Making an attempt...

So my blog is officially THE WORST and yet, I am so totally okay with it right now.  I have had to come to terms with the fact that I am a crap blogger and kind of a crap mom right now.  Since starting school in August, I have had little or no extra time to do much of anything.  I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to complete something that I know is important but at the same time, I am definitely feeling the effects of being gone all the time.  School has been good though.  I feel very blessed to be in the class that I am.  There are 32 of us in my class and after only a few short months, I consider my classmates to be my good friends and have enjoyed very much getting to know them and am sure that I will be lifelong friends with many of them.  That being said though, I do HATE being gone so much.  I miss my little dude so much everyday.  He is at such a wonderful age right now.  He is honestly such a delight!  Luckily for me and mostly for him, he gets to spend his days with his Te-Te, Grandma, Auntie Aubs and Grammy.  He has been spoiled beyond belief and will require some serious detox when this year is through but for now, I could not be more grateful for the opportunity he has to spend time with those that love him so dearly.

So much has happened in the last few months but the most important event and the reason I feel most guilty about neglecting this little blog is the fact that my little boy is now THREE!  Mr. Drake Weaver turned three on the 28th of January.  It is truly unbeilable to me that my child is three but I love, love, love this age and feel so lucky to have such an incredible little boy as my own.  I know all parents are biased but in all seriousness, Drake is a wonderful little boy.   We have enjoyed so much getting to watch his little personality continue to develop over this year.  In some ways he has changed so much and in others, he is the same as he was the moment he was placed in my arms for the first time.

One aspect of Drake's personality that has changed quite a bit and has been so sweet to witness, is his new found love for affection!  Until now, he has never been an overly affectionate child.  He has always loved to snuggle with daddy but was never the child that would willingly hand out hugs and kisses.  Recently though, he has become so sweet and affectionate.  I LOVE IT!!  I bet on any given day, he hugs and kisses me at least a hundred times!  It warms my heart to no end!  A month or two ago, he also started to tell us that he loves us.  Talk about making my heart melt!  The first time he told me he loved me I teared up.  There is nothing sweeter than having your child tell you that they love you and knowing that they are really saying it on their own, not because you have told them to repeat it back.  Since then, he tells everyone in the family many times a day that he loves them.  Hearing, "I love you momma," makes my life complete!  I am very grateful that my child knows that he is loved and now understands how to express his love to others as well.

Another characteristic of Drake that has changed over the last few months is his anti social habits.  He has never been a particularly social child and would most often shy away from people that tried to interact with him.  It has kind of been a running joke amongst the family but it looks like he may be outgrowing it!  Now, I still wouldn't classify him as a super outgoing little dude, but he is most definitely more social than he ever has been.  He is much more willing to try new things, talk to new people and interact with new kids at the park or where ever we are.  He loves going to nursery and to his other little classes and trots off like he'd never thrown a fit about going.  I am so happy about this!  Seeing him run and play with other little kids, run into nursery and not even look back and follow instructions from a new "teacher" puts a smile on my face!

As for his "classes"... We started Drake in gymnastics at the beginning of January and in a little art class at the end of January.  I was pretty excited about both classes but was quickly disappointed on the first day of gymnastics when he wouldn't even go into the room with the other kids.  I immediately began to regret my decision and argued with him for ten minutes about going over to where the other kids were.  Finally, after almost 15 completely anti-social minutes, he decided that he'd try it and has loved every minute of gymnastics since!  He was a little apprehensive to go join his class the second week too but it passed much more quickly and he followed his teacher around and tried everything she asked him to for the remainder of the class.  Chris wasn't too stoked about the idea of gymnastics for a boy but he's been converted!  The first week when Drake insisted on wearing his "headband and exercise clothes," Chris couldn't help but admit that he was pretty darling and that it would be okay for him to be in gymnastics for a little while.  The other class that I signed Drake up for is an art/music class offered by the college.  It's only once a week for an hour and I haven't actually ever been able to go with him because I have class during the same time, but he goes with either grandma or Tet and has a great time. He comes home with new crafts and art projects every week and always tells us that he has fun.  I am so happy that I decided to enroll him in his classes.  I decided to wait on pre-school until the fall but felt like it would be fun for him to have something that "he" did every week and he seems to be loving it.

Lately, Drake's vocabulary and conversations have become so extremely entertaining!  He comes up with some of the funniest things and remembers everything.  I really need to be better about writing down all of the things he says because he definitely keeps us laughing.  Most of the time it's the matter of fact way that he says things that is the funniest.  For instance, the other day we were in the car talking about how it's not nice to be rude to other people and how we need to be nice friends.  We talked back and forth for a few minutes and then he said, "mom, those little kids were rude.  That's a bummer!" So nonchalantly, just like any of us adults would say it.  Tet and I cracked up.  Lately he's also been telling us he'll do things tomorrow.  Whenever I want him to do something that he doesn't want to do, he tells me, "okay but not til tomorrow."  I hear, "okay but..." quite a lot these days!  The other day he also told Tet to look into his eyes so he could tell her that he would give her a kiss tomorrow instead of right then.  Funny little bug!  He speaks very clearly now and pretty much talks non stop.  He's even started busting me when I say stupid.  It's amazing how often you say things that you don't even realize until you have a little language monitor in the house!  Every time he catches me saying stupid, he comes over and says, "mom, did you just say stupid?"  Nothing like having to apologize to your three year old for saying stupid and having to thank him for keeping you in line!  (I never call him stupid!  just some random things here and there!)

Little Critter books have become a new favorite at our house.  Drake loves to read Critter books and so do I!  We grew up reading Critter books every night and it's been really fun to carry on the tradition.  Luckily, mom saved all of our old books so Drake has quite the assortment to choose from.  Every night he picks out three or four or sometimes ten for us to read.  Reading Critter books and "nugging" in his bed never gets old.  Most nights daddy gets to do it because that's how Drake likes it but sometimes I get lucky and he'll let me read to him.  Lately, he has even started "reading" his critter books to us.  We have read the same ones so many times and in the process, he has memorized most of the stories.  If we start the sentence for him, he will finish it, word for word.  I stride to get him on video doing it the other night but wasn't too successful.  It's hilarious though, and Chris and I love to tell each other how smart he is even though I'm sure it's a completely normal thing for a three year old to do!

Saying that my little son is a daddy's boy is really an understatement.  Mr. Drake Weaver is still OBSESSED with his daddy!!  He wants his daddy always.  Morning. noon, night and every minute in between.  I can't blame him because I'm pretty obsessed with the man too, but sometimes I feel kind of ripped off because my son never wants me.  I really do know that this is just a phase and that he does love me very much but sometimes it makes me sad when I can't calm him down from a night terror or make him feel better after getting a bonkie.  Daddy is always the hero for our little boy and honestly, I really wouldn't want it any other way.  I just hope that I can be cool too someday!

Little Drake Weaver is still quite the worker.  He loves to be outside and he LOVES to help Grammy, Pop-Pop and our next door neighbor Woody work.  He helps cut the grass, plant, water and trim the flowers and bushes, pick up rocks and anything else he can gets his little hands on.  He is definitely Grammy and Pop-Pop's saturday morning side kick and I'm pretty sure they all love every minute of it.  He is also the best dog walker around!  He and Te-Te take the three dogs for walks religiously each day and he loves to "walk" one of them from his stroller.  Most of the time, it's kind of a nightmare to manage all three dogs and a stroller, but they seem to have it figured out.  Thank goodness for Tet and her amazing amount of patience!

Playing at the park is still a favorite here at our house.  The "red park" or the Hidden Valley Park is our favorite and Drake could spend hours on end there.  He loves to climb, slide, jump and run from place to place but he also loves to take his bike our jeep to ride too.  He has gotten pretty darn good at cruising around on his big boy bike and looks like a total bobble head with his helmet on!  I probably shouldn't laugh at him when he wears it but it's impossible not to!  He is still darling but the helmet is really pretty rough.  Poor kid can't hardly keep his head up straight.  It's awesome! Hopefully he grows into it soon.

Along with Drake's developing vocabulary have come quite a few made up words and bouts of random funny things.  Sometimes he'll ramble on and on with his made up words like snoodle, poodie head etc.  At first I tried to correct him, thinking that it wasn't good for him to be making up his own words but I quickly realized that it's completely normal and that it's good for him to use his imagination.  It's pretty funny to be in a store or out in public and have your child say, "Mom, you're a snoodle," and act like everyone should know what it means!

The last few months have been a bit of a struggle for Drake when it comes to sleeping.  Naps are long gone, which I am really fine with but night time awakenings have become all too frequent.  For awhile there, he was waking up with a night terror every single night and would end up sleeping in our bed after because we couldn't get him to calm down in his own bed.  It was horrible.  Night terrors are horrendous all in themselves but sleeping with Drake in bed is almost as bad!  He is the world's wildest sleeper.  In fact, just last night he fell out of his queen size bed.  A twin is obviously never going to be an option for him!  Anyways... after months of trying to get him to sleep again, I finally decided it wasn't worth the fight and finally made him a "special bed" on the floor next to our bed.  Not ideal, but definitely better than the alternative of getting up with him and trying to convince him to go back to sleep in his bed or letting him sleep with us.  I kind of figured that it would be a fight to get him to just come in, lie down on the floor and go back to sleep but surprisingly, he did it all on his own without a peep the first night.  I didn't even know he was there until the morning when I looked down and saw him next to me.  I was amazed and totally relieved!  Since then, he has ended up on our floor five or six times but has also slept in his own bed most nights.  He loves to come into our room in the morning and tell us that he slept all night in his big bed and is pretty proud.  I honestly have no idea why sleeping has become a problem for him because he has always been a dream however; I am glad that I came up with a better solution than him in bed with us and hopefully the number of nights spent on our floor will gradually decrease.

For Christmas, Santa brought little Mr. Weaver a new "jeep." (It's really a truck but we all still call it his jeep.) He had been wanting and talking about this  "jeep" for months prior to Christmas and was completely delighted when he came up the stairs and first laid eyes on his new ride!  It was pure heaven to watch the excitement on his face!  Since then, he has become the best three year old driver around.  He rallies that thing like a pro and is going to be super dangerous here pretty quick.  He is already asking me if he can drive my car and is always wanting to sit on my lap to steer.  It's going to be a very bad deal when he outgrows the jeep and wants to move onto something bigger and better.  It makes me nervous to even begin to think about him cruising around in something bigger and faster because he has no fear and is really a good little driver.  Overall though, Santa did a great job and the jeep has and mostly certainly will continue to receive lots of use!

For the last month or so, Drake has been very sad when Chris and I leave for school or work.  He has always hated it when Chris leaves but lately, he has started telling his dad that he doesn't like him when he goes to work.  It's so sad and yet adorable at the same time!  He has learned the different days of the week and knows that daddy has two days on the weekend that he doesn't have to go to work and looks forward to them all week long.  He has also learned the concept of "daddy dates" and loves to go places with just him and his dad.  Some of his favorite outings consist of going to the movies, playing the video games at the theater and stopping at Swig for a treat on the way home.  He has started asking for "daddy dates" almost every night now and is always super bummed when they're not able to go.

Drake is still the world's worst eater.  His diet still consists of the usuals... cheese, any type of fruit, bread, crackers, milk, yogurt and occasionally some sort of cereal.  Every once in awhile I can convince him to try something new but usually not.  He would rather go to his room, which he typically loathes, than try a piece of meat or something new.  It's pretty much a joke!  I always swore that my child would not be picky eater.  Boy was I wrong!

Well... I think that's about it for now.  All in all, life for Drake Weaver as a three year old is pretty great, I'd say!  He is surrounded by people that love him more than anything and is the light of all of our lives.  He brings more happiness to our home than we ever could have imagined and it is truly a blessing to be his mother!  He is sweet, kind, caring, smart as can be, obedient, a darling little friend to those around him, and most of all, he is ours!  We are so blessed!

Bah...

Now that I am officially done with the semester and with Coins for Kids, I decided to start sifting through all of my pictures from the last five months.  I have lots of great ones to put on here but these three are by far my favorite!  I crack up laughing every time I see these! Jared aka Bah is honestly one of my most favorite people!  Not only is he super funny (hence the awesome gun pics), sweet as can be, and an amazing husband, he is absolutely wonderful to my little man.  Drake adores his Bah and always, always wants to be around him!  Jared is the kind of uncle that stops whatever he is doing to play with the kids.  He sword fights, hides, bams, rides bikes, plays in the dirt box and on the swing set,  watches endless hours of Drake's shows and plays mario cart just so Drake can yell at the "cheapos!"  Our family is so blessed to have Jared a part of it and I am especially grateful for the relationship that he and Drake have.  We love you Bah! Thank you for being wonderful and for always being such a good sport!  Bird is so very lucky to have you, as are we! 

We need your HELP!!!

Every year, my dad and I, along with hundreds of other volunteers from around the community, participate in providing christmas for children in our area that would otherwise be going without. Coins for Kids was started 19 years ago by a handful of employees at the KONY radio station and has continued each year since. This year, we are hoping to provide Christmas for roughly 1800 children from 700 families here in St. George.  Each year we set a goal to raise around $125,000 which divides out to around $75 per child.   

Every year I am amazed at the generosity of those in our area and every year, I am SO grateful to be a part of such a wonderful organization. The magic of Christmas is truly something special and each year as I watch our volunteers come to shop, wrap, and deliver, I am humbled by their willingness to give of whatever they have in whatever capacity they have to give it.

Each year we have somehow managed to meet our goal and have raised the $125,000 to divide amongst the children.  This year however; we are really worried.  Currently, we are $75,000 short of our goal and we are scheduled to shop for the children in six days.  I know that this time of year is very tight for most people and there isn't much extra to go around but if any of you that may happen to read this have even $5.00 to spare to donate to a child for Christmas, it would be so greatly appreciated.  

Please visit our website to donate and for more information about our organization.  It truly is a wonderful cause. 

https://coinsforkids.net/donate/donate.aspx

A few pictures from last year...

Dear Bird...

Dear Bird,

Yes, I know... my blog is bogus!  Not only do I lack time, but I also lack the motivation at this point to want to update it.  Two more tests and one lab praticum to go and I'll be back in business!  (hopefully) But... for now, here's the result of our trip to talk to Santa.  Big was VERY excited to talk to Santa and to tell him that he wanted a black jeep and a helicopter.  The addition of the helicopter was due to the helicopter stand that was positioned next to where Santa was at the Dickens festival.  We had to wait for over an hour in line to talk to Santa so Dad entertained Big with the helicopters and the pop guns.  He was seriously a trooper!  Even though we weren't able to convince the little dude to smile or look directly at the camera, I'd say that our trip was a success!  He walked right up and was okay to sit on Santa's lap as soon as Santa started talking to him about trucks.  As long as the conversation was centered around trucks and black jeeps, he was fine!  There were a few moments of near meltdown when the camera lady tried to get him to smile while waving a weird stuffed duck in front of him, but Santa kept things under control!  All in all, the hour wait, even for only a few minutes on Santa's lap, was worth it!  Big was happy and I was super proud of him for sitting there like such a big boy.  It was all pretty priceless if you ask me! 

Amber... this is for you!

These pictures crack me up! These little monkeys were cheesin' it up for the camera in Harmons a few weeks ago.  Love these littles!

Chris and Whit

Obviously this blog is devoted almost 100% to Mr. Drake Weaver, which is just how I like it however; I decided it might be a good idea to jot down a few things about Chris and I for the 2011 book's sake.  So far, 2011 has been a good year for us.  It has been full of changes, another move and a new start at school for me, but all is well and we are happy!

 (This is solely for me, so anyone that may be reading this, please don't feel obligated to read the entire post!  It's long and journaly... beware!)

The quick re-cap:

Back in May, I found out that I had been accepted to the nursing program at Dixie.  It was a really tough decision to make, but in the end we decided to make the move back to STG so I could accept my spot and work towards my nursing degree.  During the same time, Chris was offered the chance to move back to take over the STG market for work, which kind of made the decision to move a no brainer.  We really, really loved living in northern Utah and were super sad to leave.  We loved living so close to the sibs and are seriously missing our Sunday night get togethers.  Luckily, my program is only three semesters long.  Hopefully as soon as I am done, we can move back north and still have the sibs around for a few years!

Going back to school has been bitter sweet for me.  I have known for two years now that this was what I needed to do and getting accepted so quickly confirmed that feeling for me, but man is it hard to leave my boy and be gone so much.  I absolutely love my program though!  All of my professors are amazing, the other people in my class are the very best and I am honestly excited at the thought of being a nurse someday.  I just wish that I would have done this ten years ago.  I know that at the time, it wasn't the right decision for me but I can't help but regret the time I spent pursuing my accounting degree.  Oh well though.  There's nothing I can do about that.  Because my program is pretty demanding of my time, I am constantly taking Drake from place to place.  Fortunately though, I have my family close to help me. I am so very grateful for all of them and truly could not do this without them!  None of them realized that they were signing up for nursing school too!  Mom, Dad, Pam, and Aubs help me with Drake every single week and have made these last few months wonderful for him.  He LOVES being able to spend one on one time with Grandma and Aubs and has the best time at their houses.  He cries almost every time I pick him because he doesn't want to go home! Mom and Dad have been amazing, as always!  They are more help to me and more supportive than I ever could have imagined!  They have always, always supported me in all that I have done but this time around I have really needed there help and they have been here by my side every step of the way!  I cannot even begin to express my gratitude for them, the Weavers and Aubie.  I absolutely could not do this without them!

 Although I feel guilty about being gone so much, I am so grateful that Drake is able to build such strong relationships with his grandparents and aunts and uncles.  I have always been so grateful for the relationships that I have with Omie and my aunts and uncles and I want more than anything for Drake to feel the same way someday.  He has been blessed with the very best grandparents and aunts and uncles and I want him to always have a strong bond with each of them!

Chris is still as hard working, loving, and sexy as always! He is always wonderful, but he has been especially amazing these last few months.  When I first started school, we all kind of had a rough time adjusting to my schedule and we even questioned our decision to move in this direction but after working through it, we're back on track!  Chris is the world's best dad and anyone that has been around my child for more than two seconds knows it!  Drake is still completely OBSESSED with Chris and absolutely cannot get enough daddy time.  I know he loves it, however; I'm sure there are times when he feels like he needs a minute to breath without the two of us in his face, but he never, ever complains.  He is so patient with both of us and puts up with our "bi-polar" moments, as I like to call them!  As much as Drake looks like Chris, he is still most definitely more like me in the personality department, which I'm sure is a bit exhausting for Chris at times!

Chris is so very close to being done with school.  He has one more measly credit that he needs to take during Spring semester and will officially graduate in May.  Luckily though, he is done with all of his major classes.  I can't even begin to explain how proud I am of him!  He has never been a school boy and had absolutely no intention of going to school after his mission, but he made the decision to go back and get it done a few years ago and I am so grateful that he did!  He did so well in his program and is now even tossing around the idea of going to Grad school.  I am really excited for him to be able to pursue what he loves in a year or so.  He has always worked so hard to make sure that we always have insurance and once Drake was born, to make sure that I could stay home.  I am so grateful for a husband that is willing to do that for me and for our child.  As Tet would say, "he's such a good man!"  I am so lucky to have him as my man and plan to hold on tight forever!  

Other than school, work, and being parents, there isn't much else to report about us!  Life is really busy and my schedule is kind of a nightmare right now but I truly am happy!  This year has brought about a lot of changes in circumstance for people that we love and as hard as it is to see things change in life, it has also made me re-evaluate how greatly I have been blessed.  I have a husband that loves me and still wants to be my man, even after seven years.  I have a beautiful little boy that makes my life complete, and I have an amazing family that is cheering me on and holding my hand through this crazy time in my life!  Even though life is never just as we think it should be, I am learning that it's most important to try our very best to just be happy with who we are and what we have been given in our lives.  As crazy as it is to be 28 and kind of up in the air with our plans, I am oddly okay with it because I know that the things that are most important in my life are still the same and stronger than ever.  Just this morning as my husband crawled back in bed with me for a snuggle for the third time, I reminded myself how truly blessed and happy I am.  It's really the littlest things like that that have helped me to realize that the bigger things that don't always go my way, aren't even important.  Life is what I make it, and I am grateful for the good and the bad times that have helped me to see that!         

Things he says.

I just pulled out my blog books from the last two years and am now kicking myself for being such a slacker.  I wrote down WAY more things about Drake last year than I have this year.  I was faithful about my monthly Drake posts but for some reason just stopped when he turned two.  It's pretty unfortunate really.  I guess the thousands of pictures I have will have to suffice.  Today however, I do want to write down a few of the funny things that he has been saying lately.  There's no way that I'll remember them all but at least its a start!

Lately he has been saying, "I are" instead of I am and he usually says "I nare."  He'll say things like, "I nare going to watch Mic," or "I nare going to play with Dylan."  He also says, "I nem" instead of I am when he's using I am correctly.

One of his new favorites is, "those are not the rules."  He likes to tell me this when I tell him, "those are the rules," typically when I'm telling him no.  I have to bite my tongue in order to not laugh back at him.

Yesterday he told me, "You don't talk to my Gram like that!" Nice!  Obviously he's been told that a few times.

Usually when Drake gets "in trouble," he has to have a "talk" with me.  He very rarely has to go to time out anymore but he does have to have talks when he is doing something naughty.  Typically when he has to have talks, I end the conversation with asking him if he understands.  A few weeks ago I told him to climb off of the elliptical machine and he told me, "I not get down...understand!"  I about lost it!  I had to fight with all I had to not bust up laughing!  It was really one of the funnier things he has said to date!  Obviously he was being bratty but it was hilarious, non the less!  He has said this to me a few times since then and every time I have to turn away so I don't laugh at him.

Another new development is the use of "cause" at the beginning of every sentence.  He says things like, "cause I need it," or "cause I want to..."  The other day he told me, "Cause I need my black jeep, cause I want it, cause Santa Claus is going to bring it to me if I'm a nice boy."  He has also been saying, "cause why," a lot lately.  He'll usually ask me "cause why" 20 times when I tell him or ask him to do anything.

Today he has really been on a role and has said quite a few funny things.  The very best though was, "don't say that kind of crap!"  Horrible I know, but when I told him that we didn't talk like that, he proceeded to tell me to, "chill out mom!"  Oh dear!  And then... later today he started running around telling everyone to, "shape up!" Ya think he's heard that a time or two!?  I think I might be in trouble with this little boy!  He remembers EVERYTHING!

Drake was seriously the easiest kid in the world to potty train!  I need to write a post about that for my memories sake but in this one I just want to write down what he now says.  Whenever I ask him if he needs to go potty, he quickly answers with, "no, I need tell you," and he always does.  I am so dang proud of him and can't help but smile every time I hear, "I need tell you!"

Recently, he has also started telling me that he needs either one more thing or one more time.  He'll stand right in my face and tell me, "just one more time mom," or, "just one more mom."  This is usually accompanied by chuckling from the peanut gallery (mom and Chris) which doesn't ever help my cause!  My child has us all wrapped right around his little finger and loves to let me know it!

Every night he tells whoever is nugging and putting him to bed, "just one more minute."  He'll try it three or four times and usually gets a few extra minutes out of us.

He loves to chase the dogs around the house but he loves bossing them around even more.  If they're outside he'll run out yelling, "get in the house."  If they're in the house and barking he'll chase them and yell, "stop that barking!"  Again... he's obviously heard these way too much!

Another favorite phrase as of late is, "you sneaky bugger!"  Chris told him that the mice in his prophet book were sneaky buggers and the phrase has just stuck.  He now calls all of us at home sneaky buggers and loves to say, "you sneaky bugger momma," or, "you sneaky bugger Gram!"

Funny Drake pronunciations...

- sool (school)
- recsue (rescue, as in buzz lightyear to the rescue)
- imponey (infinity, as in to infinity and beyond)
- noke (milk)
- beeu (blue)
- egular (regular)

Well... that's all I can think of right now.  I need to be better about keeping a running list so these posts will be better and easier to get done.  Drake is honestly at the best age!  He keeps us laughing constantly and has such a sweet and yet super funny personality!  He is also as Te-Te would say, "such good boy."  I know that I am biased as his mother, but I have to say that my little man is a well behaved child.  He has his moments, just like all kids, but for the most part, he is an incredibly easy child.  I have been so blessed and am extremely grateful to have him as my little son!

[10.26.11]

This morning when Drake went to pick out what cereal he wanted for breakfast, he grabbed his box and said, "this is perfect!"  I say "perfect" all the time and I guess he's gonna hang on to that one too!  While he was eating his cereal, he wanted me to look at him so he could show me that he only had one more marshmallow left.   To get my attention and have me look at him he said, "mom, open your eyes!"  He's been saying that one for a few weeks now and always says it when he wants you to look at him.  I guess he thinks if we're not looking at him that our eyes are closed.  Funny kid!