HALLOWEEN IN DECEMBER

Okay, so I'm a little behind in the bloggin' again :( But since the stores can advertise Christmas in October, I can definitely post Halloween pictures in December. We had a great Halloween. Jase was Buzz Light Year. Dustin was Woody (big, big surprise). Jaxon was squeaker. I was Little Ho Peep...I mean, Little Bo Peep. Can you believe what a little bit of breast feeding can do for your figure! The other picture was all the cousins (except Neeley the chicken) dressed up for the occassion. It was a fun night...our last fun night before the sick bug hit our house. The Whittaker family was pretty much sick all November w/ at least four trips to the pediatrician. Jaxon had an ear infection and Jase had a throat infection. After three different antibiotics, I think we are finally on the road to recovery. If having the kids sick weren't bad enough, Dustin got the flu over Thanksgiving. It made a sissy out of him. By Thanksgiving night he was feeling good enough to have our own little Thanksgiving dinner...the last holiday in our house as we sold it and should close around the 14th of December. So thus starts a new adventure...house building. I guess I'll be posting a blog in about another six months...ha ha ha

THE GOOD CHOICE CHART

Big shocker, another two post blog night! Just had to get a quick word in for the "Good Choice Chart." Jase will do almost anything for a sticker. He's bringing in the stickers for eating all his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He's quite the eater. The "Being Nice" and "Listening" categories are lagging behind, but what can I expect from a 2 year old. Another category, the "Potty," is a most sticker contender. Jase is obsessed with his poop. Is it big? Is it colored? Has both mom and dad seen it? I'm not compaining. How could I? My 2 year old is potty trained.

Yup, I'm so proud of him. He's been an awesome big brother, always checking on Jaxon and laying next to him to talk and hold his hand. It's so sweet. I was quite worried when we brought Jaxon home...totally afraid that Jase would go into a jealous rage. But it's been the opposite. I'm hoping they'll be the best of friends. I've learned (in my old age) that sisters and brothers are your friends forever.

Anyway, the "Good Choice Chart" was a "Good Choice" on my part. It's been a huge help for my little guy and an even bigger help for his mama!

STILL ALIVE

So, I'm in big trouble from a fellow blogger (Natalie) because I have been slacking in the writing area. Okay, so I haven't posted in a month. It must mean my life is either really exciting or really boring. Right now I'm not sure which. Today was just a relaxing day. The boys have been super sick since Halloween. We've been into the doctor's twice...one time for an allergic reaction to medication--YUCK :( So it has been nice to do nothing and not deal with fevers, puking, sore throats, and crying. But I'd deal w/ any of this just for the privilege of being a mother. I love my boys! And who wouldn't? They are as cute as they get.

We got an offer on the house and have been negotiating price. I am hoping that this will go through as we are ready to start building. It is perfect timing as my husband has winters off (as long as it doesn't snow).

The big outing of the day was Dustin's basketball game. Jase was so exciting to go watch his daddy but a little disappointed that he didn't get to shoot the ball. We followed with dinner and now we're just hanging out watching our "calm down, getting ready for bed" movie. This blog might not seem like it's going anywhere, but I guess the theme of the night is "GRATITUDE." I'm just thankful for my family and my normal life and my enormous blessings. I don't deserve what I have, but I'm glad I have it!

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Had to post this picture. It's Jaxon and Kendra. I'm pretty sure they will be kissing cousins. Kendra is my little sister's first baby. She's such a lucky girl to get such an awesome mom...and her dad ain't bad either :)

CHUBBY CHEEKS

How about this? Two posts in one night! I can't guarantee this will every happen again. But Crystal gave me a picture CD of the boys, and I just have to show off my littlest man. I think he gets chubbier every day, and the carseat really accents his flamin' hair :)

Whenever I think I can't possibly make it through another day, I just have to look at my two boys. They make me smile and remind me that life is all about family--more specifically them.

THE JUDD PUMPKIN PATCH

Apparantly my two commenters (Rachel & Nat) don't like the lapse in time between my posts, so here goes another one. On Wednesday we traveled to the Judd Pumpkin Patch in Paragonah, Utah. It was quite the adventure. My friend Natalie Ludlow knows her way around Paragonah, so we tagged along for the fun. Jase had a blast running around the pumpkin patch and hanging out with someone other than his mother.

We had a full car with me and the two boys along with Crytal and Kendra. The babies just slept in the car while we picked the perfect pumpkins :) Now we just have to get busy and carve or paint the pumpkins.


After the adventure, we were suppose to meet up at McDonalds for a fun lunch with the gang. The entire way home Jase just kept saying, "My friends gone, mom." He was so excited when I told him we got to play some more at his favorite restaurant....and then he fell asleep. I won't complain--naptime is a magical miracle for a mother!

MY BEST HELPER

Okay, so I was suppose to post this blog a while ago, but I've been slacking on my bloggin'. Anyway, pictures are worth a thousand words, and so I documented my kitchen after Dustin said he would be in charge of cleaning up.

You should have seen the look on my face at such an offer. A million thoughts went through my mind...What would I do with my extra time? I could take a much-needed bath or start a book or catch up on my TV episodes. I felt as if I had won the award of a lifetime--a clean kitchen for a night with no effort on my part. After all, I had slaved away on dinner.

Well, my husband started working in the kitchen and a few minutes later (maybe 5 minutes at the most) he headed downstairs. I thought, "WOW, he's such a fast cleaner...maybe he should clean up the kitchen every night!" I had to inspect this miracle for myself. I should have known. The pictures you see on your screen at this moment are the FINISHED PRODUCT :( This is what passes for a clean kitchen in Dustin's mind.

So my dream was crushed, my bath cancelled, and my book postponed. I cleaned the kitchen and set my standard a little lower for men and their cleaning skills.

PS--You will notice my brother-in-law, Spencer, in the last picture. He is single and willing to eat leftovers...that is if there is anything left over after he's finished eating! Ha Ha Ha

PICTURES

The family finally made it to St. George on Monday to restock at Costco, eat at Texas Roadhouse, and snap some pictures of my cute boys. For future reference, when I say family, this includes myself, Dustin, Jase, Jaxon, Uncle Spencer, and Aunt Crystal. And for further clarification, Uncle Spencer and Aunt Crystal are not married.

Anyway, it was a great trip, and the pictures turned out perfect. Of course, we had some setbacks. As always, Jase was infatuated with the props at Kiddie Kandids and insisted on holding a miniature bat. We gave in because I didn't want red eyes and a picture of a screaming 2 year old (I have enough of those pictures). Jaxon also put up a good fight, but we lucked out and got at least one good picture with both of his eyes open. By the time I ordered the pictures and walked out of the studio, I was too tired to notice that they spelled Jaxon's middle name wrong on about half of the order. We'll fix it later :)

We then headed to Costco--always a favorite stop. Spencer was excited to push Crystal around in a wheelchair, but Jase insisted that he have the honors. So he and Crystal toured the store very slowly as he stopped at every product shouting "Wook!" By the time we left, I was starving.

This is where Texas Roadhouse comes in--it was delicious. I am suppose to be on a strict diet, so we can take a decent family picture, and I can remove the hideous one I have posted on this site. I only put it on this blog to encourage me to lose 20 pounds. I threw the encouragement out the door at Texas Roadhouse and dove into their homemade bread w/ cinnamon butter, cheesy fries, peach sprite, house salad, and pulled pork. I was afraid of the scales the next morning, but there was no way I could choke down another Weight Watchers Salisbury Steak.

So that was our trip and now you can see my beautiful boys. They should be on the cover of Parents magazine or modeling for Baby Gap...don't you agree?

THE SWING SET

Yesterday I drug my husband to home depot and bought a swing set. He wasn't too excited about the build-it-yourself, humongous project, but I insisted on the purchase for my own sanity. The instructions seemed simple enough and everything was included. It even included a step-by-step instruction booklet that estimated the building time at 3 to 6 hours; and I just knew that my handy husband would be at the lower end of the time estimate.

Well, you are looking at pictures from DAY 2 and the structure is still missing its slide, two climbing walls, and the stability to hold a 35 pound child. Bob the Builder must have done the time guessing. Again, I reiterate that Dustin was not excited about this playset, but when Jase saw the fort and swings, he threw his hands in the air and shouted, "Yes, my castle!" His daddy got a big smile on his face and decided this project was worth the effort.

Now, as you can see, another helper is in the pictures. This is the available 30-year-old son I was writing about earlier. If you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain, this is your man. Feel welcome to leave any phone numbers in your comments.

HERE WE ARE

Well, I am officially welcoming myself to the wonderful world of blogging. My title might puzzle some readers as the Dustin Whittaker family is usually viewed as mild, shy, and a family that keeps to themselves...Okay, now that I got a chuckle out of you, I can really get down to the truth.



We are the Whittakers, located in the beautiful Cedar City. It is just 53 miles from our roots--far enough to avoid the small town drama, close enough to hear what is going on. Dustin stays busy with his business (The Lawn Ranger's Inc.), and I stay busy with Dustin (no pun intended). Our two boys (ages 2 & 1 month) also keep us on our toes with sword fights, midnight feedings, and wild wrestling.



I guess that's about it. Oh, I almost forgot. We also have a 29 year old boy. He is handsome, rich, and available. I'll post pictures as soon as possible. (I think Spencer is going to kill me for that one!)