These Two...

When McKay was born just a short 13.5 months after Carter, everyone said, "they are going to be the best of friends." It was just about the only positive thing to hold on to when I was drowning trying to take care of my two babies. 

Now, almost 18 months later, we are starting to see the "best friends" thing emerge with these two. I was looking at all the pictures I have on my phone to prove it, and couldn't help but feel that they are very lucky to have each other. I just hope they stay close during the rough teenage years. 

Here are some of the things these "best friends" like to do together...

Eat watermelon on the deck

Share a double tube at Seven Peaks

Wash each other's hair fully clothed (Carter washed McKay's)

Keep me company at Costco, and try the green smoothies. Got Smoothie? That can be Blendtec's new campaign slogan. And these two can model the green 'staches.

Jump on the mattresses Grandpa Dale had set up for him on the deck

Get in LOTS of trouble together. This was an entire tube of kids' toothpaste on McKay's head (and counter, floor, and mirror). Carter's handiwork. McKay ended up in the tub, and Carter ended up in timeout.

Here's another time, with Desitin in their hair. Carter, again, is to blame. 

If you're sensing a pattern, that Carter has become a little mischievous and independent, you would be right. Last week, besides the toothpaste incident and the Desitin incident, he also left the faucet running in the laundry room, flooding the counters and soaking down every drawer. I had to clean everything out and throw a ton of stuff away (which I probably needed to do anyway, but I wasn't planning on it that day!). Really, that kid needs to be tied down. He is always seconds away from disaster.

BUT, his independence has also been a very good thing. He has been "practicing" going on the potty for quite a while now, just whenever he felt like it. Occasionally, he would have success, and we would celebrate, but mostly he just sat there and said, "maybe next time."

Well, this week he decided it was time. He started taking off his diaper and taking himself to the bathroom. After two days of changing ZERO diapers for him, I gave in and bought him some undies. He wanted to wear them to bed last night, and cried when I told him he needed a diaper. So I let him wear the undies. And he stayed dry. And he's been dry all day today, and has used the bathroom (on his own) three or four times.

I know he will probably regress, and it can't POSSIBLY be this easy, but I'm grateful for that independent little spirit that wants to be a big boy. And I'm also grateful for that GIANT bladder. Definitely a big plus when potty-training. 

And just in case you think McKay isn't capable of making messes on his own...here he is yesterday eating some cherries. My brother called him a blood-thirsty Lamanite. Haha. Yep. With blonde hair. 

Changes

Back in July, Damon and I ran a 5K. Jeff's office has sponsored a 5K/10K race for the last few years over the 24th of July, and he has always told me we should run in it. So, we set a goal to do it this year and I talked Damon into running it with me (Jeff drives in the lead car to pace the race). 

We "trained" for about two weeks, 3-4 days a week. We would just run 3.1 miles in the morning. This was a big deal for me. I have never been much of a runner. At all. I need a ball something else interesting to keep my attention. Running is boring. And I doubt I have ever run more than one mile straight (unless you count all that conditioning we did in high school...I have no idea how much we ran then). So, 3.1 miles was a lot for me. 

Damon struggled a lot while we were running in the mornings. He would get tired and want to walk, and I tried to push him. We always stopped to walk, but I always made him run again before he felt ready. He was quite negative about the whole thing, really doubting whether or not he'd be able to do it. 

But we were committed. We set a goal to do the whole race in under 30 minutes. Our best time up to that point was 33 minutes, and we had to stop to walk a couple of times. So we planned to run the whole time, starting off slow, and then passing people toward the end.

The race itself wasn't awful. Damon did awesome. We never stopped once and we actually did pass quite a few people during the last mile. Damon finished 3 seconds ahead of me, as I got a phone call right at the end and had to take it, while he sprinted on ahead. Our times were 28:56 and 28:59. We were both really happy. And because daddy is a sponsor, Damon got a medal (we were both 5th in our age group, and the top 3 get a medal. But Damon's age group is 1-14, and only one kid younger than him beat him, so we thought he earned one).

Then on July 31st, I had a small surgery done. And of course, there is quite a story that goes with that. Take a good look at the picture above, especially my chest area. Can't see it? That's because it didn't exist anymore. Six different times producing milk for six different babies really took its toll. I couldn't fill out an A cup. Padded bras helped, but when I put on a sports bra, there was no hiding the fact that I looked more like my 10-year old son than I did a 32-year old woman.

Jeff and I had always joked about when I would get my boob job. But I always thought that day, when and if it came, would be years and years down the road. And so I was more than a little surprised when Jeff told me that he had saved enough money if it was something I wanted to do. He made it clear that he didn't care either way what I did, but if it was something I wanted to do for ME, he was happy to support it (haha, bra joke).

For the first time, I really started thinking about it. And going through reasons for and against the surgery. There were so many reasons to do it. And when it came down to it, there was really only one reason not to do it: what would everyone else think? 

I know having a breast augmentation has become so much more common than it used to be, but there still is a little bit of a stigma attached to it. I didn't want people to think I was doing it to please Jeff, or because I didn't have any self-confidence. That just wasn't true. I also didn't want people to think that I had become this vain person who cared so much about how she looked that she had to see a plastic surgeon. 

But then I realized that all of that didn't matter. People are going to think whatever they want to think. If they think less of me, I honestly don't care. I know who I am and I know the reasons why I wanted to do it, and that's all that really mattered. 

So, I went ahead and did it. Silicone implants on July 31st. Here's a profile pic from the night before. See? Nothing there. 

We told the kids I had the flu for a few days, as I had to rest a lot and couldn't do much around the house. It was a fairly quick recovery, but still very painful and limiting. Jeff was off that week and took on the responsibility of taking care of the kids while I tried to stay awake after taking my painkillers. Luckily, the Olympics were going on and we had plenty to keep us entertained. 

Now I am four weeks out and really loving the results. I am back to my normal activities and almost completely healed. I went bra shopping last week at Victoria's Secret and it was actually fun! And while I think it is super obvious (at least to me), no one has said anything to me. Those who do know have all said that it is not obvious at all, but just looks natural. And that is a relief. 

My sister wants pics in a variety of poses (swimsuit, t-shirt, dress, etc) and I may do that. But for now, I just have one pic that shows the difference. And a little cleavage for the first time...maybe ever. 

The kids are still oblivious. I decided I would tell them that I needed to get a few things fixed after having so many babies (true) if they said anything to me, but they haven't. And I don't think they will. 

I put off writing this post for quite a while, because I wasn't sure I wanted to be real open about it. But I don't feel like I have anything to hide. In fact, I feel like I have something to be proud of now. So if any of my fellow members of the "Itty Bitty Titty Club" are contemplating having this done someday, I am totally on your side! 

School Days

School started yesterday. Halle-freakin-lujah. Kyla starts kindergarten next week, so I'll have to take a pic of her then. Until then, and until I get around to the other posts I have thought up but never taken the time to write, here are some fun pics of the first days of school the past six years.

Damon, first day of Kindergarten (2007, Jacksonville, FL)

Damon, first day of 1st grade (2008, Springville, UT)

Damon, first day of 2nd grade (2009, our house in Orem)

Damon, first day of 3rd grade, Allie first day of kindergarten, Kyla wishing for school of some kind (a week later) (2010)

Damon, first day of 4th grade, Allie first day of 1st grade, Kyla first day of preschool (a week later) (2011)

Damon, first day of 5th grade, Allie first day of 2nd grade, Kyla first day of Kindergarten (a week later) (2012)

A Boy Thing

It's been a long time since Damon was a toddler. I still remember it vividly, all the walks we took around the duck pond, drawing parking lots and roads on the sidewalk for all his cars, and his obsession with letters. He and I had a lot of fun together, just the two of us. It took a long time to get another baby to our family, and after Chance, I wasn't so sure we were going to have any more, so Damon got a lot of personal attention from me.

Then we had the two girls, and we all got involved with lots of girlie things: Barbies and baby dolls and makeup and dress ups. Yes, those girls sure were different as toddlers than Damon was. Fun, too, in a new way for me.

Now we're back in the toddler boy phase. And it's a lot of fun. These little boys love balls and trains and getting dirty outside. Their energy is endless and their attention spans are miniscule. But oh, how I love them.

Carter, as you may remember, has had stitches twice. And I highly doubt he is finished having them. He is just a rough little boy who loves to jump off high places and get into things he shouldn't.

Here he is just taking off from this rock.

McKay follows everything Carter does. He wants to be just like him and thinks he is big enough to do all the same things. These boys love building piles of pillows and jumping off the bed (or in McKay's case, sliding off the bed on his feet). McKay also loves balls and trains and Barbies and Little Pet Shops. He pretty much thinks all the older kids have all the fun and can't stand to be left out. 

Damon is not a toddler anymore. He has become a mini-Jeff, with so many of the same interests. We are finishing our basement right now, and Jeff had a safe door installed, creating a vault for all his valuables (guns, coins, maps, etc). So one day, out of the blue, Damon told me he wanted to buy a safe for his valuables, too. We looked on Amazon and found a small safe that could be mounted to his wall (in his new room) for $50. And since Damon had $150 in his bank account, we let him buy it.

He was so excited, and could barely stand the two days it took for Amazon to fulfill his order. He wrote on the calendar when he expected it to come, and every time the doorbell rang, he ran to see if it was here yet. Finally, it came. And he couldn't be happier. I bet he is now dreaming of all the things he can fill it with, as he only has a few coins and other precious things stashed away.

I sure love my boys, both big and small.

July Funnies

July is over. That makes me sad, I think it's my favorite month of the year. Here's what we had for July:

One morning, Jeff got up and ate a bowl of Grape Nuts. The box was still on the counter and Carter found it and helped himself to a taste. He looked at me and said, "Only baby quails eat this?"

Driving home one day, Kyla asked me what kinds of things would get you thrown in jail. I told her things that are against the law. She asked, "like killing a grandma?"

Allie: "My eyelashes are getting old!" (I think they were dry when she had pink eye)

Carter said he was feeling sick one morning. He then told me, "I wanna frow up on McKay's head!"

We were doing something (I forget now what it was) that made an unappealing noise. The kind that gets under your skin, like fingernails on the chalkboard. Kyla said, "That hurts my feelings!"

One day while driving, we were jamming to "Call Me Maybe," and Jeff had some advice for Damon, based on the lyrics of the song. "Here's your first lesson about girls. They don't know what they want."

Damon, Allie and Kyla were playing one day, buying and selling things to each other. I overhead Allie calling out, "Cars for sale! I take credit!"

Carter has been obsessed with Damon's cap gun and taking it whenever he can. He had it on the bed with him and jumped over it. He looked at me and said, "I jump the gun!"

Mom: "Where's the Oreos?"
Allie: "Damon snooked them."

Little Mermaid

I decided for the summer, instead of having the girls do one activity every week (like gymnastics), I would sign them up for one big activity. I chose Up With Kids. It was a week long drama camp from 9-3, and they put on a production of Little Mermaid at the end of the week. They had a blast, and the play was a lot of fun. For them, anyway. Mostly it was a lot of kids standing around and occasionally putting in a line or singing a song. So it was painfully long and we couldn't hear all that well.

Still, I wish I had gotten better pics, because the costumes were adorable and they had such a good time. Carter thought it was fun.  

McKay thought it was too restrictive.

And Jeff ended up in the back of the room with the two little boys for the whole play, while I tried to video from way in the back. Not ideal. 

Two pics I did manage to get. Allie was a mermaid and also a sailor. She looked cute, even if I couldn't understand her two lines.

Kyla was a jellyfish (the one in green). She was constantly trying to stand by the mic, so I never knew when her two lines were actually coming. She also couldn't stop fiddling with her costume. Too tempting.

Overall, it was a super fun experience for the girls and they are already talking about doing it again next year.