It's Mostly About Me, Houston Schlenker Wilcock

Fun with Friends

2012-01-29T15:02:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago mom had a doctor’s appointment and it was determined from an ultrasound that my baby brother was breech (head up instead of down how it should be). Since mom was only 32 weeks along, the doctor was not worried about him turning, but mommy was! Most breech babies are delivered via c-section and mom does NOT want a c-section. Luckily at her 34 week appointment, another quick ultrasound showed that the baby had flipped and mom was relived. The doctor was doubtful that he will flip again…phew! Going into the doctor, mom had suspected the baby had flipped because she felt more kicking movement up by her ribs and a huge mound (head) did not stick out the top of her belly anymore.

I love going to the doctor with mom and always remember that I get to hear my baby brother’s heart beat.

For a while after we got back from Christmas holidays I was on a really late schedule and mom and dad had mixed feelings about it. The awesome part was I was sleeping in until about 8 or 8:30 every morning. That meant I wouldn’t get tired for a nap until about 2 or 2:30. The worst part was, I wasn’t going to sleep until about 9:30 or 10pm every night. It wasn’t that I was being a brat or anything, I just wasn’t tired until then. Even though mom liked sleeping in, the later nights were hard on her because she didn’t have anytime to herself or with daddy since she was going to bed very soon after me. Luckily, one Sunday I just refused to nap so mom and dad put me down early for bed and I have been on a better schedule every since, going to bed at around 8:30 or 9. That still may seem late, but all efforts on mom and dad’s part to put me down earlier simply do not work.

A couple of weeks ago, some friends invited us to go bowling. This was my first time, and I had tons of fun. Mom and dad both enjoy bowling as well, so we might have to start going more often.

Yesterday, we also had a fun Saturday with the same friends (Kate and Kent and their children Afton and Stone). We invited them over for a dinner of appetizers and we had quite the feast. Mom and dad started their preparations in the morning and really enjoyed spending some quality time together all day in the kitchen. While they were busy, I played with a buddy of mine named Rusty. He is just younger than me and we play so good together. Plus we made a royal mess of my toys. Afterwards, Kate and the kids stayed to play and Dad and Kent went to a very intense BYU basketball game. Overall it was an amazing Saturday!

This sort of feast was unusual for daddy as of late because he has started dieting to loose some weight. It has now been well over 2 weeks and he has lost well over 10 pounds! Mom and I are very proud of his new healthy habits.

Finally I wanted to share my latest obsession. Some children are attached to blankets or stuffed animals that they insist on sleeping with. I, however, am attached and must sleep each night with a hard plastic fireman’s hat. Mom and Dad are not quite sure where this came from but they find it quite amusing. The best part is in the morning when I come into mom and dad’s room, hardly able to walk or keep my eyes open, but I never fail to have my fire man’s hat on. It is sure a sight for sore eyes and mom wouldn’t want to wake up any other way. Yet, she just makes me take it off before I come snuggle with her. Also they find it pretty hard to get mad at me during bed time when I sheepishly come out of my room, head lowered, puppy dog eyes looking up and that darn hat on.

P.S. my new favorite movie is LION KING (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Cooper who gave it to me for Christmas)!! I make mom sing Akuna Matata almost every night before bedtime.

New Years at Ashley Lake

2012-01-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

The day we travelled from Alameda, CA to Ashley Lake, MT was a long one but everything went surprisingly well. Our flight was at 6am so mom was up at about 4am getting everything ready. Granddad drove us to the airport at 5 and Grandma Cari was nice enough to help mommy and me all the way to security. Mommy only has so many hands so she really appreciated it. Even though we were both tired, we stayed in good spirits for both flights (first to Salt Lake and then to Missoula). Papa Schlenker was nice enough to pick us up in Missoula and drive us back to the Lake (over a 2 hour drive). I had my standard 45 minute nap in the car (I never sleep longer than that in a car seat) and didn’t go potty in my pants at all. Mom was so proud of me.
When we got to the lake, We were able to spend a day with the Smiths and 2 days with Grandma and Grandpa Campbell before it was just members of the Schlenker Family at the cabin. I get along great with my Schlenker Cousins (Ashton, Nick and Beckham) and they always included me when they played. I even got to sit on the big bar stools with Ashton and Nick for each meal. In particular, I think Nick and I are going to be good buds as we grow.
The night we got there we opened gifts and I got spoiled once again: camo sweat suit (matching my cousins), aqua doodle pad, hockey sticks/net, 2 trucks that drive themselves, zoo zoo pet, blocks, and a special book that has grandma and papa’s voice recorded to read to me.
The only downer at the lake this year was that there was not a lot of snow. This made our tobogganing efforts limited but other than that, we found lots of fun things to do. I loved going to the neighbors park and going “up, down” on the see saw.

Mom’s favorite part, as always, was skating on the lake. Thanks to my cousin’s skate trainer, I did pretty well too.
Grandma and Grandpa Campbell

Grandma pulling my on the sled.

Uncle Derek

Daddy arrived from a long day of travel on New Years Eve and we were so excited to see him. After working all week and waking up that 4am that morning he was exhausted. He helped how he could with the rock work (see pictures below) but when my bedtime arrived, he took me to bed and never came back up. Who can blame him!

The rock workers ended up working over 16 hours on the fire place and finished just after midnight and the announcement of the New Year.

“Happy New Year!”

Auntie Laurel and mom also stayed up for supportive purposes and celebrated New Year with ice cream and hot chocolate. They were very impressed by our men’s hard work and good attitudes throughout the day.

One day, Grandma Schlenker and Uncle Derek went skiing and on their way home they picked up fire works. We set them all off on the frozen lake with our neighbors on New Years Day.

It is never a complete Ashley Lake experience without a “Royal Rumble”. They are getting so big, they had to move from the media room to the down stairs living room (luckily it isn't furnished yet). It is always the little guys vs the big guys. Here is a little sample:

The rule is we wrestle until at least 2 boys are crying.
Ashton getting slammed.

Me getting smooshed.

Nick getting thrown.

Beckham loving life.

Another favorite activity is obviously quadding at the lake. I was able to go with daddy, papa and even ride myself a bit on Ashton and Nick’s little quad.

Our last morning, the men went ice fishing so Auntie Laurel, mom and all the little boys decided to venture out to the middle of the ice to visit them.

It was a beautiful day and it ended with another wonderful skate on the ice as the sun set. The next day, Grandma and Papa took us to the airport to pick up our rental car. The drive went pretty smooth even though it was long and I was such a good boy the whole way. I even had 2 45-minute naps!

Christmas in California

2012-01-15T19:04:00.000-08:00

After a couple days of packing and cleaning, it was time to start our Christmas vacation! On December 22 we drove to Draper to spend the night at Smiths. They were so nice to let us crash in their basement and then drive us to the airport very early the next morning. We arrived in Oakland about 8:30am totally exhausted but super happy to be with Daddy’s side of the family for Christmas. That evening, after everyone had arrived we went to a special part of Alameda called Thompson Street. Each year this particular street has each house beautifully and creatively decorated in Christmas lights and decorations. The whole evening was awesome with beautiful weather and yummy pizza to follow.

The next morning was Christmas Eve and Daddy, Uncle Tim and Uncle Adam were invited to go play touch football with some old friends. Near their completion, we went to the park where they were playing to visit and saw daddy killing it as usual. They had lots of fun but there was also a lot of moaning and groaning afterwards.

That night, traditions began at Grandma and Grandpa Coopers with potato soup, sandwiches and lots of goodies. We also opened gifts and enjoyed singing some classic Christmas songs. Mom got my favorite on tape:

Even still I like this song sung to me a couple times before nap or bed time.

Luckily we didn’t stay out too late because the next morning was going to be an early one. I had sort of a rough night with a nasty cough so mom and dad felt bad waking me up at 7am to open gifts but it was worth it because I got spoiled!

Santa brought me a tool bench with lots of tools. From mom and dad I got a cow ball that I can bounce around on. From other relatives I got trucks, puzzles, a train set, clothes, a stuffed Sully (from Monsters Inc), books, Lion King DVD, art supplies, and a cool a wooden car ramp. As you can probably guess, I am a big fan of opening presents.

After 2 hours of gift opening, the extended family came over for a yummy breakfast consisting of breakfast burritos and pastries. Since it was Sunday, it was a little crazy trying to eat, visit and get ready for church, but we amazingly made it there on time to listen to some beautiful Christmas music and hear an excellent talk. Soon after naps, we made our way to Vastolas for games and a yummy (as always) dinner. I was pretty tired after my overwhelming day but I was still a good boy.

Daddy took me home early partly to put me to bed and partly because he had an early flight to Dallas, TX the next morning. BYU’s football team was scheduled to play in a bowl game the following Friday so dad had to meet up with them to start work again. Mom and I were super sad to see him go but were happy to hang out with family while he was gone.
The next day was jam packed especially for mommy. While she went on a hike through the Oakland hills with some of the family, I stayed back with Granddad, Ryan, Kit Kat and Uncle Tim. I love hanging out with granddad! We watched cars together and then he put me down for a nap. Then I played with my cousins until mommy came home and Granddad took us both to a very cool place. Granddad has a membership to the famous USS Hornet from WWII which is docked in Alameda. Because of my love of boats and airplanes, Granddad thought it would be a good place for me to visit and was he ever right!

This is a picture of me snuggling with Grandpa Cooper on our last day in California. We were sad to say goodbye but excited to go to Montana to see Mommy’s side of the family.

Baby Boy #2 Update

2011-12-20T20:55:00.001-08:00

Mom is finally in her third trimester and is happy to be at this point. She is feeling pretty good as long as she gets a good night sleep and doesn't feel as huge as she did when I was inside of her. I'm sure that won't last as my baby brother is growing fast and could be anywhere from 2-3 pounds now! He is quite a mover just like I was and mommy loves it most of the time. Once in a while he tries to actually break the skin of mom's belly and she doesn't like that very much. BTW my brothers due date is MARCH 5 and not the 7 as many thought before. This was even news to mom at a past doctor's appointment.
Over the Holidays we are first flying to Oakland to celebrate Christmas. Then Daddy heads to Dallas, TX for the BYU bowl game and mom and I will fly to Montana to see the Schlenker side and celebrate new years. Daddy will join us after the game and we will drive back to Utah in time for school to start again. We are SO very excited to see so much family but that much travel with me (a two year old) and mommy 7 1/2 months prego will be interesting.

Life with a 2 year old

2011-12-20T20:06:00.000-08:00

Like Elmo much?

Well mom and dad cannot believe the strides I have taken in the last year. Between the walking, talking, listening, learning and everything else, mom and dad are just in awe. I have developed into quite a polite boy; I say please and thank you without prompts now! I can also count to ten with ease and can recognize most letters of the alphabet and numbers (up to ten). I have had my shapes down for a while, and we are still working on colors. I seem to be best when I am naming colors of vehicles.
Because of the cold, mom and I have not been able to spend as much time outside. Once in a while we brave 30 degree weather and go out for a bike ride, but my little hands get pretty chilly pretty fast. Since we have more time inside, mom uses me more around the house. I have become quite fond of Laundry day as I help her organize clothes and load/unload the washer and dryer. If you know my mom, you know that she won’t let me near the folding part yet as she is a very meticulous clothes folder. Both mom and dad make me clean up all the messes I make during the day now too. I must take after mom when it comes to cleaning because I like certain things put in certain spots: trucks go in the Elmo basket, cars go in the shoe box, shoe box goes right beside the toy box and my fire truck goes right next to the shoe box. Mom thinks this is so cute and definitely encourages me to stay neat and tidy.
A couple of things I am pretty into right now are buttons (belly included), animals of all sorts but especially monkeys and elephants, and garbage trucks. I am just mesmerized whenever we get to see a garbage truck in action.

The animal obsession probably started when mom started taking me to an animal zoo on BYU’s campus (animals that were once alive but have since been stuffed). If you want to see me get excited to the extreme, mention going to see the animals.
Another obsession I have is with Dad's Iphone. It is quite amazing to watch me operate it because I pretty much know now to get to my favorite parts: watching elmo videos and listening to different animal noises. Unfortunately we are to the point where I get mad every time dad says "no" so we are working on that.
Because mom and dad are still learning about new found independence, I continue to have temper tantrums about 1-3 times a week. Mom still considers this a blessing because she knows other kids are a lot worse but when I have a tantrum, look out! In the little research mom has done about them, she understands that they are a healthy part of my development and, if handled well, can help teach me a lot about my self. Mom tries to think positively and appreciates that, even though I am a fairly mellow child, a strong will can be a great strength as I grow.

Since we are a little behind, I haven’t told you about our awesome Thanksgiving yet. Grandma Cari and Granddad came to visit! Unfortunately I had a stinky cold most of the time, but considering my condition, I was in good spirits. One project Grandma Cari and dad wanted to complete during the visit was stripping and re-painting a bunk bed for me. Dad got it free on a classifieds add but it was pink and purple so we had to something about that. After getting all the supplies, they started stripping the thick paint but it was turning out to be a bigger job than they anticipated so they ended up just sanding and painting brown. They worked so hard in just a couple of days and were feeling pretty sore afterwards. However I am so grateful and I love sleeping and playing in my very own big boy bunk bed. This is me sleeping in a very comfortable position.

Dad had also gotten me a free dresser that they also wanted to re-paint but after experiencing how much work it was, grandma and granddad just decided to buy me a bran-new one! Luckily they thought of it on Black Friday and got a great deal. On Thanksgiving we made reservations to go Magleby’s, a fancy restaurant that serves a delicious buffet. Everyone got stuffed to their heart’s content and we all had a very enjoyable time. I even got a chocolate covered cookie sucker for dessert! YUM!

Another fun thing we did was visit the Provo Indoor Beach. It is a huge facility with tons of activities. I enjoyed a couple rides on a carousel where I got to ride a huge monkey and play in a play ground made especially for toddlers.

Daddy was able to test his skills on a huge and very high ropes course. He did pretty good if I say so myself.

The biggest sucker I have ever seen.

After thanksgiving, mommy was excited to put up the Christmas decorations. She did most of it but saved putting up and decorating the tree for everyone. I was quite taken with all the ornaments she had. My favorites were the Santa ornaments that grandma and granddad had given me each year since I was born.

After Grandma and Granddad left, mom decided it was time I met Santa again. I wasn’t too sure of him at first, but he gave me a coloring book and his beard and clothes were very soft so he turned out to be pretty cool. Mom was having a hard time catching me with a smile so the pictures are not the best. At least I didn’t cry.

For BYU’s last regular season football game, daddy got to go to Hawaii! Mom and I were super jealous and he had a great time. They didn’t get tons of time to spend on the beach but they did visit Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center and even attend a real luau. Of course they had lots of work to do too and the game turned out to be a blow out so we were happy about that. This is a view from his hotel room.

Here is a slideshow of the rest of his pictures:

The other night, we babysat my friend, Julliette and mom caught some romance on tape:

First Snow of the Year

2011-11-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

This morning was day light savings and since I woke up at the time I felt was normal, we had an extra hour to kill before church. After mom showed me the new snow on the ground, I asked her to go outside but not really knowing what to expect. We had lots of fun however and I found the snow quite fascinating. Mom is glad because she plans to do a lot of playing in the snow this winter!

Non-Stop October FUN

2011-11-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

One of the pumpkins dad and I carved.

BYU finally had a day game and mom decided to take me even though it was right during my nap. I was a good boy during the game even though I was very very tired; after we got home though, I was a mess. By 5pm mom finally was able to calm me down enough to have a nap. The rest of the games are in the night so mom probably won’t take me to another one.

Last weekend was positively amazing!! We did so much fun stuff and what made it even better was that Grandma and Papa Schlenker were around to enjoy it with us. They came last Thursday night after driving all day from Medicine Hat, Alberta. Daddy was still in TX with the football team but arrived at about 3:30am Saturday morning. It didn’t take long for me to become best buds with both grandma and papa. They are so fun and loving and we all just ate it up. Friday, we did some shopping then met some other Canadian friends for supper at the Pizza Pie Café (Grandma and Papa can’t come here without indulging at least once). I was having some bowel movement issues and ended up pooping my pants once on the drive over and then again at the restaurant. Luckily mommy had one change of clothes with her but by the time everyone was finishing up, I was running around commando style in soaked pants and mommy’s clothes were covered in poop. We later discovered that the grape juice mommy had been giving me for the last couple of days was the cause of very runny diarrhea that was impossible for me to hold in. As soon as we got home she dumped it out and I have been good ever since…phew!
After I went to bed, mom and grandma got busy doing final preparations for my overdue birthday party which was the next morning. With Grandma and Papa’s very generous help, it was a huge success and I had tons of fun. Since it was the weekend before Halloween, my friends dressed up in their costumes and everyone looked so cute! Between the visiting, Houston slideshow, crafts, game room and all the food, everyone was able to stay busy and have lots of fun.
(This is the slideshow daddy made for my party… just to warn you it is 12 minutes long, so I understand if you don’t want to watch the whole thing)

Each family was able to go home with treat bags for the kids made by grandma and pumpkin favors made by mommy.

Papa and Uncle DeeJay guarding the great abundance of food.

Thank you so much to everyone who came to celebrate with me and giving me so many awesome gifts!

The next day, after church, we drove up to Draper to spend some time with Smiths. As usual, I played with Larissa and Daria most of the time and Richelle and DeeJay made an amazing meal for us all to enjoy.

The next day was Halloween and I think my new favorite thing is Trick or Treating. I was so cute running around in my Dinosaur costume while mommy and daddy trailed me in their “cave people” costumes. Neither of them wanted to miss a moment of this momentous occasion. I was also very polite when I said “trick or treat” and always said “thank you” after wards. The thing I most struggled with was accepting the amount of candy given at each door; I always reached in for more. At one house, I got a little carried away with knocking on the door and actually fell inside the person’s house when they opened the door. Look at all the candy I got; I can’t wait for next year!

Ever since mom and dad taught me about prayer, I have become very vigilant and always remind mom and dad to pray before every meal and before bedtime. I even started prayers before nap time! Mom and dad definitely appreciate this and love when prayer fills our home. We need all the prayers we can get right now as we hope mom’s pregnancy continues to go well and that dad will be able to find a good job after he graduates. The other day, dad taught me how to "say" the prayer and I am quite good. I just repeat everything dad tells me and it is the sweetest thing to behold.

Baby #2 Ultrasound Results

2011-10-19T12:00:00.001-07:00

We are happy to report that the results of our ultrasound are very good. The baby is developing healthily and mommy’s due date has stayed the same (March 7). We are also extremely happy to announce that the ultrasound revealed that we will have a baby BOY!!!!! We are over overjoyed with all the good news and are so excited for our new addition.

Mommy can really feel the baby (boy) move now and loves how active he is!

So I realized bit ago that I forget to tell you all the story of how mom told dad about the new baby. So after mommy had taken a few positive pregnancy tests, she kept all her excitement in until daddy got home so she could do a special surprise. In passing she mentioned having her pre-made lasagna in the oven ready to cook for dinner. After a few minutes, she yelled from the other room and asked daddy to take it out. Much to his surprised he found a stale hot dog bun on the racks of the oven. Very confused, he called to mommy, “what’s in the oven?”
Mommy replied, “I don’t know, what is in the oven?”
Dad: “a bun.”
Mom: “So there is a what in the oven?”
Dad: “a bun.”
Mom: “so there is a what in the what?”
Dad: “a BUN IN THE OVEN!?!”
(Much hugging and laughter)

TWO YEARS OLD!

2011-10-19T11:21:00.001-07:00

I AM TWO!! Isn’t that awesome?? The actual weekend of my birthday (Oct 9) , Grandma Cari came to visit. We had so much fun and she spoiled us rotten. For my birthday, she bought me some little Tonka trucks and a cool “slide” for them to go down.

One of the highlights was going to the pumpkin patch to pick out some Halloween pumpkins. There we also enjoyed playing in the corn pit, petting the animals, climbing on the old fashioned tractor and finding our way through the hay maze.

Grandma and mom also got to go to a BYU football game. Since it started when I usually go to bed, I went and spent sometime with some friends and fell asleep there. If you were watching closely, we heard that mommy and her Canadian gloves made it on TV!

Last weekend was super busy but I think it was a good thing because mom was getting awfully anxious for the ultra sound. Daddy was out of town in Oregon with the football team so it was just mommy and me. Over the two days, mommy babysat 5 different children (from 4 families). Amongst all the, what seemed like constant babysitting, on Friday mommy was able to make 2 pies, and a huge crock pot of soup. This was in preparation for a ward party we went to on Saturday. Mom had the crazy idea of taking 2 kids she was watching along with me to this ward party by herself; probably not the smartest idea. There was a lot of people there and between carrying around a very mobile 18 month old boy, dealing with some of my temper tantrums and trying to hold a constant conversation with a very bright 4 year old girl, needless to say there were a couple of stressful moments. Mom was relieved when we finally made it to there friends house to put all of us to bed. However that was a struggle in its self; finally by about 9:45 there was silence and mommy could relax. Even though this sounds a bit crazy, mommy LOVES babysitting and overall had some great learning experiences (and maybe a taste of the future). Plus, any of these families mommy helped out are always completely willing to watch me at any time which mommy is VERY grateful for. We are lucky to have so many nice, trustworthy friends around!

Poll

2011-10-02T07:17:00.001-07:00

Quizzes by Quibblo.com | SnapApp Quiz Apps

Big Boy

2011-10-02T06:36:00.001-07:00

Mom: “Our routine ultrasound is scheduled for October 19 and we are very excited to see our little baby! We anticipate a report that there is healthy development and we also hope to have the gender be revealed. Feel free to vote for which gender you think it is.”

This video is from back in August; our family enjoying a warm summer rain. Mom and dad love that I love the rain.

I have improved so much on my bike and here is a little clip of me riding with my favorite partner.

Check out my huge muscles.

Well mommy got really brave and decided it was time I was potty trained. One huge motivator is the fact that we will have an addition in our home with diapers of his or her own. Mommy does not want to change or buy two sets of diapers! One of mommy’s close friends and neighbors shared a method that had been successful with her two boys so mom decided to give it a try. Another reason we did it so young was this method recommended training at 22 months (we waited an extra month and did it when I was 23 months). The method pretty much had mommy stay within feet of me in my t shirt and undies for 3 days straight. On the first day, mommy told me about a million times to keep my undies dry and praised me every couple minutes for doing so. Then when I inevitably wet my undies, mom rushed me to the potty. Since she loaded me with liquids I had to go a lot and eventually gained some muscle memory. What also helped was that she reminded me pretty much every 30 seconds to “tell mommy when you have to go potty”. The first day was very hard with lots of accidents and lots of messes to clean up. Mom was lucky to have her experienced friend just a phone call away for lots of answers to questions and moral support! By day 2 and 3 I actually caught on and mommy and daddy were so proud of me! BTW mommy strayed a bit from the method because she kept me in diapers at night but at this stage we thought that was the best for everyone.
When going potty on the toilet actually became part of our daily routine it was quite an adjustment and mom struggled a bit with the patience she required with my control of our day. But now since I am pretty much fully trained and very good at holding my potty in until I am at a toilet she is loving life and hasn’t changed a poppy diaper in weeks!! One struggle we face is that I am scared to go on public toilets (can you blame me, they are scary places). We are working on that but luckily have had no accidents while out and about yet (I have held it for all three hours of church multiple times). There was a lot more than I wrote here that made our potty training experience successful thus far so if you are interested in the method we used, talk to mommy. She highly recommends it!

Potty training sort of ruined my awesome sleeping habits so mom and dad have had to get me back to putting myself to sleep. Night time was easier but mom struggled with my daily naps. What ended up working was quite surprising. Mom didn’t like the idea of locking my bedroom door because she asked me to tell her when I had to go potty so instead she left the door wide open. She doesn’t know if I feel more secure this way or what but it works and she is relieved I can put myself to sleep again.

This is a picture of my friend Juliette and me. My mom and her mom switch off babysitting quite a bit because neither of us have family really close. We also go on walks with her and her mom almost every morning. When other friends join us we take up the whole road and others refer to us as the “stroller brigade”.

Here is a clip of mommy and me just playing (sorry it is long an may be a little boring). I love to sing and this shows some of my favorite songs. I am much better at the actions to the songs than this video shows however. I have found that doing “Row Row” with baby is better than with mommy because her belly is getting bigger and she can’t assume the proper position for the song’s actions.
Ever since I taught this baby how to use the potty, we have been best buds. Before I used to carry her around by an ankle but daddy taught me how to properly hold her and hopefully I remember when our real baby comes around. She doesn’t have a name and I just call her “deedee”.

Me playing with mommy’s cousin, Larissa. She is an excellent play mate and mom loves going to Smiths because Larissa often gives her a little break from me 

Playing at the park with daddy on his day off.

Another Play

2011-10-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention another awesome play that mom and my cousins put on while we were in Yellowstone. Mommy helped Cousin Marin write this play and it was called "Tales of Vacations Past". It was a story about a little girl with a bad attitude about family vacations until a ghost comes in her dreams and shows her the fun she had in past family vacations. Marin played the little girl, Troy played the ghost and Kit Kat played the cousin. I can't wait until the next one!

Yellowstone 2011

2011-09-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry this entry took so long to get posted. I was waiting on some more pictures but it will have to do without them for now.

July was a very busy month for our family. It started out in Yellowstone National Park with Daddy’s side of the family. Mommy and I had a nice drive from Salt Lake to Island Park, ID with Cousin Sarah and her son, Peyton. Daddy drove the truck with Uncle Ike so they could haul some quads. Besides grandma and Grandpa Cooper, we were the first ones there. The whole family arrived later that night and it was a fun reunion. Mommy couldn’t remember the last day I didn’t have a nap and this was the first of many on this trip.
The first day we drove into the park and stopped by a Fishing bridge to have lunch.

Then we headed back making many stops at some cool sights. Next we saw some huge, fast rapids. Unfortunately, Cousin Kit Kat lost her hat in the rushing river. Seeing Uncle Tim chase after it, throw a huge log into the water and only miss the hat by inches was an unforgettable sight. Kit Kat was pretty sad that she lost her hat, and seeing this, Cousin Marin offered to buy her a new one. How sweet!

After the rapids we stopped at some really stinky mud volcanoes. At this stop was the closest we ever got to a buffalo and they are amazing creatures.

The next two stops were mommy’s favorite. First we walked (I was carried) down over 300 hundred steep steps to see a beautiful waterfall.

Next we went to a huge canyon called “Artists Point”. A long time ago people would come take pictures of this location and send them to government in hopes that they would make it a national park, and obviously they got their wish. It was here we finally discovered why the park is called Yellowstone: the cliffs were actually yellow. This view was breathtaking, and if mommy and me wouldn’t have been so tired, we would have loved to stay there for hours.

The next day was 4th of July and it turned out to be a crazy day. Some of the family went back to the park we our family stayed at the cabin. After my nap, we drove to a near by lake so see if they were lighting off fire works later. We ended up spending a good chunk of time there and daddy, Marin and mommy even swam in the cold water.

A while after we got back, out of nowhere, a crazy storm began and we enjoyed watching that bright lighting and listening to the booming thunder. We even saw hale close the size of a quarter.

Wednesday was a really fun day for both me and for mom and dad even though we were apart for most of it. I stayed at the cabin with granddad and we had a very relaxing day. Granddad was so nice to watch me for the day and it was great to spend some one on one time with him!! While we relaxed, mom and dad had an action packed day and went white water rafting down Yellowstone River. Even Grandma Cooper braved the adventure! Here is what mommy said about the experience:
“When we first got to the loading docks, we were surprised that we had to wear full length wet suits. We soon learned why however; the water was freezing and even though they were uncomfortable, they were worth it. The first half was the most exciting has we hit some nice sized currents. The latter half was relaxing and informative (our guides were very knowledgeable). We got to see some cool sights and even swim a bit in the freezing water. Afterwards, we drove back to the loading docks on a bus, peeled off our wetsuits and grabbed some yummy ice cream. Gardner, Montana is such a cute little town and I hope to go back someday.”

Thursday I was able to go back to the park for the big Old Faithful day. Before we actually saw it erupt steam and water, Grandma Cari and Granddad Tim treated the whole family to lunch at the Old Faithful Inn.

No one had ever seen a structure like this. Here are some pictures mom found of the Inn off the internet.

After lunch we walked a quick hike around Old Faithful and sat to watch the magic.

Before we went back to the cabin, some people wanted to go see wolves and others wanted to go on another hike. Our family decided to go on the hike but I fell asleep on the way there so our car decided to go home. This was the first time this trip I had fallen asleep in my car seat and was mom ever relieved!

The last day was spent at the cabin. Daddy took a couple of groups out to go shooting and mom did a lot of organizing and packing. The next morning we said good bye bright and early to drive with Grandma and Grandpa Copper to Ashley Lake.

Ashley Lake 2011

2011-09-01T15:34:00.001-07:00

After our week in Yellowstone, Mommy and me drove with Grandma and Grandpa Cooper west to Ashley Lake (they wanted to stop on their way home to California). It was a pretty quiet week for the most part with Grandma Schlenker, Auntie Laurel and Cousins Ashton, Nick and Beckham. Now that I am a little older, I was much better at playing with the older boys. We like to chase each other and ride bikes outside. I showered baby Beckham with hugs and kisses and mom hopes I will still love babies as much when our addition comes along. Each morning it became sort of a tradition that Grandma Schlenker would take turns taking each boy out on the Kayak. Mommy really liked the mornings it was my turn so she could go back to sleep and try to battle her nausea. I learned to really enjoy these outings.

Cousin Ashton made bead bracelets for each member of the family including me!

There is never a shortage of sweets and junk food at the lake.

Later in the week, Auntie Laurel and the boys went home and Uncle Derek came with many of his friends. Many of them became my buddy and they liked to copy my dance moves on the boat.

Mommy and me flew home but 4 days later were back because daddy was able to get a couple of days off and hadn’t been to the lake yet. Grandma Schlenker was still there and later came Papa, Uncle Mark, Auntie Laurel and the boys again. We enjoyed lots of good times on the boat and I eventually stopped bawling my eyes out every time mommy went for a ski.
One evening after one of many fire pits/wiener roasts, I watched as daddy and my cousins went swimming in the cold water. Watching wasn’t enough for me however so I decided to jump in too. Since it was almost bedtime, mom and dad stripped me and we called it “bath time in Montana”. Mom and dad were so proud of me for braving the cold water and daddy will never forget how much fun he had with me.

Of course we did lots of quadding and I continue to love it.

And tubing

After a few fun filled days, Daddy had to go back to Utah to work for a couple of days. He insisted that mommy and I stay however because he planned to drive back when his work was done for the week. Even though he had to deal with a lot of driving, it was worth it because our last full day was the most fun.
In the morning I was able to ski behind the boat… well sort of. Grandma and Papa Schlenker own this floatation device called a Ski Trainer that can be pulled behind the boat. It is meant to give little guys like me a chance to gain some confidence behind the boat. I wasn’t scared at all but just in case I fell daddy was right there dragging by a ski rope.

Later in the day our neighbors, the Wallaces set up a huge slide (made from a large pipe), a swing rope and lots of floatation devices in an obstacle course trying to mimic the show "Wipe Out". Anyone who wanted to got a chance to try it. Of course mom and dad couldn't resist along with most of our family. Mom said it was super fun even though it was probably the hardest physical thing she has done in a very long time. Dad also did very well but no one beat Uncle Derek's time of 1 minute, 8 seconds and Uncle Mark's time just 8 seconds longer.

Uncle Mark always pushing the limits. I hope you can see how high he is throwing me.

moving on

2011-08-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

Mommy and me went to visit daddy at a football scrimmage and we got pretty decked out in BYU gear.

While we are waiting for pictures from the summer, I figure we could move onto other updates that have happened here in August. First big announcement is that mommy is expecting baby #2!!! She is due March 7 so is almost 12 weeks along. Even though the baby is due in March, we are all going to be prepared in February incase this baby comes early like I did. So far the doctor says the baby is healthy and growing well. We haven’t been able to hear the heart beat because, like with me, mommy’s uterus is retro-flexed (sitting more inside of her than a typical women). Hopefully by this next doctor’s visit in September mommy will have grown out of it because of the expansion and we can hear the heart beat. I can’t wait. Mom and dad are still trying to help me understand what is going on. Most of the time I think the baby is in my belly. I’ll probably understand more when mommy gets a nice gut on her.

August has been a crazy month and a little hard on all of us. BYU football team’s fall camp started so daddy is working very long hours. I never see him in the morning because he usually gone by 5:30am and rarely see him at night because he gets home after I go to bed. It has been extra hard on mommy this month because she has been dealing with a lot of nausea from the pregnancy. Whenever we do spend time with dada we make it special but I’m excited for fall camp to wrap up in a couple of weeks.

A while ago mommy got me a trike from a garage sale. It was never the best but it allowed me to get around outside. Now that I am definitely grown out of it, daddy convinced Grandma and Granddad Wilcock and Great Grandma and Grandpa Cooper to get me an early birthday present. They got me what is called a Strider. It is basically a little two-wheel bike with no pedals made for toddlers. It will hopefully teach me how to balance on a bike without training wheels. I have had it for a couple of days and LOVE IT!! Every chance I get, I out riding around on it. I am already the envy of the whole neighborhood.

Daddy’s birthday was on August 21 and he turned 29!! Mommy and daddy are going to wait to really celebrate until fall camp is over, but for now, we did the best we could. Luckily his birthday was on Sunday so we let him sleep in. Then we woke him up with his birthday gift mommy made for him. Daddy was so impressed that mommy had kept the gift a secret and he really loved it. She made him a quilt of all his old track and field t-shirts from high school. He has kept them all this time because of all his memories and now he can snuggle with them. Mommy isn’t quite finished but she got the hardest part done and we can show the final product when she is complete. After church, mommy made him a yummy Italian meal and key lime pie for dessert. What he really wanted was a relaxing day and I think he got that.

Over the summer my vocabulary has exploded. I am a great copy cat and it really helps me communicate. I am learning names of friends and family and they love hear me say them. My dancing has greatly improved and I can even jump now. Also, I am sleeping in a big boy bed now. Mommy wasn’t sure if I was really ready but since I was getting good at climbing out of my crib she didn’t really have a choice.

Daddy putting me to sleep the best way he knows how after a long day.
I am growing up so fast that next month, mommy and I are going to work on potty training! Keep us in your prayers 

Summer time is almost here!

2011-06-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Just like most cities, Springville has its own annual city celebration. It is called “Art City Days” and they have lots of fun activities for people to participate in. One activity mom and her neighbor friend were able to participate in was the Nestle 5k run on Saturday, June 4. Mom loves running in 5k races and this one was no exception. It was a challenge because the first half of it was up hill but having the second half be down hill made it worth it. Mom’s friend, Melissa and her didn’t get a great time but were still proud of themselves for waking up early and running the whole thing. As soon as mom was done running, she had to race home, shower and help dad and me get ready for a baptism. Mom tries to attend the baptisms in our ward for two reasons: 1. she loves supporting the young kids in primary that she is growing to love very much and 2. daddy usually speaks at them. Baptisms in our ward are a little different because the Bishop always likes to have the ward mission leader (which is dad’s current calling) attend and speak. That way, if any people that are not of our faith come, they can be introduced to him and he can tell them a bit about the church. He always gives great talks and the spirit was very strong at this baptism. Plus, I was a very good boy and over all it was a great morning.

Since mommy had fun in the morning, dad was able to go for a motor bike ride in the afternoon. He decided to try a new trail and loved it! Check out the awesome views:

We had a little scare the other day; Great Grandma Campbell who lives up in Medicine Hat, Alberta had a heart attack. She had had chest pains all day and, thinking it was heart burn, just took medicine and went about her day. Early the next morning the attack came and she was flown to Calgary’s hospital to be treated. By the end of the morning they were able to stabilize her but she still stayed in the intensive care unit for a couple of days. She is back home now and is doing much better. She has a follow up stress test in a couple of weeks to determine her healing progress. With multiple women on the Campbell/Filgus side of the family having heart problems, Grandma Schlenker and even mommy need to be extra aware and cautious about their heart health as they get older.

Mom and dad decided they needed a romantic weekend to themselves so last weekend I stayed at Smith’s in Draper and mom and dad went to Park City. You may remember that dad got mom a hot air balloon ride for Christmas so this trip allowed them to redeem that. That was definitely the high light! Mom took a lot of pictures so check out the slide show for the majority of them.
Here is a snippet from mom about the experience:
Unless you are afraid of heights, our hot air balloon ride was not scary at all. It was however very thrilling at the beginning then peaceful and serene as the trip continued.

We were in the largest balloon the company had which fit 12 people plus the pilot. Mickey was in a compartment with what looked like two newly weds, and I was in a compartment with an older couple. By the end of the ride, it was pretty hot from the flame heating the balloon and the older man beside me actually fainted on the way down. He was fine but didn’t really remember much of the landing. The company included a couple of traditional ceremonies with the ride. One was right after when they broke out the Champaign and orange juice. They do this because when the men who discovered hot air ballooning started in France, people were afraid of them if they landed on their land so they brought Champaign to prove they meant well. Mickey was able to catch the popped cork and got a little reward (the cork was made to look like a hot air balloon).

After the ride back to the hotel, they had one more ceremony so we could receive our “First Flight Certificates”. Afterwards, Mickey and I got breakfast and did a little "garage saleing". After that it was nap time before a relaxing evening.

I was a very good boy at Smiths and slept better there than I do at home. Cousin T (Tiana) took care of me the most and I had a great time with her and her boyfriend, Forest. When mom and dad came to get me Sunday morning, I was so overjoyed to see them I didn’t want to nap when we got home.

Lately I have been struggling to sleep through the night. I’ll have a great night and then maybe 1 or 2 nights in a row I will wake up and not get back to sleep for 1-2 hours! Mom and dad do not like this very much. After a while they thought they would let me cry it out like they have in the past but after I worked myself up enough to fall right out of my crib, they won’t do that any more.

This season we got season passes to Seven Peaks Water Park. It is so huge and there is so much to do. We try to go whenever we know it will be really hot (which hasn’t been very much lately). We prefer the morning because it is less busy. A few days ago we all went in the afternoon after dad’s work and it was packed! I love the water but I am still pretty cautious. I prefer holding someone’s hand when walking through the water and my favorite part is splashing with my hands.

Since we have been spending more time outside, I have been making more friends. One of our neighbors has 3 little boys: Sean (5), Brad (2) and Jackson (6 months). Whenever I see them, I run to them and we share pre-play hugs and then we kick balls, pop bubbles, run around and ride bikes. Mom thinks this is so precious! Their mom, Melissa and my mom have become quite good friends. Melissa was the one who ran the race with mom.

Here is a video of my latest dance move. The arm movements may stem from when mom conducts with my hands at church and when we watch Music and Spoken Word Sunday mornings. I am not sure, but it is darn cute.

I LOVE books! I always want mom and dad to read to me during the day and I get very excited for story time before bed. I often sit quietly in my room and read to myself on the floor or in the rocking chair. Mom and dad just love that I am a little book worm and hope it will help in my education!! Mom says I remind her of cousin Kathryn who also loves to read picture books a lot. This video is long, but it is super cute and at the end I show off my favorite books.

home sweet home... or is it?

2011-05-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

On our flight from Calgary to San Francisco, we were lucky in the way that a later flight was quite open so we got a seat very easily however we were not able to get first class. We sat beside a very nice man who was so impressed with how good I was the whole time. It helped that I slept for about an hour but still I was pretty darn good. After Grandma and Grandpa Cooper drove us to Alameda from the airport, we were greeted by Grandma Cari and soon after, Granddad. They were so happy that they could see us one more time! Before our flight to Salt Lake City the next day, we went to Alameda’s street fair. It was so fun to walk around in the sunshine and look at all the things people were selling. For Mother’s day, Grandma Cari bought mom a trendy hat she fell in love with. Dad and I were making fun of her because she kept wearing it around the house when we got home – but it is true that she does look pretty good in it. The flight from Oakland to SLC was so long mostly because we were so anxious to see Daddy! When we finally met up with him, I just smiled and hugged him with my head on his shoulders for a good 10 minutes while we waited for the bags. Daddy was just in heaven with all the love I gave him!

Mommy was nice enough to let me keep my bottle while we traveled. She has felt for a while now that I am ready to give them up and my doctor confirmed that I will be better off the sooner it is taken away. She let me keep it the week after we got home and made a few changes: she didn’t warm it as much, she gave it to me during my meals instead of after and she taught me about throwing things in the garbage. These turned out to be big changes and really helped the process. When the big day came, I watched as she threw my beloved bottle in the garbage. She also told me that I am too big for bottles and I will now drink milk from a sippy cup like I do juice. That is all it took. Ever since I have been drinking milk out of a sippy cup and am totally fine with it. Mom had prepared herself for a rough couple of days but once again, I showed her how awesome of a son I am. Mom and dad are so proud of me and how I am growing up.

While mommy was out one afternoon, Daddy and I had some fun: (If you think the first video is funny, watch the second one - it is me watching the first video).

This June will mark the 1 year anniversary of us living in Springville, Utah. Mommy and Daddy have not lived ANYWHERE for a year since the first apartment they had in Provo after they got married. They have lived in 7 different places in the near 5 years they have been married (5 different places in Utah Valley alone, and then Medicine Hat and Alameda). Knowing we wanted to stay in the same place while Daddy went to grad school, we are sure happy with the choice we made this time. We love living in Springville for the following reasons: we have the small town feeling with big cities around us; for how nice a condo we have, it is very affordable to live; we love our church ward; and best of all we have tons of awesome friends in our neighborhood. In another year or so, if a job for daddy takes us away from here, I’m sure we will all be very sad to say good bye.

Last weekend, Daddy met Papa Schlenker, Uncle Mark and Uncle Derek in Rexburg, Idaho to do some quadding in the St. Anthony’s Sand Dunes. Since they didn’t get to go last year, Daddy was so super excited for this trip. Mommy and me were thinking of crashing the Man’s party because mom loves to quad there too and we could see family again, but since we just got home from a big trip, we decided not to. Every time we talked to dad, he seemed in heaven except for the fact that his body has not been exposed to that much activity for a while. Needless to say he was very sore after each ride. When he came home, every time he moved all we heard groans and screeches of pain.
Mommy and I had a lovely weekend here at home. She got me a trike and some new stuffed toys at a ward “Drop and Swap”.

We also went to a ward BBQ and spent most of Saturday afternoon outside in the beautiful sunshine. Everything was great until Sunday Morning. Mom knew it would be interesting trying to get ready for church with me around because I do not like when she gets ready (most days she doesn’t get ready and the world has to experience her “natural beauty”). I pretty much do not like anything mom does that requires her to take attention away from me for any extended period of time. After she fed and clothed me, thinking I was happy watching Elmo on TV, she went off to curl her hair. She got about half done before I needed to be held again. She thought it might be easier if she curled her hair in the kitchen so she could interact with me so she picked me up and the curling iron up and that is when it happened. Somehow, for a spit second, the iron touched the top of my hand but that is all it took to give me a pretty good burn. A blister slowly developed and mommy did her best to keep it clean. She felt so very horrible but I was pretty tough about it and it didn’t really start to bother me until the blister came off during my nap the next day. Hopefully, like other wounds I get, it will heal quickly and we can put this all behind us. Monday afternoon also brought on a wicked fever, and a really runny nose.

(Don’t worry… that is tomato sauce)
My 2 year old molars might be coming…

Learning About Mommy's Roots

2011-05-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

The night before we flew to Canada, Mom called Uncle Adam to see how full flights were. See, mom bought a buddy pass from Adam’s sister who is a flight attendant (she is also mom’s hair dresser). This means we had to fly standby and have no guarantee of getting on the flight. Uncle Adam listed us as First Class passengers so we would have a better chance but even with that, the flights were not looking open. However, mom had a gut feeling we should go to the airport bright and early anyway (we had to be at the airport at 6am) and give it a try. Man, we were happy we did that! The economy section of the flight was full but there were only 3 passengers in first class so mom and I got two first class seats to our selves for the whole trip. Things couldn’t have worked out better!
When we got to Calgary, Auntie Laurel, Nick and little Beckham picked us up. I was so tired I fell asleep in the car so Auntie Laurel figured we could grab a bite to eat on the way home. She is so sweet and knows how much mommy loves “timmy’s” (Tim Horton’s) so that is where they stopped and it definitely hit the spot. Later Cousin Ashton came home from preschool and Uncle Mark came home for work. We had a fun night watching Ashton play soccer and Uncle Mark coach him.
The next day, we squeezed all 7 of us and our stuff in their SUV and started off to Medicine Hat to see the rest of the family. About 20 minutes out of Calgary, one of the tires blew up which was a little scary. Luckily, Uncle Mark is handy and we are all patient so he put a spare on and we continued on our way.
I was sure happy to get out of the car when we got to Medicine Hat! I had a great time exploring Grandma and Papa’s house and mom was relieved to get a break from the strong magnet that seemed to exist between her and I through out the whole trip. Mom was worried about all the stairs in their house but I handled them like a pro and never fell. I particularly liked the back yard with the noisy fence and trampoline.
The whole weekend was crazy with the whole family and 5 little boys running around (well Beckham mostly ate, slept, pooped and smiled-he is one of the smile-iest 6 week old babies). One day, most of us went to the Leisure Center to swim and we spent 2 hours there. I was in Heaven in the warm kiddy pool. Mom took me down the snake slide a couple times and I tolerated it but it wasn’t my favorite. Another day, Uncle Matthew and Uncle Derek thought it would be fun to take Wyatt and me to Rod’s old farm for a bit before our naps. Uncle Mark was already taking Ashton and Nick out to quad so mom thought it was a great idea. Unfortunately I fell asleep in the car and missed all the action but you’ll see lots of pictures in the slideshow of everyone else’s experience. This is one of mom’s favorite places to visit when she goes home.
That night, Grandma planned an un-birthday party for everyone and invited Great grandma and grandpa Campbell over. Before we ate, we all took pictures in our matching Ashley Lake shirts. I was fine for it unless I had to be with anyone but mommy. After we ate, mom’s friend Kristin came over for a visit. She happened to be in town for her birthday and mommy was sooooo happy it worked out to see her.
On Saturday, we all participated in the Rattler Run! Mom and her family often ran in this race as they grew up so it was fun to re visit the experience.

Derek, Matthew, Mark all ran the 5k and finished in that order. Mom and Auntie Crystal also ran the 5k but finished with linked arms and smiles on their faces. Auntie Laurel and Grandma attempted to walk the 3k with all us boys but decided to quit when they couldn’t take the screaming anymore. When mom finished, I was asleep in the stroller - I’m sure you noticed I am rarely having naps in a crib these days. Afterwards, we went to eat and play at McDonalds and then we were off to a wedding shower for Janae Nielson. I was the only baby there so I got tons of attention and candy and loved every moment. Mom had a great time visiting with some old friends she rarely gets to see. What a crazy day, and it wasn’t over yet. That night, we ordered pizza and invited the Halmrasts over for a UFC party (yay for the girls… boo). Auntie Deb (papa’s sister) is so sweet and thinks I am so cute. Brennin and Landon also came (2/3 of Deb’s sons) and they were really funny with their thick Canadian accents. Mom was so happy to see them all because she sure loves the Halmrast family and now I do too!!

I don’t know if I was really sick or just wasted from the previous day but I had a rough night and threw up the next morning. Mom decided that I should probably stay home from church but Grandma volunteered to stay with me so that mom could go see more friends and take a break from me. Grandma was always happy to see mom go because then I became her best friend. Sunday was also the day when all my aunties, uncles and cousins left. Mom and I were sure sad to see them all go but are also grateful they could create such amazing memories in the home and city they grew up in.

They next two days were pretty quiet while mom focused on getting me better and catching up on sleep. Papa found some time to take mom out for lunch and they had a great time at one of her favorite restaurants, Moxie’s. Wednesday and Thursday were fun because mom was able to set up some play dates with friends. Wednesday I got to meet two friends of mom’s from high school and their kids: Carly and her son, TJ and Christal and her daughters, Kaydence and Peyton.

Mom loves getting to know her friends children and experience all their sweetness. She also loves to see what amazing mothers her friends are!
Later that night, mom went to have dinner with 3 other friends: Dayna, Jessica and Kayla. They shared a lot of laughs and memoires and mom found out that Dayna was expecting a baby!!!!! Mom is so excited for Dayna and her husband. She knows Dayna will be an amazing momma!
Thursday we went to a huge park and played first with Papa and then with friends and kids from church.

After my nap, we went to see some friends mom used to work with at Houston Pizza. Jessica and Janine were so sweet and funny. Janine’s apartment was full of stuffed animals so I was in heaven playing with them all. Mommy and I appreciate each and every friend we were able to visit. It is not easy staying friends with someone who lives far away and doesn’t visit often so their efforts make us feel very loved, blessed and grateful!

Here is a slideshow of more pictures from our Canada visit:

Easter in California

2011-05-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

Dad is officially done his second semester of graduate school with awesome grades once again! The day after his last exam, we flew to California to visit family for Easter. We were able to get the early flight so that we could hit up the A’s game. I stayed home with Grandma Cooper so I could nap but mom, dad, Grandma Cari and cousins Marin and Troy had a great time at the game.

Silly pictures while waiting for hot dogs

The next day, the rest of the family came and filled up grandma and granddad’s house. Friday night, we went to Auntie Anne and Uncle Dan’s to celebrate some birthdays (Grandma Cari, Auntie Lora and Cousin Becky). In the slide show, you will see me sporting some large boot; these were Becky’s… I’m so silly. The rest of the time we all made amazing memories going out for meals, going “spabbling” (hotubbing with bubbles), and playing/dancing outside. One high light for mom was the play her and the older cousins put on during the family party on Saturday night. It was called Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp (based on the picture book). They had fun preparing and the whole family enjoyed the well done performance.
Cousin Ryan (11 days older than me) and me were fun to watch. He still seems much older than me because he is developmentally way ahead of me, but we still had fun and I learned a lot from him. He really liked to push me around (just playing) but I was never that impressed with this particular game. Mom tried to teach me how to push back, but it wasn’t until later in Canada when I showed that I could push back.

Easter Day was a great day! The whole family got ready by 8:45am and was able to make it to church on time!! I was such a good boy which was nice so that mom and dad could enjoy the wonderful talks and music centered around Christ’s wonderful Resurrection.

After wards, me and my cousins came home to find a note from the Easter Bunny! He had hidden eggs in the front yard and we had to go find them. I caught on to the whole idea of finding eggs pretty easily and mom and dad were so proud. The cute Elmo basket was a gift from Grandma Cari and Granddad. I was in love with it and giving it hugs all the time.

Then I found out what was inside the plastic eggs and look out!

After my nap, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Coopers for a nice meal and lots of treats!

Unfortunately Monday was a sad day because we had to say goodbye to Daddy. He had to go home to Utah for work and to start school again, but mom and I had planned to fly to Canada to visit the Schlenker side of the family (details of that trip will come in the next entry).
Here is a slide show of the rest of the pictures we took in California.

one more before we leave

2011-04-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

Quote of the week (from dad to mom about me):
“He is beating me with a rolling pin!”

I am becoming a better and better wrestler but sometimes when I find weapons to use, mom and dad have to take caution.

I have recently discovered how to take off my diaper. Usually I have an undershirt onesie on, but as the days get warmer, mom sometimes decides they are not necessary. And since I do not nap with pants on, that is the perfect time to take it off and breathe a little. Both times that I have taken my diaper off during naptime, I have woken up screaming because there is a big mound of poo in the middle of my crib. Mom runs in to find my pinned up against the bars of my crib with a frightened look on my face. After this occurred twice, she learned to either nap me with pants on or tape my diaper shut.

ticker

2011-04-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the technical difficulties but I finally fixed the 2nd birthday ticker. Check it out on the left.

One Year and One Half

2011-04-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

This video shows me saying a rhyme with mom called “Poor Old Horse”. Here is how we sing it:
Houston: “poor old horse”
Mom: “he goes so slow”
Houston: “he never stops”
Mom: “in the rain or the snow”
Houston: “BUT”
Mom: “give him a kick and away he goes, away he goes, away he goes. Give him a kick and away he goes, all the way to town. Whoa Horsey!”
Sometimes I miss the third line and skip to the “BUT” because it is my favorite part.

Look how long I am getting

This is my best bud, Rusty and me. He lives around the corner and we play together a lot. He is just a couple months younger than me and his mom, Brie and my mom are great friends.

This is a new thing I do with stickers- I actually put them there myself. Sometimes they stay on my head/face most of the day.

I am getting better at animal sounds. The lion and the puppy are the cutest. This is me doing a lion:

Just lounging before nap time

A couple of days ago I turned 18 months old. Mom and dad are just in awe at how fast I am growing and all the new things I learn everyday. Even though I still have 1-2 (average) small temper tantrums a day, I am becoming much better at listening. I can’t remember the last time I had to go to “time out”. I know now that when mom or dad threatens “time out”, they mean it and I don’t like it.
I finally stopped teething (I have 16 teeth now) and then I got a cold. Considering my nose is constantly running and coughing wakes me up from sleep, I have been in good spirits. For fear of spreading my germs, mom and dad decided to keep me away from Nursery today which is a shame because this would have been my first Sunday going by myself.
A few weeks ago, we had an awesome but quite short visit from Grandma Schlenker. She hitched a ride with some friends who were coming south for a long weekend. Even though it was short, we packed a lot in. Mom and grandma bought a lot of fabric for some new sewing projects and we went out to eat at some beloved restaurants (Zupa’s and Pizza Pie Café). On Saturday, when daddy was able to watch me, mom and grandma went skiing and snowboarding at Brighton Ski resort. They had a blast in the amazing conditions. Grandma has so much energy!! On Sunday we went up to Smith’s after church and Grandma stayed there for the night because of her early departure the next morning.
We are not as sad that her visit was short because mom and I just planned a trip up to Canada at the end of April and beginning of May. Before that we will be going with daddy to California for Easter and to visit with his side of the family.

O, I almost forgot. On March 22, mom and dad attended a Bon Jovi Concert. They were expecting a great show, but they were still blown away. It was UNREAL! They had such a great time!

Bon Jovi and Jimmer take over

2011-03-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

There has been quite a bit of commotion in our home this past week. As you probably heard in the video, we have been listening to the music of Bon Jovi a lot because mom and dad are going their Salt Lake concert tomorrow (this was mom’s Christmas gift to dad). They are getting really excited but are also sad their friend, Dan who was originally going to come with them, has moved and can no longer make it. On their way, I will be dropped off at Smith’s in Draper. I’m sure I’ll have a great time there because I get to go see Cousin Jake play the drums in a band concert.
Another contributor to the commotion has been Jimmer and BYU’s basketball team. As most of you know, it is March Madness and BYU has made it to the Sweet 16 in the national collegiate tournament. Mom and dad are a little addicted. If it were possible, their lives would revolve around me and watching basketball right now. After the last game that BYU dominated, dad was doing an Irish jig in the living room for the last ten minutes. If you have a few minutes, here are some you tube videos that are pretty entertaining:
If you watch closely, you can see 2 of my old roommates dancing beside the 3rd.

This video is funnier if you have seen the “bed intruder” music video also on youtube.

The last contributor to the commotion is mostly mom’s fault. On Saturday she had her last organized Church Basketball game. At the very end of the game, she went in for a steal and jammed her right hand middle finger. Either it is the worst jam she has ever had (and she has had quite a few) or dad’s right when he says there may be sprained or fractured. Anyway, the commotion comes when mom and dad bicker about how to care for it. Dad deals with this everyday and obviously knows how to heal it, but mom isn’t very good about listening and following instructions. She was good on Saturday about icing it because she had to play piano in Church the next day but after that she hasn’t been very good. In her defense, putting your finger in ice cold water for 20 minutes 3 times a day and wearing a bulky splint all day and night is not fun especially when you have a crazy kid like me to take care of.

New Cousin!!

2011-03-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

This is me in my “happy place”: no pants, warm milk in a bottle and of course my “melmo”.

The best update of all is that I have yet another boy cousin on the Schlenker side (that makes 5 grandsons on the Schlenker side so far and no girls; I guess Derek and his future wife will have to be in charge of making baby girls). Beckham Mark Schlenker was born on March 10 and joined Uncle Mark and Auntie Laurel’s family. They now have thee boys and I can’t wait to see them all again so we can all play. I am sure I will be as obsessed with little Beckham as Ashton and Nick were with me when I was younger. Mommy and me are always looking for ways to get up to Canada, so if you know of an inexpensive way, please let us know!!

I have been learning so many new words lately! The three latest are “all gone” (galgon), hat and elmo (melmo). I love watching Elmo on Sesame Street so when mom and dad found a stuffed Elmo for me, I was overjoyed! He even laughs when you push his belly.
So for the past couple of months I have not been dealing with as much separation anxiety as I have in the past. But in the last couple of weeks, I have been even more extreme and simply love strangers. Mom wishes she could put me in nursery now because she thinks I would thrive. Having babysitters is so fun and going out to play is even better. Last week at Stake Conference, I wasn’t thrilled about sitting on my mom’s lap so I went for a strole and found a very friendly teenage boy. I sat in his lap and ate my cracker for about the last 15 minutes of Conference. Mom and dad didn’t know what to think but they will definitely embrace this new development.

This is me in NURSERY! Even though I am not yet 18 months, dad has been taking me for the past couple of Sundays and so far I love it (he just has to stay with me the whole time because of the 18 month rule). The first time I went, I fell off the little person chair and cut my lip so I didn’t last the whole time. But this last Sunday went much better. Mom and dad are in shock that I am so grown up.

Last week, mom substituted for a music class again. I was able to stay with one of my best friends, Rusty who lives really close to us. His mommy is so nice and took very good care of me. Mom loves that she has nice people that she can trust close by because we are not geographically close to many family members. Last week turned out to be a great experience for both of us!

This video may need some explanation: Recently mom has discovered that some particular face movements make me laugh, specifically opening and shutting eyes and raising and lowering eyebrows. A couple of days ago I tried to imitate her and this video is of exactly that. My imitation attempts had mom laughing so hard she knew she had to share it. At the end, you can hear me singing my favorite song, “Poor Old Horse” which is pretty cute as well.

If I’m not walking outside, I’m crawling with shoes on my hands.

what a great life!

2011-02-26T14:31:00.000-08:00

Just for laughs.

For my mom’s birthday, I thought I would give her the gift of waking up an hour and a half earlier than I usually do. I figured she would want to be awake for more of her special day. Turns out I was wrong though. Since we were up so early, mom had time to get ready and then we were off to institute. The rest of the day was pretty normal until daddy came home. He had arranged for a babysitter to come so he could take mom out. They went to Good Wood for supper, then for frozen yogurt and then to see “The King’s Speech”. Overall it was a very special day. Mommy wanted to thank everyone who gave or sent her cards and all those who called to wish her the best! As for gifts, I got her a balloon which I actually like to play with more than her, dad got her a women’s size basketball, and everyone else gave her money. With her money she bought a new curling rod for her hair which she LOVES and hopes to also buy a day of snowboarding. From G & G Campbell, she got a pair of mittens from the Vancouver Olympics. She had seen these in pictures and really wanted a pair so she is absolutely thrilled!
BYU basketball has been so fun to watch this year and Mom and Daddy decided to take me to an afternoon home game. They were a little nervous I wouldn’t like the constant loud noise especially because it was verses Utah. Much to their happiness and surprise, however, I loved every moment. When they turned the lights off and played the music really loud at the beginning, I was right into it clapping and smiling from ear to ear. Because of mom and dad’s love of BYU and even great love for me, it was a very proud moment for them!

The game was the Saturday before Valentine’s Day so I guess that is what we did to celebrate. On the actual day, nothing was really different other than dad trying to pick up a heart shaped pizza that turned out not being heart shaped. O ya, and mom and daddy exchanged gifts: mom gave dad a little stuffed bear holding a heart and sitting on candy and dad gave mom a beautiful pair of earrings and a heart necklace.

Dad was able to find some time to explore some mountains near Springville during President’s Day weekend. He got some pretty amazing pictures!

Fun in the snow… a storm brought in 9 inches over night and the next day was sooo beautiful, mom and I wouldn’t pass up the fun!

Latley a new thing I have been doing is dancing. Mom and dad find this very entertaining and finally got it on tape today when we were at a friend’s 1st birthday party.

Jersey Cakes

2011-02-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

This is a quick post for Uncle Adam. New Years morning, mommy made one of her favorite breakfasts for everyone. Her family calls them monsters because of how they rise in the oven, but typically they are called German Pancakes. For some strange reason, Uncle Adam thought they were called Jersey Cakes. Who knows where he got that from, but we all enjoyed making fun of him for it. Here is the recipe as promised:

6 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
5 tbs melted butter

Mix all BUT the butter together (mixing in a blender is best to get it frothy). After spraying a 9x13 pan, pore melted butter in the pan and coat the entire bottom. Pore mixture into the pan (butter will be pushed to the edges). Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until most the moisture is gone from the top. When you first take it out of he oven, you will notice the ballooned edges (thus the "monster" name) but they will shrink as it cools as bit. Enjoy warm with powdered sugar and syrup.

2011-02-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

On Feb 9th I will be 16 months old!! On Feb 7th mom will be 25!!!

This videos shows one of my favorite hobbies. I always put my hand up to my face whenever I drop something like i'm saying "o o" or "where'd it go?".

There are so many new things I am doing:

Some new words I say are “all done”, shoes, and yes. “Yes” is mom and dad’s favorite because I can answer questions. When my answer is no I just look at them with a blank stare. Mom is happy I learned “yes” before “no” because she would rather me be a “yes baby”. The only problem is, I don’t get “no”. I always think mom and dad are just playing when they say it, so I laugh and continue to do whatever they want me to stop doing. They even started trying 1 minute time outs in my room when I misbehave but it doesn’t seem to register that I am being punished. I am perfectly happy playing in my room with the door shut. Some people have recommended that they try putting me in my crib for time out but mom is worried about that. She worked so hard to help me have a good association with sleeping time in my crib, she doesn’t want to take that away. She would welcome ANY other suggestions people have to help me understand the meaning of “no” or “stop”.

Now I walk about half the time and crawl about half the time. I love walking around outside to look at cars, cows, blowing leaves and snow.

Mom and dad have been super impressed with my ability to eat with a fork. I get discouraged if mom forgets to give me one. I think she is forgetting what I big boy I am.

I am a big boy except when it comes to wanting to drink milk from a sippy cup. Mom has tried to give it to me for about 2 weeks now. At first I took it, took some drinks and abandoned it, but now I won’t even try and she ends up giving me a bottle; she knows how important drinking milk is still for my age. I think she is hoping that, like my breast feeding weaning, one day I’ll just take it and be happy from then on. Mom will take any suggestions on this challenge as well.

Here is a quick update on mommy:

She still loves going to institute but doesn’t really like taking me anymore. Luckily however, her good friend Shelly has a class break when mommy wants to attend her class so she plays with me in the building lobby. For the 2 minutes after mommy leaves, I am not a big fan of the arrangement at all, but Shelly is so fun we end up having a great time. What a good friend!!

One of the highlights of mom’s week is playing basketball each Saturday. She heard that our Stake had a league and was able to get on a pretty good team. Even though she is pretty sore after each game, she loves reviving the skills that she had in high school.

We made our 3rd bedroom into a “moffice” (mom-office) for mommy. Now she can organize all of her primary and scout stuff as well as keep her sewing machine up to work on projects. One of the best parts is she can light any fragranced candles she wants and daddy can’t complain (she is loving the hazelnut latte candle she got for Christmas).

Daddy:

He still loves shooting and has had the opportunity to go out to practice with some buddies lately. He also added some new speakers to his truck and is tuning up his bike a lot. Since mommy got her moffice, daddy has taken over the garage and made it into his “work man cave”. Mommy appreciates when daddy keeps his “special fragrances” down there as well.

Play

2011-01-27T16:46:00.001-08:00

Upon reading the blog entry, Auntie Andi revealed that she did have pictures from the play! Mommy has so much fun doing this with the kids. This is the second play she has directed and Marin, being apart of both so far, thinks that we should make it a tradition.

New Years

2011-01-27T12:24:00.000-08:00

We took 2 days again to drive home from Ashley Lake and made it to Idaho Falls the first day. The start was a little scary because I slept in the car. I know most of you are thinking, “he is crazy, baby sleeping in the car is a blessing”. But it is so unlike me, mom and dad knew something was wrong. Sure enough when I woke up at our first stop I threw up all over daddy in the gas station. After we cleaned up, I seemed fine so we set out on our trip again. It wasn’t 40 minutes later that I threw up again, this time in the car all over me and my seat. With no gas station for miles, we did our best to clean everything up on the side of the road. Once again I seemed fine, but we decided to steer clear of food and just have me drink fluids. When we arrived in Idaho Falls I was ready for bed! Just like before, the second day of travel was better. Luckily we only had about a 4 hour drive to Draper which seemed very short compared to the prior day. When we got to Draper, we hung out with Smiths and Grandma and Grandpa Campbell for a bit. Mom and dad had to reorganize and make sure they had everything for the California trip. The reason we did not drive all the way home was because Draper is half way between Springville and Salt Lake and this way we had rides to and from the airport with a place for our car to stay. Our flight from Salt Lake City left at around 5pm and it was almost worse than driving. I pretty much cried the whole time because I was so over tired. When I finally did sleep we were close to landing and upon landing, I proceeded to throw up one last time all over myself and mommy. Unfortunately mommy did not have a change of clothes handy and was less than thrilled to walk through the airport and wait for our luggage covered in my up chuck. Luckily, Grandma and Granddad’s house is only 3 minutes away from the airport. It is quite ironic that the two days we set aside for travel, I have to get a little bug. I didn’t throw up for the rest of the holiday but had a nasty cough and runny nose like mommy.
We didn’t waste any time in California and got right to the fun. It was so nice to see everyone again, especially Ryan who is 11 days older than me. Even though we are so close in age, he seems a lot older. He has been walking for months and can practically run. Plus he is talking quite a bit more and following instructions like a pro. It was cool to see what I will be like soon. The first part of the trip was spent in Alameda at Grandma and Granddad’s house. There we sort of caught up on Christmas gift giving and our family got tons of awesome stuff. Dad’s favorite gift was probably tools. Mom got really excited over her electric frying pan and a ceramic butter dish (I guess you have to be as weird as her to understand).

Uncle Tim explaining so eloquently how to open a gift.

Side note: I forgot to mention what our family gave each other. Mom and Dad got me some awesome DVDs; some classics that are essential in any DVD collection. Dad got mom a yoga game thing and a hot air balloon ride in Park City to be redeemed any time this year. Mom is super excited about it!! Mom got dad some tickets to a Bon Jove concert in March.
One of mom and dad’s favorite days in Alameda was when we went to San Francisco to tour the Walt Disney museum. It is pretty hard to describe in words because it was that amazing. Every room was very interesting and entertaining and they had things to keep all ages busy. It made everyone want to go to Disney Land real bad.

Notice how good I am smiling and Mommy and Cousin Marin's matching hair.

On New Year’s Eve we drove to Brentwood to spend the night at Uncle Tim, Aunt Lora, Kit Kat and Ry Guy’s house. We had one of my favorite meals, lasagna and played games all night. After dinner, mommy helped Marin, Kit Kat, and Troy put on a play. It was based on a book mommy always reads to me about a baby cricket learning to “click” with her mom and other animals. It turned out great and mom is sad she didn’t get any pictures. After the play, things got bad for mommy. Her cold (or whatever she had) peeked and she spent the whole evening and night lying on the couch and was very sad to miss most of the New Years fun.

We decided to stay one more day in Brentwood which was a good thing because played more games, ate more good food and made a lot of special memories. Our last night, we went to visit the Vastolas. Cousin Marissa drove back from Davis just to see us! We had yet another yummy meal made by Cousin Kati and I played a lot on their stairs and with their shoes. Afterwards we had a quick visit with Daddy’s old friend, Craig and his wife Melissa. They just found out that they are having a baby boy and we are so excited for them!!
The trip home went pretty smooth. Our flight was at 6am so we had to be up by 4am. Fortunately (and weirdly enough), I stayed asleep in mom’s arms through the ride, check in, security and right onto the plane. After so long being away, it was really nice to be home!

I forgot...

2011-01-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

I FORGOT! I took my first steps over Christmas Holidays! Uncle Mark and I had a love/hate relationship and he was a very persistent coach. I think he worked with me everyday which really helped me have success.
Uncle Mark, even though by the end of the holiday I cried every time you got near, I really appreciate the time you took to help me take my first steps!!
Presently I am walking more and more every week. Mom and Dad are so proud of me! Crawling is still the most efficient way to get around so I do that more, but I’m sure that will change soon.

Christmas at the Lake

2011-01-22T12:50:00.000-08:00

After my nap, Sunday, December 19th we headed out on the road north to Montana.

View Larger Map
Our plan was to go just over half way to Dillon. However upon entering Montana we hit some VERY scary weather and pretty much were given no choice but to stop and sleep in Lima’s only hotel (Lima is about 50 miles south of Dillon). We feel blessed that there was vacancy and that the price was not ridiculous. Considering the circumstances and the stress mom and dad were experiencing, I was a pretty good boy. Once I got to sleep, I slept like a “baby” right until 8am which was another blessing. Mom was very worried about sleeping in the same room as me because he usually coughed all night long, but I slept through it all. The next day, traveling was a breeze. We hit no bad weather and made it in great time. That was a good thing because as soon as we got there and unloaded, Grandma, Papa, Uncle Mark, Auntie Laurel and Cousins Ashton and Nick were ready to go get a Christmas tree from the forest. I looked so cute in my snow suite and wanted to play in the snow really bad. We found a very tall, round tree that wasn’t very full but it worked out great and we had a blast setting it up and decorating it.

Each day at the Lake was filled with lots of fun. We probably could have fit more fun in if so many people wouldn’t have been sick (mom!!) but we made due.

Me and Nick on the sled.

Ashton and Nick on the little quad

One day, Papa rented snow mobiles. I wasn’t able to ride them but everyone else went out on short and not-so-short adventures. Daddy, Uncle Mark and Papa were out all afternoon riding as far as they could explore. Daddy loved the snow mobiles because his bummed knee kept him from doing other things (FYI daddy will be getting surgery on his knee this new year).

I had so much fun playing with Ashton and Nick!

Another day, mommy, Grandma, papa and Uncle Mark went snowboarding in Whitefish. This was probably mommy’s favorite day because she hasn’t snow boarded in a long time and really really loves it. They had beautiful weather the whole time and mommy’s cough didn’t even get in the way too much. On Christmas Eve, we all drove into town and most everyone went swimming and water sliding at a local hotel. Our family however decided to go to the emergency room because I had been up all night in some pain. I had a stinky ear infection but we caught it really soon and antibiotics cleared it up fast. That night, Santa actually came to Ashley Lake to visit us. Ashton was the most excited especially when he gave us each a pre-Christmas gift and magically created snow. We all got a picture with him in our matching PJs that Grandma got us.

Christmas day was amazing! I loved all the toys, clothes and books everyone got me; thank you so much!! After we opened gifts, we talked to Uncle Matthew, Auntie Crystal and Wyatt in Toronto. They had a great Christmas and even saw a real camel at a nativity pageant. Later that day, we got to talk to Uncle Derek who was in South Africa. He spent a month traveling all over the other side of the ocean and had quite an amazing experience. The rest of the day was full of relaxation which was nice for all the sickees. Many of us got restless in the evening so we decided to go for some late night sledding on the big hill in front of the cabin. Afterwards, daddy pulled out some fireworks to entertain us and our neighbors, the Wallaces. The kids had lots of fun having a sparkler dance party out on the frozen lake.

We were sad to go on Monday but it was time to go visit daddy’s side of the family for new years. Stay tuned for that post in the near future.

Pre Christmas

2011-01-13T08:54:00.001-08:00

This all happened before Christmas:

Another good one from our photo shoot.

I loved Santa once he gave me a sucker!

Standing by myself! This is less than exciting if you have seen me recently.

Daddy had a great time in New Mexico besides the fact that there is nothing really to do there. BYU won their bowl game and we are all excited for the season next year. I even have a miniature football uniform to wear to the games!
The day of the game was not only crazy for Daddy but for mommy and me as well. One of Mommy’s old roommates was getting married in Salt Lake and it was a little interesting juggling me and all of the travel/celebration. That morning, we drove to Draper so Smiths could babysit me. I am starting to figure out that usually when we go there, it means mommy is leaving me . Anyways I had a great time with them while mom went to the Salt Lake temple and even got to play with Grandma and Grandpa Campbell who drove down from Canada. Later that night, mom drove to Park City for the reception and I was taken home by G&G Campbell along with cousin Larissa. They took such good care of me and put me to bed like pros. Mom had a great time at the reception even she had been fighting a nasty cold for a week. It involved many of her favorite things such as cheesecake, a make-your- own hot chocolate bar and dancing to great music with friends. Mommy is so happy for Ashley and Brian and hopes all the best for them!!

That night mommy and daddy got home safely but not to relax. We had much to do because the next day we were leaving for Ashley Lake to celebrate Christmas. I will post our adventures of both Ashley Lake and California soon!

December is here

2010-12-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

The day that mom was dreading has come and gone. I now only have 1 nap a day and even though mom was expecting a rough transition period, I made it quite easy on her. It took one night of me not sleeping very well, then 2 days of not falling asleep when I normally had my morning nap and that was it. Mom was also worried that she would miss the extra free time she got from 2 naps but she likes this arrangement even better. I pretty much sleep for the same amount of time (2 hours) just all at once. Mom and I love going out to do something active in the mornings and then we have all after noon to play and run errands.
I am also getting better and better at playing by my self. I still need mommy loving every once in a while but my favorite things to do are look at books, crawl around with shoes and walk around with my train.

For a while now, mommy has really wanted us to get nice family pictures done, but it has been a little out of our budget. Recently however, daddy found a coupon on KSL.com that gave us a super sweet deal on a family outdoor photo session, a family portrait and Christmas cards. Because of this, mom decided it was time I got my first real hair cut. It was a little traumatic but I survived with my bottle of apple juice. It was totally worth it too because I looked so cute afterwards and our pictures turned out great!

TORONTO VIDEO

2010-12-16T08:43:00.001-08:00

TORONTO PICTURES

2010-12-15T12:33:00.000-08:00

Thanks again Auntie Crystal, Uncle Matthew and Wyatt!!

November #3 - everything else

2010-11-30T14:24:00.000-08:00

The day after we got home from Toronto, mom was scheduled to substitute teach for the lady she student taught with. For me, mom had arranged for Brooke and Stephanie Hill to babysit me during the day. I was such a good boy for those girls and things went very smoothly while mom worked for about a week. Mom really enjoyed going back to work and seeing many children she taught 2 years ago but both mom and I were sure happy when she was done so that we could go back to our everyday life.
For Thanksgiving, mom, dad and I were invited to go to Dad’s boss’s place to celebrate with his family. The food was amazing and the company was even better. My favorite person was dad’s boss’s son who was 9. He was quite a character and kept us all laughing with his creative imagination. Since the next day was Black Friday and dad had the day off, we all had a nice day of shopping. Daddy was brave enough to face the cold at 5:30am and got some sweet deals on Christmas gifts for me and my cousins. Later we went out and got really good deals on an artificial Christmas tree, lights and some other decorations. We had tons of fun making our condo look Christmas-ee.

Later that weekend was the big BYU v Utah game. Everyone was pretty pumped up for it and we decided to go to Smith’s to watch so we had people to cheer with. BYU played pretty good and in the end should have won the game. However we did end up loosing by 1 point. At least we proved that Utah is definitely over rated. Because of this, there is a very very small chance we may go to the Vegas bowl but will most likely go to the New Mexico bowl on Dec 18. The good thing about this bowl game is that we get to have a nice long vacation.

Well I am becoming such a big boy! I say about three words now: dada, momma and bear. I also can show you where my head, nose, and ears are. My parents are so impressed with me. I am also getting closer to walking. I cruise along the furniture with ease and push chairs, boxes and toys around a lot so I’m sure it won’t be long. One new obsession I have is with shoes and socks. I often try to put them on my feet but when I have no success I put them on my hands and crawl around. Check out the video.

Here is a little update on mom:
1. She got released from her two piano callings at church and got a new one. She is now the 2nd councilor in the primary presidency. She is very excited for this calling but also a little nervous.
2. She completed the 3 book Hunger Games series. She highly recommends it to anyone looking for a page turner and can’t wait for the movies to come out.
3. Her neighbor invited her to go to a Zumba class with her put on by another girl in the ward. Mom went and loved every minute and is hoping to start going up to 4 times a week.

Here is an even smaller update on dad:
1. He loves his new truck (1982 Ford F-150). It is his new pride and joy (next to me of course). Check it out: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=3575491. BTW we did not pay the asking price which is a bonus!
2. Next semester he will be taking lots of classes again, but won’t be as busy with football which has mom and I thrilled.

I’m not sure why mom and dad find this so funny but here it is:

November #2 - Toronto

2010-11-28T20:32:00.001-08:00

Two days after mom arrived home from California, we flew to Toronto, Ontario to visit Uncle Matthew, Auntie Crystal and Cousin Wyatt. This trip has been planned for months, even before the wedding date was set so we didn’t plan on the craziness we experienced. Mom was pretty stressed the day before we left trying to transition from her road trip to flying out of the country and preplanning for a week-long subbing job. Dad says that she stressed her self to sickness because the morning of our long trip, she was up at 5am throwing up and extremely nauseous. Not the best timing! After dad gave her a blessing and some drugs, she was able to finish getting ready and make it to the airport. We had a 3 hour layover in Chicago and the nausea hit her hard again. I hadn’t slept yet at all either so between both of us, mom had to have a little break down (the fact that mom forgot her cell phone didn’t help things either). But once mom got a hold of daddy and talked to him for a while, she got a burst of courage and energy and we finally made it to Toronto. Even though the trip was hard, as soon as we saw uncle Matthew at the airport, we knew it was all worth it.
We did many fun things in Toronto, but the best part was just visiting and playing with each other. Wyatt and I become friends quickly and I knew he liked me because he copied what I did like crawl and scream. We played good together especially when he introduced me to the Tupperware drawer (I’m sure Auntie Crystal just loved us at her fight when she was working in the kitchen). I love Auntie Crystal too. She is soooo good to me and introduced me to a lot of yummy foods. I can definitely see why mom loves and admires her so much! Uncle Matthew is pretty awesome too. Mom always has so many questions for him because he is so smart. Everything he says is very interesting and you can tell he cares a lot about mommy. Unfortunately, Wyatt and Uncle Matthew got sick two separate nights but it didn’t last long. Poor Wyatt was up until 4am throwing up one night. Other fun things that we did include walking around beautiful U of T campus, walking in Dundas Square (the Time Square of Toronto), walking along the coast of Lake Ontario, and going on walks to various places around their apartment. They live right in down town Toronto and so many things are within walking distance. Wyatt and Crystal often go play at parks, bookstores and community centers and mom is a little jealous that we don’t have things like that so close.
We want to thank Matthew, Crystal and Wyatt again for all the fun we had! We love our family very much and appreciate their efforts to stay close.
Mom did not take any pictures, but not to worry because Matthew and Crystal took quite a bit with their super nice camera. Once we get those from them, I will post them.

November #1 - San Diego

2010-11-28T17:51:00.001-08:00

Alright time to catch up for all November.
As you may remember, Grandma Schlenker flew back down here to babysit me because mom attended a friend’s wedding in San Diego. After mom subbed for a friend, she left with her other friends, Ashley and Camrie to head out on the road. Here is what mom had to say about her whole trip:

We first drove to Las Vegas and met Jessica (my friend getting married) and some other girls to celebrate a bachorlette party. We stayed at the Golden Nugget off Freemont Street which was a really nice hotel. The best part was the swimming and water slide. After we all got dressed up to go out to dinner and walk down the strip a bit. When we got back to the hotel, we played some “minute to win-it” games and went back out to walk down Freemont Street. Needless to say most of us did not get a ton of sleep that night.

The next morning we couldn’t doddle because there was a lot to do before the rehearsal dinner which was that night and the wedding which was the next day. So unshowered and very sleepy we left Vegas for San Diego. Ashley and I (who were not in the wedding party) figured once we got to San Diego, we could have a relaxing evening and even do some sight seeing, but we were so wrong. As soon as we got there, we had to console a very stressed bride, help her get organized and welcome all the family that seem to arrive right at the same time. This made everyone late to the rehearsal, but once we arrived everything went well. The wedding was on a yaght so it was important that everyone knew where to be and what was going to happen. The rehearsal dinner was at a pizza place in San Diego’s Little Italy and I think that was the BEST pizza I have ever had. During the dinner I was able to mingle with much of Jessica’s family which was so fun because they are always a hoot.
Side note: I lived with Jessica for a year and a half when I was in college. She is one of my best friends.
After the dinner, we finally got to go to our super nice hotel and relax a bit. Well relax until we went to Jessica’s mom’s room and things got stressful again. We were able to get a lot of last minute things done and went to bed. The morning of the wedding went much smoother than I was expecting. Everyone got ready and even though Jessica’s stylists were running a little late, she took a chill pill (literally) so that helped. The ceremony was simple but very sweet.

One of my favorite memories from the ceremony was when they were putting the rings on, Jessica could not get Wess’s on over his big knuckle so she had to lick his finger to help it slide.

After the reception, dance and pictures us girls went to Ocean Side and ate at Hodad’s and walked along the beach.

The rest of the night was filled with the relaxation Ashley and I had been hoping for in the hot tub and a good night sleep. The ride home went smooth with a nice stop in Vegas to have lunch with my friend Eryn and her Husband. I was even able to make it home in time to put my little angel to bed whom I had missed terribly. I am so grateful that Grandma took time out of her schedule to come watch Houston. I am also very grateful to Papa Schlenker for letting Grandma leave him all alone for a week.

More Firsts

2010-10-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

Whoooo what a week; lots of new firsts. Grandma and Papa Schlenker were in town for the weekend and they gave me lots of loving.

For my birthday, they gave me a Fisher Price farm and a snow suite. It’s a good thing because I love going outside even when it is cold and I don’t want the snow to stop me. It snowed once this week which was exciting but has been pretty mild ever since. Daddy has been looking for a cheap commuter car because he can’t ride his motor bike in the snow. If anyone can help us out that would be greatly appreciated.

Last Saturday, BYU played and we ALL went. Unfortunately the first game mom decides to take me to, it pours rain. Luckily it only lasted a little while, but it definitely made finding parking and staying warm a challenge. I was pretty good for the whole game but afterward, mom’s arms were pretty sore because I prefer her holding me to anyone else.
After saying goodbye to Grandma and Papa, we had a pretty quiet week. It’s a good thing because once November arrives, things are going to get crazy, at least for mom and me. First mom is heading to California for a friend’s wedding and Grandma Schlenker is coming back to babysit me. Mom is getting pretty nervous about leaving me for 4 days and hopes she will enjoy this nice break she gets. Two days after mom gets home, her and I fly to Toronto to visit Uncle Matt, Auntie Crystal and Cousin Wyatt. That trip is going to be so much fun! Then a day after we get home from that, mom is substitute teaching a music class for a whole week so I will be getting babysat all day by a friend of my moms. My mom is also nervous about that but at least she gets to hang out with me at night and put me to bed. When that week is over, it is Thanksgiving! We are super sad that we will not be able to go to Daddy’s home in California this year. BYU has a game that weekend and Daddy just can’t get away. We will still plan to celebrate either with Smiths or with Daddy’s colleagues.
Yesterday, mom and dad took me to my first BYU basketball game. I enjoyed it much more than the football because of the squeaky noises and people running around. Plus it was much shorter.
Well I continue to learn really fast and mom figures I learn to understand about 1-2 new words a week. Mom and dad love my new communication abilities and figure I’ll be walking and talking in no time. We aren’t doing too much for Halloween this year. Mom thinks next year will be a good first year to go trick or treating but this year I will just look cute while mom and dad hand out candy.

Me stuck in the stap on mom’s bra.

Mom found this message via diaper the morning after daddy put me to bed.

Foot Fetish

2010-10-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

My eye/foot coordination is only getting better. Check it out.

Since Hotel Springville closed for a little while, things have been pretty quiet around here. Except for me… I am jabbering up a storm. Mom and I talk all day and along with a few signs (for drink and eat) I feel we are really communicating. I am also crawling like a big boy. Now that I realize how much more efficient this is, I rarely go back to my army crawl. When mom takes me outside, I love exploring. The weather has been perfect lately so we go outside everyday. Not only I am crawling everywhere, but I continue to climb up on everything and even transfer from one thing to another. The thing I love to transfer to most in my mom though. Hopefully soon I will lean to walk to her.
Now that I am no longer eating from mom, I LOVE my bottle. I sign for it many times a day but mom has to hold strong and only give it to my at meal times or else I doubt I would eat anything else. So far I am having a decent transition to table food. Many things feel different in my mouth and take a long time to eat because I have to chew so much. Mom and I are being patient during this transition and I am sure I will get better soon.
Here are some pictures mom took to say thank you so everyone that got me gifts.
Cute shirt from Cousin Marissa

Drum from Great Grandma and Grandpa Campbell

Wagon from Great Auntie and Uncle

Train from Grandma and Granddad Wilcock and cute shirt from Kate, Kent, Afton and Kent

Cell phone from Smiths

Pirate book from Michelle

Books from Vastolas

for a laugh and a half

2010-10-12T07:50:00.001-07:00

This is for you, mom.

At the age of 1

2010-10-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my official birthday so I am now 1 year old!!! It is surreal to mom and dad to think they have only had me for a year because life is just hard to imagine without me. I am pretty much the best baby! About a week after my last post, I started napping again and have been sleeping through the night ever since. I am a much happier baby during the day as a result and mom and I have so much fun. Mom doesn’t know what to do with all of her new found energy.
My awesome schedule permits mom to go to an institute class twice a week at UVU. Her friend Shelly invited her and she loved it so much she decided to enroll for the semester. The class is on church history and the teacher is really engaging. So far I cooperate so well and mom is hoping it lasts through the semester.
Dad is still super busy with school and football. BYU has not been doing great, but our last game showed a bit more promise so I guess that is good news. Even though mom loves BYU, she wouldn’t be heart broken if they didn’t make it to a bowl game this year so that we can have a nice long Christmas holiday with family. Dad travels with the team to Texas to play TCU next weekend.

The past two weekends have been so fun because we have been celebrating my birthday. We have had 2 out of 3 parties so far. The first one was really big. As you may remember it was a pirate party so mom, dad and I dressed like pirates and mom made me a treasure chest cake. Lots of family and friends came and I received so many awesome gifts: a walker train, a cell phone, lots of books, 2 drums, a popping vacuum, blocks, cute clothes and shoes. Grandma Cari, Granddad Wilcock, Great Grandma and Grandpa Campbell and Uncle Derek were all in town from afar to help me celebrate. This weekend, Great Grandma and Grandpa Cooper were in town so we had another, much smaller, party today. They brought be a read wagon from my Great Aunt and Uncle and Grandma bought me a “slap chop” so mom can make my meals easier. For both parties I was offered cake, tried it and turned my nose up. There are worse things to not like and at least I liked to play with the frosting. Papa Schlenker is convinced that he can get me to like sweets so we will see when they come at the end of the month.

NO NAPS!

2010-09-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

I am finally over my ear infection. It took longer than expected however because I had an allergic reaction to amoxicillin and had to go on some other stuff. That stuff tasted much better and worked to heal me. I am back to normal… well not quite.
When I was generally back to myself, mom was having a hack of a time getting me to go down for my afternoon nap. I would just endlessly cry and cry. She was sad thinking that I was already transitioning to one nap a day so she tried keeping me up for more of the morning but that didn’t work either. I got to the point where I was pretty much not napping AT ALL. Mom was going crazy especially because dad was busy and out of town two weekends in a row and couldn’t get a break from me. Mom still does not know what changed in me because I was napping so well a few weeks ago. Hopefully I will go back to normal soon!
My latest development is clapping! I love clapping especially when mom and dad do it. I simply love making noise so this gives me another avenue to express myself.
Another development that has been getting worse is eating off the ground. Literally anything that fits in my mouth will end up in my mouth from cereal to bobby pins. The scariest thing mom has scooped out of my mouth is a nickel. When I first started doing this, I put up a fuss anytime mom tried to get the object out of my mouth but I am better about opening up and letting her fish.
As many of you know, I am turning 1 on October 9th! Mom is so excited to put a party on for me. We are actually having two parties: one on October 3rd from 12-2pm and another on October 24th, time TBO. If you will be around and want to come to our Pirate Party, let my mom know. We would love to have you!!

Here are a few videos from you tube. People have shared them with my mom and they have brightened her day so maybe they can bring a smile to your face as well.

I find him sooo funny… check out other videos by him.

I think the same people must have made this one.. Thanks Mark!

sick

2010-09-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Mom was a little frustrated this week because I was not sleeping well during the day or night. On Thursday we discovered the reason: I was getting my first ear infection. Wednesday night I woke up multiple times very stuffed up and the next day I got a really bad fever. When my fever got to 102.8, mom called the doctor and he said to bring me in. At the doctor, my fever was over 103 and he determined that I had an ear infection. They got me on some amoxicillin so hopefully that will help me feel better in the next couple of days. I have not been myself for the past couple of days; really drowsy and weepy. I am also very cuddly and am happiest when I am in my mom or dad’s arms. Mom and Dad have been giving me lots of extra love and snuggles and are asking that you keep me in your prayers so I can be comforted during this very uncomfortable time.
On to some happier news…on Thursday, mom had the opportunity to substitute teach for a friend’s music class at a Provo elementary school. It was only for half a day but she loved it! She taught choir first thing in the morning and then two 3rd grade classes. Daddy was able to babysit me this time but mom hopes to find a babysitter at some point so she can sub again. The crappy part of this is that mom doesn’t get paid very much. Even with degrees and teaching licenses no teacher really gets paid great in Utah, but subs have it really bad at least in the Provo school district.
Also, the first BYU football game is this Saturday! If you are watching it, look for daddy on TV. He will be on the side lines the whole time. Mom got tickets but when she found out I was sick, she decided not to go. However, Auntie Richelle offered to come watch me so if I am feeling a bit better, mom might still go. BYU is playing Washington so it should be a good game. If you have not heard, BYU football decided to get out of the Mountain West Conference and go independent like Notre Dame (not until next year though). This should bring a lot more national exposure to the team and more money too. All the other BYU sports will play for the West Coast Conference.

you haven't seen nothing yet

2010-08-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had a blast celebrating daddy’s birthday. He worked most of the day but when he came home we played and then went to reveal his surprise. Mom had invited 9 of daddy’s friends out to play softball! They had so much fun and afterwards went out for a nice manly meal. Mommy got dad a new FOX shirt because she is sick of sewing up holes in his other FOX shirt that he wears ALL the time. I think he liked it a lot.
Back to me...
Well some may not call it crawling, but it is good enough for me! Check out the video. A whole new world of discovery has opened up for me and mom and dad are having fun watching me move around and find new things.

I also started climbing. I mostly climb to my feet on mom or dad and in the bath. Mom watches me very closely in the bath and is always scared I’m going to fall.

Another new thing I am doing is grinding my teeth. It makes mom shiver and clench her jaw. She hopes I do not do it for long and I am just exploring the feeling of having teeth on the top and bottom. Can you tell I’m thrilled about this picture?!?

Mom has been working with me this week to help me learn to feed myself better. She is using small pieces of grape which I love. Most of the time I am pretty good, but some times I get lazy and eat this way:

Ashley Lake 2010

2010-08-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

Finally… the Ashley Lake post.
The trip up actually went pretty darn good. Instead of doing it in one day like we usually do, we left after dad’s work, stopped about half way and stayed in a hotel. This way we could all get good night sleeps and get to the lake around lunch time the next day. I was a much happier baby doing it this way.
Mom and dad made a bed for me in the little room with the bathroom sink. It worked out great and I slept very soundly.

After we got there, mom, dad and I took a ride on the boat. I wasn’t that enthused about it at first, but then dad hit some waves and it made me laugh. Dad had never been out of the little section of lake where all the Canadian Cabins are so this boat ride opened his eyes to how big the lake is and how many people enjoy it.

Uncle Mark, Aunt Laurel and Cousins Ashton and Nick arrived the same day as us. I had so much fun playing with Ashton and Nick. Nick is very gentle with me and we can entertain each other for a while. Mom and Aunt Laurel really liked this. Ashton still loves to hold me and show me knew things. He thinks it is really funny when I “talk”. On Saturday we had amazing weather and we really took advantage of it. We were outside clearing trees and swimming and in the boat, skiing, wakeboarding, surfing and tubing all day. I even got to go on the tube with mom and dad.

Sunday was crazy because the rest of the family arrived. First came Grandma and Grandpa Schlenker along with Uncle Derek and Pseudo Uncle Andrew. Then came the whole Smith clan excluding Larissa. It was time for the super fun times (and crazy times) to begin. Monday was another amazing day weather wise but a sucky day as well because it was time to say good bye to daddy. He had to drive back to Utah to work. Mom and I were really sad to see him leave, but also happy he finally got to experience “prime time” Ashley Lake.
The rest of the week was so fun and I’ll let the picture slide show do the talking.

The ride home was probably the worst ever. Our only ride back to Utah was with the Smiths. Lucky they had brought 3 vehicles so there was plenty of room. We got off to a rocky start when Auntie Richelle’s car wouldn’t start once at the lake and again in Kalispell. Then we kept hitting lots of construction which slowed us down even more. We left at 8:30 that morning and we pulled into our place at 11:00pm. Needless to say I was very tired and kind of a wreck. Daddy was so happy to see me and mommy and we had a great weekend together.

New Aspiration

2010-08-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Firstly..HAPPY 28TH BIRTHDAY DADA!!

Next

This kid is my hero... I now have a new aspiration for my life. SO FUNNY!

10 months old... can you believe it?

2010-08-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry I am behind a couple of weeks. I have been working on gathering Ashley Lake pictures for the Ashley Lake post. I will hopefully post that in a couple of days. For now, here is an update since we have been home.
Now that I am ten months old, mom decided some changes needed to occur. In the recent past she has still been nursing me 5 times a day. Apparently typical babies my age nurse only 3 times a day (or so they say) which she was not aware of. Ten months old marks the age, mom felt, that it was time I started sleeping through the night. She knows I am capable but we have developed some habits. So far it isn’t going that bad. I still wake up in the early morning hours once but many times I just sing myself back to sleep. Here are some cute shots of my sleeping.

Mom and dad have a silly habit of racing like little giggly school girls to check on me before they go to bed. They are so embarrassing.

Today I had a rough day because my two top teeth are coming in. My gums are pretty swollen and I like to suck on ice. Hopefully this will not effect my night sleeping improvement. They are a little hard to see so maybe I’ll post a picture next week.

One thing my parents have noticed since I discovered my feet is that I am very coordinated with them. This video shows a couple of examples of how I use them.

I am still not “crawling” but I am starting to make ground other ways. Check it out.

One reason this week has been a little sucky is because the BYU football team started fall camp. Dad has been gone all day, everyday. Mom and I are sad that we rarely get to see him and when we do he is super tired. It is going to be a long month, or season rather. We are grateful, however that he is working hard and learning. He makes us very very proud!

So much fun!

2010-07-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

I think this is hardest I have ever laughed.

This weekend, Grandma Cari came to visit me and my parents. On Saturday we played, shopped, ate lunch at Zuppa’s, swam and played some more. Grandma is pretty impressed with all my new tricks and abilities. She even bought me a house warming gift for my new room. I think they are trying to get me to like baseball. What do you think?

True Fans

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Mom, Dad and I are driving up to Ashley Lake again. Dad is staying until the weekend but mom and me will be staying until the end of July. I am so excited to see some of my cousins, aunties, uncles and grandparents. The weather is supposed to be pretty nice so hopefully we can play outside, in the water and in the boat. Mom and Dad really hope I travel better this time but are prepared to stop for the night in a hotel if I can’t sleep in the car.
Yesterday I had my 9 month doctor’s check up. I am still average for weight (21 pounds) and still knocked height (31 inches) and head circumference out of the park. So far I either have Schlenker or Cooper height which is awesome! The doctor said I was healthy as could be! I enjoyed this doctor’s appointment extra because I didn’t have to get any shots.

2010-07-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

Ready for church.

Ready to ride.

Snuggles with Daddy.

On Thursday daddy had work off but instead of going motor biking or shooting (what he usually likes to do in his free time), he babysat me while mommy went to a movie that she has been waiting to go to. She thought Eclipse was SO GOOD but as much as she loves to go to movies, she loves coming home to see me even more.
Daddy was able to get his biking fix on Saturday morning when he went riding with his old boss. They woke up super early to avoid the heat and had quite an adventure. They even made it to the top of the mountain on the west side of Utah Lake!!

Also, mom got a calling today. Word spread pretty fast in the ward about her piano abilities partly because she is looking for piano students. So she was not surprised when she was called as the Relief Society pianist. Mommy isn’t thrilled about this for a couple of reasons: 1. she will be nervous every Sunday which makes it hard to enjoy church and 2. She wanted a calling that would help her interact with people on a regular basis. She is happy to hopefully improve her sight reading skills and simply be forced to practice on a regular basis.
I love to make noise! The more noise a toy makes the better and the more I play with it. I am also learning to imitate people. For a couple of days now, every time daddy says “dada” I copy him. Also when mommy whispers to me, I whisper back. Mom and dad find this very entertaining and can’t wait for me to really start talking.

Sometimes it takes me a very long time to eat because I love to peek at daddy on the couch.

The count down is on! Grandma Cari is coming to visit me on Friday and I am so excited!!

Apparently I'm not the best traveler

2010-07-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

I think my daddy’s first father’s day went pretty great. You’ll have to ask him to know for sure but I think he will agree. He woke up to mommy and me bringing him the Sunday paper and his gift. For his gift, mommy had two matching silver plated coins engraved with some scriptures on one side and a family coat of arms on the other. Since one is for me and one is for dad, these coins will always be a symbol of our special bond. A little while later, mommy made dad’s favorite breakfast, biscuits and gravy. I didn’t get any but it looked super good. Then we went to church and mommy made dad steaks (well he is better on the grill so he actually made them himself).
Later in the week, dad found out that he got almost a week off of work so we decided to head up to Ashley Lake and spend some time with Grandma and Papa Schlenker. The drive up was pretty rocky. We left late after dad’s work and it is at least a 10 hour drive (more with me) so much of the drive was during the night. Since I am almost too big for my car seat, I was not able to get comfy enough to sleep for long periods so that was a little stressful.

Once we got there however, it was amazing. Mom took me on walks and down to the dock. This is the first time I have seen this place in the summer and it is pretty nice. I can tell why mommy and daddy love it so much. On Friday, Grandma Schlenker drove down from girl’s camp but our reunion was less than ideal. Since mommy had just chopped off the tip of her thumb chopping lettuce, she was ignoring me and I was crying. Luckily Grandma was there to save me from my neglect and daddy came to assist mommy’s impairment. My favorite part about being at the lake was the mornings. After I woke up and was fed, mommy took me up to wake Papa and Grandma. They think I am the best thing to wake up to. Then she would leave me with them to snuggle and play in the bed covers while she went back to bed. I think this was everyone’s favorite part. I was really excited to go for a boat ride and see mommy ski but the boat wouldn’t start so I’ll have to wait until the end of July when Mommy and me are going back.

Also while we were at the lake, we celebrated mommy and daddy’s 4 year wedding anniversary (July 5). In the morning they exchanged gifts and then cleaned and worked on the boat (how romantic). They stick to traditional gifts and this was year fruit and flowers (easy for daddy for not so much for mom). Dad got mom some beautiful pink Cyclamen flowers and some candy peaches. Mom got dad some fruit flavored starburst and mike ‘n ikes, and made him a key lime pie from scratch. They both LOVED their gifts. Later that day they went for a romantic quad ride up fish creek road while grandma babysat me. I am so happy that my parents are so happily married. I can tell that they love each other very much. We all have so much fun and can’t wait until our family grows even bigger (well maybe mommy can wait).
On the 9th, I become yet another month older. My parents cannot believe that I am 9 months old and will be celebrating a birthday for me soon. I am definitely moving around more but still not crawling. Papa Schlenker tried to help me learn but I am still not ready. Instead of crawling, I sort of dig my toes into he ground and then use my head to maneuver my way to my destination. It is quite a sight. I haven’t quite figured out that my ARMS are the key to moving more. I still only have two cute little teeth but my hair is growing thicker although it is much lighter than mommy was anticipating. I will go to a new doctor soon to see how much I have grown.
I forgot to mention that mommy finished my room. It isn’t much, but I love it. The bed, dresser and quilt were gifts from Grandma and Papa Schlenker, and the rocking chair was a gift from Grandma Cari and Granddad. Mommy worked very hard to put the furniture together, sew the curtains, stain the shelves, paint my name, and find cute wall decorations. When mom sees me smile at the decorations it makes her very happy. She was finally able to fulfill her nesting needs! Check out the slideshow below.

Cuter Than Before

2010-06-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

The only real big thing that has happened this week is that I got cuter and more fun. Just when mom and dad thought it wasn’t possible, I prove them wrong again. You’ll see in the 3 videos what I am talking about.
Mom usually puts me in the jolly jumper while she is making dinner. She hooks it up to the panty door frame and I usually end up jumping on stuff in the pantry (broom, plastic bags, pop boxes, etc). Check out my innocent smile.

While mommy was ironing, I was playing on the floor and discovered how much fun tissue can be. There is that innocent smile again.

Daddy and I love to read the news paper together on Sunday mornings. Apparently we were reading about some pretty funny stuff.

One of my favorite times of the day is bath time! I get so cuddly afterwards when mommy wraps my up in my hooded towel.

Another miracle that happened this week was me sleeping through the night with out eating. I cannot begin to tell you how happy mommy was. However she had a feeling it was a fluke week and since the past two nights I woke up hungry around 4am again, she might be right.

Move In

2010-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Collages

Look how I have grown!! Click on it to see the whole picture. Left: 2 months, bottom right: 4 months, top right: 8 months.

Well sadly this awesome week has come to an end and Daddy starts work tomorrow (Monday). Luckily he won’t be really busy until August. He starts most days at 6:30am which is great because then he comes home early to play with me. Mommy and I hope to go visit him sometime this week so we can see him work. He is a little nervous because he has not taped any body parts for a long time but I think he will catch on again pretty quick. I offered to let him practice on me but he said I was too small. I am like the size of some of those football player’s thighs.
As you may remember, last weekend I got a little flu bug. It lasted a couple of days so mom and dad decided that driving up to Montana probably wasn’t the best idea. We were all sad that we couldn’t really vacation but we were able to get a lot done here at home. We unpacked and found a lot of furniture. It is starting to look pretty good around here. All we need now is a desk, an end table for the living room and a dresser for all of mommy and daddy’s close that are on the floor of their room. Mommy ordered me a new crib and dresser and it should be arriving in about a week. I am so excited to sleep in a real crib and not a pack ‘n play. Mom is excited for it to arrive so she can organize and decorate my room.
Mommy is thrilled because I have been sleeping so well. I have graduated to only two longer naps a day which means I am awake and happy for longer periods of time. This allows mommy to have sort of a life and get some stuff done. We have been swimming almost every warm day which really poops me out so I think that helps. I am also getting better at the Jolly Jumper which is also tiring. I am still not very close to crawling. The closest I get is when I am sleeping or falling asleep and my knees tuck under my body making my butt stick up in the air.
One thing mommy has noticed lately is how I smile and laugh at things other than people. A funny noise or song, a new texture, the sunshine; I find lots of things quite funny. Daddy is still the funniest of all of course as you can see in the video.

Travel Bug

2010-06-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

Instead of the guys doing their annual quadding trip down in Rexburg, they decided to quad a bunch at Ashley lake. This way the women and young’ns were able to come too. Mommy and me got to drive down with Uncle Derek. I was such a good baby and slept most of the way. I had tons of fun play with Cousins Ashton and Nick at the lake. They loved bringing me toys, singing to me and having dance parties. I was able to see Ashton ride his new quad around a lot. He is a really good driver and I hope he can teach me someday.
>
Papa let me play with his chocolate cake, but mommy wouldn’t let me have any… it was torture!

In this video, Ashton and Nick are singing “I Am a Child of God” to me. This little scene brought both grandma and Papa to tears.

When we arrived at the lake, Grandma Schlenker noticed that I had teeth cutting through my gums!! Mommy was in shock because she had no idea (I guess that is a good thing that I wasn’t extra grumpy or anything). Mommy doesn’t make it a habit to stick her fingers in my mouth but will try to check more often. Everyone thinks my new teeth make my smile even cuter.
After the long weekend at the lake, Mommy and me said good bye to daddy who went back to California to work and drove up to Medicine Hat. I had a great time playing with Grandma and Papa Schlenker. They take such good care of me. I also was able to spend a lot of time with Great Grandma and Grandpa Campbell. Grandpa has great music to listen to and grandma can always find a new toy for me to explore. Later in the week I was able to see some of mommy’s friends as well as Auntie Deb. Mommy loves showing me off. One of my favorite parts about the trip was when Papa took mommy and me to the Leisure center to go swimming. I was so chill the whole time floating in the bubbles. Mommy is so happy I like the water.

My other favorite part was my introduction to the jolly jumper. I still have not caught on totally but I am getting there. Mom likes that it keeps me busy and tires me out.
When our vacation was over, mom and I flew to Utah and met daddy who drove from California. Daddy starts working with the football team on June 14 so we needed to come find a place to live. After a couple of days of searching, we found an amazing place in Springville. It is a new condo with 3 bedrooms and we even have access to a pool which I’m sure mom will take me to often. Mom and dad spent a whole day loading all of our stuff from the storage until into a big u-haul and then unloading it into the condo. While they were busy I was able to play at the Smiths. I am just like a new shiny toy to them and they take very good care of me.

We were hoping to head up to Ashley Lake on Friday for one last vacation before dad gets really busy but I got my first fever Thursday night and the brakes on our car were making funny noises so we will postpone it a day or two.

Learning Experiences

2010-06-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

Well as you read earlier, Mommy, Daddy and I recently babysat 3 kids in their home while their parents house hunted. It was an interesting and tiring 10 days but overall we agree that it was a good experience. Mom said the worst part was changing the two year old's diapers and the best parts were learning about her and daddy's parenting styles and developing relationships with the kids. Fortunately, mom and dad's parenting and disciplining styles are very similar, at least for those kids. Daddy might be more of a push over for me though. All those kids sure loved me. The 10 year old and 2 year old were great at making me laugh and the 7 year old girl loved to play and sing with me. It was different acting like the baby of the family but I think I will prefer being the big brother.

The other worst part about the babysitting experience was the little fall I had. It was Friday morning and mommy was busy getting breakfast ready for the hungry mouths before they went to school. Mom had sat me in the bumble seat on the counter like she had done every other morning. She was only about 2 feet away from me but her back was turned when she heard the crash. I fell onto the linoleum and burst out into tears (which was a good sign). Mom immediately picked me up and ran me to the bedroom where daddy was just waking up. Mom was so grateful he was home! Mom was crying and shaking so much that daddy had to hold me and try to calm me down. As he did this, he checked my body. The only thing they really noticed was my swollen eye but they decided to take me to the hospital just in case. As soon as the two older kids went to school and grandma cooper came to watch the 2 year old, mom and dad took me to the hospital. After the doctor checked out my body, he decided it was better to get an x-ray and CT scan just to be safe. I was such a good boy for both (I think the ib profen they gave me helped a bit). As we expected, the results were normal and we went home. Mom pretty much held me the rest of the day. The next day, mom noticed I started crying every time she lifted me up by the arm pits and some swelling on my left shoulder. When the swelling went down, mom noticed a bulge on my collar bone and dad thought it would be a good idea to take me to the doctor again who recommended I get another x-ray. This x-ray revealed that I had a fractured collar bone but the bulge meant it was already healing. It never bothers me any more and mommy is amazed with how fast I healed. Even my black eye went away probably twice as fast as an adult's would have.
I wanted this mother's day to be special for mommy because it is our first one together and she had been working so hard with the babysitting. Daddy and I set out her gift so she was able to discover it in the morning. We gave her a nice card, a cute book about a chick and his mother duck, and a beautiful necklace with a setting of my birth stone (opal for October). She loved all of it and I think we made her feel pretty special. After a hellish morning (trying to get everyone ready for church on time) and church, a lady (bless her heart) from the ward took the kids for the rest of the day so that mom could have a break and we could attend the family party that was planned. We had a great visit with the family playing games and eating good food.
So I am pretty sure my parents love me very much. My mom started singing "You Are my Sunshine" during my nap time routine and almost every time she sings it, she gets choked up at the end. At least once or twice a night, daddy comes in and just watches me sleep. Sometimes he even pats my little bum that is sticking up in the air. They are always hugging and kissing me and look like they are going to explode with pride every time I learn something new. I sure love them too!!

We were able to make it to a couple more A’s games before our time in California came to an end.

Adventures

2010-05-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

On Monday I had my 6 month doctor check up. Once again everything looks good. Now that I am 6 months old, I can start taking low doses of children’s medication so that means we can get rid of some of my allergy symptoms. I now weigh 18 pounds, 3 ounces and am 28 inches tall and am as healthy as ever. The worst part as usual was the shots. I think I am getting tougher though because I only cried when the nurse game them to me and slept the whole way home.
This Sunday, mom, dad and I are embarking on quite the adventure. We have agreed to watch 3 kids for 10 days while their parents go house hunting in southern California. The ages of the children are 10, 7 and 2. The 2 year old will obviously be quite a handful and mom is a little nervous about watching both of us all day. Luckily their mother has arranged many of her friends to help out as much as possible. The older children seem to be real helpers and well behaved so that should make things easier. I will try my best to sleep as good as possible for mom’s sake because she won’t have much time to take naps during the day. Wish us luck… o the things my parents will do for $500. Sheesh.

This week mom decided to introduce me to some yellow veggies. It didn’t go so well. First she tried squash. As you can see in the video, my whole body shuttered when I took bites and I eventually choked up what I had eaten. I was not a happy camper. Later in the week mom tried to feed me sweet potatoes which had a similar result. Because of the craziness we will be experiencing next week, mom decided to stick with cereal until she can take time to slowly ease me into the new food. Plus I eat cereal super fast so that will be a benefit when she is trying to feed 6 hungry mouths.

The best part about this week was my first time swimming in a real pool. Auntie Anne had Friday off work so she got us into her work out club so we could go swimming. My parents bought me special diapers and a cool frog floaty thing. Like I react to many new things, I had little real emotion or reaction at first; just a mellow fellow. But after I got used to it I started kicking and splashing with my arms. I had to be pretty tough because even though the pool was heated there was a breeze in the air. Mom wasn’t sure how my bathing suite outfit would work because it is for an 18 month old but it seemed to hold up just fine. Daddy was sad he couldn’t be there so I am sure we will go again as soon as we can.

On Saturday daddy drove to a national park to go ride his dirt bike a bit. On Friday he was so giddy and excited. But when he got home he was very tired and very sore. A little more practice and he will be a pro.

my first video

2010-04-27T14:35:00.001-07:00

2010-04-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Out for a walk in the rain. Don't I look like Daddy?

A little something we call "Pants on the Head"

Thursday was a very busy day for us. In the morning, mom had an appointment with the Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid/government no-cost medical insurance) worker that is in charge of my health insurance application. Can you believe my mom has been trying to get me health insurance since January 27? She filled out 3 separate applications and spent hours on the phone. If you want to know more, you better ask her. This whole experience has made mom hate private health insurance and appreciate what she grew up with in Canada. She has discovered that she feels like health insurance is a right. When you have money to pay for fancy shmancy health insurance go right ahead, but when you can’t afford it, it needs to be provided. While we waited for me to get health insurance, mom prayed every night something would not happen to me. We have been very blessed that I have been so healthy. When mom went to the appointment with her worker, she said she wasn’t leaving until she had coverage for me. I am glad she left me with grandma and grandpa incase things got ugly. BTW she was successful with out having to beat anyone up!

After my next nap, mom and I went to the dollar store to get some birthday decorations. Thursday was grandma Cari’s birthday. We put up streamers and balloons and wore party hats when she came home from work. She thought I was the cutest birthday surprise ever! Afterward we went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. I was so tired the whole time but refused to have a nap. I didn’t want to miss the party!
On Saturday we drove to Brentwood to celebrate both grandma Cari’s birthday again and Auntie Lora’s birthday which is Sunday. After a delicious meal we watched the Shark’s playoff hockey game and had some ice cream for dessert (well the adults did - I guess Ryan did have a little but mom didn't give me any...rude).
You will be happy to here to that most days last week I slept like an angel. Mommy was thrilled and got so much done! Unfortunately later in the week brought about more allergies so I woke up quite a bit because my nose was really stuffed up. That is no fun for anyone! I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow so mom is going to ask about allergy medication.
One other cute thing I am doing lately is sucking in my bottom lip and using that to make new noises. It seems I talk more and more everyday and daddy thinks I will be talking before I even crawl.

Cousin Marin's Baptism

2010-04-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

Well blow me down and call me Aunt Jemimah (as grandma Schlenker would say)! We have discovered that the one thing mommy has been avoiding like the plague because of SIDS actually helps me sleep better; who would have thought that sleeping on my belly would allow me to sleep like twice as long. The only problem is sometimes I don’t fall asleep on my belly and mommy doesn’t want to force anything on me but gets excited and scared when I do.
Mom is thrilled that I have started a new schedule. Instead of having 4 naps, I have two short naps in the morning and a long nap in the after noon. Because of this, mom bumped up my bedtime a half hour. Dad doesn’t like this as much because he doesn’t get to spend as much time with me, but I get so tired otherwise.
Just the other day I discovered rolling from my back to my tummy. Now I do it all the time. Sometimes when mom puts me on my play mat, she looks back and finds I have rolled myself all the way onto the floor roll or under the coffee table. She has to keep more of an eye on me but is still grateful because she knows this is only beginning.
A little while ago daddy helped Auntie Anne fix the stereo in her car. To re-pay him, she babysat me and treated mom and dad to a night out on the town. They went out for dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant in Berkley. They had a nice date and I had lots of fun with Auntie Anne. I am so silly though because when she took me to the park I fell asleep in the swing. My first time in a real swing and I fall asleep! Mom wished she could have seen that. Anne had so much fun with me, she is thinking of other favors we could do for her so she can babysit me again.

Left to right: Troy, his sister Marin holding Houston, Kathryn holding her brother Ryan
Yesterday we drove up to Sacramento so that we could attend Cousin Marin’s Baptism. It was so very special! Grandma Cari talked about the Holy Ghost and mommy played the piano so I got to hang out with daddy the whole time. Cousin Marin looked so beautiful in her white dress and was beaming the whole time. She is very mature for her age so I think she understood better than many children that get baptized at 8. After the baptism, the family gathered at Auntie Andi and Uncle Adam’s for a barbeque. We played a lot outside because the weather was so nice. Marin loved the gift we got her which was awesome because mommy spent over an hour picking it out. It was a colorful butterfly necklace and matching earrings. I was such a good boy the whole day and slept the whole way home. Mom and dad love that I can be pretty flexible during the day as long as I get some naps in (note: the key word is day). Alas, when will I ever sleep through the night?

The last bit of exciting news is that Daddy bought a dirt bike! He has been wanting to by a bike ever since he sold the scooter and finally got his wish. He got a great deal and loves riding it around. It is a 2008 Yamaha WR250R. It is a special bike that is great in the dirt but is also street legal so he will be able to drive it to school everyday and leave mommy and me the car. He picked it up on his way to Sacramento yesterday and was able to show it off to all the family. Mommy got to ride on the back for a little while but is excited to learn how to actually drive it.

Listen to cherish.wilcocks Playlist

2010-04-15T13:14:00.001-07:00

Easter

2010-04-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

Can you believe I am 6 months old? Here are some new things I am doing these days:
1. I have discovered that my little fingers feel really good when I dance them on my head. Mom finds me doing it to sooth myself. One funny time, I was caught with one hand scratching my head and the other scratching my cousin, Ryan’s head who was laying beside me.
2. I started eating solid foods! Mom started me on rice cereal and that was ok. I put up with it for about a week but then I decided that was enough. For a couple of days, each time I ate a bite my face contorted and I even choked on most bites. Since my mom decided choking me to death was not worth feeding me rice, she got some oatmeal and I am loving it!
3. Even though I am still a pretty chill baby, when I get talking and screaming there is nothing stopping me. I’m sure the neighbors will be complaining soon. I love the sound of my high pitched screeching and can easily tire myself (and my mommy) out with it.
4. I am sleeping even less than before I started eating solid food! I wake up every 2-4 hours. Isn’t that great! Well according to mom it is not that great especially because she thought I would sleep better with a full belly. There are many possible reasons I am sleeping less and none of us are quite sure what it is. I tend to get a lot of gas at night plus my nose plugs up in the mornings. Hopefully we will figure it out soon.
5. I am reaching for the unreachable. Reaching for toys that are just to far makes me so close to rolling from my back to my belly. I’ll get there eventually. I am a pro at rolling from my belly to my back.
Three Sundays ago, mom and dad gave talks in church. Dad’s talk was on enduring to the end and mom’s talk was on Christ’s atonement (with the Easter season). I was pretty tired so grandma held me in the back. I listened to mom’s talk because I know her voice so well but I was too tired to stay awake during dad’s talk. They were both happy when they were done. Mommy wants to thank everyone who helped her with her talk, especially Grandma Schlenker and Auntie Crystal.
That same weekend Uncle Derek had a sad ending to a fun night up in Edmonton. He and some friends went to a gymnastics facility to play and while diving over some tall structures, Uncle Derek landed on his wrist in between 2 mats and broke it quite severely. He was admitted to the hospital and went into surgery the next morning. He had 2 plates and 13 screws inserted and has to have a cast on for 6-8 weeks. This is his 4th broken wrist. Mommy hopes I do not follow the trend of her family breaking a lot of bones.
Last weekend was Easter. On Friday I helped mom and grandma babysit Cousin Ryan and Cousin Kat while their parents went out for a night on the town to celebrate their anniversary. On Saturday, the whole family went out for ice cream to celebrate Cousin Katie being in town for spring break. Afterward I went to bed and mom went to play games at the Vastola’s but she didn’t last long because like most nights, she is very tired (I guess that is my fault). On Sunday, we all relaxed in the morning and then headed over to Great Grandma and Grandpa Coppers for supper and games. All the partying made it seem like Easter but the rainy weather made it seem like winter. Happy Easter everyone!

5 month highlights

2010-03-22T21:04:00.001-07:00

On March 9th, I turned 5 months old. I am making leaps and bounds in my development! First, I can roll over very easily from my tummy to my back (however lately it has seemed that I have forgotten). I continue to practice rolling from my back to my tummy by jolting my head back and grabbing my toes so I fall on my side. I love my newly found feet. I giggle when mom puts them in my face and find them very interesting to look at. I am not as flexible as my cousin Ryan so I don’t suck on them, but I wish I could. Grandma and Granddad Wilcock recently bought me a jungle gym with lots of hanging toys. This is my new favorite place to play. Mom calls me “the destroyer” because I love to swat really hard at many of the toys. It also has a hanging mirror and I love to look at myself (though who could blame me). Mommy thought the day my hair would stop falling out and start growing back would never come, but it has! Slowly but surely, hair on the top of my head is returning and my mom loves playing with it. Also, I am such a talker! I love to jabber mommy’s ear off (and throw some really high pitched screams in once in a while). I respond most with talking and kicking when people talk to me which is good for my development. Everyone loves my giggle and daddy is by far the best at making me laugh.
Another big step we took this week is starting me on solid foods. Like most babies, I started eating rice cereal and I did pretty good. Mom was smart to let me such on a spoon for much of the day so I got used to it’s feeling in my mouth. Everyone was really impressed with how easy it was for me (it is simple, I love to eat). Mommy is excited and hopes this will help me sleep better during the night (I still only eat once a night but I am back to waking up quite a bit).
Great news for daddy is that he got into Graduate school at BYU!! He begins this fall but we are not sure when we are moving back to Utah. Mommy is a little stressed about finding a place to live because she is pretty set on not moving during the two years we are spending there. My parents want a three bedroom place that is fairly new and well kept. If you know of anywhere available this summer or fall, let us know!

Canada Pictures

2010-03-19T09:41:00.001-07:00

Visiting Mommy's Homeland

2010-03-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

So much to write about… I’ll do my best to keep it brief but if you have been reading my past entries you know it will probably be quite long.
The first thing we can finally talk about is mommy and my surprise trip to Canada. Grandma Schlenker helped organize a flight up for mommy and me to surprise Papa Schlenker for his 50th birthday. We were planning to leave Friday, Feb 26th. Thinking she was on the ball, mommy was reading over travel info for the both of us the Monday before we left and realized I needed a passport to travel to fly across the border. Yikes… this sure gave mommy and grandma a real scare because they had 4 days to somehow get me a passport. As usual, it was daddy to the rescue. We are so lucky to be living where we are living right now because there was a passport office right in San Francisco. Daddy found out that we could go to SF early, stand in line and get a passport by Wednesday. So that is exactly what we did. We left the house at 6:30am, road the BART with all the commuters, walked a couple blocks to the passport office, stood in line for an hour and a half (well mommy sat on the sidewalk while I slept on her), walked into the office at 9am, walked out 10 minutes later and were back at the house by my next feeding time. I was very impressed with the whole process and grateful I could get a passport. One nice memory mommy will always have was when a nice lady gave us an extra blanket and some mitts for mommy while she held me in the cold. We love kind, thoughtful strangers!
Mom and I were excited all week to go to Canada. Unfortunately I woke up like 6 times Thursday night so mommy was super tired all day Friday. The only good thing about waking up a lot was that daddy brought me into bed with him. Daddy was going to miss me so much and snuggling was a good way to say good bye. Everything at the airport went smooth except the flight was delayed twice. While we were waiting, mommy found a nursery that I could eat and nap in. Mommy was sure grateful for that. I slept most of the flight and mommy watched New Moon. When we landed at 10pm, a cute Philippino lady came and sat down beside us. She could barley speak English but she offered to help mommy carry all her stuff if we helped her get through the airport. She was coming to visit her daughter. She was very sweet and mommy told her all about Uncle Matthew who served his mission in the Philippines. After we stood in the long customs line together and waited for our luggage, the lady met up with her daughter and her family. Her daughter was also very sweet and offered us a ride home (which is no small task in Calgary) but we gratefully declined, said goodbye and met up with Auntie Laurel. My cuteness gets mommy so many perks.
The next morning, we drove to Medicine Hat with Uncle Mark, Auntie Laure and the boys. It was fun listening to Ashton, Nick and Uncle Mark’s loud music. It was a miracle I snuck a nap in. When we arrived, everyone went in but mommy and I (remember, Papa Schlenker did know we were coming). A few minutes later, mommy sat me in a bumble seat in front of the door, rang the doorbell and ran. Papa opened the door and there I was, cute as ever! Papa would have been more surprised if Cousin Ashton didn’t say “its Cherish” as soon as the doorbell rang hehe.
Before the big party, mommy took me to Jessica’s to show me off to her high school friends. Dayna, Kristin and Jessica just loved me and were in awe that Mommy was in fact a mommy. Jessica’s puppy, Frankie also loved me.
The surprise party that Grandma put on for Papa’s birthday was pretty cool. Mom laughed almost the whole time because it was a “roast” for Papa. Many of his friends wrote poems and prepared little speeches to make fun of Papa because Papa is always giving others a hard time. No one could blame me for being tired, so I struggled for some of the party and was happy to go to bed when it was over. The next day was also fun because mommy could show me off at church. Everyone thought I was so cute, big and such a good boy. Grandma and Papa wanted me to wear my team Canada jersey because the big gold medal Olympic hockey game was later that day.
I definitely saw a new side to Papa and Uncle Derek during the hockey game. This particular side was not my favorite however because it made me cry. Without fail, every time either a really good thing or a really bad thing happened, Papa and Uncle Derek yelled and it startled me to tears. Mommy was sure glad to be amongst fellow Canadians when Team Canada won!
The rest of the week up until Friday was spent mostly at Grandma and Papa’s house relaxing. On Wednesday however, I went to Mommy’s friend Dayna’s new house for supper. I was such a good boy and loved their puppy, Bella. I giggled when he licked my hands and screamed (with happiness) when he ran around me.
Mommy and my flight was scheduled to take off Saturday evening from Calgary so we drove up with Grandma and papa on Friday to spend time with family. We had a nice day at Uncle Mark and Auntie Laurel’s. I played a bunch with Ashton and Nick and they showed me a lot of cool things. I even got to sleep in Ashton’s room on his mini couch and mom got to sleep in his bed with the plastic sheets. Saturday morning, after a delicious Mc Donald’s breakfast, we went to Auntie Janine and Uncle Clayton’s (they are mommy’s cousins) house. They have 2 daughters who are very sweet. Since it was such a beautiful day, we went to a park with a beautiful frozen lake beside it. Like everyone, they all thought I was super cute. After a nice lunch and a last visit with Uncle Mark, Auntie Laurel and the cousins, it was time to head to the airport. On the way we quickly stopped by the Lacusta’s so they could meet me. They said cousin Ben should be coming home from his mission in Las Vegas in August!
The trip home went very smooth. The flight attendants loved me so much, mom could have given me to them and slept the whole time. Since we sat near the back of the plane, everyone that waited to use the toilet could stop and admire me. I was sure glad to see daddy come to pick us up and he was even more excited to see me. He told me I can never leave for that long again, but we will see about that.

February Family Party

2010-03-12T11:57:00.001-08:00

The Wilcock family has a monthly tradition of having a family party. Since our family has never hosted one before, Grandma Cari decided to let us host February’s party. We had bread bowls, soup and salad and fruit pizza for dessert. During the party the first team Canada verses team USA Olympic hockey game was on. It was a very exciting game and mommy put my team Canada jersey on for it (I had to take her side because everyone else was cheering for USA). After a close game, team USA came out victorious. Mommy and I were not worried however because we knew team Canada would win the gold medal in the end.
My latest development is rolling over with great ease (at least from the tummy to my back). Mom thinks she is giving me lots of tummy time but I show her.

Road Trip

2010-02-17T11:59:00.001-08:00

Mommy turned 24 years old on February 7. It was the same day as the super bowl so we went to grandma and grandpa Cooper’s house for a super bowl party. It was pretty fun and Daddy and me gave mommy her gift. Daddy helped me press my hand and foot print into some molding clay and then fit it into a frame with a picture of daddy and me on the other side. I know she loved it because tears came to her eyes when she opened it. She must love daddy and me a lot. Mommy also woke up to a huge bouquet of flowers from grandma and grandpa Wilcock. Plus she got many cards in the mail from family. She is very grateful! Mommy loves her birthday because she gets to talk on the phone to lots of family members back in Canada. She was on the phone all night!
A couple days later I turned 4 months old. My latest discovery is my feet. I hold them up and look at them when I’m supposed to be napping and grab them when I sit in my car seat. I don’t think I am as flexible as my cousin Ryan so I doubt I will be putting them in my mouth any time soon. I have my 4 month doctor appointment coming up so we can see how much I weigh now. Mommy has lots of questions for the doctor but generally she thinks I am doing great. I am happy (as long as I get my 4 naps a day in) and healthy!
This past long weekend our little family took a road trip to southern California. We stayed with Shawn, daddy’s best friend from high school and his family. Shawn’s wife is so nice and super smiley. She made breakfast and us every morning and was very hospitable. Their 4 year old daughter is named Sophia and she loved showing me all her toys and telling me stories. I think she may be able to beat out some of my cousins (particularly Kit Kat and Ashton) in talking competitions.
Even though our trip was short, we packed a lot of fun activities in. On Saturday we went on a hike in Thousand Oaks to see some water falls. Mommy and daddy took turns carrying me in the strap-on carrier. To protect me from the sun I wore one of Wyatt’s old hats. It was too big for me so it covered my face. This worked out nicely however because I was tired a slept most of the hike anyway. That night Daddy and Shawn went to a BYU vs some Cali college lacrosse game. On Sunday we drove to Santa Barbra so I could see the ocean. It was very beautiful and we got some nice pictures. During this trip mommy fed me many crazy places but my favorite was right on the beach because my feet could play in the cool sand the whole time. Sunday was Valentines Day so the men wanted to take the ladies out for a nice meal. We walked up and down State Street like 40 times trying to find a nice restaurant but we ended up just eating at a pizza joint. One fancy place claimed they only took reservations (mind you the place was practically empty) but probably didn’t want us there because we were in shorts and had kids. Monday we said good bye to the Kings and drove to Santa Monica to visit one of mommy’s best friends from high school, Eryn Wenzel. Actually it is Eryn Cameau now because she just got married. Eryn is in Dental school at USC. We met her and her husband Ryan at a cute little place to have brunch. Mommy was so excited to see Eryn and had a great time catching up. After brunch we walked along on the ocean and onto a busy pear with lots of shops and carnival rides. Eryn and Ryan thought I was pretty cute and I was sad to say good bye.

Jan 31

2010-02-16T17:28:00.000-08:00

January 31, 2010
Everyday I am discovering new things. I am also gaining more control of my hands and using them to discover as well. Mom tries to introduce me to new toys everyday but I clearly like 2 the best. One is a plastic football that has many holes I can stick my fingers in and the other is a red monkey that is soft and has really long limbs. If mom leaves me in my car seat to sleep after a drive and can be later found awake silently playing with my football. Mom thinks it is so cute.
Lately I have been hearing people describe me as a momma’s boy. Daddy’s opinion of this goes back and forth. Sometimes he is defensive because he knows he has always been a momma’s boy and sometimes he gets a little sad because I become happy when mommy holds me. Don’t get me wrong, my dad and I have a great time and I love him so much. Mommy just has the goods and knows how to get me to sleep when I’m tired.
On Saturday I was able to Great Grandma and Grandpa Cooper who just got home from a month long vacation to Australia. They had a great time and said I had grown up so much in a month. Now that mom has started to go jogging, I stay with G &G Cooper for about an hour everyday. We have a great time. Today I got to watch some old western shows with them and after I told them some stories.
Later on Saturday Grandma Wilcock babysat me while mommy and daddy drove to San Francisco. Daddy won some tickets for the traveling motor cross races. They had 3rd row seats and said the show was amazing. There were lots of fire and fire works, loud music, big jumps and a couple of big crashes. I heard mom say that they whole time she was thinking how much Uncle Mark would have enjoyed it. Mom said she really enjoyed it but would have liked it a bit more if she wasn’t dead tired and didn’t have to smell alcohol and weed the whole time, whatever they are.

2010-01-23T21:39:00.001-08:00

Cabin

2010-01-23T21:28:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful cabin at Ashley Lake, Montana.

2010-01-23T21:18:00.001-08:00

2010-01-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

My mom officially believes now that I have grown out of my “touchy baby” stage and have moved on to “textbook baby” or even “angel baby”. I am such a good boy and only really cry when I obviously need something. I am usually sleeping 10 hours a night with one feeding and take 3-4 naps a day (I still sleep a lot). Mom is thrilled about this because she thinks it is only up hill from here. I continue to talk a lot and suck on my fist. I am even starting to realize what my hands are doing and touching. Mom loves watching me discover new things. Mom is working on getting pictures of me smiling and giggling. We will post them as soon as we can coordinate.
It has been raining non stop here in Alameda so mom and I are getting a little stir crazy. However mom was reminded that she could be living in places that have snow (Utah or Canada or Montana) and realized she is being spoiled here in California. It is supposed to rain until February but we will try and have a better attitude.
Now that Uncle Matthew and Auntie Crystal sent us all the pictures they took from New Years, we posted some above. We also posted the shots that Auntie Crystal took of mommy and me. They look so professional and we give a shout out to Auntie Crystal for doing such a good job (despite the fact that she made me take all my clothes off for them.

Cousins: Houston and Ryan

2010-01-23T21:10:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of me and my cousin Ryan. He was born 11 days before me. Aren't we cute?

Firsts

2010-01-20T22:46:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was finally able to meet my new cousin, Troy. He is a very fun, affectionate boy and I think he will be a great addition to the family. He loves Iron Man, Transformers, dogs named bumblebee, super heroes and cars (as far as I know). He is manliest boy I know. He got along with everyone great and hopes to come back to Grandma’s soon to play more.
Monday was very exciting because I was able to go to my first Hockey game. It wasn’t just any hockey game though, it was a NHL game! San Jose Sharks verses the Calgary Flames. In honor of my half Canadian blood, mom dressed me in my Team Canada jersey and everyone that saw me thought I was so cute. Mom was prepared to tell anyone that gave us a dirty look that many (4) of the San Jose players are set to play on the Canadian Olympic team. Unfortunately the Flames were embarrassed and lost 9-1. For the only goal that Calgary scored mom gave out a loud yelp and everyone around looked at her funny. Even though she was more and more sad with every Sharks goal, she let me jump and dance to the song they played after each goal (dun dun dun dun dun HEY! dun dun dun dun).
Some more good news is that Daddy started his job. He leaves really early even before I wake up in order to miss rush hour and work out at a gym. I miss him during the day but love to spend time with him at night. He usually gets home just in time to put me down for my evening nap. I continue to talk, smile and giggle more and more. One time I was talking so much mommy let me answer the phone when Dad called. He thought it was a pretty nice surprise.

Big News

2010-01-10T14:36:00.001-08:00

Now that we are back in once place for a little while, mom is putting me back into routines. Putting me down for naps is not as much of a chore anymore for mom unless I get over tired. She watches me very closely and as soon as I start showing sings for fatigue, she calms me down and I fall asleep. It is also becoming more normal for me to sleep 5-6 hours when I first go to bed, wake for a feeding and then sleep another 3-4 hours before waking up for the day. Mom loves this because she doesn’t feel like a zombie in the morning. In order for mom to get back into shape she is taking me on long walks along the water. It gets a little windy but for the most part I don’t mind the time outside. Mom has had a really bad cold these past few days so we haven’t been able to go out as much. I hope she gets better soon!
I have lots of great news this week! First, I have started to giggle and mom and dad are thrilled. The first time I did it, the three of us were on the couch and dad was playing with me. He kept saying me name in a high pitched voice and touching my nose. It wasn't long before I giggled a few times for him. The second time I did it was for mom. She had just put me in my bath water and was splashing water on me. I giggled for almost 10 seconds straight! I am just the cutest thing ever!
But the best news of all is that I have a new cousin!! Auntie Andi and Uncle Adam just found out last week that they could adopt a 4 year old boy named Troy. He has been in foster care since he was 18 months old but was able to join their family and give Marin and younger brother on Friday. We are all overjoyed and can’t wait to meet him. I think it will be great to have another older boy cousin to show Ryan and I the ropes.

New Years

2010-01-10T14:34:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays, I heard mom talk about this place called Ashley Lake and a cabin that existed there. Over New Years I was able to actually go there for the first time! To get there I also flew for the first time. The day was long because we flew first from Oakland to Seattle and then Seattle to Kalispel, MT. Mom was worried that the change in air pressure would cause me discomfort but I was a perfect angel almost the whole time. Ashley Lake was amazing! Grandma and Grandpa Schlenker along with Great Grandma and Grandpa Campbell were so excited to see me again and I finally got to meet more uncles, aunties and cousins. I learned to recognize Uncle Matt’s voice quickly because he talks a lot. He also always had a camera in his hand and I felt like I was in a photo shoot most of the day (Matt just got a bran new fancy shmancy camera). I learned to recognize Auntie Crystal more by her cute laugh. Their son Wyatt is quite a guy. He was so smiley and a fast crawler. I hope I can crawl that fast. He was quite fascinated by me and whenever mom held me near Wyatt he would drop what ever he was playing with and come gently touch my hands and feet. Wyatt is 1 year old. Uncle Derek was also there when we arrived but I don’t know his voice very well because it was always changing. When he did speak English he often spoke with funny accents and other times he spoke another language I didn’t recognize. The day after we got there Uncle Mark, Auntie Laurel and cousins Ashton and Nick arrived. Uncle Mark also talks a lot and is really funny. Mom laughs at him a lot. Auntie Laurel is so sweet and liked holding me. I heard mom describe her as “super mom” because at one point she babysat all 5 boys and made pizza while everyone else was outside. Ashton and Nick were so fun. Many seemed to think there was some sort of magnet attached to me and Ashton and then from Ashton to Nick because where ever I went, Ashton and then Nick were sure to come also. Ashton, who is 3, knew me as “Baby Houston” and loved to “pet” me. Nick, who is 19 months old, referred to me as “baby” and liked to point at me and poke at my eyes. I think we are all going to be great friends!
Early in the week there was not much snow. That soon changed as the week went on. The coolest part about the lake was that it was frozen. The adults played hockey, pulled tubes and snowboards behind the quads and went ice fishing. The temperature was perfect and mom was able to take me outside quite a bit in my warm snow suite. It was still nice, however to come back to the warm cabin and kick my legs on the floor, couch or table while people played with me. The night before New Year’s Eve, I was able to meet some of Mom’s cousins on the Schlenker side. Uncle Garth and Aunt Kim brought their 2 kids, Keira and Nate and we all played Bingo. We also played Bingo on New Years day with our neighbors, the Wallaces. Bingo is grandma Schlenker’s new thing. It is fun but we were pretty Bingoed out after two nights of it.
One last highlight I want to share was something Grandpa Schlenker had been looking forward to for a long time. He had specially ordered Team Canada hockey jerseys for all of his grandsons. One morning before everyone’s naps, we put them on a got some great pictures. I will make sure mom posts all of the pictures from the lake as soon as Uncle Matt sends them. (BTW, Team Canada had a disappointing loss to the USA hockey team in the World Junior Championships… sad day for mom).

2010-01-08T18:34:00.001-08:00

2010-01-08T18:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas: Soon after we arrived and unpacked in Alameda, the family started to come to also stay at Grandma and Grandpa Wilcock’s house. I liked this because there was a lot of people to hold me and I got to sleep in Mommy and Daddy’s room. One person I was very excited to spend time with is my cousin Ryan. He is only 11 days older than me so I knew we would be good friends. He was supposed to be a month older than me but between his delivery being late and mine being very early, I am quite a bit behind him developmentally. Things that I am still working on that he is pro at is holding his head up without assistance, smiling a lot, giggling and being awake more often. I’ll catch up sooner or later. I change so much every week.
One of my favorite nights so far of the holidays was the variety show the family put on. Almost everyone participated. My favorite next to my mom and dad’s skit was auntie Anne’s rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas (though you wouldn’t guess since I slept through the whole thing). For the skit, uncle Tim and Dad pretended they were me and Ryan 5 years from now. What made it really funny was that mom and Auntie Lora were their arms but couldn’t see what they were doing. Everyone laughed really hard. After the show, almost everyone went to the new movie Avatar while Auntie Anne babysat me. I was such a good boy and slept almost the entire time. Mom enjoyed the movie but rushed home to be with me because she missed me a lot.
After that night I was introduced to the Wilcock family traditions at Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at Great Grandma and Grandpa Coopers and had treats with potato soup. Christmas morning was spent in grandma and grandpa’s living room opening gifts. I got lots of cool stuff like DVDs clothes, books and toys. But once again I slept through the whole thing. Then everyone came over for breakfast burritos and games. That night we headed over to the Vastola’s for more games and a delicious meal.
Daddy was very fortunate after Christmas because he got to go to 3 professional sporting events 3 days in a row. First was a NHL Sharks game verses the Anaheim Ducks. They are big rivals so there were lots of fights. Mom got to go to this too and she had such a blast. Grandma Wilcock babysat me and things went alright. I cried so much after she fed me what mommy pumped for me Grandma went out and bought some formula. After about an ounce I was asleep. I am sort of a weirdo sometimes. The next day a bunch of the family went to a 49’s game. Mommy stayed home with me for this because she didn’t want to be away from me for that long. The night after daddy went to another Sharks game with Grandma. With all of this, Dad was in Heaven.

2009-12-28T00:12:00.000-08:00

What a week! We are all very tired. Daddy went to his last classes as an undergrad and started his finals. They all went pretty well and Daddy was glad when he was finished. While daddy was studying and taking finals, mom and I tried to pack, sell things we were not storing or taking and organize a Christmas Program for the ward. By Thursday and Friday mom, dad and I were working non stop to pack, store, clean and organize so we could head to California. They really tried hard to get rid of stuff because I add so much to the collection. They were able to get rid of 7 garbage bags of clothes! On Friday I was a perfect little angel which worked out very good because mom and dad wanted to leave on Saturday. We ended up packing and cleaning pretty late into the night so we decided to sleep in at Auntie Richelle and Uncle Deejay’s and leave in the afternoon. It was Richelle and Deejay’s 25th wedding anniversary that day so we got to see the cute things Deejay planned for Richelle were treated to the newly built “In and Out” before we left. On Saturday we drove all the way to Reno, Nevada in a very tightly packed car. There was not an inch that did not have something stuffed in it. I was fine, but mom was pretty uncomfortable for the entire trip. Mom didn’t realize how trashy of a town Reno (no offense to anyone from there). She also felt a little funny carrying me through a casino to get to the hotel room but it was the cheapest room we could find. On Sunday we drove to Sacramento, California and spent a couple of hours at Auntie Andi, Uncle Adam and Cousin Marin’s house before finally making it to Alameda. This was the first time mom and dad travelled a long distance with me and I actually did pretty good. There was only one time I had a huge spanz attack. Mom had rushed to put me in my car seat and I was very uncomfortable. When mom fixed me we were all relieved; so much so that I smiled at mommy 3 times!! This made mom’s day and she was so happy the rest of the night!! I have smiled a couple of times since and hopefully will do it more and more as time goes on. I continue to grow and fit into most 3 month old clothes. My neck and legs are getting stronger and I talk more and more everyday. Life is good now that we are living for free at Grandma and Grandpa Wilcock’s house and my first Christmas is almost here. We hope every one has a wonderful Christmas and can spend as much time with family as possible.

2009-12-14T12:56:00.001-08:00

What a weekend! My 2 month birthday was on Wednesday and I feel much older. On Friday I had my 2 month appointment with the doctor and he agreed that I am growing healthy! I now weigh 11 pounds, 8 ounces and am 22 inches long. After the appointment, mom and dad took me to get my 2 month immunizations. This was not fun at all. I got 5 immunizations but luckily I only needed 3 pokes and some drops to swallow. I cried pretty loud while getting poked with the needles but not for very long. I was tired so mom put me right to sleep before the ride home. Later that night my legs swelled up a little where I was poked and I cried when either mommy or daddy accidentally touched those spots. TO help with that and a potential fever, they gave me some more of the grape flavored Tylenol… yum! Also that night we went to a small banquet so that daddy could be honored for being a senior. Mom said the food was good and there was a slide show that showed lots of funny pictures of daddy. As a gift dad received a pair of really nice athletic training scissors and a frame to put his certification certificate in. I was pretty good during the banquet and only cried once, but who could blame me.
On Friday I was feeling much better which was good because Auntie Andi and Uncle Adam were coming to town. They arrived while I was wide awake so they could see how cute I am. The whole weekend was very nice hanging out them. I was held a lot and the adults ate good food (trying to clear out mommy and daddy’s cupboards), watched movies and played games. I was sad to see them go but will fortunately see them again in just over a week. This coming week daddy has 4 finals while mom’s job is to pack up the place. We are planning to drive to California this next weekend sometime (it depends on how much I let mommy pack while dad is busy). So far I am not letting her get very much done because my naps are short and I love to be held while I am awake. Mom might have to whip out the sling and hold me in that so she can have both hands free (turns out I don’t like the sling either; I’ll have to remind her when she tries to put me in it).
Some more good news is that I began to smile! Well sort of. When Mom or dad kisses my neck or blows on my belly I open my mouth really wide. I know it is not really a smile but it is my first attempts at one. Mom is very happy and can’t wait for me to really smile and start laughing.

2009-12-06T21:19:00.000-08:00

The best news of the week is that Daddy took the GRE and did great on it! I’m so proud of him and glad we can settle somewhere for 2 years next fall while he is in grad school. Daddy’s first choice is BYU if he gets in but he will apply to some other places as back ups. The next best news is that I saw snow for the first time today. Mommy was pretty excited because it was so beautiful and I stared out the window at the snow for like 3 minutes.
The worst part about this week was that daddy got pretty sick and mommy won't let him hold me. I already have a hard time sleeping and being sick would make it worse so I understand. I just hope he gets better soon so we can play again.
Mommy and me also want dad to get better because Auntie Andi and Uncle Adam are coming to visit next weekend. I am so excited!
Since I am almost 2 months old, Mom really wants me to start sleeping better especially during the night. So far everyone has told mom that she needs to just let me cry until I sooth myself and fall asleep, but mom is really trying to avoid that (and I’m not too fond of that either). If you have any suggestions for us, please please let us know. About 50% of the time I can put myself asleep when mom puts me in my crib when I’m really sleepy, but I like to wake up 20 minutes later. I have a doctor’s appointment next week so maybe he will have some suggestions.

2009-12-06T13:37:00.001-08:00

2009-12-02T14:12:00.001-08:00

What a weekend! It started when Grandma and Grandpa Wilcock flew in to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. Instead of cooking a big meal, we went to Magleby’s Grill and everyone (but me) had a delectable and very filling meal (I enjoyed it later). Great Grandma and Grandpa Cooper drove in that morning to also celebrate with us. The next day I was excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Schlenker. They drove all the way from Canada! They brought Great Grandma and Grandpa Campbell but I was able to meet them until Friday. On Friday practically the whole family hung out all day. We all went out for lunch to Burger Supreme and then Mommy and Daddy took Grandma and Grandpa Schlenker and Great Grandpa Cooper to hike the Y on the mountain. The other 3 grandmas babysat me. That night all the old guys went to a Grizzly’s Hockey game in Salt Lake while I hung out with the ladies, ate at Zupas and watched Twighlight (mommy wanted to watch it again before watching New Moon). On Saturday, Daddy and Grandma Wilcock went to the big BYU vs Utah football game. I watched it on TV with Mom and Grandpa Wilcock. It was intense but BYU came out on top. Needless to say daddy came home very happy which was good because he was going to bless me the following day.
Sunday was such a special day. I ate so good in the morning so mommy knew I would be a good boy for all of sacrament meeting. Mommy may have even fed me a little too well; about 10 minutes before the church meeting began I had quite the explosion in my pants. When Grandma Wilcock went to change me she discovered I pooed right through my whole outfit!! Mommy and Grandma Schlenker came running when they heard the news. Mommy was a little sad because the outfit I was supposed to wear had been worn by Uncle Matt and Mark as well as Cousins Ashton, Nick and Wyatt so it was sort of a tradition. But in the end, Mommy couldn’t really help but laugh because there always has to be a story. I ended up being blessed in my slightly soiled onesie and a white blanket. I stayed awake for the whole blessing but didn’t make a sound. I was too busy listening to Daddy’s special prayer for me. I knew it was coming directly from my Heavenly Father. I want to thank all of the men that participated in the blessing circle and the rest of the family for traveling to come support me, mommy and daddy. After the blessing the family gathered at Smiths in Draper for a nice meal prepared by Grandma Schlenker and Great Grandma Campbell. BTW in case you are wondering, we were able to get the stain out with nothing but the best Proctor and Gamble products compliments of Richelle and Deejay.
Now that everyone has left Mom is trying to get me back to putting myself to sleep in my crib. I was so spoiled when family was here and was held during every nap I took during the day. I am almost 2 months old so I should be sleeping more in night but it may take a while to get back into the swing of things. I haven’t quite given anyone a real smile, but I am getting close. Mom thinks it will come any day now and she is very excited!

2009-11-22T19:13:00.001-08:00

I wasn’t able to write last week because mommy’s computer got another virus. Luckily Daddy was able to fix it so it didn’t cost them any money this time. One good update is that mommy and daddy were able to get the H1N1 vaccine. Mommy stood in line for an hour in the cold with me in order to get a ticket and a scheduled time to come back. Both mom and dad didn’t get the shot but received the nasal spray. The doctor said that I would be somewhat protected from the swine flu as well because antibodies are transferred to me from mom’s breast milk.
Last weekend end mom got really brave and cut her hair pretty short. She was able to donate 15 inches to “Locks of Love”. Wow that is some long hair. I didn’t notice because I only look at her face but she often says it will take some getting used to even though she likes it.
Mom also started reading a book call “The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer”. This book should help mom get me into a routine. I am still too young for a schedule but I really like routines because I am what the book calls a “touchy baby”. This means I tend to freak out when my routine changes or my needs are not met after soon after I give the cues. Mom is also teaching me how to put myself asleep in my crib. Mom was scared to start doing this because she thought she would have to listen to me cry, but I fall asleep pretty good by myself as long as I am not wound up.
I am now 6 weeks old and mom is suspecting that I am going through a growth spurt. I am quickly growing out of all my new born clothes. Mom is a little worried that I won’t fit into my blessing outfit but I think I’ll be fine. Daddy will bless me next Sunday at church. Grandma and Grandpa Wilcock are flying in Wednesday night and Grandma and Grandpa Schlenker along with Great Grandma and Grandpa Campbell are driving on Thursday. We are so excited to see everyone and spend thanksgiving with family. This will be my firs thanksgiving!

2009-11-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I will be one month old! I am still growing really fast and many of my new born close are getting a little tight. Time is flying by. In just over two weeks, lots of family will be coming for my blessing. I am so excited to meet more people that will hold me! I am so easy to love because I can snuggle close and melt your heart when ever you hold me. I do it to mommy and daddy all the time.
I had a great week just hangen with mom and dad. Mom started to take me on walks during the day. I love going outside to get fresh air. The weather is so beautiful so she wants to take advantage of it before the cold weather comes.
Late in the week I got to spend some more time with Auntie Richelle and Cousin Daria. They came over to let mommy nap and shower. We had lots of fun and Daria is starting to warm up to me more (I am just so fragile… so she thinks;). Auntie Richelle is so nice and might come again next week.
Yesterday mommy and daddy invited Justin and Jenny over for dinner. I was such a good boy especially while they played gestures. They just passed me around like I was a football and I didn’t mind at all. Daddy was inspiring because he is so good at that game. He gets really into it and makes mommy laugh a lot.
Mommy’s goal this week is to note when I like to sleep and eat the most. It is still too early for me to get into and real routine (that will come after 2 months), but it is worth a shot. I pretty consistently eat at about 1am, 4am, 7am and 9am but Mommy would like to reduce that to 2 feedings in the wee morning hours. I’ll see what I can do but it might still be too early to expect too much out of me.

2009-11-01T21:58:00.001-08:00

Week 3

2009-11-01T21:33:00.000-08:00

November 1, 2009
This week started out a little rough because I got circumcised. Grandma decided to stay home for this part and mommy and daddy took me to see a real nice doctor. After they stripped and weighed me (I was up to 8 pounds 3 ounces) and doctor came and explained the whole procedure to my parents. When it was time, they took me into the procedure room and strapped me to a hard plastic bed. The worst part was getting the numbing needles but after that the nurse gave me some sugar water to suck on and I was tough. Mom didn’t watch very much of it and was glad when it was over. A ring and string was left on me wee wee and should fall off sometime this week. Dad bought some liquid Tylenol for me and I love its grape flavor!
Later in the week mom took me to the WIC clinic so she could re-register and continue to receive their services. I had gained 2 pounds at this appointment was up to 8 pounds, 9 ounces! The nurse was very impressed because they only expect babies like me to be back up to birth weight by now.
I have been a little fussier this week. I still love to be held a rarely sleep on my own. This isn’t a big deal during the day when mom, dad and grandma are available but mom doesn’t like it much at night when she wants to sleep.
Friday and Saturday were sad because grandma Schlenker was getting ready to leave. She has been here for 2 weeks and I have really grown to love her. Mommy is going to miss her and miss the mornings Grandma would take me so mommy could catch up on sleep. Luckily she is coming back for my baby blessing in a few weeks. Grandpa Schlenker will be coming to meet me then too. Along with him I will also meet for the first time Grandpa Wilcock, Great Grandma and Grandpa Cooper, Cousin Marin and possibly Uncle Adam.
Saturday was my first Halloween. Grandma Schlenker made my costume and I was a deflated football! Mom and dad didn’t do too much Halloween night other than give out candy so they had time to take lots of pictures of me in my costume. My costume is very warm and comfy so I might ware it to Daddy’s football game next week. I am so darn cute!

First two weeks of life

2009-11-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

October 25, 2009
My name is Houston Schlenker Wilcock and I was born on Friday, October 9th at 4:18pm. I was 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 19 inches long at birth. The original date mommy and daddy were expecting me was around Oct 30 but I decided to surprise them and come exactly 3 weeks early. It all started when mommy’s water broke at about 4:40am that Friday morning. She had been contracting and cramping all week but nothing had been regular enough for her to think they were real labor contractions. I had to break the water to let her know I was ready to come! Daddy was pretty alarmed when he was woken up by mommy running to the bathroom saying, “Mickey, Mickey I think my water just broke”. After a lot of leaking and calling the doctor, mom and dad decided it was time to head to the hospital. The only bad part was mom and dad were not prepared for this early arrival. They didn’t even have a car seat to take me home in yet! In fact, this was the weekend mom was planning to go shopping for all the baby and delivery needs. While mommy showered, dad packed a bag and made some peanut butter toast for mom. She was so nervous she only got a few bites down before they were out the door on their way to the hospital. At one point during their frantic preparation, daddy stopped and said, “If your water really did break, we will have a baby today.” I guess that was his attempt to allow things to set in. Mommy and daddy shared a special hug after that because they realized they would get to meet their son today.
When we all arrived at the hospital at 5:30am, mom was still leaking but not contracting at all. She thought, so far, labor is pretty easy, but she didn’t realize what was coming. After mommy put her hospital gown on and her fluid was confirmed as amniotic fluid, mom and dad made some phone calls to family letting them in on the surprise. Grandma Wilcock was on a flight within hours and arrived at about 11am in Provo. Grandma Schlenker was not as lucky. She had committed to watching cousins Ashton and Nick for the week because Uncle Mark and Auntie Laurel were going on vacation to Mexico. Both grandma and mommy were very sad she couldn’t be there sooner but made a plan for her to come exactly a week later.
At 7:00am the nurses checked mommy and she was only 1 ½ cm dilated. Since they wanted to deliver me within 24 hours of the water breaking and mommy was not progressing very fast , they started inducing the labor with petosin at 8:00am. Mommy lasted a whole 3 hours before daddy convinced her to get the epidural. At about 12 or 12:30, daddy and grandma Wilcock went to get some lunch. Right before they left mommy was dilated 2cm, but when they returned in about an hour (1:30) I was getting anxious and mommy had dilated 9cm!! Daddy was funny and didn’t even believe mommy when she told him. The doctor said mommy could start pushing me out in about an hour. At 2:15 mommy was completely effaced and the nurses instructed mommy to start pushing at 2:40. Mommy thought pushing was the hardest part. After an hour she didn’t feel like I was going anywhere and she was very very tired. She became very nauseous and that made pushing even harder. When the doctor came in mommy wanted to work even harder and that made her throw up. However, after she threw up, it only took a few more contractions to get me out. Mom says I was pretty purple when I first came out but she didn’t care. I also had quite the cone head according to daddy; but they put a touque on me to cover that up and to keep me warm. While they sewed mommy up they put me on her belly to get cleaned up. I didn’t cry that much but it was quite cold. When they were all done with mommy, they laid me on her chest so that we could bond for the first time. I was so content and new my mommy and daddy loved me so very much. Mommy and daddy watched me as I looked around the room and made little cute noises. They noticed how long my fingers were and how dark my hair and eyes were. They loved my full lips and tiny little chin. Daddy and I were so proud of mommy and how hard she pushed for almost 2 hours. Mommy was happy the doctor never had to pull out the forceps even though he offered. She was also happy the pushing was over!
I got to spend over an hour on mommy’s chest and she even tried to feed me. Then daddy and me went to the nursery so they could bath me and make sure I was healthy. That gave mommy some time to rest, clean up and eat…finally! I got to see mommy again once she was moved down to the room we would sleep in. The first night was a little hard because mommy was in quite a bit of pain and refused to take the powerful pain killers. She was also worried about each little peep that came out of my mouth. She tried to feed me every couple hours and we snuggled a lot. The only real sleep she got was when I was laying right beside her. Daddy had to sleep on a chair that pulled out into a bed. It was very hard and he didn’t sleep well either. The next day Mickey and Grandma Wilcock were on a mission to get everything mommy and I needed for when they took me home. They were gone most of the morning which gave me and mommy more time to snuggle, rest and try to breast feed. This was also the day when everyone wanted to come see me. My first visitors were mommy’s old roommates Ashley and Kim. They were impressed that mommy was up walking around (she finally gave into the more powerful painkillers) and they thought I was the cutest thing. They brought me a fleece sleeper that looked really warm. Other visitors we had included Justin and Jenny Alphin, Kent and Kate Griffeth, Uncle Deejay and Aunt Richelle, Dan Welte and Auntie Andi. Auntie Andi got on a stand-by flight so she could spend the weekend with us too. By the end of the day, mommy was pretty sick of visitors and pretty exhausted.
The next day was the day we were going to head home. All morning mommy, daddy and me got to spend some quality time together while Auntie Andi made us lots of frozen meals and Grandma Wilcock did some final shopping and organizing. As the day went on, Mommy got more and more nervous to leave the hospital. She knew I was a big responsibility and she wanted to me a good mom.
When we arrived home, the home was very clean and all my clothes and supplies had been organized. Mommy’s favorite part was the brand new rocking chair waiting for her in the nursing room. Mommy was so grateful especially because she felt so unprepared to bring me home.
Grandma Wilcock had to fly home that night because she had to work the next day but I got to spend some more time with auntie Andi because she left the next day. Auntie Andi was so nice to make us meals and clean the house. She even gave me a cute little sleeper and a book called “You are Special”. She read it to me and I listened the whole time like a good boy. I think that may be my favorite book.
My first official outing from the house was for a bilirubin test at the BYU health center. Mommy and Daddy were sad the results came back quite high at 18.5 which meant I had to lay in “bili-bed” until it went down to 12. In the end I had to lay in that darn bed for 2 days and got my heel pricked 3 days in a row. Daddy was able to stay home with mommy everyday which was nice because mommy didn’t eat or sleep much at all. Plus she had to feed me every 2 hours to help flush the bad stuff out of me. The two hardest things about lying in that bed were that I couldn’t be swaddled or held which are two of my favorite ways to sleep. Mommy was so overjoyed when my last test result was 12.5 and she could rock me to sleep again. I was also happy to be off the bed of lights because Grandma Schlenker came that Friday. She came when I was exactly 1 week old. Mommy was so excited and got me all dressed up so I looked cute for Grandma (not like it is hard).
Grandma has stayed busy while she has been here. She bakes lots of yummy things and always has well-balanced meals ready for us to eat (Daddy has never eaten so many veggies). She also sewed my Halloween costume. I am going to be the cutest football ever! She was also here for my 2 week appointment. I was already up to 7 pounds, 6 ounces! Everything else looked good and I go back to the doctor on Monday to get circumcised.
My first outing by choice was attending Daddy’s BYU flag football game. It was pretty chilly but mom bundled me up and held me close. Mommy was so proud of me and loved showing me off. My doctor said that I should stay away from people for about 12 weeks because of germs and people spreading the swine flu virus to me so Mommy enjoyed taking me out while she could.
I definitely have discovered my hands. I love to move them a lot especially when mom is trying to feed me. My legs and neck are also getting stronger. I will be rolling around in no time! I have also been sleeping better for the past few nights. I go 3-4 hours until I get hungry which mom loves because she can sleep more.

Update?

2009-11-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

An update is long overdue so I put Houston in charge of updating the blog weekly. Enjoy!

Ultrasound Pictures

2009-06-14T18:46:00.001-07:00

It is easier to see the picture of the face when you know the chin is pointing to the right. I see Mickey in him already :)

We are having a...

2009-06-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

BOY!! Yesterday we had our second ultrasound and discovered the long awaited gender of our baby. The umbilical cord was in between his legs so it was hard for the tech to find a clear picture of the evidence but she found a couple. Mickey and I are over joyed to start planning to have a son. This will be the 4th grandchild and grandson on the Schlenker side and the 4th grandchild and 2nd grandson on the Wilcock side. Everything else the ultrasound technician checked out looked great so our baby is developing wonderfully. Mickey and I have decided to wait until the baby is born to officially choose a name even though we have a couple of favorites. I'll be sure to post the ultrasound pictures very soon.

Summer Jobs

2009-05-08T19:49:00.001-07:00

The count down is on to find out the gender of our baby. We are so excited to find out!! Until then however and for the rest of the summer we need to earn some major money. I recently took over all of the responsibilities at the Faber home (the family we work for to get free rent). I work for 4 hours in the afternoon cleaning and cooking and was not aware that four hours could go by that slowly. Luckily in the morning I have another part time job that goes by a little quicker. I answer phones for an alarm system company as a customer service representative. It does not sound that glamorous and it isn't but I work with some really great people who keep me laughing. The worse part about this job is that I have to work Saturdays. Boo

Mickey is staying busy with almost three jobs. Everyday until the end of May he will work with the BYU track team (except they are paying him now, thank goodness). Many mornings he is also installing satellite systems for a local company. The third thing he is doing is umpiring for the Orem city softball league (he is also playing in the same league with some friends). Umping for this league made him interested in umping for girls 12 and under fast pitch softball. He does that on the weekends and earns quite a bit more.

We are very excited for our upcoming sand dune quadding trip down in Rexburg, ID. We will be meeting my Dad, brother and some other friends for some good times. I won't be able to participate as much as usual but it will still be nice to get out of Provo/Orem. That along with baby gender news is coming up next weekend!

BYU Graduation

2009-05-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

The best part about graduation was having family come to visit. My parents and grandparents came the weekend before the ceremonies and Mickey's parents came the night before. Here are some highlights of the whole week:

Going out to eat a lot is always fun and I am so happy that our parents love Zupas just as much as I do. We went twice... yum.
My grandparents brought my birthday present which was my great great great grandma's first engagement ring restored and looking extremely beautiful. I believe it came from South Africa where her fiancee sadly died. I inherited this ring from my Great Grandma Campbell.
At the commencement, I actually sat quite close to my family and could see them the whole time. This is quite amazing because of the near 7000 grads and parents filling up the basketball stadium the odds are not that good. When all of grads stood up at one point it almost took my breath away.
We were lucky enough to have Elder Nelson and Pres Uchtdorf speak at the commencement. Having the whole ceremony centered around the gospel made it so special... I love BYU!
That night all of the family went out to Olive Garden for a meal. I loved all of the chatter and laughter (plus the waitress thought I was graduating from high school... I took it as a compliment).
The next morning was my college's (fine arts and communications) convocation. Before I parted to take my place on stage, we took a lot of fun pictures as you can see. Dad-Tim is so talented!
Walking across that stage to receive my fake diploma was sure something. At that moment I think it finally hit me that I was graduating.
Again, we were lucky enough to have Elder Oaks speak at the convocation (he had 3 grandchildren graduation in my same college and one even I even new quite well). His talk was very inspiring and I felt it was directed at me because he spoke a lot on parenthood.
That night we attended a BYU vs Utah lacrosse game. It was a little rainy and cold but we had a great time together. Sadly that night I said goodbye to my parents. I am so grateful for their support through my whole college experience.
The rest of the week was spent with Mickey's parents. Usually I don't love to sit and watch TV all day on Sunday, but it had been so long since I had sat and did nothing for any period of time I welcomed watching NASCAR for hours with open arms. We had a great time with them and were sad to see them go as well. I am also so very grateful for their support. Many of my friends did not have their parents-in-law come out for their graduation so I felt extremely blessed!

Second Trimester

2009-04-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

To mark the day of my second trimester, Mickey and I attended our second doctor's visit. After the routine checks, our doctor pulled out an instrument that would allow us to hear our baby's heartbeat. After about 5 very long minutes of looking, he gave up and recommended we get an ultrasound asap to see what was up. Not surprisingly, Mickey and I were a little worried but didn't say a word about it until we were in the ultrasound room. When the ultrasound began, we could see the little body moving right away and our fears were alleviated. The little heart was beating 160 times a minute! It was so precious to see. So what was at first a little scare turned out to be a blessing because we already have a picture of our baby and the knowledge that it is healthy. The ultrasound technician told us the reason the doctor could not find the heartbeat was because my uterus is retroverted. This means it is sitting more inside of me than usual. She called me regular variant and said there is nothing to worry about.

Next week we have both sets of parents coming as well as G&G Campbell to help celebrate my long awaited graduation. Hopefully my energy level will increase a bit so I can party hard. We are very excited to see and spend some time with family.

It's Mostly About Me, Houston Schlenker Wilcock

Fun with Friends

New Years at Ashley Lake

Christmas in California

Baby Boy #2 Update

Life with a 2 year old

First Snow of the Year

Non-Stop October FUN

Baby #2 Ultrasound Results

TWO YEARS OLD!

Poll

Big Boy

Another Play

Yellowstone 2011

Ashley Lake 2011

moving on

Summer time is almost here!

home sweet home... or is it?

Learning About Mommy's Roots

Easter in California

one more before we leave

ticker

One Year and One Half

Bon Jovi and Jimmer take over

New Cousin!!

what a great life!

more videos

Jersey Cakes

Play

New Years

I forgot...

Christmas at the Lake

Pre Christmas

December is here

TORONTO VIDEO

TORONTO PICTURES

November #3 - everything else

November #2 - Toronto

November #1 - San Diego

More Firsts

Foot Fetish

for a laugh and a half

At the age of 1

NO NAPS!

sick

you haven't seen nothing yet

Ashley Lake 2010

New Aspiration

10 months old... can you believe it?

So much fun!

Apparently I'm not the best traveler

Cuter Than Before

Move In

Travel Bug

Learning Experiences

Adventures

my first video

Cousin Marin's Baptism

Listen to cherish.wilcocks Playlist

Easter

5 month highlights

Canada Pictures

Visiting Mommy's Homeland

February Family Party

Road Trip

Jan 31

Cabin

Cousins: Houston and Ryan

Firsts

Big News

New Years

Week 3

First two weeks of life

Update?

Ultrasound Pictures

We are having a...

Summer Jobs

BYU Graduation

Second Trimester