First good snow fall of the season

This morning we woke up to a couple of good inches of snow on the ground.  It was beautiful.  Tyler was so happy when he saw it.  He has been wanting snow for a long time and wanting enough snow to play in.  Koda wasn't too sure at first, but quickly realized that it was super fun stuff.  He has been out playing in it all morning.

After breakfast we all got changed and headed outside to play in the snow.  Tyler and Josh "helped" shovel the sidewalks with their own shovels and loved it.  Tyler did lots of snow angels, but was sad to see that the snow wasn't the right kind for snowman making.  We had a good time and now we are enjoy our first fire of the season and enjoying each other inside the house.  Good times.

Happy Halloween

Yesterday was Halloween and both boys had a pretty fun day.  We started the day off by taking Tyler to preschool and Tony, Josh, and I went to Macy's to do some shopping and to do a little trick-or-treating at the store (they do it every year).  They gave Josh a bag and he got about 4 pieces of candy, but we had fun and found some deals.

After that we went to a couple more stores before picking up Tyler from preschool.  Then we headed to Grandma Kim's to do some trick-or-treating at her house.  She wasn't there, so we just helped our self to their treats.  Then we stopped at Uncle Boyd's and then on to Grandma Margie's.  Grandma Margie gives out the good stuff and the boys had fun seeing her.  Then it was off to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.  If your kid dressed up they got a free kids meal and they also had free shakes.  It was pretty busy, but we got there at a good time and was able to get a good seat.

Then it was home for Josh's nap.  While Josh napped, we carved pumpkins.  I thought Tyler would really like it, but he didn't like touching the inside seeds and gunk because it got him "dirty."  Then he couldn't use the knife, so he lost interest  pretty quickly.

Our ward did a trunk-or-treat, so I dropped the boys off at the church and Tony took them around there and then around the neighborhood.  They both had a good time but really wanted to come home and pass out candy to the other kids.  We didn't get as many as we normally do, so that was kind of sad.  I like seeing all the kids and how they dress up.  I also think Tyler had more fun passing out candy then he did getting it...well I am sure both were good for him.
Honestly I am glad that Halloween is over.  Now on to Thanksgiving and all that the Holiday season has to offer.  It is currently snowing big fluffy flakes of snow and we just love it.  Let the snow come and the holiday cheer.

Let the Halloween fun begin!

On Thursday my ward had our annual Halloween Daybreak activity.  Julie and Sherri both had the day off of work because of UEA and Robin just wasn't scheduled to work, so they decided to come with and join the fun. Julie brought her kids dressed up and Tyler and Josh were both dressed up in their costumes.  It was a potluck lunch and then the kids got to play around in the gym at the church.  We didn't stay too long, but long enough to let the kids play and for us all to eats some yummy food.

After the church Sherri wanted to go to Wasatch Shadows to get pumpkins for the kids.  If you donate a bag of food you can pick out a pumpkin.  It was pretty fun and the kids liked picking out whatever one they wanted.  A worker saw Sherri taking pictures and told her if she sent it in it might make their web page...and it did.  Here is the link: 

http://wasatchshadows.com/PAGES/Events.html

 

Comings and Goings

My life is pretty much boring.  I guess that is good.  Boring is much better then full of trauma and drama.  I did get a pretty bad cold last week.  But luckily the Lord blessed me and it didn't stick around too long.  I am starting to feel a little better too.
Pregnancy wise, I think that I am doing better.  I don't throw up as much as I had been and I feel like I'm not as tired as I was.  These are all very good things since I am well into my second trimester and should be feeling good now.  I am about 16 1/2 weeks right now.  I think that I have felt the baby move a couple times, but it is still hard to say for sure.  I have my next appointment in two weeks and have scheduled our ultrasound for November 7th.  We are super excited.  I keep trying to tell Tyler that this baby might be a boy and not a girl, but he pretty much won't hear it.  He says that he will be sad if it's another brother.  That is not good.  I really don't have "feelings" either way, but for Tyler and Tony I hope it's a girl.  But for me, I really would be a okay with another boy.  I have all the boy cloths and toys and I am now a pro at boys.  So I will be super happy just to know that everything is okay with the next Steenblik baby to join our team.
Koda is doing better too.  He is learning and being better.  He is definitely still a puppy and chews like crazy and he likes to steal food from the kids, but we are working on those things.  We have lots of toys for him, so we just try to make sure that they are available for his chewing needs.  We are looking into puppy training schools so we can do more training with him.  Tony has done some, but I think it will be good to get him in with someone who knows more about this sort of thing.  For the most part I am glad that the dog is here.  I do feel safer going on walks with my boys with the dog.  I wanted a bigger dog to help me feel more safe while we are home without Tony.  Not that I think our neighborhood isn't safe, but it sure does help - no matter where you live.
I have been starting to work on my scheduling for the holiday season and it is making me very excited for everything to come.  I love the holidays.  I love the sites, sounds, smells...everything.  I enjoy being pregnant during the holiday months because it makes the time go by faster.  I am excited to see family we don't see very often and just enjoy being together as a family.  I have started thinking about what I want to do for my neighbor gifts and it just makes me excited.  I know I am super early, but when you are a stay-at-home mom whose bored, you need somethings to look forward to.

Cabin Fun

Yesterday we headed up to the cabin bright and early to enjoy the day up in the mountains.  The weather was super nice and we were really glad that we got up there before the snow starts flying.  We took Koda up there too for his first trip to the cabin.  He did really good in the car and did pretty good at the cabin for the most part.  He didn't really like when we left on four-wheeler rides without him, but we tried to take him once and he got really scared of the motor noise.  So we decided he is not a four-wheel riding dog.

One of the main reasons we went up to the cabin was so that the boys could get their pictures taken by my sister Sherri for my mom.  My mom wants pictures of all the grand kids in matching clothes down by her pond.  For the most part the pictures were cute and the boys did good.  Tyler got a splinter in his toe pretty much as soon as we started, so he was brave and pushed through it.  Then we did the pictures right before Josh's nap and he didn't last too long before he was done, but I think that she got the shots that she wanted - I hope.  I also took a couple with my camera.  They sure are cute boys.

Both Josh and Tyler LOVE LOVE four-wheeling.  We went on two long rides and the boys could've kept going longer.  Tony and I really love riding too, so it works out nice.  We ended up leaving about five and we all had a really good time.  We even had a moose come and take a bath and a drink in our pond.  It was super fun to watch him come and be part of his day for a short while.  Josh is still saying, "A moose, a moose,"  It's about time we saw one this year!
If we are lucky we might be able to go up again this season, but with a cold front coming next week, who knows.  The leaves were all changing colors and it smelled wonderfully.  I loved just looking at all the beautiful trees and smelling the fresh air.  We sure are blessed to be able to enjoy our cabin in the mountains.  I love autumn.

Josh is now the big 2!

 Josh turned two on Wednesday.  I can't believe how fast time flies sometimes.  On Wednesday I took Josh and Tyler to Arctic Circle for lunch after Tyler's preschool as Josh's first birthday fun time.  They both love to play there.  They never eat hardly anything, but that's okay.  It gets eaten eventually.  Then that night we all went to Wingers where Josh had a free kids meal for his birthday.  After eating Tyler had his soccer practice and they both had a good time playing around the soccer fields.
We officially celebrated with a family party on Saturday.  We had a lite lunch and then cake and ice cream.  Everyone was so nice to come support and brought such nice gifts for Josh.  He has been playing with them non-stop since yesterday.  It is always nice to have a reason for the families to get together.

Josh really is such a fun kid to have.  He is super naughty sometimes and always has the biggest grin when he is doing something he shouldn't.  He is so funny.  My parents have ducks at their house that he loves to feed bread to, so yesterday Josh asked for bread and then went outside and started quacking to feed the ducks - sadly no ducks were at our house.  It was so funny.  .
Josh is getting really good at helping put his things away.  He also loves to share with Tyler (on his terms).  If he gets a treat or yogurt, he generally will get one for Tyler too.  It is so nice to see him think about others.  He is definitely two.  He is pure trouble, but he is cute trouble.  We love him so much and can't wait to see what exciting things come from our little guy.  These two years have gone way too fast.  We sure do love you Joshy.
Before the party that day Tyler had a soccer game.  He played really well and scored over 10 goals,

Tony and I lost count - but were pretty sure it was a lot.  He is really understanding how to play and is doing a great job.  It is fun to see his play so well and have such a good time.  Josh wants to play so bad.  He always wants to be on the field or in Tony's arms where all the action is.  One more year and he can play too.

Tyler's first day of 4 year old preschool

Tyler had his first day of 4 year old preschool yesterday.  He was so excited and loved every minute of it.  I am not super happy that I have to drive into Murray three days a week this school year, but I am sure that it is good for me and Josh to get out of the house.  Since my parents are in Alaska, Josh and I went to Tony's parents and hung out with his mom and his nephew that she watches everyday.  Josh had fun playing with Gabe and she watched Josh for me while I went and got my blood drawn for my pregnancy stuff.  The guy got it the first time and I am glad to have that over.  I wish that I could say that I am starting to feel great, but it is the opposite.  I have gone from really bad to feeling tons better, to back to bad.  I have been throwing up more and I just feeling like crap.  I am glad to be pregnant and the good thing about being sick all the time is that you know that you are still good and pregnant...I am trying to look at the bright side.  It definitely keeps me humble...and a bit ornery (my poor kids).

Tyler's new favorite spot

Tyler realized that he could climb on top of our club house last week and has been doing it everyday since.  He decided he wanted to eat his lunch up there today and so I thought I would take pictures of how happy he was.  He feels so big and loves having his very own spot that no one else can get to.  We sure do love our Tyler.

We love Josh too.  He is giving me a run for my money these days, but he is super cute and sweet.  AND, he doesn't seem to mind when Tyler goes to the top and he can't go with him...a big bonus for mom - no extra screaming.

My first appointment

I had my first appointment with my midwife on Thursday.  Everything went really well.  She couldn't pick up the heart beat with her hand held dopler machine, so I decided to make an appointment to get an ultra sound later that day.  I wasn't really worried, but I figured better safe then sorry -- and I didn't want to have to drive back to Riverton next week to have her check it again. 
After my appointment I went back home to check on Koda.  He did really good while I was gone, so I was happy about that.  He wasn't happy to have me leave again, but I had to go and try to get Josh down for his nap at my moms house.  So I went to my moms and got Josh down and then I went back to my house and got Koda to take him to get his shots.  He isn't a big fan of the car, so he was all over me while I was driving.  Not a very safe way to drive...
He did really good with the shots.  Then I took him to my parents and he played with Toby, my parents Jack Russel Terrier.  Tony got off work a little early so that he could come with me to the ultra sound appointment.  My mom watched the boys and Koda while we went.  We had to wait a little bit when we got there, but it was a good appointment.  The baby looks good and has a strong heart beat.  He is measuring right at 10 weeks, so that is really good too.  Everything that she looked at looked good, so we are happy with the results.  It always seems like the first appointment takes forever to come, so I am glad that it has come and gone.  Now in four more weeks we'll do it again.  

Week of fun and craziness

Koda, Tyler, and Josh

This has been a very long week.  Koda has kept us busy and tired, but we really do love him lots.  He did lots better last night in his kennel and only woke up and needed to go out when I got up to go to the bathroom (so three times).  Josh on the other hand was a pill all night again.  I sure hope that ends soon.  Tony is doing a good job training Koda and is really loving having a dog.

Ava and Tyler watching a show after swimming

Tyler has been playing a lot with our neighbor named Ava.  She is almost four and they play really well together.  They played almost everyday this week for hours and hours.  It is nice for Tyler to have a friend that lives so close that they can come back and forth by them selves.

Tyler right after he scored a goal

Tyler taking the ball to score a goal

Tyler had his third soccer game today.  He did a really good job. He scored nine goals!  His goal was ten, but I think that nine is pretty darn good.  He is really learning ball control and is having a great time playing.  Josh is always sad that he can't be part of the action and likes to spend the time being held by Tony to feel like he is part of the team.  Next year at this time Josh will be able to play.  He just can not wait.