Short, Funny Alex Story

My boy is so hilarious sometimes. Lately we’ve been trying to get him potty trained and some days he’s all for it and some days he could care less. We’ve been trying to bribe him by giving him a little piece of candy (one for a #1 and two for a #2) because with baby 2 coming, I would really like to not be changing the diapers of two children and he seems ready for it. All day today I’ve been asking him if he needs to go in the potty and he says no. Tonight he didn’t eat much at dinner. When we were getting ready for bed, he asked if he could “play in his room.” See, when I need him to play in his room for awhile (usually so I can work), I give him a treat (i.e. a little piece of candy). It’s kind of like my way of saying, Thank you for being such a good boy and being willing to play in your room awhile so I can get stuff done. This usually results in him enthusiastically agreeing to play in his room and I feel a little less bad for making him. So anyway, I knew he was saying this so he could get a treat.

I replied that no, he wouldn’t be “playing in his room.” He would need to stay in his room until he fell asleep, but it was his choice whether he wanted to play first. So we finished his bedtime routine, I said good night to him and left. Aaron and I settled on the couch to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer (we have no cable, so we typically watch videos together each night to wind down) when we heard Alex whimpering. So Aaron went to check on him. Apparently he had taken off his diaper and gone pee in the potty chair that was in his room. Aaron was like, “Wow, Alex. Good job!” Alex was like, “I get a treat!” Very happy. So even though we’d already brushed his teeth (oh, well), Alex did get a treat. He is one smart boy. He couldn’t get a treat for “playing in his room” so he decided to go in the potty. This shows me that he completely understands the whole potty business. The question is when will he want to do it full time? Should I force the issue? I don’t know. But that is one funny, smart little boy!

Wow, It’s Been Too Long

In looking at my blog, it looks like it’s been about 6 months since I posted. Wowzers. There is good reason for that, though. In July, we spent most of the month finding a new place because we’d outgrown our old one and then getting ready to move. At the end of July, we started to move our stuff over. The new apartment is across the street from the old one, which in some ways is weird but also nice because we already are familiar with the neighborhood and are in the same ward. Our new apartment is great and spacious. Of course, I always feel that way when I first move to a place since we’ve always moved into something bigger and then after two to four years, it’s become too small, so we’ll see. But the living room has vaulted ceilings which helps with the spaciousness, and there are lots of areas that are not “filled” (except maybe by messiness, but at least not by furniture and other things).

In August I got pregnant. Yay!

Scammers . . . Ugh

I really hate scammers. They come in all shapes and sizes and if there is ever a place to scam you, they’ll be there.

I’ve been trying to find an apartment for us to move to when our contract ends at the end of this month, so I’ve been checking Craig’s List and KSL (which has a local free classifieds) for apartments that sound like they would work for us. Because I know housing is somewhat scarce (especially for a good apartment for a good price), I pounce on anything that sounds like it has possibilities (especially since we’re really particular about what we want).

Last night I saw an ad on Craig’s List for a house (house!) in Orem with 4 bedrooms and a fenced-in yard. For only $800/month. Now right there I was really skeptical and my guard was up because that is a really good price for a house and the pictures made it look really good as well. I immediately thought to myself, “What’s the catch?” We’d seen another house kind of like that where it seemed too good to be true and when I went to look at it, it was pretty run down and on top of that, I found out that it’s a short-term rental that’s only available till November (yeah, cause I really want to move AGAIN four months later).

Family Portraits

Upside-down Alex

Every year (since Aaron’s and my first anniversary), we’ve gotten our pictures taken, usually around our anniversary. This year, since Aaron was totally stressed with school, they were pushed back to after Aaron’s summer term was over, i.e. today. Aaron is so great because he basically is willing to go along and do whatever I want—he’ll wear what I want him to wear (except pink or purple, LOL), have his hair done how I want, help with Alex, etc. Recently I got Alex and Aaron matching ties from MyFavoritePal.com. They have ties from infant to adult that all match. The kids’ ties and some adult ties are zipper ties (which look so much better than clip-on) and you can easily loosen them if they get tight. And I was really impressed with the quality of the tie (I got a zipper tie from the mall by LDS Living that promptly started to fray and fall apart. These look like they’ll last awhile even with toddlers).

Anyway, the ties are red and so I went out to find something that would match. I don’t *do* red (I look better in cool colors) so I found a black and white dress with a little red. Because the dress was mostly black, I picked out black pants for Aaron and Alex. I thought it all came together nicely. We also had casual outfits with jeans and such. Along with the clothes, I picked out some of Alex’s toys to bring along. All-in-all, it was very stressful getting ready despite all the preparations yesterday. We had our appointment at 10 a.m., but we were late because of my last-minute stuff (trying to find the right pants for Alex, getting makeup and hair done, etc.). Aaron and Alex ended up having their hair done when we got there and we arrived not even wearing our outfits (in fact, Alex only had a diaper on. Not even shoes).

The Happy Family

So we went in and everything turned out good. Yesterday a friend in my ward cut my hair and did a great job, so I was feeling great about that, and I liked the clothes I picked out. Then we got to the second stressful thing of the day—picking out the pictures, sizes, and if we want enhancements. It turns out that JCPenney now has the option of buying a CD with digital copies of the pictures. They are high-quality versions that can be blown up to 22″ and you have complete rights to them (so you can do whatever you want including printing them out). I’m so stoked. Instead of spending an hour trying to decide what to get, I was able to just get the CD and I can decide later and print them out a lot cheaper. It was $120 for the CD (more than what I usually pay for when I buy pictures), but I can give copies to anyone and everyone, so they can print out pictures too. I think it’s totally worth it. We also got a free 8X10 with the deal as well.

So overall, it was great. Alex was impatient after 5 minutes and wouldn’t stay still, but that’s a two year old for you. Now I’m dead tired and ready for a nap. Too bad I have to work now! You can see all the pictures on SmilesByWire (email me or leave a comment letting me know if you need the link). Yay!

Been Awhile

So it’s been a long time since I posted. Let’s just say I’ve been busy. As I mentioned in my previous post (5 months ago!), Aaron decided to switch majors. Last semester was really busy. He had a full schedule (including Human Development and Biology) and had to prepare to take the PRAXIS test for Elementary Education on top of everything. I was helping him by doing more around the house and by keeping Alex busy so he wouldn’t bother him. I also help Aaron where I could with his schoolwork (making flashcards for his Human Development tests [he had 6!], editing his papers, helping him find research for a research paper he had, registering him for the test, getting accommodations for the test, etc.). That on top of me working full time (part-time job and freelance work) made for a very tired me with little time.

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

When Aaron and I were first married, we talked a lot about what he wanted to do for a career and what we needed to do to get him there. He wanted to be a game programmer, and so he needed a BS in computer science. He had already done some schooling taking generals and some prerequisites which included physics, statistics, and calculus (can we say SMART?!), and so was ready to get to the core of the major.

In fall 2004, Aaron started back at school after taking a break. We once again talked about what he wanted to do for a career. This time it had changed. His cousin had a job in Arizona programming video games and from her experience he found out just how tough it was to program games, including working 80 to 100 hours a week for months before a game’s release. He didn’t want that kind of pressure or stress.

So we talked about what he could do instead.

The Joys of Vaccinations

So two weeks ago, Utah county had a vaccination clinic for swine flu vaccinations. I found out the day after it was over. Ugh. So disappointed. So I kept calling the number for vaccinations, which updated their recording every day or two, to see when they would have another clinic. This is because they really have no idea when they’ll get more vaccinations in, so they have to wait till they get more before they can hold another clinic. I was determined to make the next one. I DO NOT want to get the swine flu and I definitely DO NOT want Alex to get it (obviously if I had to choose, I would get it rather than him. Bad news for young kids).

On Friday when I called, I got the good news: a vaccination clinic was scheduled for Tuesday, October 27. I was so excited that I could barely concentrate for three days in anticipation.

Your Son Is a Giant . . . Oh, Wait, Maybe Not

So Alex had his 18-month checkup today (8 days before he’s 19 months). It’s always fun to have him weighed and measured and see how he’s growing. Ever since his 2-month checkup, he’s always been on the tall-side wavering between 60% and 80% in height, which is cool, and we love that he’s tall, despite the challenges it presents (i.e., he can reach more things and climb on more things).

So when we got there, the nurse had me undress him and then she measured him. To my surprise he measured at 35 inches tall. Well, of course I was thrilled, but it made me immediately skeptical. In the past they have been off on their measurements of him by about 1/2 inch, and if they were correct, that would mean he’s grown 2 inches in 2 months. That seems a little extreme. So I decided to hold off on celebrating till I could measure him myself.

When the doctor came in to talk to me about how he’s doing and to take a look at him, you could tell he was also skeptical about the measurements, and mentioned that Alex has been around 90% (not acknowledging really that according to the nurse’s measurements he was around 97%).

So when we got home, I laid him down on the kitchen floor and marked the linoleum with a dry-erase market. One mark for his heel, the other for his head. Then I took a tape measure and measured it—my suspicions were confirmed. He’s only 33.5 inches (or thereabouts). It still puts him in the 75% for height, which is cool, and it means he’s grown an inch (according to my measurements which put him at 32.5 inches two months ago), but is more realistic and makes more sense.

So now onto celebrating—my son is tall!

Thoughts on Exercise, Healthy Eating, and Weight Loss

After having Alex (17 months ago), I weighed 10 lbs over what I weighed before I got pregnant. I wanted to lose it, but I didn’t actively do anything other than exercise here and there and try not to eat too many sweets. I lost some weight, probably from the extra calories I burned pumping milk (do you burn as much pumping as you do nursing?), so that I was only 5 lbs overweight. Then I decided I really wanted to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and for that matter, I’d like to lose 10 to 15 lbs more.

Now realize that I’m not huge.

Alex’s 15-Month Checkup

So recently Alex had his 15-month checkup (albeit when he was 16.5 months). It’s always fun to go to the doctor’s for a checkup and see how much he’s grown. When he was 14.5 months, they measured him at 24 pounds and 32 1/8 inches (though they didn’t measure correctly. He was actually 31.5 inches). At this appt, he measured at almost 26 pounds and 33 1/8 (but again I’m pretty sure he’s actually 32.5). So he grew an inch in two months, which is pretty good. That puts him in the 75% for height compared to other boys his age, which is pretty exciting. With Aaron not being that tall (5’7″), I really want Alex to get my family’s tall genes and be around 5’10″ (my grandpa was 6’2″, as well as my uncle, and my brother and dad are around 5’10″. It’s just easier for guys, I think, when they’re not too short.

In the appt., I also mentioned to the doctor about Alex having a peanut allergy, and was surprised by his response.