Maluscum Contagiosum

 What the heck is Maluscum Contagiosum, right? If you want to know it's is a viral infection of the skin. Who knows where it came from but leave it to our family to get it. It started out with one little white/silvery bump on Jackson's torso and for months it never changed so I didn't think twice about it. I was at one of our doctor appointments and I decided to ask the Dr about the spot and that's the first time I learned what maluscum contagiosum was. Supposedly they are very itchy and can spread quickly if they are scratched. Sure enough shortly after we had that one checked, that one bump spread all over his torso to about 12! I called the dermatologist and a week later this what we had to do to Jackson to get rid of them. Here is the before shots of the bumps all over the left side of his torso. The picture doesn't give them justice because the bumps are so light in color but you can see the inflammation all around them from Jackson scratching them constantly. The Dr put some chemical on the back of a Q-tip and started counting. He had these little white dots all over even one up on his collar bone and elbow. Our appointment was at 3:00 and then afterwards we headed to his soccer game and came home and got in the shower. So in a matter of 5 hours his spots went from little white dots to bigger blister dots. I felt so bad for him having all these blisters on his tummy but they didn't seem to bother him too bad as long as we didn't make too big of a deal over them. He would complain if he accidentally scratched them but after a couple of days the itching had gone away and we were on our way to healing. It has now been a few weeks and he is still healing and no signs of any more Maluscum spots! Lets hope it stays that way, PLEASE!

I can't believe a week from tomorrow this little guy will be one... man time has gone so fast! 

We can't wait to celebrate your birthday on October 11th Andersen. We love you!!

 

What a good way to end my long day of work yesterday than to get these cute flowers from this cute kid! I'm sure Becky had a little part in this since she was watching my boys all day (Thanks Beck!), but it still was a cute surprise to come home to. I love my flowers and I love you Jackson!

The beginning of the PUMPKINS!

This day has been a long time coming for Jackson. Jackson has always wanted to play some kind of sport but for the longest time he wasn't ever old enough. Lucky for him, this fall, he FINALLY is old enough to play soccer! Even better is that his whole team is from our neighborhood... all 13 of them! Before our first practice I knew we needed to get Jackson a few things like shin guards and shoes. Nate also had a list of one thing... this awesome head band. We are still trying to get him to think it is cool to wear it, but he did pleasure me for a picture right before his first practice.

This first day of practice they got their soccer uniform (shirt, shorts, socks... not bad for rec ball). I love that its his first jersey and its his favorite color... ORANGE!! He was so excited! Before we knew what color the team was, he kept telling everyone he was going to be orange and sure enough he was right. If only he wasn't so big and didn't have to take the biggest size jersey or he could have had his favorite number 5 too! After uniforms were passed out it was time to think of a team name. Us parents chipped in with a few suggestions, but when the kids were asked what they wanted it was almost a unanimous vote for the PUMKINS! Not the most intimidating team name but they sure make the cutest little pumpkins.

The rest of practice consisted of giving the boys turns kicking the ball at the goal and practicing throwing in the ball without touching the white line. This season is going to be hilarious watching a swarm of orange running and tripping over each other and their own feet with no realm of the boundary lines.

Nate and I are so excited to watch his games. We would have had one this past Monday but because of the fire it got canceled, so this Saturday is the big day! Hopefully we can get Jackson to wear  his head band, but until then Andersen will wear it and cheer him on as his biggest fan! 

Good luck on Saturday Jacks! Go #13

11 Months

It seems like all of last month was spent dealing with this little guys tonsils. He has decided to follow in his brother's foot steps and get abscessed tonsils. After a couple rounds of antibiotics and a trip to the ENT, Andersen is lucky he wasn't signed up for surgery! The ENT we went to said to give them some more time to clear on their own rather than put him through surgery. I agree! We had many cuddle days and lounging on the couch like this together, but Andersen seems to be back to normal with no signs of tonsils bugging him so far. He recently cut two top teeth that was accompanied with a slight fever and fussiness but nothing compared to his sore throat! Besides this little hiccup in sickness he is the happiest baby around! Andersen wants to be big SO bad and do everything Jackson does. He is doing everything but walking. He loves to walk around things as he is holding on and pull himself up to everything... but is still too chicken to take some steps. I did catch him take two steps in between a touch of the couch but nothing that looks promising of him about to walk on his own.
He has recently learned to crawl up the stairs and thinks he is the coolest kid now that he can race with Jackson. He also has taught himself to get off the couch.
If you even look at Andersen he will give you the biggest grin. He usually is always smiling unless he is tired or hungry. And man when he is hungry... there is no wasting time! He is the best eater and for the most part will eat whatever we give him. Andersen also out eats Jackson almost every night for dinner. It is very common for Andersen to eat a WHOLE hot dog cut up into little pieces
And my favorite... He FINALLY (a month or so ago) learned how to hold his own bottle! It seems like Jackson learned to do this within in a few months, but Andersen knows how to work the system and knows if he doesn't hold it Mom or Dad will do it giving him more time to relax and really enjoy it.
Andersen is getting quite the personality and starting to learn how to hold his own around Jackson. You will see a feisty Andersen when it comes to his toys, food, or Jackson not sharing with him. It is probably bad, but I love watching Andersen fight back because he looks so cute and innocent when doing it. The most recent thing he has learned is his voice. Man is this kid loud sometimes. But with that voice comes words and his vocabulary consists of "Daddy, Dad, Mom, Mommy, Hi and Bye" So cute to hear him talk!!

I can't believe in less that 1 month he will be 1 years old! I remember the Fall season approaching last year and knew that Andersen would be here soon so when the colder weather hit this year, it was like a flash back to all those prego emotions and being so excited to meet this little guy.
Man have you changed our family for the better!

Labor Day {Steeple Chase}

What a fun idea this was! This is the 2nd year the Dye family has organized this fundraiser. It is a steeple chase from Oquirrh Mountain Temple to Jordan River Temple equaling 5 miles! The fundraiser is to raise money for countries that don't have the funds to make the day(s) trip to and from the temple. Usually this type of fundraiser is from a church building steeple to steeple run, but since our temples are so close we might as well run from one Moroni to the other. How lucky are we to have two temples within 5 miles of each other!! This was our first year running it and it was even more fun having Jackson run it with us. Here he is stretching with Nana. It was so cold this morning, so I made sure Andersen was bundled up nice and tight so he didn't get cold.

We started at the top by Oquirrh Mountain Temple and then made the 5 mile run down to Jordan River Temple. I thought it was only a 5K, but once I saw the 3 mile marker and Moroni was no where to be seen yet, I realized I still had 2 more miles to go! But we finally made it, just barely under 1 hour!
I had high hopes that Jackson would run more of the race with us, but this is about all he did... the last home stretch! He tried around mile 2 and made it two steps before he fell on his face, so considering the circumstances he was a champ to ran the end with us all. A HUGE thanks to Nana for pushing the stroller most of the way!
I don't know who enjoyed the race more, but if I had to do it again I would take this little guys spot in a heartbeat. He slept the whole time and decided to wake up as soon as we were done to enjoy Creamie's with us all.
Congrats Jackson on your first race! You did awesome!!

Jackson's new ride

This kid is one lucky dude! While Nate and I were out for our anniversary last month, Jackson got to go on a date with his Nana. This wasn't just any normal date night... This was the full shebang! Jackson already knew before he left that he was getting a new bike, so it wasn't even an option to do dinner first. They went right to Toys R Us! I am sure after Jackson had to try every single bike in the store, he agreed on this bad boy. The green "Rattlesnake". If only you could hear him say what his bike is through text... Its hilarious! He does actions of a snake and everything. After they finished picking out Jackson's new bike (and Andersen's new basketball toy) they headed off to dinner at Hire's. Jackson definitely knows how to sweet talk his Nana, because during dinner he leaned over to Nana and said "Nana, you're the best!" That's right Jackson, and don't you ever forget it! Thanks again Nana for another fun date night! He loves his new "big boy bike" and he has been riding it every day since!

5 Years!

On August 25th, Nate and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. Nothing too exciting as far as gifts and dates, but we did go out to dinner while Nate's mom took Jackson on a date to get a new bike (post coming soon!) So Andersen got to be the 3rd wheel with Mom and Dad on their date. Not very many times do we get to spend time just with Andersen so he made for some great company at MiMi's for dinner.
Earlier in the day I was driving and heard Sugarland's new song "Stuck Like Glue" and it made me think of Nate and the past 5 years. Man have we been through a lot it seems like, especially this last year, but through it all I wouldn't want to be "stuck" to anyone else but him!


Here are the lyrics to my favorite verses of the song that explains it all I think:

Absolutely no one that knows me better
No one that can make me feel so good
How did we stay so long together?
When everybody, everybody said we never would
And just when I, I start to think they're right
That love has died...

[Chorus:]
There you go making my heart beat again,
Heart beat again,
Heart beat again
There you go making me feel like a kid
Won't you do it and do it one time?
There you go pulling me right back in,
Right back in,
Right back in
And I know- I'm never letting this go-

I'm stuck on you
Stuck like glue
You and me baby we're stuck like glue

Some days I don't feel like trying
Some days you know I wanna just give up
When it doesn't matter who's right, thought about it all night
Had enough
You give me that look
"I'm sorry baby let's make up"
You do that thing that makes me laugh
And just like that...

[Chorus:]
There you go making my heart beat again,
Heart beat again,
Heart beat again
There you go making me feel like a kid
Won't you do it and do it one time
There you go pulling me right back in,
Right back in,
Right back in
And I know- I'm never letting this go-

I'm stuck on you
Stuck like glue
You and me baby we're stuck like glue

I love you Nate! Happy 5th Anniversary

Preschool, already?

Can you believe this little stinker just started preschool? Today was his first day of school and he was so excited! This was taken right before he left. While we were all getting ready this morning we were telling him that Mommy and Daddy were going to take him for his first day and how excited we were that he was going to school... His only response was "I don't want Mommy and Daddy to take me to school" (sniff, sniff!) He is already getting too old that Mom and Dad aren't cool anymore. His one and only request for school was... "I want Nana to pick me up!" Although his wish didn't come true, he was still excited to see me when I went to pick him up. He had such a fun day and loves school! Lets hope the excitement continues.

Miss Kim's Swim School

At the beginning of summer I called multiple places to find out details on swimming lessons. Much to my surprise not a lot of people offered classes to 3 year olds for a good price! Luckily my neighbor told me about a place really close by. After a couple months of deciding if and when she would do a class, out of the blue I get a email saying she'd do a 3 year old class! I was so excited and luckily Jackson's neighbor friends wanted to do it as well. The class was schedule for a Monday- Friday 9-9:40. I was really nervous because I know Jackson has such a fear of water right now, but he couldn't have been better or more excited. Here he is all dressed for his first day of swimming lessons.
The kids did so well listening to Miss Kim teach them what they were going to do next.Some of the things Miss Kim taught Jackson was to float on his back.
And my favorite part to watch was when Miss Kim taught them a swimming stroke they could do on their backs. She would have them stand on the stairs and practice their arms before it was their turn to try it in the water.
We'll have to work on straighter arms for Jackson's airplane.

With me still working it got kind of crazy juggling swimming lessons, but thanks to awesome neighbors and Nana Rothe for taking him on a couple of days. I was so glad I at least got to watch a couple of the days so I could see this cute smile.
Nate even got to watch the last day of class to see him be so brave and show off all he learned! Miss Kim let the kids do a free swim the last few minutes of class and offered life jackets to the kiddos. Jackson was even brave enough to go off the diving board. He only did it once, but later I found out that he hit his knee on the board when he fell/jumped into the water.
You couldn't tell at the time he jumped that is what happened because he just kept swimming to Miss Kim like nothing was wrong. Later when going through pictures and video you can totally see him hit the board... no wonder why he wasn't about to do it again.
Overall, it was such a fun class for the kiddos! Jackson has some of the greatest friends and hopefully he can remember some of these skills for next year. I was so proud of him because he never once cried like he usually does when we take him swimming and was so brave to try all that Miss Kim asked of them. Here is all the kiddos on the last day at the end of class (we are missing Landon because they went to Lake Powell) Tyson, Sadie, Ayden, and Jackson!
Thanks Miss Kim for a fun week!

Tubby time!

Seriously, I think my kids are the cutest ever when they are in the tub or just freshly out. My boys LOVE the bath and get so excited when they know its tubby time. There is one component to bath time that makes Jackson the happiest... and that is when their Spiderman PJ's are clean and they can wear matching PJ's to bed. We got these for the boys as souvenirs from Florida when Nate and I went on vacation earlier in May and they by far are Jackson's FAVORITE. I think these PJ's spend more time in the dirty clothes than his dresser because the second they are clean he is wanting to wear them that night to bed.
Can this little ham, get any cuter! He is getting so cheesy with his smile and I am loving it.
And there is something that happens to Jackson when he wears these PJ's... he magically gets all this Spider-man power and starts webbing my face and everything else in the room.
Man I love these boys!! I can almost smell your yummy bathed hair and baby lotion-ed bodies from these pictures.

Youth Conference {Bear Lake}

Two weeks after girls camp, we were gathering again for another camp out. This time it was for Youth Conference. With our ward being so young, our Bishop opened up the opportunity for all ages between 12-18 to attend. This is our cute group of 6 girls (and us 2 leaders) that went this year.
{Emma, Marissa, Taylor, Lizzie, Adrianna, Brittni, Me and Nikki}
Lucky for us, the Smith's let us use their family cabin in Bear Lake to facility our Youth Conference so we didn't have a cost for location. What an awesome couple they are and I enjoyed every minute we had with them there.
Our theme for Youth Conference was what the entire church youth theme is "Be Strong and of a Good Courage" What a powerful theme it is! We used this theme to do a bunch of survivor type activities where they were broken up in teams. Each leader picked one leader/prophet in church history to teach their story of how they were strong and courageous and then acted out the story in some type of challenge. As the were competing from activity to activity the youth would collect a new piece to our puzzle. Our afternoon activities the kids gathered 20 out 25 pieces and come the evening we had a group activity for them to earn the other 5 pieces. The evening activity I taught the story about David and Goliath and the courage and strength David had as he pleaded with King Saul to let him fight Goliath. With Goliath being physically armed, David chose to be spiritually armed and on his way to the valley to battle, David grabbed his sling shot and 5 rocks. So to act out this story the youth got to shoot water balloons at "Goliath's". Thank you to our Bishopric and YM leaders for volunteering to be Goliath.
I think the men had more fun than the youth!
The next day was scheduled to go to the Minnetonka Caves in the morning with the beach in the afternoon. Long story short the Cave worker forgot his keys, so plan B became beach all day with yummy shakes when we were done. Aren't these girls so cute? I am so lucky I get to spend so much time with them. We spent probably 4 hours at the beach playing frisbee and tackling the boys off the tube brought by the Howards. We had close to 12 people on this tube at all times, usually trying to knock someone off or dunk the boys trying to tip us over or climb on. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time nor gotten that many bruises at the same time.

Like promised, after we were done at the beach we went to La Beau's for their famous shakes.
That night two more YW leaders joined us for testimony meeting. The mosquitoes noticed fresh blood and bit Bonnie right on the left eye brow. It swelled instantly, but it wasn't until the morning that it turned into a swollen eye! Hilairous
Before we left Saturday morning to come home, we had all the youth hold up their puzzle pieces. It spelled "Be Strong and of a Good Courage"
What a busy month filled with nothing but planning, preparing, packing, unpacking, cleaning, etc from youth activities but I can honestly say I had a BLAST and I am so grateful for my calling! I love spending time with the youth. I gain so much strength from them and I am constantly amazed at the strength they have been given to fight the daily battles Satan has put in their paths.

Jackson First Sleepover!

This is a late post, but the day we went to Raging Waters we invited Jackson's friend Landon over to sleep on the tramp that night. The boys were so excited! Of course they are still too young to stay out there by themselves without us moms, so me and Allison joined them. I loved doing this growing up so I am glad we have a tramp to do it with Jackson. I didn't know how well they would sleep because it took them some time to calm down and relax, but before we knew it Landon was crashed and Jackson was telling us Moms to be quiet so he could go to bed. These two boys have so much fun together and are such good friends (when they want to share). I am glad Jackson has such good neighbors to play with all the time and it makes it even easier when we love their parents.

Overall, it was a good night sleep... just cut short because of the early sunrise and the morning rooster... AKA Jackson!