play with him and I could tell he didn't really want to go outside, but being the nice cousin he is, he went anyways.

I made sugar cookies for the kids to decorate. They seemed to like the cookies and if you look at Colton-- he seemed to like the frosting!

Post sugar cookie high. Watching Frosty the Snow Man with dad.

Nicole's kids were so nice-- the insisted on giving my kids Christmas gifts!

My boys with Aunt Shelly.

All the cousins together!

SISTERs! Nicole is on the far right... she looks the same age as Shelly and I, huh? She is 8 years older than Shelly...I think.

She couldn't resist the hand heart on the baby bump...oy.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-31T06:17:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! Colton understood what Christmas was so that made the day all the more entertaining for Parker and I. We made sure to put a huge emphasis on why we celebrate Christmas so the kids knew the meaning behind it. Every time we asked Colton why we celebrate Christmas he would tell us that we give presents because of Jesus' birthday. It was an extra bonus that Christmas fell on a Sunday. We were able to go to church and really feel the Spirit. We ended our day at the Jones' house for dinner (they go to our church) and they prepared a feast! Me and my pregnant sell indulged big time. We came back to our house and played game after game. It was lovely to be with friends and family on such a special day.

All set up for Christmas morning...

Colton and Paxton really loved this tool bench. Now, they are always trying to "build" something.

New games for the boys. I think I have played Candy Land 96 times in the days since Christmas.

Colton's favorite gift was a Leapster. His cousins have one and he has wanted one for a long time.

I got a vacuum. My nice husband bought me a DYSON!!!!

Aunt Shelly bought these guys Xploderz guns. They were super excited to play with them but the pull back handle to make them fire was too much for these two. I took them back and got them some noisy laser shooter type guns. I don't know what I was thinking!

From our family to yours

2011-12-27T16:05:00.001-08:00

Paxton turns 2!

2011-12-19T08:32:00.000-08:00

Paxton turned two last Thursday! I can hardly believe this kid is two. He is talking up a storm and he has so much character packed into that little body. We started off the day with balloons and party hats and enjoyed Paxton's favorite breakfast of waffles and cereal. After breakfast, we went to playgroup which was a Christmas party with a craft, a gift exchange, and chaos. We made sure to bring some birthday cupcakes to celebrate with all the playgroup friends.We finished off the night with presents (the favorite being the dinosaurs someone gave us for free!) and a trip to Red Robin. It was such a fun day. Love you, Pax!

Avery Dennison Christmas Party

2011-12-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

Avery Dennison has a huge Christmas party each year and it's catered to children. How great is that?! They gave AMAZING gifts to each kid, had bouncy houses, balloon artists, face painters, and train rides-- all indoors. I think we spent three hours at the party before the kids (and ourselves) were spent. Each of our kids got two gifts and they couldn't have been happier. We are so blessed that Parker works for such an amazing company!

Colton and Paxton are in the green car of the train.

Paxton was obsessed with all of these blow up lawn ornaments.

Colton loved this bouncy house. It was kind of like an obstacle course. Colton is the kid climbing the ladder, leaving the other kid in the dust. Proud parent!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-09T13:05:00.001-08:00

We opted to go to Home Depot to get our Christmas tree this year. It's a whole quarter of a mile down the street from our apartment. Colton picked out our tree, and I must say, he made a good pick. We love the smell of a fresh cut tree. I put on the lights and the kids went crazy putting on ornaments. Everyone was covered in glitter by the end of the night. It was a perfect Friday night.

Picking the tree! One day, I am going to be in the pictures....

Bowling!!!

2011-12-06T06:34:00.001-08:00

During our visit to Virginia, we decided to go bowling. This was a first for our kids and they seemed to really like it. For about three frames. After a few frames, Parker and I were bowling for ourselves and for one of the kids. We all had fun but we will probably wait a few years before taking the kids again :)

Who knew they made such little bowling shoes? These are Paxton's feet.

A Very Virginia Thanksgiving

2011-12-02T06:44:00.001-08:00

Parker's sister, Aimee, lives in Virginia and invited us to Thanksgiving-- we accepted. The drive was 7 hours (with $17 bucks in tolls-- so ridiculous) and BEAUTIFUL! The last two or so hours are all small, back road highways so you really get to see the beautiful state that Virginia is. Aimee and her family were the perfect hosts for the few relaxing days we were able to stay. Aimee and her husband, Dave, have two girls (I think ages 12 and 9?) who played and played with my boys. It was such a treat to have my boys occupied for long stretches of time. I hope we get to go back sooner rather than later.

Aimee and Ashley making rolls.

Dave made sausage stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer. You don't see any because I ate them ALL.

Paxton didn't care to cook. He just wanted to wear the apron :)

Dave carving a beautiful (and tasty) bird.

The feast.

Happy and full of good cookin'.

Our Family Pictures

2011-11-18T11:45:00.001-08:00

I set up my camera and had a friend snap away. These are the best of the bunch. I will have to post the bloopers later. The kids made for some funny pictures.

A Photo Shoot

2011-11-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

Some friends of ours needed pictures for their Christmas card. I came to their rescue!

"Big Trucks!"

2011-11-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

Our Church held an emergency preparedness fair for the community today. There was loads of information on 72 hour kits, food and water storage, gardening, and first aid. Parker and I went to get some good ideas on really getting serious about food storage, the kids went to see the fire trucks! Our local fire department brought an ambulance, brush fire rig, and a huge fire engine. The fire fighters took us on a tour of each, the kids loved it!

Here is Colton in the back of an ambulance (and hopefully this is the ONLY time), he thought it was great that they had equipment to help animals in case of a fire.

The $90,000 brush fire rig was from a government grant the fire chief wrote. It was SWEET. It carries close to 300 gallons of water and they let the kids spray the hose. The boys thought it was AWESOME (as you can see from Pax's face!)

Sitting in the bucket seats on the back of the brush fire rig.

On the front of the fire truck. This was the best picture I could get...

Inside the church, they had a kids station. The play dough kept them occupied for a solid hour. I guess it's time for me to start making some!

Shiver me timbers!

2011-11-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

Halloween was so much fun this year. Colton and Paxton LOVE the show Jake and the Never Land Pirates that is shown on the Disney channel. I thought it would be hilarious to dress them up as Captain Hook and Mr. Smee and lucky me, my dream came true! It was a battle to get Colton to be Captain Hook. He insisted on being Smee. However, once I brought home the hook from a costume store, he was sold on being Hook. We had a great time going to our ward trunk or treat the Friday before Halloween and again on Halloween night around our apartment complex. People really loved their costumes which made me feel good.

I found Colton's Captain Hook coat at Salvation Army for $10. It's a little girls pea coat from Target! It worked out PERFECTLY once I added a bunch of trim. I sewed some ruffles onto a white t-shirt he already had which he wore under his coat.

I found Paxton't hat and shirt at Salvation Army for 2 bucks total. We had the sweats already :)

Colton HATED this wig. I snapped this picture as fast as I could because I knew it wasn't staying on long.

This picture was taken immediately after the previous one...not happy about the wig!

Trick or Treating around our complex with the shark (their friend, Ethan).

Colton carried his bucket on his hook the whole night!

These brothers were SO HAPPY to be out past bed time AND getting candy!

We walked around our complex for about 45 minutes. These two were so tuckered out after that they slept between 11 and 12 hours that night. Such a bonus to the tired parents!

Cleverly's in Kirtland

2011-10-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

One other place we went with Nicole is Kirtland. A visit to the Lybbert's isn't complete unless there is a visit to Kirtland (a historic site to our faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). The kids had fun walking around the sites together.

And shame on me not getting a picture of just Nicole and I!

A Cleverly Visit

2011-10-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

My sister, Nicole, and 3 of her 4 kids came for a visit from Indianapolis. I was so flattered that she would drive six hours to come stay in our small apartment (well, small compared to her house!) while she had a break from school (my rock star sister is in dental hygiene school--with four kids!). First on our to-do list was a trip to Lake Erie. It's a few short minutes down the road from our place and it never ceases to impress. It's so massive, you feel like you are at the ocean.

Sticker Party

2011-10-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

Colton: "Mom, come quick! Pax and I made you a sticker party!"

...they threw me a party on the fridge...

Days at the Park

2011-10-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

We are sad that days at the park with our friends are limited. Colton and Paxton LOVE going to play group each week. It's going to be rough having to stay inside more often as temperatures continue to go down.

Job Security

2011-09-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank Paxton for my ever increasing job security.

Citi Kitty

2011-09-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, people. It's happening. Be prepared for some serious tales of adventure.

Amish Country

2011-09-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

When Aimee was visiting we opted to head out to Amish Country. It was fun to see all the horse buggies. We found an Amish shop that had a few Amish made goods along with a restaurant. I wish we would have eaten there but we didn't have time.

Colton and Paxton found these dinosaurs in the Amish store (not Amish made) and they wouldn't put them down.

An Amish stop sign.

Babcocks! Does this doll bring back memories?!

Colton found this little doll bench and it made him really happy!

Paxton thought this was a real dog...

Alyssa ended the night reading to my boys!

Kirtland with Aimee

2011-09-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

Parker's sister, Aimee, drove over from Virginia to escape hurricane Irene (which didn't end up affecting her house--phew!). We had a great time with Aimee and her two girls, Ashley and Alyssa. Our first stop was Kirtland, a historical place to those of us of the Latter Day Saint religion (or as you may know it, Mormon religion).

Fun at the Fair

2011-08-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we went to the Lake County fair. The boys went on a few rides. We ate awful fair food. Laughed a lot. Cried a little. But mostly, we had a great time being together as a family. It was a great afternoon, one for the books.

Colton was so excited to go on this dragon roller coaster. His face started like this...

and ended like this.

Pax enjoyed watching the rides from a distance. He did one ride and that was it for him.

Daddy and Colton.

We let the boys play a "game". The game went like this: pay a lady three bucks, pick a duck, instant win a prize of your choice. Kind of nice to have an instant win... not so nice to pay $3 for inflatable swords that I have wanted to pop since the moment we got them.

We ended our evening watching the cowboys ride and race their horses. The boys loved it.

Buddies

2011-08-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

I hope these two stay buddies. Forever.

Grandma and Grandpa B.

2011-08-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

My parents have been on an epic road trip and we were fortunate that they made Cleveland one of their pit stops. We got them for two days and had loads of fun. I am kicking myself for only getting the camera out once, but hey, at least I have some pictures! We went to this train "museum" that one of my friends really talked up. To the museum's credit, they were in the middle of packing up and moving locations, BUT it was just a warehouse where train enthusiasts could set up their trains..... and children were not allowed to touch ANYTHING. Not a great idea with two boys. However, the kids thought it was great but I will not be going back anytime soon. I think they only thing that made it fun was my parents being there.

Done, Done, DONE!

2011-08-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

It's official. I finished my degree. It was just an associates degree (in communications) but I feel really good about completing a degree while having two kids. I fully intend to get a bachelors once all my kids are in school. But for now I am going to enjoy being home with my kids without any homework!

Got a Cold?

2011-08-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was doing some homework while Colton played and watched a show shortly before bed. I realized I hadn't heard him for a few minutes which is always bad sign. I started walking toward him when I was overwhelmed by the smell of vapor rub. I was so confused. I started walking much faster. I got over to Colton to see him COVERED in vapor rub. He found the jar and smeared it all over himself AND my window. Because vapor rub is oil based it is hard to clean up. I put Colton in the bath which only amplified the smell. Our apartment smelled like it got a cold for several days. Not what I had in mind for finals week!

Lost in Translation

2011-07-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Last night was looonnngggg. I will post on why a little later. At the end of the day I was helping Colton say his prayers and they went like this:

Mom: "Thank you for the Gospel."
Colton: "I love hospitals."

That made me chuckle!

Colton's Third Birthday

2011-06-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Colton's third birthday shortly after moving to Ohio. We asked Colton what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said "Put the money in and play games!" so, we took him to
Chuck-E-Cheese where he could play arcade games. Colton and Paxton enjoyed some pizza and a few games before we headed to our next stop, WalMart. Colton requested a bike for his birthday so that is what he got! He loves his shiny, red, Lightening McQueen bike and helmet. He is still figuring out how to pedal and steer at the same time. We finished off the day with a Babcock family tradition a cake from Dairy Queen (anyone remember how mad Lynds got when Shelly and I picked out a Lamb Chops DQ cake for her 17th birthday?!). A perfect ending to a perfect day. I can't believe he is already three!

Colton's birthday fell on a Sunday so we opted to celebrate Saturday. After dinner on Sunday we had some cake and Colton requested that we sing to him again so he could blow out candles... again!

Happy Graduation!

2011-06-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from Parker's graduation. I didn't want to post them until I had pictures of him with the kids in his gown. Ya, we took those pictures with the kid two days before we left.

Before we Left Rexburg...

2011-06-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

Some friends lent us their two for one pass to Yellowstone Bear World so we made sure to go before we left. It's a drive through park with lots of animals to look at, including 45 bears!

Here is an albino deer.

The biggest grizzly bear I have ever seen in person. OK, the only grizzly bear I have ever seen in person!

At least you can see all their faces? "A" for effort on the group shot.

Looking at the ducks down below.

In the petting zoo area. Behind Colton is a deer. I had no idea you could pet a deer. I pet it, she was nice.

The second the change in Parker's pocket jingled, this goat ran over and shoved his tongue in the machine waiting for food to come out! Can you say "Pavlov's dog?"!

Cute.

The best part of the day was watching the baby bears play with each other. There was at least five babies and they were all super playful. This little one was my favorite, I am sad the picture is a little dark.

Before we left Rexburg...

2011-06-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

We went to Big Judd's the week before we left the Rexburg. It has HUGE burgers and was even featured on The Food Network for it's enormous portions. The burger you see pictured was split between Parker and I. In case you are wondering, the basket of fries was probably double the size of the burger. And no, we didn't finish it all!

Lake Erie

2011-05-25T07:00:00.001-07:00

Colton was working on his golf swing.

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We made it!

2011-05-25T06:58:00.001-07:00

After six days and thirty hours in the car, we made it to Ohio! We are safe and absolutely LOVING our new location (minus the humidity--yuck!) as we are five minutes to Lake Erie. Parker is at his third day of work and enjoying everything that comes with working for a great company.

The moving truck was supposed to be here last Monday but now its not coming until Saturday. We are anxious to move into our new apartment and I am certain the hotel staff is anxious for us to move on too! The kids are doing fine, I fear I am the one having a hard time being in a hotel room all day! We are exploring our new city and loving what it has to offer. More posts to come once I have my computer!

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Something is Burning...

2011-05-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

It smelled like something was burning. I checked the stove. All the burners were off. I checked the oven. Nothing. I checked the heaters. Couldn't find a thing. Fast forward three hours.

It still smells like something is burning.

I start unloading the dishwasher. I see what was "burning". A small plastic golf ball that Paxton had dropped in there right before the cycle started.... does it ever end?

High Five

2011-05-05T17:46:00.001-07:00

And just for the record, Colton got in MAJOR trouble for this.

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2011-05-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

Easter Friday (Ya, we celebrated a few days early)

We decided to keep "worldly" Easter and true Easter separate, so had our Easter fun on Friday with our good friends Matt and Paige. Matt, Paige, and Parker hid the eggs while myself and the kids waited up stairs. It was game on once we came down and both kids were in a dead sprint to find as many eggs as possible. They loved every minute of the hunt, in fact, Colton asks me to help him find more eggs almost everyday.

This is how it began....everyone was really excited.

We hid 42 eggs, they dumped them in this bucket when they found them.

I love the tiny piece of Parker's face that made it into this picture.

Colton was REALLY excited about having Tangled in his basket. When watching the movie he says "Dad, I want to kiss Rapunzel!"

Paxton was more excited about the grass in the basket.

2011-04-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Door to Headboard

Parker's grandfather passed away last summer and we salvaged this door from his 80 (ish) year old farm. I knew right away that I wanted to turn it into a headboard. I looked all over the internet and put together several different designs to come up with the finished look. We had some trouble figuring out what color to do the headboard. I wanted to leave it the original paint color (3rd picture down is the most accurate coloring), it was a great turquoise color (which I love!) I was thinking we would clear coat varnish over the top. That bubble was burst when Parker mentioned there was no way to tie in the new wood with the same aged look. We began the debate as to whether to stain it or paint. I wanted to stain it dark brown but, with the age of the door and the combination of me never staining anything in my life, we decided to paint. I think there would have been a strong contrast of color between the old wood (I think it would have SOAKED up stain with it being so old and dry) and new wood had we stained it. We left the door as big as possible; we want to have a California King sized bed some day. In the end, I am really happy with how it turned out. It's nice to know a piece of grandpa will be traveling with us wherever we go!

The door straight from off the farm.

Loved, loved, loved this aged look. Sad it had to go.

Adding in some trim after sanding. Sanding is a labor of love!

The door knobs are super cool. I think I am going to stick it in a shadow box.

Our handy helper. He couldn't keep his hands off the tools.

Painted and ready to go.

Now, to get some new bedding that I like...

2011-04-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Potty Training

Colton turns three in June so potty training is long overdue. I have asked a lot of people how and when to potty train a boy and I have to say, I picked a perfect time. Colton may have been a bit older, but he picked up on potty training immediately. Because of his age, he has only had 2 accidents and we are going on day six. The first time he went potty, he got an ice cream cone and of course, he went at 8:30 in the morning so it was an early sugar rush! He is doing great and stays dry at nap time which is super. I still keep him in a diaper at night... not sure how to tackle that. I am super pleased with my little man.

Rocking his new underwear!

Loving the early morning ice cream!

We all celebrated the first time he went so Paxton got an ice cream cone too!

2011-04-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

Utah, Round Two

We went to Utah a second time (back to back weekends) for the presentation of Lamb of God, a phenomenal oratorio about the life of the Savior. My dad introduced us to Lamb of God in December and when we heard there was to be a live performance in Utah, we had to go.... even though it fell on the same weekend as graduation. It was a busy trip to Utah!

I decided to be a cool aunt and bring sugar cookies for the kids to decorate-- I think I won some cool points!

Nicole loved having someone to play duets with.

Grandpa Lybbert insisted on buying huge lollipops for his grandkids (L to R: Max, Paxton, Colton, Ben) after an early lunch. Grandpa won cool points for that!

2011-04-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

A New Job

Parker is officially a college graduate! Graduation took place last weekend (pictures coming soon) and almost more exciting than graduation, is the news that Parker was offered an INCREDIBLE job from Avery Dennison! You may remember me posting about the same company back in December... he interviewed with them a second time and got a better job (well, more fitting to what Parker likes) and we couldn't be happier! He will be joining several others in the Gold Leadership Development Program in just a few weeks. We are not exactly sure where we will be moving to (they have plants through out the country) or when, but we don't care because we are so excited that the has such an AMAZING job! I will keep the blog posted on where we end up!

2011-04-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

A Weekend in Utah

Shelly called to tell me that she was headed to Utah for General Conference weekend and insisted that we come down-- so we did! It was great to spend time with her and my brothers family. The adults enjoyed a date night to Cafe Rio (which included Shelly and I telling ever single funny story of Austin we could think of) and the messages our church leaders shared.

Costco trip before dinner!

Nicole made sure the kids had fun activities to do during conference.

Aunt Shelly makes a great pillow... Nick and Andy passed out during conference!

Colton and Paxton loved going outside and riding bikes with cousins!

The whole gang of kids!

2011-03-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

Colton's Funny Sayings

Colton got a face full of sunshine and immediately covered his eyes with his hands and said, "Ahhhhh! Mom, the sun is poking my eyes!"

Whole notes...

2011-03-11T15:36:00.001-08:00

Colton loves to watch a cartoon called Little Einstein. It's a show that teaches little things about music (quarter notes, fast tempo/slow tempo, etc.) to toddlers. I was putting Colton in the car yesterday and he asked me for "whole note cereal." It took me a second to figure out what he wanted.... it was fruit loops! I guess whole notes and fruit loops do look the same!

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2011-03-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

Matt and Paige
These two are our closest friends in Rexburg and I was delighted to do a photo shoot with the two of them! i think they turned out pretty good-- I still have some improving to do!

2011-02-25T13:15:00.000-08:00

I love the 80's!

2011-02-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

A trip to Urgent Care...

For the last few days Colton has had a really goopy nose but, only in one nostril. I figured he had a cold and that it wasn't anything too serious so I didn't think much of it. Yesterday, I noticed his nose was bleeding because he was continuously putting a finger up there and digging around. I took a look up his nose and saw what I thought was a gigantic booger. I tried to get him to blow it out but didn't have any success. I forgot about his nose until today and I mentioned it to Parker. After Parker took a closer look we decided it had to be something other than a booger-- we thought it was a piece of cereal. So, off Colton and I went to Urgent Care. The doctor took a look up Colton's nose and said there was certainly something up there but, before he took a pair of tweezers to it, he wanted to try one more thing. The doctor plugged Colton's good nostril with his finger and then had me give a short, but forceful puff of air into Colton's mouth. I could hear the object trying to move, but after 3 or 4 puffs, we didn't have any luck getting it to budge. At this point, Colton is screaming his head off and it's taking three of us to hold him down. The nurse that was helping grabbed a pillow case and had me stand Colton up. She took his arms and inserted them into the pillow case behind Colton's back so he couldn't move them. Then she took a sheet and wrapped him up so he really couldn't move. Colton continued to thrash and move his body but we held him still just long enough for the doctor to stick the LONGEST tweezers I have ever seen up his nose and retrieve the object. What was it? A piece of a Nerf ball I had thrown away 3 DAYS AGO! I couldn't believe it. Has it been up there 3 days?! Yikes. Sick. Wrong. Colton is just fine and he forgot all about it as he enjoyed a small ice cream cone on the way home. What a way to end a Tuesday.

2011-02-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

"Look mom, stickers!"

It's time for a lesson on the difference between stickers.... and postage stamps.

2011-01-29T08:37:00.000-08:00

A little jig....

2011-01-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

New Years

We kept it good and low key this year for new years. We had our friends Matt and Paige over and we let Colton stay up to celebrate New York's New Years bash. Colton didn't really understand what was being celebrated but that didn't hold him back from making as much noise as possible! As always, we enjoyed the company of great friends and great food!

2010-12-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we had a big pancake breakfast (and we decided that would be a new tradition for us in the years to come) then, we took the opportunity to watch Joy to the World with the kids. It's a short five minute video that tells the story of the birth of the Savior. We knew it would hold their attention better than reading the story out of the Bible. After watching the movie, we went ahead and opened one present each-- we opted for the ones from my parents. All of us got a new Boeing shirt! After that, it was off to bed so Parker and I could get everything to set up for the next morning. Christmas morning started at 6:30 a.m. and the excitement for new toys lasted the entire day. Colton refused to open any toys until he got a good 10 minutes of play time with his new airplane-- that is probably the first and last time we set up a toy the night before! After presents we enjoyed some monkey bread (so good!) and Christmas morning casserole (a must on Christmas day). Parker had strep throat all week (the worst I have ever seen) and he seemed to finally be getting better half way through the day, which we are all grateful for! We enjoyed this beautiful holiday, particularly celebrating the birth of our Savior. I cam across this quote and thought it was fitting:

"The greatest man in History, Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master, had no degree, yet they called him Teacher, had no medicines, yet they called him Healer, had no army, yet kings feared him, won no military battles, yet he conquered the world, committed no crime, yet they crucified him. He was buried in a tomb, yet he lives today. He is the reason for the season."
-Unknown

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here is Colton and Paxton opening their one gift Christmas Eve.

The tree and gifts ready for Christmas morning! We decided to set up Colton's remote control airplane the night before because we knew it would take a few minutes to put together.

Paxton didn't know what was going on at first but he figured it out pretty quick-- take off the paper and get a new toy!

Sporting a new beanie and some yummy Christmas Hershey kisses.....yes, I know, not my best picture!

We gave Colton some big boy underwear. We told him it's what you wear after diapers and he just laughed. It's not how I pictured it going... I was hoping he would ask to wear them. No such luck.

Colton loves this new toy. The two circles spin in opposite directions so the cars do figure eights until they crash into each other.

2010-12-23T09:34:00.000-08:00

Paxton's First Birthday!

Paxton turned one on the fifteenth. I know, my baby is one and I am still freaking out about it! We had a few close friends (which we were grateful for because everyone was headed out of town for Christmas break!) over to celebrate with pizza and cake. Paxton loved all the attention and really seemed to enjoy his first birthday. Here are the birthday boys stats:

Weight: 22.25 pounds (40%)
Height: 30.5 inches (75%)

At age one, Paxton can:
*Wave on command
* Make "the angry face" on command
* Clap on command
* Take 4-6 steps before falling
* Climb up anything
* Get into standing position from sitting
* Say "Mama" and "Dadda"
* Raise his arms so we know he is done eating
* Will laugh to answer yes, to a yes/no question

Ready for some pizza!

Colton insisted on helping him eat the cake...

I didn't want to take him upstairs for a bath.... we opted for the kitchen sink.

Kind friends brought fun gifts for the little man!

2010-12-18T18:29:00.000-08:00

I took some pictures of my boys....

2010-12-15T09:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the cutest one year old I know!

Love you Paxton!!!

2010-12-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

We got our first tree this year (we have always been traveling so we didn't need to get one)! I love having one, it makes it feel way more Christmas-ey in the house. I put black and white pictures all over the tree-- some may think it's odd but, I love looking at the tree and remembering other favorite Christmas memories.

2010-12-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

Anyone need a Pilates instructor? I have two that work for 2 cookies/ an hour. Let me know.

2010-12-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

The Children's Museum

While home for Thanksgiving, we made a stop at the Everett Children's Museum. Colton was over whelmed with all the fun things to do but he settled right in and had a blast. Paxton also had a great time playing with a few things but mostly being carried around by Grandpa and Grandma. If you live in the Everett area, going here is a must!

There was a huge table with all of these plastic tubes. I had a good laugh when I noticed my dad just sat Paxton on the table and let him go crazy!

They had a mini stage where you could watch yourself on TV. Colton controlling all the lights and sound effects in this picture.

Paxton was loving this giant sized Connect 4 game.

Biggest water tables I have ever seen!

I wish Paxton was looking up in this picture!

Driving the commuter transit bus.

Santa made an appearance and Colton gave him a high five!

Pax wasn't sure about the guy with the beard...

2010-12-02T21:21:00.000-08:00

Grandpa's Work

Colton has been very intrigued by airplanes as of late so we thought it would be fitting to head over to Boeing's flight center. We had a great time learning more about Boeing and Colton was in heaven playing pilot in the mock cockpit.

Looking at Boeing field from the roof of the flight center.

Grandpa, Colton, Dad, Mom

Colton playing with the plane/car set.

Paxton posing with Grandpa and Grandma B!

Enjoying the movie about Boeing's new Dream Liner.

We couldn't get Colton out of this cockpit.... perhaps he will be a pilot some day!

2010-11-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

A new coat

The Rexburg winters are brutal and a good coat is a must have. Grandma and Grandpa Lybbert purchased this awesome coat for Paxton. I like that it makes him look extra chubby.

2010-11-30T16:28:00.000-08:00

Getting packed

While I was upstairs packing for our trip to Seattle, the boys were having a free for all in the pantry...

2010-11-13T14:05:00.000-08:00

The Robot

Colton has always been a dancer. Recently, he has picked up on doing the robot.... here is a taste of his sweet dance moves!

2010-11-11T21:12:00.000-08:00

Plasma

I have been donating plasma to make some extra cash for Christmas (two kids is twice the presents!). After donation, they wrap you with an electric colored spandexy material to apply pressure where the needle was. EVERY TIME I come home, Colton runs over to me and says "Owwwwww-ey!" Then he runs up stairs and grabs a band aid for his arm so we can be twins.

2010-11-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

Trick-Or-Treat

Because we live in Rexburg, trick-or-treating was moved from Sunday to Saturday. My birthday was also on Saturday so we didn't have tons of time to trick-or-treat but Colton loved every minute of it! He walked right up to every door and would say "tri or treaaaa!" he would then wait for the person to put a handful of candy into his bag. At the same time, he would reach up and attempt to take a handful of candy out of the bowl. It was a bit of a nightmare but he seemed to understand the knocking on someones door and get candy concept quickly.

2010-10-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

Church Halloween Party

Colton and Paxton had lots of fun at our church Halloween party. They didn't have trick-or-treating for the kids which I was a bit sad about but they did have a cake wale, balloon animals, and face painting which all the kids LOVED. The highlight of the night was when they attempted to get all the kids to do a costume parade around the room. Colton had a different idea in mind, the second the music turned on he started jumping up and down and it turned into a toddler mosh pit. We all had a good laugh at the kids dancing hard core to Halloween music!

My wild animals.

The ONLY picture I could get with Colton wearing the hood.

Colton waiting for the cake walk to start.

Colton was super stoked about the balloon sword she made for him.

A cute little lion trying to walk!

This picture makes me laugh because you can see how BIG the lion head is in the back!

2010-10-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas

We just returned from a week of FUN in Las Vegas with one of my best friends Joy! She needed some family pictures and we needed a visit so we killed two birds with one stone. I flew from Idaho Falls with the two boys by myself (yes, it was crazy) and we all had a blast. The kids played and so did Joy and I! We went shopping, to the aquarium, the fabric store, and of course, we ate some yummy food. The trip was a total success until we we were walking through the Vegas airport on our way home. Colton had a MAJOR meltdown because I wouldn't let him (well, the law wouldn't) play the slot machines. That didn't happen once, it happened twice.Yes, I was the mom in the airport that had the out of control child. It became increasingly difficult because I was trying to hold Paxton and pick Colton up off the ground while carrying boarding passes, stuffed animals, and a backpack.

All of the kids!

The boys in a single stroller, they were not so happy about sharing the stroller--it was a tight fit.

Colton in front of a Komodo dragon, he didn't want to leave!

Paxton enjoying all the fish at the aquarium.

The boys enjoyed some chocolate shakes from In N Out...

... Paxton enjoying MY burger from In N Out. I tried to fend him off but it wasn't working.

The boys enjoying "daddy toast" AKA toast with cinnamon and sugar!

2010-10-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

Picasso Pumpkins

Colton and I decided to do an art project for Halloween. I cut out the shapes and in a pin the tail on the donkey type fashion, Colton assembled the pumpkins on our door. He loved it so much he gave his pumpkins a kiss! Paxton was more than happy to play with the scraps of paper... I tired to stand him up to help put some eyes on a pumpkin but he just wanted the long scraps of paper.

2010-10-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

What the Lybbert's are up to...

School started in early September for both Parker and me. Parker is doing his cap stone courses which means 400 level courses and A LOT of homework! He seems to be enjoying all his classes despite the insane work load. On top of school, Parker's professor from last semester personally asked him to write the text book for the classes he is teaching this semester. Parker writes a chapter or two a few, the teacher proofs it/edits it, and then is using it in his classroom within days of Parker handing it to him to edit! Parker has got nothing but praise from this professor and we anticipate him making an excellent reference in the future!

I am taking 8 credits this semester. I took 7 last semester and thought it was plenty... somehow I ended up with more than I wanted. School is going well for me and I am working toward a degree in Interior Design. I haven't started the core classes for design, I am just getting all the generals out of the way so I can continue to take between 6-8 credits when I do start the program

Colton is making great progress with his speech and I would say he right about where he should be developmentally (for those of you who don't know, Colton was only saying 8 or 10 words when he turned two which is pretty far behind where he should have been). He is putting two word sentences together and is now able to repeat words when we ask him. He's had to speech therapists and they are both stumped as to why he wasn't talking in the first place (they think he was choosing not to speak for no reason). Colton is such a character, he makes us laugh everyday. He knows his shapes, colors, several number and letters.

Paxton is crawling, pulling up on furniture and starting to balance on two feet without holding on to anything. He is going to be walking soon! And, starting today, he has been fighting back when Colton wrestles with him. Colton tackled him today and Paxton wiggled out from underneath him and started crawling on top of Colton. Colton didn't know what hit him! I am excited for those two, I think they are going to be buddies.

And now, for some exciting news... Avery Dennison (a fortune 500 company) scouts the country (through several universities) for finance majors to put into a program they run called FLDP (Financial Leader Development Program). Parker has made it into the top 20 and will be interviewing in Southern California, November 11th for the coveted positions (they only choose 3 or 4 from the 20)! This is an AMAZING opportunity and we are grateful that Parker made it into the top 20. If chosen, Parker (and of course myself and the kids) would live in 4 different states over the course of 2 years. We would live in the states where Avery Dennison has an office and at each location, Parker would be working in a different position--all finance related. For example, he could be a financial analyst in one place, and then procuring finance at the next location. It would give him a BIG step in the right direction so any prayers you want to throw our way would be appreciated :)

We are all doing wonderful-- just thought you should know :)

2010-09-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

Dogs or Puppies

Colton has always given "knuckles" but we are trying to get his to say "Knuckles, dog!" It didn't go as we planned...

Parker: Colton say "Knuckles, dog"
Colton: Blank stare
Parker: Say "Knuck"
Colton: Nuh
Parker: Ckles
Coltons: Gulls
Parker: Dog
Colton:..... PUPPY!!!

2010-09-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

Because Everyone Deserves a Little Lunch...

2010-09-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

First trip to the Dentist

Colton had his first dentist appointment this morning. The office was new and super kid friendly (it was a pediatric dentist). Here is Colton laying on the exam table. There was TV mounted to the ceiling and they had several movies for him to choose from. He laid on the table right until the dental hygienist tried opening his mouth. It was a bit of a struggle but a success overall. I am happy to report he is cavity free!

2010-09-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

9 Months Old

Paxton just turned 9 months and here are his latest stats: weight 21.7 pounds (66%) Height: 28.5 inches (60%). Paxton started crawling so his weight is decreasing (the same thing happened to Colton). Pax has been crawling about a month and he is getting faster and faster. Colton loves to run and have Paxton chase him. I will have to get that on camera because its pretty cute.

2010-08-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

My Photography Skills are Improving....

2010-08-29T07:01:00.000-07:00

Lake Powell

We recently returned from the funeral of our two nieces and given the circumstances, it wasn't a weekend for many pictures. We did stop at Lake Powell on our way home so that the Lybbert's (Parker's parents and siblings) could dip their toes in the water for old times sake. While they waded in ankle deep water (minus Abbey... she is several months pregnant and she dove in head first with all her clothes on--without hesitation!), this is what Colton did..... so Parker got in the water with him!

2010-08-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

Peanut Butter Bandit

Colton loves peanut butter and he sneaks it anytime he gets a chance. He isn't eating one or two spoonfuls, I have seen him eat up to eight! Perhaps I should put a stop to it but, he is so skinny I let him have all he wants.

2010-08-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

Diaper Dandies!

Take a moment and compare the size of Colton's and Paxton's thighs. Crazy.

2010-08-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

Someone is eating solid....

2010-07-25T17:16:00.001-07:00

Shelly Belly!!!!

Shelly came to the Burg for a wedding and we got to spend some time with her! She came with her friend Natalia (not pictured-- booo) and it was a delight to have them both. We didn't do a whole lot but it was the perfect relaxing weekend we all wanted and needed. Colton LOVED having two new friends to play with (and cuddle with) and Paxton loved being held all the time. Parker and I enjoyed all the laughs and fun conversations. Please come back and visit soon!

2010-07-18T06:21:00.001-07:00

The Band Aid

A few days ago I was cleaning out our pantry when I heard Paxton fussing. I came out of the pantry to see Paxton trying to gum something up so he could swallow it and eat it. Colton had a small bag of crackers in his hand so when I got over to Paxton, I assumed that Colton shared his snack with Paxton and he was eating a cracker. Paxton isn't so great with crackers yet, so I went to finger sweep the cracker out so he wouldn't choke. I opened his mouth and didn't see a cracker, it was Colton's DIRTY BAND AID! I was so shocked, I pulled my fingers out of his mouth. Two seconds later, I went back to get the band aid but, he swallowed it! So gross. I mean really, a dirty band aid? I figured it would pass on it's own but I called the pediatrician just to be safe. Once I told the nurse what happened she started laughing! She assured me it wasn't the craziest thing she had heard of a child swallowing and told me to give plenty of liquids to help the band aid pass. The band aid did pass two days later... I still don't know how Paxton got the band aid in the first place. I'm just happy the band aid is not sitting inside my little baby!

2010-07-14T18:45:00.001-07:00

5 Years

July 9th marked our five year anniversary! Can you believe it? Parker and I celebrated by having a night out on the town with just the two of us. We enjoyed a steak dinner, a little shopping and some cuddling. Parker sent me beautiful flowers to start the night off right. I have the best husband. I can't believe where the last five years have taken us, as well as given us. We have lived in four different states and added two new family members. We love each other more than the day we got married and we are both anxious to see what the next five years hold for us.

2010-07-13T21:04:00.001-07:00

4th of July

We enjoyed having time together as a family over the fourth of July. We all went to the parade Saturday morning and then we lit a few fireworks that night. Colton LOVED the sparklers but got a little crazy with them. I was holding him to make sure he didn't poke his eye with it and I thought we had it under control until he started swinging his arms in excitement. Because of the swinging, a small ember landed on his arm and after that, he was done with the fireworks! We enjoyed having Parker home and hanging out with our close friends.

2010-06-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

6 Month Check Up

Paxton had his six month check up a few days ago and he is now 19.8 pounds and 26 inches long. He is 90th percentile for weight, but only 25th percentile for height. I looked back and found that Colton was 27.5 in length and 17 pounds when he was six months so it will be interesting to see where Pax is another six months from now. Paxton is sitting up better everyday and his baby babble is so fun to listen too. We love him SO much!

2010-06-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

Paxton's First Feeding

Paxton has been eating solid foods for about a month now (he wasn't sleeping as well at night because milk wasn't enough to sustain him) and here is the video from his first feeding. Like most babies, he wasn't a big fan at first!

2010-06-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day

I don't know how I got so lucky. Parker becomes more amazing to me everyday. He is an outstanding father and a perfect husband. He goes to school full time, works 40 hours a week and he plays husband and father when he comes home. I don't know how he finds time for it all, but he does. Happy Father's Day, I love you to the moon and back.

2010-06-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

SIX Months

I can't even believe Paxton is six months today! Paxton is such a happy baby. He sleeps a solid 12 hours at night and takes 2 or 3 naps for me during the day. He rolls over, eats LOTS of solid foods, hates tummy time (so he just rolls over), and is learning to sit. He adores his big brother and he loves all the attention he gets from his loving parents. He has an appointment Friday for his height and weight. I'm sure he is close to twenty (yes, twenty) pounds! I feel so fortunate to have two amazing boys. Paxton has been the perfect addition to our family.

2010-06-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

Proof

Pistol eats ANYTHING and here is the proof. That is a slice of cantaloupe. He also eats spaghetti, cheerios, lettuce... the list goes on. I am certain he will die a early death because of his diet.

2010-06-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

When we're happy we're helping...

2010-06-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Colton's 2nd Birthday!

Colton's birthday was a great day start to finish. Here are some videos and pictures to document the day:

Growing up, my mom would always put a candle in our toast or waffle the morning of our birthday. Old habits die hard!

This was after breakfast, I love how Paxton is looking at Colton. I think it's cute.

Colton loves McDonalds so we let him have that for his birthday dinner.

Then we opened presents.... Colton got a new book for his tag junior. An octopus that you put over the faucet in the bath tub so the water comes out the tentacles (it also hold color tablets so you can color the water), a little basketball hoop, and a remote control Ninja Turtle. Thanks to Parker, Colton has a bit of a Ninja Turtle obsession going on!

Colton was being a nice big brother by sharing his new toys with Paxton!

We finished the night off with some ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. A ninja turtle cake, of course.

Here is the official happy birthday singing.... I am not trying out for American Idol anytime soon :)

It was a wonderful celebration, but after the sugar high Colton was worn out!

2010-06-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Parker's Birthday!

Parker's only request for his birthday (May 14th) was a dinner at Red Robin, which I happily agreed too! He also got some much needed basketball shoes (Kobe's shoes, they are AMAZING!) and a new pair of Jordan basketball shorts. It was a wonderful day and we all enjoyed celebrating an amazing man. I love you Parker, I hope you had a great birthday!

Here was our crew: down the left, Parker, Kevin, Kimmie and down the right : Whitney and Mike

A father son moment.

Red Robin is making birthdays more embarrassing!

This is what Paxton did...

Proof I was there too! Sorry its blurry!

2010-05-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

Don't Squat With Your Spurs On...

2010-05-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

Colton's BFF

This is Taylor. His family lives above ours and Colton loves to play with Taylor and vice versa. In fact, sometimes I can hear Taylor begging to come play with Colton! They share snacks, smiles, and toys. I'm glad Colton has a buddy to play with almost everyday because, well, he wears me out! Taylor is three and a half and is a giant. I included a picture of the two of them standing because Taylor's height is overwhelming. Whats even more crazy is that Colton is on the tall end of the spectrum for his age. I keep telling Mandi, (Taylor's mom) that she is lying about his age because he is tall enough to be a 7 year old kid :)

2010-05-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

Water Wings

We took Colton swimming once, and ever since he has had an obsession with the crazy bright orange water wings. The other day, he wore them for two solid hours. He even ate lunch in them!

2010-05-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

Bath Time Buddies

If Paxton is taking a bath, Colton is climbing in whether or not he has his clothes off. They are best buddies in the tub.... except for when Colton takes initiative to wash Paxton's hair....

2010-05-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

10 Minutes and Diaper Boxes

I get tired or throwing away perfectly good diaper boxes so I decided to get creative and I came up with a castle. Playing with the castle occupied most of the morning so it was certainly a success! Colton really seemed to have fun being a "knight" and putting his foam sword to good use. I love that Colton insisted on wearing the helmet the whole time.... next time I will have to make him a shield! I'm keeping the castle in the garage and saving it for a rainy day..... or in Rexburg's case, the next snow day. Yes, it snowed last night.

2010-04-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

A Day at the Duck Park

2010-04-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

A Visit With The Lybberts

Parker's parents came into town during the week long break between semesters. We LOVED having them! Colton enjoyed having some extra friends with and Paxton got to meet them for the first time. They stayed at a hotel nearby so we took Colton swimming one evening. He refuses to be held in the water so we got him some arm floaty's and he was off like a rocket! It took him a minute or two to figure out how to balance but after that, we had a hard time keeping up with him, he was everywhere! It was a relaxing visit, one I hope we can do again soon!

2010-04-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas

We didn't have much extra money to buy Christmas gifts for each other this year so we decided to hold out until our tax return came so we wouldn't be too tight financially. We decided to buy a new TV because ours was slowly starting to lose it's color and it took up quite a bit of room. Lucky for us, Parker used to install home theatre in Seattle and his old boss (Brian) gave us a KILLER deal on a new TV. The original owner's home went into foreclosure so they sold the TV back to Brian and he sold it to us for dirt cheap. Parker was able to install this in a couple hours and we have really enjoyed having a TV up high so Colton can't touch it!

Wall mount with the cables already run through the wall.

This is the view from the other side of the wall. The cables you see above are the same as the ones below. There is closet right behind the wall the TV is mounted on so we were able to hide the DVD player, Wii and dish box.

The TV mount and cable source at the bottom.

The power source all prettied up,

The finished product.

2010-04-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

Paxton Jordan Lybbert

I just LOVE this little guy!