June

June 28th finds me on the couch in my PJs reeling from the month I've just had. I don't know if I've ever experienced a month quite like it. So many milestones, events and getaways crammed into 28 days and it's still not over! This is a small taste of our experiences of June 2010.

June 2nd - Hazel's 1st birthday. Swimming, eating, and joy-ing for our 1-year-old.

June 4th - Hazel has a scope and biopsy done on her esophagus, stomach and intestines showing that she indeed has eosinophilic esophagitis or EE (as we suspected all along). 7 long hours at Primary Children's Hospital. She was so cute in her little gown and such a good girl.

June 8-11 - Annual getaway to Park City. We stayed at the beautiful Westgate Resort in the Canyons while Jarom attended the annual convention for Secondary Principals. Shopping, eating and shopping some more.

June 10th - Celebrated Jarom's 30th birthday in Park City with a BBQ and cake.

June 12th - Successfully planned and carried out a surprise party for Jarom's 30th birthday. He was actually surprised. His family came from California, we danced and ate nachos and chocolate cake. Many long-lost friends came and it was a special night. Thanks to those who came and made it special. And my apologies if you weren't invited. I was a wreck for the whole month before and I know I left some out that he would have loved to see there. So glad it's over!

June 15th-16th - Beehive campout. Cute girls+s'mores+tinfoil dinners+wind=successful overnighter.

June 16th - Cannon's 3rd birthday. Jumping, left-over nachos, cake. So much fun for my little boy!

June 17-19 - Trek. Jarom and I were a "Ma & Pa" for 10 kids for a handcart Trek through the mountains. 20 miles, exhaustion, dancing, eating, pulling, hiking, dirt. We came back exhausted, sore and forever changed.

June 20th - Father's Day. I love my father(s) and the mystifying father of my babies. I'm sad we didn't really get to celebrate, but I hope that the 3 fathers in my life know who they are and that they are loved.

June 21-27 - Wright Reunion/Becar Family Magical Mystery RV Tour. 7 days in a giant motorhome with my little family was amazing. We traveled to Lake Woahink just outside the coastal city of Florence, OR. We boated, ate, talked, shopped, 4-wheeled and enjoyed our awesome Wright family (My mother's side). I'm planning a full post dedicated to this trip. A highlight for me was definitely being on the tube with Jasmin and Kristin. We were pretty much assaulted and abused on the tube and my neck hurt for days but I've never laughed so hard in my ever loving life.

June 24 - Celebrated 6 years of marriage! We snuck away from the reunion festivities for a quiet dinner at a sleepy little seafood place and a walk on the docks where the fishing boats were resting. I had oysters for the first time and discovered my unquenchable LOVE for clam chowder. Holy heck, fresh seafood is freaking good stuff. I vow to someday live where it's readily available. Jarom had a double cheeseburger, of course.

June 28 - Nap until July.

This does not include the doctor appointments, physical therapy, packing, unpacking, repacking etc. I'm not doing this to brag (not sure if advertising my inability to say "no" and clinical insanity is really considered bragging). But, I'm in awe of the stuff we were able to do in one month. I'm not necessarily someone who loves having a lot to do. In fact, I really like my down time. I plan on having lots of downtime the rest of the summer. I do feel incredibly happy that I have the opportunities that I do. I guess in short, I love my crazy life.

Three

He's three. It's hard to believe that three years ago was the magical day I became a mom. After 17 hours of labor, Cannon was suddenly the center of my universe. He's been quick to do everything - always in a rush. He rolled over from his front to his back at 2 months. He crawled at 6 months. He walked at 9 months and has been running ever since. I look at his big boy frame and hear the things he says and I'm baffled that this is the little baby I brought home from the hospital those three years ago. Now he says things like "Mom, we have a problem", and "Mom, go away", and "Mom, can we make blueberry muffins, please?" Yes, Cannon, the answer is yes. As long as you want to make blueberry muffins more often than you want me to go away. And please, for the love of Pete, slow down.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little boy. How did I ever get so lucky? He's a wonderfully sweet, painfully smart little man. Yay for 3!


(As a side note, we decorated his room last night while he was sleeping and I can't wait to hear his reaction this morning when he sees streamers and balloons covering his walls. We'll be bouncing today and eating nachos and chocolate cake as requested.)

Update: This morning when Cannon woke up and saw his room he said: "My room is a mess, who messed up my room? Lets clean it!" That's my clean freak son. After I told him it was for his birthday I think he liked it. He's been calling it his birthday room. Phew!

The boy

I know the content of this blog has been 95% Hazel for the last few months. I'm hoping to decrease that number to 92% after this post.

Cannon is here too, and he won't let us forget it. In many ways he is becoming less and less a baby and more and more a boy. He'll be 3 in a little over a week. Jarom and I joke that I gave birth to my husband - their resemblance is uncanny. They love all the same things. Although he's going through a bit of a stubborn and naughty phase (at least I pray it's a phase), he is hilarious and perceptive.

He loves to sing and can remember songs after hearing them only once or twice. His favorites are "A Temple" aka I Love to See the Temple and "A Family" aka Families Can Be Together Forever. But he can also sing "Book of Morning Stories", "Bluebird", "Spider", Blackbirds", "Cannon Hammers with one Hammer" and lots of others.

He's crazy. He likes to jump off of high things and ride his 4-wheeler. He's not scared of much. He asks us not to buckle his car seat every single time we put him in the car. I always have to explain to him that it's dangerous and we love him and want him to be safe. He's starting to understand the concept of danger. Kind of.

He is obsessed with helicopters. Jarom took him on a real helicopter ride last week and he LOVED every second. He got to wear a headset and talk to Jarom the whole time. He was glued to the window and when he got out he said "can we do it again and again?"

He still takes a good 2-3 hour nap every day. He has to sleep naked for some reason and when I tell him it's nap time he never complains, but he'll start stripping himself down to just his underwear. It makes me laugh, but whatever it takes to get a few hours of Hazel or project time.

He has a neat streak. He likes things to be clean and in order. When he goes to bed at night, he has to have all his trucks and cars lined up against the wall before he can get in bed. He likes to help me sort the laundry and if I give him a baby wipe, he'll clean the floor, table, chairs and baseboards.

His very favorite activity is making blueberry muffins. We make a batch almost every other day because he loves them so much. He is capable of eating an entire batch all on his own. I always make a mini-mufin pan for him and a pan of regular sized ones. One day I was sick and making the muffins took a lot out of me so I went to lay down when they were cooling. I came back and he had eaten every single muffin!

It's no secret that Jarom is his favorite person. He wants to be just like his daddy. While I was pregnant with Cannon I had a vivid dream in which a little blond boy about 3 or 4 years old was sitting on my bed and asked me to "do his hair just like daddy's". I remember so much about that dream, and in many ways it has come true. When Jarom gets his tools out to work on a project, Cannon is right by his side with his little plastic tools. When Jarom mows the lawn, Cannon is right behind him with a plastic lawn mower. When Jarom laughs, Cannon laughs. And, well, you get the picture. It's a good thing he's got such a great man to idolize.

He's a great kid. It's been hard for him to be neglected while Hazel takes so much of our time and energy. He's faced this trial with love and understanding. He is very sweet to his sister and rarely shows signs of jealousy. He snuggles her and sings her songs and sometimes even shares his toys with her. I sure love him. He makes our house loud, fun and messy but I love him just the way he is.

(this picture was taken on Mother's Day by Jarom)

One

She's one. It's pretty hard to believe. I remember exactly what I was doing at 11:20 a.m. on June 2nd 2009 and I won't ever forget it. What a ride it's been. I wouldn't change anything about this year - although it's had plenty of tears and prayers. It's mostly been one of the best years of my life. Happy Birthday, Lovey lulu! I'm attempting to make an allergy-free cake for her to devour. It's not an easy task. We'll be swimming and partying with family later today. I'll be sure to post plenty of pictures of the festivities.






(A note about the pictures. Hazel is quite possibly the most difficult child to photograph. She NEVER looks at the camera and when she does she squints and makes her scrunchy face. I pulled out all my bag of tricks to no avail. I still think they're cute but I wish I could get one normal smiling picture, ya know? My across-the-street-neighbor, Monica made her cute bow. I love that it looks like a party. I knew the second I saw it that she'd wear it for her birthday. I just got the tutu at Kid-2-kid, although I wish I would have had my friend,Jamie make one. She does such a great job.)