KANSAS HARDY'S

2011-08-04T17:15:00.001-05:00

2011-05-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN!

2009-08-14T18:36:00.007-05:00

Gavin turned 1 on Tuesday (August 11th). We had a small family party and a cute little Sesame Street cake. Like all 1 year olds, he had no idea what was going on. He was just enjoying all the attention he was getting. For once he was in the spotlight instead of his big brother Tyler. His big feat for the day was taking 5 unassisted steps. He'll be on his way to walking soon. As for presents, Tyler enjoyed opening most of them for Gavin. I hope he realizes that this generosity on Gavin's part won't last long. When it came time for the cake Gavin didn't hesitate. He dove right in and started eating. That's my boy! Loves food! He wasn't very messy, so a few helping hands took care of that. Well Happy Birthday Gavin! We're glad you joined our family 1 year ago! We love you!

Opening a few presents...

Eating Cake...I realize these loaded in the opposite order that I wanted. I'm just too lazy to switch them around =)

A clean Gavin, Tyler, Grandma and Grandpa Walker... we missed you Grandma and Grandpa Hardy!

A little Tyler too!

Tyler's Silly Belly

2009-08-14T18:11:00.005-05:00

My sister Tara is pregnant! There I said it. If you didn't know, now you do, and I'm sorry you didn't hear it from her. Whew! Now Tyler is obsessed with big bellies and babies in his tummy. When I was pregnant with Gavin he was still a little young to understand what that meant. He loves my sister Tara and is very excited for her new baby and his new cousin to arrive. So excited in fact that he wants to always pretend like he is pregnant. Recently he has been stuffing either his "Neigh" (his small stuffed horse) or his "Baa" (you guessed it a small stuffed lamb) into his shirt and walking around all day long. He gets very upset if I try to get him to take them out. Here a re a few pictures to document this amusing stage in his life. I also threw in a couple of cute pics of Gavin. I just couldn't resist. the cucumber was Brandon's idea of a good teething toy. Gavin seemed to enjoy it... who knew?!

Mom, see my big belly?!

What?! you want me to take my stuffed animals out? NOOOO!!!!!!

Yum! I like cucumbers!

Go ahead. try and take it away from me! Grrrrr!

A buzz and a 1st haircut

2009-08-14T17:12:00.006-05:00

All summer Brandon has been saying he wanted to buzz Tyler's hair. I kept saying no, no, no, but finally relented and let him do it. I thought it would be no big deal. It would grow back. Right?! Well, now my poor baby looks like a cancer patient or like he walked right out of Auschwitz. He doesn't seem to mind though. While his hair was falling all around him he kept yelling, "catch it! Catch it!:. He didn't want to lose any of it. He didn't seem to mind that it wasn't on his head any more, he just didn't want it flying away in the wind. I, on the other hand, wanted to catch it all and glue it back on his head. For now I will bite my tongue and pray that it grows back quickly. It's been over a month and there has been little progress in that area.

Before

During...doesn't he look thrilled?! I'm silently crying in the background.

the piles of hair he wanted to save

Tyler trying to grab the hair and put it back on his head for mommy.

A few days later... doesn't he look a little better and a little older too!

On a better note. Gavin got his FIRST haircut on the same day. No way was I letting Brandon do it, so My sister and cousin, and I took him to Shear Madness. They do a really good job and the kids are entertained by DVD's and the cute little cars they get to sit in while they get their hair cut. I miss his little curls. It always amazes me how they grow up right before my eyes with just a couple snips of the scissors.

Gavin before the big cut

Look at all those curls!

After the cut, but before the faux-hawk

Yeah we're done! Everybody clap their hands!

Gavin looking cute and all grown up.

Keep Reading!

2009-07-13T13:26:00.003-05:00

It's been ages since I have posted anything. I posted several new posts so keep scrolling to read them. I know I always say this but I will try to be better about it.

Buh-Bye PACIFIERS!

2009-07-13T12:54:00.003-05:00

We finally did it. Tyler is about to turn 3 and is seriously addicted to his "Paci". I convinced him to bag them all up (yes he had multiple pacifiers) and take them to target and trade them for a toy. He was very willing to give them away for a Superman race car. He walked up and handed the bag over to the cashier, but when we got in the car and he had no "paci" he had a melt down.
The first night was the worst. He cried himself to sleep. The next day he kept saying, "iwant my paci! I neeeeeeeeed it!". Poor kid. I knew he liked his pacifier, but I had no idea he needed it that badly. Don't worry I didn't give in. He is doing much better. He hardly asks for it any more and doesn't try to steal Gavins "paci" very often. Occasionally if things get to quiet I know he is hiding somewhere with on of Gavin's "paci's" getting his "fix".

Potty Training

2009-07-13T12:35:00.003-05:00

We started Potty training Tyler in May. I finally decided to bite the bullet and just do it. I was a little worried because I have heard that boys are notoriously hard to potty train. I had been putting it off for awhile with trips and such it never felt like the right time.
I went to the store and had Tyler pick out a few small toys and 2 larger ones for rewards for going in the potty. I ended up buying a 10 pack of hot wheel cars and a Shake-n-Go Diego Jeep. He was so excited! The first morning he got up I put him on his "froggy potty"and we sat there until he went. It was sorta funny watching him try really hard, but after he did it and got that first race car he was sold. He went pee 10 times that day! I thought my 10 pack would last at least 2 days, but I was wrong. That night at bed time he kept telling me he had to go. I wasn't sure if it was just a ploy to get out of bed or if he really had to go, but I couldn't tell him no when he was just starting out. He went a few more times and finally at 10 pm that night he finally pooped. I've never been so excited by poop in my life, and hope to never be that excited again.
After that first day he kept asking for cars, but I tapered him off and now he's doing great on his own without them. He's only had a couple of accidents, which is to be expected. almost right away he started just going on his own, and I would find him later with no pants on. He even dumps the pee in the toilet, wipes the seat and flushes! We'll see how long that lasts!
For now I will enjoy his excitment about the bathroom. I especially love it when he get super excited about me or Brandon going potty. He yells, "Mommy your going peepee! You get a race car! Yeah!". Who wouldn't melt hearing that! =) Plus it's super cute to see his little bum in his big boy Diego undies (courtesy of Grandma Hardy. I was very glad she did not listen to his first request of pink undies).

Grandparents, St. Louis, and Kansas City Fun

2009-07-13T11:24:00.002-05:00

Brandon's came out to visit on June. They stayed for a little over week. We had so much fun with them. The boys just love their Grandparents. While they were here we drove out to St.Louis for a little over night stay and some sight seeing. We went to the Gateway Arch and the Zoo. The St. Louis Zoo is really nice and it's free! When we came back home Brandon took his parents out to Adam-ondi-Ahman. It just happened that that was the day it poured rain all day long. I hadn't seen a storm like that in awhile. Brandon and Rob went golfing a couple of times and Judy and I took the boys to Deanna Rose Farmstead (a cute little farm with lots of activities for kids). Then we took Rob and Judy to downtown Kansas City and went to Union Station, Crown Center and the Hallmark visitors center. It was a fun, activity filled vacation. Thanks for visiting Grandma and Grandpa!

Utah

2009-07-13T10:51:00.005-05:00

In April we DROVE (yes drove) 16 hours to Utah with my sister Tara and her husband Zach. I was surprised that the drive went by a lot faster than I thought. Lucky for us Tyler is entertained by movies and kid shows, and Gavin slept a lot. Both boys did great! We had a lot of fun seeing family and friends. I did a little shopping and Brandon did a lot of fishing and golf. Here are a few pics of our trip.

This was on the way to Utah. We finally got the camera out to take a few pics of this GIANT teddy bear. The gas station it was in was a little sketchy. when we walked in the people behind the counter (a family) were talking about drugs or something and about how they were glad cops rarely came through. Zach is a police officer so when he went up to pay he flashed his badge in his wallet. They quit talking real quick after that. It was kinda funny.

Gavin Tyler and their cousins (Brandon's sister Nicole's kids) Rachel, Meagan, Ella, and Olivia.

Rachel and Gavin

more cousins

Gavin and Sophia (Our friend's the Ovard's daughter). Don't they make a cute couple. We thought this would be great for their wedding video =)

Nick, Brig, and Tyler

Of course I had to post at least one picture of Brandon's fishing trip. Nice catch babe!

New Kitchen, Spindles and Patio

2009-07-13T09:48:00.004-05:00

In April we decided to splurge and update or kitchen...a little. I've been wanting new counter tops since we bought the house. You can't tel from the pics, but the counters are a light brown with a dried leaf pattern all over. I didn't notice it when we looked at the house, it wasn't until after we moved that I realized I had leaves all over the place; from then on it really annoyed me.
Brandon finally agreed that it was time to get rid of the lovely leaves and go for granite. WE found a great contractor who originally came out to do our patio only, but ended up doing the patio, counter tops, back splash, and replaced our stair spindles.
When the day arrived for our granite to be installed the contractor's guys came early in the morning to rip out the old Formica. Then a couple hours later the Granite arrived. I was up stairs keeping the boys and the dog out of the way when it came in, but soon ventured down to check it out. Lucky I did because they had brought the wrong granite color! I couldn't believe it. Everything had been pre-cut to fit our kitchen, but not in Tropical Brown like I wanted. They brought Baltic Brown instead!
I tried to keep my cool as I explained the these guys (who spoke limited English) that the counters they were installing were not the counters I wanted.
After getting a hold of my contractor (he had stepped out for a minute) We went round and round for an hour. He knew it was not the color I chose and some how there had been a mix up at the granite place. They really wanted me to keep the counters they brought and offered us $500 off (obviously it was an expensive mistake). I liked the Baltic Brown, but I did not like the way it looked with our white tile back splash. Since Brandon and I were sticking to a budget we had decided not to replace the back splash yet.
When I explained the situation the contractor said we could have the Tropical Brown but it would take 2 weeks before the could have it ready to be installed. Yeah right! I could not live with no counter tops for 2 weeks! Finally he agreed give us a new back splash for "free" if we kept the Baltic Brown counter tops. The whole thing ened up being a mistake in our favor. I got the back splash I wanted and didn't have to go over our budget. We love our new back splash and counter tops!

Before

After
On a funnier note. Through out the whole process the tile guy was at our house for 3 days installing our back splash. Tyler had been calling all male that he didn't know "scary guy". One day the UPS man brought a package to the door and he politely yelled "thank you scary guy!" I burst out laughing. From then on of course he thought it was funny to call all guys that. When Jose, the tile guy, came to our house Tyler said "hi scary guy". I explained to Jose that Tyler calls everyone scary guy. He thought it was cute. On the first day Tyler kept saying scary guy this, scary guy that. I finally convinced him that his name was Jose.
A week or so later they came to start our patio. Tyler looked out the window and saw the Hispanic men in the yard. He came out side with me and promptly greeted them by saying "Hi Jose!". I just about died! Thank goodness the "Scary Guy" phase is over.

Before

After

Sorry this patio picture isn't a very good representation of the whole thing. I thought I had a better picture, but could not find it. When I figure out this Mac and can find my pictures I will post what the whole patio looks like.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-19T16:29:00.003-05:00

We hope everyone had a happy Easter. Our Easter Sunday was kinda strange since we had stake conference instead of regular church. I don't know about you guys, but it just wasn't the same. I never did get pictures of the boys in their new Easter church outfits, but here are a few pics of them in their PJ's with their baskets. Tyler refused to just hold his basket so I could take a quick picture. he just dove right in.
It was raining and yucky out all day, so Tyler had to do his Easter egg hunt inside. He had a great time anyways. Every time he would find an egg he would point and say "oh egg ride dare" meaning right there. We snuck a few eggs out of his basket so he could keep hunting.

DISNEYLAND

2009-04-19T15:48:00.002-05:00

As many of you know we went to Disneyland with Brandon's parents and his sister Nicole's family. We had so much fun with them. We spent 3 days at the parks (Disneyland and California Adventure). Our hotel was right across the street from the main entrance to Disneyland so we just walked to the parks each morning. Surprisingly enough almost all the rides are kid and even baby friendly. There were only a few rides Tyler couldn't go on and just a few more that Gavin couldn't ride. Lucky for us Grandma and Grandpa were there so we could ride while they watched the kids or we just took turns. Tyler liked most of the rides. After each ride I asked him if he had fun. He would say "yes", and then I would ask if he wanted to go again and he would say "no... no way!" There were only 2 rides he actually said he wanted to ride again, Toy Story and Autotopia (driving the cars). We're glad we had the opportunity to take the kids on such a fun trip and can't wait to do it again sometime.

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-23T20:47:00.005-06:00

So I've not been very good at keeping up with my blog. Sorry! I noticed that last year I did the same thing at this time of year. Old habits die hard. Anyways, here are a few cute pics of the boys on Valentines Day. Their Grandma Hardy sent them matching shirts. Don't they look cute!

Our Christmas Vacation

2009-01-12T14:52:00.005-06:00

As many of you know we went to Phoenix Arizona for Christmas this year. It was our year to spend Christmas with Brandon's family, much to the disappointment of my own family (not because they didn't want to share me, but more they didn't want to share Gavin and Tyler). My disappointment came from having to take family pictures! I really was hoping to loose a little more baby weight before any permanent reminders of how fat I get when pregnant were taken. But instead both families insisted on pictures at Christmas (boo hoo hoo). I hated the one from my family, and the ones from Brandon's family we have not seen yet, so no pics here (sorry).
On a better note, we did have a lot of fun with Brandon's family. Everybody was able to be there this year. In total there were 8 grandchildren, 9 adults, and 2 large (one very large) dogs running around the house. I know Tyler & Gavin loved playing with their cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles. WE cherish the time we get to spend with them since we live so far away and it isn't very often we get to see them.
The weather was nice while we were there. A few days of cold (ha ha, 50 felt warm to us), but much warmer the rest of the time. We went to the park and the zoo. Brandon went golfing a couple of times, and I went shopping and to the movies (what more could you ask for). All in all had a great time!
Now I have to tell you why we don't have too many Christmas pictures. Before the trip Brandon and I had a little disagreement on the camera situation, which resulted in us not having very many pictures. Brandon got a new camera for Christmas (before Christmas) and wanted to bring it with us. I had no problem with this, but the trouble was he wanted to bring along it's very large carrying case. I told him I didn't mind if he took the camera, but that he should skip the case and pack it with his stuff and not carry it on the plane. I was worried about security seeing as we were traveling with 2 children, 1 stroller, 2 car seats, 1 diaper bag, a laptop, and a DVD player. I didn't think we needed to add another very large camera bag. So Brandon took what I said as if to mean that I didn't want the camera at all, and packed our much more compact Elph camera, which in the end didn't get used very much because he was using everybody elses camera's for pics. So Hardy family members please send cute pics our way!
We had a great time and didn't miss the camera much until now when I'm struggling to find cute pics to post! We hope everybody else had a wonderful Christmas and enjoys the New Year!

Gavin opening presents (mostly trying to eat the paper)

Tyler's pile O' presents

Gavin and Isaac awake at the zoo

and a few minutes later fast asleep

Tyler and Grandpa Hardy

Tyler and Brandon on the carousel

Santa Photos

2008-12-13T14:35:00.003-06:00

I took my boys to get their Santa pics done. I wasn't sure if we could get a cute one of either of them, but I think they turned out great. My little sister Megan is working (taking pics) at this particular Santa Photo, so we got some extra TLC. Tyler did great, and loved Santa. He didn't want to get off his lap. He even snuck away from us while we were choosing which pics to buy to have another turn. When I realized he was gone and went to go get him, he was on Santa's lap with 3 other kids who were trying to get their picture with Santa. OOPS! Do you think their parents will notice the extra child? My usually smiley Gavin wasn't giving it up for Santa, but he still looks adorable anyways.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-01T15:11:00.004-06:00

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We stayed in town this year, and spent Thanksgiving with my family. It was pretty uneventful, but sometimes those are the best holiday treats. (aside from the yummy turkey feast!) This was the first year no one had to travel to spend the holiday with us. Strange to think that my whole family has migrated to Kansas City. I never would have considered it a possibility a few years ago, but now here we are. Luckily my mom cooked the Thanksgiving day feast. So far in my married life I have not had to be in charge of hosting Thanksgiving yet. All I had to do was bake an apple pie.
I did go shopping that night at Michael's. It felt all wrong to start my shopping on Thursday, and not on black Friday, but I just had to get a couple of the great deals they were having on Cricut cartridges and scrapbook paper. Believe it or not, I did not go shopping early Friday morning, Brandon did! The boys got matching P.J.'s from my Mom, so of course we had to capture the cute kiddos in them.

Bad Idea!

2008-11-13T20:32:00.003-06:00

So the other night I was really tired and Tyler was being very clingy. I had to fold the laundry, so I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV for us. By the time I was done with the first load, I just couldn't stand to watch any more kids cartoons, so I changed the channel. Usually I look for Jon & Kate plus 8 because he'll sit and be entertained by the kids on the show, but that show wasn't on. There was really nothing to watch, but then I came across the Simpson's. I used to watch this show all the time. In fact, it was a ritual every Sunday with a couple of friends from high school to get together and watch it, but I haven't been watching it lately. So I though what the heck. Tyler's still pretty young, and even if he picked up a word like stupid or crap, no one would understand him if he tried to say it. So I watched the show. About half way through, Homer and Marge are arguing, and Marge slaps Homer, and Homer slaps Marge and back and forth a couple of times. Then they laugh. Right after that, I get a good open handed slap across my cheek! Tyler slapped me! I was shocked! Although I shouldn't have been. He had this big grin like it was funny. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. Tyler is not one of those kids who hits and bites, so obviously he thought it looked like fun. I told him that we don't slap and that he hurt mommy. Then I promptly changed the channel. To tell the truth, I deserved it. I don't know what I was thinking letting him watch the Simpson's. I guess I was having a mommy moment of insanity. Yet another lesson learned form a toddler!

SPOOKY!

2008-11-01T15:04:00.004-05:00

Happy Halloween every one! We hope everybody had a great Halloween and a fun time trick-or-treating! Tyler sure did. It was so much fun to watch him get all excited this year. I can't believe it's already his third Halloween. It seems like just yesterday when we were dressing him up in the Hershey Kiss costume, and now Gavin is wearing it. Time flies! Tyler chose his own costume, sort of. I gave him a choice between a monkey and the dragon. He loved his dragon costume so much thath he was begging me to put it on him this morning! Gavin had two costumes in one. First, he was a Hershey Kiss, but then if you pull his hat up he becomes the Pope! Too cute.

Wall Decor

2008-10-29T20:36:00.002-05:00

Some people have asked that I put a pic of my picture wall in my basement up, so here it is. Nothing special. I bought the rod set, vase and wreath from At Home America, through my friend Sara who is a demonstrator for them. I mad the colorful frames, and bought the white ones at Rod Works in Utah. I only wish I had somewhere better to put hang it other than my basement, but it looks cute there too.

Pumpkin Fun

2008-10-29T19:26:00.005-05:00

Last Saturday night our family got together and carved pumpkins. It was a lot of fun this year because we did it at my parents house, so no mess at my house! Also This year Tara and Zach participated as well. Tyler wasn't sure what to think about the gooey pumpkin, but soon he figured out that it was pretty fun to throw around (yuck). We wanted Gavin to join in the fun so we tried to fit him in a pumpkin. I know kinda mean , but it would have made a great picture if we had been able to get the camera to work before he started crying. Tyler thought this looked like fun, but was mad when he realized he couldn't fit inside the pumpkin. Here are a few pics of the pumpkins we carved. Mom and Dad did not use patterns, but the rest of us did. You can be the judge and pick your favorite!

Tara

Dad

Zach

Mom

Brandon

Kenzi

Mom Why don't I fit inside?!

Get me out of here!!!

Everyone carving up some fun

I love pumpkins

Gavin much happier now that he's not stuck in a pumpkin

Tyler having fun after carving. He wouldn't get dressed, but he is stylin' in Grandma's reading glasses (upside down of course)!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-20T13:48:00.006-05:00

We took the boys to the pumpkin patch on Saturday. My mom came with us and we went to Deanna Rose Farmstead, which is where we went last year too. Tyler loves the animals and it's free, so double bonus for us! It was super crowded since it was Saturday, so we ended up skipping the pumpkin patch and hayride in the end. We decided to go to lunch and hit a local church that had a small and much less crowded patch of pumpkins. Here are a few pics of the day. Tyler, Gavin and I were not feeling too great so needless to say, none of the pictures turned out very well.

Union Station

2008-10-05T09:43:00.004-05:00

We went to Union Station last week when my Grandparents were in town. It was a lot of fun. We were able to see them begining to put up the huge holiday model train town. We also took Tyler to Science City, which is a childrens science museum in Union Sation. It was pretty interesting for adults too. I'm always glad when relatives come to visit because it gives me a reason to see all to sites and attractions around town. Plus we love spending time with our family!

Blessing Day

2008-09-28T13:38:00.005-05:00

We blessed Gavin today. My Grandparents came into town for the "blessed" event. I will put more pics up of the family later, but I thought these shots of Gavin smiling in his blessing outfit were to cute to wait! Check out those dimples!

SHHH!

2008-09-28T13:35:00.001-05:00

I just thought these pics were cute. To bad Tyler was upstairs napping or I could caught all my boys sleeping (A rare thing in this house).

Ear Tubes

2008-09-28T13:16:00.002-05:00

Tyler had his ear tubes put in on Thursday morning. We had to be at the hospital at 6:30 am that morning. Way to early if you ask me. Tyler was super cranky because we had to wake him up so early.
On Monday night the surgery center had little pre-op "party" for all kids having surgery that week. They got to dress up in the gowns, booties, and hats, and test out the beds and oxygen masks. It was a fun way to introduce them to everything before the day of their procedure. Tyler had fun and wanted to try everything, so I was hopeful that on the day of his surgery he would have no problems, but no. I guess it was just a little to early for him because he refused to put the gown or socks on, and cried when the nurses took him.
All in all the surgery took about 10 minutes an we were on our way home by 8:30 am. Tyler was crying and inconsolable for about an hour, but the was back to his normal self by 11:00 am. Now I can tell he feels much better. No more ear trouble! Yeah!

Toddler messes

2008-09-28T13:05:00.003-05:00

I've been meaning to post these pictures for awhile. Since having Gavin there are a lot of fun new things Tyler has become interested in . One of his favorites is Desitin. I found him covered in it the other day, and since I did not learn my lesson from that escapade, Tyler decided to cover Garvin's head in A&D ointment the very next day. LESSON LEARNED! Keep all ointments and lotions out of reach at all times! Sorry I don't have any pictures of that mess. The ointment was very close to Gavin's eyes, and I was afraid to leave it there and get the camera.

Gavin's Tummy Trouble

2008-09-12T17:08:00.003-05:00

As some of you already know, our family had an eventful week. It all started on Sunday morning when Gavin began projectile vomiting. I wasn't so worried at first since he has always been a little spitty, but then he started having a little blood in the vomit. I decided to take him to urgent care at Children's Mercy. See blog entry below "The Boys" for the whole story of that day.
Gavin kept vomiting after every meal all day on Monday, so I took him to our pediatrician on Tuesday morning. While we were there he vomited 3 times! Yeah! I was just glad that he performed for her, and that I wouldn't be sent home wondering if I was crazy to think something was really wrong with my child. Gavin hadn't really gained any weight since his last visit, and with the history I had given her she decided his problem was 1 of 2 things: Pyloric stenosis or gastric reflux. In order to treat the problem she sent us for an ultrasound at Children's Mercy to rule out pyloric stenosis. As it turned out that was exactly Gavin's problem. See blog below for information about Gavin's condition.
We were then sent to Children's Mercy downtown to the emergency room to be set up for surgery. Since his problem was not life threatening at that very moment, we were put on the wait list for surgery the next day. He was hooked up to an IV and given fluids to hydrate him, but we were not allowed to feed him. Gavin wasn't exactly thrilled with that idea. We had a rough night worrying about our poor boy. He ended up having the surgery to correct the stenosis. Lucky for us the surgery is minimally invasive. They were able to do the whole procedure by putting a small camera through is belly button and by making 2 small incisions on either side of his abdomen for the instruments. After surgery we were finally able to feed him, but he had to stay in the hospital until he could keep the formula down for 24 hours.
Gavin did wonderful, and we were able to come home today (after a total of 4 days in the hospital). We were very grateful to all our friends and family who helped us out during this scary event in our lives. Thank you for your prayers. We definitely needed them!

Surgery incisions

After sugery

Pyloric Stenosis

2008-09-12T17:04:00.001-05:00

What Is Pyloric Stenosis?
Pyloric stenosis is a narrowing of the pylorus, the lower part of the stomach through which food and other stomach contents pass to enter the small intestine. When an infant has pyloric stenosis, the muscles in the pylorus have become enlarged to the point where food is prevented from emptying out of the stomach.

Also called infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis or gastric outlet obstruction, pyloric stenosis is fairly common - it affects about three out of 1,000 babies in the United States. Pyloric stenosis is about four times more likely to occur in firstborn male infants. It has also been shown to run in families - if a parent had pyloric stenosis, then an infant has up to a 20% risk of developing the condition. Pyloric stenosis occurs more commonly in Caucasian infants than in babies of other ethnic backgrounds, and affected infants are more likely to have blood type B or O.

Most infants who develop pyloric stenosis are usually between 2 weeks and 2 months of age - symptoms usually appear during or after the third week of life. It is one of the more common causes of intestinal obstruction during infancy that requires surgery.

For more info: http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/digestive/pyloric_stenosis.html

The Boys

2008-09-08T13:38:00.003-05:00

Here are a few semi-recent pics of Gavin and Tyler. Gavin is such a good baby. We just love having him in our family. We had a little scare yesterday with projectile vomiting (4 times) that had some blood in it. I tried to make myself wait to go to the doctor, but I just couldn't. We went to Children's' Mercy urgent care and waited for 3 hours to find out nothing was wrong. Of course, when the doctor had me feed him to see what would happen he didn't even spit up a little. Little rascal! That never happens. He almost always spits up some. Later last night he did throw up a lot. I wonder why kids suddenly get better while you are at the doctors office???
Here is an update on Tyler. He has had yet another ear infection. When we went to the ENT he recommended we wait a month to see if he came down with any more infections before jumping to tubes. I think when we go back on the 17th he will tell us that he needs them. At first I was nervous for him to have tubes and was relieved that the ENT thought he might not need them, but now I think I actually want them!

Happy Birthday Tyler

2008-08-23T16:00:00.004-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER! Tyler turned 2 on 8/20/08. We had a small family party at our house for him. It was Backyardigans themed because Tyler loves that show, and when asked he said he wanted a Pablo party. We were lucky to have Brandon's parents there as well as my whole family to celebrate with him! He had a great time opening presents and eating cake. I can't believe he is 2 already. Time sure does fly!

Brotherly Love

2008-08-18T13:59:00.004-05:00

Tyler is starting to warm up to his baby brother. The other day we were in the car and Gavin started crying. Tyler said, "It's okay baby", and even helped put his pacifier back in his mouth. He has even attempted holding him once or twice. Were very excited about his growing interest, and can't wait to watch them grow up as friends (hopefully!).

Baby Gavin's Slide Show

2008-08-14T19:21:00.001-05:00

New arrival!

2008-08-14T17:47:00.003-05:00

Gavin Robert Hardy
8 pounds 3 ounces
20 1/2 inches
8/11/08
6:06 pm

Well the waiting is over. Many of you have received texts and emails with pics already, but here are a few more recent ones and the whole story of his birthday. I was induced on Monday 8/11/08 at around 9:00 am, things went smoothly, and after a great epidural and 1 1/2 hours of pushing baby boy Hardy (name was decided later)arrived. He did have to have some assistance from the doctor and the vacuum, which is why his head was pretty swollen and a little lopsided.
For anyone who heard about my last birthing experience, I'm happy to say this one was 100 times better. I know now that Tyler's birth was as close to natural as one could be with an "epidural". I was worried that maybe epidurals only helped with contractions and none of the rest of the labor and pushing process, but this time my delivery was practically pain free. Yeah!
It took us most of the night to decide on his name, and in the end Brandon won out (with a little negotiating on my part as far as future children's names go) and we decided on Gavin. His middle name was never a question, so that part was easy.
Now that he is here, it's been interesting trying to be a parent of 2 instead of focusing all my attention on one tiny infant. Tyler was not thrilled with the new baby, but he is slowly warming up. On the way to the hospital my sister asked him if he wanted to see mommy and daddy. He said yes. Then she asked if he wanted to see the baby. He said NO! He has spent a few nights with grandma and is always excited to see her. He is still not thrilled with mom and dad, and calls for help from any one passing by when Gavin is around.
P.S. Please excuse my fat puffy face. I'm sure the swelling will go down soon!

Ear Drama

2008-08-07T09:03:00.005-05:00

I took Tyler to the pediatrician the other day for a re-check on his ear infection and received the dreaded news. Dr. Monzon told us that he wanted Tyler to see and ENT to decide if tubes needed to be put in his ears. This was his 4th ear infection (that we know of), and he has been on antibiotics for 3 weeks. The infection cleared up, but he still has clear fluid in his ears that could turn to infection anytime. As if I don't have enough with the baby coming, now this!

Poor guy! Like I said this is the 4th infection that we know of. He is such a little trooper; he never pulls at his ears to let me know they hurt.

1. Found @ well visit
2. Found during hospital stay for roto virus
3. Ear drum ruptured before I knew about it
4. This last visit was mothers intuition

He was only a little cranky and had a runny nose. I thought for sure I was being one of those crazy parents who goes to the doctor for every little cold. Lucky me I was right, and didn't have to feel like an idiot. But who wants to be right about something like this?

Pregnancy update

2008-08-05T17:24:00.003-05:00

Well, I had my last doctors appointment today. Everything looks good, so I have been scheduled for induction on Monday morning @ 7:00 am. That is supposing I make it that long. I've been having contractions off and on today. Brandon really wants the baby to be born on Friday (08/08/08), and my doctor will be out of town Thur. and Fri, so chance are he will decide to make his debut on one of those days. If not, then Monday it is. Hallelujah then end is near!!
P.S. No pics allowed because I'm unrecognizable!

Slacker Alert!

2008-08-01T13:34:00.001-05:00

So I have not been blogging in ages! To be frank I don't think my life is very entertaining, and since I've been pregnant, everything seems so boring and blah! Yikes, hormone alert!

Anyways since my last update here are a few things that have happened. Brandon went to the Masters in Augusta, Georgia over his birthday. For any of you who don't know, the Masters is a huge golf tournament. Oh and Brando turned 30! Exciting, I guess now he is officially an adult... maybe he should start acting like one! Ha ha just kidding. What fun would that be anyways. I on the other hand am still under the big 30 mark, so I can still be a kid for a couple more years.

Next... I got a new car. I will not tell you which kind, but I LOVE it! Everyone has hassled us enough about the purchase, so that's why I won't tell.
Ugh I'm still pregnant, and loving every one of the 50 pounds I put on since getting pregnant! Ha ha, another joke. Seriously though, I was really hoping this pregnancy would be different than the last, but so far not really. Okay I guess I have not been put on bed rest, and do not have near the swelling as before so that is great! I guess my body just loves to be FAT!

Now on to Tyler. He is still the cutest boy ever, and the light of my life! He is so cute when he points to my belly and says "baby". I'm just waiting for him to say it after the baby is born, then I might not think it's so cute! Aside from getting him to stop spitting out food and drinks when ever he pleases, he really is an angel. We have really only had one episode of true terrible toddler hood. In this case poop was involved, and it was not so pretty.

So that is out life right now. In a couple of weeks we hope to have so new baby boy pics and updates posted, so stay tuned!

Sunday disaster!

2008-04-30T18:46:00.004-05:00

Well it seams like lately something or other has been keeping me from church. Last week I had to go in to work to take care of a sick dog, and this week I had to take care of my own sick dog.
It all happened about 10 minutes before we were about to leave. To make matters worse, my sister and her husband were in town, and they had decided to attend our ward. I had told them to be there early so we could all sit together. As I was getting dressed I heard this loud splash. I was a little confused at first because I was in the bathroom, and no one was there with me. I stepped out into by bedroom and saw Dryfus licking his lips, and then I saw it. DO NOT read further if you get queasy. On the landing of our stairs was the biggest puddle of vomit that I had ever seen. On top of that it had cascaded down like a waterfall to the next 4 stairs below it! Just picture the size of my huge dog, and then I think you'll understand just how much liquid I'm talking about here.
I yelled for help, and Brandon came running. The first thing he asked me was if I had peed my pants...what kind of question is that? I wish I had because it would have been a lot easier to clean up. Anyways he ran up the stair and nearly stepped in the mess. Both he and I were gagging. I ended up sending him to church with Tyler so one of us could be there when my sister showed up, and plus he was supposed to be there early to supervise the Teachers and sacrament.
I was then left with the mess, so I did what any good church goer would do, and went to Wal-Mart and bought a Bissel little green machine. It was a life saver! I don't know how would have cleaned it up otherwise (maybe with a shop vac). It was such a big mess that it still took over an hour to clean up completely. But to all of you with kids and pets I highly recommend the little green machine!

Drum Roll Please.....

2008-03-31T17:40:00.004-05:00

I was going to put the ultra sound pics in, but they didn't scan very well. Plus unless you know what to look for I don't think you could see very much. The little guy was not cooperating very much. He was moving around a lot. Everything looks great, and we are very excited to have this new addition to our testosterone filled family (I'm the only female, even my pets are boys!.

Hardy Look-alike Meter

2008-03-26T19:09:00.001-05:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family reunion - Free family tree

More than just a dog!

2008-03-25T10:13:00.004-05:00

While I'm on a roll with new posts. I thought I'd share some cute pictures of what dogs are good for in our house.

Dogs make good steps for little boys.

They also make a comfy seat.

If little boys make BIG messes,

Dogs make GREAT vacuums!

Easter

2008-03-25T10:04:00.003-05:00

The Easter Bunny stopped by our house this year. Tyler must have been a good boy, although there were some days I would dispute that. Tyler was generous and shared some of his eggs with Hobbs. We had Easter dinner at my parents house, and apparently the Easter Bunny stopped there too. Tyler didn't get his nap because church is right in the middle of his nap time, so he did not want to pose for a picture in his Easter outfit. Here's a few picks of the day.

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-25T09:54:00.003-05:00

On Saturday we went to our friends the Black's house for an Easter egg hunt. We had a lot of fun watching the kids searching for eggs. It was Tyler's first egg hunt, and he wasn't quite sure what to do at first but he caught on quick. After that he would find an egg, put it in his basket, then throw it out, and find it all over again. What fun! While we were there Tyler found Logan's cowboy hat and of course he had to wear it! Old habits die hard!

Trip to Phoenix

2008-03-25T09:32:00.003-05:00

I know I'm really bad about keeping this blog updated. Nothing very exciting happened in February anyways, but in March we have done a lot. We went to Arizona and visited Brandon's parents. While we were there Erin, Mike (Brandon's sister and husband living in Tucson) and Chad (Brandon's brother) came to visit as well.
Of course before we left out of town Tyler decided to get a cold. Brandon and I ended up catching it as well. We didn't let that get us down though. While visiting we went to a Royal's spring training game (they played and beat the Diamondbacks), went to the park, and the zoo (or I guess it was a wildlife zoological park). Overall it was a great vacation and fun to see everybody. I only wish that Tyler had been in better spirits. He always seems to be sick and a little cranky when we visit the Hardy's.
On our way home Tyler started running a fever, and ended up getting a bad ear infection. On the plane his ear drum ruptured. Not to worry, he's doing fine and is now back to his happy self. I think we may be cursed when it come to traveling!

My little cowboy

2008-01-30T18:27:00.000-06:00

Recently Tyler has taken to wearing his cowboy hat all the time. After breakfast the first thing he does is go down stairs and puts on his cowboy hat! This is the same hat that I could not get him to leave on for Halloween. He wouldn't even leave it for 1 second for a picture without crying. Now I just have to watch out and make sure he doesn't hang himself on something when he lets the hat dangle around his neck. He does make a darn cute cowboy if I do say so myself!

Banana Hammock

2008-01-19T17:14:00.000-06:00

Okay so here's the story behind Brandon's fabulous Christmas present. My 15 year old sister Megan was at the mall and saw the thong in Spencer's Gifts. She thought it would be a hilarious practical joke gift to give the Brandon for Christmas, and she was right. It was the funniest thing ever! Brandon opened it up, and put it on right over his pajama pants. He wore it all morning long, and refused to take it off. Gotta love him! Oh and just so you understand why it wasn't so weird... Brandon used to swim, and had to wear a spedo. After we were married we went on several trips with my family, and Brandon always thinks its fun to strut his skinny rear end in his spedo. He often teased Megan and told her that was what he was wearing to the pool with her. She was just getting him back. By the way. He does not, and has not ever really gone out in public with his spedo on since we have been married.

Sweet gift!

Does this make my butt look BIG?

The BIG News!

2008-01-16T17:06:00.000-06:00

We just wanted to let everyone know that we are expecting our 2nd child around August 19th! Hooray for us!

The Wedding

2008-01-16T16:08:00.000-06:00

My sister Tara got married in Salt Lake on January 5th. I flew out there early with Tyler and the rest of my family on December 30th to spend a few days with everyone before the big day. Brandon was not able to come out until the 3rd. THe wedding was beautiful as was the bride. Here are some pictures of Tara & Zack's special day!

It's Been Awhile!

2008-01-16T15:48:00.000-06:00

Okay, so we've dropped off the face of the blogging world for over a month! I cannot believe how time flies. I intended on at least posting our Christmas pics before we left to go back to Utah for my sisters wedding, but that week was just to crazy! I managed to sneak in 1 day of work,get Tyler's haircut, and host a bridal shower though. I was actually able to get a Christmas tree up, and all the Christmas decorations out this year, which is a feat in and of its self considering it has been at least 3 or 4 years since the last time I did that. I also intended on getting a Christmas/holiday card out after the new year but that obviously didn't happen either. Uhg! I'm such a slacker! Part of the problem was that I wanted to get everyone(yes even including the dog and cat) in the picture but we never had time until Christmas Eve, and then I had to settle on doing it with out the pets (I know big deal, but if you know me, it is!). When we did finally get it done, Tyler would not sit still, and I looked bad in all the pics (can we say not photogenic!) We did have a wonderful Christmas here in Kansas City. It was a white one too, although melting away quickly. It was good to have everyone home for the holidays, including my sister Tara who was getting married the next week. Here's a few pics of the happy day.

Thanksgiving

2007-12-02T20:58:00.000-06:00

We went to Utah for Thanksgiving. We alternate holidays each year with our families. This year we spent Thanksgiving with Brandon's family. We were so excited to see everyone. We had a new nephew Isaac, who was born in June, but this was the first time we had seen him. Last time Tyler had seen all of his cousins was Christmas last year. He was too little then to play, but not this year. He had to learn to hold his own with Sophie and Ella. They are a bit older, but not much bigger.

Brandon's parents live in Phoenix, so they drove up with Erin, Mike and kids. Chad flew in from Arizona as well, and we all stayed in Salt Lake at Nicole and Scot's beautiful home. Aside from everyone getting a cold, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving week with them. All the girls got up on Friday and hit the stores early (okay, I insisted they go, or I was going to steal a car and go with out them). At least I had fun, and I think they did too!

Earlier the week before Brandon and I spent some time with my family. We went down to stay at my Aunt Kari's house for a couple of days. It was good to see all of them again. We hadn't seen my cousin Dustin for 4 years, or Andrew for 2 years. Fortunately my grandparents were spending Thanksgiving with Kari's family so we got to see them too. Brandon enjoyed a few days fishing with my uncle Mike and his friend Shane (makes him want to move there...not that again)

My sister is living there, and getting married to a great guy in January. We went and saw where they were going to live (very nice place), and Tyler and I also visited the family she nanny's for. One night we went out with 2 of our favorite, and dearest couple friends, the Frederick's' and the Ovard's. We had a blast just hanging out like old times. It was fun to see our boys (big and small) play together.

Although we were there for 10 days, the time flew by, and we wished we had been able to spend more time with everyone!

P.S. Tyler still has his cold. What is it with him. Whenever we go out of town he gets sick. I can't wait for him to get better so he will sleep through the night again. We NEED sleep! =)

Day at the Zoo

2007-12-02T20:30:00.000-06:00

I intended to post this blog before we left for Utah for 10 Thanksgiving, but never got around to it. Anyways, I remembered to bring my camera to the zoo with us, and was able to get a few good pics! Plus, the story is kinda funny too.

On Friday (the day before we were leaving to fly to Utah), Tyler and I went to the Zoo with my friend Heather and her 3 adorable little girls. The Zoo is not very close to our house, so we don't go there often. In fact this was Tyler's first time. After I got him all packed to go, I was only running 15 minutes behind! So I stuffed him in the car, and we were off. As I was pulling out of the garage, I thought to myself, you better check to make sure you didn't leave the stroller behind. I was in a hurry, so I scanned the garage, and made sure it wasn't there, assuming the only other place it would be was in my car.

When we got to the zoo, I went around to the back of my Jeep to pull out my stroll. I was shocked! The stroller was MISSING! At this moment I just about screamed. No way! I checked the garage, and I knew I did not take it our of my car. I immediately called Brandon to yell at him for ruining my afternoon, because he obviously had taken the stroller out. Who else would have moved it? He said that he had not touched the stroller, and if it wasn't in my car, and I didn't take it out, then maybe it had been stolen. Oh great! I mean, come on, who steals a stroller!

The day was not a complete bust. The zoo, has strollers to rent for $5. For that price you'd think the straps would at least latch, but NO. anyways. WE had fun looking at the animal, and we also saw Diego (of Go Diego, Go) at the discovery barn.

Now back to the missing stroller. On my way home I got to thinking. Could I have possibly left the stroller after shopping? No. I would have run over it for sure, since I always park it right behind me when I load up. When I got home i scoured the garage on more time. No stroller. I guess some one did steal it. I thought back through the week. The last time I saw the stroller was on Wednesday, when we went shopping at Town Center (an outdoor shopping center). So before I went and bought another stroller, I decided to call Town Center security, and just see if they had found a stray stroller. Well, sure enough, one of the security guards had picked one up and had been driving around with it in the back of his BMW SUV (ridiculous). I felt pretty stupid. Who leaves a stroller in the parking lot anyways! I guess I'm just lucky Tyler wasn't in it! =)

Trick-or-Treat

2007-11-02T08:37:00.000-05:00

So I'm a little late on the Halloween pics, but here are a few of Tyler in his second Halloween costume. It was a little chilly out on Halloween, so we put him in his Frog costume that my aunt Remi had given him. Doesn't he look adorable! He even looked too cute when he was grumpy and tired of going from house to house. No, we did not make him walk everywhere, but we did drive around and visit a few friends, and of course Grandma & Grandpa Walker. Sorry Grandma & Grandpa Hardy we would never have made it in time for Halloween even if we did want to drive all the way to Phoenix.

Pumpkin Carving

2007-10-30T19:26:00.000-05:00

We finally did it! Believe it or not this is the first time in 7 years of wedded bliss that Brandon and I have ever carved pumpkins together. Tyler helped us gut the pumpkins. Although he preferred to put the seeds and mush back in rather that taking it out, he was still a big help. We can't wait until tomorrow night when we can take him around the neighborhood trick-or-treating!

Cowboy Up!

2007-10-21T21:04:00.000-05:00

We had or church's annual Trunk or Treat last night. The weather was warm, so we dressed Tyler up in his cowboy outfit. My aunt Tina had sent this outfit last year at Halloween. Since Tyler was born his "theme" has been cowboy (i.e. his room, blankets, and pacifier clip are all cowboy), so the costume was perfect. I've been waiting all year to dress him up and snap a few pics. He wouldn't keep his hat on, but he was still adorable. Cutest cowboy in the Midwest! Doesn't he look thrilled? Oh an what is a good cowboy with out his trusty "horse"!

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-21T19:21:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the weather was beautiful here in Kansas(80 degrees), so we decided to take Tyler to his first Pumpkin Patch. We went to Deanna Rose Farmstead, which happens to be just down the street from us.

We had so much fun looking at all the animals. Tyler especially love the pygmy goats. He was not shy at all! He went right up to them and tried to hug them. He even liked feeding them so much that he was looking for pellets that had fallen on the ground to pick up and feed them. It was kind of gross since goat terds are almost exactly the same size and shape as the pellets he was after. Lucky for us he never tried to put them in his mouth, which is suprising since every thing goes in his mouth!

We took a hay ride out to the little pumpkin patch. There were all kinds of fun activities for the kids. Tyler walked thropugh the corn maze, and played on the tower of hay. We tried to get him to help pick out a pumpkin, but he was more interested in playing in the dirt.

And the winner is...

2007-10-08T20:13:00.000-05:00

The verdict is in! As you can probably tell from the sunflower, we are staying in Kansas City! Mom you can breathe a sigh of relief now, and everyone else can shed a tear. I can finally relax and not feel like my life is in limbo. Man, I did not know how stressed and emotionally worn out I was getting over this whole thing! Today I can finally relax.

Not that I didn't want to move to Utah. Okay, I really didn't! But this was Brandon's decision to make (mostly). He knew that I would move if that is what he felt was best, but I'm sure glad he decided that at this point in his career it was not the best choice. Yeah!

Thanks for every ones prayers and support. We really appreciated it!

P.S. We have more than fields of corn and sunflowers here! But no beautiful mountains =(

I wish I had a crystal ball!

2007-10-03T10:37:00.000-05:00

Well, as most of you already know, Brandon has an opportunity to move to Utah with his current company. Brandon of course jumped at the chance of moving back to the mountains, but I on the other hand am not so sure.

When Brandon and I got married, I always told him that I was willing to move for his career. What I meant by that was, that if the opportunity presented itself for advancement, and we had to up root our lives and move, I would do it. The catch is I'm really only willing to do this if it is better for his career and therefore better for us financially and such. I mean, I'm a good wife, and I want my husband to succeed and be happy and all, but unfortunately for me this is a very real possibility now.

Now Brandon has been very excited about this possibility of moving, but I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing! For one, I LIKE Kansas City. I even thought Brandon liked Kansas (well he says he still does). We changed our whole blog layout to support the KU Jayhawks (currently his favorite college basketball team). My family is here. I have friends here. I am finally starting to feel settled here. The schools here are awesome (not that I have to worry about that right now, but in about 5 years it will matter). The city is nice, and the neighborhoods are master planned and well taken care of (at least in Johnson county). The cost of living is good, and houses are less expensive. Utah has some good things. The mountains. The outdoor activities. We have friends and family there too, but no grandparents. No FREE babysitting =)! I plead the 5th on everything else involving the pros and cons of moving. I'm liable to come across the wrong way if I say to much, so I'm keeping my big mouth shut for now.

Anyways, the bottom line is we don't even know if Humana (Brandon's company) will even give him what he needs ($$$) in order to live out there. So, I know when Brandon talks about it it sounds like a done deal, but it's not! We still have some big decisions ahead of us, and that is why I wish I had a crystal ball!

Must read!

2007-09-14T20:18:00.000-05:00

My friend sent me this email the other day, and I was laughing so hard I cried! I know all the Moms out there can relate! Enjoy!

Priceless..
A 3-year-old tells all from his mother's restroom stall. By Shannon Popkin
My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we're in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window.
People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There've been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco.
Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall:
"Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?"
At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity.
Cade continued, "Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh ... Mommy! I'm trying to see in dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You are gonna get some candy!"
I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting.
Trying to divert him, I said, "Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some!" "No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies. Oh! Mommy!" He started to gag at this point. "Uh oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!"
As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone.
"Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!" He grunted as he tried to pull me off.
Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door. "Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at, Mommy? You wooking at the wady's feet?"
More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation. "Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy." He started pounding on the door. "Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!"
I saw that my "wait 'em out" plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud. My first thought was complete emabarassment, then I thought, "Where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy?" But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.
(Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of three. She lives with her family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she no longer uses public restrooms)

Tag your it!

2007-09-14T19:13:00.000-05:00

4 JOBS I HAVE HAD:
1- Stay-at-home mom
2- Veterinary Technician
3- Receptionist
4- Legal Assistant

MOVIES I COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:
1- Pride & Prejudice (the new one with Kiera Knightly)
2- When Harry Met Sally
3- Any Harry Potter Movie
4- Tombstone

FAVORITE T.V. SHOWS:
1- Grey's Anatomy
2- Survivor (huge fan, even thought when it first came out I could not understand why anyone would want to watch it!)
3- The Office
4- LOST

FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1- Scrapbooking
2- Quilting
3- Reading
4- Going to the movies

PLACES I HAVE LIVED: More than 4 that's for sure!
1- Hayward, CA
2- Roseville, CA
3- Boise, ID
4- Houston, TX
5- Tomball, TX
6- Provo, UT
7- Springville, UT
8- Overland Park, KS
9- Olathe, KS

FAVORITE FOODS:
1- Pizza
2- Weinerschnitzle
3- Blue Chip iced sugar cookies
4- Biscuits with butter & honey

PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1- McCall, ID
2- riding a horse
3- in bed asleep
4- There's no place like home

WEB SITES I CHECK DAILY:
1- Yahoo mail
2- Gmail
3- Weight watchers
4- Blogger

WHO I'M TAGGING:
1- Ovard's (Noelle)
2- Johnson's (Ginny)
3- Black's (Kerry)
4- Naomi

Funny Face

2007-09-04T18:13:00.000-05:00

I found these pics on our camera. I thought they were so funny I just had to put them on here. It's hard to believe that 2 boys who are usually adorable can look so, well, horrible! When I saw these, I just started laughing! When I asked Brandon, he said he was trying to entertain Tyler by making funny faces, and decided to snap a few pics. Enjoy the results! I sure did.

A taste for the exotic

2007-08-29T16:14:00.000-05:00

While Brandon's parents were in town, Tyler had a great time exploring to backyard. WE had some great weather. For most of August it had been in the 90-100's, with a heat index of 110 sometimes, but this week it was in the 80's. We enjoyed the cooler weather and ate out on the patio a couple of times. Tyler however, ate in the yard. Sitting on the grass he found a poor "little" grasshopper. Curious he played with it, tried to give it to everyone, and finally did what he does best, and put it in his mouth! Yuck!!!

Well there was a great video of him actually eating the grasshopper, but the file was to big to put on the blog or on You tube. Sorry. It was really cute, and would have made this blog soooo much fun!

YES! People do come to Kansas for vacation!

2007-08-29T12:46:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm really trying hard to keep up with this blog. This blog happens to be right on track. I can't update daily, or even weekly because quite frankly my life isn't that interesting! Anyways, last week, Brandon's parents and his brother Chad came out to visit us for a few days. It was lots of fun for everyone! I was sick with a bad sinus infection and probably kinda crabby. Tyler was not on his best behavior. This is probably because I was just bragging about what a good baby he is, and how he goes right to sleep at night. Note: never brag about your child, he will inevitably turn you into a liar =)! I still think he is the cutest thing on earth! This is my very objective opinion. I'm certainly not biased in anyway! Yeah right! Oh right , so back to the visit. We mostly just relaxed. We were going to go to the Royals game, but the weather was pretty sketchy. Of course you should never believe the weather man. Forecast for huge thunderstorms, and we only got a light sprinkle! We watched movies, and played our Wii (I'll blog about the Wii later). The boy's golfed a couple of times, and The girls went to the mall. We also celebrated Rob's (Brandon's dad) birthday on Sunday. Tyler loved seeing his other grandparent's, and took to them right away. Grandparents left on Tuesday, which happens to be the day we lost everything. I lost my purse with my cell phone in it, Brandon lost his cell phone, and previously, Judy (Brandon's mom) had lost her brown sweater on her way here. But all was not lost after all! My purse was in my mom's car (we had borrowed it the night before to go down to the plaza), and Brandon's phone was left in the golf cart at Falcon Ridge where they had golfed earlier that morning. When Rob & Judy got home they called and told us they had found her missing sweater. It had been left on the shuttle bus! Brandon and Chad went to the DMB concert that night, and had a great time! Oh yeah, and I'm finally starting to get some relief from my sinus infection. Overall it was great to see everyone. We really wished we live closer to Brandon's family, but we're not moving to Arizona any time soon (Sorry, it's just to HOT). So maybe everyone should move to Kansas! I know, I know. Why would any one choose to live in Kansas! =)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2007-08-21T20:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Tyler's first birthday! We were going to have a party, but time has a way of getting away from me, and by the time I realized it, there was no time for invitations. Oh well! He won't remember anyways. We had dinner, cake and opened presents with my family, and Tyler's buddy Brycen came over with his parents. Tyler's aunt Tara was also in town from Utah to celebrate the big day. I can't believe a year has gone by already!

A boy & his dog

2007-08-21T18:31:00.000-05:00

Tyler loves his puppy. They are the best of friends, and love to share EVERYTHING! This includes their food. Tyler's favorite past time is dropping food on the floor for Dryfus to eat, or if he is lucky Dryfus will sneak up while I'm not watching and Tyler just hands over the food. Yuck! But it gets worse. Not only does Tyler share his food with the dog, but Dryfus also shares with Tyler! I know it's disgusting, and I try to prevent it at all costs, but Tyler can be pretty quick. If I turn my back even for a second he goes straight to the dog bowl. I have caught him with kibble in his mouth only once. I'm pretty sure he realized he didn't enjoy Dryfus' food as much as Dryfus enjoys his. But he still loves to play in the water bowl. Yuck! I guess the silver lining is that I don't have to sweep after Tyler eats!

P.S. No children or animals were harmed in the taking of these pictures!

Who's eating my tomatoes?

2007-08-21T18:12:00.000-05:00

Found: Half eaten green tomatoes in Brandon's garden (I don't garden!)

Suspect: Dryfus. Would our well behaved canine really do such a thing? Do dogs even like tomatoes, and green ones for that matter!

Evidence: He has eaten 2 trees in our yard! His face often smells like tomato plants. Dirty paws!

Verdict: He definitely did it!

Sentence: Supervised visit in the yard until tomato season is over. (More of a punishment for me than him since I have to be the one to sit outside with him in the sweltering heat!)

BUT WAIT! New evidence of a framing has arrived to set the record straight.

We found HUGE tomato eating caterpillars (technically, tomato worms). I'm sure Dryfus was after the caterpillars! He is now free to roam the yard without supervision once again.

Basement! Finally finished (well, sort of)

2007-08-10T23:49:00.000-05:00

You've been asking, and here it is . Finally! We actually finished this project a couple of months ago, but I never got around to posting anything about it. Imagine that (since it was the biggest thing going on in my life for 2 months!)! It only took 2 months of blood, sweat and tears (at least Brandon's, his dad's, and a few men for hires) to get it done, so I could finally stop complaining about the lack of space in my house. The closet doesn't have any shelves yet, but once that is done it will really be complete. Doesn't Brandon look cute. That picture was taken after the dry wall had been put up and he was cleaning up the mess. Oh, and sorry about the messy finished product, I really should have cleaned up before taking pictures! Such is life.

P.S. I think he really just wanted to show off his new TV =)

Our trip to Idaho

2007-07-25T10:57:00.000-05:00

Tyler and I just got back home from our trip to Boise, Idaho. We went with my mom and sister Megan to visit family. This was the first time most of them had ever met Tyler, and the first time I had gone to visit in 5 years!

We stayed with my grandpa while in Boise and got to visit almost all my aunts, uncles and cousins at least once. We were fortunate enough to be able to go to McCall. I love McCall! I don't think I have ever been to a more beautiful lake. It was fun being there with Tyler, and to be able to show him the place where I enjoyed my summers growing up.

We had a great time seeing everyone. Tyler loved playing with his cousins, especially in the pool or lake. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get pictures of everyone. I forgot my camera once or twice, and then the battery died and I did not get to charge it before I left. Sorry!

Tyler's 1st Haircut

2007-07-25T10:34:00.000-05:00

Tyler had his first hair cut last week. I can't believe how fast he is growing. He looks older now that his curly locks are gone!

Originally Brandon wanted to wait until he was 1 before cutting his hair. I don't know why, but for some reason he kept insisting that we wait. It wasn't until we were out running some errands together that he finally cave. That day 2 people told us what a darling little girl we had! OOPS! That did it. Brandon gave the go ahead. Now there is no mistaking him for a girl! He's ALL BOY.

BERMUDA!

2007-07-25T10:11:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I have updated this thing. I thought I would do better if I had a place to keep people updated, but I guess I'm just as bad at this as I am at keeping in touch through email or at all.

Since my last update, Brandon and I have gone to Bermuda with his company. Every year they have a gathering called the Presidents Club for all sales members who reach certain goals. Brandon has been doing AWESOME since joining the sales division, and we were able to go!

Wow! Bermuda is beautiful, and we had a blast. We left Tyler at home with Grandma, so it was our first trip without him, and my first time away form him for longer that a day. Even though I missed him a lot, it was great to have some time by ourselves, and what better place than BERMUDA!

UTAH

2007-05-11T09:42:00.000-05:00

Tyler and I just got back from Utah last Friday. We spent about 10 days there. We went out to see family and friends and for graduations! I am happy to report that this trip was 100% better than our last. Tyler was a happy boy the whole time. Well, except maybe for the plane ride to Utah. He pretty much screamed for the 1st 30 minutes of the flight. I never quite understood looks of terror on mothers face when their children were fussy on airplanes until now. We were couped up in a small plane with only 4 seats across. I felt so sorry for everyone around me. Tyler's ears were really bothering him, but he finally relented and fell asleep.

When we got there, Tara picked us up from the air port with her new boyfriend Zack (who I met for the first time). I stayed at my Aunt Kari's house (pictured above with her son Braden). On Friday the family went to BYU for Tara's graduation. Yeah Tara! I looked horrible in all the pics, so I didn't put them on here.

A few days after graduation, Tyler and I drove up to SLC to visit Nicole (my sister-in-law) and her kids. We stayed with them for a couple of days. Tyler enjoyed playing with his cousins (3 beautiful little girls). Nicole and I went shopping, and I spent way too much money! But I "needed" the things I bought, so it's okay. Right?

After visiting the Mathews family, we went back to Kari's house for a couple more days. We also visited our favorite friends from Provo (the Fredricks & the Ovards)! We miss them soooooo much! It was so great to see them and their kids. We are sad that we don't live closer so our boys could be best friends ( the Ovard's son Brigham is just a couple of weeks older than Tyler).

Finally we went to The University of Utah for my brother Kyle's graduation. Out whole family was able to attend and even my Grandpa was able to come ( actually he went to Tara's graduation too, so it was a double bonus). We love all our family and friends in Utah very much! It was great to see everybody. Thanks for making this trip better than the last!

Cancun..Spring Break???

2007-04-24T11:50:00.000-05:00

Well, this is my first blog. I had heard it was an easy fun way to keep in touch with friends and family, and since I'm such a slacker in that department, I thought I'd try it out! Some of you may have already heard about our "Fun" family vacation to Cancun Mexico, but for those who haven't here's what happened. My parents and younger sister decided to take a trip to Cancun for spring break, and invited Brandon, Tyler and me along. We thought it would be a fun filled time relaxing on the beach, but we were WRONG!

The first day (Sunday) was great fun. We were able to relax on the beach, and Tyler tested out the sand and surf for the first time! He love the sand, but wasn't thrilled about the ocean. On day 2 Tyler was a little crabby, and threw up his breakfast. I didn't think to much of it, and we went about our day relaxing. He slept most of the day, and continued to vomit after each meal. Day 3 (Tuesday)he was vomiting everything he ate, and then stopped wanting to eat. Now remember we are in a foreign country, and my poor little baby is only 7 months old! I was terrified that he was going to die. We called the hotel doctor who came and gave him the once over. He prescribed an antibiotic and told us to call him if he threw up in the next 4 hours, at which point he would recommend we take a trip to the hospital. With in the hour Tyler threw up what little amount of Pedialyte he had consumed, and we were off to the hospital.

We met a new doctor (a pediatrician) who admitted us to the emergency room. He explained in what little English he new that Tyler was dehydrated, and he needed and IV to keep him hydrated until he stops vomiting. Luckily my dear sweet husband can speak Spanish, so communication was not as bad as it could have been! MY POOR BABY was poked and prodded at least 7 times while they tried to find a viable vein to run fluids in to. I had to leave the room, I couldn't stand to listen to his cries as they wrapped him in a sheet to keep him still while they pierced his tiny hands with the needles. Try as they might, they were unable to place the IV in the emergency room. We were then transferred to the 3rd floor where we would end up staying the rest of the week. Finally at midnight one of the nurses tried again to place the IV and by a stoke of luck was able to hit a vein. He now had bruises and top of both his hands, on both his feet, and in the middle of both his arms. I know it wasn't their fault, but it was TERRIBLE!

That night I started throwing up too. I spent the whole night in the bathroom with my head in the toilet. I started to feel a little better in the morning, but was totally exhausted and still nauseous. Brandon started throwing up that morning, and spent all day in the bathroom. Now the whole family was sick. The nurses tested Tyler for Roto virus, but all tests came back normal. On Thursday evening around 9 pm I noticed that Tyler's arm with the IV was damp. The nurses came in and checked the IV and said everything was fine. Well, I may not be a human nurse, but I do place IV's in animal, and run fluids, and I knew that his arm was not supposed to be wet. A few minutes later I called the nurses in and they checked it again (after I insisted it was not right), and sure enough, the IV had come out. The doctor was called, and thankfully he said we could see how he does through the night, but if he throws up again they would have to replace the IV. NO WAY was I going to go through that again. Come Friday morning the doctor said we could check out that afternoon. Tyler threw up right before we were about to leave, but I did not mention it to them. I WAS LEAVING!

We spent the night in the hotel, and left early the next morning at 5 am for home. Tyler vomited again an the plane, so as soon as we arrived in Kansas City I called his doctor who sent us straight to Children's Mercy. At this point I didn't care I was just grateful to be back in AMERICA. We stayed at Children's Mercy for 3 days, and they did have to place another IV, but they were able to get it on the first try. They tested Tyler again for Roto virus, but this time the test was positive. He also had a bad ear infection. The doctors suspect he was exposed to Roto before we left out of town and it decided to ruin our vacation.

P.S. My nausea lasted 2 weeks, and i also came down with a bad case of Pink eye in both my eyes. Once that cleared up i started getting hives all over my legs, stomach, and lower back. These have lasted 2 weeks, and we can't figure out why! COULD THIS MONTH GET ANY BETTER! (see pics below)