February 2011 Photos



Camera Time!

Toby loves posing for the camera

Rrraaaarrr!

Raya's on the left, Toby's about to throw the ball

Got it!  It took me a few tries but I finally got a picture of the ball in the air

Toby on Mars - at the Planetarium

Toby on the moon

At the Planetarium they had this contraption that had balls going on a roller coaster.  Toby loved it so much he threw a fit when we had to leave!



There were a couple knobs you could play with to stop balls and make them go a different way.







Shoulder ride back to the car



Life Continues

I currently have two jobs.  Did I tell you I'm back working at Target?  They sent many vague signals that my temporary position was terminated and then out of the blue they called me asking where I was - I was on the schedule to work that day!  I was pretty shocked - I was dead certain I was done with Target - but I decided I would continue to work there, with one big restriction.  I cannot work long hours - makes me bleed, not good for the pregnancy!

My other job is at the local rec center and I have only gone to one meeting so far.  We're waiting for the building to be finished before we can have our pre-work meetings and trainings.

Toby has progressed on his reading and now he can read most 3 letter words without having to sound them out first and he likes to look for words to read wherever he is.  He also loves numbers and can count pretty high (up to 100 with a little help), can count by tens, and can count backwards from ten to one.  Greg and I are constantly amazed at the things he picks up - although, he still doesn't understand what the word "why" means.  He just says "yes" when we ask him why he did something.

Life continues whether or not we can afford it to, but Toby and Greg and the Lord keep me from losing perspective.  This too shall pass and when it does we will be much more grateful, humble, and willing to help others.

Catching Up on News

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a long time. Let me bring you up to speed in two words: I'm pregnant!

In November I applied and got a temporary job at Target as a cashier. I began to be tired all the time and I gradually stopped exercising because I didn't have any energy to spare. I also gained a few pounds and my clothes got tight. I figured it was all because of my new job. I was depressed.


One day I realized I hadn't gotten my period yet and I casually mentioned it to Greg. Greg told me I should immediately drive down and buy a pregnancy test (totally unlike him, he usually says wait a few days first). I took the test knowing without a doubt that it was going to be negative and to my utter shock, it was positive! Greg of course somehow knew and wasn't surprised - sometimes he just knows things.

I'm now in the third month and thankfully I'm past the intense hunger, intense fatigue, and morning sickness (I just had a touch of that, I never threw up or anything). I'm back to working out - gently of course - and I'm down to 4 meals a day. :) Greg says I sound like a hobbit when I talk about making my "second lunch".

 

The last few days have been hard because I've had a cold that's brought back all the hunger, fatigue and morning sickness, not to mention all the ailments of the cold. Greg, who got sick too, has been so nice and helpful to me; getting me food and drink and taking care of Toby when I can't.

I've got a new job working in a child care center in town and although it hasn't opened yet, I'll be going to meetings and trainings so we'll be getting a little money coming in. I'll be able to bring Toby with me so when Greg gets a job, I'll still keep this job and we won't need a babysitter (assuming Greg gets a job in this area).

 

Toby's been going potty all by himself now and half the time he keeps dry during his naps too! I can't believe it's taken so long - since October - for Toby to learn this! I was thinking it would take a month - I was way off! Toby can read 3 letter words with more speed and confidence now and he likes to try and read his books. Kids these days are so intelligent, aren't they?

Well, now you're all caught up in our lives and I'm hoping not to let months go by before posting again. One of my New Year's Resolutions, let's see if I can stay up-to-date on my blogs...

The Announcement

For Christmas, this year, Ilene hand-painted some ornaments for my family and her family. These are the ones she made for my family. We delivered her family's before we took photos, but essentially the message is the same.

When lined up, they revealed a hidden code.

The '#14' signifies the number of the expected grandchild for my parents.

If you're still having trouble understanding: Ilene's expecting in August.

Pumpkin Heads

Trampoline Fun, September Flowers

Yesterday I was playing with Toby and decided to get my camera to get pictures of our fun!
I also took pictures of the flowers around the backyard.

Then I took some of the flower pictures and played around with them on PhotoShop. That's a fun program!

I also altered this picture of Toby (above). I lightened it up and added highlights.

Toby had so much fun jumping with the bucket of water, we'll probably do it again today.

As for the potty training, I've dedicated the whole day, each day to getting Toby into underwear. It takes a lot of work (Toby seems to understand what to do, and then he has a colossal accident that takes all of my patience and energy not to give up and put him in a diaper for the rest of the day.

I have to give up my regular workouts, taking Toby to the playgrounds, or going anywhere unless it can be done in a half hour (Toby can hold his bladder longer than that, but I'm afraid of him having an accident, especially if it's poo). Toby seems to like using the big toilet rather than the potty so I ordered a fold-up seat to go on the big toilets at the restrooms in stores, so as soon as that gets to Walmart, we'll be able to go places.

No More Diapers (hopefully) :)

Yesterday we noticed we needed to buy another box of diapers (having only around 10 left) but with Greg out of a job right now, we both did not want to buy them. So we decided it was a good time for Toby to be potty trained. :)

He's been interested in the idea for awhile now. He likes it when I read potty books to him, so we told him that he will wear diapers only for night time and that from now on he'll be wearing underwear and using the potty or toilet.

I've set up a Potty Success Chart where every time he goes potty he gets to stamp off a square and when all the squares are stamped off he gets a special treat (ring pop - he loves those). Also he gets a jelly bean every time he goes.

Yesterday he had 3 or 4 accidents but today he's only had one and a half (he slightly wet his underwear before he made it to the toilet). He seems to like going in the toilet rather than the potty (I think the potty is uncomfortable for him) so I ordered a potty seat that folds up so I can stick it in the diaper bag for church and stuff.

So far it's going well. I hope this will be the end of diapers during the day!

A Short, Funny Video

Here's just a funny thing that happened while we were at Vonnie's house when we evacuated Herriman during the fire. I let Toby take pictures with our camera and here is the result!

He still amazes me

For months we've been casually teaching Toby to read. (He knew all his letters by name and sound before his 2nd birthday). Usually, we put out simple words, generally 3 letters long, and have him sound them out. Something like MAP or CAT that he can associate with an object. He'll point to the letter, say the sound, move to the next letter and sound, etc., until he has said all the sounds, then he puts them together. He'll say the whole word, and then we'll praise him for getting it right, which is generally followed by a minute or two of celebration as he runs around clapping his hands, repeating the word over and over, jumping up and down, and generally making a production of himself. It's incredibly cute to watch, and it's so far ahead of where he should be, developmentally, that it actually scares me.

Today, I tried a different tack. I told Tobs to spell the word JET. He said "Juh, J sound" and found the "J" letter and laid it down. Then he said "Tuh, T sound" and found the "T" and laid it down. With some coaxing we got him to identify the letter associated with the "Eh" sound, and he put it down between the J and T, then sounded out the word, and proceeded to celebrate. I tried again, telling him to spell the word CUP. This time he didn't miss the vowel, and got all the letters in the right order by himself. Repeat celebration. I'm amazed.

Of course, then I had to try something harder and tried to get him to go with DUCK. He got the DUC and after some coaxing for the other "cuh" sound, eventually he got the K. But then he wanted to lay the letters down in reverse order and sound it out backwards. I'm not sure what that's all about, but I'm choosing not to worry about it, considering that he's not even 3 years old yet and he's both reading and spelling simple words.

Greg's Graduation! August 12/13, 2010

Toby, all tired out from all the ceremonies and speeches!

Happy for Greg!

Meeting the president of BYU

Greg kind of looks like a wizard from Hogwarts in this picture!

The Kimball Tower, the building Greg worked and studied in

BYU's past and future (hopefully) walking together

The science building. Isn't it neat?

Yeah! I'm done!

Big Tall Columns

Isn't the BYU campus pretty? Toby's holding up the water bottle we bought him as a souvenir. I (Ilene) got a shirt and bag and earrings, Greg got a tie pin and a hat as souvenirs.

Marlan and Linda came to both days of graduation, and also took us out to dinner. It was so nice!

Congratulations Greg!