Brock is walking!

Hello everyone! I think I've been doing a little better lately at this whole blogging thing, you know, posting a little more often so that people can actually see pictures of the kids and hear how they are doing more than once a month (or two!). But don't get used to it! Who knows how it will go once "baby girl Jordan" arrives. Yes, so far, that is still her name. And honestly, we don't have a name decided, it's not that we're just trying to keep it a secret.. We have a few that we both like, but nothing that we are just loving right now. Chad is still pulling for Baby Blodwyn though...anyway! We had a great Thanksgiving and hope that everyone else did too! We took off for a few days and spent it out in Elk Ridge with my parents and family that was around. The drive wasn't too bad on the way out there, Ella complained a bit, just because she was anxious to get there. Brock did great though, with minimal problems! The day before Thanksgiving, we spent at the mall, just doing some window shopping and enjoying being out in the holiday hustle. And while we were out, I finally got that fruit smoothie I had been aching for! Thanks Mom! But by the time the day was over, I was definitely ready for bed. Just wandering around the mall really wore me out! I don't think I'll be spending that much of a day on my feet again, at least until a few weeks after the baby comes! Of course, Thanksgiving dinner was great, and it was nice to be able to visit with some of my family that we hadn't seen since Cheriss and Chris' wedding back in August! Unfortunately, we are pretty sure that we won't be heading out that way again for a few months! The car ride home the next day was miserable, to say the least, for Brock and myself. Brock was so sick of being in the car that he just cried for most of the last 40 minutes or so. And then, my legs and back were pretty sore from riding in the car and so that made me even more cranky! We did enjoy the time we got to spend visiting, but like I said, I don't think we'll be jumping up to do it again until the baby is a few months old.
Other than that, I guess the biggest news right now is that Brock is walking! It is official! He really just started taking off last Sunday and every day since then, his walking spurts have been getting longer and steadier. He is doing so well, and of course, so proud of himself! Ella, as always is my little helper. She is doing very well in school and earned all of her Indian Feathers for the first trimester. There were 10 things the kids needed to be able to do, such as knowing half of thier letters, being able to write numbers 1-5, basic shapes, and knowing some basic grouping skills. For each of the 10 requirements, they were awarded and "Indian Feather" that was then put on a head-dress for them to wear as Indian Chiefs and Princesses. She was so proud that she got all 10 and so were we! Work is going well for Chad and he finally is getting a good amount of time off during the week to spend with us. We all miss him on the days that he works because we rarely get to see him then, but when he is home with us, we sure do enjoy it! Ella looks forward to those days very much, by counting down how many work days left. And Brock notices too, I know. Just today as I was putting him down for a nap, he kept calling out, "Dada! Dada! Ou ooo!" Translation: "Daddy, daddy, I love you!" And I think the one that took the cake for me today was when Ella was lying down, watching tv, and Brock went up to her, without being asked or told to, and just wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. They may be almost 5 years apart, but they do have a good relationship, and for that I am so very grateful. I just had to smile and thank my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such a beautiful family. I hope that everyone else is doing well and that the upcoming weeks bring joy to your homes and families as well! By the way, this last picture of Brock is him watching the very beginning of the BYU vs. Utah football game (aka Daddy's school vs. Mommy's school). Comfy chair, bottle, blankie and a bunch of guys beating on each other! What more could a boy ask for? I guess we would have been happier if we had won, but it was still a pretty good game!

What a Weekend!

We certianly have had a busy, but very fun week and weekend! All of Ella's "silly" days at school this week were a lot of fun for her and her friends, and since this week was also Red Ribbon week, she came home wanting to enlighten us on all of the bad things that drugs do to you. Horray for Red Ribbon Week! Of course, Friday and Saturday were our busiest days, Friday we baked a total of 3 cakes: 2 to take to Chad's office for his birthday, and 1 for Brock's birthday party. The stegosaurus turned out great, thank you to my mom for her help! And of course Friday was a day full of anticipation as we waited for my parents, my sister Brittany, and my niece and nephew, Alexis and Spencer to arrive. Finally they did, and the kids had a great time playing together.

Of course, they were up early the next morning, but we had told them that it was not okay to wake any grown-ups until it was light out. They waited as instructed, but then woke Brittany up to a picket line in the living room, chanting, "WE WANT BREAKFAST! WE WANT BREAKFAST!" They even made signs out of Ella's art supplies to give the full effect! I swear, it was only 8:30 in the morning! They were not about to starve! I woke up to some loud whispering in the hallway, and apparently, they were planning out their protest. It sure sounded like Ella was the ring leader! Surprise, surprise, right?

Our party got started at about noon, with an extra 10 people in our house: my parents, my sister, my niece and nephew, and our next door neighbors (a family of 5). Brock was not at all excited to get up from his nap to see his house overrun with a bunch of people and burst into tears. But I was able to help him slowly work out of it, and he did okay from that point on. We tried to get him to open presents, but of course, he wasn't really into it. And when he did get into it, he was more attracted to the wrapping paper than the gifs. And as for the cake? Well, that took him some time as well. He didn't really love the texture of his frosting, so he was pretty hesitant to break into it. But by the time he was done, he had sucessfully place frosting all over his face, throughout his hair, all over the high chair, and even on the wall behind him.

The kids got to still play for a little bit after the party, and while Spencer and Chad played with the remote control car, the girls decided to paint each others faces. I suggested that they do some cute little butterflies or a flower and well...they didn't exactly take my advice! And then, they asked to paint Chad's and my face. I declined (I know, what a boring Mom) but Chad stepped up! What a guy! I think it started out as Indian warpaint, and then once a pirate mustache was added, he became a "Captain Hook Indian." It was quite the look. After sadly sending our guests off, the kids caught quick naps before the Halloween party. That of course was fun, complete with games and then a trunk or treat. They both had a great time and when it was time for bed, we were ALL more than ready to get some sleep. I don't think I have ever been more grateful for that extra hour than I was this morning! It was definitely a fun weekend. Unfortunately, with all of the excitement yesterday, Chad's birthday today got a bit overshadowed. But this year I didn't end up bursting into uncontrolable sobs like I did last year on his birthday, so I figure it at least had to be a step up, right? (Reminder: Brock was born just several days before Chad's birthday, so my hormone levels were taking a nosedive at the time, thus, the sobbing.) As you can see, it's been quite the weekend for us! But we had a great time and are now anxiously awaiting Thanksgiving when we should be able to get out to my parents house for a few days to visit.

To finish up my post for today, I have complied another top ten list. This one is "10 Ways You Know You're Submitting to the Small-Town Culture"
1. You start referring to the 2 blocks in the center of town as "downtown."
2. It's not uncommon to have a gun or hunting magazine lying around the house.
3. You are starting to think that camo is the new black.
4. You get excited whenever Vernal is mentioned on the news, even during the weather.
5. Your daughter asks if she can start wearing a large belt buckle and cowboy boots.
6. Your daughter suggests that you start wearing a large belt buckle and cowboy boots.
7. The sight of roadkill no longer upsets your children.
8. Hunting stories fascinate you.
9. You consider attending the cowboy poetry reading.
10. The thought of standing in line behind one person at the post office is an outrage.

All right, in all seriousness, we are enjoying it here, and are doing well. The baby is doing great, and should arrive right on schedule. As for her name, "Kavindra" won the poll, but Chad is still pushing for "Blodwyn." He says it has more of a ring to it. Take care everyone!

Happy Birthday Brock!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to do a quick post of a few pictures of the birthday boy! We are so excited that we made it through the first year! I'm telling you, those first few months were pretty rough and some days felt like they would never come to an end! But I'm proud to say that we made it! That first year made me the most nervous since that's where my child-rearing experience was seriously lacking. But I had a great teammate (Chad), a fabulous assistant (Ella), and a very forgiving victim (Brock).

We had a good birthday for Brock, although we didn't do too much yet since his party is not till next weekend. I let him have a cupcake after his lunch and he certianly was not shy about eating that! Today, I let him have another one, and after I got him down, I went to wipe up all of the crumbs off of his seat. He saw what I was doing, came back over, stood up against the legs of his high chair, and began grabbing what crumbs he could from his seat and shoved them in his mouth as quickly as possible. I think he likes cupcakes! Of course, he was totally clueless to the fact that it was his birthday, but Ella was excited for him. We kept singing "Happy Brithday" to him throughout the day, and every time we did, he would smile at us (or maybe it was more of a, "you guys are nuts" face...I don't know).

Now, for those of you that are perhaps overly conscious about gender-appropriate toys (uncles and grandpas), and are troubled by the picture of Brock sitting in his sister's princess chair, not to worry. There is a very large box sitting in our entry way right now that contains a red, Lightening McQueen chair so that he doesn't have to use his sister's anymore! Maybe we'll let him open in tomorrow on Chad's day off. The rest of his presents, he will get to open at his birthday party, which is on Halloween. Don't worry, I will be sure to post pictures of the birthday party as well as the Halloween parties that the kids get to go to!

Of course, Ella is greatly anticipating several things over the next week. This week is red-ribbon week at school which includes many things! Funny Sock Day on Monday, Funny Hat Day on Tuesday, Backwards Clothes Day on Wendesday (as well as trick-or-treating at the library), Red Shirt Day on Thursday, and Career Costume Day on Friday. For Career Costume Day, she is going to go as an artist! Friday, she also has a Halloween party at school and some greatly anticipated guests will arrive (Grandma and Grandma Wyckhuyse, Aunt Brittany, Alexis, and Spencer)! They will then stay for Brock's birthday on Saturday. And of course, after the party, there will be another Halloween Party to attend, at church. Whew! I didn't see till now what a marathon week this week will be! I'll be sure to get lots of pictures and post them as soon as possible!

But for the time being, I think Ella and Brock will keep themselves (and me!) busy playing, having more stuffed animal parties and building fort after fort! I sure do love those silly kids! Be sure to check out the new cartoon, "Ella-isms", and poll for now! As you can see, we're having a tough time deciding on a name when there are so many, um, interresting onces out there!

You Know You're in Vernal When...

Hi everyone! I know it's been a long time since I've done this, but we're almost actually settled now, so I thought I'd update the blog with some pictures. To help those of you who have never been to Vernal, I thought I'd start off with a little list I've complied of ways to help you know when you've arrived.
Top Ten Ways You Know You're In Vernal, UT
1. Local children wear cowboy boots to school. And church.
2. Two words: Bull Ring.
3. The only minivans you ever see are in the school parking lot.
4. All trucks must include one of the following items: a large grill, smoke stacks in the back, or a bumper sticker that has to do with hunting, cowboys, cowgirls, or rednecks.
5. You can count on more than one hand the number of men wearing a cowboy hat, flannel shirt, wranglers, and cowboy boots at wal-mart. And it's not Halloween.
6. Dinosaur everything! Dinah Bowl, Dinosaurland Pediatrics, Dinoland Golf, Dino Pub, Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo, Dinosaur Inn...there's more!
7. You see flyers posted in the window of your bank for the national sheepdog competition.
8. High School students ask each other for dates via fast food marquees.
9. There is an add in the phone book for genuine hand-crafted Amish furniture (apparently they have a community in WY, not too far from here).
10. You fall asleep at night listening to the melodious braying of the neighbor's donkey.
Okay, all kidding aside. We actually are liking it here. Sure, it's a little different sometimes, but it's not like we moved to Mars. Chad and Ella both had last Thursday and Friday off, so on Friday, we took a drive out to Red Fleet Lake. It was only 20 minutes away and it was very beautiful! We took a picnic out there and then went for a walk around the water and on the doc. It was chilly, but we all enjoyed spending the time together. Then on Saturday night, we got invited over to our friends house so the kids could play while the dads when to Priesthood meeting. Chad couldn't go because he had to work, but Ella, Brock and I went over to our friends and had a great time, eating pizza, playing with their awesome toys (Ella is now requesting a car she can drive for Christmas) and playing with their puppies. Thank you Dalls and Battys! We had fun!
Chad finally has an official work schedule, and actually gets scheduled time off now! Horray! He now wants to save up for a gun so he can go hunting with some of his friends out here, and he even bought a camo hat to start his camo collection! Wow! Who would have thought that he would be the first to go country!
I am doing well, and we're hoping to get involved pretty soon with the ward playgroup to help us meet some more people. Although I like it here, I'm not quite ready to jump into the culture with open arms. I'd rather do my shopping online than start dressing my son in work boots, jeans, and a flannel for church. Yeah, I'm still scratching my head at that one: work boots in infant sizes? In case I need to send my baby out to chop wood, plow the field, or clean out the stalls?
As for Ella and Brock, they make me smile and laugh everyday. One of their favorite things to do is to get Ella's tent out, or to make a fort out of blankets and the card table! They also love to tease me...like when I'm trying to get Brock dressed after a bath, he doesn't want to be still, and in the time it takes to reach over and grab the diaper, he is off! And of course, Ella is standing in the hallway going, "Hurry Brock! Run away from Mommy!" They both think it's hysterical.
Ella is doing well in school and having fun. Last week, she came home telling us she was holding hands with her "secret love" at school and she was planning on kissing him the next day. Wow! Was I meant to be her mother or what? (For those who don't know, I spent every recess in kindergarten chasing a classmate, determined to kiss him.) I explained that we just want to be friends and not make anyone feel embarrassed by asking them to kiss. She asked if it would be okay to kiss him if he wanted to. I then explained that kissing at school is never appropriate, no matter how old you are, and she counters by asking if it would be okay to kiss someone when she gets old enough to go out on a date. Ahh! Do we really have to have this coversation? Her other obsession with kissing right now is in regards to Chad and I. Out of the blue, she decided to ask me if I ever kiss him at night. I told her that's the best time of day because she and Brock are sleeping. So every night she warns us not to kiss because she will be spying on us. And then in the morning, she asks about it. We try to explain that mommies and daddies are allowed to kiss, but she won't hear of it. How I dread the day we have to talk about the birds and the bees!
Brock of course, is a cutie. He is using the furniture to help him move around a lot more and I can tell that walking will be coming very soon! My guess is around Christmas. Of course he has learned some other things that he thinks are really great. You know, going through the bathroom trash is fun, pulling on the toilet paper and watching it unroll is awesome, and pulling everything out of the kitchen cabninent and then climbing inside is really cool. And oh yeah, when Mommy says, "Come back here!" it really means: look over your shoulder at her, grin really big and then take off crawling even faster. He did have a haircut today (which explains the diaper only photos) and he screamed the whole time. Unfortunately, the sides are a little long still so I've got to do some doctoring tomorrow, but it shouldn't take too long!

And of course, last but not least, our pregnancy is going well. We are excited to announce that this baby girl won't be the youngest on the Jordan side for very long because Chad's brother and his wife are going to have a baby a few months after us! We are starting to notice a trend....every time Johni or I end up pregnant, the other one isn't too far behind! What can you say about those Jordan boys huh? We know what their hobby is!

Hope everyone is well! Make sure you check out all of the new "Ella-isms", the poll, and our new cartoon! It's a good one!

Wedding Bells

We finally got Cheriss and Chris married this past weekend! The wedding was greatly anticipated, especially by Ella, who couldn't wait to get dressed up in her fancy dress (made by Grandma Wyckhuyse) and see Daddy wear a pink tie! All of the brother in-laws were good sports, but Ella thought that seeing the boys wear pink was hilarious. The wedding took place in the morning at the Draper, Utah temple, and we all made it and on time too! The kids stayed home with a baby sitter and had a blast with her. Chad and I of course went down for the wedding and I can't remember seeing my sister so happy as when she walked into the beautiful sealing room with her soon-to-be husband. Now, one would think that an August 15th wedding (also my dad's birthday) would be more than warm, but if you look at the picture, you'll see that was not the case! It was freezing cold and pouring rain at several different times, but they were still able to get some good pictures. Afterwards, we got some lunch, ran home to get the kids, and went back down to Orem for the reception. The decorations were beautiful and the kids all looked great! The girls (Alexis, Ella, Lilly, and Gracie) all had matching dresses, and the boys (Spencer and Brock) looked great in their suit/tux. The kids had a great time eating chocolate covered strawberries, cake, drinking punch, and of course, dancing the night away! Ella's dancing especially, was entertainment for everyone! No one in our family was lucky enough to snag the bouquet (better luck next time!) and Brock and Spencer were both hoping for the garter, but that too was caught by someone else. Brock was disappointed, but he figures he has plenty of time still. Spencer (he will be 5 next month) on the other hand, was so disappointed, he cried! Anyway, we sent the newlyweds off on their honeymoon with all of our love and support for a strong, Christ-centered marriage. Now, we are now focused on trying to get our house packed up to move! We are so excited to have a good job after such a long time that we are not at all nervous about moving to a brand-new area. Some of Chad's colleagues were surprised at my willingness to move to a VERY small town that I have never even been to before. He just told them that I'm a very obedient wife....yeah right! We all got a good laugh over that one. We sure are going to miss everyone here in Bountiful, and we know that all sides of the family were hoping we would get closer to them, but we are looking forward to the excitement that a booming metropolis like Vernal will bring! Ha! Ella is doing well, excitedly looking forward to starting kindergarten on Sept. 2nd. Of course, she is a great help to me as always, and always has some fun "Ella-isms" to share! And if you haven't heard, she has some interesting ideas of what to name her baby sister. Brock is moving around the house like a little rocket, and constantly pulling himself up to furniture around the house. His newest trick is letting out a big roar when you ask him what a dinosaur says! Our baby girl is doing well too, just nameless for the time being. Hopefully we can take care of that over the next few weeks. We are open to any realistic suggestions (or fake ones for a good laugh I guess) but can't say that we'll be disclosing the decision until her birthday! Chad is definitely working hard at the new job and working a lot. Hopefully when we get moved out to Vernal, he will be able to find some time for us too! As for me, I am excited for the move and am disappointed that I have to take a break from school, but am now looking forward to having more time for my kids. So one final question about the last picture there...the two guys on the outside look a little goofy to me, but I think I've seen the hottie in the middle before, anyone know where I can find him?

So, when did we get a teenager?

Wow! What a whirlwind of activities we have had the past few weeks. May and June were very rainy weeks and we enjoyed every minute of it, including a BBQ in the rain! Brock was bundled up so tight in an adorable hoodie that was way too big (we didn't have a jacket to fit him, thinking, who would need a jacket in the summer, right?) and Ella and the rest of the kids rode their bikes in their rain coats. Of course, Ella was drenched by the time the evening was over, but we had a blast. A few days later, we had some great surprise visitors...the Farfans! We were not expecting them, and they didn't get to stay long at all, but we had such a good time with the kids! We got some pictures taken of all 9 Wyckhuyse grandkids (which I still haven't seen, by the way, hint! hint!) and of course, no one could resist the opportunity to give me a hard time about the picture only being valid till January. I just keep blaming it on Chad! Anyway, after the picture, we had ice cream, Ella, Kaylie and Brandy got their picture taken with Hello Kitty, and they spent the rest of the weekend prancing around Grandma and Grandpa Wyckhuyse's calling themselves Team Kitty and doing little cheers together. It was cute! Not too long after that, we were able to make it up to Washington, thanks to Nancy, Carl, and Pat. We even were able to extend the trip a few extra days thanks to Loyal and Valerie. We are so lucky to have so many people that love us and want to take care of us. The weather was on and off rainy while we were there, so the swimming suits we brought stayed in our suitcases the whole time, but we still found things to do for fun. We went down to the park one day with Nancy, Cobe, Johni, and Harper where the kids fed the ducks, we got treats to eat, and we rode the carousel. We went to three of Cobe's baseball games and enjoyed watching him play. He had some good hits too! After the games we would go over to Russ and Johni's house for some food and to visit some more...well, we always enjoyed it, but Brock and Harper struggled a bit. Brock needed to borrow a few things of Harper's for a bit, like his high chair, and his walker, but Harper wasn't so sure he liked the idea. He tried to show us he was unhappy by pushing Brock across the kitchen...Brock on the other hand, was not at all offended, but thought it was fun! While Harper screamed in protest at his temporary replacement, Brock laughed hysterically. It was quite funny and so of course, we couldn't resist snapping some pictures. We had lots of dinners with our Brock family and friends and Ella had fun running around with all the bulldogs and loved to feed them treats. They discovered very quickly that a good place to sit at dinner was near Ella and Brock. They gobbled up quite a bit of bread and several graham crackers that had been dropped on the floor! We went out to the cemetery to visit Ella's Mommy Kirsten's "remembering stone" and she got to choose a bouquet of flowers to leave. When we got there, we told her to just set the bouquet down, but that wasn't good enough for her. She wanted to pull the bouquet apart so that she could lay them her own way and "make it pretty." We felt like this was an okay thing since it was coming from her heart and it was very sweet. Not too long after we got back from Washington, we had a chance to take Ella on her first camping trip. We left Brock with my parents overnight (no, I didn't cry...almost, but I didn't) and went up to Hobble Creek Canyon. Ella had a great time and she was such good helper with setting up the tent and sleeping bags. The creek ran right along our campsite and so we went down to it several times to play and stick our feet in. We did a puzzle, played a game, cooked dinner, and of course, made s'mores! She didn't fall asleep till about 11:30 that night but was up by 6:30 the next morning, climbing in between Chad and I, jumping on us, trying to tickle-fight, and more than ready to be awake (of course, she fell asleep pretty quick on our way back to my parents though!). So we got up and had breakfast, took a few more walks, and got packed up to head back. As we were leaving, the campground manager came over to talk with us, and come to find out, there was a bear in the campground the evening before! We never saw or heard it, but we heard what turned out to be the gunshot of the manager shooting it. Some adults tried to scare it off by yelling at it and throwing rocks at it, but it was not afraid and started to charge at the campground manager. So, unfortunately, he had no choice. But fortunately for us, we knew nothing about it! All in all, we enjoyed our trip and we will try to do it again next year. I'm not sure if we'll take Brock on that one either, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. So maybe now, you're wondering why I choose the title that I did for this post. If you take a look at the Ella-isms, you won't wonder as much anymore. All of a sudden, our Ella has turned into this teeny-bopper! She's been watching all of these "big-girl" movies like Princess Protection Program and Princess Diaries, she can't get enough of Hannah Montanna or the Jonas Brothers. She has a Hannah Montanna flashlight, jammies, and vitamins. Of course we draw the line there and refuse to buy her anything Jonas Brothers, especially clothes. Sorry, I'm just not ready for my five-year-old to be wearing a boyband t-shirt! That didn't stop her from begging and she even told me that she would even put back the pony shirt she had already picked out if she could just have the Jonas Brothers one. Still, the answer was no, and as we walked away, she couldn't help but grab the bottom of the shirt and give it a kiss. One word: Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! We were slightly horrified. And of course, every day we get at least a taste (and sometimes a feast) of the good ol' Ella attitude. You know, hands on hips, rolling eyes, and disghusted sigh followed by a "Daaaaaaaaad!" or "Moooooooooom!" Brock is growing too of course and just this week he showed us that he can clap his hands and give high fives! He is very proud of himself and we are proud of him too! Ella just adores him and almost always cries that she doesn't want Brock to take a nap. She wants him to stay up so that she can play with him instead. They are our joy, day after day and can't wait for the love in our family to grow with the addition of the next one. Speaking of, my belly is growing, although it's still hard for people to tell. Those darn 20 lbs Brock left me with are not being very kind. The things we do for our children! I have another appointment in about a week and a half, and after that one, we will have a date for when we will find out if it's a boy or a girl. We will be sure to let everyone know as soon as we do!