Sand and Math

Doesn't our fence look good? :)

We've had plans for a sandbox practically since we moved in 2 1/2 years ago...and we finally have one! Kevin dug the hole about a week ago and while he was gone my dad was over and did the assembly. Kevin finished it up yesterday. After two trips to the store for sand we still don't have enough. I used to think I was pretty good at math. I'm not. There we stood in Home Depot trying to figure out how many bags of sand we'd need. Let's see if any of you are better at math then we are! Our sandbox is 7 by 8. It's 10 inches deep. One 50 lb bag of sand covers a 6 foot area 1 inch deep. So...how many bags of sand do we need? I'll give you a hint--13 is the wrong answer. And so is 28.

Please ignore the weeds. Hopefully we'll be getting more grass soon.
Rylan was so excited he was running around in circles feeling the sand between his toes. Now we just need to plant a tree or get an umbrella to shade it so he can play in it during the day!

From Fuzz Head to...

Helmet Head!

Yep, Asher has to wear a helmet and I'm not so happy about it. It's a good thing he's so cute :) His head is flat in the back and his skull has shifted ever so slightly moving his right ear forward. I knew his head was flat but his pediatrician recommended the helmet at his 6 month appointment. I really didn't want to do it. I've stressed a lot about it. I've been dreading it. I've even cried myself to sleep about it. And of course Kevin's not here to comfort me. With all these emotions you'd think I'm the one who has to wear the helmet! My little sis is the one who finally convinced me to do it with her wise words: "You'll never regret doing it, but you might regret not doing it". As soon as she said that I had made up my mind...we'd spend the $1500 to get a piece of plastic that will give my sweet child a nicely rounded head. I wonder if it's recyclable?

It's actually not so bad so far. Starting on Monday or Tuesday he'll have to wear it for 23 hours a day but until then we're just working our way up to that amount of time. Today and tomorrow it's one hour on, one hour off and he doesn't have to sleep in it. Then we'll build up from there. And it's so hot the doc said if we're outside at the park or something to take it off or else he'll roast in it. Asher left the appointment wearing it and we drove up to Target, stopping at the bank on the way. By the time we got to Target he had sweat dripping down his face. Poor thing! I took it off to get him cooled down. Seriously, when I put it on, he's sweating within 5 minutes...and he's supposed to wear it for one hour?!?! Okay, so that's part of the reason we just work up to the 23 hours. His little head (well, actually he's got a big head...both my boys do) needs to get accustomed to it. I may be carrying around a mini fan or a mister to keep him cool! Along with the heat factor I think it's just gonna take some getting used to. Asher shakes his head back and forth thinking, I'm sure, "What is this thing on my head" and he grabs at the velcro strap. Today he's been leaning his head to his left side like it's heavy. In three months time he'll have a rounded head and a permanent crick in his neck! Anyways, he'll have appointments throughout the next 3 months to make sure it's doing what it's supposed to do. Hopefully before his one year birthday (I can't even imagine my baby turning 1! Good thing we've still got some time) people will be commenting on the nice shape of his head. Cause that's something people notice, right?

Quick Catch Up

Last weekend (the 19th-20th) Kevin ran in the Wasatch Back--a 188 mile relay race. 650 teams of 12 = lots of crazy people who participate in this. They run through the night and by the end of the race, even though exhausted, they were all talking about how much fun they had. Will he do it again next year?

If you were hoping to see a picture of Kevin actually running, I can't help you there. Actually, I think we have one picture but it's during a night time run and not the best. So here he is looking muy handsome if you ask me :)

Father's Day was fun and I think Kev was surprised with his gift. He got a digital frame to take to work so he can have lots of pictures of his sweet kiddos. We gave his parents a digital frame for Christmas (well, technically for two Christmases but we need not mention more of that story) and Kevin had said he wanted one for work. Seeing as how it's 6 months later I wasn't sure if he still wanted one but he got one anyway! We went up to my sister's house for dinner where she grilled us up some chicken, shrimp, and brats. Delicious! There we celebrated with my own father whom I love so much. I'm truly blessed with a great, loving father :)
What cute boys--And if you look closely you can see Asher's little tooth!

Monday afternoon (after many tears from poor ol' me) Kevin left for Switzerland to visit with his parents (who are currently serving a mission there) for a few days before flying over to Brussels for a work convention. Two of his co-workers went along with him. And yes, I must mention that even though I once lived in Brussels (albeit very briefly) I was uninvited on this trip and obviously didn't get to go. I know that having a past residence in a country doesn't give you free airfare to visit anytime your husband is going for work, but I can still complain about it. Boo hoo for me, I know. One day I'll be back there to indulge on belgian waffles, computer cookies, and pitas. I'm expecting a big ol' suitcase full of chocolates of all sorts from my hubby when he gets home :)

So while he's been gone I've been trying to keep myself somewhat busy. Today we ventured up to Thanksgiving Point to play in the water at the Children's gardens. It was hot and a perfect day for water. I was sweating and crabby by the time we left but I know Ry had fun so it was worth it! We'll have to go again soon and maybe next time I'll show up in a swimsuit of my own...or maybe not. Both boys fell asleep on the way home which prompted a quick phone call to my pops to see if he could hang out at my house while I went visiting teaching. All worked out and I let Ry sleep waaaay too long which created a super late bed time and lots of threats. If I knew what was best for me I'd be getting in bed myself. But I don't, so here I blog!

Conversations with my 3 year old

Over and over again, Rylan and I have had conversations similar to this all day today:

Ry: Hey mom, what are you doing?
Me: Unloading the dishwasher.
Ry: Oh, they're clean?
Me: Yep, so I'm putting them away so we can use them again.
Ry: Okay. What are you doing?
Me: I'm still unloading the dishwasher.
Ry: They're clean, huh?
Me: Yep.
(Ry leaves for approximately 45 seconds and then comes back...)
Ry: Mom, what are you doing?
Me: I'm still unloading the dishwasher Ry.
Ry: Oh, okay.

What a goof! I mean really, he can see that I'm unloading the dishwasher and he's already asked me once (or twice) but he keeps asking. He must be in need of a good conversation but he just doesn't know where to take it and I'm not giving him much to work with. And it's seriously been like this all day whether I'm unloading the dishwasher, feeding Asher, reading my book...Oh how I love my 3 year old!

Boys...

While the rest of the state was being flooded and overloaded with rain we were making our own flood. Somehow the drip line in the garden never turned off which left us with over watered plants and mud puddles. Silly ol' me left Ry out to play all on his own for about five minutes with a warning to stay out of the mud. HA! My boy loves mud and I should have known better. Once I saw him playing and already a mess, I figured I may as well just let him have some fun. And to make his day even brighter I sprayed him down with the hose before he was allowed inside. I think that half hour of playing in the mud and being sprayed with the water was his greatest moment of the day.

Does he like it?

Asher had his first taste of rice cereal last week. I thought he was liking this new stage of life because he kept opening up his mouth for more. But in nearly every picture he doesn't look like he's enjoying it very much. Of course he's had some more since and he gagged with each and every bite. We'll just keep trying! I mean, he IS already seven months so he should have this solid food thing in the bag. With time it will come and hopefully he'll be just as good of an eater as his brother.