Being Jolley

Playing Yahtzee

2011-08-23T18:30:00.002-06:00

So I bought a set of 10 dice to replace the 5 that I lost for my Yahtzee game...that way I had extra just in case. JT saw those dice and immediately asked what they were for. I told him they were for the game called Yahtzee. He ran away for a little bit and then came back up to me and asked if I would play "be-yacht-chy" with him. Ha ha ha!! I thought that was hilarious and I told him he needed to go ask his dad and see what see said.

The lizard

2011-07-29T10:08:00.001-06:00

Cash found a lizard outside today.

Cash: Can I take him home?
Me: Well you'll have to ask your mom when she gets here.
Cash: (pulling some old movie ticket stubs out of his pocket) Ya, I can take him home. I have tickets for a lizard.

Fortunately for the lizard it was able to make an escape later :)

Ninjas

2011-07-07T13:07:00.003-06:00

JT: Mom, ninjas wear black suits. I wonder where I can buy a ninja suit? Maybe at a ninja store.
Mom: Do you want to be a ninja for Halloween?
JT: No, maybe Sonic. But I don't want you to be a Diamond Standard cause that's not cool. Maybe Princess Peach instead.

(To explain, the diamond standard is actually a phrase from a dishwashing detergent commercial! It's Finish: The Diamond Standard. For some reason that commercial stuck in his head and for months afterwards he would see it on the TV and force me to watch it over and over again.)

Old story

2011-07-06T20:50:00.003-06:00

This is from February:

We were at the park for playgroup. I was sitting at a picnic table when JT ran up to me and sat across from me. Here's how the conversation went :)
JT: Hey mom, I just want to chit chat.
Mom: What do you want to chit chat about?
JT: Hmm...kitties. [turning around to talk to all his friends/cousins at the park] Hey, who wants to sit and chit chat with me about kitties?
Ashlyn: Well, I want to go play...who wants to go play with me?
JT: I do [running off to go play]

Funny

2011-07-06T20:47:00.003-06:00

I was reading to JT an abridged version of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He heard the words headless horseman and immediately thought of Scooby Doo.

JT: Phantom's how you say ghost-with-a-blanket-on-his-head...[slight pause] in Spanish

Ha Ha

2011-07-01T08:51:00.001-06:00

Mom: How'd you get those vitamins open?

Jt: My ninja skills

Speaking English

2011-06-02T09:02:00.002-06:00

JT said to me today that thank you in English was said "stish-starng" (something completely made up, I don't even remember what it was per se). I'm pretty sure he meant that to say thank you in a language like Spanish was pronounced differently but got kinda confused.

2011-04-18T15:06:00.003-06:00

JT said the funniest thing to me today.

I found tiger for him, his favorite stuffed animal. As soon as he picked him up he ran into the kitchen and shoved him in a cabinet. I said, "oh, are you playing hide and seek with tiger?"

He turned to me and with a huge eye roll said, "yeess, he wants to play, aaggaain!" as if he had been severely put out by tiger forcing him to play the game with him. It was really cute :)

Handcuffs

2011-01-02T00:11:00.003-07:00

JT and I were sitting in the living room when I heard him say, "Look, Mom! Look at what I have on." I about had a heart attack because I didn't know if we had a key to the handcuffs at the house. I knew William had one on his key ring because he takes a pair of handcuffs to work everyday but he was at work right then. I also thought of Sam, JT's uncle, who would have a key on his key chain as well. I tried calling Sam, who didn't answer his phone (it turns out he was in a movie with his other brother.) I then tried picking the lock on the handcuffs, which always looks so easy in the movies. That of course didn't work. Finally, I rummaged in all of our junk drawers. Fortunately I found one otherwise he would have worn them until his dad came home :)

Day with our cousins

2011-01-01T12:36:00.003-07:00

Cash and Isabell came over to play yesterday. It was tons of fun!

Here they are dancing in JT's room. They definitely all have some very smooth moves, like Cash's "standing worm" and JT's "airbending" (from the Last Airbender.)

JT's picture with his favorite animal...can't really see tiger, though.
He's riding piggyback.

It's kinda cold in my house since I am refusing to turn on the heater.
So all the kids sat in their carseats under individual blankets
and watched some Transformers, Generation 1 (JT's new favorite show.)

This blanket, if you remember from the last picture, was Isabell's.
She is now completely covered and asleep!

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2011-01-01T12:07:00.002-07:00

2010-12-29T07:58:00.003-07:00

JT has been doing this lately: But, Mom!
And he says it in that whiny voice that is so annoying!

Here's another conversation that we had this morning...notice this is the 3rd thing I've written down today :)

JT: Mom, if you don't play a game with me I won't give you the rest of my banana. (If I could record how he said it, I would because it's such a salesman's voice :))

2010-12-29T07:49:00.002-07:00

JT: Here's a song for you, Mom. "5 little gingerbreads sitting in the road. You aren't going to eat me; no, no, no. Crunch, Munch, Uh oh..." Quiet down, train! You're too loud. Mom, the train is making too much noise!

2010-12-29T07:44:00.004-07:00

JT: Mom, will you help me put on my clothes? I can't see anything.

(He comes up to me and his arms are through his shirt but his head won't go through the hole in the shirt. I'm pretty sure he wasn't joking around, either. What a goof!)

More funny conversation

2010-12-28T12:44:00.002-07:00

JT: Mom, put your hand right here. [on his throat] Feel that? [swallows his food he's eating] It goes down, down, down to my tummy. Then down to my leg and my toe!

Heart failure

2010-12-27T14:16:00.003-07:00

I totally felt like my heart was going to stop when I went into JT's room to check on him while he was napping and he wasn't in his bed. I had to pull out my camera when I figured out where he was!

Christmas Day

2010-12-27T14:04:00.003-07:00

I didn't take a lot of pictures this year, I guess. Next year I'll probably take to many :) Thank for all the gifts, Grandma and Grandpa Jolley, Great-Grandpa Jolley, and Nana and Grandpa Rose!

Thanks, Miss Melanie for this great book!

Christmas Party

2010-12-27T13:39:00.004-07:00

William's work had a Christmas party for the families. It was fun :) JT did such a good job seeing Santa. It's funny how much kids change within the year. Last year he was crying at being placed on Santa's lap!

JT playing the Grinch (or the Grunch as JT says it)

As soon as he sat down, JT folded his arms decisively...like he needed to be reverent in order to see Santa. (BTW...nice Santa, huh? The real deal, I figure!)

Opening the gift from Santa. All the kids who came to the party received a gift right then.

Ahhh, only after looking at this picture did I understand what he kept calling these trucks. I would always hear "twist wisters." But I guess they're called "tread shifters."

Another funny conversation

2010-12-19T12:16:00.002-07:00

JT: I love you back to the moon and then back again!

(I'm trying to be better about writing down the things he says and I know this is a great place to do it, so I'm sure there will be lots more to come!)

Funny conversation

2010-12-19T10:27:00.002-07:00

JT -- How old are you?
Mom -- 33
JT -- Hold out your hand and I will give you 33 of them (drops of hand sanitizer)

Gilbert Temple

2010-11-23T11:28:00.004-07:00

The groundbreaking for the Gilbert Temple was a week ago but we are really excited about the Temple being built here. To show you how close it is, here is a Google map showing you how we would get to the temple from our house. (I guess you have to understand that we live in the middle of nowhere so a temple only 45 min away is really cool!)

View Larger Map

Also, here are some pictures of JT and Will at the groundbreaking ceremony. There were tons of people! As you can tell from the pics, JT didn't make it through the whole thing. They ended up leaving early rather than having him take a nap in the dirt :)

The pledge of Allegiance

2010-11-19T15:26:00.002-07:00

Thanks Melanie for teaching my son the Pledge of Allegiance!

Our Little Monkey

2010-11-19T15:08:00.003-07:00

Here's JT showing how he gets all the stuff I try to place out of his reach. He really has turned into a little monkey!

Carving Pumpkins

2010-10-30T14:54:00.004-06:00

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T13:41:00.003-06:00

Happy Halloween everyone! (Yes, it is I, Tracey...actually posting on my blog. Try not to be too shocked!)

At the ward trunk-or-treat party: Luigi, Mario, and some random D-Back fan

Our masterpieces: My "mommy" pumpkin, JT's scary spider, and Will's pumpkin titled "It's me, Mario!"

My cute little Mario ("No mom, it's JT! I'm just pretending to be Mario.")
Put the costume together myself...bought the overalls and turtleneck at Goodwill (size 18 mos--yeah, my son is almost 4 yrs old.) Made the hat and mustache. I thought it was really cute!

2009-05-05T20:30:00.001-06:00

It's 89 degrees in the house today...

Just thought everyone should know

Finally...a house!

2009-04-22T18:00:00.002-06:00

I have not blogged in a few months because we are currently living with our BIL/SIL.

Today we got word today that the offer we put on a house was accepted.

Here's the story:

Mid-March we placed an offer on this house for $40,000; received a counter offer of 48,000; and then countered back at 45,000. We didn't hear anything back from the bank for a few days and so dropped our offer back to $40,000. (It was the beginning of our search at that point and with all the different houses on the market here, I was optimistic that we could find a better house/deal...)

We searched for another house and nothing worked. All of our offers fell through. I was super stressed and mad at the world. When the house popped back up on the market with a listing price of $44,900; I about passed out. We immediately put in a new offer of $40,000. This time, they accepted!

The house is 1630 square feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath. It needs new flooring, paint, and a lot of cleaning but besides that its great!

I am so excited. Theresa's already planning on visiting every February (I'll head up to North Dakota in August as a trade :))

Here's a link to the model homes.

Love you all!
Tracey

2009-03-05T14:23:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, Joseph had beef and macaroni, corn, and pudding for dinner (mostly just pudding...) Afterwards, he was a mess and jumped into the shower with Will. As he was getting out, he pinched his fingers :( He cried so much I was cradling him like a baby. As I held him, I noticed a large bunch of snot in his nose. I thought, wow, that is massive...

But as I walked into better light, I saw that it was bright yellow. It took a few seconds for me to process this and realize that it was a piece of corn! He had stuffed a corn kernel in his nose during dinner. Fortunately I noticed it because as he was crying, he was sniffling and it was about to go all the way up. Granted, he really could have just sucked it into his mouth and then swallowed it but he also could have choked on it without us even realizing what was happening!

As I sat there cradling him, I watched the kernel make its way further into his nostril. What to do? Tweezers, of course!

I am not looking forward to the body exploration stage. I've heard so many horror stories of rocks or other things in ears or nostrils.

2009-02-21T12:05:00.002-07:00

Joseph is turning into a great helper. He is now helping me cook and is always begging to climb up onto his stool and see what's going on. He even helped make his own birthday cake (the mixing/pouring part, not the decorating.)

The other day, I made some lemon-cranberry muffins (they turned out okay, but I think I may change the recipe a little next time.) He helped me put the ingredients into the bowl, mix it up, and then helped me put the batter into the muffin tins.

Party Time!

2009-02-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

Now, onto the party...
Joseph opened up a huge remote monster truck...Thanks to TJ and Becky Vidaurri who gave that to us a year and a half ago. Joseph is definitely ready for it now :)
Molly and Ashlyn gave Joseph the movie The Reef which we have already watched twice :)
Joseph also received a fun penguin backpack from Great-Grandma and Grandpa Jolley, a set of building blocks (leftover from Christmas...I forgot to put them under the tree!), a Thomas the Train set of movies, and the Thomas the Tank Engine toy that I put on the cake. Ashlyn and Cash both got to take one home as a party gift.
Ta Da! Here's the cake...I loved making it.
I made it with applesauce and egg substitute so that it was relatively healthy. Of course the frosting was made with 2 lbs of powdered sugar, one cube of butter, and a half a cup of shortening...but is there anything better than buttercream frosting? Not for me!

Joseph's Birthday

2009-02-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today, Joseph turned two. It was such a great day! Here are a few pictures. There will be more tomorrow...
We went to Freestone Railroad in Gilbert. Joseph loved the train!
As we traveled on the train the kids were fascinated by the ducks in the pond.
Joseph loved the wave runner ride! The cousins went on this one twice.
On the other hand, Joseph hated the mini ferris wheel...can't you tell? He only went on this one once.
After playing so hard, they ate a great lunch at the playground. I thought the day went really well! It was beautiful outside but wasn't too warm. There weren't too many people at the park. I know Joseph had so much fun!
I'm heading to bed...it was a long day! Tomorrow I will make sure to post the pictures of Joseph opening up his gifts and eating his cake.

2009-02-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

I am so excited...this weekend I am doing a booth with Usborne! It's been such a long time. Again, I'm excited!

The event is a big fundraiser for two conjoined twins who live in our ward. They are trying to raise money for a separation surgery.

I typed up this post so that you could read this article about them. They are the cutest little girls. Keep them in your prayers, please.

Porta Potty

2009-01-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

I love my son! He's so cute.

As a preface, I may need to remind some of you that Joseph's potty is in the guest bathroom. We sit on it in the morning and the evening. Otherwise, there's really not much else going on in potty world.

Today I left him watching Backyardigans (again, TV :( oh well...) while I got in the shower. I usually close my bedroom door completely but instead left it a little bit ajar. I was almost done when I heard Joseph's "Mommy?" He walked into the bathroom, saw me, and then didn't say anything else. I was in the middle of washing my face and so couldn't look even though I kept hearing banging sounds. Kind of worrying. When I opened my eyes and wiped the water off the shower door, Joseph was sitting on his little potty! He had moved it to the exact same spot it was in before we put it in the guest bathroom. Maybe he missed sitting on the potty while mommy and daddy got ready in the morning :)

What Kind of Bear is it?

2009-01-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

I was in the kitchen cooking while Joseph was watching Diego on TV (I know I said he watched too much TV...but William is home today and it's just easier.)

As I was at the stove, Diego was asking the captive audience to identify a bear he was showing a picture of. Joseph immediately said that it was a "Tare Bear!" (Did I mention he watches too much of his one and only movie that I own...Care Bears. Well, as you can tell, he does.)

BTW, the bear was a polar bear. Easy mistake for any two year old to make :)

The Cry It Out Method

2009-01-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of the cry it out method? That is what Joseph has been having to do this last month, even for naps. I know it's the lack of a binkie that's causing him to cry for a longer period as he goes to sleep. Sometimes he'll cry for an hour or more before falling asleep for his naps.

If you read up on the whole "Ferber" method, it tells you that you aren't hurting your children (though leaving them for hours on end isn't really part of the actual method.) But after the conversation I had with him tonight, I wonder if I am not traumatizing him in some way.

We were leaving the grocery store in the evening and the moon was out. I pointed it out to Joseph, mentioning to him that it was small. He said, "Goodnight, moon! Shh, sleeping." Sooo cute!

Then he comes out with, "crying...moon crying."

We continued...
Me: Why is the moon crying?
Joseph: Sad
Me: Why is the moon sad?
Joseph: Crying

I have no idea what he's talking about but one interpretation is that he is thinking about bedtime. He spends so much time crying at night (with cries of mommy and daddy and HUG thrown in over and over again) that maybe he now associates bedtime with tears and sadness. If that's true, it kind of makes me sad, too.

I know it's good for him to learn to go to bed on his own without any help from me except a good book and a nighttime prayer. I know that...except it hurts my heart to hear him cry at night. (Unless I'm in a bad mood, and then it's a little wearing). I really don't want him to hate bedtimes! I would love to have him snuggle with me in his bed while we read a few books. Maybe someday.

For now I'll simply have to love him. Not hard to do! I love him so much. I can't hug him enough or kiss him enough.

2009-01-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

Joseph got a phone for Christmas...don't worry it's fake! Lately, he's been calling people on the phone. It's so cute I just had to capture it on film :)

Will and I also think it's hilarious that he starts saying "hola" towards the end of the video (once to daddy and then to cash). Obviously, he's been watching too much Dora the explorer and Diego.

Go, Diego, Go!

2009-01-22T22:21:00.000-07:00

What is this a picture of, you may ask? Is this really your son wiping his little bottom while only wearing his Diego shoes? Why, yes...yes it is.

Binkie Part II

2009-01-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

Could it really be that easy? His binkie is gone...he hasn't asked for it once; he falls asleep almost as quickly; he complains just as much as bedtime/naptime as he always did...

The only downside to the whole thing is getting up an hour early in the morning. He was up at 6:00 this morning! I didn't go in and get him, though. William did :) He let me sleep in a little bit more (He is really sweet like that!)

Binkie Goes Bye-Bye

2009-01-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

What a nice alliterative phrase for what we are attempting to do :)

Last night, Joseph slept without his binkie...it took a little bit of time to fall asleep. Not too bad, actually. He whimpered some during the night but otherwise did okay. He woke up a half-hour earlier than usual, though, which wasn't so okay!

His nap today was a little bit trickier. He screamed for a good 45 minutes (maybe even an hour) before finally falling asleep. He probably won't even sleep for his full nap time (used to be three or four hours, but ever since going to UT it's down to two.)

I am really excited to be done with the binkie...I couldn't try potty training a "big" boy but let him use a binkie, right? At least that's how I saw it :)

TV...too much!

2009-01-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

We are watching too much TV in my house. Joseph is such a great TV watcher, though! It's sad (but such a guilty relief for me!) He could sit and watch TV all morning (and has some days) if I'll let him. So I have been trying to do new things and keep both of us busy.

Joseph is now a great helper with the dishwasher. He will take all of the silverware out of the dishwasher and put it in the silverware drawer. He just throws it in there, but who cares? I simply put them all in their slots later. He'll put the measuring cups in there, too. He knows where the cutting boards go and he'll put all of the spatulas and wooden spoons away. Emptying the dishwasher has never gone so quickly :) I'm loving it!

We also have been reading more books and I've finally gotten back into my Usborne Books At Home.

The other day, though, we tried some edible playdough (edible since I wanted to make it myself and let Joseph eat some without worrying.) It was a mixture of peanut butter, powdered sugar, flour, and oats. A pretty tasty combination, if you ask me :)

It was great fun! Here's a video of us playing with the playdough. I set up the camera and then turned it on and sat back down with Josesph. The video was originally about 10 minutes long! It'll be great in a few years to show Joseph what he was like at 23 months. Don't worry, I didn't place a 10 minute video on my blog...it's only 4 minutes (not much better, I know, but the best I could do...there was so much cute stuff that I just had to keep in there!)

2009-01-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a great video of Joseph rocking out to Rock Band at Chris and Laurie's over the Christmas holiday. Again, it was so fun spending time with family. (BTW, the whole thing with the video not uploading correctly may have actually been something with my computer...whatever it was, I got it to work!)

Sorry, I posted this video and then deleted the post thinking the video was incomplete...So for all of you who receive emails about my posts, this will come to you twice :)

What! Another Potty Post?!

2009-01-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's another one :)

Today, Joseph sat on the potty and peed on command (that's a very short synopsis of the entire story...but truly, he did!) After his bath with his dad, I was about to put on his diaper when I asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty. He ran back to the potty and peed. When I asked him if he needed to pee more, he peed more. When I said, "show daddy how you peed," he peed again.

Later that evening, he was in his high chair and said "potty, mama...poopoo." I could kind of already smell something but I asked him if he wanted to go to the potty. He took off running for the potty. I removed the dirty diaper right next to his potty and sat him down (he got poop all over the seat, but who cares when he's getting set for training, right?) There was no other "business" done, but I'm figuring that he won't care because he got a treat anyway for almost going in the potty.

I'm really excited in some ways and also really scared. Potty training is a big committment! That means I have to be consistent and careful. It means cleaning up messes and worrying about whether I should be putting him in training pants all the time. William suggested buying a small pack of pull-ups and putting him in them during the day when we are at home. If we go somewhere we can just use diapers. Plus, he'll need diapers at night for a while.

Wish me luck on my endeavor!

Potty Successes

2009-01-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today Joseph said "potty?" and went to go sit on the potty. Both days it was after his bath, which surprises me. Isn't he just going potty in the bathtub like every other kid?

Oh well, to get back to the story...

Both times I left him on the potty for 30 seconds tops and when I came back there was "pee pee" in the potty! When he stood up and showed me, he immediately got a treat. Hooray!

I'm not going to start potty training per se but I guess I will continue on this same path of casual reminders of the importance of potties. It would be nice to have him out of diapers soon, but I don't have high expectations...that way I'm not pressuring either of us. He doesn't need to grow up too fast, right?

Funny Story

2009-01-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the funniest thing happened with Joseph.

He was sitting on the computer cord so that it was pulling where it was hooked to the laptop. So I "pushed" him off the cord (yes, it really was a push...I need to watch myself and teach manners by example. A "please move Joseph" is in order from now on.)

He fell over onto his shoulder and turned to me with a dirty look on his face. Out of his mouth came this really long sentence that I could not even attempt to remember. But I will paraphrase:

"Mommy, you pushed Joseph. You need a spanking!"

At this point in the conversation, still looking mad, Joseph slapped my knee and said again "spanking!"

I apologized and let him know I was sorry. I really will try harder next time not to just assume I can push him around. He really is growing up!

Again, I repeat, I love this age. He is sooo cute!

The Other Side of Christmas

2009-01-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Here's Christmas with the other side of the family. We had so much fun in UT! I didn't take many pictures, unfortunately. I sent my camera home early with my husband :(

Playing with Grandpa Jolley around Laurie's beautiful Christmas dinner table...the cousins couldn't get enough of it!

My hunky hubby...isn't he great!

Joseph rocking out with Rock Band2...he loved playing the drums

The ball room...what a great place to hang out!

Sorry, I had another great video to place on this post but I am having some major issues with blogger right now. I'm so frustrated I think I may create another blog with another blog host...we'll see.

Finally, Christmas Morning

2009-01-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

The tree with all of the toys under it...there's Joseph's bike!

Grandpa Rose reading a Christmas story...we always read a story before opening gifts.

BrookLynne, Joseph's younger cousin, is growing and changing so fast!

Joseph loved helping everyone open their gifts.

I love you, Mama

2009-01-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today is a day I need to remember. Joseph said "I love you, Mama" twice without any provication. It makes my heart melt :)

2008-12-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

I love that Joseph pretty much tries anything, food-wise. (I have to add food-wise since there are so many other things he's unwilling to try...but that's another story!)

Here's how I get Joseph to eat eggs and toast. If I give him scrambled eggs and a slice of toast separately on a plate, he usually won't eat them. Instead I do this:

That's a piece of toast covered in applesauce and then topped with eggs. (Some may say yuck when reading this but I also enjoy something sweet with my eggs. My favorite is jam, which I spread onto the toast and then top with eggs...I know, sounds kooky!)

Here's the aftermath:

Almost done...

What zany things do you put together hoping your child will eat them? Is it something you would try yourself? Or do you just end up pawning off random foods to your child hoping to hit upon something that they'll love?

2008-12-23T16:11:00.000-07:00

How often do you get mad at your kids for something when you are yourself ultimately responsible?

It seems to be happening to me more and more lately. As I consider the situation, though, I realize that I need to discipline him anyway. How else will he understand that he did something wrong...even if I helped cause the entire incident. There's immense guilt, I've discovered, but what else am I supposed to do?

Maybe you don't feel the same way...but I did leave the butter within easy reach even after finding him poking at it the first time. Fool me once, Joseph, shame on you...Fool me twice, doubly shame on me!

What ARE you eating?!
How can he look so smug? Maybe I better use my mommy voice?
Finally, some remorse...or is he just realizing this will be on my blog within a few days?

The Golden Arches

2008-12-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

What to do when you are watching over your sister's three kids plus your own? Take them to McDonald's, of course! We got there a little after 11:00 a.m. and left at 1:15! Talk about a great way to get in some fun play time for the kids and great reading time for me.
Caprice, Karina, and Joseph were very willing to pose for the pictures...all we needed was Brayden. Don't worry, they convinced him to come up eventually.
Joseph kept saying "cheese" and "mama" while hanging up in the play place. Can I just say one more time how much I love that little guy?
Brayden is such a cutie! A great helper/older brother, too!

Freezing in Texas

2008-12-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Ahh, Texas...don't most poeple think of sunshine and humidity when they think about the weather here? I did until I came and it was 34 degrees and raining a little. I walked out of the airport and simply froze...I guess all of my Utah blood has become Arizonized. (I cover up with a blanket when it gets down to 73 at my AZ house.)

My older and most definitely wiser sister

Theresa's neighborhood is beautiful. I love it! She lives on a nice street with lots of trees (what are trees? some of you Arizonans may ask...they are large and leafy and gorgeous!) She's a few blocks from her school and today Caprice (2 1/2 yrs) and I walked down to meet Brayden (6 yrs) and his mom while Joseph stayed home with Karina (9 yrs) who wasn't feeling well.

Great tree, huh? Makes a nice picture spot!

Joseph, Brayden, and Cinderella

Theresa's house is treasure trove of toys...Joseph's little slice of heaven :) She has so many different toys, I feel like I'm in a really high end Toys R' Us. Joseph is loving life right now. Today, Theresa set up this amazing train set in Brayden's room. He is having a great time playing with everyone...especially Caprice, the closest to him in age.

The best room ever!

2008-12-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

Mark's work had a grand opening for his branch. We went up and had tons of fun! The kids ate so much junk! Jumping in the bounce house worked all the sugar out of their system, though.
Popcorn...that's healthy, right?

Snow Cones...it was chilly outside, but Joseph still chowed down on it!

Joseph

Cash

Ashlyn

Need a clean house?...host a brunch!

2008-12-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

I invited Marci and Molly over the other day for brunch. It was perfect because my house was getting messy! I always love a committment to motivate me. All I need to do is host a brunch once a week for the rest of my life and my house should stay clean :)

Snacking on peppers, carrots, and celery...yum!

Cash loved the ranch dressing...can't you tell?

Thought this was a picture, but took a great video instead!

Picture Tag

2008-12-09T22:51:00.000-07:00

Nothing too exciting with my tag from Marci...I think I've blogged this picture before. Should've made something up and picked a crazy one anyway.

4th file, 4th picture
This is William and Joseph in Marci and Sam's backyard. It's his first time on a bike, afterwhich he became addicted! He loves bikes (and trains, cars, buses, diggers, garbage trucks...I really could go on and add more.) I am so excited that he's getting a bike for Christmas ($10 on Craigslist...not too bad, if I don't say so myself.) I plan on putting it under the tree with a big bow...how classic is that!? :)

I reserve the right to not tag anyone else...I admit that I'm a bit of a tag humbug.

Christmas Lights

2008-12-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday night we went to the Mesa Temple and saw the lights. It was so much fun and Joseph loved it!

Camel Train Across the Deseret of Arizona

Palm Trees
Joseph loved it, as I mentioned. He was all over the place! William and I had to keep running after him...I'm amazed I was able to even catch a few shots of him :)
see that speck in the distance...yeah, that's him
redefinition of the quickstep
and he's off!
I was able to get him to sit still for a few pictures, though...
Four of the cousins
Say Cheese!
The kindness of strangers (she played peek-a-boo with him which is the only way he'd smile)

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was great...mine was wonderful!

We spent it at Marci's after the boys got finished with work. I did the turkey, stuffing, yams, and gravy. My first :) It seemed to take forever and felt kind of stressful but was a success. Tasty leftovers, too.

I made Becky's pumpkin cookies with my leftover pumpkin, too. A great (but healthy) treat!

Nap Time Troubles

2008-11-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, finally...Joseph has fallen asleep after two and half hours spent in his room. Some of you may wonder why I let him play for so long. Shouldn't I have "given" up on his nap and let him out of his room? Heck no! Nap time is my time too! Here are some pictures I snuck in and took. I think it's funny he still used a pillow, even on the floor :) I guess he was too tired to use the one on his bed!
Carefully open the door...snap
Check if really asleep...snap
Okay, he's out...use the flash...snap

Photo Shoot

2008-11-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

Molly's sister, Stacy, came into town after Sadie was born. She took some great pictures of Joseph. I love them all, though I only placed some of them here.

21 Months and Counting :)

2008-11-20T17:45:00.000-07:00

Just had to type this up really fast.

Joseph was climbing on the computer chair, which he knows he's not supposed to do. I said to him, "If I count to five and have to come get you off of the chair, you are going to spend some time in your room. One...two..." at which time, he climbed off and ran away saying "five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!"

What a smartie :)

Making the Most of His Wardrobe

2008-11-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

Ah, to look back at cute pictures I took when Joseph actually sat still :) I took this one when he was six months old (August 2007). Please take a close look at those darling shorts he has on...Thank you, Marci! Loved those shorts. (size 6 months, btw) Oh, wait...I guess I should say love those shorts. I recently went through a box of clothes, making sure there weren't any I wanted to get rid of. Luckily I found those same shorts and decided Joseph should try them on. Well, 15 months later, they still fit! I guess he has really held on to his boyish figure :) (Wish I could wear some of the same things that I had years ago!)

Midnight Reading?

2008-11-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

When we put Joseph down for the night, he often decides to do other things for a while before finally getting back in his bed and falling asleep. Here is the activity he chose to do the other night:

I'm such a copycat

2008-11-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself. I had to copy Marci, and many others before her, I'm sure. She recently posted about her couponing and I had to do so as well. My outcome certainly wasn't $9 but $13 isn't that far behind right? (That's 30 items up there, I'll have you know...not so bad if I don't say so myself.)

For those considering the joys/pains/hassels of couponing: it's sales like this one that make it all worth it :)

Auntie Tracey!

2008-11-08T20:03:00.000-07:00

Molly had her baby on November 2nd. She was so precious! I felt so happy and joyous for her and her family. A brand new baby...so little and helpless. So dependent on you, as a parent. Wow! How exciting.

I cannot describe how different Sadie's birthday here in November was compared to Isabell's birthday in July. All I know is that, as happy as I was for Marci (mother of Isabell), I could not "get into" the joy of the day. I felt disconnected; distant. Looking back now, I may have even been experiencing a little bit of depression...who knows? But last Sunday, on Sadie's birthday, I could not seem to hold her enough or take too many pictures even though it wasn't even my own child.

September has come and gone...my baby is still very real to me but yet is now my past. I guess I have moved on, sadly, and can now connect with other babies and birthdays and mothers. Why does that make me cry a little?

Without going on any further, here are some pictures:

Uncle Will...or as Karina used to say, "trouble." (Which is to say uncontrollable tickling episodes, wild piggyback rides, kooky songs about ice cream, and other crazy things.)

Leaving the hospital along with hand-holding training...didn't last long for Joseph.

Loving Halloween

2008-10-31T23:29:00.000-06:00

I loved Halloween with Joseph. He got dressed up in his lion costume without a squeal or protest (which may have been due to the portable DVD screen he was standing 6 inches from).

We walked down Marci's street over to Molly's house and then back. That was it, but it took forever. Not too far for a 30-something adult but a marathon for a tiny tot like Joseph. He kept dropping his legs halfway through and sitting on the ground.

Of course, as soon as I took him home and put him into bed, he was completely out. Not a peep! (Not even when I went in and took this picture which required a flash!)

Back to Sedona

2008-10-29T01:13:00.000-06:00

Sorry, I'm posting about the Sedona trip because I was inspired by a visit to my cousin's webpage. She has done a lot of videos lately and I thought I would try my hand at doing one as well.

Some call him roadkill

2008-10-25T20:12:00.000-06:00

But I call him Joseph, the lion.The whole roadkill comment came after Joseph laid out in the middle of the church parking lot through which a truck was driving. The kids yelled out the window that they thought he was roadkill...ha, ha. I'm just glad he wasn't really run over. Other than his completely black knees, he didn't end up flattened by a truck or other such vehicle.Daddy held his hand as he walked over to the festivities...otherwise the kid kept trying to tear off his furry arm bands (which I made all by myself, I might add...aren't they cute!).Joseph loved the whole trick or treating thing. His words were more like "trick-treat" but I think that's pretty good considering. In the end, his pumpkin was so heavy I had to help him carry it. (Notice I said help him carry it...he wouldn't let go of it!! This picture below was taken before all the treats were added to the pumpkin, which is why I couldn't get him to hold on to it.)Grandpa came and joined us for the fun. He took so many great pictures that I may have to steal some of them and add them on.

Sedona Highlights

2008-10-21T23:18:00.000-06:00

Sedona was a blast...just ask Joseph! We hiked up this really large formation (think of a really big, rock pillar), scaring me half to death because the ground was hundreds of feet down. William insisted on being "funny" and having Joseph climb all by himself. The pictures ended up gorgeous but my heart had a hard time :)

We stayed at a nice condo that my parents had for the week as a time share. We went hiking and shopping, played games in the condo and in the game room. The pool was freezing! The hot tub was great...basically, we had a wonderful time.

The landscape was over the top beautiful. I took so many pictures I'm not going to know what to do with them all...isn't digital great! The second evening I was there we went up to the airport in Sedona to watch the sunset. The view was really nice except for the hundreds of people who had also shown up to watch. Some of them had some intricate cameras, too. Despite my small point and shoot, I feel like I did get some beautiful pictures.

Joseph and Josie, his cousin, peeked out of this window in some Indian ruins. I thought Joseph would end up climbing out of the window, he was so wound up! I mean, look at that cheesy grin in this photo with him and his dad...he had the time of his life playing with everyone.

The picture of me was actually taken by Joseph...nice, huh?

The ruins were interesting, despite the problems Joseph had sitting through the long lecture the Ranger had about all of the cave petroglyphs and the cistern.

Strange Places

2008-10-05T12:52:00.000-06:00

Can you say you've been to stranger places? This was the Flinstones Amusement Park. We passed it on our drive up to the canyon and could not help but stop because it looked so "ghetto." We walked up to the entrance accompanied by Aerosmith or some other type of band. Not really what I would have thought of as welcoming to young children, but maybe they were trying to stick with the whole "rock" theme. We were also assaulted (yes, assaulted) by the greasy smell coming out of the diner connected to the entrance. But it was not all bad...It cost only $5 to go through the entire park! What a deal! (I forgot to mention that we opted not to go through the park, as tempting as the price was.)

Out next stop along the way was supposed to redeem the disaster called "Flinstone Park." How could the Planes of Fame Museum be any worse? (It really wasn't, I promise.) But it cost more to go through the museum than it cost to visit Fred Flinstone, so it wasn't worth it to me. We just took pictures outside the place...just as fun for Joseph but not costing us the "booku bucks."

The Grandest Trip

2008-10-05T10:57:00.000-06:00

* * * Warning * * *
This post is full of pictures of a trip you probably could care less about...proceed only if you really want to :)

We went to the Grand Canyon for William's time off. It was so much fun and was beautiful. Heavenly Father must love us a lot to give us such a beautiful earth on which to live. The entire trip was spent saying "isn't this place wonderful?" or "wow, it's so beautiful here!"

Friday, we drove the hour from our campsite to the canyon and spent the morning walking the rim. Pictures do not do it justice.

The KOA we stayed at was in Williams, AZ and had these Kamping Kabins (ooh, kabin's not spelled with a K, you say? I never knew!) It was really great because William could "camp" by cooking over the fire and getting really dirty and I could "camp" by sleeping on a double bed and waking up at any time of the night to use the nice flush toilets and sink just down the road from our site. (Did I mention that I showered there as well? I love "camping!")

Having the fire was really fun...smelly, but fun.

Joseph was a nightmare around the fire at first, though. Talk about making your heart stop. I thought for sure we would have to jump in our car and race to the burn unit at the nearest hospital (in Flagstaff, I think). He did okay after we yelled at him/swatted his fanny.

The best part about the cabin was that we could put Joseph down at his bedtime and then stay up later around the fire. It was really relaxing.

Don't worry, I did discover the best way to create the perfect s'more. (Use the old Jiffy Pop pan...the one with the handle, remember? Place a cracker down with some chocolate on top. Place pan close to fire so that chocolate can melt. Toast marshmallow while chocolate melts. When toasty to point of crispy, place all together. Enjoy the yummy goodness of a perfect s'more!)

On our way back we drove through Sedona. This drive convinced us that Sedona was the prettiest place in AZ that we've seen so far. Our next trip's going to be up to there, we think.

If The Shoe Fits

2008-10-02T12:47:00.000-06:00

Dad's shoes are very reflective of who he is right now...strong, authoritative, work-worn each night but then religiously shined up nice and bright. It will be exciting and fun to see Joseph grow up and fill "dad"-sized shoes someday.

Non-Pregnancy Thoughts

2008-09-28T09:46:00.000-06:00

As sad as it is to say, I am finally getting used to the idea that I won't be having a baby in December. Yesterday though, I did start crying at the baptism that I attended. The person being baptized was this young lady and the only talks given were by a couple of other young ladies in her primary class (she's 10 versus 8, which really affected the maturity of the talks...they were wonderful.) All I could think of was my own daughter getting baptized...it was heartbreaking for me.

In total opposition to that, surprisingly, I am loving being my own person again...a non-pregant woman. I went from being pregnant with Joseph, to nursing for a year afterwards, and then on to being pregnant again almost immediately after I stopped nursing. I certainly didn't feel like my own person...I felt like a mom.

Don't get me wrong. I still feel like a mom (and I do love it!) but now I also enjoy feeling like a regular person again...one that isn't gaining weight every day, or isn't able to bend over and shave her legs without taking a break every other minute. I also enjoy having my breasts back. The medication they gave to induce labor also caused my body to think that I needed milk. It was painful and seemed to take forever to get back to normal. Now that it is, I am even more appreciative of a regular old female body.

Courage is...

2008-09-27T21:30:00.000-06:00

Courage is finally becoming familiar with the unknown.

That not-so-profound quote was just made up by me for my son. He is very "cautious" when it comes to trying to new things.

I will never label him as a coward, because he is not. He simply needs a few tries and exposures to a new activity before he has the courage to do something.

It is kind of ironic that I just barely wrote about his dislike of typical playground fare. Why ironic? you may ask. Well, the day after I typed up those two posts, Joseph went down a multitude of slides (the particular park we were at had three slides: a small one, a twisty one, and a tubular one). He also chose that same day (yesterday) to absolutely BEG me to place him in the swing, and not protest after having been placed there! Hooray! Going down the slide and swinging, all in the same day, seems like a pretty big acomplishment to me.

Park II

2008-09-24T23:25:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned earlier, I've been going to more parks lately...some of them are a 10-15 minute walk (which is really good since I want to be more active!). This park is down the road a ways and has this really cool tractor/sand scooper. It was really hard to control, though, so Dad had to help Joseph do it.
Did I mention that Joseph doesn't like swings, either...

Park I

2008-09-24T22:46:00.000-06:00

I have been trying really hard to be more active since my delivery...I want to be extra, especially healthy before getting pregnant again. Plus Joseph has been watching WAY too much TV and if I go to the park instead it gets us out of the house. There is a park right by our house and we went there the other day after dinner. William and Joseph taking a ride on the motorcycle.
Joseph really loves playing on the motorcycle...can you believe how many teeth the kid has? He's getting another couple to fill in the spaces, too!
Joseph still doesn't like slides...he got burned one too many times over the summer before I learned that July is not the time to visit any parks in Arizona. He'll sit at the top and make like he's going down and then he'll back away. I'm looking forward to the day that he gets up the courage to go down on his own.
Joseph leaving the park...doesn't look to happy, does he?

Cutest Word Ever

2008-09-22T09:31:00.000-06:00

Who would have thought that I would say Joseph's cutest word right now is "no."

First of all, Joseph used to say in his cute little voice that "no" he wouldn't like a swat on the fanny. He doesn't really do that any more...which is too bad when I really don't want to swat him on the fanny. No excuses now. Gottat get that swat :(

Now Joseph uses the word no really appropriately, thank goodness. He'll say no if he doesn't really want the cup of water I offered him. Or he'll say no if he doesn't want to read that one book but instead wants the other one.

Here's an example from today: He was in the bathtub today while I was getting ready to get in the shower (we have a separate bath/shower divided with a half-wall and a glass partition...very nice!). I'm not really paying attention to him when he starts saying "mom...Mom....MOM....MOM!!"

"What do you want, Joseph?"

"Mom...*blab*"

Handing him the green cup on the counter: "Is this what you want?"

Pushing it away with his hand carefully: "No...fry."

"Fry?"

To interject, let me explain that there was an OLD box of fries on the counter...I obviously needed to throw them away but never did. My mistake! because he wanted one. (I did give him one finguring that potatoes from Saturday wouldn't be too bad for him.)

I love it when he says "no" in that cute little voice of his, so much that I don't mind hearing it from him for now. I'm sure this won't last much longer and I'll have to deal with really obnoxious "nos" from him. Hooray for each day that isn't like that yet.

2008-09-21T18:16:00.000-06:00

The other day, Joseph fell onto the edge of the toy chest...the result can be found in these pictures. He cried a lot but then recovered amazingly quick (certainly not like I would have done if the same had happened to me. I would have been laying down for the day pumped full of meds) This happened last Friday (the 12th) and his black eye is still hanging around, though it is almost gone.
This last picture is the best because it makes the eye look REALLY bad...it will be great as a picture 10 years from now but he wasn't that bad, of course.

2008-09-11T20:00:00.000-06:00

Valerie Rose Jolley, our daughter, was born yesterday on September 10, 2008 at 2:30 in the afternoon. As a stillborn, she was really tiny since I was only 26 weeks along but had the cutest little feet and hands. I want everyone to know that I have appreciated all of the support and love that has been shown to our family. I love you all. Please call me if you want to...it is not an intrusion but is a welcome distraction from my troubles.

I realize that a blog post is not the ideal place to discover this information about my situation but I know that for some of you, this is the only consistent contact we have. I don't want to trivialize her importance by making it into a simple post, but I know that some of my friends and family only keep in contact with my through this very outlet.

Again, we love and appreciate all of our friends and family...I promise more posts of happiness, with cute pictures and videos, but not now. Just know that Valerie will always be in my and my husband's heart.

Star Crazy

2008-08-21T19:06:00.000-06:00

Joseph loves stars and so my mom and I made him a star blanket. It turned out beautifully...I love it, but more importantly, Joseph LOVES it. He rolled around with that blanket for a solid 30 minutes (or more) just playing.

My favorite part of the blanket is the top fabric we used. It's all space and planets and stars...very realistic.The bottom of the blanket is simply stars with large yellow stars sewn on. The blanket is tied with the ties showing up on the bottom rather than the top (I'm not a fan of tied blankets because the ties always got in the way of my nose as I slept...I'm pretty sure Joseph could care less either way but I did it my way since I was the one doing it.)

Joseph and BrookLynne

2008-08-20T20:28:00.000-06:00

BrookLynne was laying on her blanket in the living room and Joseph just had to come and lay down with her...and give her a few kisses, too.

Living the Good Life (Bananas dipped in Chocolate)

2008-08-20T20:11:00.000-06:00

Joseph has been having some problems with his diaper...so my answer is to feed him as many bananas as I can. He doesn't eat them like he used to, without even taking a breath and devouring it while trying to say "more, please" at the same time. So I decided to give him a "treat," his favorite word to say at Nana's house. Is there anything better than a banana covered in chocolate? Of course not! And he ate the whole thing.
Notice the look in his eye in this last picture...priceless! He could double for one of those wanted posters from the wild west, beard and all. It's a good thing I had removed the girly pink bib before taking this picture...I really think it wouldn't have meshed well with his mischievous look.

2008-08-18T23:28:00.000-06:00

We've been in Utah for almost two weeks now and Joseph is missing his daddy. Now that he is more verbal, we'll talk on the phone a lot more. Sometimes, he just kind of understands that I must be talking to his dad even without me saying his dad's name. If that's the case, he'll stand by the phone calling for his daddy until I pass the phone over to him. It was really cute the first time, mildly annoying the next time, and is now above and beyond obnoxious ...but I love how much he loves his dad!

2008-08-11T23:58:00.000-06:00

Susan's work had a party in Herriman. Joseph and I joined up with her, along with Laurie, Boyd, and Cash. It was tons of fun.There was a train ride for the toddlers...Joseph didn't really like it too much. Cash rode it over and over again! When the two of them rode together, Joseph didn't do too bad.

After eating and riding on the tractor, we went down to the playground where Joseph climbed everywhere...including up these monkey bar-like steps. It was crazy that he thought he could get up them. Fortunately I was there to help him finish them. Susan and I laughed about how silly it was that he didn't like the tractor but would risk life and limb to climb some bars up to the slides.

Grandma and Grandpa Jolley

2008-08-11T23:06:00.000-06:00

Joseph had so much fun visiting with Great-Grandma and Grandpa Jolley. Do you remember the original "little people?" Well, GiGi Jolley (Grandma's nickname) has tons of fun fisher price little people toys...the camper, the barn, the mini-bus. Joseph LOVED it. It makes you realize that "classic" toys like those ones are called "classic" for a good reason.

Another fun game Joseph loved was pushing Grandpa Jolley over...I promise I'm not teaching him to abuse his elders! Here's a fun video of them:

2008-08-10T20:44:00.000-06:00

We spent the day in Herriman where we went to church in our old ward and had dinner with Grandma Jolley and Laurie. It was so much fun. Joseph wore his new church clothes. He looked so handsome. The pants are even part of a suit but the suit jacket will take some time to grow into...everything is 2T.

My dapper little gentleman.

Joseph with Grandma Jolley...She was sooo excited to see him!

Joseph was not smiling for the camera today...but for this one, I think he decided a smile would be a better choice!

Joseph and Boyd wouldn't pose for the camera...did I just say Joseph AND Boyd? I meant just Joseph of course because Boyd was great to stay in one spot (he's almost crawling! But not quite yet...) In order for us to get them to stay in one spot we placed a singing lion in front of them.

Fat Lip

2008-08-10T20:37:00.000-06:00

Joseph and I went out to eat with Nana last Friday. As we were finishing up he slipped and bumped him face against the edge of the table. It bled a lot but wasn't too bad. A little bit of a fat lip was all he got. I took some pictures while waiting for everyone to make it out to the car. It's totally gone now.

Joseph's First Ice Cream Cone

2008-08-10T19:59:00.000-06:00

I think the pictures really do speak for themselves but I can't help but add in my two cents...look for the initial stage of enjoyment and a realitively clean appearance ...followed closely by a period of total confusion as paper is unsuccessfully consumed ...finished off with "all-done" (said by mommy only of course) and loud screams I'm sure you can imagine as clean-up time comes. Enjoy!

Family Gatherings

2008-08-03T11:51:00.000-06:00

It has been so fun to get together with family now that the cousins are older. They play so well together. We were over at Sam and Marci's the other day and William introduced Joseph to this bike. He absolutely loved it! He never wanted to get off of it. His feet don't really touch the pedals and the training wheels are the only things from keeping him from eating dirt, but he didn't care...he could have stayed on for hours. But my old body can only take 100 degree weather for so long nowadays. (How do kids last outside for so long in that kind of heat...Joseph would stay outside all day if I let him.)

Sam and Marci also have their other bike in the back... the "real" bike. The kids love playing on that also, so Mark gladly kept Cash and Ashlyn busy for a while.

The only kid not going outside lately is Isabell. She just lays around all day and sleeps...which Marci loves I'm sure. It's definitely different dressing a baby in Arizona durning the summer than it was dressing one in Utah in early spring. Isabell is always wearing the cutest summer outfits!

The next time we got together was at our house and we decided it was time for Joseph to try holding Isabell. Look closely at the picture to see Joseph's reaction.

Fortunatly he didn't push her completely off of his lap. I'm assuming/hoping that Joseph will be better about accepting a new baby sister or brother, since he/she will "belong" to him and all. Kids seem to be better about stuff they think is "theirs," right?

Overall, Arizona isn't so bad...but only because I have such a wonderful family to hang out with.

Visiting Utah

2008-08-02T10:16:00.000-06:00

I am so excited...Joseph and I will be visiting Utah for a whole two weeks! Marci, who had her baby last week, wanted to head up to Utah to visit family and attend some weddings of friends. I had the thought in the back of my mind to invite myself along for a while but when I finally asked her she jumped on the idea. I hadn't thought about how hard it would be to drive all alone with one almost-two-year-old and a newborn. What about bathroom stops? It would be a constant refrain of "don't put that in your mouth...Yucky!" or "don't touch that." Kind of stressful. With an extra adult in the car, bathroom visits can be handled with one person staying in the car...whew! So next Wednesday we are coming up for a visit.

Here are some pictures of our last trip to Utah, about which I never remembered to post:

The airport...he did really well, all things considered.

The pool: Joseph took some time to adjust but then he LOVED it. He had so much fun splashing and playing on the steps. It really was an ideal toddler pool.

Hiking: Joseph was the leader of the hike...no one was allowed to go any faster than the leader. He wasn't the leader for very long because it caused a little bit of a bottleneck. Grandpa was always there to help Joseph over tough roots and rocks.

Joseph's "Big Boy Bed"

2008-08-01T15:48:00.000-06:00

I took some pictures of Joseph and his new bed he's been sleeping in.

When we first moved to Arizona, he slept in a pack 'n' play. It worked okay but he really hated it. Some nights he would be able to manage sleeping through the night but most nights involved him waking up crying, which woke us up too.

After discussing whether or not we should break out the crib (which is brand new and still in a box...for the next baby), we decided to try out his toddler bed. We do have an official toddler bed which uses a crib mattress and everything. After cleaning out his bedroom though, the twin which was in there looked just as good as his little crib mattress. The box spring and mattress are not on a frame, and so are closer to the floor than a regular twin would be. How to keep him from rolling off, though, that was the problem. We decided to use a rolled up towel under the sheet until we could get a guard rail or something.
Here are more pictures:

When we first put up the bed, he couldn't climb up without assistance so I placed a big box of canned corn at the end so he could use it as a step. He doesn't really need it now but I still haven't moved it. It's good to have in there in case he gets hungry in the middle of the night, right?

Joseph did not like me forcing him to lay down as if he were taking a nap just so I could snap a few pictures. He cried the whole time he was on the bed but didn't try to get up. The bed idea is so new to him, he doesn't realize that he really could get out from under the covers and climb down. He will simply stay where I put him on the bed...hooray!

I hope this sticks and he won't do the whole midnight wandering that some kids do. On the side, notice the doll he is curled up with on his bed...it's his own Nephi, the prophet, doll. The dolls are Mark's new idea and were a real hit at Provo's Freedom Festival. Check out his website at Guiding Light Toys.

Haircuts

2008-07-31T11:11:00.000-06:00

Since Arizona is so hot, Joseph and I decided to get new haircuts. When his hair was long, he got so many comments from people about how beautiful his hair was. But when we went out, Joseph's head would sweat so much that his hair would end up really wet. I felt so bad for him. Joseph got his hair cut first and afterwards I realized how nice and cool it was so I went in myself for my own haircut.

Here is a before shot taken while we were visiting Utah a month ago.

Here is a picture of our new haircuts. Joseph looks so cute! I know he is much cooler now.

Arizona (or h-e-double hockey sticks for short)

2008-06-09T20:42:00.000-06:00

Just kidding, Arizona is really not hell, though it is as hot as I imagine it may be in Hades...and getting hotter by the day! We arrived last week and settled into Queen Creek where we are currently staying with Mike. It's a beautiful house and I am really loving being close to Mark, Molly and Ashlyn again.

But the weather will be a killer for me. Today the weather man said that though today was a hot one (107) that tomorrow would be much cooler (100). In what world is 100 degrees much cooler? Only here in Arizona apparently.

I will post some pictures of our beautiful house someday...not today since I can't seem to get organized.

I miss all of my family back in Utah :) See you soon, though.

News Update

2008-05-23T16:31:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in such a long time...most people probably don't even check my blog anymore :( But here is an update on some important news. As you may have guessed, we are moving along with the rest of the Jolleys. We are leaving for Arizona on June 2nd. Lots of things are still up in the air about our stay there, but I will try to keep everyone posted.

Second, William and I are expecting our second child :) The baby is due in December. Again, we will keep everyone informed as to gender and exact due date, etc.

We love you all!

Walking

2008-03-13T09:55:00.000-06:00

Joseph is now pretty much walking around. He still opts to crawl some of the time, especially if he thinks speed is a requirement (because he's still pretty slow walking around). Here are some cute pictures I took of him walking around. They were taken yesterday, March 12th.
I also did a video of him walking. It's a little shaky because I'm luring him on with m&m's (a leftover treat from my party last week that Joseph discovered on his own, unfortunatly).

My Boys' Cute Haircuts

2008-03-13T00:08:00.000-06:00

Earlier this month, Joseph and William got their hair cut by Sam, Joseph's uncle/William's brother. I then went crazy with the camera. Here are a few pictures.

Here are my two boys, looking mighty fine.After haircuts, I took some pictures of Joseph that I really liked. He seemed especially photogenic that day. His eyes are my favorite when I take pictures...or maybe it's his hair that is my favorite. I guess I can't really pick any "favorite" part of my son...all of him is great!

Tagged?

2008-03-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

I have been "tagged" before but since it was Liz who tagged me, I guess I'll participate. (I'm really not one for playing childhood games, you know)

10 Years Ago:

attending BYU, majoring in history teaching
working at BYU Audio Visual services...crushing on Kimber Pitt Lovell's former admirer/stalker, Eric...please don't tell her that!
Living at home? or maybe already living in Spanish Fork in a small two-bedroom apartment with Meagan Schultz Skidmore
Hanging out with girls half my age (a definite exaggeration, except when referring to years in school -- senior v. sophomore or even freshman) ... Amanda Hall was good enough friends with me to invite me up to Oregon to stay with her family for a week. (Now I am feeling the urge to contact her.) Emily, from Chicago, a girl whose last name I can't remember, was good enough friends with me to rope me into selling Mary Kay for a week or so.

5 Things to Do Today

Send a check to Lindsay for the Deseret Peaks (or is it Desert?) Rodeo. I'm doing a booth there in June. I hope they don't bump me because I haven't sent in that check!
Pick up after Joseph has thrown all the books from the bookshelf
Clean up my post-bunco party mess
Type up a letter for parents informing them I will not be working next week on Tuesday or Friday...Hooray!
Take a nap at the same time as Joseph?

If I was A Billionaire I would:

Travel...back East for a church history tour and back to London but also to new places like the Carribean, Asia, and other places I've only read about.
Build my dream house somewhere here in Utah...maybe up in the Park City area.
Buy Joseph everything out there under the sun that I want to and not think about the price.
Redo my teeth...I hate my teeth. They are dingey (dingey or dingy? whichever word means dirty and not just stupid, though they are that!) Plus put out the money needed for any work on my teeth to be done with full anethesia because I also hate the dentist...maybe there is a moral of the story in those two hatreds.

Bad Habits:

Biting my nails
Procrastination
So many more that I really can't think of them right now

Places I've Lived:

Woodland Hills, UT
Provo, UT
Spanish Fork, UT
Ontario, CA (California...not Canada!)
San Bernardino, CA
Herriman, UT
That's it. But I've visited London and Jerusalem on Study Abroad, staying there for two months at a time...reaping the benefits but not the downfalls of actually living there: not having to pay taxes or rent or anything else that real adults have to do.

Jobs I've Had

Filer of charts at my dad's medical clinic (doesn't even have a name, sorry)
Cracker Barrel waitress
BYU AV girl
MTC cafeteria slave
Sears repair line phone call receiver (more of a description rather than an actual name)
Substitute teacher
Full-time teacher
Stinkin' day care provider (the job I have now and do not want)

You don't know that I:

Read romance novels sometimes...I go through times in my life where I just pick them up and read tons of them at a time. I'm on an off phase right now, though.
Have a really messy car...or maybe you do know that. It's not really a secret.
Have attempted oil painting recently...some of my work is finished and looks pretty good. Some of it is halfway done and may never get finished.

That is Tracey in a not-so-small nutshell.

First Words

2008-02-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

I don't really remember the exact day I decided Joseph said his first word...he certainly says "mama" and "dada" but I'm not sure if the words are actually about us or just sounds he makes. I do have some other words that he has been saying lately that I know are associated with actually objects. He says ball when playing with a ball (imagine that!) When he watches his little reading video, he tries to say kick before it even comes on the screeen (I think he has the video memorized...at least the first couple words.) He also tries to say point. All of his words are said only after prompting or after seeing/hearing the word...but I'm excited nontheless.

Thank you, God, for nice people...

2008-02-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

I just have to send out a post to whomever returned my wallet to me. Thank you! (not that I imagine that they would ever read this, but I think it's important to say thank you...especially considering what I would have needed to do to replace everything in my wallet.)

On Saturday, I went to Smith's to buy things for Joseph's birthday party. I was then going to head over quickly to my cousin's baby shower in Riverton. Everything went awry when I got to the check out line in Smith's and realized my wallet was gone. I had placed it in my front pocket and should have known better because it has fallen out before...luckily I had noticed when it did. But this time, I had no suck luck...my wallet was gone. I was pressed for time to begin with but ran frantically around the store looking for it, and even went outside to see if it had fallen to the ground. William's advice was to say a prayer and search again. I said a prayer but still had no luck. The lady at customer service reassured me that there were many times when people surpised her and turned in wallets, cash, keys, cell phones, etc. So I still had some hope.

But back to my dilema in Smith's. I needed the things I had gathered in the store but had no way to purchase them. This is where another thank you is required. I am really blessed to have my family live so close. Marci left her son Cash sleeping (Molly listened for him on his monitor) and drove down with her two nieces in the car so that she could give me a blank check to pay for my things...what would I have done without her? So, thank you Marci...I really appreciated it and I love you so much for it.

After spending the weekend without my wallet and calling Smith's twice a day or so, I still had this thought in the back of my mind that maybe someone would simply bring it to my house. I had checked online for any activity on my cards and there was none...thank goodness. I checked my mailbox on Saturday, too. I guess I didn't check on Sunday or Monday because there was not mail those days. (which, now that I think back on the weekend, I should have done anyway because a good Samaritan can still do good deeds on Sundays and holidays, right?) So, how great it was to gather the mail tonight and find my wallet pushed all the way to the back...I bet it was even there earlier and I just didn't check!

So, again, thanks to all those wonderful people out there who are willing to do the right thing and make someone's day better. Even more, I really do know that God had a hand in this, too. (I guess even He knew that a trip to the DMV to replace my driver's licence would have been too much for me to bear.)

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

2008-02-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Joseph's first birthday. It was so much fun! It is hard to believe that he has only been with us for one year. It seems like forever ago that I was in the delivery room yet when I think about teaching school or living in California, those times don't seem so far back...it was just like yesterday sometimes.

For his birthday, we had both sides of the family over for presents and cake. I played a cheesy little game reminicent of a baby shower...shame on me! (But I thought it was fun and cute...hopefully everyone else did too.) I had a page of all of Joseph's first accomplishments like crawling, eating solids, smiling, laughing, etc., and everyone had to guess when they happened. William did really well (surprise, surprise!) and so did Molly. My dad got only one right...the exact time that Joseph first was born (seeing as he was the doctor that delivered him, that was a given I would think.)

Joseph got to open some presents, too. (Another birthday must) He got so many cute things from everyone. He got a lot of fun toys, books, some cute clothes, and even a diaper genie (from us...I must say that present took a long time coming and has become overly necessary as his diapers get stinkier and stinkier.)

He also got a front-facing car seat (again, an automatic first birthday gift, right?)

After presents, we broke out the birthday cake. He was really hesitant at first, sticking in just one finger and kind of poking at it. Really funny! As soon as he figured out that the whole thing was his for the taking, he dove right in and made a massive mess. I also put his video on here so you could see the whole thing.

Go, Baby Go!

2008-02-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn decided to climb the stairs at my house today. This is her first time climbing the stairs...Joseph seemed to be a good motivator.

Check These Out

2008-02-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

I added a new section to my blog called "Check These Out." I've been surfing through lots of different blogs and have found some really fun ones.

Baby Blog Addict has tons all about babies.

Creative Baby Food Recipes was heaven sent while trying to make my own baby food for Joseph throughout his first year. Browsing through their own baby food blogs is kind of fun as well because this website is based in England. There are a few "blogs" from really fun places like India, Japan, Nepal, etc. It really is interesting hearing about what is normal for other countries to feed their babies.

My Maine Baby is this way cute blog started by an aunt living in, you guessed it, Maine. The cutest part about it is that the blog is written by the baby (well, not really but we can pretend, right?). So cute!

Finally, I put up my own website in a shameless attempt to promote my books. It can't hurt, right? And I must say, they are really great books that I love so why not share that love, huh?

Well, like I said, check these out...maybe you'll end up spending/wasting just as much time as I do looking at other people's really cool websites.