We Have A Two Year Old!

Mom! It my Bird-day! He totally knew it was his Birthday and man was he ecstatic! 

We all were. It truly was a very fun family day :)

Even though it was warmer outside he knew this was his birthday shirt and did NOT want me to change it.

So, fun story...I started making the cupcakes the night before. I tried a new recipe and it was a bad idea. The cupcakes didn't set up, like at all. They tasted good but it must have been elevation problems. It was too late to make it from scratch, plus doing all that hard work...I just didn't want to find another recipe so I just ran to the 24/7 Walmart and bought they Devil's food cake box. Thank you Duncan! It ended up being yummy, I surprised Damon by putting a marshmallow filling into the cupcake. What he loved the most though was the designs. When he woke up I brought him downstairs to check out the cupcakes and he went, "Awww, uh football!" I don't think anything else could have made me felt so good. He truly made me feel like he loved it, he was proud of me and thankful that I did it for him. His body language was so sweet and sincere. 

He is such a sweet boy! He's my sweet boy!

So, mom was pretty cool that morning. He got chocolate chip pancakes...with marshmallow fluff...then topped with syrup. He loved it! (Who wouldn't?) I LOVE his determined lips in this picture :)

And look how cute his lips are in this picture too! 

He's just my handsome boy, I could kiss this face all day! 

Nom Nom!

Damon was so excited when he saw the card/$ that Aunt Anna and Uncle Drew sent...

Truthfully though...I think he liked the card more. He carries this card all over the house, starring and talking about it. Super Heroes are pretty rad, for sure :)

After Garrett got off work we went to the most fun place called Kangaroo Zoo. 

Damon loved it! And since Damon is younger they let me go on everything with him for free! Garrett couldn't because he doesn't weigh under 150 lbs (So glad he doesn't, he'd be wayyy too skinny!) 

It was way fun, it made me feel like a kid again!

I loved these action pics of Damon jumping. He loves jumping on our bed and on the couch, so being able to do this everywhere at this place was just the Bomb! :)

He loved going down the slides. He always wanted to go down by himself even on the steep ones. Some were really steep so I obviously when down with him on those ones.

 

Too much fun!

Damon and I would race on this one :) 

We would go down backwards sometimes even.

It was required to have socks on, it was hard climbing up some of these because it was slippery but Damon amazed me with how well he climbed up by himself. Side note: Right before we walked into Kangaroo Zoo, we realized that the drink I handed to Damon in the carseat (which was juice but it was the "Honest" kids organic kid so it has no added sugar so it really isn't sticky) I didn't realize that I didn't put the lid on right so all over it went all over his shorts. So before we played I took him into the bathroom, changed his diaper and blew dry his shorts with the hand blow dryer. In the end he just ended up smelling really good, like apples actually. 

I love this picture :) Just real excited riding on a dinosaur's back!

He went out for dinner and then it was cupcake time!

Yum!

Birthday kisses :)

Love this boy!

My handsome boys!

Bedtime kisses!

I love how he was holding onto Garrett's lips to kiss.

I love this picture because he always does this to me. He always cups my chin when he's being sentimental. It melts my heart.

Knuckles.

High five.

We then do "fingers" then "noggin"

This is Damon trying to give us a thumbs up. 

Haha cracks me up, especially how he places his tongue while focusing.

That's his new gun he got for his birthday. He loves his weapons.

Damon also got a new bike from Grandma and Grandpa Dekorte. He got a helmet too from Nana and Papa Dekorte. He loves them both so much. He'll just walk around the house wearing his helmet like it's a hat. But sometimes you just got to sit on your bike with your "Bear" while wearing your soccer hat :)

Molly was worn out. She's our dog, by the way. She's a 7 year old pure breed Border Collie. She is very healthy and active. She loves sleeping right here by my side of the bed or partially under the bed or all the way under the bed. She sheds a ton but we love her. Damon loves to take her out to go potty or just to go on walks. He's good about helping feed her, brush her, give her treats and throwing the ball around with her.

Sometimes Molly lays on her blanket and when she does she is always in the cutest positions!

My Family! This was actually the day we got Molly which was on Pioneer Day. It was a very fun day. To sum it up, I love us! :)

Grateful for...

I've been having an overwhelming amount of gratitude this morning. I felt like I needed to stop and write it down before I lose it. To do so, I just plopped Damon down in front of the TV. Probably not the best parenting technique but hey at least it is an educational show. I truthfully have been desiring to do this more often because Damon no longer takes naps. Zero. Zip. It's like he joined a "No Nap" club when he turned 2. And he's starting to get into everything! He's peeing on my earrings (He found where I leave my earrings which is in the bathroom drawer. He took his diaper off because I told him he was going to take a shower but then Garrett helped me put the sheets back onto our bed, which distracted us..once finished we walked into the bathroom to find the pre scene lol) He's making murals out of the upstairs bedroom wall, he's starting to throw things into the toilet. I always have to have an eye on him and he's so tired, I know he is, which equals shorter temper and tantrums occurring on both parties :) General Conference came at a perfect time. It's a time that helps me re-evaluate how I want to be as a person and mother. I'm far from perfect and I'm working on my patience level. Damon does give me sweet reminders here and there. After a screaming NOOO session at me, I placed him in time out which brought on tears. I told him he could leave his spot when he was ready to calm down and listen. I asked him if he was ready, he looked at me with a contrite look and said, "Mmm Hmm." He walked sweetly over to me and as I talked to him, telling him what he did wrong he just cupped my chin while kind of patting it, then looked at me so sweetly. It looked as if he was truly listening. Even if he was just manipulating me and trying to get out of the situation..it worked lol. I didn't feel like it was that way though, it was a reminder to me that he naturally has a sweet soul. He's just in a stage where he is trying to figure out his emotions. I'm learning how to work with them too, sometimes I don't understand him. Which doesn't matter, I'm the mother, I understand emotions more so, I need to be the patient teacher. That has really rung true to me lately. What has also rung true is the fact that I am a mother. I get to do the best calling, the best job ever. I get to help guide a human being! And each day I am saving him from the world. Like saving him from running out in the street or just feeding him--he is completely dependent on me keeping him alive. That's a significant statement. What a magnificent calling to give a human being alive but not only physically. Mentally and spiritually. What I teach him now, the knowledge he retains may save him later on in many circumstances. My hope is that I can be what he needs now and later on. It can be overwhelming just thinking about the me I need to be. One of the Conference talks talked about how his life was going perfect but after talking with a friend he realized that he could be doing better. It hit me, how can I be doing better...how can I be a better mother and wife. It's always good to re-evaluate and I'm so grateful for the Savior who has allowed us to start over EVERY SINGLE day. Each day is a new day that we can be better.

I'm feeling pretty good today. I'm going to be an Aunt again, today. Lacey went into labor with her 5th child this morning! I believe they are going to be naming him, Crew. I can't wait! And Charity has her 3rd in November. More babies the merrier! I'm so proud of these girls sacrificing their bodies to play a part in the creation of man. And, both these girls sacrifice their time to be full time stay at home moms. I truly look up to Lacey and Charity, I hope and pray that (especially when it comes Garrett and my time to increase our family with more children) I can be half the mother that they are.

There are so many more things that I am grateful for that I will continue to write in other posts!