How do you eat an Oreo?

Trying to get Mason to eat anything normal is an ongoing battle. He normally won't eat homemade cookies, but loves Chips Ahoy and Oreos. I tried to give him Nutter Butters, but other than a tiny nibble, he wouldn't try them. It was fun to watch him eat the Oreos. He'd pull them apart and eat all of the filling and leave the cookie portion on the table. After he had finished all of the filling, he finally went back and ate a few of the 'ends'. We also tried to show him how to dip them in milk. Luckily he preferred them without dunking, becuase that was dang messy! This photo was taken back on June 11th.

Father's Day

This post is a little late, but here are a few photos from Father's Day 2008.

Tristyn in her cute church dress. It was her first time going to church--we just went to Sacrament Meeting for the Father's Day program. Afterward, she wasn't real happy that I was taking photos instead of feeding her!

Mason decided to wear Dan's gift when he gave it to him (Dan picked it out himself several weeks ago).

Mason also gave Dan National Treasure 2 and a book about what dad's can't do (like cross the street without holding hands or give a bath without getting soaking wet.)

After it cooled off a little bit, we went out back and enjoyed our new patio furniture (which I told Dan was a gift for Mother's Day, Father's Day, and our anniversary). It was great to relax for a while.

Dan is a great husband and father and we hope he had a great day!

Brave Brother

For the first two weeks of Tristyn's life, Mason would hardly acknowledge her! I snapped this photo on June 16th because it was the first time that Mason got close to her on purpose. He wasn't as interested in her as he was the buttons on her swing, but it's a start right!?

Tristyn just sat back and relaxed while Mason turned the lights and music on and off.

Stamping Buddy

Mason has become my new little stamping buddy. While I had my scrapbooking/stamping stuff out making cards, he climbed up next to me and grabbed the stamps I was using. I gave him is own paper and he quickly became an expert at 'random stamping'.

Mason can't pass by a flower without smelling it--the same goes for stamps, I guess. I'm sure he had a stamped flower on his nose!

I haven't been able to teach him that you can't go back and forth between ink colors without cleaning the stamp, so I have since given him little stamp pads that I don't need so he can mix and match all he wants!

Fun in the sun

This is Mason's new swimming pool. A few weeks ago he was out playing in his old pool, which was about 3 feet wide and 6 inches tall! The poor kid tried to lay on his belling in it and his feet and head poked over the ends (I'll have to post a photo of it!). Since he had outgrown that pool, we decided to get one that's a bit bigger. He absolutely loves it!

His favorite part is filling it up with the hose. He also likes to take the hose out and water the plants, the patio, and us (I saw him put it on Dan's back when he was laying on the lounge chair the other day--Dan didn't like it so much!). He didn't mind the cold water, except when he tried to sit down--when it hit his belly he'd jump up really quick.

I think this will be his Saturday activity for the next few months!

Mason's Card for Tristyn

Felicia at Mason's daycare helped him make this cute card for Tristyn. She helped him write the words inside. So cute!!!

Gotta have some bling!

The other night I wanted to try on a few of the headbands that I bought for Tristyn. This is probably the one she'll wear for her blessing, but she looked so dang cute that I wanted to show her off! Most of the others are still way too big for her head!

I haven't seen any of the little ribbon bows anywhere (like you'd stick on with jelly). Is there a good place to get them? I'm hoping I don't have to tie them myself! Otherwise, she may never wear them!

The best time of day . . . NAP TIME!!

Today is the first day that I've been home alone all day with both kids and somehow managed to get them to nap at the same time! Neither of them are getting as much attention as I'd like to give them, but things have gone pretty well so far. It was a bit challenging when they both woke up at the same time! I hung out with Mason in his room for a while, but he was pretty upset when I had to go get Tristyn. After she ate, he led me to her bassinet and tried to get me to put her down so I could go back and play in his room. Nevermind that he hasn't been outside all day and has spent the majority of the day playing the computer and fast forwarding through one DVD after another (he just likes to dance through the credits). Hopefully Dan will be up for taking him outside to play for a while when he gets home!

He's asleep on the floor, but at least his sleeping!!! Since I mentioned the computer--he likes to play his Nemo game and is really good at lining up colored wheels, following Dory's pattern as she jumps on jellyfish, and clicking on the correct color totem. He also likes to play on noggin.com and he has figured out several of the games without assistance from us. He matches Blue's clothes, jumps from vine to vine, colors Japanese lanterns, watches all sorts of Noggin videos, and finds new things all the time. Today he was playing a new Diego game where he had to guide the sea turtle with the mouse so it could eat the jellyfish. He thought it was really funny when the turtle ate garbage and fell to the bottom of the screen!

She sleeps for 3-4 hours, wakes up and poops, eats, maybe looks around for a while, then sleeps for another 3-4 hours! I can't wait until I can get her fingernails short enough that she won't scratch her face. She hates the gloves and I wish I could remember to take them off for photos!

So how have I spent naptime?? I caught a 3 o'clock shower (and was finally able to shave my legs!) and have been blogging and editing pictures! I'm seriously considering joining them, though!

Tristyn Kaylah

Tristyn was born Monday, June 2nd, at 7:27 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and was 19 inches long. It was a scheduled induction and everything went well. Tristyn is doing great and has adjusted well to life at home (although she seems to be confused between day and night!). Mason is 'respecting her space' and doesn't want to get too close to her or to us when we're holding her. I'm sure he'll come around though! He has enjoyed having grandma and grandpa here for a couple of days! My brother Charlie went to the MTC on the 4th, so he was able to stop by the hospital to visit and see the baby that morning. Here are a few photos:

Mason Narrative

As many of you know by now, Stephanie and I recently had an addition to our family. Rather than bore you with my “version” of this event, I thought it would be best for Mason, our two-year-old son, to provide his interpretation of what transpired this week.

“Dad, where have you been? And Where’s Mom? I woke up this morning and you guys had taken off! Aunt Diane was here, but she’s been trying to feed me weird foods all day. She keeps prattling on about baby this and baby that. We went to park this morning and….. What? Go for a ride? Sure I guess. But what about Mom? She’ll meet us there? Alright, anything to get out of the house. Where are my shoes?

La, la, la, I am so great, I am so great! What? We’re going to the Hospital? Why? Mom is there? With a surprise for me? Okay, I guess that’s cool, but if I see that Nurse there who stuck me with those needles I expect you to distract her and I’ll……..oooohhhh, you’re right, that is a big building. Shiny too!

Hey look! A Fountain! Let’s play for a minute. What? We have to go see Mom? Why can’t she just meet us here? Maybe I could splash her with water! C’mon Dad, it’d be great. Oh, okay, we can go, but Mom better have some chocolate or something for me. Man, I’m starving…maybe some of those fruits snacks. They’re so juicy. I swear I could eat a hundred of those things. Hey look, an elevator! I love these! Let’s see how many buttons I can push. La la la, I am so great, I am so great! What does the red button do?

Dad, c’mon let’s do the elevator again! What? Mom’s on this floor? Okay, I’ll go look around for her. You stay here Dad. Maybe Mom will want to push buttons with me. What do you mean this way? I know where I’m going! Oh crap! A nurse, I’d recognize that transparent smile anywhere. Follow me Dad I think she’s this way. La, La, La. I am so great. I am so great!

Which room? This one? Hey look Dad, it’s Mom! Mom, where have you been?! You missed the fountain and the elevators and……..WHAT THE GUMDROPS? Mom, What happened? You look exhausted! Well, let me give you hug….Whaaa… Mom!!?? What is that in your arms? Get that thing outta here! Hey you, out of the way, your in my Mom’s huggin’ arms and I’m not gonna stand for this! BABY SISTER? Where? This thing? You said I’d be a BIG BROTHER! You didn’t say anything about this miniature ball of whatever! What?! This is baby sister? This is what the fuss is all about? NO, I don’t want to hold her! Well, okay, let’s take a look at her. Mmmphh! I don’t see what the big deal is. Breathtaking? I wouldn’t call her Breathtaking! Well, yeah she’s cute and…what does that got to do with anything! So what does she do? She can’t even open her eyes….oh well…okay, maybe she can. Yes they’re beautiful but….well, what else can she do? Can she recite the alphabet? Count to twenty? Stand on her head? No? Eat, sleep and poop? Big deal. I can do that. I think I can even do all three at once! Try and beat that my little red faced friend!

Okay Dad, I’ve had just about enough of this fairy tale, let’s get Mom and get the heck out of here. That elevator is calling my name and…..What? Baby sister is coming home with us? That is complete nonsense Mom…aaaahhhhh….Dad, can you believe what Mom just said, she…..No! No! No! Unacceptable! Where is she going to sleep? Oh no, that’s my computer room, she’ll get her sticky fingers all over my keyboard! What is she going to eat? Oh no, there’s little enough milk to go around, I don’t need this little half pint dipping into the fridge. Mom! Dad! C’mon! I really feel I should have been consulted about this! Last nine months? Baby Sister? Well… sure… I vaguely remember you mentioning….but I thought it was just so that I would behave. You know, like an empty threat? Like Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny. Well, I’ve seen her, now we can send her back to the North Pole or wherever it is that she came from. Oh man! This is not good, and where is that freakin’ chocolate?! I’m so hungry! I swear I’m starting to get the shakes.

Okay, just relax. Take a deep breath. I’m sure we’ll figure a way out of this mess. How could Dad be so naïve? Mom I understand, she’s been reading baby magazines for months now, I figured it would only be a matter of time before she wanted one, but Dad? I don’t think I’ve ever even seen him read a magazine. Come to think of it, I’m not even sure I’ve seen Dad read anything other than the sports section. Oh man, this is really going from bad to worse. Mom and Dad both seem resigned to just keep this thing. They can’t even wipe those goofy smiles off their faces! Maybe there is Customer Service Department on the way outta here. I can submit a complaint or inquire as to their return or exchange policy.

Hey.. wait a second! That was my surprise? That’s it? That’s the big deal? What do you mean? I’m a big brother now? I’m a BIG BROTHER now!!!! Cool. Okay, maybe this won’t be so bad after all. Is this an honorary title or a paid position? Benefits? Stock options? Pension Plan?. La, la, la, I’m a big brother now! La la la, I’m a BIG BROTHER now! I’M A BIG BROTHER NOW! I am so great!

Elder Jenkins

This weekend we took a quick trip to Star Valley for my brother Charlie's mission farewell. He has been called to the Hartford, Connecticut mission and will enter the MTC on June 4th. He gave a great talk on sustaining the Prophet and other church leaders. Then we had a yummy luncheon that included tons of awesome food. We had a lot of family and several of Charlie's friends in attendance. In this photos he's visiting with a table full of friends.




Charlie took a second to pose with Mason and Me.



It was my other brother Danny's birthday on Saturday. He had planned to spend the whole holiday weekend camping, but decided to take a break to attend the farewell and eat real food! My mom had a huge cake for him and we all sang happy birthday. Last Saturday was also our 6th wedding anniversary. I've decided that it's hard relax and enjoy an anniversary when you're 38+ weeks pregnant and also traveling with a 2 1/2 year old. Since I wasn't sure that the doctor would let me go at all, it was great to be able to make the quick trip--anniversary or not!

We're not quite sure when Charlie grew taller than Danny, but he said that although he has the height, Danny has the strength. Although I did beat Charlie arm wrestling several years ago, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't happen again! I think all of my sisters would agree that we have two pretty cool brothers!



This was our attempt to get a family photo! Everyone was there except DanaRae's husband Scott, who was working. Yeah, that's my kid in the front that's trying to escape! He takes after his dad . . .

Finally a Swingset

Mason got this swingset for Easter and we were able to put the slide portion of it together back in March, but we didn't have a place ready in the yard so we could attach the swings. Thanks to Dan's hard work (and Shane's trailer), we were able to get the area finished. Dan laid brick to separate the play area from the yard and we have since moved the swingset back onto the dirt you see in the photo and filled the area with woodchips. Now if it would just stop raining so Mason could play back there!

After all that work, it was still Dan's job to push Mason in the swing!

Okay, so I had a turn, too!

Mason and Kambry (my sister Suzy's youngest) could have swung all night! Melissa was watching Kambry at our house while Suzy and Adam went to Disneyland with Carson and Hallie. Hopefully Kambry felt like she was on a Disneyland ride while she was swinging (in a couple of years she realize that she was jipped!).

One happy kid!

Backyard fun

Dan has been working on this back corner of our yard since we bought this house 5 years ago! We were planning to make a raised flower bed, but decided that it was the most level part of the yard to put Mason's swingset/slide that he got for Easter. He was finally able to get the huge chunks of concrete out (left over from the retaining wall) so he could level it all out.

Mason had fun riding his tricycle around the patio while Dan worked.

He also watched the huge pile of ants!

And watched them some more (Dan sprayed them afterward and they magically disappeared!).

The Living Planet Acquarium

Another rainy day activity--The Living Planet Acquarium in Sandy. It's still in the temporary location until they have enough money to move to the Gateway, so there aren't a ton of exibits, but Mason loved it! We've taken him once before, but it's been a long time. Dan wanted to get out last Friday for an early Mother's Day celebration.

Mason loved watching the little black Sea Horses.

He didn't want to hold still very long for photos, so we had to snap this quick before he wiggled out of my arms!

Mason loved this tank since it had a few fish that resembled the fish from Finding Nemo. There was also a little tank with Nemo (clown) fish that he thought was pretty cool. After the acquarium, Mason and Dan took me to Ruby River Steakhouse at Jordan Commons for a Mother's Day dinner. Yum! You can see more photos on the link with the last post.