Adventures in Mothering

So... As I was giving Luke a bath tonight the grossest thing happened. He pooped in the tub!!! Disgusting!!! This is something he has never done before. He was quite suprised by it too. Right after it happened, he saw it floating next to him and he started to cry. (I probally would have cried too had this happened to me!) I got him out and gave him to Ty to clean him off, then I set out to clean and steralize the tub and toys. First off, I called my mom. In all the stories she had recounted over the years from raising all 5 of us kids I remembered her talking about how my little sister used to poop in the tub when she was a baby "all the time". What's really gross was that I was usually in the same tub with her when she would do it. She explained the best way from her experience how to clean it, and it was a very disgusting process. At least now I have a very clean and sterile tub! This was the worst clean-up I've had to do since he was a newborn. When he was about 1 1/2 weeks old at about 2 a.m. I was changing his diaper and lifted up his legs to wipe him. All of a sudden poop shot out 4 feet out of this little tiny baby. No lie. No exaggeration. It was all over the floor and walls, at 2 a.m.. Anyways, I'm sure many more disgusting messes to be cleaned up lie in my future.

Tagged - from Luke's perspective

This might be really dumb, but just for fun I'm going to try to fill this out from Luke's perspective.
If I were to ask Luke and he could answer he would say...

A. Attached or single? very attached to mama
B. Best friend? my dada or my cousin Cambree
C. Cake or Pie? Even though mommy doubts that any of it gets into my mouth, cake is my favorite.
D. Day of Choice? Saturday, because dada is home all day
E. Essential item? blanket
F. Favorite color? Blue
G. Gummy bears or worms? Worms, I love dirt!
H. Hometown? Thatcher, Az
I. Indulgence? Otter pops
J. January or July? July, I don't really remember January
K. Kids? My favorite kind of people!
L. Life isn't complete without? Grandma and Nana
M. Marriage date? I'm thinking sometime around 2030
N. Number of brothers and sisters? 0 - so far. I don't know if I'd like to share mama and dada or my toys.
O. Oranges or apples? Orange peels are oh so yummy!
P. Phobias? Mommy being in another room, running out of popsicles
Q. Quotes? "No-No" - Mom
R. Reasons to smile? screwdrivers, shoes, dogs, etc.
S. Season of Choice? It's probally going to be Fall, because Mom will let me play outside more
T. Tag some peeps: None of my peeps can read, but whoever reads this and thinks it might be fun to do it go ahead!

U. Unknown fact about me? I like to play with tampons
V. Vegetable? Mom tries, but the only ones I'll eat are carrots and corn
W. Worst habit? I eat food off the floor
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound- it took my first pictures!
Y. Your favorite food? Otter pops and flaming hot cheetos
Z. Zodiac sign? No clue!

Camping Fun

This past weekend Luke, Ty and I went up to Mt. Graham and stayed at Ty's grandma's cabin. It was so nice! I can't even describe it. We pulled up and it just felt good. It did take a lot of work to get everything ready to go for our 24 hour trip, but it was worth it. Ty grilled. We read. Luke explored. Saturday morning we went on this really nice hike near the top of Mt. Graham by Treasure Park to see a waterfall that Ty remembered hiking to as a Boy Scout. We stopped and let Luke play in the water and he loved it, once he got used to it.
On my own little tangent, can I just say that this summer is way better than last summer. Luke was just a newborn, and I had such a hard time adjusting to being a new mom. To go from being a student and then working full-time with people I loved to being at home full time with a new, very demanding baby was really difficult for me. It was opressively hot outside all the time in Scottsdale, and I just felt trapped in our dim apartment. I didn't know any other young moms that lived nearby. Is it just me, or does no one ever tell people how hard and 24/7 demanding it is being a mom? The hardest part was realizing that a lot of my hopes and dreams would have to be put on hold for a whild and maybe forever in order to be the best mother to my son. Have any of you ever felt the same way? Not to say that last summer was all bad and hard, because it did have it's high points and I was blessed with a healthy baby that was happy most of the time. Also,I love my son more than anything, it's just that this summer has been better. I'm loving living in Thatcher. I'm making friends with other moms in our ward. I enjoy living close to Ty's family and being able to visit with them a lot more. I LOVE having a house of our own and a yard. Luke is not nearly as dependant as last year, and I've been able to do more things for myself. For example, taking a tennis class with Chantel really cool because I learned something new. I've loved taking Luke swimming, outside to play, and on little vacations. I also understand now that being a mother is the most important thing that I could every do in this life. I love my job, and I have fully embraced it now. This perspective has helped me a lot too. The best news is that the summer still isn't quite over yet!

A look at the last couple weeks

These last few weeks have been busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Here's some pics of the last 2 weeks. Starting with tonight.

Luke walked around tonight for an entire hour with his last mouth-full of dinner in his right cheek! He just went about doing what he normally does and it didn't slow him down. Ty finally made him spit it out so that we could brush his teeth before bed.



I was lucky enough to be able to spend some time Monday and Tuesday with my friend Savannah and her little girl Rhylan before they moved to Mississippi today. Luke and Rhylan are just a month apart. Savvy and I already had their futures planned out together before they were born. Anyways, we had fun at the park in Pinetop. We fed the ducks a burnt waffle. Luke loved throwing the bits of waffle at the ducks. Rhylan just ate the waffle. For some strange reason known only to one-year-olds, they both wanted to drink out of the other one's sippy cup over their own. I will definitely miss them, but I'm really excited for their big adventure move to the South.

Also while I was in Lakeside I went wedding dress shopping with my little sister Necia. We went to the shop in Show Low where I rented my dress from, and they had the exact same dress that I wore on my Wedding still there. I had to put it on again just one last time.

A little over a week ago, I took Luke to the swimming pool. He was playing on one of those lounging beach chairs and fell. Two of his bottom teeth poked through the skin just below his lip. He started screaming and I was scared to see blood coming from both the inside and outside of his mouth. (It might be hard to see from the picture.) I'd heard stories of teeth going through kid's skin before and it always ended with scars and the kid needing stiches. I was suprised when it was all cleaned up that it was only a tiny little cut. Once the lifegaurd gave him a popsicle Luke was fine.

My cousin Lauren got married on our 4th anniversery, August 7th. Ty and I got to eat breakfast together, but that was it. I went down to Mesa that night for her wedding with Luke. It was so much fun to see all my family again at the wedding. The next night in Pima she had a reception, and I had so much fun danceing like I hadn't since I was in college.

We also had lots of fun just being at home too. This is Luke trying on his dad's work boots. He loves shoes!

Rhino Ride

On Saturday Ty and I took his parent's Rhino out for a couple of hours at 6am. We went up to Fry Mesa and the Pot Holes. When we went to EAC we went up there in a truck and it was miserably slow going, but on that Rhino the road was a piece of cake. We had so much fun! Special thanks to Ty's mom for watching Luke for us, and letting us have a little adult fun! Here's a few pics.

Water fall at Fry Mesa

My new favorite picture of Ty!

We hiked a little bit to get to the pot holes water falls. Then a little bit of spontaneity took over and we decided to climb up to the slide and go down! It was so fun and soooo cold!

Look Alike

So, when Luke was born I thought he looked exactly like Ty. The only part of me that I could find in him was his crooked toe, which was fine. Now that he has gotten older, lots of people have told me that he looks a lot like me. After seeing this picture I'm starting to believe them!

Tagged

The Rules: Answer the questions using only one word. Then tag four others.

1. Where is your cell phone? charging
2. Your significant other? Ty
3. Your hair? blah
4. Your mother? home
5. Your father? outgoing
6. Your favorite thing? popsicles
7. Your dream last night? strange
8 Your favorite drink? juice
9. Your dream/goal? impact
10. The room you’re in? miscellaneous
11. Your hobby? games
12. Your fear? alone
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Thatcher
14. What you’re not? glamorous
15. Muffins? please!
16. One of your wish list items? patio
17. Where you grew up? trees
18. The last thing you did? pick-up
19. What are you wearing? shorts
20. Favorite gadget? camera
21. Your pets? nonexistent
22. Your computer? slow!!!
23. Your mood? relaxed
24. Missing someone? Necia
25. Your car? beautiful
26. Something you’re not wearing? goggles
27. Favorite store? baby
28. Like someone? everyone
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? always
31. Last time you cried? July

I am tagging Brittany, Janessa, Chantel, and Kim
p.s. I understand if you don't want to do this.

Busy July

Well, I've been waiting for something interesting to happen in our lives before I make our second real post, and, at least as far as I'm concerned, these past couple of weeks have been pretty interesting. I'll start with the biggest news. My little sister Necia is engaged!!!!! I am probally just as excited as she is. She is going to marry Tyson Adams of Show Low at the end of September. I knew she always wanted to be just like me, so now she's going to marry a Ty(son) of her own.
On a not so happy note, I got strep throat this last week. I don't think I'd had that since I was about 14, and it was just as miserable as I remembered it to be. I just layed around and didn't eat anything and watched our house turn into an absolute mess. Luckily though, I think I managed not to spread it to anyone else. I was so worried Luke would get it.
Last Saturday was Thatcher's big 24th of July celebration, and oh boy it was huge! I rode on our ward's float playing pioneer songs on my violin. After that there was a big program, dinner, games, and fire works at the EAC football field.
This week was the big Dowdle family reunion near Heber, Az. (Dowdle is Ty's mother's maiden name.) I don't think there are many familys bigger than Ty's extended family. We had a blast camping, visiting with family, playing horseshoes and ghetto Uno! Luke was covered in dirt at the end of each day and loved it. The only bad part was that we were only able to be there 2 of the 4 days, because Ty had to work. Anyways, I hope all is well with all of you, and that has been our busy and fun last couple of weeks!

Ty and Luke with Grannie and Grandpa Dowdle.

The cousins love having pictures taken together.

Coby (11 mo.), Ridge (9 mo.), and Luke (14 mo.)

Ty's whole family minus about 10 people.

Luke and Jackson enjoying suckers together.

Our new carpet

I don't know of anything except for maybe his family that brings Ty more joy in his life than a well manicured lawn. He refers to it lovingly as his carpet. We planted our backyard with seed on May 31st, and this is what it looked like about a week and an half ago. Now the bare spots are even more filled in. We also planted a garden then too. Luke loves to help mom in the garden. I pick the veggies and set them aside and Luke throws them back into the garden.

Luke helping to water the lawn

Our first attempt at blogging

This is my first attempt at blogging. Savannah told me I needed to get on the ball and start a blog, so here I go. Here's what's been going on in our lives recently. We moved from Scottsdale to Thatcher in March. Ty's dad offered him a job, and we jumped at the chance to move back to a small town. Our adorable son Luke had his first birthday in April, and he is so much fun! He is learning how to talk now and gets into everything! For sure he knows how to say mama, dada, shoes, dog, and uh-oh. We're pretty sure he can say outside, inside, juice, cheese, this, that, fish, and a few other words. Just like any good little boy he has mastered all of his sound effects. We recently just returned from a family reunion in Utah at Lagoon, and we have been enjoying our summer so far. Here's some pics of our summer so far.

Everyday life with Luke

Trip to Lakeside

More Lakeside fun

Luke with Rhylan, Savannah's little girl

Fun at the Pool

Swimming with the Allen cousins.