kosty's faves

I thought it would be funny to list the current faves of the two year old in the house...oh yes, he already has a list. Every day he asks, "I click on puter wif Mama, click Harry Potta wands." So we pull up the website and he sits there in awe, and points to every wand, and he knows who each wand belongs to. Then he says, "Maybe Ho Ho Ho bing Buldemot's (Voldemort's) wand to Daty (kosty)?" I say, "ya maybe" then he says, "Ya Maybe!!" He does this with each & every wand though. Pretty much every day he favors a different character's wand, so its pretty safe to say he wants one of each. Oh yeah and they are $40+ each. These are not toys, they are like real collector wands that are hand carved out of wood. Some light up, and they each come in a special fancy box. Santa has his work cut out for him this Christmas. (and knowing our "Santa" he will probably (try to) bring them all! good thing Mrs. Claus is so much more practical!) Here is his current wish list...

Harry Potter's wand

Professor Dumbledore's wand

Hermoine's wand

Malfoy's wand



Ron Weasley's wand





Voldemort's wand
Sirius Black's wand (the current priority)

Another funny thing he says is when we ask him what color his hair is, he says "white. yike Malfoyd." (Draco Malfoy) Wouldn't he be an adorable Malfoy for Halloween?!! Oooh, I can't wait!! I hope he cooperates :)

B.R.I.B.E.

There is no denying what things have come to around here. Whenever Kosty wants someone to play with, he comes & gets ME. Whenever Brayden wants someone to play with, he comes and gets ME . Its so crazy that the last person they want to play with is each other! Hello?! My plan to have two boys to be best buds, and to have them entertain each other is seeming to fail before my eyes! Before Kosty was born, I can remember Brayden always saying he wished he had a brother. So, the sweet parents that we are, we granted his wish :) ...about 6 months into it... Brayden revealed to me that he wanted a brother that could talk & walk & play...not a baby. So I told him to be patient, soon enough he will be doing all those things! Well now he is, but Brayden still thinks he is too much like a baby. In fact, when Kosty talks really clearly, Brayden will say, "Mama, did you hear that?! It sounded like a real human!!"

Today, I stooped to a major LOW. I was trying to make dinner. They were both at my feet, Kosty asking me to play Dora with him, and Brayden asking me to play a game. I pleaded with Brayden, "Can't you please play with your brother FOR ONCE while I make dinner!!?"

Brayden: "But Mama, I really really don't want to play Dora."
Me: "Kosty can't you play a game with your brother?"
Kosty: "I don wan to! I play Dora wif Mama."
Me: "AHH! Brayden, I am begging you, I am trying to put dinner on the table for you stinkers & I just want you to go play with eachother!"

More groans. Okay I am desperate. I remembered an idea I saw on Heidi A's blog. The bean jar, although I think I am putting a devious twist on it!

Me: "Every time you do something nice for Kosty or play nicely with him, I will put a bean in this jar. When its full, I will take you to Target & you can pick something out. "
Brayden: "YIPEEE! Come on Kosty, let's go play Dora!" 5 minutes later... "Kosty, do you want to play Lucky Ducks?" 5 minutes later..."Kosty! Lets play tag!"... followed by Hyper Dash and finally a game of hide and seek.

Sad, I know. Forced, yes. Bribery, absoultely. But Kosty doesn't have to know that. He's on cloud 9 & thinks Brayden is the greatest brother ever (for now)! And I got dinner on the table in peace!

Random happenings

Brayden has been saving up his allowance for the last 3 MONTHS to get this Science Kit from Target. Poor kid! I did feel terrible using his every last cent on this thing we just knew he would play with twice & be done. I guess it was a good lesson for him, though. He worked and he finally earned enough, even though at times he wanted to give up. 3 months is like an eternity to a 5 year old. Sure enough, it was a total hit the first 2 days, and now it is collecting dust as we speak. Urg! Makes me more sad than him though! He's already onto the next big save-up!

While the boys were camping, I got to hang out with my family. My Dad, Step Mom, and my sisters went to lunch and then the new mall. My family may be slightly dysfunctional but BOY are they all pretty hilarious. It started with my Dad & brother calling my old cell phone number to wish me a Happy Brithday. Well, my Dad doesn't just say it...He sings it, full on, the entire song, and added some nicknames & personal bits in between. Oh, and he calls from his bathroom so it was like a megaphone in this poor girl's ear. My brother was a little unsettled after he called the same number and wished her a Happy Birthday, this time she just HUNG UP! He was a little caught off guard, so what else would he do but call her back again?! Yes, for real! this time he left a lovely message of Brithday Greetings. Then he called my step mom to ask why I was so upset with him on my birthday. So funny. Then at lunch, Stef decides to give us some random "facts" about human eyes, nose and ears are the same size from birth & never grow. We were all hysterically laughing for a solid 10 minutes...as we looked at eachothers full grown features & pictured them on one scary looking newborn! Thanks for the laughs, guys!!

2 funny things

*A few days ago, during family prayer, Jer included a blessing that Kosty would sleep well (due to the fact he had missed his nap which means he sleeps terrible) anyways, I was tucking Brayden in, & Jer put Kosty in his crib & he started screaming. Brayden said, "hmmm, I guess Dada's prayer didn't work. Maybe Jesus thinks it's opposite day."

*Then last night, we were attempting to have family scripture time & Kosty was having another rebellious moment. Brayden said, "If I were him, I would just rewind myself to be a good guy!"

p.s. See, Bekah, I'm very sure he can be naughty :)

Kosty's first haircut!

Before
We finally did it...Jer was sooo nervous they would mess it up & insisted I should to take him to Toni and Guy so that they would do a "decent job." Ya right. If Mama doesn't go to Toni & Guy, then not a chance for our baby boy. Oh Jer. I had just enough faith in the good ol "Arizona Hair Company" behind our house to do the job. And they did. Kosty was a champ!




During (my poor little sheep dog)

All Done!

A tich too short on the bangs, but they grow fast. (At least he can see)

He loved it & loved the sucker too!

Happy Birthday Love!!!!

Just wanted to stop off at the "Hot Spot" and say Happy Birthday and we love you so much. Bubba asked me how old you were turning today and when I told him he replied, "You better be careful Dada she is catching up to you." Only Bubba.
Thank you for being such a great Momma to the boys you are so sweet and loving to them. They are very lucky to have such a fun and exciting Momma. They love you so much!

As Chels knows I can write some pretty long drawn out birthday cards so instead here are ten of my favorites about my Dove.

1. She is very Honest. Couldn't even tell a little white lie if her life depended on it.
2. She will laugh at any joke I tell her especially when she gets tired.
3. Our Nick names for each other. As some of you have heard and questioned before. Here are a few. Dove (which we both use for one another), Mama (one of my favorites), Love (which she usually uses on the boys but I get it sometimes (LOVE THAT), Babe, Trall, Jer, J (sounded out), and schweetay. Just to name a few.
4. How she is not only a momma and a wife she is a true best friend. She will take Bubba or Kosty out on Dates with her. It is so cute and sweet when they go on one on one dates with her.
5. She is a really good cook. I was a very picky eater until I married her and now I like just about anything. Thanks Dove.
6. She is very healthy and always in shape I envy that.
7. Her Passion and love for Ballet.
8. She is very very down to earth. She would love to have a mini van need I say more. :)
9. She is a good friend. She is always on the phone with a friend or family member giving advice.
10. She makes me happy. I always get excited to go home after work or after a trip to see her.

Anyways, as you can tell I love her and am lucky to be her husband. She is my best friend in the whole world and I would be lost without her. Happy Birthday sweet dove. I love you!!

absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Oh that quote is hitting me very hard tonight! There is absolutely truth to it. I have had 2 never before opportunities in one week. I had my first night away...without my husband or kids in 7 years! A group of us girls went to Scottsdale for Brooklyn's birthday. We went to a late dinner at Cantina Laredo, went to a late movie (21-very good) and then hit the hot tub at the hotel before crashing at 2ish am. Woke up the next day and shopped till we dropped & then went straight to Bunco after that. Whoosh! It was very fun, but I was so ready to come home! I missed my boys so much.

Now fast forward to tonight, and another never before phenomenon. I am home completely alone until tomorrow. Jer took both the boys on the Father & Sons campout. I have never had the house to myself for this long, ever. I have never slept with not one person in the house! I had a nice dinner with my Mom and brother & then on the way home I got sad. Very sad. I opened the door & it was pitch black in my house, and silence. Such a strange eerie feeling, really. I should just enjoy it, I know, because now I have had my "alone time" that I thought I so desperately needed all these years. For every time I hoped to just get away...just be alone...get some space...do my own thing... have the house to myself... have peace and quiet...do whatever I want...have no responsibilities...just be me...get a break...have uninterrupted "me" time... bla bla bla. I am so over it. I can't wait till they come home.

Idol, Idol, Idol Talk!

I can't take it anymore! I am busting with excitement about American Idol, & I don't know what I will do when it ends, (oh wait a minute...So You Think You Can Dance, of course) anyways, its getting down to the nitty gritty & I can HARDLY take the SUSPENSE! This is the best year ever & I love them all in their own special way. I just need to talk about it, I gotta lot to say...
David Archuleta. David, David, David. He is my all time favorite for personality & voice too. I swear Paula took the words from my mouth when she said, "David, I just want to squeeze your head off & hang you from my rear view mirror!" I couldn't agree more! But maybe I would stick him in my pocket. Either or. He has the sweetest demeanor, and he is the most humble & innocent there is. And his voice, is so pure & amazing, I could listen to it all day.

Jason Castro. Love him!!! I know, I know. Dreads are not really "my thing" or yours probably. But come on! How can you resist his charm! He has such pretty eyes, and he too, seems very humble & shy. I love his voice as well. I could totally picture him on Mill singing on the sidewalk with his guitar. He seems like he doesn't really care about fame, or what people think. I like that.

Michael Johns. I can't believe he got the boot!!!!!!!! So wrong! He's NEVER even been in the bottom three!? Anyway, he still belongs here. Australian cutie. Awesome voice, and great performer. And I love his accent, who wouldn't?

David Cook. The seasoned rocker! You can tell he has performed many times before. He has great stage presence & He is so consistently great every single week too! Except for this week.... not so good.

Carly Smithson. The tattooed Irish girl. I love her. I think her voice is the best of the girls by a far, but I don't think she will get a fair shot due to her "look" which is disappointing cause that girl can SING! She has a cute Leprechaun-ish accent too.

Brooke White. I love her slightly raspy voice. I loved her version of "Let it Be", at the piano. I love the fact that she is an actual musician, not just a good singer. Heck, I love anyone with a good voice & a piano.
How can I not include my favoritiest Judge...Simon. I might have an itty bitty crush on him, but there is something about his blunt-tell-it-like-it-is attitude & his charming smile, doncha think? Yes, he has a horrible flat-top that needs to go, but you know when he likes something, he really likes it too...he must have a special girlfriend if she can please him! HA! My favorite thing he says is, "Loved that!" (Say it with an heavy english accent now)!

So now that you know where I stand, who is your fave?

Parental Unity

I believe that 2 parents should always back eachother 100%, right? You don't want your kid thinking they can outsmart or disrespect either of you, right? Consistency, respect, security, yah..all that. Kosty just had a popsicle and asked me for another one. I told him "no, one is enough."

His response: "I go ax Dada!"

Then I saw this...

Brayden's homework

I just had to document this because it's so precious. Brayden is trying so hard to sound words out & for his homework yesterday, he had to write a schedule of a typical day. I watched as he worked so hard at sounding out each word & I didn't correct him because it was so cute. The way he spells words makes so much more sense than the way they are actually spelled! A very hard concept to teach!

Wac up git redee (Wake up, get ready)

Get to sgoowl (get to school)

Cum hoom (come home)

EET lunsh (eat lunch)

Doo Hoomwrc (Do homework)

Play

EET Diner (Eat Dinner)

Sgripshrz (Scriptures)

Prerz (Prayers)

Bux (Books)

Bed

I guess I can't spellcheck this! :)