Day to Day

I realize that my blog posts are irregular and infrequent, but I feel like my days all just seem to run together until they're a blur and time has passed without me noticing. If anything, I really need to be better about taking pictures and writing things down about my kids. Here's what we've been up to:

Snowball fight in December in Arizona

Lots and lots of Legos! Notice the expression on Nate's face. They are literally overtaking my house. It drives me a little crazy, but I have to admit, they are the best toy for Soren, but that's another post for another day...

Hosting family from Utah. We miss them! Wish they lived closer!

Growing up...made the big move to the Big Girl bed! It was a very easy and smooth transition. Wish I could say the same about potty training. :(

Squeezing in as much quality time as we can with Dad. I couldn't resist taking this picture.

Soren recently took a basketball class through the city and now he's playing T-ball. It's fun to see him really start to get into sports.

Keeping busy taking care of these two wild ones. They've been playing really cute together lately. Soren usually wakes up first in the morning and is always anxious for Sofie to wake up and play with him. Half the time he ends up waking her up himself.

I know I'm biased, but they sure are cute!

And, this is my own little hobby that I have fun with. I decorated this cake for my niece's first birthday last week. I have fun doing it. It kind of makes me want to take a class.

A Year Later....

So, it's been over a year since I took a picture of them while driving in the car, and here is proof that they can still be sweet to each other despite the sibling rivalry that goes on from time to time. I picked up Soren from school today, and after about five minutes of driving in complete silence, I looked back to see this. It puts a smile on my face. :)

For Grandma and Grandpa

Yes, we are alive! I promised Grandma that we would post these pictures a long time ago. To be honest, I haven't been really great about taking pictures lately. In fact, I had a year's worth of pictures on my camera before I downloaded them all to the computer. And now as I'm looking at them, I wish I knew how to take better picture with my camera. Perhaps it might help if my kids would sit still and look at the camera long enought for me to snap the picture. :) No such luck!

I really don't have a great reason to explain my absence either, and I'm not sure that I can promise that I will be more diligent, but I'll sure try for the sake of the grandparents who live too far away. :) If anything, hopefully it will entice you to come visit more often.

Obi Wan Kenobe
(It's very important that you don't mistake him for Luke Skywalker. As Soren will tell not hesitate to tell you, they have different colored light sabers- just so you know.)

The Cutest Ballerina Ever
(yes, I know I'm biased)

Highlight of My Day

It made my day yesterday, when I looked back and saw this...

I realize the quality of the pic. isn't great, but you do what you can with what you have. I did my very best to snap this with the camera on my phone, while driving stick at the same time.

Oh, To Be Young Again!

So, last Saturday I ran a 10K with some of my friends. I have to say, I thought I was getting to be in pretty good shape. I guess I'll just have to use this race as a starting point, because apparently, I have a ways to go...If it hadn't been for Brynn, I would have given up or walked at some point. Thanks for pulling me along!

(Me, Jamie, Brynn, and Tarah)

P.S. Gone, are the days where I can run a race without having to worry about wetting my pants. Apparently birthing two kids will do that to ya. :)

One of Those Days...

So, in my efforts to get back in shape (that is, if I'm not to far gone), I have started running in the mornings. This morning was no different when I had to drag myself out of bed at 6:00 a.m. to go before Nate had to leave for work. When I left, it seemed that all my little babes (including Nate) were tucked safely in their beds. Well,...when I returned an hour later, the door was locked, which was weird because I left it unlocked. Nate answered the door with an odd look on his face, and he wasn't at all ready for work like I expected him to be. Apparently, Soren had followed me out the door and went looking for me, unbeknownst to me and Nate. Thankfully, Drew, our neighbor, saw him a quarter-of-a-mile away as he was driving out of the neighborhood, headed for work. I'm confident that there were angels looking after Soren when I think of all the things that could have happened to him in this scary-hairy world of ours. Needless to say, we will be making some changes to our locks ASAP. Even if I had locked the door this morning, it wouldn't have stopped him. He knows how to unlock even the dead bolt.

Well, to say the least, the last couple of days have been rough between me and my little guy. So, I think I need a little reminder of all the things I love so much about him. Here are just a few:

First, he gives us an overflowing, constant stream of free entertainment. I'm sorry the video appears a little blurry and muffled. Keep in mind that it was also taken 6 months ago.


Second, he is so incredibly smart. I realize that every parent thinks this about their child, but I am constantly amazed at the things he knows, especially when I don't even remember teaching them to him. Sometimes, I worry that I'm a little too hard on him for that very reason. I have to remind myself that he is still only three years old.

Third, he really is such a sweet and thoughtful boy when he wants to be, especially to his little sister. She loves him so much. This last picture is of her parking herself outside of his bedroom just waiting for him to wake up for the day. Don't mind the fact that she is in only a diaper. That seems to be pretty standard around our house these days.

P.S. I don't know how I would survive these days if it weren't for the friends, who it seems, are inspired when they call at the exact right times. THANK YOU! You know who you are, and may the blessings of heaven be poured out upon you....and may I strive to become more like you....:)

9 Months

We took Sofie in for her 9-month check-up today. Wow! I can't believe that 9 months has already passed. I feel bad, like I haven't really been able to enjoy Sofie's baby stage like I did Soren's. It's like she grew up overnight. I'm far enough removed from it now, that I can honestly say, I was miserable for the first few months. She was not an easy baby. I loved her nonetheless, but she was very fussy and had a major temper. However, she is more than making up for it now. I have never known a baby to be so pleasant and happy all the time, even when she's tired. She is very social and loves to interact with people, especially her brother. I love watching the two of them together. While we were on hiatus in Utah, she finally started to crawl forward (as opposed to backwards) and her first two teeth came in. I will try to get a good picture of the two teefers later and post it.

Sofie weighed in at 17 lbs, 4 oz (25th percentile), and measured 27 1/2 inches long (45th percentile). She's a growin' girl, and I love it!

Tagged

So, my computer crashed about three weeks ago, which would partially explain the huge gap between posts. I quickly came to realize just how much I depended on my computer/the internet. It was a little depressing. I was also heart sick about all the pictures I had lost. Word to the wise...back up your photos regularly. I hadn't done it in a about a year. Luckily, I have a superhuman father who knows computers better than anyone! He managed to save our hard drive and even get us up and running again. Thus, I reenter the blogging world after such a long absence. I still can't post any new pictures yet because I need to re-download some software first, so in the mean time...I was tagged....

10 years ago, I was...
Planning what I would wear to my senior prom, preparing for graduation, and gearing up for my freshman year at BYU. I think I'm in denial because it feels like yesterday that I was walking the halls of good ol' Mesa High. Sometimes I swear I still feel 18 at heart. Well, the truth is out, I'm an oldie.

5 things on my to-do list tomorrow...
*Clean my house
*Learn to sew
*Clean my house
*Do my laundry
*Clean my house (I need a little motivation if you can't tell)

4 things I would do if I were a billionaire...
*Furnish and decorate my house....a girl can dream
*pay off our debts
*invest some...kind of mandatory when your husband is a numbers guy...he keeps telling me what a great retirement we'll have
*donate all the rest to the Church

3 bad habits...
*I'm a zit picker; a shameful habit, I know, but I do it without thinking, leaving scars on my face. Nate will tease me and tell me that I look like I've been a fight afterwards.
*I drink Diet Coke like it's a bad habit. If there were an AA equivalent for DC drinkers, I would be in attendance. However, Nate and I have a deal, if I quit "the sauce," we'll use all the money I'll save to buy my a gym membership. I'll let you know how it goes...
*I'm a collector. I have a hard time throwing things away that I know I might need someday, no matter how far away that someday might be.:) I guess that would explain my need to clean my house. However, Nate is a purger, so I like to think we balance each other out in that department.

5 places I have lived...
Logan, UT-I was born to an Aggie
Bountiful, UT-till I was 9
Mesa, AZ-till I left home for College
Provo, UT
Gilbert, AZ

5 jobs I have had...
sales clerk at Zakly's (least favorite job of all time)
summer temp at a mortgage company
assistant to an Admissions counselor at BYU
Office Manager in Housing at BYU
High School English Teacher

6 things most people don't know about me...
*I have a phobia of driving on bridges. When we were in San Diego, crossing over to Coronado, my palms would get sweaty and my heart would beat faster. It sure didn't help things when that bridge collapsed in Minnesota last year.
*I'm obsessed with Hollywood. I check People.com on a daily basis and I know more about the stars than I should. It's people like me that keep the the shameless paparazzi in business.
*Food makes me happy! I love food! I genuinely look forward to going out to eat (preferably without the kiddos). That would explain my need for a gym membership. One of my favorites is Thai food. My local favorite Thai restaurant is a small mom-and-pop shop called the Siam Orchid. Just thinking about it makes me happy. So, if you're ever in the mood...
*My nickname all growing up was Beezer. To this day, I still get called that name on occasion by family members.
*Technically, I never really got a honeymoon. Nate and I took turns being sick right after we were married. Now, when I say right after, I literally mean right after. As I was feeding Nate our wedding cake, he whispered to me, "Better make it a small piece. I'm not feelin' so hot." It pretty much went downhill from there. We were supposed to go to Mazatlan. It's actually a pretty funny story from start to finish. It felt like it was right out of a Ben Stiller movie.
*I write with my left hand, but I do pretty much everything else right-handed (i.e. play sports).

Nothing too exciting, I know, but there you have it.

I tag....Lauren, Tarah, and Iliana

A Wedding Weekend

My brother did it! He managed to find the perfect girl! This weekend he will tie the knot and I couldn't be happier about it. I joke that he's marrying up. Now, that may sound a little harsh, but it's my way of emphasizing that he really did pick a good one. The celebrating starts tomorrow and will continue on through Saturday. Let the festivities begin...

Skyler and Jenn

Shocker!

I know, two posts in one day, let alone one week! It's gettin' crazy! I mainly just wanted to experiment with adding video. I was looking through some of the pictures and video clips from the past couple of months and I thought I would add this one of Sofie and Soren talking. Sofie squawks and squeals when she talks, almost like a bird of some sort, but I still think it's cute. This video is a little over a month old. Oh, and yes, that is a chocolate chip cookie in Soren's hand. Yes, my child is taking after his mother in the sweet tooth department.

How Did I Get So Lucky?

So, after talking to several fellow mothers and hearing their stories, I know that I am lucky when it comes to Soren and his 'big-boy-bed.' It probably goes back to when Soren was in a crib. Never once did he ever attempt to climb out of it. So, when we put him in his bed this past December, I was curious to see what he would do without the bars. I was nervous to see how naps and bedtime would go. Glory be--the transition went well! It started out that he didn't even get out of the bed until Nate or I came to get him. In fact, one morning, Nate found him reaching for his Spiderman, but he didn't think he could quite reach it. As soon as Nate walked in, he said, "I can't reach it. Help me!" Eventually he dared to climb out of the bed, but he will still play quietly in his room until one of us comes to get him. I hope it lasts, at least for a little while longer...

Like Brother, Like Sister

Sofie decided to follow in her brother's footsteps, so to speak, and waited until she was five months old to roll over. She did it today for the first time! I have yet to actually see her do it. I think she has a little stage fright, but if I leave her on the blanket for a few minutes and then come back to her, she's magically gone from her back to her stomach.


I included the following two pictures to give you an idea of just how much Soren and Sofie look alike. Sure, there are differences, but I think it's obvious that the two are siblings. Don't you?

Soren at 5 months old

Sofie at five months old

All Sales Are Final! No Refunds or Exchanges!

This past Saturday I took Sofie back to the hospital for an infant massage class for mommies and their babies. As I was getting ready to leave, my conversation with Soren went something like this:

Soren: Where you going, Mom?

Me: I'm going to the hospital.

Soren: Oh, take Sofie back?

Me: (trying not to laugh too hard) Nope, sorry bud. She's coming with me today, but she lives with us now. She's part of our family. Is that okay?

Soren: Yeah.

Don't get me wrong. Soren really is sweet with Sofie and it is clear that he loves her, but I had to share this because it was too funny.

(Old picture, I know. I'm realizing that I need to start taking more pictures of the two of them together. Soren's just been so sick for the majority of this winter season that I've tried to keep them as separated as possible. FYI: still nursing an ear infection...we're now on antibiotic #3...when will it end?)

Home of the Six Dollar Swaddle

There is only one thing that can cure a sleepless night: The Six Dollar Swaddle, courtesy a la Nate Theurer. If you want to indulge in a good night's sleep, look no further.
This picture was taken over a month ago, but I have to share with you Nate's proud accomplishment. We were lucky enough to have Nate at home with us for three weeks during the holiday season. It was great! One of the best parts was the new discovery he made while taking care of Sofie all by himself while I ran out for a few moments of needed alone time sans children. After being gone for a few hours, I fully expected to come home to a screaming baby, so it was a pleasant surprise when I came home to a peacefully sleeping one. Not only that, but she continued to sleep for quite a while. I jokingly asked Nate if he had drugged her while I was out. That's when he introduced me to his miracle swaddle. (If anyone is interested, I'm sure he won't mind revealing his secret for a small fee.) I have to admit,I was a skeptic at first, but I am here to tell you, that wrap gave me several nights worth of 5-7 hour stretches of sleep. It's not just your average swaddle that you see in the hospitals. It's the Super Swaddle.
Just a quick Sofie Update-she is progressing beautifully. At her four month check-up she weighed in at a healthy 11 lbs. 11 oz. (10th%-unadjusted) and measured 23 in. long (10th%-unadjusted). In a lot of ways, you would never know she was born 6 1/2 weeks early. What a champ!

More of Pics of San Diego...

When we rode the ferry across the bay, Soren kept saying "Mommy, we're floating." He thought all the boats and ships were pretty cool. Every boat he saw was a pirate ship, even the military cruisers.
Soren called the tire tracks on the beach 'train tracks.' He would run along their path until I thought he might fall over right there from sheer exhaustion. It made it really easy to convince him that a nap in the afternoon was not such a bad idea.
Soren and his cousin Maggie were building a sand castle. Maggie wanted to make a pretty sand castle and decorate it with sea shells, but all Soren wanted to do was make a sand castle only so he could drestroy it the very second it was deemed a completed masterpiece. Let's just say they didn't work together for very long. After a while, we had them building two separate sand castles.

P.S. Soren is feeling much better! I'm sorry if my last post was a little negative. Nonetheless, I appreciated all the well wishes and sympathy. :)

This Too, Shall Pass...

Okay, so I should not have insinuated that there would a part 2 to my Holiday Recap. Enough time has lapsed since the holidays and my last post that it now seems ridiculous to write another post about Christmas or New Years. Moving on...Soren, Sofie, and I were lucky enough to spend last week with my family at a beach house in Coronado Island. We woke up every morning to this...
It was nice and relaxing, especially after all the hubbub of the holidays. Soren loves the beach. Of course the water was too cold to get in any deeper than our toes, but Soren loved it nonetheless.So, you don't even have to look too closely at that last picture to notice the boogies running out of Soren's nose. This leads me into the latest at the Theurer household. After an 8 1/2 hour (what should have really been 6) drive home last Friday, Soren and I spent late Friday night at the urgent care only so he could be diagnosed with Pink Eye. Gotta love it! On top of that, he had a whopper of an ear infection that initially went unnoticed because he hasn't had a fever or complained about it at all. Let's just say that it's WWIII every time he needs eye drops (every three hours), and the not-so-pleasant side effects of his antibiotic (diarrhea/diaper rash) have already set in. The poor guy. He really has been a trooper. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a healthy February. I'm tired of being quarantined to the house.

P.S. My Christmas decorations are still up. This should give you an idea of the shape I'm in. :)

Holiday Recap, Part 1

Long time, no post. I realize that it's been a while since my last post. The holidays are a crazy time, and when you're sick they are even crazier than anticipated. However, I am somewhat relieved to report that the sickness that befell my family and all our house guests skipped over myself and Sofie. Thankfully we were all feeling somewhat ourselves when Christmas Day arrived and we had a nice one at that. This year was the first time that Soren really go into opening presents. It took him a while to warm up, however. The morning started by Soren handing me each one of his presents and asking me to "open-nen it for me". (It seems that now several of his words come with an extra syllable.) By the end, he was opening them himself, casting each present aside, and asking for another. We got started on the festivities a little late because we spent the morning talking on the phone with Nate's brother and sister who are both serving missions in Brazil. By the time we finally got around to opening presents, it was close to Soren's naptime. So, you can imagine what a hardship it was for Soren to put down his new toys and take a nap. The look on his face in the following picture says it all.

I think he finally conceded when we told him he could take his new Spider Man to bed with him. By the way, I have come to the conclusion that each Christmas will now most likely be categorized based on the most predominant theme running trough his presents. This Christmas was a Spider Man Christmas. Perhaps next year we can better teach him the true meaning of Christmas. :) We got off to a bumpy start, but a good time was had by all. Thank you to everyone who brought by yummy treats. I'm pretty sure I ate most of them without any help. I'm sorry I did not make the rounds myself. I thought better of it when "The Sickness" took over my household. Hopefully I can get you all on the next big holiday. Stay tuned for a few more of the highlights.

The Joys of Parenthood

This entry is not meant to scare any of you prospective mothers, but I feel the need to share my experience so that perhaps I can laugh at it myself after I've put some distance between me and the last few days. In order to fully appreciate this rendering, I should start by explaining a few things about myself.

First- After becoming a parent, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a high tolerance for things that might otherwise give me a queasy stomach. For example, I didn't really flinch when my kid handed me his soggy, half-eaten cracker and I popped it in my mouth because I didn't have a garbage can handy. And I didn't think twice the time my kid pooped in the bath tub and made the polite request, "Uh-oh mommy, fix it." I went right into 'fix-it mode' and picked that piece of poop right out of the bath tub. (I should be embarrassed to admit this, but it comes with the territory of being a mother. You do things that you might not otherwise admit to.) For some inexplicable reason, things aren't so disgusting when they come from such a little person that you love in such a big way.

Second- For more than two years now I have dreaded that day when my kid comes down with the flu. We have managed to dodge that bullet several times (including the time I had the flu when I was seven months pregnant with Sofie, Nate was out of town, and I was left all alone to take care of myself and Soren). I would much rather have the flu myself than have Soren get it. I have dreaded having to clean up throw up and what comes there after. No matter how cute your kid is, it's the one thing I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach.

With that being said, you may now understand how interesting the last few days have been. Soren finally fell victim to the flu bug, and it has been a very sobering/comical experience to have. Thankfully, the first incident occured while we were standing on the kitchen tile. My bare feet were the only minor casualty as Soren informed me with tears in his eyes, "Mommy, I throwed up." After that, Nate decided to keep him in the kitchen watching a video on the computer for the duration. (Don't worry, he was isolated enough that the computer was safe. I would have taken a picture, but to be honest, it was the last thing on my mind.) Neither of us wanted to be scrubbing this out of the carpet or furniture. After five 'incidents,' Soren concluded, "Daddy, throwing up not fun." My poor, sweet boy. I will spare you the nauseating details that followed. Needless to say, we survived the crisis and we are all the wiser/more experienced for it.

Patriots vs. BYU

Soren has recently expressed a desire to play football with his dad on the XBOX. I didn't think an interest in video games would start for a few more years. Little did I know...

As the game was loading, Soren looked over at Nate and said, "Dad, you be Patriots. I be BYU." Now, if that doesn't make a father proud, I'm not sure what will.

A-ning-a-no No More

My sweet little boy is growing up. It's hard to admit, but some of the sweetness is being buried by the "terrible twos". Despite the impression that he might give to everyone as of late, I promise you his sweetness is still in there. It breaks my heart to think that he might give anyone the impression that he is anything else other than sweet. I am also sad to report that a lot of his Soren-isms are disappearing as he gets a better grasp of the English language. Here are just a few to give you an example:

Soren: a-ning-a-no (my personal favorite)
AKA: another

Soren: Lucky Arms
AKA: Lucky Charms

Soren: soda pop-pop
AKA: soda pop

Soren: hos pu-tul-pu-tul-pu-tul-pu-tul
AKA: hospital

Soren: coco
AKA: Chocolate Milk

I also have to admit that I think my son is a pretty bright kid. I know all parents inevitably say this about their offspring, but I really think mine is a smart little whip. He knows his colors, his letters, and he can now count to ten if he's in a cooperative mood. However, it has never occured to him that if he pushes a chair across the floor to the kitchen counter or even the pantry, he will have access to things that are otherwise off limits....until now that is.


I fear this is only the beginning of more mischievousness to come.