Comparisons

I know people say never to compare you children...

But I think it's fun...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bedtime Battles

Bedtime...

An on going saga since Hyrum was a baby

Up until we moved to Idaho (May 2011), we have only lived in one bedroom apartments. So Hyrum as a baby has his crib sitting right next to our bed which made it hard to train him to sleep on his own.

Fast forward 2 years later and we are still in the same position, all crammed in a queen sized bed.

Sharing a bed with a toddler can get very cramped sometimes even brutal as this funny illustration shows

We are very much familiar with some of these positions. More can be found HERE.

So we are in "Operation kick Hyrum off our bed and into his own in his room" mode. AGAIN. But this time, it means war!

Coz we are sick of sleeping like the couple in the illustration!

We will succeed in getting our bed back!

Although, I have to admit that I will miss my little snuggle bug giving me choking hugs before he dozes off to lala land.

Life Keeps Going

I'd like for life to pause just like what happened to this blog. 

If only that was possible...

I have been quite the busy body lately. So busy that weeks just flew like a rocket headed to space. FAST!!!

So many things to catch up on so let's start with my mothers' visit.

My ever dearest mum travelled 27 hours (and more on the way back) to help out with the new baby. Long story short I was and am very grateful for the help, the sacrifice, the fun, companionship and the love that she provided during her 5 weeks stay in our humble abode. It's funny how we still need our moms even in adulthood.

I was sad, to say the least, when it was time for her to go. It's just feels like something else to have family close by.

Hyrum took this picture.

I guess it's one of the many sacrifices that I have to make with marrying someone so far away from home. In a way I kinda feel guilty for taking away my parents only grandchildren away from them but we just gotta do what we gotta do. I know a lot of people that are reading this are also away from their families. So know that I understand your situation and we just gotta keep on keeping on.

On different news,

Halia is growing and thriving a lot better than the first two weeks of her life. She was literally starved and even lost weight during the beginning because I was exclusively breastfeeding but wasn't producing enough to keep up (although I thought I did), so I have to supplement with formula whether I like it or not.

She is now TWO MONTHS!!! Like I said, rocket speed!

She is such a delight to have in our lives. She is just starting to smile and "talk" so it's been really fun to witness it. Still makes my heart melt every time.

As I said on my earlier post, she was very calm in utero. And my hopes that it continues after birth actually looks very promising. For one thing, she is definitely a better sleeper than Hyrum.

Speaking of Hyrum, he is now successfully POTTY TRAINED!!! Remember this post, yah well I chickened out and didn't even start it. And since the thought of diapering two kids (esp the cost) bothered me so much, I knew I had to do it sooner than later. So 2 1/2 weeks after Halia was born, we said goodbye to size 5 diapers and hi to Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Lightning McQueen underwears.

The whole potty training process SUCKED! My mother was still here when we started so there was another nagger present besides me. Which was GREAT!

We used a potty chart and gave him a sticker for pees, 2 stickers for poops, then candy after 5 stickers and a toy car when he fills up the whole chart (25 stickers). Ow and a whole lotta cheering and hi-5s. Here is where I got the chart from. 

We only finished 3 charts. He was uninterested in them after a while and would go potty on his own with no rewards needed.

It took a week for him to get the gist of it. Then the next week he was down to just one or two accidents a day. THEN, it was my mums last week here so we went out a lot (it takes longer to get used to public pottys). BAD IDEA! Coz he relapsed and was having accidents again left and right.

So I started again and it took another week to get back to where we were.

Three weeks after my mum left, we can now say that he is fully potty trained coz he finally used a public toilet! Although bedtime (we put on a diaper) is a different story since he sleeps in our bed. Plan is we kick him out of our bed first then put him in underwear so if he pees while sleeping then it's just him that gets covered.

Anyways, I've gone in long enough. Here are a few more photos for your viewing pleasure.

My mum wanted to do a quick Utah trip to visit her friends there so we got to see the Auna's again.

And our 'back-up plan' Halia and Isaiah got to meet for the first time.

Hyrum is NOT scared of snow anymore. YAY!!!

Another powder incident.

Dont mind her. Shes just resting her cheeks on her shoulders. hehe

On our way out for Mavericks 27th bday.

Before church shenanigans.

With my pretty girl.

Then He Turned TWO

My little big boy Hyrum is now a two-year-old.

I know this post should've been done a long time ago but things have been a whole lotta crazy in this household.

Anyways, we had a nice little party in our house with some of Mavs family. My mum cooked some pancit and lumpia and I baked a (not so) fabulous cake.

Hyrum had a lot fun having his cousins over to play with.

Now for some fun facts. Hyrum is now 35" tall and weighs 32 lbs 5 oz. He is in the 80th percentile for height and 95th percentile for weight. Which basically means he is tall and fat. Hehe. Although we think he is more muscular than he is fat.

He is obsessed with helicopters and airplanes. He makes them everyday with anything he can get his hands on. Paper, crayons, blocks, other toys... He likes to pretend he's an airplane and 'runs fast' with his arms spread out like wings or spins round and round to be a helicopter.

He is a talker. With full sentences that you can really have a conversation with him. We can ask him questions that he will (sometimes) truthfully answer which makes things a lot easier (or harder depending on how you see it). We've been asked a number of times if he was three yet based on his language coz he can say (and mean) a lot more words than an average two-year-old. But, his favorite word is the plain and simple NO word.

He knows his ABCs and can count to 10 without any help. He can also recognize them too and would frequently point out letters and numbers when we are out and about.

His toy helicopter got stuck on his hair a lot of times

He is still as active as ever! He honestly doesn't know how to walk coz he is always running or jogging everywhere. It's tough going shopping or being anywhere in public with him coz he is always on the go, which has made for a few embarrassing moments with strangers.

He is a sweetie. And he frequently makes my heart melt with his endless kisses and "huggas". As long as it's not for his little sister.

My little big boy also went through a drastic change in appearance as he got his very first haircut. It reached all the way down to the middle of his back and the poor child was always mistaken for a girl since no one here keeps their little boys hair long.

HALOWHAR!

This child is very stubborn though and has an opinion of his own. If he doesn't like it we have quite the time trying to get him to do it. I guess what comes around goes around.

Regardless, we are just in love with him and how he makes our lives alive. 
He helps us witness Gods' miracles each and everyday day just by being his crazy and very smart self. 


And even though he is constantly testing our patience and our ability to perceive that we are good parents, we love him dearly. 


And are grateful that he is in our lives.


HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY BUDDY!