Room Redo

I've been wanting to make new comforters for the boys for a long time! I finally got motivated (ha) and let them pick out their own fabric! Oliver picked batman and Isaac picked Spiderman! While I was at it, I decided their decor needed updating too! We'd had the same lame Cars pictures up since Oliver was 2 and they had moved with us at least 4 times! So new pictures to match the blankets were in order! After a little fiasco with Oliver's blanket where I didn't buy enough fabric (hazard of bringing to naughty kids to the fabric store), I love how everything turned out! The boys love their new stuff too! :)

The art of Bribery!

When our babies are babies, we practice co-sleeping. For me, I feel like I get the most sleep if I'm not having to fully wake up, get baby, feed baby, put baby back in crib/bassinet and then try to fall back asleep, rather than just rolling over, feeding baby and going back to sleep! This works for us. I know some people will talk you to death about all of the negatives. Honestly, until I had Oliver I probably would've too but he was such a fussy baby it was literally the only way we could go. And it worked so we stuck with it. Having said that, my nearly 3 year old is still sleeping in my bed. It really doesn't make a difference most of the time because Berto works graveyard and isn't home to sleep in our bed most nights anyway! But, Isaac is getting older and I feel like I need to get him out of my bed. So we are implementing the ever popular sticker chart! Isaac will get a sticker for each night he sleeps all night in his own bed and in turn will get a scooter of his very own. I am a firm believer in situations like this you have to make the bribe worth it or the whole plan will backfire. Potty training was a breeze and I know it was probably partially because he was ready and mostly because we picked the right prize! So we begin the attempt to get him in his own bed, in his room!
Now, I realized when I came up with the right prize, that I was going to have a jealous 5 year old on my hands, and there are some things I've been wanting to work with Oliver on. Mainly, channeling his anger/frustration and using his words more effectively rather than punching his little brother. So Oliver has a chart too. He has to go through the entire day without hitting Isaac when he's mad. He has to learn to use his words to express what he is feeling. If he goes through the entire day, he gets a sticker before bed each night. Oliver will also be rewarded with a scooter!
So there you have it. The art of bribery. Ok, really I'm not bribing them. I'm richly rewarding them for working on some things that need to be worked on! Wish us luck!

Little things I don't want to forget

The boys are growing up so fast! There are some things (especially with Isaac since he's younger) that they say, that I don't want to forget! Isaac:

Olvo = Oliver, he now says Ol-i-ver
Yog Yog = Yogurt
The eyebrow nod. When Isaac nods he barely moves his head, but raises his eyebrows up and down. It is so darn adorable!

On August 9, 2013- As I was putting Isaac to sleep, he lifted up his shirt and was looking at his sunken chest. He said "mom, my tummy is broken!" It was so cute, but I hope he doesn't ever feel self conscious about his little chest cavity!

Oliver:
Drinky

For some reason Oliver started saying "I'm drinky" when he's thirsty. It's so random! We correct him, but secretly love it! He's starting to use it less and less...

Oliver has a sweet, sweet heart. (As I'm typing this my boys are climbing over me fighting and calling each other poops... ) Seriously though, we have some friends that are moving to Alaska in a couple months. The dad left yesterday to start work up there and will be gone until the move! We saw them this morning and Oliver asked if Lincoln (their little 22ish month old) was going to be sad because his dad was gone. I said he might be a little and suggested he be extra nice to little Lincoln. Then Oliver said "maybe my dad can be his dad for a while?!" This is a huge gesture of love. Oliver cries nightly at bedtime because he misses his dad while he's working at night. I explained it didn't really work like that, but that I thought that was the nicest thing he could've ever said!

Soccer Trophy

Oliver LOVED playing spring soccer! We took summer off in order to get in swimming lessons and things! I can't remember why (one or some of us were probably sick) but we missed his last soccer game in the spring. Life went on and I forgot that we had pictures and a trophy around somewhere! Oliver's coach called last week to see if I wanted to come pick them up! So we did and Oliver couldn't be more proud of his trophy! Love that cute boy!

Superhero Party

Each summer Miss Sam does little workshop/summer camp type classes throughout the summer. I'm not one for signing my kids up because I enjoy the freedom of not HAVING someplace to be each day. Last summer I did send Oliver to the Superhero party and decided this would be an excellent opportunity to ease Isaac into preschool. He is SO READY and looking forward to spending a couple mornings a week with the best preschool teacher ever, but I thought having one day where his cool big brother was also there would do him good! So on Friday off they went to have an awesome superhero adventure. I don't know what they did aside from eating cupcakes and playing a spiderman silly string game... but I do know that Batman and The Flash had an awesome time! So glad to know that my house is protected by two members of The Justice League!

Potty Training a Necessary Evil

Well, it's Isaac's turn for the dreaded potty training! He's been showing signs of readiness for quite a while, this just happened to be the first week where we could lay low and not have to go out of the house too much!  We have had his bribe toy for a few weeks and are stocked up on apple juice and potty treats!
Day one was suprisingly awesome! We didn't have any accidents AT ALL! He willingly sat on the toilet each time we prompted. And although most of those times he didn't go, when he needed to go he told us, ran to the bathroom and took care of business without help!
Day two was a bit of a nightmare, with 4 accidents and 4 successes... I found myself really hoping it would all sink in by day 3!
Days 3 and 4 were perfect! Isaac even went to a superhero party at preschool for two hours on day 4 and stayed dry, and mom wasn't there to remind him!

I think it's safe to say say Isaac is potty trained! Sianara diapers!

I am a huge fan of the sticker reward chart! If you come up with the right prize it makes it all worth while! Isaac was desperate for this ship from Jake and the Neverland Pirates. I sweetened the deal (for my own sanity, hoping to avoid some fighting) by adding a captain hook boat and a couple extra figurines!

Ah, sweet success!

Fourth of July Week

This fourth of July week has been surprisingly busy! We had our fun lunch with the girls from my mission, my mom made a last minute trip and my oldest friend Rebecca and her little boy Cameron were visiting!
On Tuesday after swimming lessons, we headed down to Orem and swam for a few hours at Becca and Cameron's hotel! It was nice and refreshing and of course always a blast hanging out with my forever friend! After swimming we raced home with the car so Berto could go to work! (He was working some overtime) Berto picked my mom up from the airport on the way home!

On Wednesday, my mom came with us to swimming lessons, then we went grocery shopping and let the kiddos nap! We decided it was a good night to drive Berto to work! It was so hot .... To hot for our usual playtime outside, so we went to city creek and temple square instead!

Thursday morning we went to our wards pancake breakfast, and the kids participated in the bike parade! Isaac had been having a hard time pedalling his bike since we got it, and Berto figured out his seat was still too high! So once he fixed that problem, Isaac was a pedalling machine and did great! So fun watching my boys have the time of their lives lapping the church parking lot with all of the other kids!

After the breakfast we did a little shopping! And let Isaac take a good nap!
Then after we made some yummy bunless guacamole burgers with canteloupe and watermelon on the side, and smores for desert, we went to watch fireworks! Lucky for us we live a block away from where the Holladay show is and just walked to the corner and sat on the grass at the library!  Such a fun day!

Saturday we headed back down to Orem and took Uncle Donnie out to lunch and a movie for his 31st birthday! We had a fun afternoon at Olive Garden and then watching Monsters University!
On Sunday morning we dropped mom off at the airport. It's always a bummer when company leaves! Oliver gets especially sad. He cried the whole way home and kept saying in his most sad voice "I'm going to miss Grammy" and "Can't we go with her?" It broke my heart! He is such a sweet, tender boy. I hope he will always have a big, loving heart!
It was a fun and crazy busy week!

Isaac has new wheels!

We were super excited to be able to get Isaac a brand new bike! He LOVES it! We're still working on pedaling, but he can't say enough about his "new bike!" Here's a cute shot of his little BFF Connor they are using some good teamwork here! Love it!

Mission Friends for LIFE

I never knew how much serving a mission for my church would impact my life FOREVER! Not just all that I learned as a missionary, but also in the friendships I have made that will literally last a lifetime. On Monday, July 1st I dragged my family down to Culvers in Lehi, UT to have lunch with some of my dear sweet mission friends! Dawna Jensen (Sister Fredricksen) was passing through Utah and arranged a get together! It was a blast! Several of us live in Utah and we were able to have such a fun lunch and even our mission presidents wife Sister Clifford made it! I love that we all just pick right up where we left off! It was like no time has passed. I've seen a few of the girls several times since we've lived here in Utah, but I hadn't seen Dawna since I left the mission 10 years ago, but you would never know by the way we all just blabbed and chatted. It was as if no time had passed! I love friends like that! We had a great time! Dawna was so sweet and brought all of our bruiser boys Canada footballs! Thanks for thinking of us Dawna! Hopefully you'll be back sometime soon!!!

Apparently we were too crazy for Oliver and wore him out!

Lost Tooth... literally

On June 30, 2013 Oliver lost his FIRST TOOTH! It had been wiggly and loose since May! That morning I thought it would be coming out any time! Well, after church Oliver was in the bathroom taking care of business and he yanked that sucker out! ... Unfortunately for all of us he didn't tell us until he had dropped the tooth into the toilet! So we never even got to see it! But together him and I wrote a not to the tooth fairy explaining the situation and Oliver drew a picture! The toothfairy was lenient and left him a dollar under his pillow! Oliver woke me up at midnight to show me his money and to let me know she had already come! He was so excited to have a dollar to spend that we made a trip to walmart to spend his toothfairy money all by 8:00 am Monday morning! I have to say I think my Oliver looks adorable sans tooth! :)

The Wind Chime Incident: A teaching experience

A few weeks ago the boys and I were on a walk with our walking friends! We went this one route where there is a little bridge that we have to cross and it end up right next to this house. Oliver ran on ahead across the bridge and ran straight for the wind chimes that this homeowner had hung on a post in their front yard. Oliver had done this countless times and each time I told him not to touch things in people's yards... well this time Oliver ran ahead to touch the wind chime and it broke. With all eyes on us I didn't quite no what to do.... and then it hit me that this would be a wonderful lesson on honesty. So I parked the stroller with Isaac in it and asked our friends to wait for a minute and I marched Oliver right up to the front door! We knocked on the door and I said a silent prayer that this would be a positive experience and that the person wouldn't completely freak out. A beautiful (TALL) woman in her 60's answered the door. I explained the situation (While Oliver cowered next to me). I told her that he had run ahead and touched the wind chime and it had broken and that he was sorry. She looked Oliver in the eye, asked him his name and said "You will go far in life if you continue to have that kind of honesty, Oliver. It is ok that this broke, thank you for coming and telling me." She was so wonderful and I feel like we both learned a powerful lesson this day. I couldn't have asked for a more golden teaching moment! Thank goodness for answered prayers!

Catch up... The Galindo Family A Year in Review!

Over the past year (or a little more) I've kept a list of things I need to blog.... and haven't ever actually blogged. In fact, I haven't even gone near a blog in far to long! After Oliver lost his first tooth on Sunday and it hit me like a ton of bricks that my babies are growing up ... FAST, I decided it was time to get back to blogging. This is our family journal after all, and the only way I'm going to remember all of these moments! So here goes nothing! I'm going to do an overview of the last year of the Galindo's and then I'm going to make it a goal to at least post the special moments and keep this thing going! Preschool Ungraduation: In May of 2012 Oliver's preschool had graduation. Since he would be returning again he got to wear the blue cap and gown. He was so shy he stood there and barely did any of the singing or signs or dances! But the whole program was adorable. One of the highlights was a slide show that Miss Sam put together full of pictures and videos of the kids throughout the year. It was so sweet seeing how much Oliver has grown! I loved that... and balled through it of course!

Three T's and a V visit Utah: Tito, Tita, Terry and Vandana came to Utah and stayed with us for a week! We went on a hike to Donut Falls, Went to Wheeler Farm, Went to the outlets in Park City, Took family pictures at Wheeler Farm, took walks in the neighborhood, practically melted (it was HOT), went to City Creek and played on the splash pad and spent time together! It was great fun! We enjoyed having our family here visiting and the boys had fun with their cousin Vandana!

Grandpa and Grandma Anna: My dad and his fiance Anna came for a visit in August! We had a blast as always! We went to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point, went to City Creek and played on the playground and ate, went to Park City and walked around and took a ride on a life up to one of the resorts, Isaac had his face painted (Oliver wouldn't), we took a picture in a bobsled, and swam a lot at their hotel! It was fun and as always the trip went too fast!

Ring around the Rosie: Our cute friend Rosie had a summer internship at IMC here in Murray, UT. We loved it because we got to spend some time with Rosie while she was here! Berto worked with Rosie and her boyfriend Gabe at TEAM Physical Therapy for a few years! Rosie is such a sweet friend and the boys LOVE her! We loved having her around and were so sad to say goodbye! (Hey Rosie, When are you coming back for a visit????)

Last first day of Preschool: In September Oliver started is last first day of preschool! I am going to be sad when preschool is over. He has loved every minute at Shining Stars Academy! Miss Sam is such a sweet teacher! Oliver looked forward to the first day of school all summer! I hope he's that way about school and learning his whole life! I know I sure wasn't, but I hope he is!

Specs: In October of 2012 Oliver got his first pair of glasses!

Aunt Lianna is getting hitched: In October of 2012 my sister Lianna got engaged to Hamlet Escano Abreu! They came to visit us for a weekend in October before they were engaged and we were the first in the family to meet Hamlet! He is such a great guy and fit right in with us! The boys took to him easily and he is so sweet with Lianna! We are so excited to have a new uncle/brother in the family!

Isaac Turns 2: On October 21 2012 Isaac turned 2! He weighed in at 30 pounds and was 34.9 inches tall! He was in the 94th percentile for height and the 68th for weight! Isaac is a chatterbox! He has probably double the vocabulary that Oliver had at this age! He wants to keep up with his big brother at all costs! He is a fun little guy and we are so grateful to have him as a member of our family!

Six long years: Just kidding! Berto and I celebrated our 6th anniversary on October 21, 2012. I love that man more and more each day! I'm such a lucky girl to have my sweet husband by my side each and every day! Love you Berto! Can't wait to celebrate 10, 20, 50 and more years with you! xoxo Grammy V. 2012 My mom came for a visit at the very end of October. She was here for Halloween and we were able to celebrate Oliver's birthday together! We had a whirlwind visit that included a crazy trip up to Rexburg so that mom could meet her future son in law and see Lianna's wedding dress! While in Rexburg we went to a fun pizza place for dinner and that was the day we celebrated Oliver's 5th birthday with presents and cake! He loved having our little family plus my mom, uncle Donnie, Aunt Lianna and Uncle Hamlet there all to celebrate his special day! We had such a crazy fast visit with mom between trick or treating and driving to Rexburg but we were sure glad she came! Halloween: This year was a simple Halloween. With my mom coming and knowing we'd be driving up the next day to Rexburg we kept it easy. Oliver wanted to be a fireman for the second year in a row and Isaac was a marathoner! We went to our old ward's (Millcreek 2nd) trunk or treat! It was a fun night and the kids enjoyed themselves! So far my boys haven't shown interest in knocking on doors for trick or treating and that is fine with me!

Oliver Turns 5: My sweet Oliver turned 5 on November 4, 2012. I can hardly believe that the boy that made me a mom is 5. Oliver is a sweet, fun, tender, wild, loveable, funny, goofy and all around terrific boy! I love him so much! He is such a fun boy. He is a good big brother and loves everyone he meets! Happy Birthday Oliver!! At his 5 year check up Oliver weighed in at 57 pounds and was 47.64 inches tall! I can't believe my 5 year old is almost 4 feet tall! He was in the 97th percentile for height and weight! ... So he is staying true to himself! Such a gentle giant my Oliver is!

Thanksgiving: We were thankful to have Lianna and Hamlet stay with us for Thanksgiving dinner this year! I did my first Thanksgiving dinner. I simplified things as much as possible because Berto was working and that is a lot of cooking for my small kitchen! But we had a nice meal and a great weekend with Lianna and Hamlet around!... And I won't be sad if I don't have to make Thanksgiving dinner for a few more years! ;)

Oliver and Hope: There is this adorable girl in Oliver's preschool class named Hope! Hope is in LOVE with Oliver! It is adorable! He adores her too... but maybe not quite in the same way she adores him! He is a boy after all! The funniest thing happened that I want to remember forever! It was a Monday morning in December and I was signing Oliver into preschool with my back turned. When I turned around I saw Oliver flat on his back on the floor with a goofy grin. As I turned around Hope looked me in the eye and said "I missed him, so I had to kiss him!" It was so funny and cute! I'm sure her dad is already, ready to lock her in a room! I loved Oliver's reaction to a kiss... just to fall flat on his back in shock! Such a funny moment!

Preschool Christmas Performance: Oliver's school did a little performance at a senior living place. Oliver of course just stood still and didn't sing... but at least he was up there! It was a cute performance!

Christmas 2012: This Christmas was a bit quieter than last Christmas. With Lianna and Hamlet's wedding fast approaching it was just the four of us and Donnie! We had a nice day opening presents, went on a snowy walk and ended it with a movie at the movies! It was a fun, quiet day! It was actually just what we needed! And of course the grandparents spoiled the boys rotten!

Happy New Year... Berto turns 36: We didn't do much this year (or any year really) for New Years! We did have our neighbors Jesse and James McCalvy and their little guy Lincoln over for Cheesecake New Year's Eve evening to celebrate Berto's birthday. It was a nice evening at home and we were fast asleep far before the ball dropped! Lianna and Hamlet get hitched.... And our Cali Vacation: So this year our vacation was in January so that we could pair it up with the wedding trip! Most of our trip was spent in preparation for the wedding, and the wedding festivities! We did spend a lovely day with Berto's Ceci and Moi and their kids, and Berto's Tia Socoro. We also got to see our friends Greg and Carol Ann and their fun boys and went to Disneyland (of course, Thank you Jeff, Dad and Anna for a fun day!) And we got to celebrate my moms birthday actually WITH her on January 13th which was nice! Lianna and Hamlet were sealed for time and all eternity on January 12, 2013 in the Redlands, CA temple. It was a lovely ceremony! We went to Cafe Rio for lunch after pictures at the temple and then vegged at my moms house until the reception! It was a lovely day and they had a lovely reception. Anna and Lianna's friend Mimi watched the boys so Berto and I could be in the temple with Lianna and Hamlet. For weeks after the ceremony every time Isaac saw a picture of (or we drove past) a temple Isaac would say "The temple, Mama be right back, Daddy be right back!' I guess Anna must have had to tell him that a time or two! He was not thrilled that he couldn't go inside with us! We had a great whirlwind (as usual) trip and were so happy that we could spend time with so many loved ones and of course be there for Lianna and Hamlet's big day! Welcome to the family Hamlet!

Super Star Chair, A teaching moment: During March Oliver started saying he hated preschool. I could not figure out what was going on. He lived for preschool up until then. One day Miss Sam called me to tell me she thinks she figured it out. A couple weeks before Oliver had broken a rule and was chasing Hope around the classroom. Hope tripped and fell and landed on the special super star chair. It broke. So each day Oliver was reminded of the broken rule by the super star that week having to sit on a regular chair with a star taped to it. Sure enough that was exactly what the problem was. I had a rare "aha" moment and thought maybe Oliver and I could work together to make the super star chair special again. So with Miss Sam's permission we got vinyl stars and lettering that said super star, and got them all stuck on the chair. Miss Sam made sure to make a big deal about how special OLIVER had made the chair in front of all of the kids in his class, and the problem was solved! It was a great opportunity and it spoke volumes to Oliver's character. He couldn't face that he had ruined something for everyone. I just love this tender boy!

DDDDDentist: Isaac had his first dentist appointment in March of 2013! He did fantastic and didn't have any cavities! Woot!

New Car: In March 2013 we got a new car! It's a 2012 Mazda 5! Seats 6 and we LOVE it! It's so nice having a newer car and not a 15 year old one! The simple things! :)

Happy Birthday to ME and Spring Soccer: Oliver started spring soccer in April! He's a natural! He loves it! During the season he was very good at blocking goals! If he focused a little more he could have a lot of potential! For my 33rd birthday my mama came for a visit! She even smuggled a homemade birthday cake all the way on the airplane! We went to dinner with the 4 of us, my mom, Donnie and long time family friend Ann McLaughlin on the night of my birthday! It was fun! My mom did a lot of the cooking and cleaning over the weekend which was a welcome help! It was a great visit. The boys always miss her when she leaves! We were so glad she came!

Preschool Graduation: Preschool graduation was on May 21, 2013. I was so proud of the leaps and bounds that Oliver grew this year. This year he sang and signed to EVERY SINGLE SONG and he even had a SOLO!! Oliver sang the days of the week (on fast forward:) ) in spanish! It was adorable. We were so proud! Uncle Donnie was able to get off of work to be there with us, and it was such a sweet program! I was so proud of myself for NOT bawling through the entire thing! I love this boy and can't believe he is going to be a big kindergartner this year! That is just insane!!!

That just about sums up our year! Phew! I can't believe I actually did this! It feels so good! I am going to keep this up! We need to be able to look back on our family memories!