The swaddle...

Ok, so as promised, here is the new amazing way to swaddle, thanks to my father in law, Chris.

You are basically going to be making a figure 8 around the baby's arms, and under their body, so each arm is wrapped individually, making it very difficult, if not impossible, to get their arms out. Here are some pictures and a video to illustrate. Sorry if the video is at a bad angle... Nate is out of town, so I had to balance it on a garbage can, but I think you'll get the picture.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

PS. In case you were wondering what that pink bracelet is on my right wrist, that's my bracelet for the American Idol auditions tomorrow. No, I am not auditioning, but my sister Ashley is, and I get to go!! YAY! I am so excite to see how this all works. I will definitely take pictures and post all about it!

What it looks like after the first arm

After both arms are done

Thanks to Sayer for being such a cooperative (and adorable) subject/assistant!

For Nate... again

Nate just left tonight, to teach at a fiddle camp in exciting Evanston, WY, for the whole week, so he asked me to make a post so he could look at pictures of his cute boys. So here they are...

Sayer a while ago, right after he rolled over for the first time. He looks quite proud of himself!

These are all of a little photo shoot I did tonight, after Asher went to bed. Isn't he so cute?! :)

Nate and I always like to peak in on the kiddies while they are sleeping, because they look so precious. I risked waking them up from the flash to get these pictures for you Nate, so you can peak at them while you're away!! (aaah, so sweet, I know! ;)

I will definitely be much lonelier than I was the last time Nate went out of town for this long, when I got to go to Spokane. I think this might just be the perfect time to re-read the Twilight series in preparation for the release of Breaking Dawn... yes, I think I will do just that! ;)

Tonight while I was playing with Sayer, I was feeling so sentimental, and just couldn't get over how much I love him. You know how you get that feeling sometimes, where you just love someone so much, you just want to squeeze them because it feels like you can't contain it, or you don't know how else to express it? That's how I felt tonight. I love my two sweet little boys so much, and I don't know what I would do without either of them. They both have such sweet little spirits and personalities. Even though Asher can drive me crazy at times with his endless energy, he really is the sweetest little boy, especially now that he is talking so much more, he says the most precious things. For example, when he asks to snuggle, or "nuggle", or when he says "I wan go tubby-tub" (which translates into I want to take a bath). Love that kid! I'm so lucky to be a mom!

Love Lyle!

As I mentioned before, Nate got me Lyle Lovett tickets for my birthday. So, last Saturday night, his parents baby-sat the kidlets, and we went out for a luxurious night on the town. Ok, so not super luxurious, but it felt like it was, because we had NO KIDS with us. Oh man, dinner, was seriously heavenly. We got up to Salt Lake 2 hours early, and went to this yummy Greek restaurant (normally, I loathe greek food, but this was a really nice classy place, and I looked at the menu and saw that they had salmon, and figured they couldn't make that too greasy, like they do with all their food), called Artisto (or something like that). We sat outside in the shade, and it was just perfect. After we finished eating, we seriously just sat there for 30 minutes or so, and relaxed, and actually got to talk. It was so nice... and fun! Then we started walking up the street to Kingsbury Hall, and Nate informed me that I was walking too fast, as we had plenty of time, and he really wanted to relish in the fact that we, for once, weren't running late.

We had really good seats at the front of the balcony, and the show was AMAZING. I seriously LOVED it. I knew I would enjoy it, but I didn't know that I wouldn't want the music to stop. I've decided what kind of music Lyle Lovett plays. He's on a country label, but he is so not country. I think it's bluegrass, just with more of a bluesy/soul feel to it. He had this enormous band, and gospel singers, and there was just tons of energy, and Lyle himself is quite the character. So yeah, LOVED it. LOVE Lyle!

**Another bonus of this night out, is that Chris (Nate's dad) put Sayer to bed, and in doing so, introduced an awesome way to swaddle, that is seriously unbreakable. I will take pictures of it for all to benefit from, so look for that in the next day or so!

Happy Birthday to me!

Tuesday was my birthday... the big 2-6. We ended up celebrating it on Monday, as I had to work with a girl I mentor on Tuesday. We decided that it would be fun to go up to Park City, as we had a gift certificate for dinner at the Homestead in Midway.

We went to the Park City Resort to do the Alpine Slides. We were in line to get some tickets, when this lady comes up and asks us if we want the remainder of their tickets, that they weren't going to use. Seriously?! People are so nice... sometimes! ;) She gave us one adult and 2 passenger tickets, so we only had to buy one more adult for me. Nate took Asher down first, and he loved it, so I decided to take him again. I am so glad that lady gave us her tickets... it is fun, but definitely not worth the $14 per ride it would have cost us. It was a little scary taking Asher on the chair lift. We had to distract him with chocolate on the second ride up, as he wanted to get down... as in, he was trying to get off the chair lift while we were 100 ft in the air. It was very scary! But he was all smiles on the way down.

After the slides, we went to the city park and let Asher play for awhile. Isn't it weird how we entertained Asher for MY birthday? Not that I minded. Nate and I were talking on the way up about our definitions of fun... I told him that my definition of fun has turned into Asher having fun. Nate said: "yeah, I've noticed that." It makes me happy when he is happy.

After the park, we drove back down to Midway to the Homestead and had a nice meal outside by the duck pond. Asher loved feeding the ducks and watching the fishies. He was pretty good until right before we left. Poor little guy was so tired, it was a long day.

Nate dropped me off at Nunn's Park in the canyon, and I ran back to my house. I missed my long run last week because of the festival, so I had to do it Monday. I was nervous to do it by myself, but it was actually really nice, and quite leisurely. I know that sounds weird, but it really was. It's just nice to be by myself, even if it's running 11 miles. That was my first really long run since having Sayer, so I was proud of myself.

On Tuesday, I got to sleep in, and Nate gave me my gift... an antennae for our TV so I can watch so you think you can dance, and tickets to see Lyle Lovett this Saturday. I know, I'm such a nerd. My family totally makes fun of me that I like him, but what can I say? I just do. So I am so excited to go see him in concert. Nate's parents will be in town, so they are going to watch the kiddies. I also got money, with which, I will be buying a plethora of running/fitness gear, including: a Garmin Forerunner 205, which I just ordered yesterday (So excited for this), a fuel belt for long runs, triathlon shorts, triathlon shirt, and possibly a speedo. So, it was definitely a great birthday, and I can't wait to continue the celebration this weekend!

Snowbird

This last Saturday, Nate played at a Bluegrass Festival up at Snowbird, with his band Cold Creek. He had lots of free time after their show, and there were lots of fun things to do up there, so I made the nice long drive to see daddy. Asher was so excited. He kept saying "I wanna go see daddy". Stuff like that makes Nate so happy!

When we got there, we headed up to the bouncy castle, but Asher got a little sidetracked listening to this group jamming. He does this little side step thing, like a little shuffle to the side, that is part of his dance repertoire. Everyone got a kick out of him. The guy playing the cajon let him hit it a couple of times. I think Asher is a born musician... he is fascinated watching, and listening to people play.

This was Sayer's reaction to the music!

Just a quick drink, and he's ready to get back out there!

He of course LOVED the bounce castle. He would have stayed on it all day if we let him. As it was, he was on it for about 45 minutes. He kept saying "I did it", over and over. Love that kid! There was this weird kid in there, who kept pushing Asher down, and then would go sit on Asher, or pull him down more, when he fell on his own. It was a little disturbing... not your normal toddler behavior that you expect. It was more like, angry, mean, future threat to our society kind of a thing... he would like clench and barr his teeth as he was doing it, it was weird. But thankfully, he left after only a little bit.

The kid in the black shirt is the one I was talking about

After the bounce house, we went on the tram that takes you to the top of the mountain. We got out at the top, and Asher got to throw rocks and run free, and all that good boy stuff.

Those few things ended up taking up quite awhile, and before we knew it, it was time for me to head back with the kids. I had planned on staying for a concert, but the kids were pretty beat. I started the journey home, and about 10 minutes in, I had 2 hungry, tired, screaming children. We stopped at Wendy's, which was thankfully pretty empty, as both kids were quite the sight to behold. Asher was good after he got his food, but poor Sayer was so tired, so it was a struggle to get him to eat, then finally go to sleep. After awhile, I realized that Nate didn't even have to stay up at the festival as he was done performing, that he just wanted to, to hear some bands play. I found myself wondering how I ended up in this situation... me with 2 screaming children by myself, while Nate sat by himself, leisurely listening to music in the beautiful outdoors. When I texted this question to him, he responded by saying: "sometimes the music is loud, and it hurts my ears... does that count?" HA, yeah right buddy! But all was well, and I was home with the kids in bed soon enough.

Despite the dramatic ending, it was a good day. It is always fun to get out with Asher, and see him enjoy himself. Nothing makes me happier these days!

My silly little boys...

Asher loves to pretend that he is going "na-night" in Sayer's bouncer

Wearing Nate's church sock... it looks like a thigh high on him... I love it!

Striking a pose

How cute is this kid?

Asher was being so cute with Sayer, making sure he was covered with the "blankie", so he wouldn't get cold.

He was totally making Sayer laugh too, it was so sweet.

4th of July

We had a nice, laid back Fourth of July. Nate had a gig in Sandy, at their little city festival, or whatever you want to call it. We got there early for Nate to sound check, so we got to watch the parade before their concert. It wasn't that great to be honest, but Asher liked the horses and cars and fire engines and colorful floats. During the concert, he had fun making new friends and mooching food off of these new friends of his. I love this picture...

Asher, lounging on some lady's blanket, watching his daddy play fiddle, while eating this ladies cookies... classic Asher!

Asher loved the doggie

Hard to tell, but he is being patriotic, and waving an American flag... quite ferociously, I might add!

Thankfully, no one minded at all, they all thought he was adorable and hilarious, which of course, he is, but I still felt kind of bad. Oh well. He also liked to run around with his BFF Jace, whose mom plays and sings in the band with Nate. During the concert, I laid Sayer on his tummy on our blanket, and this sweet old man got my attention and said: "hey, I want to hold that baby." Um, ok. I actually didn't care at all, and he was really sweet and funny. He seriously held him for like 45 minutes, and Sayer was an angel the entire time. He just sat there, and didn't make a peep. I thought it was pretty cute though, for this man to want to hold him, he wasn't creepy at all, so no worries!

After the concert, there was another country singer, which was followed by fireworks, but we opted to take the kiddies home, since it was already well past their bedtimes. They were so good for me. I always get nervous to be by myself in public with the 2 kids. Well, only when I can't restrain Asher and keep him in his carseat or stroller the entire time, but he was very good for me, and never ran out of my line of sight.

I bought some fireworks to do for Asher on Saturday night, as we were having a BBQ with my sisters and some other friends, but we never got around to doing them. We will have to break them out sometime this week. But the BBQ was fun, and delicious. I made this yummy ice cream cake. Very patriotic, don't you think? I'll post the recipe on my Chocolate Kitchen blog.

I also made this watermelon lime drink

It was... interesting. Nate loved it though. If I were to make it again, I would strain the pulp out.

Anyway, we had a nice 4th, even though we didn't see a single firework. Kind of sad.

Lazy, lazy, lazy

Wow, it seems like it has been so long since I last posted. I'm just gonna go ahead and be honest and upfront with everyone... I have been the laziest version of my already lazy self these past few weeks. Seriously people, I can't get myself to do anything... I don't get dressed or shower unless it is absolutely necessary (as in, I am leaving the house, or people are coming over, even then, showering is definitely optional!),I don't clean my house (I do straighten up about every other day), I don't do the laundry (or at least I don't fold it or put it away), I don't make dinner, I only do the dishes when the dishwasher is empty, and seeing as how I loathe emptying the dishwasher, it is never empty, therefore, I never do the dishes. I can't even get myself to post on my beloved blog. I guess I do have to give myself some credit, as I have been running and swimming my little (ok, not really so little) rear off these days, which is one of the reasons why I don't do anything else around here... I am so stinkin' tired. It's not that I'm over working myself or anything, but rather, Sayer has digressed some in his previously stellar sleeping habits, and I wake up every morning, feeling like I just got hit by a ton of bricks. I don't even think about waking up early to run, as there is just no way. It's night time runs for me baby (which I actually quite enjoy)! I am not really sure what my course of action will be with the little guy, as I don't really know what his dealio is, but I have GOT to figure something out. It's really quite depressing, as he was pretty much on a schedule and everything... 2 long naps and one shorter nap during the day, go to bed at 7, wake up between 4 and 6 to eat, then go back until around 8 or so. Oh well, such is life. I know it won't last forever. But in the meantime, I feel like such a horrible wife and mom. My in-laws are coming in town tonight, so I am determined that that will force me into action. My house, surprisingly enough, doesn't look that bad. We have kept pretty busy lately (posts on these events to follow), and haven't been here a ton to mess it up, but it's still not great. Nate has been the best husband ever, and just understands and loves me anyway. He cleaned the kitchen for me this morning (after he himself ran 4 miles), while I took a little nap on the couch. He is so patient with me, and always does what he can to help out. Love you Nate!

So anywho... there is my long drawn out excuse of why I am just now posting about the 4th of July.

Mmmm, cereal

Sayer had is first rice cereal the other night. He did pretty well, and managed to keep some of it in his mouth, although, as you can see, the majority ended up on his face. He just thought it was the funniest thing in the world. He was so giggly. I know all the pictures are pretty similar, but they were all so cute, so I had to include them all!!

Spokane vacay part 2

Ok, so I feel like I have neglected my blog, as well as all of yours, but I am back and ready to blog about our last couple of weeks. We had a fun 2 weeks in Spokane with Nate's family. **Pictures will follow... Nate had our camera in Ireland, so we used Lizza's, and so as soon as she emails them to me, I'll post them** I think it would be appropriate to name this trip the "battle of the two year olds". Man, it was pretty crazy having 3, two year olds in one household for over a week, and then 2, two year olds the rest of the time. There was a lot of pushing, toy stealing, screaming, hitting, crying, there was even an incident with Asher being put in a headlock (seriously, no joke!) by Parker, and he wasn't going to be letting go anytime soon. It was sad, but kind of funny at the same time. There may have been a little bit of laughing and having fun in there as well, but that was mostly when one of them was down for a nap, or during a rare moment when they just left each other alone. It, was awesome!

It was actually a nice trip for me, as I would have been very lonely in Provo without Nate. It also would have been super lame to not be able to go anywhere in the evenings, not even for a run, as there would have been no one to watch the kiddies. But as it was, there were plenty of people hanging out at the house, so it was never a problem to go running when the kids were asleep, and there was always someone to visit and laugh with. I took every opportunity to relax, and watched plenty of tv, as you can see from 2 of my most recent posts. It was great! Nate's sister Lizza is seriously amazing for letting so many people invade her home. (when I asked if it would be ok to come visit during this time, I had no idea that Andy and Kacey were planning a 2 week trip to spokane, for the same time, as well. Kierstin is living with Lizza and her husband Zach. Then, Mackay and Analee, and Bart and Erin decided they would come for a week as well, so it was everyone except Tyler (Analee's husband), Duffy and Tessa, and Nate) She even made sure there were meals for every lunch and dinner, and they were scrumptious! Lizza got me hooked on the food network, which I sadly can't watch at my house, as we don't have cable. But in NY we will have cable, so no worries! Lizza always inspires me to be more adventurous in my cooking, as well as to be a better mother. I have never seen anyone who could handle having 4 boys, ages 1-5, as well as her. She is such an example to me!

Anywho... we didn't do too much as far as activities in WA, we went swimming a couple of times, did the sprinklers a lot, took them to the arcade and mall playplace, and to the park a couple of times. But Asher was pretty content to hang out at the house as there were plenty of new toys, a sandbox, a swingset, a trampoline, and tons of bikes, scooters, and basketballs, to play with, to his little heart's content. By the way, basketball, or rather "baakeball", is his new favorite word.

Nate flew into Spokane on July 2nd, spent one night there, and then flew home with me and the boys on the 3rd. Both boys slept on the plane, so that was a piece of cake. The whole trip was a success, and I am so grateful to Nate's family for putting up with, and entertaining us for 2 whole weeks. That's kind of a long time, although it didn't feel like it to me. I was actually not quite ready to leave, and kind of sad. Usually, after such a long trip, I am done, and ready to be at my own house, but the Olson's are super laid back, and just fun. So thanks again, Chris and Heidi, Kierstin for letting me sleep in your bed, and especially Lizza, for taking such good care of us! Miss you all! Well, I think it's safe to say that Asher won't miss Parker for quite some time, and visa versa, I'm sure! ;)