Julia has been swamped so I thought I would help her with her Blog. Here is a little story about a day in the life of Mom:
by Mike Wood

I came home after my late night of work a week or two ago and helped Mom get the kids to bed an hour past their bed time. I guess they just like to be up to see Daddy come home. I had taken a stop in the bathroom and wondered why the toilet paper had been re-rolled and folded over as it was rolled up. The house was in order and the kitchen was clean. It seemed to me that mom had taken care of the family once again while I was away. After getting the kids to bed and finally laying in bed ourselves I asked, "How was your day?"
The story started simple enough and I figured it would start at the beginning. It wasn't until I decided to record it and have her recap that I realized the story was much more than I had assumed.
Colton poured milk so Why can't I?
It is amazing what copy cats little children are. Brenna, age 19 months saw her brother Colton, age 6 pour his cup of milk into his cereal bowl. She had cottage cheese and wouldn't you know, a cup of milk. Yep, time to pour that milk with an unsteady hand into my own bowl which of course is much smaller than Colton's. Did I mention the unsteady hand? No problem. When I am done with spilling the milk I just call for help. Mommy!? Mommy!?
Of course mommy came into the kitchen to see milk all over the floor and in the cottage cheese bowl. What a joy to be a mother right? Of course she cleaned it up with a smile while trying to be stern and tell the little toddler no. What next is often the thought going through mommy's head. There is always another adventure awaiting with Brenna in the house.
I asked if this was in the morning or the beginning of the day before the trip to Grandmas and was informed that no this was just in the evening right before sleep. Then the true adventure was laid out before me. Not only were there many fun and exciting things that occurred that day but it seems that most of it happened in a short period of time. The real drama it seems started at Grandmas with spilled milk, a playful walk on a brick wall and a wet shirt from a cousin's bath and more spilled milk. I had to hear the whole story so the adventures began to unfold.
A quick trip to Grandma's house was all that was needed. Of course Grandma lives right next to aunt Melinda and so a trip to grandmas is not just grandmas but all the cousins. I forget the details but somewhere in the mix Brenna had milk at Grandma's house. She was sitting on a stool and dumped the milk in her lap all over her pajamas she had been changed into.
When Mom got home with the kids that night she tried to take a moment to work on the computer and heard Colton yell MOM! from the bathroom where he has sitting on the toilet. She asked what was going on and he responded that Brenna was unrolling the toilet paper. She thought "no big deal" and told him to roll it back up. He of course proceeded to do so. It is amazing how these little toddlers seem to know how to work the art of distraction and misdirection like a professional magician.
No sooner had he rolled up the paper and she was at the side of the toilet reaching in behind him. What is the fascination with the toilet? So of course another scream to mom and her work at the computer was done. "Brenna stuck her hand in the toilet!" Mom rushes into the bathroom to save Colton from his mischievous little sister. She noticed that Brenna was there with one hand in the toilet and her binky dangling out of her mouth. With the agility that only a mother has she picked up the toddler with one arm and tore the binky away from the germs with the other to be tossed out the door onto the floor where it was surely more safe than it would be combined with the toilet water now dripping down brennas arm.
Sternly she tells Brenna that this is not acceptable and no no no and so on and proceeded to wash her hands in the bathroom sink. Now just suppose the fascination she has is not with the toilet so much as it is with the water? scolding and trying to get Brenna's hands washed she is thwarted by the agile little toddler as she tries to stick her feet in the sink along with her hands that are being washed. It seems that her whole plan has come together perfectly and she can now play and frolick in the water all she wants.
Brenna continues to smile her devious smile and giggle as mom tries to clean her and let her know that her actions are not to be tolerated. Have you ever tried to reason with a 2 year old? I'm sure it went over well. Mom did a great job cleaning her up and removing her from the bathroom. It is almost time for bed now and mom needs the break but of course both the kids are hungry, or so they say. off to the kitchen to feed each some late dinner before bed.
Colton as usual wants cold cereal and wants a cup of milk as well. No problem, he can have that. After all he could be eating worse right? This is the story I first heard after I came home and the kids finally went to bed... There is so much more behind each day for Mom.

"Please Brenna Stop Growing!"-Just for a little while....

Brenna is walking!

Its happening too fast. Brenna will be 18 months next month!!! It seems like yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital. She is walking and talking and pretty much just rules my life. (I don't mind one bit) I really enjoy spending my days with her. She is such a sweetheart. She is obsessed with babies right now. She likes it when we read to her. However, her favorite book to read is the Parents magazine and we have to look at every page so she can point to all the babies. She also loves belly buttons. At least 5 times a day we all have to show her ours. She loves to wear shoes and try to get herself dressed. She spends so much time struggling to get her pants on. She won't let me help and screams if I try. She is very persistent and a few times has actually succeeded.
She has discovered that she likes our reaction when she throws or drops her food or dishes. I try so hard not to freak out when she pours her bowl of soup on the floor or throws her food. (Most know that I have OCD when it comes to keeping my kitchen clean. Is is very hard for me to not react).
The cutest thing that Brenna does is go to sleep. She seems to crave her crib and binky. When she is tired she will lay down wherever she is and say "night night". I ask her if she wants to go to sleep and she jumps into my arms and says "bye bye" to anyone around. After covering her with her blanket, finding the binky, and turning on her music, she gigles and lays completely still as I turn out the light and leave the room. Most times she is asleep in just a couple of minutes.

I know this behavior is highly irregular. We never experienced anything remotely like this with Colton. We STILL have to battle him to go to bed. I am sure her easy sleeping days are numbered, but for now I am loving it!

Reading with mom before bed.

Daddy's Little Girl!

Oh! I Feel Bad!

That is how I feel NOW because that is what Mike kept telling me last night, and I just told him to deal with it. Little did I know that I would be spending the entire night at the ER with him and eating my words. He had to have his appendix out! For several hours he suffered awake downstairs as I slept peacefully. At 1:30 AM he finally crawled on the floor into our room and said he had intense stomach pain. I said "You probably have gas or food poisoning from the RAW- still mooing- steak that you ate earlier." Many know that I hate rare and he loves it. Mine has to be black and his has to be bloody! ICH! So I am always thinking that it will catch up with him. And that is what I thought. He writhed in agony and I am thinking that now he can finally learn to sympathize with my cramps.
So after a few more minutes I thought I would google"food poisoning" to see what I could do to ease his pain. Nothing much, just ride it out- I kept thinking. I did read that if you have intense stomach pain for more that 15 minutes you should seek medical attention. But I was sure that he was just being overly dramatic.
So, Mike started calling our Home Teacher to come and sit here with the kids, so I could take him to the ER. He couldn't get an answer. I thought he was crazy. I decided "OK" If you really need to go and blow a $75 on a copay I will take you as long as I get a big cup of ice.
We ended up calling our Bishop(who happens to live across the the street) and he actually answered his phone. I called my mom who lives in Orem now to come spend the night. So Bishop Jensen and his cute little wife in her pink nightie came over until my mom could get here.
Well, I am embarrassed to say that I almost talked him out of going into the ER once we got down to AF. I made him stop at Walmart and drink Pepto and then wait about a 1/2 hour in the car. I was just so sure we would be waisting our time in the uncomfortable hospital when I needed to be home sleeping.
Finally he said he was going in. OK, here we go. They were quick to start the tests and I got my ice. So about 4 AM the Dr enters and says it is appendicitis!!!
OH BOY. I FEEL SO BAD! I had been so selfish and not very sympathetic. I sure hope Mike can forgive me. I apologized so profusely. I just have to say that if your husband complains of stomach pains its better to get it checked, for had we waited as I was trying to do, he would have had a burst appendix and it would have been SO MUCH WORSE!
I am definitely never going to try to diagnose someone elses illness again.
Everything went smoothly and we came home today about 5 PM. He is sore and cannot lift Brenna for 3 weeks. This has already upset her....
I just have to say that we are truly blessed to have great neighbors and live in a great Ward. We received 2 complete dinners, a cake, a plate of cupcakes and a bag with goodies within 2 hours of getting home. I can rest up and not worry about cooking for a couple of days and serve my dear husband who really deserves it for putting up with me!

I Can Walk Now!!!

Walking!!!  Brenna has finally started walking on her own.  She has been a little slow.  My other kids walked long before 16 months.  I hadn't decided to worry yet and her pediatrician said to wait one more month before starting physical therapy.  She is very wobbly, but so cute.  And now she is walking just in time for the warm weather.  I did not want her crawling on the cement outside and scraping up herself.   I guess I will finally buy her a pair of shoes.  Oh, She has some, but until now they were just for church or pictures. So we are now going to get some comfy walking shoes.

Brenna is growing up so fast!!! She is babbling and loves to follow all of us around the house. She loves to dance and eat!! The girl eats more than Colton and sometimes more than me!  I love that she loves food. She will eat any concoction I put in front of her! Colton and Haley have always been so fussy and I have spent many frustrating dinners forcing Colton to “just try it”.  She is such an easy girl!  We are so happy to have her!  

A Visit from the Tooth Fairy!

Colton lost his first tooth a couple of days ago! He was so excited about it and carried it around with him all day!  The tooth fairy visited us for the first time!  Wow! I guess inflation has brought the price of tooth up since I was little.  Colton received $1 and I remember only getting 25 cents!  His tooth was a little dirty…I am not so sure the tooth fairy really should have paid for a cavity. I explained to Colton that he needs to be better at cleaning his teeth. And to my dismay we went to the dentist yesterday and he had his first cavity! Oh I am not happy.  For now we will just work on brushing better!