What I love about my little man!!!

Nathan seems to be changing every day and since his birthday is in a few days I have been thinking more and more about the reasons why I love him and how I am sooo glad that we have him. I love: how Nathan wakes up from his naps and jumps in his crib till we get him out, how he cuddles up with his head on my shoulder and then tucks his hands under his tummy, how he squints his eyes closed and opens his mouth while we are saying prayers(I will try to capture this with a picture and show you at some point), how he sings to his teddy bears until he falls asleep, how I have to say goodnight to Nathan plus all of his stuffed animals in his crib at least twice before I can leave the room, how he smells especially after his bath, how he has stinky breath in the morning but it is kind of cute, how he LOVES brushing his teeth but really just sucks the toothpaste off the toothbrush, how he loves routine especially at night, how he can remember songs easily even if he can only sing the last word of each line, how every night he chooses the same song to sing which by the way is Teletubbies theme song, how he talks non-stop, how he runs around in a circle till he falls to the ground and then sits there totally dizzy with the funniest look on his face, his chubby legs, his cute belly, his perfect eyes and smile, his CRAZY hair thanks Shutra gene, how he is trying so hard to be a big kid but still loves being Mommy's baby, how he gets SOOO angry when he doesn't get his way and doesn't know what to do so he just runs for a hug, how when he is in a time out he sits with his arms folded the whole time, how he loves his Iliegh, how he has "2 mommies" Karalee and mommy and don't try to correct him because it just ends up with him freaking out, his little sense of humour which is very similar to his Daddy's, how he LOVES sports and loves playing with the big boys especially when they "body check" him, his cute bum, how he loves nursery and even goes by himself, how he sings I Am A Child Of God at the top of his lungs, how he is outgoing like Mommy but pretends that he is shy sometimes like Daddy, how he jumps, how he dances, how he runs, how he puts both hands on my cheeks and lays a wet kiss on my lips the whole time making a "mmmmm" sound and sometimes even moving his head (I don't know where he learned that one), how he loves corny videos like hooked on a feeling by David Hasselhoff (if you haven't seen this google it, it's real "good" just ask Nathan), how he is the perfect little boy and I wouldn't change him for anything.

We're moving!!!

Okay well we aren't moving yet, in fact we haven't even looked at our first house yet, but I have FINALLY convinced my wonderfully stubborn husband that it is time to find a new house.

For anyone that doesn't know we live in a townhouse condo which we bought before we had Nathan. It is a great house, 1100 sq. feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, and it is ours which is the best thing about it. I have really enjoyed living here, fixing it up, becoming GREAT friends with our neighbours, and just paying ourselves rather than paying someone else for rent.

Anyways, even though this house has been REALLY fun, it is hard living in between 2 other families, constantly worrying about our noise levels, not having a fenced in back yard, and having to deal with a condo board :( , so we are moving!!!

We were going to just look in Saskatoon but both Wayne and I have been really interested in moving to a smaller town just outside of the city called Martensville. It will literally take Wayne 5-10 minutes to get to work where as now it takes him 35 minutes in the morning and about 45 minutes in the afternoon (I hate rush hour). It would mean that we would have to drive into the city to do lot's if not most things, but there are sooo many positives with living in a small town. Some of the things that I would REALLY enjoy are huge yards, we are close enough to the city that it is very conventient to do things, but far enough out of the city to have some peace and quiet, getting a WAY bigger and newer house for the same amount as purchasing in S'toon, Nathan going to a smaller school and being able to participate in more activities. Now even though I wouldn't have admitted this when I was a teenager, I really loved growing up in a small town and I would love our kids to be able to have that experience as well.

We have definately had people advising us for both moving out of S'toon, or staying and right now I don't know what is going to happen. But I can definately say that I am SOOO excited about this decision and I can't wait to see where we end up.

Sky Screamer

What a fun weekend we had this past weekend. We, as in the Shutra's, Fieguth's(Lisa's in-laws) and some of the Butler's went to Edmonton for the weekend. We spent tons of time shopping, and eating, but the funnest part was going to the waterpark in West Ed. We got there early Saturday morning and had a blast swimming in the wave pool and racing eachother down the slides. Nathan loved playing in the waves, swimming between Grandpa, Grandma, Steven, Mommy and Lisa, and was even big enough to go down some water slides by himself which he ABSOLUTELY loved.

Even though I am pretty adventurous I was too much of a chicken and wouldn't go down the big red slide which is called the Sky Screamer. You may ask "Why is it called the Sky Screamer?" Well it is called the Sky Screamer because you are so freakin high in the sky that you want to scream. If you haven't been to the waterpark the Sky Screamer starts at the top of the building, I am not kidding it feels like you could jump and touch the roof. You have to climb up who knows how many flights of stairs, I am sure they make you do that so you are too tired once you get to the top that you decide it is better to go down the slide than to climb all the way back down.Their trick didn't work for me though. Wayne, Steven, Darryl, Andrew and I all climbed the mountain of stairs and were all challenging eachother to go down the slide. However, the more stairs you climb the higher you realize you are and the less and less you challenge the other people hoping that they won't dare you to do it, because then it's either take the dare or be known as a chicken the rest of your life.

So we all get to the top of the slide, and walk to the railing hoping that some of the screws didn't come loose and it will hold you up from falling. Of course, it holds but oh man, it feels like you are falling because your stomach is doing funky things. I being brave, walked over and looked down the slide. You are suppose to sit at the top and then wiggle yourself over the edge onto a slide that pretty much doesn't need to be there because you just freefall for the first 600 feet. Okay well it's not really 600 feet but it looks like it.

Well I didn't care what anyone else said, I was NOT GOING DOWN IT!!!! I know, I know, I am a chicken, and I am totally okay with being called that when it comes to this slide. Just for your knowledge Wayne and Andrew didn't go down this slide either. :p

Anyways, I walked back down to the other "extreme" slide, which by the way you get air while going down it, and went down this slide.

Andrew the big talker, kept saying that he was going to go down the Sky Screamer, and kept chickening out. Now to give Andrew some credit, he is TOTALLY afraid of heights. So after a few people climbing to the top with him and trying to get him to go down, my Mom the fearless, or crazy Kay decided to go down with Andrew. So they climbed up the huge amount of stairs that I am sure could get you to the top of the Empire State Building and were up there for a little while. Next thing I know, my Mom, once again let me repeat the fearless or crazy woman, sits down at the top of the slide, wiggles her bum a little and down she comes, holding onto the side for all it's worth. Once at the bottom she stayed in the pool for a little while, she informed us later it was to get the HUGE wedgie out of her bottom. You go down this slide SOOO fast that not only do you get a CRAZY wedgie but you can blow a hole in your swimsuit, if you don't believe me ask Mom.

Well my mom has been my hero for a long time but now well she is just so AWESOME!!!!

BTW, Andrew never went down the slide!!!

We had a great time, and it was so fun being with all of our families. Thanks for a great weekend everyone!!!

23 days and counting

For the last 13 months Wayne and I have been trying to give Nathan a little brother or sister to pick on. Things have not been working and finally after many sad months we have been accepted by a Fertility Specialist again. For anyone that may not know, I have PCOS (which is Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) and to explain it simply is that my body produces too many male hormones called androgens. This causes my body not to work properly which causes us to have a hard time getting pregnant as well as other complications, which I don't think anyone really wants to read about here. :)

We had to go to a specialist before to get pregnant with Nathan, and were blessed with being pregnant only a month after we started treatments. Well this time around we started the same treatments over a year ago, hoping it would be as easy as with Nathan, no such luck. :( It has been an incredibly hard challenge to go through. There is nothing in the world that I love more than being a Mom, and it is something that I have always wanted to be. What I would give to be like some of my friends that wash their clothes with their husbands and they're pregnant. :) But that is not the plan that Heavenly Father has for me.

So now after trying for this long we get to go see the good old Specialist. At my last appointment the dr. informed me that since I wasn't ovulating that they would probably put me on a drug called Clomid. Clomid makes you ovulate (at least that is what they tell me), but it also can make you drop mulitiple eggs. So my kind dr. informed me that the risk of a multiple birth is higher. OH YIPEE!!! not!! I have had nightmares since about breastfeeding 6 babies, all the diapers, etc. Of course this is very unlikely ( I HOPE). Usually it is only twins or triplets, which still is scarey. Oh boy.

Anyways, we had to go on a 3 month waiting period and man I was hoping I would get pregnant before then... no luck. So in only 23 days we will be seeing our specialist and hopefully we will be able to get preggers soon.

Please keep us in your thoughts and your prayers.

I was told I "type" too much.

Hehe, we were talking about Wayne's blog and my blog the other day and Darryl(my brother in law) told me that he likes reading mine, but that sometimes I type too much. I just laughed. Everyone that knows me knows how much I LOVE to talk, and now I guess type. :)

I was thinking about 2006 the other day, and wondering where it went. Looking back over the events of the year it has just been a GREAT year. Nathan turned 1 and we have watched him grow and change into a little man everyday this year, Wayne had a job offer in Edmonton which after many hours of discussion and prayers we turned it down, I started driving bus, we have made some new friends and strengthened other friendships, Karalee and Iliegh moved back to Saskatoon, Andrew and Aaron graduated, Russell and Beth got married in April, and Lisa and Steven got married in August, and Darryl moved to Saskatoon for school and is now staying. How Fun!!!

We have had some sadness and stress this last year as well, both Grandpa Shutra and Grandpa Hatch were in the hospital for some time and we didn't know if they would make it, thankfully they did. Wayne and I started to try to have a baby in January and unfortunately 2006 wasn't the year to have a new spirit enter our home.

We definately have had so many ups and some downs but 2006 was such a fun and exciting year. I can't wait to see what 2007 brings our family.

Christmas at the Butler's

So we left the Shutra's on the 27th and headed home. Wayne and I were planning on coming home, doing some laundry, packing, and then leaving again the next day. After thinking about it we decided that it would probably be better to just leave that night and drive at nighttime so that Nathan could sleep. So we got home, cleaned out the car, repacked the car, I ran a few errands, and then we set off for Mom and Dad's all within a few hours. I know that Heavenly Father had a hand in this decision because when we passed Swift Current the roads turned PURE ice, and they were HORRIBLE!!! We hit a big storm and decided to not risk it anymore and to stop in Medicine Hat. The next day the storm had moved on, and most of the rest of the roads were pretty good after the road crews had got to them. If we had been driving that morning from Saskatoon we would have been driving the whole way in the storm, and with bad roads. I am certainly glad we left when we did.

It was super fun being with my family. Karalee, Iliegh, Russell and Beth had all gone down for Christmas and were already back in Saskatoon when we got to Mom and Dad's so it was just Wayne, Nathan, Lisa, Steven and I there. We had a lot of fun playing games, and teasing eachother. It was SOOO nice for mom and Dad to get to spend some time with just Nathan. Nathan LOVED all the attention but especially wanted "Papa" and "Tevan" to pay attention to him. Nathan got a really cool work bench from Mom and Dad, which he loves as well. He thinks it is pretty cool to watch Daddy putting the screws in the table with the tools. Nathan is SUCH a boy!!! :)

We were able to go and see Grandma and Grandpa Great's(Butler) new house. It's really weird to have them living in Lethbridge and not the farm. We also went out to the farm and saw how they had torn everything down... :( It was almost eery. I grew up on the farm and have SOOOO many memories and now all that is there is the house and land. The people that bought the farm tore down EVERYTHING. It was REALLY sad to see.

We also went and saw Grandpa Hatch and Grandma Amy. Last time I saw Grandpa he looked pretty good (I believe he is 90). But after being sick he looks so old and frail. I just wanted to hug him. I am really glad that we got to see him, talk to him and just spend some time with him, who knows how much longer he will last.

We rang in the New Year with Mom, Dad, Steven and Lisa. We played a CSI game(which is reallly fun), ate,ate ate and then counted down the last minutes of 2006. I was going to put Nathan to bed earlier, but Mom and Wayne kept telling me to let him stay up. He had fun playing with everyone, and crashed shortly after midnight. Poor little guy.

Anyways, another year has come and gone. It's sad to be getting older, but nice on the other hand too. I hope everyone had a FABULOUS Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
Love you all.

The holiday madness is FINALLY over, back to reality!!!

Even though I absolutely LOVE Christmas and LOVE getting together with family, it sure feels great to be home. Spending almost 2 weeks away from home was easy before we had a little one but it sure is rough on Nathan. He didn't like sleeping in weird rooms and so ended up sleeping with Wayne and I every night. This would be okay if he would just lay still and sleep, but Nathan LOVES laying on my head, chest, or curled up with his feet either in my ribs or back. He also LOVES running his fingers through my hair, which has been a comfort to him since he was little, but man it drives me crazy after awhile. It is like Chinese torture, and it goes on all night. Oh well... it's fun to wake up to his cute little face in the morning and getting a stinky breath kiss from him.

We left Saskatoon on the 22nd of December to go to the farm. It was nice to spend more than one night at Brian and Charlene's and not feel like we were rushed to fit in everything that we wanted to do. We had a great time visiting with family and friends, and Nathan LOVED the attention that he got from everyone. Some of the highlights of our Christmas at the farm were playing "touch" (turn to tackle) football with the boys in snow up to our knees. Darryl, Aaron, Brian and Wayne like to tackle me and push me around but they usually do it pretty gently. Not Andrew, he pushes me and hits me just like he hits the boys, I have learnt to run away from him, but there were a few times that he took me down :) I also tackled big solid Andrew once(it was after the play was done and he wasn't expecting it, but hey I got him down so that's all I cared about) The snow felt like a nice fluffy pillow and it was fun to fall into.
We also took Nathan sledding for the first time. Wayne took him down first and then climbed back up the hill with Nathan holding onto the GT with everything he had. I then climbed on the back of the GT and took off with Nathan. Let's just say the poor little guy DID NOT like it. He gasped the whole way down, and when I asked him at the bottom if he wanted to do it again, he almost screamed "no". Hehe, maybe next year. It's kind of funny because Nathan doesn't like sledding but he LOVES the snowmobiles which are WAY faster. Daddy took him for his first ride, which he loved and cried when Daddy tried to take him off, and then Grandma and Darryl each took him.
We went with Charlene to her church (Potter's House) on Christmas Eve. It was a very nice little church, and the people were very friendly. It was really interesting going to a church that had a singer, back up singers, organ, guitar, and drums. When we first walked in we were introduced to the minister. He was holding a briefcase and Nathan said "Poper Tips" which is "Poker Chips" and pointed at the briefcase. OH MY GOODNESS, we all started laughing and quickly changed the topic. Well guess what the sermon was on that day....hehe... gambling... well not just about gambling, but when the minister started talking about how bad gambling is, we all just about busted a gut. BTW, the poker chips have been hidden away.
Christmas morning was super fun!! Nathan LOVED opening all the gifts, and when I say all the gifts I mean... ALLLLL the gifts. :) Poor Andrew was pretty put out that Nathan was getting so many gifts and not him. The best gift that Nathan got from the Shutra's was a Little Tykes car. He spent the rest of the time in that silly thing. The car has a door and Nathan was showed how to use it, nope Nathan liked to get out by sliding under the car, and get in by climbing over the door.. hehe... Maybe he will be a race car driver and not need a door that opens.
Anyways, it's late and time for bed. We had such a fun time with the Shutra's and tomorrow I will write about our adventures with the Butler B's.

Terrible 2's aren't suppose to start yet :(

Well it's official, Nathan has hit the terrible 2's. One day Nathan is a nice little boy that loves to listen to Mommy, and the next day he is hitting, kicking, and throwing tantrums. Oh boy, oh boy. I thought that I still had a few months to prepare for this stage. Now that I think about this maybe this isn't the terrible 2's yet and he will get worse, I am doomed. Oh my, I think I am going to climb in bed and sleep this stage away. I am just teasing. Actually, even though Nathan has been definately acting up it really hasn't been that bad, yet. His tantrums are actually cute, as he gets the big lip, lays on the floor, puts his head in his hands and cries. What does Mommy do? Well Mommy lays on the floor and cries with him, no I don't but somedays I would like to. I usually just walk away, if it is safe to do so, and boy does that make Nathan mad. He always looks up to see if I am watching and when I'm not the sobs really come. Still Mommy won't pay attention and he eventually forgets why he is lying on the floor and goes off and plays. He usually does this at home, but the other day he decided he wanted to test Mommy and did this in the busy mall, right in the middle of all the people trying to shop. It was hard letting him just lay there, and man I got some looks. I was waiting for someone to say something and I would have offered Nathan to them, but noone did. I hope this doesn't happen too often because it wasn't fun, and I keep telling myself that it is just a phase...or so I hope.

Darryl (Wayne's brother) has been living with us for the last couple of months and only has a few more days here. Darryl is taking his 3rd year welding course and is hoping to become a Journeyman this year, which is really exciting. We have really enjoyed having him live with us, but our food bill has tripled... hehe, just teasing Darryl. It's been fun getting to know him better, as Darryl and I are home for a few hours each day with only the kids. It's going to be nice getting my husband back because Darryl and Wayne LOVE sports and so every chance they get they are trying to do something sporty, whether it be on the playstation, or for real. It will be nice getting the t.v. back, that's right Wayne, no more hockey, just makeover, renovation, or food shows...hehe, just teasing.

We haven't even started our Christmas shopping yet.... ahhhhh.... Hopefully tomorrow we will start and finish it. Next year I am starting in January and then I will hopefully be done by November...hehe.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the Christmas season, and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

I am shrinking away!!!

Today a girlfriend and I went shopping. She wanted to get some Christmas presents, and I just went so that we could get out of the house. We were shopping around and she was looking through a sale rack of jeans and pulled out a size that was WAY too big for her (she is maybe a size 6 on her bloated days). I must have given her a what are you thinking look and she said that they weren't for her but that I should try them on. So I did. Well guess what they were too big, and guess what size they were, 34. WOOHOO!!!!

I should back track for a minute. I have been going to Weight Watchers for the last 6 weeks, and so far have lost a total of 10+ lbs. I knew that I was losing weight because most of my pants have literally been falling off of me, Nathan thinks it's hilarious to come up behind me and hang from my pockets, which makes my pants fall off. Not funny!! :) Anyways, I knew the inches were coming off but was shocked this morning when I put on a belt that I haven't been able to fit for the last 5 years, and I not only fit it but had to do it up to the 3rd notch.

Anyways, back to trying on jeans. So Carla went and grabbed me a smaller size, 32's and they didn't fit. So we sent the sales lady to get a 31. I thought for sure that they were going to be too tight but they fit PERFECTLY!!!, in fact I probably could have fit into a 30, but I didn't want to press my luck.

I am soooo happy right now. It has not been the easiest thing to do and I still have a long way to go till I am at my goal weight but this was MAJOR motivation.

For anyone that would like to lose a few pounds I would TOTALLY recommend joing Weight Watchers. It is REALLY easy, you just have to watch what you are eating but you still can enjoy the odd hamburger and french fries if you would like. I have tried TONS of diets and I LOVE weight watchers, in fact I don't even feel like I am dieting.

Nathan's sick :(

Last night was a bad night, Nathan was up almost every hour. He would start screaming until I wrapped him in his blanket and snuggled him up. We played this game all night which was not fun. I thought that maybe he was having bad dreams again, but this morning he was acting really weird. When I was getting ready for work, Nathan wanted to brush his teeth. I gave him his toothbrush and next thing I know he is laying on his belly on the floor brushing his teeth. I thought that maybe he was just tired. (You know how it is when you are a parent, everything is a guessing game.) I took him to the babysitters house, and I guess he slept the whole time he was there. We came home, had some oatmeal with berries in it(which he ate all of it), and then went and snuggled on the couch. He still didn't seem quite right. Then it all went downhill. He starting throwing up all over me, Iliegh, the blanket, floor and couch. Iliegh was funny, she let out a little scream and said "Auntie, Nathan threw up purple stuff on me."(The berries made everything purple) She was not very impressed, but kept trying to reassure Nathan that everything was okay. After cleaning all of us and the other stuff up, I wrapped Nathan up, gave him some Tylenol and put him to bed. Oh the joys of being a Mom. :)

Thanks to everyone who has written back and responded to this blog. It is fun hearing back from you. I hope you all have a great day.

The Nightmares have begun.

Well Nathan is officially a toddler, as the nightmares have begun. Last night on our drive back from Wayne's Mom and Dads, Nathan would fall asleep and then wake up screaming and in a panic. Once Wayne got him calmed down Nathan would tell Wayne "Tary (scary) Daddy, Tary" Wayne would ask what was scary and Nathan would say "Daddy Tary, Tubbies(teletubies which I think all of us would agree are scary) Tary, Mommy Tary, Darryl Tary, etc etc." At first it made me feel bad but then I realized that he is probably just dreaming and doesn't realize what's going on. I am not looking forward to this new phase that we get to go through and being woken up at nights again.

Karalee(my sister) got a new job which she will be working from 8 am-4pm, Monday-Friday. We are pretty excited since she was working many different times even till 10pm, and weekends, and it was hard on little Iliegh being apart from her mom so much. I have been watching Iliegh for Karalee, and having our nights and weekends to ourselves will be nice again too. Not saying that I don't love Iliegh to death but it is hard having 2 kids under 3 in the house. It's been really good for Karalee to move back here. She has been living with my parents since she had Iliegh but decided that it was time for her and Iliegh to become their own family. Karalee is such a strong, courageous woman. She has kept her head up high while going through all these hard times and I have been really proud of her. It has been really neat watching her grow up, and seeing what an amazing mom she is. I am amazed at what she is doing, because I can't imagine being a single Mom, it is hard enough being married and having a kid. But she always seems to be keeping her cool. What a woman.

Only 36 days till Christmas... .woo hoo I can't wait. We have drawn names already for gifts and I have... haha, you thought I would tell didn't you, well you will just have to wait and see. I have some really good ideas in mind of what I am going to give everyone. I love Christmas time. I love the smells, the lights, the music, the madness, the buying gifts, but mostly I love that it is a special time to remember our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that in all the madness that is happening this Christmas that everyone can make a special effort to remember Jesus's birth.

I wud you!!!

I just LOVE being a Mommy. Nathan is such a wonderful little gift that I have been given from Heavenly Father. We went through so much heartache trying to get pregnant with him and sometimes I forget how grateful I should be being his Mom. This morning when we were climbing off the bus, I said "Nathan, I just love you so much." He smiled his cheesy smile, and I went down the steps. In a quiet little voice I heard Nathan say, "I wud you". My heart just melted, I don't even think Nathan knew what he was saying but hearing those words come out of his mouth was such an incredible feeling. Once we got inside we were listening to some music and Nathan came over with a book "Bu, Mommy?", next thing I knew he was wiggling around in my lap trying to get comfy. It's moments like these that help me to remember what I have been given. Nathan is sleeping right now, but when he wakes up I am going to cover him in kisses and hugs.... hehe... I can't wait.

Testing

I am just testing this to see if it does what it says it will do.

#1

Well I decided since Wayne has a blog that's mostly about him( http://wayne-84.livejournal.com/ ) I figured it was time for our family to have one. Since most of our families don't live around here and don't get to hear or see the changes in our family, I thought it would be fun to have this blog and keep people updated on our lives.

This blog will probably mostly be about Nathan because well........ Nathan is a lot more fun and cute than Wayne and I.

I hope that you all enjoy coming along with us on our adventure in life.