Little Painter

Easton's art easel that he was supposed to have for Christmas finally arrived, and he got to paint with it today. He loved it, and he loved that it has a dry erase board and chalk board as well. I tried to get him things that will further his mental development - too bad I have to do everything with him. But he hasn't watched tv since he got all his new stuff, and I'm thrilled about that. I knew that he was at a point where he needed big boy stuff because he was bored with all the toys he had. So hopefully the books and puzzles and play dough center and art easel will keep him entertained for a while. And teach him a thing or two as well. He is getting so big so fast. 3 year olds aren't babies anymore. Kinda sad, but kinda fun to have such a big boy around to be buds with. He's going to adore his little brother. We are both excited to welcome Tegan in our home very soon.

Too Many Presents!!!

Oh the madness, oh the mess of opening all the toys. But Easton LOVED opeing his presents. It was way too much fun for us to watch him.

Easton learning from his daddy how to work his remote control Hummer - one of his favorites

Concentrating on steering his Hummer in the right direction. He was so cute, so grown up.

Don't bother asking what Easton got for Christmas. Instead, let us ask what he didn't get for Christmas. The list will be much shorter that way. Seriously, I think Easton opened about 8 presents Christmas Eve from Great Grandma Romero and his great aunts, and then on Christmas day he opened about 15 from Adam and me and 3 from my parents and his Aunt Geana. After all the presents were opened and he was trying to decide what to play with, he looked around and overwhelmingly said, "This is too many toys." Amen, kid. His b-day was just 12 days before that so he got a load of gifts then too. And, he acutally has 2 more big presents on his way from Amazon that didn't get here in time. But I'm not wrapping those ones - he's beginning to think every day is present day. On Chrsitmas Eve when he was being handed his presents he started to sing Happy Birthday to you. He's all mixed up, poor guy. His very favorite gifts were the hot wheels bike from my parents, his Hummer from Daddy, his air hockey table from Mommy and Daddy, and I think he's going to love his art easel that's on its way from Amazon. Now to find a place for all the stuff he got. . .

Late B-Day

Thanks, Grandma Budge, for the Scooby Doo b-day card and the cash. Easton was very happy! He loves Scooby.

Easton's Sayings

I threw Easton's pancakes in the trash because I assumed he was all done with his breakfast. I told him I threw them in the trash when he asked for them 30 minutes later. He ran in the kitchen, looked at the table, then looked at me not very pleasantly and said, "You ruined my life!" I'm a life ruiner.

Seriously, pancakes in the trash, and your life is ruined? What is this kid going to do when real life hits him?

Twins!

Becca bought us mathcing jammies. Now we look like twins. Who will ever be able to tell us apart? Just a hint- I'm the fatter, can't-wait-to-have-my-old-body-back one. Only 6 more weeks until the weight starts coming off, and then 6 more weeks after that I can finally exercise again. I wish I could hire Bob or Gillian to fix me after Tegan is born. Becca keeps complaining about how she just looks fat (poor little obese thing) and how she wants to show. She says she just wants a belly so that she can look pregnant. Then you get to my stage and all you want is to not look pregnant anymore. But it's all worth it, right? And it does come off - just not as effortlessly as it comes on. All for you, Tegan!

A Day For the History Books

It snowed for the 2nd time this week in Vegas. And what does Vegas do when it snows a few inches? It shuts down schools for tomorrow. That's right, the school district is taking a snow day. On the news the only story was the snowfall in Las Vegas. I like snow in Vegas. It's pretty, and you know that you'll wake up and it will be gone. It made me miss Meridian except that last winter it snowed there one too many times for me. Maybe tomorrow we'll wake up, and we can build snowmen. It was amazing that it snowed the entire day, though. That is something that hasn't happened since 1979 (I know - I watched the news). That was 5 years before I was born, so for all the 21 years that I've lived in Vegas, it's never snowed this much. It is pretty, though, so we'll all take what we can get.
Easton loves the Christmas tree. A little too much. He thinks that he can keep redecorating it. Poor Becca has anxiety about her constantly rearranged Christmas ornaments. I think he got the idea at Grandma's house because she let him decorate the tree, undecorate it, and then decorate it again, and he absolutely loved doing it. So I blame it on Grandma. Grandparents are there to give children liberties that the rest of us deprive them of. That's why Easton loves to be with Grandma and Grandpa more than anyone else.

Classic

Me, finding Easton naked and rubbing his bum on the carpet: Easton, what are you doing, you weirdo? Get a diaper on.

Easton: No, Mom, I itching my butt!

Classic. That's all I can say. He didn't learn that from me or Adam. Promise. I'll have to blame this one on his own creative thinking.

More of Easton's Birthday

We had a little family dinner tonight at my parents' house where Easton got to open his presents from Aunt Becca and Uncle Juddy. He got 2 pairs of Hulk jammies and Hulk hands that make noise when he punches anything or anyone. It is so funny that the life of toddler boys revolves around their favorite super heros. I think he came out of my womb naturally wanting batman figures and spiderman costumes and hulk hands. I love that he is pure boy - all about the things that make noises or punch or beat people up or save the day or wear super cool costumes. In Easton's world, superheroes are fashion icons. Oh, to be a 3-year old boy. What a fun world to live in. Sometimes I just love this kid too much. It can't be good for me :).

He's been a bit sick, though, and today his nose started running pretty good. He gets so angry about that, and he tells me, "I hate my buger nose!" I don't know how he picked up on this hate word, and if I say I hate doing the laundry or cleaning, he tells me not to say the bad words. So I guess that's where he got it from, huh? Children are so impressionable - kind of annoying. He's always saying funny things lately. "Mom, you're my best friend!" if I do something or give him something he likes. And if I don't he points his finger furiously at my face and says, "You not my best friend no more!"

Now, kill me when it comes to potty training. He will not ever poop in his diaper anymore. He always goes to the potty all by himself and takes care of business when it comes to that. So I'll take that. And he won't pee anywhere except the toilet as long as he is naked. But the minute he gets undies on he pees in them. I don't know how to fix this problem. So potty training will be the death of me. Maybe one day my big boy will stop peeing in his pants.



A really strong man face - he feels empowered with these Hulk hands on

A happy 3 year old boy in his Hulk jammies and strong man hands

One of My Greatest Blessings

December 12, 2008
3 years ago today my sweetest little Easton finally came into our lives! The first year of his life is all on film so I can't post the pictures of when he's really little except for the few that I put on CD.
My little guy is so much fun. He has the best personality, and he gives me reason to laugh and smile and enjoy life each day. It is amazing how much a person can truly love their children. My life would be so dull and boring without him. I definitely find the greatest joy and purpose in being his mother. I love you so much, Easton! Don't grow up anymore, though. I don't like teenagers.


Easton is 8 weeks old in these pictures of him and Daddy. We were amazed that an 8 week old could laugh and smile as much as he did. He has always been a special little guy.

Easton is 5 months old in these pictures and he's as cute as a baby could possibly be. I don't even remember him at this age. What happened?

These are just a few from early 2007 to the end of 2007. He was so cute and babyish still.

This was Easton earlier today. Poor kid had to wait until both Mommy and Daddy got home from work at 6 pm to open his presents, so he spent the whole day staring at them and just dying to open them. Adam and I got him a Batman action figure, a batmobile, spiderman slippers, and a baseball mit and ball. Then we took him to In N Out for dinner and followed that up with blacklight miniature golfing. He loved that, but he cheated a lot. He kept putting the ball a couple inches from the hole and then putting it in. But he had a lot of fun. He'll have a little party tomorrow at my parents' house with more presents. He loved all his gifts as you can see in the pictures. It was such a fun day for him, and even for me too. I was so excited all day to watch him open his presents. Definitely good times.

Letting you know he's 3 years old.

And it just keeps on growing and growing ...

7 weeks left, and I apparently love to post pictures of myself in all my glory :). People can barely tell that I'm pregnant, right? I feel like this pregnancy went by so fast up until now, and the days just seem to drag on. I hate this point of feeling so antsy and excited to meet my new little guy, but I've still got 49 days left!

My new sweet baby - Tegan!

My sis did this on her blog a little bit ago, and we laughed so hard that I started to pee my pants. Not that hard to do these days, but you'll have to go to her blog to see her baby. For some reason it came out black. And ugly. And wearing makeup. This one of Tegan isn't so bad but Easton was MUCH cuter. And it looks nothing like Adam or me.





To see my sister's lovely little child click on the link. http://theberkabiles.blogspot.com. Only 28 more weeks till Becca actually gets to meet her ethnic love child :).

Journal Moment

Today Becca ended up going home from church early because she was feeling sick. When we got home from church Easton asked where Aunt Becca was, and I told him that she was sleeping cause she was sick. And then I told him that she was sick because our room was messy and she wanted it clean. A while later Becca got up and came into the kitchen where Easton was eating lunch, and he says, "You sick Becca? Oh yeah! My room! I go clean it!" So he ran into the room, picked up all his toys and came back out and told Becca, "I cleaned up! You're better, ok?"

What a good heart. I didn't think he was paying attention while his mother lied to him telling him that his aunt was sick because his room was messy. What a smart and loving little boy to think that all he had to do was clean his room and Becca would feel better. I love his heart. It is so pure.

ANNOUNCING . . .

My website is up! I love it! Check it out and let me know what you think. I've still got more galleries to add to, but it is viewable. I've also got to change the music. But I'm way stoked, and I wanted to show it off. Woo-hoo!

http://www.rachelreneeimages.com

True Love

"True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving. It believes, hopes, and endures all things. That is the love our Heavenly Father bears for us. We all yearn to experience love like this. Even when we make mistakes, we hope others will love us in spite of our shortcomings—even if we don’t deserve it.

"Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will. We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.


"The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities. The means of this refinement is our Christlike love. There is no pain it cannot soften, no bitterness it cannot remove, no hatred it cannot alter."
-Joseph B. Worthlin

Handsome Boy

I took this last month right before Halloween, and I think he looks so handsome in it. He's such a cutie that it kills me.

He's Still Alive!

Easton's life is over about 2,001 times a day. It's a wonder that the kid is still alive.

One of the times when the world came to an end today was when I told him that he couldn't play with my sister's board game. He screamed, "You hate me!!" and slammed the door to his room where he proceeded to wail like there was no tomorrow. Then he came out and said sorry with the sweetest and sappiest little face one ever saw. I hugged him, fprgave him, and the cunning little thing asked if he could play with the game again. And it pretty much went down the same - I said no, he said I hate him, and the world ended.

Really, kids, get some real problems. Come back in about 20 years when you might actually have a real one worth slamming doors over. You know?

The Straight-Up Facts

Thanks, Annakaisa, for the good laugh. The guy stuff is especially true :).

God Will Never Desert Us

"No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, [God] will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character. He is an unchangeable being; the same yesterday, the same today, and He will be the same throughout the eternal ages to come. We have found that God. We have made Him our friend, obeying His gospel; and He will stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and purer for them, if we only trust in our God and keep His commandments."
- George Q. Cannon

It Isn't As Bad ...

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. Put your trust in the Lord, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."
- Gordon B. Hinckley

Scrapbooking

I have had the chance to so some scrapbooking lately, and I've really enjoyed it. I might sell some of the layouts, like the girly ones that I have no use for. I never get to scrapbook girly pages, and I won't be able to for a while unless I sell them. And I know there aren't any pictures on the pages yet, but I'm so bad at printing my pictures out. Maybe someday. . .

Pathetic?

I just set my alarm for 10:15 am. And then I kind of laughed inside of myself, as I thought, "Rachel, do you realize how pathetic it is that you actually have to have an alarm wake you up by 10:15 am?" Adam always makes fun of me for that. What can I say? Sleep is good.

Just For Laughs

huge belly, huge arms, huge boobs - there is nothing pretty about 29 weeks pregnant

A Great Talk

In Sunday school today the teacher played this talk from October's General Conference. It was given by Elder Lawrence Corbridge in the Saturday afternoon session. I missed that session so I was just going to read the talk, but this talk is delivered with such power and conviction that it MUST be listened to. He truly testified of the magnitude of the Savior's mission. Listen to it - it is amazing.

Click on the link and scroll to the Saturday afternoon session. Click on the talk titled "The Way". I promise you will love it.

http://www.lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-947,00.html

Easton Lounging

I took these pictures about 3 weeks ago and forgot about them. It is sooooo hard to get any kind of picture of Easton - he's so anti-camera. So he always has to be doing something where he's caught in the moment, like he was here while he was watching tv. Surprise, surprise, Easton was watching tv. Does anyone have any tips of what to do with a 2-3 year old? He gets so bored with no-one to play with, and he's not the play-with-toys-by-himself type. He needs to be challenged and educated and encouraged to get off his bum and do something. He's totally willing to do things, but we just never know what to do with just the 2 of us. And everything costs money, and lately I can't find any money trees.