Jackson's 1st soccer season

A few weeks ago I showed you Jackson's 1st soccer team when they were the pumpkins. Shortly after that post we got switched to this fluorescent green color... AKA the Slimers! We had a team of 13 (when usually they only have 12) so they had to find different uniforms for all of the boys to have the same color. Of course the boys could care less what color they were wearing as long as they got to play. As parents I think we thought the color was a little bright, but you definitely couldn't miss them out on the field. Here is the team picture... we are missing two boys though. (Logan J. and Landon)

(from left to right, top to bottom: Coach Travis, Jaren, Jackson, Holden, Logan T., Tyson, Aiden W., Max, Ayden W., Tate, Boston, and Gage)

Here is another team picture we tried to take at the last game to get Landon in the picture, unfortunately we were still missing Logan J.

Jackson's coach was Jaren's dad Travis. The kids loved him and we thought he was great with these boys. It probably wasn't the easiest job, but he did great. Thanks to the fun idea one of the moms had, at the last game the boys "slimered" him with silly string. He was such a good sport because it got everywhere and they wouldn't stop spraying until it was all gone.

We didn't know how Jackson would take to soccer since it was his first time, but he played great and he even scored quite a few goals. Granted half of those goals were for the other team but we were still so proud no matter what goal it went into. At least he got the concept of kicking the ball in the goal, right? Maybe next season we'll work more on going the right direction. After every goal he'd make he would run over to us with this big smile on his face.. How could you not be proud of this cute smile!

 I think Jackson loved everything about being on this soccer team, but one of his favorites was getting his game treats and drink.

 

Another favorite part was doing the team cheer... "GO SLIMERS!" It took a couple games to get them all to do it but by the end of the season they were pros at the group huddle.

 Another favorite was playing with his buddy Landon. These two kiddos are hilarious together and it just wasn't the same without Landon there. Every time we were getting ready for a game, Jackson would make sure he asked me if Landon was coming.

But probably his most favorite part was having his Nana at every game "cheering him up" (that is what Jackson calls it when you go support someone at a game, race etc) He would get so excited and play extra hard once he knew she was there watching. She also was the first one to get a hug after each goal.

I think this soccer season was the best $40 spent in a long time! Jackson loved every second of it and still wishes he had more games.... and so do I! I already miss the routine of getting him ready, taking him to the game and then spending the night watching him play only to come home and do our tradition Arctic Circle kiddy cone stop as his reward for scoring goals. Can't wait until next season or whatever sport he decides to play next!

2nd Degree!

 While we were all getting ready for Andersen's birthday party last Saturday, Jackson had an unfortunate event happen as he got too close to my curling iron. In everyone's defense especially Jackson's, his back was to the counter and he put his arm up to rest it on the counter and instead of the counter he got my curling iron. It was an instant scream from Jackson and seconds later it was a big blister. He was in pain for a little bit but as soon as his cousins got to our house for the party, you would have never known he had gotten burned 2 hours previously. It definitely was sensitive for Jackson but he didn't really start to complain until Sunday evening. As parents you are always torn on what the best thing is to do for your child so Sunday night the conversation of visiting a doctor was mentioned but still no decision was made. It wasn't until Monday morning that it looked like this and Nate and I instantly knew it was time to take a trip to visit Dr. Boud. (Plus Jackson and Andersen looked like they both had pink eye!)

 

Look at his brave smile as we were waiting for the Doc! Jackson knows Dr. Boud always makes him feel better so he wasn't scared at all.  If you didn't know any better you'd think he was a character right out of the vampire shows with his blood shot eyes and fleshy wrist.

 
After the Dr evaluation, we were told he had 2nd degree burn and that he needed to keep an antibiotic topical cream and a wrap on his arm for 2 or so weeks along with taking an oral antibiotic to help with the spread of infection. Poor kid left the office with 3 prescriptions for antibiotics (2 for his arm, and one for his eyes) Thank goodness we took him in! We were told to change the wrap every day after bath time and other than that to eat, sleep and play with this thing on.

 

Jackson has been such a trooper with the whole process and doesn't even bother the wrap. It did take us a couple days of him getting used to us changing the wrap and dealing with tears, but now its just part of the routine. And the routine has paid off! He had a follow up appointment on Friday and the Doc said it is looking so good but to continue the wrap for another week or so.  What a difference a week of good medications can do for his skin! One more week should help even more and then we have months of vitamin E to help with scarring. I guess they don't call them HOT STICKS for nothin'!

Andersen's 1st Birthday

 With Andersen's birthday falling on a Monday this year and Nate having school those nights, we did Andersen's party 2 days before on Saturday October 9th so everyone could be there. We started out with yummy soups for lunch while Andersen opened his presents. Good thing he has an older brother and so many cousins that know what to do, because his presents were opened faster than I have ever seen any one year old open presents before.

 

He got a bunch of fun new toys and clothes, but this ride along Thomas the Train from Uncle Chase I think was the favorite for all ages.

After presents, we did cake. This is my favorite part of the 1st birthday. I think it is so cute to watch them make a mess of the frosting even though I am the one that has to clean it up afterwards. This year I lucked out though and only had to clean the birthday boy, while the Grandma's cleaned the kitchen. Here is what the giant cupcake looked like before we started.

 I was going to have Andersen sit in his high chair like we did with Jackson but all the cousins insisted that he sit on the table and what a good idea that was. It made it way more fun to watch him devour his cake. At first Andersen didn't know what to do...

but thanks to his big brother Jackson and a little help from Grandma Kay it didn't take him long to get to this.

 He was loving every minute of it. I don't know what he liked more... the cake or all the attention. Either way he was hamming it up for the camera.

Andersen even figured out how to put his feet in the cake!

Can you tell he enjoyed himself! Now it was time for the bath...

After his bath he chased his cake down with a bottle of milk

and right back to the toys he went. I would have totally thought he'd want a nap but all he wanted was to play.
 
But I guess so did these guys! What a fun day it was surrounded by family. Sometimes birthdays and holidays are the only times we get to see my side of the family, so it was fun to have another "excuse" to get together and celebrate Andersen's special day.
 
Two days later it was October 11th... Andersen's real birthday! This is right as we went in his room to get him out of his crib in the morning. This kid doesn't really sleep in but I guess he was celebrating his special day already by sleeping in for me! Can you see that smile behind his binky... my favorite, but don't let that smile fool you. Rather than Andersen's birthday being filled with fun, we ended up at Dr. Boud's office shortly after he woke up. Both boys woke up with pink eye and Jackson's burn on his arm from two days ago had turn from bad to worse as it looked majorly infected and swollen.

 So off we went to the doctor's office, a couple errands ending at Walmart's pharmacy getting 3 different types of antibiotics for these sick kidlets! We did celebrate with McDonald's for lunch with Daddy though before nap time. After naps, Nana invited us to go visit Grammy in Bountiful. It is always fun to go visit her and then of course Nana needed a Dairy Ann stop for dinner and ice cream before we made the drive home.

Even though Andersen's birthday wasn't the way we expected or planned it to go, it was still a good day spent with family. And even though both boys had a trip to the Doctor earlier in the day, good thing it ended with a night out with Nana because she makes everything better! 
HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY LIL' STINKER!

We all love you very much!

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.