Random

Easton is the most random person I've ever met. Yesterday whenever we were in the car he kept saying the funniest things...

"Mom! Look at those clouds! They're making shapes! That one looks like a rocket ship!"

One time he noticed some construction workers fixing a stop light...

"I wish I had my tools. I could get my saw and cut it in half and then use my hammer and hammer it back together and then get a huge ladder...nevermind I don't need a ladder...I'll just get my cape and fly up there and put it back together cuz I can reach it myself."

He comes up with the funniest stories! Lately he has also been giving me some parenting advice:

"Mom, I NEED you to stop being so grumpy to me!"

"Mom, PLEASE be patient to me!"

Seriously, patient? How did he even learn that word?

He has also given me some fashion advice:

"You can't wear sandals to the store. Sandals are to beaches and swimming pools."

He found a little toy chicken at my mom's house and said, "I wish this chicken could fly."

When I asked him why it couldn't fly he said, "Um cuz it's made out of plastic?"

Oh, I almost forgot to post about Easter. The Easter bunny came to our house on Saturday morning since Tyson had to work early Sunday. I guess I forgot to explain to Easton that the Easter bunny would come fill up his basket, etc... When we woke up I said, "Should we go see if the Easter bunny came?" He said, "ya!" and stepped outside the bedroom door and looked around. He didn't see the Easter bunny so he pointed to the front door and said, "To the door!" He wanted to go outside and see if he could see the Easter bunny. I guess he thought he was still going to be here. I said, "No we need to look for an Easter basket!" He said, "Well I see my bas-tik."

"Well go see what's in it!"

He was excited about all the little surprises, but his favorite thing in his basket was his "ch-wok-wit!"

I'm so glad I have him to keep me laughing! About the RSV... I thought Callan was doing so much better yesterday, but then last night was terrible! Twice in the night he choked so bad his face turned blue and he threw up everywhere. I took him to get his nose sucked out this morning and he has been asleep ever since, so I think that will be good for him. It's so good for him to sleep, but nerve racking for me because I'm afraid he'll stop breathing. I'm almost glad we went through this at the NICU because I feel pretty prepared for if he does stop breathing. I think I have some pretty good Life Saver Baby skills and in case I forget, I still have my magnet up on the fridge!

Today is day 5 and the doctor said day 5 is generally the worst day. Should get better from here! Keeping our fingers crossed that he'll be better by Sunday for his blessing!

Bronchiolitis

Yep, my baby is sick. Both my babies are sick actually, but Easton seems to be on the mend. I took Callan in to the doctor today and they said he has bronchiolitis that is probably being caused by RSV. I am SO MAD because Callan was approved for one more Synagis shot in April and when I took him to the doctor he said RSV season is over and Callan wouldn't need the shot. That whole morning I planned to fight for him to get the last shot, but when the doctor dismissed it without even giving it a second thought I didn't have the guts to speak up. So now I'm mad and sleep deprived and full of guilt and just waiting for the next time Callan starts gasping for air and turning blue. It sucks, really. I'm just glad I worked yesterday and now I'm home for the rest of the week. Thanks to all my Easton helpers! :)

Announcing

Callan is 3 months old today and we're finally getting around to announcing his birth.

If you didn't get an invite, please feel loved and consider this one for you:)

Idaho Picture Overload

We went to Idaho this week for my little sisters' spring break. We missed dad who had to stay home and work, but I thought it would be really fun for Easton to play with his cousins and really important for Callan to meet his Great Great Grandma Manning. We left Monday morning and stopped in Oakley to see Aunt Marge, Uncle Eric, and Grandma Manning. It was fun to visit with them!

5 Generations (Minus Grandma Allen)

When we got to my Grandma Allen's house where we were staying, all the cousins came over to dye Easter eggs.

Then we all enjoyed the traditional meal of chicken noodle soup. There are two things I can always count on at Grandma Allen's house: chicken noodle soup for dinner and bran muffins in the morning. Yum.

After dinner the kids did Easter egg hunts until dark. Easton had a blast and took it pretty seriously.

It was so cold in Idaho! I don't think it got above 50 degrees. The second day we went to the falls and couldn't believe the mist! The parking lot was quite a ways away from the falls and as soon as we got out of the car it looked and felt like we were in a rain storm just from the mist. We had to wear our hoods and use umbrellas!

Shoshone Falls

Everyone went on a hike to a look-out point above the falls while I stayed in the car to feed Callan.

My dad got this picture. You can see the mist a lot better from above.

Kennedi, Easton, and Collette on the trail.

After the falls we met up with Grandma Mary, my mom' s step mom, for ice cream.

Meeting baby Callan

As if we hadn't packed enough into the day, we decided to go to a bounce house place called Hop 2 It that night. Easton was SO sleep deprived. Every time we got in the car he fell into a deep sleep. When we got to Hop 2 It we couldn't wake him up forever!

When we finally woke him up he was in heaven! He started running full speed everywhere and I couldn't believe he could do everything by himself!

On our way out of town Wednesday we stopped at the driving range. Grandpa Cook worked long and hard to teach Easton how to swing. And when it was time for Easton to try it by himself...

He walked right around to the other side of that ball and whacked it! I guess we're going to have to find him some lefty clubs:)

We had a lot of fun!

Spring!

Yay my computer is fixed! It has a brand new hard drive (yes, that means everything on the old one is lost) and some other brand new parts on the key board that were cracked and discolored and under a repair warranty. I'm just happy to be in touch with the world again.

In case you don't live here, it is currently the part of spring time in Utah when we have 70 degree weather for one day and the next day it will snow 6 inches. It makes no sense and is really pretty rude if you ask me.

One Saturday morning I went to Kelsey's house for a little craft party. We dyed Easter eggs with silk ties with some girls from work. (see this post) It was fun to get away for a couple hours. While I was gone, Tyson picked up Collette and took Easton and her sledding.

Another night we went to see the baby chicks and ducks at IFA.

They were adorable! But my sensitive-nosed little one took one whiff and was DONE! He said, "Those ducks stink," and headed for the door.

Other funny things...

Easton got caught messing with the cleaners under the sink which he knows are dangerous. When I walked up behind him he slammed the cupboard shut and said, "Mom, I promise I won't die. I won't die. Cuz then you'll have to pick me up with toilet paper and flush me down the toilet!"

{like a spider}

Lately I've been laughing at the way Easton says, "I forgot..." If he's trying to say, "I forgot..." he says, "Avo (like avocado) dot." ie: "Avo-dot my shoes."

If he's trying to say, "You forgot..." he still says avo-dot, but it's, "You avo-dot my shoes."

Can't think of anything else at the moment. I'm sure I'll have more funny lines next time.

M.I.A

A terrible thing happened last week. Our laptop was sitting in between us on the center console of the Jeep and when we started driving it flew back and crashed onto the floor. Now it won't start up. I'm a lot more upset about it than I thought I would be! I knew my computer was getting older and would eventually bite the dust, but I already don't have cell phone service in our basement apartment so now with no computer I feel 100% isolated from the world! Especially when it is snowy and dark outside! (I don't know why that affects it, but it does.)

So my computer sits at the Simply Mac store awaiting diagnostics. Which costs $50 in case anyone was wondering. My dear sister Kate has allowed us to bring her computer home with us for the night and baby sit it so she can get some studying done. I'm so excited to use it tonight while I'm nursing at 2AM! Without my computer I fall asleep and it's a miracle Callan doesn't wind up on the floor or smashed.

Hopefully it will be a quick fix and I'll be back to the blogging world soon. Very hopefully.

Candy Words

I saw this cute idea for General Conference on brown paper packages and adjusted it to 2-year-old level. Easton and I bought these baskets at the dollar store and cut out pictures from The Friend. We taped them around the 4 baskets: Jesus, prophets/apostles, scriptures, and temple/family.

We filled the baskets with dollar store candy.

And every time Easton heard a "candy word" like "President Monson" he got to choose a candy out of that basket.

We bought all the stuff on Thursday and ever since, Easton has been asking me, "mom, can I watch the 'postles' now?" I would say, "Nope, not till Sunday" and he would say, "Ah man. I want a marshmallow right now though."

It was fun to hear him come running out of another room saying, "I heard temple! I heard temple!" It didn't last long, honestly. But he listened occasionally and I'd say it was a good start.

My sister asked me to guest-blog on her recipe blog,

Our Family TREEts. It's a pretty cute blog. You should check it out:)

April Fools?

Callan doesn't have to have surgery after all! (If you don't know what I'm talking about see the previous post:) I met with the surgeon yesterday and she showed me how to push all the intestines back in and feel the actual whole in the muscle. The hole is called the fascial defect and Callan's is only one centimeter. It has to be 2 centimeters before they'll consider operating on it. She said the fascial defect is the only thing that matters. The size on the outside just depends on how much pressure he puts on it, gas in his stomach, etc... So that's good. However I think people are more concerned about him NOT having surgery than having it. I know it looks weird people, but it's better than going under the knife!

This morning we went fishing at Utah Lake and listened to the first session of conference. Tyson caught a nice sunfish on his first cast before anyone got there. And we never had another bite all three hours.

Easton, Cassidy, and Collette

Callan was not a fan of being outside. We took turns in the car with him.

Kennedi, Grandma Cook, Callan

Callan and his rolly face (Sorry Cal, I know it was a bad angle-not fair:)

Easton & Grandpa Cook going to "bam" some ducks.

Our friend Casey was heading to Cabela's just as we were driving home and happened to call and invite us. Such a coincidence since we were driving right past it. We went to JCW's afterwards.

Casey, Ace, Easton, Tyson

Ace is a month older than Easton and their new baby Vance is a week older than Callan. It was fun to catch up!