Life Lately

    Wow it has been awhile since I've been here. I guess you could say we've been a little busy. I don't even remember what I last blogged about. Life has been treating us well. I've been taking piano lessons which has been a lot of fun and I get a little proud of myself when I master new songs. Austin works a lot, then he comes home and has to take care of us. He's probably tired, I imagine. We are both still serving in the Young Men and Young Women presidencies so we are gone every Wednesday at mutual. It seems like there is something going on every night of the week and I kind of hate it. I just want to hang out with my family every night.

    Oliver is growing like a weed. He is a huge two year old. He talks a lot and argues a lot but he is having more and more days that he is cooperative and easy to compromise with. I like him. He's a really cool kid. He is so sweet to me and has turned into a giant momma's boy. We "snuzzle" all the time and he's always telling me that I'm his favorite and that he loves me. Right now he's back on the not eating train. He'd live on chocolate milk and pickles if I let him (and I kind of do). It is impossible to keep clothes on him. I turn my back and he goes straight outside, strips down, and starts "watering" all the trees in the yard. I've been very frustrated with him letting himself out side and leaving the doors wide open. It's the doors open part that I hate. I don't care if he goes out but close the door, dang it! He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse unless he's got the iPad then he wants Curious George. He loves to read. Some of his favorite books are "Don't Push the Button" "No David" "Moo Baa La La La" and our collection of Mother Goose Rhymes. He calls it Big Horse and I have no idea why. He also loves Christmas books. He talks about Santa quite a bit. He has the memory of an elephant (they have good memories right?) and ears like a hawk. Can't sneak anything by that child. He graduated out of his crib, which I was terrified to do, but it was a much smoother transition that I thought. And he's still napping every day. Thank goodness! He's also started responding to is with "Yes sir!" I've never prompted him to do that but we live in the south and all the kids are taught that so maybe he learned it at church. I don't know. It's cute. I always tell him I'm a ma'am not a sir and he says, "Yes man!"
 
   Vivian is still the sweetest little girl around. I can't believe she is almost one year old! It's crazy. Time has gone so much faster with her than with Oliver. Oliver has always seemed a little ahead of schedule, I guess. She has got two teeth on bottom and almost 4 on top. They are taking their sweet time coming in, just hanging out right there at her gum line. She has a crocheted blanket that she loves and she like to hook the yarn on to her bottom teeth and tug on them. It's cute. Oliver never got attached to any toys or blankets or anything and I love to see her funny relationship with that blanket. She squeals and claps her hands when I bring it to her. She has been laughing and smiling her whole life and she is such a joy in our home. She loves her mom and dad equally and is a little stranger shy. She is very intense and she yells a lot. When she yells her whole body gets tense and shakes. She's not mad, she just likes to make noise. Well, sometimes she is mad. When she is excited, or anxious, or happy her legs stick straight out and she swirls her feet around and around in circles. She gets her fingers pinched in a drawer or door about 30 times a day. She out eats Oliver, no contest. She's still an awesome sleeper and doesn't fight me at all when it's time to nap or go to bed. Totally opposite of Oliver. She rocks. She is dying to walk already. She kind of bear crawls now so her knees don't touch the ground and she has started standing up without holding on to anything. She loves going outside and if anybody goes out, even the dog, she gets very upset if she doesn't get to go, too. She will use anything she finds as a drum stick and bangs on everything. Noisy little thing. She gives kisses when I ask for them and a high five. She has such an animated face. She just seems like she has a really fun, outgoing personality. It's like she already has a pretty good sense of humor. She gets such a kick out of making us laugh. She'll pull some pretty cute faces to get a reaction from you. Her and her brother are different in every way. I sure love her.

And finally, the dog. Scout is a very very sweet puppy. She is adorable and well behaved and has been very easy to train thus far. But I'm still having a very hard time being a dog person. I really want to want a dog and I feel like it's the All American thing to do, ha ha. But can there just be a dog that doesn't lick or bark or have hair, or want to sit in my lap all the time? I guess I'm a little bit of a germ-a-phobe and I don't always want to touch her. I feel really bad. She is so sweet! I'm trying to let her grow on me and have a change of heart but, at least today, it's not looking good. She deserves a place that lets her sit on the furniture, and lick their faces and all that other nasty dog stuff people tend to put up with. And a place without a tyrant toddler that mauls the poor thing all day long. I'm paranoid my house will start to smell like dog.This is coming off a little harsh. I sound so cruel and heartless. Maybe I am and I just need to own that. I don't hate her and I'm not mean to her, I just had higher hopes for my attitude toward dogs to change. I thought I would learn to love her, and I just haven't. If I liked dogs then she would be the perfect one. She is seriously so good and adorable! So maybe I can stick it out and she can grow to be a part of our family, or maybe I will surrender and Austin will get a chance to rub a big fat "I told you so!" in my face and then bask in his own glory. Time will tell. Vivian is pretty cute when she plays with her...

Here are a few random pictures so you can see how ginormous my kids have grown to be.

A Year in Review

Wow, another year. This is nuts! I remember as a kid thinking about being a grown up and wishing for it to happen sooner. And now here I am. An old maid. Married with 2 children. A lot of big things happened in our family this year. Here is a quick rundown--

(Dec 2012) Austin graduated from BYU and turned 25. Oliver turned 1. We moved from Lindon, UT to Shelley, ID.

JANUARY- We were homeless living in my parents basement searching for a new grown up job for Austin.

FEBRUARY- Austin got a job at Lockheed Martin in Camden, Arkansas and we packed up our lives and moved south. Austin and I had our 2 year anniversary.

MARCH- Oliver learned to walk and got even cuter. We experienced the loudest and most intense thunderstorms of our lives. We got a dog from our neighbor and our landlord wouldn't let us keep it so it moved back across the street.

APRIL- Vivian was born! This is the best thing that happened this year :) My mom flew to Arkansas to visit and play with Oliver while I recovered. Austin was called as a counselor in the Young Men's. We flew back to Utah for Austin to walk at graduation and to bless Vivian with both of our families.

MAY- I turned 22 years old. My good friend Lisa and her baby Cooper flew to Arkansas to make fun of me while I attempt to raise two babies. (Visitors are a big deal and they deserve a spot in the review!)

JUNE- I flew back to Idaho/Utah alone with two babies because I was homesick and stayed for 3 weeks. I was called as a counselor in the Young Women's.

JULY- We put an offer in on what would be our very first house! We really are grown ups now! Oliver had his first major surgery (his circumcision) He was hilarious under anesthesia. He woke up very angry and upset. It broke my heart. My sister, Shara, and my sweet niece, Aneleise, came to visit. We visited a little museum in Smackover and a BIG museum in Little Rock. It was nice to relax and watch Oliver beat up on his big cousin. Once, while driving, we saw the back end of a deer bounding into the trees and Aneleise yelled, "Look! A kangaroo!" We do live out in the wild but, not THAT wild.

AUGUST- We drove to the gulf and it was our first time there. Vivian's first beach trip. Trying to close on the house but it is just dragging.

SEPTEMBER- Finally closed on our house and became real homeowners! We love our new house. My mom and dad came and helped us move in. Our 7th move in our 2 years of marriage. My mom unpacked my kitchen and my dad helped us put some paint on the walls and clean the gutters. Oliver said goodbye to diapers and started using the toilet.

OCTOBER- My grandmother, Venla, passed away and I returned home to Idaho (alone again with the babes) for the funeral. I stayed for 3 weeks again and visited friends and family. Oliver got to go Trick-or-Treating with his cousin, Ellie. He was a police officer and she was a rainbow. I dressed up as a robber and my sister, Shara made Vivian into a bag of money.

NOVEMBER- My sister, Katelyn, came to visit and stayed for 2 1/2 weeks. We had our first solo Thanksgiving and invited the elders and the sister missionaries over for dinner. It was kind of a flop.

DECEMBER-At the start of this month Austin and I cut out sugar and grains from our diets. (we have indulged at a couple Christmas parties and today, on Christmas.) We feel way better and have each lost 11 lbs. We also started a spending fast where we only spend money on needs and don't buy anything extra. Fortunately, I had already got all of our Christmas shopping done by then ;) That's why none of you got a Christmas card or gift from us because we really are not spending ANY money. But we still love you and will make it up next year! We will be on the fast until July. And hopefully will have all student loans paid and a good looking savings account. I came up with my New Year Resolutions and have actually been working on them for a couple of months now. 1) Better posture. 2) Use a cutting board (I have ruined many surfaces with knives) And the third is more of a family resolution to recycl. We are going to set up a system for sorting and start taking our stuff to the recycle bins at Austin's work. And of course, it's Oliver's 2nd birthday. We are in for another crazy year.

We have been blessed far beyond what we deserve. I have two beautiful, healthy children, a roof over our heads, food on our table, and a hard working hunky husband. I can't wait to see what another year brings. Merry Christmas to you all! We love you! Feel free to come visit :) We'll make it worth your while!

2 Years Old

Can you believe it? Oliver is almost 2 years old. I'm doing this post now because I love the pictures I took of him today and I want to share them, because Christmas will be so busy I probably will forget to do it if I don't do it now, and mostly because my sister is here playing with my kids and keeping them busy enough for me to be on the computer (I've just about forgotten how to use it).

 I turned Oliver loose in the yard and followed him around with a camera trying to capture him just being his 2 year old self. A picture is worth a thousand words and these ones describe him perfectly. But since I am a proud mom, I will add a few words of my own.

Oliver is such a sweet spirit. He is kind and polite. He's very sensitive and has a big soft spot for his momma. He loves books, cowboy boots, broccoli and I would be crazy not to mention his love for airplanes. And he's also a toddler boy. He likes to yell and wrestle and make messes. He is learning new words everyday and it blows my mind how fast he is developing. He communicates so well and is usually very cooperative. He doesn't always get along very well with other children and he prefers to just do his own thing. He's never been a very typical child. Whenever we are outside he kind of zones out. He doesn't run or scream or destroy things (he saves that for inside the house I guess) he just gets very quiet and walks around exploring. I love the little booger so much, my heart is always on the brink of exploding.

For your viewing pleasure, I present to you: Oliver

Once there was a tree...

...and she loved a little boy.

And the little boy loved the tree very much. 

And the tree was happy. -Shel Silverstein

Peek-a-boo, baby boy!

Sharing stories through the fence with Millie, the neighbor dog. 

Can't forget my gal pal, Viv. 

About 30 times a day I think to myself, "Wow! He is so handsome!"

Right where he belongs. 

Says he's gathering firewood for Daddy. 

Honesty and a Little Validation for the Mothers

The most helpful and important gift a mother can give another mother is honesty.  It's easy to post all the adorable pictures of your children being sweet and angelic and talk about all the milestones they've hit. I'm guilty of that! How can you not be, they make you so gosh darn proud! But there is definitely another side to the story that we don't always let other people see. That can be disheartening and discouraging to a struggling mother. I often find myself feeling like I don't do enough. My kids aren't dressed as nice or learning as much blah blah blah. I find myself apologizing to my husband every day when he gets home for all the things that didn't get done and the dinner that isn't made. Then I follow up with an explanation of all the ways I was productive that day. And he's left staring at me like " ..... Uh what? When have I ever complained about dinner not being done or  dirty diapers lying by the back door?" And he thinks I'm a lunatic. Which I am. Because I'm playing this game of who's the best mom with the best kids.

I recently found a blog that I fell in love with because it is so honest and genuine and raw. It's found here. I realized after I started browsing through past posts that mine and Austin's first home was next door to the author. We were in the same ward. I wish I had gotten to know her better. She is a great advocate for women and mothers and her posts always leave you feeling empowered and awesome. Austin was called to be her family's home teacher right before we moved and we walked over to say hello and meet them on Halloween and then moved out the next day. Bummer! Anyways, her post today (you need to read) was an honest account of a normal day with her children. I could go on and on about it but you just need to read it.  Her message is basically that you are a better mother than you think you are and you are enough. So, I wanted to follow her lead and post an account of a fairly "normal" day in the LeBaron home. A confession, if you will. So if you are anything like me and find yourself  feeling inadequate or lazy then this might make you feel better and maybe more normal. And if not, then don't tell me because that will just add to my insecurities. Ha ha. Let's all just agree to be supportive to one another. Girl power!

 I should preface by saying that because of a series of unfortunate events, I haven't had a chance to get groceries since I have been home from my trip and our cupboards are completely bare. Although, empty cupboards are a pretty normal part of life around here when I start to think about it. Ha ha.

6:16 am Viv wakes up. I scoop her up and take her to my bed and coax her back to sleep for just a little longer. I rub circles on her forehead with my finger and watch her eyes roll back into her head. I spend a few minutes staring at her face before I fall back to sleep.

7:17 She wakes up again and poops. We get out of bed and change her diaper and get dressed (her, not me) we get back in bed and I read Facebook and blog posts to her from my cell phone.
8:25 Oliver up. He's peed through his diaper and soaked his pajamas. Diaper change and dressed (just him, still not me).  We all three sit on Oliver's bedroom floor and tinker with some forgotten toys for a minute. We read through a Curious George book a few times.

8:37 Oliver demands to watch his favorite airplane show, a $5 educational children's DVD that Austin ordered from Amazon. I turn it on and wander to the kitchen to search the empty cupboard for some breakfast. Last nights left over pizza. He eats it and asks for more. There isn't more. I make him toast from the heel of the loaf. He eats it and asks for more. I make him the toe. He eats it and asks for more.  There isn't more. Handful of Goldfish crackers. I catch a glimpse into my future, trying to fill a bottomless pit that is my son's stomach. The airplane show gets replayed 3 times during breakfast. It's short. Vivian eats Oliver's pizza crust and a few bites of pureed bananas.

9:35 Vivian naps. I know we HAVE to go grocery shopping so I use this time to take a shower.

9:55 Actually make it to the shower. Oliver wants in. He uses all his lower body strength to hip check me out of the water stream. I rinse the soap out of my hair and the suds wash into his eyes. He's crying. He's clinging to my leg. Guess I'm not shaving today.

10:13 Chasing and shushing a wet, naked, giggling toddler down the hall trying to wrap him in a towel.

10:17 Make bed  because I remember how much Austin hates it when I don't. Oliver hangs on my back with his hands wrapped around  my neck like a monkey. I shake him off so I can finish. I find him in the bathroom unraveling the spool of floss.  Then remake the bed after a wrestling match.

10:35 Grateful baby girl has slept this long and I've been able to shower and get dressed. Squeezed into a pair of not pre-Oliver-pregnancy jeans but a pair of pre-Vivian-pregnancy jeans. Sweet. Progress. Oliver pulls at my hand until I pick him up. He wants to look at a family portrait of Austin's family and practice everybody's names. He surprises me with the uncles and cousins he remembers.

10:55 Start getting antsy for her to get up. Lunch time is coming and we really need groceries. Like really really need them. Grocery shopping has to be done under ideal conditions to prevent meltdowns and keep Ollie from taking bites out of everything I put in the cart. Kids must be well rested and well fed. Soon Oliver will be tired and hungry and our window of opportunity will have closed itself again.

11:30 Still asleep. Bed needs made. Again.

12:00 Oliver starts wandering the house yelling, "FOOD!"  I wake up the baby. We have to go.

12:15 Get to the store. Vivian had a blow out in the car. No diaper bag. I can't turn back, she'll have to sit in it for a bit. 

1:07 Self five!  Made it home in one piece! Vivian cried all the way home. Then she cried while I
pulled every muscle in my body trying to get the groceries in the house in one load. That didn't happen. Peeled poopy clothes off the crying baby, doused them in Shout and threw them in the washer to wait for the next load. I sit down and nurse her to calm her down. Oliver blows a raspberry on her chubby bare thigh which makes me laugh and makes her cry again. Put naked baby in the Bumbo on the kitchen counter with a pile of Goldfish crackers while I put away groceries. I play Peek-a-Boo behind the fridge door and keep yelling, "yabba dabba doo!" because it makes her laugh. I love the way she stares into my eyes and laughs.  Oliver makes off with 3 cheese sticks and two containers  of applesauce so I guess he took care of his own lunch.  He yells to turn the airplane show on and I say, "No, we've watched it enough today." Then almost immediately walk to the TV and press Play again.

1:30 I remember Oliver needs a nap. I put it off for a few more minutes while I check Facebook and Instagram. I call the lawn service. It's obvious they didn't come while I was out of town. We haven't bought a lawn mower yet and are even less motivated to do so since the people we've hired do a much better job than we ever could.  

1:50 Remember again Oliver needs a nap. Tear him from the TV (airplane show) kicking and screaming and begging "No no no!" and plop him in his crib. Realize we forgot to buy juice at the store. I guess it's okay because I don't hear another peep. 

1:55 I eat a hot dog and a grapefruit for lunch. Okay okay, this is a post about honesty after all, TWO hot dogs, a grapefruit and a handful of Nilla Wafers. I reach for a third hot dog but then think about this post and eat more wafers instead. 

2:00 Sit down and turn on the TV. Vivian is rubbing her eyes so I take her to her own bed and put her down. The house is silent. I should load the dishwasher. I should fold the clothes that have been in the dryer for two days. I sit on the couch. I turn on the TV and start this post using my cell phone because we still haven't hooked the new house up with internet (1.5 months later)

3:28 Vivian wakes up. I lay a blanket on the floor in front of the TV so she can work on crawling while I lay next to her and watch a recorded episode of Saturday Night Live. I can't stay up late
enough to watch it when it originally airs.

4:00 Vivian starts squawking and yelling baby profanities at me for leaving her on her tummy so
long. We get up and taste some of the seasonal Blue Bell ice cream we got at the store. SNL still running.

4:53 I'm back in sweats. Oliver wakes up from his nap. Wants juice. There is none. He settles for milk. We go on a walk because we have to go outside at some point, right? He whines and makes a stink about which stroller to take. He hears a train in the distance that distracts him long enough for me to strap him in. We make it to the mailbox and he starts whining about not going to say hello to Millie, the neighbors dog.  Check the mail. Bills. Add them to the pile. The sole of my sandal is falling off and it scuffs and drags with every step. I want to rip it off and throw it in the garbage. Oliver shares a toy with his sister and makes her laugh, which in turn makes him laugh. They hold hands in the stroller and talk to each other until Oliver loses interest and wants to play in some sprinklers we pass.

5:30 Usually by this point I am counting down the hours to bedtime but today has been better. I start thinking about dinner. Austin is volunteering at the High School for Engineering week and won't be home until later. The kids won't have seen him in 2 days. He leaves for work at 5:30 am.  Since he's not here I don't put a lot of energy into cooking. We'll just have scrambled eggs.

6:32 Dinner is over. I turned on Christmas music really loud and started feeling sentimental so I let Oliver stand on a chair and taught him to crack eggs. Let him pour some milk and sprinkle some salt. It felt like a scene from a movie until he grabbed a brick of cheese and rubbed it through the raw egg splatter on the counter. Now I'm debating bathing the kids to pass the time and to spare myself from watching All About Airplanes again.

7:00 Bath won because I couldn't take one more second of the little twerp shoving the DVD in my face and yelling, "Airplane! Airplane!". NOW I'm counting down to bedtime. One more hour. I got this.

7:57 Both babes down just in time for me to sit down for one of my favorite shows, New Girl. Ahhhh. Peace and order is restored. Well, not order, yet. But I have made a personal goal to have the kitchen clean before bed each night so I'll get to it. And that's a wrap! Oh, and Austin is still gone. Still. Since 5:30 am.

I'm often asked what it is I do all day. What hobbies I do on my down time. This is it, folks. This is all I do. And however, mundane it might be, I love it. I love my kids so much and I am grateful to be able to stay home with them. This isn't our best day and it's certainly not our worst. It was pretty mild. There were fewer tears and fewer time outs than most days. My kids are sleeping peacefully in their beds with full tummies and in a warm home. A home full of love and laughter and sometimes a little crying and shouting. But they are safe here. They know they are safe. They are learning new things and growing by leaps and bounds every day. It is enough. I'm a good mom. And you're a good mom. And our children won't turn out to be fat, lazy slobs or serial killers. Hopefully. 

Too Smart for His Own Good

Today I put Oliver down for a nap and I can hear him in his bed playing for a little while, which is normal, then all was quiet and I could safely assume he was asleep. No no no. I heard him making a gagging sound so I go in to make sure he's okay and lo and behold this boy has taken off all of his clothes including his diaper. And a little boy without a diaper can't help but pee all over the place. That's a desperate attempt at trying to weasel out of a nap my friends. This momma ain't falling for it. Quick change of sheets (and blanket and pillow and book and sippy cup) and strap him into a new diaper and he is back in bed. Little rascal.

I'm still not sure what the gagging was for. I really hope this doesn't become a regular thing. Oy vey.