New Stages

I know it's been absolutely forever since my last post, but oh well. Life's rough sometimes. I've been experiencing the "next stage" in Dozer's life the last few weeks, and lets just say it's definitely new. I wasn't ready for it, and I'm still not exactly sure I've adjusted haha! Dozer learned how to crawl out of his crib on his own a couple weeks ago. And he doesn't land softly at all. After two tumbles over the edge of the crib, we converted it to a toddler bed to avoid a trip to the ER. I have been planning Dozer's new bedroom decor for months, but I have just barely acquired some of the pieces. I was going to paint, decorate, get a new comforter for him, THEN begin the process of moving him into an unfamiliar room. Now, I have to get him to stay in his own bed on his own since he isn't forced to anymore, then move him into another room. And as my luck would have it, I know I would have to start the whole "stay in your bed at night thing" all over again when we move into the other bedroom. I just know it. So now that I have a lot of the things for his new bedroom decor, I think I'll just let it sit for a good long time. Maybe next year when he is 3 and he can understand when we talk about staying in bed will I attempt it again. So my nights have been long to say the least :).

Other happenings: Dozer stuck a fruitloop up his nose on saturday. Why? I'd love to know. I was really shocked. I was sitting on the couch while he was finishing his breakfast, and he all of a sudden started crying loudly. I ran to him, and couldn't see anything wrong. He was pointing to his nose, so I inspected it, but I couldn't see anything in there at all. So I just dismissed it thinking he bit his tongue or something. Well, I got him down, he stopped crying, and a couple minutes later he was playing, and I saw this extremely shiny fruit loop plastered to his shirt. I know it wasnt there a moment ago. WHAT??!?! I couldn't believe it. In fact, I wouldn't believe it. I just said it must have been there and I didn't notice it. But then, he sneezed and out came orange snot with what looked like very very soggy remains of an orange fruit loop. I had to accept the facts. And it was gross. But all seems to be well now. No purple, green, or yellow snot so far.

More "stages": Dozer has also taken an intense and sudden interest in drawing. He LOVES pens. We try to hide them, but he some how keeps coming up with them. He has drawn all over my couches. :( Lots of scrubbing for me. I am not sure when to clean them up because every day he manages to put new marks on them. Should I clean them now? Or wait until he colors a little less? I don't know but I have a suspicion my laziness will win out. Haha!

Here are some pics :) First Christmas cookie of the year!

I took this one this morning.

This one was not fun to clean up. I pretty much had to pick it up by hand because it didn't vacuum very well.
Always a favorite: tear apart mom's organized bag.


The end :)

About me

I stole this from my friend's blog, and I was bored so I thought I would copy :).

1. Whats your favorite thing about your spouse or significant other?

So hard to pick. So, so hard to pick! That my weaknesses are his strengths, that he loves our son, that he works so hard for us, but most of all that he loves me no matter what state I'm in.

2. What is one of your proudest moments?

Definitely the birth of my son. That is simply the most treasured and amazing experience I have ever had in my whole life.

But second is my pharmacy school experience. I frequently feel like I am underestimated by people, and really it bothers me. I don't get taken seriously by so many people I come in contact with, and I am not sure why. Is it because I am a woman? Because I look young? Because I don't look smart? What ever the reason, it makes me mad because I don't like being judged. So, the experience starts before pharmacy school. I switched from an engineering major to pharmacy major the end of my freshman year. So, I was behind on my classes. Luckily I had taken a ton of college credits in high school, and I was really only behind 1 important class. So the pharmacy school counselor told me that to apply when I wanted to, I had to take Chemistry 2 at the same time as Organic chemistry 1. She looked and looked again, and said that I wouldn't be able to do it, but there wasn't any way around it. She told me to quit the college dance team I was on and any thing else I was doing outside of school. She told me to just focus on those two classes. She looked at me and said good luck in the most hopeless way I could comprehend. I was so angry! Really, do I look that dumb?! Anyway, I didn't quit my team. And I did take both classes that I needed to. I was a little nervous because chem 2 is a prerequisite for o-chem 1. So I studied hard. I got the highest grade in the class on my first o-chem test, 100% on my chem 2 test, and I did just fine on my team. I went back to my counselor shortly after that to have her help me complete my application. When she saw what I had done she was absolutely speechless. I just smiled on the inside. :) I continued to get the highest grade on almost all my o-chem tests (o-chem 1 and 2). My o-chem professor asked me to switch to chemical engineering major. I got into pharmacy school, I got 4.0's is several semesters, I was invited to be in rho chi society, I got the award at graduation that the teachers vote for. I got 128 on my NAPLEX. Overall a pretty stellar college career :). I'm not big on confrontation, but I would love to go to my 3rd grade teacher and ask her if she thought I still needed to be in special education. I'm still not sure why she yelled at me all the time.

3. Out of the jobs you've held, which one was your favorite? why?

Definitely definitely the poison control center. I love learning about why things happen and how to fix them. Plus its just amazing to know so much about EVERYTHING. It is the only job I've had where I had a bad day less than once a month. Plus the director and other trainers there said I was one of the smartest people and caught on the fastest than almost anyone else there ever.

4. What's one of your "not so obvious" talents? How did you discover it?

playing the piano i guess. I was good at it when I was younger, but (as most kids) I didn't like to practice so I made such a fuss my mom let me quit. But I've been longing to play again for a long time. I bought a piano a couple months ago, and I've picked it up again surprisingly well. Even my grandma is impressed!

5. What is your earliest childhood memory?

oh wow, I'm not sure. I remember my house before we remodeled it. Part of the living room was completely unfinished and there was a table saw there with sawdust all over. And the front door was blue.

6. All time favorite book? why?

I haven't read many books because I never was a reader, but out of what I've read so far The lord of the rings and harry potter. I love when the story is so hopeless that the odds are minuscule, but the good guy wins in the end!

7. So far in life, what is the biggest lesson you've learned?

To treat people how you want to be treated. I always have been caring and kind because I HATE for people to EVER feel bad about themselves. I know how it feels to be on the outside or teased. But I am learning more and more how much more damaging than I ever thought it can be to people to receive cutting remarks. Minds really are fragile, and any contact can have an impact. I want mine to be a good one.

8. How did your spouse propose to you?

Every night after dance practice for a week, he left a bouquet of flowers on the hood of my car with a little love note. The last one invited me to dinner at his house. He had cooked my favorite dish he makes (which is really the only one :) ) and we ate. Afterwards he handed me a fortune cookie. When I opened it, my fortune said I would soon be asked a very important question. And when I looked up he was on his knee in front of me. I said yes!!

So, I can't believe that it has been so long since I've posted! Wow. I already stink at this! Well, we've been busy traveling around again. I actually got to take my WHOLE family to my parents house for a family reunion! Yay for my husband not having to work for once! We had so much fun, and Dozer had a BLAST! He only slept when he couldn't stand anymore. Check out the video at the end!

Me and my most favorite little boy in the world!
Some of the fruits of my labor :). The tomatoes are Italian flavored using some spices from my own garden. I've never done them before, so I hope they taste great. Some more zucchini and more squash. I've been putting so much up I'm afraid that I can't possibly be excited for squash again next summer. And my very first batch of CORN!!! YAY!! It was sooo hard to put it in the bag without eating it all!
At the family party we painted the old shop. Then afterwards we took the boys for a wagon ride! They LOVED it! They sat and sat and sat in it. Then filled it with grass and sat some more. Fun!

This is evidence of Dozer literally not stopping until he dropped. I was getting so tired I just pulled up a pillow and blanket next to where Dozer was playing. He played and played until almost midnight! Then he slowly crawled around behind me, laid down, and was immediately asleep. SO cute!
T and Dozer playing. Or more like being irritated with each other since they both wanted the same toys. Typical for this age. Haha!
Family Foto!
My cutest boy!!
This is my FAVORITE picture. Dozer loves dirt. And lately Dozer isn't Dozer without dirt all over his face. We were at the park for the family party, and he was playing in the rocks and dirt for sooo long.
One empty water bottle: worthless.

Small pile of rocks: useless.

Hours of entertainment with both: Priceless.
This is his new favorite thing to do. He grabs random things, stands on the back porch, and throws it all outside. Yes, that is my kitchen rug.
He loves to stand things up. This is all my extra shampoos, conditioners, face washes, lotions, etc. All stood up and orderly.
When he wakes up, he immediately wants to go outside. Sometimes its all I can do to get him to eat breakfast. Then he plays all morning outside in the dirt. And then I try to feed him lunch and in seconds he ends up like this. Love him soooo much!
Cousin T! He was watching his mom suction out his brother's nose with this. and thought it looked like fun I guess. Haha!
Little T! So cute!
We were at my parent's house and just chatting away. Then we realized that Dozer wasn't around. So we went looking for him and found him just like this. He climbed on the chair himself and everything! Ha!
Chillin' watching his favorite. Word world.
This one really makes me crack up. My sister in law was visiting me this weekend, and had taken her shoes off at the front door. We were sitting on the couches and I could hear this thudding noise and couldnt figure out what it was. Well, then Dozer came waltzing in in these.
He has been sorting things by color lately. He can say several colors now, but he isn't very good at getting them right yet.

I need a better camera. He has the fattest cutest feet. But the picture just doesn't do it justice.
Laundry baskets are always a hit.
The sleepy video:

That's what's up with us! We are still plugging along and just living life! And we LOVE it!

Summer Fun!!

So, after our jam packed July, we have been trying to take it easy at home for a little while :). We go for walks in the garden and the back back yard every day. Well, when it looked like this. Now it is so big you can't even see dirt anymore. I'll do a little better at spacing things next time.

Then we eat. For some reason Dozer has been particularly stubborn at using silverware. At his 18 mo checkup one of the milestones was that he should be able to use a spoon or fork well. Ha. This kid wont touch one. So we have been trying to push spoon use without being too pushy so he doesn't rebel. It's hard! So, when he showed interest in eating yogurt with a spoon on the couch, I let him! Huge mess, but progress.

He has also had an infatuation with shoes this week. On Sunday his church shoes were still in the living room after we got home from church. So on Sunday and Monday he would bring me his sandals and want them on. Then 10 min later he would bring me his church shoes and want them on. Then he would want them switched again in 10 min. Now he wont even let me take them off. He even goes down for naps with them on!

Then we play outside. All day. He can open our back door now, so he lets himself out all the time. So I have been quite friendly with our patio furniture. He loves Scoop (the backhoe). He picks our awful looking grass, fills up the bucket, dumps it out, and repeats.
He goes down the stairs to our basement door and plays with the dirt around the drain.
And then he spends a good deal of time throwing stuff over the fence into the garden. I guess it has the same intrigue as throwing rocks into water. I'm not sure what it is, but it must be fun.
Then we try to play inside, but he doesn't have quite so much fun. So here are some things he tries. He loves things that go together, so he spends a ton of time with the car seat buckle.

This huge stuffed cow is a favorite too.

He also spends a lot of time moving toys from place to place. It is funny to me when I find them, and I also wonder what other things are hidden that I wont find for years to come. hmmm.

We also have the frequent sippy cup search. This time I was really lucky to find it happen stance without having to search for hours. Which I'm sure I would have because I hate when they start to stink.

He has also mastered Patty cake. Its a milestone for us because until recently he has shown little or no interest in ANYTHING but letters.

He has mastered his numbers (1-10). Except until just a couple of days ago he used to say "grog" (frog) for three. Because on his numbers book the page for 3 has frogs on it. And then, sometimes he is just too wiped out to make it to bed. Awww :)

The end.

Has anyone seen July?

Wow, I think that we have packed about as much as we possibly can into July! We have been going non-stop, and I haven't even been able to post anything for so long! So, sorry if this is lengthy. :). My husband had his 10 year High school reunion the weekend before July started. So we packed the car and drove 6 hr across the state to get there. We stayed with his parents, and Dozer loved them! He doesn't get to see them that often since they live far away, but he was just having a ball at their house. I was looking for him one morning, and I couldn't find him anywhere. I finally found him like this watching TV with Grandpa haha!

Then when we got home, we were working all week because my husband's mom's side of the family had a reunion here close to home over the 4th of July weekend, and we were in charge of it. My sister-in-laws and I were in the kitchen cooking all the food FOREVER (it seemed like). Or at least the whole day prior and all day Friday before it started. But we had been cleaning and preparing all week, too. And it turned out awesome! So many people were there, it was great to chit chat, and all the food had disappeared. It was so much fun, but I was sad to see everyone go. It seems like those things end too quickly. Although, it was quite a relief to pass the responsibility of planning to the next family :).

The next week I went from a mom of one (and weekdays 2) to a mom of 5. WOW!!!! HOW DO YOU GUYS DO IT!!! I was so exhausted that I went to bed as soon as everyone else was in bed! Keeping track of that many kids, keeping them entertained, fed, clean, hair done, and happy was quite and undertaking. But I really had it easy because they were so well behaved. Appreciate your moms kids!! I am sure learning how much work goes into this family business!

I was packed the next day and drove up to my parents house for the next week. There I sat on a swather or tractor for 8-10 hours a day for the whole week. Poor Dozer was getting a little irritated at me that I was leaving him in the care of my grandma and my little cousin. I felt so bad for THEM that they had to put up with him because he can through some pretty good tantrums. The last couple of days Dozer was really getting fussy when I left him, so I just took him with me in the swather. It has a closed cab and roomy interior that is really clean for a tractor. So I figured he wouldn't get hurt. He sat on the seat in front of me THE WHOLE TIME!!! And he just loved it! He laughed at the dandelion seeds, laughed when the header moved up and down, and babbled the whole time! So I kept him with me. He'll be a farmer in no time ;). I wish I had a picture though :( I wasn't thinking very well.

That Friday We packed and went to Bear Lake for a fun weekend with the family. I was feeling bad for leaving my dad, but he told me to go so I went. Dozer LOVED the water! I thought he would because he loves any water. Tubs, hoses, dog dishes, toilets, etc. But it was kind of stormy and windy Saturday morning. So I had to change his clothes 4 times throughout the day to keep him warm. Good thing I had packed extras! This is after it warmed up in the afternoon.

Then we zoomed home late Saturday night, went to church in the morning, actually spent some time with Dozer's dad, then left AGAIN early Monday morning! Why? Because my little sister had her baby!!! Little T was born Monday July 12. Even though he was 10 days early, he weighed the same as Big brother T who was 2 days overdue. Haha! My mom stayed with her the previous week while I was at home cutting hay, then Mom went home and I went there.

Here he is! He looks just like Big T, except with darker hair. I had so much fun with my sister! We took it easy most of the time, but we did have to leave the house once for groceries and supplies. We were shocked that for the 2hr errand trip ALL three boys were so good! We didn't have any breakdowns or fits! Woohoo! I was sad to leave, but when I got home it felt nice to relax for a minute!

Wow. What a month. My poor husband has been feeling quite neglected and lonely :(. So he signed up for a ton of overtime shifts while we were gone. I think that means SHOPPING!! haha!

Some other things I thought were cute this month. Dozer LOVES letters. He can recognize and say any letter except W and X. When I was at my sister's house, Dozer was reading the letters of his cousin's name off the was when I was changing him! He also likes to go into the bathtub and play with his foam letters. While up there he was picking out his "M's". These were his "M's". I just laughed so hard! It was so adorable!

He learned how to say tractor at my parents house. He can say puppy, truck, apple, and sometimes tell me drink when he's thirsty. We're still working on that. And my favorite that he has FINALLY learned is Mommy :). He has been able to say it forever and actually know how to call me that, but he wouldn't. But he finally does now :).

That's all for now! Hopefully we'll be able to take a break for a while!

What a crazy summer!! Things are really going to be on a roll for us for the next few weeks. I mean months. Actually, probably years, but that's beside the fact. But I have been making goals for myself lately, and one of them is to take things slowly and enjoy the little things. Elder Bednar's article in the Ensign has really hit home with me. I probably watch too much tv. No, I do watch too much tv. So I decided I needed an overhaul, and WOW can you get a lot done when you aren't watching tv!! I have completed my 72 hr kits, primed and painted my chicken coop, scrapbooked my wedding, pharmacy adventures, and Dozer's first 6 mo of life, finely and very thoroughly cleaned my house, and reorganized MANY things. And, I have had so much fun with Dozer! He LOVES letters! I thought that it was just a fling for him before because he could recognize a couple, but now he can recognize and say the whole alphabet except a couple letters! And although I would love to take credit here and say that I am a spectacular mom, I cannot because I am not. He just likes letters and wont let you ignore his attempts to look at books or toys with letters on them. I think that it is just plain adorable to listen to him, so I thought I'd share.

The Missing Peg

I FOUND IT!! I had one of those gloriously useless and to everyone else completely hilarious moments of success!!!! I found the missing peg! Dozer has this toy that has 8 holes in it that 8 pegs fit into. It comes with a hammer, and you are supposed to hammer the pegs through the holes. Well, about a month or so ago (seems like 10!) My sister and aunt came to visit me. And when I was cleaning up after everyone had left, I noticed one of the pegs to this toy was missing. I don't know why I obsessed over it. It's just a personality flaw I guess. I have to have things complete and every piece present. I have torn my house apart looking for this stupid peg. I even got a mirror and looked deep into the vent that has had things hidden in it before. I had looked in every place possible. I had figured that it had been thrown in the trash by Dozer. And it has bugged me since! Stupid toy. Stupid missing peg! I was to the point of buying another toy for spare parts! (I know, I'm crazy) Then, I was cleaning out the fridge, and noticed that the magnetic alphabet was a mess, so I alphabetized it. It was missing some pieces that weren't missing before (AAAGHH! Not again!!). Dozer likes to knock them on the floor and push them under, so I looked under the fridge. There were many pieces under there, and I had to get the broom to dig them out. When much to my surprise, OUT CAME THE PEG!!!!! I was so happy I screamed!!! YES!!!!! And all the pieces to the alphabet were there too:) I have been very content to look at the complete toy ever since :)

Anyway, We had a fantastic weekend visiting my sister! Dozer and T had a ball! (T is 4 mo older than Dozer, but 2 inches shorter) T was so excited to see Dozer and came looking for him in the bedroom every morning. He didn't even cry when his daddy left for work in the mornings he was so excited! poor thing gets traumatized every day when daddy leaves. He cries "love you bye" for a few minutes after he leaves. So cute! They did have some problems sharing, but that happens at this age right? This weekend Dozer learned to say Cow. He picked up a toy cow and said cow. with no prompting! Yay! He also recognizes some letters. He knows B, O, C, and sometimes A, and V. And he also learned No. I think I'll learn a lot about myself the more Dozer talks. He says no the most to the dogs. don't know where he got that (blush) I really am nice to them! Or at least not mean :). haha, Here's a pic of Dozer and Cousin T.

This is a video of Dozer learning to use a spray bottle. Pretty entertaining for everyone :) You can't see it very well, but he is spraying it every few seconds. He ended up drenched to his belly button! Haha! The drone in the background is Cousin T driving his tractor.

Busy, Busy!

Wow!! How much fun it is to have a toddler! I have just been soaking up everything Dozer does, because it is just so adorable! We took a vacation up to my parents house this weekend because my little sister graduated high school, and Dozer just LOVED it! He played with toys and his cousin T every night until 11 or midnight. Midnight!! This kid usually goes to bed at 8-9. Then he was up again at 6-7 and played all day with only one nap during the day. I can't believe how kids can just go! Where does all that reserve energy come from?? It seems like he takes it from me because I am sure tired, and I didn't do anything! Here are some things that he has been doing lately.

1. He fills things up, and dumps them out. over and over and over
2. He loves to read books. he wont even let you read the last page because he doesn't want it to end, so you just have to start from the beginning over and over.
3. He runs. And when I grab him because he's headed somewhere I don't want him, he goes boneless.
4. He climbs. over me, over his toys, over anything on the ground.
5. He babbles. He talks to himself all the time and it melts my heart because it is so cute :)
6. He talks. He knows a couple of words, but he has just learned yesterday one word that we can get him to say on demand. He can say coo-kie :)
7. He splashes. He LOVES water! I have to always keep the bathroom doors shut to keep him out of the toilets. He loves bath time. He loves the dogs' water dish and a few days ago he dumped the entire thing on his head. He didn't start crying until I started laughing at him. It was hilarious. He also gets into the goats' bucket too and spashes until his shoes slosh.
8. He loves cartoons. But I just found out that the AAP reccomends that kids 0-2 have NO TV! I better work on that :(
9. When he is finished playing with something, he throws it over his shoulder. He will do this with every block even if there are 20 in front of him.
10. He loves letters! He will go around the house pointing at letters and numbers. He brings me his blocks with letters on them, and his favorite books right now are ABC books. He will point at all the letters and I have to say what they are to him. Even in parking lots he will point to all the letters and numbers on the license plates!

I just love being a mom, and I am so grateful for this incredible experience.

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The Beginning?

So I have decided, for reasons still not entirely known to me, to start a blog. For better or worse still to be determined :). Anyway, here we are. Background on us: My husband is a pharmacist and manages the one he works at. And, I am a pharmacist, and I dont manage the one I work at. That's definitely not something I enjoy if you know me at all :). We have one son so far who is 15 mo old. He aquired the nick name of 'Dozer' early on because of his tendency to just plow through anything in his way without even blinking. It is amazing how much one little person can consume your life, but it is the best thing we've ever done and never could have imagined how much we could love him! We live near the big city, but just far enough away that we still get stuck behind tractors in the summer. It is so perfect for us right now! We love the convenience and love the country feel. Now if only it was closer to family :(. We also have a big lot that we have enjoyed so much. We have a 1500 square ft garden, 9 fruit trees, a fire ring, 2 goats, 2 chickens, and 2 dogs. I also had 2 bunnies but some unfortunate events happened and we started our animal graveyard unexpectedly. :( So, I tried to pick a title that captures our essence, but I had a hard time because there are so many aspects of our lives! But I came up with big city pharmers because that seems to fit a bunch all at once.

Recently, I've found it really easy to watch Dozer, and i've come across a lot of free time. We decided to try to have another baby, but sadly, it didnt work out. So, to try to keep my mind off things I've tried to get some things accomplished. (thus the blog) And I've been working on my emergency preparedness as of late. I never really cared much about food storage or 72 hour kits or what not, but now that I have a child, I am so consumed for his health and safety! I never would have imagined how a baby could change everything about me :). But even the thought of him being hungry in an emergency because I wasnt smart enough to prepare just crushes me. So yay for Dozer kicking my butt in gear! We have also accumulated a great start to our food storage, and I've been rather proud of myself for actually accomplishing something. :) Anyway, we'll see how good i actually do keeping up with this. Wish me luck!