The Babbling of Bryce

Bryce is growing up so fast - it brings tears to my eyes but he is so fun that it's worth it. He is totally walking now - no crawling anymore! He is almost running, but gets going too fast and he face plants, which luckily is funny to him or else we'd be having a lot of tearfests in our house. He is also talking like crazy! It's nice because he can communicate with us and I think it helps his frustration issues. Rix didn't talk very much at this age because he was just being weaned from the pacifier, but Bryce never took the pacifier, so there isn't much left to do with his mouth except talk and scream (which he does a lot of). I'm not very good at teaching my kids sign language - I'm not consistent enough. In fact, Rix learned "more" and "please" in sign language from watching Hayden two summers ago! (Thanks Hayden!) Anyway, I think it is good that Bryce doesn't know sign language because he is forced to speak. Here are the words he knows:

*Ball (he loves the throw them and gets excited when he sees one, and he will call for it)
*"Set, GO!" as in Ready, Set, Go - we will say "Ready" and he will say the rest
*More - which is self-explanatory, but he also uses it if he wants something nonedible, like when we were in Target yesterday and he dropped my keys out of the shopping cart, he said "More?"
*Please - which we only hear ever so often
*Blankie
*Sippy - which is anything he can drink out of, like a cup, sippy, straw, whatever
*No. This one I love (sarcasm intended). It is actually really funny, because last Sunday a lady in our ward that was sitting behind us reached out to take him and he yelled NO! and shook his head vigorously. I felt bad for her, but his reaction was funny. And I hear no when he doesn't want to eat something or give me a kiss or whatever.
*Vroom Vroom - means car and it is also the sound he makes when playing with cars
*BOO! He does this when he hides behind his blanket and then surprises us or when I'm in the shower and he appears from behind the curtain. It's really cute - I mean, scary.

That's all I can think of, but it's lots of fun. He copies us a lot, and will say things like night-night or hot dog or milk if we say it, but he doesn't use it all the time. Anyway, he is only my baby for three more months, so I'm going to milk it for all it's worth, even if I do force him to snuggle with me at night (or I go in after he's been asleep for a few hours so get some snuggle time!!!).

Swallowing Our Pride (Gulp!)

So I have always said I would never own a minivan. I think they are great for those who own them, I even think some minivans look kind of cool (like the 2007 Nissan Quest!). But they weren't for me, and I researched every SUV and crossover I could find. I had my heart set on the new Mazda CX-9 - it was exactly what our family needed, right? Well, not exactly. You see, Bryan and I are not financial wizards - we do our best - but we had no idea what car payments would be like. We test drove some vans and looked at some SUV's, but the prices were so high that I almost threw up when the dealership presented us with monthly car payments that rival our mortgage payment! (Maybe we could live in our car? I actually proposed this question to Bryan. You see how delirious I was?) We finally stopped at a Dodge dealership on a whim, and the guy tried to sell us a white minivan that is the long lost twin of Brent and Stina's minivan. We declined, mostly because Bryan already has a white truck (we didn't want a theme going on) and I didn't want to be in Utah and always confused about which car is mine. But we did find a blue-green 07 Dodge Grand Caravan that fit our needs (and our budget). The car belonged to a leasing company, and so it was well taken car of and had only freeway miles on it. It has tons of cargo space and the stow-and-go seating. It also has pretty good gas mileage and drives like my Focus did, not like a boat like I thought it would. We both really like it and are mostly relieved to have found something big enough for our growing family. We tried really hard to fit three carseats in the back of the Focus, but it was really cramped and probably not safe, so what do you do? You buck up and buy a minivan! So you all have a little while to imagine Bryan driving a minivan (except Lindsay, who couldn't imagine it - she can have an actual real life image :) !) Bryan and I will someday have our dream car, but for now we have a car that fits our needs and our family, just maybe not the image Bryan hoped to portray. (P.S. You can still be super manly and drive a minivan! It takes a man with lots of confidence to do so, right Brent?) Oh, and we traded in the Focus, which was really sad. I actually cried on the way home from the dealership knowing I wouldn't see it again. How pathetic, right? So if you see a red Focus driving down your street, honk at it for me!

Our Crazy Busy Summer

So pick yourself up off the floor and I don't want to hear anything about how I have finally updated my blog. We have been so busy from one thing to the next that my blog has been on the backburner. Our summer has been really busy getting our bedroom/bathroom addition finished on our house. What a project we took on! I had no idea it would be this extensive (or expensive!) but the end result rocks and we are so close to being done! We finally have a bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. The only thing left to be done are two pieces of baseboard, some trim around the door, and trim around the backsplash. The bedroom needs some touch up paint and Bryan is almost done with the built in dresser. I will post pictures when it is all done AND clean, and I don't know when both of those will happen :).

We also had my sisters here in town for a few weeks for the Abercrombie family reunion. It was really good to have Rix's and Bryce's cousins around for them to get to know each other and play (and fight) together. We got to do lots of stuff, including shopping together, Wild Waves, eating out, and hanging out. With six kids in tow, not a lot gets done but we had a good time. The Abercrombie family reunion was on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands. It was so fun! We hired babysitters to watch the kids so that us adults could play too. We were able to go to the lake and go canoeing, which was amazing. We went at night and the water was so peaceful! We also went on a whale watching tour and although we didn't see any whales, we saw lots of wildlife, including LOTS of eagles, seals, goats (I think they were goats) and porpoises. The kids had a blast and I enjoyed being out on the water in the front of the boat while it sped through the Sound.

Rix, Hayden, and Olivia looking over the boat for whales.

Bryce bathing in the large steel tub at the camp at Orcas Island. He loved it in there despite the lack of toys to play with. Maybe it was all the attention he was getting!

Bryce playing in the lake by our camp. The lake was really beautiful and clean! Bryce loved it so much he sat down in the water fully clothed and threw a tantrum when I pulled him out.

Rix and Hayden the night before we left. They love to be around each other and play well sometimes, but mostly argue and fight. It's a love/hate relationship that we hope will resolve itself as they get older. I'm sure in this picture Rix is bossing Hayden, who is probably contradicting everything Rix says.

We ate lots of good food thanks to my mom and dad, who were in charge. They cooked all our meals in the kitchen of the camp we were staying in. This included a so delicious salmon bake done on cedar planks! I could have eaten the whole thing! My sisters and I also visited Friday Harbor without husbands or kids and had a great time meandering through the shops and eating unhealthy food at the diner. It was lots of fun because we were all three tired so we were a little goofy (remember the book store?). It was a lot of fun to be with my sisters and their families. We played fun games (Mad Gab late at night is hilarious), heard fun stories around the campfire, and mingled with wildlife. Here is a video of Rix and Hayden feeding deer from their hands. This is how the Pearsons should deer hunt! Use small children for bait!

After all the fun of the Abercrombie reunion, Bryan and I had five days to recover and then we were off for another adventure (and I say adventure because driving 14+ hours with my kids, especially Bryce, is definitely an adventure!). We were off to Utah to see Bryan's brother John home from a church mission to Japan. We had such a good time in Utah! We got to see lots of family, which is always fun. Bryan and I got to retreat from our kids for a night thanks to Roger and Janalyn (you rock and we totally owe you someday!) and Karen (thanks for watching our kids!). We went to the SLC Marriot for a night of relaxation and sleeping in! Before we checked into the hotel we went to the Gateway Mall and watched Bourne Ultimatum (we even ordered nachos at the theater! They were delicious!) and walked around the stores. It was so nice not to have to crazy kids to discipline!

The week with the Pearsons was well planned and so fun. We went to the ranch, which is always a fun tradition. Minus Bryce getting up at 6am, we had a good time. We went on a tractor ride, let the kids ride horses, roasted things in the fire, and just relaxed. We also went bowling (of course!) and had a really good time - mostly for me because I beat Bryan both games, with one game being in the 120s! I know, I am amazing. The kids got to go swimming and play outdoors at the Homestead resort, which I think was one of my favorite things to do. The swimming pool was perfect for the kids and we all had a good time playing in the water. And, of course, the rooms were great and dinner that night was so delicious (if only Bryce wasn't so cranky I could have eaten my whole plate!). But I think the best event of the whole week was the baby blessings of Luke and Johnny and John's homecoming talk. They were so great and it was neat to hear the stories that John had to share. Overall, the vacation was amazing. We were tired, mostly because our kids were up way too early every morning, but loved seeing our family and friends and being there for an important time in the Pearson family history.

Uncle Roger and Rix in the creek at the Ranch. The boys made a dam of rocks so that the water would pool up for a little swimming pool. It was pretty cold water, but the kids had a good time playing in it and throwing rocks (and other objects) into it.

Getting ready for a tractor ride. Isn't the ranch so pretty? We make it prettier of course. And no, I don't know what Rix's thumb is doing.

Rix riding Bryan's horse Peppy. He was so excited and still talks about riding the horse's at Pompom's. He has no fear of horses, so we hope he will be our little cowboy.