Knox is one!

I am so emotional today.  My sweet baby boy is one year old!  When I was pregnant with him I was completely miserable almost the entire time and I kept thinking that he better be an easy baby.  Then he came out and he was not exactly easy.  He would not poop, he spit up all the time, he grunted and cried all night so we got no sleep.  And then right around 5 months a switch went off and he became the most perfect baby.  He smiled all the time, he slept all through the night.  He has been an excellent sleeper ever since and he continues to be a happy baby.  I cannot say enough good things about him.  Here are a few fun facts about Knox.
1.  He Loves cars.  I notices as soon as he started crawling that he would "drive" his bottle across the floor.  When we gave him a car to play with instead he knew exactly what to do with it.  He will drive his cars around the floor and up the stairs and walls all day long.  I love how entertained he is by such a simple thing.

2.  He loves balls.  He is the typical boy.  When we started to get Kirra ready for soccer by practicing outside he was obsessed with the ball.  He would crawl back and forth over and over chasing Kirra in hopes he could have even a small turn holding the ball.  He loves when we hold his hands and he can stand up and try to kick it.  When he can't stand he will push it around with his hands and crawl behind it. He will sit and watch Kirra's soccer games and try everything possible to get on the field.  Im pretty sure it is the cutest thing ever.

3.  He loves being outside.  Knox will sit and look out the window for hours.  He will sit at our sliding glass doors and bang on them until I let him out.  Anytime he hears the garage open he stops whatever he's doing and books it to the door and cries until I open it.  He hates knowing that someone else might be outside and he is not.  He will come and grab my hand and walk me to the door to let me know he is ready to go out.  When he started sticking his tongue out and panting as he led me to the door I started feeling like I gave birth to a puppy instead of a little boy.

4.  He loves to eat.  He is a pretty scheduled kid.  I never have to look at the clock to know if it is breakfast, lunch, or dinner time because for sure Knox will begin whining right about those times.  He eats as much as Kirra eats (maybe more) and anytime he sees someone with food he thinks he should be eating too.

5.  He does not like to be pushed to do anything.  Knox has decided that he will do things when he is ready.  Kirra walked at 8 months and at 12 months Knox had showed no signs of walking.  Then one day he got up and walked across the floor.  Of course when I tried to get him to do it again he refused and still refuses.  He knows how to do it but he is not ready.  Instead he likes me to hold his hand so he can walk everywhere and as I clean the kitchen he holds my pant leg for balance and follows me around.  If I try to use these moments to help him learn to let go he throws a fit and bends his knees so I am forced to set him down.
6.  He loves Kirra..  I have never seen Knox laugh harder than he does at Kirra.  Everything she does is funny to him and she loves having him as her audience.  During her nap time he often goes upstair and stands at her bed babbling trying to wake her up.  I am pretty sure as much as he loves her, he also does not trust her because anytime she tries to help him walk he looks to me with a look of pure terror and lets his legs go limp.

7.  He is a cuddle muffin.  Sometimes at night when trevor is working I will keep him up a little late so I can snuggle him.  He will lay on the couch with me completely still.  He snuggles in close and plays with my hair.  He does this in the morning when he wakes up as well.  I don't mind it at all.

8.  He loves his binki.  He likes to hold it while he eats.  He will take a bite and then stick it in, and take it out for another bite, and stick it back in.  He doesn't like to be too far from it.  If he is upset his binki is the one sure thing to calm him down.  He also likes to try to give me a binki.  He thinks it is funny when I pretend to suck on one but he won't let me hold it for too long.

9.  He loves his mom.  I don't care how this makes me sound but this kid really loves me. He looks into my eyes and I can feel his love.  He demands my attention and I am happy to give it to him.  I honestly believe that he won't walk on his own because he likes hold my hand too much.  Trevor tells me I have created a mama's boy and I can't say that bothers me.

I love this kid.  It has been a completely opposite experience from Kirra but I have loved it just as much.  He is such a calming presence in our home and he adds so much to our family.  I am not ready for him to grow up. It kills me to know that one day some girl will come along and replace me (not without a fight) but that is going to be one lucky girl because Knox is a special boy.  Happy Birthday my son.   Love you forever, like your for always, as long as your living my baby you'll be.

Keaton's visit

My baby brother came to visit me for the first time by himself.  Keaton is my youngest brother and he always tells me he has very few memories of me living at home and it is always a little stab to my heart.  It was so nice to spend a full week with him and make memories that he better cherish forever.  We celebrated Halloween together, played lots of basketball, went to the movies, played games, ate fried chicken, hiked, went to the temple, went to Kirra's soccer game, and had some great talks.  I had so many pictures that I can't upload because they are on my dumb phone but here are a few from our hike and the temple.

October

First of all I have several blogs that I haven't posted because I can't figure out how to get the pictures off my phone.  It is very frustrating.  This month has been a lot of things.  Trevor has finished up the school part of his nursing program so he only has clinicals once a week, work 3 nights, and then we get him for about 4 full days a week.  It is wonderful.  We have had family picnics in the park and played lots of soccer, gone to the fair.  It is a nice preview of what life will be like when he just has work.  It could not have come at a better time because I have had a lot of challenges also this month which have been heartbreaking and just hard.  I am so thankful for my husband and kiddos who have been there for me to cheer me up and help me get through this hard time.  Here are a few pictures I tried to take of the kids in their halloween shirts.  Never did get a good shot but they were all entertaining to look at.

Knox

I feel guilty that I have not blogged about Knox hardly at all so here are a few Knox facts.

1.  He is a great sleeper.  He takes two naps a day and is in bed by 7pm and usually sleeps all night.  He loves to be layer in his crib and left alone.  If you try to rock him to sleep it will most definitely be a fight and the experience will not be enjoyable for anyone.
2.  He loves his binki.  This is new for me since Kirra was not a binki baby.  Unfortunately they are hard to keep track of and I feel like I am always frantically looking for one or going to the store to buy new ones.  The only way he will voluntarily take his binki out is if he sees food.  At cotsco it is like a game and every time we pass a sample table he spits it out as a cue for me to get him that sample.
3.  He looooves cars.  I remember that for Kirra's 1st Birthday I had no idea what kind of theme to have because she wasn't really interested in anything in particular.  Knox is the opposite.  He is obsessed with cars.  He will drive them around the floor all day.  When we see a kid who has a car while we are out and about he will make every attempt to steal that car.  He has a push car that I put him in for walks around the neighborhood and sometimes he will go to the garage door and cry until I open it and let him go sit in his car.
4.  He loves to eat.  I am sure every kid loves to eat but he demands 3 sometimes 4 full meals a day.  When I put him in his highchair to make him food he will scream and hold his breath and turn blue in the face until I sit down to feed him.  If he sees you eating then he wants to be eating.  He is 10 months old and already weighs over 20 pounds.  I have no idea how we are going to keep up with this kid.
5.  He is into everything.  He loves to unroll all the toilet paper in our house.  we currently have a nice big wad on the floor in every bathroom.  He likes to take everything out of every cabinet in my house.  He loves to take my hairdryer out of the bathroom cabinet and every time I want to do my hair I have to track it down.
6.  He absolutely adores Kirra.  I love getting in the car and listening to him giggle at anything and everything that Kirra does.  He likes to follow her in her room when she takes a nap and pull her hair until she gives him attention.  For the most part Kirra is great with him but every now and then I will catch her sitting on him or giving him a nice smack.  Oh how I look forward to the relationship they will have.
7.  He likes to brush people hair.  Knox is very observant and likes to figure out how things work.  One day while i was doing my hair I put the brush in his hand and helped him brush my hair.  He laughed and laughed and now whenever I bush mine or Kirra's hair he wants to be part of the action.
8.  This one is hard to describe but he makes this really funny noise all the time when he is excited.  It is kind of like he is sucking in air and laughing at the same times.  Sometimes he does it so much that he will start coughing or even loose his voice.  He also makes this noise that we call the baby whale noise when he wants something.  Again it is hard to describe but incredibly funny and you know exactly what it is when you hear it.
9.  He refuses to walk.  Kirra walked at 8 months and Knox is 10 months and shows no signs of walking anytime soon.  He will use his dinosaur and furniture to maneuver his way around the house but as soon as there is nothing to hold onto he sits right down.  He likes it when I let him hold my fingers and act as his walker.  I can't say I am bothered by this at all except for the fact that he weighs a ton and I have to carry him everywhere but I enjoy that he still feels like a baby.
10.  If Knox does decide to walk soon it will be because he is dying to play soccer.  Kirra got a soccer ball for he third birthday and we love to kick it around the house and more recently have started having games outside.  Knox loves it when we hot is arms and help him kick the ball.  He will crawl back and forth chasing Kirra when she has the ball no matter how long it takes.  We recently got him his own soccer ball so now he doesn't have to work so hard for a turn.

I love this kid so much.  When I was pregnant with him I would pray that he would be happy and that he would fit with our family well.  Not only is he one of the happiest babies I have ever known but he is the perfect addition to our family.  He lights up all of our days including Kirra's.  The other night Kirra was saying her prayers and mentioned how much she loved him and that she hoped his diaper rash would go away.  I love that she care about his well being.  I feel very blessed to have each one of these beautiful souls and part of my eternal family.

Sedona

Im gonna try this one more time.  I stopped and told myself I would journal more but I just ended up sucking at that too.  So this is my 4th attempt at blogging so I will have some kind of record of life.

Anyway this past weekend we went to Sedona to try and escape life.  It is still really hot in Arizona.  I am so ready for fall but we still have another month to go before we start getting our cool weather so every no and then we will head to Sedona for cooler weather.  To preface this though Trevor woke up on Friday morning and said he was going on a bike ride.  About 30 min later he told me he was booking a hotel in Sedona and I needed to be ready by 10.  I was in the middle of baking a cake when he told me and my kitchen was a mess and I hadn't showered and it was 8 30.  So I finished my cake, made some chicken salad so we wouldn't have to eat out, packed a bag for me and the kids and cleaned the kitchen.  I planned to shower at the hotel since I knew Trevor would want to do a bike ride.  I really hate nasty dirty hotel rooms but there is something that I love about not being in my own house and knowing that someone else will clean up my mess.  (This must be how Trevor feels every time he comes home;))Anyway so Trevor did his bike ride while me and the kids showered and got ready and then we went out an did a fun little hike and I got to take pictures.  I love doing things like this with my family.  I feel like we are all so busy these days we don't get a lot of quality time together.  The weather was perfect and I got to wear a long sleeve shirt which is a big deal for me living here!  Then trevor took the kids so I could ride his bike around the desert for a while and it was so nice and beautiful as the sun was setting.  I have really come to love Sedona as our getaway spot.  Once it got dark we headed into the little town and found a spot to eat our chicken salad.  Of course we had to get ice cream after and since it was 6 bucks for a cone we just got one and had an assembly line to share.  Knox thought this was the best thing ever and even when it wasn't his turn he would steal some ice cream every chance he got.  So back in the hotel it took a while to get the kids settled down.  Knox is a wonderful sleeper.  I lay him in bed at 7pm every night and he goes right to sleep and wakes up around 7 in the morning.  However when he is not home he is a terrible sleeper and this was no exception.  He was up at 3 am and once I got up and searched for his bottle in the dark and changed his diaper I was wide awake and stuck in the middle of Trevor and Kirra who both seemed to have no trouble getting back to sleep.  In the morning Trevor woke up early so he could do another bike ride and I again woke up and could not go back to sleep so I took the kids to breakfast but for the rest of the day I was slightly cranky and so were Trevor and Kirra and it was extremely hot out and we were trying to hike around with our stroller on unfriendly trails and we had to drag around Trevor's bike (who is literally the 5th member of our family) so that it wouldn't get stollen and it was just miserable.  So we decided to just go get some pizza and head back home.  I have come to realize that a getaway with kids is just work and next time I fully intend to leave my kids unless we are just going for the day.  However I am grateful for anytime we get to spend with Trevor these days and I love that he made the effort to do something fun with us when I know he has a lot on his plate.  I am greatly looking forward to December and his graduation!

We rarely leave the house these days without horsey and kitty

there were beautiful flowers everywhere

She is getting way to big for me to hold

Moving part 1

This past week has gone by so fast. I can't believe in the short time we have been home from our Christmas in California we moved to a new house and are almost completely settled in.   We still have a lot to do but we have made lots of progress. We got home late Friday night and Trevor wasted no time. He made three trips to the new house by himself and worked until 3 am. The next day we woke up and started packin the rest of our house. A friend of Trevor's came to help out and while they were moving stuff they ran into the missionaries.   Before I knew it we had  6 missionaries helping us and within 2 hours we had everyhing moved out of  our 3 rd story apartment and I didn't have to carry one thing downstairs. The first few days at the new house were complete chaos.   There were boxes everywhere and the house had not been cleaned  very well so I had to clean everything before we could put stuff away. The kitchen took me a full day.   Luckily the next day Trevor's aunt Melece  came and helped me clean bathrooms and organize rooms.   I finally got Trevor to hang up pictures (something he dreads) and all tht is really left is a final clean up. Things I love about our new house: 1.  I love having no carpet on the first floor. People can wear their shoes inside and I won't feel the need to strangle  them. 2. I love having a playroom. Kirras toys can be all over the playroom as long as I can have a toy free living room( I hate tripping over her toys or stepping on the really sharp ones. )  3.  I love love having a garage!  No more bikes in my house!  4.  I love living in a real neighborhood. With sidewalks and playgrounds and kids all over the place.   5. I love having a fenced in backyard. Kirra can run outside all she wants and I can still see her from the kitchen but she can't escape.

This is what I came home to after our trip to California. 

Bringing everything in and dumping it on the floor

Everything on the counters because I refused to put things in dirty cabinets

Our new backyard and fake grass.  Kirra loves her access to the outdoors  

I am not a very patient person and wanted Trevor to assemble all the furniture as quickly as possible

Coming back from Ikea with our cheap bookshelf that Trevor had to disassemble in the store and we barely fit it in our car

My boys exahausted from all the work

Trevor's new office space

Wonderful laminate floors for Kirra to throw her fits on.

Trevor grilling his first meal in our backyard

The final move out clean at our old apartment.  It was sad to leave.  We made some wonderful memories there and it was a perfect place for our family to grow this past year.  We are looking forward to a fresh start