The Hogle Zoo

As I briefly mentioned in my previous post, we went to the zoo with Derrick's family.  And my goodness was it a great day!  And apparently MANY others had the same idea as it was pretty packed.  But it was lots of fun!  I don't have much to say, but here are the pictures from the day.

Tried to get a picture of the two... this is all I got as Aaron decided to bail.  Poor Trae fell to the floor.

I LOVE this outfit!  And so perfect for the zoo!  I couldn't wait until Trae could fit into it!

Kind of a smile... He cried shortly after this lol

Both looking at another camera, but I'll take it!

Checking out the elephants.

This is what Trae did most of the time.  Which was great as when he woke up, he wasn't the happiest.

Family picture at the big elephant.

Aaron and cousin Ella checking out the monkeys.

This gorilla literally walked out to a perfect picture spot when we came up.  He sat down, picked his nose (super funny), and then left when we did.  He seemed to like us!

Checking out the camel with grandpa.

Aaron quite enjoyed this fire hydrant.

Derrick's favorite animal... wolves.  We will one day own a dog that looks like this.

Playing on the see-saw at the playground.

Thoroughly enjoyed the bridge.

The crocodile... not so much.

Going down the slide.

I was surprised he actually was brave enough to crawl through this tree trunk by himself!

And he enjoyed it!

Aaron loves trains... now says "choo-choo" when he sees them.

Playing with Aaron's two favorite things... a giant ball in water.

See that little girl glaring?  She really didn't like Aaron playing.. she kept shoving him and yelling at him.  Aaron didn't know what to think.  It was so funny.  Well, only funny because her mom kept telling her to share and eventually took her away since she wasn't sharing.  Nice to see a good mom!

March Update

I can't believe March is almost over!  My goodness time is just flying by so fast.  And especially this month being busy with two kids, getting sick, Derrick doing parent/teacher conferences WITHOUT early out (so had 12 hours days), then being off track and us having lots to do (stayed at my parents, had my brothers farewell, teacher fair, visit our friend Kim in salt lake, went to the zoo, & city creek mall), helping with my mom (if you know her situation of March), and a baby blessing.  Whew!  Kinda glad it's over!  We don't have as much planned this next week that Derrick has off.  And we are definitely enjoying this lovely weather.. I wouldn't mind if it just stayed like this for good :) Aaron has been wanting to go and STAY outside lots this month.  I can't wait for us to have a fenced yard that he could just go out and play in... one day...

Anywho, quick update on the family.  Derrick is enjoying his time off and really wanting a class less than 33 kids.  He definitely got thrown in when his class was so bad the previous teacher retired instead of pushing through the rest of the year.  Going to the teacher fair has really got him thinking.  And hopefully I can have the courage to go where he wants to!  Sometimes I just get scared thinking about it!  But I know smaller classes and more pay would make Derrick's job a lot easier, and how can I not support that?  We shall keep everyone posted on what happens, as it is more looking like we will not be in Roy for long.

Aaron is becoming more and more of a little talker.  We've decided he is just a perfectionist (wonder where he gets that from... hmm.... lol) and doesn't want to try things until he knows he is good at it.  As in crawling, walking, and now talking.  He is starting to copy quite a bit of what I say.  I have also started teaching him his vowels.  He is GREAT at picking A, E, I, & O out from other letters (as in a pile of letter blocks or in the menu at a restaurant) but likes to tease me and be a stinker at saying I and A.  Mostly A he likes to not say, and just smile or laugh at me trying to get him to say it.  But oh my goodness he LOVES O.  Says it for other letters just for fun.  Even will scream it over and over when he sees it places.  Like his bagel, the church program, his shirt whole where his head goes, you name it.  It's funny that he has chosen to like that above any other letter.  I got a video of him saying his letters, but for some reason Kodak hates playing well with other equipment and no longer loads to my blog.  Best I can get is facebook.  Oh well.

Trae is becoming happier and starting to really coo and smile.  It's been tough as he is pretty much asleep or crying.  Especially at night he gets super fussy.  He's either crying in another room or I am bouncing him.  Aaron was content if he was just held, but not this little guy.  Sorry a lot of my pictures are of him crying or having a pacifier... it's the best I can get!  But I feel that's starting to end... still fussy at night for a couple of hours, but at least having happy awake moments during the day.  Those moments certainly help you handle the no-so-good moments easier.

Well I guess that's a pretty good update.  Nothing really new for me... I am still doing my thing as a mom!  I don't do too much else lol

Well here are some pics of the last few weeks...

This is for my friend Brooke in Australia!!  Trae now fits these clothes!! :)

Aaron will sometimes make a bed by the door cuz he can't get out... This is me cracking the door just enough to get my hand and camera through to see the other side...

Derrick and I have busted out rockband since he's been home more.  Aaron quite enjoys the drums.. mostly the sticks... and starting hitting the walls and was close to hitting Trae, so they since have been hidden :)

Aaron decided Trae needed a blanket... I found him like this!

He was pretty proud of himself.

Aaron LOVES giving hugs.  Really tries to get on top of him.

Or tries to pick him up.  Maybe one day he can lol

Had a good bath day with lots of bubbles!  So I busted out the camera!

And thank goodness my camera was handy from Aaron's bath... got some good smiles from Trae!  His first bath he actually enjoyed!

Ya, this is a pretty chubby boy I think!  I should take a picture of his legs.. already got several rolls on those thighs.  So cute!

Aaron buckling the car seat... every single time.

Bought their Easter outfits!  And of course... Trae was not a happy camper.

Tried a picture with Derrick bouncing and a pacifier...

I took a turn bouncing...  Looking back at these pictures, Derrick and I look tired.  Gotta love being parents to a new baby!

And the best one.  I think the little shoes are my favorite part!!

Being a mother of two has it challenges, but I am so grateful for my family and couldn't imagine having my life any other way!  And I will soon be VERY grateful for not having twins I think... Next week I am watching two girls that are close to both of my boy's ages.  Nothing like that to make you grateful for what you've got!

The Last Month

My family is finally all better from being sick!  Wahoo!  Derrick got it the worse, then Aaron, then me, and thank goodness Trae got it the least.  Both Derrick and Aaron fevered, where Trae and I did not.  I was only out of commission one day and Trae only got the cough.  Now that we are all over it, I have some energy again!  Hence the blog entry.  This is pretty much just another explosion of pictures.  I may jump in between and tell stories/explain them when needed, but other than that there isn't much to tell!  We haven't really done anything out of the normal routine, although we all made it to church on Sunday which was really nice to go to.  It's nice to be getting back to a "normal" life and actually leave the apartment.

We shall start with Trae...

Trae will sleep with his hands in the air.  Makes us laugh.  Especially if Aaron runs by and makes a loud noise or bumps him... scares him pretty good.

6 weeks!

He's growing so fast... wore this beanie once and it's already too big I think

Starting to notice and hit these toys... but usually doesn't last long as he seems to get scared and cries (I think this little guy is scared a lot in our house... may have been better for him to be born first)

And now for Aaron... who has kept me more busy with the camera this last month...

Aaron has now been sleeping in a twin bed that he can get in and out of (it's on a trundle frame so it's very close to the ground).  With this comes new adventures from him.

I came out around 11pm to check on Trae (who had fallen asleep in the living room so I left him) and found Aaron sleeping on the couch!  He had gotten out of his room, curled up on the couch with his blanket, and fallen asleep!  He was not happy to be woken up and taken back to bed.

Aaron is not allowed out of bed when it's nap time (and he knows this).  So I sometimes find him with lots of toys while still being "in bed."

And here is another day he refused to stay in bed... Wore himself out and fell asleep on the floor.  I still win!

Aaron told me he was "all done" with his lunch, and as there was no food on his plate or on the floor, I thought he was too.  Come to find out he dumped it all in his high chair and was sitting on it... little stinker.

Oh the dreaded day I put Aaron's hands in shaving cream!  I was only trying to play with him....

You can still see the tears coming down his face... He never did play with it but only looked at his hands.

Aaron has become fascinated with the car seat.  He likes to put his bear inside.  And whenever he sees it, he will buckle it all up.  So whenever I go to put Trae in, I realize I need to undo them before putting the baby in.  Wouldn't be as annoying if I remembered to check beforehand... or was fast between unbuckling and getting Trae so Aaron wouldn't have to time to re-buckle what I just barely undid.... ya, those times are fun. ha ha

I answered a phone call while super gluing a picture... in those two seconds Aaron picked up the glue (thank goodness I put the lid on) and brought it to me.  But there was some left over glue (you know how super glue is) that got all over his fingers.  They didn't dry stuck together, but he's got glue all over his fingers still.

 And now some pictures of both of my boys...

Aaron really enjoys talking to Trae and hanging out with him whenever we do "tummy time."

 

I can't leave Trae in Aaron's grasp.  Ever.  Aaron always means well, but I have caught Aaron on top of Trae more than once as he was hugging or talking to him.  This one was supervised. :)

Again, Trae just looks scared. ha ha

Giving kisses.

And left Trae wide-eyed and wondering what the heck is going on.

Enjoyed some much needed time outside while the weather was so nice.  Aaron LOVED it.

Trae... not so much.  He didn't know what to think about the wind and sun.  But all the new stimulation kept him from crying!  Just couldn't really open his eyes very much or for very long, even though we kept him in the shade.  These are the best shots I got.

And just because this was a lot of work, I have to share.  I helped wax  at least 80 pounds of cheese for food storage.  Doing cheese this way allows it to store at room temperature for 9-10 months.  I had no idea you could do this!  It's pretty cool, and nice if you get a deal to buy in bulk and know that it won't go bad super fast.  And it doesn't take up extra room in your fridge!   Double win!