The Latest and Greatest

So I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Ours was really wonderful. I will post later about that. While we were in AZ my fantastically talented little sister took these pictures of the boys. So here are the latest and greatest pictures of the boys.

Cir du solei, look out!

Joel has figured out the whole climbing thing. Yipeeee (with my voice dripping with sarcasm)!!! Here was one of his first expidition captured on "film". Bring on the bumps and bruises for our little monkey!


Joel steps on the wipes container--

He tiptoes on the wipes box.

Then he pulls himself up on the couch
and the end table.

Now he's up on the end table. But
he's not done yet..............................

Now he's up on the couch-
and sometimes the end table!

Trick or Treat!

We were all feeling a little better by last night and so we took the boys over to Grandma's house for a little Trick or Treating. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

So it's Halloween 2007 and most of us here are sick.... again! Luckily we did a little celebrating last week and got pictures of the boys in their costumes. Our local library had a Halloween party and then our Ward's party was last week as well. Joel LOVED the party at the library. There was story time, dancing, flannel stories and a puppet show. His favorite part was probably a toss up between the dancing and the puppet show. He really had a good time, although towards the end he was a bit tired of it. Then that night was the ward party. He had a really good time with his friends. There was a jumping castle and towards the end of the night they had a 3 and under time. Joel wasn't so sure about it. Towards the end though he was getting the hang of it. He decided that jumping was kind of fun. Unfortunately he has decided that the couch is a pretty fun jumping spot too. So we're working on that. lol
So here are pictures from last week. We may try and go tonight. But I know how terrible I feel and if the boys feel half as bad then it won't be any fun! So we'll see. Maybe if we get to feeling better we'll make a few stops to Grandma's house and see Rob and Norma.



Our Joel Dinosaur! Pretty cute
if I should say so myself!

Vance was our little chili pepper.
He slept most of the time though so
he didn't wear his costume much. Oh, well.

This is my friend Diane and me at our ward
party with our boys.

Joel Update

Joel is my sweet boy. He is my helper and my comic relief. He is such a good kid. Of course he's a toddler so he has his moments but he is great. Let's see if I can remember all the new things he does now. He loves dancing- radio, commercials, his TV shows. It doesn't matter to him. It cracks me up. I love that he loves music so much! He is talking more. Here's his list of words: Vance (although it usually sounds more like dtence), juice, this, mom, da, and ba (his universal word for EVERYTHING). He loves buttons. If he can push it he will find it and turn it off and on and off and on and off- well you get the idea. Joel is getting more social and likes to play with other kids and of course Vance. He's pretty timid in social situations but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Of course anytime we're out and about everyone always tells him how adorable he is and he of course flirts and charms everyone. Funny boy. Anyhow, here are some of his pictures.

Joel's fake smile. He is so funny. He
has figured out what he's "suppose" to
do when mom pulls out the camera.
But you can see most of his teeth. He's
currently working on 3 more. Two more
on bottom and one more on top. He
finally got his left top canine tooth. We're
all looking forward to the break in teething!

Joel's big boy haircut. Tj broke out
the electric shears and cut Joel's
hair. He looks like such a little
boy now. You can see his sincere
smile here. You just gotta love
this stage. He's such a happy little
boy. His smile and his laugh just
make your heart melt. I know
that sounds sappy but it's true.

Pushing buttons!!!! Joel found Grandpa's weather
radio and figured out how to turn it off and on.
Anytime he gets to go into the office that's the first
place he goes is to turn the radio off and on and off
and on and off and on- and well again you get the idea.

Joel is not the least bit spoiled or pampered.
Grandpa bought him a new car seat- along with
several other "essential" items (a toy laptop among
them)- and then turned the box into a little fort.
Joel loves going over to Grandma and Grandpa's
house. They have the best toys- Grandma and
Grandpa! (lol) Joel loves Grandpa and looks
forward to the weekends when he can play with
him. Grandpa always has something fun set up
for Joel. Whether it's a fort made out of blankets
or letting him walk Molly Joel looks forward to
his time at Grandma's house.

Vance Update

Okay, so here's the latest with Vance. He's now two months old and has decided that he likes us and is going to stay. (lol) Okay, so I'm lame and that sounds dumb. But really we're getting to see his personality more lately. Vance is a smiler and charms everyone. He also has found his voice and will goo at you. It's so sweet. He's such an easy baby and really laid back. I'm really fortunate that my boys are so easy going. Anyhow, here's a few pictures of Vance.



Vance loves tummy time. As long as
he can see and/or hear us he is happy
to play. We have to keep a pretty close
eye on Joel though when Vance is
playing on the floor because Joel
loves Vance and loves playing with him.
Vance has already rolled over. I put him
on his tummy for tummy time a couple
of Saturdays ago (10/13) and he just
rolled himself over. He hasn't done it
again but he keeps trying.

Vance in his little man outfit. It just
makes me smile seeing him all dressed.
He has a doctor's appointment next
Tuesday (10/30) and we'll see how big
he really is. Time truly is flying!

Vance is such a cuddle bug that after
a few minutes of posing for pictures
he decided he was done. He doesn't
fuss a lot and so his little cry just
breaks my heart. Of course I couldn't
resist getting this picture before
I rescued him.

Another week gone by.

So it seems like the weeks just keep passing by. Joel continues to keep us entertained. He has such a happy personality. He loves to laugh and him and dado play and laugh all evening once Tj gets home. He continues to jabber away and we're hopeful that any day now he'll start talking. Or should I say start using words we can understand. He knows exactly what he's saying- it's just us who can't interpret him. He's getting more interested in Vance. In a way it's cute and on the other hand it's terrifying. I know it's just a matter of time before he tries to hold him or move him. So I make sure to keep my eye on them whenever Vance is within reach of Joel. But he's so sweet to Vance. He tries to share his toys. So cute! Joel is mommy's helper. He loves to help. He'll bring me blankets and loves to help lift things. He thinks he is so strong and loves to show it.

Vance is starting to be awake more and we're getting to know him too. He's pretty laid back and takes the mauling from Joel in stride. As strong as Joel is Vance will be at least as tough. He's got to be to survive. (lol) Vance loves to look around and is just so bright eyed when he's awake. I guess there's always something to look at or listen to when you have such an active big brother. It's fun getting to know him- as silly as that sounds.

Life has been pretty typical although this last week has been pretty eventful. Tj's grandma (Gram) has been visiting- staying with his parents- and so the boys have gotten to spend time with her. Last week we made the adventurous journey to Orlando for three days. It was quite an experience traveling with two boys. But we made it and for the most part came out unscathed. (lol)

So here are some pictures for all of you who need your Joel and Vance fix.


Joel's so silly! He decided he didn't
want to listen to our music the other
day in the car. So he plugged his
ears. Silly kid. He thought he was
pretty funny too!

Vance spending quality time with dado.

Vance all snuggly after his bath.
I couldn't help but take a picture!

Nobody gets Vance's paci! I guess
he's already learned he's got to protect
it from being stolen by Joel. Joel likes
to "help" mommy and take the paci
and bring it to me wherever I am.
Even if that means taking it from Vance!

Joel and Tj at Sea World. Joel was
such a trooper. His entire schedule
got out of wack but he really tried
to be a good sport. You can see
how tired he is.

And he's out! In the walk from the park to the
car he lost his battle with sleep. Classic photo, eh?!

And Vance makes 4.

Okay so it's been three weeks and I'm FINALLY posting pictures. I know I know.

Vance T made his grand entrance on August 16th at about 1:15 pm. He was 7 lbs 7 oz and about 19 inches long. He is such a good baby. He sleeps really pretty well (anywhere between 3 and 5 hours at a time). He's really mellow and seems to thrive on the bustle that having an active big brother involves.


Mommy and Vance at the hospital.

He always looks like he's posing
when he sleeps. He likes having
his hands up near his face. So cute!

More sleeping. Maybe at some point he'll wake
up long enough to get a picture of him with his
eyes open.

My three boys. I'm one lucky girlie!

The boys with Grandma and Grandpa at the
hospital.

The boys with Grandma Monie.

And now for Big Brother

Joel is such a good kid and a great big brother! He loves giving Vance kisses. He is just so sweet. He's adjusting but for the most part he's doing well and usually doesn't mind having baby brother around. He seems to really enjoy being home more with me and Vance but Grandma still comes and gets him a couple days a week to play. He's one lucky boy to have so much attention. lol He's a great kid. So here are some of the latest pics of Joel.


Silly Joel. He has quite the sense
of humor. His laugh is so great!

Joel playing at the park. He loves

running around at the park and we
love for him to run around the park.

My baby is growing up! This was
him playing at home. I couldn't
believe how grown up he seemed.
He has quite the mouthful of teeth
and is attempting to talk more. I
can't believe how fast time is going!

The Latest

Okay, so I don't have any pictures this time but Joel has been so funny lately that I wanted to make a post of all the funny things he's said or done lately. I'll start with the most recent.

Tj's parents have a dog, Molly, that Joel loves!!! Anyhow, tonight while we were over there they went on their normal walk and towards the end Tom let Joel hold Molly's leash. Well when they got home he wouldn't let go of it! So Tom had to unhook Molly because Joel wasn't letting go of that leash. Then once he was out of the stroller he was trying to hook the leash back on Molly. Tj eventually did it for him and then it was a classic case of who was walking who?! It was very funny. Joel finally wore Molly out and was pretty disappointed when Grandpa put the leash away.

So Joel has a whole mouthful of teeth coming in. Cindy noticed the first one earlier this week when they were playing. It was one of his top molars on the left side. Then today I noticed three more. The top molar on the right side is coming in and he has two bottom teeth that are getting ready to push through. It also looks like his canines are going to come through shortly as well. Poor kid. He's been a bit temperamental and now I guess we know why! So we've taken all the teething toys back out for him. It's pretty rough.

Well we're one step closer to getting ready for the baby. I spent all week cleaning and sorting the boys room and this weekend we got the dressers that Tj's parents bought for us delivered. I think we're going to switch them around though. I had the chest of drawers put in the boys room but I think I'm going to have it moved and have the dresser in there and then we'll put the chest in our room. We just have to make sure the dresser will fit. Then once we get that moved (we being Tj) I'll start taking out the baby clothes and moving Joel's clothes into it. Then the only thing left for that room will be to move the desk out and set up the pack-n-play. Only.

Joel's playing has been cracking me up lately. His newest thing is that everything has become a phone. It started with one of Tj's book lights. I couldn't figure out what he was doing until I realized that he was treating it like he does when we put the phone to his ear. He'll listen and then pull it away and look at it and then put it back to his ear. He jabbers and jabbers away. So far just about anything that he can hold to his ear that even slightly resembles a phone has become his phone. I did buy him a little play cell phone the other day at the store and that has become his favorite toy for the time being. He loves that he can push the buttons and play with it and nobody tells him no.

Hmmm, I know I'm forgetting stuff. He's just such a funny kid. This afternoon he took his nap next to me. And when he woke up I was pretty much awake but still had my eyes closed. He took his little hands and was trying to pry my eyes open for me. Then he was giving me kisses to make sure I was awake. He's pretty funny.

I guess I'll give a little pregnancy update. We're now officially down to less than a month. I can't believe it! With Joel the pregnancy seemed to last forever and this one is just flying by! I guess time is crazy like that. I'm to the point now where I'm exhausted all the time. If I don't get a nap during the day (which usually only happens on the weekends) I'm zonked out by 9pm. My doctor was a little concerned about my sugars and so I've been on a limited "diet" to exclude a lot of sugar so that's been a bit trying. On top of that I learned my lesson last time with Joel and have been watching my salt intake so my feet and legs don't swell up like hot air balloons. So yeah, between watching sugar and salt my diet has been a bit boring. At least it's only really for this last month. The baby is still moving. He doesn't seem to be as active as Joel was but he still makes sure that I'm aware that he's there. Other than that life keeps trekking along.

Sea World

So I'm getting better. It only took me a week to get these pictures up.

Last Saturday Tj took Joel to Sea World with Grandma and Grandpa Rosen and Tj's cousin Brooke who was visiting from Idaho. They had such a good time. I knew that Joel would love Sea World because he's such an animal lover and especially likes watching fish. He really seems entranced with them.
He really enjoyed the shows as well. He seemed amazed at all the sights and sounds from the show. I'm surprised that he sat through two entire shows. I will have to see if I can upload video. They took video of Joel enjoying the shows. It is so funny! Tj got an annual pass so I'm sure there will be many more father-son outings to Sea World before the pass expires.
Here are a few pictures from their day.



Joel and Dado at the fish tank.

Watching the fish swim.

Trying to give the dolphins kisses.

Watching the dolphins swim.

Food Glorious Food

Dinnertime!!!
This last week we let Joel feed himself his dinner with his own spoon. Now he's been eating foods that we could cube up and he could use his fingers to eat with. But this was the first dinner casserole that he needed to use a spoon. He did a pretty good job. It's hard to tell from these pictures because you can tell he got so much on his face and bib but he did get most of it in his mouth. He was loving it!!!

And then the clean up........

Ice Cream!!!!
Joel got his first self-feeding of ice-cream on the fourth of July. Two of the little girls there decided to share their ice cream with him. Before long he had three spoons and ice cream from head to toe. The hosts were enjoying watching Joel feed himself that they wouldn't let me stop him for the sake of their carpet. He loved the ice-cream while eating it but a couple hours later it came back to hurt his stomach. Poor kid, loves milk and milk products but they give him such a stomach ache.

Lemons!!!!
The other night we went to dinner and the waitress brought Tj a plate of lemons for his Diet Coke. Joel would not leave them alone so we decided to let him try one. HE LOVED THEM!!! Crazy kid. By the time he got done there was nothing left but the rind.