Derek's 1st Birthday!

Wow! Where did the last year go?  Today my baby turns 1!  He is such a funny little guy. We love him so so much!



About Derek:

• Loves to chase his big brother everywhere
• Loves to climb on things that are twice his size.
• Really makes you work for a smile.
• Is a complete Mama's Boy
• Walks and runs like a pro, but still gets knocked down easily.
• Favorite past time: pulling books off the bookshelf and inspecting them closely
• Loves to touch Grandma's curly hair, loves to eat my hair.
• Is a snuggle bug.
• Is fascinated with animals, mimics the cat meowing and loves the dog.
• Loves being outside, playing in the grass, splashing in the pool, going down the slide
• Loves to eat paper and cardboard, not sure why he does this but every time I turn around he's got a puzzle piece or toilet paper roll or magazine in his mouth.  Can't get him to chew chunky food, but cardboard is right up his alley I guess. 
• If you are crying in the car, singing kid songs at the top of my lungs usually quiets you down.  
• You love the sound of birds when you go to bed.
• You love knitted blankets, you snuggle them and bite them.
• You love monkeys.  I can show you toys all day long but as soon as you see a monkey, you break out a huge smile and coo at me.  Melts me every time.  
• My favorite time of day with you is bed time.  I get to snuggle you and you kiss me and touch my face.  Then I tickle you for a little while and you crack up laughing.  

Speed Walker

This little guy is moving fast! Derek is 11 months old now, and is always on the move. He gets around so fast now, always trying to keep up with his big brother.

10 months

My sweet boy is 10 months old already!  I just can't believe how fast the time has flown by!  We are a little off on our well-baby check ups, so Derek was almost 10 months when we went in.  He is 19.5 lbs, 29.75 inches which means he is tall and skinny.  He has a bit of a flat spot so the doctor told me I had to make a decision about getting a helmet or not.  I went to see the specialist and they told me that it wasn't that bad and he would grow out of it, so I'm relieved.  My baby started walking about a week before his 10 month birthday, which is pretty early.  He's still super wobbly, but he gets around when he wants to.  He loves to chase his brother and his mama around the house and gets super mad when he gets to where ever you are then you leave the room.  He's teething again, so sleep has been a challenge lately, but it is getting better.  Derek is not a good napper, he only sleeps 30 min-hour at a time during the day which makes things hard on me.  Thank heavens for swings!  He loves his momma and loves to snuggle.  We sure love this little baby bug!  

This is Derek's favorite place to go in the house- the bathroom.  Our bathroom is super small, so I'm always worried he will fall in there, but he loves it.  He'll sit at my feet while I'm getting ready or follow Jacob in.  

Organized Mom

Since I started working from home, I've struggled with organizing myself and remembering to get things done.  Sure I get the major things, dishes, cooking, wiping down counters, but I was finding a lot of things that were getting procrastinated.  I didn't grow up in what you might call a "clean" home.  Since both my parents worked, we usually had a cluttered house.  While clutter doesn't particularly bother me, I really want my home to be organized to the point that I don't have to work very hard to keep it clean.  I've been collecting ideas on Pinterest and recently instigated my own system, based off the ideas I collected.  In the last 2 weeks since I started this, I really have noticed a big difference in my home.  So here's what I did:

1. I got a clipboard and taped magnets on the back for my fridge.

2. I made this Weekly Planner Sheet.  I took the ideas from a few different Pins and combined them in a way that works best for me. I planned each day so that I would have a few chores that I never think of (like bathrooms or dusting) and a few that I always do (like dishes and counters).  I didn't want to overwhelm myself in case things got too busy and it didn't get done that day.  This way, if I need to push something to tomorrow, it's not a big deal.  I also needed somewhere that I could write in any doctor visits or other places I needed to be that week.  I put my scripture study on there as a reminder for myself too.  I also planned my meals for each day on this sheet.  I don't know about anyone else, but when I ask my husband what he would like for dinner, I always get "I don't know" as my answer.  This drives me bonkers.  I'm asking because I want to make something he'll like!  I was also finding that even on weeks where I DO plan the meals, by the time it comes to make them, I've forgotten what I wanted to do and the ingredients that I bought either go bad or get pushed to the back of the cupboard and left.

3.  I designed a Pre-Made Grocery list for myself.  I put items on the list that we already buy regularly.  I wanted to be able to quickly check off items as they come up during the week that I think "Oh, I need to remember to get that" because I never remember.  I also left a few blank spots for items that I only occasionally need to buy.  This list has really helped me to think about what I really need and what I don't.  I also organized the list according to where in the store it is located.  I don't know about you guys, but I'm a visual shopper.  I see something and think "oh, I can use that" or "I need an extra one of those" and I don't realize that I already have 2 at home.  This is just a waste of money for me.  The first week that I used this grocery list, I had a pretty long one because I was planning 2 weeks instead of 1.  In my head I thought..."this is a lot of food, it will probably be around $200"  Nope, it came out to $120!  I was really surprised when I got to the checkout and had saved as much as I did.  I'm sure this is because I made a list and stuck to the list.

4. I made a list of Meals We Like so I would have a quick reference of meals I know my family will eat.  I was amazed at how many meals I came up with right away.  I also can add on to the list as we find new meals that we love.  I love trying new recipes but once I do that recipe, I forget about it, even if we all loved it.  This way, I can add it to my list and create my next week's meal plan quickly and easily.

5. The High Five:  I took this idea from Pinterest as well and I think it has been very good for Jacob.  We traced my hand and cut it out then I decided what 5 things I would like us all to do every single day.  For us I picked 1) Brush Teeth 2) Make Bed 3) Get Dressed 4) Tidy Room 5) Help Mommy
Now I don't need a reminder to brush my teeth, get dressed or make my bed, but Jacob does and I don't always remember to tell him to do it.  So it's been good for both of us and Jacob feels good when he helps out and gets his High Five every day.

6.  Food Storage:  I never think about food storage.  Sure I think about having a stock of foods we eat regularly, but I never think "oh, I need to get 50 lbs of flour this week".  Definitely Not!  When I saw this list, I thought it would be good for me to add 1 thing to my grocery list each week.  So I have this page as well.



















Now I took these 4 pages and put them on my clipboard.  I like being able to walk around my house and think about my lists for the upcoming week and they are easy to print off new ones.  It's worked well for me so far.  I feel better about my cleaning and I like not having to come up with dinner ideas at 5 PM, it's already done, I just have to put it together.  Also, if I don't make something, I just push it off to next week and I don't have to buy new ingredients.  I feel more organized and not stressed about my home being perfect.

Rugrat

Well Derek is crawling now, and there's no stopping this boy. He was crawling backwards for a few weeks, but now he is crawling forwards, and he is moving quick considering he just started this week. I feel like time has gone even faster with our second child than our first, and Derek is growing up way too fast. The more Derek can do, the more interaction we see with Derek and Jacob, and it is so much fun to watch them play together.

Little Crawler

My little Derek is officially crawling!  I can't believe how fast this little guy is growing up.  He's already starting to pull himself up on things, if it's in his range.  He's crawling backwards, but he still gets around.  One morning I left him on the living room floor with Jacob watching a movie while I went to shower.  I came back and he was GONE! I found him tucked into the corner between the couches.  He had backed himself in there and couldn't get out.  It was pretty hilarious.  I am still in shock that he's actually crawling, Jacob didn't crawl until 9 months, and here is my little 7 month old scootin around everywhere.  Derek is a sweet baby, he loves to snuggle and be held tight.  He also loves to eat HAIR, which is totally nasty.  I have to pull my long hair back in the tightest bun I can manage and he still pulls it out and into his mouth.  UGH! Just grosses me out.  First thing he does when he sees his grandma is pull her curls into his mouth.  He also loves his sock monkey which his grandma found for him a few weeks ago.

Happy Father's Day!

I decided to post these pictures on father's day for two reasons:

 1.)  I am the proud father of these two boys, and they are cute as can be. 

I am not usually one to brag about anything, but bragging about your kids is okay. 

2.)  I wanted to post these for the grandfathers and great-grandfathers of these two wonderful boys as a token of my appreciation for the great influence they are on their families and these boys.

I never met my real father, but I was blessed to be raised by my grandfather and grandmother, Albert and Margaret Workman, and both were wonderful influences in my life. My grandfather's example has made me the father that I am today. 

I also want to thank Richard Winn, Jacob and Derek's grandfather, and Garrett Billings and Ray Winn, Jacob and Derek's great-grandfathers, for the example they set with their own families. They are also great examples of fatherhood.  

Happy Father's Day!

Jacob's 4th Birthday

Last weekend we celebrated Jacob's 4th birthday! Jacob had a great time at his birthday party on Saturday. We had one of those inflatable bouncy house things setup in the backyard, and the kids loved it. Some of the neighbor kids and a few kids from our ward came to his party too, and Jacob was excited to have some many other kids to play with. Here's a few pictures from the party.

5 Months!

Holy Cow! Where does the time go??  Honestly, I can't believe it.  My little Derek is now 5 months old!  This little guy is seriously the sweetest baby.  Everywhere I go people ask me, "is he always like this?"  Yes, yes he is!  Calm and contented.  He weighs 16 lbs now and is 27 inches long which means he's tall and skinny for his age.  We just started feeding him some banana/rice cereal and he's not all that interested, but we keep trying anyway.  Derek has just recently found his voice, he babbles and squeals all the time.  It is sort of high pitched, which makes me think he's upset, then I look at him and he's totally fine, just listening to himself.  He rolls over and has started putting things in his mouth, so I have to watch closely in case Jacob has left something hazardous on the floor.  Derek is also teething.  I suspected this about a month ago when we went to my brother's wedding.  We started getting a fusser and a drooler.  Sure enough, I can feel that tooth, but nothing has popped through yet.  Unlike Jacob, Derek likes it when I rub his gums with my finger, so that's helpful.  I've had a hard time getting him to take a teething ring, but I suspect that has more to do with his small mouth than anything else.  Derek LOVES to sit up straight.  He's so close to sitting up on his own, but my mom got him a Bumbo this week and that really helps him to sit up.

All dressed up...

So JaRele may post some more pictures of Matt and Emily's wedding, but I wanted to at least post the pictures of our cute little family. Jacob and Derek are so cute dressed up. The wedding was in Seattle, so it was the first time on an airplane for both Derek and Jacob. Jacob loved the airplane, and Derek slept the whole time on both flights so it worked out great.

Changes

We have had a lot of changes lately. Staying home has really been a challenge for me.  I've always worked full time, so I've been working on getting into a routine with the kids and work and household duties.  I'm still working part time from home, which is awesome.  There are so many things I want to do and I find myself overwhelmed by all of the choices.

One of my goals as a stay at home mom has been to learn to make bread.  Thankfully my hubby is ok with my experimenting on him.  I'm happy to say I've found a few recipes that I'm really happy with and my family will eat them!  I usually bake 2 loaves a week, sometimes 4.  This seems to be enough for us right now.  I think I had a little bit of a Yeast Phobia at first, but I think I've got the hang of it now.

Jacob has had some troubles getting used to having Mommy home all day as well.  The first few weeks were tough, frequented by many temper tantrums and tears.  Thankfully, that has mostly passed now.  He misses the other kids from daycare, and I know that it has been hard for him to not have a set routine.  One good thing has been that Potty Training is going really well.  I've worked with Jacob since he was 2 on potty training, but the daycare never worked with him on potty training, and he spent more time at daycare than at home. Since I have started working from home he has done much better, so I am super proud of him.  He will now stay dry all day and night as long as I remind him often to go potty, but he is still having trouble pooping on the toilet.  I think he's still a little afraid of it.  I have to say that the thing that has worked the best with Jacob has been finding a positive reinforcement that he likes (for Jacob it is 15 minutes on the computer) and leaving him alone and not pushing him.  If he doesn't want to go, I don't worry about it.  This has reduced my stress over potty training and his as well.  It's not a perfect system, but it works for us.

Jacob is quite the funny kid.  Some of the things he says just kill me.  I have to share this story otherwise I'll forget it.  Jacob isn't very fond of candy.  This is just fine with me, but one that he DOES like are Swedish Fish.  One day he wanted some that he got in his Christmas stocking and after dinner we gave them to him.  Pretty soon we noticed that he had eaten the entire bag in record time!  When my mom went to investigate, she found out that he was swallowing them WHOLE!  She got after him and told him he has to chew his food so he doesn't choke.  What does he say? "That's how the penguins do it."  I guess he was watching Happy Feet the day before and paying a little closer attention than I realized.  Needless to say, I've been watching him really close when he eats stuff like that since this experience.  Crazy kid.

Derek is growing like a WEED!  He is now 3 months old and turning into a cute little butterball.  I love his sweet smiles and chubby cheeks.  Derek is a super contented baby.  Keep him fed and warm and he's as happy as can be.  At his 2 month appointment, he had more than doubled his birth weight, coming in at 12 lbs 11 oz and 24.5 inches.  This week he started rolling from his belly to his back, which makes tummy time hard since he won't STAY on his tummy, but that's ok.

Dustin has been working hard for us and he is in training for a promotion! We have our fingers crossed for that to happen soon!  He is working full time, but every week is different, so we never really know what his schedule will be like.  It's kind of nice to have him home a random day during the week and we can go shopping without the big weekend crowds.

Our family had a BIG change this last week! We traded in our Accord and Jeep for a 2005 Ford Explorer!  We have been looking at getting a new car for about a year, but hadn't found one that we both agreed on.  I happened to find this one online and we decided that we would go and test drive it.  Everything worked out great and we didn't have to finance, so no car payment!  We decided to go down to 1 car for a while since I don't go many places during the week anyway.  It will take some getting used to and some extra planning, but it will save us a lot of money.  Less money in gas, less in insurance.  I'm going to get one of those bike trailers for the boys and I to do some riding this summer, then I'll be saving money AND getting in shape.  I am so happy to have the extra space in the car!  We have seats for 7 if we need to, and the 2nd and 3rd rows fold flat when we don't need them.  We can tow our small trailer and 4 wheeler when we go camping and we are so excited!

Our family has also grown by 1!  My grandparents
have not been doing very well the last few months so they gave us their dog.  Maggie joined our family this week and she is the sweetest little dog.  She is a Miniature Schnauzer.  Typically Schnauzers are barking dogs, but she doesn't bark much.  Jacob loves her, he thinks it is hilarious to throw the ball for her and watch her fetch it.   She's a good little dog and it is fun to have her with our family.

Rolling Baby...

Derek just learned how to roll over today. We have been trying to work with him on tummy time for the last few weeks, but he never seems to like it. This morning I put him on his stomach on the floor and he tossed over onto his back about a minute later. I figured it was just a fluke so I put him on his stomach again. About 10 seconds later he was on his back again. He rolled over like that about 5 or 6 times today, so it was definitely intentional. It is so fun to watch him learn and grow everyday. Just one more reminder of how quick they grow up.

Little Photographer

Jacob has become obsessed with taking pictures.  He sometimes gets really good ones, but I thought I should share some things that catch his artistic eye.  It's really quite hilarious.