Living with Boys

March was an insanely busy month for us. With St. Patty's day and Easter in the same month March was filled with holiday madness and fun. I am serving in the Young Women's presidency in our ward and we were also super busy all month so I am really happy march is over. Phil and I recently found out our first rotation will be in Shelton, Connecticut and we are looking forward to not living the "student" life anymore:)  So on to explaining pictures...

A while back I decided I wanted to potty train Daxton so we went out and bought him some Angry Birds underwear. As you can see they really didn't end up put on the right way, though one pair is awfully close. We did not end up potty training anytime close to when we bought these and we didn't use these underwear because we went out and bought the supper padded ones to try and help absorb the inevitable accidents. You can read more about our potty training adventures later on in this post.  

 Daxton and Axel are practicing tummy time in this picture. Tummy time used to be a once in a while occurrence but now that Axel can roll he generally ends up on his tummy which is so different from Daxton who used to really dislike tummy time.

 Phil loves to cook though he has never really had much time to do it until now and so in the picture below Phil had made a Red velvet Cheesecake Swirl cake with a cream cheese frosting and Daxton was helping me eat the last piece and this is how he decided would be the best way to eat the frosting without having to eat the cake.

 Daxton recently discovered how much he likes carrots and ranch (he calls it branch.) Getting him to eat his veggies is quite challenging so I am super excited that he will finally eat something healthy without a fight. In this picture he is eating spinach and ranch only he wouldn't eat the stems of the spinach and that is what the line of green things on the table are.

 The next two pictures are of Easter festivities. The first was an Easter egg hunt and party at a friends house (I just love how Axel is watching Daxton.) The second of the boys on Easter Sunday. Aren't they just so darn cute?

 Just a cute smiley picture of the Ax man trying so very hard to sit on his own but he still ends up doing many face plants from the sitting position so he prefers chilling on his belly.

 Back in September I decided to make a tutu for a Halloween costume for myself but I wasn't quite sure what size I would be two weeks after having Axel so I never got around to making it.Well I decided to cut the strips this last weekend and Daxton thought it would be the perfect opportunity to wrap himself up in the strips and run away from me. He was having a blast until he realized he couldn't get the fabric off without help to which Phil was happy to assist.

 On to the actual potty training session... We decided to start potty training last Thursday, eek!!! My Friend Brooke has a little boy who is just older than Daxton so we decided to tag team it. Armed with crackers, juice, candy, stickers, and sticker charts we started off on our endeavor. The first day Daxton received 19 stickers, yay Daxton. Though I am not sure how much I would recommend giving a kid juice all day when they are not used to it because he had an extremely runny poo that night that was not in the toilet. *yuck* The second day he didn't go as much but still he did good. The third day I relaxed a bit and let him tell me when he needed to go potty instead of me just taking him. He had a few more accidents this day but stopped himeself and finished going pee in the potty which I thought was good progress. The fourth day he did great, he even went poo in the toilet so he got a fun dip which is why he has green teeth in the picture. Today he finished filling out his potty chart which required him to get 64 stickers. whew! (I think it was easier to just change his diaper three times a day) But for filling in all his squares he got to go see the Croods with Phil and I. He even went potty at the movie theater twice. I am not saying he is fully potty trained because he did have an accident tonight but he is getting there.

In other news, Phil has lost 34lbs this semester and is going strong. Thus far all he has done is cut his portions and choose just a bit healthier foods. As his wife I think it is alright for me to say he is looking great. This semester has been much more laid back and he is generally home by five which is such a refreshing change considering how often he was gone last semester. Overall we are doing great and we are looking forward to graduating, our visit to Utah, and getting a paycheck. 

Our life these days

A lot has happened since I last blogged. We welcomed baby Axel into our family. He has been so much fun. For the most part he is a very happy baby. He is getting into the fun baby stage where he smiles, laughs, and coos at us. We are getting better and better at having two kids, and for the most part having two is quite enjoyable.

 I couldn't help but put these two pictures in. When Axel was first born we didn't know who he looked like but the older he gets the more he and Daxton look alike. Daxton was about five pounds heavier at this point but you can easily tell they are brothers.

 Daxton has always been nice to Axel but he has recently started interacting with Axel. It is so stinking cute when they play together. Daxton goes up to comfort Axel when he wakes up from his naps, he shows him books, and Axel sometimes laughs at the random things that Daxton does.

 Daxton has gone from being an all out Mama's boy to all about Dada. He cries almost every morning when he realizes Phil is gone, and he doesn't want to go anywhere if Phil is home. It is really very sweet and yet I really miss being his parent of choice.

 We are doing well. Phil took a job with UTC and will start sometime in June. He will be doing a leadership training program so we will be doing 3 eight month rotations over the next two years. We do not know where our first rotation will be but we are looking forward to having an income again.

Life as we know it



Playing at the Dinosaur museum with cousins



Waiting to board the plane



Approximately 6 1/2 weeks ago Daxton and I set off for a trip to Utah. It was an extremely long day of travel but Daxton was a trooper and did surprisingly well. We started off by taking the Michigan flyer (a bus) from East Lansing to Detriot airport. We then proceeded to board a plane that would take us from Detroit to Arizona and from Arizona to Utah. Daxton mostly just played with stickers but he also took a nap and watched an episode or two of Blues Clues. We were happy to land in Utah where my mother and nephew greeted us. It was a good reunion. My mother then took us to Arctic Circle for a late dinner and then to my in laws where we were happy to stay for the next few days. We played like crazy while we were in Utah and unfortunately I only have the pictures taken from my phone as I seemed to have lost my camera somewhere along the way. We were able to hang out with cousins and see a few friends so it was a fun trip. Of course our stay was not long enough as we did not get to see so many people that we love.



Sleeping on Grandma's kitchen floor.



After Utah Daxton and I headed to Idaho where my sister lives to stay with her for the next 4 weeks. Again we had a blast. We were busy with activities almost everyday so that when free days came around we were happy for the break. Daxton loved playing with my sister's kids. Daxton has learned so much over the past six weeks, he is talking a lot better, he loves going outside, he now throws insane temper tantrums, he has started singing more songs with or without me, and he has started to want to say the prayer. He is getting so big and he melts my heart everyday.

wearing Ana's snow boots

Daxton has recently shown an interest in wanting to wear shoes, usually not his own. He found his cousin's shoes and wanted to wear them so I let him and he thoroughly enjoyed it. He also tried on her skirt which was quite funny.

I held a Butterfly!!!

OK for those who are going big deal... This really is a big deal! In Michigan there is a butterfly museum at MSU where you can go and hold a butterfly. Well we have been two years in a row and both times I have been too scared to hold a butterfly. Yes that is right too scared!!! They are just so freaky up close. So while in Idaho I had the opportunity to hold the one in the picture above and even though I was still freaking out a little I am very proud of myself for holding it.

trying on a hat

Acting so cool



Just being cute after church



loving snow cones



walking with ana

Something you may not know about me is that I love snow cones and it seems I have passed that love on to my child. While in Idaho we had to have a snowcone almost everyday that we were there. For the first little while I just shared mine but after my sister bought Daxton his own sharing was not really what he wanted.  

playing in the front seat

While in Idaho we also discovered that Daxton loves playing in the front seat of cars. Not just for a few minutes but for an hour or more. So when we needed him to be distracted while we did yard work we would roll down the windows, open a few doors and let him play to his hearts content. He loves pushing the buttons and turning the knobs. When he was finished playing he could just get out and come be with us. 

climbing on the counter

Daxton has also mastered climbing onto places I would rather him not climb. Like the counter... there was one day where I went to take a shower and my sister was watching him and while she had her back turned he climbed onto the counter found the syrup and poured what was left of it all over himself and the counter. My sister was so worried about cleaning him up before I found out that she didn't take a picture. But when she told me what happened I was sad she didn't get a picture and thought it was funny how fast he got into trouble.

25 weeks pregnant

my new sunhat

I am feeling rather large this pregnancy and yes I realize that I still have a while to go but I already feel so huge. So far Pregnancy is good. I have been hungry a lot so I have been eating a lot but I am growing a baby so I figure this little guy just needs so extra nutrition because all I want lately is food.

Utah and Idaho were a blast, but now we are on to new adventures in Washington with Phil. He has been very missed over the last few weeks and we are glad to be together again. I will try to keep up more but we all know I say this every time and never do. So until next time...

Hello Washington!!!

Sorry for those who saw this post earlier and didn't get to read it, but now you can. As mentioned before I said I would let you know where we are heading and we will be in Everett Washington! Phil recieved an internship with Boeing and we couldn't be more happy. We will also be stopping off in Utah for a few weeks before we head to Washington and we are totally excited to see everyone. We will let you know for sure dates when we get them but for now we haven't made exact arrangements.
We also wanted to let everyone know that baby#2 is scheduled to arrive on October 13th. We are so excited.

Staying busy

We have been staying busy here in Michigan. We recently moved yet again though this will be our last move within Michigan until we graduate. Though we will have to move again in May to get to Phil's internship... location to be announced... We have an almost positive idea of where we are going to be we just have to accept the offer. Once we officially accept we will let everyone know where we will be. Daxton is now 18 months and we are loving his personality. Some fun filled things that daxton does include: -Climbing on everything -saying all sorts of new words -still loves reading more then almost anything -loves rio -he is starting to play with other children -talking to Bruce -moving our face to where he wants it to be -still loves my hair -says sorry

-He has started singing -He loves hats and of course my headbands -He does so many cute things and now that I am trying to type them out I can't remember any of them. but here are some cute pics for your enjoyment.

Daxton with his friend Case watching Rio

Just reading (or at least looking at the pictures)

Just like Daddy

Loungin' on the couch

Playing with Mommy's hair and defineitely not letting me take a nap.
Playing the keyboard
tryin' on Mommy's shorts
Big smiles while playing with MommyHe found some books to read

Live Laugh Love

We are just having fun together. Phil is finally on his Christmas break and we are enjoying having him home. Daxton has grown really attatched to Phil in the last few weeks so having him home all the time has been a relief for both of us.

Daxton likes to get into my drawers and pull out my sports bras and put them on one by one.

Daxton helped me decorate the Christmas tree, though we later had to take the decorations down because Daxton thought he should have free reins on taking the balls down.
Daxton's hair is getting long

Daxton really enjoys finding new places to sit down.

We recieved a box in the mail from Phil's family, we have yet to open the presents but Daxton sure did enjoy the box.

This is what we have been up to...

I know it has been way too long but here is a quick update. So my pictures are terribly out of order and I apologize for that, but this is my most recent project that I took on. My friend Marianne Firth made a bench from scratch and I loved it. It inspired me to turn a pretty bad looking blanket chest into my new favorite object in our room. These are the before pictures. we tried to strip the laminate to redo it but that was way too much work. So I thought hey why not paint it?

Daxton is more and more mobile everyday. In the picture below you can see that is has learned to climb on top of the table. He can also climb onto our bed, up the stairs, and onto Bruce's food container (which he then proceeds from the container to the bench, then onto our bed.)

He loves looking out the window, and he loves Bruce.

Here he is sitting on his ball. (I often sit on my exercise ball so I thought that it was super cute that he would sit on his.) He also likes to sit on our heads when we are on the floor and he likes to try and sit on Bruce but that doesn't usually last long.

Halloween came and went in a whirl wind. I can't believe it is already gone. Here you can see Daxton is as cute as ever in his little turtle costume. He didn't really like the hat but I was able to take a few pictures with it before he took it off.

In August Daxton turned 1!!! He totally loved his cake and definitely dug in. We were able to celebrate it in Utah which was a lot of fun.

Daxton is getting so big. He is walking all over the place and he gets into everything. He loves books, and he most certainly has his favorites. He can say about 15 words and he is learning more and more all the time. He is also learning what sounds different animals make. He has Phil wrapped around his finger and he knows when Phil is home he is going to get what he wants. He gives hugs and kisses, he laughs all the time. He is pretty much the center of our universe.

Phil is well into his first semester of the business program at MSU. He stays busy with all sorts of school projects and is currently looking for an internship for the summer. Overall I would say we are doing well.