Birthday Boy Turns 28

Happy birthday to the best looking man I know! I captured a rare moment snapping a picture when Josh took a nap today. He works hard and crashes hard. Love you Josh!

Oh Please

I had to take a quick second to get this down. My youngest sister, Miranda, is a senior in high school. She had a friend over this evening so they could get ready together before going out for the night. They ran out to her truck and a couple minutes later her friend comes back in the door. We look over, she looks at us, then she says, "Um, where's the porch?" WHAT? Apparently my sister sent her back from the truck to drop off her school books so they would have more room in the car. Miranda told her to put them on the porch, so she walked in the door trying to find it. Seriously. This is not a joke. This girl, a senior in high school, had no idea what a porch was, or where to find it.

A Fond Farewell

I have a great dad. He has taught me so many things and always been a positive influence in my life. Friday was a bittersweet day for my family. Lt. Col. De La Paz got on a plane and flew to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas to undergo special training before heading to Iraq for a year.

The military has always been a big part of my dad's life. He joined the National Guard when I was only a few years old. His deployment is a choice that we all, as a family, completely support. He is excited to serve our country overseas and continue to make a difference in people's lives around the world. I am proud to be his daughter.

I learned first hand about generosity and being a good person from my dad. He has sacrificed his time for over 20 years as a patriotic member of the Armed Forces. I am proud of the person he is, and his desire to make a positive impact in the lives of others. I think being part of the military speaks volumes for someone who stands by his convictions and wants to give back to a country that has given him so much.

We will miss him tremendously, and the few days he has been gone already seem to drag by. Macie told me that she is 4 now, so Papi can come home. She is so sweet. Too bad she's still 3. Luckily he will (most likely) spend a few days with us in December when he finishes his training, before leaving for Iraq. Thank you Dad for all that you do. You are admirable in every respect. God be with you.

All Things Ty

I feel like Ty is getting the short end of the stick. Such is the life of the second child. I don't do monthly updates or have half as many pictures as I did with Macie at his age. His personality seems to fit my neglect because he is WAY too busy to care about what I do. He has his own agenda and doesn't let Mom or anyone else get in his way. Here are a few things about my Ty Guy:

• He loves food. Basically any kind will do. I've discovered that the only way I can get him to hold still while I change his diaper is to put a snack in his hand. I love to watch him walk into the kitchen, head straight over to the snack cupboard, open it up and pull something out. If the package needs to be open he brings it to me, otherwise he just helps himself. 

• His attention can be diverted by the word "outside" at any moment. He runs to the door, bangs and yells until it opens. However, if he sees someone going outside and he isn't invited there will be a crying protest. "Shoes" is one of the words he can sign, and he asks for them often so he can go outside and walk around. 

• He picked up signing pretty well so far, considering I didn't teach him too many words. I feel like it makes life a little easier. He will show us signs for eat, all done, more, shoes and please.

• Ty loves his blankies. Any of his soft blankets will do, he doesn't have a favorite yet. I suspected he would cling to a blanket because he never took a pacifier or sucked his thumb. 

• I love when he says "Ma-ma" although "Da-da" seems to be his favorite word. He is quick to recognize Josh's presence, but to be clear, he is still very attached to me. He also says hello, sounds like "I-lo", "woo-woo" (he barks) for dog, and "sho" for shoes.  

• He is very inquisive and likes to figure out how things work. He enjoys putting things together, taking them apart, fitting them into spaces...all that boy stuff.

• His favorite toys are balls and books. He spends a good portion of the day playing catch with himself. He throws the ball, hurries over to it, picks it up and throws it again. He also pulls books off the bookshelf and brings them to us to read. He gets really into the animal ones and tries to make the right sounds. He's getting there. Books are one of the moments I can get him to sit still voluntarily. 

• He is a daredevil. I am amazed and the physical power of my little guy at age 1. He watches Macie and tries to do what she does. For example, the bottom of our stairs are blocked off, but Ty grabs onto the rails from the outside and climbs up the side. He stands on the bottom step with white knuckles yelling for me to come see what he's done. He is very proud. He also gets mad when I pull him off because he wants to keep climbing. Luckily he hasn't figured how to climb sideways yet. I snapped a picture of him trying to walk around a raised pillar like Macie does. He can also open doors. Fortunately, he can't open any of the doors to get outside yet. I have a feeling I will find him trapped in the garage one of these days though. 

• We celebrated his first birthday with some swimming and a BBQ. Ty had a great time despite everyone's disappointment that he didn't devour his cake and make a huge mess. I'm sorry my child prefers peas to birthday cake. He is my child, what can I say.

• He weighs almost 23 pounds and his height is in the 95th percentile. The pediatrician asked me if people think he is older than 12 months. Not really, they just comment on how tall he is. No surprise there.

• My sweet little guy never fails to make us smile. He cracks us up every day with the things he does. He is very loving and happy. He greets people with a toothy grin and gets even happier when they smile back. He loves to laugh. It makes us laugh when he does. He and Macie have a special bond that I know was formed before this life. They love each other so much (eventhough she pushes him around once and a while). When I think back to the time he was born and how hard life was for me, I know Ty was worth every minute. I love you Bubba.  

Big Buddy

Tomorrow this little guy will celebrate his first birthday.

This is what he's been up to this past month:

No, I'm Not Kidding

Let's review my day, shall we?

6:45 am - Macie comes in to tell us that she can't find the little digital clock she keeps on her bed. (She is supposed to wait until after 7 to come out of her room.)

7:20 - I go into Ty's room and am shocked by how hot it is. Hm, that's not normal.

7:30 - 11:00 - Josh leaves for the day. We eat breakfast, get dressed, Ty takes his morning nap, cleaning people arrive, thermostat continues to rise upstairs, and my sister calls and wants us to come over and play. I am also speculating that our AC is not functioning upstairs. I text Josh, he says he will look at it when he gets home. By the way, the high for today was over 100 degrees.

11:00 - 11:30 - I give Macie her vitamin and a cup of grape juice, we get in the car and drive to my sister's house. Macie starts to cough a little and tells me that the juice isn't "getting it." Getting what? Is a piece of her chewable vitamin stuck? I give her some of my water. As we get close to my sister's house she tells me her stomach hurts. That is NEVER a good sign. 30 seconds later she throws up in the car, multiple times.

11:30 - 1:00 - HELL. Awful. I arrive at my sister's house to discover another mess. Mel dropped a gallon  of milk in the garage while she was unloading groceries, and it broke open. I unload Ty, who is overdue for a bottle, and then move on to Macie. If you don't like nasty details, STOP READING NOW. Macie and her booster seat were covered in grape juice vomit. She was wearing a super cute white outfit. Not anymore! I strip her down, put her in the bath, and the following hour is pretty much a blur. It consisted of cleaning and disinfecting the car, washing the carseat and Macie's clothes, bathing Macie, feeding the kids, and cleaning milk out of the garage. I also learned that one of my car windows won't roll down. Sweet, when did that happen?

1:30 - 3:45 - I finally get something to eat because I feel like I'm going to pass out. Ty needs his afternoon nap, but Macie's carseat isn't dry yet. My sister sets up the pack 'n play and he takes a nap. We finally get things cleaned up and squared away so we can head home.

4:00 - 7:30 - I get home and check the themostat upstairs. 85 degrees. I now conclude that the AC is most definitely not working. I call the service people and they head over. Josh comes home. The repairman tells us things about lots of parts, labor, and a good chunk of money. And nothing can be done until Monday or Tuesday. He also blew dust from the attic all over Macie's bedroom while he was "trying" to vacuum it up off the floor. Completely unacceptable.

Josh calls another service company to come over while I feed the kids. The person who takes the call actually knows Josh and sends someone right over. While we wait, Ty's crib is disassembled (this is one of those times having a pack 'n play would have come in handy) and set up in the toy room downstairs so he can sleep with some cool air. Macie's room is thoroughly vacuumed out and bedding is put in the washer. The second repairman is very nice, efficient, and has a completely different solution to our problem. We end up with functioning AC upstairs and no bill.

Finally, my thrilling day is winding down. The kids are sleeping and the house is cooling off. I am able to sit down with a glass of water, and I now feel how exhausted I am. My back hurts so bad from all of the tension and stress today. I am so happy that today is over. So very happy. I really hope tomorrow is better.

*I have to admit, my kids were so well behaved today. Macie was completely fine the second after she threw up and had a great time with her cousin Sadie. Ty was an angel and played so well at my Mel's house. Way to come through guys.

**Thank you Danica for sending your good luck our way. However, I do think my story is funnier than yours.

____________________________________________

Despite the fact that I had a busy day, I kept thinking about the signifigance of today. Eight years ago today I was a college student, glued to the television set trying to make sense of the terrorists attacks. It was awful. So many people lost loved ones that day, and the rest of us felt the impact in other ways. I am glad we have time to remember. I will never forget.

Back To The Grind

We were spoiled with Josh over the past four weeks while he had vacation time. I felt like I was on vacation too, yet, lets face it, in reality there is no vacation from being a mom. Yesterday was my first day back on my own again and we missed Josh all day.  Here's some of the things that we did over the last month:

• Our yard received a face-lift, both front and back. 
• The cars had every crumb and smudge removed (although it didn't take long for those types of things to return). 
• We went to the cannery, just the two of us, and had a fun time laughing at each other in hairnets. 
• We did another inventory of our 72 hr. kits to keep things rotated and accounted for.  
• We spent time at Lake Mead.
• Visited San Diego and Genoa (& Tahoe!)
• Sent Josh's brothers off to Brazil and BYU. 

I think since we were busy it seemed to go by fast. I love having Josh home all the time! Now I have a list a mile long of things I need to do that I put off during the break. One of them includes to revamp my blog (hence the current way it looks). I'm working on deciphering html and adjusting images. It is taking a lot of time when I don't seem to have much to begin with. I also updated my google reader today and HELLO, where have I been? It has been well over a year (maybe 2?) since I did it last and I was missing like half of my blog list. So a big hello to everyone that I hadn't seen in a long time! I rely on reader because it's much quicker than going from blog to blog. I also added a followers link to my page, so feel free to add yourself. 

Now that I feel summer is officially over since Josh's break is done, I need to do a major recap post. One of these days, I promise...

Did You Really Just Say That???

Macie is 3 1/2 years old going on 10. She hangs out with the older girls in the neighborhood and completely thinks she is right on their level. Bless those girls' little hearts, they put up with her and are very nice. Macie has been a little sad lately because the neighbors have gone back to school and she isn't old enough to go yet. After the first day one of the neighbor girls had a couple friends over to swim and they let Macie tag along, floaties and all. Well, apparently one of the dads was watching the girls in the pool. He is a little older looking and his hair is greying. His daughter was talking to him and called him "Dad" of course. My smarty pants 3 year old said, "Hey, that's not your dad. He's your grandpa." I don't even know what to say about that except I am SO embarrassed. I'm glad I wasn't there because I don't know what I would have said. One of the other girls told me about it. I know she wasn't trying to be funny or mean, she was just speaking her mind. Oh my Macie. Please don't do that again.

By the way, this is her dance picture that I scanned in. Isn't she gorgeous? We're working on manners so she can be beautiful and well mannered. Here's to hoping.

Summer Vacation

A family vacation was long overdue, so we packed up and headed to San Diego. Macie had been asking to go to the beach for a long time and we figured she would enjoy Sea World as well. We were right, the kids loved it. We had an extra fun time because the Baldwins came along.


Packed to the max and ready to go. Thank goodness for portable DVD players.


Macie meets sea lion.


Ty is not a fan of sea lions. Actually, this was probably the only time he cried because the barking startled him. Ty loved the animals and was very into seeing everything.


Hello Shamu. I didn't get a picture of them, but the Palmers met us at Sea World too. They live in San Diego now so it was great to see them for a bit.


Macie touched her first starfish in the tide pool.


The boys spent a lot of time doing this: Devin and Josh chatting, Ty and Alex watching/sleeping in the strollers.


The massive walrus was the grossest thing we saw all day. He came right up to the glass and proceeded to chew his lunch in our face. Maybe we were in his face. Anyway, it kept going in and out, in and out.


Leaving Sea World with Ty's lone souvenir.


We spent a day at the beach in La Jolla.


Mom and her buddy.


I love this picture. It's one of the rare moments Macie and Tigi were sitting down.


The girls spent most of the day running in and out of the water. Luckily the weather was quite nice and not as cold as I expected.


Ty doing what he does best: being a boy. He loved sitting around and playing with the sand toys. I'm sad to say this was my deprived child's first time playing in the dirt. Ever. Did I mention I hate sand?

I'm pretty sure we were the cutest family on the beach. Okay, okay, the Baldwins cut a close second.


Our girly girls.


The little buddies.


I really liked Macie having a friend with her the whole trip. These two are so cute together, when they don't fight of course. We had so much fun that we may have to drag the Baldwins along on all our vacations.


Ty was hoping he could drive home.


I had to pry his chubby little hands off of the steering wheel so we could go home.


We played hard.

Called To Serve

Yesterday we went to the airport to say goodbye to Josh's brother, Brent. He is serving a mission in Brazil for the next two years. We are very proud of his decision to dedicate two years of service to the Lord and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. We have no doubt that he will be a great missionary. We'll miss you!