Vincent changed Lily's diaper for the first time!

Vincent was very determined to change Lily's diaper by himself. I didn't have time to grab the video camera and my phone was all I had on hand. That is why there are 7 videos and there is no way to stream them into one. It is a little annoying but worth it. Each clip is 30 seconds long.
This was Vincent's first attempt to change Lillian's diaper. I say not bad for his first try. He obviously watched me well. He even put the straps in the back with out my having to remind him.

"It's sweaty!"

"Stop kicking!"

"Is this right?"

"That's the problem."

I love how he is putting the straps on the end of the diaper rather than fitting it to her waist.

"There we go."
(Notice at the end of the video he is trying to button her outfit.)

Vincent really is a wonderful big brother! He is always trying to help by giving her the pacifier,playing and singing to her and now...changing her diaper.

Fall Is Coming ...and Lily is a Nightmare!

Well, for those of you haven't talked to me recently, this is actually one of Lily's happier moments. Lillian is 3 months now, super cute and totally the devil! I can't take her anywhere. Not even for a walk to the convenience store down the street. I had my mental breakdown two days ago. She cried all day and I just cried right along with her. Vincent doesn't seen to mind though. He wants to hold her all the time. This picture was taken one morning when they were chillin' watching Disney channel. He always seems to be able to make her laugh. It is really cute because she has a little twinkle in her eye when she looks at him. Vincent gets especially thrilled when we ask her if she loves her big brother and then she smiles right on queue.

As for myself... I am so excited for the change of season.
This is the view from my house; I wish the picture did it justice. The weather has been in the70's and 80's and gets really cool in the morning and night. I can actually wear a light sweater. I love to sit outside everyday and feed the baby or watch Vinny ride his bike. Most of the time you will find me across the street hanging out with my neighbor Dawn. We sit on her porch, watch the kids and talk for hours. She is so cool and the sweetest thing ever. It has been fun getting to know her. She is so helpful. This is the neighbor who brought us the yummy dinner when we first moved in. The other morning she heard the baby crying from across the street and came over to see if I needed a break. We are going to exchange babysitting. She has two boys who are younger. Their names are Asher and Mckiah.

This is me reading to the kids and Vincent's friend Eric.

We were reading Sheetzucacapoopoo: My Kind of Dog.

The kids love the funny accents I do for each different dog.

So far I am sure my life seems glamorous. I have two cute kids, I love where I live, I have a great husband... But let's get real...

This is my life!

I look like crap almost every day. I am lucky if I get to take a shower. I clean almost every spare second I get when I am not holding the baby. And my clothes barely fit.I don't know how these other mom's with a colic baby do it everyday. I pretty much don't have any relief.

Phew! Thanks for listening. I am done now.

On to a happier note...

Vincent loves to read now and he has actually started to read his first books all the way through by himself. He read Doc in the Fog and Bud the Sub without any help from me or me reading it first. He sounded out every word. I can also ask him how to spell words and he can figure it out in his head. Today he spelled pasta as "PASTU". If you sound out each letter it is pretty smart that he used a "U" at the end. He amazes me everyday just at how smart he is!

We have gone to the library a couple of times. They have the most amazing story time there; better than any I have seen. They do songs, puppet shows, pass out the letter of the day and give a craft as well as read a story that has the pictures of the book projected behind them.

We have had days of catching bugs...

Bats!!

Yes, I said a bat. Our neighbor,Cory, caught this bat hanging in his shed. I wish you could see it in the picture better. It was actually kind of cute.

...cup fights on the trampoline. (By the way, we need a new one because the boys have jumped on it half to death and now find it funny to rip the springs off.)

Games with dad on a peaceful Sunday. This particular game was Wheels On The Bus-- (thanks Chloe)!

Lily loves her Bumbo!

Friday night is "Pajama Movie Night" with friends... This night is Teen-aged Mutant Ninja Turtles.

And cookies too...

Look at me! Just a modern day Betty Crocker... NOT! Betty would at least look good for her husband when he got home (but since Josh is already home I don't care)!

As you can see, we have been having fun despite our crying, high-maintenance-little-bundle-of-joy named Lily. Josh is doing great in school. He is working on another paper he wants to publish and enter into a contest. If he wins first place, he would get a thousand dollars (cross your fingers). Vincent is becoming quite the big brother and a fine--although mouthy--young boy. And Lily is beautiful and we have faith that she will come out of this intense phase. Aside from all my joking, I am very grateful for my family and this wonderful opportunity to experience a new place. The only thing missing is our family and friends.

I'd Rather Be Fishin'

For those of you who don't know, I am an awesome fisher woman! I love to fish and I have been taught well by my father. Our latest fishing trip began last Saturday morning--my father and I geared up with waders, poles, lots of "Blue Fox #2 Spinners" and beef jerky for a full day of fishin'. We set out for the middle Provo river about 30 to 40 minutes from my house. It was a beautiful drive. (Notice the changing leaves on the mountain; they were vibrant shades of red and orange.)

You have to know when my dad and I fish, we ALWAYS catch fish. This day was no different. Between the two of us, we caught between 30 to 40 fish. So for those of you who don't believe me, I invite you to come and and see for yourself! I just may teach you a few things.

So the next day, my Mom and Ish came to our house (my family was in town for my grandmother's funeral--that will be a diferent post). My dad and I were so excited about how much fun we had that we had to take Josh and Ish the next day. Ish had never been fishing before in his life and Josh had never been fishng with my dad and I, so, we had to teach them the art of casting.

Practice took place at a "Maverik" convenience store at the crack of dawn. It was pretty funny to see three guys casting in the middle of a gas station!

We finally arrived to our destination. It was killing me because the best time to fish is first light when you can just barely make out the detail in the water. We got there late but it didn't matter because we still caught a lot of fish.

This picture was actually taken in a small canal where we stopped to gut the fish. It was taken for comical purposes.

Two funny stories about Josh:

1. When we first got to the river and threw in our hooks, Josh was wondering why I was already catching fish and he wasn't. Well, he failed to realize he didn't take the electrical tape off the hook my dad had put on there while we were practice casting.

2.Josh was trying really hard to cast just right and get lucky. Finally he feels a tug (gasp). He starts reeling his little heart out! "I got one. I got one! Oh my gosh it's heavy. It's gonna be huge!" Well, after several seconds of reeling I ask him if he is snagged on a rock. To his shame and disappointment he was! (I can't shame him too much for this one because I did the same thing the day before.)

Josh caught a few fish that day...

I stand proudly with my 3 pounder as Josh.... well, we just won't talk about that.

This picture we took of Josh is for self esteem purposes. (My dad actually caught this fish. Shhhh don't tell.)

You know, I always see fly fisherman in the river and it looks so fun. However, every time I am fishing near them, they never seem to catch any fish. Ishy and I were fishing in this really beautiful spot and there was a fly fisherman standing right in the middle of the pool. My dad and Josh went up a ways and I was still workin the left side of the bank. I thought I would catch up to my dad and so I started walking. My dad yelled at me for passing up good spots--I didn't want to disturb the fly guy. He was giving the dirty eye to Ish and I the whole time. Well, I did see this one spot I HAD to try. I just knew there was a fish there. Well sure enough, there was and it was a big one. They fly guy looked mad and a few minutes later he packed up and left. He must have been fishing that spot for at least a half hour then I come along and steel his fish. On top of that, my dad and Josh were catching them like crazy up a head.

Moral of the story: Don't fly fish... Fish with us :)

This is Ishy praising Allah for his great blessings--and what was soon to be our bountiful feast of fish taco's!

Ish also caught a few fish that day (though not as much as he wants everyone to believe from the picture). He had a wonderful time and can't wait to go again.

This is always my least favorite part. Good thing my dad doesn't mind. This is my dad gutting a small portion of fish we caught. Notice to the right all the beautiful fish!

Eew gross! Fish eggs. Ishy found this fascinating.

Let's just say we had an awesome weekend.

Thanks to my dad and his master fishing technique we were able to catch 40 fish that day between all of us. Also, a big "Thank You" to my mom who stayed home with the kids so we could have a day out kid free!

Our First Visitors

Our First Visitors!

We had our first visitors and we loved it! Aunt Haley, Jausy, Grandma Robin, Papa Ish and Brendan came to see us. We had a lot of fun! Here are some highlights...

Smiley face pancakes for breakfast; we ate them outside in the beautiful weather!

We had a day at temple square with Jausy and Brendan. Jausy was really cute because when we got to the temple we happened to show up on a day when there were 50, I repeat, 50 brides. She was beside herself. She wanted to "go in the castle and see the princesses!"


We also went to what we thought was a flea market but turned out to be Mexican Heritage Days.

After temple square we went to Gateway. It is the new outdoor mall they built when the Olympics came to Salt Lake. The kids had a blast in the water.

Brendan and I on the other hand, were having a difficult time with the kids! We were very tired. After we left the Gateway it was time to go pick up Haley from the Airport. We couldn't remember where we parked and, in the meantime, Lillian had pooped and it was foul! We were trying so hard to find our car. Finally, we found it and were trying to get the wet kids in and I was changing Lily's diaper in the back. Well, I left the diaper in the tailgate and forgot about it, so when I shut the tailgate it smashed the dirty smelly diaper in the car. Then, on the way to the airport, we were in a traffic detour because there was a bike race going on. As we were waiting to get to the light, Brendan looks to his right and sees a man having a seizure on the concrete stairs. He jumped out to go help. This man's girlfriend was screaming for someone to call 911. When Brendan got closer, he noticed the man was bleeding everywhere from his head. He had fallen and hit his head, had a seizure, and was unconscious. That was scary. Brendan stabilized the man and then left because we were late to the airport. As we were driving, we got lost on these winding industrial roads, and then Lily decides to start screaming and become inconsolable. Let's just say we were VERY happy for Aunt Haley to arrive!

As far as Grandma and Papa Ish, there were only able to come up for a day due to the death of Ishy's beloved brother Abraham Naim. Abraham died from a seizure he had in the middle of the night. Abraham had epilepsy cause from an accident he had working at Walmart. We all loved him very much and appreciated his great sense of humor. He always made us laugh.

Abraham Naim 1963-2008

Josh's first day of school.

Josh's First Day of School!

Well, yesterday Sept. 2nd was Josh's first day of school. Note: ALL the books you see on the desk are just for two classes! Apparently a lot of people complained about all the assigned reading but Josh is very much looking forward to it. Reading is his high heaven! Today, (Sept. 3rd) was his second day and a lot more discouraging. They started class and the first thing the teacher wanted to talk about was job opportunities in the Ancient Near Eastern field. This is what she said. "There are no jobs. There are no jobs. There are no jobs." Josh already knew that, but to hear it in person really hit home. After the teacher got her bachelors degree, it took her 11 years to complete her doctorate. That was a downer! I guess Josh said that this is a class they use to weed out people who are not serious about the major. She said over half of the class would quit. Anyway, he still plans to pursue his dream. I am proud of him.

Other Fun Things That Happened Today...

Lilly found her hands again :)

She has been grabbing at toys more and more.

Vincent dressed himself!

Interesting.?.

I have to say, most days he does alright. Some days he just has a burst of creativity.

Vincent's Top Ten Quotes

Vincent's Top Ten Quotes Since We've Been in Provo...

10. "I have a sore throat in my neck."



9. " Those are wasps...they sting better than bees."




8. " It's OK Mom. I'll hold the baby for ya."



7. " I went ahead a buckled myself in so we can get the heck outta here."



6. " Mom... I had a dream I was naked and everyone was laughing at me...And I was eighteen."



5. " Mom...my favorite color isn't pink anymore!" I asked why. "Because Thomas and Eric said that pink is for girls. I asked them if they were joking and that they were teasing and they said no, that they were serious. So my favorite color isn't pink anymore. It's purple."



4. The following conversation happened between Thomas, Eric and Vincent...



Vincent: Hey Thomas? Do you want to make a play?"



Thomas: Uh? OK?



Vincent: Do you know what a play is?



Thomas: Yeah .



Vincent: It is where you siiiiing and daaaaance.



Thomas: I know what a play is. ( I then walk in the room to put away some laundry)



Sabrina: He is playing pretend Thomas.



Eric: I will build a house. ( Eric is wearing Vincent's tool belt and proceeds to bang on his bed)



Vincent: "OK Eric. I will go to the grocery store." Vincent then walks through the basement to the bathroom and I hear him say, "Um, yeah, I am looking for the bottles. Oh, yes, thank you." Vincent then walks back in the room and says, "I am back from the store and I got us bottles."



Sabrina: Vincent. Why don't you just build the house with Eric.



Vincent: OK.




3. "I needed a place to stick my gum."



2. Vincent said to a mother at the park.... "Excuse me, your daughter needs help."


And the number one quote of the day is....

1. One day Vincent threw a ball in the living room and it went bouncing off the walls everywhere. I told him not to throw balls in the house and that it was a bad idea. He then says...



"It wasn't my idea... It was Jesus. He put it in my brain!"

A Mom's Worst Nightmare!

So, today we were at the park. I was holding Lillian and watching Vincent. Well, the next thing you know, Vincent is out of my sight. So, I stood up and walked closer to the slides. To my shock and horror, he was crouched under the slide on his knees, peeing on the pole that was holding up the slide. To top it off, there was a mom standing right there watching the whole thing! I said "No Vincent no!" Well of course he already started and couldn't stop. So, I had to wait till he was done and then take him aside and explain why we don't pee on playground equipment. What was also funny is that he was trying to hurry and not be seen while urine is shooting 5 feet out in front of him. There was a bathroom 20 steps from where we were. Must be nice to be a boy :)Gross!