Go UTES????????

What the world? Can they really be that bipolar? One week we are awesome the next week it is embarrassing! Alan and I went down to Vegas...without the boys. It was fabulous. Alan drove down with the bros on Thursday and I flew down with my Mom, Dad, and my sister on Friday. It was a great trip minus the U game. That was really BORING!!!!!!!!!!!! We mostly ate... a lot. Cheesecake Factory, In and Out Burger, a Buffet. All the Vegas spots. I was so happy to have my Dad with us but it was hard on him. He was a trooper! His eyes do not make tears anymore so he has to put drops in about every 10 minutes and ice his eyes. He sat through the game with a sweatshirt over his head to block the wind and had to wear a mask for the flight. He is soooooooo amazing. I admire him more than anyone else in the world. We also had our own personal chauffeur. Megan's friend, Robb, drove us around Vegas and did a great job. Even with us all yelling at him from the backseat. We only circled around the city a few times everytime we needed to get somewhere..... Just kidding Robb! I would love to share some photos of the weekend but when you leave the kids home, you pack light. I mean really light! I am bummed I did not bring the camera but it was nice to only have my bag to carry. Oh, and my pump, and the cooler for the milk. Once you have kids, they seem to never leave your side. Even when you are 400 miles away!

I HUGE THANK YOU to Alan's Mom and Dad for taking the boys for the weekend. Can I just say how much we love living by family? I know many people enjoy living away but I can honestly say there has not been one day I did not thank the Lord we live so close to family. Carden loves his Gramdma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, aunts, uncles, and cousins so much. I am so grateful he knows them and they have seen him grow up. He had a great time with the family and again, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for being soooooo helpful!

Good Bye Diapers, Hello Potty

Can it really be that easy? Carden is potty trained and we are loving it. Apparently he was ready because it has been very easy for him. I am so proud of him. We have had a few hilarious moments and have actually enjoyed the process. Why does it seem like he grew up last week? Maybe it is folding the tiny undies in the dryer, the little knocks on our bedroom door in the night asking to use the potty, or him asking if we would like him to potty train Max. I am having one of those days were I can almost cry because life is racing by us too fast. Max is now 8 months old as of yesterday. He says "Ma Ma", shakes his head "No No" and has NO desire to crawl. He hates his tummy and is content just sitting and watching everything going on around him. He LOVES to cuddle and I cherish every time he snuggles into my shoulder. I love being a Mom and I am so grateful Alan works so hard so I can be with my boys all day long.
Happy Potty Days!

Potty Advise?

So I decided to attempt to potty train Carden. I have heard the basics....stay home for three days, do it when they are ready, etc. I would love to receive ANY advice fr0m all of you experienced potty trainers. Pull-ups, no pull-ups, what to do at night, rewards, whatever you think would help.

Bear Country

Alan talked us into going up to Yellowstone for the weekend. We had a blast. It was so fun to see Carden get excited about the animals and once again, Max was along for the ride happy as could be. We also hung out with Les Hopkins and Bart and Gayle, which was a lot of fun. I must admit it is tough traveling with a toddler and an infant, but always worth it. Just as it seems we will spend a little time at home, my honey comes up with another adventure for us to embark on.

I had so share this picture of Max in his outfit Nana bought for him at one of the shops. We talked my parents and sister into coming with us. It was so fun to have them with us.

Welcomed Season

As you can see, it was an exciting morning around here. Alan's dream come true with his Utah boys! The first game is tonight and I am not sure if Alan is more excited about the game or the fact we have been married 7 years today. Happy Anniversary Honey! I love you so much.

Big Accomplishment

We took all of the grandkids on Alan's side to have their pictures taken. We actually got a really cute one. It was a great accomplishment!

I also got a few with Carden and Max!

As far as sleep goes. It worked!!!!!!!!!!! For four nights straight. I was amazed. But the past two nights he has been up. Whatever!!!! I am used to it now. He only gets up for a few minutes and he has been staying in his bed. However, every morning now he says "I had good sleepies last night." He does not even know he gets up in the night. I love him so much with or without sleep! Just look at him picking his nose!

SLEEP STRUGGLES ANYONE?

This post is dedicated to all of you dealing with little ones giving you fits when it comes to any sort of sleep time! I have spent the last few months TRAINING Maxwell to sleep. It took some work and a lot of guilt but we have been successful. However, Carden has been so difficult when it comes to sleeping through the night. Usually around 3:00 a.m. we hear him crying and some gibberish talk followed by banging on the door. We have tried sleep charts, rewards, praise, punishment, etc. I have checked out books at the library and asked everyone I know what to do. He has always been an excellent sleeper (which I do take credit for).

My new plan…. (ya right, another attempt at sanity)
Earlier wake time. Earlier nap time. Earlier bed time. Yesterday was the first attempt. IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!! Now it may be a fluke but I am happy to have received 6.5 hours of straight sleep last night! It felt great. I was reading a few blogs and noticed so many of our friends are dealing with the same thing. I had to laugh. It is nice to know, Rossi Family, we were not the only ones with our lights on at 4:30 a.m. Max woke but went back down after only a few minutes. However, I had had over six hours of sleep. That is rare and so my body was not going to go back to sleep. I thought maybe I should go to the gym. However, it is not open at that time of the……morning…..or is it still night? So I RESTED in my bed and actually fell back asleep at 5:30 only to have cute Max wake for his morning feeding at 5:45. So, off to the gym I went after all.

Isn’t it nice to know many other lights are on around your neighborhood at 1:00, 3:00, or even 4:30 a.m.? No one is alone in the not so simply task of teaching our children to sleep.

SWEET DREAMS!